Curtains Of Time Read online

  Chapter 6 – Universal Star Colony

  Since that historic meeting between their two species, Gizmo and Marco had become fast and inseparable friends and traveling companions. They had hopped around the universes at random exploring and meeting new species. These were good times for them. Until very recently they had each thought their species were alone in the universe. Now they had come to the realization their individual species were still in the infancy stages of their development. Other species and civilizations that were much older and far more advanced than theirs had been trading, forming alliances, and traveling among the universes for centuries. It was not only a hard concept for them to grasp, it was an eye opening experience for both of them, and a truly unique education neither of them could take back home. Who would believe them?

  One evening in an intergalactic bar they met an interesting pair of individuals claiming to be from a distant star they would undoubtedly find interesting. They claimed the technologies being produced there were unrivaled anywhere. They talked about cloaking devices, personal force fields, and the secret of staying forever young. Gizmo would have been interested even if he hadn’t been drinking a brew of unknown origin, but as they talked, Gizmo found himself hooked. He wanted to learn more. They agreed to go with the two guys to see the new technology for themselves.

  Gizmo said, “Give me the coordinates and we’ll meet you there.”

  “We can’t do that. You’ll have to trust us. Your ship is small enough, we can take it with us and that way you can leave any time you want to.”

  During the conversation the drinks kept coming, and these two guys were looking, and sounding, more and more trustworthy. Finally Gizmo and Marco were ready to agree to just about anything.

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  Now as Gizmo and Marco were escorted from their living quarters, they weren’t sure what was happening, they had been told nothing. They had been brought here and detained for what seemed the better part of two days now. Their living quarters had been quite exquisite, and they had been given everything they requested except their freedom. It had all the appearances of a house arrest, for what, they weren’t sure, and now as they were being lead down the hall, they still didn’t know the reason for their detention. For all they knew they were going to their own execution. Not for the first time, they wondered what they had gotten themselves into and whether they could get out of it alive.

  Since they had arrived here, they had made several requests to speak to someone in authority about why they were being detained and when they could leave, but they were allowed to speak to no one. They were being held in complete isolation. Besides, they had been brought here under false pretenses. They had gotten to see none of the new technologies the two strangers had promised to show them. None of their questions had been answered or addressed in any way. Being lead down the hall now meant some of their questions would be answered, at least that’s what they hoped.

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  The Universal Star Colony, on the planet Colossus, was set up in the furthermost corner of the furthermost known universe. It was designed to be so far off the beaten path as to be all but undetectable, and as far away from normal trade routes as possible. They didn’t want curious people to stumble onto their doorstep by accident. Since its atmosphere was not particularly hospitable to most life forms, it was not a destination, or generally on the way to any known destination. Like the tip of an iceberg, the major part of The Colony, as it was referred to, was carved out of the interior of the planet. Only the tip was on the planet surface, and that was enclosed in an invisible force field that held atmosphere in and most other things out. Only ships emitting the proper frequency were permitted through the force field.

  The force field itself was designed to mirror the surrounding terrain of the planet surface so anyone who did happen along would see nothing unusual on the planet surface, nothing that would catch their eye or draw attention to it in any way. The enclosure under the force field actually contained a fairly sizeable farming co-op that grew most of the food The Colony consumed. This made The Colony as self-sufficient as possible, so very few other things were needed from outside. They didn’t want questions or suspicions being raised about where such large quantities of food were going, and for what purpose. This further limited the trail leading to their front door.

  Most of their space going vehicles were equipped with a cloaking technology to prevent them from being seen or tracked coming and going from this unknown part of the universe. They had taken every precaution to make sure they left no trail leading in their direction.

  The Colony was pretty much a closed community, and only accepted new members rarely, and then only by a unanimous vote of the council. No visitors were allowed and the only non-members ever brought here were potential new members who were told nothing until a vote of the council could be taken. If they were not accepted for membership to The Colony, they would be taken back where they had been picked up and all memory of where they had been and who they had seen would be wiped from their minds. It would be as though it had never happened.

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  In the council chambers the councilmen were now discussing the membership of two potential new members. Sula, the council chairmen from the Gandy galaxy, sitting on the raised platform was trying to contain a lively debate on the induction of the two new members.

  “We must have order or I will delay this discussion until another time.”

  “But your honor, if we delay this discussion, what do we do with the two we are holding?”

  “They will just have to be contained in their living quarters until a decision can be made,” Sula said.

