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[Spaceship Zero] Q-Ship (actually updated 19 May 2007)
- Thread starter Capellan
- Start date
Capellan
Explorer
"Blast Off!" - Part 16
The village is deserted, buildings standing empty, and heavily overgrown with the strange brown mould. There is no sign of life: not even insects stir.
"Where are the primitives?" S'Ondra complains, "I want to see Earth primitives."
"That looks like a public bar." Fury points to a hanging sign. Faintly, the word's The Royal Arms can be read through a layer of mould, "I'd say that's the kind of place people would have gathered when this - whatever this is - happened."
"Will there be primitives? I want to awe them with my mighty Venusian technology."
"I doubt it." Fury rolls his eyes, "Or the ship's sensors would have told us. There should be whiskey, though. And it's had plenty of time to age, by now."
"Whiskey?"
"It's an Earth drink. You'll like it."
"I bet it's not as good as Grintak Blood."
"Actually, a lot of my friends say it's very similar." Fury reaches the door of the pub, then motions for S'Ondra to stand back, "Let me go first, Princess, it might be dangerous."
"What, a ferocious mould-eating herbivore might nuzzle me to death?" S'Ondra snorts and tosses her feather-like hair. "Let's just go in."
The interior of the pub is dark; mould coats the windows, keeping out most of the natural light; but the open doorway splashes light across several tables and a part of the bar. All are thickly covered with the brown fungus, giving the whole place a drab and uniform look.
"There's your whiskey." S'Ondra points to some bottle-shaped lumps of mould on a shelf, "Though I wouldn't want to drink it."
"I think I'll have to pass." Fury looks mournfully at the bottles, then glances around the room, "I don't see anything useful here. You?"
S'Ondra shakes her head in answer, and the two walk back out into the weak sunlight. Fury shrugs,
"Can't hurt to check whether there is anyone around." He observes, and cups his hands to his mouth. "Hello! Can anyone hear me?"
As the echoes of his shout die away without answer, the Captain shrugs,
"I guess there's nothing here."
A sign creaks in the wind.
S'Ondra turns toward the sound. As she does so, the wind gusts again, and a hanging sign just down the road swings noticeably, mould sloughing off it to reveal the words underneath.
"General Store and Post Office." She reads, "What's a Post Office?"
Fury shakes his head ruefully,
"It's what we should have looked for in the first place."
The pair make their way down the street and into the small building. The interior is crowded with shelves and piles of boxes, all coated with mould, while one wall consists almost entirely of black iron post office boxes.
"What we need is -" Fury pauses, then bends down, peeling something away from the floor. Dry brown mould showers off the object as he gives it a quick shake. "- this."
'This' is a newspaper. The Times, in fact, with its cursive gothic masthead marching proudly across the page. Beneath, in stark bold letters, is the headline:
SPACE MOULD MENACE GROWS
Beneath this is a grainy image of Big Ben, its clock face half grown-over with the all too familiar mould.
"Let's take this back to the Doc and Archie." The Captain tucks the newspaper under his arm, "I'm sure they'll want to see it, too."
The village is deserted, buildings standing empty, and heavily overgrown with the strange brown mould. There is no sign of life: not even insects stir.
"Where are the primitives?" S'Ondra complains, "I want to see Earth primitives."
"That looks like a public bar." Fury points to a hanging sign. Faintly, the word's The Royal Arms can be read through a layer of mould, "I'd say that's the kind of place people would have gathered when this - whatever this is - happened."
"Will there be primitives? I want to awe them with my mighty Venusian technology."
"I doubt it." Fury rolls his eyes, "Or the ship's sensors would have told us. There should be whiskey, though. And it's had plenty of time to age, by now."
"Whiskey?"
"It's an Earth drink. You'll like it."
"I bet it's not as good as Grintak Blood."
"Actually, a lot of my friends say it's very similar." Fury reaches the door of the pub, then motions for S'Ondra to stand back, "Let me go first, Princess, it might be dangerous."
"What, a ferocious mould-eating herbivore might nuzzle me to death?" S'Ondra snorts and tosses her feather-like hair. "Let's just go in."
The interior of the pub is dark; mould coats the windows, keeping out most of the natural light; but the open doorway splashes light across several tables and a part of the bar. All are thickly covered with the brown fungus, giving the whole place a drab and uniform look.
