CAPTAIN BLOOD

PUBLISHED BY INFOGRAMES INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTS
SPECTRUM VERSION WRITTEN BY IMAGITEC
1988



INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAY

LOADING SPECTRUM + 3 DISK
Insert disk into drive, then select Loader from the Menu screen and press ENTER.

LOADING SPECTRUM CASSETTE
Insert the disk in the drive. Type LOAD "BLOOD" and press ENTER. Press PLAY on
cassette player.

LOADING SPECTRUM 128K AND PLUS 2 CASSETTE
Insert fully rewound cassette into cassette player. Select �Tape loader" from
menu screen and press ENTER.

Press PLAY on cassette player.

At the start of the game when requested press the number key that corresponds to
your language.



COMMANDS
The program functions with joystick or keyboard. At the start of the game choose
joystick or keyboard from the following menu:

1 - KEMPSTON JOYSTICK
2 - SINCLAIR JOYSTICK
3 - CURSOR JOYSTICK
4 - KEYS Q,A,O,P, & SPACE
5 - PLAY GAME

-UP: ...........Q
-DOWN: .........A
-LEFT:..........O
-RIGHT: ........P
-Confirm:.......Space bar

To shorten the flying sequence of the hyperspace, press ENTER.



EXTERIOR VISION
Simply click on this icon to switch from CONTROL PANEL mode to EXTERIOR VISION.
To come back from EXTERIOR VISION to CONTROL PANEL mode, click on any inactive
button (eye).



GALACTIC MAP
(CHOOSING A DESTINATION)
In CONTROL PANEL mode, click on the GALACTIC MAP icon to access a view of the
HYDRA galaxy.
How to use the GALACTIC MAP :
First select your destination's X coordinate. You do this by clicking on the red
vertical selection bar which you then drag onto the desired X coordinate. In the
left window you can see the coordinates of Blood's finger.
The right window displays the chosen coordinates (the coordinates for the point
of intersection of the selection bars).
Next, select yourdestination'sY coordinate. You do this by clicking on the red
horizontal selection bar which you then place on the Y coordinate position of
your choice. As previously stated, the chosen destination coordinates are at the
point where the two selection bars meet.
When you have chosen your destination coordinates, strap yourself in and click
on the HYPERSPACE icon.
To speed up the HYPERSPACE sequence, click the right mouse button at the
beginning or during the sequence.



OORXX CONTACT MISSION
(LANDING AND PILOTING THE OORXX)
In EXTERIOR VISION mode, click on the OORXX CONTACT MISSION icon. The OORXX is
teleported and lands immediately.
You then have total flight-control ofthe OORXX with yourmouse. You can climb,
dive and turn.
-To accelerate press right mouse button.
-To decelerate press left mouse button.

You are advised not to fly into mountains. If the planet has defense systems,
you should fly as low as possible. When the OORXX is detected by the enemy, two
red arrows will start to cross the screen towards each other.
When they meet in center-screen, the OORXX blows up. To avoid having your OORXX
destroyed in this way, dive as far as you can, until the arrows disappear.

Life-forms in the Hydra galaxy have a weird habit of living at the very end of
canyons. You'll have to find the canyons. The OORXX is equipped with a life-form
detector which is a red aim symbol. It will follow the mouse's movement on the
screen. When the detector flashes, that means you're flying the OORXX in the
right direction. If an arrow shows up beside the
detector, that means you must turn in the direction the arrow is pointing to get
onto the right heading.

There are two onscreen indicators during flight:
- The SPEED indicator at the bottom of the screen.
- The ALTITUDE indicator on each side of the screen.

When a life-form is found at the end of a canyon, the OORXX is programmed to
land immediately. If the planet is deserted, the OORXX will land, extremely
exhausted. If you are currently transporting a being in the Ark's fridgitorium.
the TELEPORT icon will activate so that you canteleport the being onto the
planet if you want. To do so, just click on the TELEPORT icon.

At any time during the flight, you can request a photo of the fractal scenery
around the OORXX. Simply press the SPACE bar on your keyboard. The OORXX will
stop. To restart flying, press the SPACE bar again.



OORXX DESTROY MISSION
(DESTRUCTION OF A PLANET)
In EXTERIOR VISION mode, you can teleport an OORXX onto a planet in order to
destroy it. Just click on the OORXX DESTROY MISSION icon. The planet will be
irretrievably zapped.



