QUANTUM MAN EPISODE FIVE
PART THREE
“I need your assessment, QI,” Zev urgently demands.
“The smallish female is injured but still alive. The projectile apparently shattered a rock directly by her head. Splinters from said rock have severely lacerated her face and neck. Immediate medical attention is called for.”
“Understood,” Zev says matter of factly. “Return vision to normal.”
“Done. I have a bioscan match from the approaching vehicles. You shall find Dr. Lewis within the starboard truck.”
The drivers of both vehicles slam on their brakes.
“Where the hell did he come from,” shouts, asks William Jefferson as he grinds his truck to a stop just inches short of Zev.
Dr. Lewis quickly shoves her head out of the window. “Ah .. Quantum Man,” she stammers. “What are you doing here?”
“We have little time, Dr. Lewis; do you have any sort of medical kit with you,” Zev urgently asks.
Anna nods. “Ah .. yes, yes I do.”
“Get it! A child has been injured up ahead ...”
Dr. Lewis grabs what she so desperately needs behind the truck’s back rest and then launches herself from the truck. With a quick sweep of his powerful arm Zev lifts Anna into the air and then races toward the injured little girl. “She’s bleeding pretty badly from her face and neck, Doc.”
“I’ll do what I can, Zev,” Anna promises as she sees the alien group for the first time. Anatomy, blood type .. a thousand things seeminglly race through her mind at once...
They land in back of Bob Penny who has the small, angry/crying group in front of and to his left covered with his rifle. A pale and shaking John Copper is just to his right, standing motionless, his rifle at his feet. The little girl and presumably her mother are in front of and to the right of the two men.
“Scan their language, QI, I’m gonna need a database to talk with them.”
“Already in progress, Zev.”
“Bob Penny, put your weapon down,” Zev commands. "You shall no longer need it.”
The older man glances quickly over his left shoulder. “Quantum Man,” he says with a nervous sigh of relief. “Am I glad to see you.”
“Lower your weapon, Mr. Penny,” Zev says with authority.
With a slight nod the older man lowers his rifle letting it hang loosely by his side.
“My scan is complete, Zev .. I had very little to work with so all that I can give you is a very rudimentary base to begin with.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Zev hastily says .. “it’ll be enough to get us started. You can increase the database as we go.”
“Will do, boss.”
“Stay here, Doc.” Zev places himself between the two groups. The flow of communication proceeds slowly at first but increases rapidly as QI is able to extrapolate and increase the language database available to Zev.
“I, Quantum Man. Help.”
“I, Thivius ..... escape ..... why hurt .....?”
Zev nods. “I understand. Am very sorry. Believe accident.”
“She was ..... young ..... no ..... attack.”
“I understand and wish to help.”
“Extrapolation and database complete.”
“That was fast,” says Zev.
“Of course,” QI smugly replies. “I strive to please, boss.”
“Stop calling me, boss,” Zev demands.
“Will do, chief.”
Mumble, grumble, mumble.
The sounds of laboring engines signals the approach of the two four by fours. “You are obviously not from this world, Thivius.”
“We are not. I helped this family to escape from a slave ship several days ago. Why was the young girl attacked?”
“I believe the attack to be a terrible mistake. I have a friend who wishes to help her if you will permit it.”
“She knows medicine?”
Zev nods. “She does. She helped me when I first arrived upon this world. Please allow her to try and help the little girl.”
Thivius turns toward Harvistad Muglow and lowers his voice. “He is not from this world, Mr. Muglow. I believe him to be sincere.”
“You trust him,” Muglow asks as he casts a quick glance in Zev’s direction.
Thivius nods. “I believe that I do, sir.”
Both trucks crunch to a stop several yards in back of Dr. Lewis, their engines quickly silenced. Zev turns his head quickly. “Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Hole, stay where you are. Please keep everyone back.”
The two men stare, wide eyed at the strange group in front of them ... they give a weak nod. Thivius quickly turns to face the new threat.
“Please,” Zev raises his opened hands to calm Thivius. “Please relax. They shall remain where they are. I promise that I shall not allow them to harm you. My friend and I only wish to help. Please allow her take a look at the little girl.”
......................
“What the hell is he sayin, William?”
The blackman shakes his head. “It beats me, Jackson. I’ve never heard a language like that before.”
