LF Friends, Will Travel

Danger Tourism

Date: 41 PST (Post Stasis Time)

"But that's dangerous, you shouldn't do that. The volcanoes are erupting, the springs are closed."

The Ozerians were a perfectly rational species. It was hard not to be, taking the most logical course of action was something that just... happened, for them. Some might think it was their communal lifestyle, with each member of the species being part of something bigger, creating a culture where breaking from the expected outcome resulted in individuals being shunned for being a danger to the rest of them.

Others thought it was their XK wave sensitivity. Sure, they weren't the most attuned in the galaxy, they couldn't transmit thoughts telepathically or control objects with thought alone, but they did get a 'sense' of what might happen in the future. It wasn't exact, as the concept of time having consequence and causality was a primitive and incorrect science, but it did mean that each member of the Ozerian species had a vague sense of what might or might not happen in the future.

This meant that when the mass of volcanoes on their home planet of Patelon all started erupting at once, they were perfectly prepared and ready to deal with the natural disaster. There had been a feeling amongst the entire population that 'something' big and bad was going to happen at some point, that the ground would split open as if hell itself was breaking into the world, covering vast cities and landscapes under metric tons of magma as the planet itself reformed.

So when it did happen, they were perfectly ready. People moved calmly to the various bunkers and safe locations created for such an event, following previously practised evacuation processes. While the earth split open and volcanoes erupted across the face of their planet, the Ozerians were ready, managing the entire thing with a very little loss of life, although the economy would take some time to recover.

"Yes, I know. That's why I'd like to visit."

The town of Tzenoi was a small place, a town of normally 3000 people high up on the rocky mountainside, mostly used as a tourist destination for the nearby hot springs. Normally being the operative word, since this was not a normal time.

The air was filled with the smell of sulphur and smoke, billowing from the three active volcano visible from the mountainside's vantage point. The hundreds of meter high eruptions of bright blue molten rock dominated the sky, while the ever flowing rivers of lava that had destroyed countless towns stretched out into a hellish landscape below them.

Tzenoi was currently hosting over fifty thousand people displaced from the local area, although this wasn't too much of an issue: this had all been long planned for, with plenty of emergency bunker space and supplies to last: The Ozerians were a perfectly rational species.

All they could do was just sit and wait for it all to blow over. Well that, and deal with the deluge of visiting Terrans.

"But that's dangerous, you shouldn't do that! The hot springs are closed"

All three eyes on Lietillion's head blinked repeatedly in frustration, as they looked at the strange stupid Terran that stood across from them. The raptor was around five feet tall, needle sharp teeth clicking as she spoke with words full of annoyance. The feathers that covered her entire body glistened and glowed in the morning light as they continually changed colour, each one cycling through the entire light spectrum in waves of emotion and feeling, like a living kaleidoscope.

She sat behind the kiosk in the small office for tourist information, the tiny building filled with now outdated data dumps about the local hot springs and other notable attractions to visit, the only other person in the room being the single male Terran standing on the other side of the desk.