Elemacha-z

Alien life from Elemacha-z.
A fanciful plant person
generated by WOMBO Dream.

Below on this page is Part 2 of a science fiction story called "The Fesarians". In Part 1, Balok the bumpha assembled a team of assorted humanoids for a mission to the planet Elemacha-z. In Part 2, that team arrives at Elemacha-z where they must confront the mystery of why the Merovae, sentient natives of Elemacha-z, have come into conflict with the newly established human colony on that world.

One member of Balok's away team is Dani, who has the appearance of a young woman, but her true identity is only revealed when Dani and Dave Bailey are on the surface of Elemacha-z. A human-Talosian hybrid named Ienaghwy and another powerful telepath, Ylyndra, remain in orbit above Elemacha-z and act as a support team for Dani and Bailey.

 Noema Teaser. One of my goals while writing the fan-fiction story "The Fesarians" was to honor the original Star Trek television show while going in new directions with the aliens of Elemacha-z, including the aquatic Merovae.

a telepathic Noema (center)

 Gemini came up with names for both the Merovae and another native creature of Elemacha-z, the Noema (plant-like aliens who don't come on stage until Part 4 of "The Fesarians"; see the image to the left).

I did not want the plot of "The Fesarians" to closely resemble the plot of "The Devil in the Dark". It would have been easy to simply say that the Merovae lay their eggs on land, leading to conflict with the human colonists. However, once I included Talia Vance as a character in the story, I could not avoid thinking about Jack Vance's interest in plants (example: see "Son of the Tree").

 Spoiler? I wanted the plot of "The Fesarians" to including a strange biological dependence of the aquatic Merovae on a plant species that exists on the land surface of Elemacha-z? Jack Vance invented many very odd biological scenarios for his science fiction stories, including a life form that could obtain energy from uranium (see this 2021 blog post). 

How to recognize a telepath.

What did I come up with for a plant-like alien? In this case, since the Merovae have telepathic abilities, I began imagining a telepathic link between the Merovae and a mysterious plant-like species, the Noema. At first, it is difficult for the human colonists on Elemacha-z to even imagine the possibility of sentient plants.

 Telepathic plants. I began thinking about the "pod plants" in the Star Trek episode "This Side of Paradise". What if Elemacha-z has a "plant" species that was an ancient, de-evolved organism, a remnant of what was once a technologically advanced species that long ago developed nanotechnology. By using spore-like nanites (infites) and an unusual type of telepathic communication, the Noema can control the behavior of the Merovae.

Part 2 of The Fesarians (Part 1)

Bailey was feeling nervous about the idea of defending his mind against telepaths and wondering when Dani would want to begin briefing him on their upcoming mission to Elemacha-z. At the same time, Bailey was amused by the fact that he did not really feel any surprise at the idea that the Fesarius was full of interesting aliens. Bailey would have been thoroughly enjoying himself, but he was distracted by the huge bald head of Ienaghwy and reminded of stories he had heard about the telepathic Talosians. He asked Ienaghwy, "Are you a Talosian?"

Ienaghwy with Talosian technology.

Ienaghwy replied, "I'm actually a hybrid, only half Talosian."

Bailey nervously suggested, "Since Starfleet has imposed a death penalty for anyone who has contact with Talosians, maybe I..."

Ylyndra said something in a language that Bailey did not understand or even recognize, but he could sense her hostile tone. Bailey pulled his eyes away from the huge cranium of Ienaghwy and told Ylyndra, "I don't understand your language."

Dani told Bailey, "There is no need for you to get into a squabble with Ylyndra. Ienaghwy and Ylyndra are both from cultures that rely heavily on telepathy. It is simply difficult for Ylyndra to imagine why humans would want to restrict contact with Talosians."

Bailey meets Dani. Dani
immediately begins manipulating
Bailey by strengthening his emotional
response to her beautiful physical form.

Now Ylyndra spoke to Bailey in English. "Humans have a dysfunctional obsession with telepathy and fear of telepaths. What your species should do is develop your own telepathic abilities, not try to murder anyone who has contact with telepaths such as the Talosians."

Bailey noted, "Human First Contact with Talosians did not go well." He asked Ylyndra, "What did you say a moment ago?"

Ylyndra did not want to respond to Bailey's question, but Dani said, "She thinks humans are primitive and ignorant." Dani put an arm around Bailey and told him, "Ylyndra said, 'Such barbarians!'. Don't let her annoy you."

Feeling a need to defend Starfleet policies, Bailey noted, "It is not murder when people are executed for violating a law."

Balok raised a hand and said, "You'll have to continue this debate another time. At this moment, I need to get myself over to the Neutral Zone and deal with another mess created by the Klingons." Balok activated the teleportation system of Fesarius and watched as the component parts of Dani, Bailey, Ienaghwy and Ylyndra were systematically disintegrated by the teleportation beam.

Dani with the infite vial.

As quickly as they had been decomposed, Dani, Bailey, Ienaghwy and Ylyndra materialized inside a small mobile module of Fesarius that was already detached from the main part of Fesarius and was on course for the Elemacha star system. Dani handed Bailey a mysterious glowing vial and said, "Here is your mission briefing."

Bailey was baffled. He wondered if he was holding a small holographic projector. Dani explained, "Just open the vial. It contains the instructions."

Bailey took the vial from Dani and pushed at what looked like a removable cap on the narrow end of the vial. Invisibly small infites instantly swarmed out of the vial and into Bailey's brain where they began building new memories. Slowly at first, and then in a sudden flash, Bailey became aware of the nature of their mission. Dani was saying, "These infites were provided by Balok. An efficient way of sharing information, is it not?"

Bailey was amazed to find a large amount of information about Elemacha-z now readily accessible in his memories. He now knew the entire lay-out of the human colony on Elemacha-z. The information that had been transmitted to him by the infites was so detailed that to Bailey it was almost as if he had previously stood on the surface of Elemacha-z. He asked, "Why didn't the colonists bring a fusion reactor to Elemacha-z?"

