Michael Brachman's Blog: Tales of the Vuduri, page 11

November 5, 2017

Reema is captured

Rome's Evolution (Rome's Revolution #3) by Michael Brachman Yesterday, MINIMCOM and Junior had gotten very close to where Aason was being held captive. They needed one last clue and Rei asked Aason to find something shiny. Today we will see how these things all tie together so Rome and Rei can rescue their son:
     It was late in the afternoon when Reema came to visit Aason. As she always did, she entered the house where they were keeping Aason and pointed to the floor in front of her. Aason came over and stood where she indicated. She stooped down to peer into his eyes. She put her hand on his head and turned it left and right. She huffed in disgust and pointed to a chair so she could continue her examination. Aason smiled but this time, instead of following her instructions, he dashed past her and out the door. Reema and her two attendants hurried after him but Aason didn’t stop, running as fast as his little legs would carry him, until he was in a clearing. He stopped suddenly, turned around and watched the group of three approach. As they drew nearer, he took the glass tube out of his pocket and threw it as high in the air as he could, twirling it so it spun in the air.
     “There it is!” Rome said, delightedly, looking at the glinting light displayed in the monitor. “Junior, are you ready?”
     “Yes, Auntie Rome.”
     “On my go,” Rome replied. She could see the other figures swarming around her son. Aason leaped forward and wrapped himself around Reema’s leg with his arms and his legs, hanging on for dear life.
     “Go!” Rome shouted.
     Junior dropped his stealth shield and gunned his plasma thrusters, which made an ear-shattering noise, flying directly over compound. The starship twirled in place and fired the engines again, coming to a dead stop. Landing gear extended, Junior started lowering himself toward the ground. A large group of people came out of the woods to find out the nature of the ruckus. The two people in attendance to Reema started running toward the ship but Reema couldn’t keep up with Aason attached to her leg.
     It only took one whoosh and pop. Suddenly, Reema found herself in MINIMCOM’s cargo compartment with Aason still holding on to her leg. Standing right next to her was Rei Bierak, gripping the Beretta, aimed directly at her head.
Phew. They have Aason back and Reema is taken prisoner. Now they have to find and save Rome's parents and Commander Ursay.
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Published on November 05, 2017 04:58 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri

November 4, 2017

Simulated Triangulation

Rome's Evolution (Rome's Revolution #3) by Michael Brachman Yesterday, Rome, Rei and MINIMCOM contacted Aason who has been kidnapped and taken away to Socal, southern California. Rei had him sing the Inky Dinky Spider song so they could find the point of highest signal strength indicating Aason's line of longitude. However to actually locate him, they are going to have to employ some geometry to find the proper latitude, the mid-line of signal strength. They must travel up and down finalizing the coordinates until they spot the boy:
     “We don’t need to,” Rei interjected. “We’ll wing it. Just drift north together and see if the signal increases or decreases.”
     “And the inky dinky spider climbed up the spout again.”
     “It is decreasing,” MINIMCOM said.
     “Great,” Rei said. “Now both of you drift south and stop when the signal peaks. Kind of a simulated triangulation.”
     “Of course,” MINIMCOM replied.
     Rei was not an expert on California but as far as he could tell, they were near the area that used to be known as Long Beach. Directly below them was a river, probably the Los Angeles River. It was a dead-straight vertical stripe that ran north to south. The ventral cameras showed them following the river’s path as it made its way toward the Pacific. They were about five miles from the coast when MINIMCOM announced they were roughly over Aason’s position.
     “You can stop singing now, Aason,” Rome said. They studied the images on the ventral cameras. There were grasslands and a heavy stand of trees clustered in the area. MINIMCOM switched one monitor to infrared and another to ground penetrating mode. It quickly became apparent that there was entire community covered mostly by the trees. The infrared showed several people walking about. There were far too many houses to deduce which one held their son.
     Rome stood up. “I want to go down there,” she said insistently.
     “Hold on,” Rei cautioned. “This whole thing has been a trap since Day 1 and you’re going to walk right into it.”
     “What do you suggest?”
     Rei stared down at the monitors for a moment. He called to his son. “Aason, do they let you go outside to play?”
     “Sometimes,” he said. “But if I go out, somebody always follows me.”
     “That’s OK,” Rei said. “Do you know the woman they call Reema?” he asked.
     “Yes,” Aason answered. “She comes in to see me every day. She always seems angry, though.”
     Rei laughed. “Good. I’m glad she is angry. When does she come in to visit you?”
     Aason didn’t answer for a second then said, “Pretty soon. She usually comes in the afternoon.”
     “OK, Son, here’s what I want you to do. Is there anything in the room that is really shiny? Like glass?”
     “There are some tubes here,” Aason replied. “I’m not supposed to touch them.”
     “I’m giving you permission,” Rei said. “This is what I want you to do…”
It seems like an elaborate plan. How will Rei use the tube to find Reema? You'll see tomorrow.
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Published on November 04, 2017 06:03 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri

November 3, 2017

The Inky Dinky Spider Tracker

Rome's Evolution (Rome's Revolution #3) by Michael Brachman Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Bonnie arrived in Socal, southern California, in MINIMCOM along with Junior. Rome and Rei were able to contact their kidnapped son using their "cell phones in the head" and found out that he was OK. However, based upon the little information that Aason supplied, the same could not be said for Rome's parents and Commander Ursay. Now that they had found him, they had to formulate a rescue plan. To accomplish that, they had to actually locate their boy:
     “I know what to do,” Rei said. Then mentally, he spoke to his son. “Aason, I’m going to teach you a song. After you learn it, I want you to just sing it over and over in your head until we tell you to stop.”
     “OK, Daddy,” Aason said. There was delight in his voice.
     “Here we go,” Rei said. “After I sing a verse, you repeat it.”
     “OK.”
     “The inky dinky spider climbed up the water spout,” Rei intoned, imparting a melody on top of the lyrics.
     “What is a spider?” Aason asked.
     “It’s an insect, from Earth,” Rei answered.
     “And what means inky dinky?”
     “It means he was all black. It makes the song fun,” Rei answered.
     “And what’s a water spout?”
     “It’s a pipe that carries water from the roof to the ground. It’s just part of the song.”
     “Just like his father,” Rome muttered out loud.
     Rei laughed. “Can you try it?”
     “OK, Daddy,” Aason said. “The inky dinky spider climbed up the water spout.”
     “Great,” Rei said. “Now the next verse. Down came the rain and washed the spider out.”
     “Oh no!” Aason said. “Is he alright?”
     “It’s OK,” Rei answered. “He’ll be OK. Try it and you’ll see.”
     “Alright. Down came the rain and washed the spider out.”
     “Good,” Rei replied. “Next verse. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.”
     Aason repeated the verse.
     “And the inky dinky spider climbed up the spout again.”
     “That’s funny, Daddy,” Aason said, laughing mentally.
     “I know, son. I want you to start singing the song in your head, over and over, until Mommy tells you you can stop.”
     “OK, Daddy,” Aason said and he started in. “The inky dinky spider…”
     “Good,” Rome said out loud. “Now Junior, just fly due west and watch the signal strength and stop after it peaks.”
     “Of course, Auntie Rome,” Junior replied through the grille.
     “Down came the rain and washed the spider out…”
     It took about 10 minutes but finally Junior spoke up. “Alright, Auntie Rome, I’m just past the peak signal,” Junior said.
     “OK,” Rome replied. “Stay there. Now MINIMCOM, you head west as well but after the signal peaks, come back around so you’re on this side of it.”
     “Easy,” replied the starship. He accelerated rapidly, heading toward the coastline.
     “Out came the sun and dried up all the rain…”
     “Got it,” MINIMCOM answered, finally. He banked around and headed east again until the signal just peaked. “Junior and I are now about equidistant from the signal peak. But we can’t triangulate.”
So they can't triangulate? There are other ways. Think Geiger counter.
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Published on November 03, 2017 05:30 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri

November 2, 2017

They find Aason!

