Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Starship Colonial
    Starship Colonial
    Starship Colonial
    Ebook359 pages5 hours

    Starship Colonial

    By Valentin Matcas

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The adventure of Starship Colonial continues in this second book of ‘The Storyteller’ series. The Colonials explore new worlds searching for a new Earth, influencing and benefiting from every civilization that they encounter. Some remain behind to inhabit them, making for a wider, modern-style colonization. The most visible trace of the book is the interaction with very powerful beings, those who decide the fate of the Universe. A stronger plot of the story relates to people’s behavior, being aliens or not, the specific way in which they react in various circumstances, always learning from their experience. The Captain, Cathleen, takes her share of the action; she fails and succeeds throughout her adventures the way normal people do, and she learns to tame her emotions and instincts, to become more pragmatic, to cope with tougher, more demanding situations. She applies everything to her life, both on Starship Colonial and on Earth, and her achievements exceed her wildest expectations. However, her achievements are irrelevant if she does not fulfill the mission assigned to her by the people of Earth. Is her determination strong enough to fulfill it now, when she has everything she ever wanted? Jack remains an interesting, puzzling character throughout the book, influencing unknowingly the life of many, accomplishing everything with the innocence of a child. More characters emerge and develop from among the crew and colonists, and from the people of the worlds they encounter. Throughout the book, and throughout this whole series, there is a hidden, consistent trace of liberation from ignorant stereotypes, cold prejudices, predetermined norms, and irrelevant ideals. As opposed to real life where the great majority of people live the way it is taught, some of the characters succeed in opening their eyes, grasping this way and understanding a wider truth. And yet at times bondage defeats freedom and they have to accept it helplessly, which makes for the credible, real, complex plot of the book. Enjoy!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherValentin Matcas
    Release dateDec 17, 2017
    ISBN9781540180353
    Starship Colonial
    Author

    Valentin Matcas

    Valentin Leonard Matcas, M.Ed., is a researcher, physicist, mathematician, educator, and an author of nonfiction and fiction books, including the entire “Human” book series, and he welcomes you into his creative world. He writes in his books that you should always reason independently, since you are more meaningful and more capable than entire worlds and realities. And with each book that he writes, he takes you closer to understanding yourself, life, and the entire world. Valentin Leonard Matcas is unique, intelligent, highly demanding, and highly persistent, currently living his life in a pristine environment, while researching and writing all his books. Yet everyone is unique, intelligent, highly persistent, and highly demanding, this is what defines our continuous development throughout life, and this is what adds living details to our world. And what we want the most is to see the world in its true colors, and to understand the hidden and the unreached, while understanding ourselves in life and in the world, exactly as everything is.Valentin Leonard Matcas creates the following comprehensive models in psychology, biology, physics, and sociology: model for the human needs, addictions, knowledge, reasoning, feelings, errors of reasoning, modes of life, cognitive model for the human intelligences, models for this Reality, for other realities, and for the One, model for Life in all her forms and realities, model of the human civilization, human status, and human rights, depiction of the hierarchy of intelligences, models for the human behavior, consciousness, achievement, abilities, meaning, lifestyle, health, development, condition, feelings, fulfillment, nature, limitations, dreams, creativity, and developmental patterns, model for the natural human environment and for the Fictitious Matrix, models for the conscious, subconscious, highconscious, and classconscious intelligences, true model for the human society, model and depiction of the human conspiracy, models for the Higher Laws and for the Natural Laws of the Universe, study of the Field, model for existence, study and depiction of timelines and lifelines of causality, model of the human interconnectivity, and much more. All these form a comprehensive model for humans, life, the world, and for the human place and meaning in life and in the world, so consistent and so detailed, that you can always find yourself at its core.Valentin Leonard Matcas wrote the “Human” book series in the following order: “The Human Needs”, “The Human Addictions,” “The Hierarchy of Needs,” “Stay in Shape, Lead a Healthy Life,” “The Human Origins,” The Human Society,” “The Human Conspiracy,” “The Human Mind,” “The Human Reality,” “Astral Planes and Your Other Realities,” “Life,” “The Hierarchy of Intelligences,” “The Human Intelligences,” “The Human Thoughts,” “Mental Models and Successful Ideas,” “The Human Attitudes,” “The Human Stereotypes,” “The Human Ideology,” “Modes of Life,” “The Human Development,” “Patterns of Development,” “The Human Lifestyle,” “Heal Yourself,” “The Human Civilization,” “The Human Religion and Spirituality,” “The Human Rights,” “Higher Laws,” “Natural Laws of the Universe,” “Existence,” “The Human Condition”, “Lifelines of Causality,” “The Human Behavior,” “Flat Earth,” “The Human Environment,” “The Human Meaning,” “The Human Interconnectivity,” “The Human Reasoning,” and “The Fictitious Matrix.”As an enthusiast of science fiction, Valentin Leonard Matcas writes about terrestrial and alien civilizations, about life in the Universe, the way it develops and intertwines across galaxies, about powerful beings as they control and reshape the Universe, and about normal human beings from Earth caught in this beautiful, wider, outstanding interconnectivity. Valentin Leonard Matcas creates a living, warmer, credible universe in his books, teaming with life and vibrancy on all levels of existence. Valentin Leonard Matcas wrote “The Storyteller” book series, including “The Storyteller,” “Starship Colonial,” and “Unlimited,” and “The Culling” book series, including “The Culling,” “The Dream of the Dead,” and “The Last Man on Earth.”When he is not writing, Valentin Leonard Matcas enjoys researching, hiking, swimming, kayaking, skiing, snowboarding, biking, reading, listening to music, and playing strategy videogames. You may discover all his books, videos, and articles.

