WACO’S
LUMMOX
By
Waddie Greywolf
Chapter
37
“You know why
whalers never say anything? Because they’ve said it all.” Herman
Melville
“That’s why I
stopped writing; I said all I have to say.” Kurt Vonnegut
“And that’s all
I got to say about that.” Forrest Gump
And So It Goes ~
It was a time of
coming together. There were no secrets the next morning. It
was clear who belonged to whom. There was no need to ask if Lucas
got his ticket punched. Everyone knew. The electricity
which passed between him and his big Visallian warrior was
palpable. Gradually all the cowboys came around to give him a hug
and a word of encouragement. Even Caleb’s brothers came
around. It moved Lucas when Burt told him he was proud of him.
There was no
doubt of the further bonding between Captain Waco and his
handsome Visallian suitor, Captain Trey Vinceeth. While they
didn’t have sex they got to know each other a lot better under the
watchful eye of Waco’s lummox. Fortunately, the Visallians had as
much or more respect for Volgorons as humans, and Trey Vinceeth saw his
complete package potential as not only Captain Waco Goodnight, but his
lummox slave and his handsome twin brother. He was not a greedy
or overly needy man. He was not born nor raised that way.
On the contrary, Visallian warriors were trained from birth to never
expect anything from life, but to always be mindful of the goodness
which came their way. Trey Vinceeth had an all encompassing
personality; he was a man who could recognize a wonderful opportunity
as a possibility when it presented itself, and he would do nothing to
discourage what he saw as the inevitable with the passage of
time.
Even with a
broken leg and suffering a huge setback at the hands of the Reptilian
race, life for Trey Vinceeth was sweet— at least for the moment.
He and his ship limped onto Venus with the help of the Venusians.
He was at a low point in his life, when suddenly a ray of hope appeared
in the form of another ship, the Buttercup. Everyone needs to
find a calm and supporting oasis from time to time where the
life-waters of love and appreciation flow like milk and honey.
Captain Vinceeth found his fortifying healing milk in the teats of
Waco’s huge lummox and his honey in the arms of his young cowboy
human. Like any animal with needs he longed to express more with
his young human, but he was a trained warrior who knew how to wait for
the goodness life could bring. He saw Waco as someone he was
willing to set aside his momentary need for passion for a greater
pleasure for the future. The possibility of bonding permanently
with his young man was worth more to him than all the riches in the
Universe.
One might make
an argument that male bonding could possibly be considered an infective
mental state. There seemed to be a lot of it going on, from the
obvious with Strom, Lyle and the young bairns to Captain Waco, his
first mate, his slave Travis, and the Visallian warriors; all the way
to the more quiet and unassuming of the Buttercup’s passengers like JR
Goodnight and his father’s slave, Hank Morgan. They had been
inseparable during the trip. Charlie Goodnight made it a point of
putting his number one trustee slave, Hank Morgan, in charge of his
youngest boy. JR never argued for a minute. He loved Hank
and they got along great. Hank simply let
JR take charge, and he accompanied him everywhere. Their get-away
trip became a great bonding experience for them the two men couldn’t
have gotten any other way. Hank couldn’t have wished for
more. It was exactly what both of them needed. Hank
appreciated the fact his owner and Ramrod were responsible for making
sure it happened. He couldn’t be more grateful, and vowed to
himself to be all the more dedicated to his master and work harder for
his Ramrod. Neither ever considered Hank’s work or dedication
less than excellent.
That evening,
following the after-supper walk, JR decided he wanted to retire to
their cabin and be alone with Hank to watch videos or whatever they
decided to do. He talked Hank into taking a shower and a hot tub
soak in their room under the pretense Hank was his slave, and he needed
help scrubbing his back. Hank would’ve done it anyway, but he
wondered at JR’s need to place his wish on a different level than a
simple request. They enjoyed the hot tub. Hank rubbed JR’s
back and JR insisted he return the favor for the big cowboy. They
were pretty relaxed after they got out of the tub and made their way to
bed. JR didn’t seem to be interested in watching a video and lay
there with Hank wanting to hold him in the worst way, but he was afraid
to ask. He didn’t want to appear unseemly nor put Hank in an
uncomfortable position.
“I know how much
you love mom, Hank, and you gotta’ know I love her, too.”
Hank wondered
where JR’s statement came from? “Yes, I do love your mother more
than there are words to tell you, and I know you love her, too.”
“You know I love
you, Hank.”
“Yes, I know you
love me, and I love you, too.”
“Good, then what
I’m about to say won’t be misunderstood. I’m glad mom didn’t
wanna’ come along on our trip.” JR said and slightly emphasized
the word ‘our.’
“I
understand. There’s jes’ some things us men gotta’ do by
ourselves, right?” Hank smiled at him.
“Right. I
been put’n it off, but there’s something I gotta’ talk over with
you. We ain’t got much time left on this trip, so I need to talk
about it this evening.”
“You know you
can tell me anything, Son.” Hank encouraged
“I’m afraid I’m
attracted to my dad, Hank.” JR said quietly like he wasn’t sure he
should be saying the words. Hank lay there for a minute looking
at the ceiling of the ship, thoughts rushing through his mind looking
for an intelligent answer. He wanted to sound as accepting as he
could for his boy. Male sex was no longer a great mountain Hank
had to climb.
“Why are you
afraid, JR? I think that’s pretty natural for a boy your
age. You’re right smack dab in the middle of puberty, you’re
filling out all over the place, your voice dropped last fall, and you
got hair popping out in all the right places. I’m gonna’ have to
tell yore’ ma to buy you yore’ own razor by the end of the summer if’n
you keep growing hair on your face like you’re doing. I know you
been borrowing mine. You attended your first slave ceremony last
year. With Lucas, Master Waco and his slaves, there’s sex going
on all around you at the ranch. It’s got to be having an effect
on you. Have you told Master Charlie you’re attracted to
him.”
“Naw, Sir.
He ain’t the dad what I’m attracted to.”
Hank’s heart
leapt to his throat. ‘My God, what does the boy know?’ he thought to
himself.
“You wanna’ tell
me what you mean by that, Son?”
“It’s you!
I’m attracted to you, Hank.”
“JR, Son,— ”
Hank was taken completely off guard. “I ain’t chore’ dad.”
“Bullshit!
How dumb does everybody think I am? Look at me, Hank!” JR
shoved the sheet down on the bed to expose himself to Hank. He
grabbed his dick, skinned back the head and waved it at him. “We got
the same dick, my body is shaping up to be an exact duplicate of yours;
ever’ time I look in the mirror I see you looking back at me, my hair
even has the same damn cowlick yours does. Our skin color is the
same. I don’t look nothing like my big brother and his
daddy. You been sleeping with my mom as long as I can
remember. H’it don’t take no rocket scientist to put two and two
together to figure out I was an unplanned for mistake. I’m your
son. I’ve always know’d it in the back of my mind, but I been
afraid to say anything because I love you s’damn much. I thought
if I said anything it might make my dream go away.”
“You weren’t no
mistake, JR; an accident, perhaps, but certainly not unwanted.
You been the light of me and yore’ momma’s life. What do you mean
it might make your dream go away? What dream?”
“Ever since I
can remember, I always wanted you to be my dad. I always wished
and dreamed you was my dad. Don’t get me wrong, I love Master
Charlie. If it weren’t for him, I’d be a slave right along with
you. I know that. I ain’t stupid. I know what ya’ll
done for me, but I’m tired of playing your young master. I know
you’re my dad.”
“What can I say,
Son?” Hank said with a defeated sigh. JR grabbed Hank
and hugged him to himself and gently kissed him on his cheek. He
could feel his dad’s full day’s growth of stubble. It turned him
on.
“Y’ain’t gotta’
say nothing. I didn’t tell you to put you in a bad place.
We can go on like we are, but I jes’ had to tell you I know, and I love
you. I’m proud of you, Dad. You’re one of the best men I
ever did know and whatever I grow up to be as a man will be the direct
result of your influence and love for me. I’m entering high
school this next year, and I got me four good years of football ahead
of me. I’m gonna’ bust my butt to make you, Master Charlie and
ma’ brothers proud of me, but most of all, there’s only one man I
really care about making proud and that’s you, Dad. That’s my
dream.”
“But what about
this attraction thing?”
“I’m serious,
Dad, I wanna’ suck yore’ dick? As my slave, I could order you to
have sex with me, but as my dad, I’d never consider placing you in a
position like that. I don’t want you to do something because you
have to. If I do it, or later we chose to do more with each
other, it will be our decision and not because I’m a freeman and you’re
a slave.”
“What about
chore’ ma, Son?”
“What about
her? We both love her. You’re expected to have male sex on
the ranch. She understands that. How often do you think
we’d ever get the chance to enjoy each other like we done on this
trip? How many times you and I ever got off by ourselves in all
my thirteen years? I can count on one hand. So we share a
little love now and then, it ain’t gonna’ short change ma none.
It ain’t got nothing to do with her. The last thing in the world
I got in mind is to compete with my own mother for the affections of my
dad. That ain’t it at all. I jes’ wanna’ chance, if we can
find the time, to make a little love with my old man. Is that
wrong, Hank?”
