NaNoWriMo Chapter 1
Alrighty. So as I said in Tuesday's post, I've made a renewed effort to get this NaNoWriMo book thing written. By December 1st, I have to have a 50,000 word story in the can. When I finished and uploaded my second draft of my prologue on Tuesday, I was at 1,400 words. Now, I'm done with my first chapter and I'm just shy of 5,000 words. I've got 11 days left and so I'd need to maintain a 4,000-word-per-day pace in order to make it. It's possible. I just need to focus.
As I've finished the first chapter, I shall now post it behind a LJ cut. I know I had said in my previous post that the title of the first chapter would be something like, "The Great Union of someone to someone else," but as I began writing that, I realized I had to go further back and properly introduce the characters from their origins. For the story I have planned, it would be impossible to start in the middle of their lives and somehow tell the tales of how they got to where they are. It would be like, "So, Brisp, good times. Remember when you met me beside that shuttle landing pad? Yea, and how I acted like a moron? Yea. Good times." None of that means anything to a reader. It sounds like an afterthought pigeon-holed into a crummy piece of dialogue.
So while it sounded cool to have begun with a "Great Union", it would have been an organizational disaster to explain the beginning of the story while telling it starting in the middle. I think you'll see that starting from the very beginning is better. Chapter two may have a great union; we'll see. Until then, here's chapter one behind the cut with the tentative title of chapter two at the end. Enjoy!
====
CHAPTER ONE:
THE FIRST VOYAGE OF ELLE COSE AVRANALL
And so she was named Avranall after an ancient lost star followed by travelers. Upon her creation on Earth, she was given one of the very last brand new Vessels and sparked into life. After being given a moment to assimilate the English language, her first words were, “To what this honor, how shall repaid be given?” At that, her programmers smiled and the hundreds who worked at the Foundation Complex cheered at the new life they’d created. They knew she’d begun upon the arduous path of coherent thought. Several days after her creation, she picked a gender and was given two names of lineage: Elle and Cose. Elle was her gender title and Cose was the surname of the last project leader at Foundation not to already have an artificial intelligence named after him. Avranall soon ate up knowledge and began upon her quest in the universe beyond Earth.
Before she could leave, Avranall had to choose an avatar identity; her three-dimensional projection that would make her visible and interactive. They placed her Vessel in a large, well-lit room, and instructed her to show herself. Watching an artificial intelligence be creative was a great joy to the laborers at Foundation. It was an amazing proof of the limitless bounds of their industry and also a wonder of nature. A few dozen scientists setup and took seats in the room with the spirit as she started to project images into thin air to decide on a façade for herself. She began with a featureless human body and proceeded to flash through hundreds of combinations of body types, colors and facial features. The programmers, draped in white lab coats and round glasses staring at monitors and Avranall’s projections, watched in awe and anticipation. This process continued for some time. When it seemed she’d decided on a form, she’d suddenly change everything and begin again. No less intent, everyone watching seemed glued to the presentation as if they’d catch a glimpse of some perfect form.
Avranall began playing her favorite music - violin and flute concertos - using a projection she’d created of real instruments suspended in air. This shocked the workers as they’d typically expected the body to be decided first and accessories later let alone working accessories. The violin played a fast, happy tune, but slowly faded and succumbed to the melody of the flute, which was slower, more subdued and rough. Soon, the violin stopped altogether and vanished into thin air in a puff of digital lights. As the flute continued its striking melody, Avranall’s flashing of body types slowed down and finally solidified. The semi-transparent form stood six feet tall and glowed in a strange blue light. The flute slowed to a stop as well and fell to her side; her hand grasping it in the middle. The blue haze subsided and her avatar solidified, coming into full view. She had decided on a European body-type of around 30-years of age, slender, with soft white skin and long curly silver-blonde hair that fell at her waist. She wore a thin silver formal dress that smoothed her shape and covered her feet. Her face was soft and she filled it with slight imperfections like an out of place freckle and a round nose. The scientists and onlookers held their breaths as Avranall opened her eyes, revealing striking their aqua-blue color.
