Through the Kisandra Prism (17 page)

‘No thanks!’ Replies Blodwyn, ignoring Myfanwy’s face pulling and theatricals as the Barium sea slug tried to escape. ‘Where are you taking the Sillian?’ Blodwyn asks Sebus.

‘To one of the moons of Jupiter, it will find peace there,’ answers Sebus.

‘Are you afraid of a web-spinning Sillian?’ asks Blodwyn.

‘We accept all life-forms have a right to exist,’ answers Sebus. Now we must leave… disruption from our Ty-cal generators is causing concern on Tarrea-two.’

The small group climbed upwards through the woods to the waiting Galla Quall frigate.

‘Bye, bye my dearest sweetest cariad,’ says Myfanwy, ‘I hope you don’t get killed by something horrible! If you don’t – get killed that is, bring me back something nice…something to eat…and something to wear…oh and… something else as well… but not another jar of sea-slugs…I can feel the little ****** crawling around in my guts.’

‘Typical,’ thought Blodwyn, me – me – me!’ Boochi the little Sisling arrived and hovered close to Blodwyn’s face, grinning, eyebrows raised over black button eyes, showing small sharp teeth. She was happy to see this brave and naughty little Sisling again. Boochi would be Blodwyn’s personal bodyguard on her coming adventures.

Once aboard, the armed frigate quietly rose vertically up into the star speckled sky and then took off gathering speed slowly, entering high cloud. A surge of power and the frigate was at the rendezvous with the gleaming new Galla Quall Typhon war-hawk Time-ship, three thousand miles above Earth. This battleship was capable of reaching the speed of T
ime
; three times faster than the speed of light; increase the speed to five times the speed of light and you begin to enter the past!

Tarrea-two was now far below; a speck the size of a marble with twirls of cloud on blue seas. Blodwyn sat at the plush bridge of the warship, manned by Ida Jaade warriors – intent on their control procedures. The little Sisling, Boochi, buzzed around the bridge studying everything, still stuffing her mouth with pollen toffee, her small sticky hands everywhere.

‘Firstly,’ announces Admiral Sebus, ‘according to our ancient Quilleian chronicles… in order to save our species we must revisit the Fourth Quadrent to seek a rare tree… known as the Tarmirian Paradise tree… a plant that is intelligent, tactile and seeks affection and loving care. Then find a shy, rare life-form… a Calara-Simmering. Lastly we must locate a mysterious race known as ‘The Worm-eaters.’ All these life-forms somehow hold the key to our survival as a species.’

‘Are any of these life-forms dangerous Admiral?’ An Ida Jaade warrior asks.

‘Yes… the Worm-eaters,’ answers Admiral Sebus, ‘…those who find their planet never return… for reasons unknown… they are a total mystery. Are you still willing to accompany us young Terasil?’

Blodwyn was never one to answer a question without due consideration. The name ‘Worm-eaters’ did not fire her imagination, after all, what could be more frightening than a blind Tamasic or an Orb-eyed, Oga Koya, or even a web-spinning Sillian? Time would prove Blodwyn wrong; there were many life-forms just as frightening awaiting her acquaintance.

‘I won’t change my mind,’ Blodwyn answers, ‘what will you do Admiral when you find the planet of the Worm-eaters?

‘Conduct our final Time trials… then gradually go back in Time, in stages to a planet you know well… Quilla Prime. To meet our distant ancestors. We intend to bring some of our ancestors back to our home… the lake in Quilla Prime!’

‘But surely your ancestors will take millions of years to evolve into Galla Qualls,’ answers Blodwyn. Sebus nodded sadly.

‘Unless…’ the Galla Quall did not finish the sentence.

‘Come,’ concludes Admiral Sebus, ‘I will show you to your special quarters; the little Sisling followed. Blodwyn found her living area delightful. It was as if this alien had studied human good taste and their needs.

‘Sleep when you are ready,’ says the Galla Quall.

She lay on a soft deep blue bed; she trusted the Galla Qualls. With a delicate wave of his three-digit tentacle, an appliance that looked like a large adjustable table light appeared from the wall and stopped over her head. When you are ready to sleep turn this light on,’ says Sebus.

‘How long will I sleep for?’ asks Blodwyn Jones knowing the blue was no ordinary light.

‘A very long time.’ answers the Galla Quall.

‘I won’t wake up a dry and wrinkled old hag will I?’ she replies remembering the words of the Fairy Queen.

‘No… you will be younger in fact.’