“No, no, I guess
it ain’t. To be honest, I don’t know, JR. I’ve asked myself
questions like that ever since I been a slave. Being a slave
changes a man’s perspective about a lot of things in life. You
know I been forced to have sex with men, but when Master Charlie bought
me, he let me see your mom. It weren’t my idea, but I shore’ as
hell didn’t turn it down. It was because your ma took a shine to
me and asked Master Charlie’s permission. She was my oasis of
sanity in an insane world. She still is, Son. We always used
protection. I wore a condom. Then she wanted to start using
another type device called an IUD, and I guess it just weren’t as
effective as a condom. She got pregnant with you. We was
worried silly. Mistress Anne came to our rescue and insisted
Master Goodnight claim he was yore’ daddy on the birth
certificate. It caused a lot of raised eyebrows in the community,
but those folks what knew the score thought Master Charlie and Mistress
Anne were just about the finest folks they knew. So do we,
Son. They kept you from having to live a life of slavery like
Travis Jessup. Now Ranger and his wife, Ms. Mary, is doing the
same for the Jessup’s new son. I would give my life for Master
Charlie or Ramrod Long for what they done for us.”
“I thought you’d
understand if I was honest with you, Dad.”
“I do
understand, JR. I’ve had to adjust my old straight cowboy
prejudices against sex with men. I didn’t have no choice. I
had it forced on me, and I had to change my way a’ think’n to survive
or die. I chose to live. It was forced on me long before
Master Charlie bought me. Living as a cowboy on the Goodnight
ranch, it’s still expected of me, but things is a lot more
relaxed. Sex on the ranch is more about pleasure than it is
domination. Being a cowboy at our ranch is heaven compared to
what I lived through my first ten years in prison. I still have sex
with Master Charlie and occasionally with the cowboys under me.
If one gets uppity or a little mouthy, I send him to the showers to
clean himself, and he gets fucked in front of his cowboy
brothers. That’s the domination part, and when I fuck a cowboy
that way, it ain’t for pleasure, Son. Well, it is for me, but
h’it ain’t for him. It’s for correction, humiliation and
punishment. That’s just the way things is, Son. It’s part
of ma’ job being a lead cowboy.
The Ramrod don’t
wanna’ fuck all them men regularly, neither does Master Charlie, so
they leave it to me and Curley. Ramrod Long, he done got Master
Charlie and his own mate, so most of the time it falls to Curley Knight
or me to fuck ‘em. I’d be a damn liar if’n I’s to say I didn’t
enjoy it some times. I’ve learned to enjoy sex any way it comes;
however, I still hold out the greatest and most satisfying sex for me
is with yore’ ma. With Master
Charlie’s approval, I have sex on a regular basis with Blake
Tindell. Blake sort a’ looks on me like a second dad, and we have
a go at it once in a while. He come to me earlier this evening
hotter’n a two dollar pistol want’n to git fucked, but I told him I had
to look after you. I still pay homage to Master Charlie and suck
him off about once a month. I’d do it more often, but he keeps
pretty busy with his Ramrod, and he fucks Blake regularly, too. I
think that’s where Blake was headed next. I think Master Charlie
and his ramrod took Blake in for the evening.”
“So, is there a
problem?” JR asked. “If you think on Blake as a son how much different
would it be for us?”
“There ain’t as
far as sex is concerned, but put yourself in my position, JR.
You’re
ma’ boy, my son, my flesh and blood. What would you do if your
son was to come to you and tell you he wanted to suck yore’ dick?”
“Let him!”
exclaimed JR quietly. “I’d lay back and enjoy the feeling my boy
could
provide me knowing he was doing it because he loved me, he needed to
show me his love, and that was the way he chose to do it.”
“Don’t you think
you’re rushing things a bit, Son? You just turned thirteen a
couple of months ago. I’ll admit your argument sounds pretty
good, but I don’t do nothing without Master Charlie or Ramrod Long’s
approval.” Hank was grasping for straws hoping Charlie or Lazarus
would come to his rescue.
“That ain’t no
problem. I see my big brother having sex with his slaves and his
lummox. Ox is all the time suck’n on my big bro. He offered
to suck me one day with Waco’s approval, but I told them I weren’t
ready yet. I guess I could ask Waco to use one of his slaves, but
they’re older’n me and more experienced. I just wanna’ feel free
to mess around with somebody I feel comfortable with, and that’s you,
Dad.”
“Damn, JR, you
don’t know how good it makes me feel to have you call me ‘dad.’
You know I’d do anything for you, Son.”
“Glad to hear
it, Dad. I ain’t never asked Master Charlie for much a’
nothing. I always knew there was something different between Waco
and Master Charlie and me, but I never felt left out. They
include me in everything, but I had a world outside of them Waco didn’t
have. I never felt like I didn’t have enough. I still feel
like Master Charlie’s one of my dads and there ain’t no doubt Waco
thinks on me as his little brother. I’ve slept in his arms too
many nights while we’s growing up to think otherwise. Master
Charlie sat me down the other day before we come on this trip and asked
me if I needed to talk with him about the birds and the bees? I
told him I didn’t think so, but I shore' would appreciate his opinions
on
which wines went best with cock sucking and cunnilingus.” JR
laughed. Hank hugged him tightly and started tickling him.
JR got a roaring hard-on.
“See, Dad!
See what you do to me?” JR paused for a moment, then continued.
“We talked about other things, and I told him I done figured it out,
you was my biological dad. He didn’t deny it, but he insisted I
keep referring to him as my father for my own protection. I
gotta’ love Master Charlie for that. It took a big man to do what
he done. I told him the same thing I told you; I’s crazy
attracted to my own dad, and did I have his permission to order his
slave to let me suck his dick and him to suck mine, if’n you’s a mind
to?”
“What’d he say,
Son?”
“He said he’d
leave it up to you whether you thought it was a good idea for us or
not. He said for me to listen to what you had to say, but if you
didn’t think it was the right thing, I wasn’t to push you. He
told me like in all things, I was to obey you like you was my
dad. I promised him I would.”
“Humm, so that
puts me in the position of being your old man.” Hank mused.
“Don’t know’s
I’d want it any other way, Dad, no matter what chu’ decide.” JR said
quietly.
“One thing I’ve
learned over the years is sex or making love to anyone is, or should
be, an act of enjoyment and pleasure, but it also can be an expression
of love between two people. H’it don’t matter whether it’s
between a man and a woman or two men. I’d rather you wait until
you’re older, but I suppose once in a while, a special occasion, would
be all right. You think this trip would quality as a special
occasion?”
“A trip across
our solar system? What do you think, Dad?” JR laughed.
“I suppose it is
a special occasion. I never thought I’d live to see some’um like
this. I thought sure I’d be dead by now, but once I met Ida Mae
and we had you, I’ve fought even harder to survive and tried to be the
best cowboy-slave I could to protect my love and interest in you and
yore’ ma. Now, if all goes well, we got many years ahead of us,
Son. I even hold out a little hope, if I continue to work hard
and keep out of trouble, one day I may be a freeman again.
There’s time for us, Son. Let’s don’t rush it. The
discovery of sex should be a part of growing up. I won’t deny you
when your older if it’s still what you want.”
“How old do I
have to be, Dad?”
“At least
sixteen. I’d like for you to hold out until you’re eighteen, but
I know I probably won’t win that one. I’ve had to make a lot of
compromises in my life, but I want more for you. I suppose every
father wants more for his son than he had out of life.”
“I promised
Master Charlie I’d abide by your wishes and I will, Dad.”
“You’re a good
boy, JR. I’m proud of you.” Hank said as he hugged his boy
and stole a kiss.
JR was
disappointed; however, he knew Hank didn’t have a lot of control over
his life, and if it made Hank feel more like his own man and of some
importance to be able to set boundaries for their relationship, that’s
what JR wanted. He would respect his father’s wishes. He
learned a lot about Hank that evening he never knew before. He
learned some things about himself he didn’t know he was capable
of. It was at that moment JR began the slow, sometimes
frustrating journey of growing up. He began to accept
responsibility for his actions. He was beginning to understand
the greater part of love can sometimes be putting another person’s
wishes and feelings ahead of your own needs.
* * * * * * *
The albino
Venusian found a place in the hearts of the critters on board the
Buttercup. They found him charming and warm in a way the average
Venusian wasn’t. He was highly intelligent and communicated well
with everyone. Even Kuluke and T’kan were taken with him.
His name was D’Airelleian; however, the pups couldn’t pronounce his
name properly, and with their best attempts it came out 'Darryl.'
That was fine with him. He had a good sense of humor and
delighted in his new name. With their Captain’s permission the
critters invited him on board the Buttercup to observe and enjoy their
company. He was thrilled to be singled out and was granted
permission by the Venusian Counsel. Ms. Myra, the Buttercup’s
on-board intelligence (she insisted there wasn’t anything “artificial”
about her) told him the name ‘Darryl’ on Earth means “loved one” or
“beloved.” He couldn’t have been more pleased. He spent the
evening on board the ship with the creatures he’d come to befriend.
The next
morning, after breakfast and a walk in the woods, Captain Vinceeth and
Captain Waco along with Charlie Goodnight and Admiral Long explained to
the Venusian High Counsel they would like to make a brief trip to
Mars. They planned to be back as soon as possible as they were on
a tight schedule; however, depending on what they found, they might
stay for one eight hour sleep period. Since their man
D’Airelleian had become so favored by their traveling companions they
asked the Counsel’s permission to take him along as an observer and
ambassador of goodwill. Lazarus explained only Captain Vinceeth,
his second in command, his Sergeant Major and three other Visallian
warriors would be traveling with them. They graciously agreed and
all was set for the Buttercup’s departure.
