The Dream of Planet Bloom Read online

  “It’s an interesting observation,” Ku-uhala says. “That love, you describe, that Universal Love, if I may call it that—”

  “Yes!” Rikes interrupts her. “That is exactly what it is—Universal Love.”

  “—that love is known to us Hoola. We experience that form of existence from the beginning, from the moment we are born. We never consider ourselves separate from our surroundings, or our environment. We instinctively know that everything that exists in the Universe comes from the same source. Unlike humans, we don’t need proof. We don’t seek proof.”

  “You just know it is there,” Rikes says. “Like the air you breathe.”

  “That’s right,” Ku-uhala answers. “This Universal Love you speak of is like the air we breathe. We don’t need proof that the air is there, just like we don’t need proof that Universal Love is there. The certainty of its existence comes naturally.”

  “That is something we humans don’t have,” Rikes says with sadness in his voice. “Maybe we have that assurance when we are children, but as we grow older we forget our nature. We get so caught up in our thoughts and our ideas that we forget who we really are. We start to yearn for authenticity. We begin to desire to know who we truly are. What our identity is.”

  “That is where our species diverge,” Ku-uhala says. “Maybe this deep yearning to experience something greater than yourself, to become aware of your true nature has led you to create planet Bloom.”

  “Maybe it has. Some philosophers on Earth believe that all artistic creation stems from deep desire to be unified with what you call Universal Love.”

  “Your species is very prolific when it comes to artistic creation. It is one of the most creatively prolific species the Hoola have so far encountered.”

  “I take that as a big compliment,” Rikes says.

  “It is a compliment, as much as it is a statement about your kind.”

  “Universal Love has gained a form for me, a physical form I mean, and it’s embedded here on planet Bloom. It’s embedded there in the crests of the purple mountains in the distance, in this green sun that is setting in front of us, in the powder sand that glitters like diamond dust. Here I feel one with the world. I truly feel at peace with myself.”

  “I’m happy that you are sharing the peace you feel with me, Sy. But I find it surprising that you feel that way. Being at peace with yourself is not a common state among your kind.”

  “You’re right again. It’s quite an uncommon state for us. There is a positive side to it, though. Not feeling at peace with ourselves forces us to develop. I believe that the lack of peace among us has led a few of us to become explorers. Only when you’re restless you want to explore. Restlessness awoke human curiosity and made us create technology, create culture and even fly to deep space. It was that same restlessness that made our ancestors seek out new continents on Earth and sail across the seven seas. I can say on my part that curiosity brought me here to the Orion Nebula, 1,500 light years from Earth.”

  “Interesting observation. My people are very different from humans. We are not concerned with inner peace, because we don’t disengage from out true nature—ever. We don’t think about what we’re supposed to do. We don’t ruminate or contemplate or evaluate the way humans do. We simply act. We know what we must do by instinct, as much as we know what we must refrain from doing.”

  “I find that very intriguing,” Rikes says. “I can’t begin to fathom what it must be like to live life that way. Never to evaluate. Never to be in doubt.”

  “I’m the only Hoola who serves on Starship Scorpio,” Ku-uhala says with a voice that hints regret. “The majority of the crew members are humans. Sometimes it feels lonely to listen to private conversations you can’t fully comprehend. The faculties of reasoning are dissimilar between our species.”

  “The faculties of reasoning may be different between our species,” Rikes says, “but it seems that in other areas our instincts prevail. We humans are driven by instinct when it comes to self-defense, for instant. We’re also driven by instinct when it comes to our choice of mate.”

  Rikes looks to the green sun setting on the horizon.

  “Tell me something, Ku-uhala, if you don’t mind, of course … I’ve been wondering about this topic for quite some time now. Does your kind engage in lovemaking?”

  Ku-uhala looks to the sun and narrows her eyes. Rikes’ question didn’t take her by surprise.

  “It’s strange that you ask me that on one hand, but being familiar with your species, I must say that it doesn’t surprise me at all. Humans are always so curious about sex. They want to know everything about sex and how everybody does it—from bees and birds to Hoola. You’d think that one very natural thing like sex would come naturally to humans, but no. You complicate even the most of natural and simple of things.”

  “What can I say,” Rikes says. “We do complicate a lot of things, including sex. It’s part of our rumination.”

  “Sometimes I think your kind is either terribly bored or terribly obsessed with itself. I can’t decide which of the two it is.”

  “It’s probably both,” Rikes says. “What do the Hoola ancestors say about human nature?”

  “Well, they left Earth, haven’t they?” Ku-uhala says. “That should tell you everything.”

  Rikes starts laughing. “You want to tell me that your ancestors ran away.”

  Ku-uhala laughs with him. “Pretty much. Well, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad, but the truth is that your kind is very arrogant and obsessed with its own nature. But I think I don’t need to tell you that. You surely know that yourself by now.”

