by Les Broad
CHAPTER 9
Plisfou flew the aircraft expertly across the mountains at considerable speed, before long announcing that their city, Botijjo #2, could now be seen. She circled the city slowly, allowing everyone to see its layout clearly. Nikki, Nina and Jodie gazed down with consuming interest, the first humans ever to set eyes on a city on another planet.
The buildings that they saw laid out below them were mostly low, apparently single storey, with just a few taller, multi-storey constructions near the centre. The tall buildings and a small number of the lower ones were of a gold colour, while all the others were uniformly dull silver. Streets between the buildings were in a grid pattern, rather like Nikki's idea of how central New York had been, she thought. There was no immediate sign of life in the streets, but as they descended a little more the occasional movement could be seen, sometimes clearly an Aupesian, sometimes a smaller figure.
After several circles of the city Plisfou landed the aircraft next to a similar machine and returned to the passenger compartment.
"Welcome to our home," she said, "and now we must walk a short way." She led the party off the aircraft, Masaya bringing up the rear, and they all walked slowly into the city. Nikki looked about and realised suddenly exactly what the smaller figures she had seen from the air really were. A small robot trundled round a corner ahead of them, crossed the street and entered a building.
"I wondered what they were! Even flying around I could see they were not like you, but now I know!"
"We call them bokkaxen, Nikki, but I am not sure of the word in your language. They have a small amount of artificial intelligence and perform most of the menial tasks in the city."
"We would call them robots and we used them on Earth. I don't understand them, but Bryn and his engineers seem to be able to build them and keep them working."
"So far they have not needed any repair that is too much for the other bokkaxen that repair the ones that stop working. We rely on them, but now do not have the skills to build more."
"I can't help wondering, Plisfou, how you came to lose so many of the skills that you once had. It seems to have made life very difficult for you."
"We are nearly at the home of the Jukkakique and I am sure that Masaya will want to explain more when we have settled." The impression Nikki had was that something significant was not being said. A couple of times while they were at Gifford Base Masaya had said that the time was not then right to explain why certain things had come about, and now Plisfou seemed to be avoiding a question. Perhaps it was an embarrassing admission that needed to be made, or perhaps these apparently delightful people had suffered at the hands of an aggressor. Nikki could not help speculating as they entered the gold-coloured multi-storey building occupied by Masaya, the Jukkakique.
The room into which Nikki and her colleagues were led by Masaya and Plisfou was large and furnished with soft seats, a floor covering that was soft to walk on but seemed not to be carpet and was lit with soft yellow light. Plisfou's Roxtamol had gone elsewhere.
As they settled in the comfortable chairs another Aupesian appeared, dressed differently to Plisfou and Masaya. Again a tall female with long blond hair, she wore a skirt of the zaxtapijj fabric in a silver colour and a tunic styled top made of small silver-coloured rings.
"Ah," said Masaya, "this is Patlu, who is a member of the Vixtamol. I think Plisfou has explained that they are the ones who defend our city, but their duties involve much more than that. The Vixxakique, whose name is Fejoq, will join us soon and Patlu will look after you while you are here. Perhaps, Patlu, you would fetch us some refreshment?"
"Of course, Masaya," Patlu replied, leaving the room. Masaya turned to Nikki.
"I know you have questions, but refreshment comes first, I think. Look, here is Fejoq."
Fejoq proved to be the least tall of the Aupesians that Nikki and her colleagues had yet seen, but she had a sparkle in her eyes that suggested a well-developed sense of humour even by Aupesian standards - the humans had come to realise that the Aupesians liked nothing more than laughing even if their life was both dull and difficult. She wore the same uniform as Patlu and appeared slightly deferential to Masaya, rather more so than Plisfou although both Plisfou and Fejoq seemed to be in equal positions in the Aupesian hierarchy.
"You must be the humans we have heard about. We in the Vixtamol have not had the chance yet of seeing you but I hear you have done well since you came to Aupes. Do you like our sunny home?"
"We do, very much," Nikki replied, but was interrupted by Nina.
"And we have quickly come to like the Aupesians. We are all looking forward to learning more about you and to living with you."
"I have spoken with Plisfou and it seems your life is more interesting than ours. You have strange creatures, I am told?"
"We brought some animals from Earth," Jodie replied, "but we couldn't be sure that they would live through the long flight, nor adapt to a different world. But they are now safe and well - before long you will be able to enjoy them too as we are beginning to produce more food than we need."
"That will be good. I trust that Masaya will forgive me, but our food has little variety. A change would be welcome!"
As if on cue, Patlu returned carrying a tray with drinks and flat bread-like cakes. She laid the tray on the central table and quietly withdrew.
