Koban 4: Shattered Worlds

by Stephen W Bennett

  “Do you foresee even the smartest animals we’ve found on Koban evolving to change body designs, so that they could build spaceships and leave their world?”

  Shaking her head, she answered her rhetorical question. “I don’t think rippers or wolfbats would evolve in that direction, but over many millions of years some other new species there might have.

  “We know a great deal more about successful technological species now, from information provided by the three friendly alien races we’ve met, and the one unfriendly species we wish we’d not met. Of the seventeen species beaten by the Krall, each had colonized systems around their home world, where a single technologically capable intelligence had evolved after billions of years, as had humanity and they too expanded after reaching space. However, they all achieved space travel much later in their racial histories than we did, and even then they expanded very gradually, over many thousands of years after first reaching orbit.”

  She shrugged, “We humans seriously broke that pattern of gradual expansion, and even the time taken to reach the stars after first reaching orbit. We are apparently the hyperactive kids in this neck of the galaxy. We were not necessarily the brightest people, at least not when we built our early civilizations, but now we may be capable of matching the best minds we’ve encountered thus far. That would be the Raspani, Torki, Prada, and we don’t know how we would measure up to the Olt’kitapi.

  “All of those races have tens of thousands of years of experience over us. We certainly surpass the Krall, but that isn’t a guarantee of survival, since all of the species the Krall conquered were probably smarter than they were, on average, and some were much smarter. Being strong, adaptable, and warlike appears to be an advantage we share with the Krall. Not a flattering thought.” She grimaced for a moment.

  “Anyway, with our advantages of superconducting brains, ripper Mind Taps and wolfbat memory organization and storage, I think mentally we will soon catch up to the science of the Raspani and Torki, who use mental technical aids given to them by an older species. I think we already exceed the Prada, who use longevity to extend their learning time. Some of our scientists are absorbing what our alien friends know day by day, and are experimenting with new applications the other species didn’t even consider, or were afraid to try if they seemed risky. I’m sure we’ll make brash mistakes, because humans always have, and yet we have survived some extremely bad mistakes. It wasn’t our mistake to meet the Krall, but I think we’ll find a way to survive that meeting. Perhaps we’ll have to escape to another part of the Galaxy. We can adapt to most worlds we’ll find.

  “Evolution and stiff competition on higher gravity Earth has already given us an adaptation edge over most races we’ve met or heard about. Physically, we already were stronger than nearly any intelligent species we’ve learned about except for the Krall, and they didn’t evolve naturally, using deliberate breeding. Unmodified humans aren’t as strong as the Botolians were, I suspect. The Botolians were fought to extinction by the Krall, so we’ll never know how we would have matched up with them, physically.”

  Carson countered what he saw in her discussion as anthropocentrism, of focusing on the human example. “The Krall have expanded, they are active in space, and they are widely distributed. They also have some rather bright representatives. Humans don’t seem so rare to me.”

  Marlyn didn’t entirely agree, and explained the differences. “If the Olt’kitapi had left them on their home world I doubt the galaxy at large would have ever seen a single Krall off their original planet. The Krall didn’t become a space faring and colonizing species by their unaided efforts. They don’t truly colonize now. They were placed in space by an advanced race, handed spacecraft, weapons and technology, which provided them the means to expand. They didn’t achieve this start on their own initiative.

  “When they have encountered another species, they have immediately attacked and conquered an unprepared peaceful race, took what they could use for war, wiped them out or enslaved them, and in a relatively short time moved on to new territory when they stumbled onto the next slowly expanding species. Except for holding onto some factory worlds with slaves doing the work, they leave nearly empty and habitable worlds in their wake when they get bored with the lack of fighting and move on. Those planets appear ready for colonization again, after the Krall plague of destruction has passed by, and the ruined ecosystems start to recover.”

  Alyson, as she continued to eat for two, perked up a bit. “Then there must not be as many Krall as we first thought, since they don’t stay to populate and fully develop a world, as we would do. We’ve overestimated their numbers and their threat because we assumed they would exploit those worlds as humans would.”

  Marlyn, looking at the small bulge over Alyson’s abdomen, smiled at her naivety.

  “No, there aren’t nearly as many Krall as we first thought. Surely not as many as there are humans alive today. However, should they want to do so, they can expand their population exponentially faster than we can ours. A sturdy woman with a sperm source available for insemination, right after the Collapse when we needed to rebuild a population reduced by half, could theoretically produce twenty children in twenty to thirty years. However, not very many women ever matched that extreme reproductive rate, or even tried.

  “The vast majority of women never came close to that many children, settling for two to five deliveries, with male selectivity being slightly favored over female deliveries with non-technological methods. Some harsh gender enhancement methods consisted of abortions when the fetus was determined to be female. In the post Collapse era, the new central government would not allow the use of genetics or advanced medical technology for gender selection. Despite the need for increasing the male population, it took centuries to achieve.

