‘Oh, I got married young, too young,’ he said, forgetting for a moment his search for a means of escape.
A clanking sound resonated through the vessel and he felt the cabin levelling out. Maura was thrown out of her seat as the bath lurched again.
Geoff stooped to help her, but froze as he saw a shape on the viz-box screen – a shadowy but familiar outline.
‘Something’s moved the chimney,’ he said, staccato tapping his viz-box screen to get the picture back.
Maura jumped up and began rapidly paging though the instrument readings. ‘We’re going back up, thank God. What did you see?’
‘I dunno. The screen’s gone blank. We’ve lost the infrared.’
‘Something must have happened. Did the chimney just roll off?’
‘Yeah, it must have done. P’raps it was a seismic tremor.’
‘You saw something. What was it?’
‘Nothing, a hallucination, my blood oxygen’s low.’
‘Tell me, Geoff. Something happened.’
‘I don’t know. I thought there could be something there. It was just for a second. It’ll be gone by now – if there was anything.’
He checked the panel alarms. The forward searchlights had failed but the camera indicated its flash was still working. He operated the shutter. ‘Hey, Maura, look! What do you make of that? That thing – it looks like a crab, doesn’t it?’
‘Jaysis! I think I must have died already. I don’t understand anything anymore, not at all.’
‘You thought there was life here. Now we know.’
‘Mary, Mother of God, it must be gigantic! It’s taking us back up. Look at the depth readout. At this rate we’ll be under the ice again in an hour.’
‘We could hit it hard. D’you want to contact Control? Say we’re coming in for an emergency landing?’
She lifted a flap on the desk and hit a button. ‘Okay, we’re sending a mayday, but no way am I opening the voice channel. I don’t want to tell anyone we’re being rescued by a crab.’
‘Look, I’ve got another photo,’ said Geoff. ‘It’s not a crab, it’s a machine. It’s got a grab-arm and a rocket nozzle.’
The crab machine accompanied the bathyscaphe all the way to the ice cap, retracing the course of their descent from Port Authority quayside. During the final fifteen minutes, Geoff noticed their rate of ascent reduced, as if the machine was slowing them to minimise their impact with the ice cap.
‘Glory be!’ said Maura. ‘We’re back at quayside. Where’s the crab thing?’
‘It seems to have disappeared. I could only see it now and then using the flash. It’s probably dived back where it came from.’
‘I think we’ve got enough manoeuvrability to dock without help. But what in the universe was that thing?’
‘It looked very mechanical to me. I think it was a robot.’
‘Whatever it was, something intelligent must have made it,’ said Maura.
She clutched her head with both hands and Geoff gripped her wrists to steady her. ‘Listen, please,’ he said, ‘the crab robot – promise me you’ll keep it secret for the moment. There’s something I haven’t told you.’
Suspicion
Maura had agreed to meet Geoff in the Unidome sky gallery. It was late morning, CHT, but the blackness of the sky had an intensity unknown on Earth. Saturn floated high, the bands on its surface and gaps in its rings clearly visible. Geoff pointed out Titan and four of the planet’s other moons strung out like beads on a wire drilled through Saturn’s equator. But his conversation sounded false even to his own ears. Their recent experience on the seabed weighed heavily on him. He knew he needed time to digest the significance of what had happened, both to them and between them. For long minutes they said nothing until, eventually, he asked how she was feeling.
‘Actually I’m zinging, like you do if you breathe too much oxygen.’
‘Well, that sounds better than too little,’ said Geoff, the memory of their experience fresh in his mind. ‘But, tell me, did you see Prof? What did he say?’
‘Huh, it was funny. Would you believe he congratulated me? He praised me for what he thought was my skill in saving the bathyscaphe after it was damaged.’
‘Good for you,’ said Geoff. ‘You deserve Prof’s praise after being so brave.’
‘Mm, maybe. He was such a gobshite previously, I decided to take all the credit myself, at least for the time being. I mentioned you in dispatches though.’
‘So you didn’t say anything about the crab robot?’
