Site two was in the vast estuary system, and site three was out in the bay. The idea for these sites was much the same as the freshwater site, but tailored to that particular potential environment.
The water exploded all around the gravity rings as they dipped below the calm surface of the bay’s waters. The outer hull of the Conservator had retained a lot of heat from entry into the atmosphere which also caused the water to boil around it as it cooled. Steam rose all around the ship which quickly rose and dissipated on the light breeze.
The Conservator was finally at rest, after twelve long years, sitting about two hundred metres off shore, where she would remain and adapt to her new role as the marine science centre and observatory.
As soon as the surrounding water was cool enough, sensors and cameras extended from opening hatches all over the ship, to start sampling and observing the environment all around it.
Almost immediately, data was being beamed back to the Jack Matson in orbit. Initial atmospheric readings were showing a variety of plant spores present, which confirmed the success of some of the terrestrial sites. That was great news, and he made sure that this data was being forwarded to his brothers aboard their ships and the rest of the fleet.
Suddenly, a line on a spectrographic readout started to lift above the baseline, this is the one he was looking for, bacteria and algal spores in the water samples, from here anything was now possible. Russell relaxed back into his acceleration couch and gave the order to begin the process of bringing all the animals out of stasis, ready for staged release.
Smaller life needed less time than the larger ones to come out of stasis. It was simply a time line against body mass, which in all practicality was perfect, as this would allow the smaller ones to disperse away from the ship before the larger ones, the predators.
Another readout registered, this time optical. Once he saw it, Russell ordered the feed to be put up on the main screens for everyone to see. A great cheer erupted as the crews and colonists alike, saw several fish seeking cover under the hull of the ship, just like they do back on Earth. Russell’s spheres, at least at this site, had been a success.
There was now a real chance of total mission success.
Chapter 29
“Never Trust A Tiger”
David crawled on in the dark. He had a little light emanating from the glowing text on the staff, which was disturbingly saying “Oh Shit,” right at the moment. At least he could make out the rough shape of the tunnel and make sure that he wasn’t going to drop into another hole.
“Faith, Courage, Commitment?” David said to the staff derisively. “I can’t believe that I fell for that one. But then, if this is the right path, it was the right decision, but please don’t encourage me to jump out of any more windows.”
It felt like they must be a long way into the mountain now, the tunnel had been dead straight all the way. David realised that he was including the staff in ‘They’. He saw the staff not as an inanimate object any more, but as a vital travelling companion. He was not alone.
He looked at the staff and said, “I wonder if you have a name.”
The ‘Oh Shit’ text disappeared and was replaced with, “I Do.” And then again with “No One Has Asked Me That Before.”
David was about to say “Well, what is it then?” when he realised that he could no longer see any walls. He could also sense another presence close by, he strained his eyes to see through the dark to no avail.
There was an incredibly deep, low, rumbling growl. It was more of an “I’m here, and don’t you come any closer kind of growl.” It wasn’t aggressive, perhaps a warning based on fear.
The text on the staff changed back to “Oh Shit.”
David sat down where he was, trying to appear non-threatening. He was cross legged in the dark and wondering why on earth hadn’t he grabbed some matches when he picked up the candles. He felt that from now on, assuming he lived for there to be a ‘from now on’, he would always have a packet of matches in his pocket. How could he have been so stupid.
Nervously, David spoke, “I’m just a kid, please don’t hurt me.”
There was no response, not even another growl. David sat, waiting for something to lash out at him, but it didn’t happen.
What should he do next, he thought? He looked at the staff, it was no help at all at the moment, it was still in “Oh Shit” mode. But it did glow a little more brightly. Enough that he could see a large dark shadow prowling at the edge of his vision.” David realised that the stench he had been smelling wasn’t what he had deposited in his pants during his plunge into the abyss. Although that wasn’t helping. But he identified the smell as that of a caged animal, a poorly maintained caged animal. David had never been to a zoo, but it was what he imagined the smell of large cat cages would smell like. “How could I know that?” David thought.
“You are certainly not, ‘just a kid’.” Said a deep rumbling voice.
A shape came closer, out of the dark veil surrounding him.
“And I will not harm you David, I am hoping that you can help me.”
David could suddenly see the shape of a head in front of him, close now. The smell of this beast’s breath threatened to make him pass out, but he resolved to harden up. Who was this fantastic beast?
David realised that he was looking into the face of a Tiger. “A Tiger who can talk?” David thought aloud.
“You know the name of this place David.” The Tiger continued, “But the name is wrong.”
David thought for a moment, “Takstang Monastery?” “The Tiger’s Nest?”
