All was still in the dome. Although it had been discovered years ago, no
one had bothered since to visit, let alone live there. Yet, a single egg
could just be seen behind the tall pear plant. The egg had been there for
at least a year, but had not moved, hatched, or even decayed since.
Something stirred; the egg was at last hatching. And as the cracks rang out
in the stillness of the dome, a different sound, a cry that hadn't been
sounded since the turn of the last century, rang out across Albion.
1 Many years before…
Toomin opened the shunt, and was all at once inside the game. He floated bodiless above the virtual world. Searching for the species that inhabited the planet, he flew above the squat, stunted treetops. He landed on the virtual ocean. He looked forward at the…airlock??? He gave a loud yelp of surprise; frantically searching around for the virtual world he had been in, for his dock, his neighbors, his home. What he saw was rock surrounding him on all sides, an airlock type door, and dirt instead of crystal beneath him. He looked behind himself, and saw a myriad of fantastically colored plants growing among a world of insects. For some strange reason, the panic inside him subsided, and he found himself mesmerized by the scene. He suddenly realized that his usual Ketran claustrophobia was absent. Glancing at the walls, he suddenly felt extremely bored, as if he were a juvie all over again. "And a juvie you are," said a strange voice behind him. He whirled around. He saw a very strange creature standing in front of him. It was short, with legs obviously built for a ground dweller, but hands not that much unlike his own, with no docking talons and a large, round head. It also had big, stiff looking ears, and large, round eyes. It continued, "My name is not important, and since I have not the liberty to interfere much, I will not be here long. However, I will answer your question: you indeed are not on Ket anymore. In fact, you are three billion years and four thousand light-years away from your home, and the Ketran race is long gone from your planet." Toomin took the information as a blow to the mind. "Egh eem dith dat?" he said. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he covered his mouth, and wondered why he couldn't utter a coherent sentence. The creature smiled, and said "Maybe this will be of some assistance." Although Toomin felt nothing, when he attempted to speak again, he found himself speaking in a language that was strange to them. "What?????" Toomin cried fearfully.
"I have brought you through time and space to this world. It is hard to explain to such a simple creature," said the strange being. At this Toomin gave the creature a fiery look, but said nothing. The creature continued "Approximately three billion years ago, the Capasin race exterminated your race. You were not killed, but I shall not reveal to you what happened to the 'you' back then. I have copied your consciousness: you now exist simultaneously in two places in the universe. But since both yous are different, they can peacefully coexist. My reason: I am giving you a chance not to undo the damage caused by the Capasins, but to rebuild what has been lost. You may notice: I have given you another body, one that is very like your original, but will never be the same." Toomin looked at himself. He saw his docking talons, his pods, and if he twisted around far enough, he could see his…one pair of wings? He shrieked loudly, every emotion that had been bottled up since his arrival now escaping in one long, loud cry. The creature gave no notice of his sudden outburst. It continued, "Your body is not truly Ketran, but rather, is a different breed of the race of Norns. You will live on their planet, speak their language, eat their food, socialize with them, and if you wish, interbreed with them. I regret having to give you a child's body, but it could not be avoided." Toomin gazed up at the creature, and noticed for the first time that it had bright, gleaming green eyes. The creature said, "The body I occupy is not real, but is merely an image, a projection of the true me. This body is that of a Norn. Your other self took a path very similar to mine." At this, Toomin felt a chill crawl up his spine. "I cannot tell you any more for now, as I have other matters to attend to," the creature said. Toomin quickly blurted, "Am I the only one? To be chosen, I mean."
"No. I have brought a few others. Aguella. Menno, and his friend, Exagal. And an acquaintance you met many years before, at the Dance By with the Mid- Tropical Low Crystal Three. She was only an infant when you met her, but she is here, too. Her DNA was used to create this body." The Norn moved its hand in a gesture toward Toomin. And all at once, it disappeared, leaving behind a very confused and scared Toomin.
And around the world, eggs started to hatch.
