Page 52 of Experimental Voyage
The air tasted vile.Had I been in charge of the expedition, I would have viewed the flavor as the sole warning sign I needed that the planet was not suitable for human life. I flattened my ears and growled over the planet’s assault to my delicate sensibilities, going to work gathering samples and preparing the ten different terrariums so some other scientist could study the planet’s natural ecosystem. I appreciated the terrariums, which were round glass balls with stoppered tops perfect for gathering soil, plants, insects, and anything else I felt might survive within its sealed confines.
As I wanted to gather a good variety, I decided I would set up each terrarium with different mosses, small plants, and life. I might even be tempted to follow their progress over the years, as long as I wasn’t subjected to the planet’s rather odiferous atmosphere.
“You do not like this planet,” Fogali observed, staying out of my swiping reach while documenting what types of plants, soilsamples, and how much water I added to my latest experiment. “Might I inquire on why?”
“It stinks.”
“Ah. You can smell the fungus. We Veloc can smell it as well. Viva detectssomethingis amiss. Delta is oblivious. He says it smells like a damp forest.”
“I mean, it smells like a damp forest, if that damp forest were rotting.” I sighed and resumed hunting through the soil for the appropriate substrate needed to keep the terrarium thriving long after it was sealed and removed from the planet. Half of the terrariums would use carbon I would make through burning native wood species. The other half would use a collection of mosses.
Both methods were known to work, and it would be interesting to see which of the terrariums survived the longest.
In my classes, the teachers had been clear: even the slightest imbalance in the ecosystem could result in the terrarium’s failure.
I’d struck gold not far from the landing site for the base layer in the form of volcanic rock, the porous kind that would hold water well and keep the terrarium system naturally cycling. In classes, we’d discussed the use of native volcanic rock, but we’d used fired clay pellets blended with other materials to serve as the drainage layer.
“Okay, please mark that all terrariums are using volcanic rock for the first layer,” I requested, taking the time to measure each glass bowl and report the thickness of the layer. “Can you see if you can find some wood suitable to be burned in this cesspool? I need to create the carbon, and I willnotbe cheating and raiding Viva’s stockpiles for activated charcoal.”
“I told her it was an unnecessary acquisition, but she insisted. Terrariums use activated charcoal.” The Veloc raised his feathers, lifted his head, and sniffed. “I smell prey.”
Right. I dealt with a hungry feathered murder machine. “Go hunt dinner, I’ll prep an area for a fire and start making the charcoal. Just try to bring back something edible along with wood ready to be burned.”
The Veloc hooted, bounded in the direction of Viva’s ship, paused long enough to dump his tablet onto the ramp, and bounded off. Yulgali joined him, and the pair vanished into the forest, leaving me to deal with the terrariums on my own.
A rather amused Delta came out to join me. “I haven’t seen the Veloc move that quickly since the last time I summoned them for their dinner. What did you do?”
“Fogali smelled prey, and I’m at the stage where I need to burn wood and make charcoal. I don’t want to use charcoal that wasn’t sourced from this planet for this project. For the record, after I’m done with these terrariums, I’m going to get out my botany book and do some sketching, and I’m going to contemplate the entire destruction of this world.”
“The smell is getting to you, isn’t it? Viva isn’t happy about it, and the Veloc are less than pleased but tolerating it better than you and she are.”
“It smells like the death of everything I like,” I replied, wrinkling my nose. “Palta’s genetics have made my sense of smell much stronger.”
“We’ll become blind to the smell soon enough. Viva is tracking the incoming storm, and she thinks the ship will be safe enough on the ground. She’ll use anchors and be ready to take off in case things sour, but she wants to evaluate the planet during poor weather.”
Witnessing a storm would be interesting. “Can the ship withstand trees hitting it?”
“Yes, with ease. She’ll be using a shielding system she has, which will bounce off projectiles. It’s the same system that let usenter the atmosphere without the ship being destroyed by stray birds hitting us.”
My classes hadn’t yet covered those systems, and I hoped they would happen soon. “Do you think Waldren and his sister coped with those storms?”
“Inevitably. They spent years here. Anyway, there’s a lot of wildlife here, and they’re able to survive through the storms. Considering the colony ship has been parked for decades without an issue, we should be fine here.”
“Should besounds like famous last words, Delta.”
“You know that and I know that, but Viva really wants to be outside when the storm rolls in. As I think she’s adorable when resembling a drowned rat, I’ve decided to go with her flow.”
“I will not be engaging in such things,” I replied, and to make it clear what I felt about appearing to be a drowned rat, I hissed. “Absolutely not.”
“That’s because you’re sensible. However much I love my wife, when she gets an idea like this into her head, sense leaves the building. Just go hide inside when the storm hits. It’ll be fine.”
I wasthe only one to hide inside the ship when the storm hit. Had I been outside during the first crack of thunder, I would have fled. As it was, my fur stood on end, I hissed every time the clouds vocalized their displeasure, and not even the thick hull of the ship could erase the drumming of the rain.
The wind hissed, growled, and, on occasion, roared its fury.
I retreated to my quarters, closed the door, hid under the blankets, and crammed a pillow over my head, which did a decent job of mitigating the worst of the sound.
I didn’t mind most storms, but the one that tore across the island cared nothing for those in its path, and it took everything I thought I’d known about nature’s fury and amplified it.
