SuperDragon

Nathaniel’s ship speeds towards a small terrestrial planet sporting an elliptical ring of silvery white powder. The seas and land each cover about fifty percent of the surface, curling around each other to form hundreds of coves and peninsulas. The ship lands on the beach of one of the large islands. Nathaniel, Haticat, Fred, and Doctor Bill step out onto the lemon-colored sand and take in the wonderful vista. The weather is warm yet breezy and neither too dry nor too humid. A few small clouds dot the sky. The ring is barely visible reflecting the sun‘s light in the midst of the blue sky. On one side the waves crash against the sand. On the other are trees with velvety pink trunks and purple leaves. “Planet Aeveon. Such a nice place. Let’s stay here a while,” Nathaniel says.

“I like it,” Haticat says.

They explore the beach for kilometers. They discover that only the very top of the sand is yellow. Kicking it reveals it to be bright tangerine underneath, which quickly turns yellow in the sun. Shaded sand takes longer to turn. They discover that rocks here are made of some sort of carbon-based elastic foam. They look just like granite but are soft and harmless. Nathaniel wades into the water a bit and discovers the white tile reefs, apparently built by flat, tessellated animals.

There are other animals here too. There are seal-like animals resting on the false rocks, clapping their tail flukes together in sounds of applause. There are swimming daggertails and running gerbils. There are animals wandering the beach resembling rabbits, deer, leopards, hippos, ferrets, and cattle. None of these animals have any eyes. They stumble along, bumping into trees, rocks, and each other as they go about their business, sometimes simply walking in circles. “Imagine living in such a wonderful place surrounded by all this beauty and not being able to see it or even know that it exists,” Haticat comments.

“Since the trees, sand, and rocks are so soft, and there are no cliffs in the topographical survey, it’s a relatively safe place where no eyes are required,” Doctor Bill says.

“Still, I’d hate not seeing. Sight has a rich complexity that sound and smell don’t,” Haticat says.

“Or maybe you lack the right ears and nose for experiencing it,” Nathaniel suggests.

“Maybe,” Haticat says.

They continue exploring by entering the purple jungle. There are flowers in every color. There are berries too. There are bats that fly in circles until bouncing off tree branches, reversing course until they find a perch. They don’t seem to have any sonar. Eventually, they encounter a herd of twelve Humanoids with long skirts of flesh and skin feeling the ground all around them out to a radius of three meters. Bumping against berry bushes, they move closer using their long thin arms to feel for berries in the upper branches. Except for their natural skirts, they appear to have no other clothing. “Hey guys, I found the sourbobs; they’re over here,” one says.

“I thought I smelled them earlier,” another says, walking in the general direction of his voice before having to step around a tree.

“Hello, I like sour things,” Nathaniel says, stepping closer.

“Who are you?” the first Humanoid says.

“Captain Nathaniel. I’m a Nino from Ninosa and I have my three Stuffians with me. I was exploring your beaches.”

“Oh, we haven’t walked onto a beach in a long time,” it says.

“They’re nice.” Nathaniel says, grabbing a sourbob. “Oh, that is sour!”

The explorers get to know their new friends the Aeveonites and explore the jungle with them. The Aeveonites teach them about the plants and the weather and they teach the Aeveonites about the animals – things they have heard and sometimes bumped into, but never seen or examined in detail. “I told you they had tails. I was right,” one says.

“Do they all have tails?” another asks.

“Well, all the ones I’ve seen so far,” Nathaniel answers.

Then there is what sounds like a jet engine passing overhead and all the creatures freeze. “It’s back.”

Nathaniel turns just in time to see what looks like a dragon flying backwards. Fire escapes from its mouth and its entire body forms a gliding surface. “What is that?

“That’s our planet guardian – the adult that eats us,” one says.

When Y created the universe, it created lifeforms of four different psychomorphs: animals, boys, girls, and adults. Animals do not use language or technology. Boys require active, imaginative play. Girls require ritualistic mimicry. Adults require silence and adherence to the rules. Adults are few and far between. Most of them gather in the more populated parts of the galaxy. However, Y assigned every celestial body large enough to pull itself into a sphere under its own gravity at least one planet guardian, adults of great power to rule over their worlds, whether there is any life there or not. Most planet guardians are aloof and uninvolved. Others become tyrants.

The dragon turns around. It is at least forty-five meters long. It has long teeth and a single jointed arm ending in a club. The body is leaf-like with asymmetrically branching veins. The edge is covered in short spines where the veins terminate. Unlike everything else on the planet, it has small eyes. After rocketing past them again, it reverses course and glides downward. Huge balls of fire erupt from its mouth. One lands in the midst of the skirted aliens. They all scatter except for the two directly hit. “It’s eating me!” they scream. This is no ordinary fire. It seems to form grabbing claws that tear apart all matter. Forgetting to scan for information, Nathaniel, Haticat, Fred, and Doctor Bill run deeper into the jungle, hiding under the broad purple leaves.

