He had decided to take live breeding stock in addition to DNA and embryos to maintain the animals’ natural tendencies once reintroduced. For transport, he had ordered a biosphere to be terraformed to replicate the planet’s environment. A small section at the upper stern was to be reconfigured and converted to the computer-modeled configuration and interior functional design. Once completed, the sphere would appear as an appendage on the massive craft and provide an environment of approximately nineteen hundred acres identical to the surface of the planet from where the animals were collected. Barjeen knew the sphere was nearing completion, and he was anxious to see it.
As he thought about the return trip, a red holographic orb appeared three feet in front of his face. He extended his palm and an audible monotone computer-generated voice filled the air.
“Biosphere terrascape is complete. All environmental systems functioning. Introduction of fauna specimens enabled and underway.”
Barjeen acknowledged and closed the transmission by clenching and reopening his extended hand. His comorb disappeared with a distinct pop. Barjeen remained seated, basking in the glow of the sunlight that filled the area. The silence was broken a moment later by a ping that announced someone approaching his quarters. He suspected it was Robfebe and wasn’t disappointed when she appeared at the entrance a moment later. She crossed to where Barjeen now stood. Smiling, she raised her right hand in greeting.
Barjeen took her hand and returned the smile. “I was going to contact you. I was just notified that the terraforming is complete and the sphere is receiving the specimens. I’m going there now and thought you might want to join me.”
“Excellent.” Robfebe smiled back while pointing in the direction of the gravaeron. “Most of the specimens have already been delivered, and the rest are scheduled for delivery within the next few hours. We’ll probably see some of them being brought in.”
“Did you have any difficulties with the DNA telomere-replication process or B-virus inoculations?” Barjeen asked.
“No serious difficulties or adverse reactions. The B-virus began replicating immediately and was fully active within a couple of hours. The animals are completely protected from all known bacterial and viral pathogens, as well as parasitic invasions. The altered telomeres of the DNA will replicate without deteriorating. The animals are capable of living thousands of times longer than their normal life-spans, but of course, the process can be terminated if need be and the normal biocycles reset.”
Barjeen nodded his approval. “How long will they remain sedated after they have been placed in the sphere?”
“The animals have been sedated to where they will be immobile for about twelve hours. After that, they will be able to move about, but they will remain lethargic for a couple of days. At that point they will resume normal feeding and roaming patterns.”
Barjeen raised his eyebrows. “Normal feeding!”
A slight chuckle accompanied Robfebe’s response. “No, no, not normal predation. First, they have been genetically altered to reduce their aggression. Their altered nature will make them docile to a point where there will be no predation. They will be fed regularly with synthesized protein. I doubt they will roam far from their food supplies. They may still desire to mate, but like those roaming on the surface of the planet, they have been rendered infertile.”
“What about the herbivores?” Barjeen asked.
“They will feed in natural grazing patterns. There is more than sufficient edible flora to start with, and we’ve increased the duration and intensity of the light radiation to accelerate photosynthesis. The sublevel cistern will recycle all the water utilized each light-to-dark sequence. The habitat and specimens are sustainable indefinitely,” she concluded.
Barjeen motioned toward the gravaeron. “Let’s take a look at the little piece of this world we will be returning home with.”
They could have taken a transit cube through the vast interior of the starcraft, but Barjeen enjoyed piloting the gravaeron in the bright and pure atmosphere. They climbed in, both facing forward. Instantly, the transparent canopy deployed. Barjeen requested that it be replaced with the particle shield so they might enjoy the atmosphere. The canopy rolled back into the fuselage and a slight fragrance of ozone filled the air as the particle shield deployed. Seated comfortably, Barjeen requested manual flight control and inserted his right hand in the glove-like sensory-modulation control that extended forward at the end of his armrest. All maneuverability was initiated and controlled by the pressure and movement of his hand. It was an effortless mechanism with an absolute fail-safe built in. Pushing his hand forward would accelerate the craft. Pitch, yaw, dive, and climb were all initiated by the movement and pressure of the hand in the control glove and mimicked in flight by the craft. The flight supercomputer interpreted the hand movement and adjusted the flight in accordance with the data from the sensors that scanned three hundred and sixty degrees in all directions. Corrections were made in milliseconds.
