Exiled to the Stars

by Zellmann, William

  Assignment to the city had been boring for Explorers forbidden to explore, and with few duties besides patrolling the fence. Vlad had all the volunteers he needed, and all of them had read the story, so they knew what they would be seeking.

  Nearly every Explorer not on sentry duty volunteered for the clean-up crew, but even so, it took two days to get it clean enough to meet Susan's standards. A curtain now closed off the ramp, and a collection of home-made slippers awaited visitors inside it. Susan was impressed.

  The basement had none of the 'carpeting' disintegrating beneath the Explorers' feet on the higher levels. Here, the floor was revealed to be of the smooth, stonelike material they'd encountered on the ramp at Site One. Here, though, it was highly polished, and Denis cautioned them to watch their steps to avoid slipping.

  The cleaners had also cleaned all of the hundreds of cubicles, revealing that the tops of many of the 'shelves' the spiders seemed to use as desks had marks and scratches on them. "We're getting images of all of them," Major Chu told Vlad. "We may be able to match them up to markings elsewhere and find meaning." Vlad was pleased. The two dozen Explorers had become quite excited by the old story, and determined to help. Even now, over a dozen of them had fanned out with cameras, and were invading buildings and happily clicking pictures of anything even vaguely resembling a scratch.

  Vlad turned to Susan with a smile, shaking his head. "Damned kids. Always writing on the desks!"

  Susan rolled her eyes and shook her head. She was not going to remind him again that the spiders probably did not think like humans. Besides, Vlad knew it better than she did. He was teasing her because he knew it irritated her. Her century-old husband was proof that you're only young once, but you can be immature forever. Thank God! She suppressed a smile.

  "But this is the really important thing we found," Major Chu continued, leading them to the central octagon. He pulled a small flashlight from his pocket, and played it at an angle on the floor near the octagon.

  Vlad dropped to his hands and knees, moving his head from side to side. "Scuff marks," he said, "and even some light scratches."

  "Yar," Denis agreed. "But the interesting part is that they point directly away from the octagon, and there are identical marks on the opposite side."

  Realization came. "No wonder we couldn't find a door," Vlad cried. "There is no door! It slides in half!" A second later. "Those holes! I'll bet they're how they opened it."

  Moments later, eight Explorers stood in groups of four facing each other.

  "All right," Denis broadcast to the Explorers' mastoid implants, "Doctor Vlad and I will put our fingers in the holes at the bottom of what we hope is the edge. When I give the signal, everyone try to pull the thing apart. If we can get it to move at all, maybe we can get a crack that'll give us a purchase."

  Denis' index finger was too large for the hole, and he had to use his middle and ring fingers in the holes, but finally they were ready. "One, two, three, GO!" and ten men pressed as hard as they could against the material of the octagon, while using the friction to push the halves apart.

  It moved so easily that four of the men fell, and two others stumbled for several steps before they could stop. Both Vlad and Denis ended on their butts, but quickly scrambled to their feet. The halves of the octagon were now separated by several cems. With a frown, Vlad hooked a single finger over the edge of the octagon half, and could move it easily. He looked up to see Denis looking equally confused.

  "Well," Vlad said after a long moment, "the only thing we did differently this time was to put our fingers in those holes on each side at the same time. Could it have been that easy?"

  Denis shrugged and spread his hands wide. "I guess so. I'll go around the other side and pull on that side. You pull on this one. I'll bet we can open it."

  Vlad grinned. "No bet. But do it anyway. I can't wait to see what's inside." First, though, he had Denis shine his flash into the black interior. The light revealed what looked like a mass of spider web. Vlad was reminded of pictures he'd seen of tent caterpillar webs back on Earth, stretching from tree limb to tree limb. The resemblance was apt; the web of strands sagged between the opened halves. Obviously, when the halves were closed, the strands must nearly touch the floor.

  The sliding stopped when there was almost two meters between the octagon halves, and Vlad hurried to get a closer view. The strands were nearly straight, now, and seemed a bit thicker than those inside the tablet things. Millions of black dots adorned the individual strands of the web like drops of dark water.

