by Doug Farren
“Yes. Although it is possible to conduct business with the use of a vocoder, a common language is preferable. Galactic Standard is an artificial language specifically designed to be easily spoken by virtually all races.”
A pleasant series of tones sounded. Jay looked around as Leet explained, “That is the door chime. Your luggage has most likely arrived.”
Jay walked back to the door and stood in front of it. Nothing happened. Turning around, Jay noticed that Leet was smiling at him. “You must manually open the door from the inside,” he explained. “The controls are quite simple and are located next to the door. The yellow button will open it and the blue one will close it. Pressing the button in the center of the door will cause a section of it to become transparent. You will be able to see out but nobody can see inside. An intercom will also be activated. Pressing the same button will return the door to its solid appearance.”
Jay touched the yellow button and the door slid aside. A short cart piled with luggage was sitting in the hallway. The front of the cart contained a robot that looked like a stalk with two arms attached to it. A voice from the cart said, “I have your luggage Mr. Kauffman. May I enter?”
Jay stepped back from the door and replied, “Certainly. Please place all the bags in the bedroom.”
As the robot rolled through the door, Kauffman realized that it had spoken to him in English. He was about to mention something about this to Leet but quickly changed his mind. The cart was obviously a robot and it had probably been programmed to understand his language through the ship’s central computer. He was going to have to get used to the fact that machines seemed to work together far more efficiently than those he was used to.
The robot quickly unloaded the luggage and quietly left. As soon as it had departed, Leet said, “Please stay in your room until you have been issued an identicard. A service mech will be here shortly to issue the card. If you have no further questions I will leave so you may begin unpacking.”
Jay took another quick glance around the room before saying, “I think I will be fine. Thank you Leet.” As Leet turned to leave Jay remembered something else and said, “Oh! Just one question.”
Leet stopped and turned his head inquiringly toward Jay. “How about meals?”
“You may have your food delivered to your quarters or you may dine in the ship’s dining room. Meals are available at all times. If you have any further questions concerning the ship’s scheduled activities you can always ask the computer.”
“Thank you again,” Jay replied. “Good day.”
It required only a few minutes for Jay to unpack. He used the restroom to freshen up then sat down in front of the computer terminal. “Computer—Give me a brief overview of the layout of this ship.”
The screen instantly came to life and displayed an image of the starship. “The Hortha is a medium range Shandarian built passenger liner. The lower nine decks contain the cargo holds and the engineering sections of the ship. The upper eight decks consist of the passenger quarters, dining rooms, recreation areas, and other areas accessible to the passengers.”
The virtual tour of the ship lasted about ten minutes. When it was over, he was pretty confident he could find his way around. Getting up, he wandered over to the large window and looked out. Earth in all its beauty lay beneath him. The ship was passing over Europe on the sunlit side of the planet. As a child and a young adult, Kauffman had often imagined what it would be like to look down on the Earth from space. It was still hard for him to believe that not long ago he had traveled to Earth's nearest stellar neighbor in a ship propelled by an engine of his own creation. And now he would be on his way to a distant planet orbiting an alien star aboard a ship built by non-Humans.
From what he had just learned, the ship would be traveling at a speed of about 960 times the speed of light. This was often expressed as 960c. Their destination was a star located 103 light years from Earth. The trip would require only forty days. Forty days to travel 103 light years! It was unbelievable.
The door chime interrupted his thoughts. When Kauffman opened the door he was greeted by a tall, slender robot. “Good evening Mr. Kauffman,” it said in perfect English. I am here to create your identicard. The process will only require a few minutes of your time. May I come in?”
“Certainly,” Jay replied stepping aside.
The robot rolled a few meters into the room, came to a halt, and asked, “Are you familiar with the Consortium identicard?”
“No. I would guess that it is a form of identification.”
“You are correct. The member races of the Consortium have agreed upon a universally acceptable method of personal identification in the form of an identicard. The identicard will contain your specific genetic signature. Once created, the card’s information, including its unalterable tracking number, will be transmitted to the nearest Consortium identicard tracking center. From there, the information will eventually make its way to the entire network. This card can be used to positively identify you on any Consortium world.”
“Incredible! It’s like a galactic driver’s license.”
The robot paused for a moment as if considering Kauffman’s last statement then replied, “The analogy is correct but driving privileges are only a minor aspect of what can be stored in the identicard’s memory.”
“What else can this card do?” Kauffman asked.
“It depends upon the specific planet you are visiting. Some cultures utilize the identicard to store medical information. Others use it to allow access to their personal financial accounts. The card also contains sufficient memory to store any other information that the card’s owner wishes. The identicard’s design is very versatile. May we proceed?”
“Of course. What should I do?”
A small flat plate extended itself from the robot and began glowing an eerie green. “Place your hand on the green scanner plate.” Jay did as instructed. After two seconds the machine said, “Thank you. You may remove your hand.”
Jay heard a humming noise from the robot and after a few seconds a card appeared out of a small slot. “Please take your identicard.”