"Please," Masaya said, "help yourselves. The drinks are what we call zijjek. It is made from fruits that we harvest and has a rather bitter taste. Too much will affect you in the same way as alcohol that you may have had on Earth. The food is called kekkenz, a sort of wheat cake. It is our main food here. Although it is not as stimulating as your own food, please enjoy."
Nikki and her colleagues tried the kekkenz, which they found rather bland and tasteless, as well as the zijjek. That was a very different matter and was hugely enjoyed. As they ate and drank they talked of their journey to Fejoq, who seemed to have difficulty in grasping the concept of any journey needing thirty nine months to complete. Masaya excused her colleague by saying that she was young and had never been off the planet, a comment that had Nikki, Nina and Jodie wondering although none would ask the question that they all had in their minds.
When they had eaten their fill, although their drinks were still topped up regularly, Masaya adopted a more serious expression.
"It is time, I think," she said, "to explain some things that I decided not to talk about while we were enjoying your hospitality. I hope you will forgive me for that decision. What I have to say will explain how we have come to be so few in number and why we are glad that you have arrived among us. Before I start I must be clear that while we believe there is much that you can do for us we will try to do whatever we can for you. I appreciate the need for a balance - I think that is the right word in your language.
"I have said that we have visited your world many times. Our history records that on our first observations of your planet there were very few humans and only in certain places had you mastered the art of building. We watched your development, as we had watched civilisations develop on other worlds. As time passed, we came to see that you were different. Humans seemed to us to be aggressive and preferred to develop ways of achieving mastery over others rather than sharing developments for the good of all. Please do not think that we disapproved, as these were our recorded observations only. We started to visit the planet rather than simply observing from space, but our attempts at influencing you were not wholly successful. It was perhaps fortunate that our appearance is so similar to your own as it allowed us to move among you unnoticed whenever we descended to the planet, a privilege not enjoyed by other visitors to your world who needed to exercise great care in their visits to the surface." Masaya rose to replenish her drink, giving a chance for her visitors to react to what she had said.
"Do you know, by our Earth calendar, when you first visited Earth?" Jodie was intrigued.
"Perhaps three thousand of your years ago, perhaps a little more.
Our last visit to the surface of Earth was in your year vo-ko-ko-ov, or one nine nine six in your language, but we went once more and witnessed the devastation of your conflict. I am one of the few still living who has walked on your world."
"You have been? But if your last visit was so long ago, how is that possible?" Jodie looked at her colleagues in amazement, but their faces suggested that they were just as confused.
"You should not make the mistake of judging all by your own limitations," Masaya replied with a smile, "because you live only a short time. We expect to live for at least be-te-el, or three five zero, of our years, which are a little longer than yours. We do not show signs of age in the way that the human does. I have lived now for zu-vo-mi, or four one seven years. Plisfou has lived for na-el-pe, or two zero eight years. Perhaps I surprise you?"
"Surprise? I'm stunned! I would not have believed it possible."
"It is possible, Jodie. When I walked on your planet I visited several places. In the country called England a man called Major ruled and in the country called America the ruler - I forget the proper word - was Clinton. It amused me to read that some little figures, imitations of humans that were used to make films, had earned much for their creator, but he left these figures in a taxi - do you know this story?"
Jodie looked blank, as did Nina. Nikki replied to the question.
"I recall the names of the leaders that you mention, but not the story. It was a long time ago and the deeds of leaders may be recorded in our history, but the less, shall I say, important happenings have not been as faithfully handed down to us."
"It does not matter. I trust you accept that I was indeed on your planet?"
"I think I do, Masaya," Nikki said, "but you must forgive us if the revelation about your lifespan surprises us. I'm sure Jodie will look into the genetic make-up of your people in the time to come."
"She is welcome to do so. It is another skill we no longer have. We have retained some abilities from that time, which is how we knew you were going to land on Aupes - we can detect any space vehicle within our star system and this is important since there are others who would like to make their home on this planet. These we do not want here as they would be an immense threat to us. Your history may refer to these beings, as they too have investigated your world over a long period of time. While I was on Earth they were occasionally referred to in your newspapers - is that the right term? - and books were written to prove their existence. They were referred to as greys."
"Yes," said Nina, "I have read about these. Before the war people used to claim to have been abducted by them."
"Those claims, Nina, are without doubt true. Those beings are small, with large heads and large, blank eyes. They could not move around your world as we could. They wanted only to take from you, but by the time they first arrived you had increased greatly in numbers and had advanced in your technology. They were inhibited in their experiments upon you. We once drove them away from Aupes and have done so while we were on Earth. They are evil beings."
