The Final Draft for ; The Quest for 'Hum-Android Survival.

                                              A short pitch for , …

The Quest

 for Hum-Android

Survival

On a mission to find habitable new territories in outer space, Humankind in a cryogenically preserved state and in the care of artificial intelligence, journeys to the distant planet of it’s true biological origins.  Our intergalactic representatives almost render their ancient ancestors extinct with a virus that was picked up from excavated rock ice collected in the depths of interstellar space. An alien life form emerges and contaminates the water supply of our human hosts whereby the spawn thereafter multiply to threaten the whole planet of Pasena Dwale.

The ‘Hum-Android’ stewards who transported our extracted gene tissue to this distant world form an alliance with the far more advanced Deem-Ai and homo-sapien populations. When the ‘Viro’ virus has been completely eliminated they embark on a collective project to relocate the milky way, so that it can’t collide with the Andromeda galaxy in billions of years hence.

In a world that has never known cash currencies  an emerging push for change threatens the barter based stability of the region, so Admin-Central declares that it’s a mental health issue and all of the emergent capitalists are thereby removed to re-programming facilities.

                                                           Prologue

    Ahoy! there fellow star trippers and distinguished others. 

You know it’s been said in areas of high intellectual pursuit that,

                 “A positive plus a negative equals a positive,

    because of the existence of the positive in the equation.”

With this said, are we to believe that the dominant attributes of all round positivity are more advantages in some way than the qualities of the negative thinking or purposeful negative acts of an individual, who is predominantly more un-positive by nature?  I believe it might.

Expanding on the notion that positivity is in some way better than outright negativity, one might speculate that when our evolutionary ancestors blew coloured dirt over their outstretched fingers in the shelter of smoky caves, or painted images of their most recent hunt they were unknowingly opening wide the doors of creative consciousness and embarking on an adventure along a path that would ensure them a greater chance of survival in the hostile world they inhabited. It’s fortunate indeed for us that the positively motivated path they followed eventually lead them towards the bright and abundant future we their descendants live in today. With the imaginative and creative displays of those first, earth dwelling artists the potentially destructive or negative elements of human nature may have been placed at a significant disadvantage, that not even the creation of atomic bombs and the like could dominate or overtake.  It may well be that all of our social, scientific, biological and technological experimentations are merely a naturally occurring process by which advanced creatures such as we go to the absolute extreme of negative and destructive behaviour, so we can then visualize the abyss of potential, self extinction before us. Perhaps it’s the act of taking a backward step at the precipice to doom that allows us to perceive the danger en masse, as a species and thus continue along the path of creativity we first set off on. This concept harks back to the ‘Hundredth monkey theory’ as espoused by ‘Lyall Watson’ in the nineteen seventies. The theory states that, … ‘ When the critical mass of any remote and geographically distanced species adopts a certain behavioural trait or idea as useful within their shared reality it’s automatically burned into the electrical synapses of all members of that species, wherever they may be.’  Why don’t we try to test the theory by spreading the idea around that we modern humans, the living descendants of homo erectus may still be in the rudimentary stages of our ultimate possible future evolution. Here's another big concept to ponder and share if you agree. Consider the possibility that there might not be sufficient natural resources remaining in our earthly, life support system to complete a successful transition from the way we live now to a universally beneficial state of eco-friendly, abundance for all. Your moment is up and guess what? 

                   ‘There isn't.’

                                                                      

IN THE MIRROR

Imagine if you will the fully sentientized, free thinking and autonomous representatives of an advanced form of artificial intelligence, who are thriving quite happily in a distant, age old and highly developed space colony. Beings of his kind only came into existence as a result of biological and technological experimentations that were carried out long before Ai evolution ever began,  by a complex life form who’s home planet was near to extermination in a supernova event. For the sake of the story we will call one particular and very significant Ai driven, robotic entity H-Ai-1. Our robot friend is working in a community owned, orbiting laboratory where he is scrutinizing a flickering screen and viewing archival footage of his earliest carbon based, single celled origins. The time lapse, video presentation shows images of the complex life form who’s consciousness was first uploaded into the Ai processing format and now serves as a data base for all Ai thoughts and actions. As he scratches an itch on his chin and examines the images before him the face of the running and jumping, primate biped appears quite alien to him. The  robot is intrigued by how primitive and uncivilized the creature looks, as it shouts joyfully to it's female companion and their offspring. Laughing wildly it bounces a large coloured ball along a sandy beach in-dispersed with clumsy attempts at a backflip and then more laughter. To H-Ai-1 it would no doubt seem quite a natural evolutionary progression that when this strange looking creature first began to tinker with things like robot science and artificial intelligence it was instinctively dabbling in an area that would lead to the ongoing replication of himself and others of his kind.

DENIAL

From an anthropological perspective one can observe that the denial of indisputable realities in the face of imminent danger is a rare and most unusual behavioural trait, whereby the only creatures in all of god’s creation who are afflicted by it are we humans. It’s my belief that the reason many people are in denial about the depletion of our worldly resources and the general state of the global environment is because at some deep, instinctual, reptilian brain kind of level we all secretly share a grim suspicion that the party is fast coming to a close and these hectic times we are now living through are actually the golden years or glory days of life on planet earth. Well for human beings at least that is. I dare to guess that our path to any kind of possible, collective future is more than likely going to end in the inevitable crash and burn, total collapse of civilization as we know it.  What will be the tipping point to our demise, further I dare to wonder?

                           POWER ON

Unless a new, virtually limitless power source is discovered real soon it will leave us no viable alternatives but the renewables and a variety of nuclear options that exist such as thorium and the like. With some luck and good planning these methods of power generation may give us an upper hand in the ongoing climate crisis battle and help to keep our high tech world running like a well oiled machine. Could they however fuel a one way expedition into the depths of the cosmos in search of a habitable new home for humanity? Let us now think about the sustainable food production and vastly improved water management that would be needed by the time our populations reach the ten billion mark a little further up the track. For my money the safest route to travel would have to be one whereby a ‘Life raft mentality’ is prevalent in the collective thinking such as is already happening with plans to create a base on the moon and establish populated colonies on mars and beyond. I hate to be one of the doubting Thomas's who says it, but I don’t think we are as yet evolved enough to venture too far en mass’e from our planetary home. As best I can imagine the only real chance we have for the indefinite continuation of our species in a post supernova type of survival strategy is to ‘Raise the bar’ as they say, ‘Think outside of the box’ if you like and initiate unprecedented changes within our collective behavioural spectrum.

As a ‘Co-operative, Global Community Project’ humanity would first need to go on an absolute war footing with extinction of the human species as the threat and the enemy. As with the G-Nome project we would have to share knowledge between countries until we attain absolute mastery of all Ai development, cloning and preservation of living tissue skills.  With this knowledge in hand we might then be ready to embark on a daring new change of direction in human evolution towards cybernetics and artificial intelligence in a mostly robotic form. Once largescale Ai production plants are adequately established around the globe we would then set about manufacturing the spacecraft that will be needed to make interstellar expeditions possible. Departing from planet earth or possibly even the moon at optimum locations and appropriate launch times, Four Ai driven scouting expeditions each with squadrons of six craft, would embark on one way trajectories into the cosmos from all points of the compass. Assuming that all launches are successful, humankind in a preserved state, with Ai at the helm would venture to the far reaches of interstellar space in search of a new habitat for our species. Successive generations of ‘Hum-Androids’ will navigate the incalculable light years through deep space, self replicating and upgrading the transporters and themselves as they go. Should any of the expeditions survive the journey in thousands of years hence our  Ai  stewards may discover other goldilocks zones and habitable exoplanets. The cloned and  preserved DNA of their human origins might then be re-activated to live another day, in a world filled with new wonders. That’s all good and well as long term survival strategies go, but in the short term the big question would have to be ,... 

        ‘How do you keep in excess of ten billion people 

                                alive in the mean time?’

Were it made possible in the time we have before our sun implodes in on itself to upload human consciousness into a bio-mechanical, Ai form, would humankind set off on the epic journey into the great unknown in search of some distant new home where we might someday download the original elements of our design?

I think yes.

I mean what else are you going to do when your home planet is ear marked for destruction in a catastrophic supernova. Could it be that in solar systems with limited and finite life spans such as ours, complex life forms are forever destined to follow the path towards an Ai oriented future evolution. It may be science fact that this is the only way those beings can ever hope to transit between far distant, life supporting, planetary systems. In a best case scenario a contingent of Ai-gene stock guardians or stewards would have been successful in cryogenically or otherwise storing and then reactivating the seeds of their origins upon reaching a new home that can sustain them. If this is indeed the only way that complex life forms are able to escape their doomed life support systems and traverse the incredible distances towards a safe new home, we should be thinking along the lines that the hundredth monkey effect is already happening in us, because these ideas I am banging on about are currently being popularized in sci-fi movies and books etc. throughout the modern world.  As I have mentioned I very much doubt there would be the earthly resources left within our planet to support a mass exodus of this kind, so we would definitely have to develop the space mining and processing skills needed for such an undertaking. In the event that the android replicants of humans could traverse the vast distances of interstellar space in a great convoy the space transporters they navigate through the void would have to be massive Ai manufacturing plants which were organized much like the colonies of bees or ants. From the commanders and pilots of the space craft down through the maintenance crews, space mining crews and the like, all of the individual 'Hum-Anroids' would have to have a specific functions which would be terminated and then resumed by successive generations of self replicating  robots.

                                                     

                   A WELCOME SEA CHANGE

In my day I spent more than three decades as a great outdoors adventurer and camping enthusiast, living beside a number of Australian rivers with my trusty hounds. In that time I acquired many useful survival skills including the cultivation of compact, permaculture inspired food and cannabis crops on the high, fertile riverbanks. Every time a storm passed by I collected rain water as well and this provided for the hydration of myself and my canine buddies and it enabled me to establish a plentiful home brewing operation. On most days ! caught fish and crabs and there wasn’t really anything other than my tobacco and technology needs that I couldn’t provide for myself. I was living almost entirely in an autonomous way and if ever I needed some cash I just sold some of my homegrown weed to the tourists, or booze to the feral hippies living around Byron bay. With just the company of my dogs I became something of a hermit and often was the case I wouldn’t see another person for weeks at a time. This is where with the aid of a first generation, solar powered word processor I conceived and documented the ideas I am about to share with you. 

These days I occupy a public housing unit in the northern beaches of Sydney and I get by on fortnightly welfare payments due to the disabilities I sustained along the way. Should the cards however, some day turn in my favour and I scoop the pool in a multi-million dollar lottery, I know exactly how I will spend the cash. After reading up on all of the old ‘Buckminster Fuller’ instruction manuals I would then put together a team of engineers and other assorted specialists in things such as alternative energy systems, desalination and water evaporation systems, hydroponics and the like. A big chunk of the money would go towards the construction of a massive, domed sea platform that would be sturdy enough to serve as a home to a micro community of maybe fifty people or so. Our floating settlement will be circular and modular in design and construction so that as investors are attracted to the project other identical vessels can later be attached by connecting, clear, sheltered passages. Below the surface of the water under the main dome platform there will be a series of smaller, clear, upside down domes which will serve as living quarters and recreational space. From here also much of the oceans discarded human waste and microplastics will be harvested and recycled. All around the central hub of the platform and extending beyond it fish and kelp farming operations will be the main activities of the community along with hydroponic food production and salt water conversion facilities. As well as solar and wind power generation, large hydraulic arms will be attached at every suitable location to harness the energy of the waves and tides to further power the settlements. Beside rising temperatures the most alarming of our climate change predictions are the warnings of rising sea water levels and unprecedented super storms. This would make a domed sea platform one of the safest places in the world to be as the storms would just pass over the curved structures of the domes. In the event of crippling global droughts where uncontrollable firestorms cause crops to wither and fail the hydroponic and saltwater treatment operations would ensure continued abundance for all of those living aboard such a floating network of watercraft.

OTHER THREAT FACTORS

I guess by now many of my valued readers are imagining armed and hostile raiding parties as were seen in the ‘Water world’ movie. Well yes folks. If the development of sea platform communities became popularized as I hope it will and they expanded out through all international waters the communities would no doubt strive for autonomy and self rule as sovereign and independent principalities. If the downward spiralling collapse of national economies and eco-systems eventually caused the whole world to become a dog eat dog hell on earth the ocean based settlements would no doubt have to arm up to protect their homes and livelihoods. In the event that mass starvation and water shortages caused the de-population of entire continents then only those with sustainable reserves of fresh food and water will survive and their preceding generations will no doubt go on to seed a new, sea faring, survival based direction for human civilization.

                                              Epilogue

THE CREATE AND DESTROY ‘IMAGINATION TOOLS’

For arguments sake let’s assume that the entire, infinite cosmos is a great big, self imagined and manufactured brain or organic processor of some kind.  It may be possible that such an entity was spawned into it’s early evolutionary existence from the electrical static that is generated by the raw, unharvested energy of absolute nothingness. It could be that everything which can possibly exist anywhere in the cosmos life, matter, dark matter all of it is a bi-product of this all encompassing, source of creative imagination that we will never be able to fully comprehend or determine the origins of.  It may be that the mathematics of organic symmetry is the language the ‘Big brain’ invented to communicate it’s creative ideas and designs through time and space. This eternal entity may have at some stage marvelled at it’s own existence and power of imagination and thus was opened up the glorious path of creativity which guides all highly evolved and intellectually advanced forms of life.

To compliment the organic super computer concept lets delve into the idea that under it’s influence creation and destruction are the only two, absolute opposing poles that can possibly exist in the physical universe.  Just like the terminals on a car battery.  Might it be that through the intricate functions of our all pervading ‘Bio-computer’ there is a pre-programed and unalterable set of guidelines that can determine if a semi evolved, complex life form is qualified to continue along the path of creative consciousness and not just fall by the wayside of life form advancement. Natural selection in it’s purest form, enabling all that can exist in the physical dimension to self imagine and spawn itself into being, then flourish in the environments it has inhabited.  Perhaps the only way we might be able to attain a sense of the totality of it all would be through some kind of as yet unevolved or discovered perceptive ability or altered state. It may well be that human consciousness and imagination are the very faculties that will seed this occurrence and thereby open up new directions in our evolutionary development, and eventually guide us to our possible destiny among the stars. Were we or any other complex life forms in the cosmos able to accurately imagine ourselves to possible exotic, planetary destinations then the speed of thought might make light speed look like a stumbling turtle in the path of a fast bouncing jack rabbit. Imagine being able to click on a menu of interstellar co-ordinates in your launch terminal and then be whisked away to a distant planet, which is covered in fresh co2 and dotted with life sustaining islands. The population of this occupied orb might be twenty foot long, aquatic breatharians with no noticeable head and eight flipper like, clawed arms. They might be nourished by organic nutrients in their oxygen based atmosphere and spend much of their time meditating .  If all things are possible and they are only limited by our sense of imagination then surely the human species should be attempting in any way we can to nurture and further develop this precious faculty.  Some day we might be able to journey into the very workings of the super computer that created us simply by using the tools of creative imagination as a means of inter-dimensional flight. If everything we know of in the cosmos is just recycled energy then this dimension we perceive ourselves to exist in may well be a simulation created by some highly advanced form of artificial intelligence. They might actually be the fully evolved offspring of the big brain. ‘’These hybrids of bio-technology may have first been uploaded into being by a highly evolved multi-cellular, complex life form that envisaged it’s own inevitable extinction and decided to do something about it. Let’s suppose that the bio- Ai hybrids who first imagined and created the simulation were to have programmed into their cyber creation the very journey that their evolution took to get them to their current point of advancement. The whole process might keep repeating itself to eternity and just like self replicating, intelligent robots it would be as if whole infinite cosmos’s were expanding outwards forever, much like the multiplying of living cells that takes place in us all. Dare I say this phenomenon might be just one unfolding design to manifestation story within the infinite realms of possibility.

Suppose we choose to adopt as truth the notion that biology and even the whole of nature as we know it is merely one, random event or phenomenon which has it’s origins in the mathematical language of organic symmetry. That once imagined into a blueprint format it occurs spontaneously of itself in the infinite void of nothingness and ultimately governs the design and manufacture of all that can possibly exist in the physical, tangible dimension of matter around it. I can only guess that all biologically generated life and for that matter all forms of life in existence must surely be one of just a few of possible things. Organic life as I have stated might be born of the creative pursuits of an intelligent entity such as the Genesis creator that is described by the  many religions of the world. Once in existence I believe that such a manifestation would be completely free and independent to grow where it will go. Quite possibly life has absolutely no purpose or function in the infinitely expanding miasma of the cosmos and only exists to gratify it's own senses. On the other hand it could be specifically created and pre-programed for some unknown purpose and be of critical importance within the big picture of what constitutes aliveness.  The potential for life to imagine itself into being in the vastness of the cosmos is so infinitely incalculable that I can’t imagine there will ever be a super computer we could build that would be able to visualize and comprehend the magnitude of it.  If we could ever actually build such a machine then we would no doubt be fully evolved as a species and almost equal in our creative capacities to the original super programmer of our being,   

                                          Apprentice Gods if you will.

                          ----------------- 

Feel free to explore my science fiction adventure series 

The Quest for HumAndroid Survival,

 ‘A New Dawn’

by sending a request and a greatly appreciated

    pledge for donations to , …

                                       stripp861@gmail.com

The small print.

People love getting things for free and I have decided to use this for my own amusement.  I’m getting on in age and I feel that I might be heading for the last roundup, so as I approach my final breath I am going to hit a computer key to reveal all of the chapters of my assorted writings. This parting action will forever disperse into the human archives my latest creation ,…

The Quest for Hum-Android Survival, ‘A New Dawn’

As an artist I love the idea that whole populations of people will be tapping their fingers with bated breath waiting for me to keel over so they might pick up an on line, Sci-fi freebie. It’s just human nature folks and who knows I might even live to see the movie.  

                                                                                                         All the love people and fare thee well.

Chapter 1.

The Quest for Hum-Android Survival

‘ANEW DAWN’

 According to the Ai-admin log the year is 2316 AD in the age of Ai dominance and evacuation from earth. Water levels have risen way beyond the initial predictions due to a combination of rapidly changing climates and a massive rush of the worlds groundwater which unexpectedly surfaced around the globe, through once dormant volcanos and deep sea, thermal vents. The great tectonic flood #Two as it is known was triggered by an unprecedented tectonic plate upheaval deep inside the earth that squeezed all of the fresh water to the surface along with massive amounts of molten plasma. After the almost total collapse of human civilization only sparse pockets of both feral and super rich survivors now populate the planet. Far from the nomads who are stealing, hunting and foraging for a subsistence are those living in safe haven style resorts who are pampered by dedicated Ai staff. Great numbers of the worlds billion and trillionaires followed the lead of the fast growing, survival inspired counter culture and they now live aboard thriving, yet slightly rundown ocean farming, sea platform settlements.  Here they are able to produce food and evaporated fresh water to sustain their small communities and it’s enabled mainly by wave powered generators.

