The Khruellian Encounter Read online

  A group of ten men and women wearing long tunics broke away from the crowd and approached them. The obvious leader, an older man with traces of gray in his hair, carried a staff that he planted on the ground and stopped five feet from the trio. He did not speak, but looked them over carefully, his gaze lingering the longest on Talo. Talo mentaled Jon, “He is trying to communicate to us mentally. I suggest we do not respond. It might be to our advantage for them not to know I can understand what they’re saying to each other.”

  “Agreed,” Jon responded.

  Apparently satisfied that the visitors could not communicate mentally, the leader spoke in Latin which was translated in Jon and Annika’s earbuds.

  “Welcome to Vajrashila. My name is William Bradley-Kinsley, the Cleric-General of this colony. We see you are wearing translators and also note that you speak a form of North American English. Would you be more comfortable if we spoke in that language?”

  Jon was surprised but agreed it would be more comfortable to speak Standard English.

  The Cleric-General smiled revealing a perfect set of teeth. “Good,” he said. “Sometimes the meaning of words in Latin gets lost in the translation.”

  “We appreciate your courtesy, Cleric-General Bradley-Kinsley,” Jon said. “My colleagues and I are anxious to hear your story.”

  The Cleric-General looked at Talo and said, “Is your avatar colleague a robot, an AI or a sentient?”

  Jon bowed slightly in Talo’s direction. “Talo is sentient in an avatar form. His actual being exists in several locations over a twenty light year area.” After a short pause, Jon said, “He is also my dear friend.”

  “Then we shall treat him as such,” The Cleric-General said. “If you will follow us, we will lead you to a place where you can be comfortable.”

  There was no effort at conversation on the short walk through the city. It gave the trio an opportunity to study the crowd of Vajrashilans who followed the entourage. It was obvious the people had gone through a significant biological evolution in a span of six hundred years, a blink of the eye in evolutionary terms. The ability to communicate inter-cranially was intriguing. Jon wondered how it was possible for an isolated group to develop such a unique ability in such a short time span. No other human society had ever done so under any circumstances.

  The Cleric-General led them into a modest-sized building, indistinguishable from all the others. Jon had noted the utilitarian nature of the other buildings and wondered about that. Perhaps the struggle to survive had not left them with enough time or energy to embellish their structures. The crowd following them stopped at the entry doors and only the long-robbed members accompanying the Cleric-General entered the building.

  “Please be comfortable,” the Leader said, pointing to a circular table large enough to accommodate the entire party. Jon, Annika, and Talo sat down in the nearest chairs. For once the seats were large enough and strong enough to accommodate Talo easily. Annika’s feet did not touch the floor. The leader’s Standard English was heavily accented, but understandable. Their earbud translators interpreted any anomalies as they were spoken.

  When the silence stretched on, Jon decided to speak first. “Perhaps, Cleric-General Bradley-Kinsley it might be easier for us if you gave us a short summary of your history since your migration from Earth. Then I will tell you the history of Earth during the last six hundred years.

  The Cleric-General bowed in Jon’s direction and said, “An excellent idea.” In a monotone, he proceeded to relate how the colonists realized immediately they were not in the solar system they had been aiming for. The one-jump capabilities of their colony ship made it impossible to journey back to their original destination. The original Vajrashilans had been on Earth’s colony ship number two, whose destination had been the world now known as Newhope. In desperation, they had selected the only planet available capable of supporting life and found it to be filled with aggressive forms of plants and animals that employed a type of physiological warfare to defend themselves. Every plant and animal on the planet could broadcast a ‘dominance wave’ and at the same time possessed a shield of sorts against other plants and animals’ dominance waves. Some plants and animals would gain a temporary advantage before the rest of them developed a countering shield. The humans and their plants and animals had no defense against such an onslaught. Every colonizing effort resulted in the death of all the colonists.

