MENTAL ESSENCE PAGE 49 |
"Some of them have true feathers. I wonder if evolution
on other planets took the same modes," Semma said, as she observed the beach with
long range viewers. "Evolution will be similar any where you get complex organisms. It's the natural chine of events. Simple is required prior to complex organisms," Cree said. "I'll just look at the pretty jumpin, crawlin, flyin, bitin things," said Semma. "Point taken," Cree said. "Should we take a change of pace while we are still on the high of this place?" asked Hiret. "How long before we can come back for another visit?" Ott was asked by MB. "Never really had a line form. Most can't afford the expense, or the time," answered Ott. "Where would you consider the most culturally diverse planet?" asked Hiret. "Oh, probably Narthous. Lots of activity there. One of the hub planets," Ott said. The rest of the day was spent gawking at the flyers, and roaming the beach in the transport, examining shells. "How long do you think someone would last just walking along here?" asked Semma in a joking voice. "I'd say around 10 seconds," Ott replied, looking at a marine dino with a long snout full of teeth that was poking the repulse field around the transport looking for a weak spot. After returning to the main camp, they decided to try Narthous. "This place will be true fairy memories. Don't anyone lose their pictures," said MB. After expressing their gratitude and goodbyes, the troop was on their way. "Nothing will ever top that experience. Ever," said Emmer looking out the view port. Then he turned to Trent's link, "What did you get out of this place Trent old boy?" "I'm glad not to be on the menu. Plus evolution, I have a much better understanding," Trent answered. "We're locked on Narthous," Hiret said entering the common deck, and taking his place at the view port with the others. "I think I'll sleep for a few hundred years," said MB, heading for her quarters. "Well Trent, what's your take on dinos?" Semma said. "Staying silent was difficult. Even with no feelings of fear, I was pondering the wisdom of remaining in one place, or the other, for extended periods. However, the diversity of life and the interaction between individuals, and species is insightful. Drawing parallels between the primitive, and those who consider themselves to be enlightened life forms, is much easier now. Plus, I will have some fantastic conversational material," Trent said. As they recalled their experiences, communications request from Ventan came in on the link. "Should we reply?" Semma asked. "Probably not, but there is no reason to propagate ill feelings," said Hiret. "This is Hiret over," said Hiret "Glad you answered. I was wondering if you had given thought to the artifacts I mentioned?" Ventan asked. "No. Not really. We just left the dinos. Were on our way to Narthous for a some calming down time. Maybe after a few days of rest, we'll give you a call," Hiret stated. "Great! I hope we get together. I rarely meet anyone that even comes close to your background. I consider it a privilege to meet you again. Over," Ventan ended. A few days later they were at Narthous. "The gravitational guide is wrong. These readings show less than a comfortable Level," Emmer stated. "Looks like the last place in the universe to relax. There are more transports buzzing around then the scanners can show. There is another problem with languages. I'm reading dozens of dialects, and only one of them in universal," Hiret said while fixated on the control panel. "I really hate hand jesters? That's odd," MB muttered. Looking out the view port, Semma said, "From here, Narthous looks like a mass of insects on supper charge." "Ott did say it was a hub planet," said Emmer. "Anything close with our environmental needs," asked Semma. "Two days at top end. Dess Dir Resort on Inna," Trent reported. "We're on our way again," said Hiret. As they were pulling away from Narthous, two small personal transports almost collided with them. "I am not detecting collision avoidance systems on either of those transports," Trent said. "Cheap transports a responsible for a lot a death," Cree added. Each member of the troop expressed their personal experiences with the loss of friends and relatives due to irresponsible pilots. Cree had lost her parents, MB lost a brother, Hiret lost a daughter, Semma and Emmer lost an uncle. "Uncle? Your related?" spouted MB without thinking. There was a kind of silence. "All Rinthians are related. It's our reproductive technique. In our evolutionary path, we closely resembled amphibians. In fact, as you can plainly see, we still do," Semma explained" "Some of us more than others." Emmer quipped. Once they arrived on at Inna, they found the Dess Dir Resort was full. They wound up a more exclusive inn called Fonta. "This is a bit posh. I feel like I should be working here instead of residing," said MB. "We're paid for a week, so I for one am going to enjoy as much of it as I can," Emmer announced. Two days later, they were ready to roll on to the next extension of Trent's education. "I hate to say it, but the closest point of interesting things to do is looking at that Ventan guys artifacts. If they are as old as he indicated," said MB scanning the link for interesting places visit. "How about you there Trent. Anything out there that piques your interest?" asked Cree. "I have no preferences based on interest. No emotions to facilitate interest. I have many gaps to fill in regarding an overall compliment of background experiences however," Trent replied. |