The Sleeper of the Ages

by Hans Kneifel

  The crawler flew over the wide edge of the forest shoreline and seemed to stand still in the air.

  "Let's go!" Aramis exclaimed. "We'll search with everything we've got!"

  Deep-scan radar, Syntron-supported devices that measured the planet's geomagnetism, a range of optical detectors, mass bolometers, and a dozen other transmitters and antennae aimed themselves at the ground and sent out their beams. All that could be heard within the cabin was the heavy breathing of the Dumas Trio and the hissing whisper of the air circulation system. Holograms formed. Vidscreens lit up and displayed multi-colored graphs of jagged peaks and valleys. Data files filled. Under thick layers of gravel, clay, sand, and plant growth, lines and branching veins ran through the middle portions of the delta. Each of them indicated a band in which metal had concentrated; such alluvial deposits held a colossal promise—much, more, most!

  "That's what I was smelling!" Aramis exclaimed and roared with laughter. "And Mama's going to be the first to hear about it!" He snapped his headset down, made sure that he was transmitting on the ship's frequency, and continued in a somewhat lower voice, "Crawler V calling Mama. We've got a generous-looking river delta under us and we're about to land for a ground inspection. I'm sending you the location data, Alemaheyu!"

  "Understood, Aramis," Alemaheyu Kossa replied immediately. "I'll keep this channel open. Congratulations!"

  While Aramis guided the crawler to one of the points where about a dozen veins seemed to branch off—seen from the surface, there was nothing to hint at what lay below—the Syntron transmitted the contents of its data storage units to the PALENQUE's on-board computer. Five minutes later, the crawler was flying slowly in a zig-zig over a portion of the river delta. A special device fired arrow-like measuring probes into the ground beneath the surface at precise intervals. They penetrated to a depth of fifteen meters, began to analyze, and transmitted the results.

  "By all the riches of the Galaxy!" Porthos exclaimed after a little while. "Your sense of smell is to be congratulated! Praise be to your big nose, Aramis!"

  Gold. Gold mixed with a large amount of silver. Platinum. Some rare transuranic elements. Pure carbon, in other-words—diamonds. And, in varying though mostly high degrees of concentration, deposits of columbite-tantalite, also known as ...

  "Coltan!" Athos cried out enthusiastically. "Excellent! We've finally hit pay-dirt!" He drew an imaginary dagger and pantomimed a quarte. "Should we tell the others and make them jealous?"

  Aramis shook his head vigorously. The ends of his moustache flew back and forth like the antennae of a hairy beetle. "Not on your life! Let 'em find their own claim!"

  "And right you are again. Well, let's go on."

  Driscol, the PALENQUE's hyperdetection officer, had already overlaid the planet with a virtual grid for latitude and longitude. It would take the Syntron a fraction of a second to find again the site where a discovery was made. The crawler flew another, wider circle and fired the next salvo of ground probes. Where gold and diamonds were to be found, nature would have hidden still more valuable deposits: perhaps tantalum or rhenium. Or, in another location, Howalgonium or other fascinating raw materials.

  After all the probes had been placed, Aramis landed Crawler V. Since the results of the air analysis had been as positive as expected, he opened both hatch doors and they climbed down the triple-hinged ladder to the soil of Mentack Nutai.

  They stood on white gravel that lay on top of a thick layer of sand and clay. The long island was lined with a green wall of reed-like plants and trees with corkscrew trunks and huge, flat crowns. Flies or gnats buzzed and hummed in the air along with dragonfly-like insects, four-winged birds, and white swifts that resembled bats armed with beaks.

  "We Terrans probably won't set up a colony here," Aramis commented, "but ... "

  "The Lemurians forced to stay here won't have to complain about a boring environment." Porthos stamped through the crunching gravel and relieved himself behind the reed stalks.

  Athos held a pair of binoculars to his eyes and searched for larger specimens of fauna. The river showed hardly any current, with no sounds of splashing or waves.

  "Exactly!" Aramis muttered. "The first impressions were correct. It's an ancient, apparently peaceful world."

