Shackleton's Folly (The Lost Wonder Book 1)

by Yunker, Todd

  The corridor opened up to a grand staircase 20 meters wide, the walls filled with stone inlay that depicted agricultural scenes rising far above them. Alec and Dancer took in the grandeur as they climbed the staircase and finally stopped on a 400-square-meter landing near the heart of the pyramid. A reflector captured the beam of sunlight coming up the grand staircase and directed it to the only room off the landing, a darkened archway cut from a solid piece of obsidian. They traversed the beautifully inlaid floor of moss-green-colored stone to the archway.

  Alec stood in the framed archway, the beam of sunshine revealing the room’s interior. The walls were a translucent milky white. A large, faceted crystal floated free of any visible support in the exact center of the room. The beam of sunshine shining upon it caused an unseen mechanism to start the rotation of the crystal. An ornate set of sculpted double doors to the inner sanctum filled the far wall. Dancer stepped past Alec, entered what they had come to call “The Planetarium,” and went to a darkened corner. He returned with a stand and set it in the path of the beam. Dancer twisted his torso to open a compartment in his back; he pulled three long crystal pieces from it before asking, “Ready?”

  Alec was elated. “Been a long time waiting.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Yes, it had. His father, Jack, had heard about Earth’s destruction while participating in an off-planet cultural-exchange program, known as the Library of Alexandria Project, or LAP. It featured an indexed, searchable digital copy of all the works in all the libraries and museums of the world. He soon acquired a serviceable long-range starship to prove his theories about the lost human tribe by finding them amongst the stars himself. There were 3,879 fertile men, a low-enough count that a council of survivors had formed, requiring him to provide viable sperm for the bank and to stick around until he had fathered a child. To provide a stable population, everyone needed to find a partner and have kids. Jack had found a partner, a research specialist. Even though she was introverted, she was willing to do her part to rebuild the race. Alec was the culmination of their short relationship, was born on July 7, 2269.

  The relationship between Alec’s parents was strictly one of convenience and not true love. Women of childbearing years were highly sought, and she was no exception. In fact, she became quite a popular choice for the task at hand. That being done, Jack asked Alec’s mother to join him in his search, but, by this time, his theories had been so thoroughly discredited that his mother was embarrassed to be associated with him. So she told Jack she would not be joining him in his folly and that he should take his son, too.

  Alec had grown up on that old ship, and, by the time he was in his twenties, he had the equivalent of five PhDs, with the dissertations to prove it. He could conduct a full archaeological dig by himself because he had been doing it since he was fifteen. Alec wanted more, a real life; he wanted to be with his own kind, humans.

  Jack believed when they found the lost tribe, they would be able to support the survivors from their home world. They believed they would find the new home for humans near or through the legendary Falls of Ur, the largest falls in the galaxy. Alec always asked, “Where are the Falls, Dad?” But there were no falls, no new home world, and no life for him.

  His father, Jack, insisted they continue their research together. When they discovered a new home world, Alec could find a girl his own age and maybe have a life with her. Alec had spent his entire life as a voyeur of the human experience. Everything he knew about people and human relations he had learned through the Library of Alexandria material. He had watched boys and girls on television and in film engaging in thousands of different types of relationships, but he felt as if he was just eating dirt. He was now a full-grown man who possessed a great knowledge of the theory, but didn’t have any practical experience to back up his observations. Alec yearned for the opportunity to meet a real woman to talk to and have some fun with, and see how the relationship progressed.

  The months-long journey required to explore the galaxy and find the lost tribe had lost its luster for Alec. It wasn’t what he wanted, and he said so. He wanted to be in the human community at least for a while.

  So Alec started a small import/export business. He didn’t expect the business to grow very large, but it was big enough to support him and his interest in space yachts. He had been on a short, lucrative trip when his client claimed he could no longer pay for the cargo. Alec saw the Quest off the flight line in a fenced-off area for repossessed ships. The ship was a bit rough from neglect. The original owner had ordered both the sport and luxury packages for the ship but failed to make even one payment. No one around the shipyard wanted it because it was not very functional on the blue-collar planet.

  Alec had been receiving reports of his father’s exploits and data from the man himself for many years. He had not heard from Jack for an extended period of time, however, when Dancer showed up with Jack’s glassified remains. His body had been cremated and his ashes mixed with glass and highly compressed into a small cylinder.

  Dancer had hitched a ride with his father, even though they had been warned not to enter the system. His father had never taken a warning seriously and continued to scout a dig site on a small satellite circling a gas giant. They had landed near a religious refugee camp when a group of pirates dropped in. They had disabled the group’s ship and had been conscripting the able-bodied males to work for them in extremely dangerous mining operations on a nearby moon. None of their people ever returned to the camp. Humans were not welcome on most worlds, and this one was no exception; they were all considered troublemakers. Humanity’s crusade for religious freedom and against oppression topped the list of bad traits as far as the most aggressive governments were concerned.

