Well, I'm feeling better, but once again the Tzállö have me quarantined and "under observation". they won't even clear me to get to the gâ'akaxaoda station. Anyway, I'm stuck here in this hospital sort of place. Of course, a Tzállö hospital is an entirely different experience from an Earth hospital. Obviously, there are no lights except for the ones that were put in my room for my benefit and my headlamp (which still has't drained its batteries! Quite impressive!) And rather than white, most of the walls are dull gray plastic, with very smooth black linoleum. Everything is very cool and smooth with a lot of metallic-looking textures, which I suspect conveys the same concept of sterility for Tzállö that stark white conveys for humans. The doctors wear very smooth clothing that almost looks like latex rather than fabric.
Anyway, I have a private room, as always, though it's smaller than hospital rooms I've seen on Earth. There's also nothing here for entertainment -- no window, no TV -- not even the Tzállö equivalents. The yela'kaja tells me that Tzállö usually entertain themselves in hospitals by reading, though obviously I couldn't read anything in their library -- It'd just be a bunch of raised squares to me. So, I'm stuck talking to the yela'kaja and surfing the Internet through this magical little device. Wish me well! I just hope I can get off this weird dark planet sometime soon.
Showing posts with label Lazga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lazga. Show all posts
Friday, August 10, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Don't Eat the Black Sauce
Ah, I haven't been able to post for, what, a week or so? Why is that? Well, first of all, there's some sort of weird interference down in these tunnels that makes it difficult to get my Xala typing machine-thingy to work. Then, of course, you have the fact that I can't activate it around a Tzállö without drawing attention and probably at least seeing their nose and ears twitch a bit in anger (one time one of them just plain screamed at me to turn it off -- hurling some insults that the yela'kaja refused to translate).
But mainly, I've been sick for the past few days. The yela'kaja tells me that its some bug that I got in the tunnels that apparently affects humans more than it does Tzállö, but I don't know. All I know is that I've been in Tzállö hospitals for a few days recovering -- with a lot of that time spent in a Xala stasis chamber while they figured out what to do. I'm still a little woozy from all the drugs, but they tell me that I'm fine.
As for the cause, it may have been a bug, but I kind of think something I ate recently had something to do with it. I've graduated from mushrooms, moss, and insects to some of the meats -- some of which are served with this thick black sauce called kyadwö. Anyway, I didn't know when I was eating it, but afterward it was explained to me that the title ingredient, the kyadwö, is actually the Lazga equivalent of mildew. That's right, a sauce made from mildew. It actually tastes really good -- but I'm quite sure it was part of what made me sick.
Anyway, I'm going to be returning to Jed as soon as I'm good and recovered and they can make sure I don't have any diseases. The yela'kaja said that he thinks the stresses of traveling from planet to planet "contributed to the illness" (I'm still saying it's the sauce) and is going to recommend sending me back to Earth. That's fine with me, but I would like to see Kesata again before I go.
Anyway, the moral of this story: If the Xala make full contact with Earth, and you have an opportunity to go to Lazga -- don't eat the black sauce.
But mainly, I've been sick for the past few days. The yela'kaja tells me that its some bug that I got in the tunnels that apparently affects humans more than it does Tzállö, but I don't know. All I know is that I've been in Tzállö hospitals for a few days recovering -- with a lot of that time spent in a Xala stasis chamber while they figured out what to do. I'm still a little woozy from all the drugs, but they tell me that I'm fine.
As for the cause, it may have been a bug, but I kind of think something I ate recently had something to do with it. I've graduated from mushrooms, moss, and insects to some of the meats -- some of which are served with this thick black sauce called kyadwö. Anyway, I didn't know when I was eating it, but afterward it was explained to me that the title ingredient, the kyadwö, is actually the Lazga equivalent of mildew. That's right, a sauce made from mildew. It actually tastes really good -- but I'm quite sure it was part of what made me sick.
Anyway, I'm going to be returning to Jed as soon as I'm good and recovered and they can make sure I don't have any diseases. The yela'kaja said that he thinks the stresses of traveling from planet to planet "contributed to the illness" (I'm still saying it's the sauce) and is going to recommend sending me back to Earth. That's fine with me, but I would like to see Kesata again before I go.
