Vashua's Messenger by Julie Rollins

Author:Julie Rollins [Rollins, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: science fiction
ISBN: 9780979641343
Publisher: Gyroscope Books
Published: 2012-04-21T22:00:00+00:00

11. Dah the Inefficient

Not knowing how much time he’d have, David spoke as fast as he could. He laid down the basics of the Great Revelation first, building quickly to encompass the privileges and moral responsibilities of a naharam.

From time to time, Dah-378 asked questions for clarification of David’s points, and after the first four pages, the mel ceased complaining about spiritual issues. His jointed fingers had no trouble keeping up with David’s fast monologue.

“So, humans don’t make the pursuit of knowledge, efficiency, and group cooperation their highest goals?” the mel-dijetara asked with twitching tentacles.

“Some do, but not most of them. The naharam find that kind of thinking empty, incomplete, without meaning.” Pacing, David thought of a crude illustration. “You make crullahs with specific purposes in mind—to travel through space and to fight. A crullah that can’t do those two things is defective. Naharam were made to fulfill specific purposes too.”

“To pursue knowledge, be efficient, and cooperate with the group,” the mel-dijetara recited.

“That is only a small part, Dah-378. Those are like the scanner, communications equipment, and cabin lights of a crullah. They’re nice to have, but not essential. If your ship’s weapons don’t work and the trelemar equipment malfunctions, what good is your crullah?”

“It would be useless, needing repair!”

“Dala, and that is how Yavana sees us when we don’t do what we’re designed to do.”

“Everything comes back to Yavana! You’re saying all my hard work and studies are meaningless?”

David peered into those compound eyes. “Without Yavana, yes. What is the purpose of studying the universe when you ignore its maker? Suppose you made some great scientific discovery. How long would the thrill last? Would it comfort you when you were lonely? Others might remember your fame long after you died, but what good would that be for you?

“We were made to have a relationship with Yavana, the creator of all the secrets of the universe. Without Him, our lives are like a crullah without a pilot, without guidance and purpose.

“Don’t you feel the futility of your life? Doesn’t the emptiness gnaw at you?”

The mel-dijetara scratched his nose in silence.

David winced, “I can’t read your face, you’ll have to tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I am reflecting on your information,” Dah-378 responded.

“And?” David prompted.

“It scares me.”

“Well, I have an empty feeling gnawing inside of me right now—I’m hungry!”

Dah-378 ordered food for David. The “meal” consisted of a square-shaped piece of spongy matter.

After testing it with Mojar’s instrument, David determined it was not poisonous. He bit into it.

“Boosah!” David cried. This was worse than Aunt Diana’s health food. “How can you eat this awful stuff?”

“Taste is irrelevant. The meal square is efficiently processed and will replenish the body’s needs,” Dah-378 recited like a computer.

Picking up a chunk of dried horlah, David offered the vegetable to his questioner. “Try this.”

The mel-dijetara reached hesitantly for the piece. “I have never consumed anything from another planet. Why are you offering it to me?”

“Because out of my own inefficient life, I want to give you something.”

Breaking off a morsel, Dah-378 tasted it.

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