Lucifer Comet (2464 CE)

by Ian Wallace

  The totality of her thought ended, as though a door had closed in their faces. It was replaced by a peremptory from behind: We must leave her, now. Pray mount our backs again.

  They sat in an isolated stadium-box bounded by knee-high adobe walls in all but total darkness relieved only by the blue fluorescence. Spiders clustered near them and above-behind them, their massed numbers extending right and left in great depth until their shapes were dark-obscured. It was a vast underground arena, its broad lofty dome pallidly blue-luminous, but all forms beneath it dissolved in murk.

  Even the thought of Milji was diminuendo as she told them: It is the greatest of all events in our nervo world: the annual testing of Narsua. Your presence as a male. Captain, is unprecedented; your presences as humans, Captain and Doctor, are unprecedented; you are here by special dispensation of Narsua herself, a dispensation endorsed by her challenger; this dispensation has been enjoined upon all nervoi in the world, you are respected, you will not be harmed.

  Sari responded, “We recognize, and we are grateful.”

  I need hardly repeat, Milji added, that you are expected to keep this visit a secret. It would be blasphemy if Dorian humans were to get wind of it. Even your scientists will not need to know: one of our most intelligent security nervoi aboard your ship is now allowing herself to be interviewed by your Doctors Hoek. Ombasa, and Chu; she will doubtless tell them something about this annual custom, but the fact that you are witnessing it can remain a matter of secrecy.

  Without hesitation, Methuen said: “This has been accepted by both of us. It will remain our secret.”

  Thank you.

  “Now be good enough to brief us about what we will witness.”

  Our traditions insist that in the very old days, while Narfar held us captive in a cold box along with the Medzok people, we nervoi hunted each other, having no other suitably large food because we would not eat humans. Whenever one of us ate another, the victor thereby learned everything that the victim had known. By this process, in several human generations and many of our generations, a few of us knew a very great deal at the time when we were released from our box by Dorita; and the one who knew by far the most was our Queen Narsua the First.

  The custom of hunting each other died out when we were free to attack outside creatures such as insects and mammals and birds. At the same time, we acquired new natural enemies such as insects and mammals and birds, and so we did not over-proliferate. But we retained, in a way which you would call religious, the annual festival of the Narsua-testing.

  Queen Narsua is always the nervo who at once knows more than all the others and can defeat any of the others in combat. Each year at this time, a challenger comes forth: she is chosen by mental consensus among potential challengers. She has proved her wisdom with leadership; she has proved her combat ability in the hunt. Now she contests the supremacy of the queen; and representatives of all the nervoi in all the nations on Dora are here around you to see it happen; and every nervo on Dora, present or absent, will simultaneously witness it through our mind-communion….

  Look: they are coming forth!

  Startled Methuen and electrified Sari saw two great spiders coming from opposite quarters toward arena center: saw them clearly in full detail, as though two blue spotlights had focused upon them. The one at the right was actually grizzled, she moved somewhat arthritically: the one at the left was young and agile.

  You alone are seeing them in enhanced illumination, Milji told them; for the rest of us, all is taking place in bright daylight; but we honor your limitations, and so we confer upon you these special lightings which are entirely mental.

  The nervo at the right is Narsua 6261, the personification and collective memory of all past Narsuas, our queen. The one at the left is her challenger, and you have met her; you know her as Commander Varji.

  I will be silent now. Watch; and if you concentrate, you can mind-hear the intercourse of the protagonist and the antagonist.

  It was more than a combat theater, it was a spectacle of felt religion. The ambience was more than the blue-glowing murk, it was Methuen-Sari pervasion by all the intent-devout feelings of ten thousand nervoi here and a million nervoi elsewhere all interacting in one-spider identity. There was no division in this feeling, no partisanship; no spiders were backing either combatant especially: for all of them, both combatants were participating in a drama of species-devotion.

  In the all-enfolding surplice of spiritual unity, indeed the humans were able, faintly but clearly, to mind-hear the preliminary exchange between queen and challenger.