  She watches the sun setting. Bloom’s sun is a gigantic ball of green light that is falling behind the mountains and the ocean line in the distance. Its otherwise bright color is gradually becoming darker. It reminds Ku-uhala of the image she saw of Earth’s pine trees when she was searching for images of Earth’s vegetation in Scorpio’s database. She wanted to get to know the planet her friends and crew members came from, even if it was only through images.

  “The way we make love is not much different from the way you make love,” she says quietly.

  “Would you care to explain?”

  She gives Rikes a glance from the side. “You want to know the details too now?”

  “You said it yourself—humans want to know how the birds, the bees and the aliens do it.”

  Ku-uhala squeezes Rikes’ hand just a bit tighter.

  “Let me tell you this much: We instinctively know who we are compatible with. For example, I instinctively know if the individual I am spending my time with is physically and psychologically compatible with me. I act, like I said, on instinct. I just know who can be my mate, and who can’t. That is the most important detail when it comes to Hoola sexuality.”

  Rikes looks into her face. She looks pretty in the sunset. It is not her physique, though, that attracts him. It’s some sort of animalistic magnetism that makes him want to be near her.

  “In that case,” he says, “since you’ve agreed to go out on a date with me, would it be safe for me to assume that you consider me a compatible mate?”

  “Yes,” she says. “That is a safe assumption to make.”

  “Even though I am human? The fact that we belong to different species doesn’t make a difference to you?”

  “No,” she answers resolutely. “Your origins are not paramount. Your human mind is much different from the mind of the Hoola, but when it comes to the birds and the bees, all humanoid species base their reactions primarily on biological attributes and chemical compatibility. The situation would be different if we would decide to produce offspring together,” Ku-uhala says. “I don’t know how compatible our species are genetically, or if we are at all compatible. But my instincts tell me that if I instinctively consider you a potential mate, the possibility of creating a child isn’t unlikely.”

  Rikes chuckles. He’s clearly pleased with her clarification. “That’s the most sober analysi
s of interracial relationships I’ve ever heard.”

  “Thank you, Commander. I take that as a compliment. Sober analysis is my strong point.”

  “I’m pretty sure if we ever decide to produce offspring, the good Doctor will be more than happy to assist us.”

  “I’m sure he will,” Ku-uhala says. “Delivering the first human-Hoola hybrid on Starship Scorpio would be of great medical interest to him. I do hope our child would carry my analytic faculties of reasoning. It would surely be to its advantage.”

  Rikes laughs. “I won’t even try to oppose you on that issue,” he says. “Clearly, as your crew mate I know all about your sober analysis. It’s already the source of many legends on Scorpio.”

  “My sober analysis is the reason I was asked to serve on Scorpio in the first place. It’s also one of the main reasons why I became a commander.”

  Rikes intertwines his fingers with hers. Her skin is strangely smooth, like skin of a lizard, or leather even, but its also unusually warm.

  “Is this OK for you?” he asks. “Us holding hands with our fingers interlaced?”

  “Yes, this is fine. I like the way your hand feels in mine. The anatomy of our hands is compatible.”

  Rikes smiles at her observation. “Good to know that,” he says.

  They look into the dark green sun falling behind the purple ocean. I, Mother’s Milk, can sense their eyes being directed towards the same spot on the sun. Ku-uhala and Rikes are in unison. The powder sand still bears the glitter of diamond dust in this dark greenish light, even though the night is arriving with a fast stride. Above my head, the silhouettes of stars, planets and milky ways are becoming visible. Rikes raises his head and points to a milky way, the one sitting prominently underneath the star constellation the astronauts call Sweet Savannah.

  “Do you see that milky way there beneath Sweet Savannah?”

  “I do.”

  “That’s the galaxy where Earth is.”

  “You’ve created a dream in which you can see the constellation of your home planet?”

  “Yeah, sure. It makes the sky more tempting to look at.”

  Ku-uhala smiles. “Another thing about your kind I don’t quite understand is the nostalgia for your home planet.”

  “Oh, come on, Ku-uhala!” Rikes protests. “Don’t tell me that Hoola never feel homesick?”

  “We do feel homesick, but our planet has a different meaning to us.”

  “What meaning can your home planet have for you? Home is home, wherever you may be.”

  “You speak like someone who hasn’t travelled space for a very long time.”

  “What does space travel have to do with this?”

  “Space travel has everything to do with this,” Ku-uhala says. “You mentioned your ancestors sailing the seven seas … ”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “Before they began their journeys, your ancestors only felt connected to the geographical place they lived in before they discovered there is a whole world, an entire planet they can call home.”

  “What you’re saying is that our understanding of home is narrow?”

  “It is in comparison to ours,” Ku-uhala says. “Your people consider Earth their home, don’t they?”

  “Yes, they do.”

  “For what I know, during most of human history humans didn’t consider Earth to be their home, but rather the village, the city and the country they lived in.”

  “That hasn’t been the case for centuries,” Rikes says.

  “Not since your ancestors have taken up space travel.”

