Scout
By Bob Kite
Copyright 2016 Carrie Simmons
Cover Art By Bob Kite
CONTENTS:
Scout Prologue
An introduction to the Scout series, wherein humans are at war with five alien species. We are not doing well, but tend not to take defeat lying down. 3000 words
Scout & The Imuqi
A human hybrid rises through the ranks of a race whose technology is based solely on their own manipulated physiology. 6200 words
Scout & The Sidmopisians Part 1
The history of a post-catastrophe race of snake-like aliens as they strive to regain civilization. 7700 words
Scout & The Sidmopisians Part 2
Scout begins his journey to seek his human heritage. 10500 words
Scout & The Dhosu
Scout encounters a metamorphosing race of insectile creatures who have lost an important part of their life cycle. 5500 words
Scout & The Vissou
Told in two parts, the first introducing the normal culture of a race of tentacular cephalopods before the catastrophe hits, and the second as Scout finds them years later. 5200 words
Scout & The Nuplar
Also told in two parts, pre and post cataclysm. Some races are so alien there's just no common ground. 2700 words
Scout & His Shadow
Scout finds more answers than he was looking for, bringing the serial to and end; for now. 3400 words
Author’s Notes
An introduction to me, my conditions, and my motivations for producing this book. 1200 words
Chapter 1: Scout Prologue
Every seat but one of the thousand within the semicircular tiered hall filled with the somber representatives of Earth and her outposts. The usual occupant of the empty seat stood in front of a slightly raised platform central to the view of the others. Seven generations had passed since circumstances required a peer to be elevated to the position of Prime Resolvetor.
She was born Rosa Digornio and retired at age fifty after an exceptional career as the History chair at a major university. She had no clue how fate had tricked her to accept the vote as humankind’s prime representative, but since that time she had used that ultimate authority to declare the War of Resistance against the alien coalition. To her alone fell the ultimate responsibility to declare surrender.
In anticipation of the capitulation ceremony, she turned her official stool and small podium around from its normal position that faced the Representative’s seats. It now faced a newly built balcony, just ten feet away, from which humankind’s new overlords would shortly address them all.
The stage was one-hundred-fifty-feet wide by twenty-five feet deep and extended out as an open porch that overlooked the lawn of the Representative’s Building. Five wide ramps descended to meet newly made roads that led to five wildly dissimilar landing craft. Preparations had continued all night, and as the first rays of sunlight filled the balcony, various doors, hatches, irises, and openings appeared among the ships.
The occupants of the chamber would not see the aliens until the procession crested the ramps onto the porch, but Rosa would get the first glimpse due to her slightly elevated position. The members of the chamber were so quiet she could hear the approach. The metal ramp acted as a sounding board and ominously magnified the tippity tappity tippity tappity sounds.
The first arrival reminded Rosa of a pinkish gray moon that smoothly rose above the horizon of the center stage. The shape stopped to survey the vanquished, fifteen feet high and ten feet wide. The alien was a nearly shapeless bag, but just under the skin, tall curved ribs held it to a wobbly gumdrop shape.
Rosa began an internal dialog but hoped to remember and keep the thoughts sub–vocalized, “I’ve been briefed, of course, but that thing is HUGE. Reminds me of The Blob. The 1988 remake, not the 1958 original. That one looked like chocolate jello. Great, now I’m hungry. Funny how relaxed I am since I’ve made peace with my decision.”
The Imuqi rested on a giant living mat with fringed protrusions beneath that reminding Rosa of fingers. The base of the alien’s main body quivered and extruded five irregular basketball sized items that bristled with protuberances, but they were too far away for Rosa to make out any detail. Small squares of the transport mat unhooked from the main mass and picked up one item each and headed across the stage. Two of them deposited their items on the floor to the left while two went right to do the same.
The fifth headed straight towards Rosa. To her disgust, she saw that the bottom of the mat fragment was made of perfectly detailed human fingers, albeit with nails that came to sharp points. Small bone loops fringed the edge of the mat that tinkling a moment as it stopped at the bottom of her podium. The sides of the mat curled up and inward in a motion that allowed some fingers to firmly grasp the item, then tippity-tapped up the podium and placed its burden on the surface.
