Greegs & Ladders

Chapter 31

                                                      CHAPTER 31

                                                        The Journal

 

“What were you doing back there?”  said Rip.  “You know how hungry those creatures were?”

“It was worth it,” I said.  “Look at this.  They were hiding some type of old book.  Who knows what important information it contains.”

“Another book?”  asked Rip concernedly.  “Last time you read a book to us we got in a lot of trouble.  Remember?”

“I haven’t had time to forget.  Last time I read a book to you was a copy of Very Rare Planets, and that was when we decided to visit Hroon.  So only seconds ago did we finish getting in the trouble that occurred from the last time I read a book to you.”

“Exactly.  I think we could use a break before you start unleashing more trouble from out of whatever other hexed books you continuously find lying around.”

“I concur,” said Wilx.  “Take that book to your room if you want to read it.  We’ll be in here purging our minds of cursed knowledge by way of a few Crammington Krish Fortinis.”

“We still have some of those?”  said Rip elatedly.

I retired to my room, leaving the two well-seasoned travellers of space and time to their self-destructive methods of transcendental meditation.

I carefully opened the book, making sure not to crack its weather-worn pages.  I immediately saw from the dated entries that it was a personal journal of sorts.

But who wrote it?  

And where?

1st ENTRY – DATE: 337/51 – LOCATION: Mother Ship, Yoloron Galaxy

My name is Jorf. I just moved to the up and coming Yoloron Galaxy. Today I started a new job.  I am an Intergalactic Specimen Collector. It is my duty to obtain any and all sorts of life forms from whatever planet I come across.  The spaceship I have been equipped with may be old and rickety, but it has all the right environmental housing facilities for storing any type of species.  My first assignment is to visit a nearby largish meteor that has taken up orbit around a new sun.  We are to decide if the meteor is showing any tendencies of becoming a planet, i.e.: whether or not life is sprouting up on this barren wasteland.  It sounds dull, and I don’t expect to find anything.  Just the sort of job they give to someone on their first day.

I wasn’t entirely interested in this Jorf character, but I recognized the name Yoloron  as having been the ancient name for what humans would later call the Milky Way Galaxy.

2nd ENTRY – DATE: 337/52 – LOCATION: Mother Ship, Orbiting Meteor

Today our ship arrived at the meteor/planet.  According to the papers back home, this new addition to our galaxy has been named ‘Earth,’ a word from the Hindrian language meaning ‘unsightly, misshapen barren wasteland.’  I actually thought the name sounded good, and figured it was a shame to have such a negative meaning attached to it.  But no other description is as appropriate for Earth.  It is simply an uninhabited meteor. I have no idea why we’ve been sent here.

 

3rd ENTRY – DATE: 337/53 – LOCATION: Surface of Earth

We have set up a camp base on the surface of the meteor.  We are to stay here for a Yoloron week to thoroughly make sure there are no signs of life. Everything is freezing cold.  A week here will probably feel more like a month.