“So what does that translate into?” Rei asked MINIMCOM.
“Assuming you want to arrive somewhat ahead of this person, figure on a window of 21 days.”
“Hell, that’s not enough time,” Rei said in disgust. “MINIMCOM, how fast can you get us there?”
“Assuming optimal load... Accounting for trajectory…” The spacecraft/computer trailed off.
“You’re stalling, MINIMCOM.” Rei said angrily, “How long?”
“4.34 days,” MINIMCOM said dramatically. “I can get there in just over four days.”
Rome gasped. “MINIMCOM, is this a joke?” she asked. “How is this possible?”
“It is not a joke,” replied MINIMCOM matter-of-factly. “I do not fly the way they do. I now employ a positive feedback cycle to force-project a continuous series of traveling PPT tunnels at hyper- speed. I stack one tunnel after the other so that the net effect is an uninterrupted tunnel. I can maintain an effective velocity of very close to 1000c for the duration.”
Everyone held still in stunned silence.
“There is one small problem, however,” MINIMCOM added.
“What?” Rome asked.
“With all of OMCOM’s memron units and my recent, call them additions, there is no real room in my cargo hold for standard living quarters. No matter who traveled with me, it would be a very uncomfortable ride and four days is a long time for humans to travel in such discomfort.”
“What about the flying house?” Rei asked. “Could you tow it?”
“I could do that,” MINIMCOM said. “However, it would decrease my overall speed.”
“How much?” Rei asked, irritated.
“It would roughly double our travel time. Roughly eight days.”
Yup. The new era had begun. No one on Earth and certainly not Sussen could have envisioned such a quantum leap forward in transportation.
Entry 3-247: August 30, 2015
Why fear the Essessoni?
Once Rome and Rei leave for Earth, the people of Deucado are helpless regarding their eventual fate. We got one tiny peek into their world as our intrepid couple begin making preparations to depart. This is at the beginning of Part 3 of Rome's Revolution.
Pegus, the leader of the Vuduri on Deucado has a brief conversation with Captain Keller, the leader of the Essessoni and later revealed to be in charge of the Darwin mission. During that conversation, Pegus explains why the Vuduri were right to fear the Essessoni. Not just because from that group gave birth to The Ark Lords but rather something far more fundamental:
Pegus spoke. “Again, you may discount it but let me give you one final example as to why we fear the Erklirte. Look at Rei Bierak. To you he is quite ordinary. You even have a bit of disdain for him. But look at what he did. A single man, a single Essessoni, figured out how to best the Stareater, he engineered getting your damaged ship here, a 20 light year trip, in under a year. When we attacked him, our intent was to destroy your Ark. He figured out how to save you in a way that was never done before. He transported the entire 7000 tonne Ark down to the planet’s surface through a PPT tunnel. We thought that was impossible. He saved you using only his ingenuity.”
“Hmm,” Keller said in begrudging admiration.
“And his wife!” Pegus continued. “Look at what she has accomplished simply by spending time with him. She took on the Overmind here in a duel of logic. And she won! To think that this was a former Vuduri who had no mind of her own just one year ago.”
“Hmm,” Keller muttered again.
“No,” said Pegus, turning back to face the window. He lowered his voice. “We have every reason to fear you. You come from a line of people who are used to thinking for themselves. We Vuduri have long since surrendered that capability. I do not think it is because your generation is smarter than we are, but rather that you have thousands of years of training on how to use that intelligence to survive. We have none. This renders us very nearly defenseless.” Pegus turned back to face Keller. “Now do you understand?”
“I think so,” said Keller. “But one thing you still haven’t explained. After the Ark landed, how come you didn’t come after us? What happened?”
“What happened?” Pegus asked, laughing to himself. “Rome happened. She beat our Overmind. She showed it the error of its ways.”
Keller snorted in disgust. “I still can’t get over it. She stopped you? That tiny thing?”
