All That Glitters Ch. 49

"I have some interesting news for you this evening. When it was discovered that we would again engage in a cultural exchange at this venue, the leaders of the various races decided that they wanted to have their best here to perform.

"Unlike last year, this year's performances will be conducted by professional entertainment troops from each of the member races. However, as happened last year, I will begin the evening. This year, as I no longer have my students with me, I will be performing alone. I hope that I will find you supportive of my musical abilities."

Junelliya sat down to a thunderous applause as she picked up her Luttrell. As she gently plucked at the strings, silence fell over the audience. She started her performance with the same festival song she had performed in front of the housekeepers and the music store employee. It was a very lively piece and showed her skill with her chosen instrument. Her fingers flew over the bass notes and formed the complex harmonics that matched them.

After the first refrain, Hanalei stood and pulled Fayad onto the floor in front of Junelliya. The pair danced the complex dance of the festival song, much to the delight of the watchers. The piece lasted four minutes and had everyone enthralled at the end.

Junelliya went into a Pod-Drran piece that was also festival music. The Pod-Drran giggled as they heard the music. A few of the braver couples came to dance to the music as the Pod-Drran sang the lyrics to the song.

Junelliya took a short bow and then began to play a new piece that she had just learned. It was a popular modern Maha-Rrin song that caught the Maha-Rrin off guard as they did not expect that Junelliya would know it. Junelliya surprised them even more when she sang the words in Maha-Lei, the Maha-Rrin language. The stunned Maha-Rrin stood and slapped their thighs, applauding in much the same manner as the Pod-Drran.

Junelliya then played the Pod-Drran Song of Life. Once again, she let her power flow into the music, giving those in the church a sense of what the song was about. She sent to the audience the essence of being a mother, of the joy of seeing the life she bore for the first time. People were in awe of her performance.

She ended the session with a hymn of the Church of Andanii. Hanalei and Fayad come forward once again, Hanalei to sing in counterpart to Junelliya's voice, and Fayad to add the sound of his Courdra to the music. The audience was once again entranced.

The last notes of the song reverberated in the large, open area of the massive church. For several seconds, there wasn't a sound heard. Then, the audience exploded in applause. Junelliya, Hanalei, and Fayad took their bows. They packed up her instrument and gave it to one of the guides to hold during the remainder of the performances.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in accordance with the Standard alphabet, the troops of the member races of the Greater Community, starting with the Asocans," Junelliya bowed to the Asoc and sat down to watch the display.

Day Nine of the Second Denders Summit, Denders Resort, Terra, The Sol System

"Good morning everyone," a cheerful Sylvie intoned as she greeted the senior leaders in the morning brief. "We are going to have some weather today, so please stay close to your accommodations. Storms here can be rather fierce. There is nothing to worry about unless you are caught in the open when the storm comes in.

"The weather bureau is predicting winds of up to 120km in the storm. That kind of wind will knock anyone off their feet, all races are included in that waring. If you hear the siren, head to shelter immediately. All of the buildings here are proofed against such weather, so all you need to do is get into a building. Pay attention to the warnings on your comps. All the comps of those staying at Denders are linked to the Denders emergency broadcast. If you hear the warning, get to shelter immediately.

"We do not have a troupe performing today, so the theatre will not be presenting. Tomorrow, there will be an exposé on human sports. There will be a variety of different sports events, everything from soccer to baseball to Sumo Wrestling. There will be enough things of interest for everyone. Juanita..."

"Thank-you, Sylvie. The event of yesterday evening at Notre Dame de Paris was very well received. The professional troops were a big hit in person and even via the media. Please see our media specialist, Cynthia Stewart, for more information. I will be available all day if anyone needs to speak with me. Please indicate the number of your people who will be with you if you book my time and I will set up the appropriate conference room.

"Tomorrow, A/Minister Lourdes will once again be on site. She will be available in half hour blocks starting at 09:00 hours.

"Tomorrow is the first open day of the new Consular Compound. Do not expect too much from the consulate too quickly. The Union is just learning of its existence. However, once the word gets around, expect a lot of interest to be generated from the compound, especially by the business community. Hanalei..."

