"Think it's time for your computer?" Matt asked.
Abby nodded and took it from her belt. She snapped it open and unfurled the screen. She switched the power on, and a color 2–D startup image came up on the screen. She aimed the screen toward the still growing group of aliens and called up the first image.
The screen was thin enough that she could see the image through the back of the screen and verify that it was the right one. The image was a side view of Manhattan, one chosen to match what it looked like from this general direction. Next to the dome stood a human man and woman. Abby pointed to herself and to Matt, and then pointed at the couple on the screen. She pointed at Manhattan in the picture, and then pointed at the real thing in the distance. She watched the aliens as she pointed at Manhattan and saw eyes move, telling her these people knew what pointing meant. A cat would stare at your fingertip, but these people looked at where she pointed.
She triggered the next image, an artist's conception of a top view, showing Manhattan under a dome. The image began to shrink and more domes came into view. Abby found the one with the small round shape, pointed to it, and pointed inside the dome.
The picture of the couple was superimposed on the screen near the Manhattan dome, and the couple began to move slowly across the screen, leaving a dotted line behind them. They stopped next to the small circular dome. Abby again pointed to Matt and herself.
The next image showed a side view of the edge of the dome. In a series of steps, a circular tunnel formed beneath the surface of the goo, a hole formed in the tunnel roof, and a human stood up showing half of its body. Next the human went back inside the tunnel. A hole formed in the tunnel wall, leading through the underground barrier and coming out on the surface of the ground inside the dome. The final image showed two people sitting opposite each other, an effort to convey the idea of dialogue.
As the sequence completed, Abby saw indecipherable expressions on faces beyond the clear barrier. Seconds later, one of the tallest aliens began to back up. Instantly everyone in the group was doing the same thing. They all backed up until they were perhaps ten meters from the barrier, and then all made gestures that were fairly easy to interpret as inviting. The aliens put palms down and mimicked pawing in the dirt, or perhaps scooping something toward them.
Matt said softly, "Does that seem as friendly to you as it looks to me?"
"I suspect so. I'd say they understand, and they're ready for us to come inside."
"Can you see any reason why we shouldn't proceed?"
"None. We don't have any guarantee that they're as peaceful as they seem, but I don't expect any warmer welcome anywhere."
"You want to stay here and keep them company? I think we can move a meter along the tunnel and cut through there."
"Sure."
#
Light filtered through the stubby tunnel to the surface. This time the air pressure inside the tall dome was about the same pressure as in the tunnel. The cutting and digging and sampling had gone well, much like going into the first dome. They had sealed the hole in the top of the tunnel as soon as they could see through the new hole.
Matt looked up through the gap and began to feel nervous. He trusted Abby to start communications as smoothly as possible, but there were so many unknowns.
Bobby Joe brought the cart back after dumping dirt in a new side tunnel, and Rudy and Matt cleared out a few more shovelfuls of dirt.
They were ready. Matt still felt uneasy, but he couldn't think of any reason to delay, so he moved down the tunnel far enough to get some quiet as he called Manhattan base and gave them a quick update.
Matt and Abby were again the first two out of the tunnel. They stood on the wiry grass next to the tunnel mouth, breathing in the sweet scent of growing vegetation, looking into the clear white eyes of a group of at least forty of the aliens. The mix of the group had shifted toward the adults. More tall aliens had arrived, and several of the shortest ones had climbed back up into the arboreal complex.
From here Matt couldn't help but think of Jack and the Beanstalk. The trio of trees extended into the inverted test tube, stretching far taller than Matt had imagined was possible. He couldn't remember how tall redwoods managed to get on Earth, but if this city had come from a lower gravity planet, he supposed the limits to vertical growth would be less severe.
"Next," Matt called into the hole in the ground.
Bobby Joe Brewster came up as cautiously as a child on his best behavior at an adult gathering. Finally Rudy reached the surface. He fastened the "door" closed, and hopped lightly to the surface. The four of them stood together, all acting as carefully as innocent suspects facing a cop's loaded gun.
The tallest aliens were slightly taller than Matt. The few remaining shorter aliens all came at least up to shoulder height. All bare–chested, they were dressed below the waist in what appeared to be one very long turban–like strip of cloth about as wide as a hand, wrapped in strip after strip ankle to hips to opposite ankle. Their all–white eyes formed an uncomfortable reminder of cheap horror videos, but nothing about them seemed threatening. Their noses were darker than the rest of their faces, and their arms and heads showed no indication of body hair. Maybe Bobby Joe should have been the spokesperson instead of Abby.
As soon as the humans were all motionless, Abby said, "Hello." Alien heads turned to look at each other, but that was the only reaction until a gap formed in the wall of aliens.
Between the two small groups of aliens, a lone alien stood. This alien's nose was even darker than the others', and he looked even more fragile than the others. The alien made what Matt took to be a come–ahead sign. In accordance with the plan made earlier, Matt didn't react. He waited for Abby's direction. Only in the event that he felt defensive action was necessary would he resume control inside the dome.
Abby said softly to her human companions, "I think we're being invited in. Let's go."
