by Peter Ponzo
CHAPTER 1
Planet Earth
Captain Cruder gazed at the image on the screen and smiled. The bright spot at centerscreen was planet earth. In less than a day he would be home. We will be home, he thought.
The boy was delightful, so full of questions and so able to grasp the intracacies of interstellar flight, of space folds and the bending of light about stars. Captain Cruder had spent nearly a whole day explaining the need for travelling within a parallel subspace when the folds were near, in a four-dimensional sense. Every question had been answered with ease. After all, Cruder had spent his life among the stars.
Jacob Cruder frowned. Only the missing stars; he had not been able to explain that. He completed the star maps as had been requested by the Committee of Nations, and over two dozen major stars were missing. Runr had asked why and he could not answer. Runr had seemed just a little frightened.
The boy's imagination was also a delight. He spoke of a cosmic mouth that ate stars.
Captain Cruder picked up the microphone.
"Runr, if thou dost wish to see planet earth, then come thee to the control room."
Runr awoke with a start. He had been dreaming - surrounded by bright towering crystals. They were wrapped in blue cloth with surfaces which shone in various shades of blue and rust. They leaned and sang to him, a rising and falling wail. The blue surfaces darkened and were soon a glowing ebony. Blood flowed from the top of the crystals and ran in ragged streams down the sides. The blood turned from red to rust. A single bright blue crystal spire rose slowly from amidst the black crystals.
Runr jumped out of bed, first confused, then he dismissed thoughts of the dream and became excited at the prospect of seeing Earth. Within seconds he was in the control room with Cruder, staring at the spot on the screen.
"Will I see Afria ... Africa?" he asked.
"Yes, we will show thee Africa. Dost thou understand that no one lives in Africa?"
"I understand, yet I would like to see it."
"Very well," said Cruder, smiling at the boy's enthusiasm. He thought of how long it had been since he, himself, had been excited about anything. The black youth's enthusiasm was contagious. Although Jacob Cruder had expected to lead the quiet and uneventful life of a retired captain for the few years he had left, now he looked forward to taking the boy to Africa. Perhaps the boy would not be too disappointed. Perhaps just being there, where his ancestors lived and vanished, two centuries ago - perhaps that would be sufficient reward for the boy's enthusiasm.
The image grew larger and Captain Cruder typed a command on the keyboard. The bright spot enlarged to fill the screen. It was a fuzzy image but faint outlines of the continents could be seen.
"Dost thou see, Runr?" said Cruder pointing to the screen. "That is Africa."
The boy jumped up and down excitedly, pointing to the African continent. "Look how big it is! The home of my people. See how big it is!" he cried.
"Now, my boy," said Cruder, "we must prepare to land."
He left the control room and Runr stayed for a moment longer, staring at the screen, then followed.
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"Spaceship Andromeda - proceed to landing port 019. Duty officers will meet you. Have your landing and identification documents ready." The voice was loud and brusk.
"Captain?" asked Runr. "Will I need documents, identification?"
Cruder turned to the boy. "We will see. The duty officers may allow thee to adopt earth citizenship."
Runr looked down. "Captain? I do not wish to become an earth citizen. I wish to become an Afrian citizen."
"But Afria is a deserted planet. The Afrians have vanished, they -"
"Can I visit earth without becoming a citizen?"
Captain Cruder frowned. "Yes, but you will not be allowed to visit Africa. Only earth citizens have access to all continents. If thou dost wish to visit Africa -"
"Captain?" asked the boy. "Can you take me to Africa?"
Captain Cruder smiled and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Why yes, we will take thee to Africa. We have a plan."
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The duty officer inspected the cargo area, wrote down serial numbers, peered into every room and inspected Captain Cruder's papers.
"The person in the storage room ... he is quite drunk. You say you want him imprisoned and brought to trial. Have you filled out a formal complaint in triplicate, identifying the precise time and nature of the crime?"
The Captain handed several papers to the officer who shuffled through them, grunting and nodding his head.
"Mayor Humple of York Sector? You mean you have taken the Mayor prisoner for attempted murder? My boss will be delighted. Imagine, the Mayor of York Sector. Ha! Won't this make a great story."