The Buttercup
boasted several modes of propulsion. The standard inner solar
system propulsion drive was a negative ion or fusion drive. While
it was quite fast it wasn’t nearly as fast as the second and third
drives. The second was a phase shift drive that worked similarly
to the technology used in the portals, the robo-cams and physical
transports. It simply phased the entire ship out of sync with the
rest of the universe into a physical void which existed as a buffer
between eleven known dimensions. There was a separate buffer
between each dimension. For centuries this form of propulsion was
observed by man when viewing UFOs from Earth. Since early man had
no concept of phase-shifting they didn’t understand what they were
seeing. The craft would seem to simply wink out of
existence. It looked like they just disappeared. The third
and fastest drive was the sub-light hyper drive. It was hardly
ever used within a system. It was for longer flights between
galaxies.
Lazarus
instructed Waco and his crew to employ the second drive and their
travel time to Mars would be greatly reduced to a matter of
hours. The Buttercup arrived at Mars around ten o’clock in the
morning Earth time. Captain Vinceeth sat next to Captain Waco and
guided him into the Valles Marineris to one of the deepest parts of the
great trench. Waco began to notice dark holes in the side of the
valley walls. They looked like they might be caves. Trey
explained that’s exactly what they were. He and his men
discovered them accidentally when they were trying to get away from the
lizard men. They hid in one of the caves until the Reptilians
stopped looking for them. They stayed a while to keep from being
detected and began to explore.
Trey pointed out
one enormous opening almost at the bottom of the valley and instructed
Waco to fly the ship with care into the opening. Waco reduced
their thrust. The Buttercup was barely sailing along in the thin
Martian atmosphere. As they approached the mouth of the cave
everyone gasp at the size of the opening. The ship was dwarfed by
the overall height and width of the cavern’s mouth. The cavern
inside was huge. It was unlike any feature on any other
terrestrial planet in the Sol system.
Trey Vinceeth
gave Myra a coded series of numerical and alphabetic sequences followed
by his voice identification print to send out into the darkness of the
cave. He told Waco to activate the Buttercup’s external
lights. The lights came on and the cavern was so vast the strong
beams of the powerful lights couldn’t reach the walls; however, ahead
of the Buttercup a tiny sliver of horizontal light began to
appear. If you held your thumbnail up to the holo-vid screen the
length of your arm, it would be no bigger than the width of your
thumb. It looked too small for a ship to go through.
As the Buttercup
moved slowly forward, the light began to grow until it became
enormous. It was obvious it was a huge door lifting into the wall
of the cavern to allow the ship to pass into a docking area.
There was much awed whispering going on among the passengers.
Jimmy-Bob and Stan were sitting on the edge of their seats being
restrained by their seat belts. Everyone was straining to see
where they were going. It was Darryl, the Venusian’s first trip
off his home world, and he was enthralled by it all. Patty told
him not to worry and tried to assure him they were all seasoned
spacers. Her brothers laughed at her. Patty gave them a
dirty look.
“How did you
discover a code to open this bay door?” Lazarus asked Trey.
“We originally
landed on the floor of the cavern to kill all electronics except for
life support systems and remained silent for almost twelve hours.
When we decided the snakes stopped flying in and out of the cavern
searching for us we suited up and decided to go exploring. We had
no idea what we would find, but we finally found a strange door.
After a couple of hours tinkering, one of our tech warriors figured out
how to trip the door to get it open. After we got into the
control room we spent several days trying to figure out how to make
things work. That’s when Sergeant Major Doggoral gained the
knowledge to get into the first stage of the intelligence base.
We learned enough to make basic life support systems operate in one of
the largest caverns, but not everything. We believe it’s only
temporary until the other systems can be brought on line. We
don’t know why." Trey paused for a moment, touched Waco on his
shoulder to gain his attention and pointed to some tall columns.
"There, Captain, see those markers? Land as close to them as you
can.”
Waco expertly
sat the Buttercup down where Trey directed him.
“Now we have to
wait a few minutes until the landing bay doors close. When they
do we can leave the ship without suits. The atmosphere may be a
bit thin at first, but it will increase logarithmically. It will
be enough to go through the smaller air locks into the larger cavern.”
They waited
until the light went off on the landing post which Trey said indicated
the bay doors were completely closed and the area was being flooded
with sustainable atmosphere. Everyone was chomping at the bit to
see what Trey Vinceeth and his men discovered. Trey made sure his
little lummox buddy, T’kan, was by his and Waco’s side as they managed
their way on crutches together.
“Let’s go,
Captain Waco. You ready, Little Skipper?” Trey spoke to T’kan.
“Yes, Sir,
Captain.” T’kan answered crisply.
They had to
disembark the ship and walk to an airlock which was little more than a
thick glass door in a metal frame; however, it was obvious it was
different from an ordinary door. When Trey pressed a panel on the
side of the wall next to it they could hear a swooshing sound like one
might hear opening a vacuum packed tin. After everyone
entered the tunnel, which was about eight feet wide, soft glowing
lights began to emit from the tunnel walls. The walls seemed to
be made of the purest glass or crystal and held a clear greenish
fluid.
Gases of some kind bubbled up through the liquid from the base, and
slowly rose to the top. Whatever was inside gave the liquid its
greenish tint seemed to give off a pure light.
“Bioluminescence.”
Trey said as he stopped on his crutches, turned slightly and motioned
his head to the walls. “It’s a life form we’re not familiar with that’s
existed in these tunnels, contained in these walls for centuries.
When we first entered, it seemed like movement of any kind excited it,
and it began to give off light; however, having been static for a long
time, they almost blinded us when we first entered. We thought
we’d walked into a booby-trap, and we were doomed; we were all flash
blinded for a few minutes; however, as they settled down our vision
came back, and we were able to slowly proceed. All through the
tunnel it would occur, so we had to inch our way along. Now they
seem to be adjusting and while they still give off a strong light, it’s
well within our tolerance range. One of our warriors, who is a
specialist in xenobiology, suspects movement may be a trigger to
produce mating and reproduction within the organism. I think it
would be well worth our time to study them, and your men could see if
they can be communicated with on a mental basis, Captain Waco.” Captain
Vinceeth deferred to his younger companion.
Trey and T’kan
led the way.
“No! Like
this, Captain.” T’kan admonished his huge companion and showed him how
to swing his body to make a larger arc with his injured leg.
T’kan pulled out in front of his warrior buddy.
“How’s this,
Little Skipper?” Trey smiled and winked at Waco as he swung his leg in
a larger arc.
“That’s
it! You got it, Captain. Great!” T’kan complimented
Trey. Everyone laughed.
The tunnel
seemed to wind upward and sometimes became a steep climb. A few
became winded, but the oxygen level seemed to be a little higher than
on Earth and they were able to maintain a steady pace. Finally,
they saw light at the end of the tunnel. The four legged critters
ran ahead. Keekepata was flying close behind. They couldn’t
wait to see what was waiting at the end of the tunnel.
“Be careful,
little ones!” Trey admonished the smaller critters. He knew
there were protective guard fences and rails to keep anyone from going
over the edge.
The humans,
lummox and Darryl the Venusian heard the pups laughing, running about
and commenting. Keeke was flying around and perched on one of the
guard rails. The pups, even sedate Utah, were going crazy.
“Hurry!”
they yelled to their companions. “Hellooooo, down there!”
Patty called to someone. Suddenly there came a barrage of sounds
that sounded like elephants trumpeting, and human voices calling back
to the pups.
“Helloooo!”
The two legged
folks began to emerge from the opening. It was the most
astounding sight any of them ever saw. Lazarus was
dumbfounded. Charlie looked at him and broke up laughing.
“Oh, my
God! Tell them cowboys to turn around and go back! We’re
doomed, Boss!” Lazarus chuckled.
Charlie roared
with laugher at his ramrod. “Too late now, Buckaroo. Them
pups would tell ever’ thing they seen anyway.” They were laughing
and everyone started laughing at them.
They found
themselves on a huge balcony overlooking a vast panoply of land,
forest, rivers, mountains and a vast savanna laid out before them as
far as the eye could see. There were clouds drifting lazily
overhead and what seemed like an artificial sun somewhere in the
ceiling of the huge area. It was breathtaking and something you
wouldn’t believe if told about. You had to see it for yourself.
Before them, on
the huge savanna, were herds of Wooly Mammoths and Mastodons.
There were pure white horse-like creatures with one large spiraled horn
in their heads that looked like the fabled Unicorn. There were
families of half human, half horse creatures that were known in
mythology as Centaurs. Among them were about three hundred naked
children of varying ages playing in the midst of these animals like
they had nothing to fear. They were climbing all over the big
Mammoths, riding on the backs of the Unicorns and the Centaur
men. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and having a great
time. If that weren’t
enough there were several exotic species of birds and other beasts who
were lounging around the great pools of fresh water that seemed to flow
endlessly from a mountain cliff in the far distance. There were
numerous lummox families and several mature single lummox among all the
beasts. It looked like a fantastic cover of a Galaxy, Science
Fiction or Amazing Stories magazine. It was almost too much to
take in let alone comprehend.
“Helloooo”
shouted an obvious Visallian warrior from below, naked as the day he
was born. “Captain! You returned!” he shouted with
surprise
and relief when he saw his captain. “And, blazes! You
brought Captain Waco, and is that Admiral Long with you?” he
shouted.
“It is, indeed,
Ranny Ruggles!” Trey Vinceeth hollered back. “We’ll be down in a
minute.”
“My God,
Trey! Where did you find this wealth?” Lazarus exclaimed,
“This is, indeed, a treasure trove. We never knew there were
other Volgorons. And all these critters are either lost in the
past or extinct on Earth.”