"Thank-you, Juanita. So far we have not had any major issues that could not be handled by the senior staff during the Second Denders Summit. As always, if problems arise, please see if they can be handled at the lowest level possible. It takes the strain off the senior staff.

"I truly enjoyed last night's concert performance and was fascinated by the displays put on by the member races. This morning's media coverage is all about the event. The people of Terra seem to have grown so fond of this event that we might have to conduct this as an annual activity, especially if there is no summit next year.

"I would like to personally thank the leaders who all had the foresight to bring such talented professional entertainers from your member races. Sylvie..."

"That is all I have today, any points from the floor?" Sylvie asked.

Plaza del Sol, Denders Resort, Terra, The Sol System

Desmodian Hallat was not a happy teenage Harradi female. She had come to this planet with her family and now regretted being here.

In her own language, Desmodian referred to the glittery wings of the Crystal Flyer, a harbinger of spring. On a planet of ice and snow, the arrival of the Crystal Flyer was a most waited for event.

Here on Terra, her name had lesser expectations, being the name of a plant that was sometimes referred to as 'Beggar's Lice'. Her pretty name was now something that left a poor image in one's mind.

Junelliya felt the pain of the young Harradi female and worked her way down to the place in the main square where she was crying on her friend's shoulder. Hanalei, Violletiya, Gillaya, Sylvie Kinlo, Liea, and Caye-Ur were with her.

"Hello, I sensed your unease," Junelliya said sympathetically while pushing a little bit of her power to calm the young teen. "What has happened?" she asked of the other Harradi teens.

"The humans have been teasing her about her name. Her name is Desmodian and they say that it is the name of a shrub that is a weed on Terra. On our home world, Desmodian refers to the glittering of the Crystal Flyers wings. It is a beautiful name," one of the Harradi replied, giving the group of older female humans a nasty look.

"I see. It is terrible to be mocked by others," Violletiya told the small group of Harradi. "Especially when it is about your own name."

"That is a nice comp you have on your wrist. Do you know how to use it?" Hanalei asked, pointing to the wrist of the one called Desmodian.

"My parents have only just purchased it for me," she replied. "I still don't know how to use all of its functions," she admitted.

"So you haven't transferred your data to it yet then?" Caye-Ur asked.

"Transferred data?" one of the other Harradi asked.

"Yes, I see that you have your tablets with you. How much data do the tablets store?" Caye inquired.

"They can store up to forty-four Kadden of information," the Harradi informed them. That got translated to about eight terabytes of information.

"I see. Well your comp can store more than 800 petabytes of information, many times what your tablets can store. Now, if you open your tablet and then open your comp and tell it to 'scan and compile', we can see if your tablet is compatible with the comp."

Caye already knew this to be a fact as the senior leaders of the Harradi were enamoured of their comp's functions and capabilities.

The Harradi who had been explaining the situation opened her tablet and her comp and told it to scan and compile in her own language. The comp quickly scanned the tablet and reported that they now had.001 percent of memory used. That surprised the Harradi who all suddenly looked at their new devices.

"The comps can be used in many different ways. They can function as simple calculators or full scientific calculators. They can mimic the functions of many of your devices, including medical devices that would allow you to scan food stuff and determine if it is safe to eat.

"It acts as a communications device so that once your friends are linked in your device, you can contact them anywhere that service for the comps is provided.

"You can use it to send e-mails, and it provides a translation service. Anyone here at Denders will have received the latest translation matrix for the Greater Community with the purchase of a comp.

"Why don't you take the time to set up your comps then," Caye encouraged the teens. Following her instructions, they did just that.

"OK, Desmodian, could you call up an image of a Crystal Flyer for me?" Caye requested.

The teen did just that, the 3D image coming through very clear for all to see with the advanced laser projectors in the comp. The ooh's and awes of the other teens were significant when the saw the image rendered in colours their eyes could make full use of.