Rome's Evolution (Rome's Revolution #3) by Michael Brachman Yesterday, on their way to Socal, southern California, MINIMCOM schooled Rei and Bonnie on how he rediscovered the secret of making gunpowder. This allowed MINIMCOM to synthesize new bullets and magazine for Jack Henry's M9 Beretta. Rei was happy about this.

Meanwhile, Rome was preoccupied by studying their course and distance. Now they were getting close to their goal, the rescue of their son, Aason:
     Rome, who had been watching the distance meter asked, “MINIIMCOM, what is the effective distance of our EM transmitters?”
     “Roughly 300 kilometers air-to-ground,” replied MINIMCOM.
     “Then slow down when we are inside that limit. I want to call to Aason using that channel. There is no way that the Onsiras would know that he can communicate that way. They may have him under T-suppression but it would never occur for them to put him in a Faraday cage.”
     “They knew enough to do that to you,” Rei said. “When we first came back to Earth and they had you arrested, they slapped you in a room that was cut off six ways to Sunday.”
     “They did not know I could communicate that way,” Rome said. “They just wanted to keep out all communication regardless.”
     “So what makes you think the Onsiras wouldn’t do the same thing?”
     “Because Aason has no equipment visible nor would he have access to any.”
     As the two ship convoy continued southwest, it only took them a half-hour to approach the 300 kilometer limit, MINIMCOM slowed down and Junior followed his lead. When they were about 250 kilometers away, MINIMCOM came to a dead stop, hovering about a mile up. Junior hovered off to his right.
     “Rei,” Rome said, reaching out with her hand. “You call with me. It will double our chances of reaching him.”
     “Sure,” Rei said, taking her hand. “You lead, I’ll follow.”
     Rome closed her eyes and opened up her EM channel.
     “Aason,” she called out desperately.
     “Mommy!” a little voice replied. “Where are you? Where’s Daddy?”
     “I’m here, son,” Rei said, a huge smile breaking out on his face. “Are you all right?”
     “I think so,” said the little boy. “Where are you?”
     “We’re on our way, my baby,” Rome replied. “Are they treating you well?”
     “I’m lonely,” Aason said. “Nobody will talk to me.”
     “Where is Grandmea and Grandbeo?” Rome asked.
     “They’re over there,” Aason said. Rome knew he was pointing. It always made her smile when he ignored the fact that she could not see him. “But they are acting funny,” Aason continued. “They don’t seem to recognize me.”
     Rome sighed. It had begun. “What about Commander Ursay?” Rome asked. “Is he there too?”
     “Yes,” Aason replied. “But he is acting strange, too. And Grandbeo’s eyes look funny.”
     “What do you mean?”
     “They are all black now.”
     Rome put her fist up to her mouth and bit down on it. She took a deep breath. “First things first,” she thought to herself. Out loud, she asked, “MINIMCOM, can you get a lock on his signal?”
     “Yes,” replied the starship.
     “And Junior, can you do it as well?”
     “Yes,” replied MINIMCOM’s son. “Strength only, no vector though.”
Hmm. To truly triangulate, you need three points and they only have two receivers. They will have to figure out a method of triangulation without. Think Geiger counter.
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Published on November 02, 2017 05:55 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri

November 1, 2017

Gunpowder

Rome's Evolution (Rome's Revolution #3) by Michael Brachman Yesterday, we saw the Rome, Rei and Bonnie get underway flying from what had been known as Portugal toward Socal, southern California. MINIMCOM carried the humans but Junior followed along.

