So here we are. We have a large throng of people, half of them clearly distinguishable as Vuduri based upon their dress. The stage is set. It is time for Rome to speak to the people of Earth.
Entry 4-128: May 3, 2016
People of Earth
Ever since I started writing, not just Rome's Revolution but all my other books as well, I have always wanted the scenes within to not only swell with imagery but also stir the soul with their import. So when it finally came time to write the "People of Earth" scene, I was really excited because what could be more dramatic that a tiny woman addressing the whole world, informing them of a diabolical plot to exterminate half the species?
After Rome had gotten over her bout of stage fright, she walked up to the mic to begin her speech. However, it was rudely interrupted before she even got all worked up:
“People of Earth,” she said in Vuduri. Her words boomed over the crowd using MINIMCOM’s loudspeaker and rippled through the Overmind, compliments of Ursay. Simultaneously, MINIMCOM distributed her words electronically around the globe for all the mandasurte to hear. OMCOM complemented the efforts ensuring that every human on the planet heard Rome clearly.
Rome continued, “I come here today to tell you that MASAL, the greatest evil the world has ever known, is finally gone for good.”
The crowd gasped at the very name MASAL.
Rome persevered. “We Vuduri always thought that we started the war to free ourselves from MASAL. That he was destroyed. This was not true. MASAL started the war…”
“No, it cannot be,” came a voice shouted from below.
“Yes,” Rome said, “MASAL started the war to kill off as many people as possible. He was not destroyed. He took refuge under the volcano that erupted this morning. But now, finally, he is gone. He was plotting to exterminate not only the mandasurte but also take over the whole of the Overmind by weeding out any who might have been capable of independent thought. He wanted to shape mankind in his own image and use us as his slaves for his own goals.”
Rome paused to let her words sink in, and then she spoke up again. “But now we are free. Free to pursue our own path, our own…”
Suddenly, she stopped. Rome put her hands up to her head.
“What is it?” Rei asked.
“I, I, do not know,” Rome said. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she started to pass out. Rei grabbed her and prevented her from hitting her head on the ground but there was nothing he could do for Ursay who keeled over along with half the people gathered below.
Get it? Half the people gathered below? I couldn't be more obvious if I tried. Remember, Rome was reconnected by Pegus back on Deucado so she had an active set of PPT transducers in her head as well.
This was the end of mankind, or at the very least, the end of the Earth. Too bad Rome didn't get to finish her speech but I guess they had bigger things to worry about.
Entry 4-129: May 4, 2016
Big trouble
Let's review. In the 35th century, there are these gigantic creatures, living Dyson spheres called Stareaters. They eat stars! They are so big and heavy that they suck in all planetary matter, inhabited or not, on their way to their next meal. So if they come to your solar system, you are dead.
Our heroes never "solved" the problem. At the end of Part 1 of Rome's Revolution, Rome and Rei just ran away. While the VIRUS units might be a proper defense, you have to know where and when the Stareaters will strike in order to deploy them. Further, the geniuses running the Earth destroyed the samples of the VIRUS units so the Earth is pretty much unprotected.
Even worse, these creatures communicate with one another using gravitic modulation which is so powerful, it causes anyone with PPT transceivers to immediately pass out. And yesterday, that is exactly what happened. All the Vuduri with active transceivers fell over unconscious, including Rome. What to do? There is no way to fight these titanic creatures.
I must admit, this was a little bit easier to solve than how I saved Rei's life when Rome tried to shoot him. The answer came to me as I was constructing Part 3. Once I had the solution in place, I tried to think of some imagery to make the moment more dramatic since the danger from above was still millions of miles away.
What did I come up with? He-man and the Masters of the Universe to the rescue!
Entry 4-130: May 5, 2016
Just talk to them
Rome is lying on the ground. All the Vuduri have passed out. At the very least, there is one Stareater bearing down upon the Solar System. Things are looking grim for the residents of 35th century Earth. However, the book is called Rome's Revolution for a reason. Rome will find a way. But she has to wake up first. Here is how the whole situation went down:
“Rome, Rome,” Rei said desperately, cradling his wife. “Can you hear me?”
OMCOM’s livetar kneeled down next to them.
“What is it” Rei asked the livetar. “Do you know?”
“Asdrale Cimatir,” said OMCOM. “It approaches. It has overloaded their minds.”
“Oh god,” Rei said. He turned to MINIMCOM’s black livetar. “Tell me you deployed the VIRUS units,” he said desperately.