Rosa froze but tried to keep her dignity and composure as she threw up in her mouth a bit. She slowly reached for a glass of water to wash down the acid taste. As the mat returned to the Imuqi, she blinked twice to activate the interactive contacts in her eyes and moved her hands in a combination of sign language and stenographer’s code; “What the Hell is that?”
The “that” displayed a muzzle with three rows of sharp, needle fangs, four thin articulated rods, thousands of multi-colored dots, a somehow grotesque encircling band of who knew what, something like a black spiky grasshopper leg. Worst of all was a perfectly formed human ear and mouth.
In response to her steno'd question, translucent text flowed across her field of vision. The world’s foremost experts, in every discipline that might remotely apply, gathered in the basement below.
“WE BELIEVE IT TO BE AN OMNI-COMMUNICATION DEVICE. THE INTERIOR LIKELY CONTAINS A BIO RADIO TRANSCEIVER TO REACH THE NUPLAR. WILL MONITOR. THE DELIVERY MAT IS A STANDARD IMUQI TRANSPORTATION UNIT, MOST LIKELY MODIFIED WITH HUMAN DNA TO MAKE A POINT. REMEMBER, ALL IMUQI TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES ARE SELF-AWARE, PURPOSE DESIGNED INTELLIGENT MEMBERS OF THEIR RACE.”
The five mini-mats resumed their places and stiffened their bone-edged rings to slide into their neighbors and locked in place.
Rosa thought, “What point are they making using human parts; that they are ass-hats as well as monstrosities?”
A new sound caught her attention and interrupted her thoughts. It was similar to the Imuqi’s tippity tappity but with a sharper, clearer staccato; skittle-skittle-skittle. Onto the stage scurried five Nuplar in “V” formation, who marched and stopped together in machine-like perfection and timing.
Each an exact duplicate as far as Rosa could tell. The bodies were three foot wide pancaked ovals to which five legs attached to rotator joints at equidistant points. Each leg started at a meaty thigh and narrowed to a rotator “knee" joint that attached to long narrow lower-leg spikes. The legs carried the central body nearly six feet off the ground. The feet were hinged, serrated scythes, capable of folding outer side down, or point to the ground.
No other protuberances or structures were in evidence other than hard, shiny white spines that jabbed out at random points along the top. With a sudden, loud snap they lowered their bodies to the ground in unison and remained perfectly still.
More text scrawled across Rosa’s vision, “CONFIRMED! EACH COMM XLATOR HAS synched A CARRIER WAVE WITH AN INTERNAL XMITER WITHIN THE LEAD NUPLAR. WE NOW HAVE BOTH FREQUENCY AND CODE INDEX FOR 1ST TIME.”
“The tech specialists seem excited anyway.” Rosa thought, “Good for them, for the short time they have left anyway.”
She felt as much as heard a rumble that came up another ramp. The right half of the stage sparkled with hypnotic waves of multicolored lights that reminding Rosa of historical footage of a short-lived dance pha
se historically called “disco.” The intensity of the lights dimmed slightly as the source rolled into view on stage.
A giant water filled globe, nearly as tall as the Imuqi, settled into place as a few creaks issued from the stage floor. A tubular handle jutted out both sides from what looked like large gimbals and curved together in the lower front to form a small platform.
Four dull brown, two-foot long tentacles wrapped around the seat. A bulbous head protruded above the radial tentacles and dragged along the ground, encircled by a single band of photo-transceivers. The Vissou dropped to the floor with a squelch, grabbed the translator, and placed it on the platform.
Inside the globe, several groupings of intertwined Vissou, the source of the pulsating light show, synchronized patterned pulses that repeated from the lights on the five translators. When finished, each group fell back into individuals..
Rhetorical text interrupted Rosa’s fascination, “GROUP MENTALITIES! THE FEW BATTLE SURVIVORS WE CAPTURED DID NOT SEEM INTELLIGENT ENOUGH FOR VISSOU LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY. WE NEVER THOUGHT TO PLACE THEM TOGETHER FOR STUDY, OR IN WATER. MIGHT HAVE TURNED THE WAR EFFORT.”