  “They will not like being held prisoners. They are already showing signs of restlessness and discontent, but there is another option,” Tigure said. “We can take them back where we found them and let them go on their way. That will allow us to keep a close watch on them and their actions until we can all come to a consensus. We brought them here without disclosing our location and we can return them the same way. They will never be able to find their way back here.”

  There were mutterings and a general commotion throughout the chambers as council members discussed the issue among themselves.

  “I say we deny them membership.”

  “I agree. If there’s so much indecision, they can’t be right for us.”

  “I have no problem with the humanoid, but I can’t agree on both of them.”

  “But they have made it clear they are a team and if we can’t accept both of them, I doubt either of them will accept.”

  The debate went on until Anders called out. “Your honor, may I address the chamber?”

  “You may,” Sula said.

  A hush fell as everyone settled back into their seats to hear what Anders had to say. Anders was one of the most respected of all the members of the council. He was the oldest member of The Colony as well as one of the founding members. He didn’t often speak in the council unless he felt he could provide some direction. He preferred to let the younger members have their say before bringing the matter before the council back to the basic issue at hand. He stretched the silence almost to the breaking point, and then slowly stood, arranging his robes of office about him, and shuffling his notes in front of him. He knew he commanded their complete attention.

  “These two have crossed our paths and come to our attention numerous times already. We have had resources focused on them for some time as well. What more do we need to know about them that we don’t already know? They have done some remarkable things, isn’t that what brought them to our attention to begin with? But the fact remains, it’s better to have them on our side than have them jumping from universe to universe doing whatever pleases them. If it were just the humanoid, I think we would all be in agreement. What has us at an impasse is the two of them together. I ask you, what harm could the other one be to us? Alone he would not meet our criteria for members
hip, but just for a moment may I remind you of his own accomplishments? It would take centuries for his species to rise to even a minimal amount of awareness of intergalactic affairs, if in fact they ever do. But the one calling himself Marco has risen above his species by mapping the movements of the planets and designing and building a communication device to contact life forms outside his own planet. Isn’t that in itself a remarkable feat given the current level of development of his species? Has he not risen to the top of his race with these accomplishments? As we know, the two of them are a team, and as such, they can be controlled. Over the millennia we have perfected our techniques on control have we not? I say we vote them in and welcome them to The Colony with full membership. As with all new members there will be a period of observation. This will be no different. We will know soon enough if adjustments need to be made. I believe they will be a valuable asset to our membership. I personally am ready for a vote. I vote to accept them right here and now, today.”

  Anders sat down to the applause of the council. There seemed to be general agreement.

  “Are we ready for a vote then? Is there any more discussion?” Sula asked.

  The chamber was silent as everyone looked around.

  “Hearing no further discussion, I put this matter up for vote. Please enter your votes now.”

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  Their escorts approached a set of doors and stopped. With a signal, both doors opened wide and Gizmo and Marco were ushered in. As they entered, they were speechless as they took in the room. There were nineteen seats in a semicircle facing a seat on a raised platform. From the elaborate décor and furnishings of the room, it looked like an assembly room of some kind, and the individuals seated there didn’t look like the everyday sort one would meet on the beltway. Since they were escorted here under armed guard, Gizmo correctly assumed they were about to be told what decisions had been made about them and their future, if they were to have a future.

  It could be good news or bad, Gizmo wasn’t sure how to read the lengthening silence in the room while all eyes were on them. While he was contemplating what he could do to get them both out of here alive if the news wasn’t good, the whole assembly rose as one to applaud them.

  After a moment, Sula stepped down from the raised platform and approached them. With a slight bow he spoke.

  “We must apologize for confining you to your living quarters until we could bring this to a vote. In the meantime, we tried to make you as comfortable as possible. We hope it did not unduly distress you. You see, we are a small community and taking in new members is not something we do often. We watch for young individuals like yourselves from all the known galaxies, who excel and rise from an early age above their peers. We’ve been watching your development for some time now and are sure you have a bright future with us should you choose to accept our offer.”

  Sula was a small creature unlike any Gizmo had yet encountered, so it was hard to gather any information from facial expressions. He had the air of authority about him and Gizmo could see he did not look like someone he would want to oppose. His voice was all sweet and kindness, but it was hard to tell what was behind it. The hush in the chambers seemed to indicate they were waiting for a response from him. Marco was a half-step behind Gizmo, and when Gizmo turned to look at him, Marco seemed as unsure how to respond as Gizmo. Gizmo turned back to Sula.

  “You mentioned an offer; just what is it you are offering us?”