Kauffman took his new card and examined it. It seemed to be made out of some sort of heavy guage plastic. His picture was on one side and some unidentifiable writing on the other. The robot reversed its direction and rolled back out of the room. The room’s door had opened apparently in response to a command from the robot.
As the door slid shut, a series of tones sounded and then a voice in an alien language said something over the ship’s announcing system. Jay retrieved his vocoder from the bed where he had lain it and returned to the computer terminal. “Computer: What was the announcement that was just made?”
“Attention passengers. The ship will be leaving orbit in seven minutes.”
Jay returned to his post by the window. A few minutes later, he noticed a change in the ship’s attitude as it turned to point itself toward space. As the ship swung around, he caught a glimpse of the moon and then it slid out of sight to reveal the star-studded blackness of space. Jay remained at the window for many long minutes. It was impossible to tell if the ship was moving. He felt no acceleration and the pattern of stars remained fixed.
Kauffman stood almost perfectly still staring out into space, his mind filled with thoughts of the future. All sense of time vanished. After nearly thirty minutes, his revere was interrupted by another announcement. He was still wearing his vocoder so he heard the announcement as it was being made. “Attention passengers. The ship will be transiting to faster than light drive in seven minutes.”
Having been snapped back to reality, Jay noticed that his legs were tired from standing for so long. He pulled a chair to the window and sat down. He wanted to see what happened to his view of the stars as the ship made the transition to stardrive. Although he had traveled at faster than light speeds before, he had always been sitting in front of an engineering console during the transition.
The seven minutes ti
cked by and then the stars started to turn fuzzy. At first, Kauffman thought it was a trick being played by his eyes because he had been staring out into space for so long. Quickly, the fuzziness gave way to a smeared look—as if the stars had been smeared across an invisible surface outside the ship. A very brief feeling of ‘something’ passed through his entire body. It was not unpleasant. It felt like a soundless pressure wave had passed through him. At the same time, he noted that the stars had brightened and then suddenly space became absolutely black. The stars had vanished! It was as if someone had placed a black cloth in front of the window.
Jay got up, stretched, and seated himself in front of the computer terminal. He sat in thought for a moment then said, “Can you teach me how to speak and read Galactic Standard?”
“Galactic Standard is an artificial language specifically constructed to be as easy as possible for all species to learn,” the computer responded. “I can generate a training program for you.”
“Fantastic,” Jay replied. “Please do so immediately.”
Prior to the beginning of the cruise, Jay and his fellow Human passengers had agreed to meet twice a week to share their experiences. The ship’s lounge became their meeting place. The meetings were not very long and afterwards several of the Humans decided to play chess and another group of poker players formed. Twice a week, the Humans always had a small crowd of non-Humans observing the strange games the aliens were playing. It wasn’t long before the Humans invited the non-Humans to participate and by the third week of the cruise there were just as many non-Humans as Humans playing the two games.
Kauffman spent a large portion of his free time learning how to speak and read Galactic Standard. When he was not learning the language or playing chess, he was using the computer terminal to learn as much as he could about Consortium science. He was amazed as to how much information was freely available to anyone who asked.
Instead of starting off with the more complex stardrive equations, Jay decided to begin with the equations used to define the field structure of the Consortium’s various fusion reactors. He wanted to expose himself to Consortium mathematics as much as possible in order to make it easier for him to understand it later on.
To his surprise, he was able to understand the symbology far quicker than he had anticipated and soon he was able to read the mathematical equations as if he had written them himself. By the end of the cruise, he had mastered a good portion of Consortium math and had also increased his understanding of advanced fusion reactor design by a considerable degree. He also learned how to speak and read a limited amount of Galactic Standard. The language, as predicted by the computer, was remarkably easy to learn.
Most of the food served on the ship was Shandarian. Humans and Shandarians shared a very similar metabolism and therefore enjoyed many of the same tastes. Jay likened most of the Shandarian cuisine to that of Mexican food. Many of the meals were spicy. The variety was astounding, the tastes new and interesting, and he always looked forward to each meal.
The journey soon came to an end. Jay was enjoying a bowl of a tangy, fruity dessert when he heard the three tones indicating that an announcement was about to be made. His vocoder was in his pocket but he did not reach for it. The announcement was in Galactic Standard and Jay understood every word. “Attention passengers. The ship will be dropping back into normal space in five tays.” Five tays was the Galactic Standard time measurement roughly equivalent to seven minutes. Jay finished his dessert and barely took notice when the ship dropped out of stardrive. It was time to pack.
Kauffman’s Shandarian science partner was a mathematician named Mito Chanarak. After being introduced to each other, Chanarak took Kauffman down an elevator where they boarded a small subway car. When they had taken their seats, Jay heard a voice ask, “Destination?”
Chanarak answered by saying, “Serbando hotel.”
As the car started forward, Jay suddenly remembered that they had not picked up his luggage and asked Mito about it.
Instead of answering his question, Mito’s expression changed and he said, “You speak Standard!”
“Not very well, I’m afraid,” Kauffman replied. “I started to learn it while on the trip here. I’ll keep my vocoder handy until I’m more familiar with the language.”