“I have not had the chance yet,” said MINIMCOM helplessly. “I thought I would have time later.”
“We’re all dead,” Rei wailed. “We can’t… Hey!” He snapped his fingers. “Here,” he said, pulling out the half-empty pouch from his pocket. “Here, MINIMCOM,” Rei said. “Can you fly these up there and dump them on the Stareater?”
“It would not matter,” OMCOM said. “Even if he could do so, it would be too late. Even if you could kill the Stareater, its mass would still sweep through the Solar System and destroy the Earth and the Sun.”
“So we can’t stop it?” Rei said. “There’s no way…”
“There is a way,” said OMCOM. He placed his finger on Rome’s forehead and moved it across, leaving a white band in its place. As soon as the white band fully encircled her head, Rome’s eyelids fluttered then opened.
“What, what is it?” she asked in a whisper. “What happened to me?”
“You passed out,” said OMCOM.
“Why did I pass out?” asked Rome.
“The Stareater,” Rei croaked. “It’s here.”
“Oh no,” Rome said, panicked. “Where is my son?”
“Aason is fine,” OMCOM said. “But we need you to act and act quickly. Rome, you must speak to it. You must speak to Asdrale Cimatir. You must tell it you are here.”
“What?” Rei shouted. “What are you talking about?”
“When we killed the Stareater on Tabit, I heard it call out just prior to its death. That means they are intelligent. They need to know that humans live here.”
“How?” Rome asked as she struggled to stand. “How do we tell it?”
“Through our son, Aason,” said OMCOM. “He has PPT transceivers unencumbered by connection to the Overmind. We must all use his mind to send out a signal. It will be enough. The Asdrale Cimatir will hear.”
Tomorrow, as promised, the scene that draws its inspiration "by the power of Greyskull!"
Entry 4-131: May 6, 2016
By the power of Greyskull
Yesterday, we saw OMCOM tell Rome that the only solution to preventing the destruction of the Earth was to inform the Stareaters that we are here. Think Horton Hears a Who. But how would they do this? Rome's PPT transducers have been shut down using a T-suppressor. The rest of her family is not connected. Aason is the only one who has the ability to connect mind-to-mind without passing out. So I stole a scene right out of He-man and the Masters of the Universe. This is the image I was going for:
OMCOM said, “When we killed the Stareater on Tabit, I heard it call out just prior to its death. That means they are intelligent. They need to know that humans live here.”
“How?” Rome asked as she struggled to stand. “How do we tell it?”
“Through your son, Aa
son,” said OMCOM. “He has PPT transceivers unencumbered by connection to the Overmind. We must all use his mind to send out a signal. It will be enough. The Asdrale Cimatir will hear.”
Aason’s complex genetics made him immune to the disruption. He had remained conscious the whole time. He forced his little mouth into a smile.
“Yes, Mother,” he thought, penetrating her white band. “Use me. I will save you.”
Rome reached back and took her son from Binoda. She looked at Rei who nodded, then she lifted Aason high over her head.
OMCOM touched Rei’s forehead and he caught the slightest hint of the second sight he experienced during the brief time he was connected to the Onsiras. He put his hands on his son’s tiny hips and helped Rome hold him aloft. OMCOM’s pure white livetar stood close on their left, draping his arm over Rome’s shoulders. MINIMCOM’s livetar came up to them on the right and draped his arm over Rei’s shoulders. Rome closed her eyes and put herself in Aason’s mind. She was pleasantly surprised to see Rei’s presence there as well. OMCOM reinforced their link using his gravitic modulation and to a lesser extent MINIMCOM joined in using his EM link. All together, they channeled through Aason’s mind and all said at once, “WE ARE HERE!”
What do you think? Did I succeed? The infant held to the sky? Aason is quite the little hero, right? Let's find out if it worked...
Entry 4-132: May 7, 2016
Horton Hears a Who
In the ultimate climax of Rome's Revolution, the assorted members of Rome's family have just piggy-backed using Aason's gravitic transceivers to call out to the Stareater. Will it work?