..............
“Lieutenant Thivius says that he trusts you.”
“You’re the young girl’s father,” asks Zev.
“I am. My name is Harvistad Muglow and that is my wife, Felist.” Mr. Muglow carefully studies the visible portion of Zev’s face and then lets out a deep sigh. “Can I trust you, Quantum Man,” he solemnly asks. That is my daughter which lies injured before you.”
“You can, sir,” Zev says as he stares deeply into the alien’s eyes. “Please, allow my friend to try and help your little girl.”
“Very well, tell her to do what she can.” Harvistad Muglow turns his head toward his wife. “Felist, allow the female to tend our daughter.”
Instead of moving the girl’s mother continues to cradle her daughter’s cut and bleeding head in her lap. “Felist, please allow this man’s friend to take a look at our daughter.”
The girl’s mother lowers her head slightly, retracts the claws that she has been running through Zeferene’s hair and then nods slightly.
“Go ahead, Dr. Lewis, you may take a look at her now,” Zev says.
Refusing to leave her daughter’s side, Felist Muglow tears a portion of her clothing off, folds it, and places it upon the ground. She ever so gently lowers Zeferene’s bloody head to rest upon the improvised pillow.
Dr. Lewis dons a pair of sterile gloves and then quickly goes about the task of cleaning as much blood from her patient’s face and neck as she can. “John .. let me have your jacket. I want to be sure that she stays as warm as possible.”
The older man stands motionless, pale and staring at the little girl.
“John!”
“Wha, what,” stammers Copper.
“Give me your jacket, I need it to keep her warm.”
Copper tears his jacket off and oh so carefully places it over the girl’s body. “Anything else, Doc?”
“I’ll let you know.” Under the harsh glare of Felist Muglow’s eyes Copper sits down heavily at the little girl’s feet.
“The lacerations upon the little girl's face don’t seem to be particularly worrisome,” says Anna to no one in particular. “They may not even need stitches,” she quietly adds. “But I'm afraid that her neck is another matter altogether,” she thinks.
“What’s the problem,” asks Zev.
“Her neck’s bleeding badly, QM. If she were human I’d be extremely concerned that an artery or major vein in her neck may have been damaged.” Anna worriedly shakes her head. “But I have no idea what the anatomy of her neck is like ..... QM, do you think that your QI might be able to scan her and give me at least some idea of what’s in there?”
“Scan is complete, Zev.”
“It’s finished, Dr. Lewis.”
“Good. Has anything major been damaged,” Anna anxiously asks.
“All major arteries and veins ascend through her vertebral column, Zev, so nothing major has been damaged. However, the damage is severe enough that if it is not corrected the young females life shall end.”
“QI says that her major arteries and veins move upwards through her vertebral column, so none of them have been damaged. But he does indicate that her neck wound is serious and must be repaired.”
“Huh, now that’s definitely unusual,” Anna says as she raises her eyebrows in surprise .. glad for the child’s alien anatomy .............. she shakes her head angrily.
“Damn it! I’m not having any success stopping the blood loss from that wound,” a frustrated Anna announces. She slowly turns her head toward Zev as an idea flashes into her mind. “I’m gonna need your help.”
“I’ll do anything that I can, Doctor Lewis.”
“Pressure is not helping her situation .. I believe that I’m going to need to use heat to cauterize that wound and stop the bleeding.” Dr. Lewis quickly opens a foil pack and removes a scalpel blade. “Here, take this,” she says as she hands Zev the smallish, fine edged blade. “Can you scrape its edge so that it won’t cut her?”
“Sure.” Zev says confidently as he bears down upon the blade with his thumb nail. Seconds of hard scraping yield the results which Dr. Lewis is looking for. “How’s this,” he asks .. handing the blade to his friend.
Dr. Lewis quickly exams Zev’s work. “That’ll do just fine,” she says with a smile. “Can you heat this thing without destroying it?”
Zev nodded. “Yeah, no problem.”
“Good,” Anna says as she hands it back to Zev. “As soon as it’s red hot let your QI guide you to the source of the bleeding. If you place the blade properly it should be able to stop any further hemorrhaging. Understand?”
“Did you hear what she said, QI?”
“The scans have already completed. I can guide you to the target areas as soon as you are ready, Chief.”