Anyway, the moral of this story: If the Xala make full contact with Earth, and you have an opportunity to go to Lazga -- don't eat the black sauce.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Dark, Gloomy, Boring Planet -- but at least I saw a Moon
Well, I'm still on Lazga. Hasn't been a whole lot to talk about lately. This whole place is strange to me. My own little room is well lit -- it even has little sun-lamps for me -- but everywhere else is just so dark. There's no color and no light in any of the corridors outside my little room and some of the Xala-occupied areas near the gâ'axao.
I did get to go outside recently. I'm not allowed to go out during the day -- apparently the reason the Tzállö live in caves is the surface has wild temperature swings. I wouldn't be able to tolerate the heat of the day without strong protection, but the yela'kaja was able to arrange to get me some well-insulated clothing for outdoors, though it was still a bit cold for the few minutes they had me there. Lazga has a rather large moon. Kesata had a good size moon, too, but I didn't notice it as much since I was usually out more in the daytime there. Seeing planets with moons reminds me of Earth, and also of the complete weirdness of my first few hours on Jed (I didn't even count days there, they just don't work) when I looked up in the sky to see that great massive planet, staying always in the same spot forever.
Its still kind of strange, though. On Kesata, I learned to get used to a day/night cycle again, though it was a good bit shorter than on Earth. But on Lazga, I have to program the lights in my room to get any kind of cycle. Lazga does have days, of course, and the Tzállö even follow them in their calendar, but they really aren't paying much attention to the sky. They can't really see it. Some of them can "feel" the light of their moon, but from what I've gathered from talking to them, it just seems strange to them, unless they're into astronomy. There's no air to carry the sound up there -- and even if there were, that big object I see so clearly in the sky would be much too far away for them to detect.
So, what do Tzállö do? The stay in their tunnels, going back and forth. They have a huge network of tunnels connecting different parts of this city, plus larger tunnels that carry trains to other cities. I'm going to get to ride one of those trains eventually, but they've still got my travel restricted for now. The officials here told me that there were a number of big epidemics when Lazga first got connected to the rest of the trade network, so they now quarantine all travelers who come in. Apparently the close quarters in these tunnels was a blessing and a curse during that time -- he said they were able to seal off affected areas quickly, but that close quarters and communal living made the diseases spread faster.
Anyway, I don't know about their history with disease, but I'd really like to be getting somewhere. But, well, I suppose they have good reason to keep me here -- me being a new species and all. Damn inconvenient for me, but I'll deal with it.
I did get to go outside recently. I'm not allowed to go out during the day -- apparently the reason the Tzállö live in caves is the surface has wild temperature swings. I wouldn't be able to tolerate the heat of the day without strong protection, but the yela'kaja was able to arrange to get me some well-insulated clothing for outdoors, though it was still a bit cold for the few minutes they had me there. Lazga has a rather large moon. Kesata had a good size moon, too, but I didn't notice it as much since I was usually out more in the daytime there. Seeing planets with moons reminds me of Earth, and also of the complete weirdness of my first few hours on Jed (I didn't even count days there, they just don't work) when I looked up in the sky to see that great massive planet, staying always in the same spot forever.
Its still kind of strange, though. On Kesata, I learned to get used to a day/night cycle again, though it was a good bit shorter than on Earth. But on Lazga, I have to program the lights in my room to get any kind of cycle. Lazga does have days, of course, and the Tzállö even follow them in their calendar, but they really aren't paying much attention to the sky. They can't really see it. Some of them can "feel" the light of their moon, but from what I've gathered from talking to them, it just seems strange to them, unless they're into astronomy. There's no air to carry the sound up there -- and even if there were, that big object I see so clearly in the sky would be much too far away for them to detect.
So, what do Tzállö do? The stay in their tunnels, going back and forth. They have a huge network of tunnels connecting different parts of this city, plus larger tunnels that carry trains to other cities. I'm going to get to ride one of those trains eventually, but they've still got my travel restricted for now. The officials here told me that there were a number of big epidemics when Lazga first got connected to the rest of the trade network, so they now quarantine all travelers who come in. Apparently the close quarters in these tunnels was a blessing and a curse during that time -- he said they were able to seal off affected areas quickly, but that close quarters and communal living made the diseases spread faster.
