Gnomy tells all: stories from his lifetimes throughout the universes

Kepler 5 humanoids seemed so similar to Earth’s humans, but their civilizations developed very differently.

The Keplerites deeply cherished their purple planet. Unlike humans, who have never minded pushing their planet to the brink of disaster, on Kepler 5 it seemed the destructive winds resulted in gratitude for everything that still survived afterwards. A caring and cohesive society evolved to sustain them through the constant repair of storm damages, instead of a competitive spirit and a wish to strip the planet’s assets bare.

Also, unlike Earth which had severe restrictions set upon humans in the Garden of Eden, Kepler 5 never had any limitations on learning or had special foods that were designated as strictly off-limits. I would have thought the freedom to learn anything they wanted would have made Kepler 5 into a scholarly world, but that didn’t happen.

I find it disappointing that the Keplerites have not valued knowledge and education over the hundreds of thousands of years they have existed. The Keplerites invented a basic language and alphabet for everyday needs, but really didn’t go further than that. Instead, they concentrated on their remarkable design capabilities. Their uniquely constructed woven items are renowned throughout the galaxy. Their knowledge of how to build sturdy woven houses has been extensively studied and adapted for use on other worlds. Unfortunately the history of how their society developed their special art is rather unknown, since so few records were kept by them. They would have to visit the akashic records to find more information.

Most of the Kepler 5 societies still worship the local wind gods, but always in a humble way. In contrast to the wild storms that were destructively twisting around the planet, the Keplerites gained mental strength from holding tightly to stillness. Their religions always consisted of stillness in quiet meditations, prayers and silence. They prayed for the winds to slow down and the planet to become quiet and tranquil.

Their prayers eventually worked, if you like to think of it that way. The storms lessened as the distances between the three suns were adjusted by atmospheric specialists. The magnetic fields around the planets were strengthened, resulting in many storms simply staying above the surface of the planet instead of raging across it. There is still rain, but not as much. Without the accompanying wind, the rain has lost quite a bit of its destructive power.

These atmospheric improvements were quite gradual and, unfortunately, not completed until after Jaal and I left the planet. Kepler 5 is supposed to be fairly pleasant now, despite its purple hues and continued frequent downpours.

I don’t ever go back to visit that purple world. The mere thought gives me a headache. Jaal laughs at me and has travelled there a few times to check up on its progress. She has returned with positive reports and locally-made souvenirs.

I admit that their purple wood carvings are stunning, full of gracefully designed animals and vines. The woven baskets are sophisticated design achievements, with elegant proportions and subtle purple color variations. Jaal picked up traditional flutes for meditation music, and amulets that are supposed to protect the wearer from angry storm gods.

Jaal even brought home a few clever carvings of the Prince and Princess of Purple. I’m happy to see they are presented as good-natured figures from a folk story instead of as actual royalty.

I can’t stand to have any of the purple items in our living space, so Jaal displays them in her office where I don’t have to see them. I don’t enjoy the items but I do enjoy the private joke between Jaal and me.

After our Kepler 5 assignment finally ended, Jaal got lucky and managed to grab a lengthy post on a recently terraformed tropical paradise of a planet, where she was surrounded by a single yellow sun, blue skies, colorful birds and flowering plants. At the base of black volcanic mountains were miles of white beach meandering to meet blue ocean. The bright colors were a balm to both our jaded eyes. Best of all, there was hardly a purple tone in sight.

What a delight that planet was. I met Jaal there frequently during her assignment, and our time spent there was the honeymoon we had wanted. Of course, this beautiful and peaceful planet was also a perfect party planet. Being young and energetic, we had lots of festive events with friends and relatives.

Jaal is an environmental designer and biosphere specialist. Her tropical assignment was to determine the future of that planet and whether it would be developed into cities with open coastal areas, or a less populated patchwork of small towns, or lightly populated as a resort planet, or left mostly wild for hikers and adventurers.

The opinions of our many guests were actually helpful in deciding on possible scenarios. Jaal eventually recommended building small cities with extensive open areas and natural coastlines.

Jaal had scored a perfect work project and was extremely happy. In contrast, I couldn’t find a permanent assignment that satisfied me. I guess my restlessness after so many years of lurid purple showed every time I interviewed with the gnome council. Instead, I spent time bouncing around various short-term gigs on numerous worlds.

Sometimes the universe makes you work hard for what you want, and even then you may not get it. However, you never know what’s in the future.

If the Keplerites could succeed in getting what they wanted, then maybe I could succeed too. I just had to keep trying.