Abby stepped forward in the lead, followed by Matt, then Bobby Joe, then Rudy. If they were stepping into a trap, that was too bad, but all had agreed earlier that the humans had to act as though the people they met were friendly until proved different. It would be all too easy to create hostilities when probably no one in the domes wanted to be here. Matt's exploration team had to be treated as expendable. If the worst happened, and they were killed, the base team in Manhattan would know which dome was hostile, and would keep any of the inhabitants from reaching Manhattan.
As the four of them walked, Matt was aware of the aliens inspecting him as carefully as he looked at them. The group of tree dwellers formed loosely around them, some walking by their sides, some ahead, some behind. Soft sounds of movement came from above them in webbing between the trees.
Their leader reached the base of one of the enormous trees. At least a dozen knotted ropes or vines hung down low enough to curl on the ground. A couple of the tree dwellers grabbed ropes and began to pull themselves up. The leader made another come–ahead gesture and began climbing, too.
Matt and Abby glanced at each other and then followed the aliens up into the tree city. Climbing was easy in the light gravity, more like lifting a twenty–kilo weight with a rope and pulley than like lifting one's weight in normal gravity. The tree was probably as big around as fifty telephone poles bundled together.
Matt and Abby reached the rough equivalent of a floor in an Earth building. Ropes supported by the three trees were woven together in a loose cat's cradle grid–work dense enough to break the fall of anyone dropping from a higher level. The area between the trees was about the same as a football field squashed into a triangular shape.
The tree dwellers above them continued climbing, so the humans followed. Matt couldn't hear any sound that seemed like voices, just the rustling noises of other climbers.
They came to the next level and here the grid–work of ropes was denser. In addition, several woven huts rested on the grid, each with a series of support ropes leading from the upper corners of the huts up toward the ne
xt level. They kept climbing.
At each of the next few levels the huts grew more numerous. When the aliens stopped climbing, they were on a level with one very large hut resting on a dense grid of ropes. The frail–looking tree dweller walked onto the grid, stepping on the thick ropes and grabbing occasional overhead ropes to keep balanced. Abby followed, and Matt followed her, relieved that the low gravity and frequent layers of grids would be forgiving if they happened to fall through one of the openings in the grid.
Matt glanced back and saw Bobby Joe and Rudy following. Bobby Joe looked as nervous as if he were treading a high wire without a net.
They reached the hut without Bobby Joe having a cardiac arrest from his obvious fear of heights, and they entered through permanently open cutouts. Inside was a smaller hut, with cutout doorways offset from the exterior doorways, perhaps to cut the wind, or to limit visibility. The floor was virtually solid now. Matt could see slices of light through it, but saw no danger of falling or even losing his balance. The floor swayed almost imperceptibly as people near him walked. Openings in the ceiling served as skylights. Each of the square cutouts had dark squares right next to it, as though the covers could be pulled closed when necessary.
In the center of the large interior hut was a low circular table at about knee height. Already seated at the table were three frail–looking aliens. The alien who had lead them sat at the table next to them. Also around the perimeter of the table were four vacant cushions made of rope and leaves. Matt was impressed with them having exactly the right number, and wondered what might have happened if their party had contained five people or some other number. Maybe they'd accidentally brought the socially acceptable number of diplomats.
The alien who had led them here gestured at the cushions.
Abby said, "Let's take seats, shall we?"
As the four humans sat down at the table, the rest of the tree dwellers who had accompanied them silently moved to the walls and sat on the floor around the perimeter. Matt wondered if they were observing or protecting.
Matt and Abby took the center two cushions on their side, with Bobby Joe and Rudy sitting on the two outside. The four people across the table from them didn't look friendly, but neither did they look hostile.
One of the four, the one with a mark shaped vaguely like an octagon on one cheek, leaned forward and turned over a square flap in the center of the table. On the reverse side of it was apparently a writing surface. The alien traced a fingertip along the surface, and a line formed, just like on an old magic slate.
The fingertip continued its travel, and the line turned into a tall, thin upside–down "U." Next to it the alien drew a semicircle. Beneath the open ends of the two curves, the alien drew a long straight line forming a base on which both curves rested. The alien leaned back and gestured at the drawing.
Abby leaned forward and put a fingertip on the hemisphere. She drew her finger in a path from the inside of the hemisphere, under the long line, and then up into the tall upside–down "U." The line her finger made was wider than the ones the alien had drawn. One of the tree people looked puzzled, and Abby said softly, "I think maybe they originally thought we might be the aliens who run this ship."
The tree dweller drew several horizontal lines in the "U" starting at the bottom. At the sixth line it added a small circle. Then it continued the line Abby had drawn, moving from the ground up to where they all now sat.
Around the pair of domes, Abby drew a very large circle. Then she continued the original line by moving her finger from inside the "U" and not stopping until her finger was completely outside the large circle.
All four aliens simultaneously rocked their heads from side to side. Matt glanced at Abby, and she looked puzzled.
With a slow, cautious movement, Abby removed her computer from her belt. She set it on the table and just left it there for a few seconds, as though she were trying to make it plain that it was not a weapon.
