This had been interesting to Captain Mynervood knowing he was supposed to be dead, which had been intended to allow Admiral Mull to be the one to reach Doldoria first. The Captain understood, and even admired the ruthless ambition of his friend. One interesting observation an Earthling might notice about Nephricans is how Admiral Mull’s attempt to kill Captain Mynervood so he could be the first to reach a planet isn’t even for a second considered by either of the Nephrican minds to be petty. Nephricans were a species of alien that even had established laws that allowed some to be acquitted of a crime with the defense that they just couldn’t stop themselves. Such a legal defense did require evidence of good motives or intentions in the beginning.
Aineemadin went on to inform the Captain of the ways that microwave broadcasts have influenced the Doldorians. Distant microwave mind control broadcasts had even raised up a leader to champion a monotheistic approach to religion for their primitive culture in order to unite the polytheistic intelligent life under a single world view. Doldorians normally have few leaders and governance is based on democratic committees, but now and then a leader came along to shake this arrangement up a bit. The now long since dead leader established a new monotheistic god called Ei by the Doldorians, which probably actually had its beginnings with a broadcast by Aineemadin. The god Ei may have been broadcast into Doldorian dreams as a corruption of the actual broadcast message, which originated as the word for the star named ‘Ea’ where the planet Nephrica orbited.
* * *
Alldegallo and Simeonalli often rode the gergos through the Zitonic Mountains south of Trolluer to make Alldegallo skilled at riding and caring for gergos. There had not yet been internal combustion technology on Doldoria. Travel had been done mostly by gergo, and work had still been done with tool-bearing hands and hard work. They did have electricity, which evolved a form of radio and analog television along with light bulbs, but the world still remained mostly simple, just beginning to figure out some indoor plumbing and running water for the less urban areas of the planet.
Simeonalli led on his gergo up a narrow mountain trail with Alldegallo following on his own animal. The six-legged gergos gracefully traversed the narrow pass, and Alldegallo found himself watching the moons in the sky while his gergo obediently followed Simeonalli’s animal. They were the most obedient creatures imaginable once they were fitted with a gergo helmet along with the diet of popalli.
Alldegallo became startled from his daydream by a small creature that navigated the mountainside trail between his own gergo’s legs. It had been a six-legged staychiato that kind of looked like a lobster forced to live on dry land. It ran fast as it tried to get past the gergo riders that it stumbled upon trying to navigate the same narrow mountain pass.
Simeonalli heard Alldegallo make a startled sound when the creature ran between his gergo’s legs. Simeonalli turned with his gergo prod at the ready and didn’t hesitate to stab the pointed end of the gergo prod right through the staychiato’s exoskeleton. He lifted the skewered creature up in the air while it dangled not yet quite lifeless at the end of his prod saying, “For this be sure that at the summit of this rocky pass we shall partake of this rare delicacy by wood fire and water.”
They reached an end to the pass where the trail arrived at the top of the mountain to cut into a wide open plain away from the steep cliffs that they had just came up. Simeonalli had been swift to put wood together and make a fire. He seemed anxious to feed on his latest kill. Before this fortunate catch they were planning to eat the vofnalli meat when they reached the top of the pass, which they took with them in the form of jerky meat. Vofnalli is a non-exoskeleton form of life on Doldoria. Mostly the Doldorian ecosystem is made up of life forms with exoskeletons, which had been the prevailing evolutionary strategy on this planet. The jaws of Doldorians were powerful for crushing an outer-skeleton. Many creatures on Doldoria parade through the woods and forest areas with exoskeleton anatomies, which might resemble animated skeletons of the living dead to the eyes of an Earthling visiting this planet.
Simeonalli skillfully boiled the staychiato, and cracked open its shell for lunch. The staychiato meat tasted succulent and very edible after it had been boiled in water for a while. Alldegallo enjoyed his gergo-riding lesson for the day, and Simeonalli began opening up to discuss personal matters. That had been a rare breach of character for him. “Draw nigh hither. Put off thy weight from thy feet for this place whereon thou do eat by this fire I once shared with the lady of my affections.”