  "That can change very soon," Porthos said and opened an instrument holder built into the exterior of the crawler. "Let's get to work. What's on the agenda?"

  "Water samples and deep bore."

  The Dumas Trio communicated with glances, hand movements, and brief calls to each other. The small animals that they startled made no move to flee. The shadows of the treetops grew shorter as the half-robotic drill stem quickly disappeared whirring into the ground. Fish with large facetted eyes stared at Aramis as he took water samples; they snapped at the containers and could only be shooed away with difficulty. Now and then, when the shadows of clouds drifted over the graveled island, the prospectors glanced upwards but saw nothing more than blue sky, white clouds, and flying creatures with shimmering feathers.

  The Akonian Shift, a steel-gray craft that looked more military than civilian, had landed on a bare, insignificant hill. The hatches above the caterpillar tracks stood open, and none of the four-member crew were in sight. The blunt-nosed projector cannon pointed at the looming metal object between the dunes. The hilltop was so high and so far from the crash site that the fragment of the ark could be seen in its entirety as a black crescent-moon shape. What once had been part of a complete ring now stood at an angle and on end. It was twisted where it had broken off and the edges were just charred shreds. The whole wreck had been driven perhaps thirty meters deep into the sandy ground by the force of its impact.

  "What a colossus!" Rhodan murmured as he slowly flew the Space-Jet in a narrow circle around the massive object. "That was anything but a soft landing."

  "This ship must have looked very different from the NETHACK ACHTON. Right, Perry?" Denetree had cupped her hand over her chin and looked out uncomprehendingly at the oval crater. The fragment of the ark was discolored by scorching and marred by the impacts of meteorite. The Lemurians, who were tiny next to the wreck, were busy unloading objects from one of the many openings near the ground.

  "Yes, very different. We'll land next to the Shift," Rhodan decided. "We know that someone or something on this planet is playing with the energy of our ships. What affects the ships doesn't seem to apply to the auxiliary craft. We'll make it to the wreck section down there easily enough."

  The Space-Jet flew one more half-circle. Some of the Lemurians on the ground waved—though it seemed listlessly and without enthusiasm. The places where the ark had broken apart were divided into five clearly recognizable decks with many dividing walls and open compartments of different sizes and colors. The broken parts resembled the still-standing remains of a house of which half had been lost to fire and explosions.

  "Where will we find the other two-thirds of the ark?" Dr. Mahal wondered.

  "Maybe not anywhere in sight," Rhodan said, thinking that the fragments might have come down in the ocean and sunk without a trace. He set the Space-Jet down fifty meters away from the turtle-like Shift; there was no more room on the hilltop.

  "We're all on the ridge that the ship section pushed up, Terran Rhodan," announced Arsis Tachim, who had observed the landing of the Space-Jet, over the com. "The bright rectangle ... the pieces came from the ark."

  "Understood," Denetree replied and, after glancing for help at Rhodan, who nodded: "We're coming."

  They remained in their seats and looked out at the strange site of the wreck and the activity around it. To one side, on a level stretch of ground in front of a sparsely overgrown dune, they saw about two dozen graves: elongated mounds from each of which rose a white piece of wood that had been stripped of bark.

  "There were many dead," Denetree whispered. She was overwhelmed in the face of the massive black metal wreckage that was marked by streaks of soot, traces of melting, and the burn scars from the explo
sions. "And the survivors ... ?"

  Outside of the wreckage, there seemed to be about 250 survivors divided into several groups. About half seemed to want to settle in the vicinity of the wreck and were carrying furnishings and equipment of all kinds from out of the destroyed colossus. A long ramp had been built from rocky debris, soil, wooden beams, and metal struts and bars. Its top surface was covered with corrugated iron plates. Some Lemurians worked with welding torches, others with mechanically operated cutting tools. On the ramp, objects and even whole cabins that had been cut away intact were being towed out of the wreck.

