“[A gentle breeze across the vines] I’m not the leader, but we cooperate for the good of all. They might fly with us. Did you mean in real life or in our simulation?”
“[A new vine filled with sap] Oh. I had not considered there might be a difference in their response based upon that.”
“[The star rises now] Let’s get started.”
The Rootpounder folded its legs under it until it became very close to the deck. Sarfal watched with interest as it leaned over until it lay with its entire body in contact with the floor. Then it created a virtual world in its computer systems and interfaced with it.
Sarfal joined. The simulation was of a vine-covered Thrasar world. A data offering told Sarfal the world was a simulation of the one to which they now traveled. Other Rootpounders arrived.
Sarfal tagged them with names for the map: Shortflyer, Tallflyer, Grimfighter, Palethinker, and their leader, Strongjumper. The other Rootpounder was not present, but Sarfal tagged it Shypilot just the same.
Sarfal darted left, then right joyfully. The vines beckoned, so Sarfal launched through them, flitting through the leaves in a large circle around the clustered Rootpounders.
Games in the leaves!
“[What is that shadow?] Wait. We can’t see you, but we can hear something...” one said.
“[Where does the vine go?] I see Sarfal on the tactical but haven’t caught sight of her yet.” another said.
A learner process quickly tracked down the problem. Soon the Rootpounder’s grossly large light sensor pairs pointed toward Sarfal.
“[Pleasant discovery of fresh sap] There you are!” said Strongjumper, the leader. “This is wonderful. Thank you so much for joining us here. I’m impressed you could solve this problem so quickly.”
“[Sharing sap on a bright day] I’m happy to. Will we play now?”
“[The star rises over the leaves] Something simple first. There’s a building hidden out here among the vines. We’ll split up, find it, and then lead each other to it.”
Something hidden! This is a good game. I won’t ruin it by scanning their datastores directly for the answer.
Sarfal shot off through the leaves. The aliens started to demarcate areas on their tactical display that they would search. Sarfal claimed a radial section as they had, but extended the area out to a much greater distance.
Sarfal decided to zigzag along the widening search zone. Sarfal periodically swooped up over the canopy to scan all around, just in case the target building commanded a clearing large enough to see from above.
Sarfal had plunged back into the vines to resume the low-level search when a net beast tried to hurl itself over Sarfal from its perch across two thick vines. Its clumsy, slow fall was easy to avoid with a burst from Sarfal’s thrust tool. Sarfal darted on through underneath the thing, then gained altitude and watched it from above. It was nothing special; just a creature native to the homeworld as Sarfal had seen many times before.
Should I let the Rootpounders know? Maybe they care.
Sarfal marked the creature’s location on the map and continued searching. The map queried back asking for a danger level.
The danger is contingent upon not knowing it’s there! So do I mark it highest or lowest? Oh, but I’m thinking about its danger to a Thrasar.
Sarfal did not know if the living nets were dangerous to the Rootpounders. If it fell on one of those aliens, who would win? Sarfal responded with the maximum threat level.
“[Danger leaps from under the leaf!] Should we abort the mission, Sarfal?” asked Strongjumper.
“[This vine is safe enough] I don’t know if the living net is dangerous to you so I marked it so. I don’t want to stop playing.”
“[I will show you the sap] This threat level is appropriate, then,” said Strongjumper as it set the level to a lower setting. Sarfal took note of the new setting. “The highest level would be used if many Screamers had arrived and were hunting us down. Then we’d abort the mission and run away.”
So even Rootpounders fly away sometimes! Or... plod away on those extremities.
Sarfal finished the large section and claimed more area beyond the aliens’ search zones. One high flight showed a clearing in an adjacent zone, so Sarfal headed toward it. As soon as a building became visible, nested within the clearing, Sarfal put it on the map.
“[Danger might lurk beneath the leaves] Can you see a safe route there?” asked Strongjumper. Sarfal felt it must be a test. The Rootpounders were already exploring the vines blindly, what difference would it make to change directions toward the building?