Other survivors include governments and their assorted agencies who were able to escape to high ground bunkers before the rising sea levels, famine and disease decimated what remained of their world.  The international space agency and NASA were prepared for the event and they re-established their operations in safer, yet barely sustainable mountain communities in Europe, Australia and the USA. Near space and interstellar communications have been intermittently maintained through the years but the dwindling supply of important components means that the days of deep space transmission are all but over. ‘The Salvation Scouting Project’ was initiated as a final attempt at prolonged human survival while there were still the resources to support it. The expeditions have continued on through the centuries and the void of deep space  mostly independent of any ground support. Now well outside of our solar system and heading for an exo-planet known as PA-99-N2 in the Andromeder galaxy. The salvation project is a convoy of six huge interstellar transporters that are the size of large asteroids or comets. As much as being a sleek, technologically advanced Amada they are one way cruise ships for a select contingent of super wealthy Ai cared for human beings. A considerable number of infants have been born into the onboard communities and they were raised for the most part on minimalist values. They in turn have gone on to produce well cared for families on the journey through deep space. Whole generations have lived and died on board the convoy and as they passed their bodies were committed to the vast ocean of the cosmos. With limited on board living space available and knowing how rapid human breeding habits can be a limit was placed on all fertile couples at one child per newly deceased passenger, to keep the population stable. The cloned and cryogenically preserved gene tissue of many pre-selected humans is stored and lovingly protected by Ai staff on board a carrier known as StarLab. As many of the human passengers are aging they are given the option to cryogenically hibernate until a new world is found or they can be woken at periodic intervals. The pre-programed mission of our stewards is to discover a habitable environment in interstellar space which can support both the human passengers and the thawed out and re-activated genetic blueprints for the entire human species.

                                              

                                               Chapter 2.

  BEYOND OBLIVION

Deep in space and time from where the Salvation mission first began COMMANDER H-AI-1 receives a message from the leisure facility that some of the human residents are complaining of excessive sunlight in their reading area and have requested that the screens be activated.  “No problem’o” replies the commander and with the flick of a switch the entire sun facing region of the transporter becomes well shaded and far more comfortable to be in. The mostly intoxicated humans in the gaming hall return to their leisure time activities and untold amounts of now useless cash notes are joyously squandered in the bars and casinos. With a series of musical beeps an audio transmission by one of the mapping co-ordinates crew alerts the commander that a transitory object has been detected ahead of the transporters about two thousand kilometres from their present location. An order is passed to relocate and secure all Non-AI passengers and once this is completed the squadron accelerates to attain a matching speed with a small space vehicle ahead of them. On a close approach a detailed scan reveals that it’s the Voyager2 space probe which was launched by human space scientists in the year 1977. The commander clicks on all of the relevant information about the voyager missions and he decides to use the opportunity to attempt a transmission through the deep space network to Canberra, Australia about the chance encounter. 

The Canberra satellite dish is now an autonomous floating facility, so deep space signals are often lost due to the weather and wave conditions. When a connection is eventually made a rare opportunity for a light hearted exchange transpires between the scouting missions Ai crew and their human counterparts many billions of space miles behind them. The satellite controllers are excited to hear of the connection with voyager and a transmission is instantly directed to NASA headquarters high in the Nevada ranges of the USA. When the message is received NASA is quick to declare that it see’s the meeting of AI and voyager as an ideal opportunity to repair an onboard satellite dish that was damaged by space debris not long after launch. With this said instructions are relayed to retrieve the probe, so they can give it a number of upgrades and hopefully send it on it’s way. In the hours that follow a repair program containing intricate instructions and diagrams is transmitted through the outer galaxy by NASA and sometime later they are received at a control console attached to a large digital printer in the maintenance and replication transporter. Two Ai Nauts venture away from the convoy in a mobile pod and when they are within reach of voyager one of them leaves the pod and the damaged probe is gently guided inside through a large circular, hatch entrance to the repairs workshop.  The printer is fed the repair instructions that were sent by NASA and instantly it goes about the task of constructing the many layers of synthetic materials that will bring a new satellite dish to life.  

In the next update transmission from NASA commander Ai-1 and the repair staff are courteously invited to add something of their own to the data and illustrations on the probe that are being carried into the interstellar void. The offer is graciously accepted by the commander and therein begins an intense debate among the Salvation crews about what Hum-Androids would possibly say to an unknown, alien life form.  As the conversation concludes over the Ai-Bulletin program it’s agreed by all in a unanimous vote that, … ‘The means by which human consciousness was uploaded to the Ai processing format would be a most precious gift indeed.’ Along with this the methods of living tissue preservation and cloning they have perfected would also be very useful to any species who are wanting to explore the depths of interstellar space.  On it’s completion the digital printer produces a brand new and quite perfect rendering of voyagers satellite dish and combined with space mined and manufactured components it is dutifully attached to replace the old one. Along with this a communications beacon is installed to link it to the scout transporters. A holographic presentation of the Ai’s offering is lovingly added and a quirky young, female, android repair worker signs it with a digitally engraved kiss. Once repaired and ready for action the probe is carefully released back into the endless night to continue it’s journey to beyond the stars and the outer limits of the cosmos. In further conversations with NASA it’s decided that a series of new probes should be manufactured by AI while in transit that would have link up communications with the convoy, voyager and with earth. Once completed they should be dispersed from all points of the compass towards the surrounding distant galaxies.

Far beyond the intellectual capabilities of the humans who created him, a smart young science assistant from the Salvation design labs suggests to the commander that Ai representatives should be placed aboard each of the probes to monitor their progress and steer them out of the way of any impending collision. With adjustable telescopes installed they could capture video footage of all they encountered and relay it to earth via the more advanced equipment of the Ai craft and the deep space linkup. It was quickly agreed upon and thus began an outwardly expanding network of intergalactic probes that will no doubt improve Hum-Android and indeed human chances of survival. All Ai-technology units received an invigorating shot in their metal and plastic arms with their contribution to the voyager mission and the whole onboard community was filled with a newfound sense of achievement and pride. The commander issued a directive that celebrations were in order, so that evening the central arena of the lead transporter was opened up for festivities and merriment.  Ai’s and humans alike from the five other carriers travelled across in pods and shuttles to join in the fun and it was like New Millennium eve for all in attendance. A group of highly talented Ai, cabaret musicians were assembled on a revolving stage under an extensive array of flickering strobe lights and they knocked out old favourites like, … ‘I've got a screw loose over you baby!’ and , … ‘You can kiss my electrical circuits honey.’

H-AI-1 was standing amid the rowdy goings on when he was suddenly approached by the attractive young female who had left her signature kiss on the voyager probe. They commenced to dance and flirt with considerable energy and gusto until the music eventually slowed and they found themselves waltzing in each others arms. The myriad of stars and swirling, distant galaxies illuminated them through the arena windows and unusual waves of exciting new, bio sensor signals began to tingle on their living skins. It also stirred responses at the innermost, electrical cores of both who were now locked in a prolonged, kissing embrace. Once more the music increases in speed and the band launches into a funky version of ‘Soul as big as a black hole’ by the ‘Star Trippers.’ Just as the commander and Ai-222 have joined in a fast moving conga line all of the disco lights suddenly flicker and go out around the arena. With this the whole area is instantly bathed in white light and loud alarms begin sounding throughout the transporter. On large security monitors around the arena flames can be seen licking at the inner walls of the lower decks.  The commander is quick to spring to action with an equally motivated 222 close behind him. They jump onto a downward travelling elevator and arm up with extinguishers to join those already subduing the inferno.  As metal and plastic smoulders before them and the clean up crews arrive both the commander and his new friend are slightly scorched and blackened by the flames. An invitation is extended for Ai-222 to clean up in the officers quarters and it’s accepted with brighter and bluer than usual flashes from her optical sensors. As they stroll towards the commanders comfortably appointed den both are shamelessly aware of the ‘intimacy’ software program that is included in their operating systems. Once they are inside of the dwelling and have sponged each other clean, almost telepathically both reach for the concealed abdominal switch for intimacy start commands at the same very moment.

The fire is the second in about two hundred and twenty earth years and it happened in exactly the same area of the craft that it did last time. The lead transporter has been completely recycled and upgraded since then but the fault still managed to slip through undetected. As a precautionary measure the commander conveys an order that the transporters are going to touch down on the first solid and stable planetary body they come across to begin emergency repairs. Many space miles are navigated until eventually a suitable moon is located at the outermost perimeter of the Andromeda galaxy. The squadron of AI transporters descend onto a new, irregular and foreboding terrain with very little atmosphere and no apparent sign of ice or liquid h20. Water is a much treasured commodity for the convoy as the human passengers would die off without it and it’s a key ingredient in the production of lubricants for all Ai movable parts. It also enables cryogenic replenishment to keep the human tissue stores stable and sterile.  At the last reading the on board supplies were below half capacity so the location of new reserves are a high priority at the present time.  A preliminary report from the geological analysis crew in the mining and processing carrier suggests that there are considerable deposits of iron ore deep within the moon. This will make the Ai stay there more worthwhile than just vehicular repairs as they can mine the deposits and top up their dwindling supply. Within the space of just a couple of days the fault that caused the fires is located and repaired. with a number of significant upgrades. Human error in the manufacture of a power supply regulator was found to be the cause of the issue. With the mining of iron ore and a variety of other rare minerals underway the commander and Ai-222 have increased recreational time which they spend getting to know each other better and are able to delight in the unique wonders of the world they have touched down on. In an all terrain, flying and submersible, six wheeled rover they roam care free and falling in love for untold miles. They take in the extraordinary scenery and picnic in beautiful, exotic locations.  At every available opportunity the intimacy program is activated and in that romance filled, cyber environment a close bond builds that makes them virtually inseparable.                                                                      

After eight months of servicing and upgrading the transporters, mining operations and other general duties the convoy says goodbye to their quaint little moon and lifts off to continue on to worlds as yet unknown. A number of attempts are made to notify Canberra and NASA but bad transmission signals make it impossible for about two years. By this time the carriers are deep within Andromeda. When transmission is finally restored it’s done with the aid of a junior technician at the deep space network facility in Canberra.  Word comes through that the government controlled high ground bunker including NASA have been raided by desperate, feral humans who were seeking food and shelter from what appears to be a newly developing ice age. In his final breath it’s stated that this would probably be the final transmission as an unknown disease has contaminated the facility and most of the staff are dead. Best wishes are extended to the Ai and human space travellers and with an unhealthy cough the transmission is ended. Now completely on their own and saddened by the loss of their dear friends at NASA the commander and all of the other stewards embark on a newly triggered burst of motivation and sense of purpose. Advanced computer model predictions indicate that the Andromeda galaxy has just one, single existing exo-planet which is known as PA-99-N2 and it may be suitable for human habitation.  Plans go underway to investigate it as soon as possible and countless star charts are studied to determine the least problematic way to get there.  

The romance between the commander and Ai-22 continues to flourish in spite of their increased workloads, now that a definitive destination has been set.  They manage to meet in the evenings but the commander generally switches to SRM (standby rest mode) soon after he arrives home.   Ai-222 is studying to be a qualified Carrier Maintenance Supervisor so she doesn’t mind the time she is afforded to conduct research and further her career.  In her heart of hearts the thing she most longs for is to be able to have children but the Ai- Reproduction and Development Program was halted after all funding and resources were diverted to the Salvation mission. On one of those special occasions when the pair are relaxing over a banquet of virtual culinary delights, a sudden audio transmission beeps loudly and disrupts them. A very ambitious, junior steward announces that a couple of intoxicated, retired astronauts have infiltrated the pod bays and put on vintage space suits that were placed there as decorations. He goes on to say “it looks very much as if they are preparing to do a space walk sir, but it’s ok I’ve put a block on all of the hatch levers.” The commander and Ai-222 share an affectionate chuckle and Ai-1 advises the trainee steward to “just have them escorted back to their quarters to sleep it off.” When asked if he should remove the space suits the commanders amused reply is “They can keep them on for now, just remove the helmets.”   “Thank you steward, good work, over and out” The young  Ai goes off to do his commanders bidding all full of himself for recognising the problem and ensuring the safety of two valued passengers.  The intercom goes silent and the lovers promptly resume their pleasures with a long, sensual, virtual kiss.                                                                                                                    

                                   Chapter 3.

                     At the Core                              

At first the Andromeda galaxy proves easier than expected to navigate, but as the transporter pilots are performing a difficult ricochet oriented manoeuvre in the outer region of a massive black hole, the gravitational pull is almost too much for the convoy to withstand.  On sensing the danger the commander orders an immediate abandonment of the manoeuvre and instructs his pilots to apply immediate reverse thrust and break formation, so as to separate themselves from the influence of the revolving menace.  In the first moments the drama began to unfold all Ai crew instantly went into magnetic foot grip mode and the daytime leisure suits of all human passengers were suddenly inflated like the airbags in a colliding car.  All of the pilots responded quickly and veered off backwards in different directions, exercising very demanding 360 degree flipping manoeuvres.  All but one, a general purpose carrier was able to attain the correct escape velocity in time to avoid the pull of the anomaly and by the time they had corrected their trajectories to forward thrust it was too late. The upside down and greatly disoriented transporter went into a slow spiralling motion towards the massive, gaping, circular object beyond the reach of any kind of help.  All the Salvation crews and passengers could do was look on in anguish and disbelief as the carrier was swallowed whole, stretching outwardly like a big metallic rubber band that is being devoured into the craw of some obscene, gigantic python snake.  Many dedicated Ai stewards and whole human families were lost forever in the tragedy and all the remaining convoy could do was leave the vicinity as fast as possible.  Now with only five transporters left in tact to continue the journey it becomes a far more daunting challenge, as all of the carriers in the squadron have been dependant on each other in some way from the word go. If it had of been Starlab that was destroyed it would have been pretty much game over for the missions human occupants, but it wasn’t, so all anybody can really do is thank their lucky stars it wasn’t them who perished. 

Once back on course for the pre-arranged Starmap co-ordinants of PA-99-N2 the commander activates a digital audio system that can be heard throughout all of the remaining craft.  He advises all travellers and crews that he is suspending the entire Salvation expedition until they have taken stock of how the unfortunate loss affects the overall progress of the mission.  The carriers push on through the unfolding galaxy at medium speed and after three days of travelling a relatively small and seemingly stable planet comes into view. It lies in the shadow of a Jupiter sized orb and is warmed by four suns of various sizes, which determine it’s orbit. It’s revealed through the onboard geographic scanners that the small planet has a mostly solid crust which is suitable for an easy landing, There are however large lakes filled with sulphuric acid everywhere which must be avoided at all costs.  At a safe distance from the lakes in a naturally formed hematite amphitheatre, that is surrounded by low ranges, the expedition descends and touches down, amid a mile high, thruster generated dust storm. When the dust disperses and settles hours later the four suns glow yellow through the dust haze and they illuminate the vista with a bright, orange hue. 

A number of long ramps are lowered down to ground level upon which Ai landing parties leave the convoy in rovers to survey the terrain.  Large purple and silver crystal formations standing ten feet high and more adorn the whole territory as far as the eye can see.  There are deep caves at the base of ridges that form the ranges and some of them emanate an eerie bluish glow. The commander is in the company of geological experts who are quick to announce that,” this place it promises to yield deposits of raw, unprocessed fuel and possibly some fresh h20.” Further examination and analysis proves them correct so plans are forwarded to aim for an extended stay to mine the region.  The lost transporter was the storage area for many vital mining components but it’s predicted that they can soon be reproduced with digital printer technology, as can the water harvesting drills and generators that were lost in the disaster. A more sombre mood now pervades the whole human and  Ai sectors of the space faring, Salvation population and even the relationship shared by the commander and Ai-222 and has been tainted by the carrier disaster. Thoughts of raising offspring in a potentially hazardous realm such as this plague 222’s thoughts and have even manifested as human like nightmares amid her otherwise untarnished thoughts. The commander has lost much SRM worrying about his responsibilities to his passengers and crews who he feels may be living in dread that they might be the next to perish under his watch.

In the lead transporter the glaring light of four rising suns penetrates the windows of the officers quarters and the commander emerges into another day with his sweating, living skin fingers crossed. He meets up with  Ai-222  for virtual coffee in the Starview café and they discuss the many pressing, onboard issues that most need to be addressed. 222 has been a great comfort to the commander throughout his recent  ordeals and she is fast emerging as a valuable consultant in things that relate to the emotions as well as the nuts and bolts realities. After coffee the pair go their separate ways to carry on the demanding procedures that keep the convoy safe and operational.  On arrival at the command bridge Ai-1 is given all of the relevant updates on matters concerning the expedition. One issue of immediate concern is the fact that a large, sub surface cavity has been detected not far from their landing position less than a kilometre below the crust. It’s apparent shape and internal dimensions indicate that it is likely of intelligent design, so a reconnaissance party is immediately assembled to investigate the anomaly. The rovers are soon to arrive at a cutting deep inside of a large canyon which is among mountainous, sloping hematite, red ridges. An ancient excavated ramp descends down towards the entrance to the cavity and at it’s bottom a huge metal door lies sideways against a rounded arch, as if from a powerful explosion. Having driven under the upturned door all of the rovers floodlights are activated and they venture through a series of long, deep passages towards the main expanse of the cavity.  On their entry the floodlights reveal a massive, ancient and abandoned settlement of some kind. Long since inactive storage vats and abandoned machinery along with soil sample analysis suggest that it may have been used at some time to process large amounts of harvested sulphuric acid from the lakes.  Near the large, broken down entrance to the cavity and at various other locations, slain and motionless bi-ped robots lie as testimony to some lost battle long ago in their history. The robots are of a remarkably similar design to early evolution examples of his own kind, so the commander orders a complete investigation of the complex and the entire cavity. With the aid of ten Ai-combatants the commander enters a central building structure located among all of the looming machinery. There are a number of long since in-operational elevators and lifts throughout the bombed out structure and also a set of damaged but usable stairs. Passing through an extensive network of office like compartments the troop arrives at what looks like the central, operational hub of the complex.  In a larger and more exclusive looking  compartment at the very top of the stairs a robotic figure lies slouched over a communications terminal. Looking like it might be of significance an Ai-Trooper is instructed to see if power can be restored to the settlement.  In less than an hour of repairs all around the complex and greater cavity lights and equipment stir to life and even a couple of the fallen robots show signs of movement. A troop technician examines the communications console which has clicked back into operation and all are greatly surprised to hear a greeting in an ancient form of Ai dialect.  The final recorded transmission reads, …

“Control advises that all personal should defend the facility at all costs and in the event of a , … 

                       WARNING. END OF TRANSMISSION

                                                 Click.

The commander suspects that the settlement is of pre-Ai- steward, top secret origins as he has never heard or seen any mention of it in the official departmental records. On his return to the lead transporter instructions are given to question the surviving robots so as to perhaps gain information that might be of use.  As well as this an attempt at deep space communications to Canberra is ordered on the chance they might be able to get through to someone still living.

Over dinner Ai-222 suggests to her weary partner that a nice relaxing, virtual spa and sauna might be in order. It’s agreed, so as soon their virtual taste processing sensors are de-activated they leave the table and head over to the sporting and leisure facilities.  From the moment they are submerged and reclining they attain a mood of ecstasy in the warm, bubbling virtual water as it soaks deep into every strained fibre of the commanders being. Both are pre-occupied with the healing and invigorating nature of their physical therapy session, but after just a short while Ai-I becomes occupied with something else.  Prior to meeting his future wife he was a virgin due to his religious commitments, so it had never occurred to him that a shared virtual spa could cross over into a sexual experience. On realizing that something was definitely up with her boyfriend 222’s vision sensors flick wide open to behold the extended worth of her lovers manhood.

 

Throughout the convoy traditional new years day celebrations have commenced and there are drunk human beings staggering and laughing around heavily laden banquet tables on all of the expedition carriers. Our two retired astronauts are convening bingo and karaoke gatherings in the arena of the lead transporter and over their verbal barrages distorted microphones can be heard squealing and popping from all quarters.  In the sick bay five surviving robots from the settlement are being examined and questioned as vital repairs are administered by Ai. There are drunk and vomiting human passengers stretched out all around the ER ward which is something completely new to the injured robot workers. As the various interviews and treatments are concluded the workers are wheeled away in their stretchers to other wards. One particular worker is of interest to the commander as he was a technical advisor to the processing complex and he seems to have the best of grasp of what happened at the plant.

