by Ken Pence
"What do you mean? Are you in trouble?" Brad asked.
"I've met a native and I think he's taking me to his village. Can you track my broadcast?" Susan said aware that Hllouge was annoyed at her frequent stops and was apt to disappear any second.
"Yes, we can track you on your carrier-wave now if you want. I'm inclined to pick you up right now," Brad said obviously upset. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
"Don't come any closer until I tell you. I want to get more information and others will just scare him off. I’m not in danger – I don’t think I am. You follow overhead and in radio range and I'll describe him and all this fantastic flora I'm traveling over," Susan ordered.
Brad complied but wished he hadn't talked Andrew out of coming now. He had insisted Andrew be impartial and he was better suited for this anyway. Now I'll have to tell him all this, Brad thought as he prepared to relay all information.
In an hour or so, Susan and her somewhat guide came into the village proper. It appeared to be just like the buildings near the water where they had first explored except this one was in excellent repair. There were other natives about and all were the same color and very similar to Hllouge though not as muscular. Many were obviously female but none of these would even look at Hllouge or his large follower. The males really gave them the once-over but didn't do anything, probably out of respect for Hllouge's position.
Hllouge led Susan to the town center and this village too had a large building at its center. Hllouge went to the entrance and motioned Susan to stay outside. He soon came out with a larger version of himself except Hllouge's companion had a much more ancient look and wore a cape that looked like jungle camouflage cloth. He also wore a circular metal medallion that looked like stainless steel.
Stainless steel in this culture? Susan wondered. The big guy was talking to Hllouge and he appeared very agitated. Hllouge kept pointing at her and talking a mile-a-minute and Susan nearly kicked herself and then started recording everything she could. The conversation soon became an argument whereupon the big guy pointed and said something which Susan deduced meant; "You found her -- she's your problem."
Susan felt she was right because Hllouge practically stomped away and she followed. He led her to a nearby residence and disappeared into the dark interior. Susan followed and switched on her helmet light just as Hllouge had lit a lamp in the rear of the building. Hllouge threw his hands up to his eyes and jumped away so his back was pressed against the wall and stood there blinking as Susan rapidly switched off her light.
He stood there in shock for a minute and just absorbed the situation. He then obviously motioned to Susan's light or head and then stood aside and pointed at his intricate glass lantern that was so finely made, Susan saw it as a work of art.
"Yes," Susan said using the word in his language, she had learned. The native then launched into a series of questions and Susan finally said, "No," whereupon the native jumped back and looked at Susan's sidearm.
Susan looked down at her gun and then the frightened native and laughed. The laughter seemed to relax the native so Susan pointed at him and said "Hllouge, yes," using her knowledge of his language. She then pointed at the light, and this time the native responded with the name in his language. He then pointed at her helmet and said, what sounded like, the name for his glass lamp.
She said "yes" and turned it on again briefly and then the native laughed and they really made some progress. Hllouge thought himself a wonderful teacher though he didn't know Susan had the aid of her Mem-Dex and relayed everything that was going on through Brad to the ship's computer too.
They had about exhausted the 'name-this-object' game in the little dwelling before Hllouge reluctantly pointed to his most valuable collections. He held up a small, rusty square of iron and gave its name. Susan noted how poorly worked the bar was then dug down in her leg pocket and came out with a half-credit metal coin of duralloy. She then ceremoniously handed the coin to Hllouge who looked at it incredulously.
Hllouge was overwhelmed. The metal was so shiny and it had beautiful, strange symbols and pictures. He finally realized that she was giving it to him. The head keeper of knowledge would turn brown with envy. Now with more confidence, Hllouge showed this creature his finest possessions. Besides, the creature wasn't so hideous to look at after you got used to her deformities.
Susan saw the native push back a curtain in a small alcove and in it was a rack of five scrolls on wooden dowels and two large books.
Susan hardly looked at the scrolls and pointed at the books. Hllouge named their name in his language and reverently took one down. He carefully opened it for her. He held it at all times to make sure this creature wouldn't think he was giving this to her as a gift.
Susan was astounded. These were printed books that looked like any encyclopedia you would open. These people just didn't have the technology to produce this sort of thing. This takes a printing press, movable type; all sorts of things. Why, even the paper looked like high-quality rag bond with a slick coating to protect it from corruption.
What helped her was that this book seemed to be a history of this planet. Though there wasn't any way Susan could understand the writing, the book contained hundreds of intricate line drawings and sketches.
Susan kept Hllouge from turning pages when he came to an illustration of the printing press. Hllouge seemed proud as Susan sat there and talked to the others in the ship. He thought she was simply praising his book. When he came to a sequential map of the planet she stopped him and sat there stunned.
"Brad, Andrew. You'll never believe this. I understand all those deserted cities now. Andrew, you know that elliptical orbit of this planet. Well, how would you like to have almost all the vegetation die off and the climate get so cold you had to live in the remaining patches of vegetation near the equator, just to survive. I've got maps here showing a whole cycle showing everything from where we are now to how the planet will be in a short while when all the plants spread out over almost the whole planet."
