#17 Maintenance Dome Pass

About halfway to Dome 7 Kenom’s shuttle was flagged down by a Verton workman. He was told that there was work being done on the tunnel and that there would be a few minutes delay. Kenom gave a look of frustration but nodded in the affirmative. While he was waiting he couldn’t help but notice that the Verton’s left arm was inoperative. Finally his curiosity got the best of him and he asked the workman, whose number was 45, “I see your arm is down, why you don’t replace it?”

The Verton looked at him for a moment and realizing he was a HighLEB Zimmnilian told him that he had been waiting for a replacement but that there was none available at the moment. He went on to say that the reason that the tunnels are in such bad shape is that most of the workmen are disabled because of broken or damaged body parts. You must be joking,” said Kenom in amazement, “there are replacement electro parts in abundance over the Central dome..I saw them myself. They are Z501 body parts but they can easily be retrofitted to your K730 units can they not?’ “Sure,” replied the workman, “we use old discarded Zimmnil body parts all the time, that is, when we find can them. We have a few men working over at the recycling center just to scavenge discarded Zimmnil body parts. We are able fix them up and reuse them most of the time, but there are never enough. The Xceptors manage to get most of the used bodies before we do; they pay good money for them.

Kenom just looked at the Verton in amazement. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Finally he said, “Do they know about this over at Central dome?” “I doubt it,” he said, there hasn’t been a Zimmnilion over at the maintenance dome in over twelve war seasons. They just don’t care about us, we are the, “forgotten people”…no one cares about us Vertons here on OB…We just work the tunnels and that’s about it. If we don’t work the Flextons will shut us down by cutting off power to our dome and we need it to recharge and keep our brains alive. The Flextoids are supposed to take care of us but they spend all their wealth on parties and other luxuries. There is nothing we can do; we have no voice here in the dome.”

When the track work was finished and he was allowed to continue Kenom tried to assure the Verton that he would do something to correct the situation. As he slowly pulled out Kenom told #45 that he personally would talk to someone about this matter.

After pondering the situation Kenom decided he would make this tunnel problem his little project. He thought the experience of working with the Vertons, the Flextons and the Zimmnil Patrolmen to solve this problem would be a good way to hone his diplomatic skills. He really didn’t think there was much of a problem; he thought it was more of a lack of communication. With that in mind he laid out a plan.

The first thing he planned to do was to go over to the Verton’s Maintaince Dome and see for himself if things were as bad as # 45 said they were. He could not confront Flexmaster Lector in dome #7 if he didn’t know firsthand what needed to be done.

The entrance tunnel to the Maintanance dome was half way between Mini-dome F and patrol dome 7. As he approached he could see that there was a small guardhouse blocking the entrance. It was manned by a Flectoid Sportsman.

Kenom stopped his module and went over to the guard who was reading a magazine. Excuse me, my name is Patrolman Kenom, he said, I would like access to the maintenance dome please.” The guard looked up from his magazine and said rather gruffly,” Do you have a pass?” “Well no,“ replied Kenom,” do I need a pass?” “You do if you want to go to the Maintenance dome. No one gets passed this point without a pass.” Then, glancing over at the module Kenom was driving, he added, ”…specially you Mini-dome guys.”

Kenom was not amused by the treatment he was getting, but he controlled himself. Apparently these sport guys don’t know the Zimmnil LEB rating system he thought because he didn’t recognize his high LEBers uniform, or perhaps he did but didn’t care. He asked where he could obtain a pass and was told to go to Dome 7. “And who do I see?” he inquired,. “I don’t know…ask around.” was the curt reply as the sportsman went back to reading his magazine. Kenom said nothing. He got back into his module and took off for Patrol dome 7.

Patrol dome 7 was occupied by a Flexmaster Lector but run by a sport Flexlord named Gleen who was a sport fanatic. All the FlexLords and FlexMen were large low LEB athletic types with more than a little arrogance in their walk. Unlike Flexmaster Tsubo’s lavishly decorated dome Flexmaster Gleen’s dome was painted grey so it looked very drab in comparison. The walls were covered with all sorts of sporting awards.

As he entered Kenom could see that they had been partying for some time as they were all more or less in a drunken stupor. They had won almost every prize at the recent sport competition so he assumed they were still celebrating. He walked up to a desk where a big Flexlord was sitting and asked, “I would like to get a pass to the Maintenance dome, whom do I see?” The Lord scarcely acknowledged him and replied, “What for?”

“That’s no concern of yours.” said Kenom losing patience. “No one from the Mini-domes is allowed in the Maintenance-domes,” was his short reply. “Is that a fact” responded Kenom. “Yes it is.” answered the Flexlord as his eyes returned to the magazine he was holding. “May I use your voice transfer?,” asked Kenom. The Flexlord didn’t look up he just pushed the voice transfer in Kenom’s direction. Kenom paused a moment, gathered himself, and picked up the voice transfer.

#18 The Vertons

After being refused a pass to the Maintenance Dome Kenom asked for a voice transfer into which he pushed some numbers. He waited a moment then said, “May I speak to the Special Patrolman Dorn in Dome Security please, this is Patrolman Kenom speaking.” The Flexlord glanced up from his magazine when he heard the word “Dome Security“, but continued to read his magazine.

“Hello, Patrolman Dorn?, this is Patrolman Kenom,……. fine thank you sir, I called because I am over here in Patroldome 7 and I am trying to get a pass to visit the Maintenance dome,…yes that’s right…. but the Flexlord on duty“, ….turning to the Lord…“what is your name sir?”..The Lord had now put down his magazine and was sitting up in his chair thinking he may just have gotten himself in a bit of a jam…“Flexlord Lunt” he said. “Flexlord Lunt tells me that Zimmnil patrolman are not allowed to go there…..Yes of course..” Kenom handed the voice transfer over to Flexlord Lunt and said, “Special Patrolman Dorn would like a word with you” The Flexlord stood up at attention, took the voice transfer. “Yes sir….yes sir….yes sir…right away sir…yes sir…I understand sir..right away sir”

Flexlord Lunt hung up the voice transfer and quickly pulled a pass from his desk. He filled it out and handed it to Kenom. “Sorry sir,” he said, “Here is your pass.” Kenom gave the Lord a stern look, took the pass and returned to is module. This may turn out to be more difficult than I thought he said to himself as he rolled down the tunnel.

When he arrived back at the maintenance tunnel guard station, the guard was standing smartly at attention. “Please proceed.” he said not even bothering to look at Kenom’s pass. Apparently word travels fast around here Kenom thought to himself. As he continued down the tunnel it got darker and darker. It had a rather eerie feeling about it. When he arrived at the entrance to the dome he got out of his module and slowly walked into the dome. He was appalled at what he saw. The floor was littered with electro-parts. The walls and ceiling of the dome were all covered with organic mold, - the smell was stifling. Vertons were setting or laying around in all sorts of disrepair, some with no Flextose covering at all. Many had inoperable body parts, legs, arms, feet, hands, -it was appalling. The Vertons looked at him as if they had never seen a Zimtel patrolman before. They said nothing, just stared.

Suddenly a voice came out of a small room to his left. "Hello there, aren't you the guy from the module I met on tunnel #3?" It was the Verton #45. "Yes, it's me, Patrolman Kenom, from Mini-dome C." "I can't believe you actually came out here," said #45, "how did you ever get by the guard?" "Never mind that, what is going on in here? Why is this place in such a mess?" "I am so sorry you have to see us this way," replied 45, "if we had known you were coming we....." "This is appalling," interrupted Kenom, "who is responsible for this? Who is in command?" "Well," said 45, "no one is actually in command here, we get our work orders from Patrol Dome #7.... Flecklord Gleen, he's in charge over there." "Yes, go on." said Kenom. "Well, one of his Flecklords tells us what needs to be done and we do our best to get it done. That's about it."

"But does Master Lector know what condition your dome and your workers are in?" "Well,..I guess not...well.. maybe...I don't know,.. we have to conceal the fact that we are electro people you know. We have to pretend to be organic, ...you know... we more or less stay out of sight, and don't complain to anyone." "But how about the Zimtels, certainly they know you are electro people, why haven't you asked them for help?" "We’re not allowed into Central Dome. I don't think the Zimtellions ever give us a thought, except when some tunnel track is down and they miss an appointment or something. Then they have the Flecktons get after us. We tried to get help from them a few war seasons ago, and they'll send us some used body parts now and then, but as a rule, they do very little. ... it's complicated.....you know....politics. We do the best we can with what we've got." "Well I think it is an outrage," said Kenom, "no electro-people should be treated in this fashion. Tell me, what is your most pressing need?" "Well," said 45, "what we really need is a couple of generators ours broke down six war seasons ago. We get all our power now from Dome #7. As you know, our electro bodies need a lot of power for regeneration. Flexlord Glenn keeps cutting down on our power. He says, "Work harder and you will get more power." But how can we work harder without enough power?. If we had enough power we could get our body-rebuilding department going again,... we would be able to work much better, and certainly look much better too, that's for sure."

"Do they have any generators in dome #7?" asked Kenom. "They say they don't, but we have seen them, they have a lot of them in their supply department. They use them to run their sport training facility." "That's unbelievable," said Kenom, "I intend to report this to matter to Dome Security over at Central Dome Headquarters at once." "That would be most appreciated." said 45. "I'll do what I can for you," said Kenom, "you have my word on it." 45 smiled and said, "You're very kind to go out of your way for us."

#19 Priority Patrolman

Kenom headed straight for the Central Dome and went to Major Finon’s office. He told The Major what had transpired. Finon acted surprised and said, "If that is the case, it is a disgraceful condition, wait here, I will talk to the Commander." Major Finon went into the commander's office and said, "Commander, patrolman Kenom is in my office. He has just been to the Verton's maintenance dome and he tells me that the conditions there are deplorable. Most of their electro-body regenerating equipment is non-functional and the Vertons are badly run down." "Well," said the commander that is Flect-master Lector's responsibility." "I know sir," said Finon, "but it seems that Master Lector has been supplying the electro-power to the dome since the Verton's generators went out a few war seasons ago and he holds back power as leverage to get more work out of them. They don't complain because they don't want it found out that they are electro-people." "I see," said the commander, "well, perhaps you should speak to Master Lector about having the power increased."