OORXX GEOPHOTO MISSION
(SURFACE SCAN)
In EXTERIOR VISION mode. you can teleport an OORXX into low orbit to collect
aerial pictures of the planet. A special detector will indicate whether the
planet is equipped with a defense system.
To activate this mission, click on the OORXX GEOPHOTO MISSION icon, once for a
medium altitude scan, and once again for a low altitude scan.
To return to normal mode, click on the EXTERIOR VISION icon.



UPCOM MODULE
(UNIVERSAL PROTOCOL OF COMMUNICATION)
Once contact has been established with a sentient life-form in a canyon or when
a being has been teleported from the Ark's fridgitorium, the UPCOM comes on
automatically.
The UPCOM is a system of communication using icons. The UPCOM uses a number of
windows, which will each be described.

The dictionary window : at the bottom of the screen. This icon dictionary uses
two sideways scrollings, one rapid (activated by clicking on a red elevator bar
situated under the dictionary icon), the other slow (activated by placing
Blood's finger over two red-striped boxes situated on either side of the
dictionary icon).

By moving Blood's finger over the dictionary icon, you can read a simultaneous
translation of the icon into human language. The translation window is just
above the UPCOM.

The conversation windows : situated above the dictionary icon and separated by a
central mouth.

a) The left hand window; reserved for the life-form you're communicating with.
To translate his (or its) messages, move Blood's
finger over them. As long asthe central mouth is moving,the being hasn'tfinished
saying what it wants to say. Click on the
central mouth to read the next sentence. When the mouth stops moving, you can
start sending your message.
It is possible to understand the sentences
spoken by the being, if you learn his language. Each icon
represents a specific speech-sound.

b) The right-hand window; Reserved for your use. You can enter your messages by
clicking on the icons of yourchoice in the
icon dictionary. A small cursor under that window may be moved in order to
insert an icon. Simply
click on it. A delete option is available
: click on the arrow situated to the right under the window. To
transmit your sentences, click on the central mouth.

You can teleport a being into the fridgitorium, if the being agrees. At that
moment, the TELEPORT icon will be enabled. To teleport the life-form, click on
the TELEPORT icon.
Your conversational partner can, for reasons best known to himself, break off
the discussion at any time.
If you want to leave the UPCOM during a conversation, click on the triangle at
the right of the screen, under the DELETE arrow.



TELEPORT
This icon is used to teleport a being from the planet into the Ark's
fridgitorium. The icon will not be enabled until a being with whom you are in
conversation consents to be teleported. If the icon is enabled and if you want
to teleport the life-form, Just click on the icon.



DISINTEGRATE THE TELEPORTED BEING
When a life-form is teleported to the fridgitorium, you can decide to destroy
the life-form by disintegrating it. If it's one of the Numbers, Blood will
recover some of his vital fluid and survive a little longer.



FRIDGITORIUM
It's a cryonization container where teleported beings are conserved. The beings
in question must give theirconsentbecausethe teleport system uses psychic energy
generated by the being's will, a little like hypnosis. For security reasons,
living beings cannot be teleported into the Ark, so they must be cryonized and
stocked in the fridgitorium. The fridgitorium has a disintegrate crematorium
feature which you can use if you feel like it. This feature recovers vital
fluid, and soBloodcan use it on the Numbers. All other forms of vital fluid are
unfortunately incompatible with Blood's organism.

NOTE : Pacemakers are automatically extracted before cremation, so there is no
risk of explosion during the disintegration phase.



THE OORXX BIRTH RAMP
The layer is incorporated into the Ark's structure, in the pram zone. This area
is completely sterile, of course. The newly-laid baby OORXX are propelled onto
the birth ramp immediately after a stress-free birth. The layer is able to lay
endless numbers of babies.



TIME
Onboard time is displayed on the clock, in Earthling minutes and seconds. The
UPCOM takes account of the minutes only. 60.45 means 60 minutes and 45 seconds,
which comes to HOUR 60 for the UPCOM. The game is limited to 45 realtime hours.



THE ? COMMAND
When an OORXX has already been placed on a planet, it may be reactivated, which
saves you from having to pilot another through all those dangerous mountains.
When the Ark stops after a hyperspace jump, near a planet you've already
visited, simply switch to CONTROL PANEL mode by clicking on a closed
(disenabled) button. The ? command is then available and enabled. Click on it to
reactivate the OORXX. You will inevitably catch up with the character you talked
to the last time.