Dani suggested, "It is a small colony. Maybe they did not want to have to deal with maintaining complex systems such as nuclear reactors. In any case, the starlight hitting Elemacha-z is very intense, so solar energy collectors are a viable and simple source of power for this new colony."

 Ylyndra said, "It is really an issue of aesthetics. Elemacha-z is too close to its sun for comfort. The colonists wanted shade, so they decided to rely on giant solar collectors that look like trees."

Ienaghwy telepathically placed an image into Bailey's mind. For Bailey, it was as if he was having a vivid hallucination of seeing one of the arrays of hybrid solar-wind energy collectors that had been installed on the hills of Elemacha-z. 

Port Cooway

Just then, the radio receiver activated and Bailey heard, "Mayor Xylo, here, calling the spacecraft that just came into orbit. Please identify yourselves."

Ylyndra used the radio transmitter to reply. "Hello, Mayor Xylo. This is the Starfleet scout ship Hermano Alverez, registry number NCC-1719. We are responding to your request for help with a power supply problem."

Xylo said, "Wonderful. I did not expect you to get a reactor out here so quickly."

Ylyndra said, "It will take at least a week to get a reactor to Elemacha-z. All I have for you is lieutenant Bailey and power technician Olsen. They are ready to beam down."

"What good will that do?"

"Based on your distress signal, my understanding is that your power technicians are sick and stopped working. Olsen should be able to help maintain your existing power supply until the fusion reactor arrives from Star Base 12 and can be installed and linked to your power grid."

"Very well. You can beam to my location." Xylo said, "I request that you land your spaceship close to my command center and hook its reactor into our power grid."

Ylyndra said, "Sorry, Xylo, no can do. I've got a busy schedule. I'm warping out of orbit as soon as I teleport Bailey and Olsen down to the surface."

"I suppose we will have to make do with our solar energy collectors." A frustrated mayor Xylo said, "Xylo out."

Dani picked up two large carrying cases. Ienaghwy warned Bailey, "It is hot down there at Xylo's command post." Bailey looked at the main display which showed a view of the surface of Elemacha-z as seen from orbit. Bright light reflected from the scattered swirling patterns of cloud tops. Bailey could count eight large hurricanes in the part of the ocean he could see in the view field of the display. The human colony, known to the locals as Port Cooway, had been built on an island that usually avoided the storm tracks.

The teleporter activated and sent Dani and Bailey down to the surface and into the command post at the center of Port Cooway. Ienaghwy quickly took the spaceship out of orbit, but then returned to orbit from the opposite side of the planet, now under the cover of a bumpha shield that would prevent humans from detecting the ship.

Arriving on Elemacha-z, Bailey was hit by the uncomfortable sensation of high heat and humidity. Xylo said, "Welcome to Elemacha-z." An anti-gravity hover servo was near Xylo and on it was a powerful fan, blowing air on Xylo and causing her long golden hair to dance around her head and neck.

Bailey gazed upon the sexy body of mayor Margaret Xylo who was dressed in only a bare minimum of semi-transparent clothing. Bailey began to sweat as he contemplated Xylo's beautiful body. Dani was immediately trying to deal with the problem confronting Xylo and the other residents of Port Cooway. Without wasting any time on small talk, Dani asked, "You are unable to properly cool your buildings because of a chronic power shortage?"

Xylo shook her head and showed Dani a graph of the colony's power demand through the entire day and night. "We do okay at night. During the day, our need for cooling is very great. We can keep our residences and workplaces just barely within a tolerable temperature range during the day."

Dani examined the power supply data. "Why is your power generation so low? Two weeks ago your power generating capacity was more than double what it is right now."

"It is actually a power transmission problem", Xylo explained. "Sabotage of power lines. I suspect that our power technicians have been intentionally cutting the power supply lines. The solar/wind generators are still functioning, but I can't deliver the power to my colonists."

Bailey had to take off his jacket. He was sweating profusely and kept moving closer to the Mayor, trying to benefit from the cooling effect of the fan that was blowing on her sexy body. Bailey asked Xylo, "Can I speak to your power people?"

Xylo keeping cool inside the
command center of Port Cooway.

"Maybe. I tried to confine them to their homes, but they refuse to stay put. They've stopped responding to my calls... maybe we are also having communications disruption. Anyhow, I'm afraid you'll have to search and find them." Xylo handed Bailey some sun glasses. "You'll need these and a cooler suit if you go outside."

Dani asked, "Where are the suits? I'll go inspect the power transmission lines and start repairs." 

Half an hour later, Dani, Bailey and Xylo stood above a hole in the ground at one of the locations where a power cable had been cut. They were sealed in their suits and speaking by means of radio. The outside temperature was 168 in the shade, but the nearest shade, that from several solar power collectors, was a hundred yards up the nearby hillside. While digging to widen the original hole, Dani had examining the hardened clay that was arrayed in heaps around the edge of the hole in the ground. She commented, "I don't see any identifiable clues as to how this hole was dug and the cable cut." The only identifiable tracks and markings that had been left in the mud were what looked like human footprints. A metal tube had been inserted into the ground which provided a view of the underground cable. Dani had removed that tube and widened the hole. She commented, "It looks like something shredded the cable. It is not the kind of clean break that a phaser would make."

While Dani dug and widened the hole, Bailey had spent the past thirty minutes using his radio to speak to several members of the colony, seeking clues as to the current location of the power engineers. Now he pointed up towards the top of the hill and asked Xylo, "Is that the home of Talia Vance?"

Xylo glanced at the house up on the hilltop and replied, "Yes. I placed her under house arrest and ordered her to stay there, but yesterday I did not find her there."

Bailey said, "I'll try my luck." The batteries in his cooling suit were already half drained. He was tempted to contact Ienaghwy and Ylyndra in orbit and have them teleport Bailey to the house on the hill. However, the mission parameters called for Dani and Bailey to not reveal the fact that they had a telepathic support team in orbit.

In the Ekcolir Reality.

