Exiled to the Stars

by Zellmann, William

Vlad spent the entire first day going over the central octagon with a magnifying glass, hoping to find a line too fine to be seen by the naked eye. However, the only lines he saw were at the 'corners' of the octagon, and none of those seemed to offer any sort of release or grip purchase.

  He spent the second day crawling through dust to study the cubicles that encircled the central octagon. He wasn't certain what he was looking for, but he knew that he didn't find it. There were no wires, no indication at all of any connection to the octagon. Each cubicle contained a tablet thing. Vito told him that these were rather different from the ones at Site One, and a dispirited Vlad took one back to the dome to examine it more closely. He also called up images of the tablet things from Site One, and carefully noted the differences.

  He spent the entire next day in the dome, examining and trying to analyze the tablet thing. There were plenty of images of the Site One tablet things. Dozens had been brought back to the colony, and scientists, would-be scientists, and techs had examined them exhaustively.

  Both Vlad's and the Site One tablet things seemed monolithic; there was not even the faintest line to mark a separation. X-rays had shown only what seemed to be black dots suspended in a liquid matrix.

  When they cut one apart, though, it was filled with filaments which closely resembled spiderweb, not liquid. Thousands of the black dots were strung along these filaments, slightly more than a millimeter apart. The owners' resemblance to spiders had naturally led to a theory that the filaments were, indeed, spun by the spider people themselves. But Michiko was insisting that though it contained an organic component, the substance was almost certainly artificial.

  Vlad called Susan over, and she examined the scientists' observations and Michiko's published analysis, and then called Michiko. They talked for over an hour.

  "I could give you the long song and dance, Vlad," Susan reported. "But I can summarize it in three words. 'We don't know'. We didn't find anything in the bodies that we could identify as spinnerets, but then, they may have turned to dust like the other organs. I would suspect that if they retained the ability to spin web, it was probably a throwback, a degenerate ability.

  Vlad frowned. "I dunno, honey. Maybe at one time this place was full of web. If it was as long ago as those bodies indicate, the web would have decayed into…Hey! We need to analyze that dust!

  Susan's eyebrows rose. "An excellent point, Vlad. We'll have the Explorers collect some samples from undisturbed dust. Maybe we could identify an organic component." She turned to smile at Vlad, only to find him looking discouraged.

  He shook his head and sighed. "That's great, honey. But it doesn't help me. Even if the place was one huge web, it would just be an interesting footnote in my research. Maybe those black dot things inside the tablet things are some kind of memory module. But if so, how can I prove it? How can I access it? Otto Gratz tried to run a microcurrent through one of the filaments, but they disintegrate at the first touch, current or not." He slammed a fist on the desk before him. "I've been up here for days, and I still don't know any more than I did the first day!"

  Susan was familiar with the frustration he was feeling, of course. They were trying to study a technological civilization that could produce a power source capable of lasting thousands of years; but they'd left no written records. Or, if they had, the records had long ago turned to dust. The only writing samples they had were labels on machines and what they hoped were memory modules.

  Of course, if the tower really was a library, there were probably thousands, maybe millions of pages of records on those memory modules. If they could learn to read them!

  Poor Vlad! He was like a starving man holding a can that might be full of delicious, nutritious food, and he had no can opener!

  And of course they could be wrong. Maybe the spider people didn't use computers, or things like computers. Or perhaps their computers were somehow organic, and decomposed away. The can could contain no food at all, just sand.

  She hugged his shoulders. "Tell you what, honey. Tomorrow I'll go up there with you, and we'll both try to 'think outside the box'. No mystery can stand up to the combined intellects of both Doctor Renkos!"

  His answering smile was weak, but he allowed Susan to lead him from his desk to their main dome for a quick meal. He began to relax as they moved outside the dome to the chairs the Explorers had made for them, to enjoy the sunset. They sat outside for over an hour after darkness fell, just holding hands and being together. By the time they went inside, they were arm in arm, and Vlad was smiling.

  Chapter 28

  Thirdmonth 12, Year 40 A.L.

  They were preparing to leave for the city the next morning when Vlad's tablet reported an incoming call from Ron Creding.

