Flidoring The Early Wars (7 page)

“That may well be,” replied Huglam, “but I did not claim anything. The people elected me to the position, sometime later. Now that is enough about me. Please, enjoy the party.”

Although the Furzonian food is a delight to the taste buds, Lyemad and the rest of them were about to experience the true enchantment of a Furzonian party. They might have had an inkling of its splendor from the landing party, but that was minuscule in comparison.

Immediately, a host of dancers, tumblers, musicians and other entertainers entered the hall. The music was lighthearted and the dancers wore bright-colored shirts
with long streamers extending from the sleeves. They whirled and looped the streamers to the rhythm, creating a dramatic and dazzling visual representation of the music, which mesmerized the Ambassadors. Furzonian waiters continued to bring in an endless stream of plates, full of colorful and tasty fruits and vegetables. During the entire spectacle, Lyemad continued to invoke stories and tales out of Huglam and other dignitaries.

Late into the night with the party still going strong, Tessslan was starting to become irritated with Lyemad dominating all the conversations. He had tried numerous times to interject things about his own world and culture, but each time, Lyemad easily redirected the conversation in a fun and enthusiastic way. The Furzonians, unaware of any strife, just enjoyed the lighthearted interactions. One thing Lyemad had figured out was that the Furzonians love to have a good time socializing with friends or strangers. Lyemad was not trying to silence Tessslan as much as he was trying to keep the Furzonians from extreme boredom, caused by Tessslan’s somber stories of religious rites and traditional philosophies.

With aggravation showing in his voice, Tessslan finally spoke out, “I think it isss time for me to head back to the ship. Thank you for your hossspitality, but it isss getting late and I ssstill have my meditationsss to do.”

“Dear me,” exclaimed Huglam, “where are my manners? It has gotten late and I have kept you up much too long.”

“Not at all,” Lyemad insisted, “we have thoroughly enjoyed your company.”

“So have we, yours,” said Huglam as he stood up and reached for his stone cup. “Before we all retire for the night, I propose a toast—to new friends; new beginnings; and many more such gatherings.”

The Zimteal echoed with simultaneous shouts, cheers and clunking of stone cups as Timsssack called out, “Yesss, Yesss,” while Bellmus bellowed out, “Hear, hear!” He was shouting extra loud to show his approval of the way Lyemad had handled the whole affair. His pride in his son had swollen to new heights, and his self-pride had suffered no loss either, as he congratulated himself for doing a great job of fathering him.

As the clatter calmed down, all the Ambassadors started heading back to the ship. None denied that their encounter with the Furzonians was a great success, but Tessslan could not help feeling slighted by Lyemad. It was grating on him so badly that not even his meditations were helping him to find the Flidoring within himself.

The day after the magnificent party, Huglam and a small group of city leaders stood outside the Volkran in the cool early morning air. Huglam called out with the loudest voice his little body could muster, “Sir Lyemad, Sir Bellmus, might we speak a few words with you?”

Bellmus, being in the room closest to the door, ran out to see why someone was shouting. Seeing Huglam and the others he asked, “Huglam, is something wrong?”

“Dear me, no, nothing is wrong,” he answered. “I would like to speak with you about your departure.”

“Oh, good,” Bellmus sighed with relief. “I thought something bad had happened. Of course we can talk. Come in and have some morning tea with us.”

Over a cup of fine Tasley tea, which Huglam found very delicious, he asked Bellmus if they could join them as they traveled to the other worlds in the Tamsek system. Although they had come a long
way on their space travel preparations, the Furzonians were still far from attempting what the Volkran and its crew were doing. With no objections from any of the Ambassadors, Bellmus consented to the request and within a few hours, they were all ready for takeoff.

Farewells made and the engines running, the largest gathering of Furzonians Lyemad had yet seen surrounded the Volkran. As they lifted off, Huglam was jumping up and down with delight, finally fulfilling his boyhood dream. Even with the ceilings in the Volkran being twice as high as the average living room in Stalagamite, he was almost hitting his head from his little legs being so strong.

The trip from Furzon to Wicterus would take only a few hours using the impulse engines. The two planets were not far apart at that time. The three inner planets were practically in a straight line with Tamsek permitting the shortest flight time between them, and that was the very reason for the timing of the trip. Both the Furzonian home world and the Volkran had been in constant contact with the Wicterians, who were ready for their arrival. From the clicks and rattles of their communications, Lyemad had reasoned that they were not humanoid, and with the short trip, he did not have time to learn much about them. Still, he was confident things would go well, although he did have some reservations about dealing with them.

Wicterus is the second planet from Tamsek and its closer orbit gives it a more temperate climate than Furzon. Covered in thick forests and grassy plains, Wicterus is home to a million different species of plant and animal life. Small freshwater lakes dot the landscape, while one saltwater ocean covers one-fifth of the surface. Wicterus is one-and-a-half times the size of Furzon or Electerus, and the higher gravity had caused some concern as to how the Ambassadors would handle it.

