The Majestic 311 by Keith C. Blackmore

Author:Keith C. Blackmore [Blackmore, Keith C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-13T06:00:00+00:00

A loud buzzing rattled the bank of controls, and the Vog herdsvog sleepily opened its horizontal eye stalks. Compound eyes located the flashing light upon one console jammed among an intricate wall of others, prompting the Vog herdsvog to draw a shallow breath through its neck gills. It thought-controlled its bunk to recess back into the wall, and the slab of metal rotated until it tipped eighty-five degrees, whereupon the creature stepped away. The Vog herdsvog was almost eight feet tall by human measurements, while its shoulders were three feet across. The Vog was bipedal, its arms and legs skeletal and lengthy, its torso no thicker than a grown man’s thigh.

The console light continued to flash, bouncing off chrome-colored flesh that appeared shrivelled and pocketed. The Vog herdsvog thought-manipulated a control, which opened a window in the air before its eye stalks. A flash of annoyance then, as a number of reports flared across the ethereal screen. A two-fingered hand rose to its mouth, a horizontal proboscis, and rubbed one side of the rigid extension. The proboscis equaled its eye stalks in length and was situated a few fingers directly beneath them. The Vog’s head was no bigger than, say, that of a human child in its middle years, and its chrome-colored flesh was otherwise featureless.

A crisp image of the bayak herds filled the center of the screen, complete with scrolling numerals and symbols. The Vog herder studied the information for a lethargic moment before dismissing it. The eye stalks parted then, in a display of surprise, before drawing close together. The proboscis beneath lifted, almost touching the Vog’s eye stalks and completing what could be interpreted as an angry or pensive expression.

In this case, it was a pensive thought.

A tube emerged from a nearby wall and floated toward the Vog herdsvog, stopping just before its face. It coupled with the Vog’s proboscis, and the creature took in the first of several feedings throughout the day. The Vog drank, slowly, ingesting both fluids and information, eye stalks wide and unwavering.

The screen flashed a group of alien lifeforms before the Vog, causing it to cease feeding in mid-stream. The Vog lifted its hand and split the two digits wide, enlarging the recorded images. It thought-pressed points of interest upon the screen, absorbing the finer details, documenting age, sex, body temperature, size, and height, as well as other biological readings of interest. The body fluids filling and comprising a significant percentage of the aliens’ overall mass greatly interested the Vog. The plasma was an enticing mixture of oxygen, proteins, and other nutrients both known and unknown.

This data was accurately gathered, as each figure passed through the energy field that separated the numerous bayak herds. An energy field that kept the bayaks within, yet took precise analytical readings of whatever had passed through, either by accident or intentionally.

The energy field was an exceptional analyzer as well as cage.

The Vog twirled a finger, and miniature images scrolled as directed. The alien lifeforms were inside a bayak ranch capsule, a multiple sleepaway unit used at night or heat of the day.

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