Masaya paused while the impact of her words left her audience devoid of anything worthwhile to say.
"I see you are thinking about what I have said. I now have a question. Are you familiar with the book writer Wells?"
"Do you mean H G Wells?" asked Jodie, wondering what could possibly come next.
"I think that is right."
"Yes, Masaya, I have read some of his books."
"And I have, I think." Nikki looked as confused as Jodie felt, whereas Nina just looked blank.
"This person wrote of a war between Earth and the planet Mars. It was untrue, what I think you call fiction?"
"Science fiction, yes," Nikki confirmed, "and he also wrote about travelling in time."
"I ask you to think about the story told in that book. It is the ending that is important." There was a long pause while both Jodie and Nikki tried to recall the book, last read years before.
"The Martians all died, didn't they? From Earth diseases." Nikki spoke slowly, realising what Masaya was going to say, and why their civilisation, so advanced at its height, had been almost completely wiped out.
"You are right, Nikki, and I see you know what I am about to tell you. My friends, we knew nothing of disease. Long, long before we began our travels to other worlds we had eliminated all disease on Aupes. It did not occur to us that an advanced civilisation would devote its efforts to travelling in space while disease was still rampant on the planet and it did not occur to us that by moving among humans we were exposing ourselves to such dreadful risks. Our last visit, which arrived after your war, had already left when we, myself and two others returned home. By then nine had died and eight more were seriously ill. They too died, but the disease we had unwittingly brought back from Earth spread among us quickly, killing us. We did not know how to respond to a threat we could not see, nor could we cure those infected. Some of us survived, but we were finally so few. Our males died more readily than our females and when our people finally stopped dying most of our cities had no people at all. Botijjo #2 was left with two males and one three females. The other three cities on this continent that still had life had as few survivors. The situation was the same on Sarrijjo. Our numbers have increased slowly, but we have lost so much."
"Masaya, it is not enough but I am truly sorry." Nikki was clearly distraught, but forced herself to be as professional as she could. She dare not look at either Jodie or Nina. "I was careful to make certain that the people that came with us from Earth carried no disease, and we have seen no evidence of any medical problems since we arrived here. We too are few in number, but are planning to increase rapidly. Is there any way we can help you?"
"I think you have talked to Plisfou about humans and Aupesians mating?"
"Plisfou did mention the possibility, yes, but we have yet to discuss the implications. There are obvious and real differences between us."
"We appreciate this. What I ask is this. We will help you with supplies of tapijjux, which will improve your clothing," Masaya's smile was warm and genuine, returned in the same way by Nikki, "and would like your skills in genetics to be applied to the problem we both have. If humans and Aupesians can breed together we can in time integrate our communities and increase our numbers. Would you be prepared to do this?"
"I think it is a first rate idea, and very necessary. Jodie?"
"Yes. We can begin a study to see what, if anything can be achieved. The facilities at Gifford are really not up to the job, though."
"We have the rekkazixij, I am sorry I do not know your word, which is where we have carried out experiments, if you would like to see it?"
"A laboratory? Certainly."
"Good. Excuse me and I will find Patlu. She knows what is there." Masaya rose, as gracefully as all the Aupesians that they had yet met, leaving Nikki, Jodie and Nina with Plisfou and Fejoq. Jodie seemed temporarily lost in thought but Nina turned to Nikki, a look of concern on her face.
"Things are moving a little quickly, don't you think?" she said quietly, "And we're a long way from Gifford." Neither Plisfou nor Fejoq reacted to the comment
"The distance concerns me a little, yes. But it seems to me that our hosts have been expecting us for many years so perhaps it's natural that they should want to press on with their plans. Remember they watched us for a long time before any contact was made. They are as cautious as we are and I don't think their wish to move ahead quickly is anything to worry about."
"Indeed not," Fejoq said with feeling, "your presence here, not just on Aupes but in Masaya's home, is the beginning of the fulfilment of a dream." Masaya returned with Patlu before this conversation could go further and resumed her seat.
"If you are ready, Jodie, Patlu will show you our rekkazixij - what was your word?"
"Laboratory. Yes, I'm looking forward to seeing it." Jodie stood up and smiled at Patlu, the two of them leaving the room together.
"I am aware," Masaya said in a serious ton
e, "that we are asking much and are in a position to offer little. If there is anything that you think we can do for you please ask. We want to help you as much as we can."
"While you were away Nina commented on the distance between here and our Base. It doesn't take long to cover in an aircraft but, as you said, it would take several days to walk. How many aircraft do you have?"