"Can you send that image to me, Desmodian?" Hanalei asked, then showed her how to do just that, tapping her comp to that of the teen to transfer the image.

"Now, I want you to open your comp to the translator setting and tell the comp to make a correction in translation," Caye showed them how to do that. "Tell the comp your first name."

"Desmodian," the teen said carefully.

"Now tell the comp to correct the word in the translation matrix. Tell it that the word means 'the flashing or glittering of the Crystal Wing in flight' and tell it to link the image then order the comp to compile." Desmodian did as Hanalei instructed.

"Now tell me your name," Hanalei instructed the teen.

The teen told them her name and the humans heard the change in the meaning of the name and immediately the comp showed the image of the Crystal Wing. The teens all gasped as they saw the image come up with her name.

"Let's take a walk over to the shop on the corner," Hanalei said, guiding the group to the shop in question.

"Hello, Dame Anar. How are you this morning?" the shop keeper asked, recognizing her.

"I am doing well Hazel; however, my young friend here needs something to add to her outfit to explain her name to those who meet her," Hanalei informed her.

"And what is your name?" Hazel asked. When Desmodian replied, she saw the image of the Crystal Flyer that came with the name and smiled in delight at the beautiful image.

"I would like you to make a 3D name tag based on that image please, Hazel. Charge it to my account. Make up half a dozen for this young teenager, who is being harassed about her name. She deserves a better fate for such a beautiful name," Hanalei instructed.

"You are correct, she does," Hazel agreed. "Please put your comp in this cradle and call up that image for me."

Desmodian did as instructed and soon had six 3D name tags that showed the beautiful Crystal Flyer in flight, her name in Standard and Harradi text above and below the image. Hazel showed her how to affix it to her outfits and gave her the instructions on the care of the tags. A much happier teen gave Hanalei and Junelliya hugs.

"You should go to the mini-school they have set up in the square and find out more about the use of your comps," Liea told the group. "The Harradi home world will soon have servers that will be compatible with the comps, meaning that you will be able to contact the friends you make here on Terra no matter where in the galaxy they may live."

That pleased the teens who happily started linking contact information within their group. Junelliya smiled as the teens went their way. "I wish all the problems had such simple solutions," she sighed.

"Don't we all, Junelliya," Gillaya laughed.

The group followed the rushing teens to the new 'school', a large, tented area where instructions on using the comps was being taught. Caye-Ur had spent a little of her own money to set the place up and staff it but she was sure it would pay dividends as the comps were just too useful once people understood how to make use of their capabilities.

She watched as the Harradi teens were shown the many functions of their comps. The more they learned, the more eager they were to learn more.

Desmodian saw her parents walking by and rushed out to forcibly recruit them into the 'school'. At first annoyed at their daughter's antics, they soon became just as engrossed in the capabilities of the units.

"You should get the rights to sell this item, Accan," his mate instructed.

"I wouldn't know who to talk to on that issue," Accan admitted to his mate.

"You could talk with me," Caye-Ur told them. "I am Caye-Ur, head of the House of Ur Trading Company. We specialize in selling these items to the Greater Community."

"Accan Hallat, head of the Hallat Corporation. We import/export goods between Harradi planets and between the Harradi and the other member races of the Greater Community."

"Well met, Accan Hallat. Why don't we go over to my villa and discuss business for a bit?" Caye said with a smile.

"And to think, all that came about because we helped a young teen with her problem," Liea said with a smile of her own. She went with Caye, Accan, and his mate to talk business at the Ur villa.

"Looks like our corporate investments might get another shot in the arm," Gillaya said happily.

Raymond and Liea's Villa, Denders Resort, Terra, The Sol System

Accan Hallat and his mate, Freldlam Hallat, stepped into the relative cool of the villa, much to their delight. They both gave out a sigh of relief at the much cooler interior.

"Forgive us," Accan said. "The heat of this location is difficult for us. Our home world is much cooler."

"We are aware," Liea told them. "That you find it more comfortable in the villa is fine with us."