Of course it works. Otherwise everybody on Earth, including our heroes, would die and that would be the end of the series. I couldn't have that. I mean, I had sequels to write! So I took a page out of Horton Hears a Who when the denizens of Whoville got together to shout all at once, loud enough that the kangaroo and the monkeys who were threatening to destroy the Whos finally heard. My inspiration was so strong that I even named this particular Stareater HIRDINHARSAWAY which is just a lightly encoded version of "Horton Hears a Who." However, in Horton Hears a Who, they just needed to make noise. In Rome's Revolution, they actually had to communicate with the beast. I was very careful to make sure that the Stareater knew no English or Vuduri. If you watch its speech pattern develop, you will see it never uses a word that it didn't hear first:
All together, they channeled through Aason’s mind and all said at once, “WE ARE HERE!”
“WE HERE?” replied the Stareater, using their words. The intensity of its voice was incredibly stunning. It was almost a physical presence. It was so stunning, in fact, that it made the group stagger backwards slightly.
“Yes, we are here. Please do not kill us,” replied the gathered mass of people and livetars.
“NOT KILL HERE,” was its answer. The Stareater was rearranging the few words they offered into its own sentences.
“Can you speak on your own?” Rome asked. “Can you tell us why you are here?”
“WHY WE HERE. NOT KILL YOU. SPEAK YOU,” replied the Stareater.
“Yes, speak to us,” Rome said. “Your kind, they eat stars. Please do not eat this star. We need it. We want to live.”
“YOU NEED STAR. WE SPEAK TO YOU. WE DO NOT KILL YOU,” said the Stareater.
“So you understand?” asked Rome.
“YES, WE UNDERSTAND. WE DO NOT EAT STAR SO YOU CAN LIVE.”
“Allow me to upload a working dictionary of their language,” interrupted OMCOM. “It will facilitate communication.”
“YES, YOU FACILITATE COMMUNICATION,” replied the Stareater.
OMCOM sent a concentrated burst of information representing the underlying grammatical basis as well as a complete dictionary of both Vuduri and English. The Stareater absorbed it instantly.
“HELLO,” replied the Stareater quite casually. “I WAS BEGINNING TO THINK THERE WAS NO ONE IN THIS STAR SYSTEM. I RECEIVED NO REPLIES TO MY INQUIRIES.”
“Yes, there are many, many of us here,” Rome replied. “So you will not destroy us?”
“I WOULD NOT THINK OF IT,” replied the Stareater, “QUITE THE CONTRARY. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INTRUSION. BECAUSE THERE WAS NO RESPONSE, I THOUGHT IT WAS ALL CLEAR. THERE IS CERTAINLY NO HURRY.”
Phew! They did it. They saved the Earth. Now that the Stareater speaks English, they find out it is quite civilized, even courteous. But what did he/she mean by no hurry?
More tomorrow.
Entry 4-133: May 8, 2016
Why eat stars?
When I first started writing Rome's Revolution, I had no idea that the Stareaters were intelligent. I just thought of them as big, bad beasts from a nearby Seyfert Galaxy who were hungry. However, once I decided to bring them back, I didn't want to just have mankind locked into eternally killing them. They are quite intelligent and civilized. So, as we discovered yesterday, all you have to do is talk to them and they'll leave you alone. But we still have the fundamental question: why eat stars in the first place? I stumbled across an article a while back that said that supernovas might interact with dark energy and that they might be responsible for the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. That sounded good enough to me. So here is HIRDINHARSAWAY's explanation:
“WE ARE IN NO HURRY TO ABSORB THIS YELLOW STAR BEFORE IT GOES NOVA,” replied the Stareater. “MY GROUP HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO POLICE THIS GALAXY.”
“Police it from what?” Rei asked. Aason relayed the message.
“I JUST EXPLAINED THAT. WE ABSORB STARS BEFORE THEY GO NOVA. THIS HAS BEEN OUR MISSION SINCE WE WERE CREATED.
“Why?” Rome asked. Her thoughts were echoed by several of the communicants.
“IT IS OUR DUTY TO HALT THE EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSE,” continued the Stareater in a slightly diminished tone. “WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO ACHIEVE A COSMIC STEADY STATE. ONE OF THE WAYS WE DO THIS IS BY DETERMINING WHICH STARS WILL EXPLODE AND WE INGEST THEM BEFORE THAT HAPPENS. NOW THAT YOU HAVE PROVIDED ME A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR LANGUAGE, I CAN EXPLAIN USING YOUR TERMINOLOGY. THERE IS A FORCE THAT YOUR SPECIES CALLS DARK ENERGY THAT AMPLIFIES THE ENERGY RELEASED BY NOVAE AND ACCELERATES EXPANSION OF THE GALAXY. THIS IS WHAT WE TRY AND PREVENT. WE MUST BE ESPECIALLY VIGILANT SHOULD A STAR GO SUPERNOVA BUT THAT IS NOT AN ISSUE HERE.”