  Finally, in desperation, a united group of Christian and Buddhists colonists selected a site near a large tree that had a substantial clearing around it. It reminded the Buddhists of Vajrashila, the tree that their founder Buddha had sat under in his search for nirvana. It turned out to be a providential choice. The reason there was such a large clearing around the tree was because of its ability to defend itself against all other forms of life. When the tree detected the humans and their imported fauna and flora, it did not detect a threat to itself, so it did not block their early efforts to survive. What the humans did not know was the tree could change them. In time these changes helped the colonists use their natural superiority to conquer the surrounding area to plant their crops. This suited the tree’s survival purposes, and in time the humans and the tree developed a mutually beneficial relationship. The colonists eventually started calling the tree Yogamundi, “Wise one of the World.”

  Jon and Annika were mesmerized by the story. Talo had the advantage of knowing the background and could read what the Vajrashilans were thinking as the Cleric-General related the story.

  When the Cleric-General stopped and looked expectantly at the visitors, Jon asked, “Why do you speak Latin?”

  Several of the Vajrashilans laughed at the question. Cleric-General Bradley-Kinsley smiled and said, “Originally this settlement consisted of both Christians and Buddhist. When the Yogamundi modified us to give us an ability to talk to each other mentally, our languages began to rapidly evolve toward picture-speak. We discovered that the least little isolation from each other began to produce splinter language groups. We decided to use a ‘dead language’ as our official language to preserve a common meaning.”

  Jon nodded his head in understanding and began relating the history of Earth since the colonists had left six hundred years earlier. It took a full half hour to cover the rise and fall of the Industrial Council, the discovery of an FTL drive, the formation of the CSF and the Muhyba Wars. Jon felt like he was back at the academy taking finals by the time he brought the story up to the present time and how they had discovered the location of Vajrashila.

  Cleric-General Bradley-Kinsley looked from Jon to Talo and said, “Are you responsible for humans getting an FTL drive?”

  Talo had not spoken since the trio arrived on the planet. In his deep voice, sounding so human that a listener would not know it was a non-human speaking said, “It is a technology developed by an ancient space-faring civilization known as the Ankh. I was in a position to help Captain McKinnah’s grandfather develop it for human use.”

  Annika, who also had not spoken since they arrived, perked up. That one statement by Talo explained a great deal. She discovered she was no longer torn between sharing that information with Secretary Gavito or protecting what the CSF obviously considered to be a state secret. It was then she realized she had made her decision to cast her lot with the CSF.

  The Cleric-General had listened to Talo’s explanation without expression. He turned back to look at Jon and said, “How is it that we are unable to mind-speaks with you, Captain McKinnah?” He gestured to include all three of the visitors.

  It was Jon’s turn to smile at the question. He had made the decision to answer any question the Vajrashilans might ask them. He was not necessarily going to volunteer some information, such as Talo’s ability to read their thoughts, but he wanted the colonists to trust them, to consider them brothers from the same planet.

  Jon said with a wave in Talo’s direction. “Talo is providing us with a shield that protects us from all external influences. We were advised o
f the predatory nature of the plants and animals on this planet before we landed.”

  This caused a reaction among the Vajrashilans. The Cleric-General, who had been doing all the talking for the group asked, “How could you know that before you arrived?”

  Jon let Talo answer. The android said, “The Ankh, of whom I spoke surveyed this world six thousand Earth years ago. That survey is stored in my memory banks.”

  It was Jon’s turn to satisfy his curiosity. “How did the Yogamundi help your forefathers survive in this world?”

  The Cleric-General nodded his approval of the question. “Our ancestors were like soldiers with sharp swords, but unable to pull them from their scabbards. The Yogamundi gave them the ability to use their superior intellect to defeat the native plants and animals. When two humans combined their mental powers, the effect was amplified. This suited the Yogamundi’s purpose. I believe there is an old Earth expression that says it well, ‘Any enemy of my enemy is my friend.’”

  That answer provided Jon with most of the information he had come to learn, how the humans had survived on such an inhospitable environment. This survival technique could be an invaluable technique for future colonists.