‘I don’t want to be crawling around on the floor either or having my milk teeth back… or even re-entering puberty,’ she responds.

‘Just take only two Earth months off your biological clock,’ says Sebus.

‘May I ask two more questions?’ asks Blodwyn.

Sebus nods.

‘First, what will happen to my food…it will go off!’

‘Place it in that blue receptor,’ says Sebus, ‘It will remain fresh.’

‘Second, there is only one Time-ship…what if something happens?’

‘Then… we will all be lost in distant Time! Sleep now,’ says Sebus, ‘you will have a long dream… you will witness how we first found the first Queen of the Lings… the deadly Nemesis, a very long time ago… you will actually be there!’

‘Will you be able to see me?’ Blodwyn asks.

‘No,’ answers Sebus…or consider your safety… it will be a real dream… a reality dream… you must be careful… not to be left behind!’

‘But my body will be in bed here,’ says Blodwyn.

‘Yes your body might be… but your body will be without a thinking mind.’ The Galla Quall then leaves. This sounded serious. But Blodwyn decided nevertheless that she just had to continue with it: just seeing Nemesis would make it worth the risk. As usual she had brought everything she needed in her backpack, including provisions.

She placed all her food in the blue cabinet; four homemade pork pies with lots of jelly; four homemade lamb pies in thick gravy; home-cured ham, roast chicken legs, a loaf of bread, cheese and pickle, chocolates, crisps, barley-sugars and water. She also carried other useful items like a penknife, a length of rope, some matches and a few other odds and ends.

Blodwyn closed her eyes; she knew there would be risks in this adventure; if she was somehow left behind then she would just become another missing person. She also knew the Fourth Quadrent was seldom visited because of its many dangers; but she trusted the wise judgment of Admiral Sebus.

By the bedside table was a large tray of pollen toffee – the only food she could see. All her other needs were catered for except for food she observed; Galla Qualls it seems, were not acquainted with the daily dietary needs of Terasils. Did they think Terasils only ate pollen toffee day and night?

The little Sisling quickly settled on the tray of toffee and began stuffing its face again.

‘That’s enough,’ says Blodwyn, emptying the toffee into a paper bag, ‘you must learn to save food. Now let’s go to sleep, we will need all our energy for the adventures ahead.’

She turned on the light. A soothing pale ray of blue light appeared; the rays seemed to be gently penetrating her mind and she took off her NHS jam-jar spectacles and closed her eyes. She felt something alive moving on her arm and quickly opened them again.

The Sisling was wiping its little sticky mouth and hands on her sleeve. Blodwyn jumped out of bed.

‘You dirty little beast! You are not sleeping with me – all sticky with pollen toffee. Go and wash.’ She filled a bowl and made sure the little Ling washed thoroughly.

Once clean, the Sisling lay on her bed and burped – bad manners picked up from the Fairy Queen no doubt.

‘That’s rude,’ scolds Blodwyn. ‘Now go to sleep.’

Instead of sleeping the Sisling flew to the arm of the light and hung upside down, grinning at her. Blodwyn knew what would happen next and watched in fascination as the little Ling began to turn into a chrysalis. What Blodwyn did not know was that Lings should not eat pollen toffee before entering the chrysalis stage.

The chrysalis wiggled a few times then remained still.

‘Well that’s great, now I don’t have a bodyguard. That little scheming cow Myfanwy – she knew this would happen - with friends like her who need enemies.’

Blodwyn closed her eyes, sleep came quickly.

With chewed wood and mud;

their high towers grew like sentinel spires.

The alien nocturnal toilers waited patently;

waited for the first cold light.

Waited for the three rising suns to dry their nights’ labors:

in their fiery bright.

When Europe was in the frozen grip of the last Ice Age, the only occasional squat footprint to be seen belonged to the Neanderthal.

At this time three sleek, silver Typhon War-hawk battleships belonging to the Galla Qualls, cautiously approached a Super-Time speed Wormhole, known as the Kisandra Prism. Blodwyn found herself standing on the bridge of the Flag-ship commanded by Admiral Sebus: she herself felt invisible, only her thinking mind was present. She could not see her own body; only feel it. People seemed to walk straight through her.

Any space ship that entered The Kisandra Prism would travel millions of miles, at just the speed of Time exiting at the exact time of entry; providing their ship did not disintegrate from the Wormhole’s strong gravitational pull.