* * *
Toomin peered down the long hall. After an hour of trying, he had finally figured out how to open the door. Although a normal surface-dweller would have figured it out in no time, Toomin had never heard of a door, let alone used one, since Ketrans had had absolutely no need for them back on Ket. He had also found that, for now, his wings were not strong enough to lift him. He hoped that they would strengthen as he grew. He could walk, but in a strange, slow, shuffling manner due to the fact that he still had pods instead of legs. The first object he noticed as he had walked out the door was a strange metal thing that looked to be a teleporter. He had not used it, for fear of where it would take him. Now, he walked down a long, transparent plastic tube. He could see sun at the end. As Toomin drew nearer, he could see that the tube led to a tree house. Unexpectedly, a creature like the strange being came into his view. 'A Norn,' he thought to himself. However, it was a dark purple, almost black, and it had startlingly green eyes. It turned its big head in his direction. It growled, and started to walk down towards him menacingly. Toomin, immediately turned, and ran as fast as his stubby pods would carry him, which, unfortunately, wasn't very fast. He remembered the metal thing. With a new purpose, he ran, using his arms to aid him, down the tube. He could hear the Norn behind him; it was running now, and it was closing the gap quickly. Toomin reached the pad, and saw two buttons. The Norn was upon him. Toomin decided to gamble; anyplace was better than the situation he was in now. As the Norn lifted its arm to strike him snarling, he pushed the red button.
With a bright flash, he disappeared.
When Toomin recovered from the flash, he was standing on what looked to be a larger version of the teleporter he had used. Fortunately, he looked to be in a relatively benign cavern, with soft lighting and warmth everywhere. Toomin stepped down from the pad. He pushed his way through some strange, leafy plants, and found himself in patch of weird, red fruits. There was a narrow trail through the plants. He followed the trail, not eager to upset whomever the patch belonged to, not after his last experience! He wound his way through until he found a clearing. In the clearing, he saw a large computer, a ball (which looked quite good to his childlike mind), a strange, triangular yellow thing that smelt tasty, and an odd machine. Further out, he saw a water pump, and a small fish-pond. He shuffle-walked toward the pond, sensing something strange about it. As he neared it, he saw some green plants growing out of the wet soil. He looked closer, and saw that the green fronds led to an orange root. Although the root smelled better than the triangular thing, he thought better of pulling one up to get a closer look. "Where did you come from, little one?" a voice said from behind him. Toomin spun around, startled by the voice. He saw a Norn, but unlike any he had seen before. It was bald, like the others, but it had short, floppy ears, unlike the stiff, big ears of the few Norns he had seen. It had soft tan fur, and a short, limp tail that was different from the flexible tails of the others. "I won't hurt you," the Norn said in a soothing voice. It approached closer, and as it did, he could sense that it was female. She crooned, "Now where is your mother, little one?" Toomin remained silent, not sure whether to trust her. The Norn came closer still, and as she got a full look at him, she said, "My, I haven't seen any others like you around here. I wonder if you are a breed from the Outside?" At this, she hesitated, seemingly carrying out a mental battle with herself. After a moment, she made a decision, and continued to approach him. Toomin cried, "Don't hurt me! I'm not a threat!" The female Norn said, "No, of course not," but from her tone, it seemed as if she was reassuring herself more than Toomin. She picked up Toomin, making him suddenly realize how small he was. She cradled him in her arms, and whispered softly to him, "Don't worry, you'll be alright," As if it were a wave of water, the exhaustion fell over him, and fell fast asleep in the Norn's arms.
