The Seeds of Sand

Chapter 13. Gemda

I stayed with the nanocomposites to train to maneuver the solar sailing ships.  Muq informed me that it was time for him to gather others and find other Sahus.  We knew or thought we knew that we could count on the Hulants at the agave farm and also the Shaun nanocomposites.

Muq headed out, and I knew the first person he would see, Lanida.  I had to keep myself calm and trust him, that he would do the right thing.

Muq arrived in San Francisco via his sand morphing capabilities.  The ability to move matter was always a cool thing.  I wondered if Lanida had a gift like mine of dematerializing.

~~~

Muq arrived on the scene of Dr. Vetrik's lab in a state of chaos.  The years had passed and so had Vetrik.

"Well Lanida you haven't changed one bit." Muq said.

"Neither have you, you big blue piece of logic." I said"Years have passed and a lot has changed.  I've been on several trips to Mars.  We've set up our base camp there and have started the extremophile colonies.  Things are going very well, so well in fact that the government has given me a grant to do research on Encedalus and Titan and travel there within the next few years.  I've very excited about it.  I am sure that Diego would be very proud of me."

Muq was content that it seemed that I had put the past behind me and had matured and calmed through the years.  He decided to be cautiously optimistic about this new me.

"Well congratulations are in order.  I am sure that Diego would be proud of all of the accomplishments that his daughter has made."

"Yes, it saddens me that he could not be here, but perhaps someday we will have the technology to take him out of stasis. Come, let me take you out and fill you in on what has happened."

San Francisco had indeed changed.  We went to a replenishment bar.  It was actually a biofuel station.  We were hooked up to what humans used to call IVs, except in this case instead of the IV giving nutrient to a sick patient, our RV or replenishment intravenous, collected energy and sugar, which were there stored for all kinds of uses, one of which was to fuel a water plant.  Water was collected from the lower, mid and upper atmospheres and artificial rain was created in the areas of the earth where it was most needed, in places like the agave farm and other experimental farms.  Original seeds were being cloned and planted in the ground.  It was very interesting work.

"So Muq much has changed since I saw you.  Although, I did have some childish feelings of love for you and Diego.  It turned out that my real love was Eric Vetrick.  We had a wonderful life together but as you know being a Hulant can have its advantages and disadvantages; one of them is differences in life span.

"Eric was quite a bit older than I already.  He and Diego were colleagues after all.  We spent as much time together as we could.  We traveled the globe.  I traveled to Mars, a lot, more than I wanted to.  But Eric wanted that for me."

"Lanida,  I am overjoyed that you found happiness in your life."

"And you Muq,  how have you been?"

"I have been well.  My mission to find Gemda has been fulfilled.  I actually found her several miles from here.  We traveled to Mexico to the agave farms to replenish her water supply.  As a young Hulant she required a lot of water.  We ran into a disagreement with some Hulants in the area, but in the end they let us stay.  And we did for a number of years.  Gemda has blossomed into a beautiful young Hulant, but she does not yet understand her mission."

"Double congrats to you Muq, for finding Gemdba and taking good care of her."  There was a tone of slight jealousy in my voice.

"What is the mission?"

"As it turns out that is classified information, but I am gathering several races, Hulants, Shaun, Sahus and Extremophiles to join us."

"It sounds like you are going to travel somewhere extraterrestrial."

"I am not at liberty to say."

"Oh, come on, just a little info?"

"No.  I am under strict orders to recruit and get back to our team."

I thought about it.  Muq would not tell me any details, but I would find out.  And the way she would do it was through Nerdu.

"Muq, I want to introduce you to another Sahu.  His name is Nerdu.  He was created in the Vetrik laboratory."

We left the replenishment bar, both a bit drained from having our energy taken from us and returned to Vetrick's lab.  Lanida was now the CEO and chief scientist of Vetrick Labs.  She explained to me that Vetrik had left her everything in his will.  Now she was a wealthy and powerful Hulant.

We walked into one of the rooms and there he was, Nerdu, leaning over the body of a Sahu.  He was red, which startled me a bit and piqued my curiosity.

"Muq meet Nerdu and Nerdu meet Muq."

"Greetings Muq.  Gemda has told me a lot about you.  Mostly good things but also some of her deep dark secrets."  said Nerdu seductively.

"Nerdu, this is not the time and the place for this. Muq has traveled far and wide to look for a team that will work on special project with Gemda."I said.

"Lanida, I never said it involved Gemda." Replied Muq

"Of course it does.  What do you think I am stupid?" I snarled.

"Please calm down everyone. Let's sit down and discuss this rationally." said Muq

Muq, Nerdu and I sat down to talk about the project at a high level.  I could not know that the Gemda team would travel to Enceladus or Titan because Muq knew one thing.  That I  would prevent Gemda from going.  But Gemda had to go.  She was a special a super hybrid race.  One that could inhabit any planet in the solar system, under any conditions.  The goal was to populate other planets and Gemda would do it not me.  I could never bear children, and so I never wanted Gemda to.  I was a half hybrid and therefore barren.  Muq only explained the parts of the story that were not classified, but I figured out the rest.

"Well that is an interesting story Muq. If you need a special team, then Nerdu is your Sahu.  I'm sure you've been wondering all along why he is red.  It is because I infused his cells with sulfur extremophile cells.  He a hybrid SahuX.  That is the perfect kind of Sahu to go with Gemda to extraterrestrial planets.  Oh, did I say that out loud? Think it over.  If you want Nerdu you are going to have to do a trade with me.  You for Nerdu."

I was always a shrewd bargainer.  But I had a point there.  If Gemda would travel to Enceladus or Titian, she needed someone with more capabilities than Muq.  Half human and half solar cell was not enough.  Just looking at Nerdu, you could see that Nerdu was his superior.  Muq was just the first model.  Nerdu was the second.  It did not take long for Muq to make up his mind.  He would do the exchange, but he had to find a way to reassure Gemda that all would be okay.