"There's your whiskey." S'Ondra points to some bottle-shaped lumps of mould on a shelf, "Though I wouldn't want to drink it."
"I think I'll have to pass." Fury looks mournfully at the bottles, then glances around the room, "I don't see anything useful here. You?"
S'Ondra shakes her head in answer, and the two walk back out into the weak sunlight. Fury shrugs,
"Can't hurt to check whether there is anyone around." He observes, and cups his hands to his mouth. "Hello! Can anyone hear me?"
As the echoes of his shout die away without answer, the Captain shrugs,
"I guess there's nothing here."
A sign creaks in the wind.
S'Ondra turns toward the sound. As she does so, the wind gusts again, and a hanging sign just down the road swings noticeably, mould sloughing off it to reveal the words underneath.
"General Store and Post Office." She reads, "What's a Post Office?"
Fury shakes his head ruefully,
"It's what we should have looked for in the first place."
The pair make their way down the street and into the small building. The interior is crowded with shelves and piles of boxes, all coated with mould, while one wall consists almost entirely of black iron post office boxes.
"What we need is -" Fury pauses, then bends down, peeling something away from the floor. Dry brown mould showers off the object as he gives it a quick shake. "- this."
'This' is a newspaper. The Times, in fact, with its cursive gothic masthead marching proudly across the page. Beneath, in stark bold letters, is the headline:
SPACE MOULD MENACE GROWS
Beneath this is a grainy image of Big Ben, its clock face half grown-over with the all too familiar mould.
"Let's take this back to the Doc and Archie." The Captain tucks the newspaper under his arm, "I'm sure they'll want to see it, too."
Last edited:
robberbaron
First Post
I'm getting all goosebumpy in anticipation.
Capellan
Explorer
"Blast Off!" - Part 17
"Ze meteorite struck in 1832." Doctor Gustav smoothes the paper out on his laboratory bench top as he scans the newspaper, "According to zis, it landed in Wales. At first, it was considered to be just a scientific curiosity." He pauses, reading further, "But zen ze mould was discovered, growing upon it. Zis was hailed as ze first conclusive proof of alien life. However, zis excitement soon became fear. Ze mould grew and grew, unstoppably. Zey mention here many efforts to stop it: fire and explosives, as well as poisons, but none were able to stop its spread." He sighs deeply, "By ze time zis newspaper was printed, in late 1833, ze mold had already begun to appear in Europe, and was growing ever faster. It was expected to cover ze whole world by ze end of 1835."
"Is the mould dangerous?" Fury asks, "Poisonous, perhaps?"
Gustav shakes his head,
"Nein. Ze mould has no harmful effects, in and of itself, but as it grows, it coats everyzing. Crops, grass, trees ... all vere smozzered beneath it. Over time, all ze vegetation on ze Earth would have been choked to death and died."
"And once the plants died ..." Fury looks grim.
"... ze animals could not be far behind." Gustav nods, "It seems likely zat humanity on zis world must have died of starvation."
"How horrible." S'Ondra sounds sick, "But surely someone could have survived? The oceans aren't covered. If there were still fish, couldn't people survive on boats?"
"It is worth checking." Gustav agrees, "Archie?"
The robot strikes some keys on the console beside the lab table,
"I have initiated a sensor sweep, focussing on the oceans." He reports, "Analysis shows that there is still aquatic life, but there are no signs of vessels."
"Ships of the early nineteenth century were quite primitive, and usually small." Archie shakes his head, "And they were very labour intensive to build and maintain. It is probable that some people held on for a few extra decades by doing as you suggested, but there would not have been enough of them to sustain the vessels, or their own population, over the long term."
"So there's no-one left alive." Fury leans against a console, arms crossed, "Which means there's no-one to help us. That's a problem."
"There's still Venus." S'Ondra says, "We should go there."
"Is there any point?" Fury asks, "I'm sorry, Princess, but from our analysis, in this universe your people are still primitives. There's nothing they could do to help us."
"Primitive or not, they're still alive." S'Ondra taps the newspaper, "This says the mould came from space. What if it makes the jump from Earth to Venus? My people could be destroyed, as well. We should go there, and check."
Fury doesn't look convinced,
"If there is mould, what then?" he asks, "Can we do anything about it? The people of Earth couldn't."