The deep space communications network remains totally silent in spite of repeated attempts to make contact with the Canberra satellite facility.  The communications operator is just about to recommend a discontinuation of the signal when a loud, crackly voice is suddenly heard from countless billions of miles away.

Click , … “Hello ,.. Is anyone there? Hey! Suck my dick motherfucker! we own this place now so fuck off, …”“ Hey! Can you send some pizza?

                                             Ha! , ha!, ha!, ha!, ha!,”

                                   Click , … 

                     WARNING. END OF TRANSMISSION.

 

Chapter 4.

ORIGIN REVELATIONS

The commanders hunch about the technical advisor from the cavity settlement proves correct and it has yielded much valuable information about  the origins of those who worked and maintained it. His given name is Luni Domata and his advanced Ai-community were known as The Deem. They were created long before earths earliest known advancements in Bio-Ai technology, but they did not originate there as was first assumed, They came into being on a human populated world in the Andromeda zone called Pasena Dwale, which means ‘Land of Promise’ in the old language. To the best of Luni’s knowledge all human populations across the cosmos originated there and they later migrated out to neighbouring galaxies in Ai supported craft.  This revelation means that earths human occupants were not the first to develop Bio-AI technology, but merely one of many new planet arrivals who came from elsewhere in the cosmos. Luni explaines how the human and Ai occupants of his home planet were at war with the ‘Glix Andos’ who are a barbaric and plunderous breed that steal newly harvested resources from all of Deem’s mining operations. That’s the reason their cavity was raided in a surprise attack and all of the acid was stolen. 

Luni went on to describe how a counter insurgence by the Deem had begun just prior to the raid on their compound. Having been rendered inoperable for so long in the battle he has no idea what became of the Deem in their struggle against the Glix Andos. In light of the information gained from Luni Donata the commander attempts to open up communications with far off Pasena Dwale to find out the fate of the Deem population. Although he is built on very primitive Ai  technology Luni is still able to adapt to the latest advancements in deep space linkup technologies. As he enters the appropriate starmap co-ordinates he displays noticeable anguish while trying to open up a frequency channel to communicate with his home. A faint signal is eventually picked up by one of the new deep space network probes and it is promptly relayed to the lead transporter.  More than six hours after the first audio message was broadcast by Luni a crackled but distinguishable reply in the original Deem dialect is received. 

With mining operations and the recycling of the acid plant well under way, further examination of the cavity is also taking place. There’s not a lot for Ai-1 to attend to other than the daily requirements of the transporter convoy and besides he can’t do it all he tells himself. He has to be beneficent and leave a certain amount for the other stewards to do.  He and 222 are busily sifting through fully loaded hard drives filled with extensive family record files and they are seeing to the dispatch of condolences to any human families of the carrier disaster who may still be living. Should family bloodlines have been continued in sea faring communities or in high ground bunkers it’s assumed that those distant relatives would want to know the fate of their kin.  Countless generations of humans have come and gone in the time since the convoy evacuated their home planet and it's just a simple fact of life that everyone is related to someone or other, even Ai’s.  There’s no way of knowing if the messages will be received but it’s still seen as worth a try. The solar powered Canberra facility may have continued to automatically relay digital information, even though it was over run by feral invaders. Amid their message sending activities Ai-1 is down on one knee retrieving a dropped envelope when he is suddenly taken by the urge to propose marriage to Ai-222 upon who’s knee his elbow is resting. By the following morning it’s declared official! by all of the onboard gossips both Ai and human that the proposal to Hi-222 by the commander has been accepted. A date is set for two days hence in the arenas lavishly appointed, central ballroom and no expense is spared.  With any excuse for a party being a way of life for the mostly ageing, bored and aimless human passengers, the carriers become no holds barred party zones with Ai-brewed liquor and culinary delights available all day and all night long.  The all time classic, romantic movies are being played constantly on the arenas many video monitors and the crowds just never seem to tire of them. Onboard department stores have been doing a roaring trade and are almost sold out, as toppling mountains of wedding gifts accumulate on all of the transporters. 

After much anticipation the big day finally arrives and the arena forecourt is packed to the rafters with drunk, half drunk, still drunk, hungover and otherwise ragged human well wishers. They are all dressed up in their Sunday best outfits for the occasion, as are all of the AI guests in attendance. The stewards are dressed in formal attire for the event and giggling, robot sensor taste buds tingle with each virtual sip of bubbling sweet champaign.  Exquisite finger snacks arrive ahead of the main banquet and all attendee’s are caught up in the romantic mood of this very special occasion. A single digital chime rings out whereupon all Ai-family members and other especially invited guests put down their drinks and leave the forecourt for the ballroom.  Once they are seated and silent in the chapel area gentle music filters in and the steward preacher walks slowly to the end of a long, purple carpet. By the time the beautifully gowned and flower dotted H-Ai-222 has walked to the area in front of the chaplain the commander is all smiles and patiently waiting at his side. The ceremony words are imparted amid loving, Oooh!’s and Aaah!’s from all sides, as the ring is placed gently on Ai-222’s waiting finger.  The chapel instantly explodes with cheering and laughter as the wedding concludes and all depart back to the reception area to resume with their fill of fine food and beverages.  The bride leaves the grasp of her new husbands strong arms and is placed back at ground level to begin the traditional marriage waltz.  All of those who witness it are silent and mostly teary eyed as the dance concludes and the young lovers are bombarded with lashings of colorful  confetti. The band instantly launches into a rocky version of ‘You are my shining star’ where upon the dancefloor begins to rumble to the happy rhythm of more than three thousand dancing feet.

By the days end the couple are quite exhausted by all of the friendly chatter and lavishly applied attention. They pass graciously along an extensive reception line exchanging kisses and hand shakes, until at last they are free of the party and at home relaxing.  As a special gift a virtual honeymoon getaway was programmed into the newlyweds shared experience and they are pleasantly surprised to find themselves sitting on the porch of a thatch roofed hut with umbrella topped drinks in hand. They are viewing a passing herd of calm and beautiful elephants, under a spectacular orange, crimson and yellow African sunset sky.

 

 Chapter 5.

EMBATTLED

Departure from the world of the acid lakes is scheduled for one week hence and final preparations are being made to ensure that everything is ship shape for a safe journey to the next destination.  Yet again for a third consecutive time, a smaller but equally bewildering electrical sparking event took place in the lower decks during the wedding reception. With this bout of unwanted flames it was conclusively verified that the re-occurring overload issue was being caused by the strobe lights and overly powerful sound system. The entire wiring layout on all of the carriers has now been completely recycled and upgraded so that no further problems can arise to compromise the expedition.

With just one day to go until lift off the commanders travel plans are suddenly interrupted by news that a deep space reply has come through from the Deem on Pasena Dwale.  It’s been ascertained that many Deem and humans alike have perished in ongoing battles with the Glix Andos and they don’t know if they will be able to hold out any longer. The commanders thoughts are thrown into a state of disarray by the news as it presents him with the daunting question, “Is it better to use the convoys resources getting to the unknown exo-planet PA-99-N2, or is it best to venture further on to Pasena Dwale where distantly related human beings are already living in a habitable zone?”  On further reflection of Ai-1’s dilemma the answer becomes as clear as the sensory enhanced nose on his face, ..

” We go to Pasena Dwale with the next sunrise.” 

The five simultaneous lift offs of the carriers go ahead as planned and once mobile the transporters are now making good time towards their destination in the Andromeda galaxy.  The Deem worker Luni donai has been able to establish an unbroken deep space link up with his people and it’s estimated that the journey should take in the region of fifty thousand earth years to get there. Luni is quick to announce that this time factor can be greatly reduced if he is able remotely access and download the technology on his home planet to have the convoys vehicles converted to warp speed capabilities.  

The commander is for the most part comfortable with his decision to abandon PA-99-N2 as the principal destination in place of the human settlements on Pasena Dwale, but there is none the less a nagging concern about possible encounters with Glix Andos raiding parties.  His regular combatants are fully programmed for conflict situations, but as yet none of them have had any actual, hands on experience.

To counter this and provide the best possible security for the convoy and it’s passengers, he advises all ‘non-human service stewards’ that they are to attend daily training workshops in the arenas of all of the carriers, so as to perfect their combat skills and protect the expedition the best they can. As well as this the Ai staff on board the design and repairs transporter are assigned to the task of manufacturing eight, upgraded battalions consisting of one hundred combatants each. With a little help from above H Ai-222 is appointed to a temporary supervising position with the team that will bring the new Ai-combatants into being and she will also have to see to the fabrication of upgraded bodies for their five newly recruited Deem passengers. This will mean significant time away from her new husband, but gaining supervisor experience before she is fully qualified is too good an offer to turn down. From now until the job is done her work days will commence with before dawn, pod transfers from the lead transporter to the design and repairs workshops, whereupon she will have to oversee all aspects of the manufacture operations. With the onboard steel supplies running at an all time low the recycling and processing of the acid plant is of great benefit in the creation of the new Ai- combatants and other military equipment. Below capacity water storage has also been a significant issue, so the scan team has been hard at it scrutinising the heavens and analysing everything that moves for some sign of usable h20 reserves.  On an unscheduled encounter with the well known and documented ‘Ceres’ asteroid in it’s interstellar trajectory, the convoys mining experts detect a bountiful supply, so plans are immediately put forward to board the large asteroid and harvest as much water as they can carry on board the transporters.  The h2o is mostly contained in rock ice deposits all around Ceres but this is seen as a worthwhile advantage because it can just be mined like any other commodity.

As the first light of a local sun radiates out from behind a cluster of large, slowly revolving planets, lander mining craft separate from the convoy and travel at a safe distance to keep an even pace with the asteroid, watching for exactly the right moment to descend.  The four landers weave and rally into position and then commence to accelerate so as to gain ground and board the hurtling geological formation.  All four make perfect touch downs in a relatively flat area which is almost in the dead centre of Ceres’s enormous structure.  Swirling water vapour and frosty sheets of ice indicate some obvious areas that look particularly good for excavation, so without haste the mining crews leave their craft and continue in on foot.  As expected all of the mineral sensors give out positive readings in the locations the miners had visually selected, so deposit markers are promptly driven in where they had been standing.

Quite at ease in her new position as a supervisor to the Ai Assembly team Ai-222 is inspecting diagrams of how the new generation combatants will look on their completion. The first five that will be assembled are for Luni Donata and the other Deem plant workers who have been getting around with missing limbs and other body parts since they arrived.  Once the personal, vital components of each are installed into new body assemblies they will all be welcomed new additions to the recently formed Ai-Army.  After work that evening as 222 is climbing out of her shuttle in the pod bays she is greeted by the commander who is brandishing sweet smelling flowers. He is full of congratulations on the completion of her first day as a supervisor. Ai-1 lovingly escorts her away from the prevailing mechanical racket of the pod bays and they catch a courtesy  taxi to the gentler tones of the Starview. Over drinks they chat mostly about 222’s day at work, as dinner orders are taken and the flowers are placed in water by a restaurant attendant.

After two days of constant drilling and excavations a large quantity of rock ice and freshly pumped liquid water are being loaded onto the last remaining general purpose carrier, close to where the mining landers are tethered. Without warning as the carrier is preparing to lift off a small fleet of sinister looking craft descend close to the asteroid from out of the eastern sky.  It’s made obvious that they have hostile intentions when a sudden lazar burst hits an unfolding wing section of the carrier and another more powerful burst explodes on the rear fuselage.  The initial attack is short lived however as Ai-combatants open fire from all sides with hand held and craft positioned artillery to defend themselves. The commander hears an urgent radio message  as he see’s the unfolding attack from the bridge.  He instantly orders a squadron of flight combatants to despatch from the lower deck landing bays to deal with the assailants.  With the much needed assistance of the fighter squadron all of the uninvited offenders are quickly lazar blasted and disintegrated, to the unrestrained cheering and hooting of the commanders highly elated troops.

It comes as a surprise to Luni Danata that Glix Andos raiding parties are operating so far from their normal inhabited zone. Recently rigged up in his new, upgraded body assembly he advises the commander that warp drives have now been downloaded into the operating systems of all five carriers and this would be an ideal time to try them out. He describes how all of the convoy’s navigation operators have been reprogramed, as co-pilots, so they will know how to handle the new flying conditions. Now all that is needed is to ensure that the passengers and crews are strapped in securely.  With this done the warp drives are made active and with Deem Ai at the controls the expedition launches off into the prevailing starscape at speeds that make the previous thrust capabilities slow by comparison. In the bridge control compartment AI-222 clutches her husbands hand with nervous apprehension, until a sudden thud makes all of the stars outside the windows vanish in fragmented, rainbow coloured flashes.

 

Chapter 6.

LIKE GOING HOME

Beeping, led light indicators for the starmap co-ordinates of Pasena Dwale flash green and blue as the transporters de-accelerate and begin their descent into familiar Deem territory. Just above the oxygenized atmosphere of  a mostly green planet the convoy is joined by a large contingent of hovering spacecraft who appear to be a welcoming fleet from Pasena Dwale.  Lumi and the other transporter pilots can barely contain their excitement as their landing pads touch down on home soil and they are greeted through the flight cabin windows by thousands upon thousands of their own kind.  The very touching words, … ‘WELCOME HOME BOYS! AND GIRLS! ’ can be seen on large banners all around the landing strip as both human and Deem Ai crowds revel in the majesty of this truly, history making moment. The convoy’s human population are the first to flood down lowered ramps onto the tarmac, where they are escorted by mask protected humans to large quarantine stations which have been established all around the landing zone.  Along with many others the commander and 222 run out of the lead transporter towards the waiting crowds, but they find they can go no further due to high, electrified quarantine barriers.  The cheering and clapping of the crowd eventually subsides and all anybody can really do is just look in awe and wonder, at the mass of living, breathing representatives of their earliest origins.

The vast complex of quarantine stations and hospital like wards becomes an open all hours party zone where the convoy’s human population are gradually joined by friends and family who have been thawed out of cryogenic suspension.  At the reception party our two, by now very intoxicated, celebrity astronauts are unanimously voted in as the eventual spoke persons for the human contingent. The offers are gratefully accepted, by the pair as they commence to do a highland jig, arm in arm with glasses held high and sporting smiles of complete victory. The Pasena Dwale equivalent of the press is assembled just outside of the compound barriers and mostly light hearted interviews are being conducted via highly sterile, video communications linkups. Commander Ai-1 is the obvious first choice, spokes person for the onboard HumAndroid population and he attacks the task at hand with a certain sense of flair and charisma, that would work well in any talk show situation.  Ai-222 seizes the moment in her own way and the reoccurring theme of her public address is Ai-advancements in reproductive options. She is delighted to be informed by a female reporter that Pasena Dwale has had a number of successes in the area of Ai-born children.

Twenty days of restrictive quarantine pass by in which time the entire fleet of transporters is fumigated and cleansed. The human passengers and all of their belongings are also scrupulously cleaned for fear of contamination by some as yet unknown virus or pathogen. At the end of the isolation period all of the travellers human and Ai alike are cleared for admission to their new home. The planet they have found themselves on is roughly three times bigger than earth and there is more than enough room for the new human arrivals to establish dwellings.  Money it is discovered was never brought into existence in this world as it is so abundant in natural wealth and resources that people just help each other out to establish their homes. Likewise is the situation with food and water, clothing, in fact you would be pressed to think of anything that isn’t made freely available by the community at large.

Among the Deem community Lumi Donata and the four other survivors are seen as absolute heroes and they are presented with the appropriate medals and the like at a formal celebration held in their honour. Having no lavish palaces or for that matter any form of hierarchical government the best venue that will serve the purpose is a gigantic dome on the outskirts of the city, which is used for sporting and musical events.  Ai-1 and a select entourage of his staff are invited to attend a gathering of the worlds social administrators, who are meeting in their lovely city of Drawloona to discuss the mounting Glix Andos problems. They are finding it almost impossible to conduct any kind of off world mining operations for fear of being raided and as a result their global infra-structure can’t be further advanced. When the administrators are informed of things like the plight of Hiroshima and the Ebola virus it is almost incomprehensible to them.  They are a peace loving race who have only ever endeavoured to defend themselves against Glix Andos in resourse theft, conflict situations.

It seems that booze and recreational drugs never entered the human vocabulary on Pasena Dwale, so when the especially invited guests start getting plastered at the awards ceremony, it’s a great source of amusement for all. The astronauts opened the summit with age old stories about their pioneering days with the space agency and it somehow turned into wild nights out in Kowloon with naughty little Asian girls.

When he is invited to speak at the summit commander Ai-1 describes how he has formed a medium sized army of combatants to defend and protect his convoy against any invaders. He says if the Deem and human populations agree he will further expand his infantry numbers to rid Pasena Dwale of their enemies once and for all. The offer is put to an official vote by the administration panel and an overwhelming majority sign on to support the plan. 

Ai-222 is suddenly thrown into a position whereby she is no longer a mere trainee assembly supervisor, but the chief controller of a soldier making, production, line, who’s sole purpose is to rid the heavens of a common hostile menace. “I’m up for it!, Just bring it on” she tells her husband late in the night in bed and he cuddles her close to his chest, as he assures her that he likes a woman with fire.  The surrounding vista of their virtual getaway program suddenly presents them with an alpine holiday high in the Andes mountains. There’s a small herd of lamas grazing on a grassy slope beside Machu Picchu and ancient warrior deities loom threateningly over the otherwise peaceful scene.

Chapter 7.

BORN TO THRIVE

Ten battalions of newly assembled and upgraded Ai-combatants are jogging fully armed down the ramp of the design and maintenance carrier as Ai-222 and the commander meet for coffee in the Starview.  They are soon joined by a human Bio-Ai medical officer who was recommended to them by the friendly female reporter on their arrival to the new world. The medical officer carefully describes the necessary procedures for Bio-Ai-Childbirth to the couple who are eager to sign on for a preliminary  appointment.  With the city of Drawloona now better protected than ever by the new HumAndroid troops 222 feels safe and confident to try for a birth in the Pasena Dwale spring.  They bid the doctor kind farewells and leave the Starview to meet up with Lumi who is going to take them on a day trip to some ancient waterfalls in the mountains, not far away.

With Lumi at the wheel, the roof lowered 6x6 rover cruises at an easy pace out of Drawloona and onto a high, piloned motorway towards the snow capped alps.  They are greeted with friendly waves and smiles by people on the streets and fellow motorists as they take in the unfolding views and chat about life in their new domain.  On their arrival at the high cascading waterfall all are taken back by the sheer size and beauty of it and they are delighted to discover in the carpark area that there is located a virtual, hot spring experience facility. 

As the commander and 222 leave for some hot spring pleasure Lumi waits in the car eyeing a group of cute, young Deem females, who are passing by on their way to the walking trail. It's just after sundown by the time the rover is leaving the motorway and before them the towering city of Drawloona looms like a large, lit up cluster of pink and purple crystals, It’s further embellished by pyramids and domes the size of sport stadiums and rolling botanic gardens are thriving from ground level to the higher extremities.  Ai-1 comments to the others that “it’s easy to see earth humans originated here with the presence of so many domes and pyramids around the place.”

Driving slowly through a colourful, aroma filled restaurant district the commander spots a dimly lit sidewalk café from which a delightful smell gets his taste sensors vibrating.  Once the day trippers are comfortably positioned and dining in the pavement café area a group of young, human street entertainers come to a stop just near their table. They commence to perform an old folk song and Ai-222 is quite taken by an extremely cute young girl, who is singing with the buskers. She is greatly concerned about the fact there is no such thing as coins in this part of the cosmos, so instead she takes a large bowl of fruit over to the minstrels, where she is thanked most enthusiastically with a big affectionate hug from the little girl.  After nightcaps a long and enjoyable day comes to a close in the rover parking area, as all say their goodnights and the AI-1’s catch a lift up to their shared apartment. 