PLAYING HINTS
CAPTAIN BLOOD'S Ark stops near an inhabited planet at the start of the game. The
HYDRA galaxy is biggish, boasting 32,768 inhabitable planets noted on the map.
Not all of them actually have thinking life-forms living on them, so it's easy
to get very lost and see nobody for millions ofyears. That's why it's a damned
good idea to note down the precise coordinates of inhabited planets before
plunging into the immensity of unknown space. That way. you can always get back
to a familiar place. Ask any space Jock : trusting your luck is a non-viable
survival option.

The program recreates the galaxy each time you begin a game. That means that
coordinates of inhabited planets are not valid from one game to the next.

Bear in mind that Blood is degenerating. Don't be surprised if his hand gets the
shakes from time to time ; it's normal. It's also a bad sign!
HE MUST GET HIS VITAL FLUID BACK. That's the only way he can regenerate.

To recover the vital fluid. Blood has to find the NUMBERS and disintegrate them
in the Ark's fridgitorium.

This software explores a new concept, the BIOGAME. The characters can evolve, be
born, die, trade information and generally get on with their own independant
lives. Strange things can happen; planets can appear or disappear overnight, the
behaviour of matter is out of our control!

You can transport beings from one planet to another but you'll have to win their
trust first. Study their behaviour closely, because knowing who you're dealing
with can mean the difference between life and death.

GAME NOVELLA
------------
THE ARK ACCORDING TO CAPTAIN BLOOD

INDEX
CHAPTER 1 � Fishy goings on
CHAPTER 2 � And Bob made Blood
CHAPTER 3 - Report from Ark's Bio-writer
CHAPTER 4 � Clones
CHAPTER 5 - The OORXX layer
CHAPTER 6 � Mastochok
CHAPTER 7 - The final 5 NUMBERS
A BRIEF GLOSSARY OF FAUNA ON HYDRA





CHAPTER 1
(Fishy goings on)

This sinister little tale started life one grey and drizzly winter's day. The
city was soaked to the bone. A constant honking of angry car-horns drilled and
shook the air. Even the dry if stuffy kind that hung around the 20th floor of 10
Eezy street, where a sheet of grimy paper taped to the door of number 7 vibrated
arthritically. The writing on the paper said:

BOB MORLOK
FOR PITY'S SAKE KEEP QUIET

�As if angry car-horns could read...� thought the postman, shaking his head in
disgust. He knocked. The door opened a fraction.

�You Morlok?�
�Gasp! How did you guess?�, yawned a bleary shadow behind the door.

�Special Delivery. Sign here!� snarled the postman wearily, sticking a greasy
pad with ball-point attached into Morlok's unshaven face. Managing trembly if
recognizable cross, Bob Morlok was handed a letter. Muttering what may have been
�thanks�, he shut the door and looked around for the letter-opener.

Then he remembered what had happened the last time he'd used it, and ripped open
the envelope with his teeth instead.

Your Royalties for the second quarter.
Total before taxes = 35 c.
Best wishes, your publisher.

Bob tried but couldn't keep back a violent bout of nausea. He smoked his first
Camel of the day.

Thirty five cents to live on for three months! �I gotta program a major hit�,
thought Bob �with a killer story-line. Or else.� This attic room had a skylight.
He gazed through it at the dripping roof-tops and sighed.

He was clean out of ideas. He shut his eyes and squeezed. Nothing came. Total
block. Crushing his last butt into an overflowing ashtray, Bob announced to
anyone who cared to listen (no one did):

�Blood's dead. Stone cold dead as a dodo. He'll write no more games and his
pseudonym will as of now disappear from all local Computarama shelves, forever.�

Bob Morlok sighed once more and decided on a breath of air.

The joint in Binary street was open. Loud music poured out. He walked over to
the bar and ordered a coffee. Beside him, some kids were noisily wiping out
aliens on a video game. Bob turned to look. Intergalactic robots exploded with
inhuman shrieks. The skinny kid locked onto the joystick was yelling
triumphantly - he'd just made the hi score.

Bob snorted, �What a zero!� The insult had the effect of breaking up the party
atmosphere.

�0h yeah? Go ahead and beat my score, pops 1�, skinny snickered.

This was what Bob had been angling for. His right hand closed over the stick and
his left pushed �PLAY�. The following carnage of screaming metal, green blood
and exploding alien troop-ships was all over in a few seconds.

Enemy losses were so sickeningly enormous that the score blocked on 999999.
Without even looking, Bob typed in B-L-O-O-D as the latest hi-scorer.

�Y-you're B-Blood?�, stammered skinny who looked like he'd just swallowed a live
pac-man.

