'How about landing on a disused planet?' said Shan.
'It would take a long time to find one.'
They sat a while. They had another meal.
Then Heptosh said, 'Eetoo, do you still have the coordinates to the Zuyun galaxy?'
'Yes,' said Eetoo. He opened his computer and found them.
Heptosh entered them and flickered the relocator. The galaxy appeared before them.
'Where was that planet you found? Friend Neuryzh says they spoke Nephteshi. I wonder how hospitable they will be to us?'
'But Neuryzh wouldn't land there! Is it safe?'
'Neuryzh was piloting a non-human ship. They would have seen him as a threat. If we approach the space port using the proper protocol, they ought to allow us to land and take off again.'
Eetoo gave him the coordinates. They flickered, and were immediately inside the galaxy, not far from a star. They located a great blue and brown planet and navigated towards it.
Heptosh turned on the port beacon locator, and found the main planetary port. He then navigated to a position directly above it and flashed the standard request for landing permission -- one he knew had been in use for hundreds of years on human planets.
He got one in return: 'Please identify yourselves.'
He signalled back: 'We are Nephteshi speaking humans from the Milky Way Galaxy.' That was the ancient human name for their home galaxy.
They returned: 'Please stand by. Your request is being processed.'
They waited.
Three ships came up from the surface and hovered about them. Heptosh kept their ship still.
Permission came, specifying that they follow the escort. They slowly descended, the other three keeping pace with them.
Bulbous looking buildings and garden platforms atop stems, as Eetoo had described them, began coming into view. The ground wasn't visible, only a brownish grey mist.
The landing beacon was coming from one of the platforms, on which stood a few other ships. They landed there.
They got out. Standing about them were half a dozen men in exotic looking costumes. The front three, dressed in some sort of uniform, were armed with distance weapons. The unarmed men looked more dignified.
'We are unarmed,' said Heptosh. He held his hands out.
'Welcome to planet Thevsos,' said the most dignified looking man, in a barely intelligible accent.
'Thank you,' said Heptosh.
'Please follow us this way,' said the man.
They followed the three dignified looking men to an indentation in the middle of the round platform. The three armed men came behind.
'Everything you see about you is but a reflection of the glory of our great emperor, Pharaoh Thakniathep the Fifth.'
In the middle of the platform, they stepped down onto a circular floor panel with a post sticking up the middle. One of the men pressed a button on the post, and the whole floor began to descend.
Another level came into view, and the round panel on which they stood continued to floor level. It was a large round room with doors leading off into other rooms. Here and there, were tables and seats.
The escort led them through one of the doors, into a room with crystal panels lining the far wall -- windows to the world outside. There were padded seats arranged in a circle with a table in the middle.
'Please sit down,' said the leader of the group.
They all sat down. The leader introduced himself as Vengus.
'The style and state of development of your ship confirms the origin you claim. However, please tell us, being from the other galaxy, how did you find the location of Thevsos?'
Heptosh thought it better to be evasively honest. 'A non-human being who is friendly to humans knew of your location. He gave us the coordinates.'
'The only ship from outside our galaxy we've seen for the last four hundred years was a non-human ship that appeared above our atmosphere close to three months ago. Would you know anything about that?'
'The only thing I can say,' said Heptosh, 'Is that your presence in this galaxy is also known by a group that is decidedly unfriendly towards humanity, and we have reason to believe, may soon arrive here in large numbers for malevolent purposes.'
'Who would they be?'
'The Groki Alliance.'
'Ah, the legendary Groki,' said Vengus.
One of the other dignified gentlemen motioned towards Shan. 'This man's skin looks quite abnormal. Is he, indeed, a human?'
'He is a bionic,' said Heptosh. 'We should also warn you about bionic implants, as they have also been used against humanity in our galaxy. Our friend, Shan, however, has been rendered 100% safe, due to the fact that we have gained access to the code key that alters some of the more dangerous properties. Perhaps, it would be best to allow Shan to speak for himself.'
Shan explained bionic technology to them and they listened intently. One of them took notes on a computer pad.
As Shan spoke, Heptosh explained quietly to Eetoo and Tsaphar what had gone on, as they weren't used to the accent.
When Shan had finished, Heptosh said, 'Another reason for our visit is, we need to find the location of the planet Nephtesh, in our galaxy. As you probably know, the Nephteshi empire no longer exists and certain information has been lost. We need to investigate some things on the home planet. Could you help us?'
Vengus answered, 'I will see what I can do. I would like to forward our gratefulness for the valuable information you have brought us. In the meantime, please make yourselves comfortable. The toilet facilities are through that door.' He pointed to one of the side rooms. 'Some food will be brought to you soon. Please enjoy the hospitality of our great emperor, Pharaoh Thakniathep the Fifth'
At that, the three gentlemen left the room.
A few minutes later, some attendants brought in trays of exotic food. The three humans refreshed themselves and dined.
29
the young adventurer and his espoused behold with wonder
their eyes absorb scenes that exceed the mind
This is quite a place. It makes me feel better about humanity.
