“I believe the most reasonable course of action would be to determine whether the island of which they speak is appropriate. If it is, we would first establish a new home for ourselves, and begin to plan for the Offspring. Their revival must begin here, but the incubation could be completed at the new location.”
“Not without the knowledge and cooperation of the humans.”
“No, you are correct.”
“So much depends on creatures who seem so uncivilized.”
Garlmek looked deep into his wife’s eyes.
“It is their world now, dearest. We are the visitors.”
Chapter 30
Reckoning
At just after 4:30 PM on the third day of digging, Chief Petty Officer Larry Barboza rammed his shovel into the ice, and felt it penetrate through to clear space. “Sir, we’re there!”
Lieutenant Commander John Allenwood came forward with Rank Matthews at his side. They’d known they were getting close to the door, and were prepared.
Fifteen minutes later the tunnel was again passable, and Matthews and Howard strung power cables in and set up new work lights. With three armed Seabees standing ready, Matthews punched in the combination, and the door slid open.
“Alright, men, be alert, but don’t be trigger-happy,” ordered Allenwood. “Make sure of any threat before you fire.”
Unholstering his pistol, he walked with Matthews down the length of the corridor, the Seabees directly after them. Having been shown the Outhouse, they weren’t surprised by the glow of the walls.
They reached the inner door, and stood together. As it opened, the Naval officer was astonished by the scene before them.
Inside, the sky appeared to be bright blue, with scattered clouds. On the raised area in the center of the chamber, and on boxes serving as chairs, a group of people were sitting, eating and talking animatedly. Sitting — or rather, squatting — among them were the two Sapiosaurs. Allenwood motioned to his men to lower their weapons just as the group in the chamber reacted to the door’s opening.
“Hello, Rank,” said Reynolds. “What took you so long?”
“I take it you’re alright.”
“We’re just fine. Come and join us for dinner. We just started. Bring your friends with you.”
Matthews and the four Navy men entered the chamber, the sailors moving very cautiously.
“Rank, the men can relax. There’s no danger. We’re fine.”
Mitchell stood up and walked towards the men. “Hal’s right, Rank. We’re all OK, except for Eugene, who got banged up a bit. But he’s been treated, and there’re no serious injuries.” She turned to Allenwood, extending her hand. “Hi, I’m Steph Mitchell, U. C. Berkeley.”
“Lt. Commander John Allenwood. Pleased to meet you ma’am.”
She accompanied him back to the group, where Lightfoot was grinning. “Hello, John. What brings you to this neighborhood?”
“Dan, good to see you.” They shook hands.
“John and I went through OTS together,” he explained.
Mitchell proceeded with introductions all around, ending with the Sapios.
“This is Garlmek, and this is his wife, Touolok.”
“What do I say to them?” asked Allenwood.
“May I suggest you begin with hello?” replied Garlmek. The officer’s eyes grew wide, and his jaw dropped.
“Hello,” he replied, stunned. After a moment, he recovered and composed himself. “Can someone tell me what happened here? What caused the explosion?
“It was a bomb,” answered Lightfoot, “brought down by our friend Eugene here.”
“That’s what we suspected. How did you all survive?”
“Eugene came to his senses at the last moment, realized the error of his ways, and ended up saving the lives of Touolok, Garlmek and four of the rest of us. He threw the bomb out the door just before it exploded, and as it turned out, he was the only one injured.”
Allenwood and Matthews exchanged glances, and then Matthews responded.
“I’m afraid that’s not true.”
This brought a hush to the group, and Northrup sat up straight, with a troubled expression.
“Fred Taylor was chasing after Mr. Northrup. He was within a few feet of the bomb when it went off.”
The mood in the chamber immediately changed.
“He was killed instantly.”
“Oh my God!” wailed Northrup, his shoulders slumping.
“Damn,” said Lightfoot. “Fred was a great guy.”
