LF Friends, Will Travel

Our Clockwork Children: Chapter 6

It looked natural, untamed, untouched. Forests and streams stretched out for miles, as far as one could see. A mountain jutted out in the distance, hidden in a swirling fog. From their viewpoint upon the hill, they could see miles of unbroken nature. Ferns scattered along the ground and giant redwood trees stretched towards the sky.

Creta, the fifth planet in the Cassiopeia system, was an ecological masterpiece, a jewel of Terran's complete mastery over their environment. The entire planet had been rebuilt from the ground up using genetic samples from the Cretaceous period on Earth. Genetic reconstruction of the flora and animals had created a world long since forgotten, a place to carve out your own life away from the hustle and bustle of the modern world.

Ivan had been to areas considered 'natural' before, he wasn't some simple bubbler who never left the major underwater cities of Titan, but this, this was something else. If it wasn't for the spaceport that loomed behind them, a large metallic structure that dominated the skyline, the Terran would have thought that this land was untouched by people. Not a single settlement or sign of intelligent life could be seen from where they stood.

As the trio stood upon a primal land, Scellestra was also transfixed by the sight. This was officially blowing the Wooleans' digital mind. They had spent their entire life in an entirely artificial creation that stretched over the entire planet, so this... this was something unlike Scellestra had ever experienced before. Even ODIN couldn't help but feel the power of such an untamed place, staring out from the AI transfer core strapped to the side of Ivan.

The Human looked out into a land that time had forgotten; a feeling of power, of adventure seemed to call him from this planet. The laws of the land had dictated he'd had to leave his various pieces of technology behind, safely awaiting his return in a locker, meaning all he held in his hands was a paper map of the area around him.

Ivan couldn't help but grin as he looked out at a land of dinosaurs, of challenge. If the map he held in his hands was right, there was a small settlement 7km away. The customs officer had suggested they start there and find a guide for this perilous land, suggesting a well-known figure who went by the name of Kaiser.

A perfect place to get supplies for his adventure and find a herald to explore uncharted territories.

"Let's do this!"

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Ivan hated life, Ivan hated everything, everything was the worst, why did he think doing this was a good idea? He was covered in sweat, his feet aching, and everything hurting as he finally stumbled out of the forest and into the clearing. Breathing heavily, the Terran bent over, leaning on his knees as Ivan tried to get the feeling back into his legs as he complained loudly.

"Why is there so much forest in this forest? I would like to speak to God's manager..."

"I found it rather delightful, unique." Scellestra responded as dryly as they could manage. "I would like to do that again."

"Besides Ivan, was not coming here your idea?" ODIN added, both AI teaming up to add insult to injury. "I would have thought the great to be dinosaur hunter would be fine with a short hike."

"Neither of you gets to talk, I have painful physical legs, you both just float or get carried!" Ivan wined, eventually standing back straight. "Could neither of you have told me that I was going in the wrong direction!"

What had supposed to have been a simple 7km walk had turned into nearly double that when Ivan, guiding the trio, had gotten lost. Reading a paper map was far harder than following GPS directions.

"I assumed that was normal Terran behaviour, a ritual to chaos. The way that you disregarded the markings on the map. As someone here to observe, it did not seem right to interrupt."