I'm sure that humans living in a place like this must be a good thing for everyone. There are no other species living in this galaxy, so I'm sure they're not hurting anyone.
Tsaphar thinks so too. Seeing all this has made her forget the mess we're in.
If I blur my eyes, this looks like a flower garden. The posts that hold up these buildings are green, and the buildings, themselves, look like flowers and seed pods. The sky is blue, with clouds, and the brown mist down below looks like soil.
'It's impossible to see the ground from here,' Tsaphar says.
'I saw it with Neuryzh, but we went too fast, I can't see anything,' I say. 'Neuryzh say it's not beautiful.'
'I wonder what it is?'
'Maybe dirt and rocks or something.'
There are several lines of carriers, like trails of ants. These carriers fly pretty high above the ground, not like the ones at home. Now and then, one of them leaves the line and goes to one of the buildings.
* * *
Heptosh looked up just as the door opened again. It was, Vengus, followed by an attendant carrying folded up garments. Vengus said, 'You four have been invited to be the guests of His Majesty, Pharaoh Thakniathep the Fifth. This is indeed a great honour. Please change into these clothes, as it will be a formal occasion.'
Heptosh repeated the invitation and instruction for Eetoo and Tsaphar.
The attendant distributed the garments to each one. They changed.
'Please come this way,' Vengus instructed.
The four followed him out the door.
'We'll go to the palace via this tele-gate.'
He led them across the central room to what looked like a full length mirror set in an unusually thick frame.
'Follow me, please,' said Vengus, and he stepped in. The mirror surface vibrated as he stepped through, sending out ripples as though it were water.'
Eetoo excla
imed, 'Hah?'
Vengus had disappeared. He wasn't even on the other side of the frame.
'It's okay,' said Heptosh. 'It uses relocation technology. You go ahead. We'll follow.'
Eetoo touched the surface with his finger first. Then, he stepped carefully through. Tsaphar followed, and then Heptosh, and finally Shan.
They found themselves in a room completely different from the one they left -- not like the interior of a flower at all. It was a wide corridor floored and panelled with marble slabs and lined with pillars with gold trim of an ancient style. On one wall, were window frames, but the exterior was black and spotted with stars. There was no ground outside, only stars.
This was not the planet they landed on -- not a planet at all, as far as Heptosh could tell.
'Step this way, please,' said Vengus.
They followed him down the corridor. It felt as though they were walking down hill. Then, they came to a seam in the floor structure. The floor ahead of them slanted upward. They stepped across and now it felt like walking uphill. The section of floor was straight, but the further they went, the less steep their path seemed, until after the middle of the floor section, where it turned again into a downhill slant.
Further ahead, there was yet another section of floor, again slanting upward, after that, another, until they disappeared beyond the ceiling, as though they were inside a giant wheel.
They came to a door.
'This way, please,' said Vengus.
Here was another corridor. This one led off perpendicularly, but not far from the end where they entered, was circular panel in the floor with a railing around it. Vengus led them through an opening, and pressed a button on the rail. They began going up through a round hole in the ceiling.
Now, they were in a large room ornately decorated with murals and sculptures. Hieroglyphics carved into parts of the wall near the doors proclaimed the greatness of the present dynasty. Dozens of dignified looking gentlemen and ladies stood or sat about the room.
'We will wait here until we are called,' said Vengus. 'Meanwhile, make your acquaintance with some of the gentlemen.'
He immediately introduced them to a man dressed from the neck to the waist in nothing but gems linked by their gold settings, and from the waist down in a thick silk sarong.
'Please greet Lord Attanothep, ruler of the fourth sector.'
'Very pleased, indeed, to make your acquaintance,' said Heptosh.
'All to the glory of our gracious emperor, Pharaoh Thakniathep the Fifth,' responded the lord. 'I understand you have travelled from a far galaxy to bask in his presence.'
'Er -- well…'
'It is a great honour, indeed, which His Majesty has bestowed on you, in granting you an audience so quickly! Please, come and meet some of the others.'
The lord introduced them to various ones, who all seemed to be equally enamoured by their king.
To one gentleman, Heptosh commented, 'I have never seen such fond respect for a leader.'
'The Teknesh Dynasty has made this galaxy the envy of the gods. All of His Majesty's subjects owe Him a debt of gratitude that could not be paid in seven lifetimes.'
One man seemed to be different from the rest. Vengus introduced him as Thonoktep the historian.
'Greetings to you,' was his brief reply.
'Please give our guests the history of this palace, in its brief form,' said Vengus.
'Yes Sir. This palace is a rotating cylinder, built in the third year of the reign of Pharaoh Nukesh the second. It has its own orbit in the galaxy, just as the stars do, and receives its energy from the galaxy's centre. This is said to be because the Pharaohs of the Teknesh Dynasty are to be compared only to the stars themselves. The structure of the cylinder consists of …'
On and on he went, until Heptosh was quite lost.
Finally, Vengus said, 'Mr. Thonoktep, you may stop now. Our names are being called.'
Thonoktep ended his talk in mid-sentence as Vengus led them towards a large carved wooden door at the far end.