  Ron looked excited, and after the usual pleasantries, he got to the point. "We think you might be onto something with your oiling idea," he began. "Ken is sending a tank of thickened biodiesel up to Site One. They'll try it on some of the remoter areas.

  "But that's not what I really called about. I remembered something that might just help you up there, Doc. You remember when I went through my 'believer' phase, right?"

  Vlad grinned. He remembered, all right. It had been a frequent subject for kidding and teasing for over a year.

  Ron grimaced. "I see you do remember. Well, you may not be laughing so hard any more. You remember that I was constantly reading all those old science fiction stories about first contacts and stuff.

  "Well, Susan was talking to Elaine about the job you guys are doing up there, and the problems you were facing. It made me remember a story I read a long time ago. An old one. Atomic era, I think, but pre-spaceflight, and pre-computer. I just re-read it, and I'm sending it on to you."

  Vlad shook his head. "Ron…"

  "Hear me out, Vlad. The problem in the story is the same one you're facing there, except they didn't have computers. Anyway, it's only a short story. It's called 'Omnilingual', and it was written by a man named Piper. In the story they're doing archeological work on Mars, I think. Anyway, they're studying an advanced civilization, and the story goes into detail about how impossible it is to decipher unknown characters without some sort of key."

  Vlad chuckled. "It sure is, Ron. But in our case, we've probably got the key, we just don't know how to use it.

  "That's the point, Vlad," Ron said excitedly. "There is a key! Piper found it! Read the story, Vlad. It's short, and kind of simplistic, but it won't take more than an hour. Humor me."

  Vlad nodded. "Okay, Ron. Susan has a few things to take care of this morning anyway. Send it up."

  In seconds, the story appeared on Vlad's tablet, and in minutes, he was engrossed. Computers aside, the story did deal with almost exactly the problem he was facing. Besides, it was a good story.

  Fighting down his excitement and impatience, Vlad called through to Angel at Site One as soon as he finished the story.

  "Hello, Angel. I don't know if Ken's told you yet, but he's sent me up here to the city to see if I can figure out anything about this thing they found here. I'm supposed to figure out whether it's a computer, and if so, to see if I can figure out how it works. So, I thought I'd better check in with you, to see what you're doing."

  The thunderous scowl that had begun forming on Angel's face faded somewhat when Vlad mentioned the computer. "Well, Vlad," he said, trying to keep his tone neutral, "We haven't found anything like that 'computer' thing here. We've been concentrating on learning about that power source." Obviously, Angel saw Vlad as a threat to his status as head scientist on the 'native project'.

  Vlad ignored his scowl. "Well, of course you've got Wen Ho Jackson up here working on that, and I certainly won't want to interfere with his efforts. Have your people been in many of the buildings up there?"

  Angel frowned. "Of course not. Oh, I sent some of the Explorers to look around for non-typical buildings, in case they might be related, and some of the people have been poking around a few of them in their spare time, but we really don
't have time for that nonsense. We're trying to learn about their power source, and we're already in the building where it was controlled. I'm sure there will be others who will want to learn about how spiders lived, so I've cautioned everyone not to touch anything, but they will come later, and really, we're quite busy as it is."

  Vlad nodded. "I see. Well, of course, my mission is quite different from yours. I'm afraid I'm going to have to countermand your order to the Explorers to stay out of the buildings. I'll need them to help me find things like schools and labs."

  Angel shrugged, though he looked irritated. "If you wish. My order was merely a precaution."

  Vlad smiled. "Yes. And who knows? If we can figure out their computer system, it may tell us all about the power systems."

  Angel's return smile was weak. "Yes. Well, is there anything else I can tell you?"

  Vlad shook his head. "I've been talking to Wen Ho, so I've got a rough idea where your research is going. I'll certainly keep my eyes open and contact Wen Ho if I learn anything relevant to your project."

  "And I'll do the same, of course," Angel replied.

  Minutes later, he was calling Ken. "Ken, the Explorers tell me they have orders to stay out of the buildings in the city."