‘I decided not to mention the crab-bot until after I’d talked to you. But, really, we’ve got to tell everyone. It’s feckin’ cataclysmic!’
‘That’s why we’ve got to tread cautiously. We haven’t got enough evidence yet,’ said Geoff.
‘We’ve got photos of that crab-bot thing. It was made by some intelligent being. It’s the most brilliantly wonderful news since Adam said “Hiya” to Eve.’
‘No, we can’t tell anyone. We have to find the robot-masters first.’ Geoff touched Maura’s arm. She was young and she believed she’d made a supremely important scientific discovery, and he had to persuade her to keep it secret. ‘The Federation is desperate to achieve military superiority. They only want this place as a weapons base, and they won’t allow anything to jeopardise it. When they find out another life form exists in the sea, they’ll try and destroy it.’
‘But we can show everyone what we’ve seen,’ said Maura. ‘OPDEO won’t dare annihilate a new, intelligent species.’
‘Publishing some blurry pictures of a machine won’t be enough to protect its makers. No matter what we say, OPDEO will claim it was their own robot that saved us. It’s up to us to prove the aliens themselves exist. Until we’ve done that, we must keep what happened secret, okay?’
‘Are you sure about all this? You’re not paranoid, are you?’
‘You don’t know the half of it. The UN has been watching OPDEO for some time. There’s no doubt they’re utterly ruthless.’
Geoff waited for Maura’s reaction. Rhea, Saturn’s second largest moon, appeared from behind the planet, but still she remained silent, her lips pressed tight. Then at last she spoke. ‘Just before we docked, you said there was something you hadn’t told me.’
‘Yeah, okay, I guess I’ll have to come clean. For some time now, even before anyone landed here, COPUOS thought there could be life on Europa.’
‘Sure, that’s not news. Everyone knows life could have started here.’
‘Well, not only did it start, it came a long way. In fact, it’s come so far it can send messages across space.’
‘Jaysis! Are you coddin’ me?’
‘No, at least, not if you mean what I think you mean. Now, this is important, you’re the first person outside the UN to hear this. Over a long period, COPUOS has received signals we’ve traced back to Europa.’
‘What sort of signals?’ asked Maura, tilting her head to one side.
‘We discovered strings of words written directly onto our computer memories. We think it’s only ever happened on our network.’
‘Why your computers?’
‘Perhaps it was because the name of our committee has “peaceful” in it. At least, that’s what I hope.’
‘Okay, what were the signals like?’
‘The early ones were just gobbledygook. They looked like software errors. Then we went through a phase when we thought it was hackers having a bit of fun. Our internet security is the best in the world but, whatever firewalls we put up, somebody or something cut through them, like a thermite lance slicing a ship’s hull.’
‘Very nautical, Geoff. But what was in the message?’
‘It was in a sort of flowery English, almost like poetry. We were convinced for a long time it was a hoax.’
‘Come on, for Chrissakes, tell me what the messages said.’
‘It’s not that easy to say. I think an extraterrestrial was trying to work out how to communicate with us. Now
we’ve had our lives saved by the crab-bot, I’m certain the messages were an attempt to contact us. Some living being was looking for peaceful acceptance and a mutually beneficial relationship.’
‘You mean it wanted to be friends?’
‘You could say that.’
‘D’you think the crab-bot sent the messages?’
‘I don’t think so. My guess is it was being manipulated by something else, either from inside or outside. Thanks to you, I’ve now got strong evidence that advanced aliens live on this moon, just as the UN suspected. I’ll write them a coded report.’
Maura looked pensive. Then she stepped back from Geoff and stood with her hands on her hips. ‘So now I know your game. You’ve been cosying up to me so you could go looking for aliens.’
‘Hey, that’s not fair,’ said Geoff, thinking hard. She’s become unfriendly and she’s not being rational. If I explain, she’ll understand we’ve been sharing a common interest.
‘It was your idea, remember?’ he said. You asked me to help you search for living organisms. I was more than willing to, because I was on the same search. The only difference was, I expected my organisms to have a higher IQ than yours.’
‘Now you’re just being a smart-arse.’ Maura smeared away a tear from her cheek.