The dragon never lands. It glides around a while and then rockets away. Eventually, half of the Aeveonite group find each other again. “The rest might turn up in a few days. Hey, you have eyes. Maybe you can find them.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t see through trees or around corners,” Nathaniel explains.

“Oh, is that normal?” the Aeveonite asks.

“That’s how light works,” Nathaniel says. “Except for Dirkin light.”

“What?” the Aeveonite says.

“Tell me more about the dragon. How often does it attack?” Nathaniel asks.

“About once every two or three days on average. Other groups we’ve met tell us it attacks them too, perhaps less often,” the Aeveonite answers.

“It must spend a disproportionate amount of time on this part of the planet. Why would that be?” Doctor Bill questions.

The explorers return to the site of the unusual fire, but little insight is gleaned. “Whatever sort of energy that was, it has already dissipated,” Doctor Bill reports. Then they return to their ship and patrol the big island. Nathaniel hits the flip button causing the bed to rotate underneath so they can climb onto the bridge platform. Doctor Bill turns on the big projectors and starts scanning.

There are flocks of birds flying blind, honking to each other their location. Those on the perimeter of the group warn the others of collisions with tall trees. Three of the birds bounce off the ship’s force field. When the leader screeches, they all glide down gently to the surface, finding out when they get there if it is sea, sand, or foliage. On a distant beach, the explorers see a brachiosaur-like animal munching on the treetops. It is striped with a variety of shades of blue, green, and yellow that change gradually from one part of the body to the next. It is easy to get distracted.

It is nearing sunset. Finally, they see the dragon. They follow it for twenty minutes until it descends over the jungle and drops fireballs again. Doctor Bill zooms in on the spot, projecting the image onto the inside of the force field. Eight Aeveonites are caught in the blaze. This fire is different. It is less orange and more yellow. It does not grab, but whips and slaps, leaving long burn marks on surfaces, but leaving only superficial damage. “Interesting, but confusing.”

“Keep scanning, Doctor. The rest of us will engage,” Nathaniel says. He flies the ship in fast. The orbiting laser pillows form a rapidly spinning ring. All of them fire at once at the same target. A large hole burns right through the leaf-like body of the dragon. It flexes and squirms out of the way, rocketing in the opposite direction. The bed ship circles around the site of the blaze. The whipping fire below has already burned out. Nathaniel chooses to keep fighting. They give chase, but the dragon has already turned around. It turns sharply, flying right for them. Blam! The force of its body hitting the force field knocks Haticat over.

“Its teeth are caught!” Fred yells. Nathaniel stares down the throat of the dragon as it struggles to break through the force field. It reaches back its one arm and punches. Suddenly, they are all spinning in space. Pillows are all around them following different trajectories. The platform spins underneath – bed, bridge, bed, bridge. Nathaniel grabs onto one side and pulls a muscle in his arm. He climbs onto the bridge side and stabilizes it so his crew can land.

“How did its teeth get caught instead of slipping off? They must not be made of normal matter,” Haticat concludes.

“I’m sure we’ll find out soon.” Nathaniel glances at Doctor Bill. “In the meantime, we’ll pursue at a safe distance.”

“Safe like from another planet?” Fred asks.

Ignoring him, Nathaniel pilots the ship two kilometers behind the flying dragon. It never seems to run out of energy or fuel. It simply flies back-and-forth around the island, always avoiding flying over the sea. Haticat takes over the steering while Nathaniel and Doctor Bill pore over the data. “Based on the neutrino emissions, I believe the fire we are seeing is in part a lepton synchronization phenomenon. The deep-acting, long-lasting fire is based on electrons, while the surface-level short-lived fire is based on muons which decay rapidly – too rapidly to penetrate that far into tissues,” Doctor Bill says.

“And this muon fire simply irradiates the surroundings without causing an electron fire?” Haticat asks.

“Not if it’s not already started, and the new electrons produced would need to have the right velocity to be captured and used,” Doctor Bill elaborates.

“Does this mean the dragon can also produce tauon fire?” Haticat asks.

“Maybe,” Doctor Bill says.

“What does Nathaniel think?” Haticat asks. Nathaniel is silent. He is totally engrossed in what he is doing. “Captain?”

Fred walks up and punches him. Nothing happens. “Oh no! The whole ship’s on fire!” Fred says.

“What does Nathaniel think about what?” Nathaniel slowly mumbles.

“The possibility of tauon fire,” Haticat says.

“What? Oh, probably.” He sits up and holds his head. “It must create it with its teeth using some sort of lepton exchange pathway by force-selecting it’s quantum vibrational modes. That’s one way to get through a force field.”

“I don’t even know what that means,” Doctor Bill says.

Nathaniel suddenly stands up fast and whips around, swinging his arms. “The ship’s on fire?”

“No! I was only trying to get your attention!” Fred explains.

“Oh,” Nathaniel replies.

