Read an Excerpt

PLANTANIMUS

iUniverse, Inc.

Chapter One

September 20th, 2644

Kelem woke up and remembered where he was. He raised himself, swung his long legs over and sat on the edge of his bunk, his bare feet touching the deck plates of the Kren ship. He could feel the vibration of the ship's mighty engines through the soles of his feet and wished that these vibrations were instead those emitted by the bodies of the Dreamers. Behind him to the left of his bunk was a circular port window displaying a myriad of stars whizzing by in elongated strips of light. The spectacle cast a dim shadow play on the opposite bulkhead next to the pressure door of the cabin. He looked at the time display on his wrist comp lying on the metallic night table to the right of the bunk, and saw that it was 11:00 AM.

He hadn't worn a wrist comp in the last six years but soon he'd be re-entering the world of humans where time and schedules were necessary. He had slumbered for more than twelve hours, much longer than his usual sleep cycle. For the last week he had taken to sleeping unusually long hours, perhaps because he was depressed and saddened by his departure from Plantanimus. He felt listless and bored but most of all, he felt unmotivated. A kind of emotional, mental paralysis had taken over his mind and he suddenly wished that his old friend and mentor, Professor Nicholas Alfano, were there to help him out of this depressed state of mind. He realized how much he missed Anima, his soul mate, and the deep psychic connection he had with those mighty sentient plants he'd come to know as the Dreamers. His decision to leave Plantanimus and return to the solar system had been made solely on behalf of his dear friend Ndugu Nabole. Other than himself, Ndugu was the only survivor of the ill-fated Solar Nations expedition. It was the first time in history that man had ventured away from his home and into the cosmos, and tragically, it had all ended in disaster. The loss of the rest of the ship's complement, ninety eight crew members in all, still weighed heavily on his mind.

The two of them had been stranded for six long years on an alien planet now known to them as Plantanimus. They had resigned themselves to spend the remainder of their lives on that world. But when the Kren, a peaceful insectoid species, fortuitously showed up on Plantanimus and offered to return them home, Kelem had to make the painful decision to accompany Ndugu back to Mars.

Ndugu was the only member of the crew that was of Terran origin, and even though he'd been granted Martian citizenship before the ship left Mars, Kelem knew that he'd likely be blamed, at least in part, for the fate of the expedition. Earth and Mars had been on the brink of war when the Solar Nations left on its maiden voyage and Kelem knew that if Ndugu returned to Mars on his own, the shadow of suspicion would fall on him. Additionally, the Phalanx had a price on his head, so returning to Earth was not an option.

By the time the Solar Nations left Mars six years before, The Phalanx had pretty much taken over Earth's government and was instrumental in creating the tension between the two planets that was leading to war. Kelem prayed and hoped that a war between the two planets never began and wondered what had taken place during the past six years.

On Plantanimus, Kelem had found the peace and tranquility that had eluded him all of his young life. His connection to the Dreamers, and especially Anima, had changed his concept of reality. Anima, who in time became his soul mate, had been the most difficult for him to leave behind. The Queen Mother, who ruled the Kren hive, had promised Kelem that Harry, the worker drone that she'd assigned to return the two of them back to Mars in a Kren ship, would wait for Kelem for six months at the edge of the solar system and then take him back to his beloved Plantanimus.

The Kren were a peaceful species but after communicating telepathically with Kelem and thus learning about the human psyche, the Queen Mother decided, perhaps wisely, that humanity at large was not ready to meet the Kren, who were as tall as a man and whose resemblance to certain cricket/locust insect species on Earth would most likely create fear and panic in humans.

Kelem stood up and stretched his long frame and stepped into the small latrine next to his bunk. After relieving himself and washing his face with cold water he grabbed his flight suit and headed for the control room located five decks above the sleeping quarters.

On his way to the control room he stopped at the large cargo hold where one of the two landers from the Solar Nations that had survived the disaster, sat secured to the deck. He went inside and walked up to one of the six Lectrosleep chambers on the ship where Ndugu lay in suspended animation and checked on him to make sure that his vitals were normal. The small screen above the chamber displayed heartbeat, blood pressure, body chemistry and brain activity. All functions were operating according to normal parameters. Through the window Kelem could see Ndugu's wide nose dilating slowly every few seconds every time he took a breath. The African looked like he was simply asleep but Kelem knew that a series of subcutaneous nano probes were controlling his body functions and had rendered much of his brain inactive.

A human under Lectrosleep state was as close to being in a coma as was medically safe. The nanos were continuously feeding the body with concentrated nutritional enzymes that maintained muscle tone as well as eliminating urine and fecal matter and the accumulation of toxins. Upon entering Lectrosleep the probes automatically filled the stomach with an inert gel like material that prevented the organ from shrinking while under Lectrosleep. Twenty three days from now, the chamber would begin removing all artificial substances from Ndugu's body and revitalizing his organs prior to awakening. The only side effects of Lectrosleep were slight confusion and difficulty focusing the eyes for a few minutes.