Toomin woke up later in a comfortable bed of sweet-smelling leaves. He rose slowly into a semi-sitting position, and yawned contentedly. The female Norn returned. "Ah, so you're awake now," she said almost thoughtfully. "My name is Aftran. You are in the Incubatorium, the place where babies are born." She gestured behind her, and he saw several other Norns of various sexes, shapes, and sizes. She continued, "I find it strange, however, that you are so young yet you speak as if you were a fully grown adult, but with no knowledge of worldwide customs. Also, throughout all this knowledge of language, I still haven't seen your kind anywhere – and even my father, an expert on the cultures and breeds of the Outside, has not heard of your kind before. You look as if you fly – but the only known Norns that are flighted are the Angel Norns, and they are a far cry from your looks. Not meaning to be insulting, of course." Toomin spoke up for the first time I what seemed to him like ages, saying, "I was born somewhere else. I don't know if it's where this Outside place is, or if it's some totally unrelated area, but all I remember is coming out of a strange airlock thing, and being attacked by one of your kind with black fur." Aftran drew back, saying confusedly, " But you are a Norn, too! What do you mean by 'my kind'?!" Toomin remembered that the strange Norn he had seen when this had first begun had mentioned that he was not a true Ketran, but a sub-breed of Norn. "Never mind," he muttered. Deciding that it wasn't wise to press the matter further, Aftran said, "Why don't you go play with the others; make some friends?" Toomin nodded, and went over to the group.
When Toomin arrived at the play area, he was met with unsettling stares. "Wow, you have four eyes! Cool!" spoke one Norn after a long silence. "Oh. Well, thanks." Toomin said nervously. The Norn who had spoken was a reddish brown version of Aftran, except there were some differences in spots, and he had bigger ears. "You have wings! Can you fly?" blurted out a dark brown Norn with funny hair and small horns on his head. Before Toomin could answer, another Norn asked a question. Before he knew it, Toomin was being interrogated mercilessly, but in a friendly way. He had barely enough time to answer before another question was asked. Soon, the questions thinned out, and a game of Bounce was started. He didn't know how to play at first, but after a while, he got the hang of it. But only when all the Norns collapsed in a tired, happy heap on the floor did Toomin realize that he had just made his first new friends.
And he really didn't mind that they were aliens, too, because they were no longer so alien to him.
Sorry to leave a cliffhanger there; I have some big things going on in the next chapter, and I wanted to leave some lead onto it! Please review this if you've gotten this far, even if you hate it! I always welcome feedback, whether it be negative or positive. I kinda like positive feedback more though… oh well, who doesn't!
1 Many years before…
Toomin opened the shunt, and was all at once inside the game. He floated bodiless above the virtual world. Searching for the species that inhabited the planet, he flew above the squat, stunted treetops. He landed on the virtual ocean. He looked forward at the…airlock??? He gave a loud yelp of surprise; frantically searching around for the virtual world he had been in, for his dock, his neighbors, his home. What he saw was rock surrounding him on all sides, an airlock type door, and dirt instead of crystal beneath him. He looked behind himself, and saw a myriad of fantastically colored plants growing among a world of insects. For some strange reason, the panic inside him subsided, and he found himself mesmerized by the scene. He suddenly realized that his usual Ketran claustrophobia was absent. Glancing at the walls, he suddenly felt extremely bored, as if he were a juvie all over again. "And a juvie you are," said a strange voice behind him. He whirled around. He saw a very strange creature standing in front of him. It was short, with legs obviously built for a ground dweller, but hands not that much unlike his own, with no docking talons and a large, round head. It also had big, stiff looking ears, and large, round eyes. It continued, "My name is not important, and since I have not the liberty to interfere much, I will not be here long. However, I will answer your question: you indeed are not on Ket anymore. In fact, you are three billion years and four thousand light-years away from your home, and the Ketran race is long gone from your planet." Toomin took the information as a blow to the mind. "Egh eem dith dat?" he said. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he covered his mouth, and wondered why he couldn't utter a coherent sentence. The creature smiled, and said "Maybe this will be of some assistance." Although Toomin felt nothing, when he attempted to speak again, he found himself speaking in a language that was strange to them. "What?????" Toomin cried fearfully.
