The Blue People of Cloud Planet (17 page)

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After two sequences of the code she suddenly looked up and her eyes glowed brighter than ever.

 
‘Warning radiation of higher intensity!’

Scott’s head hammered as she raised her arms out towards them and beamed the most radiant and beautiful smile.

And he saw,

>> welcome > welcome > welcome >>

Then she turned, skipped up the ramp and dove into the third pool.

Olivia and Scott sat stunned, speechless as the golden head bobbed around the pool. They couldn’t find words to express their feelings – just stared at one another and then at the figure in the pool.

‘What next on this unbelievable Cloud Planet? Firstly the light shafts, then the dwellings, the blue creatures and now this sublime apparition. Sorry Olivia, but it’s difficult not to go over the top.’

She then surprised him. ‘You’re right – everything has been remarkable but her communications with us, or rather with you, make me realise she’s obviously many intelligence levels above the blue females. Why don’t we give her a name? I know. Why don’t we refer to her as Seren after the star of this sensational planet?’

‘Great idea! I really like that.’ Scott enthused.

The astronauts continued to watch as Seren left the pool and sat on the ledge. She inclined her head and her blue female attendants came to her with food and drink. They accompanied her to the top of the channel and assisted with the cleansing of her body. Seren then came out of the channel and walked gracefully back to the Pioneer 10 wreck.

Her head inclined both ways and her eyes sparkled as she transmitted a new message.

‘Warning radiation!’

Scott felt the pressure in his head and he saw clearly,

>> you must come with me >>

She pointed left and extended her slender finger in the direction of the equator. Then she raised both arms towards the dome of the lander.

 ‘Warning more intense radiation!’

>> please help me > help our people survive > save our world >>

And he felt the full force of Seren’s emotional appeal and his heart went out to her.

‘I find this planet is proving to be remarkable in a number of ways. The axis of rotation is constantly parallel to its star and the orbit describes a perfect circle of radius 140 million kilometres – similar to the distance of Earth from its sun. Cloud Planet has equal day and night times during its 20 hour rotation. There are no seasons during the planet’s 400 days’ traverse around the star Seren. This unique geometry of star and planet results in a symmetrical landmass to either side of the equator. Its seas and icecaps are, unsurprisingly, also identical in size.

‘However, whereas on Earth evolution is hugely diverse, here on Cloud Planet it is limited to one species of tree and a small number of cold blooded creatures. Also, some of these reptiles have evolved along two paths into a low intelligence blue form and a perfect human shape - not too dissimilar to the evolution of monkeys and humans on our planet. 

‘This latest arrival, named Seren by our astronauts, additionally has telepathic and mind-controlling capabilities which I consider most extraordinary.

‘I show below the detail of this dwelling showing the canal behind feeding all the hydraulics. Just one wall is illuminated so that you can view the inside structure. I can well imagine Olivia’s and Scott’s astonishment as they sat in the lander and watched Seren glide gracefully down the ramp and point at the wreck of Pioneer 10.’

 AN UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

Abandon Ship

For the rest of the afternoon, Seren bathed in the large pool and whilst resting on the edge she would occasionally tilt her head left or right.

‘Why does she do that head thing?’ Olivia questioned.

‘I’ve no idea,’ replied Scott.

‘I am detecting radiation of a different frequency’,
said Zec-1,
‘when she tilts to the left radiation is leaving her head and when she tilts to the right I can detect radiation entering the dwelling.’

‘You mean she is communicating,’ said Scott, ‘in the same manner she conveyed information to me?’

‘With you it was a very focussed band of radiation – in fact it was directed specifically at your head, causing you pain.’

‘Is that why I didn’t feel anything?’ Olivia continued. ‘She was only focussing on Scott?’

‘I agree but I cannot understand why, but I also conclude that the head movements are communications with a wider range of listeners, some, maybe, at considerable distance.’

‘So is it telepathy?’ Scott enquired.

‘I believe it is more advanced than that.’

As the afternoon wore on and the red shadows deepened in the dwelling, Seren and the blue females went through the process of raising their body temperatures. Her blue females waited on the platform, leading to the screw lift, for her to emerge and then helped to wrap her in a large leaf. She moved forward, stopped and turned her head towards the lander.

 ‘Warning radiation!’

Scott’s head ached and he saw,

>> come with me > come and help my people >>

And with that she disappeared underground.

The dwelling switched off, the rain fell harder and, as the clouds darkened, communications were re–established with LifeSeeker-1.

AJ and the astronauts aboard the starship were hardly able to comprehend as they watched the highlights of Seren’s arrival and her impassioned plea to help her people.

‘We don’t have much time,’ AJ forced his mind back to practicalities. ‘It’s clear that we can’t get the lander out of the dwelling, nor can we rescue Olivia and Scott because of the threat of the reptiles and the black mass. We have to consider abandoning the lander and following this Seren to a dwelling away from these threats. Hopefully there we can affect a rescue or re–evaluate our options.’

AJ looked at the other astronauts who nodded in approval.

‘I propose that you both acclimatise tomorrow without spacesuits. Zec-C has given a clean bill of health to the atmosphere except for chlorine, but you will require face masks with scrubbers and tight fitting goggles to protect your eyes.

‘Abandoning the lander is a big decision particularly for you, Olivia and Scott, but I feel it is our only option so I will call for a confidential vote.’

The proposal to abandon ROL-1 was carried by five votes to two – interesting!

‘You will also need to consider the amount of food, water and clothing that you can reasonably carry.’ AJ continued. ‘Remember to take your palm top computers so you can remain in contact with Zec-1 and the starship. They will enable us to track your progress.