Geoff was confused. What have I missed? What I said was entirely logical, wasn’t it? I’ve done something wrong and it’s made her unhappy.
‘Why are you upset?’ he asked. ‘I don’t understand – you were a real hero when we were trapped on the seabed.’
Maura began strapping on her wings. ‘Let me alone, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’ She took off leaving Geoff staring at the icy landscape.
General Flannery returned Major Breckenridge’s salute. He walked over to the drinks cabinet that stood in the corner of his office, half filled two glasses with Bourbon and added a scoop of ice. ‘I heard you were good at baseball, Major. We ought to start a team. How about the OPDEO Strikers? I’ve been reading your report. You certainly gave that fucker what for.’
‘Thank you, suh,’ said Breckenridge, his face momentarily contorted by a nervous tic. ‘I love them supercavitation torpedoes. They fly like rockets. The insurgent never knew what hit it.’ He downed his whiskey in one gulp and the general gave him another.
Flannery shifted his overflowing in-tray and sat on the edge of his desk. ‘It was a smart move defusing the explosive. You disabled the machine without wrecking it. What’s the latest analysis?’
‘Well, it was definitely unmanned, suh, or what the heck you call them critters that built it. Nothin’ was livin’ inside. It was made from some real fancy alloys, and it had steam jets for propulsion. It used a lotta technology we’ve never seen before.’
‘What was its purpose? Was it military?’
‘I don’t think so. It had a hell of a big claw, and a lot of cuttin’ gear. We think it was designed for maintenance, suh.’
‘So, what d’you think controlled it, Major?’
‘It had a lot of complicated control programs. We know that from the chips we’ve found, pico-arrays with awesome memories. Our geeks are checkin’ ’em out right now, suh.’ The major’s face was looking flushed and his habitual tic had reduced to a flicker of his eyelid.
‘Was it autonomous, Major? A slave drone, or could it make decisions?’
‘Aw, we’re workin’ on that right now, suh. One of the chips looks like a receiver for external commands. We’re scannin’ the ocean for acoustics. That’s how we think the machine gets its orders.’
‘So, you reckon our oceanographers discovered the machine before us, but never told us about it?’
‘It certainly looks that way. O’Hara and Kirby say they got their bathyscaphe stuck under some rocks on the seabed. But it was never just a rock that caused damage like that on the hull.’
‘How d’you mean?’
‘I raced a lotta stock cars in my youth, suh. Smashed ’em up and welded the good halves together. For me it’s a lead-pipe cinch – that vessel’s been gripped by mechanical jaws and the debris cut away with a torch. Shall I bring ’em in for questionin’, suh?’
‘No, not yet. I think we can use them to find out more, at their risk.’ Flannery sat back, steepling his fingers. ‘O’Hara clearly wasn’t telling the truth. If they’ve had contact with aliens, they’ll try it again, and I want to see what happens. Meanwhile, go and find someone who’s got access to their files, and who wouldn’t be averse to a career move to assist OPDEO. But don’t tell anyone else, okay?’
‘You mean you wanna spy. Yessuh, I get you.’
‘Let’s say a confidential advisor, shall we? It sounds more refined.’
‘Gotcha, suh.’
Kai smiled as he read Tang Linto’s message, appointing him and his crew to fly the next transport ship to Mars. The Zhejiang team had been front-runners for the task but their navigator had a broken arm. The rumour was that Tai had stolen extra Jenga bricks to help his team win the tower building contest. The eyewitnesses to what had happened suddenly acquired a vivid memory of how Tai had tripped down the steps as he’d left the saloon and broken his arm as he tried to save himself.
Shortly after, Kai heard his doorbell ring. He was surprised to find a young man with a shaven head and wearing a saffron robe standing outside his living apartment. The monk passed Kai a scroll, bowed and departed without saying a word. Kai broke a seal bearing the familiar name of his monastery and unfurled the roll of stiff paper. The Abbot’s secretary had written in the old style, using brush and ink. Kai frowned as he interpreted the ancient Khitan calligraphy. It was a message to tell him Wu Jiu Li was dying.