“I’m so proud of my people,” Rosa thought, “We could have won against two or three races, but not all five cooperating.”
As Rosa looked deeper into the water, she noticed small fish swim frantically about as the occasional tentacle brought the snack into a gaping maw below the head sack.
“Looks more like a snow globe than a fish tank,” she thought, “and I’m still hungry, only now I’m craving sushi!” She felt chagrined as she had pictured Vissou shaped calamari.
The Sephians arrived by ones and twos over the next fifteen minutes and glided a few feet above the stage with their ribs expanded along the length of four-foot long cobra-like bodies. They landed nose up as strong-clawed rear legs took the brunt of their weight. Rosa congratulated herself on keeping her composure in the face of ten giant slithery, slimy, sneaky, shifty snakes.
“Let’s be fair,” she thought, “they probably aren’t really slimy. Maybe it's not their fault. All the other aliens are so damn alien it's hard to accept their reality. Sephians, on the other hand..." Such diplomatic thoughts dropped to the pit of her bowels as twelve feet of ophidiophobian nightmare swayed onto the stage.
Her head sat six feet above a widely splayed underbelly as if displaying her magnificence for all to see with jaws opened to exhibit three rows of wickedly curved fangs. Two of the four ropy appendages attached to the jaw reached up to wipe across cold, intense eyes that seemed to stare directly at Rosa.
She could not help but look away as an involuntary shudder quivered through her whole body. Thankfully, a beauteous chorus of melodic whistles restored her self-control. The Sephian Queen tested the translator to her satisfaction but still transfixed Rosa's attention.
Less than a minute had passed before the final assemblage arrived at the opposite side of the stage. Three nine-foot shapes few in and gently hovered inches above the floor. At low speed, the dragonfly style translucent wings reflected highlights of red that matched the stripe along the bottom of their bodies. The front segment of the insectoid bodies ended in a flexible, tapered cone while menacing pincers snapped at the rear. Three simple eyes sat atop each of the three segments and sprouted wire-like feelers between each.
The Dhosu suddenly flew a patrol to reconnoiter the entire building, beginning with the seated representatives. Despite their trepidation, the humans appreciated the grace and beauty of the flyers as the morning sunlight rainbowed against their wings in a cloud of soft color.
Seemingly satisfied but remaining vigilant, they returned to hover above their spot on the stage with a deep humming thrum. The apparent leader, a three segmented caterpillar nearly six feet long, unpretentiously approached a translator and began touching and stroking it. In response, the translator on Rosa's podium reached out the four articulated rods and stroked her hand.
She jerked back, did NOT squeal, but did say, "Shit!" which she heard echoed in tiny but perfect imitation by the horrid little human mouths in the other translators. She thought, "Shit! Was that my out loud voice?" Across her eye lenses, she read, "DON'T WORRY RESOLVETOR, THEY ALL SEEM TO BE IN SYNCHRONIZE/TEST MODE. WE ARE FAIRLY CERTAIN THEY ARE NOT TRANSLATING YET. WE ALL THINK YOU ARE DOING A FANTASTIC JOB AND HAVE OUR FULL CONFIDENCE.”
Rosa blinked twice and replied via virtual-steno, "Thanks, all, I guess I'm a little more keyed up than I let myself believe."
Two of the Dhosu flyers resumed hover mode, but the third, evidently bothered by something, slowly edged across the stage. It reached the top of the Vissou water globe when two of the smaller Sephian snakes uncoiled and jumped directly at the intruder. Even with lightning quick reactions, mouths agape and exposed row of tiny fangs, the Sephians stood no chance.
The Dhosu turned and canted on wing so quickly it appeared to have jumped to a new position. The front snout curved to aim and spat a softball sized gooey gob at one attacker, which burst into white-hot flame on contact that instantly turned its head to ash. Simultaneously, the rear pincers grabbed the other attacker while a two-foot long stinger stabbed out, mortally impaling it.
The stinger withdrew while the pincer cleanly snipped the serpentine body in two. One-half of the body fell onto the Vissou globe, where it flashed to steam on contact with an invisible barrier. The second fell to the stage and split to expose unfamiliar organs. Despite the burnt stench and putrid miasmatic innards, none of the aliens seemed to take notice as the Dhosu leisurely flew back to its posting.
