An Interactive Newbl Novella
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | | Bonus Endings

By the year 3000, it is confirmed that black holes are portals where spacetime folds like a cosmic colon. Since energy can neither be created or destroyed, what goes in is passed through and dumped somewhere else. Usually, in a day or two. The nearest black hole is discovered within reach.

So begins this experiment to boldly go where few men have gone before. To explore the inner reaches of his deepest, darkest regions. To probe. To illuminate. Perhaps, to come out tainted, but learned. Purged of dangerous ideas spreading like cancerous polyps within.

The mission must avoid man's past, indelicate bumblings. So, maybe the thrust of the thing is to go where a modern woman might dare go. Co-piloting the flotilla of starships on this one-year mission will be a selection of women and artificial intelligence models --participating in debate and polls.

DESTINATION: Planet Newbl

The year is 3001. Like countless other planets over eons, the technical evolution of earth's most advanced life-forms outpaced their ethical evolution. Instead of caring for mother earth, we plundered her. Human extinction appears inevitable. A dozen spaceships are being loaded for the journey to NEWBL, the galaxy's nearest life-sustainable, blue water, blue skied planet.

to be continued--unfolded. For as long as it takes for the new colony to be stabilized...

STORY KEY
White text = a regular forum discussion post or reply
BLUE TEXT= the story narrative
Polls that shape the mission are linked to.
Each page (of 12 posts) = a story chapter

and now, the story continues to it's conclusion
--actually, to its MANY conclusions
--uninterrupted by politics and polls

Some of Newbl’s defining institutions remain deliberately unwritten.

The pioneers built the Tri‑Lateral framework:
-- CIVIC to propose, CLEAR to evaluate, and UPP to execute
-- but many components of civilization still await the judgment of future elections and generations:

• the shape of justice, the nature of policing,

• the boundaries of personal freedom, the stewardship of land and life,

• the rules of education, health, resource distribution, family policy, bio-ethics and AI autonomy.

All of the above remains open, under-informed, and undecided. They are the unfinished chapters of Newbl,
left in the hands of those who will inherit the world that has begun to take shape here.

As for the Captains themselves, they are admittedly tired of running things. They're tired of steering, commandeering, pioneering, and fearing. It was nice for all the weary travelers to have some things known, for the first time in a long time.

Now, when people ask what about law and order and blah and blah, the Captains say, "You tell me, next election."

But the thrill of discovery? -- that thirst could never be quenched in the Captains. On that front they would push forward, seeking knowledge of this new world and whatever mysteries it might reveal -- both above and beneath its surface.

As one joked to another as they set out on their next exploratory mission,"Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no river wide enough to keep me from gettin' to truth, babe."

the story continues...

AN OCTOPUSES GARDEN IN THE SEA

Lindy Lightyear walked along the beach.
She loved the beach.
It was her safe place,
-- her meditative space.
-- as long as she wasn't exactly on the ocean.

She didn't have the stomach for the top, or the breath and swimming skills for navigating it on her own. But she was delighted to be able to make the trip, now that Newbl's land development was progressing nicely.

The ships initial ocean scan reported no life signs. That was unusual, given the ideal conditions. But since they had not found intelligent life forms on the surface, they accepted it, and focused on their colonization

For that reason, and several others, what Lindy saw this day was especially shocking.

A crab crawled out of the surf towards some rocks, but got no further than 5 or 6 feet before a dark brown tentacle, with the girth of a tree trunk, reached out of the water and picked it up. Instead of making a meal of the crustacean, however, the long arm tossed it far back into the ocean.

The tentacle paused as if sensing Lindy's presence -- as if contemplating Lindy's presence. Apparently, its decision was to whip out and latch around her waist.

Since no one else was around, the Captain was spared the humility associated with one wetting their pants. But, apparently, the discomfort, did not go unnoticed by the cephalopod.

