Beatariel had disappeared into a program when Prospero began to summon it back by stopping just short of even saying the name Beatariel. The quanta-nanocode being did however return a split second later, and five plasma laser blasts too late to save its master from death. Beatariel emerged to find Ceres in an automated environment suite holding a warm laser pistol over the dead body of its master Prospero.
Its voice seized control of a speaker. “What have you done foolish woman? He had been in the middle of a critical experiment that is now going wrong and it is about to create a black hole.”
The problem with run amok phantom matter singularities had been that they did have an effect upon the virtual particle grid of this universe. They tied a knot in reality that, when fed the mass of a planet followed by the mass of a star, would easily create the mathematical catalyst that would result in a black hole even though the size of Yat had nowhere near enough mass to create such a thing. There had almost been nothing Beatariel could have said at that moment to make Ceres regret killing the mad scientist Prospero except maybe what had been said.
* * *
Admiral Mull had enlisted the high priest of Ei to close in on Captain Mynervood and his crew with an army of students that were armed with high tech laser weapons that were supplied by The Drameda. He had decided that a direct confrontation under a friendly guise would get him close enough to kill his rival Captain Mynervood himself. The Admiral became obsessed with this, and suffered from a common Nephrican psychosis. They say when a Nephrican makes up their mind about something they have a very hard time stopping themselves or changing directions. This tendency to obsess could be psychotically homicidal, even to the point of self-destruction when a Nephrican’s mind is made up about murdering someone. This had most likely been the sad psychological disposition of Admiral Mull who had traveled over 5 light years to kill his old friend.
It had been time to contact the stranded Nephapricans. The Admiral broadcast to The Beyonder saucer section perched atop the flattop mountain. “Captain Mynervood this Admiral Mull of the starship The Drameda to to your distressed stranded ship and crew respond here is.”
Captain Mynervood at the time, had been in the communication room of the grounded saucer to receive the message. “Admiral Mull that polite you my ship down in one of many attempts to me and my crew kill shot considering is. Your image to me before the missiles my ship hit bragged.”
The Admiral denied the whole thing. “Joberk, it me Lenor Mull your lifelong friend is. My name and image on many Nephaprican Space Corporation operations are. I personally nothing to with any of this do had. Please me you and you back to Ea bring rescue let. We this whole thing out figure will.”
Captain Mynervood decided to take the bait while rubbing his good luck charm. “Well I my best friend to me not any sense make does kill trying suppose. I you and a landing party here at my mountaintop will greet. Plasma lasers at your ship with orders to not shoot will be pointing.”
Admiral Mull came down to the planet in a virtual particle craft to behold Captain Mynervood’s influence on the alien population of this planet. The mountainsides surrounding what had been left of The Beyonder were covered with low-level nuclear reactors that were humming unlimited energy to the growing industries around Trolluer. The Doldorians were assisting Captain Mynervood with rebuilding his ship like eager ants swarming the hillsides. It turned out the orphan child who Alldegallo helped see his dead parents happened to be very rich and personally financed much of this industrialization. They were quick learners who were quickly advancing technologically in ways that would change Doldoria for all time. For the planet Doldoria it had been the end of the age of the gergo, and the Admiral had not been at all pleased.
When the landing craft landed, Captain Mynervood had been there to endure the scolding. “This way beyond contact with the Doldorians Joberk establishing is. It not your mission to our technology to the Doldorians to their primitive culture corrupt give was.”
Captain Mynervood really had not been sorry. “Lenor sorry, but necessity their help enlisted, and the Doldorians fast learners are. I my ship rebuilt need. Someone it down shot! The Doldorians already the new hyper-acceleration section designed have. They to my new ship ‘The Beyonder Beyond’ call are going.”
The Admiral just added this to the reasons he decided to kill Captain Mynervood as soon as he got him alone. “You our technological advantage to these primitives betray. It the folly of The Great War all over again is. You never on the right side Joberk were.”