“I thought you
might appreciate them, Admiral. I know how much you value all
life forms, except— .” Trey didn’t finish, but everyone knew the
two species he was referring to.
“Yes, of course,
but even they have a right to exist, but just not in such a way as to
deny the existence of others. When a species gets too large or
too powerful they become little more than a pestilence and need to be
contained; however, even they serve a purpose. Although, to be
honest, I ain’t figured one out yet.” Lazarus laughed. He
looked out to the scene before him and sighed deeply.
“Amazing! Simply amazing! I know these men are ‘bout to
piss their Wranglers to get down there.” he winked at Trey.
“This way,
folks.” Trey instructed everyone and purposely let T’kan go before him.
They came to a
large tube that looked like a bullet train. The side of the train
on the loading dock raised to open upon their approach.
“Everyone in and
take a seat. Please fasten your seat belts and assist our
four-footed friends with a belt. Everyone has to be wearing a
belt or the train will not function.” Everyone got in
and when they were belted in, Trey pressed a button on a panel in front
of his seat, and they were away. It was better than the
Matterhorn ride at Disneyland. It was far more smooth, but it
gave the same exhilarating ride. It took several minutes diving
in and out of the mountain side to arrive at the station on the
savanna. On the way, Trey gave a brief speech.
“If you wish to
approach the Mammoths, the Mastodons or the Unicorns, you will have to
be naked. They have great suspicions of two legged folks wearing
clothing. They feel if you have to wear a covering over your
natural body, you have something to hide and that ‘something’ could
very well be a net to capture them or you might be concealing a weapon
to kill them. The Centaurs, or as they call themselves the
Kentaurans, are far more sophisticated; however, even they seem to
respond better to us when we’re more natural. At the savanna
station there are lockers we can only imagine were originally placed
there for that purpose. We can’t know for sure until we know more
about these caverns. We have very little history; however, we
know this cavern is not the only one. There are five others of
varying sizes in this particular complex that we know of, but this is
the only one we have operational at the moment. It’s operating on
minimum life support; barely functioning for right now. That’s
why we need help or a decision about these folks and critters. If
we can’t make it more operational on a more permanent basis then all
you see before you will have to be relocated or they will perish.”
“We’ll do what
we can, Trey. We won’t let them perish. It’s remarkable you
managed to get them here and unloaded with your ship in such a bad
state.”
“It wasn’t easy,
Admiral. My men worked their rears off, and if we didn’t have the
full support of those we were trying to save, it would’ve been an
impossible task. Everyone pitched in to help from the Shushonni
to the smallest child of the Evanescents.”
“The
Evanescents? I’ve heard of them but never met one.” Lazarus
commented.
“That’s because
they always disappear when frightened or startled. There again,
they won’t allow anyone to approach them wearing clothes.”
“You mean they
phase out of sight like JR and some of us can do, Captain?” asked Waco.
“They’re a
little more complex than that. They actually dissolve into the
atmosphere. They are a collection of intelligent molecules who,
over many eons, have evolved into gathering into a collective being for
mutual purposes of enjoying the benefits of a corporeal existence;
however, they can revert to their primitive state in an instant; then,
regroup when danger is past or they feel safe. They are similar
to the Kryscellians like Blue and his family, but they differ in the
fact they are all born together as one entity and develop their
intelligence separately. That’s why they always return to their
original state, because it is their host body or that with which they
were born.”
“You know, there
has been a great deal of speculation us humans may contain a genetic
intelligence over and above that of our brains. Scientist think
there may be some human traits that are hardwired into our genetic
makeup, and it might extend to a cellular level that makes us who or
what we are.” contributed Lucas.
Trey continued,
“The Evanescents are a wonderful species with much to offer. We
managed to save their children, but we were unable to save the
adults. They had a difficult choice to make, and they made
it. Their children came first. All the adults of their
world perished. They are basically children adrift in the
universe. They need homes and parents, but they will have to be
very special people who can deal with their particular talents and
abilities.”
The bullet-train
arrived at the savanna station. The cowboys, lead by their
Captain, lost no time shucking their clothes. Sonny Steele looked
at Vivian.
“What’s the
difference? On that Mexican cruise to Cabal we’d be naked on the
beach anyway.” she giggled. “Besides, you ain’t got nothing to be
ashamed of, cowboy.” she poked him with her finger. Sonny grinned
at her as he started to unbuckle his huge, turkey-platter, rodeo belt
buckle. Warren Steel and Jack Hall went along with the
cowboys. Everyone stripped down including the shy Venusian.
He was the most self-conscious; however, the cowboys urged him on and
told him he had nothing to worry about. He was an accepted member
of their association. Their encouragement helped a lot, and he
became more sure of himself.
Trey was
concerned his and T’kan’s casts and crutches might be something the shy
critters might fear; however, that wasn’t the case. They had
enough empathy they understood they were support and healing devices
for their legs. As a matter of fact, they became the center of
attention. Few had seen such medical devices. The
Evanescents didn’t quite understand because they could rearrange their
structure accordingly. If one of their bones broke, they simply
put it back like it was. After it was explained the process in
Visallians, humans and lummox were much slower, they understood.
The pups were
having a ball. Utah was thrilled with all the new critters to
meet, and his master gave him free run to go and discover. The
big
monster Mammoths and Mastodons seemed to understand the pups and Jack
and Jill were companion creatures to the bipedal critters. They
accepted them with great openness and gentility.
Moe and Patty
were enthralled by the Evanescent children. The were so beautiful
and perfect in every respect. They were fair skinned and had
beautiful blonde hair and many colors of eyes. Some were deep
emerald green. Some were lapis blue. A few were a deep
purple and some were a ruby red. There were variations in color,
darker and lighter, and they could change them at will. When they
saw Darryl’s pink eyes, they all changed the color of their eyes to
match his to make him feel comfortable. It seemed whomever they
were relating to, they would change the color of their eyes to
match. It was almost a form of friendship recognition or a sign
of acceptance and respect.
Vivian Steele
became the center of attention of the Evanescent children. She
was the only female other than Jill, and she struck a chord within
them. Her natural mother instincts made her open her heart to
them. She wanted to love each and everyone they were so
beautiful. She became a reflection of their mothers. She
was enchanted with them and watched as several disappeared before her
eyes. Then she gasped as she turned to Sonny.
“My God!” she
exclaimed, “They’ve surrounded me. They’re hugging and kissing
me, Sonny.”
“I know,
Darlin’! They’re all over me, too. They want us to hold each
other.” Sonny and Vivian
moved together and held each other. Sonny looked deep into
Vivian’s eyes like he never really looked at her before. He
watched as her light hazel eyes turned a beautiful emerald green and
then a dark blue color. When they turned back to hazel he smiled
and nodded. They remained hazel. He couldn’t help get an
erection holding her. The children were pressing just the right
amount on the most sensual parts of his body.
“Admiral Long,
they want us to mate.” Sonny said loud enough for all to hear.
“You have
control, Mr. Steele.” Captain Vinceeth answered for Lazarus. “They will
respect your wishes.”
“Later,
children. I promise. My cowboy and I will mate for you if
you need to experience our love.” Vivian promised quietly. There
was a bit of a flurry and they departed from the Steeles and reappeared
to touch them and hug them physically.
“How many are we
going to take back with us, Viv?” Sonny smiled at her.
“I don’t
know. A baker’s dozen, at least.” she grinned. “They could
help with our next brood.”
“What are you
trying to say, woman?” Sonny demanded. “Oh, my God! You’re
pregnant, ain’t chu?”
“Yes, cowboy,
and it’s another buckaroo.”
“How do you
know?”
“The children
told me. They went inside me and checked him out.”
“Yep, at least a
baker’s dozen.” confirmed Sonny. They shared a laugh.
Several of the
children played with reshaping themselves into alternate
creatures. They became pups just like Patty and Moe and a couple
became playmates for Jack and Jill. They were thrilled the
children thought enough of them to copy them and play with them.
The cowboys met
the Kentaurans and found them bright, intelligent and gentle
creatures. The Unicorns were probably the most shy, but their
curiosity overcame them. They would sneak up on one of the boys
and nudge him in the back. It was their sign they were ready to
accept him and be petted. The Mammoths and Mastodons were great
fun and gently lifted the men upon their backs for rides around the
area. They would take them down to the pools and enter the
water. The boys would swim from their backs to the shore.
Everyone was having great fun, but they were there for a serious
purpose. Something had to be decided.
Captain Vinceeth
left six of this warriors and four Shushonnii warriors behind to see to
the critters and children. They had just enough food stores for
them for a couple of weeks aside from what the land could produce for
the grass eating creatures. Their stocks were getting low.
“How much do you
need for another couple of weeks?” asked Jesse Watkins.
“We’re not sure,
but enough for the Kentaurans, us, and the Evanescent children.”
“Gather everyone
together.” Jesse spoke.
The warriors
gathered everyone together and formed a circle as Jesse instructed
them. He stood in the center with Utah by his side. They
all knelt so the four-legged creatures could see over them. They
were evenly placed around the outside of the circle of humans, lummox,
Shushonni, Visallians, and Jack and Jill. Jesse had them all join
hands around the circle. Jesse knelt in the center with one arm
around Utah and his other hand on his staff he carried with him
everywhere. He began to speak.
“Wisdom of the
ages, sages of the universe, bearers of eternal love, that which can
never be named or revealed unto anyone, hear our plea for mercy and
goodness. We need food from your divine body; from your never
ending fount of many blessings. We ask for you to look kindly
upon us and grant us sustenance in our hour of need. Bring forth
your eternal goodness. Bless us with food for our mortal bodies.”
