Chapter Four

I Have Good Eye-Sight, Insight, And Foresight

       One rather large specimen glided forward apart from the others. “MMMmmmAAAaaa,” it intoned.

       “I a-ain’t yer m-ma,” Charlie stuttered between shiverings. Suddenly Wingy floated out of his arms to a height of about a foot off the ground. Charlie joined him a moment later. He didn’t try to resist. He actually felt a bit relieved. These must be Wingy’s … people … he guessed must be the term. Thick blankets of what he now called ‘grass’ wrapped him and Wingy tightly, greatly reducing the wind’s knife edge. Then they were off. Where, he again didn’t have a clue, but at this point, anywhere was better than here.

       The small band of aliens made good progress. Charlie was positioned face up, so he couldn’t see the ground, but from the speed at which the boulders flew past, he could gage a fair guesstimate. Roughly an hour passed, though he couldn’t be sure as he was drifting in and out of consciousness, when they began to slow. The temperature climbed rapidly, and soon he was sweating under his impromptu blanket.

       They all came to a stop at the same time. Charlie was gently lowered to the ground, but Wingy floated further on. He looked around, and the place was practically lit up in the glow of a volcano that loomed up into the sky. There were pools of glowing lava of some sort everywhere. He reached up and flicked off his headlamp, and he could see fairly well. Might as well conserve on batteries. These are probably the only ones in a two hundred mile radius – and that’s only if his craft was still around. The large version of Wingy that he had seen back at the boulder approached him. At least, he thought that this was the same creature. It waved expansively at the town, or village or whatever it was and boomed, “PHEEEEELEEEEEEE!” It shuddered slightly and waited.

       “Phili?” Charlie asked. “Ok,” and he pointed to himself, “CHARRRRLEEEE,” he attempted to boom.

       It shuddered again and touched its own chest, “OOOOMMmm.” Then it glided close to Charlie, gently reached over and touched him and intoned formally, “CHARRRRLEEEE.”

       Charlie was flabbergasted. He had actually communicated with the alien. And it understood the concept of individual names and entities. “Glad to meet you OOOOMMmm,” and he smiled. Another smaller Phili glided up and handed OOOOMMmm a small vessel with liquid in it. The little one shuddered nearly uncontrollably. OOOOMMmm handed him the vessel. Charlie sniffed it. It smelled like water. He sat up straighter and reached into a lower pocket on his pants. His pants had eight pockets on the legs and two in the back. He had put testing equipment in one of them to test the liquid he had originally landed to inspect. He came out with a small, rectangular device and flipped a switch. Then he dipped his finger in the liquid and put a drop in a slot on the device. A light lit up green. Water! He flipped the tester off and shoved it back into his pocket. He gulped the water down gratefully. He was thirstier than he could ever remember being. OOOOMMmm 'watched' all of this with great interest. When Charlie finished drinking, he made a point of handing the vessel back to the little Phili. It took it from him, and then shuddered and made a squeaking sound. Then it turned and glided off in a hurry. Charlie laughed. “Kids!” He smiled at OOOOMMmm, and OOOOMMmm shuddered back. Then OOOOMMmm did something amazing.

       It reached into a pocket, Charlie did a double take. Yes it was a pocket. And it pulled something out. It was Charlie’s weapon. “Careful with that axe, Eugene,” he quoted nervously. But to his surprise, OOOOMMmm handed it to him.

       It slid back a few paces and loudly intoned, “ONNNNNNnnnnnnn!” Many of the Phili now approached. The sizes and skin tones were amazingly varied, although Charlie was beginning to suspect that they were wearing some sort of clothing or protective suits of some sort. About half of them were a light silver, but their colors went from blues to greens to reds. OOOOMMmm was sliver silver. Charlie figured by now that it was some sort of leader or higher up in whatever social structure that they used.

       One of the red Phili brought a large, bloated fruit or vegetable of some sort and placed it on the ground about fifteen yards from the gathering, or ONNNNNNnnnnnnn, if he understood the ONNNNNNnnnnnnn concept correctly. Well, Charlie thought, I guess they want a demonstration. He raised the pistol and aimed at the large whatever it was. On a hunch he yelled, “CAROOMMMmmm!” It had a satisfying effect on the crowd. They backed up another ten yards. He pulled the trigger. The bullet flew from the barrel accompanied by the customary bang of the black powder. The fruit exploded much like the monster had, spewing fruit guts everywhere, including all over himself and the Phili.

       They all scattered caroommmmming all over the place. All except OOOOMMmm. It had seen and heard the weapon at the boulder site. But it shuddered intensely all the same. “HOOMBA!” exclaimed the leader. “ONNNNNNnnnnnnn,” it boomed again. By ones and twos, the Phili gathered again.

       Again playing a hunch, Charlie walked over to the leader and handed the pistol back to it. It took it with great ceremony and reverence. It returned the weapon to its pocket. “HAAAAMm,” it said gently and placed its wiggly fingers on Charlie’s arm.

