The tree/person led Tan out of the Sunth city to an adjoining forest of tall trees that bore a strong resemblance to redwood trees. As they entered the forest, the overwhelming cacophony of voices dimmed, and then became silent. The silence was a welcome relief. The double vision of both a tree and person disappeared and only a wavering vision of a man in his twenties remained. “There is a mineral deposit under this forest that dampens our telepathy. The Ruk dug the mineral out from under our part of the valley, but left the mineral here in their forest, and along the ridge around the valley to protect us from being detected.” “Am I being banned from entering your ‘city’?” “No, Sir,” replied the tree/man. “But you must have a guide, or you will succumb to the affects you have already experienced.” “Where’s Luca?” “He has been taken into surgery.” “The Ruk are performing the surgery?” “No, Sir. A Ruk surgeon was called, but has not arrived yet. Your son needed immediate attention, so we have already begun the surgery.” “But…” “Sir, you have been plunged into a reality your species was not yet ready. You must adjust your thinking now. We are a sentient life form, and I assure you, there is nothing about your physiology we do not know. Your son is being operated on by the one of the finest surgeons in the universe.” “I…I…okay, I can deal with this, I meant no offense,” said Tan, trying hard not to hyper-ventilate. “None taken, Sir. Your adopted sons have minds far more evolved and will not suffer the ill effects as you are. Your son, Jack, is adapting well and making friends. I can see him, he is with the Ruk. He will be along soon. Make your camp here and rest, I will come get you when Luca is out of surgery.” “Yes, thank you. I just need some time to adjust to all this,” said Tan. The man disappeared like a leaf blowing away on the wind. Tan busied himself putting the tent up and gathering wood for a campfire. He stacked the wood into a pile, but did not light it. Burning wood might be a crime here, and he didn’t want to make any mistakes. He finished laying the campsite out and unfolded the lightweight lawn chair he had tied to his pack at the last moment before leaving the yacht. He had only just sat down when he heard Jack’s laughter. “I’m over here,” Tan called out. Jack saw the camp and came running, with a girl… the tallest girl Tan had ever seen; a Ruk? He knew from his briefing by the A.I. that the Ruk were giants, but he hadn’t expected this. The girl was easily eight feet tall. “Hey, how’s Luca?” asked Jack as he ran into the campsite. “He’s in surgery, I don’t know anything yet,” replied Tan, pushing himself out of the chair. “Who’s your friend?” Jack grinned the biggest grin Tan had seen from Jack, and simultaneously turned red. “This is my girlfriend, Kalu.” Tan blinked - And the surprises kept coming. Sure why not, it made perfect sense. They were 850 million light years from civilization and Jack finds an 8-foot tall girlfriend. “How old are you, young lady?” asked Tan, looking up at the Ruk giant. “Mutha dan ga loket,” replied the girl. Jack shrugged. “Sorry, the Ruk language evolved in the last two-hundred and fifty thousand years, my A.I. can’t translate.” “Do you know what she said?” asked Tan. “Not a clue, but watch this.” Jack pointed at himself, and then held up ten fingers, followed by two fingers separately. The girl pointed at herself, then repeated the same gesture with ten and two fingers. “See, she’s 12, same as me.” “And how do you know she wants to be your girlfriend?” asked Tan. Jack nodded sagely. “We have a connection.” Tan sighed. “Let me present you with an alternate translation. She thinks you’re the perfect size to cut into 12 pieces, then BBQ over this campfire and have a snack.” Jack laughed. The Ruk girl saw the stack of wood and in one long stride, crossed over to the pile and kicked it over. She looked at Tan and shook her head. “Theh tiyn nos.” Tan raised his hands. “No problem, I get it, no fires.” Kalu glanced around, then went and picked up two rocks and brought them back to the campsite. She laid the rocks in the prepared fire pit, and then retrieved a long piece of metal and a leather pouch hanging from the belt at her waist. She knelt next to the fire pit, opened the pouch and shook out a powder onto the rocks. She took the piece of metal next and banged it against the rocks. The powder glowed blue and sank into the rocks. The rocks began to glow. She motioned for Tan to kneel. “Magu dey neke.” Tan knelt and held his hand out over the rocks. They were warm, but not hot. He nodded. The rocks would provide some heat, and warm food, but not cook it. The Ruk probably prepared their food somewhere far from this forest, and only warm it up when in the forest. Kalu held the pouch and piece of metal out to Tan. Tan took the offered items. “Thank you, I’ll return them to you before we leave.” Kalu stood and took Jack’s hand. “Kutha, Jack.” Jack grinned at Tan. “See, I told you.” As the two young people were leaving, Tan called out. “Alternate translation; Time for Jack stew.” Jack laughed. “I’ll be back before dark," Tan sat back down in the lawn chair and closed his eyes. He didn't believe for a moment that Jack had found a girlfriend among the Ruk. She was probably his assigned guide, the same as the tree/man was his, but it was nice to know that despite Jack's vast intelligence, he was still just a boy and could make boyish mistakes. Though, there were going to be some emotional pieces to pick up later.

This one had to have a full illustration, it was too much fun not to add it. In hindsight, I should have titled it, Jack's first crush.