Harry, the Kren drone that the Mother Queen assigned to take the two humans back to Earth, had told Kelem and Ndugu that the voyage to their solar system would take twelve months. They drew lots and Ndugu got to go under Lectrosleep first. There was plenty of air and food to last both men for the entire voyage, but considering the spare amenities of the Kren ship and the length of the trip, it was decided that each man would spend every other month in Lectrosleep. The one staying awake would monitor the other's vital functions.

Satisfied that his friend was in good shape he continued climbing the narrow stairways that led to the ship's control room. The one thing that the Kren had not considered when they refitted their ship to carry Kelem and Ndugu back to Mars, was the width of the stairways that were wide enough to fit the Kren's small narrow bodies perfectly well, but not those of humans who were physically much wider than the insectoids. Still, except for a little discomfort, both Kelem and Ndugu were able to go up and down the stairs.

When Kelem reached the control room he saw that Harry was not there and went down two decks to what he and Ndugu had dubbed the "rec-room". The large space contained several monitor stations for all the vital systems of the ship, and Kelem had discovered that Harry seemed to spend most of his time there. When the door opened, Harry, who was standing by one of the stations, turned around.

"You are awake, Kelem. Did you have a good sleep period?" the Kren asked through his voice box.

"Yes, Harry, I slept well. Actually, I slept too well. Twelve hours is too long a time for me to stay in bed."

"I can synthesize a liquid stimulant that will guarantee that you'll stay awake for hours," the Kren offered, gesturing with two of his four arms.

"No thanks, Harry, my oversleeping is due to my mental condition, not tiredness," Kelem informed him listlessly.

"As you know, we Kren do not sleep although we hibernate. Do you care to explain how a mental condition can render a human unconscious for more than twelve hours?" the Kren said looking at Kelem through his iridescent compound eyes. The insectoid was still trying to understand the concept of sleep in humans.

"Humans normally sleep eight hours or less, but when a human is emotionally distraught, depressed or saddened by circumstances, one of the effects of such condition is sometimes extended sleep periods. It's one of the ways that the human mind copes with certain types of stress."

"I am sorry, Kelem, but the concept of human emotions is still baffling to me. I have read the files on human behavior that you gave me a few days ago, and although I understand the meaning of the words, I have no way to conceptualize what an emotion is. Perhaps in time I will."

"I understand, Harry, but don't you miss your Queen? I know you told me that she changed your brain and that you no longer hear her voice in your head, so don't you feel a sense of emptiness from being separate from the hive, or being lost?" Kelem asked with curiosity.

"I do feel different, Kelem. Perhaps what I am experiencing is an emotion, but if I am, it does not seem to affect me the way that emotions appear to affect you and Ndugu. From everything that I've learned about human psychology so far, emotions are often unpleasant. Perhaps we Kren are lucky in that regard."

"Perhaps you're right, Harry. There have been many times in my life when I wished that I didn't have emotions, and right now is one of those times," Kelem replied quietly.

"You and Ndugu asked that I not hibernate during the voyage so that I can keep both of you from experiencing loneliness when each one of you is awake. Is not my company enough to keep you from experiencing strong emotional states?" the Kren asked naïvely.

"I know that this is confusing, Harry, and I apologize. Humans need companionship to keep from going insane or experiencing delusional states. However, emotions strong or otherwise, are part of the normal makeup of our personalities. Your agreeing to stay conscious during the voyage to keep each one of us company is of great help. Unfortunately humans cannot help but experience emotions."

"How can I enhance the quality of the time you spend with me?" Harry asked.

"Hmmm ... Humans need entertainment and unfortunately you Kren don't seem to need that type of activity. But, we humans like to do things such as playing games and watching fictional dramas and things like that. If you're willing, I can teach you to play card games. Such things will stimulate my mind and keep me from thinking about Anima and the Dreamers. Would you be willing to learn to play some games?"

"As you know, Mother asked me to learn all I could regarding human behavior. Your request falls under the parameters of my mission. When do we begin?"

"I'll go back down to the lander and bring up a deck of cards. I'll teach you how to play poker!" Kelem said, suddenly feeling a bit of excitement.

After Kelem taught the insectoid the basics of poker and played a few games with Harry winning and losing some, the Kren appeared to become obsessed with card games. After he mastered other card games he asked Kelem to teach him new games. Kelem decided to teach him how to play chess. After two weeks of several chess games in which Harry had become an expert, Kelem decided to show him how to play video games. By the time Kelem's watch had come to an end, Harry had learned just about every game that was in the lander's database. The Kren had become a gaming junkie.

