Farland, David - Serpent Catch 01 - Spirit Walker by Farland David

Author:Farland, David [Farland, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adventure, High Tech, Hard Science Fiction
Publisher: WordFire Press
Published: 2014-05-02T04:00:00+00:00

That night, as they sat around the fire eating kabobs barbecued over the fire, Phylomon said, “I once knew another man named Scandal.”

“Really?” Scandal asked. “It’s not a common name.”

“Ayaah. He was a recluse living in the marshes down in Beckley, named Jessoth Scandal.”

“My great-grandfather!” Scandal said in astonishment. “My dad spoke fondly of him. I even have some of his recipes.”

“I thought so,” Phylomon said. “He was like you—a self-styled gourmet. But he had a fondness for reptiles. He used to keep alligators in a pit. He’d feed them only skunk meat for a month before he butchered them. Claimed it gave them better flavor.”

“Did he?” Scandal asked. His eyes grew round with dismay—quite a feat considering the fleshy folds that nearly covered them.

Phylomon looked over at Tull and winked, then got up and walked out into the meadow with his plate in hand. The sun was going down, and the shadows deepening to purple, but the sky was still light enough to see by. The crickets began their shrill, thrumming music, and the evening smell of warm soil filled the air.

The first stars would soon be “striking their campfires,” as the Pwi said, and Freya floated pale blue over the trees. Phylomon touched one of the medallions hanging from his necklace, stroked it softly. It brightened like a lantern. He held the medallion up and thumped it with his finger. Three bright flashes fired. Phylomon closed his fist over the medallion. The flesh of his hands glowed purple, showing each long bone in his fingers.

Tull came over. “What is that?” he asked, nodding at the necklace.

“A photo-converter. Part of an old lighting system,” Phylomon said, not sure how much to answer. With sixty years of training Tull might master Hegled’s Theory of Charmed Plasmatic Flow and its Effects on Spin and Shell Mutability, then he could understand the photo-converters, perhaps. He might even comprehend the deeper meanings of the theory—that to travel at the speed of light, a man must become light; that to travel at the speed of a tachyon, man must become a tachyon. Yet he’d never gain the technology to implement these concepts, not in a thousand years.

Phylomon explained the photo-converter. “Around us in the air are many tiny particles that pass through us at high speeds, like stones too small to see. When the crystal is compressed, the particles pass through a zone where their spin and speed are changed, and they emit light.

“Now that we are on our journey, I will use this light to call to the Creators. It is their job to care for the plants and animals of this world. If we can contact them, warn them that the eco-barrier is down, they can give birth to some new serpents and restock them.” Phylomon watched Tull a moment to see if he understood. Many Pwi regarded the Creators as mere legend, beasts of myth. “Perhaps, added to the serpents we catch, it will be enough to rebuild the eco-barrier.”

“Do you think a Creator saw that? Will it come now?”

“I don’t know,” Phylomon said.

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