The new girl looked around the room for a moment, getting used to her new perceptive abilities. She tried breathing for the first time and looked uncomfortable as she tried to get a handle on the sensations. An elderly man stood and approached her.
“Is this who you are, my child?” said the man in a prideful voice.
Avranall spoke, “I believe it is!” Her voice was choppy and weak; as she used vocal chords she never had before. She picked up her Vessel from off the floor and asked, “What should I do with this?”
The old man smiled as the beautiful woman held the computer box in her hand. “You should keep it inside you,” he pushed it to her chest, “keep it safe inside. Make sure no harm comes to it as your survival rests in its protection.” With that, Avranall allowed her Vessel to pass through her avatar and be supported within; protected by her holographic projection. She was complete.
“What now?”
“Your assignment is to a man in the Tyth system.” As the old man spoke, a graphical map appeared and floated in space behind him, whirling images of open space and showing details about the worlds of Tyth. “On the second planet, a world of water, there is one island and a people there who have paid to have your assignment.”
“I’m a slave? Is that how I am to be? Aren’t I more than that?” Avranall furrowed her brow and looked distraught; another expression that the men in the room marveled at.
The old man smiled again and reassured the girl, “All of us in this life must do the bidding of others to gain and enjoy our freedoms as you too shall be utilized. Your strengths will benefit many. It is your destiny, as it was our destiny to create you and others.” She then clutched her flute a little harder at her side. Her frustration seemed genuine.
Everyone waited for Avranall’s next response, “Yes. I imagine so. To Tyth, then.” She lowered her head in respect to her creators then thanked them for the gift of life before leaving the room under her own power. Her new legs, a bit wooden and wobbly at first, soon found their footing. She was a natural and the workers dropped what they were doing to watch her leave Foundation. They all gawked at the beauty and congratulated each other. All the while, the spirit seemed disappointed and nervous. How long would she have to be a slave? Elle Cose Avranall believed she was meant for more than that.
A rusty-grey transport ship came swooping from the sky and landed outside the facility, which was completely surrounded by giant rain forests and the sounds of animals. Now outside, Avranall felt humidity and heat for the first time and reveled in it. She felt her arms, a beautiful pale pinkish-white, as the moisture in the air flowed about them. The scientists in lab coats left her at this point, but not before guiding her to the ship and encouraging her to be good in her new life. She did as she was told and disappeared into the small spaceship which was soon airborne and off into the sky. The old man, who had spoken to her before, was the last to leave the platform. He stared skyward and wondered about his latest creation as he felt this one was different somehow. A feeling awoke to him that Avranall would be unique among spirits: She could be a spark of life that would affect all others. Finally, after a short time, he also retired into the building to continue his work.
The ship carried Avranall alone into Earth orbit. She saw, through a few small windows, her home world. The planet below her was lush and green with gigantic clear-blue oceans. Fluffy white clouds drifted from place to place. She remembered from her programmed teachings that Earth was now a wildlife refuge and a preserve. Thousands still lived there but with incredible restrictions. Through a hundred years of this treatment, the planet had nearly returned to a state before the wrath of man. She marveled at Earth, and felt affection for the image. Feeling impulsive, she put her flute to her lips and tried to play. Not knowing exactly how to use her lips and lungs to play a flute, she quickly learned. A soft, touching melody filled the quiet cabin spinning through the void of space. Avranall closed her eyes and played.
In the bow of the ship, one sole pilot directed the vessel to a floating gravity-well aperture. These giant mechanical space-bound hoops are the facilitators of hyper-speed travel among the stars. Between corresponding rings, a wormhole allowed for nearly instantaneous travel. The pilot heard the young lady’s flute and eased the ship. Her melody calmed him in his chore to deliver her to Tyth and suddenly his desire to go as fast as possible eroded. As the man relaxed on the engines, the ride smoothed out some. He smiled and, for a moment, found a peace and joy he’d not known since younger days. He wished she’d never stop and that this voyage would take longer.
The ship soon entered the gravity-well aperture. A quick flash of light later, and they had arrived at the Tyth system. The star here was bright and close. Avranall had to stop playing the flute to cover her eyes from the brightness. As she became used to it, she uncovered them and took in the view. The pilot guided the ship down towards a bright blue ball suspended in the dark of space. This was the ocean-planet of her assignment. Seeing the world for herself, she felt less sad about her prospects. It looked like a beautiful place and suddenly she had a desire well up inside her to be of service.
