Chapter 50: Chapter 50 The Change
"What do you mean?" asked Olivia. "Is it an insult to be able to change?"
"It is," confirmed the king, turning to the first old looking aquatic Uz'En they had seen so far. "Tell them, old one, of the evils of changing."
The old Uz'En nodded in thought, almost in sync with the water current, and for a moment, Dustin thought the old guy had died.
"All those who begin to change, die. It is forbidden now, for fear the young will die when attempting it, punishable by death."
"But that doesn't make any sense," said Olivia, looking around. "Do you think that we have always been aquatic, like you are?"
"Olivia," said Dustin, shaking his head, "Calm down and let me handle this."
Turning back to the old one, while the king frowned at them from her words, Dustin asked, "What do you consider a change? Perhaps we are merely misunderstanding you."
The old one went through the motions of moving with the current for a while, then spoke up again.
"Stories told to me by the last old one, tell of a time when our people did not live beneath the safety of the waves, that we once lived above. Our people were treated like animals, beaten and starved. The great leader Oaer, fought back against our oppressors, and led us to the waves. He taught us how to change, to be able to survive here, beneath the waves. It was difficult and dangerous, and many died in the attempt. All those who refused to try, he would beat worse than those who oppressed us. Once we were down here, he guided and led us to build our great city and home. Every generation since has been taught the dangers of changing, that it can kill us if we attempt it.
"In my youth, it was thought to be the fun thing for kids on the cusp of adulthood, to attempt; changing. Every single one that attempted it, ended up dying, no longer able to survive beneath the waves. I watched many perish. It was so terrifying, that a law was enacted. Any who attempted to change, would be killed, for fear of losing more of our youth."
"My father enacted the law, and I fully stand behind it," said the king, glaring at Olivia.
Dustin could only shake his head in shock. They were losing their gills and drowning. The sad thing was, that because they needed to change quick enough to survive going under the waves, everyone down here probably had a stronger ability to change, than any other Uz'En he had come across.
"I fully understand what was happening, and why so many died. Though I feel that your law is restricting because your people are so gifted. More gifted than any others of our people I have come across, I believe. The fact that so many were dying, is because you are not educated in what changing entails. The first thing I have to do, when bringing new people back to our planet, is to teach them of the change. It is what makes out people unique to the whole of the galaxy. No other race in all of the stars above, have our ability, I believe, to change into something else."
"If you encourage this change, then I will have to decline your offer to travel with my people to your planet. The well being of my people is far too important to risk allowing them to go through this change you promote."
"Then how many more of your people are you willing to lose?" asked Dustin, holding up a hand to Olivia, who looked like she was about to explode.
"What do you mean?" asked the king, narrowing his eyes at the threat.
"If my assumptions are true, that your people are stronger in the ability to change, than any other I have come across, telling them not to do something that is so natural to them, will not be very successful. How many children have you already lost during your reign as king to this change. Just because you make something a law, doesn't mean your people will follow it from the moment they are born. And what of your older population? I see very few as old as the old one here. How many of your people are you having to kill, in a veiled attempt to keep them safe from themselves?"
The crowd around him had started murmuring again, and the king looked like Dustin had just told him he was going to castrate him. Before anyone could do anything, Dustin held up his hands and continued.
"I do not mean to insult you in front of your people, your majesty, but I worry about your people, as you claim to. I know why the change is causing their deaths, and I can help you overcome that problem. Before you make a decision, I only ask that you take the time to think on my offer. I fully believe that your people could be the most powerful, with an opportunity to learn how to use this ability."
He watched the king back away from the impulse to just have them killed. Being from the warrior class, Dustin knew that the potential for these people being the most powerful at anything, was a strong draw for the king.
"We have struggled with this for a long time," said the king, as he looked over the crowd of people. "How can it be that you know how to keep my people from dying while changing?"
"Normally our people do not live under the water. It is only your people, who have come here, to get away from those above, that have learned to live here. When they change, I believe they are losing the ability to breathe under the water, and thus are dying from lack of air."
"So, we would lose our ability to live under the water?!" exclaimed the king in horror.
"Only until your people could learn to control the change better. I fully believe they could learn to go back and forth with ease with a little guided practice."
"Your majesty! You can't be serious about this!" cried the old one, looking panicked.
"Shut up! My father listened to you, as have I, and see where it has gotten us? We still have half of every school group lost from the change, and none have made it as old as you. I think it is well worth looking into."
The king snapped his teeth at the old one, and the old one immediately backed down. Dustin was finding this whole encounter incredibly interesting. To think they were losing so many to the change, it made sense why he was so afraid of it.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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Sdrawkcab Sorry for the late chapter today. Hope you enjoyed it.
Chapter 51: Chapter 51 Complicated Lies
After much discussion, the king relented, and decided to allow all of his people to be moved, after Dustin showed them a demonstration of how he could change back and forth easily. Olivia also showed them, and after he made sure they all had nanobot PED's, he started guiding them through the process too.