  Ken nodded. "Angel thought it might prevent damage or pilfering of 'souvenirs'," he replied.

  "Well, I want you to countermand that order. I need to send every Explorer available into all the buildings. I've already cleared it with Angel."

  "What?" Ken said, surprised. "Why?"

  "Because I want them to find schools and labs." Vlad explained. "Ken, this was a technological civilization. That means we and they speak some of the same language. All we have to do is find it written down someplace."

  "Find what? What are you talking about, Vlad?"

  "Numbers. Ordered lists. A periodic table, Ken! A periodic table."

  Seeing Ken's baffled expression, Vlad explained, "Look, Ken. Remember back in school, your basic science courses? They always had the periodic table of the elements posted. Usually it was a big poster, hung on a wall somewhere. It's a chart, listing of all the elements in order of their atomic weight. Remember? Hydrogen was 1, iron was 26, and so on. Ask the computer. You'll recognize it as soon as you see it."

  "Vlad, that was a long time ago. But I do remember some table posted on the wall. I think it was in my textbook, too. But would it be the same here?"

  Vlad bobbed his head excitedly. "Of course! Elements are elements. The mine is producing iron. Ask Frank or Jorge. Iron is iron. If you add a proton to an iron atom, or take one away, you don’t have iron anymore, You have something else. Iron is iron, here, on Earth, or on Alpha Centauri.

  "The point is that if we can find the spider peoples' version of the periodic table, we'll have their numbering system, and even their written characters, assuming they used characters and not ideograms. It would be like a Rosetta Stone. You remember the Rosetta Stone?"

  Ken looked disgusted. "Just because I'm not a scientist doesn't mean I'm completely uneducated, Vlad. It let us translate Egyptian hieroglyphics. Had the same text in three or four alphabets. We knew one, which gave us keys to learning all the others."

  Vlad nodded. "That's the one. Well, science is a language, too! One we have in common with the spider people. If we can find a spider peoples' science classroom, or maybe a science lab, we might be able to find their periodic table, or even just a basic child's text, and learn to read some of their language. I want to put all the available Explorers to searching."

  Ken frowned. "I dunno, Vlad. Angel…"

  Vlad waved a dismissing hand. "Angel is a fool. The Explorers discovered Site One. They didn't damage anything, and they didn't steal anything. The same goes here. When he starts yelling, ask him how many of the tablet things are missing from Site One. That ought to shut him up; he knows that only scientists removed artifacts, and that some of them didn't make it to the labs.

  "The Explorers are trained observers, and they're trained to look but not touch. We need them on this. There's just too much ground to cover otherwise. Besides, as I said, I've already cleared it with Angel."

  Ken sighed. "All right, Vlad. I trust your judgment. I'll call Ron Creding and cancel the order. How's the computer research going?"

  Vlad shook his head. "It's not, at the moment. I'm stymied, Ken. I'm grasping at straws here. I'm even dragging Susan along."

  "Giving up?"

  Vlad shook his head again. "Not a chance." He grinned. "The research is stymied, but the honeymoon is soaring. As long as you keep paying for it, I'll keep at it."

  Ken smiled. "Well, just remember, that's a vacation spot, not a retirement home. Keep me posted."

  Vlad didn't leave right away. He had a feeling Ron would be calling. He was right.

  "I guess Ken called you," Vlad said. "I figured you'd be calling."

  Ron smiled. "You really lit a fire under him. I'm to place the Explorers at the city under your authority."

  Vlad shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ron. That wasn't what I asked for, or what I wanted. Please, just ask Major Chu to loan me as many Explorers as he can spare, and make it clear that he's still in charge here. I just want people to help me look for a periodic table."

  Ron put on a surprised expression. "No, really? A periodic table? Where'd you get a crazy idea like that?"

  Vlad sighed, smiling. "All right, Ron. Have your fun. You deserve it. Whether we can figure out their computers or not, if we can find a periodic table, or even a basic math text, we'll have a real start on understanding their language and science. But you know that." He sighed. "Now, I've got people waiting for me."

  When they disconnected, Susan was waiting in the doorway, hands on hips. "Finally!" she said. "You know you've got me and three Explorers waiting for you."