"This cycle seems to be variable because of a changing axial tilt too. You might check that with the computer but it sure ties up some loose ends. If their climate changes that fast, no wonder they think libraries are so important. You could lose everything in a couple of generations of that. Add to that the fact that they have almost no metal and you'll be surprised they have gotten as far as they have," Susan said.
As she turned further, she saw star charts and relatively accurate drawings of the orbit of planets of this system. Susan described this too and it was many hours before they got to the end of the second book. After much signing and broken phrases, Susan informed Hllouge that she could not stay any longer and she would return in three days if she was able. She then finally got across the idea that she wanted him to lead her away from the village so they could get away from any other natives.
Hllouge was suspicious but he led the strange female to a small clearing nearby. She stood in the center of the clearing and he left, but hid near the edge so he could watch her. She was obviously waiting for something. Suddenly two beings like her flew down and stopped beside her. One grabbed her and held her for a minute and then they took off her belt and put another around her.
These other two were bigger but dressed the same. Why, they all were malformed. When one switched on the magic light, Hllouge saw another strange face. Hllouge was not stupid, quite the opposite, but it wasn't until that moment when the three; Brad, Susan, and Andrew, took off that he realized what the female had been implying all along. They weren't malformed creatures at all. They were beings from another planet.
Hllouge realized that he would have to add a book of his own to the library. He looked at the shiny coin in his hand and felt the excitement of anticipation for the coming days with "Sue-San."
Brad and Andrew accompanied Susan hastily back to the ship, where a brief but emotional reunion followed. Susan showed her bruise and related her tale to the crew after he had a shower and a large, real
meal. Susan showed them her full samples bag and described everything she saw but had not recorded. Brad told Susan that Andrew had monitored everything. When she first went into the village, he had ordered everybody back to the ship. Andrew had come and stayed with him until she was ready to be picked up. He never said a word but just waited anxiously.
"How did you locate me so fast that morning? I know you found me within an hour of first light," Susan said.
"We just flew along while we transmitted near where you were supposed to have landed. When you started transmitting, we simply homed in on your position," Brad replied.
"I understand that, but how did you calculate where I had landed in the first place?" Susan queried the group.
"We used the new sensor system. Here I'll show you on the main viewscreen. Computer, display all artificially produced fields in the maximum scanning range," Steve said.
When the viewscreen showed all the star systems within its range, a bright point of light near Earth's position showed itself.
"See, we just used a much closer version of this. Somebody on Earth must have built a field generator from our plans," Steve said.
"Can you get any more detail from this distance?" Susan asked.
"Sure," Steve said as he adjusted the range so the point showed about one-quarter of an astronomical unit from Earth's orbit.
"We didn't leave any blueprints to make field generators," Andrew said as the room got hushed, "and I doubt Earth could have built one in five weeks even with our experimental data."
"But that means… " Susan said.
"Exactly. Someone not from Earth, is near Earth. My alien friend again… What is he doing?" Andrew said.
After much discussion, it was decided to drop everything and go to Earth with all weapons on the ready. That alien could not treat them with contempt now.
"Tod, how fast can we actually travel there if we really push it and use the pressor field?" Andrew asked.
Tod was calculating on his Mem-Dex, "In about twenty hours," he said, "the main part of the time we'll have to negotiate our way out of this system and into the Sun's system."
"Alright, Tod. Everyone into suits and seal them. All crew to stations," Andrew ordered over the intercom.
Even though it was now clean, Susan groaned at the thought of ever getting back into her suit. She itched just thinking about it.
STUDYING EARTH FROM ORBIT
The E. S. officer ordered the chief linguist into his cabin.
"Do you understand the broadcasts?" he asked knowing that linguists were always bred for their ability to decipher and understand unknown languages and this one was very good at it.
"My assistants and I understand the languages, but I cannot go so far as to assume we understand the broadcasts. It seems like they already have an energy source similar to ours however. We just saw a documentary. I think they called it, showing how the power plants worked, how they were made, and how they were distributed throughout the planet. The program was quite competent," the linguist said.
"What!" growled the officer, "bring the Tros here and show him this recording. If he has contaminated a culture as far advanced as to have fusion power and even the most rudimentary spaceflight, I shall skin him alive."
Rett was dragged out of his compartment and taken before the interrogator and three other crewmen. One crewman started a recording of the filmed documentary on Earth's new fusion power. The sound was cut down and the linguist had crudely dubbed the basic language in. When Rett had impassively watched the entire broadcast, the E. S. officer turned to him.
"We know you visited this planet. We know you contacted at least one of its natives. Since they already have fusion power, you wouldn't have made any mistake of letting them see that. What I am interested in now is how advanced these people are? They have some type of rudimentary spaceflight but we can find no evidence of stellar flight. We also find evidence that they may be slightly in advance, or more likely, have progressed along a different course in the way of using electrical devices. We have to know how advanced these people are so we can open trade with them," the E.S. officer said.
