|
Base-Zero |
Tsv-01
Tsv-02
Tsv-03
Tsv-04
Tsv-05
Tsv-06
Tsv-07
Tsv-08 |
Tsv-09 |
| Contents |
Lpnet1
Lpnet2 Lpnet3 Sci-shorts-01
Sci-shorts-02
Sci-shorts-03
Sci-shorts-04
Gallery |
Animation |
| Lpnet1-100 The Lost Planet Chapter 1: Accident with an Asteroid Chapter 2: Stranded in Space Chapter 3: Survival in Solitude Chapter 4: The Ancient Temple Chapter 5: A Virtual Reality Experience Chapter 6: The Crystal Records Chapter 7: The Knowledge of Tranqua Chapter 8: The Meta- Hydrovector Chapter 9: The Long, Hard Work Chapter 10: The Project Complete Chapter 11: The Crystal Fantasy Chapter 12: The Key of Vitreos |
The Lost Planet
Chapter 6: The Crystal Records After a closer examination of the crystals, and a little more polishing, curiosity led me to try another with the spheres. I did so and very carefully touched the spheres together. This time, the charge of energy was much easier, as if the frequency had become more attuned to my physical body, and my body was tensed and ready for it. Again, I was transported into what I had come to respect as the same temple/cavern, back in time, to its ancient existence. The decor about the columns and pillars was of another color, as were the pads on the benches against the walls. This indicated a different secular period perhaps, probably due to the different crystal. The scenes moving on the view-screen were also different. There were images of an alien intelligence of humanoids only slightly different than Earthlings, an amazing civilization of people working and building, and fighting an enemy that appeared to threaten its existence. As I stood observing the view-screen, absorbing imagery and information, something stirred at the side. I turned and saw the girl again. She resembled one of the humanoid aliens, with light, blue skin, accented with violet lines around the eyes, mouth, hairline, etc... with dark, brown hair. She smiled and spoke in a language unknown and unrecognized. I listened and stared at her exotic beauty, suspended in wonder by her words. "Who are you?" I said. She hesitated shortly, and then replied, with apparent comprehension. "T'rwani", she said. "T'rwani?" I echoed. "Where am I?" She hesitated, with obvious confusion, and then replied, in perfect English. "Tranqua awaits Thee." "Tranqua?" I echoed, not understanding the word. She frowned and spoke with a firm change of tone. "Are thee not Zondar?" I didn't know what to say, and suddenly the spheres separated and the connection was broken. My consciousness was returned to 2086, leaving my mind full of questions about the mystery of 'T'rwani, Tranqua, and Zondar'. Who or what was Tranqua? Why was I mistaken for someone called Zondar? I shook it off, had something to eat, and decided to get some rest. Maybe I had been working too hard. Yes, I had. The crystal-tubes appeared to be a very highly advanced form of records, with apparent interactive functions. But I wasn't sure, really. It all appeared so real, as if I were really in that ancient temple, in those ancient times. I was tempted to try another crystal, but I had to think it all out carefully, take it slow, to be on the safe side. I managed to sleep alright, but experienced another disturbing dream. Wandering through the tunnels, suddenly I was surprised from a side branch. The face of the girl from the records, T'rwani, stared blankly at me. I awoke then, with a slight sweat. I had rested, but not as well as hoped. I tried to get more sleep but could not. My nerves were severely agitated. It appeared as if I was fighting a losing battle. It was as if I might be losing my mind. For 12 hours I became as simple-minded and rational as possible. Under the circumstances, that wasn't easy. I performed the chores and went outside to realign the radio-dishes. I knew it was a long shot, but I had to keep trying. It seemed to be the rational course of action. Dwelling upon the mystery of the ancient temple too much did not seem so healthy for my mental state. I ventured outside once again to check the field-density of the asteroids and realign the dishes. Upon climbing the tether-line to the top of the temple, vision was shortly obscured and my body was drawn to the basalt-colored face of the stone. My free hand, to the front, touched the stone as if it were glue for a moment, and then pushed away with equal force. I was suspended tight on the tether as my feet struggled to regain firm control. As I continued on, there appeared to be more gravity, and as the vision cleared up, it appeared as if the telescope moved. Upon reaching it, a simple check told me nothing, because in the time since the last checking, the asteroid had moved quite a bit and the field had become repositioned. Again, it was a problem more complicated by the randomized field of irregular stones. I spent some time trying to recognize them, but only one caught my eye as being familiar. It was the largest and the closest, further out toward Jupiter. All other stones had been so randomly repositioned, none looked quite the same. That was how it was. Perhaps if a video-relay were set up, the computer could make some matches, but the human eyes were not quite up to it. Besides, I didn't fancy the idea of contracting a case of 'puzzlexia' under the circumstances. There still was no cure, but Europan scienteks were developing a few treatments. I let the video-relay idea sit with the box of alternatives I had stored somewhere in the security-deposit chamber of my mind, and hitched in a com-link with the radio-dishes, to read the waves. Deciding to take my time for a change, I put a tether-line over my knees, tightened it, and 'sat down', as well as I could, on the smooth grey stone. As I listened in on the waves, the scattered field of stones against the background of stars was quite an amazing sight. For the first time since the crash, I actually liked it. It was an oddly fantastic scene. The brightest star, the Sun, was peaking over the Mars side of the asteroid, and several of the other stone-islands in the vicinity were also catching its light. The light, touching the field of stones, set up somewhat of an enhanced asteroid 'day', in which light was more prominent and the well-known darkness of night was set at bay. But the asteroid 'day' was short, for the period of rotation was highly frequent, at about 7.5 hours, and the day, never very bright to begin with, was a mere 3 hours at most. I sat there under the tether, realigning the dishes against the glare of the 'daylight', in a race against time, and found it impossible to pin-point the planet Mars. The density of the field was too great. The angle out of conjunction had increased to about 35 degrees. I made a fair guess with the earlier computations and contemplated the fact that my little asteroid was presently half a million miles away from the regular space-lanes. |
Chapter 13:
Contact with Mars Chapter 14: The Asteroid Miners Chapter 15: T’rwani and Tranqua Chapter 16: The Europan Pirates Chapter 17: A Clone for a Companion Chapter 18: A Skirmish in Space |
| Table of Contents and Chapters with Links |