Xenophobia - Chapter 9

    The next couple dozen or so cycles passed quickly. The council met a few times regarding the human’s excursion to Mars during that time. There was always a little fervor and disagreement, particularly from the “Trifecta” as some of the counselors had started to call Cagool, Juag-e, and Jin’thun, but nothing ever got out of hand. The old judge always managed to rope them back in.

    Instead, the majority of time was spent reviewing data from the analytics team and arranging deep-space signals to keep unwary travelers out of the quarantine zone. It was monotonous sometimes but needed to be done.

    Falling right in line with Harris’s message, the human interplanetary vehicle launched at the tail end of the sixth cycle.  Six passengers were on a course for the nearest planet with the trip expecting to take something in the range of six to ten cycles.

    Reviewing the specs that the analytics team sent back proved entertaining in a way. The craft was dirty in comparison to most space craft, being little more than a series of controlled explosives that helped escape the atmosphere; but Darrian couldn’t help but admire it. The humans demonstrated a nearly suicidal determination for exploration when only twenty cycles before they seemed to have no interest in even leaving their own orbit.

    Additionally, while the council waited for the spacecraft to complete its journey, there was a scattering of other reports that trickled in. These reports were not directly related to space travel, but rather the state of the planet.

    Darrian could never decide if they made him hopeful or fearful for the future of the human species.

    The reports tended to be on both sides of the spectrum. On the one end, there were a number of wars and conflicts taking place across the planet at any given time. Violent actions were so constant amongst the inhabitants that there were a number of special categories; the two primary of which were “assault” and “murder”. Life was damaged or extinguished at a terrifyingly constant rate.

   Yet, on the other end of the spectrum, there were a large number of humans that displayed a much more civilized manner. For every war that broke out, there were humans that resisted the call of violence. Some protested while others fought to defend the innocents caught in the crossfire. Others attempted to garner legislation to their favor while still more actively rescued and healed rather than harmed.

    Most simply did not act on the baser need for violent action. Instead, they went about their time trying to better themselves and their communities using the infrastructure of support that civilization could grant.

    Darrian couldn’t help but feel respect these people.

    The more meetings he attended and the more data he reviewed, the more he started to notice a number of interesting trends.

    The first was that the number of overly violent humans was actually lower than previously thought. Only something in the range of ten to fifteen percent seemed to have a predisposal towards overt violence. These numbers were drastically lower than the initial meetings might have suggested.

    Instead, one of the major problems seemed to be that those individuals predisposed towards violence always seemed to find their way into positions of power and leadership. An otherwise placid population was forced towards violence through the will of a select few.

    Perhaps it was a side effect of the combative tendencies that these violent individuals ended up in positions of power. Or perhaps the humans’ current governmental systems simply favored an archaic need for bloodshed. No one in the council could really agree.

    “Maybe if more humans worked to correct their problems versus just standing by as atrocities happen, they could move forward as a species.” Jin’thun growled during the discussion.

    Darrian couldn’t help but agree. The more he studied the population, the more he realized that most problems were fed more by global indifference than anything else.

    Another pattern that he noticed was that a lot of the global issues seemed to have geographic correlation. Similar to how violence was perpetrated by a select percentage of humans, certain localized populations seemed more inclined than others towards violent and self-destructive tendencies. These populations were often the same ones that contributed to war conflicts and global crisis around the planet in comparison to other locations.

    There had been some arguments over it, but no one could understand how it worked. For whatever reason, specific ‘countries’ as they called themselves seemed to believe they were better than the rest of the global population. It was like they believed that they were the only ones that mattered despite the only difference being their geographic location on the planet.

    These moralistic dilemmas preoccupied most of the council meetings for more than a few cycles. It was taxing because the council had no real power to act upon a quarantined species and so most time was spent just debating with no real endpoint.  They were just arguing over atrocities.

    It made Darrian a little thankful when he found a new priority message flashing on his datapad.

    “Humans are attempting to colonize Mars.”

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Xenophobia - Chapter 8

    “What can we do?” asked Ugul with a look of some distress.

    Before the judge had a chance to answer, Darrian cut in.