The rock in the
end of Jesse’s staff began to glow and grow brighter and
brighter. It shot a beam of what appeared to be solid light
straight up into the air and higher. It must have finally hit the
roof of the great cavern as the light began to spread out and run down
the sides of the distant walls. Waco and Trey looked up and saw
large chunks of a white material begin to float down to the ground all
around. More and more of it rained down until there was a pile of
it inside and outside the ring of folks. It grew so high you couldn’t
see over. It must have been twelve to fourteen feet high.
Still Jesse wasn’t finished.
“Thank you for
hearing our plea, sacred Fathers and hallowed Mothers. With every
bite of this food may we praise your goodness, generosity and remember
your blessing upon us this day. Amen.”
“Amen” agreed
everyone.
“Take, eat of
this manna and remember you are being fed by the bodies of others that
have gone before you. Evanescent children, you are feeding on the
essence of your mothers, your fathers and your ancestors. So are
the rest of you, from the greatest to the smallest, feeding on the
essence of your ancestors. They have given themselves for your
survival. So they will sustain you until these good men can
provide other means. Be grateful and thank them with every bite.”
Waco took a
piece of the bread-like material and put a small piece in this mouth to
taste it. It was surprisingly delicious. It tasted like
fresh crockery butter and wild honey mixed with a fine, freshly baked
wheat bread. It had a crunchy texture and was pleasing to the
palate. It was still warm to the touch. It was like a
religious experience eating the manna, and Waco remembered to give
thanks. When he did he was covered in a warm glow and his body
radiated a faint light just like a light bulb. He thought how
appropriate the phrase would be: It turned him on. They looked
around and discovered there must be tons of the stuff. The men
spent the afternoon loading and stacking it into storage bins around
the cavern. There would be enough food for everyone until the
humans and Visallians could return with more supplies.
Lazarus
instructed his Captain to take a vote as to how many wanted to stay
over for a sleep period on Mars. They agreed they would only have
a return flight to Venus, perhaps another sleep over and then they
would return to Earth. Stan and Jimmy-Bob said it might be
pushing it for them, but they would only be one evening removed from
their stated return. They felt they could work around it.
By this time, Jimmy-Bob felt he and Stan, together, could surmount any
obstacle that might come their way. Being a slave all his life,
Stan was a little more conservative, but wanted to believe in his
mate’s enthusiasm. He was glad to see his big cowboy was taking
the lead and beginning to speak for them. They were blown away by
what they found on Mars. Having been skeptical at first,
Jimmy-Bob wanted to be a part of this family in the worst way. He
still wanted to save his family, but from there he saw his and Stan’s
destiny written across the stars.
* * * * * * *
The boys were so
taken with the giant elephantine creatures of the Mammoths and the
Mastodons. They are two distinctly different species but similar
in their personalities and family structures. They are not like
African or Asian Elephants who live in large bands of matriarchal
groups with the young males of at least ten years and older bulls
living separate and mostly solitary lives. With the Mammoths and
Mastodons they had different family structures where the bull or
patriarch was the dominant influence. Trey Vinceeth
pointed out to the men, it also probably lead to their extinction on
Earth. Rather than having the availability of a random bull as in
elephant societies, Mammoths and Mastodons mated for life; therefore,
if a female Mammoth or Mastodon lost her mate, unless another young
male came to bond and mate with her she rarely produced another
calf. Their bonds with their mates were so strong many
times a female or even a male would grieve themselves to death over the
loss of their mate. Young males would rarely consider boding and
mating with an older female when there were so many younger females to
choose from. Likewise, an older bull who lost his mate would have
a difficult time bonding with a younger female because there were so
many younger bulls, unless a widower bull met a widowed female.
That sometimes occurred, but it was rare.
The two species
were easy food for tribes of prehistoric people. They were slow
and big targets. While they were not clumsy by any means, once
wounded they easily gave up the fight and accepted their fate.
They were an easy kill for the Clovis people. The smaller, faster
humans could attack with sharp spears and retreat quickly before the
huge creatures could defend themselves. Furthermore, they were
far too curious and trusting for their own good. If anyone showed
them the least attention, they considered them a friend and an honored
guest among them. They were easily duped by ancient man and for
their size their flesh was considered a great delicacy. They were
supermarkets on four feet. One would provide food and warm skins
to support many in a tribe of Clovis people. The cowboys
discovered they were highly intelligent and affectionate creatures,
more so than the elephants of Earth who still retain the distinction of
being carriers of the Voices or Winds of consciousness. The
Mammoths and Mastodons were always carriers and still are today, no
matter to which world they’ve been rehabilitated.
The Kentaurans
were a beautiful race of creatures and fascinated the cowboys.
They were humble, gracious and kind. They knew they were somewhat
defenseless and didn’t have some of the necessary skills humans and
other species have; however, what they lacked in technological skills
they made up for in beauty and gracious living. They mated for
life, raised large families and had long genealogical histories.
The stallions evolved a complex system of attracting young females to
mate with them. It wasn’t destructive but consisted of days of
celebration, where the young males would compete in races and other
competitions of strength and agility. They would prepare for the
festivities for days and each would assist his competitor in brushing
and braiding their hair and tails. They had no problem offering
rides to their guests and would laugh at the young men when they got
erections after a bareback ride on one of the massive stallion’s backs.
Warren Steele
and Jack Hall were in their own element. They had come to know
each other pretty well while sharing a cabin on the Buttercup.
They were both in the infancy of their experience with a new reality,
and it was natural for the two cowboys to compare notes. Jack’s
arm was almost completely healed. Blue would still give him
therapy once a day, but they were shorter sessions each time.
David scanned his shoulder regularly and was pleased with his progress.
“Now that I’ve
grown a bit younger, I’m finding myself with the sexual interest of a
man half my age.” Warren confided in Jack.
“How is that
possible? Growing younger?”
“They didn’t
tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Don’t know’s
it’s a secret, maybe they just overlooked tell’n you. Everyone
who goes through sickbay on the Bandersnatch gets a shot of a serum
what does something to your DNA sequence and leaves it open ended
rather than having a time for it to start cellular degeneration.
Once that occurs, your body starts to degenerate, you grow old and
die. With the ‘longevity’ serum or ‘longshot’ as they call it
after Ramrod Long, your years are increased five to ten fold.
Ain’t chu’ noticed anything since you was under their care?”
“Yeah, I’m
feeling better than I have in years. I’ve given up smoke’n and
drink’n. I just ain’t got no more interest in that sort a’
thing. I’ve got the energy of a twenty-one year old kid and the
sexual stamina of a young bull. Don’t know if you notice, but I
wake up ever’ damn morning with a stiff dick. Is it restoring my
age as well as extending it? You know, Warren, I didn’t think you
was Sonny’s dad when you first came into my room in sickbay. Oh,
my
God! That must have been what B.B. was trying to tell me.
I’d live a long time and have many buckaroos and cowgirls.”
“It’s true
enough, Jack. I was getting really bad when Charlie and Lazarus
came into our lives. Even my daugher-in-law and ma’ boy have
reverted to about the time they first got married. I expect ‘em
to come to me any day now and tell me they’s start’n a new
family. But that ain’t all, with all my new found sexual stamina
I’ve found my eyes have been opened to a wide range of new sexual
possibilities.”
“I think I
understand, Warren. You think there’s anything in that drug to
make you start think’n on your own sex or another species?” Jack
asked cautiously.
“By other
species, you mean lummox?” Warren grinned.
“Exactly!
Except I wouldn’t limit it to them. There’s something about them
Goodnight boys and them Visallian warriors what makes me wanna’ go
dry-hump a scrub-oak post, and I ain’t never had me no interest in my
own sex except git’n the occasional blowjob in the back of me pickemup
truck when I’s drunk.” declared Jack.
“No, no, there
ain’t nothing in the shot to make you turn gay. I asked about
it. I was worried about the same thing. They swear there’s
no possibility, no connection, and I believe them; however, with all
the sex you know has to be going on with them boys, lummox, and them
warriors it’s like all us cowboys git’n together to watch the studs
mount the mares in the fall to produce summer foals. Every cowboy
gets his rocks off vicariously. I never could make up my mind
whether I identified with the stallion or the mare. It didn’t
really matter none, it was the overall experience what done it.
Lord hep’ me! Look at me!” Warren looked down at the wet
spot in his Wranglers. The men shared a laugh.
“So, how long is
this serum suppose to work?” Jack Hall asked.
“Lazarus Long is
over two thousand years old.” Warren replied.
Jack didn’t
answer. He just stared at Warren like he was daft. He
chuckled. “You’re shit’n me, cowboy.”
“After all you
seen, do you doubt it?” Warren looked shocked.
“Does that mean
we could live that long?” Jack asked.
“As I understand
it.” Warren confirmed.
“I guess that
would be enough time to have a couple of kids.” Jack mused.
* * * * * * *
Shane and his
master returned to the Buttercup to get the book and the two parchments
he brought along with him. He hadn’t planned to bring them on the
trip, but a wee small voice in the night woke him the night before he
and Bill were suppose to leave on their journey and told him to throw
it in his duffle bag. He retrieved them from beneath the mattress
on the bunk he and his master were sleeping on in their cabin.
They returned to the control center where Admiral Long told them to
meet. Lazarus invited
Charlie, Chief Tin Penny, Jesse, Lucas, Strom, Lyle, Ox, Darryl and any
of the other men who wanted to join them to follow Captain Vinceeth,
Captain Waco, Sergeant Major Doggoral and Commander Maddragon to the
main control room to meet Shane and Bill Birdsall. When Shane
arrived and handed Lazarus the two large parchments, Trey and the
Sergeant Major’s eyes got real big.