“Even if this were true, we kind of need this star,” Rei said. “We kind of need all of the stars where we live.”
“IT IS NOT OUR INTENT TO EXTINGUISH INTELLIGENT LIFE,” said the Stareater somewhat hurt. “WE HAVE RULES. WE ARE REQUIRED TO DETERMINE IF THERE IS INTELLIGENCE WITHIN A STAR SYSTEM BEFORE ELIMINATING IT. IF WE FIND NO LIFE, WE ABSORB THE STAR EARLY IN ITS CYCLE. THIS ALLOWS US TO BE PROACTIVE.”
Quite sophisticated, huh? But they still have eat Sol some day. No matter when it happens, it won't be good. Let's see how to prevent that.
Entry 4-134: May 9, 2016
Balathunazar
Balathunazar was the name of the Stareater that was bearing down on Tabit when Rome and Rei killed it using the VIRUS units near the end of Part 1 of Rome's Revolution. The Stareater's mass also provided the raw material for the entity that eventually became known as Planet OMCOM.
While HIRDINHARSAWAY was being rather cordial, it is possible that when he/she found out that Balathunazar was killed by Rome and Rei, he/she might be a little ticked off. Let's see:
“IT IS NOT OUR INTENT TO EXTINGUISH INTELLIGENT LIFE,” said the Stareater somewhat hurt. “WE HAVE RULES. WE ARE REQUIRED TO DETERMINE IF THERE IS INTELLIGENCE WITHIN A STAR SYSTEM BEFORE ELIMINATING IT. IF WE FIND NO LIFE, WE ABSORB THE STAR EARLY IN ITS CYCLE. THIS ALLOWS US TO BE PROACTIVE.”
“Tabit too?” OMCOM asked. “Is that why you were going to destroy it?”
“THE F6V STAR YOU CALL PI-THREE ORIONIS. YES. THAT STAR WAS A POTENTIAL SUPERNOVA.”
“In that case, please accept my deepest apologies. We killed one of your species on Tabit,” OMCOM said. “I was too hasty.
I did not realize at the time that you were alive.”
“SO THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED TO BALATHUNAZAR,” mused the Stareater. “HE WAS SUPPOSED TO MAKE EVERY EFFORT AND CALL OUT TO MAKE SURE THERE WERE NO SENTIENT SPECIES ABOUT BEFORE ABSORBING THAT STAR. HE WAS ALWAYS VERY IMPULSIVE. HE OBVIOUSLY DID NOT LISTEN VERY WELL.”
“I think he did,” said Rome sadly. “But we were not able to answer.”
“MISTAKES HAPPEN,” replied the Stareater. “I DETECT NO MALICE ON YOUR PART, ONLY SELF-DEFENSE. WE HAVE RECENTLY COME TO SUSPECT THERE MIGHT BE A SENTIENT RACE IN THIS SPUR. WE WERE ABLE TO DETECT A TEMPORAL FLUCTUATION THAT EXCEEDED BACKGROUND NOISE. BUT AT EACH STAR SYSTEM, WE COULD NOT FIND ANY CONCRETE EVIDENCE OF INTELLIGENCE. THAT IS WHY I CAME HERE. THIS SEEMED TO BE THE EPICENTER OF THE FLUCTUATIONS. I AM GLAD YOU SPOKE TO ME WHEN YOU DID.”
Nope, he/she's not too mad. Do you notice that I keep referring to the Stareater as he/she? That's because they are asexual and reproduce by budding. So all Stareaters are both male and female or neither. I guess I could call it it. I'll get back to you on that one.
Entry 4-135: May 10, 2016
Where humans dwell - 1
Now that Rome and Rei have established a concord with the Stareaters near the end of Rome's Revolution, they need a way to warn other Stareaters to steer clear of where humans dwell. They cannot depend upon gravitic communication because humans, or at least Vuduri, pass out whenever the Stareaters come close. OMCOM raises the issue to HIRDINHARSAWAY:
“I AM GLAD YOU SPOKE TO ME WHEN YOU DID.”
As are we,” Rome said. “Do you have a name?”
“YOU MAY CALL ME HIRDINHARSAWAY,” the Stareater replied.
“Pleased to meet you,” said Rome. “My name is Rome and this is my husband, Rei, my son Aason and our two friends, OMCOM and MINIMCOM.”