“Keep going,” he said impatiently.
“The name is wrong,” he mused. “Not the Tiger’s Nest,” David said as he raised his eyebrows at him expectantly. He looked around him, realising the mistake, “The Tiger’s Prison.”
David felt appalled, “How long have you been here? Who imprisoned you?”
“This place was built in the fifteenth century David, I have not seen the light of day since. But I have been waiting for you, waiting, hoping for you to release me.”
“How could you survive this long, what about food and water?” exclaimed David, “What about loneliness?”
“The monks that look after the monastery have a way to send me food and water, and I can talk with one of them through a tiny tunnel that carries our voices to somewhere distant. This is how I know about you, and your Grandfather’s journey. However, the monks are powerless to release me, they have tried endlessly to do so over the centuries, it was why the monastery was built on the cliff above this cavern. David, how did you gain entry to the tunnel?”
David recited the story thus far and when he mentioned the light from across the gorge revealing the entrance, the Tiger was gobsmacked.
“So that is why they never allowed light in here. Never allowed even a simple candle. It would allow me to leave.”
David motioned towards his pocket, “I have a candle, but no way of lighting it.”
The Tiger looked at David, excitedly, “You have a candle in your pocket?”
“Well yes, but I have no way of lighting it, I’m so sorry.”
“Never mind young man,” said the Tiger, “I have been waiting for centuries, a few more years while we work this problem out together won’t hurt.”
David nearly choked, “A few more years? I don’t think so. I have to activate the device, now, today. Do you know anything about the device?” David asked the Tiger.
The Tiger looked a little sheepish. “I do. But if I told you, would that not be helping you?”
“There is that,” agreed David. “Then we must keep moving forward, wherever that is. But just because you can’t help me, doesn’t mean that I can’t help you, right?”
“Right.” Agreed the Tiger.
“Well, if we are going forward together, maybe we should know each other better, you already know my name. Do you have a name?” David asked, hoping he wasn’t being rude.
The Tiger looked at D
avid a bit apprehensively and hesitated a few times while trying to decide what to say.
“Uh, I do have a name. But first I need to explain something. When I was captured, and before I was locked in here, a curse was placed upon me. This curse, this awful curse, kills any person who dares to speak my name while in my presence. So, I am sorry, I cannot tell you my name for fear of harming you.”
“That’s ok,” said David kindly. “I feel awful thinking of you as “The Tiger”, so how about if I just call you “Br…
“STOP,” the Tiger yelled. “What if you accidentally guess my name? You would be struck down and I would never get out of here.” The Tiger sobbed uncontrollably.
David glanced at the staff. “Never Trust A Tiger” it flashed and just as quickly went blank.
David thought about this for a moment, it was all getting a bit too weird. What was the staff saying? “I Can Smell A Rat.” David said, under his breath.
The staff flashed, “Me Too.”
“Ok then,” David continued, “We need to start finding a way out of here, we need to find the device and activate it. It seems to me that once again the candle is the key, but I have no way to light it.” He thought for a moment, “Maybe, this is a mental test, a riddle.” David looked at the Tiger while saying that, and noticed a sheepish look in his eyes.
David thought for a few minutes.
“So, what are the clues that make up this riddle?” David said, mostly for his own benefit.
“We are in the dark. We are inside a tunnel, or a cave, perhaps a cavern? A candle could light the way, but we have no way to light it. We have a captured, no, imprisoned Tiger, with no name.”
The Tiger interrupted, “But I have a name.”
David cut him off, “No, don’t help me remember, I must have no help.”
The Tiger went to speak again, but David cut him off, he wasn’t going to listen, he felt that the Tiger was trying to distract him, perhaps even delay him.
“OK,” continued David thoughtfully. “Dark, Tiger, Candle, Light, Cave, Key, Staff, Tunnel, Hurry, No Name, Device, No Matches, Prison.”
The Tiger paced the room nervously, which was making David nervous too, but something about the Tiger was false, he just couldn’t quite grasp what it was. The Tiger’s pacing felt threatening, which made it very hard to concentrate.
He tried rearranging the words in his mind.
No, Text, Light, Cave, Matches, Candle, Staff, Hurry, Prison, Key, Tunnel, Tiger, Hurry, No Name, Device.
“The staff is suspiciously quiet, does that mean I am on the right track, that I am close?” David thought to himself. He stared at the staff a while longer, but there was no response, “Hmmm.”
“Maybe if I add some connecting words it might start to make some sense.”
The Tiger’s head snapped around and his eyes pierced into David’s as if they were looking into his soul. To David, those eyes looked fearful.
