the Runner

by Peter Ponzo

CHAPTER 3

  In Search of Afria

  It was the fifth day away from Home planet. TOM stood stiffly by the console in the command room. The others were in the galley and the android was alone.

  "TOM," said LIZ, "why do they go to C-phon3 again?"

  "I do not know."

  "They also search for a planet called Afria. Do you know that planet? I cannot find it on the starmaps."

  "I do know of that planet. It is uninhabited and lies in the Krono-sector. You will not find it on the star maps under the name Afria. It is now called C-phon1."

  "Then why does master Kevn look at the maps, every evening, for Afria?"

  The android walked to the console. "Are you certain, LIZ?" he asked.

  "Quite certain, TOM. Although we are on course for C-phon3 he browses through the data banks looking for Afria."

  TOM turned on his heel and quickly walked to the portal, then turned to face the console again.

  "LIZ, thank you," he said warmly, then left the command room. The console lights twinkled.

  ______________________________________________________

  Kevn was sitting in his cabin absorbed with the data displayed on the monitor when the android knocked at the door.

  "Come in," said Kevn without looking up. TOM entered and waited just inside the door. Eventually Kevn looked up. "TOM, is something wrong?"

  "No, master Kevn. The ship is on course, we have successfully completed seven subspace entries and exits, all control systems are functioning at design specs, the -"

  "TOM, you didn't come here to tell me all that. What's the matter? You have something on your mind."

  "Yes. The shipcomp tells me that you have been engaged in locating the planet called Afria, in the Krono-sector."

  "That's right TOM. Why? Do you know anything of this planet?"

  "Yes, master Kevn. The planet you seek is none other than C-phon1."

  Kevn leaned back in his chair and stared at the android. "Are you kidding me?"

  "Kidding, master Kevn? Would I kid you? I am an android and incapable of -"

  "Okay TOM. Tell me what you know about this Afria alias C-phon1. We were once on C-phon1, you understand. We travelled there several times and didn't see any evidence of some early society. That's what we want to find now ... the ancestors of Runr. They were apparently Afrians."

  "The Afrians no longer exist. They do not inhabit C-phon1 or any other planet that we know of."

  "TOM, sit down, here," said Kevn pointing to a chair. TOM quickly sat down and rotated his body, making himself comfortable. He noticed the dancing lights on the small console but ignored them. "TOM, tell me everything you know about the Afrians."

  TOM leaned back and crossed his legs. Kevn smiled and crossed his legs. TOM began:

  "The Afrians left Earth over two centuries ago. They were a race of black-skinned humanoids who once inhabited most of the Earth continent called Africa. They suffered from persecution at the hands of the white-skinned humanoids and eventually set out to find other, more amenable accommodations. They had just one transworld vessel and it landed on a planet in the Krono-sector which they named Afria, for obvious reasons. The planet eventually destroyed them."

  "Is that all? Did you know that some of them left Afria and landed on C-phon3? Runr, we believe, is an Afrian."

  "It is unlikely that they landed on C-phon3, master Kevn. You see, Afria was a sentient planet. It destroyed the Afrians with premeditation. C-phon3 is also a sentient planet. All three of the C-phon planets were automatons; low level to be sure. There is no comparison, of course, to the sophistication of the phonarite computers which we -"

  "TOM ... don't digress."

  "Yes, master Kevn. The C-phon planets, including C-phon1, of course - that is, Afria, of course - they are always in communication. I understand that this communication takes the form of a low energy pulse modulation transmission. If C-phon1 would not suffer the existence of the Afrians then neither would C-phon2 nor C-phon3."

  Kevn stood up and walked to the cot, sat down, then rose again. "Listen TOM. How do you know all this? During all those months that we searched for phonarite on the C-phon planets you never once mentioned any of this. If the C-phon planets could destroy the Afrians then they could destroy us. Why didn't you warn us of this problem?"

  The android looked down and mumbled. "What's that TOM?" said Kevn.

  TOM stood and faced Kevn. "I am sorry master Kevn. I did not know any of this until recently. DOC and I were ... we were in communication, about some other issue, some discrepancies in the star maps, about Auria-5. When I mentioned that you were planning to visit C-phon3 and that I knew very little about this planet, except of course what information we gained from visiting it, DOC searched the Dome memory banks and transferred all the available data on C-phon3 to me. Some of the data had been gleaned from the data banks of old Earth when the settlers left that planet. When I scanned the information he had transferred I saw that it contained information about the other C-phon planets, including the early history of the planet which Earth knew as Afria. I only intended to be of service should you need information that was not available in the ship memory banks. I would most certainly have made you aware of this information on our earlier trips to the C-phon planets had I -"

  "That's okay TOM. Thanks for the information. Please have LIZ change course to C-phon1." The android left.

  Kevn sat at the console, typed on the keyboard beneath the console and stared at the monitor for several minutes. The monitor glowed then displayed:

  WE ARE AT YOUR SERVICE MASTER KEVN

  Although verbal communication with DOC was pointless at these distances from Home planet, text transmission was feasible, although slow. Kevn typed:

  DOC, transfer to K-47 all the data you have on the planet which Earth called Afria.

  In particular, I want information on the Afrians.

  Kevn waited for several minutes for a response. Then:

  THIS DATA IS CENTURIES OLD. SOME IS CORRUPTED.

