Discoveries - Murphys in Space III: Murphys In Space, #3

By P.Z. Walker

The Murphys have settled in well on Ballata. Everyone has something to do - except Henry. Wherever he looks, others are already doing what needs to be done.

A bit frustrated, Henry starts exploring the planet, first from the comfort of home, later with and without company in shuttles. Discoveries suddenly pile up everywhere, and the Ballatayan population learns a lot more about their history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: P.Z. Walker
• Release date: Jun 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223005506

P.Z. Walker

Naturist activist and author, luring people into naturism one story at a time, using many genres, from mystery through history to fantasy.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Henry and Lireene were in the huge star observation space inside the asteroid spaceship. They had just replayed the approach to the shuttle they’d rescued; the one with the mutants on board. It wasn’t the first replay. They’d gone over this a few times already.

I am not sure how this will help, Lireene said. That shuttle could have been there for days. It isn’t possible to determine where their actual home-world is from looking at it a few more times.

The two had come here on Derlan’s request. That man, who was quite an important figure on Ballata, had asked them to perform this seemingly silly task. At first, Henry had thought it was a good idea, but after several attempts to discover something, anything even, he tended to agree with Lireene.

Either we’re missing something, he said, overlooking something, or we’re simply wasting our time here.

Lireene leaned towards the second option and suggested they should give up for today. Doing this a few more times will only annoy us more, and we may start seeing things that aren’t there, Henry.

She is right. The voice of Sirrtu was in his head. The Sanlak Shiu woman had become his main contact with the extinct race, after he’d discovered them. Or had they discovered him? That whole experience still puzzled him. How was it, that from all the people on this planet, no one but he was able to connect with them on this level, while he wasn’t even from this place?

Let’s go back to the surface then, Henry agreed with Lireene.

We first need to check the farms, the woman said. Remember?

Oh. Right.

Farms. Those high racks in the lower-gravity zone of the asteroid. The place where Negali, Mark’s girlfriend, had spent so much time. The two floated towards the exit of the observatory and walked along the short platform. Without stopping, they dived down towards the circle which was their landing pad. Henry had done this so often by now, that it had become as easy as jumping into a lake.

The walk to the farms took them through several of the small villages where the asteroid’s crew had lived during the long journey from Earth to Ballata. Henry was glad Lireene was with him. Without her he might still have lost his bearings.

It was strange to be here, Henry thought. This place had to be filled with people. Life. Things should happen here. Instead, there was nothing but the sound of the forest around the two of them. The farm area was even quieter. The high stacks were emptied and waiting for new seedlings.

I’ll take this row. If you take the other one, we’ll be done quickly, Lireene said. She’d done this before, so much was clear. Farm technicians had cleaned the racks, and now Henry and Lireene had to check each level for wear, tear and damages. Each rack was a dozen levels high and they were supposed to check four racks each. Every ‘visitor’ to the asteroid had to check several, so the task wasn’t down to a few people who’d rush the job at the end.

Henry jumped and landed on the first level. He walked around and checked the ‘floor’ and its connection to the beams that held it in place. It all looked fine, so he went up to the next level and repeated his checks.

The check-up of the racks went fast, but still it took the two a few hours to cover their assigned area. Both had found a few problems, which they would convey to the group that was in charge of physically maintaining the farms. They would go in and repair everything in one go, to save the number of trips into space.

As they waited for their ride back to the planet, Henry suggested that the best way to locate the mutants’ planet would be go to out into space again and actively look for it. Starting at the point where we picked up that shuttle.

Maybe. Lireene shrugged. Maybe there is another way.

And what might that be? Henry was curious. He knew that, through Narla, the Sanlak Shiu were following this discussion.

Wait for them to come back, and be more prepared this time. Lireene looked at Henry for a moment. Looking for them in another way would be very time consuming, and we would probably not find them.

It’s too bad we dumped their shuttle into the sun, Henry said, more for himself than for her. We might have found their home location from logs or a navigation system.

Unlikely, Lireene commented. That was probably erased. It’s not that difficult, Henry.