Sarfal flew lower, dropping below the canopy near the single building. The structure did not look like a Thrasar construct. It was like the side of a huge cylinder that broke the surface. Sarfal did not spot any hatches or windows on the top. Sarfal stayed away from it. Once below the topmost leaves, Sarfal darted gracefully among the vines, headed toward the nearest Rootpounder, who was Grimfighter.
“[The vines are safe, the star is bright] Converge on Grimfighter and then follow this path,” sent Sarfal.
A silver vine glinted among the green. Sarfal realized the Rootpounder computers had placed dangers within the jungle to be avoided. It made sense for a training exercise. Sarfal marked the location of the new predator on the map.
“[Danger under these leaves] This one may electrocute you, though I think your suits would protect you,” Sarfal said. Sarfal altered the suggested path on the shared map to guide the Rootpounders around the creature, then flew toward Grimfighter. Soon the hefty Rootpounder became visible on a vine ahead. It was still scary to see a ground creature balancing atop a vine where it did not belong.
“[Meeting for a task on a bright day] I’ve rendezvoused with Sarfal. We can group up here,” Grimfighter said.
Sarfal darted about the broad leaves while the slow Rootpounders gathered. Sarfal wondered if the Rootpounders would allow time for a quick slurp of sap from the vine before continuing. Sarfal decided not to try. The other Rootpounders converged on the tactical until they were all perched in their odd way upon a major vine branch.
“[Ready to taste the sap] Lead on,” Strongjumper told Sarfal. Sarfal flew off toward the alien building. Three times Sarfal stopped to play and wait for the others to catch up. When the team finally approached the building, Sarfal tried to scan the inside with a baton. Nothing happened.
The Rootpounder machine doesn’t understand the baton. It cannot provide an accurate result in the simulation. I’ll have to ask them to adjust... after this game is over.
“[Alert on the vine] We’re going to check it out. Stick close and stay sharp,” Strongjumper announced sharply.
Sarfal flitted down near a big vine at the edge of the clearing. There, Sarfal settled in behind a leaf.
Hiding behind a leaf like a predator. Am I a predator, now? On a team of Rootpounders!
The rest of the team ran out toward the building. Their flying spheres zoomed around the building gracefully. Sarfal saw a square gate open on the side of the building, then a machine walked out. It looked disturbingly like a metal Rootpounder. Sarfal recoiled at the ugliness of the ground creatures all over again.
“[From under a leaf!] Security machines! Grimfighter, to the deck and cover their retreat,” Strongjumper ordered as it leaped upward onto the building almost as if it could fly.
Sarfal felt sharp vibrations hitting the vines from the air. Sparks flew near the building. Patches of light filtered through the leaves and struck Sarfal’s skin, causing round bumps to form on the lit areas. The convex blisters focused the light onto Sarfal's photosensitive skin layer so the Thrasar could perceive images of the action. The Rootpounders had destroyed one machine, but they still fired. Perhaps another machine had exited from the other side? Strongjumper had disappeared from the top of the building.
What purpose do I serve on this team? Do I have to kill a machine?
Sarfal launched into the sky with a strong boost from a baton. Two more enemy mach
ines immediately became visible. One of them targeted Sarfal with a long projectile launcher.
Sarfal took evasive action. The projectiles arced toward Sarfal, but the distance was too great. Sarfal darted about in tight maneuvers, avoiding the fire. Having a long, thin body helped to avoid danger by minimizing profile area.
They are so slow!
Sarfal was having fun until the end. Strongjumper attacked the machines one by one while they tracked Sarfal’s antics in the sky. Suddenly, a burst of energy quickly heated Sarfal to ignition. There was no pain, as Sarfal had configured the virtual interface differently from the Rootpounders’. Either Sarfal had misunderstood, or the aliens felt pain when injury occurred in the game. It seemed unreasonable.
Sarfal emerged from the simulation, feeling silly for being hit. There was little chance of dodging an energy weapon.
Most of the Rootpounders had projectile tools, but they also use energy to destroy. The same with these machines, I suppose.
Soon after Sarfal had emerged, the rest of the team secured the building and exited the simulation. Sarfal supposed they must have obtained victory.
