IMAGINATION'S PLACE
FICTION
JOURNEY TO THE LIGHT
By; Speaker Gerald Polley
All rights reserved.
Chapter 25
A couple of hours later some people appeared and were
shown to the living quarters. They were getting ready to leave
when her youngest came up.
"Mother, can't we spend the night? Please? We've got
everything here we have at home. Our friend even tapped into our
computers and got our lessons! We're having so much fun!
Our new friends are so nice!"
Carol sighed. There was a module nearby. "I don't
suppose there's any robes or anything," she asked, "that they could
use."
"Oh!" the module cried, "We have all kinds of supplies
that were supposed to be for the little ones that never came. We can
easily get into them. Do let them stay! We would be delighted,
overjoyed."
Carol sighed. She knew she was totally out
gunned, totally helpless. Those little eyes looking up at her had
her, and they knew it! "All right!" she finally managed, "We'll
spend the night."
The children all screamed with glee and the modules did
the little bobbing thing that showed they were pleased. The one that
had spoken hesitated a moment, then came back. "May I ask a
question?" it inquired. "Main unit has noticed it, and we're
rather curious. Why do you never call your offspring by their
designation? Why do you always use some other term?"
Carol looked at the little face staring at her. She
was getting so she could read their emotions. This one was showing
great curiosity. She thought a moment.
"I can't really tell you!" she finally
managed. "It is something I have always done. I never like
to call those closest to me by their names. I can't really tell
you why. Some of my species have little oddities, little things
that they do that are very peculiar but there is not really any
explanation for. That's what makes us unique, each of us is a little
different. Each of us does things in a little bit different way.
It is the way of my species."
The module's little head twisted back and
forth. Then it smiled. "Yes," it answered. "I
comprehend. How interesting! Such diversity is not only
common but desired. Most interesting! Thank you for your
courtesy."
"You're quite welcome!" Carol giggled.
They bedded down. Carol had checked some
readings and was very pleased with what they were sending back to
Earth. She dozed off. Late at night she got up to go to the
bathroom. Everything was quiet. As she was headed back she saw the
young prisoner slipping out of their quarters and heading down the
platform. Curious, she followed. They came to the
examination area. The prisoner dropped her robe and got on the
table. Their host appeared. Two of his tentacles reached up
and began to massage the young girl's breasts. After a few
minutes another swung into his body, came out, and went between the
girl's legs. Carol wondered if she should say something, but the girl
did not seem to be resisting. She seemed to be enjoying what was
happening. There didn't seem to be any force involved so she
quietly slipped back to her room. "I hope they're not
compatible!" she muttered.
The next morning she got up before the others and went up
to the exam room. Her host smiled at her as she came up. "I
happened to, well," Carol managed, "I know what you were doing with the
young lady last night. Some of my people might not feel it's
appropriate where she's a prisoner. I think before there's any
more of that activity we should approve it first. I mean no
offense, but we're rather particular on how prisoners are treated, that
nothing is done against their will."
Her host looked at her and smiled. "Most excellent!"
he replied. "The more I am in contact with you people, the more I
like you. When I examined the young woman I mentioned I was male
and had not had the opportunity for female companionship for some
time. She said 'I'll be back tonight.' So I did not think it was
inappropriate. Most certainly! In the future I will make
sure it is all right. How does one ask permission?"
"I'll get a form," Carol explained. We'll get
her to make it out and give it to a magistrate. It simply says she's
not being forced and the intimacy is welcomed. I'm quite sure
there won't be a problem. I just want to make sure nobody gets upset."
"Quite understandable!" her host agreed.
"I can't believe," Carol remarked, "that you're artificially created!"
"I find that reaction pleasing!" her host
explained. "But the fact still remains I was produced from a
group of cells that were instructed on how to put this form
together. But I've never been displeased. I think my makers
were very wise in giving me the capabilities I have! I will
always admire them for it."
Carol heard giggling and laughing. "Oh!" her host cried,
"The children must've found my new module. It sounds like they're
very pleased with him. I think he's going to be very handy around
here."
"I'll be back!" Carol snapped and hurried off. When
she got to the eating area there were the children. Her youngest
daughter was being held up in the air by a winged being and they were
slowly revolving around and around. Her daughter was joyously
squealing! Carol approached, wide eyed.
"Oh! Good morning!" the being cried as he put her daughter down.
"He's a Haven, mother!" her daughter cried, "Except he's all golden, like our little friends."
Carol muttered "How?" The winged being smiled.