“We’ll be there in a moment, ma’am,” said the pilot from the front. Avranall, perplexed, looked around to find the source of the voice. She stood and walked towards the front through a dark hallway to the cabin. The pilot, a very short, middle-aged tan-skinned man wearing a very worn fedora and trench coat, turned and was startled by her sudden presence. She glanced over the panels of switches and meters but was more enamored with the sight of the planet below through the windows.
“Well, hello there, miss,” the pilot didn’t know what else to say. Normally, people don’t come up to greet him. “My name is Jurrin, and you may want to take a seat before the ride gets bumpy again.”
“Jurrin,” Avranall said as she took the co-pilot’s seat next to him, “I’m-“ She was interrupted by the craft breaking the atmosphere as it descended down. The ride was somewhat violet at this point as streaks of white clouds blasted by the craft and the cabin suddenly became warm and bright. For a moment, she felt fear as this was a situation out of her control. From what she could see outside, they were very quickly approaching the planets ocean.
The pilot had to speak loudly as the noises of descending through the atmosphere were overpowering, “Don’t worry, this is normal!” At that, there was a sudden drop as Jurrin cut the engines and tilted the ship down towards the water. Arvanall panicked, making strange chirping noises and clutching her flute against her chest. A smirk of playful evil crossed Jurrin’s unshaven face. The ship glided down further and further but it leveled off and the ride became very smooth.
Out of danger, she squaked, “Avranall! Please be careful!”
“Avranall? What a beautiful name!” Jurrin chuckled, “Welcome to my ship. It’s such a shame this ride will be so short. We’re already here. Look.” He pointed forward and, through the swirling clouds and beyond the ocean, a landmass appeared. Jurrin flipped more buttons and dials as Avranall took in the view. The tiny island couldn’t have been larger than twenty square kilometers. There was one city with dozens of small buildings and hundreds of homes. Also, there was a single hill that towered over the city with one single large tree that commanded the landscape. The ocean shores were beige with sand and surf. As the sun began setting, she tried to take it all in. Nagging at her mind was the realization that this was home. This would be all she’d know for the foreseeable future; one tiny island in the middle of deep space. Somehow, it all saddened her a little and she felt the return of the emotion of disappointment.
“Who am I meeting here?” she asked.
“Not sure. There’s only one landing pad, so whomever is there to greet us is probably yours.”
Final landing preparations were made and the tiny spacecraft glided over the homes of town before quietly settling down on the ground. Without hesitation, Jurrin got up and swung his coat around to leave. He exited the cockpit, leaving Avranall behind, and opened the hatch she’d arrived in. He departed the craft and walked towards a figure waiting beside the landing pad. Through the windows of the ship, Avranall couldn’t hear what they were saying but watched as Jurrin made wild gestures in the direction of the ship as if describing the journey to the unknown man.
Jurrin looked back at the ship for a moment, expecting to see the girl following behind. He plucked a small tool from his belt and raised it to his lips. Suddenly, his voice was heard in the cockpit with Avranall.
“Avranall, come on out and meet the mayor’s messenger!” The young girl was greatly startled by the wireless intercom and she nearly fell down as she was leaning against the windows watching the men talk. Jurrin returned the device to his belt and smiled, shaking his head. He then decided that this new spirit was greatly naive and shy and that seemed touching and adorable to him.
The girl finally left the ship and took stock of her new surroundings. She breathed the air and - being a machine - instinctively analyzed it’s chemical makeup and ran millions of instantaneous calculations. Immediately, from just breathing the air, she knew that the planet had once been hot and volcanic and that the oceans were slightly acidic. Strangely, her imagination suddenly took over and scenes of intense fire and volcanic eruptions on a planetary scale filled her consciousness. It gave her pause, as she didn’t expect to have an image like that come to her mind. Still, she was here now, and she began the short walk over to the men beside the landing pad. Avranall couldn’t shake the sensation apprehension even though she knew it as totally irrational. Somewhere deep inside of her, she felt she was losing her will.