Zev relaxes, concentrates and then extends his right hand to within milimeters of his target.
The small gap between hand and blade glows with arching energy which quickly engulfs the now dull piece of metal .. Seconds later the blade glows red hot.
“Pull the wound apart Dr. Lewis,” Zev says. “Try and remove as much blood as you can .....”
Anna throws the bloody gauze aside. “I can’t do any better than that.”
“Two vessels, one on either end of the wound, have been severed. If the life of this little girl is to be saved both vessels must be cauterized,” QI dispassionately reports. Ever so carefully Zev slowly lowers the glowing blade into the wound.
“You are now directly by the torn vessel, Zev. A single touch to the wound’s lower side should be sufficient.”
Hisssssss. “Ohhhhhh,” moans the little girl.
“The first vessel has been successfully closed. Retract, and move the blade to the other end ..... that’s fine, you are now directly over your second target. This vessel is slightly deeper than the first and has been completely severed. To stop the hemorrhaging in this portion of the wound the blade must be applied to either side of the wound. Lower the blade ..... a little further ..... stop. Apply the blade to the left side now.”
Hiss. “Ohhhhhhhh.”
“Your final target is the right wall of the wound. Move the blade to the right ... steady, you’re almost there. A little deeper and slightly to your right. Excellent. You may now apply the blade to the wound’s right wall.”
Hiss. “Ohhhhhhhh.”
Zev retracts and then discards the useless blade.
“My congratulations, Zev,” QI joyfully says, “you have successfully sealed the injured vessels. Dr. Lewis may now close. I would recommend a pressure dressing to help stem any additional seepage.”
“That does it, Doc,” a relieved Zev reports. QI says that you can close the wound now. He recommends a pressure dressing to stop any further blood loss.”
Anna smiles broadly, her relief apparent. “Thanks for the help ... oh, and please tell QI thanks as well. With adequate rest I believe that she’ll be just fine now.” A look of concern crosses Anna’s face. “It would be prudent for a course of antibiotics to be administered but owing to her alien physiology I’m hesitant to use anything that I have. Would you please ask them if they have anything comparable that I might use to treat her.”
“Will do, Doc.”
Anna turnes and smiles at Copper. “Good news, John. I believe that the little girl is going to be just fine.”
The older man closes his eyes, lowering his head in relief. John Copper feels as if the weight of the world has just been lifted from his shoulders. “Thank goodness. Please ask Quantum Man to tell the family how sorry I am. I’ll do anything that I can to help em out.”
Anna smiles and nods. “I will, John.”
The smallish band of aliens cluster about Zev, listening intently to what he has to say. The remaining four children glance worridly toward their nearby sister.
“So our daughter should be all right?”
Zev nods. “Dr. Lewis believes that she should completely recover. She wanted me to ask you if you have any type of anti microbial agent that you can give her.”
The Muglows sense of relief dims as they look questioningly at each other and then slowly shake their heads. “How about you, Lieutenant Thivius,” Zev asks.
“I believe that I may have something similar to what your doctor is asking for.” Thivius walks back into the cut in the rocks where they had first been found and grabs a small pouch from the ground. He pulls a small vial of clear/green liquid from the pack and hands it to Zev. “Here, give this to the young one as soon as she wakes. Tell her that she must drink it all.” Thivius turns his head toward the concerned parents. “Try not to worry,” he urges, “it is a very effective antimicrobial compound which will also help her pain.”
“Quantum Man, the little girl’s eyes are open,” says John Copper.
“I’ll be right there.”
Felist Muglow walks over to her scared and hurting daughter, sits down and gently cradles her injured head in her arms. Ever so softly she wipes the childs tears from her face.
“Mommy, my face and neck hurt,” the little girl says with words so soft that her mother can barely hear them.
“Shhh Zeferene, be quiet,” her mother urges, “your face and neck have both been cut, that is the reason that they hurt, my daughter. This man wishes to help you.”
Zev stoops down beside the little girl and cradles her small and frail body in his massive arms gently easing her into a sitting position.
“Hello little one,” Zev softly says, “I guess you’re not feeling very well right now are you?”
“No,” she quietly says. “My face and neck hurt.”
Zev nods slightly. “I’m sure that they do. I have something here that I want you to drink.”
The little girl rolls her eyes toward her mother who nods her assurance and approval. “It’s OK Zeferene, you can trust him.”