    Read more from Valentin Matcas

    Related to Starship Colonial

    Related ebooks

    Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Wolf

      Nov 6, 2018

      The Wolf
      12 min read

    • Article

      I’ll Be There

      Oct 25, 2019

      I’ll Be There
      7 min read

    • Article

      Lasting LOVE

      Feb 28, 2024

      Lasting LOVE
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Joke

      Sep 1, 2020

      Although best known for his 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury was also a prolific writer of short stories, having published his first while still a teenager. This previously unpublished story likely dates to 1950, the year The Martian Chronicle

      5 min read

    • Article

      Someone help Me!

      Sep 7, 2023

      Someone help Me!
      6 min read

    • Article

      Tilly’s Lost Girls

      Sep 28, 2020

      Eeh, Ma, this Blackpool wind would blow you to kingdom come if you gave it half a chance.” Tilly looked up from where she sat next to the counter of her basketwear shop, weaving the last strands of the project she was working on. She smiled as she sa

      6 min read

    • Article

      ‘Toni, It’s Mum. There’s Been An Accident’

      Oct 13, 2021

      Edited extract from Lost & Found: My story of heartbreak and hope by Toni Street with Sophie Neville Like many teenage boys, Stephen loved sport and he loved hanging out with his mates. But he was happiest out on the farm with Dad. They were a tight

      11 min read

    • Article

      The Generation

      Nov 27, 2022

      The Generation
      13 min read

    • Article

      Fearless, fabulous FERN

      Apr 7, 2022

      Fearless, fabulous FERN
      7 min read

    • Article

      Walking Down Memory Lane For A Festive Podcast The Duke Of Cambridge Shares Recollections Of Singing With Mum Diana And His Children’s Love For Shakira

      Dec 6, 2021

      Walking Down Memory Lane For A Festive Podcast The Duke Of Cambridge Shares Recollections Of Singing With Mum Diana And His Children’s Love For Shakira
      7 min read

    • Article

      THE NIGHT Watcher

      Jan 27, 2021

      THE NIGHT Watcher
      3 min read

    • Article

      How Dementia Saved Mum & Me

      Mar 31, 2021

      How Dementia Saved Mum & Me
      5 min read

    • Article

      Borrowed Time

      May 14, 2020

      Borrowed Time
      5 min read

    • Article

      Circle Of Life

      Jun 23, 2022

      Seeing my phone flash up with my daughter’s name, I smiled. ‘Hi, love,’ I said to Danielle. ’I’m just in between patients, what’s up?’ I worked as a physiotherapist, and spent my days tending to sprained ankles and torn ligaments. But when there was