  “I see what you mean. We consider Earth our home, because we travel galactic distances and we can see our planet from space.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. The Hoola have been traveling through space for thousands of years. We call entire galaxies our home. Home for me are thousands of stars, planets, and moons.”

  “You Hoola have accomplished an incredible thing. You’ve created a galactic empire.”

  “We have,” Ku-uhala says. “And we have spread the seeds of our culture throughout the Universe, Earth included. Your culture is intricately connected to ours. We’ve planted the seeds of your cultural, technological and medical progress.”

  “In the name of my kind, I thank you,” Rikes says.

  Ku-uhala laughs. “You don’t need to thank me. If you really want to make me happy, talk to me more about romance. I’m getting quite curious about all this romantic stuff you keep mentioning at times.”

  Rikes smiles seductively. “I’ll talk to you about anything you want me to.”

  “Good,” Ku-uhala says. “Let me tell you that the Milky Way looks beautiful from this distance. I’m taken by its beauty.”

  “So am I. It looks so peaceful from the distance. By the look of the Milky Way from here, you’d think all of its planets are habitable. You’d never guess how many gas storms rage in that system every hour. Or how many planets and moons look beautiful, but are impossible to live on because of the toxic gases on their surfaces.”

  “Your remark made me think about the gas storms on the Hoola world. The planet I come from is situated on a demon planet that harbors dozens of powerful storms on its surface. Rare are quiet sunny days, which is why we live underground. We have adapted to the climate of our planet. Its surface has always been hostile, for as long as anyone can remember. The underground, opposite to the surface, is friendly, alive, and fertile. The underground is a long cave system that spreads across the entire planet, a cobweb that allows the Hoola to move freely, to harness the lush vegetation that grows beneath the ground.

  The depths of the caves on my planet are luminescent thanks to the fluorescent stones that glitter in white and blue like glaciers on your planet, or like ice. The caves of the Hoola world look like gigantic white and blue torches spreading even light. The oxygen is scarce in the caves. Our caves are filled with carbon dioxide. That is the element that sustains life on the Hoola world. The lack of that element in the air on Scorpio is the reason why I had to go and see the Doctor. I was getting short of breath with so much oxygen in the air.”

  “Maybe that was the real reason why your species left Earth. No air to breathe.”

  “It surely must have been one of the reasons,” Ku-uhala says and smiles.

  She becomes quiet. With every step she makes, the warm powder dust swirls around her toes like it’s a living organism. She walks looking into the distance and not at Rikes.

  “Maybe one day we’ll have the power to change those hostile moons and planets,” she says. “Maybe one day we’ll turn uninhabitable places into habitats full of life. Into paradises, like planet Bloom.”

  “Maybe the Universe is perfect just the way it is, Ku-uhala,” Rikes says and puts his arm around her shoulder. “Maybe we need to recognize the beauty of the cosmos as it is, and not spoil it by changing it to the way we want it to be.”

  Ku-uhala smiles. “You know, Sy, apart from your biological compatibility with me, one thing I instinctively feel attracted to is your unique way of seeing things. Your mind knows how to see beauty. And not only do you see beauty, you also create it.”

  Rikes stops and puts his arms around Ku-uhala’s neck. His hand slides to her cheek. He caresses it and looks her in the eyes. Slowly, his lips approach hers. He gives her a passionate kiss amidst the beach that glitters like diamond dust, under the twinkling stars of the Milky Way.

  Chapter 6

  A Night in Sy Rikes’ Private Quarters

  THE LINES on the horizon start dissolving in white light. A vortex appears on the horizon. Rikes takes his lips off Ku-uhala’s and looks into the distance.

  “What’s that?” Ku-uhala asks.

  “It’s the end of our dream sequence,” Rikes says.

  Suddenly, the vortex explodes. Everything around them becomes bright. The purple ocean of planet Bloom, the green sun, the stars above them, the white sand that glitters like diamond dust—everything disappears into the light.

&nbs
p; The light is so bright, it forces them to close their eyes. And then, everything turns to dark. When they open their eyes again, they find themselves inside the cocoon beds in the dream resonator chamber.

  We’re back on Starship Scorpio. I’m standing between the cocoon beds, looking at Ku-uhala and Rikes. They look as if they are asleep, dreaming. To me, their serenity indicates happiness.

  The computer beeps a few times, and the voice announces the end of the dream sequence ‘Rikes ZED-12.’

  The transparent tops of the cocoon beds that cover their upper bodies start sliding down, and I, I stand watching like I always do when I expect something new to happen. Their eyes flutter as they slowly open.

  Rikes gets up from his cocoon bed and looks at Ku-uhala. He smiles, and I notice that the smile he’s wearing comes with a trace of seduction human males have when they look at the object of their desire.

  “I hope you enjoyed our first date on Bloom,” he says.

  “I enjoyed spending time with you on Bloom, Commander Rikes. Thank you for taking me with you to ‘Rikes ZED-12.’”

  Ku-uhala’s smiles back at him. Their mutual attraction causes invisible sparks to whiplash the air inside the dream resonator chamber.