Two moons circle Wicterus in the same orbit but on opposite sides of the planet. They revolve at such a high rate of speed that they make two revolutions to every one of the planets, giving the planet four moonrises and settings per day. The planet’s day is one-third longer than the Electerian day, and the gravitational effect of the moons causes the tides to vary up to one-hundred feet—four times a day. A slight tilt in the revolving axis gives most of the planet two climates; warm and hot. Lyemad narrated all of the planetary data to Bellmus while displaying detailed pictures of it on the Volkran bridge monitors.

Bellmus, having never left his command chair during the voyage, commanded, “Tessslan, follow the Wicterian homing signal and take us down.”

“Yesss captain,” he replied.

“Sir Huglam,” continued Bellmus, “would you care to lead the away mission?”

“Oh my, it would be an honor,” he answered, barely able to contain himself, “but that would not be fair to you. You are the ones that have made all this possible.”

“I think it only fair that a fellow Tamsekian should make the first physical contact,” explained Bellmus.

“Yesss, I agree,” approved Timsssack.

“By all means,” agreed Slabriel.

“If that is how you all feel, then, yes I will,” said Huglam as he pumped his muscles up to a bulkier than normal size.

“Good,” replied Bellmus as he pointed out one of the front lower windows, “I believe that group over there would be our welcoming party.”

“What are they?” asked Lyemad with a puzzled sound in his voice. “They look like giant bugs!”

“It is alright,” said Huglam with a shaky voice. “They described themselves as having six legs and two parts to their bodies. I just did not expect them to be so big.”

The Wicterians walk upright on two legs and use four others as arms. Each arm and leg has a hand with three fingers—one of which acts as a thumb. They stand about seven feet tall and have a rounded mouth that protrudes about nine inches out from their face. Their eyes are round and bulgy with one on either side of
their head. They are extremely strong and have the ability to carry twenty times their own weight.

Tessslan landed the Volkran a little hard as the away party headed for the door. Just as they had touched down, everyone suddenly felt the force of the strong gravity. Many collapsed under their own increased weight. Others groaned and moved very slowly, trying to help the fallen ones. Bellmus finally pushed the button to open the door while everyone regained their composure.

Huglam was the least affected by the gravity because of his strong physique. He made his way down the ramp ahead of the others and said, “Greetings, I am Huglam from the planet Furzon. We come to your world in peace,” as his eyes scanned the welcoming party. All the Wicterians looked alike to him and he was not sure which one was their leader.

One from the group in front of him stood forward and said, “I am Antamus, leader of the Wicterians, welcome to our world. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Likewise, I have waited a long time for this moment,” responded Huglam. “Allow me to introduce everyone.”

Bellmus stepped forward and said, “I am Sir Bellmus from Electerus, and it is an honor to greet you. This is my son Lyemad,” as Lyemad maneuvered his way to the front of the group.

Following him, Timsssack, with his tail lifted high over the back of his head to look slightly bigger, said, “I am Timsssack from Grazzznosss, and thisss isss my ssson Tessslan.”

Next, Slabriel, Bichael and the rest of the Ambassadors made their introductions along with the rest of the Wicterian leaders. Antamus then invited the entire group to follow him to their city. The landing site was a paved clearing that the Wicterians had made on the edge of a thick forest, where their well hidden city stood protected by massive trees two-hundred feet high. Mazes of little paths disappeared into the thick, dark underbrush—making it extremely difficult to find the city. Wicterians, however, have an uncanny sense of direction—never losing their way in the dense menace. “Stay close together,” cautioned Antamus as they started down one of the paths. “It could take days to find one of you if you get lost.”

The Wicterian cities were all very similar to each other and spread out over great distances across the land. Mudeline, the main city that sat next to the landing site, was the largest one on the planet. It was where all the leaders from the other cities went to plan and coordinate their social matters. Every
one-hundred-and-twenty moon-cycles, they all gathered at Mudeline for a two-day event that was the largest and most celebrated civil assembly on Wicterus. Thousands lined the dirt streets while thousands more filled the giant trees as the leaders promenaded through the city to the central hill. The buildings of the city all looked like dirt hills with numerous passages leading into them. The interiors of the buildings were brightly colored rooms with smooth walls and hardwood floors. Wooden staircases led to the upper rooms, which were up to five stories tall.

Steel beams with dirt-looking concrete—the same material used on the exterior surfaces—supported the Wicterian buildings. The Tamsek light would shine into the buildings through passages fitted with large mirrors. Inside the rooms, mirrored balls dispersed the light. Wind-powered generators provided electric lighting, but the Wicterians preferred the natural light from Tamsek. Other uses for the electricity included: cooking, heating, and small appliances. Storing electricity in batteries provided power for heavy equipment and portable machines.

The generators utilized the wind by compressing it through mammoth caves that changed air volume into speed. The high-velocity air, spun generator blades that produced the electricity. The smooth, polished cave walls tapered down to a thousandth of the opening’s size before expanding again after passing by the generators. Many such complexes dotted the hills all around Wicterus. Together with underground wiring, the Wicterians kept the environment looking clean and natural.