“Blazes!”
exclaimed Trey, “Those are just like the parchments we found.
Show him, Sergeant Major.” The Sergeant
Major went to a cabinet and opened it. From the top shelf he took
two parchments almost exactly like the ones Lazarus was holding.
They sat the four together on a table near the control console.
They looked similar, but all were different. It became obvious to
everyone they were a matched set of documents.
“Do you remember
what the runes told you, Son?” Lazarus asked Waco.
“Yes, Sir.
They told me they were a key to saving the refugees from several other
worlds and for the resurrection of another world. They also told
me about your ship hidden away in the blue granite mountains and
instructed me to tell you to show it to us. It told me other
things I’m not to reveal until my eighteen birthday. In the
meantime, it is for us at this moment in time, the runes have been left
by a great race of people called the Krell who worked closely with the
Volgorons to look into the future and reestablish this hidden world as
a safe base for our escape from Earth.”
“Jesse, do you
know anything about this?”
“There have been
rumors over the centuries that Mars was the birthplace of another race
who relocated to Earth and left behind great caverns of knowledge that
one day would help all the more peaceful worlds of the galaxies
overcome the devastation of the Reptilian races and their drones.
It is no coincidence Mars has always been thought of by the collective
minds or Winds of Consciousness as the representation of war. In
human mythology Mars was the God of war. These caves have been
hidden in this valley for untold centuries until recently when
geological events opened them. They were opened shortly before
Captain Vinceeth and his ship needed a hiding place from the ‘snakes’
as he calls them. The one we’re in
and its corresponding caverns are only one set in hundreds. These
caves are only the beginning. This valley and the crater of
Olympus Mons contain many. It’s interesting to note, while Mars
is less than half the size of Earth, its land mass, without oceans, is
exactly the same as the land mass of Earth. Most all the water on
Mars is fresh water, and it has been preserved within these
caves. There is only one large mass of salt water in the
caves of Mons; however, it is a huge body of water. It is an
underground ocean almost as large as the Pacific Ocean of Earth.
Seven life forms
must work together to reactivate these caves. You already know
the first is a Visallian warrior, Sergeant Major Doggoral who has
established entry and Captain Waco and his uncle, who are the keepers
of the Earth keys. The Goodnight's key and knowledge has
only been activated by a series of events which had to occur before his
inherited genetic memory would bring forth the knowledge to make it all
happen. It is not by accident his slave was sent to him.
Garron, his beloved Lummy, or Ox, was the catalyst to his
awakening. Captain Waco and his lummox, a representative of the
Vologoron, are the living keys. Only Captain Waco can tell us
where we are to go from here.” Jesse finished.
“What do I
do?” Waco asked quietly.
“How much of the
first parchment were you able to access, Sergeant Major?” Lazarus asked.
“Very little,
Admiral. Most of the runes for activation of this cave came from
the second parchment.”
“Start with the
first parchment, Son. My hunch is it contains the codes which
unlock the others.” All eyes were on
Waco as he carefully approached the parchments. He started to
reach out to the first, but before he could, the four parchments
started glowing in different colors. The first was deep violet,
the second indigo, the third was blue and the forth was red.
“They’re not all
here.” Waco said quietly as if in a daze.
“What do you
mean, Son?” asked Lazarus.
“Three are
missing; orange, yellow and green. There is a parchment for every
color of the visible light spectrum. Each color represents a life
form. We’re also missing two life forms. They must all be
here; we must be together, or it won’t work properly.”
“How do we find
the other three?” Charlie asked his son.
“The missing
life forms will give us the answer. We must have the other two
life forms join us.” Waco answered. “They are the living keys to the
other parchments.” he insisted.
“Which life
forms? We have several to chose from down there on the savanna.”
smiled Lazarus.
“Caninus and
Kryscellian; Patty and Blue.” said Waco almost like he was in a
hypnotic daze. He seemed to snap out of it. “Of course!" he
exclaimed quietly, "It all makes perfect sense!” he exclaimed a little
louder as he fully came out of his reverie. They complete the
picture. No, no! That ain’t right neither! It ain’t a
picture, it’s a— a— what’s the word for a bunch of musical notes
sounding together?”
“A chord.”
answered a young voice from the back. It was Johauk Kodaly.
“Exactly!”
exclaimed Waco, “That’s it! Thanks, brother. We must be of one
accord. The seven colors of the light spectrum, seven life forms,
and the seven tones of an ‘A’ chord starting with ‘A’ four-forty.
It’s the only way it will work. No one can access the last three
parchments without them. We must have all the keys. Each
life form is a living key. Johauk, do you have perfect pitch?”
“Close enough.”
Johauk stated with confidence. “If not, I always carry my trusty
pipe.” he took it from his pocket and blew a perfect four-forty A.
“I’m not clear
about the life forms, Son.” said Chief Tin Penny.
“Human, Lummox
or Volgoron, Venusian, Visallian, Kryscellian, Shushonni, and Canine.”
rattled off Waco. All will have to be able to sound one note of
the chord. Now we know why it became necessary for our closest
animal companions to be given the gift of speech and song. They
are the final key in the evolutionary process that will save our
collective butts.” Waco laughed at his simple explanation of an elegant
solution. The realization stunned everyone.
“But it goes
further than that.” Waco continued, “Man has always imagined there was
something greater than himself and that ‘something,’ always just beyond
his reach or understanding, he named ‘God.’ In essence, his God
became a projection of the better angels of his nature, but there was a
dark side. A side he couldn't understand. Whatever man
perceived as his highest being to be or become had to have an Alpha and
Omega. The equation had to balance. It’s so simple.
It’s so elegant. Man has always been protected by his concepts of
goodness and unconditional love against the darkness of selfishness,
greed and the evil of his own invention. God/human/doG.
Mankind’s cosmic bookends. On one hand, the beginning of man’s
ideal of unconditional love, and on the other, the physical
manifestation of it through his bonding with another species who taught
him the true meaning of his own innate concepts; however, more
importantly, by example, they taught him how to live them.”
Sadly, the
thought crossed more than one mind how man mistreated his canine
brothers over the years by medical experimentation and mass destruction
of many unwanted small souls. Now they were in a position to save
not only themselves, but five other species and countless species who
would depend upon their companions for salvation and relocation.
It spoke one reality: Never discount the power of unconditional love.
Lazarus
continued, “It might be successfully argued the Christian trinity is
not so different; father, son, and holy ghost. The idea found its
way into many early religions. Buddhism and Hinduism is rife with
concepts of a trinity. The ideas vary, but the basic concepts are
the same. It was a way of introducing and defining great
physiological scientific truths by introducing them into faith rather
than standard teaching through academia. Newton fought
strongly against the idea of a trinity (in a religious context).
It is ironic the very same idea exists in the context of gravity:
perhaps Newton saw the concept could be used in physics, but because he
couldn't think of such a use he rebelled strongly against it and
therefore missed the boat on relativity and a great overall consignment
of man's potentially divine nature through scientific discovery.
Such connections might have ultimately pointed his way to discover a
direction to a unified theory. We will never know. It
became the 'spiny-norman' in the roux (an insider physicists’
joke). Space-time, as it turns out, is spinoral.* It is
fully representative of the concept of an interesting trinity. It
becomes a harmonious concinnity which unifies the three spaces.
The guiding principle of this idea is a harmonious combination of three
entities, or a trinity.** Each part reinforces the other
parts. Astute observation, young man.” Lazarus praised Waco.
“There’s only
one problem.” came the small voice of Darryl the Venusian. “I
don’t know how to sing.”
“No problem.”
assured Waco, “Johauk, you have your first vocal student. Take
Darryl to the balcony and teach him how to sound a note.”
“Yes, Sir,
Captain Waco— be glad to help. You don’t really have to sing as
such, brother Darryl. Being able to sound one note does not a
singer make. I know you’re capable. Your native language is
tonal. You have to be able to pitch your voice to different
levels to accomplish that.” Johauk reassured him.
Waco dispatched
Keekepata to retrieve Blue and Patty. Johauk took Darryl and
accompanied Keekepata to the balcony to see her off. She would
fly down to the savanna to bring back her friends. Blue was a
little surprised they sent for him, but after Waco explained, it made
sense. Patty was all over the place she was so happy to be
included. Everyone was making over her and told her Captain Waco
told them she had an important role to play. She couldn’t have
been happier.
“Come, sweet
lady.” Waco beckoned her, “May I lift you onto this platform?”
“Certainly,
Captain Waco.” she responded with much wagging of her body and stolen
kisses. Waco gently
picked her up and sat her at the very end of the large control console
table. The table was covered with a black glass of some kind and
you could see your reflection in its surface. Waco stood next to
Patty and had Ox stand on the other side of the table next to
her. The four parchments were on the table. Waco placed
the one that turned violet, indigo and blue right in front of
Patty. The red one he placed at the far end of the platform in
front of Sergeant Major Doggoral. Everyone joined hands and Waco
had one hand on Patty and Ox had his huge paw resting lightly on her as
well. Someone brought a stool for Keeke to stand on and set it
next to Waco on his right side. The circle was complete.
“It may take us
a couple of times to get it right. Ox, you take the lowest note
and the rest of us will build upon it until Keeke takes the
highest. Johauk, if you will give us an ‘A’.”