  “Why membership in The Colony of course,” Sula said. “By unanimous vote we would like to welcome you into our membership. We all work together for the good of intelligent species everywhere. We help developing species become contributing members of the intergalactic community, and, within limits, we correct misdeeds of others that would lead us all into a disastrous future. This will all be explained in greater detail during your orientation. You will each be given a guide to help you through the process. Once again, on behalf of all of us, welcome.”

  As Sula finished, with a sweep of his hands, the doors they had come through once again opened and their escorts were waiting for them. They were taken back to their living quarters and told to wait there. Their guides would arrive shortly and they would be given a tour of The Colony and would have complete freedom to come and go as they wished after that.

  Once back in their living quarters, they barely had time to collect their thoughts and discuss what they had gotten themselves into when the door chimes announced visitors. Their visitors turned out to be their guides. They were each given a one piece floor length white robe that, when slipped over their head was loose fitting and made of a finely woven material Gizmo was not familiar with. Gizmo was instructed to wear nothing but the robe. He would have no use for his old clothes for the time being. Marco resisted the robe but was told the robe was required of all new recruits when outside their living quarters. Following their orientation, they would be allowed to choose other robes or other clothing of their own choosing, but these robes were required in all public areas at all times until the completion of orientation.

  When they were properly outfitted in their robes, their tour guides lead them out of their living quarters where two transport platforms waited. The luminous platforms were just large enough for two adults to stand on. There was nothing to hold onto and no visible means of steering. With Marco and Gizmo each on a transport platform with their individual guides, the platforms glowed and with no sense of movement, they were off down the corridor on a cushion of air approximately two inches above the corridor surface. Their orientation was about to begin.

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  The first stop on their orientation tour was the medical units of The Colony. Their guides told them this was really the heart and soul of The Colony itself. Without it, they would not be able to exist. Here some of their most important work was done. It was also the first stop because they both would undergo a complete medical examination and they would need to remain here for the first few days. During that time DNA samples would be taken and studied. It would also give their doctors and medical personnel a chance to study their species in the event of further medical emergencies.

  “Medical emergencies? Like what?” Gizmo asked.

  “If you should lose your arm, we can grow you another one. Or if your heart should fail, we can replace it with an exact duplicate of the one you have now. It is also our way of preventing our bodies from aging. We just simply grow you another body so you never age. The rejuvenation process only takes a couple of days while your new body is grown and prepared for you and you are transferred into it. It is really quite an effective process we have developed over the last few centuries. But you are both from a new species and our technicians have much to learn from you before you can undergo that process successfully. Our technicians are really quite good though and have never lost a patient.”

  Gizmo and Marco were both silent as they tried to assimilate the information.

  Leeta, Gizmo’s guide said, “We will leave you here and come back for you in a couple of days. Please be seated and wait to be called for your examination.”

  They sat and waited. Some things just never changed.

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  During the next two days, Gizmo and Marco were separated and only saw each other in passing and were never given an opportunity to compare notes. Gizmo had never had such a complete examination before. Blood tests, biopsies, x-rays, scans, and so many other tests, he wasn’t sure anymore what they were doing. He also met a battery of doctors and medical staff asking for complete details of his life, both medical and physical. He was put under hypnosis and asked to recall events that were not in his current memory banks. He was asked for numerous sperm samples that were to be frozen for some unknown reason. Just when he had given up trying to keep track of everything they were requiring of him, he was given some rather distressing news.

  Gizmo found himself sitting across a desk from a young man who identified h
imself as Ivan Strom, the lead surgeon. Dr. Strom informed Gizmo some abnormalities had been found during his examination. The good news was they could be fixed and he could be good as new in a couple of days. They just needed his permission to proceed.

  “Just exactly what did you find?” Gizmo asked.

  “One of your kidneys is not functioning as it should and we have run numerous projection tests all with the same conclusion. The kidney will fail completely within four years. Your choice is you can wait four years until it fails, or we can fix the problem now and you won’t ever have to worry about it again. The decision is yours.”

  “What do you mean you can fix it now? How would you do that exactly?”

  “We would grow you a new kidney from your own DNA, so it would be an exact duplicate of your kidney only without the genetic defect. It would take us two days in the lab to grow your new kidney, and then we would take out the defective one and replace it with the healthy one. In three days’ time you would be completely healed and recovered and ready to get on with your orientation with no further worries of kidney failure. A minor inconvenience now could eliminate years of future worries about when and where it will fail.”

  “Okay, let’s do it,” Gizmo said. “While we’re waiting for the new kidney, can I continue on with my orientation?”

  “Of course. We can call you when your new kidney is ready.”

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