Dani said, "And I'll repair this cable." Dani had finished using a phaser to carefully widen the original hole at the site of the power cable break. Now she opened up the carrying case that held the cable repair equipment.

As Bailey began to climb up the hill, Xylo followed and then moved close to Bailey and physically connected their cooling suits with a wire. Xylo told Bailey, "Turn off your radio transmitter." She waited for Bailey to inactivate the radio equipment that was built into his cooling suit. Why did you bring Dani here? I checked the Federation records database. You check out... sorta... my admittedly out-of-date copy of the database says you are assigned to the Enterprise. But she's not Starfleet... Dani is not in the Federation database at all. She's some kind of infiltrator, a spy. A robot."

Bailey laughed. "Robot?"

Bailey tried to glance at Dani, but she was out of sight, now down inside the hole she had dug. Xylo said, "I scanned you both when we were back at the command post. You're human, but Dani is a machine of some sort."

Bailey asked, "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"I only just recently met Dani when the two of us were assigned to come here and help this colony. She looks human... I assumed she is human." Bailey had heard about attempts to make humanoid robots, but as far as he knew, they were all rather clumsy and easy to distinguish from humans. Trusting in Balok and the alien bumpha's good intentions, Bailey told Xylo, "I suggest that we wait and see if Dani does the work of getting your power supply back to normal. I'm going to go look for Talia." Bailey pointed towards the residence at the top of the hill. "One of your colonists told me that they saw Talia headed that way early this morning."

Talia's house

Xylo said, "I'll keep an eye on Dani." Xylo disconnected her suit from Bailey's and returned to the hole where Dani was at work.

Bailey plodded up the hill, winding his way through and around low thickets of native plants and walking beneath towering power collectors. While in the shade, Bailey had to flip up the dark sun shades of the suit, but was still grateful for the anti-glare protection of the sunglasses he was wearing. Emerging from the shade of the artificial forest, he again used the dark eye protection of the suit and Bailey's cooling unit again began to whine and work at its full cooling capacity. His suit batteries were now nearly drained.

Approaching Talia's house, Bailey realized that he had been fooled by the view from below. He'd imagined that Talia lived at the top of one of the hills that were inland from the port, but he could now see that most of Talia's house was floating in the air, more than a hundred feet above the ground. Only a small shed was there on the ground.

The "front door" of Talia's house was not locked. Passing through the doorway into the shed, Bailey stepped inside what was a small teleportation chamber. He pressed a button that glowed with an arrow pointing up and he was teleported up into the main body of Talia's home, floating on the breeze.

Now inside the air conditioned home of Talia Vance, the suit's external sensing thermometer reported a pleasantly cool temperature in the house. Bailey took off the cooling suit and felt a chill as the cool air of the house interior touched his sweaty body. A large cat with tufted ears and fur on its tail and around its neck (but most of the body had been shaved perhaps a month previously) came to inspect Bailey and having done so rubbed against his leg.

Bailey connected his suit to the battery charging station that was located in an alcove just to the side of the house's teleportation platform. Another cooling suit was already there and its battery was being charged. 

Talia meets Bailey.

For a time, Bailey anxiously watched the battery charge indicator of his suit, looking for a sign that the recharging had begun. Unfamiliar with the equipment, he wondered if there was a power switch somewhere that needed to be thrown in order to start the charging process.

While waiting and watching the charge indicator, he called out, "Talia! Talia Vance! I'm lieutenant Bailey, just arrived on planet. Are you here?"

Bailey heard a voice through a speaker, "What do you want?" Bailey thought that he could here the sounds of a small child in the background.

Bailey replied, "I'm here to help with the power problem." 

The voice said, "Talia is on her way down." With his sweat evaporating into the cool dry air of the interior of Talia's home, Bailey was now feeling chilled. Bailey sneezed loudly.

Talia teleported from the second floor to the first floor and approached Bailey from behind. She said, "Gesundheit." She added, "We need help here, but not trouble like your friend."

Bailey turned and saw Talia, still approaching and dressed in a skin-tight semi-transparent shirt made of a soft fabric. His eyes somehow never made it down to her lower body and Talia's bare feet. He asked, "My friend?"

Talia nodded emphatically and as she recognized Bailey, her face lit up and began to glow with excitement. Her nipples popped fully erect and poked out towards Bailey through the thin fabric of her shirt. All four of them. "That robot. The spy." She took Bailey's environment suit from his grasp.

Talia started hanging up Bailey's cooling suit on a rack in the small battery recharging room in the atrium of her house. She hung it upside-down, letting his sweat drip out of the suit. Bailey asked, "What do you mean spy? We came here to help you."

Positronic brain scan.

Talia laughed. "You poor sucker! Your name is Dave?"

"Yes."

Talia nodded knowingly. Bailey was giving her a careful visual inspection. He liked what he saw, even her odd alien ears that jutted outwards at an odd angle, the tips penetrating through her mane of lovely dark hair. Most intriguing were her two cute rows of breasts, the top pair in the usual location for a human, with two smaller breasts below. He asked, "You are tryp'At?"

Talia was trying to link her telepathic mind into Bailey's thoughts. "I'm half tryp'At... my mother is human." She held out her hand. "Well, I'm glad to finally find you. I never imagined we'd meet under circumstances such as these. My first memory of you is inside the Fesarius."

Bailey was confused. He shook Talia's hand and asked, "Find me? What does that mean? You've also been onboard the Fesarius?"

Talia asked, "You've already met Balok? Is Balok here with those two telepaths? Up in orbit."

Bailey knew from his mission briefing infites that Ienaghwy and Ylyndra were to remain in orbit around Elemacha-z for the duration of the mission. And now Bailey felt the telepathic touch of Ienaghwy in his thoughts. Ienaghwy told Bailey: Somehow, Talia has detected me and Ylyndra. I did not suspect that she'd have such powerful telepathic abilities. But no, Balok is not up here. He's off dealing with Klingons.