“Mommy says it’s ok.”
“Good.” Zev pops the top from the vial. “Here, I want you to drink all of this. Ok?”
“Ok” says the little voice.
“Good.” Zev smiles reassuringly. “There’s no hurry .. Take your time,” he says calmly.
Two minutes later the empty vial lays upon the ground empty.
Zeferene forces her face into a painful pout. “It tastes kinda bad.”
“I’ll bet it did,” Zev says as he gently strokes the little girl’s hair. “It surrre didn’t look very good, did it?”
“No .. it .. didn’t.”
Everyone had now gathered around Zev, the little girl and her mother.
“Do you feel better?”
“A little,” she says as her tongue wets her lips.
“The liquid will dull the pain a bit, Zeferene.”
“Good,” she says as she slowly gives Zev the once over ... “You know ..... I’ve never seen anyone as big as you are ..... I bet nothing ever hurts you.”
Zev lovingly smiles at the girl. “You’d be surprised, Zeferene. Not so very long ago I was the one who was hurting very badly.”
“More .. than me?”
Zev slowly nods as the memory of the Vole flashes through his mind. “A whole lot more than you. I got all better though, just like you will. You’re just going to have to rest and let yourself heal. Oh, by the way, is it OK if I call you Zef for short?”
“OK,” she quietly says with a smile. Her eyelids flicker and then shut. Her head rolls slowly to the side.
“I imagine that she’ll sleep for a while now, Mrs. Muglow.” Zev gently lowers her to the ground and then stands.
“Mr. and Mrs. Muglow, Lieutenant Thivius I need to talk to you,” Zev says.
The remaining four Muglow children, with stern warnings from their parents not to bother their sister, quietly surround her and sit down.
“I have been asked by John Copper,” Zev motions toward the man quietly sitting by their daughter’s feet, “to tell you that he feels terrible about what happened.”
Mrs. Muglow’s answer is tinged with deep anger. “He is the one who tried to end my daughter's life. How can I ever forgive that? He must pay,” she says flatly.
“Believe me, I do understand your anger, Mrs. Muglow, but there are two things which you must realize. Mr. Copper is the product of a primitive society which has never had open contact with anyone from off world.”
“Never,” an astounded Felist Muglow asks.
“No Ma’am,” says Zev politely. “For that reason he was unprepared emotionally as well as culturally for this encounter. When he saw your daughter run, his fear caused him to react without thinking.”
“He tried to end my daughter’s life, Quantum Man,” Felist Muglow responds coldly.
“I’m certain that on the surface it appears so, but I truly believe that that is not the case in this instance. He reacted with violence because of his fear of the unknown. As your time passes upon this world I believe that you will come to understand that those two things are exactly what this fragmented world promotes... He exercised the only option which his fear would allow ..” Zev thoughtfully strokes his chin as he silently mulls over a possible solution. “Since Mr. Copper is an excellent shot, I firmly believe, given the distance involved, that if he had wanted to, he could have easily hit your daughter.”
“If I understand your argument .. and please correct me if I am in error,” Thivius says, “you believe that he may have unconsciously pulled his shot at the last second,”
“Whether consciously or unconsciously, that’s exactly what I believe happened, Lieutenant.”
“If the situation is as Quantum Man has presented, Mrs. Muglow, his explanation is a plausible one; for I have seen it happen before.”
“But do you believe it in this case, Lieutenant?”
Thivius rubs his face as he contemplates Felist Muglow’s question. “Your daughter was quite close to him, Mrs. Muglow .. Yes,” Thivius nods, “I am inclined to believe the explanation, but I shall need proof of this assertion before I fully accept it.”
“I believe that to be a resonable request, Lieutenant.” Zev turns his head toward the man seated at the girl's feet. “Mr. Copper, we need a demonstration of your marksmanship please.” The older man grabs his rifle and slowly stands.
“I realize that you’re pretty shaken by what’s happened, but I need you to pick a target and hit it,” Zev says as he stares into the older man’s pale blue eyes.
“I’ll do my best,” Copper quietly says as he carefully surveys the surrounding landscape, “how about that rock over there,” he asks as he points toward a stone some one hundred to one hundred and fifty yards distant.
“The one sitting on top of that large red one,” Zev asks.
