Oleyouryk, a young and naive grounds-keeper from a distant and dismal planet, is captured in a slaving raid by rouge agents of the Fortieth Greymarket Imperium. Unknown to himself, the reader, and any of the other characters in the drama, Oleyouyrk possesses a powerful mystical ability to change space and time. Will he learn how to use it before it is too late for himself and the galaxy?
Have you found the orange “star” button on this page yet?
Chapter Twelve:
The dropship gleamed dully in the twin moonlight of Macrocystis and Nereocystis. The former was rising as the latter set, and the larger was overlapped slightly by the smaller. A thin bright band of sharp light curved across the horizon, indicating the extensive urban complexes of the northern reaches, but in Dullsville there was nobody to be seen for miles.
Did you bother looking up the word Macrocystis? Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it. It actually is the name for a monospecific genus of kelp (large brown algae). This genus contains the largest of all the phaeophyceae or brown algae.THat’s accoeding to Wikipedia! And what is Nereocystis? Nereocystis (Greek for “mermaid’s bladder”) is a monotypic genus of subtidal kelp containing the species Nereocystis luetkeana. Again according to Wikipedia. Do you think the writer of this little snippet of space fantasy was a biology major or just opened up a book on kelp and randomly chose some different genus names for his two moons?
I have often wondered how scientists name things. Well, it turns out that they use a two-name system called a Binomial Naming System. Scientists name animals and plants using the system that describes the genus and species of the organism. The first word is the genus and the second is the species. Which leads me to wondering how drugs are named. Apparently many pharmaceutical names are assigned according to a scheme in which specific syllables in the drug name (called stems) to convey information about the chemical structure, action, or indication of the drug.
So take for example Baclafen. Baclofen belongs to a class of drugs called Skeletal Muscle Relaxants. It is FDA approved to treat the symptoms of spasticity from multiple sclerosis, in particularity for the relief of spasms and concomitant pain, clonus, and muscular rigidity. However in France and other countries it has been approved as an anti craving medication that helps people with AUD. It’s not approved by the FDA in the US for that purpose, but doctors a prescribing it off label nevertheless. I learned about Baclofen treatments to help people change their dependent relationship with alcohol at an online site called LifeBac when my uncle finally decided his drinking habits were spiraling out of control. He had tried AA in the past and hated its rigidity. LifeBac is not a rehab or treatment clinic, but a compilation of modern, science-based tools to empower people not just to avoid the downward spiral, but to better themselves and their relationships permanently. Their moto is Take control of your drinking today before it’s too late!. Apparently Baclofen removes or strongly suppresses cravings for alcohol in 92% of people. These strong cravings are the #1 reason people have difficulty cutting back or quitting drinking. AH, but I digress.
Back to the space fantasy snippet below. And don’t forget to find the orange star button!
Yet Captera knew that worker drones were getting very busy indeed in the infrastructure bunkers, disconnecting their receptor armatures from the online casino USA that kept them docile during pre-docking periods. She shuddered slightly, remembering the slithering bodies drifting by her in the cramped quarters, yet as silent as the grave.
No time for reverie, she inwardly scolded herself as she unhooked the restraining harness and deftly slid to the docking ledge at the foot of the compartment. The cabin pulsed with the scarlet online slots klaxon, a safety measure required but completely against her own good judgement. With a shrug, she buckled her blaster holster into her form-fitting depressurization jumpsuit and made her way awkwardly through the littered corridor.
Tanks of smellies lined the walls, slack faces gaping mindlessly at her. The sight had troubled her sleep for weeks when she’d been a mere midshipman, but constant exposure eventually inured her to the point where she barely noticed them. Today, however, was different.
Captera didn’t even realize that she’d stopped until the moisture from the walkway began to seep into her stockings. Her head slowly swiveled to the right, her mind dimly cautioning her that she might not be prepared for what had arrested her advance simply via peripheral vision…
On such a long voyage there are always hurdles to overcome but this one in particular was especially hard to swallow. As she slowly turned her gaze upon the problem at hand it hit her like a ton of bricks. How was this ship to maintain composure with no captain. There he was sealed into his jump tube still frozen with the same peaceful expression on his face he had when he was sealed in. It was probably better that way. Who would want to be woken up from such a deep sleep only to realize you were going to be suffocated by a malfunctioning piece of machinery which would have long ago been changed out by corporate if they were not so cheap!