"The master of this ship thought it would be more
convenient to put my programming in a module, that it would give me
mobility in areas where there were no projectors. I thought it an
excellent idea! I had no idea that the modules are programmed to
take on the shape of the genetic material they're impregnated
with. So, viola!"
"But you're a hologram!" Carol insisted.
"Apparently," the winged being answered, "these
holographic projectors create a facsimile right down to the cellular
level, even the DNA!"
"Wow!" Carol moaned, "We've gotta be careful with those things. We mustn't let anybody know!"
"Absolutely!" the winged being agreed.
Carol leaned over and whispered "Can you take on his other form?"
She leaned back and the winged being shook his head.
"I was programmed when he was in this form. I would not be able
to take on his other form."
Carol saw the young prisoner come out. "Do you
think there's any possibility," she asked "that they're genetically
compatible?"
The winged being stared at the young woman.
"The DNA of these forms," he answered, "is very versatile. I'm not
sure! But if she is not in objection to the idea, I would not be
alarmed. If she is, there are precautions that can be taken."
Carol nodded. She pointed to the young woman and snapped "Come here!"
The girl looked nervous and came over. "We've
gotta get some forms printed out!" she snapped, "And you have to fill
them out! In the future no more activity like that without my
consent, am I understood?"
The girl nodded. Carol smiled. "Go say good morning to the children!"
"Woo!" the girl muttered, "Could he pick me up like that?"
"Haven't got the foggiest!" Carol answered. "Looks like fun though, doesn't it?"
Everything settled down. They got into a routine of
people shuttling back and forth from the asteroid to the ship. A
couple of modules came over to the ship, and were found to be extremely
useful. So some technicians were permanently assigned to the
asteroid to replace them. One day as Carol was visiting she
matter of factly said, "We're down ten people. It's really a
burden on us. It'll be some time before we could receive any
replacements. Could you produce eight more modules that we could
use? If you need any material we could provide it."
Her host looked at her for a moment and said "I'll
contact your computer and find out what specialties you will
need. Give me a couple of your time cycles."
"Certainly," Carol agreed.
Three days later she was coming up the hall to the
operations room to check the latest readings when ten golden people
walked up to her. "Greetings!" one of the males remarked.
"We're the replacements you requested. Our master asked if we're
satisfactory."
Carol stared in wonderment. "How?" she asked.
"Genetic material was still available," the
man answered, "from the ones that were lost. Unlike your friend, we do
not have their personal memories, though we have been programmed with
their technical skills and are completely compatible."
"Whoa!" Carol managed. "Well, thank your
master. I'm quite pleased! I'm sure everyone around here
will be, too. Why don't you go down to assignments and have them
put you in the rotation?"
"Yes, ma'am!" the man answered, and they all hurried off.
Carol scratched her head. "I think from now on," she
remarked to herself, "I'm going to have to be very, very careful what I
ask for, very careful!"
The next day she went over to the asteroid.
It's master greeted her warmly. "I have to ask!" Carol finally
managed, "The people you produced, they're marvelous! Why
couldn't you have done that with those that were on the ship?"
"I tried!" her host answered, "But their DNA would not copy. I simply don't understand."
The winged being walked up. "I think I do," he
managed. "They came from the future. There's something
wrong with your time travel system. That that comes from the
future never existed here. So it ceases to function. You
were created from cells that had been stored for a very long time, a
very very long time. So, you and your modules survived.
It's the only plausible explanation."
"There's another," Carol answered, "their genetic
make up may simply have made them immune to whatever effect the time
travel system caused."
"That is another possibility!" the winged being
admitted. "I will put it in my calculations." He turned
back to their host. "By my calculations," he announced "volcanic
activity should begin within an hour. But I would cut down on the
heat source now and let gravitational shear do the rest."
"Agreed!" her host answered. "Thank you, my friend!"
The winged being nodded and hurried off. "Volcanic activity?" Carol cried, "Heat source?"
Her host smiled. "I don't think we'd better go
into that!" he remarked. "Perhaps you shouldn't have heard
it. Please do not mention it."
"All right!" Carol agreed. "If you'll excuse me.."
She hurried back to the ship and got to the
telescope. She trained it on the huge volcano. She had
barely begun taking readings when it sunk. The land all around it
just collapsed, and it went quite a ways into the ground. Then volcanic
ash began to pour into the air. A few minutes later lava began to
top the rim and flow down the sides.
"Whoa!" one of the technicians cried, "Whoa!"
"Yeah!" Carol agreed, "Whoa!"
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