I am afraid that won't do sir," said Finon “The problem is that Patrolman Kenom is looking into this matter rather intently and as you well know he is not just any patrolman, he is the DNA son of Ambassador Ornan,..." the commander nodded in the affirmative. Finon continued, "You know well, commander, how Ambassador Ornan feels about organics, any organics, who try to dominate electro-people. You will remember that it was Ambassador Ornon who helped convinced our leaders on Zimtel to take action against planet Flort when it was found out that the Flortons were using Bligg electro-people to work in their Nimlin mines. I don't think it would go well for us, "permanent duty” patrol officers here on Ob, especially the commander of this dome, if the Ambassador were to hear that the Flectons had the Vertons in virtual slavery right under our noses.” “I get your point,” said the Commander, “We must remedy this situation, quickly and quietly."

"We must act wisely," continued the Commander, "this is a delicate situation. If we were to intervene ourselves, we take a chance of offending the Flectons, which could jeopardize our long term, rather pleasant, relationship. I don't think we would want to do that over such a minor issue as the Vertons. Therefore, it seems to me that if we let Patrolman Kenom, who is only on short term duty, go after Master Lector, we can quietly stay in the background. If master Lector makes an issue out of it we can tell him it is just, "politics," and that everything will return to normal after patrolman Kenom leaves Ob. This way, we keep our friendship with the Flecktons, as well as their generous funding of our compound, .. do you follow me?" "Yes," said Major Finon, "I get your point."

Reaching into his desk, the commander pulled out a "Priority Patrolman” order form and began to write on it.  He affixed his seal on it and handed the finished order to Finon. "This should allow Patrolman Kenom to correct the situation." Major Finon took the order, read it, and said, "A wise decision commander, I will give this to patrolman .... then, with a quick glance at the order, continued, Priority patrolman, Kenom." They both smiled at each other. “Oh yes,” the Commander added, “give patrolman Kenom this“Special Patrolman Badge” it gives him all the authority he needs at a glance”.

Major Finon returned to his desk and said to Kenom, "The commander is very concerned about what you told me. He has written a new duty order for you,.. here it is." Kenom took the order form and read it. "To whom this may concern, Patrolman Kenom has been designated Priority Patrolman while he is here on Ob. He is acting on my behalf. He is to be given full cooperation from everyone in the War Compound. Treat him as you would me. Signed, Commander Finloy, Central Dome Commander." "This order gives you the authority to act in the Commander’s name; I know you will use it wisely." Kenom was surprised to be so honored, he said, "Thank you Major, I will, and please, thank the commander for me." "You’re welcome, Patrolman Kenom. The commander was grateful that you brought this matter to his attention. He would have handled it personally but the Commander thought that since you were going into politics, that this would be a good experience for you." "Indeed it will," replied Kenom. The Commander also asked me to give you this “Special Patrolman Badge” – you only have to show it and you will have all the authority you need.” “Thank you again.” said Kenom as he turned to leave.

Kenom was more than surprised at this turn of events. He had not expected to have received such broad power. He was, however, not overjoyed at the prospect of having to tell people what to do. After all he came here to OB thinking he would have time to think and reflect not to become embroiled in Dome politics. Now here he was with power equal to the Commander. He thought of the old adage, “Power corrupts” and he reminded himself to be cautious not to go overboard with his authority. He tucked the order and badge into an inside pocket and thought, "Maybe I won't have to use this." He got into his module and set out for Dome #7...he was delayed a half-hour as there was work being done on the track.

#20 Dome #7

When he arrived at Dome 7 the duty patrolman stood up and said, "Can I help you sir?" "Yes," said Kenom, "I would like to see Master Lector please." "One moment please," said the patrolman, as he headed for a door at the far end of the room. In a moment he reappeared and said, "Master Lector will see you now, right this way." When Kenom entered the room he found Master Lector seated behind a large desk. There were four large Fleck-lords standing or sitting to his left. Standing to the right of Master Lector, was the largest of the Fleck-lords, Fleck-lord Brutum. Master Lector was a small and frail old man, which surprised Kenom, considering his reputation.

Master Lector did not rise but said, "Patrolman Kenom, how good of you to call, I was told you stopped by earlier. I'm sorry if our duty patrolman treated you with less respect then he should have, but most of our patrolman are not quite themselves today, as you must know our Dome won the throwing and jumping competition again at the sporting games this war season, and ... well most of them haven't completely recovered from our big victory celebration." "That is quite alright," said Kenom. "Well then, patrolman Kenom, what can I do for you?" Kenom leaned forward in his chair and said, "I am here in regards to the condition over at the Verton Maintenance Dome. I was there yesterday and I found their dome to be in very poor condition." Master Lector looked up at Lord Brutum, and said, "Lord Brutum is in charge of the Vertons, what do you know about this Lord Brutum? "

Lord Brutum was a low LEB sportsman. One could easily see that he only cared for sports and his organic body and little else. He, and the other lords who were setting in the room, showed little respect to Kenom. It was obvious to Kenom that Master Lector had abdicated his authority to his lords. Lord Brutum answered, directly to Kenom, "Those Vertons are a bunch of lazy good for nothing rabble, it takes ten of them to do the work of one Flectman. Look at the shape our tunnels are in, I am not surprised that their dome is in a mess too." Kenom tried to control his anger at this arrogant outburst. Looking back at Master Lector, Kenom said, "They need some new generators." Master Lectod looked up again at Lord Brutum, "Do we have any generators?" he asked. "None that we can spare." was his reply. "We give them plenty of power from our dome power units, they don't need any generators." Master Lector looked over at Kenom, "I'm sorry, patrolman, but it looks like there is nothing we can do for you." Kenom said, "Perhaps I could go down to the supply section and have a look for myself." Lord Brutum abruptly said, "Patrolman from the Mini-domes are not allowed in that section." Now Kenom was really getting angry, he stood up and said to Master Lector, "I was hoping to do this the easy way, but you force me to do otherwise."

Kenom pulled his order form from his pocket and handed it to Master Lector. Master Lector read it and turned pale, he stood up bowed and said, "I apologize to you Special Patrolman Kenom, I was unaware...." He said nothing else, but remained in this position, eyes fixed on the paper in his hands. All the lords could see that something serious was happening. They all stood up and looked to Lord Brutum for guidance. Lord Brutum looked down at the order and began to turn white. All he had to see was the Commander's seal on the order to know that he was in deep deep trouble. Kenom took the order from Flexmaster hand and slipped it back into his pocket. Lord Brutum attempted to say something but all he could do was give a salute and stand at attention. The rest of the lords did likewise. All was silent for a while, Master Lector with his head bowed, the four lords at attention. Finally Kenom said, "With my authority settled then, why don't we all go down to the supply section and look for those generators." With that Kenom pinned the special patrolman badge to his uniform and they all left for the supply room.

Kenom was only the second patrolman to ever get Priority Patrolman status on Ob. The first Priority Patrolman was a Zimtellion from Womatt. He found and rooted out Flexton corruption throughout the compound. Seventy five Flecktons, including three Fleck-masters, were sent back to Flecton to face court marshal as a result of one of his investigations, so the power of a Priority Patrolman is well known in this dome. The Dome Commander as a rule looks the other way when it comes to the Flextons, even though he has the power to remove anyone from duty in the dome. But when an outsider gets that much power everyone runs for cover.

It is not surprising then to get such a reaction from Master Lector and his lords. On the way to the supply section every Flectoid-patrolman they passed snapped to attention when they saw the badge and the Flexmaster and his Fexlords looking so grim. They knew something was going down. Kenom would find it all rather amusing if it were not for the seriousness of the situation with regards to the Vertons.

Inside the supply section they found ten brand new generators, still in their shipping cases. They also found tons upon tons of all sorts of electronic gear, everything imaginable. Master Lector seemed as surprised as Kenom at the amount of stuff stored there. He was so embarrassed at how his lords had deceived him that he almost came to tears.

Kenom felt sorry for this old man and said, "Perhaps you can have three of these generators sent over the Verton Maintenance dome, Master Lector, they would be very grateful." Master Lector collected himself at this show of respect; he turned to Lord Brutum, "See that three of these generators are delivered to the Vertons immediately." "Yes sir!" was the reply. "Leave them in the tunnel," said Kenom. Kenom didn't want any Flectons to go into the Verton's dome in the chance that they would happen to see some exposed electro bodies. "Yes sir!" said Lord Brutum. "Well then," said Kenom, "I have no further business here today, so I will be on my way. Thank you Master Lector,.. Lords."

#21 The Generators Arrive

As Kenom was leaving dome 7 Master Lector stopped him and said, “If the Vertons have need of other supplies, please let me know." "That is very kind of you," replied Kenom, "I will ask them for a list of things they need and I will drop it off at your office tomorrow." "Very well," said Master Lector, and they parted. As Kenom was driving back to his Mini-dome he couldn't help but feel energized by what had happened. He felt good with himself that he used restraint. He was happy with his new authority as Priority Patrolman, because he thought perhaps he could do some good while he was here on OBs But he reminded himself about not going overboard with this power. He could see that Lord Brutum had become a victim of too much power, and he did not want to fall into the same trap.

Kenom stopped a dome #5 on his way home to use the voice transfer. He wanted to let 45 know that the generators would be brought over in the morning. "Hello," he said, after he was connected, "this is patrolman Kenom, is 45 around?" "Let me see," said the voice at the other end,. there was a pause then the voice came on again, "No, I don't see him, this is 24, can I help you?" "Well,"said Kenom, "tell 45 that Flect-master Lector is sending over three new generators tomorrow morning." "What?" replied 24, "three new generators?" "Yes," replied Kenom, "I have asked that they be left in your tunnel, is that alright, can you take them from there?" "Uh...yea, sure..uh.." " I'll be by in the morning to see if they have arrived safely," said Kenom, "please ask 45 if he will meet me then." "Uh.. yea... sure.. I'll tell him." "Thank you,"said Kenom, and he hung up.

When he got back to the Mini-dome Enew was waiting for him, "I didn't expect you to be gone all day, where were you, I was getting worried." "I'm sorry," said Kenom, "I should have called you. But you will understand when I tell you about my most extraordinary day."