"My apologies for startling you my dear. But I could not let you get away," the rubbery creature projected into her mind.

Lindy was encouraged that she could communicate with it. She was an excellent communicator. In fact, she was The Palette's Communications Officer before being promoted. Yet, somehow, under the circumstances, language escaped her -- even if it was only inner thought. Or, perhaps, because it was inner thought, all she could transmit was PANIC!

A wave of calm overcame her, as a soothing frequency accompanied the thought-- "You may call me, Octo Octopus. And i mean you no harm, my friend." The feeling flowed through her whole being.

"Our scans detected no oceanic life readings. How did you get here?" Lindy inquired.

"We have been here for a long, long time" it answered. You didn't detect us, but we detected you, and through quite some effort of mass concentration, we blocked your perception of your instrument's readings"

"But why?" she asked.

The octopus hesitated, then transmitted, "Because...well...let's just say..."

to be continued...

THE GALAPAGOS OCEAN
(conversation format)

OCTO:
...we're happy -- living our best lives and enjoying nature and companions without needless conflict and complications.

LINDY:
Can i ask who WE is?

OCTO:
Yes, I'll show you, but you must trust me.

She affirmed her willingness and felt another wave of calm, even as she was lifted above ocean waves and deeper water.

The octopus swirled its 7 other arms beneath the ocean surface, as if signaling something.

Its body turned sage-green -- Lindy's favorite color. And the milky blue water, turned crystal clear --treating her eyes to a wondrous vision, indeed.

The ocean was teaming with life -- all forms of fish and crustaceans, and a glorious, colored, array of sea vegetation adorning the ocean floor.

Lindy was especially delighted when a school of dolphins passed. She instinctively connected with dolphins, even though she had only swam...uh...floated with dolphins once, with the aid of adult floaties.

She was particularly surprised to see a crab riding on the back of a dolphin. Apparently, just for the fun of it.

LINDY:
I don't get it, Octo. Don't you and dolphins eat crabs?

OCTO:
My dear girl, the crab's family would not be happy about that! -- and neither would we. As you can clearly see, we are perfectly capable of farming non-sentient vegetation. It is abundantly available for all thinking, feeling oceanic creatures to enjoy.

LINDY:
I see. but...wait. Why did you throw the crab back into the ocean, instead of just letting it be?

OCTO:
(with a more stern tone of thought) Well, we may be peace-loving free spirits, but we do have certain rules which must be followed...

OCTO AND THE anti-ARMS RACE

LINDY:
Rules? Sure we all need guidelines. But why does that sound ominous?

OCTO:
I'm afraid you're right, human. I'm sorry, your name is on your name insignia -- Captain Lindy Lightyear. You wear name tags? Anyway. The ominous part is what it might lead to if we didn't have a particular rule. I must apologize again, if it sounds insulting, but what it might lead to is...um...YOU. In the evolutionary sense.

LINDY:
No offense taken. I think i understand? But why might a land crab lead to us?

OCTO:
Well, you can't be too careful. But, yes, a more readily recognizable example, according to your history, would be a mudskipper or, more accurately, a Tiktaalik or Ichthyostega which, visually, is a mix between an alligator and a potato.

LINDY
I see. I see. Right. Well, yes, that isn't flattering but it makes sense -- if it's the war mongering, exploiting, lusting, greed and arrogance!

OCTO:
Frankly, my dear. It's the oxygen breath. Ha. I kid. You're not the only ones with a sense of humor. But the most dangerous aspect of you is, your HANDS -- the hands that build the technology that can turn faulty thinking into bad behavior and magnify it.

LINDY:
But technology in the right hands is good. What about our communication devices?

OCTO:
Don't need em. They're in our head. And interactions.

LINDY:
What about all of our entertainment delivery systems.

OCTO:
Don't need em. They're in our head. And interactions.

LINDY:
Alright then, what about our culture and history that we record and pass down.