"I have brought you through time and space to this world. It is hard to explain to such a simple creature," said the strange being. At this Toomin gave the creature a fiery look, but said nothing. The creature continued "Approximately three billion years ago, the Capasin race exterminated your race. You were not killed, but I shall not reveal to you what happened to the 'you' back then. I have copied your consciousness: you now exist simultaneously in two places in the universe. But since both yous are different, they can peacefully coexist. My reason: I am giving you a chance not to undo the damage caused by the Capasins, but to rebuild what has been lost. You may notice: I have given you another body, one that is very like your original, but will never be the same." Toomin looked at himself. He saw his docking talons, his pods, and if he twisted around far enough, he could see his…one pair of wings? He shrieked loudly, every emotion that had been bottled up since his arrival now escaping in one long, loud cry. The creature gave no notice of his sudden outburst. It continued, "Your body is not truly Ketran, but rather, is a different breed of the race of Norns. You will live on their planet, speak their language, eat their food, socialize with them, and if you wish, interbreed with them. I regret having to give you a child's body, but it could not be avoided." Toomin gazed up at the creature, and noticed for the first time that it had bright, gleaming green eyes. The creature said, "The body I occupy is not real, but is merely an image, a projection of the true me. This body is that of a Norn. Your other self took a path very similar to mine." At this, Toomin felt a chill crawl up his spine. "I cannot tell you any more for now, as I have other matters to attend to," the creature said. Toomin quickly blurted, "Am I the only one? To be chosen, I mean."
"No. I have brought a few others. Aguella. Menno, and his friend, Exagal. And an acquaintance you met many years before, at the Dance By with the Mid- Tropical Low Crystal Three. She was only an infant when you met her, but she is here, too. Her DNA was used to create this body." The Norn moved its hand in a gesture toward Toomin. And all at once, it disappeared, leaving behind a very confused and scared Toomin.
And around the world, eggs started to hatch.
* * *
Toomin peered down the long hall. After an hour of trying, he had finally figured out how to open the door. Although a normal surface-dweller would have figured it out in no time, Toomin had never heard of a door, let alone used one, since Ketrans had had absolutely no need for them back on Ket. He had also found that, for now, his wings were not strong enough to lift him. He hoped that they would strengthen as he grew. He could walk, but in a strange, slow, shuffling manner due to the fact that he still had pods instead of legs. The first object he noticed as he had walked out the door was a strange metal thing that looked to be a teleporter. He had not used it, for fear of where it would take him. Now, he walked down a long, transparent plastic tube. He could see sun at the end. As Toomin drew nearer, he could see that the tube led to a tree house. Unexpectedly, a creature like the strange being came into his view. 'A Norn,' he thought to himself. However, it was a dark purple, almost black, and it had startlingly green eyes. It turned its big head in his direction. It growled, and started to walk down towards him menacingly. Toomin, immediately turned, and ran as fast as his stubby pods would carry him, which, unfortunately, wasn't very fast. He remembered the metal thing. With a new purpose, he ran, using his arms to aid him, down the tube. He could hear the Norn behind him; it was running now, and it was closing the gap quickly. Toomin reached the pad, and saw two buttons. The Norn was upon him. Toomin decided to gamble; anyplace was better than the situation he was in now. As the Norn lifted its arm to strike him snarling, he pushed the red button.
With a bright flash, he disappeared.