The others sat crestfallen. After a few moments, Allenwood took a step toward Northrup.
“Mr. Northrup, I’m placing you under arrest.” His head down, Northrup nodded. “There’s no brig here, but there’s also nowhere to go, so I’m just going to confine you to quarters. We’ll be taking you back to the States with us to face Federal charges.”
“I understand,” said the student in a meek voice. Ruggiero watched him with a mixture of pity and horror.
Reynolds was also watching Northrup, along with all the others. “Eugene, you didn’t know that Fred was out there. Even though you made a serious mistake, you were trying to correct that mistake — to save lives. That’ll count for a lot.” Northrup looked up briefly at Reynolds with a pained expression, and then dropped his head again without speaking.
Reynolds looked at Ruggiero with a wry expression. The previous morning she’d taken him aside and gleefully told him that he owed her twenty dollars. He’d laughed, and promised to pay her as soon as they could get back to their quarters. The look they now exchanged made it clear that the debt was canceled.
The Noaud had been observing all this without comment. Now Garlmek rose, and Touolok followed suit. The three Seabee enlisted men almost imperceptibly tightened their grips on their M-16s.
“I did not speak directly with Fred Taylor,” said Garlmek, “though we spent several hours in his presence on our first day after revival. He acted with dignity and respect. We wish to express our sympathy for your loss.” The Noaud both bowed their heads, and the Seabees relaxed.
“Thank you, Garlmek,” said Mitchell.
Reynolds waited a moment, and then looked around at his colleagues.
“Folks, how about we go back uptown? I think we could all use a shower and a home-cooked meal, uh, so to speak.” The others nodded.
McCollum gave Reynolds a questioning look, and he nodded.
“Garlmek, Touolok,” she said, “from my study of your medical texts, it looks like our diet isn’t all that different from yours. Would you care to accompany us to our base on the ice surface and join us for one of our meals?”
“We would be honored,” replied Touolok, “and grateful for both the change of diet and the chance to taste your food.”
“Wonderful. It would probably be best if you both wrapped yourselves in blankets for the trip up.”
“There is no need. We have garments that will keep us comfortable.” This news surprised the humans, who had become accustomed to seeing the Sapios unclothed. “Please give us a few moments.”
The Noaud couple turned and went to the infirmary.
“Commander Allenwood,” said Mitchell, “perhaps you and your men could escort Eugene up ahead of us?”
Allenwood responded with a quizzical look.
“I’d prefer the Sapios not feel they were being escorted by armed soldiers.”
“Ah. I understand. No problem.”
The Navy men collected Northrup and left the Penthouse. Two of them helped Northrup down the stairs.
The Sapios returned from the infirmary, resplendent in robes adorned with elaborate gold brocade. Garlmek’s was forest green, while Touolok’s was a deep blue.
“Oh, my gosh,” Mitchell reacted. “You look magnificent!”
“Mag-ni-fi-cent?” asked Garlmek.
“You both look very handsome.”
“Thank you,” said Touolok. “The colors of our robes are those of our disciplines — Garlmek’s for science, and mi
ne for medicine.”
The research team members escorted the Sapios out of the Penthouse, down the stairs and up the elevator. When they reached the surface, the humans started towards the office, but Garlmek stopped Mitchell and asked if he and Touolok could go outside the shed for a moment. She led them to the door.
As he ducked through the doorway and stepped out into the white glare of the ice, his theoretical understanding of the situation finally became concrete. The trip up the elevator had confirmed to him how deeply the city lay buried. Now, looking out at nothing but ice to the horizon, he grasped how completely lost Tarsill was. No technology the Noaud had ever developed would have been capable of uncovering the city from the millions of tons of ice that now covered it. At last he was resigned to the fact that it would stay buried for all time.
After a minute, he and his mate turned and reentered the shed. After the glare of the ice, they were momentarily blind in the relative darkness of the shed. As their eyes adjusted, they accompanied Mitchell to the office.