      5 min read

    • Article

      Baby Boys and Expletives

      Jun 10, 2022

      Baby Boys and Expletives
      5 min read

    • Article

      Wild Days

      Jul 27, 2020

      Wild Days
      7 min read

    • Article

      Over the TEACUPS

      Dec 22, 2019

      All that was visible was the top of her head, as I sat beside my sister during a hospital visit. She slept a lot so I was prepared for a silent “sit in”. As the curtains were closed around the next bed, I spoke quietly to my sister. Her only response

      3 min read

    • Article

      After “The End”

      Oct 10, 2022

      I walked down the road with a hunched back and a wet cigarette in my mouth—the fire had died a while back. My hands were tucked into the pockets of my jacket, and my hair fell over my face, limiting my sight. But I wasn’t really seeing where I was go

      10 min read

    • Article

      Baby Boys and Expletives

      Jun 10, 2022

      Baby Boys and Expletives
      5 min read

    • Article

      Creature Comfort

      Jun 11, 2019

      My darling terrier Mollie recently died. I hope that she is not lonely. Caroline, Belfast Mollie tells me that she really was your sunshine and light. She was such an affectionate girl and was like a baby to you. She had a fun personality and could

      2 min read

    • Article

      A WING AND a prayer

      Sep 28, 2021

      A raven saved my life Cate McMurray, 47, from West Midlands I ’d always known I was different. As a small child, I used to see and hear people who weren’t there. One day, I was playing hide ‘n’ seek with my two sisters, and tucked myself away in a cu

      4 min read

    • Article

      Making Peace

      Mar 1, 2020

      Making Peace
      10 min read

    • Article

      Lockdown Stories

      Nov 13, 2020

      Lockdown Stories
      6 min read

    • Article

      Face Value

      Oct 24, 2021

      Face Value
      7 min read

    • Article

      Siphons

      Feb 6, 2020

      Siphons
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Starship Colonial

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Starship Colonial - Valentin Matcas

      Starship Colonial

      The Storyteller, Book Two

      ...And if you had higher powers, what is the first thing you would do?

      Sixth Edition

      By Valentin Leonard Matcas, M.Ed.

      Published by Valentin Leonard Matcas

      Copyright 2013 Valentin Leonard Matcas

      All rights reserved

      Cover: Valentin Matcas

      I dedicate this book to my family

      Contents:

      1 Consciousness Watching From Above

      2 The Death Array

      3 Calteea, Where Gods Walk With Men

      About the Author

      Five more minutes, Michael! You promised! Clean up your room, wash your hands, and come to have dinner! I’m starving here!

      Yes, Mom!

      What’s wrong, Michael? asked Cathleen.

      You forgot, Mom! I was supposed to babysit today!

      Oh, Michael! You don’t have to go! You’re just back from the Academy! Just stay home with me, will you? I missed you!

      Please Mom! Today is important! I’ve been waiting this whole year! Well, I’ve been waiting my whole life! Please Mother! Please take me to Calteea!

      Yes Michael, certainly, anything! But why? What is it?

      You don’t know? Today is the day, Mother! You don’t remember? Today is the day you go to the museum to tell the truth!

      Museum... Oh... Today? Oh, that day... I forgot, Michael! Please forgive me! It was so long ago... ages ago... And I was so young...

      Oh, stop that! It was only eighteen years ago, Mother, and you are still young and beautiful! You must see how men look after you wherever you go!

      Michael! ...But eighteen years! Was it you babysitting then? I never knew it! Yes, it had to be you! I remember you, Michael! You took me by the shoulders when I got back from the museum, and you took me to my baby! Yes! ...And you were so tall and handsome! I always doubted it was you, you were that tall! And look at you now! It was you, indeed, my son!

      Cathleen reached up as much as she could to hug me, and time itself stood still, while tears formed in her eyes. She asked:

      I bet you can still remember what happens today!

      But certainly Mom, we all do! Today we tell the story, Mother! The Starship Colonial story, when it gets blasted by the Borloonian Forces! That story!

      I had said it all too loud, too harsh, and it must have startled my mother, because she just remained there, speechless, not knowing what to do and what to say.

      Do you really remember, Michael? ...Everything? ...Everything that happened on Calteea?

      Certainly, Mother! We all remember!

      ...And today is the Starship Colonial Story Day? All day long?

      Yes, Mother! Right after we play Football, we eat, then we tell the story! I babysit everybody, all children in the colony! It is my last day, Mom! I am the oldest Michael! ...I graduate tonight, Mother! Now you know...