Bailey was still holding onto Talia's hand. Finally, he let go, wondering how Talia could telepathically sense Ienaghwy and Ylyndra in orbit, but she had to ask him questions about what he knew. Having served with Spock on the Enterprise, Bailey had come to assume that a human-tryp'At hybrid needed to make physical contact in order to use their telepathic powers. He wondered: is she looking into my thoughts? Even with such pressing matters on his mind, Bailey could not ignore the sexual attraction he felt to Talia and he now began to fantasize about getting both Dani and Talia into bed for a three-way play session.

The voice from the speaker was heard again, "Do you need my help?"

Talia replied, "Stay where you are, my love. Take care of Avy." 

Bailey asked, "Avy?"

Talia explained, "My wife is with my daughter, Avy." Talia told Bailey, "Forget about them... let me look into your mind." Talia closed her eyes and concentrated on Bailey's mind pattern. "Since arriving on Elemacha, my telepathic abilities  have been expanded, but I still do best when I can get close." Talia moved very close to his body and placed both of her hands on Bailey's head. Their faces only inches apart, she smiled at him. "Even though we are genetically distinct, I should be able to fully synchronize to your brain pattern. I've already done this in my dreams..."

"Dreams?" When Talia leaned against his body, Bailey felt the stiff nipples of her two upper breasts press against his chest. He noticed that his own nipples were also stiff.

"I have dreams of the future. I've known you for the past ten years, through my dreams." Talia began to work her telepathic mind towards synchrony with Bailey's zeptite endosymbiont. This was all a one-way effort, unlike linking to the minds of her sisters. 

Talia could sense that Bailey had no telepathic ability of his own, confirming her dream visions that were of their future life together onboard Fesarius. Talia added, "I've even had a vision that I believe explains what has gone wrong here in Port Cooway. There is a strange telepathic creature lurking here, a native sentient being of incredible age, that I have not been able to locate. My sisters and I feel its powerful mind."

Bailey was aware that some humans with high esper ratings claimed to receive information from the future. He'd always been skeptical about the idea of some humans being able to visualize future events, however, the rumor was that Captain Kirk knew the circumstances of his own death. Bailey marveled at the fact that somehow Talia had known his first name. Bailey tried to remember if he had mentioned his first name when speaking to any of the other colonists by radio. He asked, "There is some other telepathic native species here on this planet, in addition to the Merovae?"

Talia shrugged. "Maybe. This is a limitation of my ability to see the future. I often don't understand what I see in my future visions. However, I've had a vision of the future in which I'm on Elemacha-z and I telepathically link to a strange telepathic being... something far more sophisticated than the Merovae." Talia fell silent and continued her probing telepathic study of Bailey's mind pattern. "So far, I can only sense the presence of that telepathic alien... not actually link to its thoughts."

After several minutes of Talia running her hands over the surface of Bailey's head and Bailey enjoying a close inspection of Talia's pretty face, Talia took her hands away from his body and said, "Gross! You want to fuck that robot?"

Bailey grinned and admitted, "It had crossed my mind."

"My advice is: have nothing more to do with Dani. She's a spy, being used by other robots to infiltrate the Fesarius." Talia placed a hand on Bailey's crotch. "Yes, we will become lovers and produce two wonderful children, but for the moment, control your lust... we have to deal with the Merovae. My sisters and I have been using surveillance cameras to try to capture images of the Merovae in the act of cutting our power transmission cables."

A tryp'At mind link.

Bailey wondered if Talia was insane and fantasizing about future children. He asked bluntly, "Have the alien Merovae damaged your mind?"

"No... I don't think so. And Xylo is wrong to believe that my sisters and I are responsible for the cut power lines." Talia finally stopped her gentle rubbing of Bailey's hot genitals.

Bailey was thinking about the nice sensation of Talia's touch on his penis which now pressed outwards against the fabric of his pants. He was also thinking about the Talosians, and their reported ability to telepathically force ideas into the minds of people. He asked Talia, "If you are not under the telepathic control of the Merovae, then why did you stop installing power collectors? And why haven't you repaired the power lines to the power generators that are already functioning?"

"I paused installing collectors until I perfected a way to float them above the ground." Talia explained, "My working hypothesis is that the Merovae want we humans to leave this world, so they are creating difficult conditions for the colony by disrupting the power distribution system. I'm trying to figure out why. It seems like we humans and the Merovae should be able to co-inhabit this planet... humans on land, Merovae in the sea."

Bailey asked, "Are you in telepathic contact with the Merovae right now?"

"Not in any controlled way... human brains don't link efficiently to the minds of the Merovae. Even the weakest linkage requires synapex technology. I've been slowly learning how to defend my mind against their telepathic probing. I'm sure that the aliens learned from my mind, and those of my sisters, how to sabotage the power grid." 

"Sisters?"

"I have two sisters... the other power supply engineers for the colony." Talia held up a hand. "Don't distract me! I believe that I'm getting a feel for your telepathic mind pattern... I've cracked the access code for your endosymbiont. Let me try to link our minds..." Talia fell silent and placed the palm of her hand against the left side of his head. Bailey felt a flow of information directly to his mind: How is this?

Talia's clone sister.

Bailey replied, speaking out-loud. "I feel your telepathic touch. Like a faint whisper in my mind."

"I'll get better as I learn more about your brain's structure and your personal mind pattern."

Bailey was 'listening' intently for more telepathic signals from Talia, but instead he 'heard' a new telepathically transmitted message from Ylyndra: I have a suggestion. I've examined the minds of the Merovae. I can tell you that the Merovae, while mostly living out their lives in the ocean, do need to come onshore in order to reproduce. They come onshore only at night and remain on the sandy beaches.

Talia nodded. She had been able to 'hear" the information being transmitted telepathically by Ylyndra into Bailey's mind. "Yes, now I understand that! The Merovae... or the others... warped my mind and hid that obvious truth from me." Talia tried to telepathically send a question to Ienaghwy and Ylyndra in orbit: Can you get a message to the Merovae? Ask them to meet me...