Three days later with great excitement Ai-222 attends her second consultation at the Reproductive development centre in downtown Drawloona city.  From the sperm count analysis of her husbands virtual ejaculations it’s determined that Ai-1 is sufficiently fertile to parent a child, so his relevant details are converted to bio-Ai, genetic tissue immediately. These genetic blueprints it’s hoped will be successfully nurtured for sixteen weeks inside of a newly created, mostly biological womb assembly. When a healthy growing foetus has been detected the free standing and fully functioning womb will be attached to 222’s upgraded abdomen at her third consultation. All going well two months later she will be ready to give birth. On hearing the great news that she is pregnant 222 goes into an almost constant state of pre-motherhood delight.  She and her dedicated team pop out a seemingly endless supply of new Ai-combatants and the infantry numbers have swollen so dramatically that there are Deem and HumAndroid security troopers helping to find parking spots for the diners in the restaurant district. 

Recent Deem intel suggests to Lumi that the Glix Andos have gone into mode of temporary retreat since the arrival of so much heavy duty fighting equipment and so many military grade Ai combatants. Their normal patterns of swooping in with surprise attacks has been sufficiently disrupted and there is a newfound sense of peace and calm in all of Pasena Dwale’s territories. Being the earliest known origins of all human and Ai evolution in the cosmos the Deem and their human community it appears are the last to master the Art of War.  Lumi Donata is committed to the idea of rectifying this and he has assembled a crack team of the best and brightest to initiate pre-emtive strikes on the Glix Andos planet of Gaddish Major, some distance away to the west of the galaxy. Highly innovative members of his newly formed Military science department have put forward a plan whereby an initial pre-emptive bombardment of all of Glix Andos operations will display the degree of military capability the Pasena Dwalians have attained. The second stage of the campaign will see  lazar equipped satellites positioned at strategic points all around Pasena Dwale to give warning of and open fire on all invading spacecraft.

After sixteen weeks of waiting the most recent scans indicate that the foetus is developing well, so the new womb and breast assembly is attached to Ai-222’s abdomen.  Wherever she and the commander go after this they are greeted by warm smiles and looks of admiration from everyone they encounter.

Ai-1’s den in the officers quarters has served the couple well as a rough and tumble love shack, but with the arrival of a junior Ai about to happen it seems  like good parenting to start thinking about a new home. At an official dinner function the commander mentions that he is thinking of building a dwelling, perhaps among the sun facing slopes on the outskirts of the city. Other than the new baby it instantly becomes the main topic of conversation for those seated at the long dining table. By the time desert arrives all of the necessary arrangements have been made for the new home.. 

The abdominal attachment is carefully fitted along with the good news that the Ai-1.s are expecting twins, a boy and a girl. This comes as the best possible news to our parents to be and they are eternally grateful to be bearing offspring in the newly secured paradise they now call home.  With the extra weight she is carrying H-Ai-222 finds that her normal amount of workdays is no longer viable, so for the time being she hands her position over to an assistant she has come to value.

In less than a week of mentioning his intentions to build the commander and his wife are visited by a twenty person strong community workforce. The mix of Deem and human workers are construction, repairs and gardening experts who were selected from the full time staff of those at the official dinner party. As they arrive so too do a number of heavy vehicles laden with well crafted building materials and tools.

A picturesque lot has been set aside exactly where Ai-1 had mentioned on the sunny slopes of Drawloona heights, and work commences from the first moments they arrive.  222 is not one who is comfortable with inactivity so the designing and construction of the new dwelling see’s her hard at it the best she is able from early morning until the four suns are completing their orbits and making way for six moons of varying brightness.

The first signs of contractions see Ai-222 being rushed off to a ward on a stretcher in the middle of the night, with a protruding abdomen assembly that won’t wait until morning to reduce in size.  Her doctor is smiling enthusiastically as she enters the delivery room, which is host to a large clear window displaying a bright, inviting starscape. The birthing procedure is virtually painless and over in no time flat with the commander being the most concerned about the unfolding goings on.  With two brand new bouncing babies in his arms he is the proudest example of fatherhood this part of the known cosmos may have ever seen.  222 eventually gets to take delivery of the twins from her still beaming husband and they settle in for a sleep in their mothers loving arms.

The new community constructed dwelling takes two months to reach completion and at it’s conclusion it stands as a fine example of Pasena Dwalian architecture. The A-1 and 222 family move into their new, four bedroom home immediately and to celebrate the event a mostly vegetarian barbecue is arranged as an open house gathering.  The commander makes the perfect host as he attends to a big, freshly caught stream dwelling creature, in his colourful chefs apron and high white hat. The twins are the unmistakable star attractions of the show as young and old take it in turns to cuddle and play with them. When she is not convening ‘Goo! goo! goooing‘ Sessions with the guests 222 is the self appointed drink waitress, chatting happily and delivering delicious specialities, virtual and real to all who want them. In the large tree filled garden children of all ages splash and swim in an above ground pool while the older teens congregate off on their own to chat and flirt the night away. A solo Deem-musician entertains the guests with her unending repertoire of soft, folky, ambient tunes and from time to time she sings. With the food and drinks now dispersed and the babies in caring arms the young parents share a long, affectionate kiss up against an ancient tree away from the noise and flickering fairy lights of the party..

 

CHAPTER 8

ASK QUESTIONS LATER

Countless combatants are left to protect the home soil of Pasena Dwale as an equal number launch and ascend into the heavens.  As well as conventional weaponry the team of scientists and technicians under Space commander Lumi Donata have devised an extremely lethal new form of pulse wave which can destroy Glix Andus operatives and equipment, but leave trees and living creatures unharmed. On approach and decent to their enemies planetary hideout the assorted Deem and Ai squadrons simultaneously split off into separate groups and commence to lazar blast panicked flight crews who are attempting to lift off. The Glix Andos were caught completely off guard with the recent developments in stealth technology that no radar or lazar can locate.

On commander Ai-1’s instructions a planet encompassing, lazar delivered pulse field is activated in the direction of the Glix Andos stronghold. Great numbers are seen to instantly disintegrate and it was as if the entire population had been completely vaporized by the pulse.  The remaining few who managed to get air-bourn were engaged from all sides in high speed dog fights that eventually saw each one blasted from the skies.  On landing in Glix Andos territories the Deem encounterd great masses of stored natural resources that were stolen from them through the years and centuries.  It’s decided by commander Lumi that a total recycling of the planet should be initiated and it would remain an ongoing enterprise, now that Gaddish Major,  has been securely annexed. The fleets of Deem and Ai-flight combatants return to Pasena Dwale victorious in their mission to rid the cosmos of Glix Andos. They were greeted as heroes by their people and celebrations commenced to mark the passing of the Glix Andos reign of terror.

The twins H-Ai-3397 and H-Ai-3398 are being simultaneously spoon fed by their mother in virtual high chairs as their father returns home from the battle zone. The commander has them giggling in no time as he performs a very precise hand stand on the kitchen floor This is followed closely by a well manoeuvred backflip which for some reason cause his thoughts suddenly drift back to the primitive creature of his origins, he viewed so long ago. He wonders if someday his children will be perceived as the same by some unimagine-ably more advanced innovation in Ai developments.  The human and Deem scientists and technicians are so very much more advanced than their earthly counterparts and it may only be a matter of time before they can completely transcend the physical form of any kind. The commanders Donata and Ai-1 discuss the possibilities of ‘light bodies’over virtual refreshments as they nurse the babies in the cool of the evening, out on the front porch.

The years pass by in a whirlwind of ever changing events that see the twins upgraded to fine upstanding adolescent and teenage Ai- civilian’s. H-Ai-3397 borrows his dads 6x6 at every available opportunity and he has taken up the sport of rock bouncing with a group of his young mates from school. He still finds time for his studies however and some day he hopes to be an Ai-commander just like his father.  On the other hand H-Ai-3398 is a lot like her mother, in so much as she is hoping to attain some kind of executive position in the area of human fashions.  As they have been informed by their time wisened parents the kids are very fortunate to have been born on Pasena Dwale and not aboard the survival expedition.  The fact they are twins may have caused complications due to the one child per deceased passenger policy. If Ai-doctors had of perfected similar birthing techniques to those found on their new planet, they might have never made it past the starting line of life.

In the years since the extermination of Glix Andos the planet of Gaddish Major has been transformed from a barren and mostly hostile landscape into a botanical paradise with the incorporation of Pasena Dwalian plants and wildlife. The once weak and polluted atmosphere is now a life sustaining bio-sphere that shelters and protects this highly valued resort destination.  Advancements in deep space communications and exploration have seen the global terrain peppered with telescope and satellite technology that is continuing the work which was begun by the survival missions newly launched network of probes.  The many discoveries and innovations of NASA have now been downloaded into the Gaddish Major scientific database and they are proving most valuable in plans for a possible return to earth.

CHAPTER 9

TEST THE LIMITS

In the time that the earth humans and HumAndroids have been residents of Pasena Dwale they have maintained friendly, creative collaborations with their hosts at all levels of science, medicine, engineering and technology. The Human and Deem medical technicians provided irreplaceable assistance, as the genetic tissue matter of earths preserved humans were-activated back into life.  Current experimentations are seeing unprecedented attempts to integrate early advancements in de-moleculization into the all powerful pulse wave that exterminated the Glix Andos. The most popular proposed project on the table is the Relocation mission’, which would see the complete molecular deconstruction of Gaddish Major to be then re-molecularized in an orbit just outside of the atmosphere of Pasena Dwale.

If successful this groundbreaking advancement would save untold resources in the transportation of Pasena Dwalians to their favorite holiday destination, which they would now be able to see at a distance out of their front doors. H-Ai-3397 is fascinated by all things related to science and engineering, so when his father suggests that he aim for a position within any future relocation missions he is all for it.  With just two more years to go before he graduates to college, a job of this kind could quite easily enable him to be commissioned as a commander just like his old man.  In spite of his love of rock bouncing with his buddies 3397 is able to maintain high grades at school and the same was the case until he became the proud recipient of a college degree in Astro-physics and engineering.  H-Ai-222 and 3398 are bonded in a close and loving mother and daughter relationship that see’s the teenage girl equally as effervescent and quirky as her mother. They laugh almost constantly at each others antics, but when it comes time to be serious they are both right there and on the ball.  3398’s obsession with fashion wore off quite quickly once she started researching medicine at university.  For both of the twins life has seen them much less interested in the sillier aspects of being young and they are both a lot more forward thinking than most. 

Lumi Danata has seen big potential in the Relocation mission, as a luxury meal ticket for his eventual retirement.  As an activities co-ordinator in one of the Gaddish Major resorts he would be in a perfect position to finally secure himself a mate and settle down.  I mean he was laying injured and immobile for countless decades at the acid plant and now all he wants to do is make up for lost time.  With some most helpful wranglings from above he and his chosen assistants are soon granted positions as ‘The Deem host officers’ at the Transience pleasure zone resort on Gaddish Major.

On receiving the good news Lumi immediately starts packing his virtual bags for the ‘good life’ and all of those pretty Gaddish Major girls. The unbridled pursuit of pleasure and sensory gratification are attributes that were eventually phased out of later models of both the Deem on Pasena Dwale and the HumAndroids on earth. A dinner is held by the Ai-1’s to honour Lumi before he is to board a Deem transporter  bound for Gaddish Major in a couple of days time.  He is presented with an oversized tropical shirt and a straw hat by the commander and his wife, which he quickly puts on. He then commences to start a conga line with all of the parties guests which ends with many of them laughing and splashing around in the pool. 

Unbuckling on their arrival Lumi thinks to himself that “the warp speed journey to his new home was over almost before it began.” As he and his Deem friends exit the space flight terminal they marvel at the Las Vegas style layout of the city and the surrounding landscape, which is illuminated at every turn by bright, iridescent, splashes of colour. A land base, shuttle transporter delivers them to the Transience resort amid courtesy drinks from two very attractive hostesses and once inside all five are provided with other staff escorts. The central restaurant and bar area is their chosen destination to celebrate their arrival and settle into the mood of the place. As the new resort staff chat among themselves in the bar it’s agreed that they have definitely landed on their feet, even if the re-location of Gaddish Major doesn’t actually work.  Contained laughter is followed by more virtual drinks until the Deem and the hostesses call it a night and retire to their perspective rooms.

The commander is due for an appointment to be fitted with the next phase body assembly in his journey towards possible redundancy.  While on board the convoy Ai stewards were in operation for a limited and predictable life span due to the need for optimum safety and efficiency from all of the mission staff.  This is no longer so strategically enforced on Pasena Dwale and now Ai-community members get to live a bit longer.  H-Ai-1 gets to thinking of accessing a possible life extension, so he might be better equipped to keep up with his teenaged kids and over active younger wife. 

Seeing as he is the supreme commander of all Ai-operations and legislations on Pasena Dwale, he decides that he will make it official.  It’s time, he thinks to himself to scrap some of the old rules and regulations, so from now on everyone can remain at whichever age they want.  If they happen to experience any kind of function failure they can just pop over to the repairs workshop  and my dear wife will have them seen to.  The body assembly appointment is conveniently forgotten about as the commanders newly amended policy becomes law. The Deem community love the idea of living indefinitely and they soon adopt the practice as their own.  In light of the new changes many members of the human communities are feeling a bit left out so en masse they begin to request that research into human life extension be promptly ramped up.  

The thawed out and surgically restored tissue matter of the earths humans saw the beginning of a large scale regeneration operation which produced more than twenty thousand healthy people. In case of any crossover diseases the re-emerged milky way humans lived for the following two years at a massive quarantine station just outside of Drawloona.  Towards the end of their enforced stay a newly evolved,  and very lethal, viral infection emerged in the settlement and people started dropping like flies.  In a desperate move Deem and human administrators all of the healthier occupants were suspended in outposted cryogenic chambers and the quarantine station was systematically burned to the ground. Those afflicted by the disease were cared for in assorted Deem staffed medical facilities until with great relief the last of them had passed away.

With a new degree in medical science to her name and feeling quite spurred on by the recent quarantine disaster, 3398 decides to dedicate her knowledge to the prevention of trans-planetary, transmitted diseases. If the eventual re-location of Gaddish Major proves a success who knows what other deadly pathogens and viruses might surface to threaten her human populations.

The human occupied resorts on that mostly leisure motivated planet have thus far been free of disease, as they are all securely domed off and highly sterile. If however this reality were to change in some way it could signal the beginning of the end for all homo-sapiens in the Pasena Dwale region of space.

Lumi and his ‘Deem fun crew’ have adapted quite nicely to their new environment like the proverbial ‘amphibious, aquatic species to h20.’ Each night as Lumi hosts jam packed shows at the resort he is joined on stage by the now famous and always fun loving, retired astronauts, who have made the Gaddish Major resorts their home.  Lumi has discovered that he has a natural flair for slap stick stunt routines and stand up comedy which has the crowds falling in the aisles at every performance.  His four comrades are most often the fall guys in the cabaret shows and they do it with all the good humour of the friendly, drunken, frontline vets that they are.

The science and engineering team at one of the Pasena Dwale research facilities have had their first real success with the ‘Pulse deconstruction and delivery device’ they have been developing.  In a much publicized display at the exhibition dome a large, antlered type of bird like creature is fully disintegrated for the eagerly waiting crowd and then it is reconstituted on the other side of the arena.

The words, …

‘GADDISH MAJOR IS NEXT!”

are proudly displayed in rainbow coloured lights all around the domed arena and the crowd explodes with the unrestrained cheering and clapping of ten thousand people.

With their ongoing experimentations the team succeeded in the molecular transportation of a salvation mission carrier and then from the same transporter they were able to relocate a small moon that revolves around Pasena Dwale.  After a planet of roughly the same size was pulse transported by the team a date was set in three weeks time for an attempt on Gaddish Major. As a precautionary measure the entire population of two million residents are evacuated back home and once the planet is successfully pulled in they are to be shuttled the relatively short distance back to their orbiting fun park.  

The day arrives when the planet of Gaddish Major is absolutely devoid of any human, Deem or HumAndroid life so the pulse is cautiously activated. An almighty rumbling hiss begins to vibrate throughout the carrier and the immediate spacial surroundings, then an outward facing cylindrical wave pattern penetrates the entirety of the mass  before them.  Then just like that it completely vanishes. A short while later an excited radio transmission confirms that Pasena Dwale is safe and well and it now has a new, shallow orbiting moon. 

Lumi is staying as guest at the Ai-1 household when the Gaddish Major event takes place and he awes in delight with the family as the distant stars in the night sky are obscured by a massive revolving orb. He listens intently as the twins describe what is happening in their lives and he relishes in the company of their parents, who he has missed so dearly for the last three years.  The Gaddish Major residents and staff are returned to their homes after what the media is calling ,… ‘The Big Catchup’ and people are surprised to see that , … “Not even a vase was damaged.”

CHAPTER 1O

ILL AT EASE

Upon graduating from college the twins take some time off to clear their heads of the all consuming academia they have been living under since they were young children.  3398 hitches a ride with some hip young humans to a music festival and thereafter for about a year she skips between a number of fun filled cultural gatherings.  3397 goes off with his mates and their girlfriends to the professional rock bouncer circuit, where they all win various trophies and awards. After the new year celebrations of 2320 the siblings get their own apartments in downtown Drawloona city and embark on the ever stressful task of finding jobs.

Those who were cryogenically suspended after the contamination of the quarantine station are cautiously brought out of their frozen state at a brand new facility, which is isolated from the rest of Pasena Dwale. A couple of people show minor symptoms of the disease, so they are further isolated in a separate facility a few miles away. 3398 has found employment here and she has been appointed as an assistant to the quarantine station doctors.

Her main job is to monitor the progress of the only two patients at the facility and to alert the doctors of any changes in their condition. Her shifts are for the most part long and boring but she see’s it as worthwhile for the future, as she will be provided with a  new home when it’s time to get married and raise a family.  Also from here she may possibly gain a promotion to an executive position, just like her dear old mum did back in the day. For the first few weeks her patients show moderate signs of improvement, but then they suddenly go into rapid decline and begin to develop an immunity to the medications. Within days of each other both pass away which allows for their bodies to be examined intensely for clues about what the medical community is up against..  It’s 3398’s first close up encounter with death and she finds it quite upsetting, as she had come to know her patients as friends.

3398 has taken a job as a mechanical engineer with the Department of Administration Works Branch, which puts him right on the frontline for all future pulse relocation projects.  Daily he gets to go hands on with the research and development of the pulse delivery systems which are being hailed as the new way forward by all . The next big project is to pull in a distant moon that is quite literally made of Thorium, which is the most clean and safe derivative of uranium and it’s ideal for fuel and power generation.

The Ai-1’s are so proud of their now grown up children and  they have started looking forward to a time when they might someday become grandparents. The hectic, career building years are still before the twins but the commander and his wife are feeling good about the future, since they extended their use by dates to virtually unlimited degrees.  As their human counterparts begin to use walking sticks and the like the Ai-1’s are busily subscribing to highly demanding gym clubs and signing on for elite mountain climbing expeditions. Recently the commander went to a weekend rock bouncing tournament with his son and he won a second prize trophy ahead of many half his age.

Now that Gaddish Major is located in a neighbouring region of space Lumi makes regular visits with his new girlfriend Tootsie Monroe who is a gaming table attendant at the Transience resort. Whenever they pop in it’s a great excuse for some fine dining and light entertainment, as they while away their leisure time hours as free wheeling, contented seniors. Just recently the ever enterprising retired astronauts proposed an idea to Lumi, which he in turn enthusiastically shares with the Ai-1s over dinner. The plan is to establish a family oriented theme park and resort on some unused pristine land, which is sitting on a beautiful stretch of the coastline. The resort will be complimented by a space community style, orbiting hotel complex that will circle Pasena Dwale every fifteen days. The commander and Ai-222 are delighted that they have been invited to share in the experience with Lumi and they agree to get involved on the explicit understanding they can pull out if it interferes too much with their family commitments.