Copper nods, “that’s the one.”
Zev turns and explains what is about to happen to the small alien band behind him.
John Copper carefully sights in on the smallish target .. Kablam! .. The alien party flinches as the weapon's sound echoes throughout the mountains .. Fractions of a second later the small rock explodes into dust and hundreds of smaller pieces. He quickly leans the rifle against a nearby rock as if he want's nothing to do with the weapon.
Thivius tilts his head toward the elder Muglow. “He does appear to be a very good shot, Mr. Muglow,” he quietly says. “I am now inclined to believe the explanation that was given by our friend in the tight clothing.”
“Very well, Lieutenant. I shall accept your judgment.” Harvistad Muglow turns to his wife. “And you Felist? Do you accept the Lieutenant’s judgment?”
The older woman grudgingly nods. “I shall accept his judgment, Husband,” she says with thinly disguised hatred. She quickly shifts her attention to Zev. “Quantum Man, you may tell that man that I shall accept your explanation. But I wish you to make it very clear to him that I cannot forgive what he did .. at least not now. Perhaps in time I shall be able to .. but not now. At this point I only accept what the Lieutenant has said.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Muglow,” Zev says. “I shall tell Mr. Copper of your decision.”
Zev relays what has been said and decided to John Copper who breathes a rather large sigh of relief. “Thanks big time, QM. I’ll do everything that I can to help these people while they’re here abouts. Ya know, I had that little girl right in my sights,” Copper slowly shakes his head. “I must have flinched or somethin when I pulled that trigger. I’ve never had that happen before ..... Pretty good timin, huh?”
“Ya got that right,” Zev says with a quick nod and grin. “Try and relax now, she’s going to be fine.” Zev turns to face the rest of the children. “You kids don’t worry,” he says softly. “Doctor Lewis is going to take very good care of her ... Now Lieutenant,” Zev says as his voice takes on a decidedly more serious tone. “I’d like to know how you ever ended up here?”
Over the next few minutes Thivius relates a brief history of his world and how he and the Muglows came to be on Earth. “So there you have my world’s sorry history, Quantum Man. We had hopes of simply disappearing into the forests of this world and living our lives as free people.” He shrugs slightly. “I guess that’s all over now,” he sadly says.
“Not necessarily, Lieutenant," Zev says with the shake of his head. "I’m quite certain that Dr. Lewis will be very happy to do all that she can to help you and your group make a life for yourselves here.”
“She would be willing to do that .. for us,” he asks suspiciously.
“Absolutely,” Zev says with assurance.
“Perhaps some good can come out of this mess after all.”
“I think that it already has.” Zev motions toward Dr. Lewis and her injured patient. “The first thing that we’re going to have to address is the language difficulty. Do you have anything that might solve our problem, Lieutenant?”
Thivius nods. “Indeed we do. There is a translation unit on board our ship. We were forced to leave the assemblage behind because of its size and weight.”
“Is it self powered?”
“Indeed. It uses a rechargeable, microcell, sterion battery .. quite durable. It’s stored in a forward compartment just behind the pilot’s chamber. It’ll be on your right upon entry into the ship.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Excuse me for a minute please.” Zev turns and walks back to Dr. Lewis and the group of ranch hands clustered about their two trucks. He quickly relates the story which Thivius had just told him.
“You’re kidding me,” says an unbelieving Bill Gold. “They were either gonna be slaves or some kind of lab rats,” he angrily asks.
Zev nods. “Not a great way to live your life, is it?”
........................
Thivius and the Muglows carefully watch what is transpiring a short distance away. “They do not look very happy, Lieutenant.”
“No they do not, Mrs. Muglow,” says an increasingly alarmed Thivius. “As a matter of fact they seem to be pretty upset and angry.”
“I don’t understand,” she says. “Just a few minutes ago they were helping us .. and now this.” Felist Muglow carefully eyes the nearby group. She wasn’t ready to completely trust the aliens .. not yet anyway.
Thivius casually reaches down and picks up the rifle leaning against a nearby rock and then gently punches the woman’s back to his left. “I want you to hold this behind your back. If things turn nasty let me have it .. I believe that I understand how it functions.” He slips the weapon into Felist Muglow’s waiting hands.
........................
“They have acquired a weapon, Zev,” reports QI. “The female has it presently hidden behind her.”