After the tale was told, Enew just sat there in disbelief. "I'll never forgive myself for not going along with you he said,... Priority patrolman, I can't believe it. You truly are an extraordinary man Kenom." "Thank you my friend," said Kenom. "I'm going out there tomorrow to make sure the generators arrive, you can come too if you would like." "I'm never leaving your side again." laughed Enew. "See that you don't." laughed Kenom.

It was late when Kenom came on again the next morning. Enew was already up and running about doing some chores, "Well, Priority patrolman Kenom," he said, "You are finally on again. You shut off late last night so I didn't want to disturb you; I figured you needed a full charge after yesterday’s events." "Thank you, you're right I must have been almost completely drained. I feel much better now....and stop with the "priority patrolman" stuff; I'm trying to keep this thing in perspective." "Alright." laughed Enew as they boarded their module. They were going to check to make sure the generators were sent as promised.

When they arrived at the tunnel guardhouse the guard who was stationed there was gone. Kenom and Enew entered the Verton tunnel to find it bustling with activity. 45 spotted them and came running over. "How in the universe did you manage this." he said, as he pointed to the three new generators. "That's not important, are they what you need?" "You bet!" said 45, "we'll have them up and running by this evening. This is truly a great day for us, we will always be in you debt." "I was happy to be of some help," said Kenom, "incidentally, this is my good friend, Enew, he is stationed with me." "Hello." said 45. "Hello." replied Enew. "Look, 45, if you make me a list of some other supplies you need, I will try to get them for you." "Sure...sure.. I can give you some old unprocessed requests for supplies." "Fine," replied Kenom. 45 rushed off to get the forms.

"Man, this place is really in need of repair," said Enew, "not to mention the Vertons themselves. They are worse off then you described." "Hopefully things will be better soon," said Kenom. 45 returned with some papers, "Here, these are some of the more pressing things we need." "Thank you,"said Kenom, "I'll see what I can do." "Thank you again, patrolman Kenom." Enew was about to interrupt and say, that's Priority Patrolman Kenom,…. but he thought better of it.

#22 ...an extraordinary man

Kenom and Enew left for dome #7. Enew thought to himself that those Flecktons needed a good thrashing for what they have done to those poor Vertons. He couldn't wait to see what kind of punishment Kenom was going to hand out to those barbarians. When they got to Dome #7, and went in, they found it almost completely empty, The patrolman who was at the duty desk the day before was gone and another, much smaller patrolman was in his place. "Patrolman Kenom to see Master Lector please." "Certainly, go right in." was the reply. Kenom and Enew found Master Lector sitting pensively at his desk. He looked very depressed. "Hello Master Lector," said Kenom, "may I introduce my good friend Enew, he is stationed with me." "Hello, Patrolman Kenom,...Patrolman Enew, it is a pleasure to meet you." Enew said nothing, he just nodded. He was moved at what a frail yet intelligent looking man Master Lector was, not nearly the ogre he thought him to be.

"Where are your lords, master?" asked Kenom. "They are all in the detaining unit. They have voluntarily surrendered themselves to be shipped back to Fleckton to face court-martial. They leave on a supply ship tomorrow. Also tomorrow, I will inform Commander Zeto of what has transpired here in dome #7. I intend to offer him my resignation." "I see," said Kenom quietly. Master Lector continued, "We cannot have this sort of corruption up here on Ob, it threatens the entire operation, - and those men will pay the price for what they have done." Enew felt a little embarrassed at his prejudice toward these Dome #7 Flecktons, perhaps he had been a little too harsh in his judgment.

Kenom felt more saddened from what he heard then delight as he looked at this poor old man. He paused a moment then said, "I can't help feeling a little responsible for this, Master Lector, Perhaps...." "No," said Master Lector, "my Lords have betrayed me and the entire command, it is my responsibility." "Still," replied Kenom, "I wish you would reconsider... “Now it was Master Lector who was surprised by what he heard, he thought that punishing the lords and his resignation would make the Zimtellions happy. He stammered for a bit, not knowing how to respond. Kenom continued, "Perhaps if your lords were to be re-assigned, that would be punishment enough. True it was bad thinking on their part, but bad thinking can always be replaced with good thinking... with a little forgiveness."

Master Lector again was at a loss for words. "But.. but.. there is no place to send these men, every dome already has a full complement of lords, there is no place to re-assign them." "Who is in charge of the Sports dome?" asked Kenom. "Well... no one really," said Master Lector, "we just all use it when we need it." "I see." said Kenom, "Why don't we, with your permission of course, put them in charge of the sports dome, they certainly are qualified to run it." "Oh, yes..yes indeed they are," said Master Lector, "but...but..they should be puni....." Kenom interrupted, "Well it's settled then. I will inform the Central Dome Command of your decision to volunteer you lords for work in the sports dome. They shall be called the "Sport Dome Lords",... again, with your permission of course." "Yes.. yes.. of course." "I know commander Zeto will be pleased to hear of your decision," said Kenom, "he loves sporting events you know. And as for your resignation, I'm sure he wouldn't hear of it . You are much too close to retirement for that. I will report to Commander Finloy that the Verton situation is being resolved, and that Dome #7 is cooperating fully. He need not be troubled with all the details. Are we agreed?" "Uh... yes.. yes, that would be most kind of you."

Before they left, Kenom handed Master Lector the papers #45 gave him, "Oh yes, one more thing, Master Lector, would you be so kind as to see that these supplies are brought out to the Vertons." "Yes, of course, right away," said Master Lector. When they were out of ear shot of Master Lector, Enew whispered to Kenom, "You handled that with such intelligence and sensitivity that... well, you made me proud to be a Zimtellion. You are an extraordinary man". Kenom looked at Enew out of the corner of his eye and smiled.

#23 Enlightened Mr. Wo

Book of OB June 25, 2009

When they returned to the mini-dome Enew checked the text transfer recorder. “There is a message for you on the text transfer from Major Finon that says "urgent." Kenom went to the message transfer and pulled up the message. It read as follows; "Patrolman Kenom, please come to my office as soon as possible, Major Finon." Kenom said, "I wonder what this is about? I'd better get right over." Enew said, "I'm coming too, I don't want to miss out on any more of your adventures." "Alright," said Kenom, "let's go."

They arrived at Major Finon's office in record time; they went by tunnel #4, as it was clear. They were escorted into Major Finon's office by one of the duty patrolmen. "Your message said urgent," said Kenom, "so we came as fast as we could." "Thank you for coming Patrolman Kenom," said Major Finon, “Commander Finloy has been called away to planet Flexton for a war council meeting and he left me in charge until his return.. He then looked at Enew and hesitated for a moment as if to say that the business at hand was for Kenom only. Kenom picked up on that and said, "Whatever you have to say to me you can say to my friend Patrolman Enew, we are inseparable." Enew felt a tinge of pride when he heard Kenom's words. "As you wish," said Major Finon, "I suppose this business will affect him too."

"Two hour-marks ago a space ship from planet Glickron was on its way to planet Clohen when it developed thrust problems, it had to make an emergency landing here on Ob. It's down in space port #2." "I see," said Kenom. Major Finon continued, "It may take a few day-marks to get the parts from Glickron, we have sent a request for the parts already. But here is the problem, There is a rather special passenger on board,... his name is Enlightened Master Wo." "Enlightened Master Wo?" asked Kenom. "Yes." said Finon. "He is a highly esteemed enlightened master from planet Ute. He is well respected in this part of the Galaxy.” "But how is that a problem?" queried Kenom. "The problem is, Master Wo, because of his enlightened thinking, has many enemies as well as admires. Many religious sects feel threatened by his influence, the organic God believers, and the electro people's Godforce believers among them." You understand how that is." "Indeed I do." said Kenom, "So what is it you would like me to do?"

"Well, I was hoping that you would take Master Wo out to your Mini-dome as your guest for a few days while we repair the space craft. I believe that with all the Fleckton God believers in the compound, and the Godforce Plutons here in Central dome, it would be best if his presents here in the dome were kept quite. We wouldn't want any problems of a religious nature to arise." "I see your point," said Kenom. Kenom turned to Enew, who gave more or less an affirmative shrug, then said to Major Finon, "We would be most happy to have Master Wo as our guest." "Good," said Major Finon, "I was sure I could count on you."

"We have managed to keep Master Wo on board the space craft by telling him that the repairs would only take a few hour-marks. What you need to do is to go down to port #2, where the space craft is docked, and tell Master Wo that you are a Priority Patrolman and that you would like him to be your guest." "What if he doesn't want to go?" asked Enew. "He knows the authority of a priority Patrolman," said Major Finon, "when Kenom shows him his priority orders he will go, he wouldn't cause a scene." "Very well," said Kenom, "we will go directly to space port #2 now."

"Thank you," said the major,....and by the way, I have made arrangements to have an "organic life support package" delivered to your dome. Master Wo is an organic, so he will need organic substance while he is visiting you, the support package comes with organic food and all the rest of the things organics need." "Very good major, we are on our way".

Enew whispered to Kenom on the way out, "A bit presumptuous of the major to anticipate our answer beforehand, and order that organic package sent to our dome, don't you think." Kenom said nothing.

The Glicktron space craft was in dock bay #5 on the east side of the port #2. Enew pulled the module up to the loading portal so it could be lifted up to the craft's main door. "I'll go back and set up the organic life support package," said Enew, "I'll see meet you back at the Mini-dome." "Good idea." said Kenom. Kenom signaled the duty patrolman to lift his module up to the craft's door. When it stopped, he opened the door and entered to find the space craft empty. Then, far back in the last row, he saw a man sitting all alone. He walked back to his seat and said, "By any chance do you happen to be Master Wo?" "Yes," was the reply, "I am Wo." "My name is Patrolman Kenom, from Mini-dome C, I was sent at the request of Major Finon." Wo said nothing.