“Why do you fear me?” David queried the Tiger.
“I don’t fear you David, I know you will not deliberately harm me. I fear the outcome of this little game we are playing.”
“Your voice,” David continued, “Has changed. No, your attitude has changed, I am speaking to someone else now aren’t I?”
The Tigers’ eyes flashed again at David as if to say, “Keep Trying.”
David thought for a moment. “Was someone else controlling the Tiger and when? Before, or now?” Back to the riddle, connector words. “I have to solve it myself, the outcome will be the outcome, if I do this right, it will be the right outcome. Words to add, The, And, Or, Is, A.”
“The Candle Matches The Light. No Cave is a Prison. The Staff Is The Key. The Tiger Is The Device.”
“Try Again,” David said to himself. The Cave Is No Prison. The Tiger Is The Key. The Candle And The Staff Are The Device.”
“Aaaargh,” exclaimed David in total frustration. “I don’t understand this. I’m no good at riddles, never have been. Why can’t it just be straight forward?”
“Why did I decide that it’s a riddle, when I hate riddles?” he said while trying to ignore the Tiger, who had now laid down with a rather smug look on its face. He knew that David wasn’t going to solve this anytime soon, which suited him perfectly.
“I left out two words. Hurry and Tunnel.” He realised. He looked the Tiger in the eye and said, “If you have been imprisoned in here for hundreds of years, why do you not care how long this takes? I would be doing everything I could to get out of here.”
The Tiger lifted one eyebrow, was that a look of concern?
“Hurry is the Key.”
“The Cave and Tunnel are No Prison.”
“Ok,” David said, this is coming along. You are not a prisoner, then why are you here? To delay me? Yes.”
“If the Cave is no prison, then there must be a way out. Never trust a Tiger. If you really wanted to stop me, you would just kill me, right?”
The Tiger’s other eye opened, and a small rumbling growl came from deep within it.
“So, my guess is that you can’t kill me. Why is that? You are a massive Tiger, and I’m just a twelve year old boy. You could kill me with one swipe of that massive paw. But, you haven’t. Why?”
“Hurry is the Key.”
“The Cave is No Prison.”
“The Candle is the Light.”
“The Text on the Staff, Matches the Tunnel.”
“The Tiger has No Name.”
“Yes,” David said, using the staff to help get himself up from the cold floor. He walked directly towards the wary looking Tiger.
“I can’t believe that I allowed you to fool me for so long. The reason you have no name is because you are not real.” David quickly lifted the staff and swiped it across the Tiger as if to club it with the staff. In cricketing terms, it was a perfect slog sweep.
The tiger growled ferociously and swiped a massive clawed paw at the staff, but it passed right through. In a splash of swirling sparks the Tiger began to disappear.
David was quick enough to whip the candle out of his pocket and thrust it into the swirl of sparks. He pulled it back out to find that the candle had been lit, its weak flame began to illuminate the cave. As it sputtered and became steadier, David could begin to see the walls at last and on the far side, a door.
“Hurry is the Key,” he saw as he looked down at the staff.
“Yeah, I know,” David said as he paced across the cave floor towards the door. And then added, “This cave is no prison.”
David arrived at the tunnel entrance that appeared to go further into the mountain. He peered inside, trying to see beyond the reach of the candle light. “Here goes nothing, again,” David said as he stepped through. He was quickly confronted by a Y junction, he had to make a choice, left or right.
“The Text on the Staff, Matches the Tunnel,” he said as he looked down at the staff. He saw that it had the letter Y on it, the left side of the Y was illuminated more brightly than the right. “Well, I guess that means we’re going left,” and without giving himself the time to doubt his decision he took the left fork and walked on, assuring himself that from now on, his decisions would have to be that quick and decisive. He was concerned that the Tiger holograms’ mission had been successful in delaying him. What was going on outside that delaying him was necessary? He walked on confidently, heartened by his success and comforted by the light of the candle.
Chapter 30
“Sick and Twisted People”
A hatch popped open just a crack with a hiss of escaping air. The whine of a servo motor kicked in, and the heavy top hatch of the Jack Matson began to swing up and away from the opening. As it snapped into the locked up position, a head appeared through the hatch opening.
Russell Matson took a deep breath of the freshest air he could imagine, but he didn’t really have time to savour it, there was a lot going on.
As he stepped out onto the observation deck, several of the crew followed, including his partner i
n life, Aisha. The crew got to work, setting up the tablets so that they could observe the sensor feeds, as well as cameras so that everything was recorded and live streamed to the other ships still in orbit.
Land Of The Thunder Dragon Page 15