    “More to the point, should we do anything about it at all?” he inquired, looking from face to face at the table.

    “What do you mean by that?” shot back Juag-e.

    “Well, the Consortium voted on quarantine. Unless I misunderstood the meaning of the word, doesn’t that mean we shouldn’t be interacting with them ever?”

    “He’s right.” Added Ferris quickly. “I thought that’s the whole reason for the analytics team. To keep an eye on them but not interfere.”

    Juag-e was actively bristling but didn’t say anything in response. However he didn’t need to. Jin’thun, the Gorderian at his side who had been silent for the entire meeting, snapped back at Ferris.

    “We were keeping an eye on them because we don’t know what those oxygen-breathers will do if they achieve deep space flight.” Growled Jin’thun.

    “You’re completely correct.” agreed the old judge with a small nod. “But to Ferris’s point, that does not necessarily require our intervention.”

    “How can you say that?!” barked Juag-e. “How can you really expect we should just sit here and do nothing?!”

    There was no response. Not right away. Darrian was conflicted. On the one hand, quarantine meant letting them be and if they presented an active threat to the galactic community revisiting the topic with the Consortium. On the other, he couldn’t argue that the idea of the humans achieving interplanetary travel was disconcerting.

    Still…

    “This isn’t a war-room.” A’alan’t 32 stated with a quiet fierceness.

    Juag-e and Jin’thun both looked like they were going to explode at their fellow counselor when the old judge snapped.

    “ENOUGH!” he bellowed.

    “When I asked what we were going to do about them,” he stated in a low tone, “I clearly need to define what the purpose of these analytics review meetings will entail.”

    “As has been made abundantly clear, this species is quarantined. That means there will be no interaction with them from any Consortium species,” he continued, throwing a threateningly glance towards Juag-e and Jin’thun. “With the exception of the analytics team. Instead, your purpose will be to review any priority message to determine whether it readily presents a danger to the galactic community.”

    “If it does, we need to gather the information and present it to the Consortium. If it does not, than we will not interfere. Or have you forgotten the briefing you were given when you were granted this position?”

    For a few moments, no one dared do anything more than glance at each other. Most of the counselors looked surprised and maybe even a little embarrassed. Darrian certainly felt ashamed to have had the old judge snap so harshly. Cagool, Juag-e, and Jin’thun, however, all wore similar expressions of annoyance and distaste.

    “Fine.” Growled Jin’thun finally. “Then what do you want from us?”

    “I want you to do your jobs.” Responded the old judge with a cold tone. “You will review all of the analytics data that has been forwarded to us from team on Earth and determine if this mission to Mars is any potential threat to the galactic community.”

    A moment later, a number of files appeared on Darrian’s datapad.

    “Review. Discuss. Decide.” Said the old judge. “And unless they are threat, maintain the quarantine.”

   Darrian and a few of the other counselors started opening their respective files and queuing up data. Illiquina was already in the process of throwing up a recording of the human’s reusable rocket tests for the Mars excursions.

    “It’s not like we’d have time to do anything anyway.” Grumbled Cagool a little too loudly. “Three to six cycles…”

    “Good thing that’s not your problem.” Responded Ferris snidely.

    A few dirty glances were exchanged, but luckily it ended there. The next while was spent pouring over the data that the analytics team had sent them. Everything from technologic assets and likelihood of success to obvious motivations for the Mars missions and what humans might do while they were there.

    In the end, despite three counselors arguing vehemently against it, it was concluded that the humans’ trip to their neighboring planet was no threat.

    By the next cycle, warnings were sent through deep space channels to warn away any and all crafts or individuals that might be in the vicinity of Mars or in the path from Mars to Earth. By the time the Mars missions were gone, even exploratory science teams were light-rotations away.

    The council could rest easy that the humans would not encounter anyone in their travels.

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Round 2 - Getting back in Action

Hello Lovelies.

So, you may have noticed my absence once again. Unfortunately, it was directly related to the aforementioned procedure that I told you about. Long story short, some stuff went well...other stuff didn't. I've been down for the count for a few days as a result.

That said, I'm doing good and recovering. I am hoping to return to writing again tomorrow or Wednesday evening. It simply depends upon where I'm at.

