Steve’s shorts: A Meaningful Encounter…
[Every once and a while I clean out my writing lair to get rid of notes for novels no longer needed (they’ve been published), ARCs I’ve reviewed (traditionally published mostly, because the traditional publishers still push paper books over ebooks—Gaia mourns for her trees), or just make room for paper copies of my own books (yeah, hypocritical, considering my trees comment, but they’re only for book fairs and such). When I do this, I find stuff. “Escape from Earth,” a recent freebie novella posted here and available as a PDF, was “discovered” that way. The short story below is another zombie-like reawakening (not the subject), except I can’t remember exactly when I wrote it—several years ago, but not as long ago as “Escape.” In editing for this post, see if you can detect the one complete sentence I added. The first reader that emails me with that sentence can have one free copy of any ebook from my catalog—offer good to the end of August. Enjoy.]
A Meaningful Encounter
Copyright 2016, Steven M. Moore
The huge cruiser Jiang Xiaowan came out of the jump across multiverses and lumbered into the ancient solar system. The once proud military vessel belonging to the Huang Empire had been refurbished as an exploratory vessel. Version 2.0 had then become 3.0 as the vessel was acquired by a private consortium owned by the Grand Duchy of Ermon. Military personnel were still present onboard, but so were scientists, engineers, and techies. Long into a multiyear voyage, subjective time, they went about their shipboard lives—only a few visited the observation lounge to watch the crawl into yet another system of planets orbiting an old star.
After a few weeks, the gargantuan old ship went into orbit about a desert planet in the system. There were still oceans. Perhaps life still existed in their depths. Some plant life still subsisted in the mountainous regions where steep slopes managed to squeeze out moisture from ocean breezes, leaving arid wastelands on the other side. After a series of orbital adjustments and cautionary sensor measurements that spanned the planet’s entire surface, producing enough data to feed the scientists’ computers as well as detailed SAR maps and images from beneath the seas via various probes, a shuttle left the leviathan like a parasite jumping from its animal victim, and descended.
Sholan Domm, Duke of Ermon, first born of Sholan Holvan, the Grand Emperor, stepped out onto the planet’s surface. He cut an imposing figure. Taller than the average Human, his stature accented by his slim but muscular body, he looked like he might be a space ghost with his pasty skin and cape flapping in the breeze. He surveyed the scene with sunken eyes set in a thin face with sunken cheeks and frowned. Stepping toward the Chief Security Officer, who had accompanied him in the shuttle, he made a grunt and motioned to indicate the surroundings.
Zeela Binn, second-ranked in the security entourage, smiled, watching the lanky aristocrat from the corner of her eyes by turning her head. She had known the Duke for years. While strange and aloof, he was much more a person of the people than his father. Her smile was lost because she was on her knees, forehead to the ground.
***
“Is the area secure?” said the Duke.
“Yes, sire,” said Major Jibs, the Chief Security Officer. “Scouts have even determined that the ruins are uninhabited.”
“The story of my life. Perhaps it will be our fate too.”
“Pardon, sire?”
“Our civilization autodestructing. It happens to some even before they go into space. Humans must be far out in the tails of that distribution, extremely lucky to still be around. If you consider the likelihood of civilizations surviving, that is.”
“If you say so.”
Zeela smiled again. Her boss, a simple but courageous man, didn’t understand that. The Duke was an amateur archaeologist and had access to enormous wealth, so he could and did mount expeditions to anywhere in near-Earth space, where “near” was trending now to “far,” considering the light years between that solar system and Earth’s. He had dedicated his life to studying ancient galactic civilizations. Moreover, he wanted to find one that still existed!
The reasons for auto-destruction were varied. Many had suffered through troubled eras similar to ones in Human history. Binn agreed with the Duke. We are lucky. Every dead planet or groups of planets they had encountered showed important forks in the road where the civilization had made the wrong choice. What was maddening was the fact that the same choice on one planet had worked but hadn’t on another. The tides of history seemed to wash arbitrarily on planetary shores.
The Duke looked along the lines of men and women who were bowing to him. “I’m holding you to your statement that all is secure, major. I conclude that I don’t need all of you as guards. Arrange for you and four others to accompany me and a vanguard of my scientists to the nearby ruins. Call me when you’re ready to go. Right now I need a glass of cold water. This air is too damn dry for Humans. A Jingolan sand rat would die of thirst here.”