Johauk took out
his pitch pipe and blew. Ox sounded an ‘A’ a couple of octaves
below. Next Blue came in, then Waco. Johauk motioned for
Darryl to join next. He didn’t quite get it at first but Johauk
helped him. When he heard the pitch he landed on it like Plymouth
Rock. The Sergeant Major was next and he had a bit of a problem
but Johauk was right there to give him his note. Next Waco looked
at Patty and nodded. She didn’t need a bit of help. She
threw back her little head and nailed her tone right on the
money. Next was Keekepata. She was a little unsure at first
but finally found her pitch and knew she was right on. Johauk
gave her a thumbs up sign.
Their voices
seemed strange at first. Each was recognizable and
separate. They kept intoning until something remarkable
happened. Ox’s ‘A’ became a foundation and each voice began to
take on his characteristics until they blended into what sounded, to
the observers, as one voice. It was more than just
remarkable. It was uncanny. It was unEarthly. It was
ethereal. It was cosmic. It was heavenly. Then it
happened. Suddenly, the opaque black glass cleared and looked
like it became liquid for a few seconds. From beneath the liquid
glass rose three other parchments, like they just bobbed to the surface
on a body of water, and took their place in exactly the correct order
of the color spectrum: green next to blue; yellow next to orange; and
the orange next to the last parchment which was bright red. Waco
signaled, and they all cut their vocalization. The liquid glass
immediately reformed to a solid surface.
“Don’t anyone
move.” he instructed his seven companions around the table. “Rest
everyone, but don’t break the circle. We have to intone a couple
of more times. After the next intonation we can break our circle,
but we must rejoin to return the three parchments to their original
state. Does everyone understand?” Everyone
agreed. Lazarus and Jesse looked at each other and shook their
heads. Lazarus placed his arm around Charlie’s shoulder and
smiled at him. Charlie had a tear in his eye. He was so
proud of his cowboy. JR was standing next to him holding his hand
and Hank was holding JR's. No one had words to express how they
felt. Vivian, Sonny and Warren were stunned. Jack Hall held
Jack’s small hand in one hand and Jill’s in his other. Jimmy-Bob
and Stan were shaken to their boots. Trey Vinceeth put his arm
around T’kan’s shoulder and smiled at him. Strom was holding
Kuluke.
“What now, Son?”
Jesse asked Waco quietly.
“That took a lot
out of us. We need a moment to recover. We’re just
resting.”
“He’s right,
Master Jesse.” agreed Blue, “That was phenomenal. I have
something to tell my family. Am I the only one who heard the
Bladder Whales and their brothers on Earth singing with us?”
“I heard them.”
volunteered Darryl. “Once Johauk got me going, they kept me on
pitch. I thought it was my imagination.”
“No! It
definitely wasn’t your imagination.” said the Sergeant Major. “We
all heard them, right?” Everyone around the circle agreed.
“And you, little
sister?" Waco turned to Keeke, "My beloved slave. Is
there a new dance in this?” Waco smiled at Keekepata. She reached
up and quickly kissed him behind his ear. Everyone chuckled.
“And such a
dance it will be, my beloved Master.” she cooed.
“Wonderful!
Excellent! We’ll look forward to it. Now, is everyone ready
for part two?”
Everyone sucked
in a good breath of air and Ox started again. This time it went
like clockwork. Everyone found their pitch immediately.
This time the voices of the spheres, creatures of the land and of the
deep
joined them. Everyone could hear the rumbling of the Mammoths and
the Mastodons. It was soul bending as the runes on the parchments
began to lift and float in mid-air. It wasn’t as difficult for
the seven voices this time as before. They could drop out for a
second, grab a breath and join back in. They took turns so no one
was gone for very long. Patty was the best. She held the
purest tone of all of them and was so proud of herself. Waco and
Ox vibrated their love and approval through their hands to her.
Once the runes
were in their final order Waco read them and learned what he was
suppose to do. He told Keekepata to let go of his right hand and
place her hand on his shoulder. She did so quickly and the circle
was only broken for a second. Waco had his right hand free and
began to touch certain runes. When he did they all would realign
themselves again, and he would touch another. After about five
minutes of intoning and touching runes, Waco touched a final one and
half the runes in the air lined up, single file, and went into a feed
slot no one could see on the black glass table.
“Stop intoning
now!” Waco ordered and everyone cut. The last of the runes
returned to the parchments.
They waited for
a few minutes and all hell broke loose as the ground began to
rumble. Instruments and control panels came to life. There
was a loud grinding sound. Things shook and shuddered like a
giant awakening who had been sleeping for a thousand years. The
beast was awake and coming to life.
“Don’t be
frightened. We’re perfectly safe. So are all the
critters. The runes told me to expect this. There will be
less noise and movement after a while; also, we will be joined shortly
by a staff. Don’t be afraid. They are part of the
maintenance and control staff of the caverns. However, before
they get here; once more, dear friends, let us intone and return the
three key parchments to their original position. No one but us
must ever see them. There are hard reasons for this I will
explain later.”
The seven
intoned once more, briefly, and the three hidden parchments were
returned to the case within the control table. The other four
were left on top. When they finished, the colors were gone and
they were simply back to their normal static state. Waco handed
the Sergeant Major his two and the other two he returned to Shane.
“We won’t need
these again for a while. I was instructed to make sure the
Sergeant Major had his and Shane Goodnight has his parchments.
They are the guardians of these documents. Two belong to the
human race and their subdivisions, Canine, my brother Blue as
Kryscellian/human, my slave Ox and his race the Volgorons. The
Sergeant Major’s belong to the Visallians, Shushonni, and Venusians by
proxy. I got the feeling the Venusians were adopted by our
critters and are equally considered owners of our parchments as
well. Likewise, the Volgorons have an equal claim to the two
Visallian parchments. It’s sort of like them having duel
citizenship.” Everyone laughed
at Waco’s description, but Darryl felt very proud.
A glass wall
began to open from the top and disappeared into the floor of the
control room. It opened up another enormous room. Stored in
that room were row upon row of human looking androids. They were
all anatomically perfect and were male and female. Two were
already awake and walking around with clipboards in their hands.
They noticed everyone looking at them, smiled and came forward.
They walked right up to the seven standing around the control table.
“Hello, Captain
Waco. I’m Nonno and this is my assistant Leiset. Welcome to
the Krell Caverns of Mars. Thank you for activating our
functions. We can take over from here, but we fall under the
jurisdiction of you and your six companions. We are here only to
assist you and your wishes for these caverns. The caverns were
designed and built for your purposes. As you can see we have
ample personnel to oversee and repair anything that might not be
right. There are many more stored in the other caverns. We
will teach you and yours what you need to know to make these caverns of
greatest use and comfort for you and your allied species.”
“Do you do
repair work on spacecraft?” Waco asked almost as a joke as he looked at
Trey Vinceeth.
“Yes, Sir.
Our drones can repair the most sophisticated craft. We can also
install drives you probably never heard of. You will need them to
exit Earth and head off into another galaxy if that is your
desire. If Captain Vinceeth had one of our newer drives he would
never have found himself in the position he’s in now. We will be
happy to install a new drive for you, Captain.”
“I knew there
was some reason I picked you, Captain Goodnight, aside from the fact
you just happen to be one of the finest looking young humans I’ve every
laid eyes on.” Trey spoke softly in Waco’s ear. Charlie and
Lazarus overheard him and laughed.
There was a
meeting with all the passengers from the Buttercup with the limited
staff that was brought around after the activation of the main
computers in the control center. The main computer was an
intelligence unto itself and would operate on Captain Waco’s behalf
while he was gone. It was planned that Waco and the cowboys would
make several other trips to Mars during the summer. The boys had
to resume their normal life in the fall, but in the meantime others
would be trained to step in for them to make sure everything was
progressing as planned.
When Waco asked
about the other caverns and the caverns in Olympus Mons he was told he
activated everything with his and his companion's keys. It would
take time, but by the end of the summer everything should be up and
running. They could even begin to evacuate large numbers of
people to inhabit the caverns. They could bring endangered
species to Mars. They could bring the whales and cetaceans of all
kinds to dwell in the salt sea of Olympus Mons. The sea had been
undisturbed for centuries and was filled with food. They would be
able to check everything out and have reports ready for Captain Waco
and Admiral Long by the end of the summer.
It came time for
the Buttercup to leave to return to Venus. The cowboys returned
to the savanna to say their 'goodbyes' and pay their respects.
They wanted to take many of the critters back with them, but Lazarus
thought it might not be such a good idea. The boys already had
all they could look after, and their responsibilities seemed to be
growing by the day. However, now that the Stamper boys were being
brought on board and would begin to take their place in the scheme of
things, they would prove to be a great help for them. Burt and
Phil couldn’t wait to get started learning to pilot the shuttles.
The boys wanted
to take back a Kentauran family but once again Lazarus thought better
of it. They couldn’t be out on any ranch on the face of the
planet or they could possibly be detected by satellites. They
would have to live on a plot of land on the Mighty Bee and those had to
be reserved for emergencies like Jimmy-Bob’s family and others like the
Blooms. Lazarus even nixed taking any of the Volgorons
back. They were fine in the caverns and would thrive until they
made their great escape from Earth. He did agree they might take
several of the Evanescent children back with them. There were
several that were just toddlers and needed mothers and fathers.
However, the Kentaurans and the Volgoron families agreed to take most
of them, help them and watch over them. Sonny and Vivian agreed
to take two, a little boy and a little girl. Lazarus foresaw
volunteers from the same sex communities and some single families like
the Blooms relocated to Mars to help care for the children.