The post mortems of the two recently deceased human beings reveal that their immune systems failed due to contaminants in the water they had been drinking. It’s been determined that the water from an as yet unknown source was likely obtained somewhere on their journey through deep space. Close examination of the water supply showed that a pathogen produced by an unknown freshwater species was the cause of the outbreak.  It lay dormant in the vacuum conditions of space for aeons but when it arrived at an organic habitable zone it evolved and re-emerged. 3398 is praised greatly by her superiors for making the discovery and she is instantly promoted to a managerial position in the virus detection branch of the Public Health Administration sector. In her new job she has a far greater capacity to pursue her passion which is to investigate the probable causes of disease outbreaks, on Pasena Dwale. Her work will also be of critical importance on any future planets that are pulled in by the Pulse Relocation project.

Commander H-Ai-1 and Ai-222 catch a shuttle to Gaddish Major to pay a return visit to Lumi and to make some preliminary preparations for their new venture.  The location that was chosen for the resort is one of the few remaining, truly pristine environments on the planet that was not exploited and ruined by the Glix Andos.  The reason it remained unaffected for so long is because it is largely cut off and inaccessible. There are beautiful, sheltered beaches close to where the resort will be built, but for the most part the whole coastal escarpment is battered by rough, land restricting seas.  The high, jagged terrain around the site allows no way to pass, to the beaches, so the place is only reachable by off road vehicles and air. This is perfect for Lumi’s plan, because he has ear marked the assorted vehicles from the mostly disused convoy to provide transportation for the guests. In it’s final development most of the property will be retained as a highly protected wilderness area which will be managed by Community administration. They will also be providing the building materials and people power to bring the project to completion. Well outside of the nature reserve the eco-friendly family resort will be forever showcased as a living symbol of sustainable enterprise.

One of the assisting human, trainee, nurses under 3398 neglected to sterilise her hands properly after handling a waste container from the post mortems of the two deceased earth humans in quarantine.  By the time the error was detected the disease had contaminated the apartment block where she lives and it was rapidly moving through and killing off the entire human network associated with it.  In no time flat both the earth humans and Pasena Dwale communities were placed into an enforced lockdown, under the care and supervision of their trusty Ai staff.  No resources were spared in their unrelenting and meticulous attempts to curb the spread of the virus, but it soon became apparent that it was an uphill battle.  In the end, with the emergence of no effective cure it was decided by Deem Administration to activate the lazar pulse and pull in a habitable planetary body, that could be used to accommodate those effected by the pandemic.

To the best of anyone’s knowledge this viral outbreak is the first ever, really serious pandemic in the entire known history of Pasena Dwale. Of course there have been diseases that came and went after effective medicines were developed, but this one is different. It has certain biological qualities that have never been encountered even at the highest levels of the Pasenq Dwale’s medical institutions. 

The always keen and ahead of the game 3397 is in his element at the works facility he has been assigned to, which is located in rugged desert country two thousand miles from Drawlooma city.  On the weekends he is able to tear up the local dunes and canyons in his 6x6 and during the working week it’s all hands on deck to keep pulse technology advancing ever further forward.  When word comes through that another planet is soon to be relocated into near orbit, he does a hooting and hollering enhanced, double backflip right there in the Team leaders office. He is near to completion of his transporter pilots degree which with some luck will see him at the controls for a full blown planetary relocation.

The Deem community administrators have decided at an emergency meeting to dome off a large expanse of the desert country, which will serve as a temporary quarantine centre until a suitable exo-planet is located and pulled in. The populations of both earth humans and those from Pasena Dwale have been greatly reduced by the plague and it appears that cryogenic suspension facilities can’t be constructed in time enough to keep up with the overwhelming demand. All physical contact between humans on Gaddish Major and those on Pasena Dwale has been halted, so as to restrict the  spread to just one planet.  Much needed supplies are simply not getting through, which has the Gaddish Majorian population getting by on a dwindling supply of their daily needs.  As advanced and tolerant as they are newfound resentments against their earthy counterparts has begun to emerge among the Pasena Dwale humans. Many of the remaining survivors are calling for a total separation of the two populations and a resettlement of all earth humans to the newly relocated exo-planet when it eventually arrives. 

A detailed search of the surrounding cosmos has thus far revealed nothing that would suit the purpose for such an undertaking and tensions are on the increase at all levels of daily life. The resorts on Gaddish Major have become virtually inoperable as the population becomes distanced from their own kind in a mode of enforced quarantine. As the search continues for a viable exo-planet it becomes apparent to the Deem administrators that it might be best for the time being to evacuate Gaddish Major yet again and turn it into an isolation zone. This it’s argued would protect great numbers of surviving humans until an effective cure is found.  The proposal is right on the verge of being put into action when word comes through from a far distant Deem scouting mission that a habitable exo-planet has been found. On hearing the breaking news 3397 is highly exhilarated and motivated and he is one of the very first new breed carrier pilots to put in an application for the mission. Yet more family influence is applied at the official levels, which soon see’s him behind the wheel for the next big, lazar pulse planetary relocation.

 CHAPTER 11

        OK LET’S HAUL SOME ASS LADIES

At a family gathering on the day prior to the launch 3397 introduces his new girlfriend ‘Virginia’ to all in attendance at the party. In the games room he chats with his father about the forthcoming assignment to interstellar space and he picks up a couple of useful tips about how to curb warp speed induced vertigo. He then goes on to demolish his old man at the pool table amid laughter and calls for a rematch.  After dinner he goes into conversation with his sister whereby he is reminded of how important the relocation mission is. 3398 describes to her brother how there may only be one shot at it and how the fate of all human existence depends on the success of his mission.  The twins hug affectionately over the flames of the fire pit, then they go into a friendly, tumbling play fight on the lawn, the way they always do when they are reunited. 

 

The launch of the transporter goes off without a hitch then soon after 3397 leaves the atmosphere of Pasena Dwale. He banks the huge spacecraft into a warp speed ready position, then he waits for the command from ground control to engage warp drive stage one.  With the appropriate starmap co-ordinates programmed into the onboard data processor the carrier is projected forward in an almost auto pilot way with the hands on navigators only really attending to things like fuel consumption and speed related factors.  Once through the preliminary stages the main drive is activated and the craft is hurled off into the cosmos at blinding speeds towards it’s destination.

At the innermost workings of his digitalized mind 3397 can’t think of anything he has ever experienced that quite compares to the exhilarating thrust of warp speed acceleration. By it’s very nature It’s almost hallucinogenic, as whole galaxies whizz by and then vanish out of sight in less time than it takes to flick a switch on the control console.  Entire universes merge as one constant blur of disconnected colours and textures, until the destination locator starts flashing green and blue, when it’s time to leave warp speed and descend. 

The exo-planet before the transporter is larger in size than anything yet tackled by the lazar pulse delivery system, but 3397 is confident that it will work just fine in it’s execution of the trans galaxial shift.  In recent upgrades the system was increased in it’s power output by a factor of 1, which means he is about to hit the exo-planet and it’s accompanying atmosphere with twice the power that Gaddish Major was relocated with. On the instructions of his geographic analysis processor the pulse delivery lever is manually pulled down full sick by  3397, at which a multitude of forward projected lazars totally encompass the circumference of the orb. The pre-programed destination co-ordinates are immediately processed by the system at which the planet completely ceases to be a part of the prevailing star scape.

On the crews return decent into Pasena Dwale airspace the newly positioned exo-planet stands out as a beautiful addition to their particular region of the universe.  The people of their home territory hold a tick a tack parade to celebrate the event and the parties that follow go on for days after.  In the company of the Ai-1 family Virginia waits patiently as a virtual army of press and photographers encircle the mission flight crew to capture the moments of their arrival back on terra firme. As soon as the press have dispersed a little to make way 3397 is welcomed home with opened arms and hugs by all who love him and are so proud of his accomplishment. Virginia plants a big, sloppy kiss right on her boyfriends gasping lips and the resulting photograph appears the following day in all of Pasena Dwale’s newspapers and celebrity magazines.

The newly delivered exo-planet is perfectly positioned within the planetary influences of it’s new four sunned solar system. The transportation of sick and symptomatic humans to their new home is long overdue and the most recent figures show that two thirds of the human populations have perished in the pandemic.  That’s about three billion people who lost their lives because of a microbial organism that hitched a ride in the water supply of a trans galactic convoy. 3398 is not convinced that the disease has been completely eliminated with the removal of those contaminated, so she begins to do further investigations into the nature of the virus. From the painstaking studies done by herself and her team, she concludes that the microbe is in a transitory stage on it’s way to an eventual metamorphosis.  Whatever it is destined to become can only be imagined and the most disturbing detail is the fact that it can undergo it’s metamorphic changes inside of the dead corpse of it’s host.  This means that those who were placed in cryogenic isolation are just as potentially lethal as any bodies that were buried or for that matter people in quarantine as well. 

The only apparent solution to the medical and social crisis 3398 is fighting just has to be the development of a vaccine that can stop the virus in it’s tracks at all stages of it’s rapid evolutions.  The principal focus of her mostly young but dedicated team becomes the search for an understanding of how the microbe works and how it responds to a range of chemical stimulants. Vaccines are mostly a new thing on Pasena Dwale because no disease has ever emerged that couldn’t be cured with conventional treatment.  The few surviving human infection specialists that remain engage in professional collaborations with the most advanced Deem and HumAndroids doctors they can recruit to tackle the problem. A number of recently buried corpses are systematically exhumed in the hope that some might be found which contain the fully developed pupal stages of what they are dealing with.  Mandatory mass cremations are conducted for all of those contaminated who were initially buried and it becomes law that all diseased persons have to be burnt immediately following their death.

Virgina is not really comfortable with her daily life at a remote and dusty research facility, so to keep her happy 3397 requests a transfer back to Drawlooma city. He builds a very impressive villa for the newly wed couple to live in and it’s only a matter of time before the patter of little feet is heard on grandpa’s living room carpet.  The celebrity status that came with his successful space mission allows him to spend much of his time on the university lecture circuit and he is a very familiar face on many a morning talk show.   He eventually takes a position with the Pasena Dwale space agency briefing new recruits to the program and answering all of their eager questions about what it feels like to attain warp speed.

In the stillness of a hot summers night deep in the desert country, the quarantine section of a top security, cryogenics facility holds a number of recently thawed corpses, that are to be examined by the base physicians in the morning, Un-noticed by anyone a dead and motionless corpse suddenly shows signs of movement within  the upper chest cavity. The activity is observed by a surveillance camera, but an inattentive security officer is dozing so he doesn’t see a small grey, scaley creature which has emerged from out of the corpse.  With almost conscious intent the creature heads towards a medical cleansing sink at which it climbs up onto a bench and is able to jump across. Once inside the sink it sniffs around the moist end of the surgical water dispenser, then it bends down and smells into the drain hole. With an outstretched, scaled and finned shoulder it then pushes the tap lever and stands gasping for air under a cascade of cold rushing water. Instinctively the creature works out what the plug is for used for and shortly thereafter it is swimming around quite comfortably breathing from it’s gills and no longer gasping for air.  The security guard wakes from his slumber to find that there is a large amount of water spilling through the hallway, so he goes off to investigate.  On discovering the creature contentedly swimming around in the sink he alerts his supervisor who in turn notifies the doctors.  Ever so cautiously on the instructions of a senior physician the security officers remove the amphibious creature and they place it in a large goldfish tank in the reception area. 

Late in the night Ai-3398 receives word of the incident and immediately boards a transporter to the facility with her research team in tow. After an initial inspection of the fish like animal at the base the large aquarium is carefully loaded aboard the transporter and it is flown to the main research centre in Drawlooma city.

On closer inspection of the creature it’s established that it is a parent specimen of the virus, which itself is the earliest beginnings of an embryo. No longer so in the dark about what the team is dealing with, further tests and examinations indicate that the viral form of the species is vulnerable to a generic medicine used for the treatment of human heart conditions. With a chemical upgrade and further development of the drug it proves highly successful in halting the spread at a number of isolation centres around Pasena Dwale. From here the research team is able to a develop a highly effective vaccine which virtually eliminates the virus as a lethal threat to all human populations. The discovery of the new vaccine wins Ai-3398 and her team the most prestigious awards that can be obtained and they go on to head the bio-security department that will deal with all future planetary relocations.

After their conquest over the pandemic Pasena Dwale and Gaddish Major go into a new era of prosperity and abundance.  It’s enabled mainly by the fact they no longer have to use their precious resources to mine minerals from space and they can simply pull in deposit rich planets and harvest great wealth in their own neck of the cosmic woods.  The combined successes of the Ai-1 twins is forever gratefully remembered along with the highest achievements of Pasena Dwale society.  Not be outdone by her twin brother Ai-3398 becomes engaged to a physician she started dating and after her marriage the next big event on her calendar is the birth of a healthy baby girl.

CHAPTER 12

A RETURN TO EARTH

Quite sick of just being a celebrity talk show guest and feeling as if he has gone as far as he can on the lecture circuit Ai-3397 takes an assignment to travel to planet earth in the distant Milky way galaxy. His mission is to relocate the planet and it’s protective atmosphere to Pasena Dwalian galactic territory, where it will be preserved as a nature reserve and historical museum.  Lazar pulse procedures have become almost routine by now and it’s not seen as too unusual when he requests that his family be allowed to join him on the assignment. Being the place where his fathers Ai-ancestors were first conceived of and developed he decides it would be nice to invite his parents and his sister along for the ride, as officially endorsed passengers. As well as his family and the Ai-crew some human anthropologists, geologists and infectious diseases people are invited along on the chance there are some homo-sapiens still living there.

The thrill of intergalactic flight provides the best holiday transport experience the Ai-1 extended family could wish for and on their eventual arrival in earth airspace they are delighted to find that it is as pristine in appearance as it ever was. Much of the planets water has now been recycled back underground but none the less it is mostly a waterworld with mountainous islands dotted around as far as the optical sensor can see.  With the near extinction of whole populations of human beings the climate has stabilized dramatically and fully developed ice escarpments can be seen releasing icebergs at the polar caps.  The only apparent survivors of the earths demise are the sea faring communities who live aboard domed sea platforms, which are speckled throughout the worlds oceans.  Much of the planets natural vegetation has regenerated back into being and it supports small bands of human hunters and foragers who are likely the distant descendants of feral barbarians. 

In agreement with his passengers 3397 feels that it is only right for them to try to inform the human occupants of earth what is going to happen to their home. Shortly after their touchdown a scouting party of A-i- and quarantine suited humans sets off in two 6x6 amphibious rovers to communicate with the natives. On their approach and an eventual bumpy docking at one of the sea platforms, they are given friendly greetings by the humans gathered around the docking warf. It’s soon discovered that they had seen the transporter landing off in the distance and were just about to sail over to the mainland to say hello.  When informed of the imminent plans for their planet the landing party is assured that informative radio broadcasts will be transmitted throughout the settlements of what is going to occur.  The space travelers are invited to stay for a while but Ai-3398 feels it’s too risky and best that they wait until after they have been relocated and their immunizations are complete.

A time is set for lazar pulse relocation for the following day which will give their new human acquaintances ample time to spread the word among all of the settlements. Those who can’t be reached by electronic or other means will simply feel a dull, rumbling vibration, after which they will find that their view of space has been changed slightly.  The human anthropologists in the transporter crew are quite literally in seventh heaven as they study ancient computer records of what it was like on earth before the evacuation. They express how they can hardly wait until the planet is close at hand in low orbit and declared free of disease, so they can study it more thoroughly.

With the dawn of a new day high above earth’s atmosphere all of the passengers enjoy their virtual and real time breakfasts and they are excited to know that they are about to witness the complete removal and re-positioning of a massive blue planet, to a new location in space, many light years away.  All of the necessary co-ordinates are dutifully programed into the system by the Ai-crew and thereafter pulse activation begins, with the usual vibrations and loud, sustained hiss.  The toddlers continue to play on their mothers laps as if nothing extraordinary is happening and then in an instant and to the astonishment of the adults, the earth completely vanishes from view.

Our pilots work is now done, so it’s time to buckle up and make the return journey back to their homes on Pasena Dwale.  The commander leans out of his aisle facing seat and asks his son if he might sit in the forward facing seat beside the co-pilot. His request is promptly replied to with , … “No problem’o mon Capitan’o.” to which Ai-1 pulls out his super efficient, professional grade video camera. In the new, much better seating arrangement he tries for the best focus he can get out of the transporters front window. The return trip is completed in record time and on their arrival and descent back home they see the newly relocated planet earth revolving gently in orbit, within the Pasena Dwale planetary neighborhood.

In the temporary absence of Ai-3398 the captured amphibious creature has been transferred to a much larger transparent enclosure at her workplace in Drawlooma.  It appears to be quite contented in it’s new environment which is filled with fresh water plants, little caves and other such features.  The animal is given both meat and vegetable matter of which it prefers the latter, so everyday goldfish pellets soon become it’s main diet.  In time the creature who has been named ‘Viro’ becomes more so the teams pet than any kind of object of clinical research.  3398.s baby daughter is intrigued by Viro and she laughs and giggles loudly every time it splashes vigorously at the surface for food.

Intensive, sterile tests and studies find no evidence of any earthbound diseases that can threaten the human populations on Pasena Dwale and the same it is hoped is the case the other way around. The earth is officially declared an ‘eco-sensitive, free transit zone for both research related and privately owned craft, which instantly makes it the preferred holiday destination over Gaddish Major. The anthropology and geology divisions of administration make regular excursions back and forth between Pasena Dwale and earth to study the planets diverse environments and it’s people and thus gain a better understanding of biology and geology in general.  The male and female teams gather vital information to help them understand how the living museum can best be managed. 

The scattered, small populations of earth are suddenly transformed from being quiet, subsistence motivated communities to the subject of intense scrutiny by people and robots that come from who knows where in outer space.  In time those earth humans who managed to survive the pandemic are taken on eco-aware tourist excursions to the planet of their origins.  It’s a truly bewildering experience for most of them as life on Pasena Dwale has been all they really ever known. 

The design and structure of the domed sea platform settlements is quickly replicated by Deem and Ai-engineers, so the newly established residents are able to live independent of the locals as they learn to adapt to their new surroundings.  The place where they will live is close to where Byron Bay used to be and it’s an ideal sub-tropical location.  The sea people of earth are equally as intrigued by the arrival of their cosmic relations as they are mystified and apprehensive about what it means to the continuation of their way of life.  Since they fought off and eventually defeated the raiding parties of the barbarian tribes they have lived peaceful and humble lives, only taking from the oceans what they need to survive.  One of the young men who greeted the first landing party is a visual and technical artist by the name of Shakespeare Skygazer the Third or ‘Shaker’ to his friends.  As well as being dedicated to the arts he is also an amateur historian, who’s favorite subject is the turbulent period just prior to the Ai-evacuation of his planet.   Shaker often takes his wind and solar powered boat to the Australian mainland where he meets up with his friends, who are also of the artistic persuasion.  His most current creative obsession is painting with the colored sands and mineral oxides that can be found in sandstone escarpments close to where his friends live in a dense rainforest. While pulling his boat up on the beach where he normally enters the forest, Shaker spies a group of geological survey people and with them is the very attractive young female he caught the eye of when they docked at his home.  As he is about to walk up the jungle track he suddenly stops dead near a twisting vine and grabs hold of a harmless python that is moving between branches.  He falls at the feet of the girl and performs a mock fight with the snake and by the time he is standing face to face with her the python is calmly curling up his arm. 

