Traveller - L.W. Samuelson (free e books to read online TXT) 📗

had run, hoping to dispel the escalating discomfort, a foot had landed square on a pointed rock halting his downward rush. The pain penetrated and damaged causing him to slow into a limping walk. Instincts told him to cut down hill into the tress where it wasn’t so cold. That was it, that was all he could remember until his eyes had opened. It was then that he found himself looking into the eyes of what he assumed to be a female Earthling. Brown, her eyes were brown underneath shiny black hair. The kindness in them reminded him of Porter.
He regretted not having the words to convince her to stay. It embarrassed him to revert back into the Benwarian language. He hoped he hadn’t scared her off for good.
The beverage she had given tasted sweetly bitter, indescribably delicious in its novelty. The warmth put a final end to his shivering. A few deciparses after she left, he felt like he’d consumed a glass of Blast but the energy provided by the warm, dark liquid intensified into a jittery feeling that caused him to get out of the blankets. He walked several quick circles around the fire before climbing back into the blankets.
Except for the painful cold, Traveller was beginning to enjoy the changes in temperature. Sitting by the fire brought a sense of comfort. The changing colors of the flames mesmerized him as they danced yellow, red, and orange before his eyes. Engrossed by their beauty, he didn’t hear the van winding its way back up the road. Not until the headlamps illuminated the area did he become aware of the van’s approach. By the universe! She’s back. How nice.

“Hi Traveller,” Lori said loudly. “This . . . is . . . my . . . brother . . . Jesse.” She pointed at herself and then her brother as if he couldn’t smell that they were related. He stood keeping one of the coverings over his shoulders.
“Jess . . . see?” he mimicked. Lization I hope they don’t talk this slow all the time, it’ll be like being back on ship. Boring! Her brother looked to be about his age. He came forward with his hand out sideways. Traveller put his up palm out in the traditional Benwarian greeting. It pleased him that Jesse did the same. They joined palms.
“My name is Traveller. I come in peace,” he said wearing his best smile, one he had learned from Porter.
“Glad to meet you,” Jesse said.
“Bonbon tuk mui?” asked Traveller.
Jesse turned to his sister. “He’s an alien; doesn’t he have a language interpreter or something?”
It upset Traveller not to be able to understand what Jesse said. The chagrin caused him to remember the universal translator in his spacecraft. He gestured toward the open door. “Zeeze?” he said.
“I think he’s trying to say please. He kept saying that when I was going to leave,” Lori said.
“He wants us to see his spaceship,” said Jesse.
Traveller walked up the ramp turning to make sure they followed him. It wasn’t until then that he noticed Lori shivering with her arms folded in front of her. Activating the lights, he ushered them into his plane then gestured with one finger held up before impelling across the fire to get her coat.
“Wow! Did you see that?” he heard Jesse say.
“Far out,” said Lori watching Traveller pick up her coat only to disappear again. She felt him brush past to reappear in front of her with the coat held out. "Geez! Thank you."
"Tank ju," Traveller mimicked. The night air had transformed from cold to stinging cold. He pushed the panel and the door slid closed blocking the frigid night air.
Jesse was already sitting in the pilot's seat when Traveller turned back around.
"Yuk bonbon yewah," he said proudly.
"Damn, he really is an alien," Jesse said admiring the console.
Traveller brought the translator out from the cargo hold. He activated it then put the headpiece on. A microphone stretched from one of the earpieces to his mouth.
When he whispered Benwarian into it, English came out. He looked at Lori who was watching his every move as if she was afraid of being abducted. "Thank you," he said. "You saved my life."
She started to speak, but Traveller held a finger up halting her. He handed Lori the other head set. "You’re welcome," she spoke into the mouth piece. "Where are you from?" Jesse had swiveled the chair around to watch and listen.
"I come from a Ship," he said.
"You were born on a spaceship?" She spoke English, but Benwarian came out like a loud echo.
"Yes. My people, the Benwarians, originally came from the planet Lemmus, many light years away from here."
"Why are you here?"
"I ran away. I took a protector's place on a reconnaisance mission to your planet."
The word reconnaisance scared Lori. It had connotations of an invasion. "Are you going to attack our planet?" she asked.
"I don't know. We need a place to live. Our planet was destroyed."
"How many of you are there?"
"Two thousand four hundred."
"Where are they?"
"They are still on the way. It will take many cycles before Ship arrives."
"Why did you run away?"
"I was bored. There was no one my age on Ship."
"How many came with you?"
"Three. We come in peace. I have no weapons. Our mission is to study human life to prepare the way for my people."
Lori looked around without thinking. "Where are they?"
"I don't know. Each craft targeted a different land mass."
"Ask him if he has a ray gun," said Jesse.
"He said he didn't have any weapons."
When Traveller heard Jesse, he asked, "What did he say?"
"He's being stupid. He wants to know if you have a ray gun. He watches too much Star Trek."
