DEAD BODIES ON THE BPOD

May 19th 2011, 14:13 by E O Hatterpol | 242 AU FROM SUN

I DON'T know how long it took us to reach the bow; it could have been eight hours or it could have been seventeen.  We had to be stealthy, sneaky - careful even - if we wanted to preserve the element of surprise.


Captain Makemake knew I was hiding in the bookstacks; what he didn't know was that I was coming for him now, with help.  I doubt he was keeping his eyepatch peeled for danger; after all, he probably thought I was a scronny coward.  I would never pose a threat, right?


Wrong.  Between the bookstacks & the bow, we picked off pirates sent on patrol.  Figured it would make our job easier once we reached the BPOD.  It never got easier watching Ravi smother them, though.  Still, they were out for blood, so we were, too.


We stopped at the Whale's Liver when we were about halfway there; the pirates abused the PA system almost without end, taunting the Flybrarians, talking nasty to the captain & threatening to smoke out those still in hiding.


I downed a few brews to help my brain process the unsavoury sights and sounds, then shoved some pretzels & nuts down my gullet for energy.  Ravi didn't eat; he just picked up a book at random from the dusty pub shelves & read it.


"My physical form does not require energy, but I must replenish my mental energy just like you feed your stomach."


"Doesn't that take forever though, to read an entire book every time your brain gets 'hungry'?" I asked.


"I don't read it so much as move into it.  I jump to any letter anywhere in the book & spread my consciousness out cover to cover.  The stories, characters, metaphors, plot twists - they nourish me."


"How often do you have to... 'eat'?"


"Depends on my last meal.  I didn't eat for three weeks after Moby Dick, but I get hungry after twenty minutes when I read comic books.  Don't get me wrong though, because I love comic books - I just can't eat the illustrations."


I tried to wrap my head around what Ravi said as we crept towards the bow.  Can you imagine sating a grumbling stomach by reading a full-length novel?  Trying to understand life from his point of view was almost enough to distract me during the smotherings.  We got maybe three or four more of 'em before the Flybrary came to an abrupt stop.


"It feels like we just landed!" I said.


*Psht* "Ahoy fellow pirates & future victims, this is Captain Makemake speaking.  Please queue up in an orderly fashion & prepare to be off-loaded for transport to surgery or slave auctions."


We dashed the rest of the way to the BPOD.  We couldn't be sure where we were or where Captain Makemake was taking the crew of the Starship Flybrary, but we had to try.


We spent fifteen minutes sprinting at top speed before the anchors on the barnacles started transforming into a telescope.  By the time we showed up-


"Gone," said Ravisius.  "They're all gone."