�Gaze up in awe, junior" drawled Bob kindly, "you've just lived through a major
moment in your life.� With that he turned and disappeared through the door,
leaving behind one unpaid-for coffee and a bunch of amazed kids.

�That really zapped �em�, grinned Bob to himself. He was savouring the glory so
much that he didn't see the old man walking towards him. Bob Moriok looked down
at the old guy sprawling on the sidewalk.

�Gee, I'm really sorry. Are you okay?�, he asked, helping the other to his feet.

�Sure, sure. Don't worry about it, young feller. Not your fault if I'm so
absent-minded.�

Suddenly Bob's eyes switched on.

�Wow! You can't be! You aren't! Damn it, you are Charles Darwin, the famous bio-
whatever.�

�No need to shout it out, son; there may be newspaper hacks lounging in the
trash-cans.�

�0h, yeah, sure. Say, listen. Your books really made a major impression. All
that stuff about super bonus scores for the fastest.�

�Yes, well, that's one way of...�

�Hey, wait a minute. Aren't you supposed to be dead, theoretically?�

�Let's just say I'm living incognito for the moment.�

�Wow! That's major. Hey, listen. Let me buy you a drink. No, really.�

Morlok guided his new friend into a nearby bar. They sat down close
to a pinball machine.

�Beer�, said Bob to the guy who was taking orders.

�Water, please�, said Darwin.

�Water, huh�, muttered the waiter and disappeared.

�Interested in biology, are you, Mr uh...�

�Blood. That's my name.�

�Blood, eh? My, my. Well, well.�
The old man's gaze centred on the pinball machine. He glowered.

�Accursed invention. I've been working on video games for months. That's the
reason I came here to Slick City - but who listens to an old dodderer called
Mortimer Slithe!�

�Slithe. Your pseudonym is Slithe? You could've done better than that!�

�A long story. And unpleasant. I'm stuck with Slithe. No matter. Do you believe
in aliens, Blood?�

Bob was taken aback by the question. He stammered, �well, you know, I er..� But
his lack of conviction went unnoticed. Slithe was getting into gear:

� They're here!�, he whispered, waving his cane toward the video game. Then
looking Blood right in the eye, he thundered, �They're here! Pac-men are
reproducing in millions! They actually exist, do you hear me!�

Bob-Blood reeled in shock.

The old man suddenly stood up and left the bar. Bob was too stunned to stop him.
That was the last he ever saw of Charles Darwin.



CHAPTER 2
(And Bob made Blood)

Back in his apartment, Bob's mind was still reeling. Darwin, Pac-people,
aliens... what if it was true?

�Ye Gods! If it's really happening, something's gotta be done!�, thought Bob.

�1 know�, he cried. �I'll infiltrate them. That's my new masterpiece! I'll need
to create a being based on man, a kind of super man, completely competent
like... like, MYSELF!�

And while he raved, Bob was already at the keyboard, typing in the vital first
instructions.

Months passed. List-outs snaked through all the available space. Ashtrays were
piled on ashtrays. Bob programmed on.

Six months later, he had created a vessel called ARK, fitted with an on-board
computer called bio-consciousness.

Still later, the Ark was placed under the command of his computer double:
Captain BLOOD. His mission: fight evil in all the computerized universe...

Lastly, he created a bio-writer whose task would be to recount the amazing saga
in detail.

Finally came the great day. He typed in the final momentous instruction:
<RUN�...

At that very instant, something major happened: Bob winked out. I mean, he
physically DISAPPEARED!




CHAPTER 3
(Report from Ark's Bio-writer)

The Ark had materialized somewhere near Andromeda. It's shape corresponded down
to the last hump to what Bob had programmed. You couldn't tell it apart from any
other boring astroid. Its stupendous mass prevented it from landing anywhere,
but that was compensated for by the sheer amazingness of its bio-tech systems.

Inside, in a very snappy conapt, lovingly done up by the program, a mummy
looking like Bob sat in a padded armchair, in front of which a multitude of
instruments flickered in the phosphorescent blue light diffracted by an enormous
3D screen that filled one whole wall of the conapt.

The Ark bobbed gently in the magnetic tide. The bridge clock showed �000� when
the screen came on, prolonging the conapt into infinity. The diamond-dust
brilliance of Andromeda sparkled in the distance.

Blood came to life very suddenly. The first pains were awful: a tearing noise in
his head, as if something had split his skull open. The pain gave way to a
strange feeling. His first thoughts filled him with a sense of well-being: the
passage from nothingness to superior Beinghood was now possible.

