by Ian Wallace
“Our new hosts are now ferrying our ship to their spaceport. I do not now what will follow. References have been made to protective custody. We may be regarded as enemies, or we may become friends; the latter is obviously preferable. Remember that our purpose now is to smooth over matters and depart for Erth as soon as possible.
“Continue to await orders from the executive officer or myself. In the event that separate action must be taken by some isolated unit of our crew, follow ship discipline and let the senior among you command. Separated groups of scientists will know how to work out their own programs by mutual agreement. Should one or more scientists be isolated with one or more crew members, the senior crew member is enjoined to consult with the scientists before taking action, and the scientists in turn are enjoined to respect the commands of the crew commander.
“All scientists are now requested to join me in the ward room. That is all for now.”
At 0531, the two native jumbo solichopper-freighters set down the Farragut at approximate center of the local spaceport—above whose major building a fluorescent sign advertised a name which Olga (somehow intuiting their alphabet) translated medzok spaceport. The scientists, after an all-too-brief ward-room colloquy, were ready-for anything to happen.
Methuen and Zorbin, wearing dress uniforms, emerged from the landing hatch onto its exterior platform meters above ground and, in the tropical heat, looked down to see whether disembarkation gear would be brought up. It was brought: not merely a portable stairway, not even merely a portable escalator, but actually an airshaft like the Farragut’s own, with its top door fronting the two command officers directly.
Within this top hole appeared, air-suspended, a man-sized brown spider. Behind it, two more gigantic hairy brown spiders were poised on six legs each, while two legs each, performing as arms, trained upon Methuen and Zorbin carbines which were probably ray-guns.
Both Erth officers had repressed gasps, but their foreheads were wet.
The fore-spider, which wore a thorax-apparatus resembling the translators worn by Methuen and Zorbin. said in a human alto: “Gentlemen, I am Commander Varji. Please do not try anything rash.”
“We do not plan rashness,” Methuen responded. “I am
Captain Methuen. This is my aide Commander Zorbin. We wish to talk with your ruler.”
The spider named Varji asserted: “First you must tell me why and how your ship got on top of one of our buildings. Please also declare whether you are ready to pay for the damage.”
Said Methuen, patiently: “Commander, I have already presented Commander Zorbin here, his rank is equal to yours. And he is my aide. I repeat: we wish to talk with your ruler.”
“And why should our ruler receive you?”
“Commander, I strongly suggest that someone ranking you would more properly hear my answer. I do not mean any disrespect—is it madam?—but let us all be realists.”
Varji considered; her co-spiders were tight on their guns. Varji said: “Sir, my commander, who is an admiral, stands ready to receive you—but while I conduct you to him, I need to have some sort of security guarantee with respect to your ship, which is dangerous.”
“What do you suggest?”
“You must permit my two officers here to take charge of your ship, bringing with them a double squad of nervoi.”
“Nervoi?”
“I comprehend, sir; you see us as merely large spiders. Indeed we are of that breed; but we largest ones are nervoi, we are rather more advanced.”
“Nervoi, then; I respect that. Nevertheless, I am afraid that my crew would regard this as dangerously provocative. We have nothing against spiders of any sort, but we have not learned to understand them, and we have never before encountered you nervoi.”
Varji nodded to one of her officers. Methuen and Zorbin heard within their minds the following pleasant soprano assertion: Gentlemen, we nervoi respect humans, it is a tabu built into us, we will never harm humans except in self-defense. And we do not yet know that you are enemies.
Varji added: “We have no voice-ability, except through voders like the one I carry. We mind-communicate directly, it is at once an advantage and a disadvantage. I assure you that you can trust us.”
Shaken, Methuen responded: “Excuse me while I talk privately with my executive officer.” The men deactivated translators, and Methuen queried: “What do you think, Saul?”
“I think we have no choice, B.J. But the scientists should move out with us.”
