The Tigerman Saga

Chapter 44
The Solitude Ends
(Visitors can be handy)

This chapter is dedicated to Candie "ccottoncandies",
a loyal fan of The Saga.
Candie also named Eridani, in an online name contest.


3D Art And Story Concept By: Catman Webb
(allow load time, if dial up)



The convergence between Pelexis and the lion, was a very unusual one.
Typically, when convergence between an Avatarian and another life form took place,
the life force of the Avatarian left their body and joined the other life form's body.
In addition to Pelexis' lack of understanding the process,
both he and the lion were dying.

So, there was no time for any thoughts of doing it the proper way,
and he just merged with the lion in whole, at the molecular level.
His entire body, clothes, possessions, even a tiny piece of The Stone,
merged with the dying lion's body.

The tiny piece of The Stone integrated with their "oneness",
and added extreme life longevity.





Pelexis the lion, had explored all of this planet he could, over the last 199,000 years.
The desire to live had paled to the point that he cared little about life.
He had lost most of his "humanoid self" in the body of the lion,
and the memories of his past as Pelexis, grew dimmer every year.

His discovery of planets, his family, his life on Avataris, slipped into obscurity in his mind.
The tendencies of his "lion self" provided for all of his life needs.
Through the ages, he had given up ever seeing his family again, and just preferred to forget.

Sadness and solitude had beaten him.
Then one day, he discovered The Beacon Outpost.





The building was a rusted heap, great ages of time had taken their toll on it.
The "Pelexis self" had the curiousity to approach for closer inspection.
It had been a long time since he had seen anything of advanced design,
other than his now rotted ship.

He saw a button next to what appeared to be a door.
Curiousity could allow him to do only one thing,
so,,, he pushed that button.





Pelexis the lion leapt back as the door opened.
It was not just the door opening that startled him,
the sound of machinery banged loudly as well.

It was the sound of the Beacon Outpost reactivating into working condition.
The rust was being vibrated off, systems were starting up, and machines were running.

Again, the "Pelexis self" stirred in curiousity, so the lion entered the machine.





Pelexis the lion stood inside the strange machine, and gazed at the technology.
There were buttons, dials and bright lights glowing.

It was a reminder of a life once lived, not as an animal.





Pelexis the lion saw nothing significant happening,
so left the machine and just walked away.

The technology he was observing, reminded him of his past life, and his deep losses.
As he walked away from the machine, his back to it, he didn't notice the beacon.

A beacon of light beamed from the machine to the twin planet
that was forever in the sky on the far side of the moon.
The beacon hit a precise point on that twin planet





Moments later, Pelexis the lion was again startled.
A ship landed between him and the machine.

There was a humanoid life form piloting the ship.
The lion approached cautiously.





A very unusual looking lady stepped out, and seemed to have telepathic abilities.
She communicated to Pelexis the lion,
that she had been living on that planet for 250,000 years, also alone in solitude.

She had built the Beacon Outpost to signal her,
in the event any being was evolved enough to push the button,
and would activate the machine to alert her that a higher life form was there.

She communicated to the lion, that she and others had been exploring the universe
and had crashed their larger ship on the other planet.
The crash had killed her crewmates, and left her with only this smaller shuttle craft
and absolutely no idea of where she was at, nor any way to navigate elsewhere.

The beacon machine would alert her, and she could watch both planets at the same time.
This doubled her chances of encountering a higher life form, and provide companionshp.





She accompanied Pelexis the lion back to his den in the deep jungle.
She told him her name was Eridani,
and was orginally from a distant world named Avataris.

This introduction shocked the "Pelexis self" within the lion.
He communicated to her that he too was from Avataris.
He had a thousand questions for Eridani, and she sensed his desire to learn more.

Eridani explained to the lion, that she was part of a space exploration project
at Avataris, 250,000 years ago. They had several ships traveling in different directions.
Eridani and her crew were the last ones to leave, because the program was being abandoned.