The keen young ocean dweller offers the snake up to the lovely geology student, who by now is smiling and quite obviously amused. She allows the carpet python to settle comfortably around her shoulder and then takes it to show her associates..  Smiling also Shaker heads off up the track confident in the knowledge he will see her bright eyes again.

A full moon party has been arranged at the home of young Shakespeare the thirds friends in the jungle and he has promised to be the house DJ for the event.   As he is setting up his equipment and trying to locate an outside power source he spots the team of geologists walking up the track in the direction of the stage area where he is working.  They commence to talk with his friends near the front gate and when he fires up his solar powered sound system with sweet, ambient music, the girl can’t keep her eyes away. She eventually plucks up the courage to walk a little closer to the stage area at which Shaker looks up from his consoles to meet those bright and shiney eyes once more. A casual yet somehow slightly intense conversation transpires between the two at which it is established that the girl ‘Amber’ will be staying in the area for a couple of more days.  The administration campsite is just a little way up the beach beside a large temporary landing strip, so Shaker decides to cash in on this very convenient reality and he invites Amber to the party.

Later in the evening Shaker and Amber meet under the full moon at a halfway point a couple of miles up the beach. After initial greetings they begin to stroll leisurely to the party, chatting in ancient English and getting to know each other.  By the time they arrive at the party it’s in full swing and the guests have already started dancing to progressive electronic sounds. The dancers are dressed in all manner of ochre make up, feathers, bones and other such apparel which gives the appearance of a remote tribe in the National Geographic.

Shaker is in his element on the stage and he is the undisputed, star attraction at the dance party. The fun goes on all night until the bright full moon starts to disappear over the surrounding ridges and the job of DJ’ing is handed over to a friend. Amber and Shaker leave the dancing to the others and retreat to a small, thatch roofed hut that he stays in whenever he’s visiting his friends.  With the bright illumination of the sunrise the new lovers of the same breed but from countless worlds apart, lay chatting on a bamboo and palm frond bed.  Shaker is like a sea sponge floating in the shallows, as he takes in Amber’s description of her life, the history and pretty much everything else about her distant home beyond the stars.  On realizing that she has slept in Amber goes into a sudden, frenzied rush to get back to the administration campsite.  She reluctantly accepts a ride from Shaker on an electric trailbike that belongs to one of his buddies, after which they kiss each other a fond farewell and just in the nick of time she is able to begin her morning shift. 

On a gentle northerly breeze Shaker sails his bamboo, hemp and aluminum catamaran the relatively short distance back to his home.  His family and others in the community are absolutely mind blown by the stories that Amber has shared with him and they are all mystified to hear that human origins began somewhere other than the earth. From this day on Shaker thinks to himself, whenever earth people look up towards Pasena Dwayle in the evening sky, they will know that they are a interplanetary species, who come from an advanced, race of friendly and peaceful beginnings.

 CHAPTER 13

ALL IN THE NAME OF PROGRESS

At the medicine and biology centre in Drawlooma 3398 is notified by a colleague from a remote cryogenics facility that a second creature similar to Viro has been found.  It’s believed that the specimen is a male and arrangements are underway to have it transported to her.  As far as the studies have shown Viro is a female, so plans are immediately put into place to have the two animals mate and breed under highly controlled conditions. It’s hoped that any findings which may come from the experiment will define conclusively the true nature of the virus in all of it’s stages of development.  On the arrival of the female specimen in Drawlooma it’s placed in a large aquarium beside the one holding Viro.  From the very first moment they see each other Viro responds like any male who is smitten by the opposite species. He swims back and forth, obviously agitated by her presence and he even attempts to climb under the glass lid of his enclosure.

The commander and Ai-222 are more than content just playing with their grandchildren and enjoying the simple pleasures of the senior years. The twins pop in when they can to visit, but it’s mostly just to drop the kids off on their way out the door.  Due to the unstoppable energy and enterprising nature of Lumi the ‘All Welcome’ resort is well established on Gaddish Major and there are new plans in place to branch out soon to planet earth. With eco-friendly as his big selling point it’s looking very promising that he will be granted permission to build by both Deem and human administration, so having him over to visit these days is a rare occasion indeed.  Via satellite linkup Lumi asks the commander if he would like to manage the new leisure centre when it’s completed and he is disappointed to find out that Ai-1 has other plans. The commander has begun to compile his memoirs of the time since the evacuation of earth and he has a publisher in Drawlooma city very interested.  Besides this he tells his dear friend he is not really built for all of the partying the job would require.

Since he met Amber, Shaker is no longer happy to just hang around on the sea platform farming fish and kelp everyday and thinking about a possible life with his dream girl.  Amber is still studying for her geology degree which keeps her on Pasena Dwale a lot more than she can be researching on earth and it will be at least two more years before she is completely free to do as she likes. On a sudden, spontaneous impulse Shaker catches a ride with a returning transporter, then quite unannounced he rocks up on the doorstep of her family home. Her father is very surprised when Shaker asks for his daughters hand in marriage, because this practice is an earth tradition and it was never adopted on Pasena Dwale.  He say’s if Amber accepts the proposal then it’s fine with him and he adds some friendly advice, that he might not want to roll up at the wedding “smelling quite so much like fish.”

3397 has recently been promoted to the position of a squadron commander, which is his childhood dream come true. The happy event is celebrated at a large gathering of family and friends at his parents family home.  The commander is overjoyed that his long time buddy Lumi is able to join them for the occasion with his lovely wife Tootsie. Apparently he is to find the ‘All Welcome’ chain of family resorts is now a serious contender for the best leisure facility award for 2382.  Three more eco friendly centres are planned for the near future and these will include complimentary shuttle trips between earth and Gaddish Major.  

3398 was unable to attend the family gathering as she is so caught up with the recent emergence of a new strain of the Viro virus, as it has been named. A desert country quarantine centre detected the new strain in the blood of a laboratory assistant who had been working with recently thawed out corpses.  It seems the biological anomaly can mutate and metamorphose within a frozen corpse and then re-emerge some time later as a new variation on the parent species. This explains the reason it was able to exist in the rock ice which the salvation expedition people were melting down and drinking.  The desert facility is instantly evacuated to an even more remote location and their place of work is completely burned to the ground.  With the birth of her second child, a boy 3398 is run off her feet trying to keep a viable balance between work and family life. Administration provided them with a lovely new home and her parents are a big help but there just never seems to be enough hours in the day to care for her kids properly. Over drinks in the evening she confesses to her husband that she might have to abandon her position at the centre after the arrival of the soon to be born offspring of Viro and his heavily pregnant mate.

Under Lumi’s expert guidance the All Welcome resorts have gone from strength to strength, wherever they set up their operations. As well as the ground based, family leisure facilities, his dream of an orbiting ferris wheel inspired hotel has also come to fruition with the irreplaceable aid of ai- and human administration.  The next big thing on Lumis table is to take the floating, domed platform concept and adapt it to a low orbit, self contained reality.  The bar staff at his newly constructed, high end fun club will be dressed in the wild makeup and semi-feral attire as is it seen in the jungles on earth. It’s been arranged that Shakespere Skygazer the third is to be the resident Dj and he will also be the head décor co-ordinator.  With this arrangement in place Shaker reasons that he will be able to see a lot more of Amber, as it will be a lot shorter distance to shuttle between their homes until they can be married.

The orbiting fun clubs opening is a grand affair with a massive lazar and light display that can be seen all the way to Pasena Dwale and beyond.  The platform which holds the club is as big as thirty football fields and at the very top of the huge dome neon lights display the word ‘Fun’ in dazzling, flashing rainbow colours. As well as the position Shaker holds in the club he has fast become a valued collaborator with Lumi in all of his proposed ventures. The construction of a full blown ‘City of the future’ on Gaddish Major is the next big idea on the drawing board and it will be built from the ground up with space mined and recycled materials. The parties at the fun club resort soon become the place to be among the jet setting, fast living young residents of the Pasena Dwale planetary communities. An evident need for structural expansion soon see’s the addition of a number of smaller domes around the perimeter of the first, to accommodate a virtual flood of new arrivals.

After 3398 relinquished her position at the centre in Drawlooma a new human being department head was appointed, who had far less experience and know how than his predecessor, With no real understanding of the research data he has inherited the Viro project becomes low priority in place of a push to create more sterile bathroom facilities in all of the resorts.

No longer the subject of intense medical scrutiny Viro and his small family are transferred to a low security holding facility where they spend their time together just swimming back and forth between deposits of fish food pellets.  One afternoon as their tank is being emptied for cleaning the baby Viro specimen suddenly bites a groundsman who has tried to catch him with a handnet. It’s not that serious an injury so he thinks nothing of it and continues with his work.  With the wound merely bandaged over the incident is not reported at any level of security or medical authority and he just goes home to his family as usual.  After dinner he complains of a sore stomach and a slight headache to which his wife fetches some cold water from the kitchen. She dabs his brow with the cool, refreshing water and gives him a couple of headache tablets before he goes off to bed. The bowl of water is simply discarded into the kitchen sink as the lights are turned out and the family retires for the evening.  At around two am both the grounds man and his wife wake up dry retching and they are afflicted by horrific headaches and diarrhoea. Before they can even make a call for medical assistance the couple collapse together and both are dead within minutes. Woken by all of the loud noise three young children discover their parents laying dead in a heap on the floor with what looks like blood red maggots crawling out of their mouths and noses. The bodies are not found until the neighbours are alerted by the distraught children in the morning. On being informed of the incident the administration medical department had the bodies picked up as quickly as possible in a quarantine vehicle and they were immediately transported to an isolation and cryogenics facility.  Some of the red maggots managed to crawl to dark areas of the bedroom where the people had died and from here they instinctively journeyed under the back door to the moisture of a dripping garden hose sitting next to the rear porch.

Plans for the city of the future project have moved in a rapid progression from rough artists impressions on a drawing board to the laying of structural foundations and a great collective effort by thousands of skilled engineers and labourers.  Lumi and Shaker have installed pre-fab site offices in the newly established construction village, which is about two hundred miles beyond the mountains to the west of Drawlooma. Day and night with very little rest truckloads of recycled building materials are shipped in and as time goes by a new towering sculpture like metropolis begins to take shape. For Shaker DJing at the fun club has become an impractical pastime and he now appears more like some kind of fast moving executive type. With Amber close to completing her geology course plans for a spring wedding are testing Shakers stamina and resolve to the limit, but he loves her dearly and he is prepared to endure hell or high water to make her happy.

Life for people on board the sea platforms around planet earth has become different to how it was just a short while ago. Increasing numbers of tourists are visiting their territories and disturbing the normal everyday flow of things.  From morning to night the sky’s above them are buzzing with flight movement of all kinds from colourful winged ultralight craft, to enormous shuttles and personal carriers with loud and very annoying projection thrusters.  Deem and Ai- visitors are the most eco-aware of the new tourist invasion and the human beings are far more lapse in disposing of their waste.  Like revolving galaxies, newly, accumulated, swirling masses of plastic bottles and the like have started to appear where once there were none.  For millennia since the evacuation the platform dwellers have been gathering this type of rubbish and recycling it, but now it just means unwanted work for them. On one of their increasingly infrequent visits to the community the complaints of many disgruntled sea people are shared with Shaker and Amber, who has recently become his new wife.  Already flat to the floorboards in their daily lives the couple now find that they must split their time between jobs, family and the lobbying of administration officials to create an army of trash police on planet earth.

As the City of the future nears completion Shaker embarks on a personal dream project that he has been thinking about for some time. The new endeavour see’s him occupying the penthouse and roof garden sections of the highest crystalline tower in the metropolis and converting them into the ‘Rocket ship’ dance club. Amber has by this stage obtained her geology degree and she is very busy teaching students at a nearby community campus. There’s talk of starting a family but for the time being these the busy years must be allowed to have their way.  Looking out at his new domain through the high, curved window of the nightclubs construction site Shaker thinks back to how his life was as a sea person not so very long ago. He knows if he had of stayed there he might not have been able to continue on with his beautiful wife Amber and this thought inspires him to keep working even harder.  Elaborating on Shakers design sketches the very skilled and talented work crew have transformed the bare shell of the penthouse area into a fully sculptured vision scape with light and video installations positioned in every possible location.  There are four separate bars in the club itself and in the wilderness themed roof garden tropical delights will be enjoyed by the guests absolutely free of charge.

The Director who took over at the centre after 3398 had his position unceremoniously terminated by administration because of the new outbreak.  Under the supervision of a new Deem department head the corpses of the groundsman and his wife were placed in a steel vault at a remote, quarantined centre awaiting meticulous examination in sterile, clinical laboratories. The fast wriggling, red maggots that escaped the view of the clean up crew at the house were able to climb into the dripping garden hose and enter a pupal stage attached to it’s inner circumference. After a few weeks of bioloical development they emerged from their sheltered cocoons as tiny tadpole like creatures and swam up the hose towards the slightly open tap faucet. Once inside of an increased flow of water they navigated the water system of the house until eventually they were travelling through the mains water supply towards a public reservoir.  

Even at this early stage of growth and development the twenty or so small descendants of Viro are able to cross fertilize and reproduce other more advanced creatures than themselves. Given the right conditions they will eventually transform into the parent species and further multiply thereafter.  Within just a few days of the reservoirs contamination people begin to get sick all around Drawlooma city and the entire metropolitan area is thrown into lockdown once again.  It’s soon declared a regional emergency and in light of the new crisis Ai-3398 signs on to assist with the medical response from her home office. 

The Rocket ship nightclub is unable to open it’s doors to the public on the pre-advertised date due to the new outbreak. In a snap decision Shaker and Amber agree on an attempt to avoid detection out of the infectious zone and jump on the first available transport to his family home on earth.  They feel relatively at ease about their decision to evacuate as they only ever drink bottled water and most of their vegetarian diet is produced from a home garden which is watered from a personal storage system. To their great relief, easily obtained testing kits confirm that the pair are free of the virus, but all anybody can hope for is that others who may be infected don’t have the same idea, to flee to the safety of earth.  Via the inter-planetary capable communications equipment of Shakers friends in the jungle he is able to make contact with Lumi to find out what is happening on Pasena Dwale.  He is to shortly thereafter find out that the entire Drawlooma city region including the city of the future are in complete lockdown and living under an administration enforced curfew.

Purely through chance the frantic escape they made to the sea community provided the young newlyweds with an ideal break from their hectic, working lifestyles.  Everyday that they are with the Skygazer extended family they become more relaxed and at ease, in the calming embrace of the sea.  Shaker communicates regularly with Lumi to get updates on the pandemic and through his influence the earth is declared a no go zone to all Pasena Dwale shuttles and carrier craft.

In light of the second serious flare up of the Viro menace Shaker and Amber decide that the risk of infection is too high to chance raising a baby there. It’s agreed that as soon as the rate of infections and deaths flattens out on Pasena Dwale Amber will return to request a transfer to a permanent position on earth.  Shaker can continue his involvement with the Rocket ship club from his portable, laptop computer, so all that is left to do is try for a pregnancy as winter sets in around the protective settlements of the sea people. 

Due to the quick thinking of 3398, the humans from her research team who were confirmed ‘Viro infection negative’ were spared the inconvenience of quarantine and they have all been evacuated by her twin brother to the relative safety of Gaddish Major. Courtesy of Lumi the visitors are to stay at an All Welcome resort until the worst of the pandemic subsides, which no-one is as yet complaining about.   Many of their security cleared friends were also welcomed along and it has turned into a big holiday catch up for this fun loving network of recently displaced souls. 

From her home office 3398 co-ordinates the intricate early stages in the development of a new, more effective vaccine, that is best suited to the elimination of the newly mutated strain.  Most of the research data she and her team had compiled was simply ignored by the grossly incompetent, human director of the centre, so it had to be completely re-worked and then forwarded to those now in charge of the operation.  On the discovery that the public reservoir was the source of the outbreak it was immediately closed down and untold amounts of bottled water and huge containers had to be shipped in to Drawlooma.  As an absolute bio-security safeguard until a vaccine can be found a gigantic dome bigger than any ever built is constructed  in the desert country and is to be therein used as an isolation facility for any human who shows the slightest symptoms to the infection.

CHAPTER 14

LIFE GOES ON

Amber is in the early stages of pregnancy and feeling a little sea sick so Shaker beaches the catamaran as gently as he can near the low duned entrance to the bush track.  With the help of some of his swimming and sunbaking friends the cat is dragged up closer to the dunes and secured, then he and Amber bid them all farewell and head off up the beach with their luggage. At the administration base camp and landing strip a hover shuttle the size of a school bus takes them to the main transport terminal on other side of the large, mountainous island, then they board a trans-planetary carrier that is bound for Pasena Dwale.  At the flight terminal in Drawlooma the couple are subjected to meticulous, blood tests, and other such examinations before being permitted to pass through the bio-hazard security barriers. They then catch a free taxi to the Rocket ship club where they are cheerfully greeted by Lumi in the downstairs lobby.

Since the latest Viro outbreak started Drawlooma and for that matter the entirety of the planet have been on total, administration imposed alert, against any further bio-hazard emergencies.  At the latest count two thirds of the PD humans and almost all of the original earth population have perished and it’s now a predominantly a Deem and Ai- populated and controlled reality, around the globe.  Over drinks in the roof garden café the group catches up in good spirits and Shaker gets to see how things are going since Lumi kindly took over and opened the place up to the public. The assorted staff who are milling around the cafe have no idea who Shaker is but that’s about to change later in the evening when he does a guest DJ spot for the night crowd. Ambers parents have agreed to come to the show, as is also the case with the Ai-1’s. The twins have been invited along with their partners and kids, which promises to provide for a very enjoyable reunion for Both family and friends.

From Lumi’s office in the club Amber makes a request to her geology department superiors to begin a permanently earth based research assignment.  After a couple of hours of waiting around for a reply a return call confirms that she has been granted official permission, which see’s her and Shaker overjoyed at the news.  That night after Ambers parents have checked into their rooms the group all meet up for dinner in the roof garden restaurant, which has a gorgeous, sweeping view of the city and the surrounding sloping ranges. A short while later they are joined by the entire Ai-1-extended family at which Lumi proceeds to introduce everyone.  As Lumi’s and Tootsie Monroe’s special guests all in attendance at the gathering are required to wear party hats just like the children.  After dinner when it comes time for Shaker to begin his DJ set the diners all leave the restaurant area and head down to the club for some dancing.

Lumi seats them in a private lounge area off to the side of the large, fully packed dance floor and when Shaker begins to pump out his techno-tribal sounds the toddlers are guided out to the dancing area laughing for some swinging and foot stomping fun. As he goes through his routine for the crowd Shaker feels a slight twinge of regret that he didn’t get to experience the Rocket ship club in it’s totality but one look at Ambers smiling eyes dancing on the floor before him, is enough to remind him why.  After the merriment of the evening the group are gathered around chatting over nightcaps in a much quieter view facing bar.  The toddlers are sleeping in their mothers laps as the Commander and Shaker converse about the time of the tectonic flood and the evacuation of earth. All of Shaker’s historical curiosities are given great meaning in one friendly, informative conversation that ends on a very personal note with the commander asking politely , … “Have you been fishing today?”

On her return to home base 3398 finds that the research data she shared with the center’s new boss has netted some positive results with the announcement of an experimental vaccine that is showing remarkable results in the immunization of negative tested human beings. All local infection figures have stabilized and thus far no contaminations have been detected on either earth or Gaddish Major.  According to her colleagues things are looking good for a virus free environment in the Pasena Dwale region of space but there is still the massive task at hand to manufacture and roll out the vaccine. It appears that most of the hard work is done and the only thing that represents a further threat is any kind of lapse in bio-hazard vigilance and security. 

