“How do you mean?”
He shrugged. “You ride for weeks or maybe months inside a sealed container. You take archeologists to Quraqua, or carry supplies out to Palomus and hope you don’t get radiated in the process. Then you go home and do it again. Don’t misunderstand me. I wouldn’t change a thing. But it isn’t what it looks like in the movies. No space pirates or green aliens or anything like that.”
“You make it sound boring.”
“It can be.”
“Well, I can live with that part of it.”
He was quiet for a minute. Then: “When I get back, I’m going to take a vacation on the Moon. Shaira has been after me to do that for a long time.”
Shaira was his girlfriend. “Might as well. You got free transportation.”
He frowned. Read something in her tone. “You don’t think it’s a good idea?”
“You been there recently?”
“Last year. The place is perfect. We’ll stay at the Liberty. Hang around the pool. Take the tour up to Copernicus and stroll around the rim like you did.” He shook his head. “That’s more sightseeing than I get sitting in here.”
Hutch’s eyes closed momentarily.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, really.”
“Something’s bothering you.”
She took a deep breath while she considered how to say what was on her mind. “They’re ruining the place, Jake.”
“In what way?”
“Well, I’m probably going overboard on this. But, hotels. Pipelines. All kinds of construction projects. Copernicus is more than eight hundred million years old. Recent by lunar standards.”
“What’s your point?”
“You go there now and they have hot dog stands. There’s a lift to take you out over the crater. They have a souvenir shop. Jake, you don’t feel the age of the place any more. It’s like going to Atlantic City, except there’s no ocean. And you don’t weigh as much.”
He looked at her sympathetically. Smiled. “Well,” he said, “everybody to his own.”
“Hutch.” Benny’s voice was subdued. Unusual for him.
“Yes, Benny?”
“We’re getting a picture from the smaller moon.”
“Okay.”
“Take a look, please.”
The planetary image on the navigation screen blinked off and was replaced by a rockscape. Something that looked like a giant flower stood in the middle of the image. Long petals rose in all directions. Hutch increased the magnification. “Jake,” she said.
“I see it.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t know.”
She opened a channel to the ground station. “Ollie, you still there?”
“Affirmative, Captain. What do you need?”
“Have you guys been working on the smaller moon?”
“On Lyla? Negative. I’m sure we haven’t been anywhere near it. Why do you ask?”
She was about to explain, but Jake shook his head and drew his finger across his throat. Break the connection. “Just curious,” she said. “Thanks. Copperhead out.” Then she turned to Jake: “What’s the matter?”
“Let’s get a better look so we know what we have before we start talking about it.”
She went to maximum magnification. It was not a flowering plant. “You know what I think it is?”
He nodded. “A monument.” She squeezed her eyes shut and wanted to scream. But Jake held a hand up, cautioning her. “Relax,” he said.
“I don’t believe it, Jake.” She opened the allcom.
He shook his head and turned it off. “What are you doing, Hutch?”
“I was going to let our passengers know.”
“Not a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“If that really is a monument, and they become aware that it’s down there, who do you think will get the credit for the discovery? Us? Or the Professor?”
Hutch thought about it. She might not have been that anxious to get the score for herself, but she didn’t much like Eddington. “What are you suggesting?”
“We look at it on the way out. Meantime, say nothing. And we make sure it stays off our passengers’ screen.”
It’s difficult to judge the size of a world when you can only look at it through images on a display. The Copperhead’s ports, including the bridge wraparound, were completely covered, sealed against radiation.
Hibachi’s World was named for the biologist who’d predicted life could be found in such a place. It was moderately smaller than Earth, with gravity at 84 percent standard. It had jungles or forests or something, but they were like nothing anyone had seen before. They resembled a vast tangle of hair that was purple in some places, blue in others, and gold in still others. It covered the half-dozen continents and the various islands. In some areas it stood stiff rather like a crew cut. In most places, however, it was simply a colorful limp confusion. These were not pieces of vegetation competing for sunlight. Rather, as Larry had explained to her, they were hiding from the periodic flares and they were also sucking energy from each other and, occasionally, from unwary animals. It was not a place where you wanted to go for a walk in the woods. Much of the water had an overlay of matting, turning substantial areas into sinkholes.
The larger of the two moons was also the closer. It was retreating gradually, but its pace was slowing. In time it would pause and begin to fall back toward the surface.
Eventually it would come down. But that was millions of years away.
The other satellite was Lyla. It was only a few hundred miles across, and it sailed through the night in an erratic orbit that took it out almost a million miles. Normally, the AI would make the orbital approach. “But,” said Jake, “your AI is down, Hutch. You’ll have to do it manually.” Later in the mission, she’d undoubtedly have to exercise control over the Copperhead after her engines blew out, or operating from the auxiliary control room aft when power on the bridge had failed. She’d be required to deal with a series of emergencies, probably including a runaway AI that refused to allow a shutdown. But this was the first stop. Just show that she could handle the Copperhead. Compute the gravity index and get the approach velocity right. Don’t go skipping off into space; don’t bounce around in the atmosphere.