With Robfebe seated beside him, Barjeen watched as the small bay door disappeared into the bulkhead, then he pushed his hand upward and forward. The craft rose a few feet above its revetment and floated through the opening. He then guided the craft straight ahead for a couple of hundred yards and eased back on the pressure until the craft settled to a silent hover. They both peered out at the magnificent view. In the pristine, unpolluted atmosphere, the visibility extended crystal clear from the closest point of the canopy directly below out to low foothills that climbed to form two parallel mountain ridges cresting the sky. The oxygen-rich air was fragrant with a vegetative scent that wafted up on warm thermals. The entire panorama shimmered in a golden glint from the brilliant sunlight that radiated through the pure atmosphere.
Barjeen pushed his hand up and to the right, and then rolled it forward and down. The gravaeron soared in concert with the movement and rolled out and down in a long, smooth, arabesque curve.
9
A few moments passed before the edge of the biosphere came into view at the far end of the starcraft. Barjeen dropped low, rounded the edge of the protrusion, and maneuvered toward the large opening where the sedated animals were delivered into the biosphere.
“Look, that’s the last of them.” Robfebe pointed ahead.
Barjeen gazed at the formation of gravaerons maneuvering toward the entrance. Below each of the machines, suspended in an invisible particle net, dangled an immobile beast considerably larger than the craft from which it hung. Straightening the angle of the craft, Barjeen glided into the sphere, chuckling at the sight of the comparatively diminutive gravaerons.
The biosphere was a remarkable feat of terrascape engineering. In every direction, it appeared as though they were in the planet’s natural habitat. Huge conifers extended high, spreading an airy canopy above a forest floor sprouting a profusion of giant, leafy ferns. Guiding the gravaeron farther into the biosphere, they swooped over meandering rivulets that ran from low foothills and populated areas with shallow pools that functioned as reservoirs from which the water was collected and recycled back to the hilly areas, where the cycle was repeated.
Gliding just above tree level, Barjeen soared over a small ridge of low-lying hills. On the opposite side, a cargo team stood beside their hovering craft and watched as a huge triceratops struggled to gain its feet. The animal managed to pull itself to its feet and stood on wobbly legs, its massive horned head lolling from side to side.
“I’m surprised it made it to its feet so soon,” Robfebe commented.
“I want to see it from the ground,” replied Barjeen, dropping the gravaeron to a low hover.
Exiting the craft, he acknowledged the unloading crew. He kept a wide berth as he walked along the flank of the huge beast. Robfebe slid from the craft and joined him. The beast followed their movement through half-closed eyes, but it was too sedated to swivel its head. Barjeen marveled at its size—it was easily ten feet high at the shoulder and nearly three times as long from the tip of the
snout to the end of a thick tail covered with spikelike appendages. Its mottled brown-and-green hide was covered with a protective layer of raised rectangular plates that resembled thick scales. The animal could attack with two curved horns and deliver a deadly pounding with its spiked tail. It was a truly formidable beast evolved over millions of years to compete in a hostile environment.
As the animal teetered on wobbly legs, its thick tail arched above its back and a guttural rumbling filled the air. The sound rose in magnitude and intensity and was followed by an explosive salvo of excrement that erupted from the bowels of the beast. The violent expulsion continued for several seconds, and then the inverted tail drooped low and the monstrous beast folded at the knees and collapsed to the ground. A sulfurous pall enveloped the entire area as Barjeen, Robfebe, and the off-loading team retreated to their gravaerons, deployed the canopies, and stared at the exhausted beast.