  “In contrast, from the age of twelve a Krall female is capable of producing roughly twenty eggs every eight months, roughly half being additional females. In twenty years, there can be at least six hundred direct offspring from a single egg layer. After reaching the age of twelve years, the first ten of her female offspring are physically capable of breeding and laying eggs. In eight more months, another ten egg layers will be ready from each of those older hatchings, and so on from each new female.

  “The Krall normally allow the majority of hatchlings to die in a raw struggle for survival before they even select those they want to start training. Many of those chosen don’t reach adulthood under the harsh combat training conditions. After completing novice training, few win enough status to deserve breeding rights until it’s earned in battle, roughly by age twenty. If they survive, but fail to be a good enough killer, they are sent to train novices but don’t get to breed.

  “However, the Krall could decide to preserve all of their hatchlings, if they wanted to build a force composed mainly of fierce cannon fodder. They could give novices rudimentary training and pulse rifles, and then a thousand clanships could deliver two million of the young killers to a Hub world in an hour. When they run out of the ammunition they brought, a human civilian population still can’t protect themselves effectively from a Krall’s teeth and talons, and from what other weapons they can steal. It takes armies, which must protect every single city on every planet. The same thousand clanships can add another two million warriors at any time on any other planet.

  “Even adolescent cubs are capable of fighting and killing ordinary unarmed humans with near impunity. We would truly face a savage, if perhaps dumber horde, which the populations in Human Space could not defeat, even with guns placed in every hand of every adult and teen. It’s only the Great Path’s selective breeding concept that prevents the Krall from using such a tactic. If we started winning the war, do you think they would withdraw, and offer to make peace, or go after us tooth and talon with everything they have? They can clean up their genetic weaknesses later, when we are all dead.”

  Carson grimaced. “The Olt’kitapi should have left them where they found them, to eventually overrun
the Krall home planet, eating one another.”

  “I’m sure as the ancients died they wished the same thing. They were an altruistic race and wanted to help other species change and advance. However, they couldn’t do that for the Krall, so now we have to find a way to survive and to clean up their mess. I hope it happens in our lifetime, but I honestly don’t know how. I’m sure you two don’t want your child fighting this war.”

  “His!” Beamed Alyson. Refusing to allow a note of defeatism to spoil her morning. “And no, I don't want him to have to fight hordes of Krall.”

  “Then we need to gather and free as many of the Prada, Torki, and Raspani as we can find, to work with us if they wish. To produce the materials we require for the fight, and help us make the technological breakthroughs we need, and convince more of humanity to join the ranks of the Kobani. Therefore, let’s see who’s left on Philodor to help us.”

  As Marlyn instructed Kap, her ship AI, to enter a two hundred mile equatorial orbit over the yellow green planet, she called down to the new gravity stabilization deck on level 10. She invited the three aliens there to come up to the Bridge, to occupy species designed seats there, for direct observation and conversation. She assured them there had been no sign of a Krall threat detected.

  They could now house a limited number of alien and normal human guests in greater comfort, not to mention in a safer refuge if there was a risk of combat activity. Deck 10 had heavier outer armor and thicker floor and ceiling armor. However, it was the personnel alcoves, with embedded internal trap fields, which furnished needed protection from the maneuvers of the ship itself.

  These alcoves provided additional countering of inertial forces, caused by any sudden and violent accelerations of the ship, which could potentially cripple or kill unprotected non-Kobani passengers. In cases of the most severe maneuvering, the individual compartments would automatically seal and rapidly fill with four different types of jells for added cushioning, the type of fluids being selected for each species.

  This idea had been taken from Planetary Union Navy ships, to keep humans awake and in control of making combat decisions, which AIs had problems making. The Trap Field inertial compensators were new designs, and were the brainchild of a Kobani weapons technician. They were a scaled up application of the technology used on portable railguns and sliver rifles, which required considerable inertial force to counter the powerful kickback of those weapons, even when carried by a Kobani.

  Each alcove’s protective jell was tailored to be the least irritating to the tissues of the species occupying the slots, and jell would fully cover them except where they needed respiratory, visual or communication devices, and waste removal. There were forty slots in all, ten each for the four vulnerable passenger species anticipated. However, with no normal humans aboard on this trip, some of the cylindrical units had been swapped out, so the Beagle carried an additional three Raspani, three Torki, and three Prada alcoves.

  Dewy Grass was pleased to be able to visit the Bridge. The Raspani’s mind had only recently been embedded into the former “wild” body she now occupied, and she expressed relief when told she could leave the alcove. “After centuries of confinement in a mentally crowded multi personality mind enhancer, having to wait in this protective cylinder made me feel claustrophobic. At least that is the word my internal dictionary says is the proper one to use from Standard.” The Raspani spoke the language almost as well as any human, except with slurring at times, caused by having thicker lips and protruding small tusks. She was using the speech replicator hung around her neck now, to produce perfect Standard words.

  Tramakar, the Torki to whom Dewy had addressed her remark, bobbed her carapace on the right side, which indicated understanding, if not a shared sentiment. From her voice box, her translated scrapes, clicks, and scratching sounds were also issued in perfect Standard. “The jell we Torki selected for our protective coating has a pleasant cool feel after the overly warm temperature humans find comfortable, and it has a very refreshing taste. The fluid is thin enough to pass easily through our gill slits when we open those for underwater breathing. It’s nearly as easy as processing seawater, and contains nourishment. I enjoy the immersion if it’s required.”