Rosa thought, "Are we the only intelligence in all of creation with a sense of smell? Well, at least I'm not hungry anymore."
The Queen Sephian finally deigned to notice the mess when a trickle of gore pooled between her toes. She whistled a terse melody through her teeth and her court quickly but unceremoniously pushed the remains off the back of the stage. The humans had no way to know, but two fewer rivals for the Queen's attention actually raised the smaller serpents’ spirits.
The atmosphere within the building changed; an utter stillness that presages historical moments - events not accompanied by complete chaos anyway. The front, bottom edge of the immense bulk of the Imuqi rippled to push out another universal translator. It began to rumble, and each of the other translators whistled, tapped, flashed, vibrated, and spoke. Speakers throughout the building amplified and repeated the words from the tiny human mouth that rested on Rosa's podium.
As a historian, Rosa had first authored The Plan. As Prime Resolvetor, she then authorized The Plan. Nevertheless, as Rosa Digornio, Mr. and Mrs. Digornio's little girl, she alone felt the burden of implementation of The Plan. Humanity’s social evolution had reached a peak where every citizen accepted both personal and social responsibility. Every citizen cast aside both ego and fear, and everyone accepted that ultimate authority and ultimate responsibility went hand in hand. Rosa was, by consensus, the one to hold that authority.
Fate chose her for that trust, but she felt the weight of the entire race on her shoulders. Not just those on Earth, but also the bulk of humanity that was scattered among the stars. She blinked her right eye twice, blinked her left eye twice, then carefully virtual-steno'd the phrase "Scorched Earth". A flashing red timer appeared in Rosa's upper left field of vision: "16:00"; "15:59"; “15:58"...
"BE IT RESOLVED," pronounced the horrid little mouth on her podium, "Be it resolved by the Co-op of Peoples, in order to maintain tradition and prosperity within our galaxy, that the race known as humans is henceforth declared invalid and inconvenient, to be scattered and husbanded by the wiser races of creation. Your planet, outpost, territories, possessions, and peoples to be parceled as follows."
The Vissou collective flashed in unison while the translator mouth continued, "Be it resolved; all bodies of water of salt shall be the domain of the Vissou, to five kilometers inland, including all islands, peninsulas and measures of land less than five kilometers in size, to be ruled, w
ithout interference, by our blessed Elder Prophets."
The Queen Sephian whistled a simple tune in her turn, "Be it resolved, all areas of land receiving less than ten inches moisture annually shall be the domain of Sephia, to be ruled as I see fit."
The Dhosu leader stroked the translator to relate, "Be it resolved; all mountains and hills shall be ours, as well as unimpeded access to deposits of coal wherever they may reside. These territories shall be parceled to proven Dhosu breeders for the asking, regardless of Clan or Color, subject to a twenty-five percent levy of said coal."
The Nuplar remained absolutely still, but the translator spoke, "Be it resolved; all else on planet ours, all else off planet ours."
The Imuqi again spoke, "Be it resolved, as Adjudicator of Imuqi, I relinquish rights to all the aforementioned in exchange for exclusive rights to the humans’ DNA, in vitro or in carne, to exploit, experiment or extinguish as we see fit. Prime Resolvetor, as the sole voice for your peoples, in order to end this war and its atrocities, and in hope to preserve somewhat of your legacies, you must now accept by pronouncing the words 'So be it resolved!' "
Rosa was sure she could feel the eyes of her world upon her. The timer, which only she saw, changed to 1:59. She could choose just to walk away, or sit down and cry as she felt like doing. Yet, some deep impish impulse driven perhaps by her ancient Sicilian blood convinced her otherwise.
She stood straight and calm and asked, "May I make a brief statement, for the posterity of all peoples?
She could see the various translators speaking between the aliens, quieting as the little mouth in front of her said, "Stay brief, and be certain to end with the legality, 'So be it resolved!'"
Rosa thought, "Be It Resolved! I am the Prime Resolvetor of humankind, you gargantuan pus bag! I'll show you Resolved."
The timer dropped to 01:13, but she waited three more seconds.