“Now I’m curious. Just what is the market for something like this anyway?”
“Ah, now that’s proprietary information, and I’m not going to say. You’ll have to use your imagination.” She had continued to adjust the equipment as she talked. The crosshairs were now centered on the bottom of the hole he had drilled.
“Fair enough,” Carson said. “And it looks like you’re ready.”
“Right. Just a moment while the caps charge.” A red light lit up on the panel, and the green targeting laser turned off. The sample chamber lit up with a red light, and Carson heard a latch engage on the chamber door, and the faint whine of a fan spinning up. “Okay, here we go. Here, it’s your sample, you can do the honors.” She pointed to a large button on the panel. “Just push that and release it.”
Carson reached out a finger, hesitated for a moment, and pushed the button. The was a brief, almost unnoticeable flash from the chamber and a muffled popping sound, and the fan noise picked up.
“Uh, that’s going to have vaporized technetium in it,” Carson said. “That’s a beta emitter; not good to breathe.” But surely Maclaren knew that.
“No worries,” Maclaren said. “It’s got a multistage cryogenic filter. Everything is trapped.”
There was text scrolling up on the display panel now. After a few moments, the whine of the fans wound down, the red light in the chamber turned off, and the door unlatched. Maclaren studied the numbers on the display, muttering. “Since it’s still a prototype, the user interface needs work. There’s a lot of diagnostic data a regular user wouldn’t need to worry about. Anyway,” she said, pointing to a number on the screen, “there’s your sample age. 14,738 years, a little different from what your lab got but well within the error range. You raised a good point about the location, though. I’ll have to have my guys build in some accounting for that.”
She opened the chamber door, withdrew the talisman, and handed it back to Carson. “So,” she said, looking from Carson to Finley and back, “what you have there is something that until a few days ago I would have said couldn’t exist. A sample of an isotope that is only found in nuclear reactors or the aftermath of a recent supernova, and thousands of years older than any nuclear reactors we know about. Let’s go back to the office and you can tell us more about these aliens.”
∞ ∞ ∞
“There’s not really much more to tell that I haven’t already told Peter,” Carson said when they were back in the office. “We assume that whoever made the talismans built the pyramids we’ve found on different planets, and may have had some influence on similar-shaped structures built by natives.”
“What about these—Kesh, you called them?—are they what Elizabeth saw that day back in camp?”
“That seems a good bet. She said the sketch looked like what she saw.”
“But the Kesh had nothing to do with the pyramids?”
“That is less clear. The one I talked to said no, and the writing we found in the one pyramid doesn’t resemble any Kesh writing that I saw. My working hypothesis is that the Kesh discovered a pyramid on their home planet maybe seven or eight thousand years ago, after the original Pyramid Builders had gone, and used that to bootstrap their civilization. That’s probably the only reason they developed space flight before we did.”
“But they’ve had it for thousands of years now. Why aren’t all the terraformed planets now Kesh colonies? Why weren’t they already here when we landed fifty years ago?”
Carson coughed gently, and Pete said, “Apparently at least one of them was, right? Although the other part is a good question.”
“One I don’t have good answers for,” Carson said. And what answers he did have, he wasn’t quite ready to share, at least not before getting a much better feel for how people would react to it. He wasn’t about to tell what little he knew of the Kesh civil war or the mysterious degkhidesh at this point, especially since most of that was only what the Kesh calling himself Ketzshanass had told him, and might not be true. “It is possible,” he continued, “that as we get further out we will discover Kesh-settled worlds. We don’t know where their home planet is, and it’s likely they expanded in directions away from what we know as T-Space.”
“You mentioned Zeta Reticuli,” Pete said.
“Which the one Kesh I spoke with would neither confirm nor deny was his home system. That may just be the closest they ever got to Sol in their settlements, although obviously they explored further. Perhaps when they discovered Terrans, or Taprobanis for that matter, they decided to pull back and leave a buffer zone. We just don’t know.”
Maclaren nodded. “It makes a kind of sense. Mind you, it also makes a kind of sense to just wipe out any potentially dangerous competition, for which we can be thankful that they didn’t do. No bloody Velkaryan-equivalents in that lot, I guess.”
“There’s one other possibility,” Carson said. It was something he had discussed before, with those in the know.
“Oh, what’s that?”
“Consider the original Terraformers. There is no question that the life we’ve found on the terraformed planets descended from life on Earth, and that Earth life predates that by billions of years. We keep saying that there’s no evidence of just who the Terraformers were, but that isn’t quite true.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we’re pretty sure they didn’t come from Earth, despite some people’s wild theories about intelligent, space-faring dinosaurs, because we have found absolutely no evidence of a pre-human, advanced civilization either on Earth or anywhere in the Solar System, and we’ve been living there all of our history. But imagine how a visitor from another star system would feel when they discover a planet whose life forms clearly arose there, and yet are related to the ancestors of life forms on every other planet where you’ve found them so far.” Carson paused, then added, “It’s misleading evidence, but still, Occam’s Razor is going to tell you that that’s where the Terraformers came from, and so is probably a planet you don’t want to mess around with.”