  A set of doors opened up, and several people in short tunics rolled in carts with platters of steaming vegetables and pitchers of water. Cleric-General Bradley-Kinsley said with a slight bow, “We would be remiss if we did not offer you samples from our fields. We are vegetarians, a remnant from our Buddhist beginnings. We will understand if you are hesitant to eat food from a strange planet.”

  Talo mentaled Jon, “I can detect no subterfuge, and from my analysis of the aromas, there is nothing here that will harm you or Captain Masterson.”

  Jon was thankful once again for Talo’s seemingly omniscient powers. The android had been protecting the McKinnah clan for three generations. “It will be our pleasure to join you, Cleric-General Bradley-Kinsley,” Jon said looking over at Annika with a slight nod of reassurance.

  Annika looked back and took courage from Jon’s confidence in his willingness to eat anything grown on this strange planet. It was surprisingly good. Jon and Annika ate till they were satisfied. He couldn’t identify everything on his plate, but he was more than pleased with what he did eat. Annika matched him serving for serving. Jon decided the Vajrashilans could run a successful restaurant on any planet in the CSF.

  After the meal, the Cleric-General said, “The sun is setting, and our planet is a different, more dangerous place at night than in the daylight hours. I suggest you retire to the quarters we have prepared for you. In the morning we will visit the Yogamundi.”

  Jon thought about the offer for a moment. Based on what he had seen and what Talo had detected, he decided they were in no danger. When he accepted the Cleric-General’s offer, the man bowed in obvious pleasure that his offer of hospitality had been accepted. As he led them toward another set of doors, he said to Jon in a serious tone, “We have provided your party with three rooms, but I suggest you stay close to each other under the protection of your Avatar.”

  Jon looked at Annika for her thoughts on the idea. She found her heart rate was a little higher than it should be for this situation. She nodded her agreement. “This ought to be interesting,” she thought.

  The room they selected was generous in size with a wonderful bathroom. It was obviously designed by humans for humans. When they opened the closets, they found several sets of light tunic type garments suitable for bed. Talo examined the room carefully and pronounced it free from any spy devices and that the only way in and out was the door they entered. He would spend the night standing guard at the door.

  “I’m going to try out the shower,” Annika said as she grabbed a tunic and headed toward the bathroom.

  Jon decided he would get dressed for bed while Annika was in the shower. The one large bed began to look either too large or not large enough, Jon wasn’t sure which. The man in him said it was too large. The CSF officer in him said it was not large enough. By the time Annika came out of the shower, the CSF officer had won the battle, but one look at her tunic that did little to hide her finer points and the man inside him almost gained the upper hand.

  Sleep came slowly to both of them. Jon didn’t know if it was the latent sexual tension or the external threats implied by the Vajrashilans, but he finally drifted off. After several hours, he woke from a terrifying dream where he had been paralyzed and could not move. Disoriented, he did not know where he was until Talo mentaled him, “You and Captain Masterson are having an induced dream. The Cleric-General was correct; they are powerful forces at work on this planet, especially at night. If you want, I will move closer to you to strengthen my shield.”

  Annika groaned in her sleep. Jon guessed she was experiencing the same dream. He touched her shoulder, and she woke with a start. “What? What?”

  Jon explained after she recognized where she was, “Talo says we’re under physic attack which is causing our dreams. He’s going to move closer to protect us.”

  She didn’t say anything, but slid across the bed, snuggled up to him with her head on Jon’s chest and murmured, “You protect me,” and promptly fell back asleep. Jon did not. He was certainly no stranger to having beautiful women in his bed. On top of being a handsome bachelor and a Space Force officer, he was also a McKinnah which made him very interesting to the opposite sex. Captain Masterson was an enigma, a Terran spy, a new ally and a guest on his ship. He tried to rationalize that she was not a subordinate, but a visiting officer as his father had reminded him. His father had also told him “To be nice to her.” Every nerve in his male body told him to be nice to her, but rational thought, which was in short supply that night told him it would be a monumental mistake, at least at this particular time. It might be a different story once they were back on Newhope. Comforted by that thought, he finally fell asleep.

