The Purple Planet
Space Traveler Fargone • Episode 4
New to Space traveler Fargone? Start at the beginning.
Em stood frozen with the glowing purple ball in her hand.
"What's wrong?" Em asked.
"You need to be careful about touching things. That could be a life form."
"This?"
"Not all life looks like Earth life. And it's glowing. It could be toxic."
Em dropped the ball.
"And now you might have killed it," I said.
"I did not. It is still glowing."
"Alright. Just don't pick anything up unless it looks safe."
"And how am I supposed to know if something looks safe?"
"Experience."
"Right. Exactly how long are you planning to keep up this space mentor mansplaining crap?"
"Until you learn. Or die."
"Great."
"There should be a lake to the west. Let's go take a look. If there is life here, that is where we are most likely to find it."
"Are you sure we want to find it?"
"That's why we came. To see what's here and report it. Don't you want to be the first Human to see a new species of life?"
"Not if it eats me."
I laughed. "I have no plans to get eaten. Stick with me."
We walked about 400 meters and arrived at the edge of a large lake. The water was deep blue. I took out a small sample container and collected a sample. Across the lake, low, rolling hills filled the horizon. It was a little hard to tell where the water ended and the purple vegetation began. I scanned the shoreline but didn't see anything that resembled an animal. Then I saw a ripple in the water. A large fin broke through the surface and cut through the water.
I pointed out the fin to Em. As we watched it move through the water, I felt the ground shake and heard a loud thumping noise. The noise repeated several times, and the vibrations increased. Then we saw it. A giant creature that looked like a Brontosaurus, except it had a horned head like a rhinoceros.
"Get down," I said quietly to Em. "Don't move."
We both crouched down.
The massive creature lumbered toward the lake. When it got to the shore, it stuck its head in the water and pulled out a large fish. The fish wiggled in the Bronto-rhino's mouth for a second, and then the Bronto-rhino raised its head, opened its mouth, and the fish disappeared down its throat.
"Cool," I said.
"Gross," Em replied.
The Bronto-rhino turned and started walking away from the lake. It stopped, raised its long tail, and pooped out a dozen glowing purple balls.
"Eww! I touched dinosaur poop," Em said a little too loudly.
The creature heard Em and turned in our direction. It opened its mouth, showing rows of jagged teeth, and let out a roar as loud as fifty lions.
There was a small grove of purple Bamboo-like trees about 25 meters away. I told Em to run for the trees. I didn't have to tell her twice; she took off. I was surprised at how fast she ran. I couldn't keep up. When we got to the trees, we made our way into a thick part of the grove and laid flat on the ground. I covered Em's mouth as the Bronto-rhino thrashed at the top of the trees with its head. Thankfully the trees bent but didn't break. And they were clumped together too thickly for the Bronto-rhino to see us. After a few minutes, the Bronto-rhino gave up and moved on.
We waited a good ten minutes for the Bronto-rhino footsteps to grow quieter and fade away. Then we jumped up and ran back to the ship.
Once we got inside, I looked at Em and said, "Would you like me to take you back to Earth now?"
"Are you kidding me? That was monumental! I was so scared I thought my heart was going to explode."
"What? I don't get you. When we arrived, you were terrified to leave the ship. Then we almost get eaten by a giant Bronto-rhino, and you think it's great?"
"Yeah. I've never felt so alive. Seriously, I've spent most of my life looking at screens. Living a fake, virtual life. This is real. I want more."
I shook my head, then fired up the ship and launched us back into space.
"Where to next?" Em asked.
"Nowhere, right now. I need to write my splog while it's fresh in my mind. Do you want to name the planet?"
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. We discovered it. We get to name it."
"That's epic. Let me think. It's mostly purple… Purple Rain."
"Come on. You can't name a planet after a song. That's too SpaceBooky."
"All right. How about Purpletonia?"
"Good enough. The ship will fly itself while I write my splog. You might want to go get something to eat. And bring me a burger, if you don't mind."
"I mind."
Good job empowering Em. I was starting to wonder if she was just a weak little woman who needed a man to save her.