Alldegallo only knew that Simeonalli lived alone. “When I comest first to thee I know only thou livest alone with these gergos. Thou now confide to me new qualities from you coming forth that thou dost love another.”
“Aye, tis love for true that thou refer, but alas she no longer enjoys the breath that allows life. In the day we wouldst ride gergo together to this place even to boil staychiato as we do now, were my gergo prod to feed upon such an opportunity.
Verily I reveal unto you that she did take my love for the love of matrimony, and she didst become my wife for a time of much joy and rejoicing.”
Alldegallo wanted to know what had become of this fine lady. “How comest this time of joy to this time wherein that joy is but a sad remembrance?”
As they ate around the fire Simeonalli began letting down his usual stoic persona to tell someone about the love of his life. “Her name was Layalla who was the love of my life. She liked to sing to the goddess Teyoo while immersed in the goddess element of water. She did believe her cares and impurities, wishes and aspirations would drain with the sacred water as a prayer to Teyoo along with what her beautiful voice delivered to the goddess in song. She did say that her voice was recorded on the water itself to be carried to the ear of the goddess.”
“I only know this goddess from instructions of Ei priests that she is goddess of song before the one almighty god of the universe dispelled the heresies of the past darkness to bring us to this bright new day of Ei blessed and holy be His name.” Alldegallo quieted down again to stop interrupting.
“Layalla believed in Teyoo and though I am not eloquent, but slow of tongue and slow of speech, and worthless with song as I am of a voice that cannot tickle the hearing. Layalla was on the contrary out spoken of nature, beautiful with her singing voice, and would hearken others to her music and wisdom. There came upon us all the time that the zealous followers of the new god Ei did blame religions of others for violent acts, and other vandalism that began occurring with this new faith. That mischief did never appear to mine understanding as not the stuff of deception and misdirection, but so is the ease with which the masses do take understanding as fed to them by those that would manipulate.”
Simeonalli began to tremble with a resurfacing old rage as his memories continued. “Tis the stuff of terrorist acts that were attributed to a Ptuammi group at the time that did claim responsibility, which did kill Layalla one day for no reason but to haunt the living with fear and foreboding. For me to no longer find her amongst the living pricks me with sorrow to this day. I will not be the fool of that murderous trickery, though I am to this day much diminished by it. I do regard the words of responsibility as vain deceptions for the blame of this I do lay upon the power-grabbing priests of Ei.”
Alldegallo picked the succulent meat apart in his mandibles that fed it to his mouth. He looked at Simeonalli now as if he had become a different being altogether. It had been hard for him to get his head around the fact that Simeonalli did not admire his god Ei as the one true god. Normally Simeonalli had been just silent and intimidating with strength that advertised itself in his larger than average frame.
Unfortunately while Alldegallo got to know his boss better as they stopped to boil staychiato meat the gergo that Alldegallo had rode on wasn’t tied to a very heavy log. The gergo suddenly started to pull along the log it had been tied to until the log started bouncing off the ground. Then the bouncing log slammed into the gergo’s exoskeleton side, causing it to run faster
in a panic. That only made the bouncing log it had been tied to bounce more as each slam of the log on the end of its tie made the gergo only run faster down the more gradual other side of the mountaintop.
Alldegallo only noticed and let out a yell, but Simeonalli had already leaped up upon his gergo to chase after it. Alldegallo dropped his staychiato meat only wondering for a couple more seconds about what to do next. Soon Alldegallo ran after the gergos as his newly trained gergo ran with a log dangling behind it unable to escape the log’s torturous beatings. The gergo’s helmet had then fallen off and Simeonalli riding up behind gracefully scooped it off the ground as he sped by on a gergo without even seeming to slow down.