“Yes, that tiny thing, as you say, is more powerful than you could possibly realize. She is now both Vuduri and Essessoni by contact. She has transcended her origins and can think in ways that exceed the accumulated consciousness of all the Vuduri on this planet including the Overmind. She commanded us not only to not kill you but to make peace with you. We had no choice but to obey.” Pegus said uncomfortably.
And that is why it is called Rome's Revolution. Tomorrow, Rome must explain to her father why he must remain behind and cannot go home to see his beloved Binoda after having been away for 10 long years.
Entry 3-248: August 31, 2015
Goodbye Daddy
Previously, Rome and Rei, with advice from the Overmind of Deucado, determined that they were the only two people on the planet that could return to the Earth without tipping their hand. That meant that Fridone, already imprisoned on Deucado for 10 years, would have to remain behind. He missed his wife, Binoda, desperately and was looking forward to that reunion. Here is the heartbreaking scene when Rome informs him that he is not going:
“You and Aason wait here,” Rei said to Rome in Vuduri. “I will make sure the flying house is ready to go. I will come back and get you two in a little while.”
“What do you mean two?” Fridone asked. “There are three of us.”
Rome turned to look at her father. “No, Beo. It has to be just Rei and Aason and me who travel to Earth. Not you.”
“I am not coming?” Fridone asked, his heart catching in his throat. “But my little Rome, I need to be near you. And my new grandson.”
“It is not safe yet, Beo. You cannot come,” Rome said, “and you know why. They cannot know that the mandasurte are free here on Deucado yet. Your very presence will give that away.”
“No, Rome,” Fridone said, his eyes welling up. “I just found you. I cannot lose you again.” He stepped next to her, to put his arms around his daughter.
Rome glanced over at Rei. He tilted his head toward Fridone. “You take all the time you need,” he said. “We will be all right.”
Rome nodded slightly. Rei walked over to a cart, hopped on board and sped off toward the spaceport.
Fridone pushed Rome back to gaze into her eyes. “Rome…your mother. I want to go home and see your mother. I miss her so much.”
“I know you do, Beo,” Rome said kindly. “We are going to go to Earth and make it safe for you and all the mandasurte. Then you can come and see Mea.”
“But what if something happens to you?” Fridone asked plaintively. “I could not live with the idea of losing you yet again.”
“You will not lose me, Beo. Remember,” she said sternly, “MINIMCOM will get us to Earth in just eight days. That means if, I mean, when we complete our mission, we will be back here before you know it.”
“Rome, have you thought about Aason? Who will protect Aason while you and Rei are fighting your battle? I would watch him, protect him.”
“Beo, no,” was all Rome said.
Fridone sighed. “You are headstrong,” he said. “Unfortunately, you are just like me.”
Rome’s eyes were glistening too but she smiled. “Would you expect anything less?”
“I suppose not,” Fridone said. He looked away.
Never fear. He had no intention of remaining behind. Tomorrow, the baby's mouth.
Entry 3-249: September 1, 2015
The baby’s mouth
When a baby is first born, it has very little control over its bodily functions. Its eyes return images. Its nose b
rings in new smells. But the baby's limbs are just useless appendages. Part of the developmental process is getting those stumpy things to actually perform useful functions.
Once the baby can grasp, it starts to use its most elemental engine of exploration, its mouth, to experience new things. Obviously, as adults, we've learned to use all of our limbs and senses to examine objects but there was a time when all of us did this. Rome just did not remember:
“Stay here,” Fridone said. “Do not leave before I get back.”
“Certainly, Beo,” Rome said.
Fridone reentered the building and was gone for several minutes. When he returned, he had MINIMCOM’s conical image projector and two small bags.
“What are in the bags?” Rome asked.
“They are toys,” Fridone said. “Aason will like them.”
“What are toys?” Aason asked his mother in her mind.
“I am not sure,” Rome thought back to him. “I have seen them in your father’s mind but I was never sure what they were for.”