With any luck, this is the last that I will have to deal with anything like this anytime soon. It's good to be back and I apologize again for my secondary absence. I promise I'll try to keep it from happening again.

- RB

Xenophobia - Chapter 7

    “Mars?” Darrian asked.

    “Right. We believe it was named after one of the fictional characters that the humans have killed each other over.” responded Cherryl.

    “So what’s its actual name, then?”  inquired Cagool, the Yool ambassador.

    There were a few sidelong glances and a look of distaste from some of the politicians. It was rarely considered acceptable to simply dismiss another race’s opinion during open discussion. Even something as simple as a name for a planet deserved respect. Unless there was a population on “Mars” currently, the human name should have sufficed for it. To simply dismiss it was to act as though the species wasn’t sentient and didn’t deserve consideration.

    Apparently, this convention was lost on Cagool. Whether he didn’t care or didn’t realize it, he seemed to ignore the uncomfortable silence.

    “Well. The planet’s p-previous name was Muspel II.” Stammered Cherryl, obviously nervous and trying to maintain respect towards the humans naming conventions. “It was one of two planets in the system that the Guillae had populated.”

    “Had?” emphasized Ferris.

    Cherryl nodded in response. “Correct. The Guillae used up the majority of the natural materials on the planet and vacated once the atmosphere began to dissolve.”

   “Back up.” said Darrian. “Who are these Guillae? I’ve never heard of them. For that matter, if AV32- sorry. Earth. If Earth is part of this Muspel system, then why didn’t we know about it previously?”

    “The Guillae are a species of floramorphic hybrids. They have a tendency of wandering galaxies and sending a large spore filled with their ‘colonists’ to any planet they deem useful.” The old judge rattled off.

    “Floramorphic?” asked Darrian.

    “Plant people.” whispered Ferris.

    “Once they land, the Guillae tend to be both a blessing and a curse. Their cities and technologies are all biologically based. No mechanics of any kind to speak of. Because of this, every part of their society tends to blend with the given planet and give birth to a host of new life. The planets tend to flourish for a few rotations, at which time the noxious gasses that the Guillae naturally give off have done their damage. The atmosphere tends to burn off and the Guillae take off for other planets elsewhere.”

    “That sounds horrible.” said Illiquina with a shudder.

    The old judge nodded his agreement.

    “Many people in the scientific community tend to have mixed emotions about the Guillae. On the one hand, their very presence on a planet can do fantastic things. They promote untold numbers of species to come to fruition during their time on a planet. However, because of their genetic makeup, the Guillae tend to do permanent damage to any world that hosts them. Mars is just such an example.”

    "A telltale sign that the Guillae have been there is the landscape tends to take on a reddish hue of rust. It has something to do with the gasses the put off."

    “So what was Mars like?” asked A’alan’t 32, the rather quiet Bivvie representative.

    Darrian couldn’t help but smile as he realized that both A’alan’t 32 and the old judge were outright ignoring Cagool’s rudeness earlier by using "Mars" as the planet's name. On top of that, the Yool definitely was taking notice as he was sitting there looking rather annoyed.

    “Actually, Earth and Mars weren’t unlike each other in overall design.” stated the old judge.

    The holographic imager in the middle of the table gave birth to a spherical planet that was indeed very similar to the planet the humans occupied. It was covered in giant splotches of greens and blue with speckled browns and reds here and there.

    “Is that water?” asked Darrian in surprise as he stared at the image.

    “Yes, it is.” responded the judge. “Much like many species in the galaxies, a plentiful water source is what drives the Guillae to populate new worlds.”

    “It’s quite pretty.” Observed Ugul.

    “I must agree.” said the old judge. “At least until the Guillae showed up.”

    To Darrian’s surprise, he watched the image before him morph and change. He watched as a sudden green spot appeared in one of the planet’s oceans. Perhaps the spore the judge spoke of? It began to boil and spread green through the waters until it reached land. There, rich emeralds seemed to entangle and overtake the verdant hues that had already been present.