      Oh, Michael! exclaimed Cathleen while I took her in my arms and picked her up so high off the ground, she must have feared to look down.

      Ready then?

      Yes! No! Mom, wait! How did you know that the ship was undamaged after blasting?

      How could I remember? I was on Borloon... Wait, I think I know, she said looking at the ceiling, ‘It was Jack! He called me on my pad in Borloon! Can you believe it? Jack...’

      And when you visited the Serpanian on his spaceship, did you all swim naked in his swimming pool full of frogs and clams?

      No Michael, certainly not! ...But I think that Jack did! Hmm... are you sure you can tell the story?

      Yes, Mother! I’ve heard it a thousand times by now, and I am telling only the parts about you, since I am the only one to know it well! The colonists and Chelsea will tell the rest. They will help me, anyway! Come now, Mother! Let’s go! Let’s go! We are late, let’s go!

      Late, Michael? Late? I can never be late! Time is always in my favor dear, but let us proceed anyway, as you wish!

      I held as tightly as I could on my mother’s arm while she jumped us, and I closed my eyes tightly just the way I did when I was little and she took us places, yes, ever since I can remember.

      Next thing I know we were both on Calteea with the cool wind playing in our clothes and hair, surrounded by the sweet smell of salt and algae coming from the beach, along with the endless sound of splashing waves. I breathed deeply the most familiar air, and I exclaimed with joy:

      Home at last, Mom! We’re home!

      Michael! Michael! I heard dozens of children screaming my name, running towards me, taking me in their arms. I was the oldest and the tallest indeed!

      Michael, they screamed! Today is the day! Today they tell the Colonial Story!

      I know, I answered as excited as they were.

      The children took me away screaming, giggling and wining, while Cathleen stayed where she was, enjoying the warm sun and the cool wind. Younger Cathleens kept on bringing their Michaels for babysitting, one by one, and jumped back to wherever they came from, after having a long look all around. Mother was the oldest Cathleen, and she certainly knew the most, she knew everything about each Cathleen, since she lived and went through everything they had experienced, mostly. I was the one to graduate today, but so was she, and she never had to bring me there anymore. I was an adult, and I could babysit myself from now on.

      Cathleen looked intrigued all around. Where was she, Cathleen thought? Where was the youngest Cathleen of all, the one to go to the museum today? She remembered and made a few steps towards the Big House, and there she was indeed, the young Cathleen, getting everything prepared. She saw Michael then, the baby Michael, in her arms, only a few months old! The young Cathleen seemed to ignore everyone and everything, and gave her baby to Vera gently, along with the whole list of instructions. Cathleen smiled remembering everything. How beautiful life was then! How young she was, and how important everything seemed! ...And now, now it is different, hmm... Why?

      Everybody watched her with intriguing eyes. The children, Vera, the young Cathleens, they all isolated her. She had to go, to leave, to jump away, right then! She had stayed for too long anyway, yet she could not make herself leave, no matter how much she tried, because there was where life was, her life, and not at home, not anywhere else! The boys already started to play football on the beach. Hmm... They were enough for two full teams, all her sons, all coming from one time or another of her life, whenever she needed Vera to babysit... She watched them a minute longer, breathed deeply, made a strong effort, and jumped away...

      We played football that day for two hours, the way we always did that day, we ate very fast, and we could barely wait for the story to start. It was getting dark, and we all gathered around the fire, all the children in the colony, along with all adults, including Chelsea, Joe and Vera. I looked all around myself, and I remembered how eager I was, as a child, to hear the story of Starship Colonial, after it got blasted and left Borloon. I was the oldest now, the only one allowed to help tell the story, since I was the only one to know what happened ever after, directly from Mom, the oldest Cathleen! I knew it by heart and I had to fight my fright. I remembered how I used to fall asleep when I was little, before the story even started, no matter how much I tried to stay awake, then as I grew up I managed to stay awake and hear some more, and now I am the one to tell it all, or most of it! Today is the day indeed, but where does Mother have to go, so important that she cannot take me along!

      The story started simply, naturally, it was not my part yet, so I only waited and listened, making sure that the little ones who were already asleep, were well covered.

