Cosmic Shag (Episode Four of Farther Than We Dreamed)

By Noah Mullette-Gillman

The Universe is impossibly vast.
Even with warp drive, teleportation, & worm holes,
there are places you could never go.
But you could broadcast a signal out across forever.
You could tell the distant molecules and atoms to create new people on the other side
And send them off exploring.....

Their search for their missing crew member, Nayara Borges, brings Charlie and his team to Tertius-5, a planet dubbed "Cosmic Shag": by first-mate Queen Gloryannana. It is a red world, completely covered with uncountable long and thick red pseudopods. The crew descend beneath and discover the secrets hidden below.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Noah Mullette-Gillman
• Release date: Dec 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311033390

Noah Mullette-Gillman

Noah Mullette-Gillman was born in Montclair, New Jersey. He spent his childhood there, as well as in the town of Manly, Australia, and the woods of Upstate New York. He earned a multidisciplinary degree in Philosophy and Creative Writing at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. His favorite color is blue. His favorite number is 8. His favorite song is currently Moment of Surrender. He thinks better and more clearly as the day goes on, arguably climbing to his intellectual summit in the middle of the night, when the world has gone to sleep and he can think without any interfering broadcasts from other brains.

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Cosmic Shag

Episode Four of Farther Than We Dreamed

By

Noah K. Mullette-Gillman

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Noah Mullette-Gillman

The moral right of the author is asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Cover design and photography by

Noah K. Mullette-Gillman

Edited by Michael Poirier,

Noah K. Mullette-Gillman, and Ken Gillman.

Twitter: Noahlot

Mailing List: [e-mail]

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Also by Noah K. Mullette-Gillman

THE WHITE HAIRS

THE SONG OF BALLAD AND CRESCENDO

LUMINOUS AND OMINOUS

MAGIC MAKES YOU STRANGE

THE CONFESSIONS OF ZEUSPATER

THE DEAD HAVE RULED EARTH

FOR 200 YEARS

THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE (FARTHER THAN WE DREAMED EPISODES 1-4)

CLAY (EPISODE 1)

WAVES(EPISODE 2)

CRYSTAL (EPISODE 3)

COSMIC SHAG (EPISODE 4)

GOLD (EPISODE 5)

The following is episode four of Farther Than We Dreamed.

All content in this volume was previously published in The Secrets of the Universe, which contains episodes 1-4 of Farther Than We Dreamed.

If you enjoy it, please don’t hesitate to download or order your copy of the longer, 108,000 word, book and/or buy the sequel Gold.

EPISODE FOUR

COSMIC SHAG

I know perfectly well that at this moment the whole universe is listening to us – and that every word we say echoes to the remotest star.

The Madwoman of Chaillot,Jean Giraudoux

The universe is impossibly vast,

Even with warp drive, teleportation, & worm holes,

there are places you could never go.

But you could broadcast a signal out across forever, you could tell the distant molecules to form new people on the other side and send them off exploring…..

1

Tertius-5 was 80% the size of the planet Earth. It was covered with an almost literal blanket of life. From outer-space the world looked light red, almost pink. As their ship descended through the atmosphere, the red grew deeper and darker. Scans revealed that 100% of the surface was covered with deep and thick living matter. It wasn’t plant or animal. It was soft, like velvet, and moved ever so gently as if a breeze blew through it.

Gloryannana dubbed the lifeform the Cosmic shag.

Wu Gwei outfitted the crew with plasmix coated suits for traveling in the hostile environment. They put on padded uniforms which felt like thick bullet-proof vests. They covered their arms, legs, torsos, hands, and feet. Their heads were covered with helmets which looked a little like something a NASA astronaut would wear, but more stylish. The outside of the suits was white and bronze in a pattern which reminded Charlie a little of Roman armor. But once the suits were on, a hard plasmix force-field covered the surface. Charlie’s feet were about three inches off of the floor. This would allow them to walk on the Cosmic Shag without sinking. It also protected against radiation, infection, impurities, and anything else short of a cannon-ball at close range.

The quartermaster also issued every member of the away team two weapons.

The first was a projectile rifle loaded with special low-temperature bullets. This would allow the weapon to fire from inside of their plasmix fields without disrupting the protective coating. It also normalized the gravitational effects on the projectile. Even though Terius-5’s gravity was less than Earth’s, the bullets would fire the way the crew expected.

The second weapon issued to every crew member was far more personal and valuable. Among his other talents, Wu Gwei was an accomplished blacksmith and weaponsmith. In a previous incarnation, he had forged swords for the crew. They were created in the finest of the ancient styles, with intimate knowledge of the Damascus and Japanese sword masters. Back on Earth, each one would have been worth a fortune. They could be expected to hold their edges for centuries. These were the kinds of weapons wars were fought over. Everyone had their own.

Wu Gwei had spent a little time with each crew member, teaching them how to wield the weapon inside of their plasmix fields. If it was done just right, the weapon could hold the particles and use them to devastating effect with the slashing of the swords.

Avraam was by far the most skilled with either sword or rifle. The Russian understood how to wield the blade in cooperation with his plasmix field even better than Wu Gwei did. This wasn’t because he had done it before or he had spent time practicing. It was all instinct. The cyborg had watched him, trying to understand and learn from the Georgian warrior. There didn’t seem to be a trick. The weapons responded to him in an almost magical way.

The hope was that they would not need any of the arms on Tertius-5 and that the defensive fields were just there to protect them from the hostile planet’s environment. They very quickly saw that this wasn’t to be the case.

Charlie, Avraam, Wu Gwei, and Kalligeneia walked together on foot from the shuttle. The Queen followed a short distance behind them holding her video camera and recording the entire mission. Ms. Brightly and Dr. Aelfwyrd were on duty inside of the shuttle. Back on the Shamballa, Veronika was on duty. Allambree was not officially on duty, but he sat with Veronika watching the mission on screen.

Charlie walked out onto the Cosmic Shag first. He knew roughly what to expect, but was still surprised to see how the energy suit managed to keep his feet from sinking into the biomass. He walked the first few steps uncertainly, and then found his footing and walked normally. Beneath him, the ground appeared to wiggle. Crimson pseudopods from the biomass rubbed curiously against the energy beneath the soles of his boots. They were fairly uniform in height, orderly. Each was about half as wide as his fist. Charlie wondered what they would do if his flesh were exposed. Would they try to eat him? Drag him under? Dissolve him? Or were they just curious?

Eee! Kalligeneia shrieked. "Look at them. They’re like millions and millions