Traveller retrieved his laser from behind some equipment. He handed it to Jesse.
"Far out!" Jesse exclaimed. "Ask him if I can fly his spaceship."
"I'm not going to ask him that."
"Ask him if we can call him Travis, Traveller's too long."
Lori took the headphones off, "Here you ask him," she said handing them over.
"Can I call you Travis?"
Traveller cocked his head, "I suppose so. Are you the one I saw flying over the mountains?"
"Yep," Jesse said proudly. "That's me."
A look of awe made Traveller's, Travis's eyes sparkle. "Can you teach me?"
"Sure. I love it. It's like being an eagle."
"What's an ee . . . gull?"
"A gigantic bird that soars free and fierce. It's black with a yellow beak and white head."
"Free? I don't understand that word," Travis replied.
"Free means you get to do what you want. You don't take orders from nobody."
"Anybody," Lori corrected.
"What did she say?" asked Travis.
"She's correcting my grammar," Jesse said contemptously.
"What is grammar?"
"The correct way of speaking and writing," Jesse said.
"I don't understand. If your meaning is clear, what difference does it make?" Traveller asked.
"Exactly. Did you hear that Miss Grammar Goody Two Shoes? Travis knows what he's talking about. We don't need no stinkin' grammar. Do we Travis?"
Lori rolled her eyes. "Yeah right, let's make him as ignorant as you are, Jesse."
Traveller sensed a change in Lori. She was slightly angered. "If it's important to you, Lori, then it must be important," he said holding his hand out palm up.
Lori placed her hand in it to be rewarded with the sense of calmness it conveyed. She twisted his microphone slightly and spoke into it, "Speaking correctly shows education and manners."
"But doesn't everyone speak the same way in your society?" asked Traveller moving the microphone back then twisting it out again so she could speak into it.
"Not at all. We have many different cultures and languages here in America. The different social classes can be identified by the way they speak. The lower classes speak like Jesse," Lori said.
"Hey! I know how to talk," Jesse protested.
Traveller ignored him, "Benwarians believe in equality. There are no social classes. The more primitive civilizations of Lemmus ranked people by wealth and power. Is that what it is like here?"
"Yes, race also plays a part in social status."
"What is race?"
"A group of people with a common genetic background," said Lori who had taken the headset back from Jesse.
"My homeland was an island. Everyone shared the same race and wealth. We tried to limit the power one had with a strict democratic vote on all major decisions."
"There are too many people in the United States for that kind of government. We elect representatives to make decisions for us."
"But how do you know they'll make the right decisions?"
"We don't. If we don't like what they've done, we vote them out of office in the next election."
"Isn't that too slow? What if something needs decided immediately?"
"We have an executive branch to make such decisions. Our president can make certain decisions by himself."
"But he or she would have too much power. How do you keep the president from becoming corrupt? I've been taught that power corrupts."
"The United States is dealing with that now. I hate President Nixon; he has lied and deceived the American people. We are engaged in a horrible, senseless war that no one wants because of politicians like him."
"You are at war? Where are the soldiers and the battles?"
"In a place called Vietnam, thousands of miles away from here."
"Your country invaded another? Why?"
"Because Americans place too much faith in their leadership. They eat the crap the politicians shovel," said Lori vehemently.
"You mean these politicians tell people what to do and they do it?"
"Pretty much. Thousands of young people have protested and many of those have been imprisoned or they moved to another country called Canada, but for the most part my people are easily led."
"I must learn about your world. These are the things the Benwarians would want to know," said Traveller.
Jesse held his hands out for the headset. "Enough of this depressing stuff. What do you eat?"
Traveller pulled some synthowafers from the cargo hold. He handed one to each of his new found friends. Jesse eye what appeared to be a wrapper encasing it. He tried to tear it off but there was no way to get a hold of it. "You eat the wrapper and all. It's made of protein," Traveller said.
Jesse bit into it. Even though the cracker had a slightly sweet taste and a crunchy texture, its blandness gave no pleasure. "This is all you've got?"
"Yes. It contains all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals one needs to suvive. Back on the main ship we occassionally had other foods, but for the most part we existed on synthowafers."
"Oh Lord Lori we have got to get this guy some Mexican food. These things taste like sugared carboard, light on the sugar."
Lori bit into hers, chewed for a second then swallowed with a grimace. She stuck the rest of the wafer in her coat pocket. She looked at her watch. "It's almost eleven. We need to get back."
"Let's stay here tonight. I'll teach Traveller how to hang glide."
"You have a speech class tomorrow."
"I can miss it. We can go home tomorrow afternoon. There's a sleeping bag in the van and I can sleep under those tarps or blankets with Traveller."
"We don't even know if he wants us to stay," said Lori.
Traveller looked at Lori, "You saved my life. You are my friends. Of course, I want you to stay."
Lori gave Jesse a parental look, "We'll have to go back tomorrow afternoon. I'm not going to let you miss your Wednesday classes."
"All right! Wait