Domm turned and returned to the shuttle. He knows the water will be waiting for him, Zeela thought after jumping up and saluting their receding leader. Her whole group had acted as one. A lot of wasted pomp and circumstance for this deserted and desert planet.
***
Binn was one of the four chosen by Jibs. The Duke didn’t bother to shake hands with them. Everyone knew each other, even the six scientists. After spending many years in space together, how could they not? To Binn’s surprise, her royal patron sat down next to her on the hard starboard bench lining the flitter, a lifeboat for the main shuttle. Its pilot and copilot had better seats. Domm often was the pilot or copilot—he could fly as well as anyone, but this time he had decided to pass up the chance. Why?
“I knew your father,” said the Duke. “He was a good man.”
Binn nodded. “He died in your father’s service,” she said.
“Yes, the Battle of Zarnos. After that, we’ve had centuries of peace.”
“If you keep looking for ancient civilizations, you might find war,” she said.
She watched the thick eyebrows rise, but they were followed by a smile. “A thinking soldier. I like that. You are referring to the possibility that I might discover remnants of a civilization who are still belligerent. There is always that possibility. That’s why we have security forces on scientific expeditions. Considering the many places we’ve visited, the probability of armed encounter is small, though.”
“You continue your search because you think there’s at least one. You’re already dealing with small likelihoods, sire.”
“True.” He pointed out the window as the flitter was landing. “We must continue this discussion, Master Sergeant Binn. Come and walk with me as we explore.”
***
The Duke seemed to be focused more on that conversation than the exploration of the chaotic ruins of the city, one of many dotting the planet’s surface, and the largest. They were walking apart from the rest when the dusty grounds ahead of them caved in, swallowing the leading group.
“That’s not good!” she said.
“Back!” said the Duke.
But it was too late. Dirt and sand caved in around them too. Binn fell but managed to roll toward Domm and stand up, her short rifle poised for action. The Duke struggled to his feet, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“Someone caused these cave-ins,” he said. There was excitement in his voice
They were in a tunnel. She heard a battle ahead of them, deadly laser beams sizzling even in the dry air.
“Shall we go to their assistance?” said Domm.
Binn held up her hand. There was now silence. She listened for a moment.
“Let’s go far enough to see if we can help. We have no medics with us, but we can fend off assailants if needs be.”
“An unfortunate oversight about the medics. Too many boring planetfalls, I’m afraid. Do you have another weapon?”
She handed him her pistol. “Don’t get trigger happy. And stay behind me.”
He smiled but nodded. They moved forward. They were some twenty meters from the location of the battle in the tunnel when they stopped. Ahead of them, the bodies of dead scientists and the rest of the security detail were being carried away by scurrying creatures.
“Are they dead?” said the Duke.
She didn’t know, so she ignored the question. “Are you up to following them?”
“Most certainly. I’ve finally found a civilization. These people are intelligent. Why wouldn’t I be up for that?”
Because you might die. She waved a hand for him to follow her.
***
There was a labyrinth below the ancient city’s ruins. As they followed the ETs who carried the bodies of their friends, Binn noticed that many of the ruined buildings had several layers of basements. She pointed it out to the Duke as they passed them.
“Yes, it’s fascinating,” he said in a whisper. “They must spend a lot of their time underground. I wish we had time to explore all these buildings. Some look residential, others public. And mostly abandoned. The population has been decimated.”
She frowned. Too much the scientist. How can he not see the danger? She saw how he held the pistol, though, at his hip, only bringing it up when they came to intersections or corners. The instincts of a Human with military training. It was easy to follow the trail of the ETs. The floor of the tunnels were covered in dust, and they hadn’t been used in a while. Maybe why they chose to attack at the point that they did? Keep the battle away from noncombatants. Or am I assuming our military training is universal, and they think the same way I do?
They were peering around one corner at the receding group when their guns became red hot. They dropped them. When the nets fell, Binn decided the Duke was right. The ETs were so intelligent they had outsmarted her. They were hoisted onto flat heads sitting on top of squat bodies and carried off too. A good sign. Maybe some of the others aren’t dead either.
The Duke and Binn were dumped into a room just off a tunnel. They were left in darkness when a heavy door slammed shut.
About a standard hour later, they perceived a dim glow, light enough to see there was a slot under the door. After a few more standard hours, food and water were pushed through the slot.