He hadn’t thought of that. Still, he was convinced that they would have found something in that thing, but that was now less than a crisp. He kept pondering the problem with the mutants. They’d definitely come back, and how could the planet prepare for such an arrival? He didn’t plan on staying near the shed with the one-man strategic defense suit all the time. Kamtra ha Ghur, the Sanlak Shiu ‘person’ who’d guided him through that massive attack, had no problem with that, but he was a virtual personality.

Henry was a real one, of flesh and blood. Together with Kamtra he had gone all over the place to make sure the reloading system of the cannon system, hidden in the fake trees, was working well. That was the least they could do to be ready for another mutant strike, but Henry was done with passively waiting. He wanted those mutants out of the way once and forever.

Our transport is here. Lireene’s calm voice dragged him out of his thoughts. She noticed that. Where was your mind? Fighting mutants?

How did you guess that?

She smiled and shook her head. Come. They will be here soon.

***

The journey back to the surface was smooth and, in a way, relaxing. Henry looked out of the window, once they’d re-entered into the atmosphere. The planet lay below, its colors and landmasses familiar by now. He saw some of the locations where Sanlak Shiu cities had been. Sirrtu, his most important ‘guide’, had pointed them out often enough for him to remember. One day he would visit such a city, or what remained of it. Sirrtu had warned him that there wouldn’t be much for him to see, but for Henry it was something he simply wanted to do. Suzy was very busy lately, mostly with her boyfriend Branas. He’d have to make an appointment with her to fly him to one of those places, or perhaps he could find someone else near the ‘airport’ to get him there. There were always people around looking for an excuse to fly.

Suddenly the ground was very close. It shocked Henry. Had he been dreaming? Sirrtu didn’t share any information with him, so it was probably just that.

I hope this was the last trip up there for this, he said as the shuttle touched down.

Lireene nodded. Talk sense into Derlan. And good luck with that.

The shuttle’s propulsion fell silent and the door opened, so the passengers left the craft and found their way to the spot where the ever-present golf carts were waiting.

Until we see each other again, Lireene said, just before her cart took her away.

Yep. Henry sat down in another one and told it where to go. The automatic systems that ran underneath this world, unseen and to most also unknown, would take care of the rest.

As he sat back and enjoyed the journey home, he mused about this new world, Ballata. How peculiar all this had happened. Hannah’s uncle being in a service that communicated with aliens, them inheriting the house on Freedom Beach, where they’d learned to be naked and where they’d met Derlan and all the others. And after a crazy trip inside a hollow asteroid they had arrived here, they’d beaten off an attack by mutants who actually came from here, and he himself was now somewhat of an oddball who was in mental touch with an ancient race from this very planet.

Henry chuckled as all that passed his thoughts. No one on Earth would believe that. It sounded too crazy for a TV show even, except perhaps for some nerd channel.

As the golf cart approached his community, it slowed down. He decided this was far enough. The vehicle stopped and let him out. Henry planned to walk the rest. He liked walking here. The ground was soft, the air was pleasant, and it gave him time to order his thoughts if that was needed.

The cart rushed off to a next passenger. Henry had tried to find out how they worked and from where they were guided, but that was still a mystery. No one here knew it. The carts had always been here, everyone knew.

Sirrtu had told him that their species had not created the carts, and the Ghoodzyar were too large for them. That was remarkable, because that left a gap somewhere. Henry had visited the Ghoodzyar village a few more times, trying to learn more about this transportation system, but the holograms and also the informational displays hadn’t brought anything to light.

He reached the dome house where he and his family lived. It didn’t surprise him to find no one here. Hannah was probably doing science work again, with the researchers who seemed to love having her there. His wife, the scientist. It made him smile. Suzy was off as well. She was probably doing all kinds of flying stuff with Branas, her local boyfriend. And Mark was with Negali. Henry didn’t have to add probably to that thought. If Mark wasn’t here, he was with that remarkable girl. Often Negali would be here, with Mark as well.

That was another riddle of this place. How had Negali become who and how she was, with her green-tinted skin and her peculiar behavior? Sirrtu and Kamtra had no answer to that, nor had the screens at the Ghoodzyar village.

You are thinking too much, Sirrtu said in his mind, as clear as if she was standing next to him.

I can’t help it, Henry replied. There is too much here that intrigues me, and I want to figure it all out. Negali, the carts, and the cities of your people. I want to see one of them. Soon.

