How many are there?

Rome's Evolution (Rome's Revolution #3) by Michael Brachman Yesterday, we saw that Rei Bierak was going to have to get used to saying "Yes, dear" to Rome as she was in charge of the investigation. She had MINIMCOM transport them to the rapidly rusting shell of the Ark II so they could count how many of the gray sarcophagi were sent from Earth. The total number of sarcophagi plus one would be the total number of Darwin candidates that might have been trying to kill them:
     “Yes, dear,” Rei said. He knew this was a phrase he was going to be uttering a lot in the upcoming days. Cautiously, he executed a maneuver matching Rome’s who, in turn, guided him as he lowered himself on the other side. Now past the obstruction, they were able to make their way to the front where there was a pair of large metal cages encasing another two sets of shelves, one on the left, one on the right. The shelves within the cage were far more substantial than the flimsy ones in the rear. Rome reached up and took a hold of the metal mesh fencing and shook it with her hand. There was no more give to it now than there was two years ago.
     Rei stooped down, making sure he did not bend at the waist, and mentally counted the stanchions that were used to hold the sarcophagi in place.
     “Three on the bottom, middle and top,” Rei said out loud. He turned and pointed. “Another nine on that side so that makes eighteen per row.”
     He gingerly made his way to the front, stopping short of the edge where a portion of the Ark had been torn away when it hit the asteroid. The lead edges were ragged with shredded sheet metal curled and bound by the inner seal. Even though much of it had dulled with time and rust, many of the metal shards still had razor sharp edges that splayed outward. Rei shivered just thinking about them. He turned to the matter at hand.
     “I count six rows,” Rei said. “So if my math is correct, that makes for 108 of the Grays.”
     “109 counting Captain Keller,” Rome corrected him.
     “Right,” Rei said. “So that’s our upper limit. MINIMCOM said he transported 104 of the Darwin people to Helome so worst case, we’re looking for five people.”
     Rome nodded. “This is an excellent first step but to have that many running loose on Deucado is little bit dismaying.”
     “I know I saw some cracked sarcophagi back at The Cathedral but I don’t remember if they were gray or white,” Rei said. “We’ll need to go there to confirm. That may cut down the number.”
     “Agreed,” Rome said. She put her finger to her temple. “MINIMCOM says he will just transport us back to his cargo bay. I don’t want to take any more chances with your back than we need to.”
     “Yes, dear,” Rei sighed.
Rei seems pretty submissive but you must remember he received a severe concussion during the explosion. It's OK though because by this point Rome has been a very capable leader up to now. We'll see how she fares tomorrow.
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Published on April 30, 2017 05:11 Tags: action, adventure, ftl, science-fiction, space-travel, vuduri
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Tales of the Vuduri

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