Anyway, I don't know about their history with disease, but I'd really like to be getting somewhere. But, well, I suppose they have good reason to keep me here -- me being a new species and all. Damn inconvenient for me, but I'll deal with it.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Communal Living and Fungus Food
So far Lazga is a bit boring, though that might be just because I have a tough time seeing in the corridors as we tour through. I think I do have to share some of things. The Tzállö seem to be rather communal. They all live in these underground tunnels and caves in big groups. I've seen some of their little barracks, there are quite a few people in there. They also have a big communal mess hall where they all go to eat. In fact, though I've been given a special room that has electric lights and some special accommodations to keep me comfortable, I'm still required to go to the public mess hall for two meals a day.
Going to the mess hall is a bit of a strange thing for me. Tzállö can't see, but some of them can detect light on their skin somehow (the yela'kaja told me something about light-sensitive cells or some such). Now, me and the yela'kaja both have very bright lights strapped to our heads--which are very good, by the way. They don't penetrate the corridors as well, but they throw light all around the mess hall, and my batteries haven't worn out yet despite the amount of use this thing gets. Anyway, since light isn't a very common down in a Tállö mess hall deep underground where you can't even get sunlight through the ventilation shaft, whenever one of them "feels" our lights, suddenly about thirty pairs of ears start shifting in our direction and some heads turn to get a better "look" at the aliens.
Then we get special attention from the cooks. The Xala have cleared a few Tzállö foods for me to eat, so when I go to get my food one of the servers pulls out this little sheet of paper with the list in Fbeki and starts running his fingers along each little entry, making suggestions as he finds up with stuff he particularly likes. Note that, while he's reading the paper on the table with his fingers, his nose and ears are firmly aimed at me -- he apparently can read and stare at the funny alien at the same time.
Most of what they serve is fungus and maybe some small animals. In fact, as I'm writing this, I'm sitting in the mess hall eating a big plate of mushrooms with some moss harvested from the tunnel entrance, along with a Xala protein bar, of course -- none of the meats are cleared, yet. Apparently Lazga has dozens of varieties of edible mushrooms. The one's I'm having are called zbugy (something like ZHBOO-gyu), and they're not so bad, for mushrooms. The food's not quite as good as on Kesata, but it's definitely not as nasty as the protein bars the Xala give me.
Going to the mess hall is a bit of a strange thing for me. Tzállö can't see, but some of them can detect light on their skin somehow (the yela'kaja told me something about light-sensitive cells or some such). Now, me and the yela'kaja both have very bright lights strapped to our heads--which are very good, by the way. They don't penetrate the corridors as well, but they throw light all around the mess hall, and my batteries haven't worn out yet despite the amount of use this thing gets. Anyway, since light isn't a very common down in a Tállö mess hall deep underground where you can't even get sunlight through the ventilation shaft, whenever one of them "feels" our lights, suddenly about thirty pairs of ears start shifting in our direction and some heads turn to get a better "look" at the aliens.
Then we get special attention from the cooks. The Xala have cleared a few Tzállö foods for me to eat, so when I go to get my food one of the servers pulls out this little sheet of paper with the list in Fbeki and starts running his fingers along each little entry, making suggestions as he finds up with stuff he particularly likes. Note that, while he's reading the paper on the table with his fingers, his nose and ears are firmly aimed at me -- he apparently can read and stare at the funny alien at the same time.
Most of what they serve is fungus and maybe some small animals. In fact, as I'm writing this, I'm sitting in the mess hall eating a big plate of mushrooms with some moss harvested from the tunnel entrance, along with a Xala protein bar, of course -- none of the meats are cleared, yet. Apparently Lazga has dozens of varieties of edible mushrooms. The one's I'm having are called zbugy (something like ZHBOO-gyu), and they're not so bad, for mushrooms. The food's not quite as good as on Kesata, but it's definitely not as nasty as the protein bars the Xala give me.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Out of Quarantine
They've let me out of the quarantine cell, finally. We had a guided tour of the little underground city where I'll be staying. Of course, there wasn't much for me to grab hold of, since the only light I had was from my own flashlight strapped to my head. The flashlight itself isn't even that interesting, it looks just like a regular electric light, possibly a bit more advanced as the bulb is very bright and the batteries haven't burnt out in the hours that I've had it.