  Vlad turned to Susan, and enveloped her in a mighty hug. "Thank you, dear. If you hadn't made us clean up the place, we wouldn’t have spotted those marks on the floor." He turned to the others, and raised his voice. "And thank you, Explorers, for being sharp enough to spot those tiny marks, and smart enough to figure out what they might mean.

  "Now," he continued in a businesslike tone, "We want pictures. Lots of pictures. Because in a few minutes we're going to close this thing back up until the scientists back at the colony figure out what to do with it."

  "But sire," One of the Explorers said, "I thought you were the computer expert."

  Vlad chuckled and shook his head. "Just because forty years ago I could read code, and program in some high-level languages, and install premade hardware into robots, the Administrator thinks I'm a computer genius. Since I like having him think I'm any kind of genius, I hope to delay the day when he figures out I'm just plain ol' Vlad. So, I'll push the real work off on the real brains back at the colony."

  Susan rolled her eyes and snorted as the others grinned and some laughed. Vlad caught Susan's movement. "Oh," he continued, "Don't pay any attention to the real genius in the house, here. I've had her fooled with my charm and good looks for years."

  This time the laughter was general, and even Susan joined in. "Well," she said with a smile, "We certainly wouldn't want Ken to learn your horrible secret. I'm sure the Major and his people will get you hundreds of pictures. Right, Major?" A grinning Denis nodded. "See? Now, you come over here and rest your mighty brain. After all, you worked for almost five minutes straight, there. I'm sure you're exhausted."

  Vlad allowed Susan to lead him to one of the 'saddles', tottering and staggering dramatically. Denis organized the laughing Explorers, and soon they were snapping hundreds of images on both cameras and tablets.

  "Sorry about the stage show, there, honey," Vlad told Susan. "But I don't have the faintest idea what to do with the thing now that we've got it open. That sure ain't any of the circuit boards, or even the nanocircuits or semiliquids I've ever seen.

  "And at this point," he continued, "I'm really more interested in finding ways to understand what's on those millions of balls upstairs if we ever do get this thing working. This thing can wait. It'll be here when we need it. Oh, I had the cleaning crew pack up all the tablet things for shipment back to the colony, so at least someone will be doing something. But what I really want is to close this thing up, and let these people get on with searching for some kind of hard copy."

  Susan smiled, and ran her hand over his wiry hair. "I understand, dear. It's going to take weeks to search a city this size, though. Are you planning to go back with the samples?"

  He shook his head. "I guess so, but probably not for a week or two. In a human city this size, there would be dozens of elementary and high schools, and probably even a few colleges, or at least junior colleges. I'm hoping it won't take that long to find something. Then again, there might not even be any schools here. What if they had a few large installations that were like crèches? They might have hatched their eggs and taught the young everything they needed to know before they even left the crèche."

  He shook his head. "I'm sorry, honey. There's a lifetime of work to be done up here. Those crèches I mentioned. And where are the factories? Somebody was making those tablet things; we've seen several different versions, now. And they probably weren't made in one of these thousands of identical buildin
gs. 2000 klicks is a long flight. I suppose we'll need to go back home, at least for a while, but I have to come back up here."

  Susan nodded. "I thought so. Well, Vlad Renko, if you think I'm going to let you come back up here without me, you're sadly mistaken."

  Vlad looked surprised. "But what about the lab? The crèche? You have responsibilities in the colony, honey. You can't just walk away from them."

  "We'll see," she said soberly.

  Once he'd decided to temporarily return to the colony, Vlad started bubbling with plans. "I'm going to have Ken put me on the distribution for all of the reports from Site One," he said. "If we don't find anything here, we're going to want to get the tube system running. We can't explore an entire planet by airship, and besides, all I'm interested in are the cities and installations.

  "Meanwhile," he continued, "I'm going to start making nice with Wen Ho Jackson. He's up here studying the power system. Maybe I can convince him to concentrate on the tube system first. And I'll need to get Ken to give me an assistant; there's going to be way too much work here for one old man.

  "That 'honeymoon' dome they built for us will be good enough for me, especially since it's got that office and lab next door."