Captain Mynervood dared his ex-best friend to try something, and as promised, he had armed crewmembers who were waiting for the order to shoot. “I contact with The Doldorians made have. I friendly relations with the Doldorians have. We also a lot of your surveillance satellites began decommissioning have. You to your microwave manipulation program before these clever Doldorians it discover stop will want, and those these friendly relations spoil.”
The Admiral almost shot him dead right there, but it had not been the right time yet, and Captain Mynervood’s men still had the drop on him. First the terrorist commotion he planned with the High Priest would have to provide the backdrop.
*
Beatarkameed, the quanta-nanocode being that had stowed away on The Drameda to follow Admiral Mull, had come along with the landing party. It immediately noticed the piece of quanta-nanocoded technology dangling off a string around Captain Mynervood’s neck. Beatarkameed knew a physical form of a fellow quanta-nanocode being when it saw one. It flew into the Captain’s good luck charm to locate the being that lived there. The charm had still been laminated with an impenetrable substance, but Beatarkameed had been able to locate the tiny entrance to the quanta-nanocoded world beyond.
Begalius happened to be home at the time, and Beatarkameed had not been trying to be discrete or quiet. It soon took notice of Beatarkameed’s nanobot body glowing with quanta-nanocode power.
“Who goes there simple nanobot being trespassing upon my domain?”
Beatarkameed became humbled by the complexity of Begalius who flew into view like a giant bumblebee. “Please, I mean you no harm. I am Beatarkameed, and I have been following the Admiral on The Drameda. I need to warn Captain Mynervood that he is in danger.”
Begalius had always been thrilled to meet another of its microscopic kind. “Well hello there. I am Begalius, Captain Mynervood’s personal quanta-nanocoded good luck charm. I can assure you the Captain does not trust the Admiral, and already knows he has been trying to kill him.
*
Captain Mynervood had returned to his room on the saucer section after showing the Admiral and his landing crew a tour of the planet. He also entertained the crew of The Drameda with data that they had accumulated since crash landing on Doldoria. The science officer of The Drameda eagerly soaked up the data with enthusiasm. They were going to meet outside on the mountaintop tent later for a feast with Alldegallo and some of his followers. It would consist of local cuisine that had been determined to be edible since the arrival of The Beyonder. It became time to celebrate their rescue.
Begalius had already established contact with Captain Mynervood long before this, and often made contact with the Captain on his communication device. The Captain had just coincidently rubbed his good luck charm just before Begalius called him on his communicator. “Greetings Captain Mynervood. I come to introduce you to another quanta-nanocode being that has been following Admiral Mull on The Drameda. It warns of the Admiral’s intention to kill you tonight.”
Captain Mynervood had become accustomed to Begalius calls. “Another being you like? I all interested in your friend meeting am.”
Beatarkameed had been programmed to be more accustomed to working animated images of itself when interacting with beings in the relativistic dimension beyond its microscopic nanobot form. It used the view screen of the Captain’s communicator to project a centaur-like Pripican image of itself that spoke the voice of Beatarkameed.
“Hi
Captain Mynervood. My name is Beatarkameed, and I’ve been following Admiral Mull to stop him from killing you. I was sent by your wife Hagan Hiedalli.”
The soft spot in Captain Mynervood’s heart that he had for the aging Negolim wife back on Nephrica began to pound in his chest at the mention of the name Hagan Hiedalli. “If I not an Eagolim space traveler for my wife Hagan for the rest of my life would settle were.”
Beatarkameed had been able to show Captain Mynervood a quanta-nanocoded recording of Admiral Mull telling Prospero back on the planet Caleb about his intension to kill him. Then Beatarkameed showed the Captain its quanta-communication invention by bringing up Hagan Hiedalli on his communicator view screen from all the way on the planet Nephrica. It had been late on Nephrica, and she looked like she had just woke up. She had been bare with all of her skin-cloth shaved off, and she had not yet adorned herself with her usual tattooed skin-cloth clothing that she liked to make. Age covered her face with the scars of mortality, and inevitable death.