“[Light on the vines!] Well played,” Tallflyer said.
“[Dark days and barren vines] It was bad? I did not survive,” Sarfal said.
“[The star rises soon] We learned a lot and you did well before the end,” said Tallflyer. “Does your kind feel pain with injury? Your death must have hurt.”
“[An imagined danger under the leaves] Injury does hurt us, but why would it hurt in the fake world?”
“[A responsibility to care for the vine] We train with real pain so that it prepares us for injury in real life,” explained Strongjumper. “We learn to deal with it and not fear it. Also, it forces us to act in the training exercise as we would in real life. We can’t take it lightly, we won’t take risks we wouldn’t take in real life.”
“[Getting more starlight for a vine already lit] Fear of injury is optimal! I avoid pain whenever possible. I promise I’ll minimize risk in real life without more practice.”
A couple of the Rootpounders emitted their loud grunting noise. Sarfal felt it through long fingers wrapped around a hanging rod the aliens had installed in the room.
Despite the assurance given to the aliens, Sarfal did consider they might have a terrible, sickening point: The more accurately the training world reflected the real one, the more applicable the lessons learned in the virtual would be to reality.
“[The sap might be edible] Well just consider it, then,” Strongjumper said.
“[Slowly among dark leaves] I’ll try to learn from that mistake,” Sarfal offered.
“[This vine could get more starlight] You fly alone. We could cooperate more closely,” said their leader, Strongjumper. “We could stay close and protect each other.”
“[Some leaves look healthy but are not] I disagree,” said Palethinker. “Sarfal has strengths for scouting and skirmishing we don’t have. It’s good for each of us to go with our individual skills and advantages.”
Sarfal wondered if the Rootpounders would fall upon each other in violence to settle the disagreement.
Dare I speak?
“[Direct a long vine to a new place] Each creature drinks from the vine in its own way,” agreed Sarfal carefully.
“[Thinking in warm starlight] It’s a start,” the leader said. “Still, we need to work as a team. What if we go to a place very different from a vine forest? Sarfal might well need to operate more like us in certain circumstances and environments.”
“[Heavy and slow in the debris, under the leaves] It’s new to have aliens on my side,” Sarfal admitted. “[Among wilted stems, still do not despair] I’ll learn to play it correctly. I’ll hide among the leaves when deadly tools come out.”
“[More sap for tomorrow] Let’s talk about it more once we understand each other better,” Strongjumper said, then walked out on its two giant legs. Grimfighter and Palethinker followed the other out of Sarfal’s quarters.
Shortflyer and Tallflyer stayed behind. Sarfal wondered if they were friendlier since they had played with the Thrasar using their fake wings. Shortflyer walked closer and asked a question.
“[Where does that vine go?] So you brought the vines here with you from your home planet? You have a symbiotic relationship with them. You use them for food and... for reproduction?”
Sarfal tried to guess at its purpose. Did it simply want to know how more Thrasar were made, as the other one had?
“[Bright day, rich vines] We brought them here. After the rain, when the vine seeds drop into the pitchers, we produce cells and put them into the vine,” Sarfal said.
“[Is there something new on these vines?] When does it happen? You wait for the rain?”
“[Few flit among the vines in lonely times] We will not make children until we are safe from Screamers.”
“[Hope for a star rising] I hope that will be soon,” Shortflyer said.
“[A dark storm on the horizon] When the time comes for you, will you inject or... will the young devour you from within?” asked Sarfal.
“[Among friends on a bright day] I think you misunderstand. I am the kind who injects, but the other kind simply houses our larvae, but is not harmed... much.”
“[Lost on a bright day] Your hosts can survive it? Oh, that’s good to know. Our children rupture the vines when they escape!” Sarfal supposed the aliens must inject each other in one of their four limbs so that the damage could be minimized.
“[Finding a new vine on a bright day] We don’t have to do it that way anymore,” Tallflyer said. “We were wondering about the vines because we visited a space station with your type of houses floating inside it, but there were no vines.”