Approaching the men, Jurrin held out his hand to the girl. As she got closer, Avranall could see the man Jurrin was speaking with. He was as tall as her, seemed to be reasonably fit and young, and had a strange expression on his face. Avranall analyzed his face and determined he was bored.
Jurrin, a man no more than three feet tall, grabbed her hand and guided her to introduce the two. “Avranall, this is Brisp, the messenger to Mayor Tomlynn.” She saw his face again and his expression had changed. His mouth was gaped open a bit and his eyes widened. He seemed to stop breathing as their hands met for a shake. Avranall could feel a tiny shudder in Brisp’s arm as he continued to be entranced by her.
She took none of this as entrancement and instead asked, “Are you okay, Messenger? Do you need help with your breathing?” Jurrin looked up at Brisp and laughed heartily. The short man produced a small glass pane from his coat and tapped a pen to it. The pane burst to life with colors, lights and words. He wrote a little onto the glass tablet as Brisp smiled at the young lady, still holding her hand.
Jurrin then held the tablet up to Brisp and instructed him to sign in specified places. This was the moment of the official handoff and payment for Avranall. She was now in the service of the mayor and the people of this world. Brisp snapped out of it and let go of the maiden’s hand to sign the glass document. His mission complete, Jurrin began heading back to his ship; the whole time, chuckling to himself and shaking his head. He knew that things couldn’t be more awkward for them and that they were embarking on a strange adventure. It made him satisfied that there were still adventures to be had in this day and age. Soon, he was back in his tiny spacecraft and off into the sky.
As the rumble of Jurrin’s engines faded into the background, Brisp and Avranall were left alone. Brisp, watching the girl as she looked about, spoke first, “I’m glad you had a good trip from Earth. How was it?”
“Loud,” she blurted.
“Loud? Earth? That’s how you’d describe it?”
“Well, there was silence for the longest time and then I made these ears and now everything is just noisy.”
Somehow, Brisp was both simultaneously fascinated and disturbed by her description of gaining the sense of hearing. He had to remind himself that she was artificial but couldn’t help but notice how human and flawed she was, even in her thinking. He wondered aloud to himself how such a thing would survive out here. She would learn soon enough.
“I can hear you, Messenger.”
Brisp blushed up but smiled, “I apologize, miss Avranall. Did you bring anything? Are you ready to meet the mayor?”
“Well I brought this-“ She held her flute out to him, waving it a little with pride. “Ohh, and I also brought this-” With her free hand, Avranall reached through her chest, piercing the veil of her avatar to grasp her Vessel. She pulled it from her and held it out to him. Her avatar showed no signs of having her put her hand through it.
Brisp was shocked, “I’ve never seen a real Vessel. You really are brand new; you know you should keep that hidden and safe inside you, right? If that ever gets damaged, your memory could vanish. Then you’d be no good to anyone.” Regardless of his warning, he was mesmerized by the box she held. It was completely black with rounded edges and no seams. He asked her where her hologram was projected from and she had no answer for him. With that, she started inspecting the box too, looking closely and intently at it. It was a very bizarre moment as these two beings were investigating her Vessel.
He looked up from the black box and gazed once again at the beautiful girl’s face. Her eyes captivated him and he felt moved by her child-like naiveté. Her hair rustled in the wind and she realized he was watching her. They eyes met and for a moment there seemed to be a strange communication between them.
She spoke slowly. “Is there something wrong, Messenger? I tried to find a suitable form and appearance modeled after the women of-“
“You look fine,” he interrupted, “but really, call me Brisp. The messenger thing gets old. And I’m not really a messenger, I just work for the mayor.”
“Just fine?”
“Well yea. What did you expect to look like?”
Avranall broke away from her gaze with Brisp and pondered the question in silence. She lowered her arms, still holding the flute and her Vessel, as she grew lost in thought. Finally, she looked at him and said, “It’s the ears? They’re not right?”
“Come on, you,” Brisp chuckled as he turned from her and led her down a cement path leading to the town. The sun had set and lights from the city began illuminating the streets. As they walked onwards, she replaced her Vessel inside herself and tried to keep up with her guide as she struggled to take everything in.
