Tomorrow's Paradise World: Colonize Read Online Free PDF Page A

was never attempting to boss Victor around or treating him as a subordinate inferior. His impression was that Taerg viewed him as his equal. Victor liked this. Finally a friend he could talk face to face with, without authority getting in the way. He felt grateful. Taerg had saved his life, when he pulled him from the wreckage. He would always remember this and feel indebted to him for it.
    His leg felt a lot better now. The bruise was fading and the wound showed no signs of infection. Taerg had explained that if he was feeling well enough to travel, they would walk to his uncle’s place in a small village that was only a few miles distant. He agreed that he was now capable of making such a journey. He still used his walking stick for support, although he knew that soon he would not need it. The gravity here was a fair bit more than he was used to, even more than on Homeworld. Nonetheless, he knew that his muscles would strengthen and he would adapt gradually to this new environment.
    It was mid-afternoon when they approached the village bordering the marshland. Victor noticed the young children staring at him as they entered the village. He made a funny face and they ran away, only to return and follow at a distance.
    “They think you look different,” said Taerg, “like a thin sick man with yellow eyes.”
    Victor laughed and said, “I never could fit in with the crowd.”
    “You are too smart to go along with the crowd anyway, so you might as well not fit in with it.”
    “I suppose that’s a good way to look at it.”
    “Yes, you look good. Don’t worry Victoor.”
    Victor chuckled and shook his head.” Taerg just smiled back.
    “Here we are,” said Taerg, “my uncle's place is that one.”
    This village had a large central building that Victor surmised was for meetings. The houses –each with a yard and garden all branched off from this central building. With some minor differences, everyone here essentially looked the same. Victor noticed that they were very muscular. The females and the males both had broad shoulders and thicker chests. They were shorter than he was, but not overly so.
    Taerg’s uncle did not look much older than Taerg himself. He was friendly like Taerg, although a little more serious. This was probably due to his responsibilities in the village. His name was Dnarg Yrautcnas. After greetings, the first question Dnarg asked was, “Where do you come from?” Given the circumstances, this was a difficult question for Victor to answer. So, he gave him an answer that would be more easily accepted.
    “I come from a land far away. I am from a people you do not know.”
    This answer was also hard for them to accept, for the reason that they did not think such a people existed. All of their villages were connected by paths or rivers. There was regular communication between them. They had confused looks on their faces when he told them this. On the other hand, it was better than the looks of total disbelief he would get from telling them the exact truth. From his experience with Taerg, everything off planet was vague. The sun was the sun. The moon was the moon. No other details were needed other than their relative positions during the day and night for timekeeping purposes. How do you tell a people like this that you’re from another planet? They would not even understand what another planet was. Taerg thought that the shuttle he crashed in was a building. This was the predicament he was in. So, he decided he would gradually teach his new friend Taerg, some astronomy. Just the basics at first. He would start with their solar system, by explaining simply how it worked. Then he would branch out from there. Taerg was patient and eager to learn new things. He would be a good student. They would begin tomorrow, as he too learned about their village life.
    He was hospitably treated as a guest at Taerg’s uncle’s place. They even gave him a small room to stay in. As Victor got ready for bed he