by Moulton, CD
In that language Maita had said "Du es largh" (We are here), but Largh was also the name of the planet.
The passenger had said, "Du KO es Largh. Largh dee voscht. Du KESCHT Largh!" which means, "We are ON Largh. Largh is a world. We CANNOT BE Largh!"
It had gone downhill from there until they were all laughing like fools. It had started a game with sound-alike words they still sometimes played.
Maita contacted the spaceport communications officer and was able to get across that they would like to meet the people of the world and would like a volunteer for the probe. It took some time, but a group finally came out to stare at the ship. Thing went out on a floater and Z and Happ walked out on the ramp to invite them aboard. Eight of them finally came slowly forward and to the ramp. Thing used its empathy, then explained they were a little afraid and curious at the same time and the curiosity was overtaking the fear. They reacted most positively to Happ, of course, who was most like them.
Happ led the eight inside while Thing came to Z's shoulder from the hovering floater. It was a demonstration they were, indeed, friends – regardless of physical differences.
Maita kept up a question and answer routine with the floater in broken language. When it made a particularly bad gaff it simulated laughter and apologized.
That tipped Z and Thing the mistake was deliberate and the old cliche’ was true. "Nothing is more friendly than laughter" – so long as it's shared, of course.
The ruse got a giggle from some of them and later Maita made a really hilarious one, which showed them the probe was complete and ready. Everyone laughed at that one so it couldn't have been accidental – and it was idiomatic, not structural, so Maita had to know exactly how to use the language to make that particular gaff.
They waited until Happ came out to hand Z a crystal, which he placed in his ear socket. He had the language and customs of the Gorn, as they called themselves, immediately. He made it a point to remember the last gaff Maita made and was able to laugh at it himself. The intonation and position of the accent of the words had changed the meaning from "the sun is bright and warm at this time of day, isn't it?" to "the sun sits in my ass and really burns, doesn't it?"
Such small things relax peoples meeting for the first time. They show that the party speaking is capable of the same mistakes as those to whom the words are addressed. They call to mind old incidents when the listener said or did some embarrassing thing at the time, but later found it was funny.
"It humanizes the speaker," Z had once said and Thing had quickly responded, [ How disgusting! Yugh! ]
They had then chased one another all over Maita playing silly tricks. It was great fun. It had worked well here. The Gorn were relaxing a bit and were coming closer. The eight exited from Maita chattering and joking among themselves. Happ, Thing and Z were invited to come into the city to meet with scientists and politicians. The politician part was meant as a joke so Z was able to relax a bit, too. So far as he was concerned politicians WERE a joke.
They were able to speak with the people. The medical scientists were permitted to examine them minutely (Something that once embarrassed Z terribly, but which he now accepted as routine and expected) and question them.
The politicians were able to ask them about empire government. They were, of course, horrified there was almost no military, the traders guild ran the empire and, sin of sins, there were no taxes in the empire! They couldn't picture a system where there were no taxes, and worse, no politicians! Heresy! On the other hand they were in awe of the emperor and the actual power he could command. They couldn't understand why there was no organic bureaucracy and how machines kept all the records and rules. They were aghast to learn that the emperor would allow his subject worlds to ignore the judge machines if they so chose. There were no penalties if the "subjects" told the emperor to jump in a black hole? Even if they went so far as to tell him he wasn't to step foot on their planet? THEIR planet?!
[ Whose planet would it be? He rules best who rules least. That saying is millions of years older than the empire. It has always proven to be true. Every rule a leader imposes means he must add another level of people to watch to enforce the rule, which takes monies to pay the watchers, which means taxes of one sort or another, which means tax collectors who have to be paid, which means more taxes. It never stops once it starts. Before long the system collapses from internal friction. Don't make the rules and the rest is avoided. That very simple and obvious platitude seems to be beyond the understanding of very few truly advanced peoples. ]
"The thing people have to understand is more about themselves than about their governing authority," Happ explained. "The selection of rulers, whether it be through a vote or force of arms, is a futile attempt to displace blame and responsibility. A mature society realizes that blame is on the individual and not on the emperor or legislature or what have you. No individual is responsible for anything somebody else does, whether that somebody else is an ancestor, relative or perfect stranger. The failure of the idea is that one selects or delegates the authority to another in order to lay blame elsewhere, but he or she then becomes responsible for all wrong choices. The difference in the Maitan Empire is that full responsibility is accepted from the first by the individual citizen and not as a secondary result of a bad choice.
"From what I understand from speaking often and long with Emperor Maita, becoming a part of the Maitan Empire is a choice the people of a world must make and they will not make that choice if they are not yet mature enough to accept that simple premise."
Maita and Thing had known for some time that Happ had that in him. Z was pleasantly amazed at the speech. Thing was able to use a modified set of the speeches it used with the politicians on Terra (Book thirteen, Return To Earth) and to the people there. These politicians didn't care for that any more than the Terrans had, but these had little power so didn't respond in nearly the same ways.