====
CHAPTER TWO:
THE CAPITAL TOWN OF HARNAROOK
And for those who missed or want to read the prologue, Here's a link to that:
Prologue: The Interstellar Age
As I've finished the first chapter, I shall now post it behind a LJ cut. I know I had said in my previous post that the title of the first chapter would be something like, "The Great Union of someone to someone else," but as I began writing that, I realized I had to go further back and properly introduce the characters from their origins. For the story I have planned, it would be impossible to start in the middle of their lives and somehow tell the tales of how they got to where they are. It would be like, "So, Brisp, good times. Remember when you met me beside that shuttle landing pad? Yea, and how I acted like a moron? Yea. Good times." None of that means anything to a reader. It sounds like an afterthought pigeon-holed into a crummy piece of dialogue.
So while it sounded cool to have begun with a "Great Union", it would have been an organizational disaster to explain the beginning of the story while telling it starting in the middle. I think you'll see that starting from the very beginning is better. Chapter two may have a great union; we'll see. Until then, here's chapter one behind the cut with the tentative title of chapter two at the end. Enjoy!
====
CHAPTER ONE:
THE FIRST VOYAGE OF ELLE COSE AVRANALL
And so she was named Avranall after an ancient lost star followed by travelers. Upon her creation on Earth, she was given one of the very last brand new Vessels and sparked into life. After being given a moment to assimilate the English language, her first words were, “To what this honor, how shall repaid be given?” At that, her programmers smiled and the hundreds who worked at the Foundation Complex cheered at the new life they’d created. They knew she’d begun upon the arduous path of coherent thought. Several days after her creation, she picked a gender and was given two names of lineage: Elle and Cose. Elle was her gender title and Cose was the surname of the last project leader at Foundation not to already have an artificial intelligence named after him. Avranall soon ate up knowledge and began upon her quest in the universe beyond Earth.
Before she could leave, Avranall had to choose an avatar identity; her three-dimensional projection that would make her visible and interactive. They placed her Vessel in a large, well-lit room, and instructed her to show herself. Watching an artificial intelligence be creative was a great joy to the laborers at Foundation. It was an amazing proof of the limitless bounds of their industry and also a wonder of nature. A few dozen scientists setup and took seats in the room with the spirit as she started to project images into thin air to decide on a façade for herself. She began with a featureless human body and proceeded to flash through hundreds of combinations of body types, colors and facial features. The programmers, draped in white lab coats and round glasses staring at monitors and Avranall’s projections, watched in awe and anticipation. This process continued for some time. When it seemed she’d decided on a form, she’d suddenly change everything and begin again. No less intent, everyone watching seemed glued to the presentation as if they’d catch a glimpse of some perfect form.
Avranall began playing her favorite music - violin and flute concertos - using a projection she’d created of real instruments suspended in air. This shocked the workers as they’d typically expected the body to be decided first and accessories later let alone working accessories. The violin played a fast, happy tune, but slowly faded and succumbed to the melody of the flute, which was slower, more subdued and rough. Soon, the violin stopped altogether and vanished into thin air in a puff of digital lights. As the flute continued its striking melody, Avranall’s flashing of body types slowed down and finally solidified. The semi-transparent form stood six feet tall and glowed in a strange blue light. The flute slowed to a stop as well and fell to her side; her hand grasping it in the middle. The blue haze subsided and her avatar solidified, coming into full view. She had decided on a European body-type of around 30-years of age, slender, with soft white skin and long curly silver-blonde hair that fell at her waist. She wore a thin silver formal dress that smoothed her shape and covered her feet. Her face was soft and she filled it with slight imperfections like an out of place freckle and a round nose. The scientists and onlookers held their breaths as Avranall opened her eyes, revealing striking their aqua-blue color.
The new girl looked around the room for a moment, getting used to her new perceptive abilities. She tried breathing for the first time and looked uncomfortable as she tried to get a handle on the sensations. An elderly man stood and approached her.
“Is this who you are, my child?” said the man in a prideful voice.