"Ndugu, watch out for Harry, he'll drive you crazy if you teach him any new games. I spent the last thirty days teaching him every possible game that I knew, as well as every video game that was in the computer's database and he's mastered everything! He seems to have a never-ending capacity to assimilate new information. So be careful what you teach him, otherwise you won't get much sleep," Kelem warned Ndugu once he'd come out of the fog of Lectrosleep.

"Really? You mean he wakes you up and doesn't let you to go back to sleep once you're up?" Ndugu asked somewhat worried.

"No, he doesn't wake me up or prevent me from going back to sleep, but whenever he sees me now, all he wants to do is play games," Kelem replied with concern. I know the Kren claim not to have any emotions, but Harry's become positively obsessive about gameplaying. It's as if a part of his brain has been activated that Kren drones normally don't use.

"Listen, man, I'm not much for card games or video games for that matter. I'll just tell him that and he'll leave me alone. I'll probably stay in my cabin reading some books and playing my keyboard. I don't need a lot of company so Harry won't see much of me during the next thirty days," Ndugu said with confidence.

"I hope so Ndugu. But I'm telling you, don't teach him anything new," Kelem warned as he lay down on his Lectrosleep chamber.

When Kelem came out of Lectrosleep during the next watch, Ndugu surprised him by performing a Nigerian wedding dance that he had taught Harry to play on his portable keyboard. Kelem was dumbfounded as he watched Harry and Ndugu perform the dance with Harry playing the keyboard using all four of his hands while Ndugu danced. Later that day, the Kren played some piano pieces by Beethoven, Mozart and Hayden. With four hands and sixteen fingers Harry had quickly become an expert pianist.

During the next three watches Kelem became more and more amazed by the transformation in Harry's personality. Although the voice box that translated his thoughts into human speech had a monotonous mechanical sound, his conversation had definitely gained new dimensions of expression. He now was saying things like "I can't wait until I play you this next piece," the insectoid would say to Kelem regarding a new piano piece that he just learned. Or, "I had no idea that music was so interesting."

By the end of the voyage the Kren had mastered every possible game that Kelem had taught him. He had also learned all the popular music that Ndugu had taught him and the entire classical repertoire that was in the lander's database. In less than twelve months he had assimilated every bit of information that was in the lander's computers which contained several petabytes of data. Kelem wondered what would happen if Harry was let loose in one of Earth's or Mars' many libraries. Or how many degrees and doctorates he would earn if he attended Latonga City University on Mars. And although Harry still maintained that he didn't understand human emotions, Kelem was sure that he was displaying humanlike behavior.

Exactly one year from the date the ship left Plantanimus, Harry disengaged the faster than light engines and decelerated the massive ship to a relative crawl. When they reached the orbit of Pluto, Kelem began searching for a small planet or planetessimal that could hide the large Kren ship. After a while they located a misshapen lump of rock big enough to hide the huge sphere. They secured the ship in a large canyon that faced away from the interior of the solar system and then Harry shut the ship's chemical engines off.

Kelem asked Harry what he would do while he and Ndugu were gone. The Kren informed him that he would go into hibernation. Kelem could wake him up when he returned from Mars. Harry would wait for Kelem for six months. If he didn't show up at that time, Harry would return to the hive. Kelem assured him that he'd definitely be back in less than six months. After Harry shut down all main systems, Kelem and Ndugu boarded the lander and departed for Mars. The Kren entered his cylindrical shaped hibernation chamber, wrapped his six limbs around his thorax and went into a deep state of unconsciousness.

As Kelem maneuvered the lander away from the ship and into open space, he wondered what kind of reception he and Ndugu would get when they returned home. He was sure that family and friends would be thrilled to see him and Ndugu, believing that they had perished during the voyage. He suspected that many things had changed in the six years since the Solar Nations departed. He realized that the Mars Mining Company now belonged to his childhood friend Billy Chong. Before departing on the Solar Nations mission, Kelem had made out a will leaving ownership of the company to Billy in case something went wrong. But Kelem had never cared about being the wealthiest man in the solar system, and aside from being reunited with family and friends, his main objective now was to be there when the Martian government debriefed him and Ndugu. Once he was sure that Ndugu would not be blamed or held responsible for any aspect of the solar Nations' ill-fated voyage, he planned to go back to Plantanimus with Harry.

He wondered what the current state of n'time technology was, now that he'd been gone for six years. He hoped that his colleagues at the Stephen Hawking Center had managed to build a new working model of the n'time generator and that new ships had been constructed. If not, he knew that he'd be under a tremendous amount of pressure to remain on Mars to supervise the development of a new ship.

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from PLANTANIMUS by Joseph M. Armillas Copyright © 2013 by Joseph M. Armillas. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---