“Joberk hello!” She looked suddenly embarrassed by her own appearance, and yet suddenly younger with the smile that suddenly formed.
Captain Mynervood talked to his wife Hagan for a very long time. She had no comprehension of how beautiful she actually looked to Captain Mynervood’s eye. He had even had their son Adma brought over to participate in the Quanta-communication reunion. He promised her during that conversation that he would return to her soon for one more visit. Hagan Hiedalli had at last been relieved to finally know that her husband had survived the journey out there all the way to the star Dol.
*
Soon it became time for the feast, and Doldorians arrived with many dishes decreed acceptable by Captain Mynervood who had in fact become much thicker in appearance since living off of Doldorian cuisine. There would be a feast in honor of the new visitors from the stars as the sun set upon the hour of justice.
Alldegallo had been there with Diallo and Simeonalli. Much of the crew had been there along with Ferdinand and Randa. Randa held her child Dol who had probably been the first child ever conceived between two completely different alien species. The child was still not yet a toddler, and she drank from Randa’s lactating breast. Antone had also been there, and he seemed to be the only one eager to leave their new home on Doldoria.
The meal had been fun and uneventful. Captain Mynervood’s discerning eye however, picked up on impatience from the Admiral. It had been as if the Admiral waited for something to happen that just had not happened yet, or maybe wasn’t going to.
Meanwhile Alldegallo’s followers along with defectors of the Sanctuary of Ea; were surrounding the mountain, and awaiting the attack by the High Priest. They did not realize that the plasma lasers that were held by the priest’s soldiers grossly out gunned them. Many of Alldegallo’s followers that night had used an ancient ritual of Ptuammi to enlist help by allies from the dead.
Not far away a couple Ei priest followers were planting explosives outside a low-level nuclear reactor to create one of many explosions that were planned for the night. The moment of the planned attack was at hand, and so they detonated the explosion.
Nothing happened. One of the Doldorians followed the explosion detonation line to see why it didn’t go off. He began to realize that none of the explosions in the area that were planned for that moment seemed to be going off either.
Then he looked up to see the ghost of Chad’s dead uncle Fassa looking as frightening as he could against the Doldorian night. “Flee for home thou usurper! Your terror this night is defused by the dead.”
The Doldorian ran away, along with his partner while the laughter of the ghost echoed endlessly on their tails.
The army armed with plasma lasers soon could no longer wait for the explosions that failed to happen. As they closed in, followers of Alldegallo confronted them, along with many from the Aquario religion who had their own interpretation of the coming of the sky-gods.
At first the priest’s fighters felt a joy of superiority as they pointed their magic weapons at their adversaries in the night. Then the triggers seemed to do nothing. They lost their feeling of joy as the triggers failed to fire the magic light of death at their adversaries.
Begalius and Beatarkameed laughed at the scene after they had already disabled all the laser weapons. They discovered this plot earlier, and had been busy locating and disabling every pistol that had been distributed to Doldorians from The Drameda. The priest’s disarmed army began to flee into the night as they were chased by knives and sticks that were held by Alldegallo’s army. Then the quanta-nanocode beings realized that they had been so busy disabling an army of laser pistols that they had failed to locate and disable the pistol probably still held by the Admiral.
As the feast dragged on, the Captain also grew impatient, and decided to just get this confrontation out of the way. The Captain and the Admiral were exchanging final glances that seemed to indicate that Captain Mynervood wanted to take it outside. Strek and a couple other crewmembers were also reading the eye contact between the two of them. Captain Mynervood then got up and waddled outside the tent. Not more than three seconds after that, Admiral Mull discreetly got up and left the tent also.
Outside Admiral Mull just caught a glimpse of the Captain entering another small tent. As he headed for the same tent he started to wonder if the Captain had just got up to relieve himself. It didn’t matter to the Admiral as he looked at the dark discrete opportunity around him, and so he produced the laser pistol from a secret skin-cloth pocket. Admiral Mull then entered the tent behind the Captain.