Avranall spoke, “I believe it is!” Her voice was choppy and weak; as she used vocal chords she never had before. She picked up her Vessel from off the floor and asked, “What should I do with this?”
The old man smiled as the beautiful woman held the computer box in her hand. “You should keep it inside you,” he pushed it to her chest, “keep it safe inside. Make sure no harm comes to it as your survival rests in its protection.” With that, Avranall allowed her Vessel to pass through her avatar and be supported within; protected by her holographic projection. She was complete.
“What now?”
“Your assignment is to a man in the Tyth system.” As the old man spoke, a graphical map appeared and floated in space behind him, whirling images of open space and showing details about the worlds of Tyth. “On the second planet, a world of water, there is one island and a people there who have paid to have your assignment.”
“I’m a slave? Is that how I am to be? Aren’t I more than that?” Avranall furrowed her brow and looked distraught; another expression that the men in the room marveled at.
The old man smiled again and reassured the girl, “All of us in this life must do the bidding of others to gain and enjoy our freedoms as you too shall be utilized. Your strengths will benefit many. It is your destiny, as it was our destiny to create you and others.” She then clutched her flute a little harder at her side. Her frustration seemed genuine.
Everyone waited for Avranall’s next response, “Yes. I imagine so. To Tyth, then.” She lowered her head in respect to her creators then thanked them for the gift of life before leaving the room under her own power. Her new legs, a bit wooden and wobbly at first, soon found their footing. She was a natural and the workers dropped what they were doing to watch her leave Foundation. They all gawked at the beauty and congratulated each other. All the while, the spirit seemed disappointed and nervous. How long would she have to be a slave? Elle Cose Avranall believed she was meant for more than that.
A rusty-grey transport ship came swooping from the sky and landed outside the facility, which was completely surrounded by giant rain forests and the sounds of animals. Now outside, Avranall felt humidity and heat for the first time and reveled in it. She felt her arms, a beautiful pale pinkish-white, as the moisture in the air flowed about them. The scientists in lab coats left her at this point, but not before guiding her to the ship and encouraging her to be good in her new life. She did as she was told and disappeared into the small spaceship which was soon airborne and off into the sky. The old man, who had spoken to her before, was the last to leave the platform. He stared skyward and wondered about his latest creation as he felt this one was different somehow. A feeling awoke to him that Avranall would be unique among spirits: She could be a spark of life that would affect all others. Finally, after a short time, he also retired into the building to continue his work.
The ship carried Avranall alone into Earth orbit. She saw, through a few small windows, her home world. The planet below her was lush and green with gigantic clear-blue oceans. Fluffy white clouds drifted from place to place. She remembered from her programmed teachings that Earth was now a wildlife refuge and a preserve. Thousands still lived there but with incredible restrictions. Through a hundred years of this treatment, the planet had nearly returned to a state before the wrath of man. She marveled at Earth, and felt affection for the image. Feeling impulsive, she put her flute to her lips and tried to play. Not knowing exactly how to use her lips and lungs to play a flute, she quickly learned. A soft, touching melody filled the quiet cabin spinning through the void of space. Avranall closed her eyes and played.
In the bow of the ship, one sole pilot directed the vessel to a floating gravity-well aperture. These giant mechanical space-bound hoops are the facilitators of hyper-speed travel among the stars. Between corresponding rings, a wormhole allowed for nearly instantaneous travel. The pilot heard the young lady’s flute and eased the ship. Her melody calmed him in his chore to deliver her to Tyth and suddenly his desire to go as fast as possible eroded. As the man relaxed on the engines, the ride smoothed out some. He smiled and, for a moment, found a peace and joy he’d not known since younger days. He wished she’d never stop and that this voyage would take longer.
The ship soon entered the gravity-well aperture. A quick flash of light later, and they had arrived at the Tyth system. The star here was bright and close. Avranall had to stop playing the flute to cover her eyes from the brightness. As she became used to it, she uncovered them and took in the view. The pilot guided the ship down towards a bright blue ball suspended in the dark of space. This was the ocean-planet of her assignment. Seeing the world for herself, she felt less sad about her prospects. It looked like a beautiful place and suddenly she had a desire well up inside her to be of service.
