Vacation on Planet Out Tha

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. That is no longer true. This theory, that was once spouted as fact, had been disproved millenniums ago. As technology advanced it was discovered that though dark matter was not visible to human eyes it did interact more easily with sound. This discovery led to the creation of instruments capable of detecting sound transferred through dark matter. Now that that bit of scientific fluff is out of the way. Let’s discuss why we are talking about hearing screams in space.

I am out taking a leisurely drive, trying to wind down from a stressful week at work. I finally have some time just to myself. As I was cruising along, I heard a blood curdling scream. As I am an off-duty emergency responder, it is my natural reaction to investigate any signs of distress. This scream is the type that shook me to the roots of my soul. It is coming from the direction of the nearby planet Out Tha.

Out Tha is a beautiful, peaceful planet. It is a vacation resort destination. Out Tha has gorgeous purple trees that sparkle, and the ground is covered in a lush velvety moss that does not crush when you step on it. It also has sparkling lakes and waterfalls of various colors. The sparkle is not part of the trees and water sources but made up of a separate living material that is intertwined. They are symbiotic, and though separate, cannot live apart from each other. People go there to relax, unwind, and clear their heads. I happen to be on my way there for a weeklong stay. I am coming from Planet 12.73 where I live and work. I was taking my time getting there, enjoying the scenery but I have now picked up my pace. What would have taken me about two hours will now only take me another 20 minutes as I have given up the scenic route and am taking every short cut available.

Soon, I can see the sparkly clouds surrounding Out Tha. I notice that it seems slightly blurry in the distance. As I enter the atmosphere, the screams have gotten less frequent but noticeably louder. The sound is making it necessary to correct my navigation a bit because the shrieks are so intense that the sound waves can be felt and are causing strong winds. I have landed and see that some of the trees are leaning, and the water is splashing quite vigorously. There is that scream again. I cover my ears, which does not help at all. I get to my lodging and ask what is happening? It is explained to me that this phenomenon occurs every thousand years when the planet expands. It is not the citizens screaming, it is the planet itself. All the vegetation, land, and even the water screech as if in pain from growing.

I tell the concierge, Rayden, that I am scheduled to be here all week for vacation and ask should I reschedule. Rayden assures me that all of this has been taken into consideration, and everything is safe for the guests. The guests will be required to stay inside the resort from sundown this night to sundown the next night. The resort has been sound proofed and reinforced to withstand the shaking. In addition, the buildings will also stretch where necessary, all very seamlessly so that the guests hardly notice. The transformation of the planet will only take one full day. After that, the screaming and shaking of the planet will subside and almost everything will go back to “normal”. After it is safe to go outside again it will be evident that things have changed. There will be larger patches of land, and many more trees and water sources. All the new parts of the planet will be marked by radically different colors. New patches of land will be identifiable by bright yellows and blues instead of the usual purples and greens. New water sources will be shades of orange and pale pink as opposed to sparkly dark blue and shimmering violet. The new trees will be transparent hues of gray, brown, and gold in contrast to the expected purple, white, and onyx. Also, the trails will be longer, the mountains will be higher, which will make the valleys deeper. The whole planet will have undergone an extensive makeover.

I am now very excited instead of fearful. All the shaking and noise is in preparation for something wonderful and new. Though I have traveled space extensively and have been to many planets in this galaxy and others I have never experienced anything quite like this. I can hardly sleep, but fatigue takes over and I pass out.

I bolt awake and it is the new day. I can barely contain myself long enough to shower, get dressed and eat. I want to venture out to take in all the changes. After I gulp down breakfast, I bound outside. With all the newness the atmosphere smells fresher and more fragrant. It is as if I can taste the air. If I thought the planet was beautiful before I now have no words to express the amazing differences before me. I am in awe. I am running from place to place recording the exquisite new realm. As I am taking all this in, I start to notice something that I was not informed of. I feel heavier and am tiring much faster. It is a good thing that I ate breakfast before coming out. I will need as much energy as I can dredge up to get back to the resort. My feet feel like I have on lead boots. I have explored alone and have no one to help me return. I am in danger of dying in this beautiful place before I can get to safety. It takes me nearly an hour to traverse the route back to the resort. It had only taken me about fifteen minutes to get to where I had gotten to coming from the resort.

As I enter the front of the building, Rayden is waiting for me. Expecting me to be quite drained, Rayden has an infusion that will revive me. I am quite grateful. I make a mental note to give Rayden a substantial tip before I check out. He informs me that I went outside before going to the meeting for the guests that would educate us on how to navigate the surroundings with the changes. I had almost died trying to come back. In my excitement and haste I had ignored all the signs and notices telling the guests not to leave without first being told about how the changes would affect us. Thankfully I have managed to get safely back without encountering some of the animals’ new behaviors that are being explained as I sit in the back of the meeting. Also, there is information about needing a different kind of fuel to leave the planet as our vehicles will need more power to break the stronger gravitational pull. We are advised not to go out alone. Guides have been made available to those of us who are traveling solo. Instructions are blatantly clear that we should only observe the surroundings after sundown from the security of the windows in our rooms which have been equipped with binoculars, telescopes, and drones. It is understood that it will be tempting to go outside after dark because the new lands and other things have a glow instead of the familiar sparkle and shimmer that the planet was known for before the expansion. I am so glad that I chose to come here at this time. I think that I am going to have a greater adventure than I have packed for.