At the city, the Ambassadors took pleasure in a wonderful meal of fruits and vegetables—mostly green leafy vegetables. Lyemad quickly perceived that the Wicterians were not big conversationalists. All during the meal, Antamus spoke no more than a few words, while learning many details about the other worlds. This made Lyemad slightly distrustful of the Wicterians. He struggled within himself not to judge them, but between their size, frightful looks, and silence, he could not help wonder if they had good or bad intentions. For the moment, he decided to cautiously trust them. At one point toward the end of the meal, Tessslan’s tail accidentally tipped over a stone vase that rolled into a support pillar for a large statute, causing it to teeter back and forth until it finally rocked off its pedestal. As the statute fell, one of the Wicterians jumped up from his seat and grabbed it just before it landed on top of Huglam. At that moment, Lyemad realized that they also had far greater strength then any of them. Not even the Graznosian’s strong legs and tails could compare to the Wicterian might.

With a big sigh of relief, Huglam squeaked out a, “Thank you. That would have squashed me. It must weigh a ton.”

“Glad I was here to help you,” replied the Wicterian. “It might weigh a little more than a ton,” he added, while effortlessly setting the statute on the floor and checking to make sure that it had no damage. After all, it was an exact representation of the Wicterian’s first ruler.

Aware that the statute was very important to the Wicterians, Lyemad rebuked Tessslan with, “Watch where you fling that thing. Do you want someone to get hurt?”

Nearly traumatized by his son’s disrespect, Bellmus, trying to take some of the sting out of Lyemad’s words said, “Thankfully no one was hurt and the statute did not break, so before we retire for the night, I would like to toast our new friendship with the Wicterians.”

Following the meal, back on the Volkran, Bellmus confronted Lyemad with, “What on Electerus were you thinking? One would think that you were raised by a Tarfer.”

A Tarfer is a woodland animal that lives off dead animal carcasses on Electerus. Its matted and dirty-looking fur has a stench that can make even a strong stomach nauseous. It is one of the biggest insults an Electerian can give to someone.

Defensively, Lyemad said, “I wanted to show the Wicterians that I care about the things that are important to them.”

“Well I fear the only thing they saw was that if you can treat someone in your own party that poorly, then how badly could you treat total strangers,” replied Bellmus in a somber tone.

“I meant no disrespect,” protested Lyemad.

“I am not as convinced of that as you seem to be,” grieved Bellmus. “You have harbored resentment against Tessslan for years now. I do not know what he ever did to you but whatever it was, you need to let it go if you expect to continue dealing with our new alien friends. I will not have you jeopardize negotiations over some childhood dispute. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes father, I will not let you down,” promised Lyemad.

The following morning, Lyemad got up early looking for Tessslan to apologize for his outburst, but Tessslan was nowhere on the ship. Confounded as to where he could be so early in the morning, Lyemad decided to make his way back through the paths to Mudeline. Gazing down one of the gloomy and sinister looking paths, he remembered the Wicterian warnings about getting lost in the thick forest, but he felt confident in his sense of direction, “After all, I have made the trip twice now,” he thought to himself. “Slow down, my restless hearts, there is nothing to be leery of in there… I hope,” he said softly to himself.

After the passing of what seemed to Lyemad as a considerable amount of time, he started to think that it might have been a mistake to enter the Maze of paths on his own. The darkness and strange sounds, coupled with being so twisted around that he had no idea which direction he was heading, had him just about ready to yell for help, when all of a sudden he heard the faint sound of voices. Quickening his pace, he wanted to call out for his would-be rescuers to wait. As he drew nearer, he recognized Tessslan’s hissing voice. Sneaking ever so quietly up to a bend in the path, Lyemad could see Tessslan, Antamus, and Zelmut—the Wicterian that caught the falling statute—standing together talking softly. The translator could not pick up the conversation well enough for Lyemad to know what the Wicterians were saying, but he could understand Tessslan.

“Yesss, he did over react,” Said Tessslan. “They are a very undisssciplined raccce. They do not underssstand the “Way of the Flidoring” and they lack inner peaccce.”

Shocked by what he was witnessing, Lyemad thought,
“Why that big Lug, he is such a hypocrite. If he has such great understanding and inner peace, then why does he feel the need to be such a busybody and spread nasty gossip?”

“I mussst get back to the Volkran,” said Tessslan. “Zelmut, would you pleassse guide me back?”

Lyemad hid in the undergrowth waiting for Tessslan and Zelmut to pass by. He almost let out a little squeaky sound as he struggled to stay motionless while Maptas kept buzzing around his face.

A Mapta is a harmless flying bug and great swarms of them are common near the bodies of water on the warm world of Wicterus. Because the Wicterians easily step on them, they have a saying: “Squashed like a Mapta.” It means that they can easily flatten something.

After Tessslan and Zelmut were a safe distance in front of him, Lyemad let out a, “Whew! That was close.” Then he followed them back to the ship. All along the way, he could not help but wonder what else Tessslan had said to the Wicterians. At the same time, he questioned what the Wicterians would do with this gossip from Tessslan.