  Vlad grinned as he stood. "It was worth it, honey, I promise."

  Denis Chu met them at the entrance to the tunnel. "What did you say to Ron and the Administrator, sire? I gather you're in charge here, now."

  Susan started, and glared at Vlad, who raised placating palms in surrender. "No, no! That's what Ken wanted to do, but I told Ron that Major Chu should be the boss, here." He turned to Denis. "I mean that, Major. I'm just a doddering old vacationer who's only been here for a couple of weeks. You're the expert, and you're the Explorer. All I'll need from you will be some volunteer help during off-duty hours."

  Denis smiled. "Yes, that's what Ron said; but of course, he couldn't overrule the Administrator."

  Vlad shook his head. "Well, I can, at least as long as he's 2000 klicks away. But Major, I would appreciate it if you would assemble as many of your people as possible for a short meeting this evening. Perhaps at dinner. I won't take long, I promise."

  Denis nodded. "No problem, Doctor. I'll have everyone except a skeleton team of sentries there. So, what's on the agenda today? You're running a bit late, aren't you?"

  Vlad nodded. "Yes. I had some reading to do and some calls to make. I'll tell you all about it at the meeting. For now, it's back to the basement. Doctor Susan has agreed to come along to remind me of all the things my senile old brain has forgotten."

  Susan snorted, and they headed back into the city. As they were walking down the ramp to the basement, Susan was struck by the feeling that something was wrong. When they reached the bottom, she knew what it was. She stopped so suddenly that Rosa bumped into her.

  "Vlad!" she exclaimed in an outraged tone, "How can you expect to get any work done when you're up to your ankles in dust, and have to wear a respirator to avoid coughing your lungs out?"

  Vlad just shrugged. "You should have seen my shop in 'Cago. No, on second thought, better you didn't."

  Susan rolled her eyes, and spun to confront her escort. "Rosa, would you ask Major Chu if we can get a working party down here, to clean this place up?"

  Vito Carelli was struggling to control his laughter. As he heard Susan's request, he put a hand on Rosa's arm. "I'll take care of it, Lieutenant." Rosa,
struggling herself, merely nodded.

  "Mind you," Susan continued, "It will need to be spotless. Laboratory clean. Vlad might have to work on delicate computer components in here." She spun back to Vlad. "No wonder you couldn't get anything done," she said waspishly.

  Vlad turned to face their audience. "And she was so sweet and gentle before I married her," he lamented.

  Now Susan was the one struggling to control a grin. "Hmmph," she grunted. "You'd try the patience of a saint."

  Vlad stepped forward and took her in his arms. "Then it's a good thing I married one."

  Susan pushed him away. "Old goat," she said, but she was pink with embarrassed pleasure. She surveyed the room, its floor covered with tramped-down and footprinted tracks. She sighed and shook her head. "We might as well go back to the dome. We'll only be in the way, here. I have some notes on the puffballs to dictate, anyway. And you, you old goat," she said to Vlad. "I ought to make you pedal home for dragging us all the way up here for nothing!"

  Vlad's meeting with the Explorers went well. "I know you've been told to stay out of the buildings," he began. "Well, I'm not only going to let you inside them, I’m going to ask for volunteers to go door-to-door and check them out."

  He explained the plan. "Major Chu has uploaded the story to your tablets. I urge you to read it, even if you don't usually read that type of fiction. It's a short story, not a novel, so it won't take long. But by reading the story, you'll have a grasp of exactly what type of stuff we're looking for.

  "We're going to be most interested in anything that looks like a school or a lab," he explained. "The whole point of this is that we're not going to find an English-to-Spider dictionary, so we're going to have to make up our own. Now, this was a technological people, and they spoke 'science'. We just have to figure out their alphabet and number system.

  "You all know that Dr. Wen Ho Jackson is here to examine the power plant, but he tells me he doesn't need much help. That gives me the chance to recruit you suckers…uh, 'volunteers' for search duty." He shrugged, ignoring the laughter the word 'suckers' had elicited. "Hey, it beats sitting around polishing your blaster all day!"