“What are these for?” Rome asked Fridone.
Fridone set the bags down on the ground. He opened one up and took out a small silver spaceship, glinting in the sun.
“It is a model of a spaceship,” Rome observed. “What is its purpose?”
“Give me!” said Aason excitedly, in her mind. With his tiny hand, he reached out to touch it. “I like it,” he said.
“He likes it,” Rome said. “I do not know why, but he likes it.”
Aason stroked the spaceship. He did not have enough motor control to actually grasp it but his fingers scraped it rhythmically.
“Put it in my mouth,” Aason said to his mother.
“What?!” Rome said out loud. “He wants to put it in his mouth,” Rome said to her father.
Fridone laughed. “It is all right, Rome,” Fridone said. “It will not hurt him.”
“But why?” Rome asked. “Why would I want him to put it in his mouth?”
“Because it is what babies do,” replied Fridone.
Rome looked skeptical but dabbed the tip against Aason’s lips. Aason sucked on it and made happy cooing noises.
Remember, Aason might "speak" like an adult but he is still only a few days old. In many ways, he is a typical baby. He grows up to be a hero but that's a story for another day. And don't tell anybody, but the spaceship mentioned above, in bold, was actually a replica of the spaceships flown by the K'val in the novel The Milk Run. How did Fridone know? He didn't. But I did.
Entry 3-250: September 2, 2015
Hiding from yourself
One of the recurring themes in Rome's Revolution is how a society can operate when there is no privacy. Now this was not meant to be a political statement just a what-if. We saw earlier that when everybody is privy to your every thought, it takes away any kind of desire for creativity.
Creating something that no one else has ever done before is artistically satisfying, but if the idea and execution is stolen before you even finish completing your thought, you are no longer the originator. In theory, the Vuduri had a judicial system called mind court where you could argue about who came up with an original idea but most Vuduri didn't bother.
The only way to have privacy, then, is to not only hide things from others, but hide them from yourself. In this little scene, Pegus, the leader of the Vuduri on Deucado, explains to Captain Keller about the secretive nature of Vuduri society:
Pegus turned back to face Keller. “On the contrary, while publicly most Vuduri shun the mandasurte, if there was a way to find out what they really thought, you would see that most like and admire the mandasurte. Even if they hide this thought from themselves.”
“Admire? Why? How?” Keller asked, confused.
Pegus sighed. “Because they are free. They are free to keep their thoughts private. Which means there is no one to inspect them, to judge them. The mandasurte are free to have feelings. To love. To understand beauty. These are things that most Vuduri cannot admit to themselves even exist. Here,” Pegus said, lifting his sleeve. Around his forearm was a thin red thread.
“What is that?” Keller asked. “It looks like a thread.”
“It is more than that,” replied Pegus. “It is called a yatori. We never speak of it. In fact, we are not supposed to even acknowledge that it exists.”
“What’s the point of that? It sounds stupid,” Keller said. “Why even wear it then?”
“The Vuduri claim it is part of our mental discipline,” Pegus answered, twisting his forearm. “It is an ongoing exercise to prove that we do not acknowledge self. It is a symbol of our submission to the Overmind. If we cannot see it, if we do not think about it and yet it is there, it proves we are capable of mental blindness.”
“And this is supposed to be a good thing?” asked Keller, confused.
Pegus walked around the table and sat back on the couch. “With my newfound perspective, I can now agree with you,” he said. “It has led us to this mess. I wear mine now to remind myself of my individuality, rather than deny it…to divorce myself from the Overmind.” He shook his wrist to emphasize his words.
“Why can’t you have both? Why can’t you have your Overmind and still be yourself?” Keller asked.
“Now we can. But before, we could not. It is so hard to describe to a mandasurte. The Overmind, as it was before, it was everywhere. It is everywhere. It is in your thoughts and feelings,” Pegus pointed to his temple. “And most Vuduri would prefer to not think for themselves or feel for themselves rather than risk others knowing what is inside them.”
