The Dream of Planet Bloom Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Title

  Quote from the Book

  Chapter 1 - The Law of Uncertainty

  Chapter 2 - Who is Mother’s Milk?

  Chapter 3 - Rikes Meets Ku-uhala in the Mess Hall

  Chapter 4 - The Trip to Planet Bloom

  Chapter 5 -The Kiss on Diamond Sand

  Chapter 6 - A Night in Sy Rikes’ Private Quarters

  End Credits

  The Dream of Planet Bloom

  A Story from Starship Scorpio’s Voyage

  Series: Mother’s Milk Space Stories

  Book in the series: # 1

  by Jessie Jasen

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Jasen Publishing

  Books for Stargazers and Star Dreamers

  Copyright © 2014 by Jessie Jasen

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.

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  The Dream of Planet Bloom

  Book Description: In the Orion Nebula, 1,500 light years from Earth, Starship Scorpio of the United Star Fleet journeys on an exploration mission. With the crew of men and women of human and alien origins is a ghost called Mother’s Milk. Mother’s Milk sees and tells stories of events taking place in deep space.

  These are Mother’s Milk’s space stories.

  •••

  A deadly accident on Starship Scorpio forces Captain Megan Ashley to forbid further usage of the dream resonator, a powerful alien technology that allows the crew to visit parallel dimensions by placing themselves in a state of wakeful dreaming.

  First Commander Sy Rikes supports Ashley’s decision, but changes his mind when he realizes he can create his own actual worlds with the help of the dream resonator and use them to advance the exploration mission.

  He persuades the Captain to authorize an experiment in which he creates a dream sequence called ‘Rikes ZED-12’ of an alien paradise on planet Bloom.

  When the experiment proves successful, Sy Rikes invites Commander Ku-uhala, an alien woman of the ancient Hoola species which had had contact with humans in distant past, to accompany him for a dinner date to planet Bloom.

  Together they visit the world of glittering sand beaches, green sunsets and purple oceans on Bloom, after which they return to Scorpio to spend their first night together in Rikes’ quarters. Ku-uhala teaches Rikes everything about the highly unusual anatomy of the Hoola women, while Rikes shows her how human men really tick.

  “What happens in dreams, stays in dreams.”

  Commander Ku-uhala to

  First Commander Sy Rikes

  Chapter 1

  The Law of Uncertainty

  “IT’S ALMOST over,” Sy Rikes thinks to himself as he presses the buttons on the computer console in the astro lab. He has been working on this project for weeks in private and secretly. He hasn’t mentioned anything about the simulations he’s been conducting on his own to Captain Megan Ashley, even though it is his obligation as first commander to discuss all projects and goings-on on Starship Scorpio with her.

  He doesn’t feel good about not having spoken to Megan about his experiments and not obtaining her permission first before he started, but he has good reasons for not doing so. A few months ago, the crew on Starship Scorpio encountered an alien phenomenon during their exploration mission through the Orion Nebula. The phenomenon was more than anyone could have hoped for—in a good way and a bad way. It cost some of the crew members their lives, but it provided Scorpio with an alien technology that allowed them to travel to parallel dimensions while putting themselves in a state of dream.

  After the first experiments had taken place with the machine they named the dream resonator and the horrible accident had happened, Captain Ashley made a decision that no one should engage into further experiments until the technology had been tested and the dream resonator was deemed safe.

  He knew he would never obtain Captain’s permission, and being ambitious, Commander Rikes decided to continue testing the technology of the dream resonator on his own terms and in his free time. He has come as far as to create a program that induces a state of wakeful dream into a subject and takes it to a dreamworld Rikes had created and programmed.

  So far, he has programmed all the parameters of the dream he called ‘Rikes ZED-12’ necessary to create a dreamworld. This would be the first time that the dream resonator wouldn’t take the subject into a random parallel dimension, but a pre-conceived world in which everything that happens is controlled. A parallel world Rikes has designed himself—sort of like a computer game in which the participants can feel everything, see everything with their own eyes, touch things, and live as if they were living in the real world.

  Their bodies would need to be connected to the dream resonator, the same way they were connected when some of the members travelled to parallel dimensions. The connection is established when the subject lies into a specially designed cocoon bed that connects the brain to the machine.

  None of the engineers on Scorpio understood how this technology works, or how the consciousness of the subject connects to the dream resonator, but they dared to employ it. It was this human fallibility that caused the accident to happen in the first place. It was then that Captain Ashley decided to halt the experiments.

  Rikes makes an alteration to the algorithm and looks at the large computer screen in front of him. He’s aware that the dream resonator is alien design, a design created by a species far more developed than any species known to anyone among the alien and human species of the First Quadrant. Nevertheless, he hopes that his experiment will open the treasure chest of knowledge to him, and allow the crew to understand what the dream resonator is, and what it can do.

