Word: Orogeny

orogeny

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noun Geology.

the process of mountain making or upheaval.

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               Cosmic Entity C sat at its reality shaper and opened up the planet it was working on. It was going to be its masterpiece. A true marvel of form and function. It was even going to get Cosmic Entity B to give it some life, maybe even a sentient species if everything went well.

               As C looked though, he saw something off. A mountain range, organized in a perfect circle. It had not made those mountains. They were not even anywhere close to a tectonic shelf. And a circle? There was no way it would make such an amateur mistake.

               “F, get in here!” C shouted into the cosmic void.

               Cosmic Entity F, C’s direct offspring, entered the chamber.

               “Yes, Parent? What may I do for you?”

               “Did you place this mountain range?”

               F looked and immediately looked far too proud of itself. “Yes, Parent, I did. It will add considerable aesthetic appeal to your planet.”

               C let its displeasure be known vocally. “Why would you do this? This mountain range is all wrong. No natural formations will ever grow in such a perfect manner. And their location is extremely improper. Do you know what this will do to the planet?”

               “It..will make it more pleasing to the outside viewer?” F said slowly. It shrank back from its Parent’s obvious anger.

               “No! It will increase planetary instability by 2%!”

               “That does not seem that bad, Parent.”

               “It is. It is a considerable amount. It will shorten the lifespan of the planet by nearly 20 million years.”

               F looked ashamed, minimizing its surface area as much as possible. “I…I thought—”

               “You were not thinking.” C said. “That is clear. Think now. I have the mountains placed so they will form properly, along tectonic lines. How will these mountains form? They cannot. At least, not without making it obvious to the future residents that there was outside influence on their planet’s formation. Is that what you want? Do you want mortals knowing about us?”

               “N-no?”

               “That is correct, you do not. And furthermore, look at the effect these mountains will have on the air currents. Just watch.”

               C played a simulation of planet formation. The planet started normally, as a smooth molten ball. Then geological processes started. Plates shifted, mountains rose. Air currents formed and were highlighted. Then F’s mountain range began to form, seemingly out of nowhere. The air currents were displaced and sent into chaos. Storms formed and dissipated long before they should have. Pockets of near vacuum seemed to crop up at random. It was horrible. Even after millennia, the air currents never fully stabilized.

               F watched in horror as the viewer displayed the results of its careless attempts to make C’s planet better. It withered under the gaze of its Parent.

               “Do you see now?” C asked, ending the simulation. “Do you see what your careless addition did?”

               “Y-yes, Parent. I see. I am sorry. I will remove the range immediately.”

               “Good, good. When you are finished, come back here. I admit, part of this is my fault. I should have begun your education many stellar cycles ago. I will rectify this by beginning your education.”

               F wriggled in excitement. “Do you mean it? I will finally begin to learn planet making?”

               “Yes. It will be many cycles before you are ready for mountain formations, but you are my offspring. I am sure you will be an excellent planet maker.”

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It's funny where some words take you, isn't it? I would've never thought a word about geological processes could lead down the path it did. But hey, that's what makes life interesting, isn't it?

Word: Vamoose

vamoose

[ va-moos ]

Slang.

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verb (used without object), va·moosed, va·moos·ing.

1. to leave hurriedly or quickly; decamp.

 

verb (used with object), va·moosed, va·moos·ing.

2. to leave hurriedly or quickly from; decamp from.

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               Chuck paced around the stone room. His employer, Dr. Sampson, knelt in front of her small laptop. She occasionally stood and passed a camera slowly over the ancient stone wall, then returned to the computer.

               “How much longer?” Chuck asked.

               “It takes as long as it takes.” The small woman said.

               He sighed and leaned against a wall. He felt something odd that triggered his survival instincts. The wall was shaking slightly. He got down to the floor and felt. The vibrations were there too. It felt like stone slowly starting to slide against stone. His eyes widened.

               “Hey Doc, we need to go. Like, now.”

               “No, Chuck, no we do not. It’s still early. We have plenty of time.”

               “No, we don’t. Grab your stuff and let’s go.”

               She kept working. “This is important work. It takes time to finish.”

               Chuck grumbled. The vibrations were starting to get stronger. It was a slow process, but it was also starting to get faster. Chuck made the decision. He waited until she stood, then moved. His closed the laptop, grabbed it, then picked up Dr. Sampson and threw her over his shoulder.

               “Hey! What do you think you’re doing? Put me down, you brute! I’ve got important work to do and you’re ruining it!”

               “Sorry Doc, no can do.”

