Chapter 16: Face to Face

For us, it was mere months to arrive back in our L4 orbital parking spot.

Hope Island is a disaster as a colony. Of the forty-four humans seeded here, forty went to seed. Literally. Hybrid grape seeds invaded their bodies converting them into hybrid human vegetable monsters. According to Brenda, who tells her story in the short, very short story, Hope Island, only one of the hybrids acted monstrously. The rest were benign and playful.

Linda and Billi were saved, their brains transplanted into cyborg bodies, after being weeded and detwigged. Brenda and Rob seem much matured, beyond their years, by their experiences.

The native born Hope Islanders are a new hybrid species and we leave them to their paradise to sun themselves and frolic on their island.

Johnny? The few visitors among his former minions, ceased coming to see him, after being railed at and cursed away. The aunts and I saw and heard all we needed while rescuing Linda and Billi.

Billi visited him one last time, after receiving her cyborg body. She returned with a portable brain case, and promptly had Johnny’s decapitated head stuffed indefinitely in cryo-stasis.

“Couldn’t bear to be parted from Johnny, Billi?”

“No, my responsibility is to the others, that my son Johnny doesn’t cause more mischief. That’s why I won’t leave him behind. I brought him into the world, I’m taking him out of this world with me.”

At least she didn’t set fire to him. I actually considered it a best option.

Back on course, retracing our path to our recent destination. Linda and Billi are welcome and useful crew members. Valuable lessons were learned on Paradise. No more grafting Terran plants to extraterrestrial plants. Never again.

We did load a few hundred pounds of Hope Island grapes placed in secure cold storage for possible future use. We don’t know what we will encounter out here on planets we will visit. A biological weapon like these grapes may come in handy.

The individual days pass slowly but the months rapidly. We are arrived. Another water world mostly water, with a few islands. No vegetation or life forms of any kind above water.

There are several more stars in this vicinity likely to have water worlds. We shrugg off our disappointment and soldier on.

More places to go and see.