  “The algorithm looks good,” he thinks to himself. “Computer, start the simulation of the dream sequence ‘Rikes ZED-12.’

  “Dream sequence ‘Rikes ZED-12’ is commencing,” the voice of the computer says.

  Rikes waits patiently for the computer simulation to begin generating images. The first image of the alien world he has created appears on the screen.

  “Wow … ,” he gasps. “The world I’ve created is one of the most beautiful sites I’ve ever seen.”

  Rikes intention was to create a beautiful planet, a planet he would want to spend his wakeful dream on. He named this planet Bloom. He gave it a purple ocean, white beaches with sand that is like powder and glitters like diamonds, and he gave it a luminescent green sun. The climate on Bloom is mildly tropical, and there is a tropical jungle, as he likes to call it, a jungle that has nothing else in it but palms and green bushes which have colorful parrots and birds twittering from the branches.

  “Simulation completed,” the computer says.

  “You look good, Bloom,” Rikes thinks to himself. “You look very good. No glitches in the program, no mistakes. ‘Rikes ZED-12’ works like a charm.”

  Sy realizes that it’s time to speak to the Captain and tell her about his creation. He didn’t want to speak to her because of her antagonism and because he wasn’t sure if the dream sequence would work. ‘Rikes ZED-12’ works in the computer simulation. The next step is to test it with real subjects. Rikes is positive that the pr
ogram will work. He feels confident that the accident like the one that occurred at the beginning when they first started experimenting with the dream resonator in which crewmates lost their lives, will not happen again.

  He shuts the program down and secures it with a code. He walks out of the astro lab and heads towards the jet lift. When he enters the cabin, he looks up at the artificial eye of the computer.

  “Computer, Deck 4,” he says.

  Rikes thinks of a story he will tell Captain Megan Ashley when she asks him why he began working with the dream resonator when she ordered for the experiments to be called off. He doesn’t intend to lie to her. That would be distrustful from his side. Lies are not what Sy Rikes believes in. He intends to put his project in best light possible and say that he was working on it in his private time. He’s certain that Captain Ashley is not going to be delighted to hear the dream resonator being mentioned, or that someone in her crew has an interest in pursuing further research with this alien technology.

  He gets out of the jet lift on Deck 4, walks down the corridor to his left and enters the headquarters. He stops at the door of the Captain’s Quarters and rings the bell.

  “Come in,” a voice says from the inside.

  “Hello, Captain,” Rikes says as he enters the room. He finds Megan Ashley sitting behind her desk and typing on her laptop.

  She grabs a mug with black tea, takes a sip, and looks up to him.

  “Hello, Commander Rikes,” she says. “What can I do for you?”

  “I came here with an official request, Captain.”

  “I’m listening, Commander.”

  “A while ago, we have obtained an alien technology to travel to parallel dimensions.”

  “Yes, we did,” the Captain says. “That technology is still experimental.”

  “I’m aware of that, but I think we should continue studying it.”

  “We already are studying it, Commander, but as you know, studying highly sophisticated alien technology that is potentially dangerous takes time. This technology is still an enigma for us. We’ve barely arrived to the Orion Nebula. We don’t know what we may encounter in the Second Quadrant doing our mission. We need to take necessary precautions, and deal with issues one by one. Right now, I want to concentrate on our mission as it has been planned by the United Star Fleet High Command.”

  “I know, Captain, and I agree with you. We haven’t been that long in the Second Quadrant, but we have already stumbled upon some interesting and unusual findings, like this alien technology that allows us to travel to parallel dimensions. In a way, we have already taken a detour from our original plan.”

  “What are you suggesting, Commander?”

  “I suggest we integrate our new technology into our mission plan. Let’s make travels to parallel dimensions part of our exploration.”

  Megan smiles. “I’m not sure that the United Star Fleet High Command would agree with you. I’m not sure I would agree with you. Certainly not after the accident with the dream resonator that cost us lives.”

  “United Star Fleet High Command is thousands of light years away,” Rikes says. “We can’t make ourselves dependent on what they might say, or what they might not say. We are alone out here in deep space. We’re 1,500 light-years away from Earth. We need to take the matter in our own hands. We only have ourselves to rely on.”

  “Yes,” Captain Ashley says. “I have to agree with that. We are on our own here. We haven’t met any alien species so far that we could form alliances with. And contacting the High Command for every major decision we need to make would be highly inefficient, if not ludicrous.”

  “Do I have your support on this, Captain? Are we going to utilize the technology we have been given?”