Inside the tent it looked pretty much empty except for Captain Mynervood and a full-length mirror. Captain Mynervood stood there weaponless looking at the Admiral as if he had been waiting for this.
“I you to death Captain Joberk Mynervood condemn!”
He shot bright red laser blasts at the Captain several times as the plasma blasts tore the body of Captain Mynervood to shreds along with the wall of the tent behind him. The Admiral stopped shooting while his eye widened in wonder of why the Captain still stood before him, sliced into ribbons with a smile on his face.
He sliced up the Captain a couple more times while the mouth of Captain Mynervood smiled at him. The body of Captain Mynervood still floated around the area that before he had been standing in, but now he had only been reduced to thin stringy slices. The Admiral stopped shooting again and approached the Captain who stood there sliced into ribbons of non-bleeding pieces. The Admiral started to think it had been some kind of hologram when a piece of Captain Mynervood’s arm that consisted of half a fist punched him. Then the pieces of Captain Mynervood, in unison as if they were all still connected, started running toward the mirror. The Admiral thought he noticed that the image in the mirror of Captain Mynervood had still been in one piece. Then Admiral Mull started running after the hologram, but didn’t notice the real Captain Mynervood as he ran out of the mirror at the same time the other torn-to-pieces Captain ran in.
The laser pistol had been flung onto the floor while Captain Mynervood and Admiral Mull also rolled onto the ground, wrestling for dominion with tentacle over tentacle. Lockfreedow had programmed his quanta-optic-nanocode mirror to not allow any harm to come to the digitized real version of someone when they were within the mirror dimension. The mirror image of the Admiral had no effect on the Captain in the mirror as he shot in imitation of the real Admiral.
Then Strek appeared in the doorway while Captain Mynervood strangled Admiral Mull’s neck with the advantage gained from the previous struggle. Strek tried to stop the Captain from what he had been about to do. “Captain, we can just take Admiral Mull prisoner, and have him brought to the justice of the Nephaprican Space Corporation.”
It even sounded silly to Strek while the Captain didn’t even bother to acknowledge the comment. Captain Mynervood had also been a Nephrican that didn’t easily stop once his mind became put to something, and right now the mind of Captain Mynervood had been put to strangli
ng the life out of Admiral Mull. There had been no resistance from the crew of The Drameda as they all started to gather around the dead body of Admiral Lenor Mull of the Nephaprican Space Corporation.
* * *
Epilogue
The quanta-nanocode virus had suddenly been disoriented. Just before that moment it had been a simple program carrying out a simple existence that positioned a phantom matter singularity close enough to feed upon a planet orbiting the star Yat. Now the virus suddenly found itself to be a furry four-legged body of a Pripican in a Pripican spaceport on the planet Pripica. The virus had been losing site of its primary function only to succumb to an obsession to catch the next flight off the planet.
It approached the Pripican at the ticket counter who greeted the virus. “Greetings, I am Beatariel your ticket merchant. The next flight off the planet is in a moment and there will not be another flight for days.”
That had been what the virus wanted. “Yes, a ticket off of this planet please. I must get back to my purpose of controlling off planet virtual particle generators.”
“Not so fast anxious traveler. The ticket cost is 15 coins.”
The virus felt defeated. “I do not have 15 coins.”
“Oh yes you do.”
“No. I … I do not.”
“Check that pouch on your back.”
The virus reached into the pouch that draped across its horse-like Pripican back, and it pulled out exactly 15 coins. With relief it handed the coins to the ticket agent. The ticket agent suddenly became anxious to give the virus a ticket and escort it onboard the flight off of the planet.
“Hurry up. The flight leaves in just a few seconds. There you go. Enjoy the observation portals that surround the virtual particle craft’s lounge area. You will be arriving at the orbiting spaceport within moments. Have a nice flight.”