"The people of Earth lack our level of technology." Archie observes, "And we have a full laboratory here, not to mention the Doctor."
"Yes. The Doctor!" S'Ondra nods, "If anyone can work out how to stop this stuff, it's him. He's quite brilliant, you know."
"Whatever his other faults, that at least is true." Archie concurs.
"Fine, we'll go." Fury holds up his hands to forestall any more efforts to convince him, "I still don't think it'll do us any good, but at least there are women - I mean, 'people' - on Venus."
The Captain makes his way to the cockpit, leaving Gustav to analyse the samples he has taken. Archie conducts a final sweep of the ship's airlock, making sure that all traces of the mould have been vented. S'Ondra, meanwhile, punches up a display of her home world. As the red-orange globe spins slowly before here, she reaches out to touch the screen, her face pensive as painful memories stir.
The intercom crackles,
"We're ready for launch." Fury's voice is businesslike, though he can't entirely suppress his eagerness to be flying once again, "I'm going to take her up slowly, but safety regulations require me to recommend the use of safety harnesses at his time."
Launching three tons of metal into the air requires an enormous amount of brute force, but with Fury's deft hand at the controls, there is only the faintest lurch as the ship leaves the ground. S'Ondra and Archie, secured in their seats, barely even feel it. Gustav, standing in his laboratory, needs only take a small half step to keep his balance.
The newspaper, folded on the edge of the lab table, slips off, becoming wedged in a narrow gap by the side of a heavy filing cabinet.
Six hours later, as the Pathfinder glides into orbit above Venus, the crew assembles in the cabin. Even Gustav appears, after Archie pages him for the third time.
"Have you learned anything, Doctor?" Fury gets right to the point.
"A little, but I do not know zat it is of much use." Gustav crosses to a console and brings up a display. Streams of strange symbols flash across the screen, "Intense cold seems to retard ze growth of ze mould, as do conditions of darkness. Ze latter seems to have more of an effect zan ze temperature, in fact." He punches up another, equally incomprehensible, display, "Heat or flame is a very bad idea. Ze mould reacts strongly to zis, growing at a rapid rate."
Archie makes a soft whirr of frustration.
"What about nuclear energy?" Fury taps his atomic pistol meaningfully.
"It is highly resistant." Gustav shakes his head, "I do not zink zat will be a solution."
"Do we have a solution?" S'Ondra asks, her gaze turning to the viewport, through which the surface of Venus can be seen.
"Not yet." Gustav admits, "However, given ze behaviour of ze mould, I zink it is safe to say zat it has not yet reached Venus. If it had, ze hot, wet weather would have quickly led to ze whole planet being covered."
"Great." S'Ondra slams her fist onto the console, "So my people are fine for now, but as soon as the infestation starts, they're doomed?"
"That's not certain, Leibchen." Gustav tries to comfort her, but the Princess shakes off the hand he lays on her shoulder.
"The Doc will find a solution." Fury speaks with confidence, "These boffins always do, S'Ondra. You'll see."
Gustav looks flattered. S'Ondra looks hopeful, but unconvinced.
"We should go and see my people." She says, at last, "Perhaps the mould already came here, and they destroyed it!"
From the looks this suggestion receives, its clear no-one else believes it. However ...
"Getting out of the ship might do us all some good." Fury agrees, "And to be honest, stranger things have happened, today."
"It will be dirty." Archie resists, "And we should continue the research."
"Ze research will still be here when we return." Gustav agrees, "And zere are compounds native to Venus zat are not found on Earth, perhaps zese will be of help."
This seems to decide the argument, and Fury pilots the Pathfinder down to the planet's surface.
"There's a place we can land." He points out of the viewscreen.
"Where?" S'Ondra looks concerned, "That tiny clearing? Is it big enough?"
"Big enough to satisfy all your needs, Princess."
The clearing is a very tight squeeze for the ship, but Fury settles the Pathfinder neatly into the middle, with only a few feet of space on every side.
"Should we suit up?" Archie suggests, "There may be strange Venusian germs."
"I think we've all had time to get used to those, old boy." Fury nods at S'Ondra, who is already at the airlock door. "Let's go take a look at this place."