Olivia took over helping people, when they discovered she was much better at explaining what they needed to do, and what to expect. Dustin watched those who were wandering around on the beach in curiosity, and saw a flash of light in the distance. With a sinking feeling, he changed his eyes to see what it was, and saw that it was an approaching ship from one of the cities along the coast. They probably only had a few minutes before they arrived.
"These people won't all fit on our ship," said his father, noting the ship as well.
Nodding, he took a breath and guided a few of the nanobots from the ship to start harvesting materials to make more nanos. They were going to build another ship, and they were going to do it fast. Then he turned to his dad, who had no idea he knew how to do that, and smiled.
"Let me do all of the talking, okay?"
"Sure, I'm just going to stand back and watch. Hopefully they don't mind us taking away these guys."
Dustin walked up to the ship as it settled onto the beach, in a clearing on the other side of his ship. Their ship was tiny, obviously only large enough for a couple people. That could mean they were only interested in seeing what was going on, or they could be a scout ship, relaying information to a larger fighting group.
"Hello?" called a fat guy, climbing out of the cockpit of the ship. His triple chins quivered as he looked around at all of the people. Other than the purple hair, he could easily have passed for a human. Dustin figured the hair could have been dyed, but he didn't really think it was.
"Hello," responded Dustin, approaching him with an easy gait.
"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with you? What's going on?" asked the man with a raised eyebrow.
"Our crew felt the need to stretch their legs after our long flight," said Dustin with a smile. "I hope we aren't intruding. We'll be gone, with no harm to anything within the hour."
"Your crew?" he asked in confusion, watching more people climb out of the water with looks of astonishment on their faces.
"We just needed to stretch out and breathe for a few minutes. Like I said, we'll be gone within the hour."
The guy opened his mouth a couple of times, and it was obvious he didn't believe him, but Dustin just stood there with a smile as if daring him to refute it.
"All right, well, my commander just wanted me to check on things, so I guess if you're gone in the hour, there shouldn't be a problem. You sure you're not interested in trade of any kind? We're always open to such things…"
Dustin laughed, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him, and shook his head. "Sorry, but we're on our way to our new home planet. We still have quite a ways to go, and don't really have much in the way of free things to trade. Thanks for the offer though."
The man nodded, watching as yet more people climbed out of the ocean, then looked around at all of the people on the beach already. It was pretty apparent there were too many to fit into his little ship that sat there beside them.
"How do you get everyone to fit?" he asked, perplexed.
"Oh, this isn't our only ship. The other one is below the waters, where everyone is exiting to come up here. Our atmosphere can be a bit harsh to other planets, so we've taken to releasing our people in a controlled manner, under water, that protects whatever planet we happen to be on. You don't have anything to worry about. The loading procedure is much simpler, as my people will be able to walk on board. Unloading is always a bit more stressful, as they can't always use their legs immediately."
The man's face made it clear he believed all of this crap, and Dustin had to fight not to break out into a laugh. His father had given up, and walked away. The people were wary of this guy, so they were too far away to hear what was being said. Eventually, the man nodded and turned to leave without another word. He struggled into the cockpit of his ship, and then fought with the seatbelts that didn't want to go around his girth. Once he finally lifted off and left, Dustin heaved a huge sigh of relief.
The nanobots were scrambling to gather enough materials, and he knew it would be close to that hour mark before they would be able to leave. As the last of the people left the waters, with the king choosing to be last, the new ship rose up out of the waters behind them and settled on the last bare patch of sand. It was easily twice as big as his, and he understood why the nanobots had such a hard time.
As the doors opened to let the people start boarding, Dustin went up to the king to speak to him one last time.
"My son, Kit, is the king of our people on our home world. I'm sure you will get along with him very well, once you arrive. He will probably allow you to remain king over your people, and he will understand that you lay claim to the entire waters of the world. If there are any problems, I am sure you will be able to settle them quickly. He is a much better king then I was."
"I had wondered if you were a king. I could feel the urge to give in to your words. Our people have many stories of another world where we had come from, but one can never be sure which are real, and which are merely made up."
"Did the old one choose not to come?" asked Dustin, noting that he hadn't seen him on the beach."
The king frowned. "Not everyone could be convinced to come along, despite the fact so many were leaving. There will remain a pocket of people here, for you to bring later, once I am gone. If it were up to me, I would leave them here to die, but I understand that you are now the one my people will turn to, or your son rather, as we feel the pull to follow those of royal descent, rather than of warrior descent, as I am."
Dustin gaped at him, not knowing what to say. He had tried to be so diplomatic, and this guy was basically telling him that he would have done whatever he requested because they could feel his kingly aura? If only every other Uz'En on this trip acted this way, his life would go so much better.
"I will have them moved, against their wills, as soon as your ship leaves," said Dustin, with a nod.
The king nodded back and then proceeded to order his people to board. They didn't hesitate, though it was obvious many were nervous. Sending a few more nanobots out, Dustin quickly had the few remaining Uz'En loaded in pods and leaving to head back. They would merge with this ship, that held the majority, and travel with it.
Sliding back into his seat, after they had all left, Olivia turned to him. "Where are we going next?"
"How many other worlds do we have now?" he asked.
"Twenty-one," said Granny.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
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That worked out well...
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