He tested his memory implants. Nostalgia filled his mind: a sandy beach at
summer's end. Salty breeze, childhood, Disneyworld...

�HONK here. Check sum implant: 10/10.�
�Medicheck in progress.�

The voice of Ark's bio-consciousness tore Blood from his daydreams.
�Mission recalls, it barked, �Please state orders.�

�Activate the neutrino scanner", croaked Blood, �and for pity's sake, don't bark
so loudly. Try being normal.�

�Understood, Mr Blood. Scanner on.�
�Attaboy�, approved Blood. �Now, Mr Honk, activate the local map.�

The map appeared instantaneously on the conapt screen. Blood studied it
carefully.

�Superimpose the radar image�, he ordered. A myriad of flashing points covered
the map. They were all converging on the centre, the Ark'sposition. Blood
shrieked:

�They're all over the bloody place!� He wasn't exaggerating. The attack was as
terrifying as it was sudden. The 3D screen revealed a pack of Invader-type
fighters, 5th generation, bristling with advanced weaponry.

Blood didn't hesitate. Only one thing to do: get out of there, fast!

At that instant, a deafening explosing shook the Ark.
The starboard side of the Ark had taken a direct hit from a multiple warhead
missile.

�Hyperspace light now, dammit!�, screamed Blood.

�Understood Mister Blood. Do you require a vessel status update in triplicate",
came the warm and caressing voice of bio-consciousness.

�Get us out of here, you moron!� Hardly had he finished, when he was thrust
violently against the armchair by a phenomenal force. The Ark was plunging into
Hyperspace.

�Wow! we really outwitted those guys!� sniggered Blood.

�My repolt. captain : the ship has no significant damage. Some minor problems
with the bio-writer. I'll repair it immediately. The Hyperspace jump did not
conform entirely to standard procedure../.../...the jump was not interlopted,
however. Oh, Gleak Heavens...!�

�What! Talk! What's happening ?� roared Blood. Fear gripped his soul.

�The multiplexer failed during the jump... Oh, no!... the teleporter has cloned
you! At least thirty copies are loose in destination galaxy!�

�What? Are you crazy?�

�Afraid not, captain. And there's worse...you're short of vital fluid. The
process of degeneration has already started.�




CHAPTER 4
(Clones)

System bio-writer activated as soon as bio-consciousness completed repair...

BIO-WRITERTEST:
ESSAY

Subject: Describe a space ship bobbing in inter-galactic space.
U
NIVERSAL TIME 45372.
Essay:

The space ship bobbed gently in the magnetic tide. The galaxy shone
with the brilliance of diamond-dust.

Mark: 7/10.

Not a bad effort, but could do better. Temper those poetic flights.
END TEST: Apt for service.

Blood had had a close shave. Moreover, during the jump, every space-jock's
nightmare had come true: cloning.

(The effects of CLONING are hair-raising. There are now an army of Bloods, all
but one of whom are fakes. The cloning process has triggered a gradual cellular
degeneration in the original Blood. His only hope of survival is to find all
those clones in the destination galaxy, in order to recover the vital fluid.)

A daunting prospect. Finding the NUMBERS (that was the name Blood gave his
clones) among that mass of stars wasn't going to be easy.

Meanwhile, Honk, Ark's bio-consciousness was working on a series of complex bio-
mech supports designed to back up the captain's weakening life systems. One by
one his heart, lungs, liver and kidneys were replaced by artificial organs.

Blood struggled courageously against a formidable force summoning him to become
a wholly synthetic being: a ROBOT...




CHAPTER 5
(The OORXX layer)

One night Blood was violently aroused from post-surgical coma (his cerebellum
had just been removed):

�Captain, I'm getting a weird message. The neutrino radar is saturated.
Something's closing in on us!� exclaimed the bio-consciousness.

�Glasp.Garks.Wha...� answered Blood. He was having trouble getting words out.
His tongue felt swollen and his 100 % teflon skull hurt horribly.

He managed to add, �Standard procedure, whatever that is�.

�Aye aye, captain", replied the bio-consciousness somewhat dubiously.

Blood suddenly sat up.
�What? Why didn't you wake me up, dummy? Activate magnetic shield, stop
everything, switch on the radar screen.�

The screen glittered, then filled with radar echo. Not far from Ark, a vaguely
oval object was speeding. Fast.

At that instant an alarm sounded and a message came up on the screen, printed in
Universal Protocol/Communication: UPCOM (see footnote 1).