Ylyndra replied: I don't think you can telepathically communicate with the Merovae, Talia. Not in any constructive way. Their minds are quite primitive. Leave that task to me and Ienaghwy. You two are going to have to deal with Dani.

Bailey asked, "Dani?"

Ienaghwy explained: The Merovae seem to be telepathically attacking Dani. Dani repaired a power cable and she is preparing to repair another. I don't know how, but the Merovae are apparently stripping out the infites that Balok implanted in Dani's positronic brain.

Talia asked: What is a positronic brain?

Ienaghwy replied: Dani is a positronic robot. His brain has hierion components... femtobots. A type of nanotechnology. I see a startling idea in your mind, Talia... that Balok is trying to use Dani as bait, as a tool to locate other positronic robots.

Ylyndra added: Balok assigned me to this mission because of my familiarity with the Hierion Domain.

Xylo unconscious.

Speaking out loud, Talia asked, "What is the Hierion Domain?"

Ylyndra replied telepathically: I'll tell you, but first, I need you two to go check on Dani. He stopped the power line repair work and is returning to the command post. Dani did something to Xylo and she's unconscious.

Both Bailey and Talia quickly suited up. When Bailey pointed out the fact that his suit's battery was only partially recharged, Talia assured him that he would be able to reach the command center. "It's all downhill." Talia tried to telepathically signal to the aliens in orbit: I'm sending my sister Lyssa to the command post. She glanced at her tricorder and told Bailey, "I've got Xylo's location. Let's go!" Bailey and Talia got into their cooling suits. Talia snapped a fully charged battery into Bailey's suit. Ten minutes later, Baley and Talia had run down the hill to the valley floor and they had Xylo's unconscious body loaded on the anti-gravity hover servo that had been supporting the heavy case that held power line repair tools and materials. 

While the two humans were rushing towards the command center, Ylyndra informed them telepathically that the Hierion Domain was a part of the universe where hadrons could not exist. Instead, there was a family of fundamental particles, the hierions, that existed naturally within the compactified dimensions of the Hierion Domain. 

When Talia and Bailey were within sight of the command post with Xylo's still unconscious body in tow, Ylyndra telepathically informed them: Dani is no longer under Balok's control. 

A moment later, Talia was alarmed by the sudden loss of her usual linkage to the telepathic mind of her sister Lyssa. She told Bailey, "Dani is using the subspace communications equipment at the command post. She did something to the mind of my sister. Some kind of telepathic assault. Hurry!" They rushed into the command center through the front door.

Jump to: Part 3 of "The Fesarians".

Next: AI-generated images to illustrate science fiction stories.

The alien DNA experiments. Visit the Gallery of Movies, Book and Magazine Covers

Alien Ghosts On Second

Search for Interesting Aliens
in the Ekcolir Reality.

Let's have some fun with baseball. Back in 2022, I awarded a retro-SIHA (Search for Interesting Hollywood Aliens) to "The Unnatural", an amusing episode of The X-Files that was about an alien visitor to Earth who liked to play baseball. That choice for a SIHA award arose after I made an effort to find and read every published science fiction story about baseball (see this blog post). 

 Liar. When I was a kid, before there were computerized games, we would play backyard games of "two-player wiffle ball with ghost runners". I asked Gemini to make an image illustrating: "a robot and a space alien (the robot and alien drawn in the style of 1940s science fiction pulp magazine cover art) playing two-player wiffle ball on the backyard lawn of a suburban house." Gemini refused, claiming "I cannot directly generate and display images". That was a lie. Look down this page where there is Figure 3, which was created by Gemini. 

Figure 1. Aliens, robots & baseball.
Click image to enlarge.

 I'll Do It!  WOMBO Dream indulged my fantasy and created the image that is shown to the left. The two biggest problems I had while collaborating with Mr. Wombo to make this image are 1) it seems that the WOMBO training set may include very few images of gray aliens as seen from behind and 2) any mention of a robot tends to prevent Mr. Wombo from generating a space alien and instead it will make two robots in this scene. I manually added the girl who is watching from the porch. The pastel "UFO" was taken from another image that Mr. Wombo generated and I pasted into this scene.

It was by playing two-player wiffle ball as a child that I learned the concept of a "ghost runner". I was puzzled when the MLB automatic runner rule went into effect and some people began calling the runner who starts an inning on second base a "ghost runner". But what if there actually were ghosts in a baseball game? Read on...

Figure 2. A runner on
second base (left) and
an infielder (right).

 Don't Just Stand There. I've previously (see this 2023 blog post) struggled with Mr. Wombo to get AI-generated images that depict human beings actually doing something interesting. Since these AI image generators do not understand anything, they struggle to create realistic scenes depicting action on a baseball field. In Figure 1, the gray alien is standing like a statue, which might actually be appropriate if this scene depicts the first time for the alien playing baseball. 

Below, is a short (2,400 words) science fiction story called "Doomed Skankies!" in which I incorporate a player named "Alex Statue" into an imaginary baseball game (see Figure 4). Mr. Wombo prefers to depict people who are "just standing around" (for example, see Figure 2, to the right).

Alien Invasion. I generally despise alien invasion stories, but what if the alien invaders only came to Earth so that they could play baseball? ⚾

Alien baseball players.

 Alien Ghost Runners. Here in this blog post (below), since it is the middle of the baseball season, I'm going to have some more fun with baseball in an imaginary science fiction setting. Mysterious space aliens have arrived on one of the many copies of Earth that exist in our galaxy in the Ekcolir Reality and they have started participating in baseball games. Alien participation in baseball games is made possible by a new rule change for Major League Baseball that was forced upon the people of Earth by the alien invaders. 👽

In the Ekcolir Reality, I imagine that there are ancient aliens with advanced technology that makes it possible to create "teleportation duplicates" of entire planets. For my story "Doomed Skankies!" (below), imagine that the events take place on a copy of Earth with a culture that has diverged slightly from human culture on our little planet.

A league they can own.

