Those slabs seem very innocent. I mean they are the accumulated history and knowledge of modern man, at least men of the 21st century. How could Rei have known that his gesture of love would be putting Rome's life at extreme risk. But that's the whole plot of The Ark Lords so I appreciate him doing it.
You ask what was in the leather-bound manuscript? I'll tell you tomorrow.
Entry 4-237: August 20, 2016
Trabunel's journal
The Vuduri of the 35th century are mind-connected and they, along with the Overmind, ruled the Earth with an iron fist. The mind-deaf, called mandasurte, represented a much smaller faction of the population and were considered by the Vuduri to be second class citizens. When MASAL took over Deucado and made it a prison planet, his goal was to steal any influential mandasurte to make them less of a threat to his plans. He had them kidnapped and taken to that planet against their will. They were placed in primitive conditions and came to be known as the Ibbrassati or the Oppressed.
Trabunel was one of the first on the planet and he assumed a leadership role. He kept meticulous notes on how the Vuduri mistreated his people and after Rome's Revolution, Trabunel and the other Ibbrassati were free to roam the planet or even return to Earth. However their struggle under difficult conditions was an important lesson to be learned and perfect for Rome to memorialize in her new library:
“Oh wow,” Rome said, mimicking her husband although the expression had long since lost its novelty on her. Rome picked up the manuscript and flipped through it. It contained pages and pages of handwritten notes. “What is this?” she asked.
“That is a copy of Trabunel’s notes,” Rei answered. “He’d been keeping them ever since he arrived here. It’s a complete record of what the Ibbrassati went through since their capture. He hand-copied them into that journal. It was a little uncomfortable picking it up, though.”
“Why?” Rome asked.
“Because Trabunel was storing the copy at the home of the former Nayor of the Ibbrassati village. Before they started building Ibbra City.”
“You had a run-in with him, I know.”
“Not just a run-in,” Rei said. “He called me crazy. His buddies tackled me and locked me in a prison cell or whatever. MINIMCOM had to take out a wall so I could escape.”
Rome searched her husband’s face. “Was the Nayor sorry?” she asked sympathetically.
“I guess,” Rei said, shrugging. “He was pretty embarrassed. Neither of us wanted to be in the other’s company, that’s for sure.”
“Even so, this is a wonderful surprise,” Rome said, her eyes brimming with emotion. “All of it. I have so much to start with.” Rome reached up to kiss Rei again. “Thank you, mau emir.”
“Oh, but we’re not done yet,” Rei said, smiling. He looked down at Aason. “Give Mommy the card, buddy,” he said.
Aason reached up and handed Rome a piece of parchment with drawings on it.
“What is this?” Rome asked, tilting her head back and forth.
“It’s a map to the entrance of the Deucadon underground city. Melloy is going to meet you there in one week and take you down to see Bukky. They are going to show you their archives.”
Rome just shook her head. “Where do I begin,” she said, almost in a whisper. “This is overwhelming.” She looked back at the stack of black slabs and the notebook. “Mau emir, you have given me so much to do. But it is exactly what I asked for.”
Rei laughed. “Well, you and Aason go wash up. I’m cooking tonight. I got another package of bison beef from your mother. Tonight you are going to have your first hamburger without blowing the place up!”
You will remember that the first time Rome attempted to make hamburgers, she almost blew up their home. So Rei's offer had special meaning to her. It is a good thing she is a tough cookie.
Entry 4-238: August 21, 2016
The Underground City, Part 1
When I first wrote Rome's Revolution, back when it was the original long-form entitled VIRUS 5, I had a fairly lengthy scene that took place way under the earth. Melloy and his buddies had taken Rei down to their underground city to meet Bukky, their leader, to help him formulate plans on how to take back some measure of control of his fate and of Rome's fate.
Unfortunately, while it was interesting, it didn't really advance the plot as much as I would have liked. During the process of collapsing the three books down to one, this was one of many scenes had to go by the wayside. The description of the vista that greeted Rei ended up on the "cutting room floor" but I really, really wanted to put it out there at some point so people could think about the idea of an entire civilization developing miles below. When the idea came to me for The Ark Lords, I knew I had a golden opportunity to not only resurrect those original descriptions but to expand on them giving the Deucadons a richness and history that rivaled our own.
Over the next few days, I'll give you the experience from Rome's perspective, a kind of "you are there" voyage of discovery of a people who showed unbelievable resilience and fortitude under the most difficult conditions. Here is just a teaser to hold you over until tomorrow that took place one week after Rei had presented her with the data slabs:
Rome stood at the base of the stone steps and stared upward, jaw agape, at the vast space in front of her. She had dutifully followed Melloy down the formerly secret entrance to the Deucadon’s underground city through an intricate series of stairwells, tunnels and ramps, not really knowing what to expect. They were so far down it had made her ears pop. But now that they reached the bottom, the sheer size of the cave in front of her was almost frightening.
Tomorrow, we'll tag along and see what Rome sees and figure out how the whole puzzle fits together.