  Other groups of Lemurians, mostly older people, stood idly by. They watched the laborers and seemed to be waiting for orders or guidance from their Commander. They apparently did not dare join in anywhere because they were afraid of failing. That's not uncommon in these circumstances, Rhodan thought.

  From some dark holes in the side of the wreck, tractor-beam cranes reached into the air and steered containers to the ground. A kind of house with windows that were actually open cabin doors, stood half-buried next to a platform. The edges of the building revealed that it had been cut out of the ark. So, Rhodan realized, there were still functioning power generators in the wreck. But for how much longer?

  "Let's go down," Hyman Mahal suggested. "There seem to be some capable people who've organized themselves quickly, in spite of the shock."

  Within moments, they had all left the Space-Jet and were on their way down the hill.

  "There was much work in my ship. Even drudgery. Everything was organized." Denetree began to walk faster, unable to tear her eyes away from the activities around the wreck. "Some leaders were overseeing the work and most of the others obeyed—not just from necessity, but also out of enthusiasm."

  Rhodan was amazed by the archaic technology, which for the most part had not been destroyed. On the narrow side of the ring section, he saw huge jets and the openings of inertial absorbers. The massive protective plates, scarred and cratered by innumerable impacts, ran on heavy rails. When they had flown in, Rhodan and his companions had been able to see into the five decks. It was clear that the ring had rotated at a right angle to the ship's flight direction to create artificial gravity. Roughly in the center of the wreck gaped an exactly circular hole of just twenty meters in diameter. Its edges were hardly damaged at all.

  Rhodan raised his left wrist to his mouth. "Picosyn. Do a 360-degree scan with recording and standard data gathering."

  The minicom responded with a barely audible confirmation.

  Generators within the wreck apparently provided enough energy, since the Lemurians had begun to cut holes in the hull through which they dragged out everything that was movable. The members of the crew here also consisted of "typical" Lemurians and a large percentage of mutants. On a rocky expanse at a distance of about 200 meters were four pieces of string stretched between marker pegs. Apparently this was the first, rather clumsy outlines of a permanent settlement.

  Solina Tormas, the Akonian historian, came hurrying towards Rhodan. The knot of hair at the back of her head was coming loose. She called excitedly: "You've come at just the right time. I think there's going to be trouble here soon. The Lemurians are still disoriented. They've lost the authority of their commander. First they wanted to build a settlement, but now ... that's where the Commander's landing vehicle or escape module was."

  She pointed to the round opening. Clamps and guide rails could be seen in the dark interior.

  Many of the survivors ceased their activities and came running up.

  Arsis Tachim, the narrow-faced co-pilot of the Shift, raised his hand and nodded to the Space-Jet's team. "One group wants to settle near the ark because of its salvageable fittings. The other wants to get as far away as they can. But they don't know how they can transport the heavy objects. They also don't know where they should migrate. They are all completely confused and many were afraid at first."

  "We've told them about our ships," Solina said, giving Denetree a quick hug. "But that didn't impress them. They're struggling to stay calm, they're disoriented, and they urgently need a new leader. Even the gnats and birds are psychological problems for them. From a secure, closed system, they've been thrown into the expanse of an open planet. This world is endless to them. Their Commander—they think he deserted them."

  Denetree and Solina glanced significantly at Rhodan.

  He slowly shook his head. "I might be qualified for the job, but I'm not available for the administrative salvation of the Lemurians. The Commander ... he probably bailed out of the wreckage in his escape module. We'll be able to speak with him soon."

  "That would be the piece in the north, about twenty kilometers from here," the Shift pilot put in. "The ark's radio was knocked out, by the way."

  "That's no surprise," Shimon commented dryly. "It's certainly not the only damage."

  Denetree stood with a group of survivors and spoke to them.

  Solina went to her and listened to the discussion for a few minutes. "They're really confused," she said finally. "Reality has overwhelmed them. Denetree, tell your people that we'll fly to the place where the Commander's module came down. If he's still alive, we'll bring him here. Then they'll have their leader again."