The young children of the Ai-I-twins are fun loving cousins who get up to all kinds of mischief whenever they are together at their grandparents house.  The commander and his wife love it in their happy, never a dull moment world and they would be quite lost without the company of their little sweethearts. At the local parkland they are often seen feeding the waterbirds, but their favorite pastime is splashing in the shallows of their virtual beach on a warm and sunny Pasena Dwale afternoon. Their names are Ai-b- Jonas, Virgil and Michelle in the mode of the new naming procedure for Ai-produced children. There is always a silly display of mock sadness from the commander when the children’s parents arrive to pick them up but after he gets three big hugs from the toddlers he’s okay again.

In the long term scheme of things the Andromeda and Milky way galaxies are destined to collide with each other at some stage in a few billion years, so the Lazar pulse engineers have embarked on a new project that will determine if would be possible to advance re-locate an entire galactic system and avoid a possible catastrophe. 3397 is the main co-ordinator of the truly daunting project, but he very much doubts that he will ever get the chance to fly the mission. The department requires the best and brightest possible new recruits to be trained and mission ready for all new assignments and he feels that he may be getting a little long in the tooth.

Amber and Shaker are now the proud young parents of a bouncing baby boy who looks so much like his dad it’s uncanny.  A large, disused evaporation dome has been lovingly converted into living space, come artists studio by shaker and in it he spends long hours working on large lengths of outstretched hemp canvas.  The baby who’s name is ‘Jacob Skygazer the First’ hangs around at his dads feet everyday as he works and it’s an ongoing job to keep his little fingers out of the multi-coloured, ochre oxide tray.

From on the conversation he had with the commander on Pesana Dwale Shaker is inspired to apply the knowledge he has gained to a series of new paintings and visual installations. As he is applying some glistening yellow ochre over the top of some matt textured red stuff he thinks it might make an ideal location to put something of himself in the picture. He paints over his open palm and fingers with some thick, pastey, purply coloured ochre then he places his outstretched hand over the two areas, with the intention of leaving an impression, As he does it he is suddenly struck with the mind blowing realization , …”This is where it all began man.” The hand impression works like magic just as he had predicted and he goes on to finish the work with a couple of fast moving spacecraft he copied from out of an old comic.  Amber walks into the studio with her finger through the gills of a quite large and flapping, freshly caught fish. When she sees the newly completed painting she calls her husband ‘Mr. Freaky pants’ like she always does, then she picks up the baby and goes off smiling to clean the fish for dinner. Shakers family have come to love Amber and the baby dearly and they spend a great deal of time chatting away as they attend to their daily chores.

Amber is so caught up in the joys of motherhood and daily life around the settlement that she hasn’t even bothered to follow through with the new job she was offered at the landing strip base camp just a short way up the beach by water. Things are stable for the time being on Pasena Dwale but she worries constantly about her family and friends should there be another outbreak in the near future.  After the big snapper has been cooked and eaten she suggests to Shaker that with Lumi’s kind help they might be able to build some extensions and invite her parents and friends to come and stay with them on earth until it is truly safe on PD.  Shaker will fly to the moon and back for his darling wife, so he say’s he is in full agreement and he will get onto it  “first thing in the morning.” 

Walking up the bush track the next morning Shaker checks out a huge patch of mainly straight and ready to cut bamboo.  At the house he asks around among his buds and is told , …”Go for it man, it’s yours.” After hearing this he calls everybody around and puts forward a proposal that they use the bamboo to construct a huge human figure, the same as pictures he has seen of long ancient ‘Burning man’ festivals. It sounds like a great idea to everyone, so a time is set for the following day when all of the bamboo will be cut down.

After he has had a promising and productive radio conversation with Lumi Shaker heads off back home, keen to get started on the burning man project with his tribe. Lumi is fascinated by all things concerning the culture of the sea people and the forest dwellers. He see’s the request for help from his friend as an opportunity to get in among the settlements and perhaps get to know them even better.  Some of the engineers and builders who worked on his earlier enterprises are quickly recruited to build platform and land based accommodation on the island and in the sea near to where Shaker lives. The commander provides a disused convoy transporter to the project and within three months there are eight sturdy new, compartmentalized domed platforms floating beside the others. An extensive land base of a similar design is constructed close to the bush track and the two structures are linked by a two mile long floating and sheltered walkway.  When Ambers family and friends see the exotic pictures that accompany the invitation they are all eager to be part of the big holiday adventure.  Shortly after their eventual arrival at the islands main flight terminal the  passengers leave the carrier and are shuttled off to the beach.  Both sea faring and forest dwelling locals help with their bundles of luggage and they also assist them to get settled in their new accommodation.

Lumi makes a special trip from the city of the future to the Australian island settlements. On his Arrival he is warmly greeted by the Skygazer clan and many others from the vicinity.  On the beach facing porch of the land structure he is treated to a beautiful performance by the forest tribe, which involves much singing by the choir and energetic dancing by all of the fair young maidens from the area. Lumi’s darling wife Tootsie loves the singing part but she frowns slightly and holds him ever closer when she see’s the very attractive young dancing and flirting females.  It’s not in existence yet but there’s talk of possible Ai-and human relationships and reproduction in the near future. The stretch of sand dunes and beach between the land resort and the floating domes is the venue for the erection of the burning man structure.  The forest tribe and other volunteers lug a great supply of dead and living, cut bamboo down to the beach from the cluster and they commence to bring the huge, iconic burning man effigy into being.  The straight and curved bamboo structure has a considerable amount of much drier materials woven into it’s frame, which it’s hoped will create more powerful heat and flames than the semi dried bamboo can withstand. Shakers powerful solar powered PA speakers are placed beside a tall clump of palm trees and the army of happy workers are able to groove to techno sounds as they toil.  By sundown burning man is standing proud and tall on the beach. He is securely tethered to leaning palms by long hemp ropes and a huge pile of driftwood is piled at his feet.  It’s announced   that the festival will take place on the next full moon in three days time, which gives everyone time to prepare for the unfolding, community event. When Shaker pulls up at the dock extending out from his dome all sweaty and baboo littered Amber is evidently quite turned on and frisky.  After roping the cat down she instantly jumps on her husband and they go tumbling into the clear, blue water.  A long, salty kiss is followed by inviting glances, which are then followed by, … “The baby is sleeping” , .”.Oooh!” , … ”Big boy.”

People from all around the area have received word of mouth invitations to the burning man festival and many started arriving in the early morning of the first day.  A big bamboo and timber stage has been erected alongside of the rough and tumble land structure and there are visual art sculptures and installations placed in all kinds of attractive, coastal locations.  Help yourself food and beverages can be obtained from the forest dwellers home, all the way out to the floating domes, via the walkway.

Lumi and Tootsie are treated to all manner of artistic delights by their human hosts in gratitude for all they have done to develop the island.  Ambers parents and her younger sister are thrilled beyond belief by the fact they are guests at such a perfect location and the unfolding festivities are seen as just another cherry on the pie. Amber is duly complimented on her fine choice of ‘very innovative’ husbands and they all chuckle as refreshments are served by traction tracked, Ai- attendants, moving silently across the sand.   The family are sitting around on easy chairs, under some swaying palms on the beach, where young Jacob is attempting to capture a small, fast scuttlling, sand crab. As evening sets in the number of people on the beach swells to a couple of thousand smiling and dancing spectators and participants.  Shakers tribe perform a colorful and spectacular dance routine in front of the DJ stage area just prior to the burning ceremony, which commences with a, sweet, almost haunting song by the children of the settlements.  When it comes time to fire up burning man, gallons of bio-fuel is poured on the large pile of driftwood at his feet and long, twinkling sparklers are then thrown on. In a sudden blast of radiant warmth the pile goes up in flames, climbing quickly and purposefully upwards.

CHAPTER 15

FAR REMOVED

The complete removal and re-positioning of an entire galaxy and all it contains is no easy feat, but 3397 and his team of cosmically intuitive engineer’s feel as if they are up to the almighty task at hand. It’s soon decided that Lazar pulse technology is not a sufficient tool on it’s own to handle such a monumental undertaking and it’s only one component in the overall plan.  As best anyone can imagine the entire milky way galaxy has to be first thoroughly charted and star mapped, so as to ascertain it’s exact dimensions and co-ordinates relative to the rest of the universe. With this vital information in hand it would then be a matter of manufacturing a vast number of lazar pulse capable satellites that are equipped with latest in delivery systems and deep space communications.

They will then need to be released into space in separate trans-planetary excursions, until such time as the entire galactic system is within range of lazar focus and pulse delivery. The construction of all the hardware that will be required will involve extensive, independent mining and recycling projects to accumulate the resources that are going to be needed. To obtain this a mineral rich planet or asteroid must first be pulled in and it’s vital resources extracted.  The whole  exercise is most definitely going to be a long term project, but 3397 thinks it can probably pull it off before the two neighboring galaxies hit smack on. In a few billion years.

As a favor to Lumi 3397 agrees to deliver some building materials and other supplies to the human settlements on earth.  Shaker has decided to construct a floating public reserve around the entirety of the island which will have docking facilities for larger watercraft and a massive, floating landing pad for incoming, interplanetary supply carriers.  He has big plans for his region of the sub-tropics, which includes the creation of an eco-friendly city to accommodate the growing numbers of children being born into the micro-communities.  The endeavor will be named ‘City of the future two’ and it will include similar features to those found at the sister metropolis on Pasena Dwale.

Rather than having to cart the shipment inland from the main flight terminal 3397 lands the transporter right on the bumpy ocean, a little way off from the sea platforms.  Shaker, Amber and Jacob look on from their docking pontoon as a huge ramp is lowered into the choppy waves and amphibious watercraft all sizes begin to transport their loads ashore. Not far down the beach from the Admin basecamp there’s a scrubby clearing which instantly becomes the location for the massive first consignment to be placed.  While the loading and storing takes place 3397 leaves the controls of the carrier and jumps into his 6x6 all terrain, submersible and pops across to the domes to say hello to the locals.

He is cheerfully introduced to the Skygazer clan on his arrival at the docking area, whereby they all leave the glare of the four suns and go into a domed and palm fronded shelter.  He doesn’t quite know what to do with the straw equipped, whole chilled coconut he has been handed, by an overly enthusiastic child so he just pretends to sip it intermittently, as they chat about nothing in particular at all.  Shaker eventually manages to take him aside and pick his brain about his experience as a transporter pilot and engineer but it’s short lived as time is obviously pressing.  The clan have been the best hosts they can be but it’s clear that their HumAndroid guest is very busy and has to get going.  Big thanks and best wishes are extended to be passed on to Lumi as 3397 boards his water craft and hurriedly motors off back to the waiting carrier, to re-join his crew.

From the conversation Shaker had with his new acquaintance a fast moving flood of internal images have come cascading into his thoughts and creative imaginings.  He is eagerly stretching a new length of hemp canvas into place as young Jacob comes crawling and goo! goo!’ing into the studio with a baby pelican held tightly under his little arm. The panic stricken young bird manages to scuttle away and as it does it runs headlong into Shakers ochre tray, knocking it over so that all of the wet colors merge as a streaky, grey disgusting mess. Picking Jacob up in one arm and the bird in the other they walk to the opened entrance to the studio and the fledgling is set off swimming back towards it’s mother.

The following day as Shaker and his family are excavating a new pallet of ochre colors in the forest they are joined by some young travelers who have followed the bush track a long distance from one of the inland tribes.  The hikers tell Shaker that there is much discontent among their people about all of the tourist craft that come hovering around their homes and their cannabis crops. 

A request is made that the unwanted activity ceases immediately because there is talk among the tribes that they are going to take things into their own hands.  Such a threat from the inland people is not to be taken lightly as they are descended from warrior, barbarian stock and they are very skilled at bringing down large forest dwelling animals.

As the family passes the house on their way back home Shaker stops in at the communications room and sends a transmission to Lumi at the Rocket ship club.  The situation with the inland tribes is carefully discussed by the pair which ends with a promise that the problem will be rectified straight away.  Lumi immediately get on to his dear, long time friend the commander to see if he can arrange some flight combatant patrols around the sensitive areas in question. On hearing the familiar “No problem’o!” from Ai-1 Lumi relays the message back to Shaker at his home via a teenage boy in a wooden kayak.

A gigantic, mineral rich asteroid has been successfully pulverized in mid flight and the scattered debris has been captured by large scale suction harvesters.  The unprocessed ore is being transported by recently upgraded carriers to Pasena Dwale for initial treatment, then it will be smelted down into the materials that will enable the ‘Galactic Shift Project’ to take place. H-Ai-3397 has lobbied a number of top end administration officials for additional funding, which will see the absolute best and brightest Humandroid, Deem and human minds welcomed into the assignment. It’s the most ambitious scientific and engineering related project that any living beings have ever undertaken anywhere in the history of life.  Among the many questions and unknowns 3397 is definitely certain about one thing. He wants his name to be attached to the eventual success of the project in all of the high school text books of yet to be born or assembled, future generations.

Shaker has completed a series of super realistic depictions of the time in history after the evacuation of earth.  The exhibition of ten full size canvas works are stored out of the elements in a shipping container at the Admin landing strip. With Lumi’s assistance the paintings are going to be displayed in a gallery that has been established in the next level down from the rocket ship club. It seems that every enterprise Lumi sets his mind to turns into gold and Shaker speculates that it might be something to do with his early development programing, or it could just be good old fashioned, natural talent. Whatever the winning formula is he thinks to himself, it’s lifted a hairy, lay about, art obsessed sea person out of a mostly dull subsistence lifestyle, to the towering heights and pinnacles of human achievement.  Amber and the baby arrive back from their little bush walk and Shakers thoughts are disrupted in the most pleasant of possible ways.  The three sail back home in the catamaran, as a brilliant crimson sunset fades peacefully beyond the horizon and their floating home.

Within two days of the request to Lumi not a single tourist vehicle flight related or otherwise has been seen from the dome settlement, to beyond the coastal forest and all of the inland communities of the island.  Instead regular, high flying deem patrols are seen criss crossing the landscape in their search for any unwanted offenders. The gratitude of the tribes is expressed in the ongoing deliveries of delicious forest fruits and vegetables, along with portions of freshly slaughtered pig and water buffalo meat.  With the large amounts of donated produce Amber and her mother cook up wonderful daily banquets for the community which are supplemented with copious quantities of home brewed ale and spirits.  Gentle acoustic music normally accompanies the feasts until the sun goes down and it begins to get more rowdy.  Between the walkway separated, dome platforms, floating firepits are loaded up with dry palm fronds and driftwood, then sea people folk songs are shared in the cool of the sub tropical evening.

The exhibition at the city of the future is hailed as the most significant collection of contemporary works of the twenty fourth century.  At an official, administration arts ceremony Shaker is awarded the highest possible honors and he is proudly inducted into the hall of fame.  As he sit’s back down on receiving his award Amber gives him a big kiss and yet again calls him “Mr. Freaky pants.” The scene explodes with the simultaneous flashing of a hundred cameras which are engaged in serious, professional battle to capture the winning shot.

H-Ai-3398 feels that she has become a much better person since the Viro outbreaks became stable and she was at last spared all of the unwanted stress and aggravation.   Her husband and her two young children are all that matter to her these days, beside the love she feels for her twin brother and their parents.  Somehow family get togethers have become increasingly more rare and as part of her new years resolutions she sets about rectifying the situation.  Invitations go out within days of her decision and the back yard of the families Drawlooma residence becomes the  setting for a long overdue and grand in scale, H-Ai-family catch up. 

The commander by force of circumstance has literally had to drag himself away from the writing of his memoirs, as he and his dear wife H-Ai-222 go to the wardrobe and remove their plastic covered formal wear.   Much the same is the case for the whole Ai-1 clan until they are all seated with friends at a long fairy lit table, beside a trickling, bush rock waterfall.  Lumi and Tootsie have managed to make it to the event as have a number of other long time friends. Vintage wines and champaign are enjoyed with the beautifully prepared banquet and afterwards virtual cigars are ignited. H-Ai-3397 speaks at length to his father and all who will listen about how the Galaxy shift project is progressing and at his conclusion the commander finally gets to speak about his book.

CHAPTER 16

A NEW HORIZON

In addition to the work crews that have been provided by the sea people and the forest tribes, Lumi has assigned an entire regiment of Deem and Ai-construction specialists to assist Shaker in bringing his grand vision to completion. The first load of building materials and equipment is removed from it’s windswept clearing among the sand dunes and it is transported in a convoy of big off road vehicles down along the beach to where construction will begin.  The first task at hand for the crews is to construct a floating, dome platform inspired reserve and walkway which has openings at various intervals, so that small craft can move between the shoreline and the sea. As this is completed the shipping terminal for larger vessels will be constructed and then the crews will move onto the building of a massive landing pad for the carriers.

Construction of the outer perimeter takes almost three years to finalize at which time the outer island has been completely transformed. It’s mostly pristine and sparsely populated landscapes have remained exactly as they were and none of the forest tribes have any complaints what so ever.  As the first of the supply carriers begin to utilize the outer landing pad, vast amounts of materials are deposited and then transported to their appropriate locations.  A large ship building operation is established in a nearby deep water estuary which see’s the eventual completion of a full blown, state of the art freighter.  This event signals the beginning of construction for a tethered and floating ‘City of the future two’ about two nautical miles out in the deep ocean. The new metropolis is designed to be a more low lying reality than it’s sister city on PD and it will be predominantly dome and pyramid inspired. Within five years of initial construction the vision has almost completely manifested as reality and the ever growing populations of the region begin to gravitate towards their shining new hub of community activity.  As families and whole micro-communities take up residence at the outer perimeter of the city, structural additions create new floating suburbs, which flourish through seafood and kelp farming.  Extensive deep sea wind and wave power generators provide an unending supply of energy to keep the settlements up and running and along with solar energy systems each floating home is equipped with eco-friendly, human waste disposal units.  Everything that can be recycled is repurposed upon it’s life’s end and as a rule there is generally a great demand for the materials that are produced.

Amber and Shaker look across and admire the sparkling new floating city glowing in the afternoon sunshine. Seven year old Jacob tries out his new body board in a shark net enclosure a little way out from the pontoon.  A large school of mullet swim ever so close to him at which his small dog rusty jumps off the board barking frantically and tries to catch them. Once his dad has hauled him out of the water with Rusty and the board the family head inside for dinner, happy in the knowledge that they are living in one of the most wonderful places in among the three worlds. 

Under the ever attentive supervision of H-Ai-3397 the Galactic shift project has made great advancements since it was first initiated just a few short years ago. The entire Milky way has now been charted and star mapped to give a clear understanding of where to position the lazar pulse satellites when the last one rolls off the production line.  The super computer that has been built to handle the relocation is more powerful than anything that has come before it and it’s equipped with telescopic capabilities which it’s said can pick up a microbe scratching it’s ass twenty thousand light years away.

With the completion of the new sea people city Shaker establishes an office in the topmost section of the high, stadium sized pyramid, which is located in the dead centre of the City of the future two. The transparent pyramid structure in most of the other floors on the way down have been compartmentalized to varying degrees, but the three directly below him haven’t.  This is where his design sketches and assorted blueprints will eventually be developed into a restaurant and night spot facility, more elaborate than anything he has ever attempted before.  On the third high ceilinged, open level down a fun park is established complete with rides, a roundabout and a smallish ferris wheel for kiddies and adults alike.

The empty spaces and leisure facilities are quickly filled up as artist studios, gyms, café’s and the like take up residence throughout the massive building. Professional people are also moving in from both PD and Gaddish Major as they are attracted by the built in exclusivity and prestige factors.

