Second Visitor to the Stars (eBook)

Trevor O'llenid (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024 | 1. Auflage
200 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-4929-2 (ISBN)

Infos

Chase Summerfield, Cheryl Cummins, and Harlan Smith are left behind when the exploration ship Columbia leaves the interstellar ark, Hormong Colony Ship 50 (Called Second Visitor by the earthlings), to avoid being incinerated by the sun. When the Hormong discover the inadvertent stowaways at the destination planet, New Hormong, joint colonization with the earthlings begins. The colony is growing rapidly, and humans and Hormong are living in harmony when Colony Ship 76 arrives with a Crushnock placed in a cryostasis unit by a maintnobot. The occupant, heavily armored and with deadly appendages capable of slashing an enemy to pieces, is a creature from hell. During questioning, the Crushnock breaks restraints and kills one of its captors before being cut down by blaster fire. Undetected by the Hormong, the Crushnock followed Colony Ship 76 to its destination. They make plans to invade and conquer New Hormong. Earthlings and Hormong combine forces as the Humong and build a formidable space fleet. An apocalyptic battle ensues, but how can the Humong prevail against an enemy with no regard for sentient life other than their own and will keep coming until they have won the battle or all are dead?

Trevor O'llenid lives on an island in Puget Sound in a house he began building many years ago and is still unfinished. When not writing and working on the house, he enjoys hiking and gazing out over Puget Sound, hoping to see Orcas or bald eagles. When tired of the isolation, he travels to China to sample high-density city life.

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God no! said Prim Nostoc, Chief Receiver of Colony Ships on New Hormong. The occupants of those "e;empty"e; cryostasis chambers on Colony Ship 50 are not Hormong! Left behind when explorers from the Earth starship Columbia fled the space ark, they called Second Visitor, to avoid incineration by the sun, Chase Summerfield, Cheryl Cummins, and Harlan Smith awaken three hundred years later and 30 light years from Earth. The Hormong invoke the Chief Directive, and the earthlings begin to form a colony on New Hormong. An idyllic existence lasts until Colony Ship Receiving finds the desiccated remains of creatures from hell on Colony Ship 66. Fifty years later, Colony Ship 71 arrives, having been boarded and searched by the same sentient but hideous creatures: Crushnock from the planet Crushnong. Heavily armored, these creatures (sentient or not, neither earthlings nor Hormong could think of them as anything else but hideous creatures) have a second set of hands with index finger rapiers, second finger claws, third finger can openers and fourth finger syringes. Fifty more years pass, and then the arrival of Colony Ship 76 confirms the worst fears of the Human-Hormong (Humong) Confederation. The Crushnock have boarded the vessel and stolen replicators. From a large hole in the side, hastily patched over, the Crushnock have removed cryostasis chambers for duplication. Prim Nostoc and his assistants find a Crushnock in stasis, but it breaks its restraints during questioning. Before Hormong android soldiers can cut down the monster with blaster fire, it kills one Hormong with a rapier finger while screaming. "e;Hormong, all of you will die."e; The Humong begin construction of a vast battle fleet to defend their planet. An apocalyptic battle with the Crushnock invasion fleet ensues, but can the Humong prevail against an enemy that will keep coming until they have won the war, or are all dead?

Textauszug

Chapter 2 Harlan and Henry

 

Harlan Smith was getting ready for bed when he heard a knock on the door of his temporary quarters. Now, who could that be? It was doubtful that Chase Summerfield or Cheryl Cummins would seek him out, let alone at this late hour. Smith's curiosity got the better of him, and he opened the door. The maintnobot that saved him was standing there.

"Oh please, Mister Smith. Please help me. The Chief Receiver has ordered me inactivated," said the android. "The Chief said that the Prime Directive required me to save Chase Summerfield and Cheryl Cummins, which was bad enough. The Prime Directive, however, says nothing about reviving dead sentient beings."

Harlan Smith looked at the maintnobot. This android had more brains than any sentient beings he had met. Smith was elderly, and he could use an assistant as he began his new life wherever this place was. "Well, come in, come in, and be quick about it," said Smith. "The Chief Receiver is no fool. He might guess that you would come here. I can't protect you out in the hallway."

The maintnobot entered, and Smith quickly closed the door.

"Now, what did you say your name was?" said Smith. "I can't very well be calling you 'maintnobot' or 'android,' can I?"

"Sir," said the maintnobot," with dignity, "maintnobots are not given names. That is for Hormong"

"I find that unacceptable," said the ex-president of Mars. "Ellie was my Chief Assistant on Mars, but she was female, and you do not look female. My Chief Assistant must have a name. I would like to call you Henry if that is acceptable, and since you will be part of my family now, I would like your surname to be Smith."

"Oh sir," said the former maintnobot, "that is a wonderful name. I am honored to be the first maintnobot to have a name."

Soon, the advantages of having a personal assistant became evident to Smith. At his next meeting with the Triumvirate, he requested the maintnobot, now Henry, as his Chief Assistant. The governing body took the matter under advisement, but Smith sensed that approval was only a formality.

