Liana's Ship (#ONC 2021)

16. Liana: The Truth?

The brown seed pods were the size of my head and streaked with gold. Their surface felt like the shell of the walnut. A smutty part of my brain was tempted to crack a joke about a pair of nuts but it really wasn't the time.

The two last pods from the Xeran space plants. After that they were gone.

"We used to farm ships the traditional way," Zan began, "It was the only way for centuries. But it was slow, it took twenty years for a seedling to become big enough for a small shuttle. We were opening trade with other systems and our population was growing. We needed more ships, ones that grew faster. Breeding was taking too long. This changed when my great grandfather cloned the first ship. Soon we could get a space worthy ship in five years but as a result, all the cloned ships were sterile. 

“Like bananas." I said.

"I'm sorry?" Zan said perplexed, "what has a yellow earth fruit got in common with an intergalactic vehicle plant?"

"Bananas, all banana trees are sterile,” I said, “the female produces the fruit, the males don't. We like the fruit but if the plants bred you'd be spitting out a lot of black seeds. Clone the females, and you get the best of both worlds. Tasty fruit, no annoying seeds, right? Except when there's hundreds of clones of the same plant. If there's a virus, bacteria or fungus and no random pollination…”

It dawned on me, the problem Zan was trying to solve "It's the black mush in the observation deck isn't it? It's affecting your ship?"

"Once a ship gets the rot," he replied, "everything on the ship turns into what you call the mush eventually. Thera is affected, there's not much else we can do. Thera has the ability to shut off the worst of the infected areas. But she is losing the ability to  do this, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to enter the observation deck.

Thera was dying. "Is there anything you can do?"

"I am trying,” he said, “probably not in the most orthodox way. It is said the seeds from the last generation have resistance to the rot. The protection wasn’t bred out. It is only a theory though. Thera is very old, too old to breed and losing the ability to resist the rot. the last ship. She was a good luck charm that used to orbit our planet. People used to visit her to learn."

"Ah like a museum," I said, "did you mind, Thera?" I asked the ship.

"I didn't mind as such," she replied, "being kidnapped by Zanthric is more fun, even if it hastened my demise. I think the human saying is it's best to die with a bang than a whimper. I would have liked to have seen my children germinate before my death though."

With those words sounding through my head, I felt the sorrow of the gigantic ship. An emotion I couldn't begin to comprehend. 

I looked at Zan. Apparently a criminal. A criminal with good intentions but one nevertheless. I reigned in my awe. "You're a wanted man by your people?"

He chuckled, a smile creased the corners of his eyes and they sparkled. Either that or the jar of coffee was mouldy with a hallucinogenic fungus. "I should be," he said, "but my father is wealthy enough to make a delinquent son legal. But his wants and needs clash with mine. His board wants the pods open to harvest the seeds genetic material to modify the remaining bioships. The genes allegedly will resist the rot."

"But you don't want this." I added.

"No, I want the ships to grow. To think for themselves again. The clones don't think, so less training is needed to pilot one. As far as the Board is concerned there is no need to talk to a ship, only that it grows and digests the waste of its occupants."

"But only those who can talk to the ships can know of their true intentions?" I suggested. This information I sort of understood, in a weird, 'I'm out of my depth, but a little more strange now? I'm too tired to freak.' kind of way. After all, in a couple of weeks I had moved onto a ship, found out about a dating plan, nearly died from a disease and found out I could talk to a spaceship. 

A spaceship that was dying because her growers preferred their ships compliant. I sat down, wanting to work with regular non thinking earth plants. 

I hated to admit this to Zan, I kind of could see what the Xerans had done and what they did. However, there was a reason why random breeding was important, variety strengthened species, even if it meant a few oddities once in a while. I sat down, a chair had grown underneath me. Thera must have known I'd needed it. 

"When the ships no longer spoke, there was no need for the ability to speak to them. Less children were born with the gift." Zan continued, "Once, our families would have been proud to have a child who could speak directly with a bioship. It is seen as an embarrassment today, especially in a family with status. My father was relieved to get me out of the way, he tried to marry me to another rich family but it was unsuccessful."

"Well," I said, "despite the permanent scowl on your face, I can see the appeal." That came out awful, it wasn't my intention to flatter him, "I mean, you're nice, I mean, you're…” I threw my hands up, “look, I stink at this ok? I’m trying to make you feel better."

"You would think there should be no problem with me finding a wife being part of a ruling family.” he sighed as he smiled, “But there's a major problem. Something I cannot do."

"What is that?" I laughed, "you can't do a special ritual."

"You mock me, like the other females." He raised his voice, "I can't dance. I can talk to a ship but all that matters is that I do some idiotic dance that I fail to see the point of. In fact, I've never been with anyone and I'm over forty cycles old. Are you happy now?"