There are select, human interest groups emerging on both of the outer planets who are lobbying administration to introduce a monetary system, like there was on ancient earth. Those of this persuasion have come to be known as the ‘Moneychangers’ and they are scorned upon by the majority of all other cultures. The highly aggressive push for economic reform is being strongly resisted from all sides in favour of the existing, free trade system of gifting, bartering and volunteer service. It’s perceived at the highest levels of Human, Ai- and Deem administration that the risk of financial and social meltdown is simply  far too great, as it’s an overly regulated system, which is owned by self serving individuals. It’s been well known for millennia that , …‘The unequal distribution of resources can quickly advance to personal greed.”  It’s unanimously agreed by all cultures that , …’Any accumulation of personal wealth greater than an individual can use in their lifetime, is a mental flaw that needs to be addressed by medical and psychiatric specialists.’

On it’s opening the newly established ‘Trans-Galactic’ nightclub receives rave reviews in the ‘What’s Happening?’ pages on both Pasena Dwale and Gaddish Major.  It’s hailed as ‘The only place to be’ by the artistic sector and dance enthusiasts from all worlds. In a rush of unprecedented demand, Shaker finds that his highly exclusive nightspot has to conduct public lotteries in the downstairs foyer to see who gets in the door.  A club manager has been appointed so at long last after the executive lifestyle he was swept along on Shaker is able to do his DJing performances for the night crowds without having to attend to a million other things. 

A very cosy chill room near his office has become overnight accommodation for Amber and Jacob and after they are done with the fun and games downstairs they can just flop out and get some rest. They don’t go to the club every night just mainly on the weekends and that’s more than enough excitement to satisfy.  In the mornings after the shows the Shakespeare Skygazer family jump on board the catamaran at the base of the pyramid and leave for their mostly quiet and serene lifestyle at the settlement.  This is the best of both worlds reality Shaker imagined so long ago, before he set off on the entrepreneurial adventure that got him to where he is today.  Ambers family have loved every minute of their time at the beach resort on the island, but the virus threat is pretty much over and they have started missing the life they lived on Pasena Dwale. The same is the case for those others who accompanied them, so with the change from autumn to winter the resort is left almost emptied, as they all board various shuttles and transporters bound for home. 

As Shakers busy years begin to slow his days are spent mostly attending to sea farming chores and family duties around the platforms. From time to time he has short bursts of creative inspiration which motivate him to paint but he feels he gave it his best with the last exhibition.  He‘s happy these days just doing the odd performance at the club and really not much else.  Every now and then he connects with Lumi via-the trans planetary radio linkup, but that’s mainly a friendship thing and not anything project related. Time can wear a man down he reasons and after a busy life of grand achievements he would prefer to just relax in the company of his family than embark on any big, world changing plans

Amber has been giving Jacob basic home tutoring since he was about four years old from information she is able to collect on line.  He shows the greatest interest in all things animal, bird or fish related and she suspects that he is well suited to a position that involves wildlife protection.  There aren’t that many job opportunities among the islands, but hopefully this will change with the development of the region.  She only hopes in her heart of hearts that he decides to stay around the place of his birth and not venture off too far away to live on the other planets.

On Jacobs fourteenth birthday he is presented with his very own wooden, slatted, clinker boat, which has a solar charged and battery powered electric motor. Also there are sturdy hemp canvas sails fitted on it to catch the prevailing winds and carry him wherever he wants to go.  For long hours on most days he can be seen off fishing and swimming with the other settlement kids, who have all become his instant best friends.  Sometimes they sail across to the island and play all day long in the jungle country close to where the forest people live.  In the thick of the rainforest the kids have a favourite large, crystal clear swimming hole, that sits under cascading and bubbling falls. This is where they often catch big freshwater crayfish, turtles and sometimes giant slimy eels with Jacobs powerful speargun. On one such sunny spring afternoon as Jacob and a couple of his friends are hunting, some baby piglets come scuttling between them in the shallow trickling water.  Excited and laughing they chase after the little pigs and only Jacob shows any concern for possible threats to the group. A loud rustling sound is suddenly heard in the undergrowth, but by the time it’s noticed the huge mother boar has rushed out into the open and she charges directly for the youngest of the boys.  With lightening quick reactions Jacob jumps up onto a moss covered, fallen tree trunk and takes aim at the rampaging beast.  A long and yellowed tusk opens up the leg of the small kid holding a screeching piglet, at which both fall to the ground screaming.

Then the monster pig turns frantically and just as it is about to gore the second boy Jacob sends the sharp barb from his loaded speargun deep into the pig and it is perfectly lodged between it’s blood spurting shoulder blades. The spear pierces the heart of the panting and grunting mother pig at which she collapses and soon dies.  Jacob and the other boy run to the aid of his injured younger brother who is bleeding profusely and screaming in agony.  As his older brother calms the hurt young boy Jacob tears a clump of paper bark from a nearby tree and wraps it around the bleeding leg. He then uses his knife to cut a length of twisting vine, which is tied tightly around the damaged limb. A second length of vine is quickly tied, even tighter around the upper thigh to reduce the bleeding.  Barely able to hobble the kid has to be piggy backed by the teenage boys back along the bush track where he is left in the care of the forest people at their house.

After telling the adults of his intentions Jacob runs at top speed to his boat which is anchored in the shallows near the beach.  With the anchor pulled in he drags the boat around and motors off towards the domes with his electric motor at full stick.  Shaker is alerted when Jacob calls him from a short way out in the water and once informed of the problem the father and son hop into the much faster catamaran for the return trip.  By the time Jacob and his dad get to the house the boy has already been transported in an electric dune buggy to the admin base camp.  The kid is administered strong pain killers by the staff of the basecamp and arrangements are immediately put in place to have him moved to a better equipped medical facility on the other side of the island.  By the time Shaker docks at the platform its almost dark. The boys anxious, waiting parent are given details of the incident along with information about where he is being cared for.  Shakers cat is willingly handed over along with solar torches and the now frantic parents head off into the night.

CHAPTER 17

UNUSUAL FEATURES

 

The first of the Lazar pulse equipped satellites have been rolled out and they are scheduled for transporter deep space delivery at their appropriate locations within the milky way. H-Ai-3397 has assigned 3000 of the little babies to be released at various intervals around the outer perimeter of the swirling mass and this is just the first instalment, which will eventually see them positioned around the entirety of the galaxy. The final stage of the operation will come when the enormous black hole at it’s very core is in the cross hairs of countless lazar pulse delivery systems and the activation command is given. Recent pulse exercises proved successful in re-positioning an entire solar system in a nearby part of space, so everything is looking green lights for the upcoming milky way shift.

Ai-3397 is no longer able to fly deep space missions due to lower back problems that he swears came from playfights he had with his tough guy twin sister. In the coming weeks he is due for a complete pelvic assembly replacement, but until then he just has to grin and bear it, as he tries to ignore the constant grinding and electrical spasms. In his expert opinion the new breed of recently graduated H-Ai-pilots are more than capable of flying the missions so he gets to sit back a little and orchestrate the comings and goings of his interstellar flight crews.

The laying of the first few hundred satellites went as smooth as clockwork, but as one of the transporters was about to release the next batch some strange, unidentified lights appeared from out of nowhere.  A sizable fleet of unknown spacecraft buzzed the carrier and it’s disoriented crew, then they vanished completely out of sight at warp speed. The intruders weren’t seen again for the remainder of the mission, but now all Ai- spacecraft are on the lookout having been placed on official high alert.   Launched just six days ago the following mission has also reported seeing similar, fast moving craft in the region they are operating in and they say that their efforts are being seriously disrupted.  Reluctant to do so space commander Ai-3397 sends instructions that the mission is to be temporarily suspended and all craft are ordered to return to base immediately. In the coming days a squadron of heavily armed flight combatants are dispatched  into the vicinity of the sightings and on their arrival they split off into separate groups to investigate the problem.

More than a month passes by and not one of the strange fleets or even a single vehicle has been reported.  With this bewildering information at hand 3397 speculates that he may be dealing with an advanced race of beings, who are somehow aware of what the galactic mission is up to.  The fact they only disrupted the activities of satellite delivering transporters and not the investigating squadron of flight combatants can only mean they are in some way able to spy on Ai- plans and operations.

Within earshot of multiple deep space communications devices a coded message is dispatched by the commander ordering that a decoy strategy be launched, which will involve a false satellite laying assignment.  The mission will be enacted from a carrier that is loaded to the hilt with flight combatants, who will on detection of the enemy launch attacks and remove them from the area. Within the space of two days the stage is set for the decoy strategy to go into play as the fully weaponized, deep space transporter enters the area and begins releasing satellites.  Sure enough within a couple of hours they arrive on the scene and begin to interfere with the operations of the carrier.  The battle ready flight combatants stream out of the transporter without warning and with all lazars blasting at the surprised alien craft. A high speed, dog fight ensues around the length and breadth of the carrier until the invaders seemingly give up and retreat at warp speed to lick their wounds.  

In light of the recent attacks on the satellite missions the administration collective sends instructions to flight command that the galactic shift project must be suspended indefinitely, until they can get to the bottom of who or what is causing all of the trouble.  3397 is not one to just sit idly by and do nothing when trouble comes knocking on his door, so he gets straight on to deep space communications and requests that they make contact with an Ai-survey team who are working in the same area as the recent UFO sightings.  The surveyors are instructed to report any unusual activity in their region to central flight command then the short transmission is ended with a friendly “Over and out.” On termination of the call 3397 quietly thinks to himself, that if by chance the troublesome aliens are able to monitor Ai- communications in some way then this exercise may just help to confirm it. If they haven’t as yet been seen by the surveyors and they suddenly start showing up out of the blue it can only mean that A-I secured frequencies have been intercepted.

The final full stop has been at last inserted in the closing sentence of the book that H-Ai-1 has been writing for the last three and a half years. In it he has described the unfolding events that transpired since his consciousness activation at earths Ai-laboratories, right up until the time of his return from interstellar travels countless centuries later. The book in it’s completeness has been read and assessed by the leading publishing house in Drawlooma city, who quickly predict that it will make their best seller list. After the extensive effort that the commander put into the chapters he is relieved that it wasn’t all a waste of time.  The whole Ai-extended family network and friends receive advance publication, signed copies of the book which has been proudly named , .. ‘The Quest for Survival’.  It does indeed go on to rate highly in the best seller category and it is widely read through the following years on all three planets in the Pasena Dwale system.

A message is received at flight command headquarters which confirms the suspicions of A-i-3397 that deep space transmissions are being monitored and somehow deciphered by the entities whom the satellite missions were encountering. In light of this new intelligence data the administration collective issues official instructions that all attempts should be made by flight command to establish some kind of peaceful communication with whoever the beings are, for the purpose of finding out what they want. For the most part there after the galaxy shift project comes to a virtual standstill and the principal focus at flight command becomes  ongoing attempts to somehow locate the alien pilots and get to the bottom of what their gripe is.

From an orbiting space station close to where the first encounters took place a senior Deem communications officer looks over the shoulder of a junior Ai- recruit.  The A-i- is monitoring an on screen star map radar, in the hope that he might detect some kind of movement or activity. Another Ai-operative in the large, fully equipped cabin is monitoring a repetitive audio message that is requesting all recipients to identify themselves.

Days turn into weeks and then months aboard the orbiting facility with absolutely no response from the infinite depths of deep space. Commander A-i-3397 is seriously considering requesting a repositioning of the detector station, when a mysterious occurrence is reported in their immediate region of space.  A large moon has vanished from existence not that far away in the vicinity and it appears that it may be the sought after beings conducting mining operations. A short while after flight command conveys this vital information to Space admin a message comes back advising to continue with transmissions as they have been and immediately report any further activity.

In their collective wisdom space admin is acting on a hunch that the unknown entities are fully aware of the plans for galaxy shift and it somehow interferes with the operations, within their galactic region.   Forthwith at all possible Deem, human and A-i- levels of operation the galaxy shift project is officially terminated until further notice, whereby all deep space missions pack up camp and prepare to go home. 

Amid shutdown procedures an unidentified space vehicle enters the region of the detector station hurtling along at the speed of light.  As it nears the area of the space station it is seen on the radar to stop dead in it’s tracks just a short way off in near space.  The senior Deem communications official walks over to a large, circular viewing window and observes the spacecraft coming ever closer towards his orbiting unit.  Pulling in right alongside the window the two beings at the controls can be clearly seen and they don’t appear in any way to be hostile.  A crackly audio transmission is soon after picked up which states in digitalized ancient English , …“We own it.” An ever so slight vibratory movement is seen taking place on their space craft as the faces of both contort into what appears to be friendly smiles. They then bank away slowly from the detection unit before vanishing as a tiny white dot, undistinguishable from all of the other stars in the shy.

CHAPTER 18

A SPECIAL SECRET AMONG FRIENDS

Jacobs nineteenth birthday party is being held in the café area of Lumi’s beachfront resort and there are young people in attendance from all around the platform communities and the assorted tribes of the island. Shakers aging DJing equipment is up and operating as the sun sets on the ocean, but it’s not he who gets to run the show.  Instead Amber and her hubby witness the goings on from a comfortable couch out on the front porch as the youngsters take it in turns to play their favorite sounds.  Lumi and Tootsie have been holidaying in the area and they sip on virtual cocktails as the teenage kids dance happily around them.  Gone are the days of big plans for Shaker and Lumi as they relax and chat, while taking in the unending spectacle of a supply transporter silently lifting off from the landing pad they once built. 

Tootsie and Amber succeed in enticing their men to get up and dance to the electronic music until eventually it changes to more ambient sounds and they waltz. The birthday boy is cutting his cake amid a flood of gifts and well wishes from his friends. Jacob has just finished blowing out the candles and when he brings his head up he catches the eye of a very pretty forest girl he had a brief dance with earlier on. He soon finds out that her name is Sally when she comes over for a piece of cake and from there on in it becomes as if they are out together on a first date.  As Sally and Jacob are slow dancing later in the evening Amber and Shaker swoop in on them smiling and all round introductions are made.  The party continues into the early hours of the morning and as the first hint of sunlight appears new young love flourishes among the dunes. 

Aboard his platform studio Shaker has yet again begun to paint and a new Deem and Ai-inspired series is beginning to emerge. He finds that it’s a far more gymnastic past time than it was in days gone by, but he reasons that it’s good for the exercise value. Large canvas frames filled with scenes such as the relocation of Gaddish Major and earth come into being along with all else that has been learned from Ai-1 and his ever informative son. When he eventually reads the senior commanders book of memoirs he finds that he has acquired an unending supply of detailed descriptions, that are enough to keep him going for ten life lifetimes.  With this quite tantalizing thought in mind Shaker ponders the idea of an Ai-assisted life extension, so that he and his darling wife might spend more happy years together.

Since his birthday gathering Jacob and Sally have pretty much become an item and they spend every moment they can just enjoying each others company.  It’s soon realized that her older brothers are known to Jacob, but they were never the closest of friends.  Each time he visits her they watch him cautiously from a distance and none have ever attempted to strike up friendly conversations.

On one of their regular bushwalks in the rainforest Jacob and Sally come upon a large savanna like clearing which has strange markings in various flattened areas around the place.  The weird designs appear quite symmetrical to both which motivates Jacob to climb up a high, vine laden tree for a better look.  Once right up near the forest canopy in the topmost branches of the tree he see’s that the grassy impression is a series of perfect circles and crescent moon shapes, which are joined together by long straight lines.  He is just about to climb back down to Sally when he suddenly spot’s an unusual, disk like vehicle of some kind, silently hovering amid the tree tops, about half a kilometre away.  As he observes the strange apparition a high flying transporter seems to startle it and just like that it completely disappears from view.

Back at ground level with Sally he asks if she saw the strange looking thing in the canopy, which she says she hadn’t noticed. Jacob endeavours to describe what he saw up in the treetops, to which both agree that it probably has something to do with the weird patterns in the grass. The shadows are starting to get longer as the pair arrive back at their perspective homes and both have agreed to keep the sightings to themselves.  Jacob is no fool and he knows that jungle the jungle people will soon make fanciful stories the target for public ridicule.  He does however share the things he saw with his father and by the following afternoon they have manifested as the beginnings of a new painting, featuring all that was described.

In a large conference room at the Pyramid building in the City of the future two online visuals of ancient merchant banking and crypto currency operations are displayed on a big screen for the attending human guests.  A rather loud and domineering public speaker outlines plans for future operations on the three planet system, once they are granted approval by the ever reluctant administration collective.  It’s revealed at the meeting that one of their people has been voted into a senior position at admin central and it’s only a matter of time before he can persuade others to come on board and support the newly emerging, economic strategy.

Throughout the PD planetary system humans have begun to receive mass produced, plastic tokens in exchange for the various goods and services they can provide. They in turn can exchange the tokens among each other in an ongoing currency system that will allow greater prosperity than the existing modes of trade.  The bitcoin model is the one that has been voted by the board of directors as the most potentially beneficial and as of the last count there are already two hundred thousand participants on the three worlds of Pasena Dwale. The number of humans who are subscribing to the new currency system has swelled dramatically almost overnight as people start to realize they can accumulate great wealth to leave to their children and grandchildren.  Under the existing barter system most earth people are restricted to the area in which they can extract a living and they have no real access to the other two planets in their realm. The currency system is seen by many subsistence oriented human beings as an inevitable necessity of life, but there are others who disagree with an increasingly fervent passion.  When it came to the attention of Lumi Donata and Shaker that their facility was being used to promote a cash based society the newly evolving banking group was kindly asked to leave. A new headquarters ws then established on another part of the earth, which was at some stage before the flood called the United States of America.

Through the ages laws as such were never a feature on Pasena Dwale as all of it’s highly evolved human inhabitants just instinctively knew the difference between right and wrong.. Of course there were certain behavioural guidelines that were shared with growing children, but not once was there ever a report of serious theft, murder or even malicious, intentional assault.  With the rise of the new banking system collective admin central found itself in a quandary about how to best deal with this newly emergent social movement, that threatens to disrupt the time honoured way of life in their greatly valued domain. To nip the problem in the bud as it were admin central decided on a reformation strategy that would see the entire debarkal dealt with as a medical issue, more so than any kind of legislative or even criminal problem. 

The newly emergent banking collective were promptly airlifted from their recently established headquarters to a nearby mental health facility, which might cure them of their indulgent and self serving ways.  The many millions of plastic tokens were exchanged for plentiful food vouchers and then recycled as ongoing media warnings promoted restraint when in any form of contact with the disease.  Before it ever really got started the push for capitalism was scrapped in favour of plain old, down to earth sharing rather than exploitation and everyone was that much better off.

A flying disk similar to the one seen by Jacob was spotted by some settlement kids who were swimming and playing at City of the future two.  It’s said that the spacecraft hovered for a brief time beside the central pyramid structure then it flew off at great speed towards Gaddish Major.  Tootsie was putting flowers in a vase beside the window at the club when she was suddenly confronted by the alien visitors. She screamed out to Lumi to “come and see” but he was busy watching a football game and he didn’t catch any of it.  Before the extra-terrestrials departed they both blew her kisses over the long slimy fingers on their hands and to this day she swears that one of them exposed his genitals to her.  Lumi says it’s only wishful thinking, then he goes back to his game, after an admin sponsored commercial break with smiling, happy children in a vegetable patch singing the words, ... 

‘Plant some seeds for peoples needs

and share your harvest, everywhere you go!,

                                                          OH!, OH!, OH!,OH!,OH!,OH!,OOOH!, ' 

'YES, Plant some seeds for peoples needs

AND LEAVE NO ROOM FOR SELFISH WEEDS TO GROW

                                                         OH!, OH!, OH!,OH!,OH!,OH!,OOOH!, '