  WE SHALL TRANSMIT WHAT IS AVAILABLE

  Kevn rose and left his cabin, heading for the command room. It would take some time for the complete transmission but he hoped that it would contain information which had not been given to TOM. The android had asked only for information on C-phon3. Perhaps there was more - something which would assist them in their search for the remains of the Afrian civilization. How did the Afrians learn that their planet was sentient? How did they learn to communicate with it? They were, after all, humans from planet Earth. Was there any danger to the crew of K-47 in revisiting the C-phon planets? Why had they been able to mine phonarite on all three planets without incident? Well, almost without incident; there was, of course, the battle on C-phon2.

  When Kevn reached the command room TOM was standing by the console, staring at the monitor. It read:

  TRANSMISSION OF AFRIA DATA COMPLETE.

  The android was shaking his head. Kevn stood by the portal, watching, listening.

  "TOM," said LIZ, "your knowledge of Afria was obtained from DOC, was it not?" The android did not answer. LIZ continued. "Is that a meritorious human trait, TOM? To give the impression that you were in possession of this information from the beginning, then -"

  "LIZ, I'm afraid that I do not set a good example for you," said TOM quietly. "It is certainly not a meritorious trait and I -" The android turned as Kevn entered.

  "TOM," said Kevn. "Has DOC finished the Afria transmission?"

  "Yes master Kevn," said TOM, hanging his head.

  "Good! I'd like to thank you for telling me about the Earth records on Afria. Now I hope there is something of further interest in that transmission. I'd like to bring it up at dinner this evening. I think I'll say something like 'Did you know that the Afrians were etc. etc.' and the others will say 'How did you know that?' and I'll say 'I've always known that. I thought everybody knew that!'"

  The android stared at Kevn. "Master Kevn,
do you mean to give the others the impression that you have always been in possession of that knowledge?" he asked.

  "Of course," said Kevn. "It's just a little joke, you see. I'll tell them, eventually, that I got the info from DOC. Anyway, can you go over the data and see if there is something of interest, about Afria and the Afrians, please, TOM?"

  The android stood tall before the console. "Certainly, master Kevn!"

  Kevn left the command room, smiling, and the android began poring through the transmitted records.

  "TOM?" said LIZ. TOM did not answer. "TOM?" repeated LIZ. "Were you just joking?"

  "Of course!" said TOM sternly. "Now please do not interrupt. I am very busy."

  ______________________________________________________

  "Lori," said Sal, "that was absolutely delicious! I hate to admit it but I thought that meals aboard a transworld vessel would be ... well, rather bland."

  "They are, usually," said Kevn. "But then we didn't have Lori on our previous trips. Gry, you're a lucky fellow." Gry smiled and pulled his rings. Lori blushed.

  They all sat as Lori cleared the table in the galley, all except Runr who sat cross-legged on the floor, watching Lori. Kevn leaned back in his chair, put his hands behind his head and slid back his chair.

  "You know," he said, "it's strange that the gene technology of the Afrians didn't find its way to the other continents on Earth. It would have been of great interest to Gravic, you know."

  They all looked at Kevn, then at each other.

  "Gene technology? What gene technology?" asked Sal.

  "You know, the work the Afrians did on gene splicing."

  "No, I don't know," said Sal, frowning. "Tell us about it."

  TOM, who was standing stiffly in the corner, leaned forward to catch every word, his eyes glowing. The lights on the small galley console flickered softly.

  "Oh," said Kevn. "I thought everyone knew that. Sal, I'm amazed. You, the Chief of Research, and you didn't know of the -"

  "Kevn! Tell us!" said Sal.

  "Well, it seems that the Afrians, while still on Earth, were deeply involved in genetic engineering. Their early research was concerned with skin color. They had some minor successes, but the most interesting characteristic which they were able to generate was extreme sensitivity of the skin surface. It seems that they could feel not only cold and heat and pressure and pain but also radiation - electromagnetic radiation, primarily."

  "You mean," said Gry, "that ... uh, there's a gene for that. I mean, is there a gene that can feel radiation? Is that it?"

  "Apparently," said Kevn. "After all, heat is generated from infra red radiation. We can all feel that. I guess they enhanced this genetic characteristic."

  "And that leads naturally to being able to transmit radiation as well as receive - and hence, eventually I suppose, the ability to communicate with automata," said Sal.

  Kevn smiled and looked at TOM.

  Sal continued. "Kevn! Why haven't you mentioned this before? Just think of what we could have done back Home if we had been able to reproduce this characteristic in citizens of the Dome. Everyone could talk to DOC without a console. That would have been a fantastic project for the Research Lab. Just think -"

  "TOM," said Kevn. "Could you tell these gullible souls what we know?"

  The android, who had been leaning forward in a corner of the room, straightened, walked to Kevn's chair and stood behind it.

  "Before leaving Home planet I asked DOC for all data on C-phon3. I immediately provided master Kevn with this information. Master Kevn then asked for additional data on Afria, now called C-phon1 by the Dome community -"

  "C-phon1!" cried Gry. "That's where ... uh, that's where -"

  "You got it, Gry!" said Kevn. "That's where we mined phonarite!"

  "Why the change in name?" asked Sal.

  "When the A, B and C-phon planets were discovered by the citizens of Home planet," said TOM, "they were given the 'phon' names because of the presence of phonarite. Had the citizens of the Dome consulted the information available in the old Earth files they would have discovered the original name of C-phon1, but there was great reluctance -"

  "What information could the evil planet Earth provide for our intrepid early settlers?" said Kevn with a smile. "The Dome community would never have sought information from the wretched mother planet. Please continue, TOM."

  "Although the A-phon and B-phon planets were discovered first, they provided very little phonarite. The C-phon planets, however -"

  The shipcomp interrupted:

  "Master Kevn. The longrange sensors indicate an approaching vessel. It appears to come from the Krono-sector."