Shan said quietly to Heptosh, 'The man, Thonoktep, appears to have had a major bio-media upload.'
'You can tell?'
'He's so full of facts that he's nothing but a walking encyclopaedia. There's not room enough in his memory to so much as process the knowledge he has, so he's only capable of spewing out factual information -- perhaps a few calculations.'
They reached the big door. 'The throne hall,' Vengus said.
It was huge, and not like a room at all, but the inside of some sort of machine. It was cylindrical shaped, and the floors were straight sections set into the side of the cylinder. They were carpeted with a multicolour design. The far wall was an eighteen-sided polygon consisting of a crystal window into the universe. As it faced the galaxy's centre, it lit the entire room. A blinding patch of light shone in the middle of the outside sky, gradually dimming at the edges into the familiar milky trail that had inspired the ancient name for their own galaxy. The image of the star studded trail visibly rotated within the giant window frame, sections of which were separated by columns, one per section of floor, giving the impression of spokes in a giant wheel. Going from the middle of the window, where the columns joined it, was something like a giant stone axle running the length of the cylinder.
The court herald announced their arrival.
Seated facing each other in straight rows in the section of the floor before them, were the nobles, advisers and people in waiting. Straight ahead, standing before an elevated golden chair, with his back to the great window was an old man dressed in clothes of the same style they had been seeing.
'Welcome to the Teknesh kingdom. You are the first visitors we've had here in the four hundred years since the fall of our allies in the home galaxy.'
After they all bowed politely, the king asked of each of them their names and other details about themselves. Heptosh spoke for Eetoo and Tsaphar, and repeated some of his questions for them.
After that, the King invited them to follow him across the floor and over some more floor panels until they had reached one that was almost at a right angle to the one on which the throne sat. Some dignitaries accompanied them, including Vengus and the historian. Here, there were couches, cushions and tables set up for a feast.
They followed the King's example, sat down and ate.
As they dined, the King and various of his advisers told them of the history of their empire within this galaxy. The historian did his share in some of the more detailed explanations. He would stop abruptly, sometimes in mid sentence, when either the king or one of the aids said, 'That's enough, Mr. Historian.'
Apart from the story of one or two rebellions that had to be put down, it mostly told of the development of various technologies, advances in science, and automated processes that improved the quality of life for all. In effect, they had created a paradise -- all to the glory of the Teknesh Dynasty, of course.
Heptosh, again, translated everything into Milky-Way Nephteshi for Eetoo and Tsaphar.
The meal was finished and the group was escorted back to the tele-gate.
Some of the others, including the historian, accompanied them.
Heptosh nudged Shan. 'Ask the encyclopaedia man if he knows the coordinates for the planet Neptesh.'
Shan was walking next to the historian. His reply was immediate.
'The location of Neptesh in the year of its fall:…' (a long list of numbers) '… and moving in the direction of…' (another list) '…at the rate of speed that stars travel, given the movement of the galaxy in the direction of …' (more numbers) '… the central star of the system should be located at precisely…' (another list).
'Did you catch all that?' asked Heptosh.
'Yes, all recorded.' Shan tapped his head.
They were now in the corridor along the edge of the cylinder.
'Where is this palace located?' Heptosh asked Vengus.
'That is a state secret. No one knows, save a select group of the king's advisers.'
'How many planets are there in the empire?'
'About fifty-two planets in the Teknesh galaxy. Every fifty years or so, we build a new one.'
They went through the tele-gate and arrived at a different place than before. It was an eight sided room. Four facing sides each consisted of a tele-gate, and between these, crystal covered windows made up the other four sides, showing a vast landscape all about. It was a mountainous, well forested area, but there were no doors leading outside. The room itself had some comfortable chairs.
Vengus led them to the tele-gate on the side facing them. Now, they appeared to be entering into the front door of a residence.
He told them, 'These will be your quarters while you are here. Please make yourselves comfortable. The robot attendant will show you where everything is. If you need anything, please press this button, and you will receive what you need.'
Vengus took a small box and pressed a button on its face. Immediately, a contraption glided into the room and a voice spoke in a Teknesh accent: 'What may I do for you?'
'This is technology that has been developed for the people of the Teknesh kingdom, thanks to the graciousness of our Great Pharaohs.'
Heptosh said to Vengus, 'Thank you very much for your kindness. I think we should be on our way first thing tomorrow.'
'So soon?'
'Yes. We were given the information we needed by your competent historian. I think we can proceed with that.'
Vengus looked perplexed. 'I'll inform the appropriate authority,' he said, finally.
He stepped through the mirror surface.
Shan spoke softly to Heptosh, 'I, too, can read relocator signals. This planet we've been brought to is quite some distance from the one where our ship landed.'
The automated attendant showed them about the building. It had various rooms for eating, sleeping, lounging and doing toilet. Large windows opened into green hills, tree covered mountains and a winding river -- obviously not the planet Thevsos.
They found their clothes and other belongings that they had left in the waiting room on Thevsos.
Heptosh wondered if they had intentionally chosen a spot to bring them where the sun was just setting. It had been a long tiring day.
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