Avatarians had grown quite intelligent and wise,
and were able to know of the universe from within their own minds.
They even had one last ship, that they chose not to use, upon abandoning the space program.

Eridani went on to explain, that when she and her now dead crew crashed on that twin planet,
she had been able to survive because of a tiny piece of Stone a dear friend had given her.

She used the Stone to converge with a large feline, thereby saving and extending her life.
Her friend had given her this piece of Stone to help her in the event of a crisis.
It did indeed save her, and she had lived on that planet for a very long time.
This close friend and her, had made plans to wed when she returned.

She told the lion that she was quite sure
she would never see her future lifemate, Benu Fienix, again.

The lion revealed to Eridani that he was in fact, Benu Fienix's father.
Eridani was ecstatic, and asked where Benu was.
Pelexis the lion, explained of the plight of Avataris, and the exodus that had taken place,
to the worlds he had discovered in that last remaining ship.
He also explained to her, that The Stone had taken a terrible toll on Benu,
and that he and his wife Avirha had been certain that Benu's life was near the end.

This deeply saddened Eridani, but she still had hope.
When Pelexis the lion told her about the planet he had found for his family,
she asked if he knew how to get there.

He was saddened to explain to Eridani,
that this lion's physical form had robbed him of most of his past memories.

In this lion's body, he would never be able to find his way there again.





Pelexis the lion, exhausted from the long day and big events,
fell into a deep sleep.

Eridani gazed upon the lion, and understood his solitude and sadness.
For 199,000 years, they had lived near, with only a moon between them.
It was a bitter irony of circumstances. Sometimes though, life has it's reasons.

Eridani produced that tiny piece of Stone, and held it above the sleeping lion's head.





From his explanation of his experiences here,
Eridani knew that there was still Pelexis inside the lion, at a molecular level.
She concentrated on reversing that molecular make-up,
to produce Pelexis' physical form instead of the big cat's.

Maybe his memory of his family's chosen plaent would come back.
He would also be able to then fit in her ship.

It was built for two.





The power of The Stone, even such a tiny fragment, began to take effect.
The physical form of Pelexis the lion, was becoming Pelexis the Avatarian.

Eridani was pleased to see the process was working.





Eridani held the Stone above Pelexis for awhile longer, while he slept.
She wanted to make certain that she extracted as much of the Avatarian
life force, to the forefront of his new form, as possible.

As the power the The Stone washed over Pelexis, he began to wake up





Pelexis was quite pleased to see his new physical form.
He was a bit confused about his appearance though.

Eridani explained that all of the original molecules
of both him and the lion were still merged,
but the Avatarian form was now predominant in the appearances.
Some of the lion's physical traits remained.

Pelexis told Eridani that his past memories were becoming clearer by the moment.
He was quite sure he could remember how to get to the world he had sent his family to.





As Pelexis surveyed the tiny ship,
he asked Eridani how they would make such a long trip in it.
He calculated that it would take over 200 years to get there,
even using the Space Distortion Rivers.

There was no room for food, water or even enough air.
Eridani explained that she had the means of putting both of them into a very deep sleep.
A suspended animation, that would allow them to sleep for the entire trip.
The trip would go fast, as time passed faster in the Space Distortion Rivers.

Upon hearing this, Pelexis was anxious to leave.





As Eridani fired up the cold fusion drive engine,
the small shipped lifted off the ground.

Pelexis was busy setting the navigation controls,
that would guide them to the world where he hoped his family would be.

The trip would not be without risks though.





Eridani thought of her dear friend and planned lifemate, Benu Fienix,
as she and Pelexis went into a deep state of unconsciousness.

Pelexis also thought of Benu, as well as his lifemate and two other children.

His last thought before deep suspended animation was the question
of whether he would actually ever see his family again.

The small ship glided quietly in the Space Distortion River to a destination with fate.



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