When Toomin recovered from the flash, he was standing on what looked to be a larger version of the teleporter he had used. Fortunately, he looked to be in a relatively benign cavern, with soft lighting and warmth everywhere. Toomin stepped down from the pad. He pushed his way through some strange, leafy plants, and found himself in patch of weird, red fruits. There was a narrow trail through the plants. He followed the trail, not eager to upset whomever the patch belonged to, not after his last experience! He wound his way through until he found a clearing. In the clearing, he saw a large computer, a ball (which looked quite good to his childlike mind), a strange, triangular yellow thing that smelt tasty, and an odd machine. Further out, he saw a water pump, and a small fish-pond. He shuffle-walked toward the pond, sensing something strange about it. As he neared it, he saw some green plants growing out of the wet soil. He looked closer, and saw that the green fronds led to an orange root. Although the root smelled better than the triangular thing, he thought better of pulling one up to get a closer look. "Where did you come from, little one?" a voice said from behind him. Toomin spun around, startled by the voice. He saw a Norn, but unlike any he had seen before. It was bald, like the others, but it had short, floppy ears, unlike the stiff, big ears of the few Norns he had seen. It had soft tan fur, and a short, limp tail that was different from the flexible tails of the others. "I won't hurt you," the Norn said in a soothing voice. It approached closer, and as it did, he could sense that it was female. She crooned, "Now where is your mother, little one?" Toomin remained silent, not sure whether to trust her. The Norn came closer still, and as she got a full look at him, she said, "My, I haven't seen any others like you around here. I wonder if you are a breed from the Outside?" At this, she hesitated, seemingly carrying out a mental battle with herself. After a moment, she made a decision, and continued to approach him. Toomin cried, "Don't hurt me! I'm not a threat!" The female Norn said, "No, of course not," but from her tone, it seemed as if she was reassuring herself more than Toomin. She picked up Toomin, making him suddenly realize how small he was. She cradled him in her arms, and whispered softly to him, "Don't worry, you'll be alright," As if it were a wave of water, the exhaustion fell over him, and fell fast asleep in the Norn's arms.
Toomin woke up later in a comfortable bed of sweet-smelling leaves. He rose slowly into a semi-sitting position, and yawned contentedly. The female Norn returned. "Ah, so you're awake now," she said almost thoughtfully. "My name is Aftran. You are in the Incubatorium, the place where babies are born." She gestured behind her, and he saw several other Norns of various sexes, shapes, and sizes. She continued, "I find it strange, however, that you are so young yet you speak as if you were a fully grown adult, but with no knowledge of worldwide customs. Also, throughout all this knowledge of language, I still haven't seen your kind anywhere – and even my father, an expert on the cultures and breeds of the Outside, has not heard of your kind before. You look as if you fly – but the only known Norns that are flighted are the Angel Norns, and they are a far cry from your looks. Not meaning to be insulting, of course." Toomin spoke up for the first time I what seemed to him like ages, saying, "I was born somewhere else. I don't know if it's where this Outside place is, or if it's some totally unrelated area, but all I remember is coming out of a strange airlock thing, and being attacked by one of your kind with black fur." Aftran drew back, saying confusedly, " But you are a Norn, too! What do you mean by 'my kind'?!" Toomin remembered that the strange Norn he had seen when this had first begun had mentioned that he was not a true Ketran, but a sub-breed of Norn. "Never mind," he muttered. Deciding that it wasn't wise to press the matter further, Aftran said, "Why don't you go play with the others; make some friends?" Toomin nodded, and went over to the group.
When Toomin arrived at the play area, he was met with unsettling stares. "Wow, you have four eyes! Cool!" spoke one Norn after a long silence. "Oh. Well, thanks." Toomin said nervously. The Norn who had spoken was a reddish brown version of Aftran, except there were some differences in spots, and he had bigger ears. "You have wings! Can you fly?" blurted out a dark brown Norn with funny hair and small horns on his head. Before Toomin could answer, another Norn asked a question. Before he knew it, Toomin was being interrogated mercilessly, but in a friendly way. He had barely enough time to answer before another question was asked. Soon, the questions thinned out, and a game of Bounce was started. He didn't know how to play at first, but after a while, he got the hang of it. But only when all the Norns collapsed in a tired, happy heap on the floor did Toomin realize that he had just made his first new friends.
And he really didn't mind that they were aliens, too, because they were no longer so alien to him.
Sorry to leave a cliffhanger there; I have some big things going on in the next chapter, and I wanted to leave some lead onto it! Please review this if you've gotten this far, even if you hate it! I always welcome feedback, whether it be negative or positive. I kinda like positive feedback more though… oh well, who doesn't!
