Dave’s Anatomy: My History As a Writer, #123: Vampires in Space: “Soil Samples.”

In high school, I read a collection of stories called Rod Serling’s Triple W:  Witches, Warlocks, and Werewolves. One story in particular fascinated me. Written by Joe E. Hensley, it was titled “Not Quite Human.” I never forgot the story, but I forgot the title, the name of the author, and the book in which I was published. It was forty years later (literally) that, with the help of the internet, I found it and got to read it again. It still impressed me after all that time. 

The story begins with the destruction of the earth. An alien race has destroyed Earth’s civilization and is about to report back that a new world is available for colonization. And something else will please the authorities on their home word:  miraculously, forty of the planet’s inhabitants somehow survived the attack. They are imprisoned on the ship and are being taken back for study. 

Soon, however, strange things begin to happen. A crewman commits suicide. You learn that the alien world is a repressive world. Anyone who makes a mistake is “exterminated.” The Captain of the ship will probably die due to what happened under his command. Soon others follow. The crew seems to be going mad. Everyone but the Captain is soon dead. The leader of the earth inhabitants that did not die tells the captain that this is because they are vampires. They were buried for centuries in the earth with stakes through their heart. “Your fire burned away the stakes,” he said, and they have revived. The story ends like this. But there is at least a hint that the vampires will force the captain to fly the ship home so they will have a new race of beings that can be their prey. 

This was the inspiration for a story I published called “Soil Samples.” Earth is not destroyed in my story. The aliens come as scouts. They land on earth, survey it, capture some its animals and collect samples of its plant life. They also bring soil samples in large boxes. During the course of the voyage, a wild boar gets loose and attacks one of the aliens. Bleeding badly, he climbs up on one of the boxes of dirt from Earth and dies of his wounds. Unfortunately for the crew of the ship, the blood revives remains embedded in the soil samples.

The Vampires—Rebecca, Hugh, Ethan, Mia, and Felicity—come from various eras. Like the creatures in “Not Quiet Human,” they have been revived—not by fire burning away the stakes in their heart, but by blood soaking down into the soil where they were buried. 

Rebecca transforms to a bat and flies about the ship. She hears someone speaking English, takes on her human-like form, and captures an alien woman, Devva. She tells Rebecca she has been inducted into the military to learn the English language. Rebecca tells her they need her help. She dresses in one of Devva’s extra uniforms and the two of them head back to the where other vampires are waiting. Devva decides to warn the crew when three of her fellow aliens appear. Rebecca makes short work of them and threatens to kill her if she betrays her again. Devva has noted that the earth beings are not harmed by the weapons of her people. 

She tells the group of vampires that the ship is monitored but puzzles that no one has seen them. Mia, a vampire who lived into the second millennia, suggests that just as they do not make reflections they also may not show up on camera. The vampires, aided by Devva, manage to take control of the ship. They learn of a rebellion going on. A prisoner on the ship is involved with the rebellion and will help them connect with rebel factions.

Rebecca

  

Rebecca feels badly that she has been so brutal with Devva and wonders why this human woman cooperated so much. Devva tells her that her sister got involved with the rebellion, was captured, tortured, and killed by the government. She has a family but despairs of ever seeing them again, knowing that because her sister was a rebel she will eventually be killed as well. Rebecca remembers how her crossing over into the world of vampires separated her from her husband and family. 

In the last scene, the ship is going to join other rebel ships. Their destination is the alien home planet—a new world on which the vampires can settle and find blood. 

“Soil Samples” appeared in Bloodbond, published by Alban Lake. Get a copy here.

For additional titles, check out my Amazon Page. Here is a link.

I would love to hear your comments.

Dave’s Anatomy: My History As a Writer,#122: Pagan Girl, Christian Guy, Clergyman from 1640: “How Great Our Joy.”

Robert Herrick

There is a hymn tune found in many American collections called “How Great Our Joy.” The name of the tune given in the upper right-hand corner of the psalter is “Herrick’s Carol.” I know quite a bit about the poet Robert Herrick because I did my Ph.D. dissertation on his religious poetry. Herrick was a poet but also (like George Herbert) an Anglican priest. Many people will not recognize his name, but two references bring him into popular culture: 1) he wrote the poem with the famous opening lines “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may”; 2) in the scene in Dead Poet’s Society where the character played by Robin Williams takes the boys he is teaching to the trophy room to show them photographs of graduates who have died long ago, Williams mentions Herrick and the concept of carpe deim, “seize the day,” which one finds quite a lot in Herrick’s poetry.

My story, “How Great Our Joy,” centers around the experience of two young people, Maxwell and Astraea. They work together at a school for special needs students. Both are musicians; in fact, Astraea does musical therapy. On occasion they play concerts together at the school are mutually respectful of each other’s mastery and competence. Maxwell is a Christian; Astraea is a pagan. One of Astraea’s pagan friends, Callie, finds out she does music with a Christian and unloads, telling her that Christianity has caused the deaths of more people than any other cause in history and that Christians burned nine million women at the stake in medieval Europe. She should not be associating with him in any way. “He wants to kill you,” she says. 

Astraea finds this absurd but asks Maxwell about it. He says these are common myths circulated by people who dislike Christianity and they are fabrications. When Astraea researches the claims, she finds he is correct. One night she and Callie go to a coffee bar. Maxwell, and a very beautiful young women, come on stage as the musical act for the night. Callie wants to leave, but Astraea wants to hear the concert. As they listen, she pines that the woman with Maxwell is so much more beautiful than she; these feelings make her realize she is attracted to him despite their religious difference. At intermission, she finds out the woman is Maxwell’s sister. Callie leaves. Maxwell and his sister talk with Astraea. He ends up asking her out. Despite opposition from her friends and parents, she begins dating him. 

Winter Solstice Celebration

He attends a Solstice Celebration with Astraea and her family; she goes to a Church service with him (it is near Christmas and she knows some of the carols they sing just from hearing them so much at this time of the year). Astraea feels love for Maxwell, but also realizes how much opposition and they are facing and the numerous complications that could derail their relationship. She wonders what she might do to show her love and hits upon a plan.  She goes to two people who are yoga adepts and unfolds it to them. They agree to help her. Since all points of time exist at the same time, they tell her, they can bring about what she has asked.

Robert Herrick's Church in Devonshire

Through the practitioners’ intervention, Astraea is able to transport her and Maxwell back in time, to the days of King Charles I, the 1630s, and the church of Maxwell’s favorite poet Robert Herrick. They attend a service at his church and, afterwards, get to meet him. When the service is over they help distribute food to poor parishioners. Herrick himself is charming, earthy, and sincere in his devotion—despite what she has read about him being an indifferent Christian or one whose loyalties to the old deities of Greece and Rome were greater than his allegiance to the Christian faith. She is certain her relationship with Maxwell can be fruitful—perhaps even end in their being married. They respect each other’s faith and can love each other and experience mutuality despite their differences.

The story appeared in  the journal Eternal Haunted Summer and was reprinted in the anthology Passion Beyond Words. Eternal Haunted Summer has archived the story and you can read it here. If you want a print copy, Passion Beyond Words is available here.

For additional books, check out my Amazon Page.

Also, for a good short story and a nice summer read, see my story "Azalea." One of the best I've written.

I would love to hear your comments.

Happy summer reading.