The Martian Pendant

by Patrick Taylor

  In addition to finding the key to accurate isotopic dating and proving that her specimen was of alien origin, she envisioned the unlocking of the Martian language to be the thrust of her Ph.D. dissertation. This would be aided by her compilation of the pictures and drawings that matched alien words with the apparent functions of machinery and instruments. From perusing the Martian book, she had found that the Martians used an alphabet, although on the ship there were also symbols representing danger, high voltage, nuclear radiation, and fire. Most of her early translations were for words denoting mechanical or physical objects, derived from her photographic evidence. Easily identified words were for “Valve,” “Airlock,” “Entry,” and “Exit.”

  Graphic symbols were usually accompanied by script and matching function, and provided further insights. Diana was able to identify 41 different characters, some of which possibly represented sounds like “Psy” and “Phi” in Greek, and “Ch,” or “Chay,” as in Spanish. There were twelve vowels, making up for the absence of umlauts and other accent marks in modification of the sounds, typical of Northern European languages.

  In this way she was able to piece together a rudimentary lexicon of Martian words, for obvious reasons slanted toward technology, although including words such as “Toilet” or its equivalent, and “Private,” found on certain doors. Despite these insights, she knew that input from experts in linguistics and decryption would be required if the secrets of the book she had preserved were ever to be unlocked.

  She thought of her Father, Sir Robert, who was instrumental in breaking the Imperial German Navy’s codes in World War I, and who had been a key player in Second World War British Intelligence at Bletchley Park, outside London. It was there that the supposedly impossible riddle of the Nazi encryption machine, Enigma, had been broken.

  Compared to deciphering the language, the essentials of her first paper were simple. In addition to the skeletal evidence, she could establish an alien origin for her humans with photographs of the spaceship, inside and out. It didn’t take her long to write the paper, citing work from the literature on mandible identification. Slides were prepared showing the Martian fossil, with an analogous specimen from the Anatomy Department at the University juxtaposed. She finished by stating that her effort was intended as a preliminary work, pending the perfection of methods to more precisely date the fossil’s origin. Included with the anthropological data, of course, was the archaeology of finding the spaceship, and its position in the limestone and volcanic layers of the Eastern Great Rift Valley. The paper was sure to create a sensation regarding the alien craft, but she was more concerned with the controversy that would be generated by the fossil mandible.

  TWENTY

  The Paper

  Max, because he was not first author, approved her paper grudgingly. Diana thought it would be worth waiting for a national meeting, but he urged her to present it at the earliest opportunity, concerned about priority. The possibility that her lifeboat specimens could have fallen into the hands of other researchers was another of his fears.

  “Max, that’s silly,” she said, “almost nobody in academia has a clue about this discovery. The people who do know about it will be secretive because of the nature of their operations. No word of the finding of the alien spaceship has, in fact, reached the international media yet.”

  “Well,” he replied, “when that leaks out, and it soon will, every UFO nut in the world will be on top of it. Look, the Chicago Archaeological Society meets this month. Although it’s local, it has a strong national presence due to the universities here. I suggest you call the editor immediately, because of the deadline for submission, so our paper can at least be published in their Proceedings.”

  Diana was increasingly excited as the time for the meeting approached. May in Chicago was always enjoyable, and the prospect of presenting to the Chicago Archaeological Society--and to the world--her signal work, made the day even more spring-like. She hadn’t presented a paper since she was at Cambridge several years before, adding to the adrenaline rush she was feeling. At first she was disappointed that she would be the last to speak, a position on the agenda that often meant a small audience. But she needn’t have worried. The title of her paper would be sure to attract a crowd: Africa, a Spaceship, and Homo sapiens.

  As she stepped up to the podium, the packed meeting room became absolutely silent. The moderator, a prominent anthropologist from Northwestern, took the microphone for the introduction. Describing her background, he pointed to her being a graduate of the University of London, and having received her master’s degree from Cambridge. Before handing the microphone to her, he said, “Well before the evidence presented today was gathered, Miss Howard published a fictional account of a million-year-old space voyage to Africa by humans from Mars. Later she pinpointed the location of an actual landing while she was working at the Buell Corporation by using data from GeoSat, their energy-detecting satellite. Now pay special attention to the evidence of alien technology, human bones, and the other data she presents. Clairvoyance, or coincidence? Genius, or luck? You be the judges.”

  The audience was abuzz when she began her presentation, but after the aerial photos of the site, everyone’s attention was focused on slides of the partially uncovered ship. The reaction was, as expected, widespread amazement. She presented the conventional evidence of the African origin of Genus Homo, coupled with the absence of a definite link between primitive and modern humans. Next came slides of the ship’s interior--to more audience excitement--followed by close-ups of an intact skeleton as it reposed in its pod. The final slides projected were a juxtaposition of the intact alien skeleton and an anatomical specimen, with several views of the cranium, including one with the lower jaw in place.