Word of their impending arrival had spread quickly, and the entire team — most of whom had only seen them on video monitors — was present to greet them. As they entered the office, and crew burst into applause. The Sapios were momentarily taken aback, until Mitchell explained.
“This is our way of expressing appreciation and acceptance.”
Garlmek and Touolok turned to the group and bowed. “Thank you,” said Garlmek.
While Mitchell introduced the Sapios to the other members of the team, McCollum found the cook, who was off duty but awake, and brought him back to the office. She ordered two steaks, very rare, plus a selection of defrosted but uncooked vegetables and a loaf of whole wheat bread for the Sapios. As the cook began his work, the team members who’d been in the Penthouse came to place their own orders.
Reynolds disappeared for a few minutes, and then returned with a bottle of 18-year-old MacCallan single-malt Scotch in his hand. He went to the Sapios.
“Garlmek, Touolok, may I invite you to sample some Scotch?”
“Yes, the Scotch that you spoke of,” said Garlmek. “It would be a pleasure.”
The team members who’d been through the Penthouse ordeal had gathered at one of the tables while waiting for their meal to be ready, and Reynolds brought nine glasses for the seven humans and two Sapios. Garlmek and Touolok squatted at either end of the table, with the humans along the sides.
“You’ll find this has a lighter flavor than Hhieoouw,” he said. “but I think you’ll find it enjoyable.”
He passed out the glasses, and then, starting with the Sapios and moving around the table, poured an inch into each glass. Finally, he stood next to his seat and poured his own shot.
Lifting his glass, he made his toast.
“Garlmek, Touolok, welcome to our world.”
The Sapios bowed their heads, and then sipped their drinks. Garlmek let the liquid roll across his tongue, and then swallowed. He then took a deep breath while looking up, as if in thought.
“Hal,” he said, “this is not like Hhieoouw. It is more like a fine Shhallak.”
Reynolds laughed. “And is this a good thing?”
Garlmek cocked his head slightly. “It is a very good thing.” Reynolds and the others smiled, their humor tempered by the recent news. Now Lightfoot stood and raised his glass.
“And here’s to Fred Taylor.”
“To Fred,” responded the group.
The conversation over dinner was initially subdued, but as the Scotch and the hot meal had their effect, it grew more animated.
Garlmek and Touolok experienced some difficulties with human eating utensils, which were smaller and shaped differently from Noaud equivalents, but they found the steaks to be delicious. When they quickly cleaned their plates, they immediately accepted the offer of seconds.
After dinner, and with the rest of the team gathered around to listen and participate, the conversations that had gone on over the past three days in the Penthouse were continued.
While trapped under the ice, the days had been roughly split between sessions where the Noaud learned about the current state of Earth and human culture, and sessions where the humans inquired about the Sapios’ world. Mitchell had used her MacBook computer Encyclopedia as an audiovisual aid, and now that they were free, she planned to commandeer one of the office portables for the exclusive use of the dinosaurs.
Reynolds, Behling and Lightfoot had spent most of the time talking with Garlmek, with McCollum and Mitchell talking with Touolok.
As Garlmek had expected, Behling asked what the lower portion of Town Hall contained. The Noaud replied that much of the space was taken up by the massive power cells that kept them in suspension, but that larger vehicles and equipment were also stored in rooms along the outer walls that had doors to the outside at ground level. The humans had accepted the explanation at face value.
Behling also asked if the Sapios would help them to learn about their technology, which could provide the seeds of a revolution in human energy management, among other fields. Garlmek agreed.
Bob Fletch delivered a message to Mitchell that had arrived while she was cut off: U. C. Berkeley had approved the use of Aliello Island as a habitat for the Sapios. She had been named to head a team that would include representatives of the departments of Anthropology, Integrative Biology, Linguistics, the Electronics Research Laboratory and a half-dozen other departments of the College of Letters & Science. The Coast Guard had also been directed by the President to provide a permanent security detail on the island.
