Chapter 39:
Hyping the people up
Daniel:
Boarding a rocket never gets old. I have done it before, but that doesn’t mean that the novelty is wearing off. Sure, we could have taken the teleport, but Tine wanted a chance to get a leg up with the fundraiser. He called the people from Ursula Love of Nature, this planet’s species revival organization, and they agreed to send him some help.
So, here we are. In a hastily constructed booth. Talking to people, and handing out pamphlets. There is one small problem, though.
“How do you like Ursula 590?” A Naga woman asks me. A child pushes pass her, only to gawk at my legs. The child tries to touch them, but a woman, probably his mother, takes his hand in hers.
“Sorry about that,” she mumbles, takes a pamphlet, and slithers away.
“It is quite all right,” I call out after her, but she is already near the buffet.
“So, how do you like it on our planet?” The same Naga as before asks.
“Ursula 590 is full of wonderful sights. The Caltea trees are awe-inspiring,” I admit. She smiles, and pulls out her phone.
“This is the oldest Caltea tree on Ursula 590. Supposedly, it is 2,600 years old,” she shows me a hologram of a tree I am certain is taller than what I have seen before. “People have tried to climb it, but can only do so with oxygen masks.”
“Miss, would you like to help with the revival of the Gigantoboa?” I hear Constantine ask a woman. He is sitting by my side, and actually doing his job. I take in a deep gulp of air, and then take a pamphlet.
“On Earth, we do our best to revive all our megafauna. There have been attempts to revive the Aurochs,” I say, as I hand the Naga woman the pamphlet.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea? I don’t know anything about the Aurochs, but the Gigantoboa razed whole cities, before it was hunted down to extinction,” she tells me, but takes the pamphlet.
“It won’t be razing any cities on Ursula 591. As far as I have been told, it is a planet that doesn’t have any settlements on it. And, who knows? Perhaps the Gigantoboa will become more human-like, with the centuries? On Earth, some of our cousins, the Chimpanzees, are known to use tools,” I tell her. She blinks at me.
“Wait, aren’t those monkeys?” She asks me. I smile at her, glad that she knows a thing or two about Earth.
“The proper term is primates. There are theories that their brains will become larger, and more complex, with the centuries. We even have a movie based on the possibility,” I tell her. Her eyebrow rises. Before I can tell her about one of my favorite movies of all times, a man slithers next to her, and takes the pamphlet I am holding.
“Lora, come on. If we don’t go to the buffet, the muffins will run out,” he says. The Naga woman smiles apologetically at me. Then, she wavers, and pulls out her wallet.
“Just a second, Morris. Maybe it is not such a bad idea, to see the Gigantoboa slither among the Caltea again,” she says, and then takes out a couple of bills. They have different scale patterns on them. She places them in our box for donations, and then winks at me. “It is very nice of you, to take the initiative, to enrich the Ursula solar system.”
Then, she leaves. I look at Constantine, who is in the process of accepting his own donations. I can see that the 3D printed Gigantoboa toys are running out. We really should have made more.
I am not given the chance to muse for too long, because another person slithers before the booth.
“You are a human,” the elderly gentlemen says, eyeing me up and down.
“Yes, I am. Sir, would you like to hear a bit about the Gigantoboa?” I ask him. An amused glint enters his eyes. He nods.
“Go on. I will very much like to know what a human has to tell me about a species native to my home planet,” I ignore the snark in his voice, and then pick up one of the Gigantoboa toys.
“The Gigantoboa is as big as a 100-year-old Caltea tree,” I recite the first fact I have ever memorized about it. “When they are fully grown, I mean.”
He smirks at me.
“And you think that it is a good idea to bring such a monster back from the dead, because?” He asks.
“Not a monster, no. On Earth, before the mammals become widespread, the dinosaurs ruled the planet. Because of the atmosphere, they were huge. The atmosphere on Ursula 591 is behind that of Ursula 590 in development. As Ursula 591 is a relatively new planet...” I try to tell him, but he snorts.
“Well, you have memorized your lines. Tell me something, and tell it to me from the heart. Would you have brought these dinosaurs back to Earth? Let them in your parks, in your countryside?” I shake my head slowly.
“Ursula Love of Nature is not going to let the Gigantoboa back on Ursula 590. We are not going to let it raze any more cities. Our idea is, to let it live undisturbed on an unclaimed planet,” I tell the man, figuring that it is better to not try to fill his ears with self-righteous platitudes.
“Do you know just how resource rich Ursula 591 is?” He asks. I shake my head.
“Rivers full of gold, lush green fields, untapped Caltea forests. You wish for us to hand this all to a useless snake?” He asks me. I can see that there is no bite in his words. Just some sort of test.
“Naga birth rates have been declining steadily for the past 300 years,” I tell him. I can see that I have the attention of everyone in the lobby. “The dream that Naga will populate the Ursula solar system is something that can’t be done. Your high lifespan is something that prevents your fertility rates.”
He blinks at me, and the people around us begin to murmur.