  Comparison slides were then displayed of the mandible from the ship and one from the lab collection of modern humans. She pointed out the anatomical features, evidence that the alien jaw was identical to that of a modern human, just as with photographs of the skeletons. The difficulty in determining their age was emphasized, pointing to the uneven geology of the site, a problem that would require non-geological methods of dating. She made a brief reference to the form of the language symbols found. No mention was made of the apparent lack of religious symbols or of the Martian book. She finished the talk with a summation, and another comment about the need for further research, particularly regarding dating of the specimens and the site. The applause was scattered and brief, suggesting some disbelief, but the noisy chatter among those present revealed the impact the paper had made.

  As Diana stepped to one side, the moderator solicited questions or comments. Most were too stunned to come forward. There were a few, however, all expressing shock. The material was too radical and too new for an immediate critique by most attendees.

  Flashbulbs practically blinded Diana and the moderator, revealing the presence of the press. One member of the Society rose to comment, identifying himself as a Professor of Anthropology at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

  “My congratulations to the first author and her colleagues for this amazing piece of work. It is to be hoped that samples of rock, or intact strata of some type, will be found to accurately date this landing, and that more fossil evidence will be forthcoming. As some of you know, my work in this field has to do with the development of religion among early humans. First, I have one question, and then a plea. My question: Were any religious objects, symbols, or signs of sacrifice found in or around the spaceship similar to those found in Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon burial sites? My plea is that you ascertain the date, because unless you can do that, the recent emergence of what I call ‘Genesis Science’ may gain further impetus.”

  “Thank you.” Diana replied. “As I stated, further research is underway to accurately date our findings. Unfortunately, at present, we have only the fossil mandible for study. No evidence of religion was found. Such symbols that were seen there have been entirely of a technical nature, giving us only a rudimentary hint
of their language. As for your plea regarding those who take the Bible literally, I’m afraid that no matter how much science we come up with, they will never be able to see the truth, unless they escape the ‘Cognitive Dissonance’ well-known to psychologists as the mindset of the rigidly religious.”

  There were several other comments, mostly skeptical in tone, from the audience, all academics in the field of palaeoanthropology. One professor from the Chicago campus of the University of Illinois expressed his doubts about the bones shown as really being fossils, on the grounds that they appeared so well-preserved. Others agreed.

  Diana replied, “Certainly they are extraordinary examples of undamaged bone. You must understand that the structure of the ship, and the submersion of the remains in calcium-rich water, allowed such a degree of preservation. You’re welcome to come down to the Department at the University of Chicago and see for yourself. I assure you, everything you saw today is bona fide."

  In a departure from the expected scientific doubts, one rather pompous professorial type accused Diana and her co-workers of perpetrating a huge hoax. “Anything so fantastic must have more proof than a solitary jawbone. This whole thing smacks of Piltdown man all over again. If this paper is published by this society, my resignation will be immediate.”

  Pandemonium ensued for a full minute as he hastily exited the auditorium. The moderator had difficulty quieting the crowd, but finally said, “We don’t have enough time for more comments, but I’m sure Miss Howard will be happy to answer questions after adjournment.” As he handed her the microphone, he added, “But first, it’s only fair that the general membership and our guests hear the speaker’s response to the unseemly attack just witnessed.”

  “Res Ipsi Loquitur is a legal term,” she began, “The facts speak for themselves. In science, we have observations. Anybody interested may confirm our findings by visiting the site in Tanganyika. The spaceship is there for all to see. It’s a National Park now, and may become a World Heritage Site in the future. That means there’s an admission fee, and don’t forget travel expenses to and from Africa. Oh, but I forgot to mention that the fossil mandible and the original photos are in the Department of Anthropology at the U. of C. on the South Side. There is no fee to see them there.”

  Most of the crowd was laughing as they filed out. Diana, as well as Max who had come onstage from the audience, were surrounded by several more questioners and half a dozen reporters. She was elated, and happy to respond to questions, except for those not directly related to the contents of the paper. Queries regarding the whereabouts of the other fossils were answered cautiously, but truthfully.

  “The ship that was carrying the specimens back to the U.S. was, unfortunately, lost at sea,” Diana replied to a question, choosing not to go into further details as to location or circumstances.

  A woman reporter for the Chicago Tribune wanted to know how the discovery came about in the first place. Diana responded, “It’s a long story. Have you read my essay, The Martian Imperative? Chalk it all up to women’s intuition. Read it and you’ll see.”

  Of course, the reporters were persistent in seeking the most sensational material. And Max, basking in their attention, revealed much more about their findings than was wise. Fielding a persistent question, he divulged, “Not all our material was lost. We were able to send specimens of metallurgical interest home well before the freighter sailed.” And to another reporter, “No, the work isn’t being done at the U. of C. They’re studying it on the West Coast, at the Buell facility in Culver City and at Caltech.”

  “Max!” Diana whispered, “Don’t rattle on so, all that is supposed to be classified. You know that as well as I. Right now, among this crowd, there are probably foreign agents, just as in Tanganyika.”