Entry 4-239: August 22, 2016
The Underground City, Part 2
The Deucadon underground city is a fascinating place. Over the next few days we will cover all the concepts required to construct such a fabulous vista as presented in The Ark Lords. Today’s article is about the need to have a sustainable and non-polluting method of transportation.
Rome stood at the base of the stone steps and stared upward, jaw agape, at the vast space in front of her. She had dutifully followed Melloy down the formerly secret entrance to the Deucadon’s underground city through an intricate series of stairwells, tunnels and ramps, not really knowing what to expect. They were so far down it had made her ears pop. But now that they reached the bottom, the sheer size of the cave in front of her was almost frightening.
She was so caught up in trying to fathom what she was seeing that she did not hear the footsteps rapidly approaching her.
“Impressed?” came a voice from beside her.
“Bukky?” Rome offered. She turned and hugged the bearded leader of the Deucadons who had helped her stop the war with the Essessoni before it started.
“This is gigantic,” she said. “I always thought The Cathedral in the Ibbrassati hidden enclave was large. But compared to this, that was a tiny depression. How did you find it?”
“This?” Bukky asked, indicating the cavern in front of them. He and Melloy laughed. “This is what we call Old Town, we have nawt lived here in well over a hundr’d years. We outgrew it long ago.”
“Where did you move to?” Rome asked, confused.
“I’ll a’show ya,” Bukky replied. “But do nawt expect to find anyone at home. It’s still amazin’ to me how quickly everyone has fled to the surface. Soon this will be nothin’ but a museum.”
He pointed to a small cart which was not much more than four wheels and two benches. The wheels themselves were of a fascinating design. Their outer rims were extremely thin metal and connected to the axle with spokes made of gently curved metal strips. Quite pretty in a way. The weight of the cart made them flex slightly which indicated they also acted as shock absorbers. Attached to the back of the cart was a metallic box emitting a faint whirring noise.
Rome took her se
at next to Bukky on the front bench. He pulled back on a small lever and the cart started moving forward.
“Wait,” Rome blurted out. Bukky stopped the cart. Rome turned back to Melloy. “Aren’t you coming with us?”
“I am goin’ to wait here,” Melloy said somewhat mysteriously. “Just keepin’ an eye on things and what nawt.”
“OK,” Rome said, shrugging. She turned back around and Bukky reengaged the clutch. They started moving again. “What type of engine do you use?” Rome asked, searching around the floor of the vehicle.
“It is flywheel powered,” Bukky answered. “When we were trapped down here, we had to find sources of energy and propulsion that did nawt contaminate the environment.”
You can see there is a little bit of hesitation with leaving Bukky unguarded which stems from the Vuduri behavior from years before. Tomorrow, Sun Valley.
Entry 4-240: August 23, 2016
The Underground City, Part 3
The Deucadon underground city is a fascinating place. Over the next few days we will cover all the concepts required to construct such a fabulous vista as presented in The Ark Lords. Today’s article is about the need for people to see and grow crops. Thus the Deucadons built Sun Valley.
Rome thought back to her father’s cave which smelled of smoke, metal, must and sweat. This place was completely different. It smelled clean, fresh and inviting. This was not just a shelter, it was an entire city, constructed out of living rock.
As they drove along the rough paths of Old Town, Bukky pointed to the various structures built into the side of the cave and described their former function. From the look of it, it reminded Rome of Rei’s description of the Anasazi Indian villages at Chaco Canyon. On closer examination, it seemed more like an inside out version of a Pueblo Indian settlement built into the side of a mountain. The sheer size of it made it almost impossible to grasp the effort it had taken to build it. The city was built totally vertically, apartments and working space integrated into the rock face, reaching straight up for almost 400 feet.
What struck Rome was the unevenness of the city. These people had been living on the planet for 500 years. At this point, she would have expected their underground city to be more polished, perhaps better planned. This section was rough and although it was massive, it had a temporary feel to it. Here and there were some artistic touches. Many of the surfaces were chiseled in a tasteful manner with murals, swirls and other patterns. But overall, it just looked haphazard.
As they passed by the center tower, Bukky pointed up.
“This was their first attempt at permanent lightin’,” he said. “Tis powered by the nuclear rods they were able to salvage from the sarcophagi that brought our forefathers. The thorium isotope has a half life of more than 7000 years but even so, we found a better solution.”
Just ahead was a large hemi-cylindrical tunnel that must have been 100 feet across, maybe 50 feet tall. They entered the tunnel and plunged into semi-darkness. At first, Rome thought she might have to activate her irods but up ahead were dim globes of light, evenly spaced. They drove down the center of the tunnel, picking up speed as they went along. They traveled on for several minutes until a brightly lit exit appeared. They emerged from the tunnel and what Rome saw next was completely beyond imagination let alone description. It was an entire underground world, stretching out almost to the horizon. In front of them, mounted on a titanic stalk, was a light so bright, Rome’s internal second iris had to dampen down a bit. Beyond that was another miniature star and beyond that, a third. The spectrum of all three mini-suns was yellow-white, more like Sol that the orange-white of Tau Ceti. Filling in the valley, Rome saw farmlands and lakes even clumps of forest. If she had not seen the domed ceiling, she would never have believed she was kilometers below the surface of Deucado. The ceiling was so far above them, easily half a kilometer up, there were clouds gathered in places. The road in front of them stretched out as far as the eye could see.