The aliens stopped their head–rocking motion and looked closely at the computer. Abby unsnapped and unfurled the screen, positioning it so they could see it. She snapped on the power switch.
Suddenly the air was filled with screaming. The aliens across the table put their hands to their heads and screeched like cats in pain. One of them keeled over backward. The aliens at the edge of the room were reacting, too. Some of them staggered to their feet, at the same time holding their heads in their hands.
"Turn it off!" Bobby Joe yelled.
Abby looked blank for an instant. As Bobby Joe moved to turn off the computer, Abby finally reacted and moved even faster. Her fingers hit the switch, and the screen went dark.
Around the room, the cries started dropping in volume. The aliens across the table looked stupefied. Ones near the edge of the room started to recover and began to approach, menace clear in their stance now.
Bobby Joe said urgently, "Don't touch the computer."
Matt said, "Move back slowly. Abby, tell us what to do to look as unthreatening as we can."
"Keep down," she said. "Keep your hands in front of you where they can see them. Don't move quickly."
"What the hell happened?" Rudy asked.
Bobby Joe talked quickly, quietly. "I think they're telepathic. That's probably why they haven't tried speech on us. That's why they all seem to decide the same thing around the same time. I bet when the computer turned on, whatever RF it leaks was enough to bombard the receptors they use for telepathy. We just did the equivalent of spraying them with sound or light way past their threshold of pain."
Matt said, "Abby, you've got to figure out how to convince them it was an accident."
Aliens from the perimeter of the room continued their angry approach. The aliens right across the table still seemed dazed, except for the one who had fallen. That one remained motionless.
"I think you're right." Abby slowly pointed at the computer, then made a gesture of sweeping it away from her, as though she didn't want it near her. Then she put her hands to her head and imitated the aliens' screams. She backed away from the computer and pointed at it again. "That's all I can think of for now."
Maybe it was enough. The tree dwellers from the perimeter managed to look less menacing, and halted their approach. They now seemed intent on the computer. A couple of them moved to the one who had fallen, gently picked up the alien, and moved carefully out of the hut. Slowly the three remaining at the table began to show signs of recovery. One of them tapped its temple a couple of times, and then shook its head.
Matt glanced at one of the doorways and realized that the emergency had attracted many more aliens. He glanced at another doorway. They were surrounded by a huge group now, but the group was still.
In the temporary calm, Rudy said, "But why didn't the computer bother them when—oh, we were outside the dome."
Matt said, "Score one for our captors' planning. If the domes didn't block RF, we might have pointed a directional broadcast at a race like this and maybe have killed them all. And in case it's not obvious already, don't anyone try to use a walkie–talkie inside this dome."
Very gradually the aliens in the room seemed to relax. Matt was very grateful they were dealing with an intelligent race; had this happened with people incapable of understanding the concept of accidents or unintentional results, the four of them might all have been dead by now. And the next party to come here could easily make the same mistake all over again.
One of the tree dwellers used a short loop of rope to pull the computer over to the opposite side of the table. Matt and the others made no objection. When things had calmed down a little more, Abby reached slowly forward to the drawing board. In an unused area she drew an outline of the computer on the outside of the dome. Radiating from it she drew a series of jagged lines in all directions. The lines that went in the direction of the dome stopped at the edge of the city.
She drew a jagged line through a stick figure inside the hemisphere. Next she drew a similar line through a stick figure inside the
"U." Next to the stick figure she drew another figure on its side.
Matt thought he saw comprehension on the faces across the table, but he couldn't be sure.
A spindly tree dweller pushed through the crowd near the doors and entered the room. The alien sat down and took the place deserted by the one who had fallen. Matt realized there was probably no need for Abby to repeat what she'd drawn so far, not with a telepathic race.
One of the aliens took the pad and turned it over. When the pad was upright again, the previous drawings had vanished. The alien drew a large circle, and then proceeded to indicate that they had been cut loose from the surface of a planet and placed here. Abby traced a series of drawings that showed the same thing had happened to Manhattan.
When Abby finished, the alien again used a long, bony finger to draw. On the perimeter of the planet they had come from, it drew a series of cross marks.
"I don't know what that means," Abby said. "I think we're getting near the point where I'm going to have to generate some pictorial vocabulary."
Matt watched as Abby made a dot and wrote a numeral one next to it, then made two dots and wrote a two. He followed along with her, generally understanding what she was communicating, but his attention wandered when they weren't actually learning any specific information about their circumstances.
During the next several hours, Abby managed to learn that the tree dwellers had been in captivity for about a decade, Earth time. Shortly after that, the session was interrupted.
"They want us to follow them," Abby said.
The four humans followed six of the tree dwellers out of the meeting room and up to the next level of cat's cradle rope grid. There their hosts approached a raised, cross–shaped platform on which laid the body of a tree dweller who Matt thought was the one who'd been at their table earlier. With the aid of a small version of the magic slate, Abby confirmed the identity. God, the first city they entered that was occupied by living people and they'd already killed someone. He felt sick.
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