“Who cares?” Keller said. “Who cares what’s inside your head.”
“You do not understand,” Pegus said, shaking his head. He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. “Knowing what is inside your head is everything. To have a less than perfect thought attacks the very essence of the Vuduri. We believe, no, they believe themselves to be superior beings. They aspire to perfection. Primarily because of your generation, they believe the true destiny of mankind rests in the highest and noblest of thoughts and deeds. No one, not one Vuduri, could stand the shame of having a less than perfect thought or feeling.”
“That’s what makes us human,” Keller objected. “Nobody’s perfect.”
Entry 3-251: September 3, 2015
Break my heart, why don’t you?
A few days ago, I showed you that Rome and Rei were going to head back to Earth. Unfortunately, because of the political situation, her father, Fridone, could not go even though he had been imprisoned for 10 long years on Deucado. All he wanted to do was to see the love of his life, his wife Binoda, and that was the one thing he could not do.
So imagine his distress when he quizzed Rome about her plans when she got to Earth. He got this:
“Where is your husband,” Keller asked.
“Yes, where is Rei?” Pegus echoed, in English.
“He has gone to check on our flying house,” Rome replied.
“Flying house?” Keller asked. “I heard you say that before. What is that, exactly?”
“It is simply a space tug that has been outfitted with living quarters,” Rome replied. “MINIMCOM is going to tow the flying house and transport us to Earth. It has the necessary facilities that MINIMCOM lacks.”
“And when you get there, you and the Overmind have prepared a plan?” Pegus asked. “It has not made us aware.”
“Not exactly,” Rome said. “The only thing we know is that most Vuduri would be horrified if they knew what was happening here. We just have to get the word out to the population in general and we think things will take care of themselves. All we need is one Vuduri who we know categorically is not part of the Onsiras.”
“That’s not much of a plan,” Keller said. “What if you run into one of the bad guys before you find who you are looking for? For that matter, according to Pegus, the Onsiras are hidden, secret. How will you know who is and who isn’t the enemy?”
“I know one for sure” Rome said.
“Who?” asked Keller.
Rome looked at her father. She knew the next word she uttered would break his heart but she had to say it. “Mea,” she said. “My mother.”
“Binoda,” Fridone whispered. He bent his head and looked at the ground. His shoulders slumped.
Never fear. Where do you think Rome got her stubborn streak?
Entry 3-252: September 4, 2015
Love/Hate
Within the world of Rome's Revolution, the citizens of the 35th century, the Vuduri, have always had a love/hate relationship with the mandasurte, the mind deaf. That is because secretly, way down deep, all Vuduri yearn for freedom: freedom of speech, of thought, of expression. I mentioned the other day that the Vuduri had lost their creativity. The mandasurte have that and more. They have joy.
But the mandasurte are political pariahs so any admiration a Vuduri feels for the mandasurte has to be buried down deep. Yesterday, we saw how Rome broke her father's heart by telling him that her mother was the only person she could trust. Captain Keller had a more practical view of things:
Keller looked at Rome. “You aren’t going to just fly to her house,” Keller said. “Somebody is bound to notice. How will you know who to trust until you get to her?”
“I can give you a little guidance there,” Pegus offered.
“What?” Rome asked.
“Look into their eyes,” Pegus said. “And use your feelings. Most Vuduri do not hate the mandasurte. They are embarrassed by them. They do not know what to do with them. They prefer not to associate with them. But they do not hate them.”
“How will that help?” Keller asked.
Rome shook her head in assent. “I have always known this but only now I can speak of it. You can tell how dominant the Overmind is in the mind of a Vuduri merely by how they react to mandasurte. If they are drawn to mandasurte, then there is a part of that person burning brightly inside. If there is nothing but disdain, then they are completely dominated by the Overmind and have relinquished all conscious thought to the Overmind.”