Solbidyum Wars Saga 4: Too Late for Earth by Dale C. Musser Page A

always been in doubt in my mind, but I never had any negative feelings about him.  While at Alle Bamma Thumumba had asked me to free his children free from slavery and rid the planet of the evil Brotherhood who had been enslaving them and forcing them to harvest the plant used for producing the illicit drug called GOD’s Sweat.  We had done so and before leaving the planet Thumumba had given Kala and I his blessing and named us as his children also.  In the time that had elapsed since we had left Alle Bamma I had not thought or dreamed of Thumumba until this night.  From the very beginning of the dream something was different, for one thing Thumumba didn’t have the wild appearance he did when I had encountered him at Alle Bamma, gone was the wild native appearance and instead I was presented with the image of a more sophisticated man who no longer spoke to me in a pidgin Language but instead used a more refined version of the Universal Federation Language.
    “Greetings to you who speaks in my name,” he began.
    “Greetings Thumumba,” I responded in the Federation tongue.
    “I am pleased with you and the works you have done to stop the use of my sacred plants for improper uses.  Now I have need of you once again.  Come to “Sweet Home,” within 90 days so that I may meet with you.”   The dream ended abruptly and on rising the next day I wondered about the dream and if it had any validity or if it was just something my brain had concocted.  I was about to discard the event entirely until Kala mentioned to me that she had a dream as well of Thumumba that night similarly instructing her that we needed to come to Alle Bamma soon, moments later Kerabac also confronted me relating a similar dream.  “It would appear we will need to visit Alle Bamma shortly.”  I exclaimed.  Once have returned the recovered solbidyum to the Federation I think we need to make Alle Bamma our next stop.”
    “I think you are correct Tibby, in my dream Thumumba seemed most intent on our being there.”  Kerabac replied.
    “Do you think we can accomplish everything we will need to at Megelleon while we are there or will we need more time?”
    “A week should suffice, but don’t forget it takes several weeks to reach Alle Bamma from Megelleon.  Oh and before I forget the android’s ship is due to dock with us within the hour.”
    “Good, thanks for the update, oh I would also appreciate if you called him Andy and not refer to his as the android .”  I responded.
    “You really think of him as sentient with thoughts and feelings like other natural beings and humans in the universe?”  Kerabac asked, with a somewhat puzzled look.
    “I’m not sure what he thinks or feels, but I think we can afford him the courtesy of acting like he does. We lose nothing b doing so if he doesn’t, but we have much to gain in friendship and trust if he does.”
    “Hmmm, I guess you are right I’ve been so used to thinking of androids as simply being artificial constructs that I’ve haven't giving any real thought as to any other possibility.  I must confess that their organizational and administrative skills in getting things organized on Goo’Waddle are impressive.  I just wonder why they never tried to do so before.”
    “I can answer that for you,” A’Lappe’s voice came from the doorway as he entered.  “The androids were on the run from the Federation when they arrived after the war.   People were afraid of them, and if the androids had tried to establish any control or attempted to take any leadership roles, people here would have seen them in the same threatening light that the Federation did.  They would have made every effort to destroy them.  As it was, they came in as an apparently disorganized and defeated bunch and integrated themselves into the lower echelon of the population here.  No one saw them as a threat and they were allowed to exist here relatively unnoticed. But now years have passed, and an