Author Games: Brave New World

Task Four Entries: Parthenos

On Aminee's branches, a few of the buds bloomed. Olive couldn't be certain, but it didn't seem like the right season for this. Perhaps that could be the tree people's way of expressing their emotions, since they didn't have skin to blush, or mouths to smile or frown.

But they seemingly could express themselves through vibrations just fine. They really were an interesting species, these tree people. Instead of tree people, Olive should call them something else. The name dryad, as used for the nature spirits of legend, would apply well to these people.

Another rustling of leaves came from the foliage behind Aminee. Her trunk turned, her eyes trying to look at the source just as Olive's were. A figure similar to Aminee's emerged, but it was larger, with broader trunks. It was impossible to interpret, but Olive thought it seemed angry.

Aminee and the new arrival appeared to converse with one another. Olive sensed vibrations in the ground, but no image or sensation came to her, so it must be directed at each other. This vibration system was truly curious.

Another vibration rippled through the ground, and this one brought a feeling. It was the sensation of fear and panic, of running and a dire emergency. An image flashed in Olive's mind of small creatures fleeing urgently from a predator. The message was clear:

Go away.

Olive paused only long enough to grab her things, and she ran. Her legs couldn't take her away fast enough. She reached the end of the forest and came to a stop, panting.

The forest was full of more than just plants. It was full of sentient beings too, and as the big dryad had showed, it seemed they didn't all welcome humans to their planet as much as Aminee had.

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Anna Benedykta

The only good to come from leaving the colony was she was now able to be a leader, and ascend further into investigative matters. All other reasons had been eliminated. There were only a few people Anna could care to converse with, and fewer still she cared to be acquainted with for extended periods of time. But this was what she wanted, she told herself. Out here, on the plains of a foreign planet, exploring in teams and collecting samples: these otherwise mundane things would not have been possible without her leaving. And, besides, now she was independent. She was not restricted to the harsh control that she had been subjected to back at the base.

She wore a suit made of uncomfortable plastic. It was thin and conformed to her body, and her breath was whisked away before condensing on her mask by an oxygen convertor pack that rested at her hips. There were white gloves and boots and her feet made impressions upon the infertile soil. The mission today was to collect samples of flora to bring back to the camp—which stood with a flicker of light and a bulbous shape several dozen meters behind her. There were trackers given indiscreetly to the explorers, something that Thalita must have swiped from the base.

Her pod consisted of Natalia and Rasul, but though they made conversation over the crackling intercoms installed in their helmets, Anna chose not to respond. She felt odd: after all this time wanting to be on this planet exploring, she felt unsatisfied. She felt dreary and weary and every other word that could have described her time back on Earth. The people she had left to Parthenos with hindered her openness to discussion and banter, and yes, while it was lovely she was now working independently, it seemed that now that was what she was destined to do. Was there no way to do both? Was there no way to have intelligent conversations while still retaining independence? It seemed unlikely—Rasul and Natalia (who she would not call Olive, for why should there be a nickname with no basis) seemed interested only in conversing, Natalia only stopping when finding a fragment of leaf.