It had been a good idea to land at the spaceport in Frisco Sector. There was a long-standing rivalry between the York and Frisco sectors and Humple's influence here would be nil. Indeed, his status as Mayor of York would be to his disadvantage. Cruder smiled.
"Everything seems to be in order Captain. Sign these landing forms at the places indicated. Your signature is needed -"
"Yes, we have done this many times before," said Cruder. When he had finished he turned to the duty officer. "But there is something we have never done before. If we were to return with a passenger from another planet what would be the procedure for establishing citizenship? Would the visitor have an opportunity to visit continents other then the Americas? Dost thou -"
"Only citizens of earth have access to continents," interrupted the officer. "Every non-citizen must spend six months in quarantine in order to qualify for citizenship. This involves brain scans, psychological testing, gene identification and an exhaustive search of the person's ancestral history."
"I see," muttered Cruder. "We thank thee for thy assistance."
"Very well Captain. I will take your prisoner into custody. You are free to disembark."
"No, my good man," said Cruder. "Our landing was only to place the - uh, prisoner into thy hands. Now we intend to leave ... immediately."
The duty officer turned and stared at Captain Cruder for several seconds and said, "Yes, captain ... you are free to leave. Contact space-control and get a vector." Then he left and Cruder immediately initiated departure procedures.
When Andromeda was safely in an approved orbit about planet Earth, Captain Cruder walked to the cargo bay and called. "Runr, please come forward." The boy appeared from behind a stack of boxes and smiled.
"Can we go to Africa now?"
"My boy," said Cruder with a wide grin, "that is precisely where we are going."
Two hours later Andromeda landed at the African spaceport.
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The African spaceport had not been used for over fifty years and there were no personnel to question their landing. Captain Cruder and Runr stood on the landing pad for some time gazing at the expanse of cracked concrete covered with tall patches of yellow grasses. The buildings had collapsed long ago and the pieces were scattered across the concrete. It was nearly noon and it was hot and dry. In the distance they saw the parched fields and, farther still, the dark jungle.
"Well boy," said Cruder, "where shall we go from here?"
"I would like to go to the jungle. My people would live in the jungle. Can we go there?"
"It's a long way off. We shall take the landing shuttle."
Cruder climbed the stairs into the belly of Andromeda and moments later the landing shuttle was lowered to the ground. Runr was excited. He pushed his rust-colored locks from his face and rocked from side to side and whined as Cruder opened the shuttle doors.
"Come, my boy. We have supplies for several days. Now begins our great adventure."
The shuttle rose vertically to thirty meters and headed for the distant jungle. Runr stared intently out the win
dow, not wanting to miss anything.
The plains were dry, without any sign of life. The wind blew constantly and the yellow grasses leaned toward the jungle. There was only an occasional shrub, twisted and dead. When they reached the edge of the jungle the shuttle slowed and hovered.
"We believe that the the wisest procedure is to move slowly across this bush. Look for any signs of a city. Mine eyes are not as keen as they once were."
Runr leaned closer to the window. The arid plains below changed to a dark jungle. There was no sign of life. Even the trees seemed petrified. For over an hour the shuttle moved over the expanse of bush, then there was a clearing - a field which ran down to a muddy river. Beyond the river the field rose again to a series of hills. Runr looked closely.
"Captain? Is that a city? Was that a city?"
Cruder looked in the direction of the hills. At the top was a line of rocks which, at one time, may have been a wall. He landed the shuttle and they both climbed out. Runr ran to the rocks and inspected the ground. Cruder sat on a rock and watched the boy turn stones, push logs and peer into holes. After a time the boy returned. "Maybe this was a city," he said. "Maybe there were people living here.... but I can't find anything."
"Well then, let us eat," said Cruder, and they ate a modest meal of cold, dried meat and bread. Then they left in the shuttle and continued across endless plains of waving grass and grey shrubs. By late afternoon they stopped. Runr collected dry wood and they ate their evening meal, heated over a small fire.
"My boy," said Cruder, "our maps show a city just a short way from here. We will find that city and spend the night there." Runr jumped up and was ready to leave. "Yes, thy haste is evident," said Cruder with a wide smile.
They continued across the plain for over two hours. Runr's nose was in constant contact with the window.