Reactivating translator, Methuen told Varji: “Commander, I have ten people who are scientists, they must come with me.”
Varji: “Accepted, but your party must be accompanied by an equal number of armed nervoi.”
Methuen and Zorbin and the task force were arrayed before a grave aging man, Caucasoid-black and entirely human, who sat behind a desk in an ornate office. Varji stood at his left; behind the Erth-people, armed spiders were on guard. The building and office were air-conditioned at about 24° Celsius.
Said Varji to the graying man: “Admiral Merdo, I have the duty to present Captain Methuen and Commander Zorbin, who say that they come from some planet called Erth. I gather that Commander Zorbin’s rank is the same as mine, and that Captain Methuen ranks him, but that you rank Captain Methuen. These other ten people are civilian scientists in Captain Methuen’s party.” She bobbed her head and six-leg-skittered back.
Merdo stood, partly in courtesy to Methuen, mainly in courtesy to the scientists, who as civilians had no rank or all rank. “You are welcome to Dora,” he said, “provisionally. You could be friends, you could be enemies. This we will have to determine.”
Methuen asserted: “Sir, it is true that Commander Zorbin and I are military men; but also I am chairman of a scientific task force, and you see our ten other members with me. My chairmanship comes from the chairman of my planet, and this gives me the status of a civilian political legate. On this basis, sir, I request and require that I or we speak directly with your ruler.”
The admiral, standing, gave it thought. He said presently: “Before I decide, it is proper that you explain to me what you are doing on our planet and how you happened to beach your ship atop one of our buildings.”
“Oh, crap!” Ogla snorted. “We were here already, and your damned building just rose up under us—”
Methuen swung on her: “Madam, I require that you be silent.”
She snarled: “But you have no authority—”
“I do have authority. I require your silence.”
She had her mouth open to argue—and then, at an arm-touch from Chu, she subsided.
Methuen turned to the disconcerted admiral. “Sir, I am sure that you have had your own problems with your own civilian scientists; luckily for science and for all of us, they are an independent breed. Well, I have to say, sir, that there are some extremely complicated factors involved in our ship’s presence atop your building. It was unintentional, and for us it was nearly disaster. Any further remarks should properly be made to your ruler, and I say this with the authority of our ruler for whom I am spokesman here; but of course I would be delighted to have you present, sir.”
The admiral sank into his chair, considered, activated a voice-private intercom, spoke inaudibly into it, listened to an inaudible response, inaudibly counter-responded; the conversation continued during minutes, and one long pause in it suggested that the person at the other end was placing a further call….
The admiral looked up. “Captain, I congratulate you and your colleagues. The Chancellor of Medzok, our ruler, has consented to receive you at 0930 this morning, a bit under two hours from now; and I have been asked to be present with Commander Varji. Until that time comes, you are cordially invited to entertain yourselves in my recreation center. Unfortunately, Varji and I have other duties; but I am about to present to you my chief of staff, Captain Norda—”
Most courteously, Norda (who was human) did courtesies to all the Erth-people, his courtesies consisting of placing h
ands palms-together in the oriental fashion and bowing to each of them; all twelve had the wit to respond in kind. With the translator on his chest, he invited them to follow him; and he led them into an informal, comfortably furnished room whose walls were perhaps ten meters long on a side, having a soda-and-liquor bar and bizarre gaming tables and a number of couches and easy chairs. The room was crewed by three white-jacketed nervoi, one behind the bar, two cruising. All the Erthlings were privately forming the same hypothesis about a human/arachnid caste system, with humans on top, but with spiders penetrating the order all the way up to commander level; were any nervoi higher?
Having ascertained that alcoholic drinks were acceptable, Norda via the spider-stewards provided each of them with a cool-tasty-light drink called Vesti. Seating himself in a chair which was undistinguished yet well located to field general discussion, Norda made an overture: “I am sure that many or all of you have questions about our city and nation of Medzok and our planet Dora. What can I say to help you?”