“Don’t touch that!” said Binn. She found a device attached to her belt, turned it on, and checked the readouts. “OK. We’ve been given ordinary water and some kind of vegetarian matter. Dig in, Excellency.”
“You’re very careful. They’re probably just giving us what they eat, you know.”
“And what they eat could be poison for us.” When he nodded, she dipped a finger into the mush and tasted it. “Mostly tasteless carbohydrates, I’d say. Have any salt with you?”
He smiled. “Not a bit.” He tried the mass. “I wonder if they’ll be insulted if we don’t eat it.”
“And I wonder if we’ll develop diarrhea if we do. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring along any food concentrates. My simple med kit doesn’t have antidiarrheal pills either.”
“I have some cakes of food concentrate.” He rummaged around in a belt he wore and handed her two small disks. “I’d eat both ours and theirs. We’ll need our energy.”
She waved around the room. “Whatever for?”
“When we need to make a dash for it, for example.” He fingered out a huge glop. “I’m guessing this is pretty high in energy content.” She took her own glop. “What do you make of our captors?”
“Physique or intentions?”
“Both. But go for the first, because the second is too worrisome for now.”
“They’re built like foot rests,” said Binn. “Three legs, but they spin and move forward better than a Human on a crutch. Their heads are thick disks with eyes on the sides.”
“Definitely not bipeds. So much for A. J.’s theory.”
“A. J.?”
“Avtol-Jenn Bowpu, a senior scientist in my father’s court. He’s a good astrophysicist, I suppose, but I always thought he was a pompous ass.” He returned her smile. “I’m not a fan of the sycophants in my father’s court, you see. Anyway, A. J. has the theory that all intelligent lifeforms, wherever and whenever we find them, will be bipedal. I had many debates with the old fellow when I was growing up.”
Binn studied the tall, thin Duke for a moment. She couldn’t imagine him being a child. Some adults were like that. Even now, with genetic tweaking to select the best offspring possible, and whether or not they came from test tubes or not, Humans still went through childhood. They might live for centuries, but they were all once children.
“I guess you’ll just have to tell him the next time you see him that he’s wrong. Nothing like a living counterexample.”
“Indeed. Can you imagine how the court would react if I brought some of these fellows back?” His laugh echoed between the stone walls of the room.
***
Their interview started within the next hour following their dinner. The door opened and one of the ETs whirled in. It was hard to tell whether it was facing them. Binn supposed it didn’t matter. The ET started babbling.
“Gilligan and Mary Ann? Ich bin ein Berliner. Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. I have sinned against you, my Lord. Make America great again.”
The ET went on and on. With every phrase, it spun a bit. “It sounds like Human speech, but they’re different voices,” said Binn in a whisper.
The Duke snapped his fingers. “Ancient com broadcasts from Earth. I think they’re famous enough that the whole planet was repeating them at one time.”
“From Earth? How long did it take them to get here?”
“You do the math,” said Domm. He put a finger to his lips and then faced the ET squarely. “We are friends, not your enemies. We mean no harm.”
“Friends, not your enemies,” said the ET. “Gilligan and Mary Ann?”
“Who are they?” said Binn.
The Duke shrugged. “Mary Ann sounds female.” He bowed to the ET. “Ich bin Gilligan.” He pointed to himself. “Sie est Mary Ann.” He pointed at Binn.
“The other sounded like old Standard. What you said doesn’t.”
He nodded. “Doesn’t matter probably,” he said in a whisper. “Another ancient language. We need to get the party started.”
“What party?”
“The First Contact party.”
“What about our friends?”
“In due time,” said the Duke.
***
Three security guards, including Major Jibs, were dead. So was one scientist. By default, Binn became head of security. They later learned that Jibs had given the order to fire, causing the ETs to fight back. All along, the Duke considered their colleagues’ to be a small sacrifice—Humans had found the survivors of an ancient civilization, the first ETs ever found.
“We caught them at a bad time,” the Duke said one night as Binn and he returned to their now permanent encampment on the surface. “They oscillate between nearly destroying their planet and a complete recovery that takes them almost to the point of expanding into their solar system. When all hell breaks loose, they manage to keep most of their culture, but genetic diversity puts them on an existential cliff.”
“By the latter, do you mean that everyone is related to everyone else among the survivors? I guess they’re not good with genetic engineering then.”
“I think some early Human colonies were plagued by lack of genetic diversity too. Small populations can suffer from that. These survivors seem more upbeat, though. They’ve found religion.”