“Thanks, buddy.”
“That sure as hell ain’t any way to live your life! .. That’s terrible! .. And all they want to do is to live a free life?”
“That’s all that they want, Mr. Hole.”
“Doc, we’ve gotta help em,” pleades the ranch’s foreman. Everyone in the group nods their agreement with Jackson’s idea. “The ranch is plenty big, there’s gotta be someplace around here for em.”
Dr. Lewis silently contemplates her foreman’s idea for several seconds. “You know, I believe that that’s quite doable, Jackson. How about that section of the ranch several miles north of the house?”
The older man smiles broadly. “Yeah, I know exactly where you’re talkin about. Up where that mountain shoots straight up some three, maybe four hundred feet.”
.............................
As the animated conversation by the trucks continues, Thivius becomes more alarmed .. True, they had helped the little girl, but things seemed to be changing. His body tenses for action. “Mrs. Muglow,” he whispers, “be ready, I’ll need the weapon very soon now.”
..........................
Anna smiles broadly .. happy to hear her friend’s suggestion. “Exactly, Jackson. It’s so isolated no one ever goes up there.” She shakes her head as her enthusiasm quickly drains away. “But there isn't any place for them up there,” she sadly says.
“And that’s just where QM can help us, Doc,” Jackson says.
“Sure,” Zev chimes in. “I’ll be glad to do anything that I can to help.”
“Alright," Jackson says with a nod. "Can that energy you generate cut through solid rock?”
Zev nods with a smile. “Oh yeah .. that won’t be a problem.”
The grizzled old ranch hand momentarily scratches his face. “I’m a thinkin that you could burn some sort of a cave into the side of that thar mountain; even using parts of their ship to help support its’ walls. Whatchya think?”
Once again Zev smiles. “That’s one, good idea, Mr. Hole. And it shouldn’t take very long to do that either ...” he shrugs .. “a couple of days max.”
“And shouldn't we be able to outfit em with whatever they need?”
“That shouldn't be a problem, William,” Anna quickly interjects.
“Then everything's set. I'll give them your decision.” Zev turns and walks slowly back to Thivius and the Muglows.
“You see, QI; they were all willing to help. Not too shabby, huh?”
“So what if they were? It still doesn’t change my opinion as to the primitive state of their culture.”
“Stubborn to the end, huh?”
"Perhaps .. Mrs. Muglow has a weapon hidden behind her," QI flatly reports ... "Thanks, buddy."
Zev stops directly in front of Felist Muglow and extends his right hand. “You won’t need that weapon, ma’am.”
The older woman lowers her head, allowing the rifle to slide into view... she gently hands the weapon to, Zev.
“Thank you, Mrs. Muglow. Now .. I have some good news for you all. Dr. Lewis and her men believe that they have found a place where you may live undisturbed upon this world.”
“Wha .....what,” a stunned Felist Muglow sputters. “They ..... want to help us?”
“Yes Ma’am, they do. They believe that they’ve located an isolated portion on the land which Dr. Lewis owns. You and your family are welcome to live your lives there if you wish.”
“I ..... I don’t know what to say,” the tearful woman softly says.
Harvistad Muglow gently puts his arm around his wife’s shoulders and beams. “Thank you for your help, Quantum Man.”
“You’re most welcome, sir.”
“Will the one who injured our daughter be close to us there?”
“I don’t believe so, sir.”
“Good. Neither I nor my wife wish him to be close to our family.”
“Very well,” Zev says with a nod. “Perhaps in time you will permit him to visit your new home.”
“Perhaps .. but not now.”
“I understand. I shall convey your feelings to Dr. Lewis. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must leave momentarily to retrieve the translation unit onboard your ship ...”
“Dr. Lewis, Zev softly says, "please keep an eye on things. I'll be back shorty."
Anna smiles and nods. “I believe that everything should be ok here.”
Whoosh!
........................................
Zev lands softly atop the deserted, alien vessel then drops easily through the half open hatch to land with a metallic thud upon the inside deck plating, the flickering, static filled view screen before him continuing to present a jumbled view of the outside world.
“This is quite interesting, Zev,” QI says quickly. “This ship does not use Plain technology.” Having never heard excitement within his QI’s voice before .. even during his crash, Zev finds himself flabbergasted, for he can almost swear that his QI’s report is now oozing with it.