One thing that I notice is the walls. After Kesata with its sculptures and brightly colored rooms this place seems dull and grim. We did see some statues of some historical figures, but most of them are not nearly as detailed as Kesatan sculptures. They do have some very good textures on a few of the statues, but they seem to be smoothed out over all, and of course none of them are painted. The more important statues are made with granite, while some others are made with some gray rock, maybe shale, and a few are made from what looks like coal.
The signs on the walls are interesting. The yela'kaja pointed them out to me. The letters are all big blocky shapes cut out of the walls. He tells me that this type of lettering is easier to read by echolocation, and he's also going to bring me a Fbeki book (the Tzállö language is called Fbeki) so I can see their other alphabet, which from what he describes is similar to what's on the walls but is felt with your fingers like Braille. I definitely won't be staying here long.
By the way, I only got one yela'kaja, in human form, as humans can apparently pronounce all the sounds in the Tzállö language. That's what they tell me, at least. From the sound of it, I have my doubts as to whether I could do it myself.
One thing that I notice is the walls. After Kesata with its sculptures and brightly colored rooms this place seems dull and grim. We did see some statues of some historical figures, but most of them are not nearly as detailed as Kesatan sculptures. They do have some very good textures on a few of the statues, but they seem to be smoothed out over all, and of course none of them are painted. The more important statues are made with granite, while some others are made with some gray rock, maybe shale, and a few are made from what looks like coal.
The signs on the walls are interesting. The yela'kaja pointed them out to me. The letters are all big blocky shapes cut out of the walls. He tells me that this type of lettering is easier to read by echolocation, and he's also going to bring me a Fbeki book (the Tzállö language is called Fbeki) so I can see their other alphabet, which from what he describes is similar to what's on the walls but is felt with your fingers like Braille. I definitely won't be staying here long.
By the way, I only got one yela'kaja, in human form, as humans can apparently pronounce all the sounds in the Tzállö language. That's what they tell me, at least. From the sound of it, I have my doubts as to whether I could do it myself.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Quarantine
Sorry I was absent, I was just now allowed to have my stuff. I'm here on Lazga ("LAHZH gah") to meet a race that the yela'kaja here calls the Tzállö (which sounds something like "CHAWL yer" with a British accent). Once again, they give me the spellings, they don't let me make them up. Anyway, the Tzállö (which I'm sure would be harder to type than it is to make this gadget type) are apparently a bit neurotic about germs, so when I got here (which, according to what I'm told, took a couple days anyway, though to me it was all instantaneous) I was sent immediately to this little quarantine cell, despite assurances from the yela'kaja that all proper the proper precautions had already been taken -- which I'm quite sure of from all the vaccines and antibiotics and whatever-all drugs the Xala gave me before they took me to the gâ'axao station.
Anyway, at least they gave my cell some lights and found something I can eat. Outside my cell in the corridor is pitch black -- from the looks of it the Tzállö don't even have eyes. They find their way around through echolocation. Luckily, my hearing isn't good enough to hear their constant clicking, which I was warned about before I came, but I think I can kind of feel it -- every time one of those things comes in here I feel really uneasy. Of course, that could be just the fact that they look like tall gray-skinned people with no eyes and some serious ear lobes (thing giant raggedy elf ears). Hopefully I'll be out of this cell soon and the tour can get underway. There is no way that the whole planet is as dark and cold and gloomy as this quarantine cell.
Anyway, at least they gave my cell some lights and found something I can eat. Outside my cell in the corridor is pitch black -- from the looks of it the Tzállö don't even have eyes. They find their way around through echolocation. Luckily, my hearing isn't good enough to hear their constant clicking, which I was warned about before I came, but I think I can kind of feel it -- every time one of those things comes in here I feel really uneasy. Of course, that could be just the fact that they look like tall gray-skinned people with no eyes and some serious ear lobes (thing giant raggedy elf ears). Hopefully I'll be out of this cell soon and the tour can get underway. There is no way that the whole planet is as dark and cold and gloomy as this quarantine cell.
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