“Will that animal survive?” Barjeen asked.
“Oh, yes.” Robfebe smiled. “It’s just the reaction of natural digestive bacteria to the purity of the synthetic protein. Their digestive systems will eventually regulate the breakdown, and bowel evacuation will become stable and more controlled.”
Barjeen rolled his eyes and guided the gravaeron up toward the outside environment. The inspection was over.
With the protoprimates thriving, the data stored, the projections complete, and the biosphere project finished and functional, Barjeen ordered preparation for departure. It was time to return to Kalpeon.
One week later as the sunset bled streaks of red and apricot on the distant horizon, Barjeen sat in the observation area of the command quarters with Robfebe seated to his left. As the last of the sun’s orb blinked beneath the horizon, an almost imperceptible vibration shuddered through the starcraft. A moment later it began rising from its hover. With no sense of propulsion, it rose like a huge city floating free from the planet’s gravity. The speed of its ascent increased exponentially, and Barjeen and Robfebe watched a sea of green below diminish to a landmass flanked on all sides by sparkling blue water. Seconds later, the blue sky turned to the black vacuum of space and the moon flashed past. Earth shrunk to a small, blue orb and disappeared into the dark infinity of space as the starcraft accelerated through the solar system heading into the galaxy, traversing space and shrinking time.
Two hundred years later, thousands of protoprimates scampered down from the high, leafy canopy and gathered at the edge of the forest overlooking a broad expanse of riverbed with a wide, gurgling stream running down the middle. The animals sprang down the bank and across the sandy wash. Crouching, they cupped water to their mouths for several moments before retreating to the forest and up again to the high canopy. The reptilian fauna was gone.
And millions upon millions of years passed.
PART TWO
Consciousness is the product of our brains, which are indisputably the product of a long and accretionary evolutionary history. . . . We must thus conclude, I think, that the immediate ancestor of modern humans possessed a brain that had—for whatever reason—evolved to a point where a single change or genetically related group of changes was sufficient to create a structure with an entirely new potential.
—Dr. Ian Tattersall
10
GROTTE CHAUVET-PONT D’ARC
38,000 BC
In the final moments of a brilliant gray-and-orange-mottled sunset, twilight gave way to the converging night. The strange reddish-white light on the horizon grew larger. Awestruck with fear and fascination, the clan watched as the light arced low and silently glided over the forest canopy on a direct path toward the cave outcropping and the clan. Small groups of children and older individuals scurried through the cave entrance, retreating into its deep confines. The men and some women squatted and viewed the phenomenon with fearful glances.
Only Ahru, the shaman, stood upright. Illuminating the entire area as brightly as the midday sun, the object slowed and hovered in the valley below the cave escarpment. In less than a moment, its overall light diminished and was replaced by three pulsating red orbs on the front of the craft. The intensity of the red lights increased and cast an eerie glow. As the clan remained frozen in place, a low hum filled the air and the craft settled on the valley floor.
The strange red lights eventually faded to black. The clan remained motionless for several minutes, then rose and with confused and frightened glances walked toward the cave entrance. Several younger men stacked wood on and around the flickering embers of the perpetual fire kept at the cave entrance to ward off nocturnal predators. This night they built the fire larger than ever before. The old shaman stood alone at the promontory cave entrance staring into the valley as the last of the men retreated within. The moon had climbed to midpoint in the clear night sky when he finally shuffled into the cave and sat cross-legged in his accustomed spot.
Later, as the cave fires crackled, a barely perceptible sweet aroma permeated the air. The shaman and several others became slightly aware of the scent before drifting into unconsciousness.
As the ambient gray light of early dawn filtered through the cave, the clan awoke and began their daily activity. The fires spaced throughout the cave were stoked and rekindled to acceptable daylight levels. In small groups, adults and children moved to the gurgling stream and rock spring at the side of the cave to drink and refresh themselves; others relieved themselves at the tributary that flowed downstream. Inside and at the entrance fire, women warmed water laced with various roots and vegetation in stiff containers fashioned from cured skins. Meat skewered on sticks was cooked and consumed on the spot. Through all the activity, the confused image of the previous evening played in the clan’s collective consciousness.