�SOS AM IN DISTRESS SOS GL GL HOC...3

�Wow! Who the blazing Darwins are you ?�, rasped Blood.

�l FEMALE OORXX SOS FAST....�

�Boy, what a zappy dream I'm having!� chuckled Blood.

�WELL WHERE'S THE HELP...�, the OORXX's message said on the UPCOM.

�Sure, sure. Let's not get hysterical�, retorted Blood, just a little irritated.
�She's in a hurry as well. What do we do now. Honk?�

The bio-consciousness thought for a moment.

�The regulations are pretty strict on this. Ever since the NOSTROMO affair, it's
forbidden to teleport strangers on board, Captain, unless they're in temporary
cryogenic death status. I suggest teleporting her to the Fridgitorium. She must,
however, be willing. Otherwise the teleport won't work, as you know, Captain."

�Yeah, yeah. I know. I tumbled the old Rippley dame before she got command of
the old Folks' home on Proxima.

She told me about it...� explained Blood, typing in the following message on the
UPCOM keyboard:

�OK, we'll teleport you.�

Days went by. Honk happily analyzed, studied and dissected the OORXX. One day...

�Captain, hey, it's completely major, Cap, wow!� Honk seemed rather excited.

�What? Calm down, kid, and don't call me cap. Now, what gives?� Blood wasn't in
one of his better moods. The day before, Honk had fixed him up with bionylon
skin (hi temprature no-shrink wash. Drip dry), and they'd been testing the hi-
temperature wash feature.

�If we modify, just a teeny weeny bit, the OORXX's genes, we can control the
eggs and put together some really zappy biomissiles, with all space fish
characteristics and amazing firepower as well. We could easily train the OORXX
babies to go on suicide missions for you! You'd radio control them. You'd see
through their eyes. Think of it. You could visit every planet in the galaxy
without leaving the conapt. It's completely major!� Honk shut up for a moment,
waiting for his master's verdict.

�You are DISGUSTING!� exploded Blood. �You are INHUMAN!�

�But, master, they're only OORXX!� protested the bio-consciousness.

�Yeah, well, that's true�, admitted Blood, pinching his silicon earlobe.
�They are only OORXX. And they are officially extinct. And I'd be right here in
my padded armchair, wouldn't? Okay, we'll give it a try!�

And so Honk reactivated the OORXX layer, and the first second generation OORXX
babies were born.

FOOTNOTE (1)
UPCOM. Universal Protocol/Communication. A system conceived by Honk, in response
to the difficulty of talking with people who use unfamiliar languages. Honk's
system translates simultaneously, using icons to signify words or ideas. UPCOM
is able to detect those signs that are understood by the being you're talking
with. This allows aspeedy evaluation of the being's
personality. If its vocabulary contains only icons symbolizing food and drink,
it's pretty easy to figure out the being's intellectual level.




CHAPTER 6
(Mastochok)

Honk spent a long while experimenting on the mother OORXX's genes. Sometimes the
eggs were too big. sometimes too long. Huge babies were born that had to be
ejected from the Ark immediately. The long babies had to be reeled onto special
spools which were difficult to stock. Blood wasn't satisfied. He was too well
aware of time passing, and with it his chances of survival. It was becoming more
and more urgent to catch some NUMBERS so he could recuperate the vital fluid he
so desperately needed.

One night...

�Captain, Captain, I've got it! It works!�, yelled Honk. �We can start testing.�

�At last!�, exclaimed Blood, rubbing his original hands together. They were now
covered in scales and the sound produced was like two crocodiles having sex in a
packet of cornflakes.

�Hyperspace. Target galaxy: Xunk 07. That's where I'd go,� he added confidently,
�if I were them�.

�But, Captain, you ARE them!� cried the bio-consciousness.
�Eh? Sure. You're right. Let's go anyway�.

Ark thundered. Several moments later, it fused into hyperspace. Bloodadmired the
pretty time-space twirls on the 3D screen, their mathematical convolutions
hovering at the brink of human understanding, hurling the mind
into a vortex sublimated by the theoretical vacuum thus evoked and whose
description is but a pale reflection in the rank and brackish water of a foul
and bottomless swamp from which no escape may be envisaged...

Then, quite majestically, appeared a round and greenish ball in the infinite
blue night.

�Mastochok�, murmured Blood, �planet of the CROOLIS�. He seemed ecstatic before
the magnificent sight that was the planet Mastochok.

�That's where they are�, he declared with the utter certainty of one who knows.

He breathed raspingly to the accompaniment of hisses from his pneumatic lungs.