  Jack was not a person to shirk from a fight, even if it meant certain death. He had stood up to the pirate captain, with no more than a meter separating them, and demanded that he and his crew leave the refugees and never return. Jack had done what no other being had ever done before. The pirate captain pulled out his weapon and shot Jack in the chest for making a scene. The projectile fired caused too much damage for him to survive. In the final seconds of his life, he asked Dancer to deliver a message to Alec: He wanted to be interred on humanity’s new home world.

  Dancer said he had never met anyone like his father before. His rage was so great over his friend’s death that he destroyed the pirate vessel and crew. He freed the refugees himself and presented them with Jack’s ship to take them on their journeys. He knew Jack would have wanted it that way. Dancer was honor bound to deliver his father’s remains and personal effects to Alec. That was nearly six years in the past now. After Dancer had carried out his duty, he stayed on to join Alec’s crew. He and Alec agreed to take on his father’s quest to find the lost tribe and prove his claim.

  *

  Dancer placed the clear, beam-splitting crystals into the stand’s holders. One holder was damaged, and, when Dancer tried to straighten it, the welding broke. Dancer fitted the holder back in place, lining it up with the other two crystals. He held one of his special appendages up to the surface and produced a web-like material. Dancer attached the holder in place and then checked to see that it was flush with the other crystals. It was close. He adjusted all three crystals until they each split the beam of sunlight, focusing its color spectrum on multiple points of the crystal rotated halfway between the floor and ceiling. The room’s walls and floor flickered and then disappeared around them.

  “Here comes the travelogue again, but, without it, we would not have figured out the clue to the next section,” Alec said satisfyingly. Alec perceived Dancer’s feelings of obligation to him. They’d had many a discussion about it; it was a contentious point between them.

  They were standing in what looked like open space, with stars and nebulae around them. In the center of the room burned a star where the crystal had been. A hyperspace conduit of light and color opened to their right as the scene shifted and blurred as hyperspace warped space
-time. Then the planetarium revealed a different star and solar system. The display traced a course through the system, focusing on one planet. The view changed, and Alec and Dancer now appeared to be on an alien hilltop looking up at the night sky, and the sounds of that alien world’s nocturnal inhabitants were everywhere. Then, just as suddenly, it changed back to the hyperspace conduit. Alec monitored the changing star fields, datapad in hand. Dancer stood near the center of the room, browsing the star systems as they passed and taking in the scene. Dancer was fascinated. “It’s like being there, for only a moment, but you sense that this is what that world was like.”

  “We’re getting close!” Alec said excitedly, while staring at his datapad.

  Dancer made way for a passing mass of ice and stone in the Oort cloud at the farthest reaches of the upcoming system. “Sorry. We’re almost here.” The star system appeared ahead — a main sequence star and a planetary system with a blue planet third from the star. Their programmed trip descended to a grassy hilltop on the planet. Alec looked at the rolling hills of green grass and then up at the night sky, watching the projection closely. A light breeze rustled the trees in a nearby grove.

  “Here.” He pointed out in wonder at the stars. “There’s the Big Dipper and Orion. The night sky of old Earth before the blackness.” He hesitated; a feeling of loss overtook him for a moment. “I never saw it myself, but my dad told me all about it — its smells, its taste, how it felt to lie in a field of grass with a woman to love and look up at the Milky Way.” Alec relaxed as the emotions subsided. He flopped down on the holographic grass, stretching out to look at the stars above. Suddenly, the field fell away from them, and Alec was left lying horizontally in empty space. They left Earth’s proximity and entered hyperspace again.

  Dancer took his position near the crystal. Alec sat up and checked his datapad.

  “I honor him and will remain until the task given you is complete,” Dancer said reassuringly as he pulled parts of a musical instrument from his back compartment and utility belt. Dancer knew his relationship with Alec was complicated. Alec treated him as if he were a biologic, when many scoffed at such ideas. Alec was much like his father. Dancer felt as if the obligation he owed the father had passed to the son at his death. He started to put the instrument together.

  Alec stood and gazed at Dancer. He was uncertain where this was going. “It was survivor’s guilt that started all of this. Thirty-six years, and nothing to show for it. My dad’s deed was a cultural-exchange mission to the Shoans of Pavoneer in the Vulbub system.”

  Dancer agreed. “He told me that he felt guilty that he had survived. So he dedicated his life to finding the lost human tribe that he believed to have traveled to the stars.”

  Alec was inspired. “We are at the threshold of discovery, Dancer. Think of it: If it is here, we will have the second piece of the inscription my father searched for and the location of the lost tribe.”

  “It has been a task worthy of the heroes of your classical period,” replied Dancer eagerly.

  “You think of us as heroes?” Alec asked, with unease in his voice.

  “I have witnessed honor, courage, hope, and justice since joining this mission.”

  “Maybe you have, but that was my father — not me,” he said with certainty.

  “You are your father’s son,” replied Dancer, secure in his knowledge.

