Far-out Show (9781465735829)

by Hanna, Thomas

  “Nerber has declared the contest over for him though. He has no way to know that ends the whole gimmick,” Lacrat noted.

  “Are you hinting that we should transport him up right now?” Hasley asked.

  “Soon at least,” Lacrat said. “In my opinion it would hurt our chances for shows like this in the future to have him go to pieces or die of anything except a true accident not related to our faulty equipment or due to hostile action by inhabitants.”

  Feedle said, “You're probably right. Similarly it’d be interesting to take one or a few of the inhabitants back with us but since we don't know if their kind would be permanently damage by the transport system – or damage it passing through it - it's not worth risking. Sooner or later word of such a mishap would be sure to get around.”

  Feedle reacted with distress and signaled the others to go silent. She turned off the screen image and said in a whisper, “I accidentally left the channel open so the crew might have heard us just then. We might have sounded like we think everyone but us is disposable. I'll reopen the channels and we'll talk-talk about how essential each crew member is to getting us all home safe.”

  Lacrat whispered back, “Which is literally true. We can't get home without their expertise.”

  Feedle nodded and brought up an image of Nerber on the screen. This time it was Wilburps's view of Nerber speaking to the Adam Parker through the porch window.

  “This is new in. What's he saying?” Hasley asked.

  Adam said to Nerber from inside the living room, “An interesting question. Who could give sanctuary to a space-type alien and deliver it to the scientists to keep it from being senselessly slaughtered by yahoos?”

  Hasley freeze-framed the image saying, “Yes, definitely we need to transport him back soon if that's what he's planning.”

  “We'll give the crew the ‘Everyone's important’ talk-talk after we've checked on Nerber’s latest movements and for any messages from home,” Feedle suggested.

  * * *

  Biccup was at the control room main console keeping an eye on things while Icetop and Yelpam worked at a side console looking over the schematics of the ship hoping to find a way to route the necessary commands to where they needed to go without using sequences that would force them through limiting sectors.

  Biccup leaned forward, intent on some readings. He keyed in commands and watched the feedback scroll down the monitor screen. He called, “Did you two just change something or make some input?”

  “No, we’ve only been looking and tracing for the last while. You don’t get to blame us for whatever is happening,” Yelpam said but in a friendly, joshing way.

  “Is something you don’t understand happening?” Icetop asked and walked over to look over Biccup’s shoulder.

  “There was a twigril. Like a signal came to the transport system but wasn’t recognized so it wasn’t given a full response. It was probably nothing,” Biccup said. “It only noticed it because I happened to be looking at the dial when it twitched.” He pointed out the dial in question to Icetop.

  Drawn by Icetop’s apparent interest, conspicuous to him since he worked around him regularly and knew when Biccup was feigning lack of interest, Yelpam came over to stand behind him to see the console.

  At that Icetop hurried back to the side console – trying not to let Biccup see his enthusiasm - where he began to work excitedly keying in commands and watching the results with open interest.

  “Any system other than the transport having twigril squirms?” Yelpam asked to distract Biccup.

  Yelpam leaned forward to see the console better when Biccup said, “Since you asked, it’s happened to several systems. All in only the last minute or two. Odd.”

  “Not effective signals so they’re probably strays sparks coming off something we’ve rerouted poorly. Me and Icetop will check to be sure there’s nothing serious involved,” Yelpam said.

  “Do you think I should call Eroder back from his bask to take a look for himself?” Biccup asked.

  “That’s your decision. I’d just make a note in the log and move on, but you may have a different feeling,” Yelpam said.

  “It’s probably not worth disturbing his bask about,” Biccup said to himself as Yelpam moved over to join Icetop.

  Once at the side console where he saw that Icetop had found a sender signature for the twigril Biccup had noted, Yelpam pointed out the several other places Biccup had then seen similar twitches. Working in silence Icetop scanned the recent record and found the same sender signature for those events.

  The two exchanged nods. Yes, they seemed to have identified something important. Pointing to things on the monitors they silently agreed on a division of the task, then Yelpam went to the other side console and began to run some tests.

  Several minutes later Icetop and Yelpam went out into the hall, making sure that Biccup showed no special interest in them and that the door closed behind them.

  In the hall they spoke in whispers. “The sender zerpy signature is a handy search tool in the records. There have been several contacts today, each apparently a remote attempt to check the status of some ship systems. Some of those evoked downloads of status reports,” Icetop said. “I can’t be certain with only this much to go on but there may have been some tests of whether the remote signaler could override and take control of the systems but so far they haven’t actually tried to do that.”

  “That’s what I make of the other recent unknowns too. They were probes of the signals. Tests to see if someone off-ship can find out the current state of a system and affect it if he wanted to,” Yelpam said.

  “Nerber?”

  “I can’t say, but as far as I can trace the signals they’ve only come in since he reached the surface. A search for the sender signature finds that the first one came in almost the minute he was down there. There have been several, most apparently no one noticed until we went looking with the sender signature as a way to spot them. No sign they’re done or were intended to do any damage.”