  The translation units operated at full capacity. It became clear to Rhodan that the Lemurians weren't entirely enthusiastic about the suggestion. The shock of the crash landing still lay too deep. And if he started searching for a memory storage unit now, the chaos would only increase. The Commander would be familiar with the history of the ark and would know where to find the ship's data archives.

  He stopped in front of two older Lemurians. They had a thoughtful look. Rhodan knew it was a long shot, but he would never forgive himself if he didn't make an attempt. He pointed to the towering colossus. "You left Lemuria 50,000 years ago. The ships ... the arks are an important part of the Galaxy's history. If you're removing the fittings and furnishings, you'll surely be able to find data storage units in the wreck as well. Logbooks. The memories of the very old ones."

  "What would be the good of that? We must survive—memories won't help us."

  "Without a past there is no future," Rhodan said persistently. "Perhaps you will consider my request. Please bring the ship's records out and let us know. It's important that all us know the past—for you just as much as us."

  "What do these storage units look like?" a bald-headed Lemurian asked in incomprehension.

  Rhodan shrugged. "That I don't know. It would probably look like whatever a Lemurian technician would imagine it to look like."

  "Many Technons have survived. If it was not destroyed, we will find it. Does this mean that you will return?"

  "In a while," Rhodan replied. "We're going on to the next section of wreckage." He glanced at the visual display on his multi-function wristband, noted some data, and looked at the hologram. Then he stopped the sequence and stored it. He turned around. "Let's search for the Commander," he told his three teammates and the Akonians. "We'll learn a lot more from him, and if we bring him here to his people, he will be able to establish some order. Come on!"

  Denetree reassured the Lemurians and ran after Shimon and Mahal to the Space-Jet. At that moment, a flock of shining white, seagull-like birds fluttered out of the forest. They landed with loud squawks and screeching on the highest point of the wrecked ark section, where a massive explosion seemed to have torn out a huge piece of debris.

  Rhodan sat down in the pilot's seat and entered the wristband readings into the Space-Jet's Syntron. "I suspect that cosmic rays have penetrated the ark over time," he said. "The amount was so high that it triggered mutations." He enlarged a section of the holo and pointed to it. "Here we see the shredded parts of the outermost deck. The radioactivity there is especially high."

  "What does that mean?" Denetree asked.

  "There must have been a large-scale nuclear explosion," Rhodan replied. "I can only guess that an atomic power plant blew up when it was struck and
torn away."

  "Very possible," Isaias Shimon said. "And what do we need to know beyond that?"

  Rhodan called up the data that the two starships had collected so far during their forced orbits. At first, as was expected, images from the remote scans alternated with enlargements of particular landmarks. Clouds, leisurely meandering rivers, and some glaciers among ancient mountain chains. Mentack Nutai was clearly a very old world, planetologically speaking. While the team observed the holos, the Shift took off and sped in a northerly direction.

  The orbiting PALENQUE's instruments were trained on a glacier. Seconds later, it was determined that it was part of the polar cap designated as "north," about 3000 kilometers away from the landing site of the large piece of wreckage. Driscol seemed to have discovered something unusual, since he enlarged the area in question in quick successive steps.

  "Another piece of wreckage," Rhodan said after they had discussed the details of the image. "From the ark in all probability."

  The metal object, red-hot or at least strongly heated by atmospheric friction during its fall, had melted a long, virtually oval crater in the ice and lay at one end. The long stretch of the track matched the direction of furrow. A round metal object had melted its way deep into the ice. The water in the crater and around a small, dome-shaped projection had refrozen. The metal was black like the hull of the OVIR and so stood out plainly visible from the white of the surroundings.

  Rhodan determined the position of the discovery and passed the data to the Shift, and for safety's sake to the two crawlers as well. Kealil Ron confirmed reception.

  "North polar region. Uninhabited land ... "

  In the middle of the enlargement of an extended river delta, the transmission from Driscol's hyperdetection center suddenly broke off. A few seconds later, the holo that up to now had displayed the Akonian cruiser's observations went blind as well.