Rett was thinking rapidly. This was the first time he had been freely given information. This whole approach was making him feel uncomfortable because he saw a chance for freedom and hidden danger.
"What do you want from me and how can you guarantee me safety if I tell you? What if my information is not valuable enough in your consideration? What of my freedom?" Rett emphasized.
"I am empowered to make any necessary decisions concerning this planet. I have decided that we shall exploit the technology of this planet and I do not wish to use force to coerce the population. We must trade them advanced, field generators for weather-control, travel, defense, etc. These generators would be Central Export type so the natives would not be able to dismantle them and learn the physics of their operation," he continued.
"We would send them technical advisors and train them to operate the simpler devices but we would handle complex machines and repair. We would not give them any field neutralization technology or any information on molecular bond disruptor fields that we will use later in mining for rich mineral deposits we've noted from orbit," the officer said.
"Would you set me free on my own planet?" Rett asked.
"Though this is not a ferry and after we finish our preliminary business here, I will set you free on the surface of the closest member planet; if you cooperate fully. That is my only offer."
"I will consider it. Please take me back to my... compartment," Rett said, hoping they would allow him to do so and give him time to make a decision or escape.
After he left, the linguist who had witnessed the exchange, turned to the officer, "Why would you set him free? Surely, his silence is an indication of guilt. He must have done something illegal because he came here illegally in the first place. He doesn't seem intelligent enough to be a forerunner for unchartered planet exploiters. He is definitely not intended to handle so difficult a task as exploiting a new planet."
"I understand all that," said the officer. "I did not really offer to set him free. I offered to set him free on the nearest member planet; which, right now, is much closer to his home world, but after we finish preliminary work here, this planet will be a member planet. Then we can dump him here while we copy any technological advances the natives have in exchange for our export items. If it gets too hard to trade information we could get them a Central Export designed ship so complex they'd have to have an Exploration Service crew along to fly it," the officer said feeling better and better about his decision. "The Tros will aid us for a chance for freedom."
The linguist left with some nagging doubts about the natives below. To be as far advanced as they were technologically and still have so many different languages on one planet was disturbing. Many languages was usually the sign of a young warlike race but there were no signs of present war on this planet. The linguist was also concerned about what he did not tell the officer. From the broadcasts, it was difficult to tell documentaries from fiction, especially concerning spaceflight.
The social dynamics of this planet were totally incomprehensible. Many of the broadcasts were unsettling or even insanely made. Others were so enthralling that he had to discipline his assistants for just sitting and watching when they should be analyzing and recording. All this, he did not tell the officer about. The linguist was unsure whether the Central Confederation was prepared for this planet being turned loose on its fringes.
Rett considered his alternatives; which were few. He could tell everything except for the loss of his experimental stressed space-field belt. Obviously, the native uses of electrical devices were very advanced. They don't know how long I stayed on the planet. They must think I spent more time among the natives than I actually did. When they make contact with these natives, I will lose my usefulness. My only course of action must be to cooperate until I can escape to this planet. There, in time, I could construct another ship. I d
o not trust the Exploration Service officer while I am under their control.
Soon, Rett was sitting down with the officer, the alien linguist, the Chief Technician, and two large crewmen whose job obviously was to see that the prisoner made no trouble.
Rett related the events when he had traveled to Earth but changed several relevant facts. He said he had found an unconscious native and had taken him back to his ship. He told of his examination of the native but it provided no really, new data since there were many broadcasts that concerned the native physiology. Rett did say he taught the native the basic interstellar language so he could question him about the device he wore on his wrist. This did spark some interest from the assembled listeners and the linguist and technician asked many penetrating questions that Rett was hard put to answer. Finally, Rett related how the native had gone berserk and attacked him for no reason, taking his wrist unit before fleeing.
When Rett had gone the officer turned to the others.
"He is lying, of course, but I think that within the lie, is some truth. His usefulness to us is ended and if he has taught a native any language, then that alone is enough to have him put to death," the E.S. officer said.
"These people may have devices so complex that the devices can talk and understand speech. Think what this would mean to communications, travel, defense; just everything. I don't think that device was just a radio receiver," the technician said.
"I agree," said the linguist. "In several broadcasts we have deciphered, we saw natives having conversations with wrist devices and larger machines they called computers. I now don't think of these as fantasy films. These natives are possibly more advanced than us in miniaturized electric devices."
"But these people must not have the field generators or they would have larger devices in orbit. Now I understand. Imagine a race that would have to take into account the weight of every piece of equipment. Since many of these satellites appear to have been placed in orbit by using chemical reaction thrusters, think how small the payloads of those vehicles would have to be. The fusion power source must be a fairly new development since we saw no evidence of it among random satellites," the officer said. "What worries me is this Tros, Rett."