They flew over Lake Michigan which prompted Rei to show Bonnie where they had their encounter with Commander Ursay vying for the Darwin Virus Strain 5. The conversation then took a strange turn:
     Bonnie looked over at Rome who was staring out of the cockpit windshield intently. “She’s more than just a Vuduri, now, you know.”
      “Yeah,” Rei answered. “But her heart is the purest I’ve ever seen.”
     Bonnie sighed. “I thought…because of their, I don’t know, naivety, they were somehow lesser. But maybe it makes them better than us.”
     Rei looked up into Bonnie’s eyes. “Nobody’s better. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Together, we’re stronger.”
     “I see that now,” Bonnie said. “There’s so much I regret about how we approached things.”
     “It is what it is,” Rei said, turning forward. “But right now, we have to find my son. And Rome’s parents.”
     “How are you going to rescue them?” Bonnie asked.
     “Well, given how many of them there must be, I don’t think guns a’blazin is the…” Rei snapped his fingers. “Hey MINIMCOM,” he asked. “Steele had Jack Henry’s Beretta. What did you do with it?”
     “It is in my side airlock,” MINIMCOM replied. “If you need it, you will find another ammunition clip next to it.”
     “Where’d you get that?” Rei asked.
     “When I was cleaning and restoring it, I synthesized a new one and proceeded to learn the secret of the projectiles.”
     “What secret? Lead bullet, steel shell and gunpowder.”
     “Gunpowder as you call it is not simply the sum of its parts. The chemical composition is just potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal but when I first synthesized it, it would not explode. I believe your word is it fizzled.”
     “How come?” Rei asked.
     “As it turns out, gunpowder is not just a matter of chemistry but also physics.”
     “I know I’m going to regret asking but what do you mean?”
     “Gunpowder should be simple to make by just mixing the three chemicals together in the right ratio. As it turns out, the carbon must be in the form of charcoal because it has pores. The potassium nitrate and sulfur must fill those pores. The substrate is responsible for the explosive reaction, not just the mixture.”
     “If you say so,” Rei answered exhaustedly. “I believe you.”
     Rome, who had not been paying any attention to the discussion, was watching the distance meter rapidly decrease as they approached their destination of Southern California, called Socal by the Vuduri.
We get a free physics lesson MINIMCOM but that doesn't distract Rome from their mission. The place where they are presumably holding her son is coming up.
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Published on November 01, 2017 06:32 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri

October 31, 2017

The Rescue Trip Gets Underway

Rome's Evolution (Rome's Revolution #3) by Michael Brachman Two days ago, we saw the Overmind inform Rome that the raiders, assumed to be the Onsiras, may have take Aason to a place called Socal, southern California, along with Commander Ursay and Rome's parents. Obviously, the group wanted to get underway but first they had to see if the recently-rebuilt Junior was up to making the trip:
     Rei, Rome and Bonnie stood in the field behind the farmhouse. MINIMCOM’s livetar had his hand on his son’s shoulder and bent down so his eye slits were on the same level as Junior’s eye-holes.
     “Can you fly?” MINIMCOM asked the little gray livetar.
     “I think so,” Junior replied. “Let me try.” The livetar dissolved and the air swirled as the little spaceship activated his EG lifters and slowly rose up into the sky. He pointed his nose upward and began accelerating. When he was just a tiny dot, he fired his plasma thrusters and disappeared into the afternoon sky. But as quickly as he was gone, he returned and gently landed just beyond where his father’s starship stood.
     “I think I am OK,” the younger starship broadcast so that all could hear.
     “Junior, does your stealth shield still work?” Rei asked him mentally. “We’re going to have to sneak up on them if we’re to have a chance.”
     The starship shimmered then disappeared. After a few seconds he reappeared.
     “It is working,” Junior replied proudly.
     “Great,” Rei said out loud. He turned to the assembled party. “Let’s get going.” The humans and livetar all ran aboard MINIMCOM and took their positions. When they were ready, together, father and son lifted off and headed west, gaining altitude until they were about 10 miles up. Once they were over the Atlantic, they started accelerating, slowly at first but eventually reaching Mach 6. There was no need to worry about the authorities on Earth discovering their existence. Rome had seen to that. The only group they had to worry about was the Onsiras.
     At Mach 6, it took them just under an hour to cross the Atlantic and come upon the landmass that had been called North America. As they raced across the continental United States, Rei watched the ventral cameras along with the instrumentation.
     “There’s the Tevatron,” he said to Rome as they passed over Lake Michigan. He tapped the main display. Bonnie came forward to look over his shoulder.
     “That’s where Keller caught you, right?” she asked.
     “Yeah,” Rei said. “The whole thing was stupid. The one thing he wanted was gone, burned up in the Sun.”
     “Why didn’t you just tell him?” Bonnie asked.
     “We did,” Rei said. “Rome told him exactly what happened.”
     “Let me guess, he didn’t believe you?”
     “Nope. People always accuse you of what they are thinking. If he had spent any time with the Vuduri, he would have known they had no clue how to lie. But his own duplicity blinded him.”
     Bonnie looked over at Rome who was staring out of the cockpit windshield intently. “She’s more than just a Vuduri, now, you know.”
Since Rome and Rei had been pardoned, they didn't have to fly "under the radar" so to speak but when they get close, they'll want to avoid detection.
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Published on October 31, 2017 05:46 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri

October 30, 2017

An Extraterrestrial Visitor

Rome's Evolution (Rome's Revolution #3) by Michael Brachman Meteors hit the Earth all the time, occasionally with disastrous results (see the end of the dinosaurs) and occasionally we see comets in the heavens. We also see the stars above and wonder what they might be like. Further, there is the Kepler Mission which has currently found over 5000 exoplanet candidates circling other stars. The point is these events never co-mingle. We look up, we see stars, we see comets, we see meteor showers, but we never see comets or meteors in other star systems. All the flying things that pass across our line of view originate in the Kuiper Belt or from even farther out in the Oort Cloud.

However, once in a while, that whole paradigm is turned upside down. Recently, an object has entered the Solar System that scientists believe is from beyond our little place in the heavens. At first thought to be a comet, scientists now believe it is an asteroid whose trajectory indicates it came from outside our solar system, circled around the Sun and is heading back out to the way beyond, never to be seen again.

The object itself is called A/2017 U1 and was first discovered on October 19, 2017 by the University of Hawaii's Pan-STARRS 1 telescope on the Haleakala crater on the island of Maui.

Scientists have long believed such objects must exist but have never had an opportunity to observe one close up. This particular visitor will no longer be visible after the next few weeks and after that, it will leave the Solar System for good. Oh well, it's nice to see that it wanted to stop by and it is encouraging to know that even though it takes a long time, things can travel from another star.

Image courtesy of Nasa and the University of Hawaii. Click on the image for a much larger and detailed view:
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Published on October 30, 2017 04:16 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri

October 29, 2017

The Ovemind Blows Rome's Mind, Part 4 of 4

Rome's Evolution (Rome's Revolution #3) by Michael Brachman Yesterday, the Overmind truly blew Rome's mind by telling her that she was the direct descendant of Jack Henry. Further, the Overmind told Rome about Lacy Henry, Jack's partner, if not wife. You can a short story about Lacy in The Vuduri Companion. However, Rome,recovered enough from the initial shock to push for the Overmind's direct help. Here is how that went:
     “If you were so grateful, why did you allow me to be banished from the planet?” Rome asked.
     “Because of your unique capabilities and your independent thinking. You and your husband represented a danger to my integrity. Your so-called Revolution has swept over the Earth despite my best efforts to suppress it.”
     “The Overmind on Deucado does not find it a problem. We have all found a way to live together.”
     “Yes. And that is why I pardoned you. Your epic services to the Vuduri are more profound than even Hanry Ta Jihn, although you would expect nothing less from his great-great granddaughter.”
     “I still do not see how this is going to help me find my son.”
     “Some time after you destroyed MASAL and left the Earth, Sussen returned, completely drained due to the journey from Deucado. She arrived to find MASAL’s base in Havei gone. She traveled on to another colony. Her connection to me was active but for a time, she did not appear to notice so I was able to listen in. She came before a Reonhe whose name was Reema. They call her Ombare so I must assume she has a leadership role.”
     “Please!” Rome shouted mentally, exasperated. “Just tell me what I need to know.”
     “I was getting to that. As Ursay was being captured, I heard him say two things. The first was Reema’s name and the second thing he said was Socal.
     “Socal? On the western continent?” Rome interjected. “I did not think anyone lived there.”
     “From the context, that is where I assume Reema lives. Find her and I believe you will find your son.”
     Rome leaped to her feet. “Then that is where we will go,” she said.
     “What?” Rei asked. “Did you contact him? The Overmind?”
     Rome nodded.
     “So what did he say?”
     Rome filled Rei in on a synopsis of the Overmind’s machinations. It took all of Rei’s willpower to bite his tongue during her recounting the story.
     “Let’s get going then,” Rei said finally. “We have a family to rescue.”
     “Yes,” said Rome. She contacted the Overmind one last time. “Thank you,” she communicated silently. “We have to get going now.”
     “I can send an army along,” the Overmind said. “Now that they have proven themselves to be an ongoing threat, it is time to extinguish the whole sub-species.”
     “No!” Rome insisted. “They have my baby. Let us go there and see if we can extract him first. If I need you, I will call.”
     “I will respect your wishes,” the Overmind said, “However; I will have my troops on alert for your call.”
Socal. Southern California. It's time to head back to North America and find out who or what is hiding out there and find their son.
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Published on October 29, 2017 08:49 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri

October 28, 2017

The Ovemind Blows Rome's Mind, Part 3 of 4

Rome's Evolution (Rome's Revolution #3) by Michael Brachman Yesterday, the Overmind of Earth began its recounting the secret history of the Vuduri to Rome. The first hint that this secret existed occurred before Rome was even born. There were two phenotypes: the Reohne like Sussen and Estar and the Zengei, the flat black-eyed human robots. How it could keep this secret from the "regular" Vuduri isn't clear but when Rome finds out her true lineage, it is going to floor her:
     The Overmind continued,“I had my scientists initiate a study of genetic overlap of the Vuduri to map backwards to a common ancestor. We were able to trace back to the closest living relatives to Hanry Ta Jihn that were among my communicants.”
     “Really?” Rome said with some shock.
     “It was not widely known, I have suppressed most of this information, but prior to the Battle of Chee Ka Go, Hanry Ta Jihn had a companion whose name was Lacy. She was more than, I think your term would be a girlfriend, but they were not Cesa. She was pregnant with his child when Hanry Ta Jihn decided to go on the raid west. While he did not survive, Lacy did and she gave birth and we have been able to identify the Vuduri alive today that are Hanry Ta Jihn’s direct descendents.”
     How the Overmind accomplished such an invasive investigation of all living Vuduri was beyond Rome’s imagination but she decided to say nothing.
     “From this stock of the 200 best candidates, I began a breeding program, you would call it the Slayer program, to build a group of Vuduri which would represent the greatest antidote to the genetic trend of the Onsiras. I paired each of the 200 closest descendents to Hanry Ta Jihn with the most intelligent among the 23-chromosome mandasurte I could find.”
     Suddenly, what her father had revealed to Rome aboard his boat several years earlier clicked. She whispered, “And my parents were among the pairs selected?”
     “Yes. You are a direct descendent of Hanry Ta Jihn.”
     Rome’s jaw dropped. Now it all made sense: the connection she felt when she was down in the bowels of the Tevatron. The pool of Hanry Ta Jihn’s blood. His handgun and her instinctual knowledge of how to use it.
     After she recovered, Rome asked, “I believe you but what would this program produce? Why cross-breed Vuduri and mandasurte. Even the grandchildren of Hanry Ta Jihn?”
     “Because these Slayers, children like you, could never develop or give birth to an Onsira. I wanted to see if they could put an end to that branch of humanity. I also postulated to myself that based upon their dedication to their agenda, they would eventually come after you and have you put down to further their goals.”
     “Put down? As in killed? So I was born just to be bait?” Rome asked angrily.
     “Partially. And to that extent, my program was a smashing success. I did not know MASAL was still alive. I only knew that the number of Onsira phenotypes was increasing. I suspected they were somehow organized in a way I could not detect. If this was the case and you truly represented a threat, they would be monitoring you. If they decided to hunt you down, then their intentions would have become clear. However, never did I consider that you would literally become the Slayer of MASAL. For that, the Vuduri could never thank you enough.”
Holy Moly! Rome is the great, great, great grandchild of Jack Henry? This is too much. And she was born to be the Slayer of MASAL by dying? Well, she proved the program was named correctly. Now that we have the shockers out of the way, it is time for Rome to enlist the Overmind's aid.
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Published on October 28, 2017 05:38 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri

October 27, 2017

The Ovemind Blows Rome's Mind, Part 2 of 4

Rome's Evolution (Rome's Revolution #3) by Michael Brachman Yesterday, Rome made contact with the Overmind of Earth and was pleasantly surprised to find out that her banishment had been rescinded two year earlier. The Overmind was surprisingly engaging but felt it necessary to give Rome information that she didn't realize she needed:
     Go ahead,” Rome thought with resignation. These Overminds so loved to pontificate.
     “Approximately five years before you were born, some surgeons had to perform an emergency resection of a woman giving birth. The child had some of the characteristics of what we now call the Onsira phenotype.”
     “How is this relevant?” Rome asked.
     “There appear to be two types of Onsiras,” the Overmind said. “The type like Sussen, they refer to themselves as the Reonhe. They must have some sort of split brain. They seem like they have the ability to be part of my samanda and what we now know to have been MASAL’s at the same time.”
     “And you never shared this before?” Rome asked.
     “I did not understand their nature at the time. They always seemed like loyal and obedient Vuduri to me. Their connection to me seemed standard,” said the Overmind. “I did not know they served two masters. I only came to learn this after you destroyed MASAL. I did know they were not healthy, though, even from the beginning.”
     “In what way are they not healthy?”
     “Their genetic structure makes them age twice as fast as a normal Vuduri.”
     “They do?” Rome asked.
     “Yes. You remember Estar?”
     “Of course,” Rome said. “How could I forget?”
     “She was only twelve years old when she went to Tabit.”
     “Wait! You knew Estar was an Onsira and yet you sent her to Tabit anyway?” Rome protested. “How could you?”
     “As I said, I did not understand who or what the Onsiras represented. Only that a recessive element of the 24th chromosome must be responsible for their condition. Estar volunteered for the position and I took pity upon her and allowed her her wish.”
     Rome hissed her disgust. “You said there were two types of Onsiras. What is the other type?”
     “They are called the Zengei. They are the ones with flat black eyes. You have met several of them. They do not appear to even have a mind of their own.”
     “Yes, I have seen them,” Rome said. “Go on.”
     “I did not know that MASAL was still alive and his century-long plan to convert mankind was beginning to gain traction. But I was concerned about the direction the recessive elements of the chromosome he designed might take the human race. I wanted to counteract it. So I had my scientists initiate a study of genetic overlap of the Vuduri to map backwards to a common ancestor. We were able to trace back to the closest living relatives to Hanry Ta Jihn that were among my communicants.”
Descendants of Jack Henry? Where do you think this little tidbit will lead?
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Published on October 27, 2017 06:13 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri

Tales of the Vuduri

Michael Brachman
Tidbits and insights into the 35th century world of the Vuduri.
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