    “As you can see, the introduction of a Guillae spore can have truly amazing effects…”

    As they continued to watch, the entire planet soon completely turned a rich emerald green. All of the browns, reds, and blues seemed to fade away. For a moment, the planet simply rotated there like a spherical green gem. Then, without warning, speckles of dusty red appeared and spread with frightening speed. Within seconds, the entire planet was the heavy red of rusted iron.

    “…as well as devastating.” finished the old judge.

    “These observations were taken over the course of seven rotations and occurred thirty two rotations ago.” added Cherryl.

    “That’s all well and good, but I have to agree with Darrian.” said Juag-e with obvious tension. “Why the hell haven’t I heard of this species before now?”

    “The Guillae are a nomadic race.” stated the old judge. “They come to a planet, use it up, and leave it a rotted, rusted husk of what it once was. While the species is sentient, they don’t seem to operate with the same drives or capacities of other civilizations.”

    “Frankly. They’re too alien.” he said with a hint of disgust.

    Darrian felt a tinge of surprise. It was rare to call any species alien. In a galaxy filled with so many different types of life, singling one out as an “other” was bizarre.

    “As such,” continued the old judge, “The Consortium made agreements with the Guillae some fifty rotations back that they would not bother each other. The Guillae can continue to wander out further and further away from us and none of our planets are at risk from their colonization. In exchange, the Guillae can do as they will without Consortium interference.”

   There was a long moment of eerie silence. Darrian couldn’t help but feel nervous thinking about these Guillae. While the humans were erratic and warlike, monsters by many descriptions, they were still frighteningly young with the potential for growth. They still had time to grow into something better. This other species,however, was so different and almost accidentally dangerous that the Consortium did not bring them into the fold but rather insisted they not even engage within their sphere of control.

    He couldn’t decide which was more unsettling.

   “While I'm sure we all appreciate the monster story,” said Ferris. “I think we have gotten a little off topic.”

    “R-right.” Cherryl said with another little nod.

    “What are we going to do about humans attempting to reach Mars?” asked the judge.

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Children of the Different - Journal

Hello Lovelies,

Today I wanted to do something a little different today and take a moment to give a quick shout out to two awesome writers who, I feel, deserve a little attention today. I recently entered into a giveaway being done by the talented and lovely Blodeuedd and won a free audio copy of "Children of the Different" by S.C. Flynn. With that said, I wanted to give a quick breakdown of what this book promises to be.

=========================================

Publisher's Summary

Nineteen years ago, a brain disease known as the Great Madness killed most of the world's population. The survivors all had something different about their minds. Now, at the start of adolescence, their children enter a trance-like state known as the Changeland and emerge either with special mental powers or as cannibalistic Ferals.

In the great forest of South West Australia, 13-year-old Arika and her twin brother Narrah go through the Changeland. They encounter an enemy known as the Anteater who feeds on human life. He exists both in the Changeland and in the outside world, and he wants the twins dead.

After their Changings, the twins have powers that let them fight their enemy and face their destiny on a long journey to an abandoned American military base on the northwest coast of Australia...if they can reach it before time runs out.

Children of the Different is a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel set among the varied landscapes and wildlife of Western Australia.

©2016 S. C. Flynn (P)2016 S. C. Flynn

Buy it here on Amazon for only $3.99

Or Check out the Audio Copy for Free with a 30-day Trial

=========================================

Once again, I was given this opportunity to win by the talented Blodeuedd who I'd encourage you to check out at her website http://books-forlife.blogspot.com/ if you don't already visit her. She does wonderful reviews and highlights of a wide range of different books. Check it out and I bet you'll find something that might tickle you fancy.

