Alex The Inventor - Chapter 10 (Pt. 2)

Chapters 1 - 10 can be read at: Deep Sky Stories & Illustrations

Chapter 10 (Part 2) - A Dream of Nethlins...

On each and every low mossy mound or hillock which dotted the land all around him Alex saw Martians. He could tell who they were by their tanned complexion which was slightly puffed out as an adaptation which enabled them to breathe better through pores of their skin. Their faces were ruddy from living in a colder, windswept environment and many of them were dressed in fur-trimmed buckskins which offered better warmth.

Colourfully designed beadwork was sown into their clothing which, when looked upon in such large numbers, gave one the sense of a constantly shifting and rippling sea of rainbow-coloured sand; but it was their hair though which was the most striking aspect of these people. The children's hair looked as Alex remembered Rainah's to be. Their shocking silver-white hair-quills danced and vibrated as though with a life of their own, capturing the feeble amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere of Mars.

The older children had longer hair which also changed in color as they grew older. There were some black headed ones, some brown, even a few reds dotted here and there but it was the adults who were the most magnificent. They were, with few exceptions, tall and fearsome looking, with their puffed out appearance making them seem even larger all round. The males were darker skinned in general and had stiffer, stronger looking hair-quills, with colors that had faded or grayed with age.

The females, however, had much longer manes of hair-quills which were also brightly coloured so that their hair gave off beautiful blends of cotton candy colours as they flourished. In this dream-vision, unfolding all around him, Alex could look at a certain group of Martian folk who were gathered on any given mound and would get an impression of their lives, the times they had lived in, and what they had accomplished in Mars' history.

They were an interesting kaleidoscope of characters, both commoners and Royals and no matter how young or old, rich or poor, they were all people who had strived to do something unique with their life. Without needing to know more, Alex knew, intuitively that what he was witnessing was the Martian people's history. He had, by sharing his Luss with Halden, opened up a real, living past history that was populated by all the fascinating, iconic people of Mars.

Then, without warning, and on a silent signal, all the Martian men, women, and children ceased whatever they were saying or doing among themselves. As one group, they all turned quietly and looked across the years at Alex. There was no threat in their gaze; rather there was a patient and expectant look from them which gave Alex the impression that they were waiting for him to do something.

Next: Chapter 11 (Part 1) - The Enemy Gathers

While Alex sleeps, a monster awakens in the scrapyard. It is a thick, purposeful-thinking thing that has crossed the void between planets with one simple, evil task in mind: to build a machine that will be at once beautiful in appearance and terrible in its power. And once finished, it shall be a beacon of cold fire for the Others to finally use.As of 2018-04-08, Chapter 10 (Part 2) can be read at: Deepskystories.com