Hutch had done this any number of times in simulation. And she’d brought training vehicles smoothly into Earth orbit. No problem at all. Just pay attention. Here, of course, the gravity was a bit different. And that changed the game slightly. But all she needed to do was follow her instincts. And she knew she’d have had no problem had Jake not been sitting there watching her every move. “It’s okay,” he told her. “You’re doing fine.”
Maybe it would have been better had he said nothing. As it happened, she came in at a slightly higher velocity than the situation called for. A more experienced pilot would have eased back, just touched the braking thrusters, and slipped into orbit. But Hutch overreacted, braking too hard. She heard a couple of surprised cries in the passenger cabin.
“Damn,” she said.
“You’re all right. Just back off a bit.” She was well above the atmosphere. Taking no chances with that. She came off the thrusters altogether, then had to apply them again. Only slightly, and had she spent more time on the bridge she’d have thought nothing of it. But at the moment the maneuver seemed horribly clumsy.
“Orbit established,” said Benny.
She exhaled. “Okay, everybody, you can get out of your restraints now.”
The shuttle was packed with supplies and replacement parts. It was currently about twenty minutes before sunrise at the ground station. She contacted the complex, and heard a woman’s voice this time. “Acharius,” Hutch said, “this is Copperhead. We’re on schedule.”
“We’ll be waiting, Copperhead.”
She and Jake got up and wandered back into the passenger cabin to make sure the passengers were ready to go. Jake glanced at her, and she understood. She would continue to f
unction as captain. “We’ll be leaving in a few minutes,” she said. “The ride down to Acharius will take about three-quarters of an hour. Make sure you have everything you need. This would be a good time to check your compartment.” She smiled. “It was a pleasure to have you along. I hope you enjoyed the flight.”
Larry and Isaika took a last look around. The professor remained placidly in his seat, his restraints still holding him in place. Then, finally, it was time to go.
Hutch led the way down to the launch bay, which also served as the cargo area. Like the ship, the shuttle was heavily armored. The pilot would not be able to see directly outside, and would be dependent on a display screen. “Best,” said Jake, “is to let the AI take us down.”
She had no problem with that.
They stowed the luggage in the cargo bin, and she opened the hatch. Interior lights came on. Everybody climbed in. “Snug,” said Eddington.
Hutch, without lifting her eyes from the gauges, nodded. “The sacrifices we make for science,” she said quietly.
Jake elbowed her gently. No smart remarks.
Eddington didn’t reply.
“We’ve started decompressing the launch bay,” she said. “We’ll be leaving in about three minutes.”
“How can you see to fly this thing?” asked Larry. “It’s like sitting in a box.”
The Acharius Complex was, for the most part, underground, buried beneath a lead shield. The shield, of course, had long since been covered by windblown dirt and vegetation. Four small modular blockhouses were visible. They served primarily as entrances. Two shuttles were on the ground. As they descended, someone came out of one of the blockhouses and waved. Eddington nodded. “That should be Abel.”
There were nineteen people in the complex. Theodore Abel, Hutch knew, was the director. She didn’t know what he looked like, however, and in any case the figure seemed too far away to identify. But she knew Eddington pretty well, even though the flight had been a short one. He’d have expected to be met by the head guy.
She magnified the image, and heard Larry confirm that it was indeed the director.
Pilots generally claim they like a zero-gee environment. It’s common wisdom that anyone who prefers the tug of gravity isn’t meant to operate a superluminal. It makes sense, but Hutch didn’t know whether there was any truth to it. Nevertheless she played it safe, always pretending to feel perfectly at ease floating around in the Copperhead, but the reality was she would rather have walked. Two feet on the ground is good. There’d been reports for years that physicists were close to creating a mechanism that would generate an artificial gravity field. She hoped it would happen during her lifetime.
In any case, it was a relief to stand in the shuttle checking everyone’s oxygen mask, and then, last in line, to climb down onto solid ground.
By then another guy had joined Abel. He was eye-level with Hutch, who was not especially tall. But he had a big smile and she guessed, correctly, he was Ollie. They all shook hands and Abel took them through the airlock. “It’s good to see you,” he said, removing his mask. He was in his later years, graying, with a slight limp. And he made no effort to hide the fact that he was delighted by their arrival. “How long will you be staying?” The question was directed at Jake, who passed it to Hutch.
“We have a series of missions, Dr. Abel,” she said. “We have to pull out today.”
“I’m sorry to hear it. Anyhow, my name’s Ted. We’d hoped you’d be able to spend some time with us.” He was tall, younger than his pictures had suggested. He had black hair, dark skin, dark eyes, and the easy manner of a guy who was accustomed to getting his way. “Why don’t you let us serve you some breakfast before we start unloading?”
They left their gear in the blockhouse, descended a staircase, and started down a dimly lit corridor, past closed doors on both sides. “As you can see, Michael,” he said, addressing Eddington, “we’re still living the good life here.”