  Narsua: Who approaches, and for what purpose?

  Varji: I am Varji, and I challenge you to hunt me while I hunt you.

  Narsua: In the old days, in jungle, you would have tried to surprise me; and I would have been wary not to be surprised, or, if surprised, to shoot first and better.

  Varji: No nervo, revered Madam, comprehends as well as you the decadence of our old hunting habits and skills. But I think we agree that it has been well bought: in exchange for the mutual enmity which brought us knowledge-growth, we have turned our knowledge-growth to the advancement of humans and ourselves. Would you go back to the old, madam?

  Narsua: I would not go back, although it is good sometimes to remember and relive the old.

  Varji: That is why I come and challenge: that all nervoi here and everywhere may relive the old in us. Madam, I wish to fight you fairly, without surprise.

  Narsua: To the death?

  Varji: To the death. You are friend; therefore you are food.

  Narsua: You are friend, therefore you are food. Begin it, friend.

  Instantly Varji swung abdomen between legs and fired a tail-shot at Narsua who was easily thirty meters away. Anticipating the shot, Narsua leaped to the left; but Varji, who had learned about Narsua’s characteristic left-leap, had led her with the shot, and it caught one of her legs. Falling, Narsua swung tail and shot back, correctly judging that Varji would be running in along the web-line; she entangled Varji’s abdomen, bit-away her own entangled leg (it would regenerate if she survived), and ran in to finish off her antagonist. Varji, unable to bite herself loose from her own abdomen, was chewing at the web-rope with calm precision; Narsua’s age slowed her death-run; Varji rolled free, at the same time closer-range firing, and practically swaddled Narsua.

  Varji, dragging the coils of web-cord, stood over the helpless queen. Madam, last year / could not have won. Despicable age has sapped your vigor, but it has sapped neither your courage nor your cunning.

  Cocooned on the ground, Narsua responded feebly: Even five years ago, Varji, had you challenged, you might have won. You were cunning enough to perceive that nowadays 1 have to move toward my left.

  Varji: Five years ago, I was not so cunning; and five years ago, you were not physically limited to leftward evasion. I hold with what I said, revered Madam.

  Narsua: Bless you, Varji. Have done with it.

  Varji: As with thee, some day with me also. Meanwhile, I eat thy knowledge. May all our eggs be blessed.

  Responded her prey Narsua 6261: As with me, some day with thee also. Meanwhile, eat my knowledge. May all our eggs be blessed.

  Varji fanged. Then Varji activated her mouth-parts.

  As he watched the devouring, Methuen felt chill spread from his heart outward. Suddenly Sita Sari turned to press her forehead against his upper arm, and he felt her repressing a retch.

  Milji quietly entered their minds. Be calm and sympathetic; it is our way. Narsua is the soul of us, containing all our species memories, deploying all of us as her intellect and her limbs; she is our will directing us, our meaning available always to us. When Varji will have completed the eating and assimilating of Narsua 6261, Varji will cease to be Varji, she will be Narsua 6262, the identity of her food, who had been in turn the identity of her food and the food of her food on back to the beginning of our time.

  Now I will take you back to your ship. We promised you that one of two-hig
h-placed nervoi had volunteered to be interviewed by you two privately, beyond the interview of one of our crew-people by your scientists. Now I inform you that she was to be one or the other Narsua: today’s victor. In either case, it would come to the same meaning. You will be interviewing Queen Narsua, who will come to you with all our racial memories, intelligence, and will.

  Deal with her gracefully, for Narsua will be graceful.

  At nearly the same moment, aboard the Farragut, Ombasa inquired of the specimen crew-spider, while Hoek and Chu watched and listened with absorption: “Do you have any idea how the brain of a spider, even a large one like yourself, can remember and learn and reason at human level?”

