MENTAL ESSENCE
PAGE 32

    There was a moment of silence.  Then the crew looked at each other.  They all had the look of astonishment.
     "I was not fooled for a second," said Emerr.
First Cree began to laugh, then Semma, then the rest.  The laughter became very fervent, probably because of the emotionally devastating events at the fuel depot.    
    "Cannibals.  That is funny all by itself," said MB.
    "You can bet I'll have fun with the cannibal story myself," said Emerr.
    "I'm drained to the bone.  I put the ship on auto pilot.  I need a to sleep for ten years," said Hiret.
    "Me to," Cree added.
Soon the crew was in a deep excited, sleep.
    While the crew slept, Trent searched for signs of the Barkazians, and information about the planet star collision. 
    Emerr was the first to wake.
    "Trent my lad, has there been anything important happen?" Emerr asked.
    "Not a lot.  The Barkazian nation was devastated by a virus.  After the disease had died out, the few survivors began to raid their neighbors for food.  They justified their actions because nobody would help during the pandemic, or after for that matter.  That was several hundred years ago.  The planet star collision is in three days.  There are thousands of transports already there with many times that number on their way.  We still need transport fuel, and the food for you organics will run out in a few days," Trent reported.
    MB was the last to awake.
    "I feel like a new person that aged a hundred years in one day," MB said.
    "There is a planet about two days journey at maximum velocity which may have provisions," Trent said.
    "No choice.  Head out," Hiret ordered.
    After a few more days in that small transport on the way to Wrontia, the crew was egger to disembark and take in the sights.
    "There are so many others stopping here for previsions we may not make it to the collision sight in time," said Hiret after taking to the flight agent directing the sudden influx of unexpected traffic.
    The crew spent an entire day milling around the depot talking to some vary interesting beings, and some not so interesting.
    "Cree!  Wait up.  I just talked to some beings from the Osat system.  When I said, I was from Loma Dena they immediately asked me if I knew of a being called Trent.  When I asked why, they said they had herd that the Ree had caught a being that has all the knowledge in the universe, put it in a box, and named it Trent," said Hiret.
    "You hear that, Trent?  We will have to come up with a way to introduce you to all the other beings out there.  In addition, it must be in a way that they can comprehend your present circumstance without reading a bunch of superstitions or some such nonsense into it," Cree said with note of exacerbation.
    "How about we tout me a deity, and wind up owning the universe?" Trent joked.
    "I'm for that, providing I get the Oluni Toopa galaxy," said Emerr.
    "Just like you, pick the crappy one," Semma said in rebuke.
    "What's wrong with the Oluni Toopa galaxy?" replied Emerr.
    "Everyone knows that all dumb ideas come from there!" said Semma.
    "That explains your relatives," Emerr said.
    MB interrupted.  "There could be some advantages in misconceptions about Trents existence, but I'll bet in the long run it will be best to have kept everyone up dated with the facts."
    "I agreed with somebody once just so I would not have to talk with them anymore.  Unfortunately, that starts even more annoying conversations, with even more determined undesirable beings," said Cree.
    "So, I should stop talking to her relatives," joked Emerr.
    "No.  They should stop talking to you." scowled Semma.
    Two days later the crew was at the collision site.
    "There's bound to be a lot of accidents out here.  Look at all those transports.  There must be a hundred thousand of them," Hiret said.
    "At least that many.  Look at the way they're piloting those things," said MB.
    "If I could feel, I'd say I just had a chill run up the spine I don't have.  Why is that?" Trent asked.
    "Common sense," Emerr replied.
    "There's a lot of plasma plowing off the planet.  What's is called anyway?" asked MB.
    "I don't recall any one saying.  Perhaps I should ask around," Hiret moved to the monitor.
    "Why would so much plasma be blown off like that?  I'd think the phenomenon would be just the opposite," said Emerr.
    "The radiant heat from the star is moving outward.  As it doe's so, it burns the planet as a fuel source," Trent answered.
    "Oh.  That makes sense.  How long before the collision takes place?" Semma asked.
    "It will not take place.  The planet will continue being reduced to plasma and plowen away from the star.  If you notice on the monitor, the planet is almost half gone, and it is still more then a million miles from the surface of the star," Trent explained.
    "You mean to tell me we came all this way for nothing?" Semma said with a note of anger to his voice.
    "Not exactly.  We were briefly terrified by a youth with a vivid imagination concerning cannibals.  Plus be left that awful nasty Minn beach.  Somebody kill me know," spouted Emerr.
    Semma looked piercingly in Emerr direction.
    "Who's up for the dinosaur planet?" asked Cree.
    With a unanimous vote of let's go, they were off and away.