Kenom continued, "I am afraid that the repairs to this craft will take a little longer then had been expected..... it could be as long as two day-marks." Wo said nothing. "Major Finon was thinking that, perhaps, you would do me the honor of staying at my dome while the craft was being repaired." Wo said nothing. "My dome is on the perimeter..... he felt that it would be more quite for you out there then in the Central Dome." Kenom was trying to fill the silence with words because he was unnerved by master Wo's silence. " ....the Central Dome can be quite noisy at times. I also have a rather nice view of Ob,... being so far out...." his voice trailed off as he could see Master Wo was not responding. There was a few more moments of awkwardness for Kenom, then Wo spoke. "It would be my pleasure," he said. "Oh.. good." said Kenom, trying to hide his relief.

They entered the module, were lowered down, and detached from the lift. Kenom waved to the duty patrolman who was maneuvering his module. He decided to take the perimeter route in order to avoid running into any Fleckton's who might be hanging around the transfer stations at the patrol domes. He was also hoping to give Enew time to set up the organic life support package back at the Mini-dome. We'll take the perimeter route, said Kenom, it is a little more scenic. There are some port holes where you can view Ob as we go by. Wo just nodded.

#24 Thoughts of Mr. Wo

As their module traversed the perimeter tunnel Kenom felt a bit uneasy about the silence of his guest Master Wo, he could tell that Master Wo was thinking, but of what he had no idea. Kenom tried again to engage him in conversation. "Were you the only passenger?" he said, "I noticed that you were alone when I boarded the space craft." Kenom thought, "How stupid of me to say that, any one could tell he was the only one on board." Wo smiled and said, "The others went off to eat and be entertained by the Flectons at their VIP room. I preferred to wait on the craft." "I see," said Kenom," .. that was probably a good choice...the Fleckton's idea of entertainment is watching the Universal-vision." Wo smiled and nodded, "Yes, I know." he said.

The module ride was slow, and Kenom felt a sense of serene peacefulness as they rode silently along the perimeter tunnel. "Have you ever been to Ob before Master Wo?" "Yes, once." was his reply. "Really," said Kenom, "when was that?" "Long ago." said Wo. "That's nice." said Kenom. Kenom thought to himself, that's nice, what kind of answer was that. I must sound like a low LEBer.

After about a half an hour-mark, they pulled into the platform at the Mini-dome. "We'll this it," said Kenom. "I hope you will find my dome to your liking." Wo smiled, "It will be an honor to stay with you, Patrolman Kenom." Enew was waiting on the module platform "Master Wo, may I present my duty partner, and good friend, Patrolman Enew, we share this dome together." "How do you do Master Wo." said Enew. "It is a pleasure to meet you Enew", said Wo, "to be a good friend of someone is a noble thing to be." Enew looked over at Kenom, a bit surprised, and answered, rather proudly, "Thank you Master Wo,...please come this way, I have your room ready." Kenom turned to Enew and said, "Thank you Enew for having things ready." When they got to Master Wo's room, Kenom said, "We have a good view of Ob from our forward portal, if you would like I can..." "Thank you, but I will be fine here," said Master Wo. "Well, if you change your mind, Enew and I will be out in the main electro-room." Master Wo, just nodded. As Kenom was leaving, he turned to Wo and said, "We also have some very fine books I brought from Zimmnil ...If you think you might be interested..." his voice trailed off as he could see he was only going to get a nod from Wo, which he did.

Kenom and Enew sat in the main electro-room and said nothing, even though their brains were full of thoughts and questions about their guest. They just couldn't manage to put their thoughts into words. They both felt a "presence" in their dome, but somehow they knew that words alone could not express their feelings. Like Master Wo, they just sat and said nothing. They could see light coming from under the door of Master Wo's room, and could hear the faint sound of soft music being played on a flute. They would glance over from time to time, but made no comment to each other. The night was spent in such a way.

The next morning Kenom was energized and his brain was racing. He had many questions to ask his guest. He couldn't wait to see him again, so he went to Master Wo's room. Master Wo was sitting cross legged on a mat under a large organic plant, that was part of the organic life support package. Beside him was a small instrument. "Is everything to your liking Master Wo?" asked Kenom. "Yes," said Wo, "it is more than adequate." "Good," said Kenom, "if you need anything else please let me know and I will get it for you." “That won't be necessary, I need very little." was his reply.

Kenom again felt a little awkward in the presents of Master Wo. After a few moments of silence Kenom finally asked Master Wo. "Master Wo," he said, "I have a feeling that you would not have come out here if you didn’t suspect that I had the authority to force you to come.” Master Wo smiled, and then said, "That is true. I suspect you have Priority orders on your person., am I right?“ Kenom was surprised by what he heard. "But how did you guess?“ he asked" You walk with the authority of a priority Patrolman," said Wo, "yet you do not act with the authority of a priority Patrolman. That is the sign of an honorable man. I appreciate honorable men." Kenom did not know how to respond. He knew one thing however; he knew that he was in the presence of an extraordinary man.

Somehow Kenom felt that nothing could be kept from Master Wo. No lie, no matter how small, would escape Master Wo's perceptive eyes. With a little guilt, Kenom said, "I must confess that I was not completely candid yesterday when I first talked to you, I should have also told you that Central Command was concerned that your presence here might cause some problems of a religious nature. The Flectons are, for the most part, God believers, and as we now have a small contingent of Plutons, with their Godforce beliefs, stationed in the Central Dome, they felt....." Master Wo interrupted and said, "I understand." More silence. Kenom felt relieved that he had been completely honest with Master Wo. Not doing so had made him uncomfortable. Now that he told Master Wo the real reason he was there, he was content to let Master Wo spend the rest of his time alone, if that is what he preferred. As Kenom turned to leave, Master Wo said, "And you? Which of the two do you believe in?" Kenom paused, turned to master Wo, looked him in the eye, and said, "Neither."

#25 Conversation With Wo

After hearing that Kenom was not a God force believer Mr. Wo looked up, smiled and said, “"Please forgive me for being so unresponsive, Patrolman Kenom, it was rude of me and I apologize." Kenom softened too and said, "No apologies necessary, and please, there is no need to call me Patrolman, -Kenom is fine." "Thank you Kenom," said Wo, "and I would be pleased if you just call me Wo." "Agreed." said Kenom.

"I would be honored if you would stay and talk with me awhile," said Wo, "I would very much like to know your thoughts on God." "And I would be interested in your thoughts as well." said Kenom. Wo got up from his mat and they both sat down in some comfortable chairs. "You told me that you had been here on Ob before," said Kenom, "what brought you to this remote military outpost?" "I was here at the invitation of an old friend of mine from planet Womat, Special Patrolman Mung. He was given priority patrolman orders and was making some changes here at the compound and he wanted my advice. That’s how I found out what kind of authority a Priority Patrolman had." "I see," said Kenom, "many of the changes made by Patrolman Mung are still in place, so you advised him well." "I am happy to learn that." said Wo.

"Tell me," said Wo, "what are your thoughts on God and the Godforce? Mung believed in the LEB theory. Even though he could not tell me the source of LEB, he would not accept the Godforce belief that it came from God. Is that also your belief?" "Yes it is," said Kenom, "even though I am not a true believer in the LEB theory, I accept it because science has not found any other explanation for the creation of life, but I don't want it to control my thinking. I want to leave the question open as to the nature of life and the universe." "I see," said Wo, "Perhaps you would agree with me that, even if you do not give credit to any God for the creation of the universe, we must believe that it did in fact have a beginning."

"No," said Kenom, "I won't agree on that either. Just because everything we see, life in all it's forms, planets in all their variety, and so forth, have beginnings, it does not necessarily follow that the entire universe also had a beginning." "Yes," said Wo," but if all the things you mentioned had beginnings, isn't it logical to assume that universe too had a beginning?" " Logic is limited by our brains ability to comprehend things." said Kenom, "When our brains evolve to the point where they can accept more LEB they will also be able to decipher more universal mysteries and answer some of these questions. What seems logical now may well indeed be illogical later." "Perhaps you are right." said Wo.

"Myself," continued Wo, "I am more concerned with what life forms believe is the truth then I am with what the truth may in fact be. Life forms may never evolve to the point you just mentioned if they continue to fight and destroy each other because of their faith in preconceived beliefs. I am here with you now because there are two opposing views on life here on Ob, one by the Flecton's with their faith in God, and the other, the Pluton's with their belief in the Godforce." "That’s true," said Kenom, "men stifle there thinking by believing strongly on this matter one way or another." "Yes," said Wo, "much harm is done by believing strongly in something for which there is no proof." "I had an interesting talk with a Flecktoid patrolman," said Kenom, "he was out here doing some repair work on our Universal-vision, he told me...."

The conversation was interrupted by Enew who knocked on the door, then entered. "Central Command just voice-transferred and said that the space craft has been repaired, they ask that all passengers re-board." he said. "Thank you Enew." said Kenom. Turning to Wo, Kenom said, "Well, we must continue this conversation another time." "Indeed we must." said Master Wo.

On the return trip to the space port Kenom and Wo talked about art on the planet Ute which Kenom had heard so much about. The subject of in Flexmaster Tsubos gallery also came up. Master Wo knew of it and had seen many of the paintings within his collection. Kenom told Master Wo about his embarrassing gift of two abstract paintings that had ended up in the “Friendship Gallery” which amused Wo greatly. Wo suggested that perhaps a gift was not always the best way to make friends.

When they arrived at the space port the supply ship was loading and preparing for launch. Mr. Wo boarded along with the rest of the passengers. "Good bye," said Kenom, "have a safe journey." "And you also," said Wo, "may you always travel in light."

Later that night, back in the Mini-dome, Enew and Kenom thought much about their guest. "He was a strange organic don't you think?" asked Enew. "Indeed he was," said Kenom, “I am sure he knows more about me than I know about him." As they prepared to send back the organic life supply package to central dome, Enew noticed that Master Wo had not touched a thing. "Look," he said to Kenom, "Master Wo didn't touch a bit of the organic substance food, or anything else. They both looked at each other. “What a strange human”.

#26 Explosion in Central Dome

Kenom and Enew had just returned the organic life support package to central dome supply and were getting into their module to return to the Mini-dome when they heard an explosion. "What was that?" exclaimed Enew. "I don't know," said Kenom, "it sounded like it came from the level #1, we had better go find out what happened." When they got to level #1, it was full of smoke. There was a lot of confusion. No one seemed to know what to do. Patrolmen were just running around in circles. "This hardly looks like a battle ready war compound," said Enew, "if one little explosion and some smoke can cause this much panic, what would they do if it was a real attack." "Never mind that," said Kenom, "let's find out what happened."