"You'll love Venus." The Princess exclaims happily, as the four space adventurers exit the vessel, "None of your pasty, washed out blues and greens here. Proper vegetation is red, or purple. " She swings her arm, presenting the alien landscape before them. Venusian vegetation is indeed mostly red or purple, and thick with large, flat leaves or wickedly barbed spines. S'Ondra inhales deeply, "It's good to be home, and smell the air of Venus once again."
"Absolutely." Fury nods, "I love the smell of compost in the morning."
As Archie seals the ship, and the four adventurers set out, we float back inside the Pathfinder, to Gustav's laboratory.
The newspaper, wedged between the filing cabinet and the table, drops to the floor. The pages spill open, and a fine dusting of brown space mould scatters into the air ...
"Ze meteorite struck in 1832." Doctor Gustav smoothes the paper out on his laboratory bench top as he scans the newspaper, "According to zis, it landed in Wales. At first, it was considered to be just a scientific curiosity." He pauses, reading further, "But zen ze mould was discovered, growing upon it. Zis was hailed as ze first conclusive proof of alien life. However, zis excitement soon became fear. Ze mould grew and grew, unstoppably. Zey mention here many efforts to stop it: fire and explosives, as well as poisons, but none were able to stop its spread." He sighs deeply, "By ze time zis newspaper was printed, in late 1833, ze mold had already begun to appear in Europe, and was growing ever faster. It was expected to cover ze whole world by ze end of 1835."
"Is the mould dangerous?" Fury asks, "Poisonous, perhaps?"
Gustav shakes his head,
"Nein. Ze mould has no harmful effects, in and of itself, but as it grows, it coats everyzing. Crops, grass, trees ... all vere smozzered beneath it. Over time, all ze vegetation on ze Earth would have been choked to death and died."
"And once the plants died ..." Fury looks grim.
"... ze animals could not be far behind." Gustav nods, "It seems likely zat humanity on zis world must have died of starvation."
"How horrible." S'Ondra sounds sick, "But surely someone could have survived? The oceans aren't covered. If there were still fish, couldn't people survive on boats?"
"It is worth checking." Gustav agrees, "Archie?"
The robot strikes some keys on the console beside the lab table,
"I have initiated a sensor sweep, focussing on the oceans." He reports, "Analysis shows that there is still aquatic life, but there are no signs of vessels."
"Ships of the early nineteenth century were quite primitive, and usually small." Archie shakes his head, "And they were very labour intensive to build and maintain. It is probable that some people held on for a few extra decades by doing as you suggested, but there would not have been enough of them to sustain the vessels, or their own population, over the long term."
"So there's no-one left alive." Fury leans against a console, arms crossed, "Which means there's no-one to help us. That's a problem."
"There's still Venus." S'Ondra says, "We should go there."
"Is there any point?" Fury asks, "I'm sorry, Princess, but from our analysis, in this universe your people are still primitives. There's nothing they could do to help us."
"Primitive or not, they're still alive." S'Ondra taps the newspaper, "This says the mould came from space. What if it makes the jump from Earth to Venus? My people could be destroyed, as well. We should go there, and check."
Fury doesn't look convinced,
"If there is mould, what then?" he asks, "Can we do anything about it? The people of Earth couldn't."
"The people of Earth lack our level of technology." Archie observes, "And we have a full laboratory here, not to mention the Doctor."
"Yes. The Doctor!" S'Ondra nods, "If anyone can work out how to stop this stuff, it's him. He's quite brilliant, you know."
"Whatever his other faults, that at least is true." Archie concurs.
"Fine, we'll go." Fury holds up his hands to forestall any more efforts to convince him, "I still don't think it'll do us any good, but at least there are women - I mean, 'people' - on Venus."
The Captain makes his way to the cockpit, leaving Gustav to analyse the samples he has taken. Archie conducts a final sweep of the ship's airlock, making sure that all traces of the mould have been vented. S'Ondra, meanwhile, punches up a display of her home world. As the red-orange globe spins slowly before here, she reaches out to touch the screen, her face pensive as painful memories stir.
The intercom crackles,
"We're ready for launch." Fury's voice is businesslike, though he can't entirely suppress his eagerness to be flying once again, "I'm going to take her up slowly, but safety regulations require me to recommend the use of safety harnesses at his time."
Launching three tons of metal into the air requires an enormous amount of brute force, but with Fury's deft hand at the controls, there is only the faintest lurch as the ship leaves the ground. S'Ondra and Archie, secured in their seats, barely even feel it. Gustav, standing in his laboratory, needs only take a small half step to keep his balance.