  The nervo, who had been provided with a voder, answered in halting alto: “Your question is beyond my scope, but I remember something about it in my schooling. I speak not of spiders generally, but of us nervoi generally. One nervo can remember a little and learn a little all by herself. If I have to remember a lot and learn a lot and reason a little, I just start doing it, and I know that all other nervoi are helping me. My officers can do this even better. The one who can do it best of all is Narsua.”

  Turning to his colleagues, Ombasa said with something like awe: “It crosses my mind that the shapes of brain-neurons are spidery, and their interplay creating intelligence could be called a sort of telepathy. You know, I really believe we have run upon that long-theorized thing: a collective brain in which each individual is a single neuron or ganglion. And I am beginning to suspect that this collective brain has a soul whose name is Narsua.”

  41

  Still Day One Twenty-Four

  On boarding the ship, Methuen was handed the text of a communique from the chancellor, pre-translated by Olga:

  Captain Methuen, Sir: We have digested the transcript of your audience with us this morning, and we find that a great many questions remain. Consequently, at 0800 hours tomorrow morning, you are directed to emerge from your ship with your executive officer and your ten scientists, and to place yourselves in the custody of the spider-squad which will receive you, under the command of Captain Norda. During your absence, temporary command of your ship will be assumed by the spiders already aboard, under Lieutenant Milji; you are enjoined to instruct your officers and crew to accept their directions and to offer no obstacle. I am, sir, your obedient servant, Medtok, Chancellor.

  He told the ensign: “Summon all scientists and officers to the ward room immediately, no exceptions; I know it’s nearly happy hour, but they can drink later. Make photocopies of this for all persons aboard, and bring them personally to the ward room. Do both at once.”

  Sari, seated at the conference table, watched Methuen’s meticulous personal checking to be sure that all scramblers were up and that the room was sealed off from bugging and mind-listening. Several had already arrived when the captain took his seat. Guitar banging and singing started just outside: that lieutenant had remembered to set it up again. The captain would not begin until all were present, and he sent out a general call to bring in tardies.

  When the complement was full, he said in a low intent voice: “Gentlepeople, it is always good to be with you. I do not know what is ahead for any of us. I want each of you to know that my experience with you has been a valuable one, and I want each officer to pass on to his crew that I feel the same way about each of them.

  “Ensign, be good enough to pass out the copies of the chancellor’s communique. Each officer is to take enough copies for all under his command. Read it immediately, and with care.”

  He allowed two minutes for the distribution and reading. He resumed:

  “First, all of us will comply with this communique to the letter. Officers, instruct your crews to obey the nervoi in every respect and to extend them every courtesy: consider them human, which in a larger sense they certainly are. I cannot sufficiently emphasize that we are totally in the power of Medzok. Remember that any mayday call even to the nearest planet in the Sol/Centauri League could not reach its destination in fewer than twenty-one centuries; and I do not know of any of our ships cruising within a thousand light-years of Dora.

  “Second, specifically to my officers, I envision the possibility that the chancellor will want to acquire our ship, or at any rate to learn the secrets of our long-distance high-velocity space capability. Should this occur, all of you are to remain passive for a period of twenty-four hours after I depart the ship; during that period, we may be able to accomplish something with the chancellor. After twenty-four hours without word, the senior among you is to fire a robot carrier to Erth with the message that I am about to dictate. You are then to take off at peak thrust, firing defensively as may be necessary, and maintain peak thrust along the five-forty-six gradient. Arriving on Erth, you will confirm my message to top authorities.

  “Here is the message: all of you take it down, to be sure that it will exist. Quote: Anticipate attack upon Erth by sophisticated invaders from Saiph III no later than 10 January 2465 and possibly sooner. Initial attacks will probably be rekamatic along five-forty-six gradient. First strike may be destruction of Nereid; second, inactivation of all grounded spaceships; third, inactivation of all army ammo including missiles; fourth, destruction of remaining ships in space. Invasive conquest will follow. Strongly urge first protective measure be rekamatic blockade of gradient as far out as Bellatrix, followed by temporary evacuation of Nereid to Erth; take back-up measures at your discretion. Signed: BJ. Methuen, Captain Astrofleet, now on Saiph III. End message. Got it?”