  Talo woke them in the morning. Annika sat up in bed and stretched. She turned to Jon and said, “Thank you” and got up to go to the bathroom. When it was Jon’s turn, he discovered a shaving kit and used it. Nothing was said about the previous night’s activities, but their body language spoke of a new type of relationship, one of trust. Jon was pleased.

  The Vajrashilans were waiting for them in the meeting hall. As soon as their visitors arrived, breakfast was served which turned out to be a form of old-fashioned oatmeal with fruit. The Cleric-General seemed much more at ease this morning. Talo informed Jon that the Vajrashilans had discussed the visitors until late in the night. The unanimous consensus of the ten men and women in the official party was that the visitors from space were friendly and not a threat to them or their way of life. They might even be an asset in their continuing battle to expand on this inhospitable world.

  After the breakfast dishes were cleared away, the Cleric-General said, “Please accept our apologies for the unusual nocturnal activities last night. The night ravens can detect an unprotected mind from a great distance. Last night they gathered in force above this building.”

  “Night ravens?” Jon asked curious to learn what had caused their dreams.

  The Cleric-General said, “Yes, they are large bat-like creatures that paralysis their victims into submission before eating them.”

  Without thinking, Jon said, “Nice place you have here, William.”

  To his and Annika’ surprise, all of the Vajrashilans laughed heartily. Apparently, six hundred years of separation had not diminished their ability to understand sarcasm. Annika had said very little since arriving, but her curiosity needed an explanation. “How did your forefathers ever survive in the beginning?”

  This was not a laughing matter. “Only three hundred of the original colonists did, and that was only because they huddled under the protection of the Yogamundi.” He paused for a moment in recollection and continued. “Oddly enough it was our religious orientation that saved us. Our history tells the Yogamundi responded of their united prayers for salvation, and within weeks the survivors began to deve
lop survival skills of their own.”

  It was Jon’s turn to satisfy his curiosity. “Do you still practice Buddhism and Christianity?”

  “Not in a manner you would recognize,” the Cleric-General said. “Once we developed the ability to share mental experiences, we discovered the larger truth of our commonality. It has changed the way we honor the Great Architect.” He looked around at his official party, and on some unspoken agreement, they all rose. “Now we would like to introduce you to the Yogamundi.”

  The trio followed the Cleric-General. The ten other members of the party gathered around them asking questions for the first time. It was a lively exchange, and Jon noticed how the women in the group clustered around Annika asking her questions about Terran dressing customs. His questioners were curious about the extent of human exploration. No one asked Talo anything. Jon sensed the Vajrashilans had not yet figured out how to categorize the android and were a little cautious about his being a true sentient. After a short walk, they passed through an arch into a large plaza and saw a circular, four-meter high stadium surrounding an enormous tree-like structure. The entire complex was at least a hundred meters across. When they passed through another arch into the center of the stadium, The Cleric-General said, “This is the Yogamundi.”

  Jon and Annika stopped and stared. It reminded Jon of pictures he had seen of the ancient Baobab trees on Earth. The trunk was fat and squatty and the branches extended at erratic angles in all directions creating a giant umbrella. The leaves were cup-shaped and only evident on the outer limits of the branches. All the leaves were pointed in the direction of the rising red sun.

  Talo moved in closer to them and mentaled Jon. “It is aware of our presence and is seeking reassurances that we are not a dangerous predator. I suggest I drop my shield long enough for it to become satisfied we mean it no harm.”

  Jon hesitated just a second, but his trust in Talo was absolute. He mentaled back, “I agree.” He reached over and took Annika’s hand. She didn’t resist but looked at him with a curious expression. “Get ready,” he said. “Talo is going to lift his shield long enough for the Yogamundi to recognize us as friends.”