  Ashley sighs. “This is a very serious matter and I need time to think about it. And honestly Sy, I’m not sure if you’ve taken time to think about it yourself.”

  “I have taken my time, Megan, and I’ve concluded that it’s worth it.”

  “This technology is dangerous, Sy. We can’t be fooled by our own ambition.”

  “We can’t ignore the potential to expand our knowledge either, Captain.”

  “You’re right on that part,” Megan says and looks outside the window. She holds still for a moment, before she reaches out for her cup to take a sip of Darjeeling.

  “There’s one thing that confuses me here, Sy. You were against us using alien technology at the beginning, and now you come asking me to reconsider my decision.”

  “I’ve changed my mind.”

  “What made you change it?”

  “I realized that I’ve allowed fear to cloud my judgment after those horrible events had taken place.”

  “Don’t blame yourself for that, Sy. I think everyone in the crew is intimidated by what happened. Our exploration mission has barely started and we’ve already suffered casualties. But you’re right when you say that we can’t stop.”

  “Death is part of astronaut’s life. It is the fact we need to face,” Rikes says.

  “I agree. It is an ugly side of our job that we need to face. Something tells me you already have a plan of how you want to proceed with this technology.”

  “Yes, Captain. You’re right. I do have a plan. I want to connect myself to the dream resonator. Only this time I want to do things differently. I don’t want the dream resonator to take us just anywhere. I want to create a program, a specific program that’ll take us to the place of my choice.”

  “That doesn’t sound to me is if you want to visit a place, a real place in the Universe.”

  “You’re right, Captain. I’m not going to visit an actual place. I want to test this machine and see how it’s going to react to my computerized dreams.”

  “Trips to dreams aren’t necessarily trips to parallel dimensions, Captain Ashley says. What do they have to do with our mission, which is to explore of the Universe?”

  “I beg to differ Megan. Many a philosopher has speculated that the realm of our dreams is a parallel dimension we enter every time we go to sleep.”

  “And you want to test these speculations for their accuracy?”

  “Not quite. I want to research if we can use the dream resonator to our advantage. I want to know if we can program it in such a way that we can manipulate where we go, how we go, and when we go. I also want to know if we can create parallel worlds.”

  “In other words, you want to know if we can play God?”

  Rikes smiles. “More or less. We are still tapping in the dark when it comes to the creation of the Universe. We can’t tell for sure how everything comes into existence. Lately, I’ve been wondering if this alien technology can not only take us to parallel dimensions, but if it can also aid their creation.”

  “I must admit, it would be interesting to know how far we can extend this alien technology,” Captain Ashley says. “I need to know what your exact plan is, Commander Rikes. Show me what you have in mind.”

  “I can tell you straight away, Captain. I’ve created a program called ‘Rikes ZED-12.’ It’s a program that simulates a sunset on an alien planet. This planet has a beach, an ocean and a jungle. The climate is mild and friendly.”

  “Sounds like a postcard holiday resort to me,” Megan Ashley says.

  Rikes chuckles. “Don’t get me wrong, Captain, but after that scary episode we’ve been through, I was in the mood to create an inconspicuous and innocent program. A getaway, if you want to call it that. Nevertheless, this experiment is crucial to our understanding of how the dream resonator functions. I want to know if I can connect my consciousness to a machine and have it process my thoughts.”

  “In combination with externally programmed parameters?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “That’s an ambitious plan, Commander Rikes. How do you want to proceed?”

  “I want to take a trip to planet Bloom—that’s what I call the planet I’ve created. I want to make that trip alone the first time. If the first experiment is succ
essful, I want to take Commander Ku-uhala with me.”

  “You want the second experiment to include two subjects?”

  “Yes. I want to see if the dream resonator can handle the consciousness of two people.”

  “Two individuals of two different species, I may add.”

  “That’s right, Captain. Let us research how our thoughts will be processed by this alien technology.”

  “Have you spoken to Commander Ku-uhala about your plans yet?”

  “No not yet, but I intend to.”

  Megan leans towards Sy. “Tell you what, Commander. You have my permission to conduct your experiment with the dream resonator. I want a full report on every session, every programming, and every detail of this experiment.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Captain Ashley looks down to the reader devices that are lying on her table.

  “I better get back to my daily routine,” she says languidly.

  “I’ll see you on the bridge, Captain.”

  Rikes nods respectfully and leaves the room.

  Megan Ashley nods and doesn’t look up to Rikes as he leaves the headquarters. She takes another sip of Darjeeling from her favorite cup and takes the reader device to read the report from the engines. Something tells her that today is going to be one of those long days when everything is subjected to the law of uncertainty.