Meanwhile, the Chief Receiver had difficulty determining what had happened to the maintnobot.

The main impediment was his inability to consider that a sentient being could accept an android as an equal.

However, Harlan Smith had been very quiet recently, and there had been few requests for help with his living quarters. Colony Ship Receiving had a small enforcement arm for dealing with individuals who misbehaved upon reawakening. Often, relatives of those placed in the wrong cryostasis chamber or dead because of unit failure required a police presence to keep the situation from getting out of hand.

Deciding it was worth investigating why Smith had suddenly become so quiet, Prim located two officers and proceeded to Harlan Smith's quarters. When he arrived, he could hear voices coming from behind the door. One voice was Harlan's, but the other was not human. It was the android.

"Smith, Smith," said the Chief Receiver, "open up. I know you're in there, and I believe that an android, property of Colony Ship Receiving, is with you. I demand that you surrender the maintnobot for immediate inactivation."

Harlan opened the door. He drew himself to his full height and said with authority, "Henry, here is my Chief Assistant, and you are forbidden to touch him. If you have a problem with this, take it up with your First Triumvirate."

The Chief Receiver, beaten, quietly left with his officers, and this was the end of his attempt to terminate the maintnobot. In truth, he was relieved. This interaction ended his involvement with Colony Ship 50, and he could return to being just the Chief Receiver, a job at which he excelled. Second could be the diplomat. There would be plenty of time to relax and reflect on the events surrounding this ship that differed from the rest. Such calm reflection was badly needed. The situation with Colony Ship 50 had spiraled out of control, and Prim Nostoc had spiraled out of control with it.

Intensive discussions between Harlan Smith and the First Triumvirate regarding earthmen's role in the continued colonization of New Hormong occupied the next several months. In truth, the First Triumvirate was not the only governing body of the Hormong. The Planetary Council, a much larger group of 100, was the final arbiter of what became law. Still, many matters of critical importance arose that needed to be dealt with quickly. The First Triumvirate took care of these. The Planetary Council rarely questioned the decisions of the First Triumvirate.

The earthmen were a different story. Everyone with authority wanted a say in their role in New Hormong affairs. The entire council couldn't develop such a plan, so the Planetary Council assigned the task to the First Triumvirate. However, the Triumvirate would implement no program without the council's agreement.

The Triumvirate, aware of Harlan Smith's experience establishing and governing colonies, made him a de facto fourth member in planning. In truth, the Hormong were an ingrown society. There had never been different varieties of Hormong, each with its own language, only one group and one language.

From the recorded logs of the colony ships, it was clear that several other civilizations were in the immediate galactic vicinity, within a 50-light-year radius of New Hormong. Some were warlike. Thankfully, most of these were still primitive, and none had developed space travel to the extent of the Hormong. Most civilizations were divided into different units that the earthlings called countries. Often, each had a unique language and customs. As such, the fractious earthmen were critical to understanding how these societies worked. The nations of Earth had been at war, seemingly continuously, until the United Federation of Planets formed. War was unknown among the Hormong. The uniformity of their society made this so. Still, knowing what they knew about sentient life in the vicinity, it was clear the Hormong must be ready to defend themselves.

Harlan Smith made it clear that earthmen had no desire to be galactic mercenaries, as he put it. They would also want "A piece of the pie" to form their own colony on New Hormong. This caused great angst among the Hormong, and uncharacteristically, three main factions developed. The first demanded that the earthmen not be allowed to form a colony on New Hormong. A numerically small group could be allowed, but only a small group.

In the opinion of the second group, Hormong society had become moribund and needed to learn about different ways of doing things. The earthmen should be encouraged to form a colony on New Hormong. Hormong technology, which would enable them to expand their settlement size rapidly, should be made available to them. This group also recognized that the Hormong would be unable to defend themselves against a civilization experienced in and accustomed to warfare. The fractious earthmen would be most helpful in this respect. There wasn't a middle ground between the first two factions.

The third group acknowledged the necessity of having a colony of earthmen on New Hormong but insisted that it be separated from the Hormong colony and carefully regulated concerning population size and weapons development. In this respect, the Hormong had only colonized one continent on New Hormong, with a favorable climate. The earthmen found it a little too cool but could live with it. The second continent was warmer, too warm for the Hormong, but ideal for the earthmen. The third continent straddled the equator. It was much too warm for either Hormong or earthmen.

The debate over these alternatives raged for quite some time. In the end, it became clear that completely integrating a society of peaceful nine-foot-high telepathic creatures with smaller and decidedly less friendly earthmen would be difficult. A planned hybrid colony structure with the Hormong on the first continent called "New Hormong" and the earthmen on the second continent dubbed "New Earth" took shape. No one wanted the third continent. Under this plan, weapons would be developed and tested by a joint group of Earth and Hormong scientists located on this continent.

There was a big problem with all of this, however. It was a grand plan, but the Earth colony consisted of three individuals: a man and a woman who...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 26.4.2024
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3509-4929-2 / 9798350949292