The Flag-ship was commanded by Admiral Sebus, the oldest and wisest of a delicate race of land adapted aquatics known as the Galla Qualls. This was the first quest to find the extremely rare Tarmirian Paradise tree, a Calara Shimmering and a mysterious race known as the ‘Worm-eaters. According to the chronicles of the Galla Qualls, finding all three legends held the secret that would save the Galla Qualls from extinction.

The three Typhon War-hawk battleships cautiously approach the dying Planet Nemesa in the Sirus Nine sector of the Fourth Quadrent: they went into orbit and cloaked.

The warships began monitoring the dim planet below, searching for life-forms or signs of danger; they were after all, still at war with the Cold-bloods.

The dim visibility in the Fourth Quadrant was due to the fact that all its thousands of suns were dying; turning into dim Red dwarfs – something which is the nature of Suns. When all the suns in the universes exhaust their supply of hydrogen, ammonia and helium they will die: the universes would then become silent, dark, lifeless expanses of nothingness. The Fourth Quadrent was approaching this stage!

The nights on Nemesa are long and dark, the days short and gloomy. They were in the empire of the Shi-Larriss, a powerful, secretive race. This gloomy and mostly deserted expanse of space suited their needs, for they are nocturnal and shy by nature.

However, the Shi-Larriss had powers respected by all; they were the masters of illusions! War with the Shi-Larriss would leave their opponents confused… had they won…or lost the battle? Were they dead… or only dreaming they were still alive?

Another, more secretive race called the Jinnd also inhabited this area of the Fourth Quadrant; the Jinnd only appeared as sparkling lights. But the Jinnd were always there, watching – monitoring.

The excitable reptilian, Ida Jaade warriors who served the Galla Qualls, stood at battle stations. The natural red crests on their head and necks stood half erect, an indication of their anxious mood. One of the Typhon War-hawks commanded by a Galla Quall called Zander is scanning the planet below. Zander is reporting to Admiral Sebus aboard the flagship.

‘The planet below is a dying Tal-star (red giant) with an air temperature of five Selmars (roughly equivalent to thirty degrees Celsius). The atmosphere on the planet is toxic, high in carbon monoxide and radiation – a landing party’s time would be limited.’

“How will I breathe?” worries Blodwyn! The answer came to her; she was breathing back on the Time-ship.

‘A most depressing planet,’ comments Admiral Sebus, ‘intelligent life forms would hardly wish to dwell here…. Nevertheless we should investigate.’

‘Admiral!’ cuts in commander Zander the Galla Quall excitedly.

‘I have picked up a single life-form below…with a large body mass…it is immobile. No…now it twitches!’

‘Scan the life-form Zander,’ says Admiral Sebus.

‘Admiral!’ exclaims Zander the Galla Quall, ‘somehow the life form below is aware we are scanning it! Its heart beat has increased to an amazing rate…. maybe we have found a ‘Three heart’…a very large and advanced insect life-form?’

Admiral Sebus takes immediate interest. ‘The life-form is sending distress signals!’ exclaims Admiral Sebus, ‘strange… we can locate no other life-forms on Nemesa.’

‘This insect is over two Quillan Secs long (equivalent to seven feet in length)…it is a giant!’ exclaims Commander Galus in the third warship, ‘it could be the last of its kind.’

‘We could help,’ continues Gallus ‘take it back to False Arcadia on our beautiful planet, Quilla Prime.’ (False Arcadia was a kind of rural paradise – a Garden of Eden, created by the Qualls, inhabited only by the gentle and the harmless. False Arcadia was also a gate-way via a Prism Window, to another world, True Arcadia. The Galla Qualls did not understand this world or could they enter it, but accepted and protected it nonetheless.)

The inquisitive Galla Qualls were fascinated; the creature on their scanners was emitting high radiation levels… was it an ‘Advanced Primitive… a species that shunned technology, relying on their own radiation-driven powers. The single life-form below was obviously becoming stressed at their presence; indicated by its increased multiple heartbeats.

‘This being is a rare ‘Three Heart!’ exclaims Admiral Sebus.

‘The being in the cocoon weights over fifty Sals. (Equivalent to six hundred pounds.) It finds our scanning stressful…its body is overheating with stress. We are dealing with an insect life-form of high intelligence… it could be dangerous.’

‘Admiral!’ We are also picking up signs of another type of large insect,’ announces Zander.

The Admiral studies the scan, ‘we are looking at a colony of Pellian ants on the move…the only food of the Shi-Larriss… they must visit Nemesa on a regular basis.’