Eddington reached out and touched the wall. “Yes,” he said. “Enjoy it while you can. Seriously, Ted, you know the Academy is closing the operation down. I don’t think they feel there’s much more to be gained out here.”
“That’s what we heard. But I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
Eddington slowed down. “Why not, Ted?”
Ollie glanced across at Hutch. She got the significance: This was the surprise he’d mentioned.
“Let’s eat first. Then I have something to show you.”
Hutch had pancakes and strawberries. She got introductions to everyone at the Complex, except the half-dozen who were out doing field work. Ollie sat down with her. They got on first-name terms, and she asked if he was a biologist.
He laughed. “I’m just the technical support. Something breaks down, I do the repairs.”
“How do you like the job?”
“Never again,” he said.
“Don’t get out much?”
“That’s part of it.”
“What’s the rest?” The strawberries were good. She wondered how they managed to produce them.
“It’s—” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it’s seeing the same people all the time. I don’t think I realized what I was getting into. I mean, everybody’s nice and all. But you like to see some new faces once in a while.”
“How long have you been here, Ollie?”
“Three and a half years. I signed on for four.”
“Why so long?”
“The pay’s good.”
“Any single women here?”
He didn’t have to think about it. “A couple.”
Okay. Nobody to get excited about. “So what’s the surprise, Ollie?”
He looked down the table toward his boss. “I’d better let Ted break the news.”
When they’d finished, Isaika took Ollie and a few others down to unload the shuttle, while Abel led Hutch, Jake, Eddington, and Larry into a conference room. The lights dimmed, a projector came on, and they were looking out across the vast purple matting that constituted so much of the surface of Hibachi’s World. In the distance, it faded to ocean. “This,” said Abel, “is a section of coastline about a thousand miles west of us. You’ll notice the diminution in the coloring. That was what first drew our attention.”
Hutch saw only a very slight difference in the color.
“You get something like that,” Abel continued, directing his remarks primarily to Eddington, “and you know there’s an abnormality.”
Eddington nodded.
“A disease,” said Larry.
“As a matter of fact, it was a parasite. But that’s not the point. It’s simply the reason we got interested. We sent a team out to look. And they found this—”
The image shifted. The foliage receded and grew swampy. A hilltop emerged. “There’s a bay beneath all this,” Abel said. “And the hilltop you’re looking at is an island. Or would be if the cover were to disappear.”
“So where are we going with this?” asked Eddington.
“Let’s make some of the cover go away.” It vanished, and they confronted a harbor opening into the ocean.
“My God,” said Larry.
A round building, about eight feet in diameter, stood at the highest point on the island. It was an open-air structure, made of stone, its roof supported by five circular columns. Its base was raised a few feet above ground level, with steps providing access on opposite sides.
“You’re saying,” said Eddington, “it’s been there all the time?”
“There’s a city beneath the growth. But it’s limited to the coastline. It’s big, though. Probably supported a population of twenty, thirty thousand.”
“How long ago?” Eddington leaned forward, peering.
“A thousand years or more. We don’t have the capability to make a determination.”
“What else,” asked Larry, “is on the island?”
“Nothing. That’s the only thing we found.” The round building.
Edding
ton shook his head. “I wouldn’t have believed this world could produce a sentient life form.”
Abel nodded. “Since then we’ve discovered two more cities. One smaller, and one capable of supporting probably a hundred thousand. They’re both on this continent. Nothing anywhere else that we could find.”
“What’s the technology look like?” asked Larry.
“Ancient Rome, probably.”
Eddington just sat there, breathing heavily.
Larry was visibly overwhelmed. “You have any idea what they look like? Are any of them still around?”
“If there are, we haven’t seen any. And so far we don’t know much about them. We’re pretty sure they were taller than we are. But we haven’t really had a chance to do any serious investigation.”
Eddington cleared his throat. “Does the Academy know?”
“We haven’t notified them yet, no.”
“Probably just as well. You’ll want to have a few more answers before you say anything. As soon as they learn about this, they’ll send some specialists out. In the end, they’ll take the mission from us, and we’ll be closed down.”
Larry was peering at the building. “What is it, Ted? You have any idea?”
“We think there was a table in it at one time. We found what was left of it.” He shrugged. “Maybe it was a bait shop.”
“It was probably an altar,” said Hutch. Her tone drew a few glances.
Abel frowned at her. “I was kidding,” he said.
“What sort of condition are they in?” asked Eddington. “The cities?”
“They’re wrecked. The vegetation was thinner out on the water. Along the coast line, everything got strangled.”
“Okay.” Eddington took a deep breath. “I want to go take a look. As soon as you can arrange it.” He was giving orders.
Abel frowned again, but let it go. “If you’re interested, Michael,” he said, “we can go out there now.”
“What do you mean?”
He got up. “Come with me.” They followed him out of the conference room and down another long corridor until they arrived at a set of double doors. He pressed a pad, the doors opened, and lights came on. It was a storage area. The walls were lined with shelves. Spare parts were stacked around the room. And some building materials. And—
A Voice in the Night Page 21