Zorbin came in fast. “Sir, I think it important that we not raise any issues which might prove mutually embarrassing. I think we should not make any statements, except to answer any questions about our Erth. I think we should confine ourselves to questions about the organization of your Dora.” On this cue, Methuen glared around at the scientists: all of them got it.
Anthropologist Chu established tone with his opener. “Captain Norda, I should appreciate answers to the following questions. First, is this city the only city on Dora, or are there others? Second, is there just one government on the planet, or are there several? Third, what is the political system, or what are the systems?”
“Excellent questions,” Norda purred. “I will take them seriatim. First, there are thirty-nine major cities and many towns and villages on Dora. Second, there are five nations on Dora; our nation Medzok is the strongest, but others are continually challenging us, which accounts for our military force and expertise; however, there is no open warfare at present. Third, Medzok, whose capital, Medzok City, you are now visiting, is a pluralistic political entity whose rulers are chosen by popular vote. I hope I have adequately answered these questions. Next question?”
Chu subsided, unconvinced by the third answer. Hoek barged in: “Sir, please explain the status of spiders—ner-voi—in Medzok, and tell us whether their status is the same in the other nations.”
Norda whirled on Hoek, saying too hastily: “I assure you, sir, there is no prejudice against nervoi in Medzok, although I cannot speak for other nations. We are an equal-opportunity commonwealth.”
Hurriedly Methuen injected: “Sir, I am enchanted by the diversified patterns on the surfaces of those tables. They are games, are they not?”
That warmed Norda. “Indeed they are. and marvelous games! Do you people enjoy games? Would you like to learn some of ours?’
“Oh, yeah,” exclaimed Sari, startling grateful Methuen.
“We would indeed!” Zorbin echoed. And however the various scientists might variously have felt about it, they were all herded around two tables, while the two spider-waiters brought out two sets of appropriate gaming pieces; and Norda, moving from table to table, explained two sets of rules and got them started playing while another round of drinks was served….
Soon after the third drink-round (Methuen and Zorbin had refused the second and third), a rather ornately jacketed spider appeared at the main doorway and voder-announced: “Gentlepeople, the Chancellor is ready.”
38
Still Day One Twenty-Four
The chancellor was a slight, middle-aged, brown-skinned man; Merdo was Caucasoid black, Norda somewhere between Merdo and the chancellor; Chu was sure that their natural race-complexion and feature-cast were brown and Caucasoid, the blackening of Merdo resulting from outdoor work in tropical sunlight. Methuen guessed that the chancellor’s clothing was not especially formal, might even be casual. The situation was a spacious sitting room-office, air-conditioned, having a mighty desk behind which the chancellor sat semi-slouched; seated flanking him were a young brown man and a darker middle-aged woman.
As the twelve Erth-representatives were courteously herded in by Merdo and Varji and the ubiquitous guard-nervoi, the chancellor (whose name they knew was Medzok 4829) stood smiling and awaited presentations. Gravely the admiral presented Methuen and Zorbin and the others seriatim; the chancellor, who wore a translator as did his two flankers and all the Erth-people, acknowledged each introduction by repeating the name. Then, with a sweeping gesture, Medzok invited them to sit; and, catching his nod, Varji sent the guards outside.
They heard words of courtesy from the now-seated chancellor. Knowing that his courtesy could be misleading, Methuen responded: “Mr. Chancellor, we are pleased indeed to be here, and we want for nothing to stand in the way of complete mutual understanding.”
Leaning back in his rocker-swivel-chair, fingers interfolded behind his head, Medzok told the ceiling: “Gentlepeople, I am going to go right to the point. How did you get here— what are you up to—and what was your spaceship doing atop our building?”
“The intricate story begins,” Methuen told him, “with an ice-comet.” And he called on Zorbin to relate their early experiences with Quarfar and Narfar. When those names were mentioned, the chancellor sat up straight and stayed alert.