He twiddled some very nice knobs on the control panel, selecting the Landing
option. The baby OORXX slid into the lubrified ejection tube.

�EJECT!�, he cried, his eyes popping with emotion. The OORXX shot from the tube
with a sound like a bottle being uncorked.

�Ejected�, replied Honk, �l'm switching on the video circuits. From now on, the
OORXX is you. Go easy on the stick".

The OORXX came up on the 3D screen. The tormented surface of Mastochok was
approaching fast. Too fast!

"For pity's sake, pull back the stick. You're going to crash!�, screamed Honk.

Blood pulled back on the stick. Lots of pointy mountains appeared. The OORXX was
skimming over them.

�Down, down, gently. There!� Honk was clearly troubled by the captain's lack of
experience. "Careful! Aaah!�

A shuddering thump indicated that the OORXX had flown into a mountain-top. The
baby spacefish squealed in pain, bounced, then came to a halt nose to nose with
the mountain.

�YOU'RE GOING TO KILL THE THING!�, roared the bio-consciousness, trembling with
rage.

�OK, OK, calm down. Anyone can make a mistake. Anyway, the OORXX isn't damaged.
Look, everything works fine.�
Blood handled the stick carefully, and the Image began to move again. The OORXX
once more travelled through the wild if strangely wonderful terrain.

Suddenly Blood saw the entrance to a gigantic canyon, and flew in.
�The canyon of the CROOLIS�, he murmured.

The OORXX slid through the air with incredible agility, responding instantly to
the slightest move of Blood's hand.

The steep canyon walls sped by in a sound of gliders. Blood was in total control
of the OORXX. And that's the mark of a true hero, whose speed of adaptation
leaves common mortals far behind. And true heros are immortal, just as Blood
felt himself to be.

They landed at the end of the canyon, as majestically as a bird of prey, as
gracefully as the moment deserved. Blood knew the CROOLIS were watching.

A CROOLIS appeared onscreen.
�UPCOM on, Honk�, ordered Blood.
Honk activated the UPCOM.

�VAREUX OR ULVES?� asked the CROOLIS sternly.
�Vareux or Ulves?� repeated Blood, somewhat at a loss.

�Uh�, stammered the bio-consciousness, �better not answer that one. Vareux
CROOLIS and Ulves CROOLIS are hereditary enemies�.

�I MAN�, typed Blood, �I SEARCH NUMBERS, YOU KNOW ?�

�(LAUGH) I KNOW, BUT YOU TAKE ME TO PLANET ASCODA. THEN I TELL�

�Ascoda, that's real bad, captain. That's where the most dangerous MIGRAX on the
universe hang out.�

�OK�, typed Blood. �WE TELEPORT YOU�.

He pressed a button on the left side of the control pannel. The Croolis
vaporized on the 3D screen and rematerialized in the FRIDGITORIUM. It took on a
blue colouring and looked fairly dead.

�You're not going to accept, are you?�, asked the bio-consciousness, horrified
by his master's suicidal streak.

�Yes�, replied Blood shortly. �I've got an idea. How do we get the OORXX back
into Ark?�

�Ah, well. That's something I haven't given much thought to. You see, they
resist badly to landing. As a matter of fact, they self-destruct�, admitted Honk
ruefully.

Blood said nothing. Loudly.

�Hyperspace�, he murmured. The plop of anew OORXX entering the ejection tube was
heard.

�Hyperspace on�, replied Honk. Ark shot forward...

Ark re-materialized beside a pock-marked astroid called �OX1 45A (300)�. Blood
ejected the new OORXX. who landed gently on �OX1 45A (300)�. Then he activated
the inverse teleport process. The Croolis disappeared from theFridgitorium and
found itself on an ugly, pock-marked asteroid. Blood watched on the 3D screen.

The UPCOM was working:

�PLANET NOT BE ASCODA (SWEAR)", swore the Croolis.
�Wow! That guy's been zapped!�, chortled Blood.
�Yeah!� sniggered the bio-consciousness.

�0kay, let's see if he'll tell us where the NUMBERS are�, said Blood. He typed
on the UPCOM keyboard:
�WHERE BE NUMBERS? ANSWER, CROOLIS!�

�(SWEAR!) (SWEAR!) YOU BRING BACK ME THEN?� asked the Croolis.

�YES", keyed in Blood.

�Planet ZULU COORDINATES 124/674�, admitted the Croolis grudgingly.

�THANKS, BYE�, answered the captain on the UPCOM, �and now let's get to Zulu.
Hyperspace, Mr Honk!�

�Hyperspace, sure thing, captain." Honk was relieved. Ark tore off.

