Outward Borne

by R. J. Weinkam

  MaxNi9 sat at the side of the mat and relayed the events of the past fifteen hours. The entire ship was threatened, he explained, and immediate measures must be taken no matter how distasteful. The Farside arm must be isolated. YuLon Lim, the others, and all the species in the Farside arm would be sacrificed once that was completed. The escape of the work crew was a serious breech, however. They may have been exposed to Replicide, and now the People’s habitat may be infected. They must be isolated and possibly terminated.

  Jon GeoMon stood in the middle of this speech. He violated the rule of politeness that governed the ObLaDa council meetings. No, he and Di JonSi both objected to taking any such precipitous action. The Farside Das may be safe. The work crew may not have been exposed, they may not be ill. These two were vigorously opposed.

  It was hard for MaxNi9 to accept that he lacked support. They must not fully understand the nature of Replicide, its implications, and its threat. Surely the humans had to be contained and the three survivors sent for termination, that at least. He stood, and argued that to do any less would risk the ship and our mission. “I must act as I believe I must,” he claimed, but Jon GeoMon and JonSi stood and left the room without further comment. LoNat went to the far corner, sitting upright with her arms folded in front of her, an obvious sign of her concern. She made no move the help MaxNi9. He was alone and isolated, but still determined. He left the meeting and sent the message that he felt necessary. It gave the People an hour to surrender the fugitives, and then everyone was to submit to testing. He threatened to cut off all services within the habitat, and all contact with the ship, if they did not comply.

  MaxNi9 turned and walked slowly back to his room, head down. Had he acted rashly? He decided to talk to LoNat, but before he could leave his All-1 beeped. The People had responded already.

  “MuiMi, Tomat and Eric will not be surrendered,” the People told the ObLaDas. They tried to make it clear that they did not believe that the crew had been exposed to any contagion; they were in full space suits, after all. Was there any evidence that this Replicide was ever released from the LabislassLee habitat, or present in the service areas? “Prove that they had been infected,” they demanded. It was a decisive response, but troubling. How much of a hit would the People take for defying their masters? MaxNi9’s ultimatum was clear. They had an hour before the entire habitat would be shut down and sealed off. Without power, water, food, and air, the People could not survive for more than a few days. They had no hope of escape or fighting off the ObLaDas. Nevertheless, they made an immediate response indicating, they hoped, how firm was their resolve. Nervously, they waited. Their last hour came and went, surprisingly without any further contact from the ObLaDas. A meager hope began to sprout. Was MaxNi9 bluffing? No one had any idea of the conflict that raged within the ObLaDa council.

  MaxNi9 had his own reservations about isolating this species that had played such an important role on the Ship for so many generations, but he was caught in the flow of obligations. Maybe he should explain the disease in more detail? No, they understood. There had been no sign of illness, was there? MaxNi9 did not know. It was unlikely that it would show up so soon, tomorrow maybe.

  The door opened and AlAnni, Buth, LoNat, Jon GeoMon, everyone pushed into the narrow room. No symptoms, no threats, no reprisals, they argued. CamBi and the others may be well. We should wait and see. We must respect the humans and all of the alien species on the Outward. That is our mission now. MaxNi9 was still concerned, but he gave in. There was a risk, a grave risk, but the ObLaDas were all willing to take it, so would he. With a surprising feeling of relief, he offered to break the impasse. If this were the end, it would be done with dignity. He would contact the People again; perhaps examining the escapees should happen first. If they were free of Replicide, we could continue from there. Now have someone go and get those dogs.

  Tomat and MuiMi were fast asleep. Eric had just gotten up, sitting on the edge of his bunk, only now considering the implications of being cooped up in a small box for days. The stress of their escape from the Farside arm had exhausted them all, but now it hit him, with a cold flush that ran down the back of his neck. The ObLaDas had intended to lock him up in the Farside arm and probably kill him. None of the crew was able to make sense of what had happened yesterday. It did not hold together. They had not found anything, had they? There was no crisis that required the arm to be sealed off as far as he could fathom. Still deeply stunned by escaping death and the mystery of why, Eric jumped at the sudden sound of his All-1.

  Radnar patched a connection through to the transmitter in the restbox. “Eric, is that you? We have made an arrangement with the ObLaDas and they will let you return home, but you will need to be tested. We are sure you are all clean, but it is needed anyway,” he went on in a rush. “A medic-bot is on the way to take samples.” Radnar had run from the Council Chamber to the communication room and called the crew with the news. It never occurred to him that they had no idea what he was talking about.

  “Tested for what? What do you mean clean? Why do we need an arrangement anyway?” Eric was stressed. He gave MuiMi and Tot a poke with his toe. “Let me turn this up and you explain what is going on.” So MuiMi, Eric, and Tomat had something else to worry about as they waited for the test results. They had convinced themselves that they could not have been contaminated by anything while in the Farside, plus they did not enter any habitat, and there were no leaks. Still, it was a nervous three hours until the results came in. Clean.