Just then a Patrolman came running up when he spotted Kenom‘s high LEB uniform. He was in a panic. Kenom calmed him down enough to give him orders. He ordered him to seal off the tunnels so that they wouldn’t fill with smoke. The Patrolman ran off toward the tunnel entrance. Patrolmen were running every which way. Kenom grabbed one of the patrolmen who was running by and said, "You must have an exhaust ventilator system in here, go turn it on!" The patrolman was frozen with fear, he just stood there. Kenom shook him and shouted, "Turn on the ventilator system, NOW!" "Yes sir!, Yes sir!" said the frightened patrolman.

Kenom could tell that the only way he was going to get things calmed down was to assert his authority as Priority Patrolman. He climbed up on one of the electro-panels and held up his Priority orders. "Attention!, attention!," he said, "everyone calm down!" By now the ventilators had been turned on and the smoke was beginning to clear. Things started to settle down a bit. Soon all the patrolmen were standing at attention. All was quite.

"That's better," said Kenom, "Now,... there is no need to panic. It looks like it was only a small Electro blaster cap." Electro blaster caps just make a lot noise and smoke..... but they are harmless. They were developed by the Orksons. They used them to gather primitive organic cave people during their "Manifest Destiny" expansion period. A couple of blaster caps thrown into a cave would send the organic people inside running out into the awaiting nets. They were later banned by the Galaxy Organic Preservation Department. They objected to the gathering of Organic people for slaves.

Kenom continued, "As soon as the smoke has cleared I want you all to go back to your duty stations. I will find out what happened here and make a report. There is no need to worry. Go back to work. I may need to talk to some of you later, but for now go back to your duty stations." The patrolmen were much relieved as they drifted back to their work stations. What surprised them as much as the blast, was to find out that there was a Special Patrolman in the compound with Priority orders.

Kenom got Major Finon on the voice transfer, “Hello, major, there has been a small blast down here on level #1 near the Relig-u-dome. It looks like it may have been a small Electro blaster cap, but I am not sure. I don't think there is any damage, just some smoke, which I have taken care of. I just wanted you to know that everyone is back at their duty stations." "Thank you Kenom," said Major Finon. "We didn't hear the blast up here, but I just got a call from the duty master down there. I'll send Patrolman Flyn down to give you a hand." "There is no need for that," said Kenom, "I'll have a look around to see if I can find out what happened." "Good," said Major Finon, "Please investigate the matter and report back to me about your findings.” "Very good major." said Kenom.

Kenom turned to Enew and said, "Let's go see how the Plutons are doing and find out if they know why anyone would want to throw a blaster cap at their Relig-u-dome." “Good idea.” said Enew. As they were walking over to the Relig-u-dome, Kenom's voice transfer unit buzzed. "Hello, Patrolman Kenom here." It was Master Etel from patrol dome #5, “Hello," said Master Etel, "we heard that there was an explosion in the Central Dome. I just got word from one of my lords. We are all on alert here, has there been a Figgnon attack?" He sounded frightened.

"No, no," said Kenom, "it's nothing. Someone just threw a small blaster cap at the Relig-u-dome, no damage, just a lot of smoke." "Thank you for the information. I will tell all the other masters to call off the alert." "Yes," said Kenom, "please do that.... I'll get back to you as soon as I find out something....and don't worry." Master Etel thanked Kenom and hug up. "Let's hope the Figgnons don't hear about this," said Kenom, "if they knew how much panic could be caused by a small blaster cap, they would attack for sure." Enew laughed.

They walked up to the two large doors at the entrance to the Relig-u-dome. There was a small blast burn on one of them, about one foot-mark up from the floor. Kenom knocked. There was no answer. "While you are doing that, I'll interview some of the patrolman to see if anyone of them saw anything." said Enew. "Good idea." said Kenom, as he knocked again, this time with more force. Again no answer. He knocked once more. This time a small peep hole opened and a voice from inside said, in a gruff voice, "Go away!" Kenom was losing his patience. He knocked again and when the man inside peaked out the peep hole, Kenom slammed his Priority badge up against it. "Open up!" he said. With that, he heard the door unlock.

#27 A Blaster Cap

Kenom pushed the door open with such force that it knocked down the Pluton who was behind it. Kenom gave him a stern look and the Pluton rushed off. There were about twenty Plutons huddled on their knees up toward the front of the dome. They were obviously frightened. They were being comforted by the Pluton priest who was assigned to this dome. Kenom walked up to him and said, "It's alright, there is no need to be frightened, someone just threw a small electro-blaster cap at your door. There was no real damage."

The Pluton priest reassured his flock and came over to Kenom. "How do you do, patrolman,...." he hesitated waiting for Kenom to give him his name. "Patrolman Kenom," said Kenom, "I have been asked to investigate this incident." "Ah yes, Patrolman Kenom," he said," ..my name is Leader Scott. I am the priest leader of this dome. Won't you have a seat." "Thank you," said Kenom, "I just wanted to see if everyone was alright in here before I checked the damage. I haven't determined if it was a blaster cap for sure, it was just my guess. I will return later when I have more information." "Very well," said Leader Scott, "I'll be here." Kenom was rather surprised at how calm Leader Scott was.

Kenom went out and started to inspect the door. Enew came up with a patrolman. "This is Patrolman Skinlin," said Enew, "he was walking near the dome when the blast went off." "How do you do patrolman," said Kenom, "tell me what you saw." "Well," said Patrolman Skinlin, "I was walking over to my duty station when I heard this blast right behind me, I thought it was a Figgnon attack, I've never heard anything like that before, and I've been here for two war seasons. I looked around and saw all this smoke so I headed for the south tunnel as fast as I could." "I see," said Kenom, "What else?" "Well," continued Patrolman Skinlin, "that's about it. I don't remember much else... accept all the panic." "Alright, patrolman, thank you, we may need to talk to you again. And by the way," Kenom said, as a parting shot, "next time something like this happens, keep your head and go directly to your duty station, you wouldn't have been much help out in the tunnel if this had indeed been a Figgnon attack. Your place is at your duty station." "Yes sir." replied Patrolman Skinlin.

Kenom and Enew inspected the door further. "It was an electro-basting cap alright," said Kenom, "see these small bits of grey powder mixed in with the black soot that can only come from a blaster cap." "I agree." said Enew, "It must have been thrown from a short distance too, because those things go off rather quickly once they are armed." "You're right," said Kenom, who ever threw it could not have been more than thirty feet away. "But this is odd;" said Kenom, "see how the main blast marks are high up from the floor?" "Yes," replied Enew, "it must have still been in flight when it went off." "Yes, "but also notice that the blast marks are evenly spread, if it had been coming towards the door the blast marks would have made a much larger pattern because of the force of the throw." "I see," said Enew, "but then where..."

Kenom looked up. Above the dome was the ceiling for level two. It was a good ten feet above the Relig-u-dome. There were a number of catwalks crisscrossing the ceiling; these were used by repairmen so that they could get to the lights and the wiring. "It must have been dropped from up there," said Enew. "That's my hunch too," said Kenom. "But who.." "That's what we will have to find out my friend." interrupted Kenom. Kenom decided to talk further with Priest Leader Scott. He asked Enew to round up all the Flecktons stationed on level #1, to find out if they knew anything, and to get their names.

Kenom had no trouble getting into the Relig-u-dome this time, all he had to do was knock once. Having priority duty papers had its usefulness he thought,- when one wanted to get something done. Priest Leader Scott greeted him warmly, and they sat down to talk. "Tell me Leader Scott," said Kenom, "do you know of anyone who might like to frighten you?" "No one specific," he said, "but we Godforce believers are not well liked among the Fleckton population here on Ob. They are God believers you know, and they object to our being here. We hope to change that, the Central Inclusion Department tells us the Flecktons are on the list for Galaxy inclusion. We hope to make them all Godforce followers so the transition will be smooth. These things take time however; organics don't give up their belief system easily." "I understand." said Kenom. Leader Scott continued, "For the most part we stay to ourselves in our Relig-u-domes. We use our other dome for a broadcast station where we run the Relig-u-channel on Universal-vision.

We seldom have any personal contact with the Flecktons unless they come to our dome for repair work." “I see”.said Kenom, "My duty partner Enew is questioning the Flecktons now, maybe he will turn up something." "We Plutons would rather not make a big deal out of this," said Leader Scott, "we don't want to lose our foothold here on Ob,... you understand." "Yes I do," said Kenom, "but I am afraid we cannot let this pass without a response. We must get to the bottom of this because Zimtel command cannot have this sort of disruption in the compound." "Of course, I understand," said Leader Scott, "we will cooperate fully." "Thank you." said Kenom, and he bid the Priest Leader goodbye.

#28 Blast Investigation

After leaving the Relig-O-Dome Kenom found Enew who told him, "I talked to the Flecktons who were here in the game room and they knew nothing about the blast. The rest of the Flextons that were here were all at the far end of the dome, gathering up some party supplies for dome #5, when the blast went off. That was confirmed by the Zimtel patrolman who was on duty. I have all their names though, just in case you want to talk to any of them. They weren't at all concerned about the Plutons, they don't like them one bit. It's a religious thing." "Yes," said Kenom, "this incident is beginning to smell of religious intolerance. I should make a report to Major Finon so he knows what we have found out."

Kenom dialed Major Finon on the voice transfer, "Hello major, this is Patrolman Kenom, I have some news for you. I was right; it was an Electro blaster cap that went off down here. It seems as though the blaster was dropped from the ceiling catwalk. It made a lot of noise and there was a lot of smoke but it caused no real damage. I talked to Priest Leader Scott, and the Plutons are all fine. Priest leader Scott indicated he would prefer that we drop the investigation...........Yes that's what I told him. Who is in charge of the Flecktmen here on level #1? ...FlectLord Blanden? Good, I will find out who has access to those catwalks. Yes, ... Yes,... fine, thank you major." "Ok, Enew let's go have a talk with Flecktoid Blanden."