"Captain! The city! I see it!"
Cruder veered the shuttle to the right and headed for the city, barely visible in the dim light of early evening. The shuttle circled the ruined city for ten minutes before it landed. Runr jumped out and began to search frantically among the broken and crumbling buildings. Captain Cruder sat on a rock and lit his pipe, watching the eager young man dash from one ruined building to another. What a delight to have a dream he thought. One may suffer hardship and depravation ... and survive on a dream.
Runr had disappeared into a distant building and the Captain began to worry when he failed to emerge. "Runr!" he shouted, but there was no answer. Cruder knocked the ashes from his pipe, stuffed the pipe into his pocket and walked slowly toward the building. It was a smaller building and all four walls were still standing as well as much of the roof. There was an elaborate entrance with tall stone statues, now crumbled beyond recognition. Cruder walked through the entrance and headed for the only area which was still lit by shafts of light which came through a hole in the roof. Runr was not there. "Runr!" he shouted again. Then he heard a shuffling from a darker room. Warily he entered the dark room. "Runr?" he whispered.
"Captain? My people lived here." Runr was sitting in the dark staring at the wall.
"How canst thou see anything? Tis much too dark."
"Captain? The picture ... my people."
Cruder removed his pipe lighter and held the flame against the wall. The picture was still in near perfect condition and showed a black man and woman with a child. The child was black and chubby with short curly black hair, a wide grin and a bright blue tunic.
Runr ran his hand over the blue tunic. "I would like to wear a blue - a blue -"
"Dear boy, we shall get thee a blue tunic. Now, let us return to the shuttle and sleep. Tomorrow we will continue our adventure." Captain Cruder left but Runr stayed behind. It was not until Cruder had changed into his night clothes that Runr left the building. Runr slept on the grass beside the tall stone statues. Cruder slept soundly, perhaps more soundly than he had slept in years. When he awoke the boy was already wandering in and out of the buildings.
They left before noon. The African village had been a delight to the boy and he looked forward to other discoveries, but it wasn't until late the following day that they found further evidence of an African society.
They were about to stop for their evening meal. It had been hot and dry. Captain Cruder said that they must return to the space ship early the next morning. Although the adventure had been exhilarating he now felt his age and longed for his comfortable bed and meals other than dried meats and bread. Runr would have been delighted to continue forever. That was when they saw the crumbling buildings in a valley flanked by soaring cliffs.
The shuttle hovered for a moment then slowly descended onto a grassy field just at the edge of the village. Runr jumped out and ran to the nearest building. Cruder followed, wearily. When he entered, the boy was running from room to room. The Captain sat on what looked like a bench and waited.
"Captain? There is a door in the floor. I would like to open it but it is too heavy. Can you help me?"
Cruder rose and followed the boy. In the corner of one room there was indeed a hinged door in the floor. Together they managed to pry it open and Runr immediately disappeared into the opening. The Captain waited. Eventually he called into the opening, but there was no answer. He waited, peered into the dark hole, but decided not to attempt an entry. He sat on the dusty floor and waited impatiently. Eventually he heard the boy calling.
"Captain? I have found something. Can we bring it back with us?"
"What hast thou found my boy?"
"It is a stone ... it has curious markings. I do not understand."
"Yes, bring it with thee, but we must then return to the ship."
Runr climbed out of the opening and held the flat stone in front of him for Captain Cruder to see. It looked like a map, painted on the stone. The map appeared to show a large river, mountains and a cross marked a location near the mountains.
"Captain? Can we go there?"
"My boy, we do not know where there is. It may take weeks to find a place which looks like -"
"Captain? I know where it is."
"How can thee know -"
"Captain? The stone speaks."
Cruder stared at the boy. He knew from his conversations with Kevn of Home planet that Runr could communicate with certain crystals on Afria. He had been skeptical. Perhaps this stone contained such crystals.
"Is it far?" asked the Captain assuming the boy would, somehow, ask the stone.
"It is not far," answered Runr without hesitation.
"It gets dark. We will stay here tonight. Tomorrow we will decide whether to continue."
Runr hung his head. He knew that Captain Cruder would decide to return to the ship.