Finally Z was able to get away for ten pleasant days of exploring. He got special permits from the government of Gorn to remove pieces of the orchid-like plants which he collected for Maita to use meristem culture on back at EC. He also soon learned that the flavoring substance in the orchid he had seen on the holovid was vanilla, also extracted from an orchid on Earth if a very different kind of orchid. These kinds of parallel evolutions were more common than one would imagine, though the actual genetic chains were quite different. Vanillin was a compound that many plants could produce, if few did.
Maita had explained, *Certain combinations of chemicals are bound to crop up on worlds that aren't much different that themselves aren't much different. Great exploding galaxies! I sound like Z! Certain like combinations of chemicals will evolve on worlds of similar conditions and structures!*
Thing was able to spend less time in the oceans than it would have liked, but it did get some samples of plant and animal life it wanted to take home to EC. Happ traveled all over the planet, learning about these, his first close contact with a whole race of alien people. All his earlier ones lacked a sort of intimacy he felt on Gorn. This was the first time he was on another world where he was actually free.
Maita arranged for a number of machines to be placed on the world and for the traders guild to go there. The people wanted very much to meet others and to expand into the empire. They felt they could colonize some of the empty worlds in various areas of the galaxy that would be opened to them. Maita assured them the worlds were there for the use of anyone who could benefit from them. Restricted worlds had beacons and worlds in use were registered through Empire Center. Thousands of other planets were there. Use them! Planoform those suitable for your race or share them with many other compatible races. Expand and learn. That was what the Maitan Empire was about!
That was another lesson to Happ. Most peoples will want to go to other worlds and will want to meet as many other peoples as possible, but will still always call one world their own. A very few actually want to migrate to other worlds. Thing experienced its worst psych
ological problems upon leaving Menta permanently while Z enjoyed getting away from a polluted and screwed-up Earth, though he was perfectly well aware he would be in a minority.
Earth had all types. That was its strength – and its weakness.
The Kheth resided on Khee for the most part while the Bentans were everywhere. The Bentans wanted to share worlds with others while the Swaz wanted worlds mainly to themselves and perhaps one other race. The Zeenans mostly stayed home and the Zulians stayed home while the Mord spread, much as the Bentans did.
The Jornians traveled and took up residence on many worlds, but bred mainly on Jorn while their most common companions, the Zurn, were content on any kind of world where they could survive and made small colonies, though always with other races.
Every race and every world was different from every other in some ways and all were alike in others. Few races were what would be considered to be "all good" by galactic standards – the Zulians, for instance – or all bad by those standards, as the Immins had been. Good and bad are relative terms so the empire was extremely liberal in its assessments of such things.
When the crew were all again in space they held a meeting before proceeding to their next stop. They sometimes voted on the next stop and sometimes left it up to Maita to decide.
*I will, without objection, merely go to those worlds that were in the same stages at or slightly before that of Nichtale, or Gorn as it is properly now called, when Library was established. I think we should find a lot of them will be emerging into the same stages or will be just before those stages. It will be most interesting to study linear evolution on that scale.*
[ Unless there are communications or such that would lead us to a re-evolved society such as Julpit, I agree. I can use the information from Library to study societal imperatives. Perhaps I can determine something about racial steering factors. ]
*Granted. Very good point. We can all do extrapolative studies in our own specialties and interests.*
"I vote yes," Happ said. "I want to meet as many different people as I can."
“I vote yes, too," Z threw in.
[ Yes. ]
*Next stop is Klarmuth.*
[ That means absolutely zilch to us, Metal Mind! ]
*Good. You sound like Z so you don't deserve to understand more than him!*
"Do you know what the sound 'zilch' means in the Krofpth language?" Happ asked.
[ Of course. We have the language. It means the rotted husk dropped from a webber nest. How fitting! ]
They approached the world from outsystem, but Z, sitting in the pilot's dome, said they would find nothing. "The sun's a red dwarf. It's nova'ed since it was first found and recorded," he pointed out. "It's a pity.
"What would the people be like, Maita?"
*They were K-form mammals. The fur was already mostly lost. They would be smaller than you, more nocturnal in vision. A fair people, but one without much drive. It was an easy world.*
The world was, in truth, barren. The water and atmosphere had boiled away when their sun became a red giant. The only evidence there had ever been life was a large laid stone building at the intersection of what had been two large rivers.
[ Oh, no, Maita! That's so sad! They had only recently discovered civilization! ]
*I would say twenty thousand years ago. I'm analyzing the primary. The decay from that type ... yes. Eighteen thousand two hundred to two fifty years ago. It is, indeed, sad. The universe is a very uncaring place.*
"Could the Krofpth Empire have saved them?" Happ asked.
[ It would have required moving the entire biosphere so it's not likely at all. You didn't have the technology and most probably wouldn't have developed it in that time. The technology we have is basically accidental. We don't even know how it works and are a bit afraid of it. Add to that the fact intervention would have destroyed the ability of such a cultural stage to advance again and again you are denied basis for guilt. ]
"I have to unlearn a lifetime's conditioning!" Happ cried. "It will take awhile!"
"Let's go somewhere else, Maita," Z suggested. "These things depress me."