      1 Consciousness Watching From Above

      The first thing that Jack noticed, right after the Borloonian Special Forces blasted Colonial, was that he was nicely on his ship, Colonial, he had overslept, and it was either very dark in his room, or he had lost his eyes during the monstrous medical intervention on Borloon, with scissors and scalpels mutilating his body. It was from the bandages, he remembered, he could not see, and he giggled calmly. He knew that he was allowed to take his bandages off, and so he did! Jack started with his hands, arms and legs, untangled everything, and continued with the rest of his body, up to his face and head. His body seemed to be nicely in place and all right, yet it itched so gladly, and Jack could never stop laughing. There was one more thing. There was only one ship, one cabin, one bed; everything was in one unique, clear shape. It had to be from his eyes, Jack decided. They had pulled out one of his eyes; the medical machine did... His eye! No way! Jack looked around seeing only one strong, sharp image from an only eye, unlike the two weak and blurry images he had seen his whole life. You had two eyes therefore you saw two images; that was the rule, yet Jack enjoyed his new, clear vision, and continued laughing from the endless itch.

      Jack looked at his burned, black-stained skin and sighed in despair. He had to take a shower now... And there, in the shower, he saw, yet, another mutilation that the doctor-machine from Borloon had done to him. He had another leg... Yes, he had three legs now, with an additional leg between his first two. Jack cried in desolation and astonishment. The water tickled his skin, his itching skin, and Jack laughed and laughed... He was going to live the rest of his life that way, mutilated, with an extra leg... He looked closely. It did look like a leg at first, but it was not really a leg. Maybe it was fake. He tried to pull it off and it hurt. He remembered the doctor-machine working on that place over and over. Then he realized that it was not a leg, but the old part of his body that he always had, the one he had used whenever he went to the bathroom; it was only larger, bigger and longer... He had not recognized it, and tried to calm down...

      Jack only laughed throughout the shower, washing himself to a smooth, hairless, spotless, clear, bright young skin. Jack could not tell the difference anyway. It had to be from his eyes, he thought. He was still intrigued by his extra part. Was he still going to be able to go to the bathroom?

      Jack wore his old clothes with joy, and went out of his cabin, hoping to find everyone back on the ship, and start working right away. All crew and colonists had promised to come back that day from their extended visit on Borloon. What Jack could not remember, was that everyone, all crew and colonists, they loved Borloon so much, they found it so attractive and irresistible, that they all searched and found nice jobs for themselves, and schools for their kids, they rented apartments, they went to all stores and packed their closets and refrigerators full of exciting goods and products, and they decided to live nicely and peacefully on Borloon, for the rest of their lives, in a modernized version of colonization, which was, indeed the main purpose for them being there in space, away from Earth.

      Jack went everywhere on the empty ship, looked everywhere and saw nobody, no crew, no colonists, no Captain. He listened to the deep silence of the empty ship, lifted his elbows and started to clean the first toilet, which was his main job on Colonial, apart from cleaning sinks and sweeping floors. Jack did not remember being with George or piloting Colonial in that insane chase throughout Borloon, away from the Special Borloonian Forces, and then getting cornered in the asteroid belt and being blasted to ashes there. In fact, Jack did not remember his friend George at all, even though he had just left him in perfect safety at the Borloonian National Library. And where was Vera? She was supposed to be there with him, and clean up the ship. It was all black, dirty, and it smelled like smoke and burned food.

      There was something wrong with the ship... Some lights were on, some off, and some just flickered on and off, undecidedly. Jack thought about it, and knew exactly what had happened. They had all lost their jobs: him, Vera, Amy, the Captain, everybody! And they all had to go to the Employment Office and find new jobs. They were all cleaning giant toilets and sinks by now, Jack thought, and sighed.

      Jack almost forgot! He had already found a new job. They gave him a data crystal to take with him to his new job... That tall, blond man, Vicentiu, he did! Amy and Marcel had data crystals like his, and always placed them in the wall on the Bridge, and looked so important and satisfied doing it... Jack had a brilliant idea. He went back to his cabin, got dressed, took the crystal from his little black purse, and ran to the Bridge, anxious to play with the crystal the way Amy and Marcel did, and feel smart and important like them. What a great idea!