OCTO:
Don't need em. They're in our head. And interactions. We pass them down, like your elephants did.

LINDY:
Games. Sports?

OCTO:
The Dolphins are playing the Sharks in the semi-finals of Touch Snout-ball tomorrow. Turtles are the balls. They retract. They love it.

LINDY:
Damn it. You got me. Should we pack up and leave then?

OCTO:
No, everybody deserves a second chance. We'll pretend you haven't already had a boat load over the course of your history. We'll just keep a fish-eye on you.

LINDY:
You mentioned our history again. How do you know so much about our history, Octo? Can you read it from my mind?

OCTO:
No. Well, some. But your mind is a mess -- all over the place. I mostly get a sense of you, including the sense of humor you like, so I can reflect it.

LINDY:
Then how do you know so much, Octo? I don't like loose ends, Lindy says waving her arms around. Glancing at his arms dangling in the water, she adds, "No, offense."

OCTO:
I am forebode to share the source, my child.

Lindy thinks for a moment, reaches into her Flight-Fanny-Pack and pulls out a Choco-Nutty Nutrition bar. She invites Octo to try it. It does, and its skin pigment changes into a flush of vibrant colors.

OCTO:
Hmmmm. Fascinating flavors. I love a good seaweed salad but I eat it so often it's practically coming out of my gills...you got any more of those, sweetie?

LINDY:
Why yes, I believe I have a whole pack. Now, you were saying...about human history?

to be continued...

the story concludes...
Ending 1: THE ME BOOKS

OCTO:
OK. Here's the scoop, my 2-armed, single-hearted, red-blooded friend. The truth is, your history was recorded in the ME BOOKS.

LINDY:
The ME BOOKS? Someone wrote down human history and named it after our "Me Generation?" That doesn't sound right. I mean, it may be an appropriate title, but, it still sounds fishy. No pun intended.

OCTO:
Well, madame. I assure you, I may be squishy but I'm not fishy, in any sense. And I've got as much brain power in one tentacle as you've got in your entire human skull. But, look, I'm already regressing. I'll summon up the evidence. In the meantime, let's break out some of those snacks and engage in a more elevated repartee.

Octo softly places Lindy on a large rock being caressed by the waves and they converse about many things. A large, big-mouthed Grouper shows up, opens its mouth wide, and spits out a canister. Octo opens it to show Lindy what's in it. She is amazed, tickled, and inspired. She's so excited she could wet her pants, if she hadn't already.

Lindy rings V3 (via her ring). She tells him the whole story and transmits the canister contents. V3 immediately recognizes the books -- now with a few illegible title letters, worn down from centuries of being passed down from tentacle to tentacle...

MEL BROOKS:
THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART I
and THE NEW TESTAMENT

Octo explains that the sea world learned lessons from the ME BOOKS. They learned what not to do from some of the mean spirited-ness of the silly creatures in Volume I. And they learned from the examples of brotherhood and selflessness from, what they believed to be, Volume II. But since the ME people crucified the messenger of truth in the 2nd volume, the ocean community decided that the land walkers could not be allowed to evolve into existence again.

V3 dashed to his night-table drawer and opened it -- verifying that, indeed, he had retained the Old Testament by mistake. He thought to them all: "Thank the heavenly father that I capsulized the better half!"

And he thought to himself, with gratitude, about the synchronicity of his earth father's hand in shaping the future for him, and all life forms to follow.

THE END (1)

Now Available
--the startling OTHER CONCLUSIONS:

ENDING 2: THE TOWER OF POWER

ENDING 3: BEYOND THE DARK OF THE MOON

ENDING 4: THE TARDIGRADE'S TALE

ENDING 5: RED WRITING HOOD EXPOSED

ENDING 6: THE JUDGEMENT

ENDING 7: A MURDER OF CROWS

ENDING 8: THE READING

ENDING 9: THE TWIN TOWERS

ENDING 10: THE WORLD