*We'll try Katix. It was a bit farther back in evolution, but isn't far in distance. Mostly water world. Too easy for some things, but probably like Zeezia in others.*
Katix had a civilization, but it was aquatic and dolphin-like. They couldn't advance except in theoretical sciences, but were great fun lovers. It was an easy life on a very easy world. It was, indeed, much like Zeezia – including the people.
*Next stop is a radio source we passed not far away. Maybe a re-evolution on Fred. The people were....*
"Fred!?" Z asked. "There's a world named Fred?"
[ Even I get that one! I know English. The name 'Fred' in Z's native language is a very common one, Happ. ]
"It's a common name in my race, too," Happ said. "I see the humor."
*Then let's go see Fred!*
Paranoia
*Well, there's Fred!*
It was a pleasant enough looking planet. Maybe two thirds water, polar caps, a lush tropical zone with a lot of islands in the wide seas. The water seemed relatively clear and clean, as did the air. There were fleecy clouds floating across the skies in most places and one large tropical storm in the southern hemisphere.
"It looks like a picture postcard," Z said. "All we need are some tile-roofed houses and some sailboats."
*There are some very deep oceanic trenches, but much of the water is shallow. The islands are mainly volcanic or built by sea organisms in the tropical zone. The constitution seems basically to be calcium carbonates so maybe its not unlike a particularly fast-growing coral on Earth. The plants are unlike what you would expect. As a matter of fact, so are the animals. How strange! Go to room two and I'll show you what we have on the floaters! I didn't think we would find anything like this much above.... This is purely amazing!*
The crew headed for room two and seated themselves before the large holovid screen, Thing sitting on both of their shoulders. It was excited. Maita wasn't sending it the information, but was making it wait with Z and Happ.
*Look at this!*
The screen showed large cabbages in a field, or what seemed to Z to be much like cabbages. Suddenly, two of them moved!
"Intelligent plants?" Z asked. "We've seen them before."
[ They're moving, dum-dum! Plants that move around? We've seen that too, but they couldn't very well develop intelligence. This is a first! Mobile and intelligent plants! Amazing! ]
*They have radio. Obviously they can and did develop a higher intelligence.*
"I read somewhere about a planet where plants had developed the ability to move about and were even known to have developed a language," Happ reported. "It was listed as a curiosity by our empire. It was a restricted world, of course. We wouldn't take chances of interfering with anything so unusual. If I remember correctly there was debate about whether there was even the possibility of us understanding each other. The answer was a resounding NO!"
[ I would say not. These are part plant and part animal I'd say. I still doubt seriously we could actually understand one another. Everything they do would be from a far different perspective than we could ever hope to understand. I was speaking with Tab on the fastcom about a case he and Kit are working on now. The people have a strange logic that doesn't make sense to them, but they'll solve the case, I'm sure. TR's very inventive in those situations – usually. ]
"What do you mean, different logic system?" Z asked.
"I have heard you speak of the detectives before at times," Happ said. "Can you tell us something of it?"
[ There have been several thefts of cargo from a warehouse. The people called Tab and Kit in to solve the case. That's quite normal. What isn't so normal is that they may not be given any information about the thefts, what was stolen, when or anything else until the case was solved! ]
"That's neither normal NOR logical!" Z replied. "You're describing a system of ILLOGIC!"
&
nbsp; [ To us, perhaps. To those people it's a matter of having two different sources to identify the thieves. One must not influence the other or everything is suspect. They know who took the stuff and only need confirmation. Needless to mention when they turn someone in there will be no doubt of the guilt of the perpetrators. ]
"Perpetrators now?" Z exclaimed. "How very studious of you!"
*Knock it off. We must study this place. I'm in touch with Library and find this is the world you learned about. It wasn't on any other listings so I missed it. It wasn't on a list with any other world and I can see why. It's unique – so far as I know.*
"It'll have to be done with floaters," Z agreed. "I suppose plants will become inactive at night so that may be the best time for most of it.
"How do they build things like radio?"
*They can control certain structures so they simply isolate metals and grow antennae and so forth. It's truly amazing!*
Maita and Thing went into a conference they wouldn't finish for hours or even days so Happ and Z played a long game of Stars and Comets, an extremely complicated game that combined many principles of three-D chess with computer games and chance rolls of a 60-sided spheroid (Sexta decahedron?). Happ had such a logical viewpoint he was able to defeat Z in only sixteen hours. Four sessions of four hours. After that they used Maita's storage banks to study a few principles Happ wanted to know about while Z pulled out a computer and some equipment to study samples of the plants he had collected and to update his files on all the plants and the worlds they were taken from. Then Z laid for Happ and tackled him as he came out of room nine where he had been working on some personal project. Happ responded quickly and they wrestled and played awhile. They became true friends in that game. Happ had a good sense of humor and could appreciate Z's.
Finally, Maita announced Thing was in its cubicle and wouldn't want to be disturbed for ten or twelve hours, minimum. Maita then showed Happ and Z what it had learned about Fred and its strange inhabitants.