  Susan was shaking her head. "No. If we're going to live here, we're going to need more room. While we're back at the colony, maybe the Major can get them to add a couple of add-on domes. A honeymoon cabin is one thing, but I want a kitchen!"

  Realizing that their 'honeymoon' was drawing to a close, Susan and Vlad arranged for a special, private, candlelit dinner in their dome. They sat on their patio and enjoyed the sunset, chatting occasionally, but also enjoying companionable silences, simply sitting and holding hands.

  Finally they went to bed and made love slowly, lingeringly. As Vlad frequently quipped, "I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was!" they fell asleep in each others' arms.

  Susan awoke with a smile. She stretched deliciously and turned to Vlad. Still sleeping. She turned a fond glance on his brown face, and after a moment, her smile faded. Vlad's stillness was somehow wrong, unnatural. She reached out to touch him, and his skin was cold.

  She jerked upright, and put a hand in front of his mouth. He wasn't breathing. Sure now what she would find, she put a hand on the cold, skinny chest. There was no heartbeat. Vlad was dead.

  "Oh, Vlad!" she whispered. Susan was, of course, no stranger to death. She'd been seeing it, battling it, for over thirty years, now. But this was Vlad! Her Vlad! She regarded his gently smiling face for a moment, and then leaned over and kissed the cold lips. "Goodbye, my darling," she whispered. "I'll always love you."

  She rose and padded, naked, to the 'fresher. She took particular care in her morning ablutions. Focusing intently on the mundane tasks helped hold off the emotional storm she knew would be coming. Vlad was an important and highly respected man. When she reported his death, it would touch off a circus of activity, both here and in the colony. She donned a simple, clean shipsuit, and with a sigh, she called Denis.

  Denis was shocked. Dr. Renko? But he was an eternal presence, had been a major fact of colony life all Denis's life. He couldn't just die! After a moment, he rolled his eyes with a sour smile. That was probably the dumbest thought he'd had since he'd thought girls were gross.

  He straightened. Well, it had happened, and it had happened on his watch. He called Lieutenant Rosa Chu, his wife. "Rosa, Doctor Vlad died last night."

  Rosa's mouth dropped open with shock. "Oh, no!" she replied. "Doctor Vlad? Dead?" Denis suppressed a sour smile. He wasn't the only one having trouble accepting the loss of an icon. He nodded. "Yar. I'd like you to gather some volunteers and go help Doctor Susan. I'd try to find women, if I were you."

  Rosa snorted. "Teach your grandmother to suck eggs. You take care of business. I would expect at least a heli or two, and maybe even an airship from the colony. And they'll be full of Councilors and big shot wannabes, all trying to be seen and show their devotion."

  Denis smiled and shook his head. "Doctor Susan is telling them to limit visitors to immediate family, since she'll be bringing him back to the colony. They'll have to do their showing off there."

  "How is Doctor Susan?"

  Denis shook his head again. "She's doing her best to hold herself together, and her best is damned good. But she's in a lot of pain."

  "I'll get some girls together and we'll go over there," Rosa said. "We'll take care of prepping the body for travel and display, and try to help Doctor Susan through this. You ham-handed males keep your distance. If you need anything from her, call me."

  Denis nodded. "You got it, honey. You take care of Doctor Susan. I'll take care of everything else."

  Susan called Ron Creding next. Elaine had to be told, and Ron was the only one close enough to help her through the flood of grief.

  "Vlad?" Ron said in the shocked tone Susan was beginning to expect.

  Susan nodded. "Yes. You can tell Elaine he died peacefully, in his sleep, with a smile on his face. He died happy, Ron. Make sure Elaine knows that." Ron could hear the desperation in Susan's tone. She was clinging to that thought with all her strength, and wanted to make sure Ron offered Elaine the same lifeline.

  Ron nodded soberly. "Of course, Susan. I'll take Mom with me. She'll need comforting."

  Susan nodded. "Yes, she will. Now, I've got half a dozen Explorers up here, helping get him ready to bring home. I'm going to call Ken next, and try to make sure half the colony doesn't try to fly 2000 klicks just to turn around and go back."