FleckLord Blanden was in his office at the far end of the dome. Kenom introduced himself and went in. FlectLors Blanden looked like a career bureaucrat, he was sitting behind a desk, full of papers and forms, all indications he was a low LEBer. "FleckLord Blanden," said Kenom, "I understand that you are in charge of the maintenance men who work here in central dome, is that right?" "Yes it is," said Blanden,"but we only take care of the dome maintenance, we don't touch the battle equipment." "Yes I understand that," said Kenom, "can you tell me who was on duty today?" "Yes of course," said Blanden, "I hope you don't think we had anything to do with that blast, it was terrible!" "I'm sure you didn't," said Kenom, "but we have to check every lead." "I understand," said Blanden. "Let's see,..... there were three maintenance men working today, ... Fleckman, Lang, Dommer, and Shimm." "Where are they now?" asked Kenom. "I'll send for them." said Blanden, which he did.

Fleckman Lang and Dommer were escorted into a small room next to Blanden''s office where Kenom talked to them. "I understand you were on duty in the main dome today," said Kenom, "What was your duty assignment?" "I was in the lift," said Lang, "I had to reset some panels that had come loose. I was in there all day." "I was in the storage room," said Dommer, "I had to get some party supplies for dome #3." "I see said," Kenom, "and how about Flecktoid Shimm?" "Shimm was supposed to change some lighting above the control panel on unit 3, but he wasn't at work today. Dome #3 sent a replacement, a guy named Zelton." Kenom looked over at Enew and thought, BINGO! "Do you know where this Zelton is now?" asked Kenom. "Yea, I think he went back to dome #5. I haven’t seen him since this morning." "Well, thank you gentlemen, you have been most helpful." said Kenom. After they left, Kenom thanked Flecktoid Blanden, and he and Enew got into their module and headed for Dome #5.

On the way Enew said to Kenom, "I think we've got our man, don't you?" "He certainly is our number one suspect.” said Kenom, "It will be interesting to hear what he has to say." As they entered Dome #3, Kenom reached into his pocket to be sure he still had his priority orders. Kenom asked to see the FleckMaster of the dome. They were escorted to his office. "Master Teems, Patrolmen Kenom and Enew to see you." said the lord that had escorted them. "Patrolman Kenom," said Master Teems, "what a pleasure to meet you. Master Tjubo has spoken of you, in glowing terms I might add." "Thank you master Teems," said Kenom, "it is a pleasure to meet you." "What brings you to our humble dome?" asked Master Teems

#29 "We've got our man!"

Kenom explained to Flexmaster Teems about the investigation that was underway with regards to the blaster cap incident over in Central Dome. "I understand that you have a maintenance man here by the name of Zelton, is that correct?" Master Teems looked over at his lord for conformation. "He is in the maintenance crew" said his lord. "Yes, apparently we do," said Master Teems, "I can't keep track of everyone in my dome, I let my lords take care of that." He gave a small laugh. "I would like to have a word with Flrcktman Zelton if I may." Said Kenom "Certainly," said Master Teems, "bring him here." he said to his lord. "Yes sir." said the lord.

While they were waiting, Master Teems asked Kenom and Enew if they would like to come to the big party they were having that evening. They were celebrating the arrival of a supply ship from Fleckton. Kenom and Enew made their excuses and said that they would think about it. Soon the lord arrived with Zelton. Zelton seemed relieved to see his friend Kenom. "Oh, it's you," he said, "are you having more trouble with your universal-vision?" Then turning to Master Teems, "Those damn Plutons crossed circuits on his unit so that only their Godforce channel came in, but I fixed it for him." He seemed rather proud to be telling Master Teems about his work.

"No," said Kenom, "the Universal-vision is still working fine." Zelton smiled and looked even prouder. "What I need to ask you is where you were this morning?" Zelton lost his smile and began to stammer in surprise. "Uh... I was here all day." he said. "Can you confirm that?" Kenom asked the lord. "If he says he was here, he was here" came the rather curt reply. Master Teems looked rather troubled at this turn of events. "What is the trouble Patrolman Kenom?" he asked. Kenom also took a more serious stance, "Someone threw a blaster cap at the Pluton's Relig-u-dome this morning." "What? a blaster cap,...at the Plutons?" said Master Teems, "who would do such a thing. I heard there was some problem up at central dome but I had no idea..." Kenom interrupted, "I will ask you again Zelton, where were you this morning?" Zelton began to sweat, he was very nervous. "I..I.. I was here, like I told you." Lord Barker broke in, "I hope you don't think that dome #3 had anything to do with this patrolman, I find that bit presumptions of you to..."

Kenom reached into his inside pocket and pulled out his priority order, handed it to Maester Teems and said to the lord, "Two witnesses have put Zelton on level one of the central dome this morning. He was a substitute for a man called Shimm." The room went perfectly silent. Master Teems and Lord Barker turned white as the blood drained from their heads. They just kept staring at the priority orders. Zelton was shaking. Kenom broke the silence by saying to Zelton "Once again, Flectman Zelton, were you in the central dome this morning?"

Zeltonl dropped to his knees and started praying. "God save me!, God save me!, please I beg of you, save me!" Kenom was rather embarrassed by this uncontrolled outburst. He hated to see any person, organic or not, is such a state. "Did you drop that electro blaster cap on the Plutons Relig-u-dome?" he asked. "Yes...yes... I'm sorry, I didn't mean.... I'm sorry." he was crying uncontrollably. After a moment Kenom said, "Master Teems, would you be so kind to place Flectoid Zelton in your detainment unit until central headquarters can make a determination as what to do with him." Still stunned, Master Teems said, "Yes, yes of course." He motioned to his lord to carry out Kenom's orders. Lord Barker, now trying to prove his loyalty, grabbed Zentel roughly and shoved him out the door.

Kenom and Enew got up to leave, Master Teems still stunned, awkwardly started to get up. "No, please," said Kenom, "we will find our way out. Thank you for your cooperation Master Teems, Central Command will be in touch with you.....and good luck with your party tonight." Master Teems managed a smile; he didn't know what to do. When Kenom and Enew got to their module, Enew said, "Get in your majesty, I will drive." Kenom smiled as he slipped his priority orders back into his inside pocket.

#30 What Punishment?

"Tomorrow I will go over to that Central Dome tomorrow and turn in my report to Major Finon on the blaster cap incident." said Kenom. "What do you think they will do with Flecktoid Zeltoin." asked Enew. "I don't know, "but I am sure they will have something to say about it." "I wouldn't want to be in Zelton's shoes," said Enew, "he turned this compound upside down with just a small blaster cap. If Central Headquarters on Zimtel was to hear about this, some heads would roll, that's for sure." "You can bet on that," said Kenom, "Worse still, if the Flecktons found out how ill prepared this compound is to fight off a Figgnon attack, it could turn into a real incident. They could hardly justify the large amount of money they spend here if they knew this place was more like a party platform than a war compound."

The next morning Kenom and Enew were at Major Finon's office early. They had left with plenty of time expecting a tunnel delay, but to their surprise, there was none. Major Finon greeted them warmly. "Come in, come in," he said, "We have been hearing some good things about you Kenom, it seems that you have been using your Special Patrolman status with great success. Our message transfer machine has been flooded with messages from Fleckmasters all over the compound. It seems as though the Vertons have been repairing the tunnels with great effectiveness. Everyone is very pleased. They say the Vertons are even smartly dressed these days, which is a real surprise." "Thank you sir," said Kenom, "but I had little to do with it. You can thank Master Lector in dome #7 if things have changed for the better." "Well, I will certainly see that he is commended at your request, Patrolman Kenom." "I know he will be pleased." said Kenom.

"Now what news do you have on the blaster cap incident?" asked Finon. "Well sir," replied Kenom," I have a full report here for you." Kenom handed the major his report. "In brief, a certain maintenance man, assigned to dome #5, got a little zealous with his religious convictions. He climbed up on the catwalk and dropped a blaster cap on the Relig-u-dome. I suppose he was making a religious statement of sorts. At any rate, he confessed and is now in the confinement center awaiting Central Command's decision on what to do with him." "Humm, I see," said Finon, "We can't have this sort of thing disrupting our combat alertness here in the compound. We must remain at a high level of effectiveness at all times. The Flecton war council on Flecton expects nothing less of us." "I'm sure your right major." said Kenom.

"I hate to trouble Commander Finloy with this, he is occupied with more important matters. Perhaps you would be kind enough to see that the proper punishment is rendered on the patrolman responsible for this incident? Maybe you can just have him returned to Flecton, after all no real damage was done." "Are there no precedents set for this kind of crime?" asked Kenom. "I'm afraid not," said Finon, "We have very little trouble here, most patrolmen, Flecton and Zimtellions, consider this "privileged" duty, so they mind themselves. I was afraid something like this would happen though, once we let the Plutons rent space here. Trouble always follows religion."

"Well I don't know sir," said Kenom, "I would prefer not to be the judge of what punishment should fit this crime. I may not be able to make the proper decision, as I am new here and not sensitive to you ways." "Nonsense," said Major Finon, "you have shown yourself to be quite capable of making good and proper decisions. Command headquarters will abide by whatever you decide." "Very well then," said Kenom, "I will do what I think best." "I know you will make the right decision Patrolman Kenom." "I hope so sir," was Kenom's reply, "I hope so."

Of course Major Finon knew that Commander Finloy would prefer Kenom take the blame if there was to be any repercussions as a result of this incident. After all, they were career patrolmen with a pension to look out for.

"Judge, jury, and executioner," said Enew, "as they left the majors office, I had better watch my step with all the power you are accumulating." "I didn't ask for this." said Kenom. Enew laughed, "Don't worry; I won't let it go to your head." "I'm sure you won't," said Kenom, "now I just have to be sure I don't let it go to my head." "You have shown a lot more good judgment and restraint then any man I have ever met," said Enew, "I know you will be alright." "Let's hope so," said Kenom

Kenom decided to ponder the question for a while. He thought that a few days in confinement would be good for Zelton. He could contemplate his fate, and Kenom was sure that whatever Zelton believed his fate to be, would be much greater then it would probably be in reality. "I think I had better go down and tell Priest Leader Scott that we caught the man responsible for the explosion, and get his opinion on the matter." "OK said," Enew, "I'm going back to the Mini-dome and shut down for a while, I'll catch up with you later." "Fine," said Kenom, "I'll be along shortly."

