The Gardens of Deathworlders: A Blooming Love (Part 124)
Part 124 Fears and foolishness (Part 1) (Part 123)
The excitement the Uark'thilik people felt over the world shattering events of the past few days continued on without pause. There were only about a thousand of the chameleon-raptors in the Tall Spires Village before Tens and Order of Falling Angels touched down on this planet. Now, just a week later, that number had nearly tripled. Rarely frequented areas of the settlements were being set up as temporary accommodation, small camps had been erected surrounding the village, and more people from far and wide arrived every hour. While some only brought the skills necessary to provide for themselves, others came bearing packs loaded full of goods for trade. These ancient ruins of the skyscrapers at the heart of the once blossoming Ingthop civilization now once again buzzed with people full of hope for the future.
Not even in her wildest dreams had Grompcha expect to see so many of her people together at once. This much activity, the indisputable evidence of sapience and civilization, would have brought the wrath of the evil metal beast. The Tall Spire Village and other settlements of a similar size always walked a very fine line to ensure their stealth. But now those machines, and the ones creating and controlling them, had been destroyed. People could actually move freely, build whatever came to their imagination, and congregate as they pleased, all without fear of retribution. A peace none of them could have ever imagined. For once in her life, Grompcha could comfortably let her little brother Totta run and play with the other children in the village outskirts and not feel compelled to watch over him.
How the sixteen year old Uark'thilik scout ended up alongside a dozen elders and aliens in the once secret cave containing the lost history of the Ingthops was still a mystery to her. It may have been out of respect to her mother's former status in the village, the time Grompcha had spent with Tens and the other people from the stars, or maybe just dumb luck. That didn't really matter now. All she really cared about was the fact she got to watch history unfold before her eyes, both figurative and literally. After a pair of very strange creatures with three faces, plenty of tentacles, and an oddly shaped single eye entered the cave, they immediately got to work restoring this place as best they could. While all they had managed to accomplish so far was add a bit of extra airflow and activate some dim lighting, they were far from done. Though she could comprehend little of what either of the Turt-Chopians were doing, she was trying her best to memorize every single detail.
“Almost… Got… It…” All three of Lenthum’s tentacle-arms were moving as quickly and precisely as he could manage with two rather intimidating feathered theropods watching him work. “There! I got it, Grita. You should start seeing something on your screen any second now.”
“Nothing yet… Damn it, Lenthum! Are you sure you-” The stress of being essentially trapped in a room with several beings that reminded her of horror movie induced nightmares from her childhood was putting Grita on edge. But suddenly seeing her screen light up in a surprisingly recognizable script started pushing her towards a much more pleasant mood. “You did it, Lenthum! I'm in! And the Ingthops even used galactic common for this! I'll have full access once the startup sequence completes.”
“You can read this?” Grompcha was keeping a comfortable distance from Grita's tetrahedral body but still noticed the archeology students recoil when she spoke up. “I'm sorry if I startled you. I'm just very curious about all this. If you can understand this, I would love to know what it says.”
“My apologies for, uh…” Grita hesitated for a moment after locking her gaze on the terrifying theropod who was flashing soothing patterns of purple, pink, and orange. The Turt had to tear the focus of her eye back to screen to get over the indescribable juxtaposition of sweet and loving monstrous young girl. “I'm just jumpy right now. I'll get over it soon enough. But, uh, yes. I can read this.” A tentacle extended up and began pointing out the various text boxes. “This form of writing is called the galactic common general script. It's just stylized slightly to match this writing above it. I'm assuming that's the Ingthop language and these words are just translations of each other. This big box in the center basically says that the machine is waking up and how long that will take. These smaller ones around it say the same thing about all the different parts that are waking up.”
“And when they flash red…” The young theropod kept her distance from both the Turt and the screen to seem as non-intimidating as possible. “That's not a good thing, is it?”
“No. No, it is not. Each time you see red, that means a part of this building's machines aren't working. Luckily, this one has been mostly green so far. It's the… Uh… The machine that stores memories and knowledge. If we're really lucky, the teaching part might still work. But you will probably need a lot of new words to learn everything kept in here.”
“Could you please give me an example?”
“Well… Um… What would you call this?” Grita motioned towards the entire rack-structure the screen was mounted to, her translator contextualizing her tone as just vaguely annoyed. “It is a machine, yes. But it is a very special kind of machine that has no moving parts, is made from special melted sand, and uses small amounts of controlled lightning to do math and store information. What would you call a machine like that?”
“Well, if it can do math and remember things…” Grompcha already had a word in her head but pretended to think about it as the considerate thing to do. However, unbeknownst to her, the self-improving translation software was able to perfectly impart her semi-sarcastic color flashes. “Then we would call it a basic thinking machine, or a computer for short.”