  As usual, she was right. Three men left at that moment, two busily conversing in Italian, and the other, stocky and tow-headed, carrying a camera with which he had been photographing the slide projections.

  The headlines of the Chicago newspapers the next day displayed the sensational story of the spaceship from Mars. Lead articles featured that the finding was in Africa, but did not really identify the beings who had landed the spaceship there, leaving that up to the imagination of the reader. Much was made of the ongoing research, mostly being conducted in secrecy in the Los Angeles area, hinting at an imminent breakthrough in technology, perhaps a new form of nuclear power. The photographs accompanying the articles were mostly of Max, since he freely gave much free information. Diana did receive a short squib in the science section of the Tribune, but there was some question about the validity of her findings. The heading was, “Is a jawbone enough?”

  Even before freedom was granted to Tanganyika in 1961, the British Colonial government looked on as the Chinese built railroads and explored for oil and other resources there. Naturally they were concerned, but had resigned themselves to soon being crowded out, in business as well as in government. Further agreements were being made by TANU, including a pact that called for loans to the new government. In exchange, the Chinese would receive contracts for building and maintaining the country’s infrastructure, in addition to gaining oil and mineral rights. This would include financing the expense of maintaining wildlife preserves, and also of upkeep and expansion of the national parks.

  After Diana, working with the British colonial government, had effectively excluded any further Mafia hunt for alien debris surrounding the dig, and after the oil and university people had gone, nothing was done to improve the site. The railroad and highway connections needed to make it suitable for the development of the world-class venue its unique extraterrestrial centerpiece warranted were neglected.

  The first thing of any consequence done there was just after Tanganyika became officially free. But the work was not on improvements for an anticipated lucrative tourist trade. The approach road remained poorly graded, and no hotel facilities were built, although elaborate plans were displayed to mollify the new government in Dodoma, where the capital had been moved.

  Work did begin immediately, but on the spaceship. First the excavation was finished by the Chinese, exposing the entire hull, and then they began on the newly exposed parts. The expressed intent was to open the ship for easier access, but actually, their true aim was to remove whatever could be easily detached and shipped home to Beijing for study, part of the “Great Leap Forward” started by Mao Zedong three years before.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Destruction

  It was a Sunday, most of the native workers in their villages spending the day with their families. A few herdsmen were tending cattle in the low hills surrounding the park. Not a breath of air was stirring when alarms, triggered by a sudden venting of volcanic gas in the declivity, sounded. The dozen Chinese workers who were busily trying to cut into the hull dropped their tools and equipment and began running for high ground. Clawing wildly, attempting to surmount the steep piles of tailings from the excavation, none of the twelve made it out. If they didn't suffocate in the oxygen-displacing CO2, they were overcome by the mix of poisonous gases.

  Horrified Maasai herdsmen almost a mile away saw the hapless workers die. Then, unbelievably, their hair was singed by the heat of the ignition of a monstrous accumulation of methane, probably released as a result of the previous drilling for oil, coupled with seismic activity along the fault. Next, a flickering blue flame could briefly be seen, spreading from a point at the nose of the ship, at the entry to the control deck, where work had progressed in unbolting and removing panels of gauges and switches, exposing much intricate circuitry.

  The few tribesmen who hadn’t fled, perhaps rooted to their position by the paralytic effect of the shocking event, saw an almost unbelievable lighting up of the control deck and nose which seemed, in the perspective of the distance, almost identical to a flame at the tip of a cigar. It continued burning along the length of the ship, consuming the ship in less than ten minutes. An English farmer who had been inspecting his own cattle in the distance w
as reminded of a burning thermite incendiary bomb, of the type the Nazis had dropped on London in World War II during the Blitz in 1941 and 1942.

  The fire then spread to the grass in concentric rings, finally engulfing the tent camp of the dead Chinese. The entire plain might have continued to burn, were it not for a combination of a soaking rain the night before, and a lack of wind.

  When the authorities arrived from Dodoma to assess the damage, the remnants of the great spaceship consisted only of an elongated pile of carbon-like ash. Nothing else remained. No melted metal or other fragments were found anywhere. How the marvelous craft had been so easily destroyed when so much effort had failed to do anything but cut into it was never clear to the investigators invited from Buell and Caltech. The best guess was that the dismantling in the control room had triggered a self-destruction device, which had been placed in the nose of the craft for some reason, leading the ship to consume itself like a giant firebomb.

  It didn’t take long for the news of the spaceship’s loss to be disseminated internationally. The nascent TANU government pointed the finger of blame at the British, ignoring the fact that it was they who had given the Chinese the responsibility for the National Parks. The world’s academic community was in a state of disbelief at the loss of such a rich trove. It was only a short time before, as a result of Diana’s and Max’s paper, that an awareness of the discovery had become widespread. All academia shared in the shock. Needless to say, Diana and her coworkers at the U. of C. were devastated, still recovering from the loss at sea of the American Traveler. They did find some comfort knowing that at least the material they had shipped home earlier was still available for study on the West Coast.