  Word spread quickly through the habitat and a crowd ran to the portal to greet the crew. Verna opened the café for drinks, the better to tell how MuiMi and Eric had teased Tomat right here in her dinner before they left on their famous journey.

  Chapter 20 Fateful Course

  The ObLaDa interstellar communications and the discoveries of the Outward Voyager had established that the galaxy held many intelligent life forms, almost to the predicted number. Some of these beings were able to establish speech and even written forms of communication, formed organized societies, and accumulated a detailed knowledge of their surroundings, as well they might. Every sign indicated that a fair number of these communities had made progress in controlling their surroundings. They utilized power sources, processed metals, organized manufacturing, and achieved some progress in the sciences and advanced technology, but it was depressingly clear, that after attaining that level, few of those societies survived for long. Advanced civilizations seem to burst from the stars, and then wink out, rarely surviving more than a few thousand years. It was as if technological development held the seeds of its own destruction.

  The ObLaDas were one of the few civilizations that had succeeded in sustaining an advanced culture, and they had done so for almost one million years. Perhaps on ObLa, their physical aversion to conflict allowed them to successfully manage the self-limiting hazards that accrued from technological advancement. However it may be for the ObLaDas on ObLa, the ObLaDas on the Outward Voyager were profoundly shocked by the Kalekto emergency. The crisis had exposed their vulnerability and the precarious nature of their own survival. They realized that they were subject to the same dangerous, destructive consequences that came with the supposed mastery of power. The unexpected and unlikely Kalekto disease had come within moments of annihilating every being within the Outward Voyager. They were, it seemed, no different from the numerous alien species that they had studied over so long a time. Their own community’s existence would have ended three thousand seven hundred years into their voyage. About average!

  The political differences that had divided the ObLaDa crew did not survive the Kalekto mission and its disastrous outcome. After that debacle had run its course, the ObLaDas transformed their awareness of their own mortality into a commitment, a determination to protect and nurture those few developed civilizations that they had, thus far, discovered and to preserve other intelligent beings wherever they existed.

  The Outward Voyager left the vicinity of Kalekto on a
course to investigate the next promising solar system, just as they had always done. They maintained that course through the years that were spent repairing the ship and rebuilding their population, but it would change along with their intentions.

  At first, the ObLaDas considered returning to the planet Genimunda to determine if any in its tenuous population still survived. Genimunda was a sorry story. Relatively early in the voyage, the ObLaDas surveyed that planet and found remnants of an ancient civilization. One that had fallen low a thousand or more years before. Very few survivors of this species continued to exist on the planet, and those few had lost their culture and all of their technology. The remnants of their civilization were smudges of dust that did not belong to the local geology, and traces of earth moving that left an absence of hills where hills should have been. A lander was sent to the surface to perform detailed explorations of the remains. Drones and land-based rovers examined the surface features.

  An intensive search was required to find a group of twelve individuals that were living in tents and caves at the confluence of two rivers, very near an ocean. They were a poor sort, being both small and thin, surviving primarily on a small soft, shapeless things that lived in the river mud and smelly green creatures that climbed out of the water during the night. While communications were difficult, it did not appear that this group was aware of any others of their kind. Certainly, none were found. These were clearly descendants of the lost civilization. Their small caves contained carved stone statues, molded glass, and some metal implements of considerable age. While poor in all meaningful respects, the creatures wore jewels and cut diamonds as well as beaten gold and copper ornaments. It turned out that these durable remnants were found around the old cities, gradually brought to the surface by wind and erosion. The creatures might have been smaller by half than their ancestors if the found artifacts matched the stature of the former inhabitants. The survivors did not retain any of their ancestor’s skills or knowledge.

  There may have been other pockets of survivors, but the drones were unable to find them. The ObLaDas did not choose to bring the few survivors on board the Outward Voyager, however, there were too few. All of that took place almost three thousand years ago. If any of these beings still survived, the Outward might be able to help them build a better more satisfactory existence.

  In the almost four thousand year history of the Outward Voyager, the ObLaDas had captured and brought aboard twelve alien species, not counting dogs, which some might choose to debate. Sustaining an unknown alien life form is a difficult and challenging endeavor, but the fact is that only four remained. The ObLaDas were none too proud of their stewardship. They should have done better. They now considered returning these aliens to their home planets. The knowledge and experience they carried from their life among the ObLaDas might enable them to make positive contributions to their worlds.

  What were the options? The mission to Genimunda might be delayed. Were any of these home planets nearby? Earth, some one hundred and seventy years distant, was the nearest developed planet. That would be somehow appropriate, the ObLaDas thought, for the People had been the most helpful of the aliens, and now something might be done for them. So the decision was made. The Outward Voyager’s course was changed. It would return to Earth.