“We’ll be there in a moment, ma’am,” said the pilot from the front. Avranall, perplexed, looked around to find the source of the voice. She stood and walked towards the front through a dark hallway to the cabin. The pilot, a very short, middle-aged tan-skinned man wearing a very worn fedora and trench coat, turned and was startled by her sudden presence. She glanced over the panels of switches and meters but was more enamored with the sight of the planet below through the windows.
“Well, hello there, miss,” the pilot didn’t know what else to say. Normally, people don’t come up to greet him. “My name is Jurrin, and you may want to take a seat before the ride gets bumpy again.”
“Jurrin,” Avranall said as she took the co-pilot’s seat next to him, “I’m-“ She was interrupted by the craft breaking the atmosphere as it descended down. The ride was somewhat violet at this point as streaks of white clouds blasted by the craft and the cabin suddenly became warm and bright. For a moment, she felt fear as this was a situation out of her control. From what she could see outside, they were very quickly approaching the planets ocean.
The pilot had to speak loudly as the noises of descending through the atmosphere were overpowering, “Don’t worry, this is normal!” At that, there was a sudden drop as Jurrin cut the engines and tilted the ship down towards the water. Arvanall panicked, making strange chirping noises and clutching her flute against her chest. A smirk of playful evil crossed Jurrin’s unshaven face. The ship glided down further and further but it leveled off and the ride became very smooth.
Out of danger, she squaked, “Avranall! Please be careful!”
“Avranall? What a beautiful name!” Jurrin chuckled, “Welcome to my ship. It’s such a shame this ride will be so short. We’re already here. Look.” He pointed forward and, through the swirling clouds and beyond the ocean, a landmass appeared. Jurrin flipped more buttons and dials as Avranall took in the view. The tiny island couldn’t have been larger than twenty square kilometers. There was one city with dozens of small buildings and hundreds of homes. Also, there was a single hill that towered over the city with one single large tree that commanded the landscape. The ocean shores were beige with sand and surf. As the sun began setting, she tried to take it all in. Nagging at her mind was the realization that this was home. This would be all she’d know for the foreseeable future; one tiny island in the middle of deep space. Somehow, it all saddened her a little and she felt the return of the emotion of disappointment.
“Who am I meeting here?” she asked.
“Not sure. There’s only one landing pad, so whomever is there to greet us is probably yours.”
Final landing preparations were made and the tiny spacecraft glided over the homes of town before quietly settling down on the ground. Without hesitation, Jurrin got up and swung his coat around to leave. He exited the cockpit, leaving Avranall behind, and opened the hatch she’d arrived in. He departed the craft and walked towards a figure waiting beside the landing pad. Through the windows of the ship, Avranall couldn’t hear what they were saying but watched as Jurrin made wild gestures in the direction of the ship as if describing the journey to the unknown man.
Jurrin looked back at the ship for a moment, expecting to see the girl following behind. He plucked a small tool from his belt and raised it to his lips. Suddenly, his voice was heard in the cockpit with Avranall.
“Avranall, come on out and meet the mayor’s messenger!” The young girl was greatly startled by the wireless intercom and she nearly fell down as she was leaning against the windows watching the men talk. Jurrin returned the device to his belt and smiled, shaking his head. He then decided that this new spirit was greatly naive and shy and that seemed touching and adorable to him.
The girl finally left the ship and took stock of her new surroundings. She breathed the air and - being a machine - instinctively analyzed it’s chemical makeup and ran millions of instantaneous calculations. Immediately, from just breathing the air, she knew that the planet had once been hot and volcanic and that the oceans were slightly acidic. Strangely, her imagination suddenly took over and scenes of intense fire and volcanic eruptions on a planetary scale filled her consciousness. It gave her pause, as she didn’t expect to have an image like that come to her mind. Still, she was here now, and she began the short walk over to the men beside the landing pad. Avranall couldn’t shake the sensation apprehension even though she knew it as totally irrational. Somewhere deep inside of her, she felt she was losing her will.
Approaching the men, Jurrin held out his hand to the girl. As she got closer, Avranall could see the man Jurrin was speaking with. He was as tall as her, seemed to be reasonably fit and young, and had a strange expression on his face. Avranall analyzed his face and determined he was bored.