       “If that means ‘thanks,’ you’re welcome.”

       “LISSs,” it said and shuddered. It gestured to all of its clan and boomed very loudly and deeply resonant, “HAAAAMm.”

       “Oh,” Charlie said, with growing comprehension. “Friend? To everyone?” And then he imitated OOOOMMmm’s gesture to all of the aliens gathered there and boomed as best as he could, “HAAAAMm!” Under his breath his said, “And they all came back, shook my hand, and we had a great time on the Group W bench.”

       And they did. There was a wonderful feeling of camaraderie and kinship. And there was so much that he wanted to know. Like, how did they see with no eyes, and how did they do that gravity thing. But right now he wanted to know about Wingy, his little friend. And he didn’t know how to ask.

       He let himself be lead into the heart of the village, for it was at least that. Maybe bigger. He could see dwellings of all shapes and sizes. “Say, Dad,” he said to OOOOMMmm, “I don’t suppose you could tell me what happened to Wingy or how he’s doing? No? I didn’t really think so.”

       He began noticing the denizens in the streets. Well, they weren’t really streets, of course. But there were walk -- no, make that glide ways all around each domicile. The houses looked oddly similar in shape to the volcanoes, and they had no windows. There were grills, however, located all around the structures. Probably for fresh air more than anything.

       He could see maybe a hundred citizens aside from his little party of twenty. And the majority of them were much thinner and were by God wearing different outfits! The clothing covered them all over just like the suits, or uniforms that he had mistaken for skin on Wingy and the Welcome Gang. So how did they see if they were fully engulfed in their clothes? They obviously knew where everything around them was. Maybe they had other senses than what he knew of. Maybe sight was just as foreign a concept to them as whatever it was that they did was to him. Eventually he’d figure it out. He hoped.

       As they passed, the others stopped whatever it was that they were doing and shuddered as they passed. That was another thing that he had an inkling of what it meant, but didn’t really know. That shuddering. He’d seen it in many different situations, but it looked almost the same in each case to him. There was a huge variety of shapes and sizes of Phili. Just like the folks back home he thought. The little ones and the teeny tiny ones were the cutest. His heart really went out to them. And the little ones seemed the bravest, too. One little one in particular glided right up to him and reached up and took his hand. He held its little wriggly fingered hand very gently. A larger Phili dressed in a loose green one piece suit glided up and shuddered. He lightly scooted the little one toward it and quietly said, “HAAAAMm.”

       The other one hissed, “LISSs,” grabbed the little one’s hand and glided off. OOOOMMmm hissed at the mama, for that’s what Charlie thought that it must be, and shuddered violently. Ok, he could understand that. Individuals had individual feelings and opinions. He thought he understood it just fine. Most of them seemed to like or at least respect him as far as he could tell. Jeez, it seemed like he was guessing at just about everything, these days. But guessing was all he could do at this stage of the game.

       At last they came to a very large area that was clear of housing units. He figured that it must be some sort of town square or something, for there were about two hundred of the little aliens gathered here for this ONNNNNNnnnnnnn. And there, in the middle of the gathering, stood the S. S. Carter, his beloved space craft! It was Charlie’s turn to shudder with excitement. It took everything he had not to break into a run to check her out. He turned to OOOOMMmm and said, "Where did you find my little Sam?” The S. S. Carter didn’t stand for “Space Ship Carter.” It stood for “Stargate Sam Carter.” He had actually been in love with the actress, Amanda Tapping, that played Col. Samantha Carter on the Sci Fi series, Stargate SG1. Of course, he would never admit that in public. He grinned. As if the public would ever even see the craft. And he really disdained calling her a “ship.” It was much too boxy and RV looking to be a proper ship. A craft is what it was.

       The crowd parted as he and the leader approached. They strolled right up to the door, and Charlie stopped with his hand on the handle. He turned to OOOOMMmm and said, “Would you accompany me aboard, Sir?”

       “LAAAANnnhhhh,” OOOOMMmm said and hung back. It began to shudder slightly as if it was fighting mightily for control of its fear or uncertainty.

       “It’s ok, Dad. There’s nothing to be scared of in there.” Then he decided to try stringing together some alien concepts. “HOOMBA HAAAAMm.”

       OOOOMMmm glided forward, and Charlie could see it still shuddering, but it was down to a mild sort. He opened the door and the lights came on. There was a reaction from the crowd. Well, if they don’t see, then they must have a pretty damn good sense of heat or temperature change. He let down the steps and climbed in. OOOOMMmm glided up to the steps and stopped as if perplexed by them. “Can’t you just levitate I yourself in?” he asked. As if in answer, it turned to one of the Phili in the crowd.

       “LAAAANnnhhhh,” it nearly whispered. It was the first time that he had heard a whisper from a Phili. The other Phili glided up and the leader rose into the air and in through the door. It came to rest gently on the floor.