      Borloonian giants were on the Bridge, and they all startled Jack, while Jack startled them. Jack recovered first, found his way fast around them, and went straight to the wall, where he had seen Amy sticking in crystals. Jack smiled. He had cleaned that computer wall dozens of times, played with the sponge and brush, and read and analyzed words and numbers on displays, the way Amy did. Now he had a real crystal to play with, and everything did feel real and fun, Jack thought in excitement...

      This ship is scheduled for recycling, young man, or hominid, whatever you are! said the giant Borloonian staring at him from above, intensely. All personnel must evacuate this ship immediately! Please come with us, Sir!

      Two Borloonians did leave the ship immediately, the way they said, and two more came from behind, caught Jack by his arms, twisted them and dragged him along. Jack walked with them nicely, then suddenly stopped and broke loose, the way he had seen once, in a movie. He smiled victoriously. Jack liked the giant Borloonians then. They really knew how to play. He remembered Alexia and Tom and sighed deeply. He missed them so much!

      Jack smiled, took his new friends by the hands and walked out together. That was the last time to see the Bridge and the ship, Jack thought in sorrow. They were going to recycle Colonial... That was by far the best job he had ever had, to be with Vera, with the Captain, with Amy... He liked Amy, the way she spoke on the Bridge, like she was really smart. Not only that, but she knew what all buttons did when she pressed them. How did she do it? Jack turned his head back and looked melancholically at everything on the Bridge. He made a short move then, and stuck his data crystal in one of the slots, just for the heck of it. He really felt smart and important then, the way Amy and Marcel, the Capt...

      Everyone screamed then. The whole ship shook violently, as though it was being recycled with them inside, but it was not, it was all fine, since Chelsea kept on speaking in that specific way of hers, when you could not understand a word she said. The ship rotated, turned upside down, and all Borloonians flew across the Bridge, landed on everything they found: on chairs and panels, on the floor and walls, all in a very funny way, and Jack just laughed and laughed. His voice sounded different, he noticed, more like Sarah’s... Or like Amy’s... Hmmm, Jack thought puzzled... How was Vera going to recognize his voice! Jack looked around then, and forgot of his thoughts. He loved his new friends then, and rushed at their side to be and play with them. They were all screaming, and Jack screamed with them, and it was fun.

      The ship is jumping! one said.

      Impossible! another answered.

      Everybody kept silent, and looked in amazement at a fraction of a display.

      It’s impossible! We are jumping from star to star, without gates! one Borloonian said, and then the rest repeated those same words over and over. Jack did the same and it was all fun. He went in the middle of them then, and pointed to a little, moving white dot.

      Hey! Look! It’s Lady!

      No one paid attention to him anymore. Half of the displays turned on, others flickered on and off, and everything looked kind of damaged. The speakers on the ceiling made strange noises, babbled continuously, while the ship kept on rotating very fast, throwing everybody into walls and desks.

      Jack watched everything in amazement, holding on Captain’s chair. That was his favorite part on Colonial, when he got to see all stars in motion... Besides, now he had a clear vision, the kind he had when he was a little boy, he remembered, before he got sick, long ago, when the sky was full of stars, and there it was again, the sky, all full of stars, all so sharp and colorful... ...So wonderful! ...So splendid! But not for long... Bright, big suns appeared and disappeared everywhere. Sometimes it was daylight, sometimes it was nighttime. The sky was all dark with stars, changing back and forth, in a blink of an eye. Colorful stars and planets appeared and disappeared at once, flickered and rotated fast, very, very fast, unlike the way they used to do before, when you still had the time to see all kind of strange objects before everything changed patterns.

      What nobody knew, and what Jack could not remember, was that Colonial’s onboard computer, Chelsea, had not only a new operating system set in place by Jack and George the night before, but it had also access to the new, complex database, also elaborated the night before by Jack and George from all knowledge they found at the Borloonian National Library. Everything was allowing Chelsea to repair and consolidate itself immediately, in between, and even throughout the fast jumps, with tedious calculations now done instantaneously.

      We are jumping and jumping. What is this? someone asked.

      Stop it! Stop the jumps! Turn it off! others said.

      I can’t! How? What!

      Borloonians spoke at the same time, pressed all buttons and tried to put a stop to that madness.

      It is from the computer interface. It is offline. Nothing works. The interface is all fried from the blast!