Yes, was all she replied. We found a way to transmit a few images to you, from how we remember the cities. They are no longer like that, but it will give you an impression. We suggest you lie down for this because it might be somewhat of a shock.

A shock? Henry hadn’t expected that. He’d always seen Sirrtu in a garden, sitting on a kind of swing-couch. Still, he took her advice and went inside to lie down. Okay. I’m ready. Hit me.

"Hit you? Sirrtu sounded full of disbelief. We are not going to hurt you, Henry."

He laughed and explained the meaning of the words. Sirrtu understood quickly and then sent him the first image of one of the old cities, when it was still exquisite.

Henry gasped. He would never have been prepared for this. The city was spread out over several mountain tops, its parts interconnected by bridges that made the Golden Gate bridge look like an amateur’s project. Bridges, miles long, with four levels, over which people walked on the lowest level. Small vehicles quickly sped along on the two higher levels, and the highest levels looked like giant, hanging parks, where Sanlak Shiu walked, sat and played. This is crazy, he shared with Sirrtu.

She said nothing. Instead there was another image. He saw a building like a cathedral which looked as if it was made of glass or some transparent mineral. Inside, people were busy with something. Sirrtu explained that he was looking at one of the research centers from the city. Henry asked what they were researching but she didn’t give him a clear answer. It boiled down to ‘almost anything’.

More and more images floated by, with more parks, something that looked like a fully automated factory for manufacturing anything people might need, and lots of happy people.

After the immersive mental slideshow, Henry sat up. He needed some time to process what he’d seen. After that he got up and went outside again.

Sirrtu? I just realized that everyone in that city was naked. This may sound stupid but… has there ever been a race on this planet that wore clothes? He felt silly for noticing that nudity only now. The fact that the Ballatayans were all naked didn’t mean that all races had been like that. Sirrtu always appeared naked, as did Kamtra and the others, and also the Ghoodzyar holograms, in all their huge glory, had never appeared in clothes.

No, not as a rule, she replied. Only if the circumstances asked for it, like the environment, or in dangerous places where one needs protection. But as you saw, for the latter we had machines that performed those tasks for us.

Henry nodded slowly as he was impressed once again. He realized that he was actually talking to an advanced artificial intelligence, created by a race that was long gone. And your people created those machines. Those factories.

Yes. To make life easy for the living beings. Can you now explain a thing to me, Henry?

That surprised him. Usually he was asking the questions. How could this program be ‘curious’ about something he knew? He invited Sirrtu to ask her question.

You have told me that the people on your previous home-world always wore clothing. You never explained why that was. This is confusing, because we know now that the Ballatayans appeared there naked as usual, and you were naked too.

That is a long story and I’m not even sure if I can make it a story that makes sense, Henry said. Sirrtu encouraged him to give it a try. So he told her, and through her to all the Sanlak Shiu who were there, about temperature, religion, prestige and finally what seemed to be an addiction to clothes, because no one except nudists seemed to grasp the concept and benefits of being naked. As he spoke to her, he sensed that Sirrtu understood what had happened on Earth.

Please be aware that this is how I see what happened regarding clothes, Henry ended his explanation. Someone else will probably have an entire different idea but this is what I can give you.

And we appreciate your explanation, Sirrtu said. Thank you. If you want to visit the location of one of our cities, we can help you get there. There is a location not very far from your village, but you will need air transportation to get there.

I’m sure I will be able to find someone. Henry thought of Suzy. She and Branas would be able to get him there, he knew that. He just had to convince them they wanted to go out too.

Chapter 2

A hidden city? Suzy grinned. Sure. I want to see that too.

Not exactly a hidden city, girl, Henry said, as he leaned over the dinner table. They were at the automatic restaurant dome house. It’s the location where the Sanlak Shiu had a city. They told me it wasn’t very far from here, but I will need a pilot. You and Branas are first on my list.

And who is second? Suzy winked, knowing that the list started and ended with her.

Are you sure you want to go there, Henry? Hannah looked worried. To a ghost town?

I do. I feel that I have to, Henry said. Something is calling me there. I can’t explain it.

It’s those weird things in your veins, Suzy said, nodding at her own words. "You can bet your next bite of food on that. Something that special can’t be ignored, mom, so let Branas and me take dad there, we’ll let him wander around a bit and we’ll also keep an eye