At the edge of the escarpment overlooking the valley, the old shaman approached Malan, the clan patriarch. In a low, guttural tone, he uttered two names: Ott and Cha. With a piercing stare and the slightest nod, Malan acknowledged the shaman. Two were missing.
In the world of Cro-Magnon, unspoken rules dictated behavioral patterns that could mean the difference between life and a violent death. No one moved about alone, and no one left the cave at night. Nocturnal predators like the ferocious dire wolves were constantly on the move. The huge cave cats had keen night vision and eons of well-honed predatory skills, and the wild hyena packs could kill and devour antelope-sized prey within minutes, leaving nothing but a crimson smear. The monstrous cave bear stood over twelve feet on its hind legs with ten-inch claws that could disembowel a man with a casual swipe.
Ott and Cha had not left the cave of their own will. Yet no beasts had entered the cave and carried anyone away. No, thought Malan, no beast had entered the cave. The fire tenders had yelled no alert, and no one had seen or heard anything. But two were missing. Malan signaled the men to gather.
11
Barjeen pushed up and forward in the flight-control glove, and the gravaeron sailed over a stretch of foothills leading to a pass in the low-lying mountains. He had decided to see the area for himself when Robfebe had announced that it contained the largest concentration of humans evolved from the seed. Although he knew from regular briefings that the retrieval-and-modification process was going smoothly, he always appreciated Robfebe’s insights on a personal level. Surveying the new area with her afforded that opportunity.
Barjeen maneuvered the agile craft through the gap, rolled it down, and skirted the lower areas of the ridgeline above the floor of the valley and the wide river that snaked through it. Seated beside him, Robfebe pointed to a large, dark opening in the lower face of a cliff formation covered in thick shrubs and vine creepers.
“We retrieved two from that cave two nights ago. Their modifications are complete for now, and they will be reinserted tomorrow morning. We could have taken more. There were more than a hundred in that one cave, but it’s better to take only a couple from each group now. We should leave the groups as intact and strong as possible. These ridges have caves along the entire length of this
landmass all the way to the sea beyond the horizon. Survey craft have already made hundreds of group sightings. There are well over a hundred thousand specimens living in the hills and valleys between here and the northern sea. Our retrieval process will progress rapidly from here on.” Robfebe pointed to another cave entrance closer to the valley floor.
“Why so many on this portion of the planet?” Barjeen asked.
“The caves offer shelter, and given the tilt of the axis of the planet and the elliptical orbit around the sun, the entire section is temperate with abundant animal populations.”
“Excellent. Are the modifications going well?”
“Faster than anticipated. The genetic-marker genes identifying the specimens as those of the seed are easily enabled for increased intelligence. All specimens retrieved, modified, and reinserted will have full conscious introspection and rapid cognitive development.”
“And what of life-sustaining measures?” Barjeen asked.
“All specimens are being enhanced with reparative and regenerative biologic and nanorobotic systems. Most wounds will heal quickly, organs will regenerate, and specimens will be immune to all pathogens and parasitic infections, but we will still lose many to injuries too severe to survive. Dismemberment, fire, and predation will claim many,” Robfebe answered.
“And have they evolved sufficiently for effective aging protocol?” Barjeen asked.
“Beyond expectations, the telomeres regulating DNA breakdown are easily modified and regenerate perfectly. When the specimen reaches biologic adulthood, the aging process will cease by almost one hundred percent.”
Barjeen nodded approvingly. “I’ve also been informed that a sizeable number of naturals inhabit areas of the planet. Have you examined any of them?”
The Way of the Seed_Earth Spawn of Kalpeon Page 3