“Uh… Wow… Ok…” A full range of emotions zipped through Grita's mind. Though the exact noises Grompcha made were unrecognizable, the translator was still able to properly contextualize the word and the teenager's snide inflection. The admittedly snooty Turt didn't know whether to be impressed by the quick wittedness, offended by the sarcastic way the answer was given, or terrified by this feathered theropod's intelligence. “You might be able to figure all this out much faster than I would have guessed.”
“I mean, my people's language is highly adaptable. When we talked with Tarki, Nula, and Ansiki, we created many new words to discuss the topics they brought up. Nula, the Good Sister, is an intelligent thinking machine, or an Artificial Sapience. Her evil brother, Hekuiv, never gained that spark of true self-awareness, this a non-sentient AI. They both may be computers, but she is a person while he was more like a ferocious animal. Ansiki, on the other claw, is both organic and a machine, so Chief Scout Sinaen came up with the word biomechanical. They can control smaller parts of their mechanical body, their drones, from a great distance. It might be hard for us to understand exactly how all of that works, but the basic concepts make enough sense. If anything, comprehending the fact that Ansiki is equal parts masculine and feminine was the most difficult thing for us to wrap our minds around.”
Part of the reason Grita, and many other Turt-Chopians, had gained such a deep seeded fear of theropods was because of how their movie industry always portrayed those monsters as being uniquely intelligent predators. Smart enough to set traps, use basic technologies like door locks, and intentionally instill fear into their victims, but not quite sentient enough to feel compassion, empathy, and reason. Grita obviously couldn't understand the growls, chirps, and whistle coming from Grompcha's mouth or the brilliant patterns of colors flowing across her feathers. However, the translator was able to contextualize everything being communicated with shocking clarity. Thanks to that constantly improving language algorithm, Grita was finally beginning to look past Grompcha's nightmare-fuel exterior and see that unique sparkle of sapience in teenage theropod's eyes.
“I- I, uh… I don't know what to say.” The Turt-Chopian archeology student stuttered a bit but allowed a slight smile to form on all three of her faces. Before she could collect her thoughts and say something meaningful, the loading screen flashed green and was quickly replaced by a relatively simple menu system. “Oh! By the heavens, we're in! Just give me a second to… The historical archive is over ninety-five percent intact! I'll see if there's… And there's a data recovery system. You and your people are going to have quite a bit to learn, Grompcha. If I could patch in a text to speech system for the translator we're using, you'd probably be able to teach yourselves how to read all this. Now to see what's missing…”
“We're in, Grita?” While Grita and Grompcha had been talking, Lenthum was busy monitoring power flows anywhere they successfully reached. To his surprise there were several, including a live wire running electricity from the generator to a long-sealed door at the far side of the room. “Try to access the maintenance systems and see if any doors will open. I might have just found an easier way in and out of here.”
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Of the many different planets Marzima had visited throughout her life, this one stands out as being particularly nice. About thirty-five degrees celsius in the sun, twenty-eight in the shade, and cool breeze dropping the felt temperature just a bit more. The only thing she was missing to make this perfect was an ice-cold cool amber ale or wheat beer. There weren't even large predators, or really any large creatures at all. But considering the respectably short size of most of this world's flora, it made sense the fauna followed a similar pattern. With only about six and half meters per second squared of relative surface gravity, an incredibly stable climate, and no real threats posed by the biosphere, this place would be considered ideal for most forms of sapient life in the Milky Way. If she had to guess, Marz would categorize this planet as a Class 1 or 2 Paradise. Maybe a Class 3 at worst.
There were only three things on the Qui’ztar Captain's mind at the moment. First and most obvious was simply being present to ensure friendly interactions between the Uark'thiliks and Turt-Chopians. Though the latter are her clients and many of them seem to hold an irrational fear of theropods, the former are protected by galactic law due to their developing status. They were acting as such gracious hosts that no intervention was warranted. Her second job was verifying the structural, geological, and social stability of the local area. Any kind of collapse would be bad for everyone. Luckily, the ground under this village has proven to be surprisingly sound, the heavily eroded skyscrapers still stand incredibly firm, and the Uark’thiliks themselves emanate an aura of peaceful and cooperative bliss. So long as Lieutenant Tensebwse wasn't doing something foolish, which was her final concern and only real fear, then the situation on the ground was as ideal as it possibly could be.
“How are things going over here?” Marzima asked while approaching a pair of Turt students surrounded by a few of the older Uark'thiliks, all of which were huddled around a holo-screen projection. “Find any interesting Ingthop artifacts for study?”