On asteroid �OX1 45A (300)�, the Croolis was babbling insane diatribes. �I'll
get that son of a Vareux, by the glabration of my Croolas...�





CHAPTER 7
(The final 5 NUMBERS)
800 years later at the edge of galaxy BABY 1...

The medireport came through on the telox. An incandescent meteor tone through
space with a scissors sound. Blood read the report slowly. Cellular degeneration
was increasing since the last report. A frightening question came up from his
synthetic throat:

�Honk, how long can I live without the vital fluid of the NUMBERS?�

�312 Universal Time Units�, replied the bio-consciousness.�Permit me to augment
your optimism levels; your metabolism can't afford despair, and I've isolated a
suicidal impulse in the B Cortex of a bulb gene in your right brain.�

�Go ahead", acquiesced Blood. �Have the last 5 NUMBERS been located?�

�Negative. They are equipped with radar scramblers."

�Five NUMBERS are left, hidden somewhere among those stars", thought Blood. 5
damned NUMBERS waiting for him, wamed by the MIGRAX who were only too willing to
sell the information for a price. Five clones of himself, ready to defend their
stinking NUMBER hides: one, two, three, four and that son of a bitch NUMBER 5.

Blood shouted, �How many OORXX does Ark have?�

�18 adults. The bionic layer has laid 14 missiles which will be operational in 5
Times", replied the metallic voice of Honk.

�Direction Ondoya�, ordered Blood. �Reactivate the layer, lock the georadar on
target, pump upthe nuke shield, we'll need it. We're gonnazap those guys!�

Ark tore off thunderously. Down in the Pram Zone, the OORXX layer squeaked in
pain, and three more slimy missiles rolled down the birth ramp.

End of report from Ark's Bio-writer.





A BRIEF GLOSSARY OF FAUNA ON HYDRA

IZWAL : Peaceful and generous beings. Lookalmosthuman. Very cultured. Masters of
Science.

BUGGOL : Beings with a particular social behaviour, being obsessively
democratic. All belong to YATANGA. which is the only political party in presence
and whose one aim is to defend democracy as obsessively as possible. The
President's term of office is not fixed. As soon as a BUGGOL attains a majority,
he is elected. Since all are eligible forhigh office, Presidents
tend to change very frequently, sometimes every 5 minutes. At the time this
story begins a BUGGOL remains onROSKO. He can't be elected, owing to the
shortage of electors. He would need two more votes to become President of planet
ROSKO. An impostor (YUKAS), who doesn't even live on ROSKO has got himself
elected in a fixed election. ROSKO is now in political upheaval.

YUKAS : Belligerent and underhand characters. No class at all. Little is known
of their customs.

CROOLIS : Separated into two distinct evolutionary branches :Vareux and Ulves.
Each has always hated the other.

MIGRAX : As their name suggests, they are great travellers. Highly intelligent,
theycarrythe news aroundthe galaxy. Excellent negotiators. Their slyness is
legendary.

ONDOYANTES : Originally from planet Ondoya, these are dream creatures. They
appear beautiful to those whom they like, and ghastly to those they detest. This
way. everyone knows where he stands.

TRICEPHALS : Very interesting genetically. These guys have three android heads,
each of which is equipped with an amazing tongue.

SINOX : Hardworking and intelligent, the Sinox are the technology whizzkids of
the galaxy.

ANTENNA : Simple creatures, the Antenna are really very friendly. Maybe too
friendly.

TUBULAR BRAINERS : The only race so far known to have tubular brains. Their
intelligence is quite particular and difficult to grasp.

TROMPS : Inoffensive creatures, if somewhat stubborn. Their hair is highly
prized as snuff by the Sinox.

ROBHEADS : Long long ago, Hydra was invaded by bionic armies of android combat-
robots with orders to take charge for a few thousand years. When the Hydrans got
fed up wrth them, things went hideously sour for the robots. A few decapitated
units managed to keep some systems functioning. They are the Robheads. They're
just robot heads with a few memory zones still
working. Completely harmless, they just liethere.Theycan't even reproduce,
unless some passing geneticist...

KINGPAKS : Ridiculous creatures who smoke tromp tails (supposedly aphrodisiac),
and eat pills. Not very smart. Rumour has it that they inspired the early Pac
Man versions.

NUMBERS : Blood's clones. There are 5 of them : Number 1, number 2, number 3,
number 4 and that son of a bitch number 5...