“It doesn’t? Well, if there’s no Plain technology on board this ship, exactly what type of drive does it use,” Zev asks .. his amazement mirroring that of his QI’s.
“This ship uses a technology which is totally unknown to us. Can you believe it,” QI asks softly to no one in particular. “I believe that the people who dwell within this country have a saying which deals with different ways to skin a feline or something on that order. I suppose that would fall under the heading of local color,” QI says matter of factly. “Given the results of my scans it has become apparent to me that these people have actually developed a technology which allows them to exceed light speed within the limits of normal space.”
“Ya gotta be kidding me, buddy! Is that possible,” Zev asks, as his excitement grows.
“My scans of their drive engines indicate that it is. Apparently, when these engines are powered up, they are used in conjunction with some sort of quantum field technology. The combination of the two allows this ship to somehow arc, if you will, across the light speed barrier. Once that barrier has been crossed, the quantum field is extinguished and the matter, anti-matter drive engines are used exclusively.”
“Quantum field technology,” puzzles Zev.
“It appears to be distantly related to the technology which enables you to overcome the effects of gravity.”
“Oooooooh, ok ... I gotchya now... sort of. How about it’s speed?”
“While substantial, I would suspect that it would be far below that which we can achieve using the Plain.”
“Well, to each his own I suppose. Have you recorded all of the data that you need?”
“Afirmative,” comes the snappy reply. “I now have more than enough to make a nice addition to the databanks back on New Quantum.”
“Not to mention giving you a leg up, so to speak, on the other QIs.”
“If that materializes, then it does. I’m afraid that I’m powerless to stop it now,” QI says in all modestly, (modestly .. yeah, right). “But enough about me,” QI quickly interjects. “I believe that a rapid return with the translation unit is essential. At this stage, a prolonged absence might prove detrimental to our previously achieved progress.”
“I agree.” Zev locates the device just where Thivius had said that it would be. Seconds later he is back among both groups.
“That was quick. Did you have any trouble finding it?”
“No,” Zev shakes his head. “It was right where you said it would be, Lieutenant,” he says as the unit gives a quiet kathunk against the ground. “I must confess that I have never seen a drive system quite like the one your ship uses.”
“It’s a common stock system .. nothing exceptional about it really,” Thivius says matter of factly.
“I assume that that means that you don’t use the Quantum Plain for travel.”
Thivius slowly shakes his head. “Ah, nooooooo ..” he says with a puzzled look upon his wrinkled face. “I don’t believe that I’ve ever heard of that .. but then of course, I’m simply a lowly Lieutenant. Perhaps some of the higher ups might have more intel concerning that than I. We’ve used arc light technology now for about two hundred years .. if I remember my history correctly.” Thivius gently strokes his chin. “When the system was first introduced we lost several ships. I beeelieve that the program was almost cancelled untill a new matter, anti-matter injector design was developed. Ever since then, we’ve had no problems with our drive systems. They’ve been quite reliable ... And your world has never heard of it,” an unbelieving Thivius asks.
Zev shakes his head. “Not as far as I know .. but then I’m at the bottom of the heap just like you are. Once you get settled in I should like to converse further with you about it.”
“Certainly. That should pose no problem."
“Good, I look forward to it, Lieutenant. Right now though I believe that we need to get your translation unit working.”
Thivius nods his agreement. "Generally it takes several hours for the unit to generate a large enough database to facilitate practical communication. However,” Thivius thoughtfully scratches his chin once more, “with your knowledge of both languages I believe that the learning curve for the unit can be dramatically reduced. Perhaps fifteen to thirty minutes of your input should establish a linguistic base from which the unit can expand. Once the base words are secure in storage, the unit shall be able to learn very quickly. I should expect that fluent exchanges could take place in as little as an hour or so.”
“That sounds good. Just show me what I need to do.”
............................
Thirty minutes later
“I believe that should do it, Lieutenant. The linguistic base which I’ve installed should be sufficient to allow the unit to extrapolate a translation matrix for us.”
...........................
“Mommie, come over here and look at this leaf,” begs the Muglow's middle child as she tentatively sniffs the leaf while slowly truning the translucent, green petal over and over. “It’s so pretty .. and smells sooo good.”