      The Borloonians seemed preoccupied with something, and did not play with Jack at first, then, they all became very nice and very eager to catch Jack when he hit the floor or walls too hard, while they tried and succeeded in keeping themselves off everything, floated graciously in the air, and left the walls and ceiling to rotate around them. That was exactly what Jack was supposed to do, float there with everybody, and hold tightly on them; it made him dizzy, it was fun, and it worked.

      The ship stopped rotating an hour later, an entire hour of flying, laughing and playing with his new friends. Those Borloonians were smart, Jack thought, and knew what they were doing. That was by far the most exciting situation he had ever been, and even more, he was surrounded by his best friends. Jack watched them with love, and sighed. What a joy to be on Colonial! What a joy to be alive!

      The Borloonians started screaming at each other again, even more preoccupied that time.

      Oh, no! Oh, no!

      It’s the Gate of Alanorra! Oh, no! This is not happening!

      It was indeed one of those giant succession of rock circles, brightly illuminated in the blackness of the empty space, which Jack liked so much to watch every time they passed through them... He lost himself dreaming...

      We can’t jump through a Gate!

      Not a Gate! We can’t take a Gate like this!

      No way! Stop this ship now!

      The Gate will slingshot us anywhere, and we are going to crush on the first star or planet! On no!

      Colonial moved faster and faster, keeping very steady, straight towards the center of the first gigantic rock ring, despairing with its dexterity all Borloonians onboard.

      No way! It’s impossible!

      Call the Flight Coordinator! Tell him to reject the procedure!

      I already did! It is a pre-authorized jump! Hang on, everybody! We are going through! Nothing can stop us now!

      No! We can’t go through! Not with all our vibrations... We’re going to die!

      Stabilize the ship! Turn off all propulsions! Stabilize the ship! screamed another one.

      Inject the ink! Inject the ink! one screamed, and then they all screamed for that ink.

      Inject the ink! Inject the ink!

      Jack broke loose and started running to inject the ink, but a Borloonian caught fast with him and held him very closely, and very strongly, and Jack heard and felt a giant heart beating slowly and strongly next to his, and for an instant there, it felt like it was beating inside his own body, as though he had two hearts, his own and another one, a big, trembling heart of a giant. Jack giggled with excitement.

      Brace for impact!

      We are dead!

      Off the floors and walls, everybody! screamed another one. Everybody! Keep off the floors! Hold the hominid! Don’t let him touch the walls! We are going through!

      Four Borloonians caught Jack and held him in full strength, and the five of them remained in a perfect equilibrium, suspended in midair while the rest of the Borloonians did just the same, three meters to the left, yet they still turned and drifted slowly, making clumsy acrobatic moves, trying to dodge and avoid everything.

      Everybody watched quietly how Colonial went through the massive rock rings, one by one, faster and faster, until the rings got so fast, it felt both frightening and dizzy to watch.

      Hey, Nimn! Get back here with us! Stay off the walls! All were screaming now to the one who had gone through the little door on the side of the Bridge, and never came back out.

      The ink is injected! he screamed triumphantly. Stay off the walls, everyone! Stay off the walls! He screamed the whole thing, then he appeared through the little door, with his face red, sweating abundantly.

      Yeeee! they all screamed in a perfect chorus, deafening Jack.

      Nimn did his best to rejoin the midair of the Bridge, where everyone held everyone. Nimn was a hero, Jack thought. Everyone agreed with him, and calmed down. The rings passed faster and faster, and then the stars moved so fast, they formed bright lines in the sky at first, and then the big stars started to blink and flash, more and more intensely, until they looked like big, powerful blasts of light that hurt your eyes, and you could even hear them beating on the hull. Jack got scared, closed his eyes, plugged his ears with his finger, and it felt better. He stood like that for a long time. Sometimes the Borloonians moved him left, right, up or down, and told him to stay out of walls, but Jack did not want to open his eyes, since he was feeling kind of dizzy from the flashing stars.

      Later on, when Jack opened his eyes, the walls were spinning in madness the way they did before. The Borloonians were screaming again at each other and Jack thought that he was going to vomit, and then he knew that he was going to vomit, and then, when he suddenly vomited, it went everywhere at the same time: on walls and ceiling, on Borloonians, everywhere.