  The People were told of the many changes that the ObLaDas had adopted. They described their full commitment to foster life forms within the galaxy and the many new activities that might be pursued. What that may mean was discussed at great length and anticipation. The People became enthusiastic supporters of the ObLaDa plans and were resolved to help in whatever way they could. They reminded the Das that, almost from the beginning, they had helped deal with other alien species. The ancient story of Gwynyth and the Nivinwa was told once again. Surely they could help other aliens, teach them skills, key principles, and probably do a better job of it than the ObLaDas given their checkered record. The People were enthusiastic about their new roles, eager to help, and help they did. The key fact, however, the pending return of the Outward Voyager to Earth, was not mentioned and would not be revealed for many years.

  The Outward Voyager was fifty-five years along its trajectory when it detected the first weak radio signals emanating from Earth. This was a new and exciting development. Radio had always been considered the critical threshold - the transition to a technology-based society. This was both momentous and worrisome. Alarming scientific and mechanical developments had occurred on that planet during the fourteen hundred years since the People had been captured. Technologic advances must have been made at a very fast pace, too fast, the Das thought. It was a high risk factor, in their opinion, and their opinion was well founded. The ObLaDas quickly assembled a communication intercept that sped toward Earth to capture and relay decipherable broadcasts to the Outward. The Ship was still twenty-three light years from Earth, so the radio signals they received lagged well behind current events. Nevertheless, the accumulated information began to provide insight into the civilization that had developed on the planet.

  It quickly became apparent that the ancient Saxon language the captives had spoken was no longer used, though it had a rough similarity to the present English, less so with German. The ObLaDas, or more accurately their computers, had extensive expertise in interpreting alien languages and, with the Saxon vocabulary in memory, they were soon able to make some sense of English language broadcasts. It seemed to be a prevalent language, and some speakers even referred to themselves as Anglo-Saxons. So English it was to be.

  The ObLaDas had a more difficult time comprehending music. A large part of the material they intercepted was music. They did not understand it. It had such a wild variety and had no communication value at all. The ObLaDas had no tradition of music or anything like it. Nevertheless, they collected these works. Perhaps it would mean something to the humans when the time came to tell them about it. The People did something similar after all, with their instruments and singing, but not so complicated.

  A mere thirty years later, the quality of Earth’s electromagnetic transmissions jumped to a new level of sophistication, when the first television signals began. Now, with the combination of voice and images, the ObLaDas were able to correct and improve their understanding of the Earth’s languages, but they were often confused by their culture. The people and situations being depicted varied tremendously; they were inconsistent, even contradictory. It took some years for the ObLaDas to distinguish fact from fiction, old movies from live broadcasts, comedy from commentary, and everything in between.

  As information about life on Earth accumulated, the ObLaDas became increasingly concerned about the state of the planet’s society. The graphic depiction of warfare and the apparent relish some took in those events, the unmistakable indications of nuclear weapons, their use and irresponsible proliferation, the stubborn refusal of nations to relinquish power to a world-wide governing body no matter how obviously essential this was. The ObLaDas foresaw the consequences - the rapid advance of technology and power production within an old established culture that was too slow to adapt to change – an emerging society that was unable to control its own destiny – political factions too wedded to past practices and current power to manage the future. They had seen it all too often.

  ReLak LoBa had been one of the great minds of ObLaDa history. He committed most of his long life to the study of alien progress. Beings, through most of their evolution, no matter where it occurred, relied solely on their own muscle power for survival, but as civilization developed, they learned how to use other sources of power for transportation or work. Once a society developed the ability to mold materials and construct machines, they were able to expand the power at their disposal many fold. The utilization of power provides such an advantage that it feeds on itself, quickly leading to even larger machines and further increasing the amount that could be harnessed. It proliferates throughout the population until the total power available on the planet is either exhausted or becomes destru
ctive.

  ReLak LoBa was able to show persuasive macro level correlations between power usage and the longevity of advanced civilizations. With few exceptions, massive power consumed the society that unleashed it. The survival of power-obsessed civilizations was measured in millennia, a very few millennia. It did not necessarily mean that the inhabitants of those planets would be obliterated, although that did happen. Often they were driven back to subsistence level survival, like Genimunda. Earth, it seems, was well along the path of power-driven self-destruction that so many had followed before. The ObLaDas hoped that the arrival of an enlightened group of people from the Outward Voyager might deter that fate.

  It was a shock. They were on course for Earth. The landing would occur in fifty-one years to the day. They, not one of the other aliens, would be the first to return to their home planet. No one wanted to go. The People had no connection with Earth and no knowledge of that planet. After some fourteen hundred years living within the Outward Voyager community, even the ancient stories of Saxon warlords and idyllic villages were forgotten, or dismissed as unrelated to themselves.