Simeonalli eventually trotted up beside the other gergo and skillfully reached over to place the gergo helmet back on the head of the beast. He told it to calm down in the calm voice of an experienced trainer, and the gergo responded by finally coming to a halt. That also caused the log to finally come to a halt by the gergo’s leg to cease its attacks.
Alldegallo eventually caught up to the trainer and his gergos, and got lectured angrily by Simeonalli about making sure the gergo is properly secured after dismounting. Alldegallo almost couldn’t listen to his scolding because he became mesmerized at that moment by the fact that the crazed gergo had ran directly to the foot of the same flat-topped mountain he had been dreaming about. Simeonalli had been able to use the helmet to calm the creature down, and he fed it popalli from one of the sacks on his own gergo.
Part of what Simeonalli had trouble teaching Alldegallo had been how the helmet worked for controlling gergos. He knew all about how the popalli made them stupid, but also cooperative and obedient. The helmet however, also had an effect on the gergos similar to the way a soldier might stand taller and carry themselves with more disciplined purpose when they happen to be in their finest uniform. Alldegallo regretted that the friendly interlude had been disturbed that way, and Simeonalli all the way back home had been back to his usual silent intimidating self.
*
Alldegallo felt terrible and therefore decided to visit his aunt who had introduced herself on the same mysterious flat top mountain of his dreams. He now knew where she lived and began visiting her to listen to her crazy religious opinions. He really didn’t mind; particularly considering what he learned about his own parents who also had sang to the goddess Teyoo. She greeted Alldegallo and had him take a seat in her guestroom.
“Again this mountain of my dream journal did introduce its physical form to my waking body. Today mine poorly secured gergo did give us chase until it did come to a halt at the foot of this same flat topped mountain.”
Diallo, Alldegallo’s aunt, became very interested in the coincidence that Alldegallo had experienced. “Tis the work of the goddess Teyoo that gives this guidance.”
Alldegallo found himself a skeptic. “Twould be again a second time today that the name of the goddess was referred to me. My trainer was telling the tale of his lost love of yor who did bath in the waters of prayer to the goddess Teyoo.
I must confess to thee that I do not feel fear for this deity in my bosom though my parents did give me blood from the same devotion. Tis a male form of some creature not of my species that doth visit me in dreams, and I meet no lady that doth walk the rivers in my morning world.”
Diallo responded. “Many forms do these influences visit to us as doth meet our understanding. Before Ei it had been understood as the reason that there are many faiths. This five-fingered being that you often speak about I do know of, and is lately regarded in our present age as of the cherubim of Ei. Twas thus plagiarized as with all doctrine of Ei from Mejoldor the solar deity of the center that is everywhere who’s circumference doth extend to infinity. The head of a Cherub is thus obscured in light and cloud because the cherub doth reside in the world of spirit beyond our physical comprehension.
I say onto you that they do sometimes come down from this great height and do manifest in the world of dreams with heads topped with thin fur, all fleshy, and a mouth with no mandibles. But then in the world of dreams they do also display wings like the feathered creatures of flight. They say they can also come down to this world of form, but then when they do they have not the wings or the five-fingered form, and could then be any one amongst you and I.”
“This does sound true in my understanding.”
“Therein is the truth to free thee of the burden of disbelief in the goddess Teyoo.”
Diallo then showed Alldegallo a copy of the list of rights established by the religion of Teyoo, which were the liberties entitled to all Doldorians by right of birth. They were nearly identical to the rights proclaimed by the gods and goddesses of 49 other religions of Doldoria in the days before the monotheistic religion of Ei. Alldegallo had already been warned of the evils of this list by the priests of Ei, who called it the justifications of evil by the ancient pagan cults from the time of darkness before the dawn of the one true god Ei. After actually reading the list however, Alldegallo found no disagreement with it. The list consisted of such basic Doldorian rights as freedom of speech, religious freedom, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, a right to fair confrontation with accusers, freedom from unreasonable punishment, and the list went on. Alldegallo then spent the rest of the night being informed by Diallo about how the priests of Ei have been systematically and deliberately subverting each and every one of these rights of Teyoo.