"If it was not for the air conditioned tents that Denders has set up in different locations for the Harradi, we would be in great difficulty here at Denders," Freldlam told them. "With those tents, we can enjoy most of the amenities the Denders offers."

"May we offer you something to drink? I believe that the Harradi do imbibe in human wine," Liea said.

"We do, and find it quite refreshing," Freldlam stated.

"Very well, I have a good pinot gris," Liea offered, picking up a bottle to show them. They both scanned the label and read the contents from their comps. When Liea poured the wine, they also scanned it to ensure compatibility with their biology.

"Useful, are they not?" Liea said, referring to their immediate use of their comps.

"Now that we can make better use of these devices, we can appreciate them that much more," Freldlam spoke for the both of them.

"There is so much more the devices can do, Freldlam," Liea advised. "You should make good use of the school while you are here."

"The House of Ur Trading Company will soon have a larger ship capable of making significant jumps into the Greater Community areas," Caye-Ur told them. "SSP The Piscium, named after the system where Liramor-23 resides, is a dedicated cargo vessel." Caye called up images of the ship to show to the Hallats.

"The ship can store more than 240,000 metric tons of supplies of various nature in approximately 25,000 Standard Containers and another 118 thousand litres of liquids of various types. We are also constructing ships that are much larger than the Piscium.

"The new Ur Class Cargo Ships will have a larger jump capacity than the Piscium and have even larger cargo capabilities. They will also have accommodation for up to one hundred guests while we jump between destinations. We will initially have one Ur Class Cargo Ship dedicated to each of the member species of the Greater Community. But that is a future consideration.

"For now, we will look at how we can help you with developing the market for comps on your home world and on the worlds of the Harradi," Caye stated.

"How many planets are in Harradi space?" Liea asked.

"We have ninety-seven habitable planets in our space, however, only sixty-two have a robust population of between two and five billion. The other thirty-five planets have a limited population, much less than one billion, mostly because they are not ideal planets for our people. They are more like Terra than they are like Harrad Hoffes being much warmer than our people care for," Accan replied.

"That is a large population to attend to," Caye-Ur stated. "That is anything from a low of 124 billion to a high of 310 billion."

"As of our last census, 265,491,212,873 Harradi on all of the planets," Freldlam answered. "However, that census was completed earlier this year so there may be a few more Harradi running around now." She smiled to Caye and Liea to show that she was teasing.

"265.5 billion,. I think we will have to hit each planet one after the other. The first thing we need to confirm is the upper limit that will be established for each planet? Can I assume that will be five billion?" Caye asked.

"Yes. Our current policy is to keep the planets to a maximum of five billion. We do not want to ever again have to rely on the Lottery of Life," Accan stated with a shudder.

"The SSP Piscium will be dedicated to the Asocans for the first two months of its life with us," Liea stated. "By the end of four months from now, the first of the UR Class Cargo Ships will be completed and a month after that available for use. We will eventually establish one Ur Class for every member species to service the trade between the Union and the Greater Community. In two years time, the members species will be constructing their own Navy vessels. Two years after that, they will be constructing their own civilian cargo vessels.

"At that time, we shall have established favourable terms between the House of Ur Trading Company and the individual member species. We currently have contracts with the Pod-Drran, and the Asocans. Hopefully, by the time we leave here at the end of this week, we will have a contract with the Hallat Corporation and the Harradi," Caye said.

"That would be ideal. There is no chance that we cannot get a ship earlier than two months from now?" Freldlam asked.

"Yes, we could hire other vessels, but that would mean much slower vessels with lesser cargo capabilities," Caye stated. "Currently the average cargo vessel is smaller than the SSP Piscium will be and much smaller than the Ur Class will be. They also do not have the jump capacity of the new vessels. The best of the older vessels can only jump thirty-five light years at a time and are currently restricted to a four to six hour recharge time between jumps as they do not have the latest generators for power. That means those ships would have to do more than twenty-two jumps just to get to Harrad Hoffes with a rest period of twenty hours every five jumps, which translates into more than six days of travel time just to get to Harrad Hoffes from Terra.