  “The traces I saw when I checked the transport system records make me think he wants to know if he can transport himself back up here when he feels he’s in really grave danger even if nobody up here knows or cares about that,” Icetop said.

  “He did strike me as a prudent guy putting on a show of being naïve for those wanting to believe that.”

  “From what I could find he’s only probed us a few times so his zerpy or whatever it is can’t be the source of most of the strange signals we can’t identify a source for.”

  “He’s been testing more frequently, apparently as he feels more threatened,” Yelpam noted.

  “Which I’d expect from any prudent guy who knows what is happening among the inhabitants and has hardware he took down there with him in the hope it’d get him back here to safety.”

  “Should we tell anybody about this?”

  “About what? A couple of signals we can’t identify for certain that haven’t done any harm and don’t seem like they could? I’m not planning on mentioning it to anybody but you.”

  “Good. I’m glad we agree about that. I hate to see Nerber get hurt because that would make certain others a little bit wealthier and therefore a little bit happier. He deserves better than that,” Yelpam said.

  “We all do.”

  Chapter 36

  Svenly and Venrik looked up when the three producers entered the program edit room. There was no clue in the techs’ expressions whether they had overheard anything that disturbed them about the producers’ thoughts regarding the crew members.

  Svenly reported, “This just in, the Peepees seem about to drop all connection to A.D.U. because of the confusion that has The Far-Out Show's ratings reported to be in free-fall.”

  “That sounds like bad news for us but it isn't. It means A.D.U. loses some clout but no longer has a big chunk of its profits from the show skimmed off by the Peepees,” Hasley said.

  “But A.D.U. are plotting behind closed doors to pub
licly blame Bang-Boom Shows for the show's failure,” Venrik noted. “They're going to say we sent them almost no useable material and what we did send was boring. They plan to deflect attention from themselves by a whispering campaign to make us - or more specifically, you three - so hated that you can't safely return home to Ormelex.”

  “They've intended to try to rip us off from the start so this is no surprise,” Hasley said. “But when we arrive with a ton of new material from the far away planet we won't be the hated ones, those who spread false claims about us will be. Their scheme will do them in while we get super rich.”

  “That'll also reflect a bit onto the Peepees but they're clever enough to manipulate public opinion so it'll almost all stick to A.D.U.,” Feedle said with satisfaction.

  “All of that depends on us getting home alive. Meanwhile we need to go see what's happening,” Lacrat said.

  * * *

  Minutes later Hasley, Feedle, and Lacrat were back and pacing the program edit room behind Venrik and Svenly at the console. On a screen section was a view of the back of the moon with Whizybeam in stationary orbit as seen from farther out.

  Feedle said, “That should do it. The second zerpy's stable in that high orbit so it can record it all as the inhabitants’ orbiting device comes around and passes between us and itself.

  “It should make exciting viewing knowing that it's important that their device not detect the ship or that zerpy as it passes,” Lacrat agreed.

  “With reports from Wilburps to guide us we spotted their launch site and remotely probed their device's detection systems,” Hasley said.

  “We found how to reprogram the device's primitive recording system but only did so after it was launched so they wouldn't detect the changes in time to deal with them,” Feedle said. “If we got the details right, their device won't notice or record either our ship or our satellite. They won't find any alien visitors.”

  “Unless our engines or tracking systems fail again and we can't get out of the way and their device crashes right into us. They'd probably notice that even if they don't see it happen here behind their moon,” Lacrat commented.

  “Trust the techs, they'll get us back in full working mode. Plus, Eroder says there's some kind of a camouflage program. I didn't ask for a lot of details,” Hasley said.

  “It's not over when the thing's gone back around though,” Feedle reminded them. “From their reports to their masses we know that their device will make multiple orbits, each on a different path to see the whole moon in detail.”

  “Eroder knows that,” Hasley assured her. “He's plotted the moves we need to make each time their thing goes around the edge to stay out of its view where it'll come by the next time - if we still have to be here each next time.”

  “But we left the audience at home on Ormelex fearing the worst since their anticipation translates into our success - and the big-big benefits that go with that,” Feedle said.

  “You've gotta love big-big benefits,” Lacrat agreed.

  “Here’s something new to distract you for the moment,” Venrik said and brought up Wilburps’s view of Nerber and Krinkle making their tentative first contact in the gazebo in the Oakline Street Park. The audio was off.

  “No sound?” Feedle asked.

  “This is Wilburps’s continuous feed from a short time ago. There’s sound but I’ve turned it off for a reason I’ll let you appreciate for yourself,” Venrik said. “This is certainly an interesting looking inhabitant and he has surprises.”

  “Show us the wrap-around views,” Hasley ordered.

  Svenly tapped some buttons and the views in the other directions appeared in sequence on another screen section. “He’s back near where he arrived. There’s a second inhabitant sitting over there not far away and several at a distance. I haven’t figured out what they’re doing but they seem to be watching Nerber without getting close. It’s all been recorded so you can decide how to interpret it for best effect.”

  “This is what the signals are like now, just a few minutes after that part,” Venrik said and touched a button. The video went to snow, with scattered bits of color popping in and out of view. The audio was loud, wailing country music.