Rather than stay
for a sleep period everyone wanted to get back to Venus, pickup half of
the warriors and Shushonni and head back to Earth. Trey wanted to
leave the Banshee with the Venusians until it was space worthy which he
didn’t foresee happening until the end of summer. Then he would
move it to the Mars port and have them finish the job and perhaps
install the newer engines they were talking about. On the return
trip everyone was gathered in the canteen having coffee before laying
down for a couple of hours before reaching Venus. Darryl seemed
quiet and a little distant. The pups were trying to draw him out
and Jack and Jill were playing with him .
“You got quite a
fan base, young man?” Jack Hall joked with him.
“Yes, Sir.
I’ve come to love them all in such a short period of time. It
will make me sad to part with them.”
“Don’t!” said
Warren Steele. “Come with us to Earth. I’m sure Captain
Waco and Admiral Long will be glad to ask your High Counsel if you can
come visit as a goodwill ambassador; just like you done on this trip.”
“You really
think so, Mr. Steele?” Darryl asked quietly.
“Can’t hurt none
to ask, Darryl.” said Patty. “All I gotta’ do is bat ma’ eyes at
Captain Waco, ask him right-nice like, and he’ll do it for me, I’m
sure.”
“You would do
that for me?” Darryl asked the pups.
“Sure, you’re
one of us now. You’re one of the keys to Mars. You belong
with us. What if we need you again like we done?” asked Moe.
“Gee, that would
be great. I’d really appreciate it.”
Warren and Jack
related the conversation to Waco, Trey, Lazarus and Charlie. The
men shared a good laugh. Sure enough, Patty found Waco and looked
him in the eyes.
“Master Waco,
would you and Admiral Long consider letting us take our friend Darryl
back to Earth with us to visit? He would make a great-willie
ambassador.” Patty just couldn’t understand why everyone broke up
laughing.
“You know what,
little lady, we do need a Venusian 'great-willie' ambassador.
It’s
already been discussed. We’ll ask his folks and see what they
say, all right?”
“Thanks, Master
Waco. I knew you wouldn’t let us down.” she smiled real big and
wagged her whole body. “See, I done told ju’ so.” she
whispered to Darryl. She was so pleased with herself.
“You’re the
greatest, Patty.” Darryl hugged her.
The Venusians
were more than willing to have Darryl travel to Earth with the
humans. They knew he would be safe and treated as an honored
guest. Several even told him they were a bit envious of him and
his adventures on Mars. They had been in contact with the whales
and were told it wasn’t by chance Darryl was chosen to go to
Mars. They made him promise to send weekly reports and videos of
his adventures. The pups, Blue and Keekepata had become household
words on Venus and the public was hungry for more. The government
that was in power wanted to give the public what they wanted, and it
was more of what they had seen.
Lazarus arranged
payment for Captain Vinceeth’s ship. Whatever the Venusians’
wanted he would meet their price. He would see to it their next
trip included full payment for the repairs of the Banshee. Trey
left half his crew on Venus and half the Shushonni. The rest he
took with him aboard the Buttercup for a month’s R and R. At the
end of the month, they would return to Venus and swap crews and make
another visit to Mars on their way back.
All was taken
care of as quickly as possible. Everyone got aboard the Buttercup
who were going to Earth with them, and they were off. As they
flew into the upper Venusian atmosphere, Waco headed the ship along
side the great whales.
“Just thought
we’d say ‘goodbye’ to you good folks and wish you good sailing.
Thanks for your gracious welcome, and we’ll look forward to seeing you
again soon.”
“Thanks for
remembering us, Captain Waco. Our best to you and your
company. We’ll look forward to speaking with you again. You
did a great job on Mars, young Captain. We’re all very proud of
you and the seven keys.”
“Thank you,
Chuchulack. Peace and goodwill to you and your family.”
“Goodbye, and
may the goodness of the Ancients hold you in their hearts.” the huge
whale sang to them.
Jimmy-Bob and
Stan held hands as the Buttercup left the atmosphere and set a course
for Earth. The things they experienced and the time they spent
together was going to come to an end sooner than they wanted. How
could they go back to the depressing situation they left only four days
ago? Surprisingly, Jimmy-Bob was the one who took control
and decided it was what they had to do. They couldn’t just
abandon two good men they knew didn’t belong in the Holy City.
* * * * * * *
Sonny and Vivian
tucked the two children they named Adam and Eve into their bed.
Adam was two and a half (he stressed the half like it made him almost
as old as his sister) and Eve was a year older. Vivian asked if
they needed to go to the bathroom to relieve themselves before going to
bed. They said no, they were fine and they knew how to use toilet
facilities. They had them in their homes and both were
housebroken. (those were Sonny’s words) Everything was
fine, until the wee hours of the morning as the Buttercup sailed toward
Earth. Vivian woke up and saw Sonny wide awake looking at her.
“Did I ever tell
you how lovely you are when you’re pregnant?” he spoke softly.
“Are you getting
romantic in your old age, cowboy?” she smiled and put her hand to his
cheek.
“If it will get
me a piece of ass right now, I’d get on my knees and whistle Dixie.” he
said seriously.
“Do you have a
visitor, too?” she asked.
“Yes, he’s
touching me in all the right places. He’s about to drive me
nuts. Can’t you feel me?”
“I just thought
you brought your gun to bed.” Vivian laughed. “She’s surrounding
me and doing the same. What are we to do?” Vivian asked her
cowboy husband.
“What nature
tells us. I think they need to know we love each other. If
that’s what it takes— ” he smiled.
“There, she just
let me open for you. Go on, darling, cowboy up.”
Sonny slowly
entered his wife and felt the wonderful warmness of the woman he loved
so dearly all these years. She wrapped around him like she knew
he loved and welcomed him into her. They lay together making
gentle love. They could feel the children drinking in the
sensation of their coupling. It wasn’t dirty or nasty. It
seemed normal for them to know the two strangers who invited them to
come live in their world loved and cherished one another. If they
loved each other, surely they could love them. Later there would
be time for ground rules and discipline; however, that rest period
required something different. It required understanding and
unconditional love. Sonny and Vivian Steele had just entered
another universe, not quite the Twilight Zone but damn near. They
were not unnerved or afraid. They knew everything would be
okay. Vivian and Sonny were secure in their love. So were
their children.
End Chapter 37 ~
Waco’s Lummox
Copyright 2007 ~
Waddie Greywolf
All Rights
Reserved ~
Mail to:
waddiebear@yahoo.com
*Spinorial
theory is based on Einstein’s general relativity and
Cartan’s triality concept, which can link space-time with two twistor
spaces. Twistor spaces are mathematical spaces used to understand
geometrical objects in space-time landscapes. In physics, the
idea of a spinor stems from the finding that spectral lines of atoms
seem to behave as if the angular momentum of the particles radiating
photons was in half-integral units of the quantized spin (whose size is
determined by Planck's constant). This was fully explained by Dirac's
famous theory of the electron, which led him to successfully predict
the existence of the positron.
Some spinorial
particles include the electron, muon, tau, proton, neutron, quarks,
neutrinos, and all their anti-particles, which are called fermions and
have half-integer spins. There are also non-spinorial particles,
called
bosons, such as the photon, graviton, pion, mesons, the W and Z bosons,
the Higgs, (if it exists) and so on, which have an integer spin.
The key difference between spinors and non-spinors is their behavior
under rotations: typically, non-spinorial (integer-spin) particles
return to their initial value under a 360-degree (or 2π-radian)
rotation; however, the spinorial (half-integer-spin) fermions actually
change sign under a 360-degree rotation, requiring a full 720-degree
rotation to get back to their initial values. This is completely
foreign to our naive idea of how rotations work, and yet it is a basic
part of reality.
Twistors are a
special kind of spinor. The two twistor spaces are each
six-dimensional, forcing space-time to also have six dimensions, in
accordance with Cartan’s unifying triality. Because the twistor
spaces’
geometry is ultra-hyperbolic, the extra dimensions are time-like.
There are three six-dimensional spaces which at one level are on an
equal footing and which are bound together by a transform,
(Xi-transform) Two of these spaces can be understood at the
space-time level as twisters. Then the third space can be given a
space-time interpretation, but only if we have two extra dimensions: so
it is the requirement of symmetry between the spinor spaces and the
space-time that dictates that the extra dimensions be there.
**A harmonious
concinnity is a theory which unifies the three spaces. (i.e. space-time
and two twistor spaces) An indicator that there is such a theory
comes from the Jordan algebras, which naturally unifies the three
spaces into a twenty-seven dimensional whole, called an exceptional
Jordan algebra. The guiding principle of this idea is a
harmonious combination of three entities, or a “trinity.” Each
part reinforces the other parts.
A second
indicator is two radically different descriptions of massless
particles, such as the photon: the standard uses Fourier analysis in
space-time. Another uses twistor theory and sheaf
cohomology. The mathematical formalisms used in these two
different descriptions are so different, it is simply amazing they are
describing the same basic physics. The concinnity provides an
explanation. It makes an attempt to unify twistor theory,
space-time theory and string theory.
String theory
has been roundly criticized for its lack of predictive power.
String
theorists have been reduced to an absurd reliance on the anthropic
principle. It is a top down theory: dream up something that works
in some high dimension and then try to finagle some way of reducing to
fit in with the lower-dimensional theory. Major ideas in current
physics might likely play a role in finding a more base-upward approach
to modern physics. (such as condensed matter physics, category
theory, non-commutative geometry, string theory, and the structure of
superfluids). Such connections might also point the direction to
a
unified theory.