 In the Ekcolir Reality. I have been exploring science fiction stories that are set in the Ekcolir Reality, a Reality where the pace of technological advance was somewhat faster than in our timeline and where women played a dominant role in politics and achieved greater equality in sports. For example, in Major League Baseball of the Ekcolir Reality, each team was required to have equal numbers of men and women on their roster. Terminology note: in the Ekcolir Reality, "skank" is a term of endearment.

Imagine that it is the last day of the baseball regular season and two baseball teams are competing in a one-game playoff to determine who wins their division. We join a radio broadcast already in progress...

Doomed Skankies!

"Babe" Tooth, a lefty.

Vincenta Scully: {after a commercial break} We're back for extra innings at historic Zenway park in Boston!

Moldy Fuchs: Hopefully only one extra inning, Vinnie. I have a hot date planned for this evening.

Vincenta Scully: What date? You don't date, Moldy. If need be, you can catch the later showing of "Deep Throat" in the Combat Zone. 

Moldy Fuchs: Ah, Vinnie, you know what I like. Care to join me for a wild night on the old Bean Town?

Vincenta Scully: Well, baseball fans, I fear our color commentator is a bit too colorful today. Back to the game, er, the baseball game... having already used their regular closer in the 9th inning, the Boston Red Gloves have now brought in pitcher Mo "Handy" Walker to shut-down the Skankies' bats in the 10th inning. She's the only active switch-pitcher in Major League Baseball!

switch-pitcher "Handy" Walker

Moldy Fuchs: And since the left-handed hitting "Babe" Tooth will lead off for the New York Skankies, the switch-pitcher Walker has told the umpire that she is going to pitch left-handed.

Vincenta Scully: However, the Skankies manager is now signalling for the Babe to return to the dugout. And here comes a pinch hitter, Balfour, to the plate, replacing "Babe" Tooth in the Skankies lineup.

Moldy Fuchs: Typical dirty dealing by the Skankies. Now Walker is stuck pitching left-handed to the switch-hitting Balfour who was left out of the lineup today because of a broken left pinky toe suffered in yesterday's game.

Vincenta Scully: Balfour limps to the left side of home plate and is going to hit right-handed. 

Balfour

Moldy Fuchs:  Don't expect to see Balfour racing around the base paths with that broken toe.

Vincenta Scully: The pitch clock is counting down... 5, 4, 3- and Walker delivers a slerve that is low and outside; ball one, in the dirt.

Moldy Fuchs: Ew. That was not a competitive pitch.

Vincenta Scully: Walker delivers. That was a 99 mile an hour fastball, high and tight for ball two to Balfour.

Moldy Fuchs: This looks like a pitch-around. Walker wants nothing to do with the Skankies slugger, Balfour, regardless of the broken toe.

Vincenta Scully: Yikes! Was that a knuckle ball? Ball three.

Generated by WOMBO Dream.
Text prompt: "a baseball catcher
wearing a catcher's mitt
that looks like a porcupine"

Moldy Fuchs: Walker will throw a knuckler about 5 percent of the time, particularly against righties, just to shake them up and try to get them off-balance.

Vincenta Scully: Well fans, this is just the latest intriguing twist in this thrilling zero-to-zero pitchers duel. I'd take a well-placed knuckler from Walker any day of the week.

Moldy Fuchs: How can you call this game 'thrilling'? I'm bored to tears. Nine innings of scoreless, utter futility baseball while I could have been enjoying myself with hot adult entertainment in Boston's Combat Zone. And now we suffer through the tedium of an intentional walk to the MLB player with the highest batting average. Balfour is leading the American League with the most home runs this season and opposing pitchers such as Walker are afraid to throw him a strike. Yawn.

Vincenta Scully: Balfour walks on a sweeper that was way off of the plate. The catcher for the Red Gloves, Fielder, somehow managed to snag it, preventing the ball from going all the way to the backstop.

Figure 3. Generated by Gemini. "a catcher's mitt
that looks like a porcupine"

Moldy Fuchs: That is the league-leading 194th walk for Balfour this season. "Handy" Walker lives up to her name.

Strangely, the ghost runner apparently stayed on second base, missing a prime opportunity to go to third with Fielder sprawled in the dirt across the batters box after he made a diving stop on that wildly outside pitch from Walker. Inexplicable events such as this make me wonder if the aliens have a secret agenda...

Vincenta Scully: That brings the young rookie, T. Ball, to the plate with runners on first and second and nobody out. Here at Zenway, we're in the top of the tenth inning with the tension mounting and, so far, neither Moldy nor either team has been able to score today.

Alien ghost runner. Xx-ray imaging.

Moldy Fuchs: Again we are confronted by the philosophical question... if an alien ghost runner is on second, but nobody can see a ghost, then...

Vincenta Scully: Don't go there Moldy! You know the umpires are all equipped with xx-ray technology that allows them -and only them- to see the ghost runners. We simply have to have faith in the umpires.

Moldy Fuchs: I don't buy it Scully. These xx-ray goggles for the umpires are mysterious technology from Area 51. I'm a skeptic... don't ask me to take anything on faith.

Vincenta Scully: Ever since First Contact with the ghostly aliens from Andromeda, we've had to trust the government to deal with the alien invasion. It has been quite an ordeal for baseball fans since the aliens forced MLB into this crazy alien on second base ghost runner rule.

pitch clock

Moldy Fuchs: Ya, extra-terrestrials for extra-innings. What a lame publicity stunt by the Commissioner. And now we're stuck with it.

Vincenta Scully: Maybe next year the Commissioner will adopt your suggestion of distributing xxx-ray goggles to horny color commentators.

Moldy Fuchs: That's the only thing that keeps my hopes up. I hope those rumored xxx-ray goggles will allow me see though the stiff business suits that you always wear, Vinnie. I suspect there is a woman under there somewhere.

Vincenta Scully: I'm glad you have your dreams, Moldy. T. Ball is digging in at the plate like a gopher! And all that digging earns poor T. Ball a clock violation. Strike one.