It is almost sunrise now. The dragon continues to fly back-and-forth without attacking. Nathaniel sets the ship computer to track it and alert him if it detects neutrino flux. In the meantime, he lands near the site of the last attack. “Why does it attack people and not animals?” Haticat asks.

“Why does it attack anything?” Fred asks.

“I guess because it wants to,” Nathaniel says.

“But for what reason? It doesn’t seem to be for hunger or fear or revenge,” Haticat asks.

“If it did attack for any of those reasons, I might ask why it felt hunger or fear or revenge. Some creatures just like attacking others. They feel fun from causing pain, fear, and destruction. Some creatures were just made evil,” Nathaniel says.

“Hey, these fruits are carbonated,” Doctor Bill announces.

“Let me try.” Nathaniel pulls down a slightly translucent, banana-like fruit and bites a chunk out of its gelatinous rind. The pressurized juice inside sprays everywhere. “It’s just like soda!”

“Scans show the rind is full of vitamins, minerals, and protein,” Doctor Bill adds.

“And flavor crystals,” Nathaniel adds. “This one is like cola.” Other soda fruits in the area taste like peach, ginger, or wintergreen. They all get distracted by the local plant life for a while.

Then Nathaniel finds something out of place. “What is that?” Haticat asks.

“It’s one of the dragon’s spines. We must’ve blown it off. It still has muscles and tendons attached,” Nathaniel says. He scans it in detail. “This makes no sense.”

“What’s wrong?” Doctor Bill asks.

“The spine contains a tiny brain, but there’s no nerve cord attached to it. In fact, there are no nerves outside the muscles at all.” Nathaniel says. “Back to the ship.”

Nathaniel studies the computer memory in detail. He wants to understand how the dragon works. Bleep! “Neutrinos detected. The dragon is attacking,” Dr. Bill says. They cover the forty kilometers in less than a minute. The “soft” force field allowing perfect laminar flow of air around the ship. The dragon is still attacking. It drops clawing-grabbing fire, whipping-slapping fire, and sparking-popping fire that only lasts a very short time. Aeveonites run wildly in all directions, often right into blazing fires.

Haticat hits it in the head with the ship’s lasers. Immediately, the fire stops. Stunned, the dragon starts to spiral downward, but then it shudders, rearranges its branching veins, and splits into three lobes attached at the neck. Two lobes become wings and it flies away, head hanging at an odd angle. “I hit it in the head! That stopped the fire!”

“Hit its head again. Maybe you’ll kill it,” Fred says.

Haticat fires the lasers again, severing the neck completely this time. “I did it! I shot it off!”

“Then why is it still flying?” Fred asks. The dragon circles higher and then drops onto the bed ship.

Haticat attempts to evade it, but only succeeds in finding himself over water when the leaf-like surface completely envelopes them. “I can’t see!”

“It’s blocking all scans, too,” Doctor Bill says. The seventy-eight remaining spines at the ends of the veins begin to dig into the force field, weakening it and draining its energy. Haticat shoots two more holes in the creature, but little changes.

“Captain!” Fred yells.

“I know! Slow it down as long as you can. I’ve almost got it figured out!” Nathaniel says.

“What could possibly be so important?” Haticat screeches as the spines penetrate further. He pulls the lever that causes the ship to drop, hoping the force of hitting the water will knock off the monster. It does not, but it does allow him to see bubbles of air escaping the force field at the base of each spine.

“Captain, we’re leaking,” Doctor Bill says. He fires his laser pistol directly at the spines. Nothing at all happens. Then the ship lights start to flicker.

“I’ve got it!” Nathaniel yells, hopping up and running to the communications console. His fingers speed around, hitting buttons faster than the others can even see. “The dragon doesn’t have nerves because it doesn’t need them. Instead, each spine and tooth contains a brain and a radio antenna. The muscles respond to radio signals. However, to take control of the muscles myself I had to crack the code, and that meant figuring out which brain was dominant by watching the radio conversation. There!” he hits the final button and the ship shakes. Suddenly the leaf-like creature convulses everywhere randomly. One by one it pulls its spines out of the force field, which automatically plugs itself. Then the creature starts to tear itself apart. Shredded pieces break free and drift away in the current. “Are we underwater?”

The adventurers return to the site of the last attack to find the head has woken up. It hops along the ground by flexing its jaw, shooting fire like never before. Nathaniel simply sends the same radio signal and the head convulses until the teeth work themselves loose and the entire skull falls apart. The fire slowly burns out.

They never do find the same group of Aeveonites they met first. From the sky they all look the same. “It seems fitting. They drift through life never expecting to encounter the same spot twice, and not always aware of it when they do. They just keep moving. They have no home except the whole planet and we have no home except the whole galaxy,” Nathaniel muses.

“I thought the ship was home,” Fred says.

“It is. Any spaceship where you three are is home,” Haticat says.

“I guess you could think of it that way,” Doctor Bill says.

“I guess so, too,” Nathaniel says. “Well, where should we live next?”

“Anywhere!” Haticat answers.

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