#31 Problem Solved

Arriving at the Relig-u-dome, Kenom knocked on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again. Finally the peep hole opened and the gruff voiced man behind the door said, "Go away!" Kenom held his badge up to the peep hole and the door opened. Priest Leader Scott happened to be close by when Kenom entered. "Patrolman Kenom," he said, "good to see you again." Kenom looked over at the gruff voiced man who was scurrying away, "I'm sorry about that," said Leader Scott, as he noticed Kenom's unhappiness, "We Plutons don't destroy defective brains as you do on Zimtel. We give them electro-organic bodies and try to make them useful. We find them to be very loyal." Kenom felt a little uneasy. He was going to make a defense of Zimtel's practice of destroying defective brains, but when he realized that any defense was impossible, he decided to let it drop.

"That's quite alright," said Kenom, "I admire your compassion. I stopped by to tell you that we have found the person responsible for the blaster cap explosion." "Indeed," said Scott, "I admire you effectiveness as an investigator." "It was, as you suspected, a God fearing Flectoid with a hatred for your Godforce beliefs," continued Kenom, "we have him in the confinement center." "I am sorry to hear that patrolman," said Leader Scott, "I was hoping we were making some headway here." "Well," replied Kenom, "I am sure this is an isolated case, I know all Flectoids don't feel as he does." "I hope your right." said Scott, "What does central command plan to do with him?" "It hasn't been decided yet," answered Kenom, "I was hoping to get some input from you."

Priest leader Scott, was surprised to hear this. Most decisions in the Command Compound are made without consulting anyone, and never the Plutons. "What are the options," he said, not knowing where to begin. "Well," said Kenom, "he cannot be allowed to return to the general population. He would be an instant martyr. Then you would have some real religious problems." "I agree," answered Leader Scott. "I suppose banishment to Fleckton is the only real solution." "Yes," replied Kenom, "but then there is always the possibility that he would be looked at as a martyr back on Fleckton too. Being sent back to Flecton for attacking the Plutons would be a powerful tool; it could be used against you with great effectiveness. Over time, as word spread, this small incident would turn into something quite different then it was. The small blaster cap would become a bomb, and instead of no damage there would have been many Pluton killed, that's the way hatred gains its momentum."

"Very true," said leader Scott, "but what is the alternative?" Kenom thought for a moment then said, "What would you think of this. What if he were to be assigned into your care here in your Relig-u-dome? He is not an evil person, just misguided. He is very good at electronic repair work and I am sure you can find him plenty of work to keep him occupied." "Hummm," said Leader Scott, as he thought it over, "a very creative idea,... very creative indeed. Perhaps it would be beneficial to us to have a Flecton in our dome, particularly a God believer. We could very well learn something from him. He might help us learn how to break down the barrier that separates our beliefs. Yes, this is a good idea, patrolman Kenom , a very good idea."

"Are you sure this won't be a problem?" asked Kenom, "Don't forget he is an organic. He is in the lower LEB count." "No, not at all," said leader Scott, "We mingle with low LEBers all the time. We are all trained to do this. I can have him room with our doorman, he also has a low LEB count. They should get on nicely, as our doorman has little grasp of the Godforce philosophy and never talks about it. We will be able to bring him along slowly." "Fair enough," said Kenom, "let's consider it done then." "Won't you have to check with Central Command first," asked Leader Scott, "They may not think so highly of your idea." "That won't be necessary," replied Kenom, "I already have the authority to act on this matter." "Very well," said Leader Scott, "I will get things ready for our new guest."

As Kenom was slipping his badge back into his pocket and starting to leave, Leader Scott said, "I couldn't help but notice the Special Patrolman badge you were holding is that the reason you can make policy decisions?” Kenom was taken by surprise by what he had just heard. He thought that leader Scott knew about Priority Patrolman Orders and what authority came with them. He had forgotten that the Plutons were new here on Ob. He stammered for a moment then said, "Oh this, it was given to me by the commander, I use it to open doors!" They both had a good laugh, and parted.

#32 Zelton's New Home

Kenom went directly to Patrol Dome #3. After greeting Master Teems, they went to Teems office. Lord Bakker was also there. When they sat down, Master Teems pulled some papers from his desk and said, "I have the deportation papers all made out for maintenance man Zelton, he will be on the next supply ship back to Flecton." Lord Barked breaks in, "And I will see to it that he has a good thrashing before he goes!" "That won't be necessary," said Kenom, "I have made other arrangements." Master Teems and Lord Barker looked at each other with fear on their faces. "And what might they be?" asked Master Teems timidly, fearing that perhaps he and his lord were also to be deported.

"I'm sorry, but this matter is to remain confidential, his whereabouts will be known only to Central Command. I can only say that maintenance man Zelton will be dealt with in a manner that befits his crime. I consider the situation resolved. If you would be kind enough to have maintenance man Zelton brought over to Central Dome, I will take it from there... and be sure and put him in a sealed module." "It will be done as you ask," said Master Teems, "get on it at once Lord Barker." Master Teems couldn't believe his good fortune at the outcome of what could have been the end of his career. "Yes sir!" said Lord Barker. Kenom could tell that Master Teems and Lord Barker were relieved that they were not being held responsible, and that the matter was closed. One could almost hear Master Teems saying to himself, "It's party time!!"

The sealed module was waiting for Kenom when he arrived at Central Dome. Those Flecktoids can be rather efficient when their careers are threatened, he thought to himself. He entered the module to find Zelton crying uncontrollably, "Oh, please God, Please save me!!" he was saying. Kenom finally had to grab and shake him to get his attention. "Stop this" he said, "stop this crying at once!" Zelton managed to gather himself up a bit, but he remained inconsolable. "They’re sending me to Flecton!" he said, "I don't want to go, I don't want to go! I'll do anything, anything, just please don't send me to Fleckton, please! I beg of you!"

"Stop it" said Kenom sternly, "you're not going to be sent to Fleckton." Zelton slowly begin to stop crying as the words Kenom said started to sink in. He said nothing; he just sat there quietly sobbing. "Alright" said Kenom, "that's better. Now listen to me,.. are you listening?" Zelton nodded, yes. "Say it" said Kenom, "are you listening to me?" "Yes, I'm listening." came the weak response. "That's better" said Kenom, "Now here is what's going to happen to you. You are going to be assigned to the Relig-u-dome..." Zelton broke down again after hearing these words, "No!, no!, they will kill me! No!, I beg of you.." Kenom grabbed him and said, "Stop it!, they are not going to kill you, you have my word, do you hear me, they are not going to harm you in any way." Zelton begin to control himself, he knew that if a Special Patrolman said he would not be harmed, it would be so. "Are you sure?" he said meekly. "Yes, I give you my word, as a Special Patrolman, and as a friend"

Zelton felt that a miracle had occurred; a Special Patrolman had just called him his friend. He stopped crying and just looked at Kenom. He looked at Kenom as if he were a God. Kenom felt a little uncomfortable to be looked at like that. They sat there for a moment, neither of them quite sure what to say. Then Kenom continued, "You will be under the guidance of Priest Leader Scott. I want you to promise me that you will be obedient and do as he says. I want you to show the utmost respect to him and all the Plutons in the dome and never cause them any trouble, is that clear?" Zelton nodded in the affirmative. "I want you to say it" said Kenom. "I promise to be obedient and do as Priest Leader Scott says...and never to cause any trouble" Zelton finally said. "Good" said Kenom, "I know that if you do that you will find them to be not near the monsters you believed them to be. You can learn much from them I assure you." Zelton nodded and said, "I will not let you down Special Patrolman sir, I will not let you down." "I'm sure you won't" said Kenom, "now let's proceed to your new home and meet your new family"

Kenom realized that Zelton was still just a child, brain wise. He was only a fanatical God believer because he wanted to be accepted. Being born on Ob probably made him feel more or less like an outcast. By being a God zealot, Zelton felt he was loved and accepted. The more committed he was to his God the more he felt loved and accepted. After all, he believed that God loved him, even if he was born on Ob.

Zelton had not completely regained his composure yet when they met Priest Leader Scott. Zelton was surprised when everyone in the dome came out to greet him. They all made him feel quite welcome. Zelton seemed a bit overwhelmed, but he was visibly pleased. Kenom had voice transferred Leader Scott and told him what he had told Zelton. Priest leader Scott assured Kenom that all would go well, for he had discussed the matter with the rest of the Plutons and it was unanimous that Zelton should be in their charge. They all felt it to be a great advantage to have a God believing Flecton in their midst. They felt they could learn much about how best to direct their, "conversion efforts." They were happy to do anything that would help them be more effective, not only here on Ob, but on planet Fleckton as well.

Seeing that all was well, Kenom said his goodbyes and left for the Mini-dome

#33 The Problem With Power

On the way back to the Mini-dome, Kenom couldn't help but wonder if he had done the right thing, substituting one false belief with another in that poor Flecton's brain. But he assured himself that the Godforce and the LEB theory was a far better belief system then the organic, God based Philosophy. One gets to the truth in steps, he thought, perhaps this step is a necessary one in the evolution of the clear thinking brain.

After the "blaster cap incident," Kenom didn't leave the Mini-dome much. Word spread rapidly about his "Special Patrolman" status and Kenom felt uncomfortable about all the attention he was getting. He had become somewhat of a celebrity. He and Enew went to the Central Dome Image Projection Center one night to see a new image projection that was sent up from Zimtel. It had just won all sorts of awards and was all the rage on Zimtel. But he felt uncomfortable the entire night, everyone seemed to be looking at him with a, "so that's the new Special Patrolman" look. He felt very self-conscious.

People still talked to him, but now he wasn't sure if it was him or his celebrity they were talking to. The Flectoids were the worse. They lived by status. It had always been a mark of prestige to have a High LEB Zimtellion patrolman visit one of their domes, but now, to have a "Special Patrolman" in for a visit was tantamount to having the creator of the universe stop by. Kenom seldom even went over to the Central Dome any more either. He stayed clear of level #1 completely because the one time he did go there, everyone stood at attention when he walked in. His treatment was well beyond what he had expected, or wanted. He had expected respect for sure, but blind obedience to authority was something that appalled him.