"Just one that works," Plisfou replied, "but your skills may be able to repair the other. If you can make it fly again I am sure Masaya will be happy for you to take it."
Masaya nodded in agreement and the conversation drifted off into the specifics of Aupesian life. Nikki and her colleagues were told of the difficulties in living with a decaying robotised infrastructure, repair and maintenance skills having long since been lost. Gentle probing elicited details of the huge efforts that had gone into attempting to relearn those skills, an exercise made practically impossible by the lack of any manuals. The two remaining humans in the room were amazed to learn that while the Aupesians were literate no paper or similar records existed. All their equipment manuals, educational works and other written documents were stored in computer-like data banks. Once those data banks began malfunctioning the collapse of robotisation was inevitable with consequential effects on every aspect of life in their dramatically reduced communities. It was clear that skills had been brought from Earth that would allow at least some of the systems to be restored, although the first priority needed to be the aircraft to permit easy transport between Botijjo #2 and Gifford. Nikki was offering hope to her audience that swift progress could be made when Jodie returned with Patlu and another Aupesian, introduced as Jikeg.
"How was it? Better than our facilities?"
"It would be if anything worked properly. Nikki, you should see what they have here! I'll need an engineer and a doctor, but in a few weeks I think we can get enough equipment functioning to make a start. Power is no problem because the solar generators still work, but there's nothing to go wrong with them."
"Well, Nina's here, she could work with you, and we could probably spare Pete. Tasha's got her baby and should stay at Gifford, I think, and Christine has management work at Gifford that she won't delegate." And, Nikki added to herself, Bryn will probably spend some time here fixing us up with our own aircraft.
Nina agreed readily to stay with Jodie for as long as it was necessary. Masaya and Nikki agreed that Plisfou would fly Nikki back to Gifford at some time the next day to fetch Pete and Bryn, so that work could start in earnest on the currently non-functional aircraft and laboratory equipment.
By the time the Aupesians showed their guests to their rooms that night much had been learned about the way of life in the city. A great deal of effort had gone into the early warning systems that tracked any space vessels entering the Aupes star system. This allowed monitoring of the course of any such vessels and predicted their destination within the seven planet system. Aupes itself need not be the destination as a planet further out, whose name was unpronounceable, was a source of minerals used by a race from yet another star system in a neighbouring part of the galaxy. Ships arrived every couple of years, loaded and returned whence they came without troubling Aupes.
KonTiki, on the last leg of its long journey from Earth, had been tracked in exactly this way, its destination being questioned on the planet until it was clear that it was going to land on Aupes. There were adequate defence measures and had the Aupesians decided that it was a hostile craft it could have been destroyed whilst it was still several million miles away. The Aupesians had destroyed craft they believed were carrying those beings known previously on Earth as greys because they knew from bitter experience of these creatures that they would simply take whatever they wanted, using whatever means they thought expedient against a planet that was, even at the height of its civilisation, sparsely populated. KonTiki had escaped as it appeared to be larger than a grey ship, its approach was slower and more tentative and, seeming to justify the decision to spare it, spent a long time in orbit before landing. It had been Plisfou's decision, endorsed by Masaya, to permit KonTiki to land.
Industry in the city was almost non-existent. There had been production plants where aircraft, ground transport and space vehicles had been built, but these had fallen into disuse now. They were huge, dusty, single storey buildings full of silent machinery, attended by robots that no longer functioned. All the machinery and robots were solar powered, but the robotised power transmission systems had long ago broken down except for the occasional robot that still functioned, forever recharging batteries that did not have any work to perform. The only plant still operating was that producing the raw tapijjux, but even this now made only limited amounts of zaxtapijj, or clothing material. The need for any additional building material had ceased when Masaya and her last Earth expedition had returned to Aupes carrying the fatal viruses. As a gesture of good faith outfits similar to those worn by Plisfou's Roxtamol were produced for the three Earth women, together with a variety of others to be taken back to Gifford. When they tried their new clothes Nikki, Jodie and Nina were delighted with them as they had really worn out their own clothes brought from Earth and had not yet been able to produce any cloth to make anything new. Apart from their hair colour, they looked totally at home in the Aupesian city.
Early the following day, having breakfasted on the kekkenz and a herbal beverage not unlike tea, called akkuzu, Jodie and Nina disappeared into the Aupesian laboratory with Patlu and Jikeg. Both had chosen to wear their Aupesian Roxtamol outfits. Plisfou and Nikki set off back to Gifford to set the necessary wheels in motion by bringing Pete Webster back to liaise with Jodie on her genetics project and convincing Bryn to leave whatever he was doing to come and fix the second aircraft.