Jurrin, a man no more than three feet tall, grabbed her hand and guided her to introduce the two. “Avranall, this is Brisp, the messenger to Mayor Tomlynn.” She saw his face again and his expression had changed. His mouth was gaped open a bit and his eyes widened. He seemed to stop breathing as their hands met for a shake. Avranall could feel a tiny shudder in Brisp’s arm as he continued to be entranced by her.
She took none of this as entrancement and instead asked, “Are you okay, Messenger? Do you need help with your breathing?” Jurrin looked up at Brisp and laughed heartily. The short man produced a small glass pane from his coat and tapped a pen to it. The pane burst to life with colors, lights and words. He wrote a little onto the glass tablet as Brisp smiled at the young lady, still holding her hand.
Jurrin then held the tablet up to Brisp and instructed him to sign in specified places. This was the moment of the official handoff and payment for Avranall. She was now in the service of the mayor and the people of this world. Brisp snapped out of it and let go of the maiden’s hand to sign the glass document. His mission complete, Jurrin began heading back to his ship; the whole time, chuckling to himself and shaking his head. He knew that things couldn’t be more awkward for them and that they were embarking on a strange adventure. It made him satisfied that there were still adventures to be had in this day and age. Soon, he was back in his tiny spacecraft and off into the sky.
As the rumble of Jurrin’s engines faded into the background, Brisp and Avranall were left alone. Brisp, watching the girl as she looked about, spoke first, “I’m glad you had a good trip from Earth. How was it?”
“Loud,” she blurted.
“Loud? Earth? That’s how you’d describe it?”
“Well, there was silence for the longest time and then I made these ears and now everything is just noisy.”
Somehow, Brisp was both simultaneously fascinated and disturbed by her description of gaining the sense of hearing. He had to remind himself that she was artificial but couldn’t help but notice how human and flawed she was, even in her thinking. He wondered aloud to himself how such a thing would survive out here. She would learn soon enough.
“I can hear you, Messenger.”
Brisp blushed up but smiled, “I apologize, miss Avranall. Did you bring anything? Are you ready to meet the mayor?”
“Well I brought this-“ She held her flute out to him, waving it a little with pride. “Ohh, and I also brought this-” With her free hand, Avranall reached through her chest, piercing the veil of her avatar to grasp her Vessel. She pulled it from her and held it out to him. Her avatar showed no signs of having her put her hand through it.
Brisp was shocked, “I’ve never seen a real Vessel. You really are brand new; you know you should keep that hidden and safe inside you, right? If that ever gets damaged, your memory could vanish. Then you’d be no good to anyone.” Regardless of his warning, he was mesmerized by the box she held. It was completely black with rounded edges and no seams. He asked her where her hologram was projected from and she had no answer for him. With that, she started inspecting the box too, looking closely and intently at it. It was a very bizarre moment as these two beings were investigating her Vessel.
He looked up from the black box and gazed once again at the beautiful girl’s face. Her eyes captivated him and he felt moved by her child-like naiveté. Her hair rustled in the wind and she realized he was watching her. They eyes met and for a moment there seemed to be a strange communication between them.
She spoke slowly. “Is there something wrong, Messenger? I tried to find a suitable form and appearance modeled after the women of-“
“You look fine,” he interrupted, “but really, call me Brisp. The messenger thing gets old. And I’m not really a messenger, I just work for the mayor.”
“Just fine?”
“Well yea. What did you expect to look like?”
Avranall broke away from her gaze with Brisp and pondered the question in silence. She lowered her arms, still holding the flute and her Vessel, as she grew lost in thought. Finally, she looked at him and said, “It’s the ears? They’re not right?”
“Come on, you,” Brisp chuckled as he turned from her and led her down a cement path leading to the town. The sun had set and lights from the city began illuminating the streets. As they walked onwards, she replaced her Vessel inside herself and tried to keep up with her guide as she struggled to take everything in.
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CHAPTER TWO:
THE CAPITAL TOWN OF HARNAROOK
And for those who missed or want to read the prologue, Here's a link to that:
Prologue: The Interstellar Age