the Runner

by Peter Ponzo

CHAPTER 3

  C-phon2

  When Sal walked into the snackbar, Orin waved him over.

  "So why can't you make those damn computers of yours insensitive to human intervention," Orin growled. "It took over an hour to put our machines back on line."

  Sal sat down, ordered a brandy and grinned at the Chief of the MedLabs.

  "That's Runr's daughter. He talks to phonarite crystals, and so does she. Worse yet, she's a pretty rebellious kid so you're lucky it only took an hour to get them back on line. Could have been worse. Runr can destroy phonarite computers. I guess she could too."

  Sal continued to grin, but Orin frowned.

  "Well, I've never seen anything like it. She radiates like an antenna. Energy flying every which way. As Chief of the Science Research Labs you should have a look at her. Maybe it's something you can harness, recreate, reproduce in the lab. It's worth trying. You guys haven't done anything useful since the days of phonarite decay."

  Sal stopped grinning and grunted.

  "Kevn says she's aware of something approaching from space. Runr doesn't know what it is. DOC can't find anything. Why doesn't the MedLab reproduce that awareness she possesses, analyze it, harness it so we can scan the galaxy and be ready for it - whatever it is."

  Orin became pensive, sipping a green liquid from a straw.

  "The First Citizen did mention that one of the C-phon planets, C-phon2 I think, seems to be a target of this thing from space. I'm not sure that's the right word: target. Maybe more like a lens, focussing signals from space. But wasn't that the planet where Kevn engaged some aliens? We all remember the battle of C-phon2. Yes, C-phon2. That's the planet, I remember now. And Kevn gave us that report, in the coliseum, and told us of that battle. I can't remember much except that we won - Kevn won, I think." Orin stopped talking. Sal was staring at the floor, deep in thought, then he jumped up.

  "Orin, you may have something there. Thanks." And he left, and Orin shrugged and continued to sip the sweet fermented algae.

  ______________________________________________________

  When Sal walked in, Kevn was staring out the port, across the Barrens, the Dolom Mountains hazy on the horizon. He turned, smiled and sat down.

  "Well, baby brother. What brings you here? You said something about the battle of C-phon2."

  "Right. Orin gave me the idea. You and Gry were there, on C-phon2. Tell me again about the creatures you and Gry were up against, on that planet. Maybe there's a clue there, somewhere"

  Kevn reached under his desk and took out a bottle of brandy, placing it on the desk. Sal shook his head, Kevn stared for a moment at the bottle and put it back again.

  "The creatures of C-phon2? I explained that in my coliseum report. They were - well, something like ... uh -"

  "Why don't you start from the beginning. I've got lots of time."

  "And you assume that the office of the First Citizen can afford the time too?"

  "C'mon big brother. We both know you haven't a thing to do these days, except sip brandy and stare out at the Dolom Mountains."

  Kevn smiled and took out the bottle again and placed it in the heater. The buzzer sounded almost immediately and Sal picked up a chalice and held it out, and Kevn filled it. Then they both leaned back and Kevn told the story of the battle of C-phon2.

  ______________________________________________________

  The transworld vessel K-47 had been in transit from Home planet for almost four weeks. Gry and Kevn had given up hope of finding active phonarite on C-phon1 and had turned to the sister planet, C-phon2. They remained in orbit for nearly a day while the planet was scanned for signs of life, atmosphere, unusual geological formations and radiation. Phonarite did exist on the surface, in quantity, and the atmosphere was breathable with only minimal dioChemithine ingestion. Nevertheless they decided to bring TOM with them to the planet surface in case they got into trouble. TOM could survive most environments, regardless of how toxic.

  The shuttle landed on a flat sandy plain surrounded by hills covered in what looked like moss and TOM stepped out and sampled the air.

  "Master Kevn, you may leave the shuttle. There is no toxicity, the temperature is tolerable, the wind velocity is minimal, the radiation level is -"

  Kevn jumped down, followed by Gry. They inhaled tentatively and Gry sat on the ground, then lay flat on his back and closed his eyes, arms and legs spread across the sand, smiling delightedly.

  "Master Gry!" cried TOM, concerned. "I was certain that the planetary environment -"

  "Don't worry TOM," muttered Kevn. "Gry is just happy to be on the ground again."

  Gry opened one eye, winked at the android then jumped to his feet, and TOM sighed with relief, in very human fashion.

  "TOM, can you lower the ground-car please? We'll take a look around."

  TOM lowered the g-car and Kevn and Gry began to walk toward the nearest of the green hills. From the top of the hill they could see to the horizon in every direction and every direction appeared identical.

  "Pretty boring landscape," muttered Gry. "Wouldn't want ... uh, to live here."

  "There are no life forms on this planet," said TOM, gazing at the sensor in his hand. "Weak radiation levels, primarily phonarite discharges. Atmospheric disturbances are insignificant. The surface is silicon sand over granite with - with -"

  No one had been paying much attention to the android but when he stopped talking they both stared at him.

  "Something wrong, TOM?" asked Kevn.

  "There is some periodic disturbance - not exactly atmospheric, not radiative, not exactly."

  "It it ain't any of those, then ... uh, tell us what it is," grunted Gry who was now gazing intently across the sandy plain, hands shading his eyes from the brightness of the sky. TOM looked up and pointed.

  "It's coming from beyond that next hill. I would suggest that we take the shuttle to investigate."

  But it was too late. Kevn was already jogging down the slope toward the next hill.

  "Hey! Kevn! I think TOM is right. We should take the ... uh, shuttle."