“Religion? Do you mean, like belief in the supernatural?”
“Not exactly. More of a philosophical approach to morality. They’re pacifists and nature worshippers mostly. They worship the Universe and its laws, from the dance of the galaxies and stars within them right down to planetary flora and fauna. We often say science isn’t religion, but for them it is.”
“Whatever works for them,” said Binn with a shrug. “How long are we going to stay here?”
“Good question. A starship is the fastest way to carry the message back home about what we’ve found, so we’d be wise to make it sooner than later. Let’s have a meeting with Ritkers when he returns—you, me, and my lead scientist. Set it up, please.”
Ritkers and a group he led was off with the ETs taking measurements at one of the planet’s poles where some underground ice still existed. There were mixed opinions about whether the ETs had a fighting chance to survive. Binn thought about that as she filed into the meeting. Maybe sometimes the death of a civilization comes after many blows? She was familiar with the old concept of Armageddon or a nuclear holocaust. Sudden self-destruction is not the norm on this planet.
***
Binn had time to scratch out an agenda. The Duke showed up first, and then Alf Ritkers with a full beard. Probably didn’t shave onsite? They were all starting to look a bit ragged.
“We have to decide when and who,” said Binn. “When should the Jiang Xiaowan return? Who should stay and who should return with the ship? For the latter, I have a list of crewmembers with their preferences.” She put the beginning of the list on the screen in back of her. She nodded to the Duke. “As ship’s captain and leader of this expedition, you have the ultimate say, of course.”
He shrugged. “Green is go, red is stay, I presume, for the preferences. Let’s scan the list. Speak up, Ritkers, if you have any comments. Same for you, Binn.”
They went through the list of over one hundred names.
“No problem with any of the stays,” said Ritkers. “The scientists who are staying have specialties that make sense. I wish we had more linguists, though. Sometimes it seems like the ETs are parrots, spouting Human languages without really understanding.”
“Best to stick to one language,” said the Duke. “Binn?”
“I’m satisfied if you two are. There will be enough security personnel remaining—maybe an overkill, in fact. Jibs’s reaction was unfortunate. These guys are basically nonviolent.”
“Not historically speaking,” said the Duke. “I have one problem, though. My name’s not on the list of those staying.”
Binn raised an eyebrow, her dark skin failing to hide the wrinkles appearing on her forehead. “Excuse me, sire. I just assumed you would return with your ship.”
“Your ship now, Binn,” said the Duke. “Your orders are to bring back more scientists, linguists, for example. We have a lot to learn here. You’ll have to screen them carefully because they will be enthusiastic about coming. It’s the chance of a lifetime.”
“And what are you going to do here?” said Ritkers. “Set up digs all over the planet?”
“No. That’s what we’ve been doing for want of some live ETs. No, I’ll be joining a monastery.” He laughed at their surprised expressions. “At least I call it that. A bunch of ETs have formed a group up in the mountains dedicated to the study of the wonders of the Universe—a planetary science foundation on steroids. It’s the best place to find out what makes them tick.”
“In your opinion,” said Binn.
He looked at her for a moment. “OK, it is a bit of self-indulgence. But I want to integrate with these people. We have so much to learn from them.”
“And teach them,” said Ritkers.
“If you’re referring to their up-and-down cycles, they’re mere glitches in this ancient society. These fellows were around when life on Earth was no more than slime living in tidal waters.”
“I respect your choice,” said Binn, “although I don’t completely understand your obsession. I would like to do my duty on Earth, though.”
***
Sholan Domm kissed Binn once on each cheek. “Give my regards to my father. Tell him to come visit if he doesn’t believe what I found. He probably won’t, though.”
“He’ll probably think the video records are enough,” said Binn. “Are you sure about this?”
“Someone has to study our friends’ culture. It’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me. And I can watch their population grow and see them reach for the stars. It’s a bit like looking through a time lens at our own past, don’t you think.”
Binn nodded. “You’ll have a lot more company soon enough.”
“Not before I become the expert. Now I will be respected for my scientific skills, not because I’m the first born of the Grand Emperor. And I will become immersed in their philosophy. My life finally will have some meaning.”
Binn smiled. “In some sense, I envy you.”
She hadn’t told Sholan Domm, Duke of Ermon, of her decision to return with the first group of scientists, not as head of their security group but as support staff. She hoped that would be a pleasant surprise for the man she now respected as if he were her own father.
***
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