《A Theft Of Stars》Chapter 22: Wavies!
Advertisement
The reverberations of the bell announcing lunch were just quieting as Sir Colmer wheeled around the corner of the narrow hallway of the CHRISTOS and passed through the doorway to the mess hall. Prompt to the summons as he had been, he found himself queuing up behind Street and Eldon who were already loading their plates at the buffet Mendel had set out. A welcome new selection of cold meats and salad greens, noticeably diminished in quantity, graced the table. Arlyis, accompanied by Sister Seika appeared shortly after, both engaged in enthusiastic conversation. A week of research had yielded an amazing amount of information about the Wavies, and both were currently very happy in their work.
"Just imagine. If Logan's hobby had been Lepidoptera or stamp collecting instead of a fascination with musical forms. Why, we would never have made the progress we have."
"It was you," noted Sister Seika, "that put the translator software together."
"Oh, I may have done the modifications to the Rosetta program, but setting up to look for musical structures like codas and motifs, that's what gave us our start. Wavies are so responsive! All Wile and Logan do is present a color, element, or a concept, and they fall all over themselves to try to define it with us. Strangely, they have real problems with identifying compound structures and mechanical concepts. "
Sister Seika frowned. "Why would that be? They seem like advanced organisms."
They 'see' vibrations and energies, not so much forms and contours. We are already finalizing a translator program. Mark my words, Sister, Bishop Wile will have us in meaningful communication by week's end."
Just then Monsignor Ammens strode in. The mathematician, catching the end of their conversation, snorted. "End of the week? Our fearless prelate, Joshua, will be initiating a conversation this evening, just as soon as Mr. Eldon...," at this point the volume of the Mathematician's tenor bloomed to take in a larger audience, "finishes hooking up the translator!" He grabbed a plate and inspected the buffet offerings.
"Ah! Something new, I see."
He poked a fork at the sad remains of what had been a mound of sliced lean beef, and shot a cold stare at Street and Eldon, now seated and wolfing down cold cuts.
Advertisement
"How is it that our military crew members always seem to be the first to know of any dietary changes aboard this ship? Are menus routed directly to their cabin?"
Eldon looked up from his plate, swallowed and said, "Only if they include food, yer worship."
After a week of the standard shipboard fare, as good as it was, any simple change of diet was widely appreciated. Logan soon joined his friend Ernst Ammens and a healthy buzz of general conversation filled the mess.
Colmer, having arrived first, was at table with Street and Eldon, but glanced frequently toward where Arlyis and Sister Seika sat. Joshua, a little later than was his habit, ducked to enter the mess. A message from Alcomer, had required his presence on the bridge.
"Pope John," Joshua waved, "wanted a first hand update. Oh, and he wishes to commend you all on your work. He reassures me that the team composition will not change. I know some here are under considerable pressure to return to their primary duties, but you may safely ignore any of that."
At least, mused Joshua, one benefit of a benevolent Theocracy. Rank did not, in the modern church, pigeon-hole people. Which gave everyone more incentive to develop multiple talents, with the expectation that they would be used. Pope John could expect, even demand, that his flock use their abilities to the best advantage of the colony, or the churches mission, as he saw fit. So a Bishop might be drafted to duty here, as Wile had been, and the assignment respected. In the end, everyone contributed more that way, and drew meaningful satisfaction from their diverse interests, knowing they supported a greater, and unified purpose.
Mr. Eldon, having wolfed his fill, approached Joshua, a bit red faced. "Regardless of what Monsignor Ammens thinks, yer honor, we will have the rig all ready for ya this afternoon. See if we don't"
****
Joshua stood at the translator ordering his thoughts. The thing was just an audio pickup linked into the ship's computer through an auxiliary terminal, which was in turn connected to a quantum caster / receiver tinkered up by Tech Private Eldon, Father Logan and Arlyis from the scientific instrumentation the researchers had brought aboard. It was tuned to the energy bands used by the Wavies and according to the display, was 'on'. He checked his list of prompts, provided by Bishop Wile, one last time and spoke.
Advertisement
"I listen for one who speaks, are you hearing me?" There was a pause, and the translator recreated his words and cast them out toward the group of lights glittering along the separate set of rigged sails that now floated at some distance from the CHRISTOS. Then, a translated reply came from the speaker of the terminal.
"I/We content to listen to the (singer/speaker) of (man/carbon)."
"Do you live in this place?"
"(I/We) (live/nest) this (space/moment.)"
"Do you speak for your kind?"
"I am speaker for the (Queen/Nest)."
"You Speak For Your Queen?"
"(Queen/Nest) another moment away."
Joshua frowned at his notes,trying to gather in something from the translation. "I would be...content to speak to the Queen."
"Queen another moment. Still/Hard point no move here."
"Where is your Queen?"
"Point/move *****moment/reference no."
"You don't know?"
"Know."
"You can't tell me?"
"Point (no reference) other."
"Where?" Joshua felt the sense of dialog slipping away.
"(No reference)"
Joshua sighed. "Speaker pauses, will speak again."
"Content."
Joshua turned from the translator and spoke to Bishop Wile. "Amazing. Beyond belief, Benn. Under any other circumstances, this would call for a week of celebration. There are only a handful of sentient races in the universe, and no inter-dimensional ones I've ever heard of. Incredible, and an astonishing breakthrough. Did you make anything of that?"