The message included a request for specifications for living quarters and other physical needs for the Sapios, and suggested that the revamped facility could be ready within a month or less.
The group sketched out a tentative plan for the Sapios and their city. Until the new facility was ready, Garlmek and Touolok would live in the Penthouse, continuing the reciprocal debriefing sessions and preparing for the move north. The excavation of the city would continue as an ongoing project, with the priorities determined by Garlmek, Mitchell and Behling. The university would provide transportation back to the city as necessary to permit the Sapios to oversee the work. The library would remain in place until a counterpart could be built at their new home.
As the hour grew late, the conversation began to slow. Mitchell and Reynolds offered to escort the Sapios back to the Penthouse. Once inside the main chamber, the two dinosaurs turned to the human couple to say goodnight.
“That was a most enjoyable meal. We thank you,” said Garlmek with a slight bow.
“The pleasure was ours,” replied Mitchell. “If you’d like, we’ll arrange to have meals brought down for you from now on.”
“That is extremely generous of you. We accept.”
“Touolok, Garlmek,” she said, looking at them in turn, “I know that your relationship with our species has gotten off to something of a rocky start. In Eugene Northrup, you’ve seen both sides of the human race, and I’d like you to know that despite our occasional failings, for the most part our hearts and intentions are good. Please keep in mind that we’re a young race, as compared to yours.”
Again Garlmek nodded. He thought her last comment was especially perceptive.
“Wisdom can be acquired only with experience. Yet as a species, you show great promise.”
“Perhaps when we’ve been around for ten million years we’ll have acquired enough wisdom to leave behind the kind of idiocy that prompted Eugene to come here in the first place.”
The two couples said goodnight, and the humans returned to their quarters.
•
When they got to the room that was nominally his, but had become theirs in practice, Mitchell and Reynolds started getting ready for bed.
“I think the Sapios have shown remarkable calm through all the shit that’s gone down,” said Mitchell. “Can you imagine waking up to find your whole world gone, your plans disrupted and an entirely new species in charge of your plan
et? And then, the next day, almost getting killed by a fanatic with a bomb?”
“It is a bit more excitement than I think I’d want, were I in their place.”
“All things considered, I’m kind of amazed that they’re willing to trust us.”
“Well, they really don’t have too much of a choice, do they?”
“Yeah, I s’pose. But you know, I get the feeling there’s something they’re hiding from us.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. It just feels like there are some pieces missing. Maybe it’s the fact that just the two of them were suspended, and were expected to repopulate the entire planet. That just doesn’t make sense.”
“You think there’re more of them in the lower section?”
“Again, I don’t know. According to what they’ve told us, there aren’t. And from what we’ve learned about their culture over the last few months, it’s not part of their nature to lie.”
“Omitting part of the truth might not be considered lying.”
“Hmph.”
“Anyway, we’re going to excavate the entire base of Town Hall eventually. Garlmek knows that we’ll find out what’s in there.”
“Maybe he’s simply delaying the inevitable. Waiting to see how well we live up to our promises.”
“Well,” said Reynolds as they snuggled together on the narrow cot, “he said that wisdom comes only with experience. So does trust.”
“Yeah… So does trust. Goodnight.”
He kissed the back of her neck. ” ‘Nite.”
•
“I believe that Stephanie suspects there is information we have not revealed to them,” said Touolok.
“Why do you believe this?”
“Since we’ve been in close contact with them, I have been studying their facial expressions and the ways in which they hold their bodies. When you answered Richard’s question about the lower portion of the mastaba, the look on Stephanie’s face was one of mild puzzlement.”
“For now, it is of no matter. They will uncover the base of the mastaba, and in the six storage rooms will find exactly what we told them they would. And they know not of the entrance from the upper chamber to the vault below that holds the Offspring. I believe the Offspring will remain safe.”
Sapiosaurus | Out Of Time Page 31