  On the opposite side of the compartment from them was Nawella, who as a furred Prada was even more delighted than Dewy not to have the protective jell suddenly poured over her body. Claustrophobia was only a small part of her reason, however. Each Prada spent hours preening their fur, and after being coated in the clear jell, none of the solvents tried thus far fully removed the residue. Nawella, as an elder, felt it essential to look her best, and she required hours of preening to look presentable after being coated.

  She had a perceptive observation to offer. “I sometimes think the exuberant sense of humor of humans tends to manufacture the excuse to call for an extreme ship maneuver that requires the immersion. Particularly the males of their species.” She ran her small front teeth and slender fingernails through some of her slightly ruffled silky fur, as the thought passed through her mind.

  “I intend to ask Maggi Fisher what is meant by the term, you look like a wet rat. Of all humans, I trust her to be the most honest in her reply, even when the answer may not please me. If the expression is a form of mockery, there will be a painful nip for Sergeant Reynolds’ posterior, if he isn’t too fast for me. He was the pilot twice when I have been coated with jell on flights where he was in charge. He claimed once it was a false alarm, and no anti-ship missile had been fired after all, or another time that one had missed us. I heard a crewmember say he didn’t think there was a missile, that it was a prank. I found no Krall weapons listed by that name.”

  Tramakar, his crab-like physiology being far more different from a human’s than was a Prada’s, nevertheless believed the Torki mind had a better grasp of the immature mannerisms of their newfound human partners. The more reserved, staid and prim Prada seemed to inspire humorous actions and remarks from humans, especially males. She offered some advice, “After speaking with Ambassador Fisher, I recommend that you file your two longer front teeth to make them sharper, and approach Sergeant Reynolds quietly from behind. Kobani are very fast, and have excellent hearing.”

  Nawella seemed perplexed. “I should not allow him an opportunity to explain?”

  “Oh, I’m certain he would like that opportunity. You must not grant him that advantage, not if you wish to extract the proper amount of personal justice from him. I believe Ambassador Fisher will advise you to do the same.” There followed the untranslatable scraping sounds that Nawella knew was Torki laughter.

  By the time the three alien observers had stepped from the lift onto the bridge deck, the Beagle had inserted into a two hundred mile equatorial orbit, and had launched a half dozen scout drones to pass over the middle latitudes and poles.

  Captain Greeves turned and said, “Welcome Ladies.”

  For some peculiar reason, most female humans persisted in describing females of other species as well-mannered and considerate human women, with high standards of proper behavior in their society. Nawella had looked up the uniquely human cultural meaning, and had shared it with the Raspani and Torki females. They all were equally puzzled, but had decided not to question the usage, since it was clearly intended as a complement.

  Marlyn bore a puzzled expression. “I confess confusion, in that we have nothing yet to report of sightings of any of your peoples on the first two large continents. We have nearly completed a pass over both of those.”

  She gestured to the three custom designed couch and restraint systems installed for their use. The three opposite view screen panels, one per observer, were set for full control by the observers from their respective stations.

  Dewy was the first to review the recording of their approach and to zoom to look closely at the open prairies of grass, visible on the continent they were currently passing over. “Captain, the grasses look very high. I don't see any signs of grazing. There aren’t even any fores
ts. This appears to be perfect territory for wild Raspani to feed.”

  In a gesture all of the aliens now recognized, Marlyn nodded. “Our AI, Kap, says it’s not at all what we were expecting. The old Prada records mentioned many native grazers of this world, which are also missing, and this continent was once half covered by forests. The trees are entirely gone, and so are the herds that should have been feeding on the expanded grasslands. We spotted several places where grass fires have burned hundreds of square miles, and have started regrowth. The land appears entirely unmanaged and uncultivated.”

  Nawella latched onto the most alarming item that pertained to her own people. “No forests? Not even restored domes?”

  They all knew the Prada would have preferentially lived in isolated patches of forests, and if no trees survived, would have moved into abandoned domes, maintaining them and awaiting the return of the Krall they obeyed.

  Alyson had been making detailed surveys of the dome remnants seen. “Nawella, each of the four domes sighted thus far has been shattered, and the pieces were widely scattered after that happened. It’s more than mere neglect and a thousand years of decay. The domes were destroyed from the air, probably by missiles, and later the lighter weight pieces were carried away and abandoned. Ground penetrating radar is finding metal pieces and armored glass fragments left hundreds of miles away from domes, in the grass or just below the surface. Two domes that shielded underground factories were hit the hardest. From the signs still showing above the grass and in the pit below, they were blasted by missiles, and burns from plasma cannons show on the larger struts. The dome debris fell into the flooded cavities that formed below, from the adjacent lakes or streams of cooling water, and there are no indications of repairs ever started. Evidently, the Krall didn’t intend there to be anything for their slave workers to maintain. They were not returning here.”