Kai knew he had to leave immediately to visit Wu. He wrote instructions for Huang and Chen to prepare for the voyage to Mars. Then, after changing into a dress uniform appropriate for his new rank as a Celestonaut Pilot Captain, he unlocked his strongbox and took out an antique orrery dating from the Qing dynasty. Its intricate mechanism modelled the movements of the sun, Earth and the five other planets of the Solar System known when it was made. It was a treasure he’d inherited years ago, but he had been unable to take it with him when he’d run away from home. Now he had a career and status again, he was reconciled with his family. They had returned the orrery to him as a sign of goodwill. He packed it into a small case with his luggage and set off for the maglev terminal.
Kai stopped his taxi-drone some distance from his destination so he could arrive on foot, as he had on his very first visit. The monastery, set on a mountain ledge, was imposing more for its breadth and symmetry than for its height. Kai stopped to study the building from afar. He rejoiced at the sight of its stone-carved pillar gates, the doubled-tiered roof sweeping upward at the corners, and the ceramic figurines embedded in the eaves.
When Kai reached the monastery, he was met by Prior Shetani who confirmed that Wu was dying. As he was second in command, it was common knowledge Shetani expected to become Abbot after Wu’s death. Kai found Wu in his tiny cell and was shocked to see how thin his body had become. He was still lying on the hard board he’d slept on every night, as long as Kai could remember. Shetani grimaced when Kai ordered him to bring Wu a soft mattress from the visitors’ quarters. But, observing Kai’s uniform, the Prior hastened to fetch the bedding. When Kai demanded chicken broth for Wu, Shetani brought it himself, perhaps anxious to be seen to be doing all he could for his master. Kai gently spooned the broth into the Abbot’s mouth, but the old man couldn’t swallow more than a few mouthfuls.
He gripped Kai’s hand weakly and drew him close to speak to him. ‘The Thiosh are calling you,’ he whispered. ‘Beware of the destroyers.’
Kai felt a sudden draught and went to close the window. ‘Tell me, Father, who are the destroyers?’ he asked, but Wu began a fit of coughing and could not reply immediately.
‘Go . . . to . . . the . . . Thiosh,’ he said finally, and then began the loud, laboured breathing that is a precursor to death.
Kai gave Shetani
money for Wu Jiu Li’s tomb and asked him to place the orrery in Wu’s coffin. Shetani thanked Kai for coming and said it was a pity the Abbot had been delirious when Kai saw him. ‘On the contrary,’ said Kai, ‘no one on his deathbed spoke more clearly than Wu Jiu Li.’
Kai walked around the monastery grounds and paused at the ornamental lake, near the spot where the appearance of the giant carp had changed his life. But this time the surface remained a perfect mirror.
As he left the monastery, he noticed a new crop outside the kitchen. He photographed the leaves with his com-phone and identified the plants as a type of castor bean. He knew oil could be extracted from its seeds and used for medicinal purposes, to ease stomach problems or skin conditions. But as he journeyed back to join his crew, he remembered the seeds could be used to make another product: the highly toxic poison known as ricin.
Second Dive
Geoff was desperate to talk to Maura. He called and arranged to meet her in the Unidome garden. She was sitting on a park bench watching tiny humming birds hovering over a scarlet etlingera flower. It was lunchtime, and groups of two or three people wandered around, relaxing before going back to work. Prof’s office supervisor, Leona, walked by – very straight, very tall, wearing her braids threaded with blue beads. She gave Maura a friendly wave. Geoff felt the garden turning around him as the combined scents of hibiscus, frangipani and white champak saturated his senses. He caught hold of the armrest and dropped into the empty space on the bench.
‘Maura, we need to talk. You said I’d been cosying up to you to hitch a free ride under the ice. And yes, that was true in a way. I admit I had an ulterior motive, but it wasn’t the only reason I wanted to get to know you.’ Geoff blurted his words in a rapid staccato. He thought for a moment she was smiling, but he looked again and saw she was serious.
The Hesperian Dilemma Page 3