Chapter 39:
Hyping the people up
Daniel:
Boarding a rocket never gets old. I have done it before, but that doesn’t mean that the novelty is wearing off. Sure, we could have taken the teleport, but Tine wanted a chance to get a leg up with the fundraiser. He called the people from Ursula Love of Nature, this planet’s species revival organization, and they agreed to send him some help.
So, here we are. In a hastily constructed booth. Talking to people, and handing out pamphlets. There is one small problem, though.
“How do you like Ursula 590?” A Naga woman asks me. A child pushes pass her, only to gawk at my legs. The child tries to touch them, but a woman, probably his mother, takes his hand in hers.
“Sorry about that,” she mumbles, takes a pamphlet, and slithers away.
“It is quite all right,” I call out after her, but she is already near the buffet.
“So, how do you like it on our planet?” The same Naga as before asks.
“Ursula 590 is full of wonderful sights. The Caltea trees are awe-inspiring,” I admit. She smiles, and pulls out her phone.
“This is the oldest Caltea tree on Ursula 590. Supposedly, it is 2,600 years old,” she shows me a hologram of a tree I am certain is taller than what I have seen before. “People have tried to climb it, but can only do so with oxygen masks.”
“Miss, would you like to help with the revival of the Gigantoboa?” I hear Constantine ask a woman. He is sitting by my side, and actually doing his job. I take in a deep gulp of air, and then take a pamphlet.
“On Earth, we do our best to revive all our megafauna. There have been attempts to revive the Aurochs,” I say, as I hand the Naga woman the pamphlet.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea? I don’t know anything about the Aurochs, but the Gigantoboa razed whole cities, before it was hunted down to extinction,” she tells me, but takes the pamphlet.
“It won’t be razing any cities on Ursula 591. As far as I have been told, it is a planet that doesn’t have any settlements on it. And, who knows? Perhaps the Gigantoboa will become more human-like, with the centuries? On Earth, some of our cousins, the Chimpanzees, are known to use tools,” I tell her. She blinks at me.
“Wait, aren’t those monkeys?” She asks me. I smile at her, glad that she knows a thing or two about Earth.
“The proper term is primates. There are theories that their brains will become larger, and more complex, with the centuries. We even have a movie based on the possibility,” I tell her. Her eyebrow rises. Before I can tell her about one of my favorite movies of all times, a man slithers next to her, and takes the pamphlet I am holding.
“Lora, come on. If we don’t go to the buffet, the muffins will run out,” he says. The Naga woman smiles apologetically at me. Then, she wavers, and pulls out her wallet.
“Just a second, Morris. Maybe it is not such a bad idea, to see the Gigantoboa slither among the Caltea again,” she says, and then takes out a couple of bills. They have different scale patterns on them. She places them in our box for donations, and then winks at me. “It is very nice of you, to take the initiative, to enrich the Ursula solar system.”
Then, she leaves. I look at Constantine, who is in the process of accepting his own donations. I can see that the 3D printed Gigantoboa toys are running out. We really should have made more.
I am not given the chance to muse for too long, because another person slithers before the booth.
“You are a human,” the elderly gentlemen says, eyeing me up and down.
“Yes, I am. Sir, would you like to hear a bit about the Gigantoboa?” I ask him. An amused glint enters his eyes. He nods.
“Go on. I will very much like to know what a human has to tell me about a species native to my home planet,” I ignore the snark in his voice, and then pick up one of the Gigantoboa toys.
“The Gigantoboa is as big as a 100-year-old Caltea tree,” I recite the first fact I have ever memorized about it. “When they are fully grown, I mean.”
He smirks at me.
“And you think that it is a good idea to bring such a monster back from the dead, because?” He asks.
“Not a monster, no. On Earth, before the mammals become widespread, the dinosaurs ruled the planet. Because of the atmosphere, they were huge. The atmosphere on Ursula 591 is behind that of Ursula 590 in development. As Ursula 591 is a relatively new planet...” I try to tell him, but he snorts.
“Well, you have memorized your lines. Tell me something, and tell it to me from the heart. Would you have brought these dinosaurs back to Earth? Let them in your parks, in your countryside?” I shake my head slowly.
“Ursula Love of Nature is not going to let the Gigantoboa back on Ursula 590. We are not going to let it raze any more cities. Our idea is, to let it live undisturbed on an unclaimed planet,” I tell the man, figuring that it is better to not try to fill his ears with self-righteous platitudes.
“Do you know just how resource rich Ursula 591 is?” He asks. I shake my head.
“Rivers full of gold, lush green fields, untapped Caltea forests. You wish for us to hand this all to a useless snake?” He asks me. I can see that there is no bite in his words. Just some sort of test.
“Naga birth rates have been declining steadily for the past 300 years,” I tell him. I can see that I have the attention of everyone in the lobby. “The dream that Naga will populate the Ursula solar system is something that can’t be done. Your high lifespan is something that prevents your fertility rates.”
He blinks at me, and the people around us begin to murmur.