Moldy Fuchs: Over at first, Cannon is not even trying to keep Balfour honest.

Combat Zone

Vincenta Scully: Why bother trying to stop base stealing when there is an invisible alien on second base? Here's the windup and the pitch... T. Ball turns around a fastball! A screaming liner zips past Walker's ear, deflects off of her gorgeous hair, the shortstop I. M. Short leaps and catches- No! Short drops the ball! He recovers and under-hands to the second baseman, Secundo, who is covering second and then quickly throws on to first for a double play!

Moldy Fuchs: Wait..... Skankies third base coach Willie "Rotator" Cuff seems to be windmilling the ghost runner around third! They say that Willie can hear the alien ghosts running, even over the noise of the crowd.

Vincenta Scully: Over at first, Cannon has finally noticed what's happening with the ghost runner. He fires a strike to Fielder at the plate, but poor Fielder can't see the ghost runner. Fielder desperately tries to block home plate. All I see is a cloud of dust swirling around the plate!

No swords in science fiction?

Moldy Fuchs: Now plate umpire, I. C. Clearly, has signaled 'safe'. Apparently, the ghost runner came all the way from second base to home during that play and avoided the tag attempt by Fielder at the plate.

Vincenta Scully: The Boston Red Gloves manager, "Crystal" Davies, has come out of the home team dugout and is challenging the call at the plate. Judging by the way that "Crystal" is waving her sword in the air, I have to assume that she's quite upset by that call. It is now up to the replay staff in New York to confirm the call.

Moldy Fuchs: So bogus! Of course the folks in New York are going to give that invisible run to the dirty-dealing Skankies.

Vincenta Scully: Moldy, are you suggesting systematic bias from the MLB replay room in New York?

Two Boston Red Gloves
players try to figure out where
the AI put the baseball.

Moldy Fuchs: In the interest of avoiding a fine from MLB and an end to my broadcast career, I never make wild, sweeping generalizations or accusations about the cloistered replay officials who cannot themselves be challenged or questioned. I just call each play as I see it. However, I must report the truth: that social media platforms in Boston have been buzzing with rumors about alien infiltration and control of the MLB replay room in New York.

 Vincenta Scully: I don't need to remind baseball fans that Davies got her nickname because of her seemingly magical ability to almost always have her challenges of calls upheld. 

Moldy Fuchs: No doubt about it, Vinnie, Davies is spooky. It is through her efforts that MLB instituted the open carry rule for swords on the playing field. It looks like the call from New York has arrived...

"Twinkletoes" Klutzenpoof

Vincenta Scully: New York confirmed the call that was made on the field. Now there are two outs and one run is in with "Twinkletoes" Klutzenpoof coming to the plate. Here's a quick pitch from Walker.  It is a swinging bunt by Klutzenpoof who spins in a circle and trips over his own feet! Walker casually walks off the mound, picks up the slow dribbler with his bare hand and throws out the runner! 

Moldy Fuchs: Klutzenpoof looked more like a stumbler than a runner on that play. That does it for the Skankies in the tenth, but they get one run and take a lead.

Vincenta Scully: We'll stay right here without commercial break as the Skankie defenders take the field for the bottom of the tenth inning in this thrilling 1 to 0 game.

Moldy Fuchs: And it is Steele coming out of the bullpen to pitch for the Skankies.

A. Dish

Vincenta Scully: A strange choice for the Skankies pitching coach, Spitter Jones. Steele has never been able to hold runners on base.

Moldy Fuchs: There's a change in the Skankies lineup. Steele starts throwing warm-up pitches to a new catcher... it is Anabell Dish, recently brought up from the AAA RailRiders because the fashion industry folks in New York demanded it.

Vincenta Scully: Yes, Dish was voted "Best Dressed" in the minor leagues earlier this year, on the basis of her low-cut tops and short skirts. And today, Dish is using her infamous catcher's mitt that looks like a porcupine.

Moldy Fuchs: There's a social media rumor that porcupine quills are the best way to stop the dreaded alien ghost runners... Moldy Fuchs reporting.

Safe at third base.

Vincenta Scully: Moldy, you're such a sucker. Do you really think that aliens who have come hundreds of light-years across interstellar space to Earth have a fear of porcupines? 

Moldy Fuchs {shrugs}: I have a deep faith that the truth about alien fears of porcupine quills is out there. ⊮

Vincenta Scully: You heard it here first folks, from the man who takes nothing on faith. Batting for the Boston Red Gloves is A. Statue, who statistical analysis suggests is the MLB player least likely to swing his bat.

Moldy Fuchs: A sad twist of fate to have A. Statue at the plate just when there is a ghost runner on second. The Red Gloves only need a single to tie the game.

Vincenta Scully: Steele delivers a low called strike at the knees. Can I believe my eyes? Dish... wait now... it seems that something is happening over at third base.

xx-ray glasses

Moldy Fuchs: Vinnie, third base umpire, "Foureyes" Closed, has just signaled 'safe' at third base.

Vincenta Scully: I assume that the ghost runner stole third base. Third base umpire Closed was who demanded xx-ray vision contact lenses because she refused to wear glasses. However, look at Dish. A quill on her glove impaled the ball and now she can't get the ball out of her glove. Do we call this a wardrobe malfunction?

Moldy Fuchs: Umpire I. C. Clearly has just thrown a new ball to Steele on the mound.

Vincenta Scully: Steele has stepped off of the mound and is rubbing up the new ball, apparently trying to give Dish more time to get the other ball out of her glove. But the pitch clock is still running.

another wardrobe malfunction

Moldy Fuchs: Something just happened at the plate! Dish was knocked flying and is now sitting dazed on the ground!

Vincenta Scully: The home plate umpire has signaled "safe". The ghost runner must have stolen home and collided with Dish! It is now all tied up, 1 to 1.

Moldy Fuchs: That collision knocked the catcher's mitt off of her hand and the stuck ball out of the mitt and... Golly! There is your wardrobe malfunction, Vinnie. Dish's spectacular breasts were knocked right out of her low-cut top! The ball boy tucks Dish back into her jersey, pulls her to her feet and now Dish gets back behind the dish.