  Ron nodded. "I understand. But Elaine and I will be up there as quickly as we can get a heli in the air. You two are going to need each other. And don't worry about calling Ken," he continued. "I'll call him before I go home. I've also got to arrange someone to watch the twins."

  He shrugged. "It's still a long haul, though. Expect us late tonight. I'll have Denis arrange accommodations, and we'll fly back tomorrow."

  Ron called Ken, and told him of his plan to fly to the city, and Susan's intention to bring the body back to the colony.

  Ken nodded. "Susan's right," he said. "The entire colony is going to need a chance to mourn, to say goodbye to someone they've known all their lives. Don't worry, I'll handle everything on this end."

  Ken immediately called Susan, of course, to offer his condolences, and see if there was anything she wanted done. Her eyes were wet, but it wasn't until Ken tried to comfort her that tears began flowing down her lined cheeks.

  She shook her head. "Don't cry for Vlad, Ken. He lived more than a century, and managed to live two very successful lives. He was recognized worldwide as a roboticist on Earth, and here, he had a vital role in the success we've had. He's even given us a leg up on learning to understand the spider people. Together we had nearly forty years of love, and he died in his sleep, smiling. I only hope I'm as lucky when my time comes. No, my tears aren't for Vlad, Ken. My tears are for me!" Suddenly, her defenses collapsed, and she was weeping uncontrollably in the arms of Rosa Chu. Rosa leaned forward, and with a muttered, "Sorry, Administrator," cut the connection.

  The shock ran through the colony like an earthquake, shaking its foundations. Except for the two hundred or so Earthborns remaining, the entire population had never known life without Dr. Vlad. For many, he was the colony, the link, the bridge between the pioneering of Cesar Montero and the city building of Ken Terhoe.

  Chapter 29

  Thirdmonth 14, Year 40 A.L.

  Ken looked up from his desk at the sound of a familiar voice. "No, I said 'stay here'. I'll be fine. But I have some important matters to discuss with the Administrator."

  "Susan!" Ken jumped to his feet. "I didn't expect to see you until after the memorial service. Are you all right?"

  Susan waved a dismissing hand as she slid into a chair. She was in a high-necked coverall similar to a shipsuit. But this one was all black, offering an interesting contrast with her green-tinged paleness. "Of course I'm fine. You know as well as I that thi
s 'memorial service' is more for the people than for me. Oh, I'll be there, and I'll be properly weepy, but you and I both know that my grieving has been and will be in private."

  Ken nodded. If it was business-as-usual stoicism Susan wanted, well, he'd play along. A half-smile crossed Susan's face, almost as though she were reading his thoughts.

  "So, what could be so urgent that it could interrupt your mourning?"

  "I want to know what you're planning to do now."

  Ken frowned. "About what?"

  Susan looked momentarily annoyed. "About Vlad's project, of course. About the spider peoples' computers."

  Ken sighed deeply and shook his head. "I just don't know, Susan," he said honestly. "I have only two people that could be called 'computer experts'. One is a near-hermit. A brilliant mind, but all he seems to care about is getting the ship's virtual reality system working again."

  Susan rolled her eyes. "And the other?"

  Ken shrugged. "She completed her Doctorate about a year ago. So, she has the 'book learning', but not a lot of 'hands-on' experience." He shook his head. "Neither is the type of person that could lead a team. That's why I was counting so much on Vlad."

  He sighed. "Susan, I hated sending Vlad up to the city. He deserved every minute of retirement he could wring from life. But he was the only one I could trust with the project."

  Susan stared at him, unbelieving. "Ken, are you feeling guilty for sending Vlad up there? That combination mission and honeymoon was the best gift you could possibly have given us. Vlad was happy and excited, bubbling with plans. And I was really happy for the first time in years. Don't you dare feel guilty! But tell me, what was the urgency all about? What's going on?

  Ken frowned silently for a long moment. "All right, welcome to my private nightmare. Susan, we have less than twenty years to figure out that alien power system, or at least a way to manipulate it. You may or may not know, but we have had no luck finding exploitable deposits the elements needed to keep the fusactors running. EarthGov sent a supply of fuel, but at the rate we're using it, we'll run out in about twenty years."