With that said, thanks for dropping in and I promise to deliver more Xenophobia soon. I just didn't think it was right to accept such a gift without a little turn around to those that were kind enough to provide it. See you tomorrow~

- RB

Xenophobia - Chapter 6

   Despite the aggression that was briefly displayed that evening in the Consortium, the Tulgucks and Gorderians did honor the decision of the council. Actions were quickly arranged to set up a full time analytics team that could both monitor the state of the planet as well as study the population of AV32784 further. There was a bit of scrambling to figure out a system of semi-permanent air purifiers to deal with the oxygen atmosphere, but all in all, things were set up without a hitch.
    The first forty solar cycles after the analytics team arrived were relatively unexciting. Aside from facts and complaints about the flora and fauna on the planet, the council was provided little more than a few interesting tidbits of astronomical data.
    It would seem that the planet was known as "Earth" or "Terra" depending on what the analytics team found. Likewise, the planet's solar cycles were known as "days" as were their solar rotations known as "years". Both were drastically shorter than Merrinians'. Initial guesses were that the planet ran something in the range of one hundred times faster than their own.
    Darrian figured it would be the last he'd be hearing from that hellish wasteland for a while.
    He was wrong.
    It was on cycle Forty One after the analytics team arrival when the first priority message was delivered to the council chambers.

    With a heavy sigh, Darrian made his way out of his office and back down the hall towards the meeting room. Ferris and Cherryl were already waiting in front of the door, rapidly talking with each other.
    Ferris, who had not been present at the Consortium meeting, had been brought into the fold to assist Darrian with the council details. Cherryl, on the other hand, was the ambassador for the Celestial Commissionary in that sector and was the main liaison between the analytics team and Merrinian.
    "Dare I ask?" Darrian questioned Cherryl as he approached.
    "Don't bother. She won't tell us anything before the meeting." Ferris grumbled and gave Cherryl a nasty look.
    "I-I can't." She stammered in her normal soft tone. "You'll know soon enough though."
    Darrian motioned towards the door and they both filed into the meeting room. He followed quickly after them and the three of them settled into their spots around the table. The old judge was already at the front of the room and a number of others had already taken their places. The council was primarily Merrinian with a handful of alternate species from the Consortium on hand to represent their individual interests.
    Once everyone was at the table, the door sealed with a soft hiss and the old judge spoke up.
    "Alright everyone. As you were aware, the analytics team that we recently stationed at AV32784 was sent there with specific instructions to monitor the population for any changes that might effect the global community."
    "When last we discussed this planet, the "human" population had demonstrated a capability for space travel, but had only shown an interest in a few lunar excursions and utilizing orbital technologies. That has changed."
    "Changed?" asked Juag-e, the lone Tulguck emissary. "That quickly? We only just got there."
    "Correct." agreed the judge with a nod. "Just like everything else on this planet, it seems that minds change quickly as well."
    The judge reached down and clicked a few buttons on his datapad. The room darkened and the holographic imager lit up to reveal the soft featured face of a human. For a minute, Darrian wondered if somehow a human had somehow discovered the analytics team and sent the message, but his fears were abated when Harris's snarky voice came out of the creature. However, there was no sarcasm or attitude in his voice this time.
    "The humans have initiated a program to reach and colonize their closest planet. Much like their 'race to the moon', the species has begun a seeming competition to send colonists to the fourth planet in their solar system. It would seem that dissatisfaction at one of the current organizations "NASA" has instigated a sudden boom of interest by a secondary organization to try and accomplish this task. While their technologies are still very limited, further initiatives may allow for or prompt research into deep space travel. The first ships are said to leave within three to six cycles. Please advise. Over."
     The imager went black once again and everyone sat in silence for a minute. Finally, it was Ferris who broke the quiet.
    "Sound like we sent a team at just the right time."
    "Yes." agreed the judge with a nod. "It would seem so."
    "Did they really say three to six cycles? Do we even have time to respond?" asked Ugul, the massive Jigger who sat at the end of the table.
    "N-not really." said Cherryl with a shake of her head.
    "Do we have any data on the planet they're trying to colonize?" asked Illiquina, the Cadrax of the group.
    "Quite a bit actually." responded Cherryl quickly. "It's a deserted planet and hasn't had life for quite sometime. It was originally home to the Guillae but according to Harris's reports, the humans like to refer to it as 'Mars'."

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(Hello Lovelies. So, you may have noticed that we have yet more Xenophobia! While, I know that it's October and I had talked about started Spookytober, I want to keep the ball rolling for as long as I can. Xenophobia continues to be very well received and, unlike some projects, it's flowing smoothly without trouble. I want to keep producing as long as I can and, should my attention drop off a bit, then I will switch over to Spookytober. I hope you enjoyed and check back again for the next Chapter! Ta!)

