The Quarry

[Rage Menelas]

[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]They stayed on Charlie's home world for a full fortnight, during which time Ryan had the chance to get quite a bit of sight-seeing done – constantly accompanied by his host of course.

Dalca'odge was a pretty planet, almost totally flat but covered with well-manicured gardens and groves nourished by deep, clear sparkling brooks. The latter, although obviously man-made, were quite lovely and a social nexus for the people. The word board-walk came to mind but he was assured that no wood went into the construction of the silver wharves that breasted many of the canals. These were fronted by various shops and boutiques and service-related businesses, which were always filled with throngs of shoppers.

The Dalcachenes, Charlie's folk, were all amiable and polite but the hardest thing to get used to was the way they dressed... or perhaps a better way of phrasing it was... didn't dress! ...for it seemed that clothing was simply an option with them; scant even when present.

Odder than that was Ryan's inability to distinguish the males from the females. For there were no sexual organs apparent on either. He didn't know what to think of it. And finally had to resort to asking his benefactor. (Hmm... he ruminated on that a moment, was he a benefactor or the opposite number...? He would save that judgment for later.)

“It is Dalca'odge. She takes and she gives as she sees fit.” Charlie had responded to his query about the ostensible lack of gender amongst his people.

Ryan looked sideways at his companion and grinned. “Oh... tell me there's more, O great philosopher of the stars...!”

Charlie chuckled, he was sincerely beginning to enjoy the Terran's quick wit. “Indeed... much more...” then he delved into the physical drawbacks of living on his planet. The powerful electromagnetic fields gave the Dalcachenes advanced learning aptitude, a heightened sense of awareness that made them better pilots, a greater memory and a stronger circulatory system. In exchange it took their ability to see colors, the majority of their physical strength, their tolerance for pain and their ability to reproduce naturally.

“Say what?!!” Ryan gasped involuntarily, his hand running down to his privates. “Hey... then where did all these people come from...?”

“They were manufactured in a reproduction facility... just as your test tube babies back on Earth,” he announced with smooth delivery, devoid of any sense of loss for the natural process. “The evolution into our present form took centuries, mind you... and don't worry, by-the-way, Dalca'odge only affects newborns. Adults are quite immune to her charms.”

Ryan allowed himself to breath, until that point hadn't really been aware that he had been holding his breath. “Good... nice to know...”

“In fact, there are several colonies of other humanoid races living on Dalca'odge. When they give birth they keep their babies in a specially insulated facility for the first two or three weeks. After that they are safe from any deleterious effects.

“Now you might wonder why we didn't do that ourselves. Well, the knowledge of what was happening to us came to my people too late. ... and while it caused a crisis for us in our distant past we were able to adapt nicely. The old, natural way seems quite alien to us now...” And he just rambled on as he was wont to do, like he had not just been talking about his goober shrinking and falling off!

Ryan shook his head. And just when you thought things could get no stranger...