  They nodded.

  He added, “Of course, your escape may fail, and some of you may be captured alive. If this happens, those who can do so will try to sabotage the ship. Above all, once again, none of you is to reveal any information about the location of Erth or about the five-forty-six gradient.”

  A lieutenant raised a finger: “Sir, what if we are tortured?” Methuen snapped: “That circumstance always has to be handled by each person alone with his pain-threshold and his conscience. Next question?”

  Chu queried: “Sir, if there are no further questions from your officers, can you offer anything for us scientists?”

  The captain smiled gently,, appreciating the Cathayan for* his wisdom and his self-discipline. “Dr. Chu, sir, I am sure that we of the task force will be questioned insistently, perhaps psychoprobed or otherwise tortured, in order to yield the following sorts of information for the chancellor: whether we are really enemies or really friends; whether we really come from some planet Erth or are instead Dorian enemies; whether we really believe the story we told him about Quar-far and Narfar and about a building rising up under us. So far, no problem except pain; but then there will be more searching questions, assuming a finding that indeed we are from Erth. They will want to know where Erth is; and for a third or fourth time I enjoin all of you, if you can possibly resist blabbing it out, to withhold information about the locus of Erth and about the gradient. I think that questions like this should be asked in good faith under friendly conditions; our hosts must know that they must prove their friendliness before they expect voluntary answers. And I think that any such question asked under duress is prima facie evidence of an intention to harm Erth.”

  Thoughtful silence.

  Arising, Methuen with difficulty attempted lightness. “It seems to be 1722 hours; I’ll have the bar opened. Before dinner, I suggest that you have your usual two or three drinks, or your usual no drinks if you are abstinent; and that you eat well at dinner. After dinner, the bar will remain open; and don’t forget that our supply of restorative pills is plentiful. I propose a toast which Dr. Chu well knows, the wisdom of Lao Tse: may we wine ourselves just well enough so that we walk a tightrope between heaven and hell, but let us not tipple enough to topple.”

  While the others were heading for the bar, he bent over Sari who lingered in her seat. “Will you be eating dinner?”

  “Not after the eating we watched this afternoon. Will you?”

  “In view of the visit w
e two expect, something tells me that we should fast. Would you like a drink, though?”

  “If we are fasting, should we drink?”

  “Why don’t you come with me now to the bridge? Just behind it, there’s a little bar with drinks, dinner pills, and restorative pills. What do you think?”

  “I think I could drink and pop pills, maybe. Natural dinner, no.”

  The bridge and the bar-cubicle behind it were a single unit in the nose, separated from the remainder of the ship by a bulkhead. Haying dismissed the two duty officers, Methuen seated Sari in the co-pilot’s chair, went to the little room, returned with two drinks and two pill bottles, sat beside her.

  He started talking immediately, somewhat apprehensive about silence with Sari. “We’d better stay here, since Narsua is to appear on the bridge at some time during the next hour or so. I have no idea how she’ll arrive, but presumably the nervoi aboard will know when she comes, and someone will call me here. Since the visit is to be confidential, I haven’t

  dared issue reception orders. I haven’t set up scramblers here on the bridge, the nervoi will know about Narsua anyway.” ‘‘Captain—do set up scramblers.”

  After eyeing her hesitantly, he arose and obeyed. When he returned, he invited for a second time: “Call me B.J. here.” “Call me Sita anywhere,” she repeated. “Well, B.J.—” “Sita?”

  “I think I’ve made some progress on that business of erasing the gradient.”

  “Tell me, and don’t spare the technicalities.”

  “It is really quite simple, but I think a trifle impossible. The gradient was created by a body, presumably that of Nar-far, traveling instantaneously from Erth to the vicinity of Saiph. It would be erased if our ship should get herself on it and then backtrack instantaneously from Saiph to Erth.”