      Everybody started complaining about everything then. Jack was indeed embarrassed. He felt even sicker suddenly, and closed his eyes again, for a long time, refusing to see fast spinning walls and flashes of stars all around him, anymore.

      After a long time, it must have been half an hour later, Jack thought, everybody fell on the floor, while the whole ship roamed and hissed scaring them all. Thick, white steam surrounded it, as it was shown on displays.

      We have landed! one Borloonian said disbelieving it, when the whole madness stopped.

      They opened the main door in a hurry, and ran outside.

      Wait for me, buddies! screamed Jack behind.

      Jack tried to run, but only walked slowly, holding on the walls. He climbed down the front steps, with shaky, uneasy legs, and then walked slowly on the green, soft grass. The wind blew mildly, cooling his face, and tickling his skin. It really felt like they were back on Earth. Birds kept the silence little longer, and then started to sing again, making the surroundings seem even more pleasant, after what they went through. It felt so good to be outside, on solid grounds, thought Jack, still holding tightly on the side of the ship. The ground was still spinning and shaking, and then he vomited again, that time away from everyone, and he sighed in sorrow. Everything was still spinning: the grass, the trees, the sky, the ship, and it never ended...

      All Borloonians spoke fast, and at the same time. They pointed to Colonial, then pointed everywhere around themselves with both arms, picked up dried tree branches and grass, and threw them in the air, over their shoulders, and then they all pointed to Jack, showing angry faces. Jack went closer to hear what they said. It seemed strange that there were only three Borloonians left. They used to be five only seconds before. Moments later, there were only two Borloonians left, speaking even louder and faster that time, pointing to the empty spaces. The Borloonians were disappearing fast, Jack thought in amazement. Then, there was only one Borloonian left, looking round and round in fear, babbling something and making crazy faces. And then, suddenly, there was only Jack left, alone, in that strange, wild forest, looking sometimes at the ship, sometimes at the trees, but he never pointing around him, throwing branches in the air, or speaking fast, the way the Borloonians did, afraid not to disappear the same way. Jack only sat there, feeling the pain, fatigue, and nausea, and listened to the silence and to the birds.

      Suddenly, he felt better. It was as the wind had stopped. His space sickness had dissolved away in thin air. Jack noticed that he was not alone. There was someone with him. A little creature dressed in a little, white robe, that smelled like flowers. The robe itself was flowers. It was a big petal from a white flower, more exactly. The creature was not a creature at all, but a girl, half of his size, moving her hands in a strange way in front of his stomach, closely to it, yet never touching him.

      Jack, oh Jack! It is you, indeed! I could not believe it when they told me that you were already here! How are you, Brother?

      The man had spoken right from behind, startling him. Jack had never heard him coming, and he was very good at hearing when people came. Jack turned around. It was the man from the Employment Office, Vicentiu. That was so wonderful! Jack thought. With a little luck, he could start work right away.

      You sure travel fast, Jack. I see that you must feel sick. Don’t worry! You will feel better in no time. You are in good hands.

      More people were there indeed, appearing by the second. Jack looked around him, not believing what he saw. First, he was with the Borloonians, then they disappeared one by one, then he was alone, then some strangers appeared, some were short, and some tall, and all watched him intensely.

      Where are the Borloonians? asked Jack in a whisper, afraid not to disturb the hand-dancers. All pain seemed to ease down and go away, not only in his stomach, but throughout his whole body. It did feel like he was fife years old again. Two more short people had joined the girl, all dressed in flowers, all performing the same dance with their hands. Jack left them alone, and never told them anything; he was only waiting for them to finish, so he could clap his hands. Another thing happened: he felt better and better. All his pain went away, and then they took their hands away, looked up at Jack, and disappeared the way the Borloonians did.

      Where are the giants? Jack asked.

      The Borloonians are home by now, answered Vicentiu. They are with their families.

      A girl and a boy appeared then, both shorter than Jack. They stood right in front of him, and looked straight at him, intensely, without smiling. They made a grimace of clear, complete pain, and continued watching him straight in the eyes, the way you watch a movie. They did not move their hands, nothing bad happened, it just made Jack feel uncomfortable.

      Vicentiu studied Jack closely, and said:

      "Jack, you are young! ...And you have lost weight. What happened to you, my Lord?

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1