Mindfull of the alien environment in which they stand Felist Muglow quickly takes the leaf from her daughter’s hand. “Husband, please take a look at this blade,” she asks as she too sniffs the petal.
The older man takes a deep snif of the leaf. “Hmm. Indeed it does have a wonderful aroma.” Folding the leaf several times he inserts it into a small container attached to his waist. “We shall have the results shortly .....”
“The test indicates that the leaf should cause us no problems, Felist. Harvistad Muglow pops the leaf into his mouth. closing his eyes as he slowly chews and savors the wonder flavor of the leaf; for in all of his years he had never tasted anything quite like it. “Where did you get this, Ilosene?”
“Over there, Papa,” points the little girl excitedly. “See that vine?”
The entire Muglow family, save their injured daughter, moves to the vine and begins to enthusiastically chow down upon its leaves.
............................
“Zim, take a look at that will ya,” says an astonished Felix Wishman.
“Well I’ll be. Can you believe they’re really eatin that stuff? .. Doc Lewis,” he says excitedly, “take a look at what they’re eatin?”
“Well I’ll be, Zim. After all of these years,” Anna says with a slow shake of her head, “I suppose that we’ve finally found a use for kudzu. They certainly seem to love it, don’t they?”
“Ain’t there a lot of that stuff over where Quantum Man’s supposed to dig that cave?”
Anna nods. “That whole area is covered with the stuff, Zim.”
“I guess they’ll be eatin hearty then, won’t they?”
Dr. Lewis allows a slight smile to cross her lips. “I would imagine so.”
“We’re going to have to find somewhere for these people to stay until I’m able to get that cave ready, Dr. Lewis,” interjects Zev.
“That will not be a problem, QM. They’re welcome to stay at the ranch until you’re finished.”
“Good. Oh and one more thing," Zev lowers his voice, "Try and keep Mr. Copper away from the Muglows for a while.”
Dr. Lewis nods. “I’ll see to it.”
........................................
Wednesday. Two days later.
“Dr. Lewis.”
The good doctor looks skyward to see her friend slowly descending toward her.
“How’s the work on the cave going,” she asks as her head follows Zev’s decending path.
“Just fine,” Zev says as he lightly touches down. “I’ve just finished welding the final conduits. You know, it’s really amazing how efficient their solar cells and batteries are. Power is not going be one of their problems.”
“That’s wonderful. Is everything else alright?”
“Absolutely,” replies Zev enthusiastically. “The entire family loves the place. The TV and satellite dish that you gave them were a great idea .. The kids love em. They already seem to be hooked on someone called Barney. For some reason or another they can’t seem to get enough of him.”
Anna rolls her eyes and smiles. “Better them than me. How’s Zeferene doing?”
“Just fine. The Muglows have her resting in her room. They asked me to thank you once again for what you did.”
Anna nods her thanks. “It just wasn’t just me, Zev. If you hadn’t been there ...” her voice trails off into a what might have been silence. “I’ll drop by and take another look at the little girl two or three times over the next week or so just to be on the safe side.”
“I’m sure that they’ll appreciate that. Sooo how’s Mr. Copper doing?”
“Better. He had me put his rifles under lock and key. Told me that he never wanted to go near them again.” Anna smiles a knowing smile. “I suspect though, given the proper amount of time, that that attitude will most likely change. He says that he wants to do everything that he can to try and make up for what happened.”
“I can understand that. Just make sure that he understands that he shouldn’t press it. It’s going to take the Muglows some time to get over what he did.
Dr. Lewis nods. “That’s what I told him. He says that he understands .. that he won’t force the issue with them and that he’ll give them all the time that they need.” Anna checks her watch. “I find that my watch and stomach are in agreement. It’s dinner time,” she says with relish. “You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
Zev shakes his head. “Not since this morning.”
“Well then, I guess that you had better get changed if you’re going to enjoy those barbecued steaks Esparanza has going.”
Zev smiles and pats his stomach. “Potato salad and baked beans?” he hungrily asks.
“I believe so,” Anna replies with a smile.
“Don’t go away.” He disappears into the forest .. a brief flash of light and he returns dressed normally. “Let’s go Doc, I have a huge appetite this evening.
THE END of Episode 5
Please tune in next time for the next exciting episode in the adventures of Quantum Man.