* * *
Between Doldoria orbiting the star Dol and the star Holdus there existed the star Yat, roughly 3 light-years from Dol, and 2 light years from Holdus. Orbiting the star Yat, the freezing sub-zero planet Caleb had been the place where three four-legged Pripicans eluded the quanta-nanocode being Beatariel from trying to find them. Gonzal, Ceres, and Antone survived the crash of their spacecraft, and were now on the run from Prospero, the Nephrican mad scientist that had them shot out of the sky.
Antone had been able to put together some technology from the crashed ship that detected Beatariel’s microscopic surveillance cameras, which were flying above them in pursuit. It didn’t take the chief engineer Ceres long after that to put together an electromagnetic pulse with her all-purpose hand-held weapon capable of frying the microscopic eyes of Beatariel and Prospero out of the sky.
Soon after that Antone announced that his detection equipment had then discovered microscopic intelligent life forms colonizing the cracks that dashed the planet’s frozen surface. They all approached one of the cracks and saw what looked like a tree root hugging the side of the deep ravine. Gonzal felt inspired. “This is why we have saved this planet from the Nephrican’s attempt to destroy it.”
They were all hovering over Antone’s detection equipment at this time. “You are correct Gonzal,” said Ceres. “Antone, the readings indicate a high intelligence of microscopic creatures that form a collective that makes up this creature. There is intelligent language amongst the tiny life forms. Is there some way we can communicate with them?”
Antone answered. “All I know right now is that they are aware of us and watching with heightened interest.” He took his intelligent life contact equipment into an ice-crack where an animated snake-like root spread across one side of the ice crevice. It had been more like a colony or city of tiny silicone life forms that danced in unison to a shared electromagnetic song. The root appeared to breath like a single organism, but Antone assured his audience that peered down from the top of the crack that this had actually been thousands of small microscopic life forms banding together as a single colony for warmth. “They are all watching us right now, and I am recording thousands of language samples. The main ship computer would have been able to translate the language by now.”
Then the root seemed to communicate by becoming a small centaur-like being that detached from the cliff side, and trotted out of the crack to stand amongst the stranded Pripican crewmembers in imitation of what the stranded Pripicans must have looked like in their environment suites.
Gonzal
felt in awe of the life that they had just discovered. “They are a colony of microscopic silicone-based intelligent life forms that all coordinate like a single organism. Oh how they must know peace and cooperation amongst individuals of their tiny species. Oh what they could teach us.”
“This is the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed,” said Ceres.
Antone climbed back out of the ice crack. “I think I have enough data to broadcast a message to them, but they are all going to respond at once and I will have several responses to translate.”
The stranded Pripicans that were kept alive on the freezing deadly sub-zero planet in special environment suites were soon speaking to a newly discovered life form on the far-away planet that orbited a strange star. They eventually communicated their dilemma to the strange microscopic aliens, and the silicone life forms understood. They received responses describing Prospero and his ruthless melting of other members of their species. Together the three Pripicans and thousands of microscopic silicone beings agreed to take control of Prospero’s research facility and free Ferdinand their second-generation Eagolim comrade who had been taken prisoner.
* * *
Eventually the planetary rotation for Captain Mynervood’s trial came around to be located at the legal buildings in central Glokodox. Many passengers that safely enjoyed the Captain’s company on the journey that lasted two Earth years in relativistic time were there to vouch for the Captain’s impeccable character. In truth the trial turned into a circus of formality, and it had almost already been concluded that Captain Mynervood had actually been the victim of foul play. If it were not for the Captain and crew of The Beyonder’s experienced actions in the face of the dire peril of sabotage that the ship actually did face, nobody on that ship would even be at that trial that day. Needless to say much of the crew of The Beyonder were also at that trial to loyally defend their Captain.