“[Longing for the sap] There were some of us who left the vines and replaced them to live in space alone. Not all Thrasar societies are like ours.”
“[Sharing a bright vine] We have different societies as well. By the way, have you met the aliens that look like a black plant with tiny leaves? They’re about our size... well, less massive, but I mean about as tall and wide.”
“[Strangers on the vines!] I’ve heard about them. But they don’t play, and they don’t talk. They hide, and they take things to build with. We feel sorry for them, as they’re easily frightened, but they can’t fly away. We leave them alone as they wish.”
Another Rootpounder created a connection to Sarfal, Tallflyer, and Shortflyer.
“[Concern for the vine] Hi guys. Looks like the VR runner encountered some errors interfacing with Sarfal. We need to work out some purple paste, looks like,” Shypilot said.
“[A known problem with a familiar vine] I can help work it out,” Sarfal said. “I had a device your machine did not understand. It could not simulate the effects of its use.”
“[The star falls in the sky] Then we’ll leave you to that and see you later,” Tallflyer said.
“[Departing a favorite vine] Come back soon! I like to fly often,” Sarfal said.
“[Tasting good sap] We will.”
***
Shypilot came to Sarfal’s quarters one day and asked to talk. Sarfal flitted about the room, happy to have company. The Rootpounders liked to talk more than they liked to play, but Sarfal had few alternatives.
This one will not fly with me.
“[void] I have studied the information from the battle. I found an anomaly. Perhaps we can use it to our advantage.”
The Rootpounder had remained cold, as when they first arrived. It sounded scary, some kind of cruel robot planning the death of the Screamers. At least it did not want to kill Thrasar!
“[Study a leaf carefully to know it] Perhaps we can.”
“[void] Here is what I found.” The Rootpounder shared some information in their computers with Sarfal. Sarfal had a summarizer ingest it and point out the salient features. It looked like Shypilot wanted Sarfal to know that one of the Screamer ships was different.
“[void] This ship could have biologicals in it
. Maybe the creators of the Screamers are in here, in liquid, and they watch or direct their machines in the fight.”
“[Danger awaits under each leaf!] The Screamers were made by these evil ones. This ship could make the Screamers go away?”
“[void] We have two ideas. One, the ship could be captured. We could speak to the masters of the Screamers and make friends with them, or, failing that, we could get them to call off their machines.”
That seemed like an intriguing plan to Sarfal. Still, it seemed doubtful such dangerous creatures would want to make peace. Shypilot continued.
“[void] Second, we could break it into small pieces. Then the Screamer fleet would not hurt us as much. They might become dumber, or less focused.”
“[An Underleafer trick can be turned upon itself] If that ship controls the Screamers, maybe we can learn how to control them too, or at least make them fly away. You sound very mean.”
“[void] What? But they’re trying to kill you!”
“[Calm day] I meant how you say it.”
“[void] Oh! I’m sorry. I guess I’ve been too busy. I had... uhm, I froze some software in place while running experiments, so I didn’t get the translator update.”
“[Relax and taste the sap] Then become idle.”
“[An offer to share the sap on a bright day] Is this better? I’m sorry I didn’t update my translator.”
“[Bright day! Sweet sap!] Yes!”
“[A clever path to a new vine] Do the Thrasar know how to capture a ship? Can you trap it with a gravity spinner? Or freeze it in a field? Maybe the same way you took your probe ship home.”
“[Some are skilled folding the leaves] There are ways. Some know them. One up in space knows.”
Shypilot started to answer, then froze for a moment. Sarfal flew around it in a circle to wait.
“[Star rising on the horizon] Do you see it? We’ve arrived,” Shypilot said.
“[Fresh vines, new leaves, growing pitchers] Maybe we can hide here until the Screamers come again.”
Sarfal received information from the alien ship. No permission was necessary to see it, so Sarfal let a summarizer analyze the data to see what it all meant. The Rootpounder ship dimly saw the alien planet. Sarfal learned there were three points on the surface where a probe ship had constructed facilities for a new colony, including a factory yard!
The Celaran Refuge (Parker Interstellar Travels Book 8) Page 10