Maclaren turned to Finley. “He’s right, Pete. Remember how we all felt when we first realized that Kakuloa had been terraformed? I think we were all looking over our shoulders just waiting for the Terraformers to come back.”
Pete nodded. “Yeah. Sometimes it still gives me the willies when I stop and think about it. I guess it also means any civilization arising on a terraformed world would have pretty peculiar ideas about biology and geology. Heh. What do you think, Carson? Where did the Terraformers come from?”
“I have no idea, other than ‘probably not Earth’, and I’m not sure after all this time that it’s an answerable question, so I try not to think about it. I’ve certainly heard my share of wild theories, everything from said intelligent dinosaurs to time-travelling humans from our own future. I suspect the real answer is more mundane, but that we just haven’t discovered the critical clue that will explain it yet. That’s one reason the spacefaring pyramid builders intrigue me.”
“But if they’re only fifteen-thousand years old, there’s no reason they would know any more than we would. That’s still off by a factor of over four thousand times.”
“Right,” Carson agreed, “but what if they discovered the clue that we haven’t, yet?”
“Huh,” Finley said. “What if, indeed. Okay, Carson, you’ve got us interested, and I’ll stipulate that your talisman is genuine and points here. Now what?”
∞ ∞ ∞
“Now? I’d like to go and settle once and for all whether your peak really is a volcanic plug, or a pyramid.”
“And I told you before, if it were up to me, I’d say go and dig to your heart’s content. But it’s not up to me.”
“I don’t need to do a full excavation. I just need to dig through the surface covering at a level close enough to the ground as to uncover engravings, if there are any. That would prove what it is, and make it easier to justify a real dig.”
“Again, it’s not my Peak,
or my wildlife preserve. So, what do you want me to do?”
“Pete, stop teasing the poor lad,” Maclaren said, slapping his knee. “We have connections, maybe we can help.” She looked at Carson. “You must have given it some thought. What did you come up with?”
Carson had, but there was no way he was going to bring up his original idea of a high-altitude parachute jump into the area. As Jackie had pointed out, that didn’t help him get out.
“Well,” he said, “one of the less outlandish ideas was under the cover of some kind of biological or ecological survey of the preserve. I don’t know if or when that was ever done, but it seems a logical thing to carry out.”
Maclaren nodded slowly. “That could work, but why would an archeologist be going along? I’m assuming you want to be part of it.”
“Of course I do. As it happens, the area between the Peak and the Anderson landing site is of archeological interest.” He nodded toward Pete. “Your team found obsidian spear-points and the like associated with a volcanic ash layer. We’ve found similar artifacts, spear-points and arrowheads, throughout the area. The university has a fair collection. It was probably a hunting area, a hundred thousand years ago.”
“So, you’re going to be collecting arrowheads?” Finley said. “That sounds a bit thin.”
“We’ve never found any sign of a village or campsite near there, and nobody’s been looking since the leopard range was declared off-limits. It would be only natural to try and piggyback on the ecological survey.”
“Aren’t you worried about attracting illegal artifact hunters? Tomb raiders?” Maclaren asked.
“On this planet? Sawyers World is a bit too civilized for them, and the only artifacts are paleolithic stone tools. Collectors tend to be more interested in art objects, neolithic level stuff like that found on Verdigris or Ransom’s Planet. The illicit dealers are only interested in what the collectors will pay for.”
“Right. You’re the expert,” she said.
“Besides, we wouldn’t exactly be advertising it. The pyramid, if it is one, should be kept quiet.”
“We can agree on that,” Finley said.
Maclaren nodded in agreement. “A biological survey might be a good cover,” she said. “How well do you know Ellie Greystone?”
Carson was momentarily confused. “Do you mean Doctor Eleanor Greystone, the head of the university biology department?” he asked. He knew who she was, of course. “Mostly by reputation, although we’ve said hello to each other at faculty receptions and the like. Why?”
“I know her,” Maclaren said. “Not well, but she’s a friend of Ulrika Klaar. She has connections in the Office of Land Management. Tell her you’d like to set up a joint biological/archeological survey and if she has questions to talk to me or Pete, or to Ulrika.”
“Are you going to tell Klaar about this?” Carson asked. She had been a biologist on the first landing team, another of the Original Eight. He wasn’t enthused about how the information was spreading, and knew Ducayne wouldn’t like it at all.
“The Anderson team has never had many secrets from each other,” Pete said. “She was married to Fred Tyrell, the other geologist on the crew besides Sawyer, and he knew as much about the geology as Sawyer or I did. Maybe more. So, yes, we are. At least if you want to proceed with this.”
Carson sighed. If it would get him his look at the peak. “Okay.” He wondered how he was going to break the news to Ducayne.
CHAPTER 28: REID'S RETURN
Velkaryan HQ, Sawyers World
AS WAS STANDARD procedure, Reid waited a day before reporting to Deitrich at the Church of Divine Stellar Providence in Sawyer City. It might have been a futile gesture toward operational security, but at least things like surveillance cameras, automated facial recognition and correlation between databases weren’t nearly as widespread, or as tolerated, here on Sawyers World as they were anywhere on Earth.