Vincenta Scully: Steele is back on the mound. Red Gloves hitter Alex Statue never even moved during the collision at home plate between the alien ghost runner and Dish. Here comes the next pitch... another low strike. A. Statue has not taken his bat off of his shoulder.

Boston being invaded by aliens from Andromeda.

Moldy Fuchs: The Red Gloves need a base runner here, if we are going to finish this game in time for me to catch the early showing of "Deep Throat" over in the Combat Zone.

Vincenta Scully: Moldy, how can you be talking about your pornography addiction on national radio at a time like this? Who wins the division hangs in the balance of this thrilling extra-innings game.

Moldy Fuchs: Vinnie, you know me, I always say: what's a trip into Boston without a visit to the Combat Zone and a chance to see some racy adult films?

Figure 4. Red Gloves player
A. Statue at the plate.

Vincenta Scully: Say, Moldy, what do the social media rumors say about the alien ghost runners and what they do on the field after they score a run? Here's the next pitch... and A. Statue takes a ball.

Moldy Fuchs: That inside pitch almost hit Statue and he did not move an inch. Didn't even flinch. Well, Vinnie, my favorite theory about alien ghost runners is that when they are not officially in the game and on base, they are still lurking around the infield, trying to control the outcome of the game.

 Vincenta Scully: Steele tosses another ball. The count goes to two and two. Moldy, if you were an invisible alien, where would you be right now?

Moldy Fuchs: Well, Vinnie, I think you know the answer to that question; I'd be down in the Combat Zone, catching a showing of "Deep Throat".

The Green Monster.

Vincenta Scully: Statue finally took his bat off of his shoulder! He's waving the bat around like he's trying to swat a fly. Here comes the pitch! Statue swings. [A loud 'crack' is heard.] There it goes. A towering fly ball to left field. Over left field! Over the Green Monster! A. Statue hit the ball out of Zenway park! What a way to end the game and clinch the division for the Red Gloves!

Moldy Fuchs: Thank the ghost alien! The Red Gloves win and I can now get over to the Combat Zone.

Vincenta Scully: I think you are right, Moldy. The slow-motion replay seems to show that it was not A. Statue who swung the bat. It must have been the invisible alien.

Moldy Fuchs: Which I take as a good omen for the future of Humanity. Even the aliens don't want New York to win.

___________________

Alien ghost runners by WOMBO.
Text prompt: "a peculiar encounter
between a baseball player and
mysterious alien entities,
the protagonist is playing
second base during a
night game when strange,
translucent figures appear
on the field, it blends
elements of science fiction,
sports, and the supernatural to
create an unusual and
intriguing scenario on the
baseball diamond"

I asked Perplexity to summarize this webpage (above)...

Perplexity: The webpage contains a short science fiction story titled "Alien Ghosts on Second" by an author named J.D. Harlock[1]. The story is set on a baseball field and involves a peculiar encounter between a baseball player and mysterious alien entities[1].

In the narrative, the protagonist is playing second base during a night game when strange, translucent figures appear on the field[1]. These entities are described as alien ghosts, and their presence creates an eerie atmosphere during the game[1].

The story explores the player's reaction to these otherworldly visitors and how their appearance affects the ongoing baseball match[1]. It blends elements of science fiction, sports, and the supernatural to create an unusual and intriguing scenario on the baseball diamond[1].

The webpage presents this short story as a piece of flash fiction, offering readers a quick but imaginative glimpse into a world where the ordinary setting of a baseball game intersects with extraterrestrial phenomena[1].

Citations:
[1] https://wikifiction.blogspot.com/2024/07/alien-ghosts-on-second.html 

Text prompt: "a fictional or speculative
concept involving multiple
interconnected realities or timelines,
multiple alternate realities or timelines,
possibly related to science fiction concepts"

I wonder why Perplexity so confidently associated "J.D. Harlock" with this blog page. I created the blog post "Alien Ghosts on Second" in an attempt to have some fun, but my humor apparently went right over the head of Perplexity, not even being mentioned in the AI-generated summary of "Doomed Skankies!". I was invited by Perplexity to ask a follow-up question, so I asked: "What is the Ekcolir Reality?"

Perplexity: Based on the search results provided, there is limited information available about the specific concept of "Ekcolir Reality". However, we can extract some context from the glossary entry in result [3]:

The Ekcolir Reality is mentioned as part of a "Reality Chain" that includes other realities like the Foundation Reality and Asimov Reality. Specifically, it states:

"Asimov Reality - in Earth's Reality Chain, the Asimov Reality is between the preceding Foundation Reality and the Ekcolir Reality."

Text prompt: "a Reality Chain
that includes other Realities"

This suggests that the Ekcolir Reality is part of a fictional or speculative concept involving multiple interconnected realities or timelines. It appears to be positioned after the Asimov Reality in this chain of realities.

Without more context, it's difficult to provide additional details about what the Ekcolir Reality specifically entails or its characteristics. The term seems to be part of a larger fictional framework or universe that involves multiple alternate realities or timelines, possibly related to science fiction concepts. However, the exact nature and significance of the Ekcolir Reality within this framework remain unclear from the limited information available in the search results.

Vin Scully and friends
in the Ekcolir Reality.

 Citations:
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reality   [2] https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/reality   [3] http://asearchbeyond.blogspot.com/p/glossary.html   [4] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virtual%20reality [5] https://www.dictionary.com/browse/reality

 I'm glad that Perplexity found my other blog (citation [3], above) and its glossary of terms. I suppose the good people at Perplexity are paid to provide link$ to online dictionarie$ whenever po$$ible.

Sadly, Perplexity was unable to recognize any relationship between Vincenta Scully (in the imaginary radio broadcast, above on this page) and Dana Scully of The X-files.

Next: Part 2 of "The Fesarians".

Visit the Gallery of Movies, Book and Magazine Covers