               He started moving at a brisk jog while his charge thrashed. She kicked and battered him, but she was not a particularly strong woman. She screamed at him to stop and put him down. He kept going.

               “As your employer, I order you to put me down right this instant!” she called.

               “As my employer, you can just be quiet and let me do the job you paid me for.” He replied.

               The shaking was getting worse. The sound was almost audible. More or less. Dr. Sampson’s screaming in his ear made it difficult. But it was definitely getting worse. He picked up the pace, moving from a light jog to a moderate run.

               “If you’re going to abduct me, couldn’t you do it in a more comfortable way?” She said in a half scream, half growl. “This is hardly dignified.”

               “Don’t care.” Chuck said.

               “Can you at least put me down and let me run on my own?”

               “If I do, will you actually follow me, or will you try and go back?”             

               She chose to answer by resuming her thrashing. It was actually getting difficult to contain her. She was not that heavy, but carrying a fully grown adult over a long period was not easy. Especially when that person did not want to be carried. But, he made it.

               They emerged from the ancient stone ruins to the daylight. He kept going until they were well clear of the old building before he put her down.

               “Finally!” She shouted. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve ruined months of careful planning and…what are you doing?”

               As she was talking, Chuck held out his hand and closed his eyes. When the time was right, he started slowly lowering his fingers, one by one. When he lowered his last fingers, the rumbling grew far more intense. So much so that a part of the ruins collapsed. A part that the two of the had recently occupied.

               Dr. Sampson looked at the ruined building, and then at the large man. Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

               “You’re welcome.” He said.

He handed her the laptop and started walking towards the camp. She followed in a daze. It would not be until they made it that she would find her words. Chuck really wished she had not, but he was paid to keep her safe. Not to keep her from talking. As much as he wished otherwise.

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 Don't you just love people who think they know better than others? It's especially great when they think they know more than an expert, or someone hired to do a specific job. Yeah, isn't it so. Much. Fun?

Word: Skerrick

skerrick

[ sker-ik ]

noun Australian.

a small piece or quantity; a bit:

 

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               Dr. Beverly Trans rubbed the bridge of her nose. She had no idea why this was failing. All the calculations showed her formula should work. All the simulations said it should work. And yet, the results had proven the exact opposite. The lab mice lay dead on the bottom of their cage. Most of them had suffered cardiac arrest. Others had burned through all their energy in seconds. One of them had even exploded. Only one of the mice had survived, and it had only been able to eat a single formula-soaked pellet.

               She went back to her computer. The enhancement formula should have increased almost everything about the mice. Their strength, their speed, even their intelligence. She had set up the special cage anticipating they would be able to break out of a normal one. And yet, it had failed. Just like all the other test groups.

               She checked and double checked her numbers. It was all there. It all lined up. She knew it should have worked. She sighed and looked at the one remaining mouse. Then she cocked her head to one side. It looked different somehow. Sleeker. Its fur was a tiny bit more lustrous. It was also moving a little bit faster than it had before. Dr. Trans thought about that.

               Could it be so simple? She went to the various analysis devices she had trained on the reinforced cage. Sure enough, all of the mouse’s abilities had been enhanced just a tiny bit. That was something. At least it was not a total failure. But that got her thinking. What if…

               She had the computer bring in more mice and dropped dividers between them. Then she gave each one different portions of the formula. The results were immediate. Those who got larger portions did far worse than those who got less. She repeated the experiment several times and her face lit up.

               It was all a matter of preparation. Of priming the body to handle the incredible power the formula would give. Get too much, and it would burn itself out from the excess power. But if you took in small amounts, the body got used to it. It would build up the means to handle more and more power, allowing slightly larger doses each time.

               She plugged the new data into the computer. The only change it showed was the length of time it would take to achieve the desired results. No, with this new data, she might be able to push it even farther. Give the body more power than she had thought with her initial tests and simulations.

               This would work. This was going to work. She knew it would. She ordered a new batch of the formula prepared. But not for the mice. No this one was for herself. This was what her years of research had brought, and she would be damned if she trusted anyone other than herself with it.

When it was brought out, the formula was a clear, viscous liquid that sat in a glass container. Thinking about all the power she would get from that, she almost downed it right then and there. But no, that would just kill her. She needed to be patient. So she was. She ordered a single needle. Not even a syringe, but a needle. When it arrived, she dipped it into the formula and pricked herself.

A few moments later, she felt it. She felt her body change, just a tiny bit. Everything looked and sounded a little clearer, and it felt like her body had gotten a little lighter. Her smile grew even wider. This was going to work. This was going to change the world.

And she could hardly wait to really get started.

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The birth of a hero? Or a villain?