  The producers clapped their hands firmly over their ears and grimaced in distaste and even pain.

  “What is that?” Hasley shouted over the music.

  Svenly cut off the audio. “It’s the inhabitant’s surprise. Effective interference. We’re recording it all for study but we’re only listening to it now and then long enough to verify that we can’t see or hear anything from Wilburps’s signals. He’s passing it all onto us, maybe to punish us.”

  “We believe the inhabitant is causing it. Watch the recording and you see that the interference begins exactly when he activates one of the two devices he brought into that inside-while-it’s-outside place with him. Inconveniently once he activated it we can’t see or hear him any more so we don’t know if he knows the effect he’s having,” Venrik said.

  “Have you analyzed the noise? How do they generate something like that?” Lacrat asked, wincing at the memory of it.

  “A zerpy is scanning it continuously now,” Svenly said. “It finds few repetitions except in short stretches so it is not the kind of cyclic noise generator we’d likely devise if we were intent on messing up signals and the minds of those monitoring them,” Venrik said. “Our analysis shows there’s more in the signals than the interfering parts but those in some way overwhelm what we think is probably Wilburps’s signals.”

  “So when you figure out how to remove the annoying part the zerpy’s recordings should be clear?” Hasley asked.

  “No way to be sure but that’s possible,” Venrik said. “We don’t know enough about the technical parts yet to be certain.”

  “How long did this interference continue?” Feedle asked.

  “Up to this minute,” Svenly said. He tapped a button and a snatch of Montgomery Gentry singing “One In Every Crowd” at high decibel level filled the room but the screen showed only snow. He cut it off. “Yeah, to this very minute.”

  “Can our signals get through to the zerpy?” Feedle asked.

  “We can’t tell since we can’t see or hear what is happening,” Svenly said, only with effort resisting a dre!

  Hasley shepherded Feedle and Lacrat out into the hall.

  “You didn’t have to rush me out of there,” Feedle said. “The worst I would have done was slap him for that sneer.”

  “I wasn’t thinking about that but if I had I would have done the same thing,” Hasley said. “We don’t know where we are with the crew any more so it’s dumb to provoke them but we have to focus on the Nerber situation.”

  “We should have them try to transport him up right now to find out if they can,” Lacrat said.

  “That’s my thought,” Hasley said. “We don’t want to lose him and along with him all the show material of his debriefing interviews and all that’s stored in the zerpy. That also keeps us in good shape with the governors’ demands.”

  “What do we do if that interference does keep the transporter from getting him?” Feedle asked.

  “Concentrate the techs on finding how to disable the source,” Hasley answered. “The sooner they know they have to do that as a top priority, the more time they have to find a solution before we lose all the profit Nerber and that zerpy represent.”

  “I’ll supervise as Biccup tries it,” Feedle said. “With me looking over his shoulder he won’t dare fake any problems.”

  “Why would he do that?” Lacrat asked.

  “To give them leverage in dealing with us,” Feedle said. “At least that’s what I’d do if I were the tech.”

  “I’ll stay here and pass along any developments that might affect other things,” Lacrat said.

  * * *

  The control room almost sparked from the tension when Hasley and Feedle entered. Eroder was at the main console, Icetop at one side console, Yelpam at the other. All glanced at
the new arrivals, then refocused on the information on the consoles. The producers stood inside the door to get a sense of what was going on.

  “It seems like it should be simple but, with limited and only short repetitions, our programs can’t identify the patterns that’d key us in to how to stop this,” Yelpam said.

  Icetop called, “Biccup is ready to try to transport up the source of the interference on your command, Eroder.”

  “Wait! Would that be safe?” Hasley asked.

  “The last of the recorded image showed the inhabitant throw a switch on his device so we’re going on the idea that if we can get it in reach we can shut if off by reversing that switch,” Eroder said. “We’ve tried all the ways we can think of to shut it off from here and those didn’t work.” He called to Icetop, “Tell him to try it.”

  Everyone waited tensely. Yelpam touched a switch and George Strait singing “Troubadour” filled the room but at a greatly reduced volume. They all shuddered a bit but at the lower volume at least didn’t automatically cover their ears.

  “He can’t make it happen,” Icetop reported. “He could get an isolated lock on the item but couldn’t move it very much.”

  “Too bad. Maybe we’ll get another chance when we know more about it and other earth stuff,” Yelpam said. “It’d be useful to be able to mess up communications that effectively with the push of a button.”

  Hasley asked, “What happened when you tried to turn it off down there?”

  “We bombarded it with signals but for some reason that made our signals and the noise itself echo. The effect would make us all crazy in a hurry,” Eroder said. “Fortunately the echoes faded once we stopped sending our signals.”

  After a sideways glance to be sure Feedle was listening Icetop said, “We’re picking up those other strange signals too. The ones that seem to be coming from here on the ship. I can’t stop wondering if that Seer back on Ormelex could be right.”

  “About what?” Yelpam asked, recognizing where this was to go.

  “Could Zipper be the cause? Well, his ghost since by the usual signs he’s dead,” Icetop said.