Opi gets a talking to
Wisdom versus Youth?
A precursor to Geoff Nelder’s Opi’s World
In the far future when a small group of humans crashed onto a Kepler20 planet strange experiences happened as you might have read in ‘Suppose We’. If you didn’t there’s still time and it isn’t needed to enjoy the following conversation.
Gaston, a short, tubby French scientist talks to Opi, a slim young woman with long platinum hair. She is about 20 but no one really knows because Gaston and his wife, Em, thought she was an imaginary friend of their son, Adah, until one day they saw her following him out of a forest.
“Dear Gaston, I am not suggesting that YOU return to Earth.”
“Good, because it took me half a millennium to get away from it, albeit mostly sleeping. Mademoiselle Opi, even though the Kepler tech can get you to Earth in mere weeks, I urge you not to go.”
She pouted such beautiful lips. “But why not? I have the urge to see the land of my forefather even if you adopted me.”
Gaston harrumphed then smiled as his nose caught a waft of the lemon Opi always exuded even though there were no lemons on the planet. “We left the planet in a mess of its own making. Coastal flooding, storms, devastating plague after plague, corruption, rampant piracy, awful, especially compared to the paradise we have here.”
“More exciting you mean. Paradise can be dull, my Gaston.”
He wagged a finger. “Methinks you have alternative motives. Something to do with those experimental squidgy little creatures, the keeps.”
She threw him her most disarming smile. “No harm can happen, surely, Gaston. They’re so small and they are herbivores.”
“So is the Yersinia Pestis plague bacteria, yet it killed billions.”
She produced three shrimp-like wrigglies from her yellow pinafore dress pocket and kissed them. “Not these harmless keeps. You know that put at least three of them together like this, they have a hive mind.”
Gaston frowned. “Do they speak to you?”
“Of course. You don’t hear them, do you? It takes empath ability as well as fine tuning. Half of their DNA came from Earth. It’s time for them to go home.”
Gaston passed a hand over them. “Mes amis, but there will be trouble. They multiply out of control. You shouldn’t go, or not with them.”
“You thought I was an imaginary friend of your son, Adah, didn’t you? And perhaps I was until something these creatures did together in that forest in an eldritch moment. I have to go to Earth, Gaston. Wish me well.”
He grunted his good wishes though Earth needed those wishes more.
##
What happens when Opi reaches Earth? Find out in Opi’s World.
Art for the cover of Opi’s World is by Kevin Haylett, a retired surgeon, fellow cyclist and a horologist.
The accompanying image that is quite close to the Opi I have in mind is by a German artist, J. Niehus. Permissions granted.
The whole series links here:-
Suppose We -science fiction space exploration https://mybook.to/SupposeWe
Falling Up https://mybook.to/FallingUP
Kepler’s Son https://mybook.to/KeplersSon
Vanished Earth https://mybook.to/VEKindle
Opi’s World https://mybook.to/OPIKindle
Geoff’s website:
https://geoffnelder.com
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