Bishop Wile colored under the praise and pulled at his ear. "I believe it was saying that the queen wasn't around. They are a hive society, best Sister Seika can determine so far. The queen term is a rough approximation Logan and I settled on. 'Mother' or 'leader' was discussed as other possibilities. I think it was trying to say it didn't have a frame of reference to describe where the queen was, and that the queen couldn't come here. Their terms for time and place are blended. I think they struggle with the concept of a three-dimensional frame of reference, and the whole idea of time."
Joshua thought for a moment."We really have to be able to break through that. Diocullis found a containment device on St. Croix. Do you think that hard still point business might refer to the queen being unable to move? To being trapped, caged?"
Bishop Wile shrugged. "One guess is as good as another. It's a big universe after all."
"From what we know, the earth transceiver broadcast defined a point in space, yes? And we know what the coordinates of the transmitter information were. We have the recordings of the SONG WEAVER and the coordinate position where they were made. We know our current location, and we have the recordings we first took when entering the Draco. The time, date and coordinates, yes?"
"All of that is on board, yes," agreed Wile.
"So that's three points and an origin. Can you run a program together using abstracts from these recordings and see if you can get them to understand that we are defining an area of space, give them a reference we can both interpret?."
Bishop Wile looked startled for a second. "Why, yes that just might work. Ammens would be the man to work out the math for it, and I can get Arlyis to do the programming."
"Why don't you do that? Work with them to define a mapping system. Then see if we can determine where this queen is. I have a bad feeling that our Mr. St Croix and this queen/mother just might be at the same," - he referred to his notes, "point / moment. I think I would be 'content' with that."
Advertisement
Summoned
“Per aspera ad astra." Death. Mercilessly, it comes for all. But when a young man is given a second chance – a second life – to experience what he never has, what will he do? Leave the burdens of his past behind, improving upon his faults? Or will he collapse back into old sins, wasting the opportunity given to him? Perhaps even he himself does not know. * Join Andre on his journey as he explores a new world – one ripped straight from the pages of a D&D campaign he's never played. He will face monsters. He will face men. And above all, he will face himself. The story’s genre is your standard progression fantasy, isekai: magic, a system, and a level of technology suspiciously underdeveloped. I’ve borrowed tropes from various books I’ve read like “The Second Coming of Gluttony”. The similarities are there (particularly in the beginning), but I assure you the story is my own. It’s in the first-person perspective and has its own quirks, characters, and world for you to become immersed in. The upload schedule for this will be different from the usual fictions on this site: I’ll release chapters in batches rather than so many a week. I’m a college student, so I don’t want another deadline to worry about. Depending on the popularity/demand of the series, I might increase or decrease the rate of releases. Other than that, I hope you enjoy the story! P.S. This is my first fiction so make sure to point out mistakes wherever you see them. I’m doing this, partly, to increase my skill as a writer. However, be kind! I’m fragile, you know? Warning: ***This is far from your happy-go-lucky, feel-good adventure story. There will be content that some of you might not be comfortable with. And if you're already feeling skeptical reading this, click away and don't come back. If you're still here, what are you waiting for?***
8 171Ricochet Island
Hugo wakes up on an unfamiliar island, with no memories of how he got there. He’s given only one piece of information: “This is an elimination game”. Then, he’s shot. He wakes up on the same island again, as if nothing happened. In fact, no matter how many times he’s shot down, he always finds himself back at the starting point. He’s forced to retry the game over and over, without end. To get out of this hell, he must shoot down all other players and be the last man standing. Easier said than done. For how long will he have to endure this imprisonment? Will he be able to retain his sanity throughout the ordeal?
8 135Dennica/Daystar
Inspired by Slavic and Eastern European folklore, this story will take you to the tsarstvo of Suntolia, where we will follow the life of the four Petrosinovi siblings - Vulchan, Albena, Bozhana and Kalina. With Vulchan being crowded at a young age due to unfortunate events, each has to carry out the weigh of their new position, yet they are unable to let the desires of the heart.Will they be stronger than the family curse and see the daystar in the sky..."In this family, you either die young or live to suffer..."
8 133Sweet as Venom
Gabriella left home to find freedom. But ended up finding something completely different; and that was Saxon.
8 157YOUR EYES TELL || Taekook ||
Jeon Jungkook is a fresher university student.He neither has any friends nor does he talk to any people.His behaviours and mysterious personality made others believe that he is an introvert with a cold aura.On the other hand, Kim Taehyung is a final year student, a really popular one among the students and professors.Relationships were never his thing but the moment his eyes caught Jungkook's, some things changed.Now he is determined to know the younger boy like no-one ever did........Top TaehyungBottom Jungkook
8 102Consequences [BxB] (Edited)
Hunter, the next in-line Alpha, is your typical bully. He constantly taunted and intimidated the weak ones in his pack, to such an extent, making them hate their very own existence. He hid his insecurities behind his need to impose his strength on weaker ones. Especially targeting a young wolf who always seemed to bring out the rage in the young Alpha. Drew, the Beta's son, grew up being bullied by the soon -to -be Alpha. He had always been told he was a powerful Beta and a special breed of a wolf, and yet Hunter always made him feel weak. Hunter always only bullied him and was always angry with him him. He never understood just what it was that he had done. No sooner did an accident happen between the two causing him to go away and live with his uncle in a neighboring pack. Years later, he comes back on his eighteenth birthday to celebrate it with his family and find his mate, whom he has been in love with since he was a child. However as fate would have it.. he ends up being mated to someone he least expected.. Will they accept their fate, or will they end up being eachother's worst nightmare ?NOTE: This is a BL book... which means there is intimacy between males. If you do not like it...please refrain from reading..Thank youTRIGGER WARNING!!⚠️ Non-Consensual sexual encounter in this book.
8 118