After their meal Cruder stayed on board the shuttle and Runr ran from building to building. It was dark but the boy seemed to have little difficulty seeing. Eventually Runr returned and Cruder could see the boy lying on the ground beside the shuttle, clutching the flat stone to his chest. There seemed to be faint blue pinpoints of light about the boys hands. Cruder rubbed his eyes. He was very tired, and soon he was asleep.
The next morning the boy was gone.
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Runr ran until sunrise, then he rested. He still carried the flat stone which had flashed intermittently throughout the night. He placed his hands on the stone and closed his eyes. The blue lights flashed more brightly. Runr opened his eyes and looked around. He was sitting on a grassy plain covered in large boulders which extended to the horizon. He rose, climbed the nearest rock and gazed in the direction of the rising sun, shading his eyes, barely able to see the dark shadow of a mountain range in the distance. Runr smiled and shook his rusty curls, raised his hands and howled. He still held the stone and it flickered briefly blue. Jumping off the boulder, he continued to run in the direction of the distant mountains.
It was late afternoon when he saw the river. It was wide and deep and green. Wh
en he reached the bank he carefully laid his stone on the lush green grass and plunged into the clear water. He didn't hear the rushing of wings, but when he clambered out of the river he saw the flock of birds sitting on the bank next to his stone. It was a miracle. For days, since their arrival in Africa, they had seen no living thing. Even the grasses and trees seemed to have died. Now there was a flock of birds. And the river, it wasn't muddy and polluted, but crystal clear with green banks. That, too, was a miracle.
Runr turned and gazed at the mountains. They were capped in snow and glistened in the afternoon sun. At the base of the mountains he thought he could see green jungle. He wanted to continue, but sat on a rock and thought about how hungry he was. After some time the birds took flight and headed for the mountains. The stone glimmered blue. Runr took the stone and it glowed more brightly. The boy smiled and began to run, holding the stone tightly to his chest. The birds stopped periodically until he was near, then they rose in a cloud and continued toward the mountains. They seemed to be leading him on; he smiled and gleefully followed, forgetting his hunger - and the stone shone in his hand.
By nightfall he was at the base of the mountains. There was indeed a jungle, but more verdant than he had ever seen before. It glowed green in the evening light. A small brook bubbled nearby and Runr drank deeply. The birds had gone, disappearing into the depths of the woods. The boy collapsed in the grass at the foot of a tall tree and stared up at the night sky. He was nearly home. He was happy but tired. Without intending to, he fell asleep and his stone slipped from his hand. He slept all night without waking.
A single shaft of light from the morning sun slipped through the jungle canopy and shone in his face. He awoke, squinting in the bright light. Without thinking he reached for his stone. It was gone. Then a shadow blocked the light and he saw the tall silhouette of a man standing before him. He jumped to his feet and crouched, ready to run. There were others. He was surrounded. He stepped back into the shadow and looked about. There were seven tall black men standing in a circle and he was at the center of the circle. Each wore a white robe. One man stepped forward. He was at least two meters tall with short black curly hair. He stared intently at Runr's shiny black skin then at his long rust-colored hair. Then Runr saw that he was holding the stone.
He spoke. "The miracle stone, where did you find it?"
Runr looked at the dark stone. He muttered, "We found a city ... it was ruined. I found the stone in a building, in a cave beneath a building."
The man looked at his companions and said something which Runr did not understand. Another man stepped forward and spoke: "We shall not believe you. How did you find us?"
Runr backed away as the man came closer. "The stone told me to come here. It talked to me and -"
The seven men began to speak simultaneously, excitedly, waving their long black arms and pointing to him. Another stepped forward. "The stone spoke to you?"
"Yes, it said to come to the mountains, beyond the wide river."
There was more chatter then the first man held out the stone. "Take the stone. Let it speak to you. We shall see this miracle."
Runr stepped forward cautiously and took the stone which immediately began to glow, then to come alive with flashing blue lights. The seven tall black men gasped and backed away from the boy and began to chatter among themselves, shaking their heads. Then they began to bow in Runr's direction. Then they all raised their heads, chanting. Then they began to sing, a rising and falling wail. It was the song of the crystals. Runr smiled and began to sing. The black men stopped, looked up momentarily then continued to sing.