“Very good. As for your luggage, there’s no need to worry,” Mito explained. “It will be delivered to your room. The starport computer should have tagged your identicard account with the fact that you have luggage to be delivered. When you check in, the hotel’s computer will trigger the tag and your luggage will be on its way.”
“Very efficient,” Jay remarked then fell into silence. Although it was efficient, it sounded like the Shandarians used the identicard to track a person’s activities to an uncomfortable degree. Jay was still thinking about this when their subway arrived at their destination ten minutes later.
The subway smoothly slowed to a stop and then the door opened to reveal the lobby of a hotel. Jay looked around in astonishment. Except for a few obviously alien devices and some bizarre architecture, the hotel did not appear to be all that different from those of Earth. They approached the check-in desk and the clerk behind the counter said, “Welcome to the Serbando hotel! How may I be of assistance?”
The clerk glanced at Mito and then focused his attention on Kauffman. Jay had the uncomfortable feeling that he was being closely examined.
Mito spoke up and said, “Long-term suite for Jay Kauffman please. The reservations were made by the Nasu K’tral Science Directorate prior to Jay being given his identicard. Mr. Kauffman is an off-world guest from a new member of the Consortium.”
The clerk's expression changed as he replied, “I must apologize for my rudeness citizen Kauffman! Your species is so much like ours I had assumed you were a Shandarian. There was something about your appearance which struck me as odd and I was unable to determine what it was. I read about your planet’s entry into the Consortium and we are honored to have you stay at our hotel. May I see your identicard please?”
Kauffman pulled out his wallet and removed the identicard from it. As the clerk took the card he kept his eyes on Jay’s wallet. With an almost visible effort, the clerk turned to his terminal. A few seconds later, he handed the identicard back and said, “Room number 814. If there is anything you need, please call the desk. Enjoy your stay.”
Kauffman hesitated then looked to Mito for guidance on what to do next. Apparently, the check-in was complete. Mito gestured to Jay’s left and together they made their way to another elevator. As they road the elevator to the eighth floor Jay said, “You will have to pardon my ignorance but, how am I to get into my room? I was not issued a...” He could not remember what the Galactic Standard word for key was much less the more complex word he was really looking for—keycard.
Mito, however, seemed to understand Jay's confusion and replied with a question of his own, “Can I assume that you do not have identicards on Earth?”
“We have identification cards but nothing as centralized as your identicard.”
“You will find that we do virtually everything with the identicard. Your identicard is capable of short-range communications enabling it to communicate with many external devices. Your room’s door is one such device and it will be unlocked when you attempt to open it. If you were to try any other door you would find it to be locked.”
As promised, the door to room 814 was unlocked when Jay pulled down on the handle. Jay made a quick tour while Mito waited. The room was very well furnished, almost like a small apartment. It even included a small kitchen.
Satisfied that his new acquaintance had familiarized himself with his accommodations, Mito said, “It is now late evening according to local time. If you are comfortable with your room I will take my leave for the day. I will return in the morning at eight which is the traditional start of the workday.”
Kauffman had never considered the fact that each planet would have their own unique method of telling time. It s
uddenly occurred to him that he had no way of telling what time it was or when eight—whatever they called it—would arrive in the morning. In fact, he had no idea at all how long a day lasted on this planet. Instead of pointing out his ignorance though, Jay had another plan in mind. On the tour of his room he had noticed a computer terminal. He planned on asking the computer for help after Mito left.
“I will be just fine,” he told Mito. “I will meet you in the lobby at eight.”
Jay’s luggage arrived (via robot as on the starship) a few minutes after Mito had left. After unpacking and further exploring his temporary home, Jay began the task of trying to understand the local time system. Once that had been accomplished, he used the computer terminal to learn a little bit more about the planet he was now on. With the help of the computer Jay learned that Shandarians preferred a day that lasted roughly 27 Earth hours. Nasu K’tral’s day was a little short of 26 hours. This, hopefully, would not present a problem with Jay’s normal circadian rhythm. He took a shower and turned in for the evening. He was looking forward to tomorrow morning and it was difficult for him to fall asleep. But, eventually, sleep did come.
The next morning, instead of jumping right in to their studies, Mito took Jay on a tour of the city and the surrounding country in a small air-car. It was mid-summer and the planet was beautiful. It resembled Earth in many respects and much of the wildlife even seemed familiar. Birds flew freely through the clear sky. Furry animals scurried around the ground looking for scraps of food. The city, however, was like nothing Jay would have expected. At the end of the aerial tour they landed in what appeared to be a large park.
Most of the buildings averaged ten stories in height. The ground level was distinctly different from any Human-built city. Instead of a vast expanse of concrete and asphalt filled with noisy vehicles fighting to make their way from one location to another, the buildings were separated by wide gaps of tree-lined walkways. There were some roads, but they were infrequent and were only the size of a two-lane road back on Earth. They also carried very little traffic. What traffic there was consisted of small one or two person enclosed vehicles which apparently ran on electric power. The city was quiet—so quiet that it was spooky.
