You, Me, We Are All Mistakes

17. A PEACEFULNESS & PRIMACY OFFERING

CHAPTER 17
A PEACEFULNESS & PRIMACY OFFERING

The migrant ship cruised through the Andromeda galaxy towards the eastern edge of Laniakea. In its Refreshment Bay 2, Taroooc Funkshen Ten was under the table, taken by his cocktail towards a fugue of semi-consciousness. His rear and left frontal eye were closed. His wide brow squished his remaining frontal eye against a coarse flooring. Sennai sat alert with Dzkk and Duke at the table, yet now wished he was under the table with Taroooc.

"Don't look so concerned," said Dzkk, "it won't take long."

"Four billion people!"

"Not many," said Dzkk, "I can remember when four billion was a lot of people. But that's inflation for you."

Underneath the table Taroooc burped.

"So is that," observed Sennai.

"The population explosion across Laniakea does seem to be everywhere you look, Captain. Still, it's no surprise, it's such fun creating one."

Even though that sentence contained his favourite title prefix, Sennai was slowly trying to absorb the rest of Dzkk's meaning.

A painful jolt brought him back to actuality. Fingers gripped and wrenched his calf muscles as Taroooc attempted to raise himself back to his chair. His tunic fabric dug into the skin around his legs.

"Exactly who are these... four billion people and what is the job I've got to do for them?" challenged Sennai, as he kicked the clawing hand free.

"It's a planet," said Dzkk, "at the edge of the Supercluster." He smoothed the intricate feathers on his sleeve cuffs as a dull thud indicated Taroooc had decided the floor remained the best place for him.

"A planet?"

"Yes. A planet that is ripe."

"Ripe?"

"Ripe. Border patrol picked it up... on the migrant edge."

"Ripe as in juicy?"

"I see. I'm sorry Captain. You see ripe is All-Powerful induction jargon for a planet that is ready to join the Galactic Club, or more precisely, to be welcomed into the Supercluster Galactic Core. That is, a planet that has advanced enough, technologically speaking, it would not come as an immense culture shock to its inhabitants when they face up to their own naivety."

There was a natural pause as Dzkk let his words sink in. Meanwhile his companion Duke softly placed his water glass down silently onto the bar top. The whites of his knuckles showed from their stressed grip as his eyes intensely focused on this chicken-creature's words.

"Their naivety?" queried Sennai, finally.

"Yes, their naivety in believing that they are a people who are alone in the universe. You see, it is now well documented that discovering you are not alone can have a major impact on the gullible, the childlike, the unsophisticated. So, each planet welcomed into the Galactic Core must first develop a modicum of maturity."

A water glass was slammed on the table.

"Woah! Wo wo wo wo wo..." snapped in Duke, "Back this space truck up a bit here guys. Just a minute..."

The conversation stopped. He had their attention. There was another thud as Taroooc's head hit the floor again, this time much heavier.

"Okay, first, where am I?" demanded Duke.

"We can cover all of that..." began Dzkk.

"No! We'll cover it now. I've been too patient, too slow to process. Where am I chicken-man?"