There were also the usual requests for help. Fleck-masters who wanted to get this or that done, the voice and message transfers with all sorts of flattering comments, plus the never ending party invitations. Most of these things were ignored or replied to with a voice message made by Enew, which said, "Thank you for your message. At the moment, Special Patrolman Kenom is quite busy with important war duty matters. He regrets that he cannot respond at this time. He is very appreciative of your call and will do what he can to get back to you. Thank you."

Kenom hated this situation. He had become a prisoner of his status. He could only be of use now if there happened to be a Figgnon attack, then his authority would be needed in a real way. Now he had too much power to deal with the small day to day problems at the compound. Just his intervention would cause the smallest problem to be escalated into the realm of a "serious compound incident." Some would cherish that kind of power, and indeed there were those in the compound that envied him for having it, but Kenom felt neutralized and ineffective. He felt he had become something much more then he was, and he was not pleased with his new status. He now had great power, but no power to change how others perceived that power.

He didn't ask for this power, but by showing that he had it people now blindly subjected themselves to it. Before this happened, he could pull out his badge, assert his power, then put it away and continue as if he had none at all. That was effective use of power. Power used sparingly, to remedy a specific situation. That was much better then broad power. Broad power corrupts broadly. It is a lesson few have learned.

Kenom spent the rest of his duty time reading the computer disk essays and books he had brought with him. He also started tending a small organic plant that was left behind when Enew packed up Master Wo's organic life support package. It was a small miniature tree from the organic planet Ezel. It was at least a hundred year-marks old and Kenom found it to be very beautiful, in an organic sort of way. He had become quite attached to it. He also had time to do a lot of thinking, which gave him his greatest pleasure. Enew spent his time watching the Zimtel channel on Universal-vision. It seems that Zimtel Universal-vision channels could be picked up on Ob after all, -with the aid of a de-scrambler box, supplied to him by Major Finon. Some perks of having a friend with power.

Before they knew it it was time to start getting things ready so that they could leave. Enew was busy packing and getting things ready, he handed Kenom a stack of electro-messages and said, "Here, you should answer some of these. I think the whole compound has sent you a farewell message. There have also been a lot of voice transfers for you. You may want to get back to some of them.......Oh, and the major voiced you too" "Thanks said Kenom, "I'll get right on it."

#34 Goodbye Messages

Kenom spent the next few days answering all the electro messages. "Thank you for all your kind words, I am sorry that I was unable to, etc...etc...etc." Most of his replies were short, as he had so many. He did, however, reply in a more lengthy way to the Vertons. They sent him several electro gifts and several very moving messages. He told them how happy he was that he had been of some help, etc..etc., and how pleased Central Command was with all the fine work they were doing with the tunnel repairs. He promised them that when he got back to Zimtel he would talk to his DNA father to see if something could be done about getting the Vertons, back on their home planet, to recognize their plight. He thought something should be done to change their "forgotten people" status.

The message that surprised him the most was the one he received from the Sport Dome. The message went into great detail about the changes that were being made there. Body monitors on all the seats in the Fleck-masters sections, large viewing monitors for the Flectoid patrolman, organic food stations, a permanent music band, a new state-of-the-art competition field, -just to name a few. It was signed by each and every Sport Lord. Kenom smiled when he read the message, there was nothing they could do for the Vertons when they needed fixing up, but there was always plenty of money to fix up a sports facility. But Kenom held no grudges, his answer was gracious, telling them how happy he was that they were doing so well, and wished them further success. He thought for a moment about the essay he had once read on the Law of Occurrence. Surely, he thought, that this had been a good example of turning a bad occurrence into a good one. Things had turned out well for the Vertons and the Flectons. Perhaps there is something to this theory.

Kenom was overwhelmed by all the invitations to parties and special functions he had been invited to since his status as "Special Patrolman" had become known. He received messages from Fleck-masters that he had never even met, from Patrol Domes he had never visited. He couldn't help but wonder if he would have been so popular if had never been found out. But, as he had had some experience in these matters while traveling with his DNA father, he accepted it as, "the burden of power."

The one message that he liked the best came from Fleck-master Tjubo. It was hand written and hand decorated. It read, "My dear friend Kenom. I am indeed sorry that you are leaving us so soon. It is hard to believe that the war season is over already. I will never forget the many hour-marks we spent talking. Anyone who is so open to new ideas and is willing to view the universe, and all its life forms, without prejudice, is truly a great man. You are that, plus, you are truly an exceptional Zimtellion. I know the future for you is a bright one. I will never forget meeting you.” Signed, Tjubo. Kenom read it several times, he was not only pleased at what it said, but it was pleasing to look at as well.

Enew came in, interrupting Kenom's thoughts, and said, "Well, I think we are pretty much ready to leave, I've shut down most of the electro equipment and I've sent our stuff over to the Central Dome loading platform to be loaded into a Nominal-module. It should be ready for us to leave tomorrow." "Good, said Kenom, Thanks." Don't forget my little organic plant," he added. "Don't worry," said Enew, "it's packed in a special, organic shipping container." "Good, thanks." said Kenom, as he returned to his message writing. His thought pattern had now been interrupted, and instead of a lengthy reply, he just wrote Tjubo a quick note, thanking him for his kind words and assuring him that he would also not forget their talks

The next morning, after one final inspection of the Mini-dome, Kenom and Enew grabbed what small items that were left, and got into their module and headed out for the Central Dome to say goodbye to Major Finon. Kenom sealed the module so that they wouldn't be seen, he never liked goodbyes and he was afraid he might run into one of the Fleck-masters or Fleck-lords on one of the transfer stations. He had already said what needed to be said in his electro-messages, seeing anyone in person would only seem anti-climatic. He preferred to just be gone.

#35 Time To Go - Epilogue

Arriving at Central Dome, Kenom and Enew went directly to Major Finon's office. "Hello major" said Kenom, "we just came by to tell you goodbye and thank you for all you have done for us during our duty tour." "I'm sorry to see you go," said Major Finon, "it seems like you just got here and now you are leaving already." "Yes, well, time flies when you are busy." "And from the reports I have been getting, you have been just that." replied the major, with a smile. Yes, said Kenom, perhaps I’ll write a book about my adventures here on OB when I return to Zinmmel, I’ll call it, “Odyssey on OB” They all had a good laugh over the thought.

Kenom pulled out his badge and special orders he had received from Commander Finloy. As he handed them over to the major he said, "Please thank the Commander when he returns for giving me the privilege to be a Priority Patrolman while I was on duty here, I learned a lot about myself and what it means to have power." "I'm sure you did," replied the major, "and from what I have heard, power suits you well. I know that the things you did here, as a Priority Patrolman, will forever be imprinted on the minds of the Flecktons".

"I have been in contact with the Commander and he wanted me to congratulate you, and thank you for all your good work. He also asked me to tell you that he wants you to keep the Special Patrolman badge as a souvenir of your tour of duty here on Ob. He knows that you will be a great politician one day, and he hopes that you will always remember your duty at this compound. And my I add, I too believe that you have a bright future as a politician, I know you will make your DNA father proud." Thank you, Major, and thank the Commander for me too." said Kenom, "I shall always cherish this gift."

With the pleasantries out of the way, Kenom and Enew went down to the transportation space port to prepare themselves for the space ride back to Zimtel. They went up to the duty patrolman and asked if their Nominal-module was loaded and ready. The duty patrolman brought them over to a port #1, where a brand new Luxury-module was setting. There was a note taped on to the side.

Kenom opened the note and read it to Enew, "Dear Kenom and Enew, The Commander wanted you to have this. It was given to him by the Flecton War Council on Fleckton. It was a nice gesture, but he has little use for it. The Flecktons on Ob all agreed that it would be better if you had it, and got some use out of it, rather then it just setting here gathering dust. Please accept it with the well wishes of the entire compound. Godforce speed home, signed, Major Finon." Kenom and Enew looked at each not knowing what to say. Enew finally said, "It would never do for a Priority Patrolman to arrive back on Zimtel in a Nominal-module now would it." "No I guess it wouldn't," replied Kenom. They both had a good laugh.

They climbed aboard and soon they heard, "We're ready to start the count down." Alright my friend, let's go home!" Then with a loud roar of the rockets they blasted off the central dome platform. Soon Ob faded from view as the space craft headed toward home.

Epilogue

A peace treaty between planet Figgnon and planet Fleckton was signed in year-mark Five Million five thousand sixty five. The Planet Patrol Compound on planet Ob was shut down a few years later. Zimtel Patrol Headquarters reassigned all the Permanent Duty Patrolmen to the War Compound on planet Mazgermin. All the Flecktons who had been stationed on Ob returned to their home planet Flecton. They all received a substantial retirement and lived their remaining lives in comfort.

Fleck-master Tjubo managed to bring back, to Flecton, his extensive collection of paintings. He eventually became director of the FleckMuseum of Universal Art. He was instrumental in making that museum one of the finest in that part of the Galaxy. His brain was eventually approved for transfer into an Electrobody.

The Vertons were welcomed as heros when they returned to their home planet Verton. They were hailed as examples of Vertons traditional values of hard work and tenacity. The Vertons eventually purchased the old Maintenance Dome, dismantled it and had it brought back to Verton and rebuilt. A tour of the old Dome is a requirement for all Vertons.

Kenom’s DNA father had managed to get him appointed to the position of Director of Galaxy Studies at the Political Correction Department on Zimtel and before long he was selected to be on the Zimtel Political Council. His meteoric rise to political power astounded everyone, except Enew. Enew remained his aid and confidant for his entire career. In the year mark, Five million fie thousand one hundred sixty Kenom was selected to be LordMaster of Galaxy #3. That was the most powerful position in the Galaxy. He lived out the rest of his days on planet Nemlon, the largest planet in the Galaxy. He shut down for the last time in the Year-mark, Five million five thousand two hundred twenty after being acclaimed as one of the most effective planet unifiers in Galaxy history. His Z501 body unit was sent back to Zimtel where it is still on display in The Gallery of the Greats Zimtels most honored and prestigious museum. He never did write his book.