When Zorbin concluded, the chancellor leaned forward and demanded: “Did you say Quarfar and Narfar?”
“He did,” Methuen affirmed; and he asked Olga to tell about their interviews with Quarfar. Methuen then briefed their decision to visit Dora, and made it sharp that when they landed, this area was an uninhabited clearing in jungle. By now, Medzok was frowning down, playing with a stylus. Methuen invited Seal to tell about her discovery.
Said Mabel: “Sir, we found a soft-rock throne which presumably was the throne of Narfar—”
“Of Narfar?” confusedly echoed the chancellor.
“Of Narfar. And further excavations revealed post-holes which seemed to mark the periphery of a primitive palace—” “Where were this throne and this palace?”
“Sir, I do not know just where we are now; but with respect to the building which rose up under our spaceship, this dig was no more than half a kilometer away to the northwest—”
“The building rose up under your spaceship?”
Methuen intervened. “Mr. Chancellor, already you have enough to realize that we have a mutual mystery here. Let me brief you.
“When we first arrived at the spot where you found us, only ninety-nine days ago, that spot wais a clearing in jungle, with no sign of humans anywhere in our widespread scouting of the planet. Three days later, abruptly a primitive city materialized all around us; its ruler was named Narfar, and he had wings, and he appeared to be the same Narfar who had come to Erth in the ice-comet. We worked with Narfar’s cooperation during ninety-six more days. Early this morning, your building seemed to rise up under us, and we found ourselves in the sudden presence of your highly advanced civilization. Sir, all of us will welcome your thoughts on this series of weirdities.”
“My first thought, Captain, would be to inquire whether you are a responsible commanding officer. Mentally responsible, I mean, sir.”
“Sir, if these are mad fantasies, then my executive officer and all ten of these scientists and all of my crew are sharing them with me.” The other eleven nodded, a few vigorously.
The chancellor now casually alluded to the young man and the middle-aged woman who sat flanking him. “Through negligence, I did not present my two colleagues here. The lady is Manya Keria Leta; her specialty is anthropology. The man is Manya Kandis Por6; his field is astrophysics.” Olga’s translators couldn’t handle manya, but probably it meant doctor or something of the sort. Continued the chancellor: “Manya Leta, may we hear from you first?”
Remaining seated, Leta stated as crisply as Sari might have done: “The myth of Quarfar and Narfar is ancient in our world. In one form of it, Narfar loved animals and inferior p
re-humans; but hating spiders and fully evolved humans, he confined them in a cold box. Quarfar loved every living being including full humans and spiders, but especially he loved full humans. So Quarfar played a trick on Narfar by sending him a beautiful woman named Dorita, a name obviously derived from Dora and therefore purely mythopoeic. Narfar fell in love with Dorita, married her, and gave the box into her safe-keeping. Out of curiosity, she opened the box, and thereby let-out the full humans and the spiders. And that was the beginning of human progress.
“There is usually some truth in a myth, but truth is buried and distorted by varying traditional incrustations and omissions. Sir, as you well know, our culture semi-deifies Quarfar as the patron of creative humans and our faithful servants the nervoi spiders; meanwhile we respect Narfar, and therefore we have innumerable animal pets, and we take good care of wild animals in zoos and sanctuaries, and we say grace before meat. However, sir, most of us acknowlege that a particular Quarfar and a particular Narfar, if they ever existed, existed only as transient leaders around whom a multitude of legends have accumulated. These legends probably encapsule developmental events around the time when the old stone age was moving into the middle stone age, when the species of full humans that is ancestral to ourselves began to conquer and finally extinguished an earlier pre-human species.
“I find it, if our our guests will forgive me, most difficult to attach any credence to their story, although I do find it interesting that they have learned so much of our mythology. I will inform our guests that there has been some sort of civilization-continuity on Dora during at least five millennia, and that our Medzok City has grown on this site during several millennia and has been a city in the modern sense during five or six centuries.