“We're actually studying the Uark'thiliks culture and how Ingthop ruins and Hekuiv'trula warforms influenced it.” Amir propped himself upright to greet the Qui’ztar, then motioned upward towards the twenty-story ruin behind him. “This structure once served as an Ingthop housing block for the ultra-wealthy. There's a penthouse suite about fifty meters up that's accessible through a hole in the exterior. The Uark'thiliks repurposed it to record their history for the past several thousands of years. Elder Kilpcha here has even personally inscribed a few events that took place over the past few decades.”
“Oh? Now that is incredibly fascinating. My people have preserved similar ancient cave paintings as well on our homeworld. Our archeologists are still studying them to this day.”
As the Captain made small talk and looked around, she couldn't help but notice quite a bit of building materials positioned next to the group. The Turts and Uarks were undoubtedly building something. Judging by the amount of rope and the image on the holo-screen, it was some kind of simple elevator with a rudimentary counterweight system. That would certainly make getting to a high-up location much easier and safer. However, Marz just couldn't bring herself to look up. There was an itch in the back of her telling her that someone was doing something stupid. These archeology students have drones capable of performing any dangerous or strenuous tasks. Tens really didn't need to scale dozens of meters up the side of an ancient skyscraper. And yet that was exactly what she expected him to do.
“I've got the pulleys in place.” As if on queue, Tens's voice spoke through the communicator built into the screen. “I'll drop down a few ropes then you can-”
“Lieutenant Tensebwse!” When Marzima finally forced herself to look up, she shouted with all her might upon realizing she could barely see Tens. Though initially quite perturbed, her anger softened a bit when she noticed two drones and an Uark'thilik there with him. “Please tell me you're at least using proper safety equipment!”
“Of course, Captain! I'm the last person you'll see climb somewhere this high without some kind of guaranteed protection!”
“I can dock your pay for lying to me! You know that because of your antics Zar Zar renamed the Top of the Bottom to the Long Dive! And I don't want to hear anything about the artificial gravity safety system!”
“I swear on my mother's ire I'm using a safety line tied off to a drone!” Tens's final attempt at an earnest reassurance was quickly followed up by a shift to a more playful tone. “I even made Tilchum use a safety line if he was going to help me! Tying off a harness meant for a primate to a theropod is even harder than it sounds. But we'll be down as soon as Amir and Reftkin secure these ropes I'm about to drop.”
“By the Matriarch, that man is going to give me an aneurysm.” Marzima muttered that comment under her breath but just loud enough to be picked and contextualized by the translators.
“Bravery and foolishness often share the same nest.” Elder Kilpcha's sage wisdom came across with such a perfect blend of honesty and sarcasm that it forced Marz to let out a soft chuckle. “Your young subordinate, Tens, is a good man. Just as kind and compassionate as he is impulsive. It must be quite the worthwhile chore keeping him out of harm's way.”
“He is certainly impulsive.” The Qui’ztar Captain tried to rub the frustration off of her face while taking a few steps closer to the group. “And also one of the most impressive warriors I have ever met. In fact, I don't think any member of my species could defeat him in a fair, one-on-one duel. When it comes to attack planning, only a few of my superiors can match him. But in terms of maturity…”
“I heard he turned twenty-four the other day.” Jinustrom spoke up in a soft but surprisingly self assured tone. “By Turt standards, he would still be considered an infant. Maybe he just needs a few more years to really grow up.”
“From what Professor B told us about that Nishnabe he met a few hundred years ago…” Amir chimed in while he and one of the younger Uark'thilik elders worked to tie off the ropes Tens had just thrown down. “I think impulsiveness may just be a common trait among their species. Supposedly that guy fought Chigagorians without a mech. Two data points may not be a very sample size but… Well…”
“Chigagorians?” Elder Reftkin shot a suspicious glance towards Amir then locked eyes with Marzima. “Your speaking machine just showed some very dangerous colors when they were mentioned. May I ask what they are?”
“They're like the evil metal beasts, but not machines.” Marz's scoff was contextualized by a flash of colors implying perfect denoting her hatred for the fascist crabs. “Almost the same size as the quadrupedal evil metal beasts, but organic crustaceans. Chigagorians can be a serious threat to many others, especially if they aren't prepared. The warning the Ingthop President left in his message was about people like Chigagorians.”
“Chigagorians are tough but easy to kill if you hit the right spots.” Tens's voice once again came through the holo-screen's speaker, implying he had been listening in the entire time. “I've killed at least fifty of the bastards with just my club, tomahawk, and mag-sling. With any luck, I'll kill fifty more the same way before I retire! If that makes me impulsive, then it is what it is.”
Posted Jun 21, 2025, 5:48 PM UTC