       What do I do now? Charlie thought. “If I take you out for a spin, are you going to be able to handle it?” he said out loud. He reach slowly over OOOOMMmm’s head and gently pulled the door closed. It did nothing but shudder a little. He sat in the control chair, flipped on the control switches and watched the alien for any signs of panic. “Well, I guess this is what you came aboard for. You really are brave, aren’t you OOOOMMmm?”

       At the sound of its name, it perked up and came closer to the front where Charlie sat. It made no move to take the passenger seat, so Charlie gripped the control stick. “HOOMBA HAAAAMm, OOOOMMmm.” He boomed as confidently as he could. The leader did seem to calm down a considerable amount at the sound of his words. He had never heard them say two words together, so he hoped that OOOOMMmm understood what he was trying to communicate. He figured a short trip to the other side of the town would be good for starters. He twisted the stick and gave it a little shove forward with a practiced ease. They were instantly over where the aliens had set him down when they had first entered the village.

       Much to its credit, the alien didn’t panic, but it did stand stock still. “ahhhd,” it said. It came over to Charlie and laid its hand on his leg. “ahhhd,” it boomed, louder this time.

       “Yes, it is a bit odd, isn’t it, Dad? But I know what you mean. You liked it, didn’t you? Come on now, be honest.” He patted the alien’s hand. OOOOMMmm didn’t move it, so he figured that it must be ok. “You want to go again? Someplace farther away? Alright, hold on to your seat!” Charlie twisted the stick and guided the craft smoothly a thousand feet into the air. He cranked up the powerful search light in the front began searching for the boulder where he had shot the monster. He cruised at altitude for a while, but he soon realized that it would be like trying to find oil in a bucket of pitch.

       Then he had an idea. He turned on the homing range finder, and touched a button. They were instantly transported there. Charlie grinned like a goose and climbed out of the chair. OOOOMMmm slid back to give him room. He saw that the little guy was vibrating like a cell phone in a movie house. He opened the door and stepped out. He went over, bent down, dug up his beacon, and shoved it into one of his many pockets. The alien was at the door seemingly in deep concentration. Charlie felt an odd sensation, as though some sort of force waves were probing him and the surroundings, like a sweeping radar only physical. He’s probing with gravity waves like a porpoise probes with sonar! And that’s how they see, too, I’ll bet! They have gravity sensors just like we have light sensors! Hmm. But why would their clothes be different colors if they can’t see? Unless the different colors have different weights. That’s it! Mystery solved! At least, it was solved as far as logic went. But he knew only too well that logic can sometimes just be an organized way of going wrong with confidence.

       Well, that was enough for now. He wanted to get back and try to find out about Wingy. Now that was a brave little alien! He came back to the doorway, and OOOOMMmm gave him room once more to slide by him. He shut the door on his way in and made his way to the control seat. The leader came with him this time without hesitation.

       The computer in the Carter had been keeping track of all of its movements, so Charlie merely had to type a few commands and they were flitted back to where they had started with the speed of the Universe. This time Charlie went to the back and brought out an ironing board for OOOOMMmm to use as a ramp. “Don’t even ask why I have an ironing board. Let’s just say it came with the joint.”

       He exited first and then laid the ramp for the leader. OOOOMMmm glided down the ramp nearly bursting with confidence, Charlie thought. The other Phili were vibrating and hooming and haaming like a crowd of cackling chickens. At least, that’s what it sounded like to him. The crowd quieted down, and the leader glided on through and away down the road with what looked like the original twenty in tow. He was watching it go when he felt a tugging at his elbow. He looked down and saw what he thought was the little Phili that had held his hand on the trip through town. It vibrated a little and then said in a tiny voice, “charrrrleeee.” It put its hand on its own chest and said, “Pea.” Then it turned and glided a little ways away. It turned and gestured the “follow me” gesture that he had first seen Wingy use. So he followed. How could he resist an alien named “Pea?”

       The crowd had pretty much broken up by then, probably taking their lead from OOOOMMmm. There were still a few Phili in the familiar uniforms around the Carter. Charlie wondered if they were guards, and if they were, what were they guarding against? Well time enough to ponder that later. He followed the little one into the village and hoped that he wouldn’t run in to the irate mama again. He wasn’t really comfortable dealing with anger in an otherwise friendly alien culture.

       He was lucky enough not to have to deal with it as they reached their apparent destination without incident. Pea entered a doorway, so Charlie followed it in. There was an alien with a bandage wrapped around its chest and wearing what looked like a skirt or kilt. It was lying on what looked to be a bed. Damn! There I go being wishy washy again. It’s a bed, Budrow. And in it was Wingy! He strode quickly over and knelt beside the bed. “MMMmmmAAAaaa, Wingy,” he said. His alien buddy vibrated weakly.

       “HAAAAMm, CHARRRRLEEEE,” it said.