‘Oh, and one other thing – don’t forget the sun cream!’

This brought some laughter amongst the tense astronauts.

Communications were lost only 20 minutes later when the black mass suddenly returned. The question was – would they be able to speak to the lander in the morning?

It was a long night for Olivia and the dream returned, causing her to toss and turn in her sleep. Scott tried, unsuccessfully, to calm Olivia but her sleep was fitful. She lay awake knowing that she had to face the dark tunnel under the dwelling – 50 kilometres long, 10 hours of travel and how did you know you would come out at the other end? Olivia shuddered as these thoughts raced around her mind.

Dawn eventually came but there were, worryingly, no communications with LifeSeeker-1 because the black mass remained above them until just before the sun’s rays activated the dwelling.

The lighting up of the dwelling lifted Olivia’s spirits and they watched anxiously as the screw lift raised and the blue females emerged. Finally, at the rear of the group, Seren appeared. She stepped onto the platform, stopped and turned her head towards the lander.

Her eyes bored into Scott’s head and he saw.

>> you talked with your people above the clouds > what have you decided >>

Scott was momentarily stunned. How could she have known this? He repeated the message to an equally bewildered Olivia.

 ‘It’s also astonishing that her powers are such that she knows we have made a decision,’ she replied.

Then Seren slipped her leaf and entered the first pool.

They watched, enchanted, as she went through the warming process. Her attendant blue females gathered around her as she fed. Then she made the journey down to the side of the wreck of Pioneer 10.

She looked more desirable than ever, Scott thought, and for the one hundredth time he admired her sublime figure, conscious of the way the point of the triangular necklace focussed his gaze downwards. She then looked up, raised her arms towards them and radiated the word,

>> welcome >>

The astronauts raised their arms in a similar gesture and she, in turn, smiled in response.

She lowered her arms and her eyes sparkled.

Scott was surprised as his head did not hurt but he still saw the message,

>> will you come with me > if the answer is yes then raise your arms >>

Olivia and Scott looked at one another. Even though the decision had been made, Scott felt an overwhelming desire to shout ‘yes’, ‘yes’, ‘of course we will’ , but he checked his thoughts and together they raised their arms  towards Seren.

In response she raised her arms, her eyes gleamed and she smiled in gratitude,

>> thank you > thank you > thank you >>

Then she turned, ran lightly up the ramp and entered large pool.

Olivia and Scott sat in their command seats in the airlock. They were wearing thin two piece synthetic tops, pants and slip on shoes with a ridged sole. Their noses and mouths were covered by lightweight masks with filters containing a chemical that would neutralise chlorine. They wore goggles to protect their eyes and carried their palmtops for communications. Pressure in the airlock had to be increased only slightly to match that on Cloud Planet.

Zec-1 interrupted their thoughts,

‘Opening lower airlock door, preparing to lower command seats.’

As they started moving downwards, the heat and humidity hit them. By the time they stood up under the lander they were already drenched in perspiration.

‘The atmosphere is like the forest in Borneo where we trained,’ Olivia remarked, as they walked between the huge caterpillar tracks out into the sunshine of the dwelling. It was less humid in the sun but already their tunics were soaking. They walked past the wreck of Pioneer 10, up the ramp and stood by the large pool. Around them the light sheath shimmered and the blue females scurried back and forth carrying leaves for the fourth pool and the boat waiting below.

Seren was bathing in the large pool when she stopped and looked at Scott, her eyes sparkled,

>> come in > join me >>

 ‘Well, we can hardly get any wetter.’ Scott said and they laid down their equipment and walked down the ramp into the hot but refreshing water. After 5 minutes the astronauts climbed out of the pool and sat on the ledge where evaporation from their tunics gave a pleasant cooling effect.

Seren came out of the pool and sat a couple of metres from them. Close up, she was even more remarkable.

Her attendant blue females came forward with ‘cooked’ green leaves which she ate heartily and, with an incline of her head, two of her females came to Olivia and Scott and offered food.

‘Zec-1’s analysis says it’s OK for consumption,’ Scott said, ‘I’m going to try some.’ It was like a soft pancake in texture but vivid dark green and still hot from cooking.

‘It’s a bit like spinach; I’m not wild about it, but at least we wouldn’t starve.’

Olivia who was not so convinced, took only a small, token bite and decided it was not to her liking.

The two blue females continued to stand in front of them. They were magnificent creatures with strong arms and legs and at just short of 2 metres they towered over the seated astronauts. Scott was fascinated by their huge mammary glands embellished with tattoos and markings. The blue female directly in front of him had four black triangles around  each nipple and the one in front of Olivia had seven in total – what did they signify? But none of the blue females in this dwelling had any marks between their breasts.

Then Seren took milk from the blue female in front of her, and between ‘drinks’ inclined her head. The two blue females, who were facing Olivia and Scott, moved forward offering their milk heavy mammary glands. Olivia was horrified but tried not to show it and turned her head away and gaped as she saw that Scott had lowered his mask.

‘It’s quite sweet and refreshing,’ Scott said as he turned towards Olivia. But she had stomped off in disgust.

He caught up with her, ‘Olivia, seriously, we may have to rely on their milk. If our water runs out we can’t drink this chlorinated stuff – you know what Zec-1 said.’

‘But how could you? – do that.’

‘Olivia, it’s just like having a bottle of milk back home – but cutting out the middle man!’

Here in the middle of this sun-drenched dwelling amongst the Blue People of Cloud Planet of the star Seren, Olivia could see the irony of the situation and started laughing, and so did Scott. And Seren also beamed a knowing smile.