Deitrich looked over Reid’s orders and grunted an acknowledgement. “You took your time getting here, but that’s to be expected,” he said. “There have been a couple of new developments related to your assignment.”
“Oh?” Reid said. “Such as?”
“Our sources say that the Sawyers Office of Land Management is organizing some kind of ecological survey of the Pete’s Peak wildlife area, and since arrowheads and the like have been found nearby, there has been a request for an archeologist to accompany them.”
“Let me guess. Carson?”
“There was no name given, but we assume so. Now, how much actual digging he can do there is a question, but all he has to do is prove that it is a pyramid, rather than a volcanic neck. Then the can of worms is open, and he can push for a full dig.”
That made sense, but, “Surely he knows what he’s likely to find if he does,” Reid said. “Evidence of technologically advanced aliens. Why would he want to make that public, and perhaps cause a panic?”
“You’ve been on Earth too long. The outworlders, at least those who didn’t just emigrate, aren’t likely to panic. They live with interstellar travel and aliens, albeit primitive aliens, every day. Most people on Earth don’t really think about it, unless they’re in some related business,” Deitrich said. “Anyway, Carson has been pushing this idea for years. He noticed too many similarities between primitive cultures on different planets. It’s the sort of thing he’d want made public, to vindicate himself. But it’s also possible the discovery would be kept secret.”
“Because Carson is working with Homeworld Security?”
Deitrich nodded. “Almost certainly. He still teaches at the university, but he probably keeps that job as a cover.”
“Does the Sawyers World government know about his involvement? That has to be breaking some kind of laws or regulations.”
“Only if the UDT is paying him. Maybe they aren’t, at least not directly. You know how academics can get.”
Reid didn’t, exactly, but he got Deitrich’s meaning. “But they must have some inkling of what he thinks about this Pete’s Peak. Especially since that area has so-conveniently been off-limits for decades.”
“Most likely, yes, somebody in the Sawyers World government knows, or suspects. As to why they’re allowing an archeologist to go along on this survey, it comes down to just a few possibilities. Either they know he won’t find anything, or they’re not sure, and want to see what he does find. Or perhaps they know he will find something and are convinced they can keep a lid on it, or they do want it to be made public. I don’t see what they’d stand to gain in the latter case, so I’m discounting it.”
“If they do know that it’s a pyramid, then they haven’t found a way in. They can’t possibly know what’s inside.”
“Neither do we,” Deitrich pointed out. “We know what we hope to find, but there are no guarantees. It might even be that they know there is nothing inside, but I’m going to go with assuming that they’re not even sure what it is.”
Reid concurred. “Either way,” he said, “my job is to watch Carson and make sure we get into the pyramid, if it is one, before he or anyone else does.”
“Quite so. If there’s anything you need from my office, let me know. Oh, there was one other thing, not related to Carson.”
“Yes? What?”
“We’re hearing rumbles about some kind of joint war-games exercise between the UDT Space Force and the Sawyers World Space Guard. It’s the kind of thing that Space Force used to do regularly some years back, but they haven’t in a while. We plan to monitor them, of course, but let me know if you hear anything about them.”
“Will do. Do you know when?” Reid wanted to sit in on the monitoring, if possible, and not just to see how the games went. Monitoring the motions of multiple ships across multiple light-hours was a technical challenge in itself, and Reid was curious to see how they would manage that.
“No. Sometime in the near future, but that could mean almost anything.”
“Ah. Well, I’d be interested in observing tha
t if I may, if it doesn’t conflict with my primary mission.”
Deitrich nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
CHAPTER 29: MATTHEWS
Drake University, Sawyer City
CARSON TAPPED ON Dean Matthews’ open office door. “Do you have a moment?”
Matthews looked up from his desk. “Dr. Carson, certainly, come on in. What’s on your mind?”
“Well, it’s about the paleolithic aboriginals, the discussion we had a week or so back?”
“That wasn’t all we were talking about, but yes, what of it?”
“Well, I happened to run into Dr. Greystone, head of the Biology Department—”
“I know Ellie Greystone.”
“Sorry, of course you do. Anyway, we were chatting briefly, and she mentioned a rumor that the Office of Land Management is putting together an ecological survey of the range north-west of Camp Anderson, a few dozen kilometers from where the original arrowhead finds were made. I’d like to see if I can tag along and participate from an archeological perspective.”
“Oh? Do you really expect they’ll find anything? That area has been fairly thoroughly surveyed. Do you think there’s anything there?”
You have no idea, Carson thought. “It’s possible. As I said last week, the area hasn’t had a thorough archeological survey because it’s a wildlife preserve. It might just be more arrowheads, but that would add to the established range of the aboriginals.”
“I wouldn’t mind taking a look myself,” Matthews said, looking thoughtful. “When would this be?”
“That’s the thing. I only just heard about it. I believe it’s just a few weeks from now.” That was really a hope, not a belief, since he had only discussed it with Finley and Greystone the day before.
The dean frowned. “What about your classes?” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. That’s very short notice, and I need you to keep up with your teaching load as well as get some more publications out. Maybe after the semester ends.”
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