The first part of this second alludes to my original vision of the underground city. But when given the opportunity to revisit it, I decided to think about it more and turn it into a real place. So SunValley became the Deucadon’s true home. Tomorrow, how the Deucadons produced non-polluting and sustainable energy without carbon emissions.
Entry 4-241: August 24, 2016
The Underground City, Part 4
The Deucadon underground city is a fascinating place. Over the next few days we will cover all the concepts required to construct such a fabulous vista as presented in The Ark Lords. Today’s article is about the “real” home of the Deucadons and what it took to make it a believable place to live well over a mile underground.
“How…how…” she stuttered. “How did you build all of this? This is beyond incredible!”
Bukky chuckled to himself as he steered the car down a sharp incline.
“We had hundr’ds of years. This was our lives,” he said. “Would ya expect anythin’ less?”
“Where do you get your power?” Rome asked, pointing at the mini-suns illuminating the landscape.
“Geothermal concentrators,” answered Bukky. “Our forefathers tapped into a pocket of magma which gave us unlimited power for centuries.”
Rome tried to imagine the dynamics of this planet. The forces that could create such huge caves was beyond her ability to figure out. Bukky turned left at the bottom of the road and began driving along the base of the walls of the cavern. Rome could see that all of the places where people would live or work were built into the walls. It was far more organized than Old Town. Now it made sense to her. The center section of the immense cavern was strictly devoted to living plants and trees. Why build structures when you could just dig them?
Bukky pulled up into a circular driveway in front of a building which actually resembled a modern Vuduri design. He brought the cart to a stop.
“This was our town hall, our municipal center,” said Bukky. Rome followed the front upwards with her eyes. She could see no less than thirty stories, counting by the rows of glass-covered windows carved into the side. Rome seemed a bit wobbly. Bukky put his hand gently on her shoulder to steady her.
“Let’s go in,” Bukky suggested, somewhat amused.
Rome just stood there, staring up. She had trouble looking away from the sheer magnitude of what she was seeing.
“OK,” she said, finally, forcing herself to look down.
They entered the building and Bukky led Rome through a number of hallways, carved out of living rock, until they came to double set of doors. The air temperature was pleasantly cool. He opened the doors and the lights came on automatically. Bukky waved his hands indicating the rows upon rows of shelving that filled the room. Books of all sizes, shapes and thickness were stacked on the shelves.
“This was our library,” Bukky said. “I suppose, for the time bein’, it still is. Come,” he said.
They walked down the corridor to the left, passing aisle after aisle of shelves. Bukky described the organization of the library, pointing out the various sections; fiction in the front, science in the middle and historical records in the back.
You will note the lights went on automatically so as to not waste energy. You will also note that the Deucadons' library is very similar to what we have today, that is, shelves and shelves of “real books.” Tomorrow, Bukky takes Rome to a private place to reflect on the Deucadons' difficult history.
Entry 4-242: August 25, 2016
The Underground City, Part 5
The Deucadon underground city is a fascinating place. Over the next few days we will cover all the concepts required to construct such a fabulous vista as presented in The Ark Lords. Today’s article sets up Bukky’s revelation of a startling, possibly deadly fact.
“We’ve had printin’ presses for hundr’ds of years,” Bukky said, “but we switched to silicon-based, holographic storage over a century ago. This library’s been preserved
for historical reasons.Sometimes people want to hold a real book in their hands instead of readin’ from an electronic device.”
Every so often, they would pass an open space with tables and chairs but Rome didn’t even see them. Her mind was racing. The thought of extracting information from these volumes by hand seemed like a herculean task. She remained silent until they reached the end of the rows of shelves. In front of them was a metal door.
“What is in there?” Rome asked, pulling up short.
“That is where we keep the very first manuscripts,” Bukky replied. “It’s climate-controlled to preserve the paper pages and bindin’s.” He reached down and turned the handle. They entered a small, square room with a single stone table in the middle, surrounded by four wooden chairs. On each of the walls were shelves holding crudely bound books and journals. The acoustics of the room dampened all sound. To Rome, it seemed eerily quiet.
“Have a seat,” Bukky said after closing the door behind him. Rome sat down and Bukky sat down opposite her. He reached for a carafe that was sitting on the table nestled between two glasses. He poured them each a glass of water which Rome gratefully received.
“Bukky,” she said after taking a sip. “It’s like my mind has stopped working. Your city. Your lives. I had no idea. It is truly astounding. It will take me a while to get used to it.”
Bukky nodded and smiled. “Naw matter how impressive it is, we always wanted to return to the surface. We just could nawt do it until it was safe. We have ya to thank for our freedom. We feel like we are just now startin’ to live our lives the way we were supposed to.”
After taking another sip of water, Rome spoke. “I thought I would come down here and collect some notes or some books from you, about your history, but all of this?” She turned in her seat to look back at the door leading to the main library then she turned back to face Bukky. “Where do I even start?”