  Alec stepped through the focused sunbeam, over to the still slowly rotating crystal. He tapped a sequence of commands on his datapad and then held its display toward the crystal. A pattern of light flashed from the datapad, pulsed ever faster, and caused a reaction in the facets. The star fields changed into small, visible patterns of glyphs rotating around the room. Alec lowered the pad and walked over to the sculptured doors, running his hands over the perfect seams.

  “It’s taken us three standard years to get this far in breaking through the three-lock system,” stated Dancer. “First the clues in the travelogue to use the constellations of the stars above each of the planets visited in a projection for the crystal.” He watched his friend closely. “Then we figured out the starry night-sky patterns and how they changed in the 110,110-year time period.”

  Alec nodded in agreement. “It was the amount of time covered in the changing constellations of planets included in the projection.”

  “Then we worked it out that it needed to be compressed into a five-second projection you just showed the crystal,” Dancer said with satisfaction.

  Alec pointed out, “You were the one who guessed the glyphs were musical notes, and my contribution was how they used the periodic table in the notation for scale and amplitude.”

  “Which I must play back exactly, or it’s a total bust. I’m going to warm up here,” Dancer said with some trepidation. He was now holding a wind instrument that he had constructed from the parts. He blew a wail and cry from the brass alto saxophone. Dancer played his version of the soulful jazz classic “Take Five” as a warm-up. “Paul Desmond was a genius.”

  *

  Dancer did believe that they were on a hero’s journey. The Library of Alexandria Project was left to Alec by his father’s estate. He had conveyed it, with Jack’s belongings, to Alec. Alec was responsible for its administration and protection. A home world — not on the horizon for humanity — was the extremely precious cargo that the Quest carried with her. Alec had explored this wonder of his race all his life and took it for an ordinary information source. He researched it; he used it for entertainment; it was his private Earth. He knew he needed to copy it for its protection, but the human community did not have the resources to do so.

  *

  Alec had thought about leaving it behind with the authorities. When they pressed him for it, he asked what difference it would make whether he had it or they did. They could only say they were better equipped to protect it. Alec had asked, “What does that really mean, anyway?” They were just a bigger target for any human hunt. If that happened, the cultural history of the entire race would be lost. He just reminded them that his family had been the caretakers of this treasure for the last 40 years and had done alright so far.

  “If we’re right,” Alec said optimistically, “the periodic table-based glyphs are musical notes. Time to try it out. Anytime you’re ready.”

  Dancer’s 24 digits moved, magically producing the chords while he watched the glyphs change faster. The crystal resonated with the sound waves coming from the sax, and the glyphs on the walls responded by becoming more complex. The changing complexity of the music provided real-time feedback for the correct playback of the notes.

  “I think we did it this time. It’s evolving!” Alec looked over at the doors with fascination. “Beautiful.”

  The music coming from Dancer changed moods — from one of light to one of dark. The glyphs quickly slowed to a stop. Alec’s brow furrowed with irritation as he swung round to Dancer.

  “I know what happened. Alec, like I told you before, when I make even the smallest mistake, the sound waves cause changes in the crystals’ responses.” He shrugged both sets of shoulders. “A single error will cause a cascading crash of the musical work. Sorry,” Dancer said apologetically.

  The wail of the sax started the glyphs moving again. Rich tones filled the room. The notes rotated around the walls faster and faster, with Dancer’s 24 digits moving ever faster to keep up with the visual feedback.

  Alec noticed the appearance of a small crack between the doors. Dancer’s performance became more intense and caused the doors to open wider and wider. The music was almost a living entity in the room. The doors were now completely open, and the glyphs suddenly vanished. Dancer played to a grand finish.

  Alec smiled jubilantly at Dancer, “Congratulations — you did it.” He put out his hand, and Dancer grabbed it as they shook hands. Dancer disassembled his sax and put it away as they went to the newly opened doors. They entered the tight, low-ceilinged corridor, the walls and floors emitting the soft, warm glow of a mid-sequence s
tar.

  A bipedal creature materialized into existence in front of them. It looked from Dancer to Alec and stated neutrally, “I am the museum’s Curator. How may I assist you?”

  Alec smiled and nodded to the walls. “A bio-scanning lie detector with a holo-projection and interface,” he said to Dancer. Alec spoke with confidence: “We only want an inscription piece that is not of your world. We intend to return it to the world where it belongs.” He paused. Then, to reassure the security system, he said “It is said you may have it. If you do not, we will leave and lock up as we do so.”

  The Curator shifted as the artificial intelligence within the building scanned them. It continued, with a more cheerful disposition than before. “I understand. You are not a thief.”

  Alec declared freely, “Actually a researcher and entrepreneur.”

  The soft, warm glow of the corridor intensified to an intense shine and then dissipated to return to the soft glow. The Curator said with resolve, “You are not here to plunder the museum. You may pass and enjoy our exhibits. Please follow the indicators.” The projection of the Curator passed into the wall. A brightly lit sphere appeared in the corridor and flew ahead; it slowed, waiting for Alec and Dancer to follow, which they did.