Xenophobia - Chapter 5

    "Clearly the only thing we can do is eliminate them before they become a threat to the entire galactic community." stated one of the Tulgucks with a disturbing coolness.
    The attention of the entire table was instantly turned towards him.
    "You're talking about genocide." the old judge retorted with an edge of warning in his voice. "And last I checked, that wasn't even on the table."
    "Who are you to even suggest such a thing?" snapped Darrian. He couldn't deny the fear that these humans set in him, but the thought of simply killing them all...
    "My name is Guor-a and, when I'm not listening to galactic monster stories, I'm the high Maister of the Tulguck Armada."
    That explains it. thought Darrian.
    The Tulgucks were one of two races that were regularly on thin ice in the Galactic Consortium. The other being the Gorderians. Both were a younger species, newer in the Consortium, and still felt the need to maintain regular defense forces. They had been regularly encouraged to decommission the majority of their fleets but neither were ever actively forced to since galactic conflict was practically extinct at this day and age.
    "These creatures. These humans. They're showing all of the viciousness of another Krellan empire. Or am I the only one who remembers them? I don't know how you were even entertaining the idea of quarantine initially. We need to deal with them before they gain a foothold in the galaxy."
    Darrian started to feel sick, but for a new reason. The other Tulgucks wore a stoic stare and nodded as Guor-a spoke. Likewise, several more members around the table, including all of the Gorderians, also seemed to be agreeing with him on this.
    "W-w-we can't do that." shuddered the Cadrax. "It wouldn't even be a war. It'd be a slaughter."
    "Exactly." replied Guor-a
    "Now wait." demanded the Jigger. "It's not like the Tulgucks started off on the best footing, but you were allowed time to learn the way of the universe. Could you imagine if we had reacted so brashly?"
    "We would have responded in turn. And besides, could you imagine if you had reacted to the Krellan's quickly enough? We'd still have the Iqru and the Logast joining us for this meeting."
    "The Krellan were a long standing member of the Consortium and had the ability to fight back. Whether we agreed with them or not, they had a right to life. If you were to bring the might of your Aramada down on the human planet you'd be erasing a species before it's time comes."
    "Actually, it sounds like their time came and went already."
    "ENOUGH." the old judge snapped. "As of currently, we have a grand total of a twentieth of a rotation of on-planet observation. A TWENTIETH! This is combined with another twelve rotations worth of long range data that needs to be corroborated. We cannot destroy a species on so little evidence."
    Guor-a snapped up and glared at the old judge. The robot glared right back. Darrian thought he could practically feel the tension in the air.
    "Hold on!" snapped one of the Gorderians. "It's not your place to tell us what we can and can't do. We didn't build you, that was the Merrinians. If they want to listen to a robot, that's their choice but we'll vote on what we want to do!"
    There were a number of cheers from around the table and Darrian felt himself sinking back into his spot. The judge was looking back and forth around the table, clearly battling with the decision.
    "Fine. We will vote." he finally said.
    "But..." the judge's gaze turned towards Guor-a. "All members of the Consortium will obey the decision."
    Guor-a simply nodded in agreement but said nothing more.
    "Alright then. By a show of support." the judge said.
    "All those in favor of Interaction?"
    No response.
    "All those in favor of Extermination."
    There were several grunts of assent and datapads lit up around the table. Darrian was surprised at the sheer number.
    "And those in favor of Quarantine?"
    Darrian tapped his own datapad and watched it light up with a large number of others around the table.
    "It's settled than. Quarantine will be instated due to a vote of 53% compared to 47% for Extermination."
    Guor-a growled and immediately stomped out of the room, the other Tulgucks in tow behind him. The Gorderians quickly followed along with a scattering of others. Darrian couldn't help but feel relieved that they hadn't just condemned a brand new species to death.
    "The species will be Quarantined until further notice." stated the old judge. "For the time being, however, we will be assigning a group to maintain constant vigil and assess the galactic risk that they might pose. Should something be discovered that might tip the scales, we shall reconvene. You are dismissed."

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