The newspaper, folded on the edge of the lab table, slips off, becoming wedged in a narrow gap by the side of a heavy filing cabinet.
Six hours later, as the Pathfinder glides into orbit above Venus, the crew assembles in the cabin. Even Gustav appears, after Archie pages him for the third time.
"Have you learned anything, Doctor?" Fury gets right to the point.
"A little, but I do not know zat it is of much use." Gustav crosses to a console and brings up a display. Streams of strange symbols flash across the screen, "Intense cold seems to retard ze growth of ze mould, as do conditions of darkness. Ze latter seems to have more of an effect zan ze temperature, in fact." He punches up another, equally incomprehensible, display, "Heat or flame is a very bad idea. Ze mould reacts strongly to zis, growing at a rapid rate."
Archie makes a soft whirr of frustration.
"What about nuclear energy?" Fury taps his atomic pistol meaningfully.
"It is highly resistant." Gustav shakes his head, "I do not zink zat will be a solution."
"Do we have a solution?" S'Ondra asks, her gaze turning to the viewport, through which the surface of Venus can be seen.
"Not yet." Gustav admits, "However, given ze behaviour of ze mould, I zink it is safe to say zat it has not yet reached Venus. If it had, ze hot, wet weather would have quickly led to ze whole planet being covered."
"Great." S'Ondra slams her fist onto the console, "So my people are fine for now, but as soon as the infestation starts, they're doomed?"
"That's not certain, Leibchen." Gustav tries to comfort her, but the Princess shakes off the hand he lays on her shoulder.
"The Doc will find a solution." Fury speaks with confidence, "These boffins always do, S'Ondra. You'll see."
Gustav looks flattered. S'Ondra looks hopeful, but unconvinced.
"We should go and see my people." She says, at last, "Perhaps the mould already came here, and they destroyed it!"
From the looks this suggestion receives, its clear no-one else believes it. However ...
"Getting out of the ship might do us all some good." Fury agrees, "And to be honest, stranger things have happened, today."
"It will be dirty." Archie resists, "And we should continue the research."
"Ze research will still be here when we return." Gustav agrees, "And zere are compounds native to Venus zat are not found on Earth, perhaps zese will be of help."
This seems to decide the argument, and Fury pilots the Pathfinder down to the planet's surface.
"There's a place we can land." He points out of the viewscreen.
"Where?" S'Ondra looks concerned, "That tiny clearing? Is it big enough?"
"Big enough to satisfy all your needs, Princess."
The clearing is a very tight squeeze for the ship, but Fury settles the Pathfinder neatly into the middle, with only a few feet of space on every side.
"Should we suit up?" Archie suggests, "There may be strange Venusian germs."
"I think we've all had time to get used to those, old boy." Fury nods at S'Ondra, who is already at the airlock door. "Let's go take a look at this place."
"You'll love Venus." The Princess exclaims happily, as the four space adventurers exit the vessel, "None of your pasty, washed out blues and greens here. Proper vegetation is red, or purple. " She swings her arm, presenting the alien landscape before them. Venusian vegetation is indeed mostly red or purple, and thick with large, flat leaves or wickedly barbed spines. S'Ondra inhales deeply, "It's good to be home, and smell the air of Venus once again."
"Absolutely." Fury nods, "I love the smell of compost in the morning."
As Archie seals the ship, and the four adventurers set out, we float back inside the Pathfinder, to Gustav's laboratory.
The newspaper, wedged between the filing cabinet and the table, drops to the floor. The pages spill open, and a fine dusting of brown space mould scatters into the air ...
arwink
Clockwork Golem
Sure, everyone blames Archie. After all - *he's* just a robot. It's not like he's got feelings. It's not like he's got enough to do, keeping the greatest living mind in the universe from dissappearing.
I mean, do you know what happens to Gustav if I take my eyes off him for a single minute? Really? Just be thankful that we're muddling around in someone elses reality, buddy, because it'd only be a matter of time before he destroyed yours if I wasn't there to stop him...
I mean, do you know what happens to Gustav if I take my eyes off him for a single minute? Really? Just be thankful that we're muddling around in someone elses reality, buddy, because it'd only be a matter of time before he destroyed yours if I wasn't there to stop him...
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