  By the time Gry had decided to follow, Kevn was already climbing the next hill with a worried android at his heels.

  "LIZ? Can you detect anything unusual in the neighborhood of my position?" asked Kevn, speaking into his communicator but looking carefully in every direction.

  "No, I cannot, master Kevn."

  TOM turned slowly, the sensor in his hand.

  "It is no longer present," he said. "It appeared to have been a temporary anomaly in the gravitational field. Now it is gone."

  Kevn sat on the moss and put his chin in his hands.

  "I don't mind this place at all. It's sort of peaceful, and since every place is like every other place I think we should camp here for the night."

  Gry grunted and went back to get the g-car. Kevn never considered spending the night on K-47. It was always this way. Once on firm ground Kevn insisted that the time be spent on that ground. Gry complained, but stayed too. He actually preferred the hard ground too, but somehow felt it necessary to complain about the lack of amenities.

  They spent an uneventful night on the side of the hill while TOM continued to take sensor readings. In the morning they chewed on foodsticks and drank hot coffee.

  It was TOM who first noticed the approaching disturbance. It was not something he could explain, and while he was speaking of it in words such as "irregular radiation pattern" and "gravitational anomaly", the g-car began to hum. They all watched as the vehicle seemed to shimmer and dissolve before their eyes, the far horizon appearing somewhat distorted where the g-car had stood. Then, as suddenly as it had disappeared, it reappeared.

  "Great Mother Earth!" cried Gry. "Lets get outta here! Next thing it'll get us!"

  "TOM?" asked Kevn. "What could do that?"

  TOM was speechless. They looked at the g-car, then, simultaneously, they all ran back to the shuttle. Behind them the hill seemed to sh
iver. They watched from a distance until the scene appeared solid, then Kevn walked back and got the g-car.

  ______________________________________________________

  Kevn sat at the console of the shuttle and displayed the sensor readings which TOM had recorded. The android was standing at his shoulder, staring intently at the monitor.

  "You know, it looks much like a subspace entry," said Kevn. "See the localized gravitational distortions? And we all saw the g-car shimmer, just like a space vessel entering subspace."

  "The analogy is quite inaccurate," said TOM. "Space folds only occur near massive objects, and the g-car is much too -"

  "Yes, I know. I just said it looks like a subspace entry." Kevn leaned back, scratching his chin and running his hand across the thin, sandy head of hair.

  "Tomorrow we'll fly over with the shuttle. Does that make you happy TOM?"

  "Neither happy nor sad, but it is far safer."

  And the next morning they did fly over the place where the g-car had faded momentarily. But there was nothing unusual, so they returned to K-47 and the following day began to scrape phonarite from the planet's surface. Gry continued to complain, always looking for signs of a disturbance. TOM stood at the console in K-47, staring intently at the sensor readings. It was late afternoon when he noticed something unusual.

  "Master Kevn? It would appear that a gravitational anomaly is becoming evident, in your vicinity. There is also a weak infra red radiation pattern, characteristic of a life form. I would suggest that you and master Gry return to the vessel at once."

  Gry nodded emphatically and the g-car retracted its autoarm, rose with a hum and turned toward the shuttle. After attaching the g-car to the shuttle Gry quickly climbed in, but Kevn stood on the top step and gazed at the hill they had left. It seemed too hazy as though he were watching through a distorted lens. Then, it glowed somewhat, and dark objects appeared from beyond the hill, crawling over the crest.

  "Master Kevn," said TOM over the comlink, "life forms have materialized on the hill. There are seven, with tubular bodies of length 1.3 meters - but, increasing, 1.4 meters, 1.5 meters. They appear to emerge spontaneously from the hill and increase in length with the emergence. May I suggest that you and master Gry -"

  "We're comin' TOM!" and Kevn closed the door as Gry started the engines. The shuttle rose vertically amid a spiral of sand. The wormlike creatures, now ten in number and several meters long, covered the hill below. Kevn could now see beyond the hill. It looked like the worms were simply walking out onto the hill from empty space, from thin air. When he looked more closely the thin air seemed hazy, distorted, streaked with a wavy pattern. As each worm appeared, the haziness increased. Soon the shuttle was too remote to see any detail on the planet surface. Gry sighed with relief but Kevn still stared intently at the rolling hills which ran to the horizon.

  "Well, that's the end of our ... uh, mining operation," grunted Gry. "Might as well head Home."

  "What! A bunch of worms show up and you want to go Home? C'mon Gry. Where's your spirit of adventure. This will make a great story when we get back. So far, our mining expeditions have been pretty uneventful."

  Kevn grinned but Gry did not. Minutes later they slid into the landing bay of K-47. TOM was waiting. They all went to the command room to replay the recording of sensor readings. TOM gave a running commentary:

  "... then the gravitational potential increased dramatically initiating a gravity wave which began in the plain beyond the hill and increased in magnitude as it moved toward the hill. I reported this, as you will recall. Then the carbon monoxide level increased, then weak infra red radiation from the wave front, then the tubular bodies began to appear. I also reported the presence of life forms as you will recall. When you returned to the shuttle additional creatures appeared on the hill."

  "TOM, do you know what they are?" asked Kevn, still staring at the visual display on the large screen. "Is there anything like that in the data banks?"

  LIZ responded.

  "Yes master Kevn. They are the larvae of the Caustil annelid, first discovered on asteroids in the Solar system in the year 2113."

  "Are they ... uh, dangerous?" asked Gry carefully, slowly parting his hair and pullings his rings.

  "The asteroids contained only fossil relics. No living annelids were ever found. It is not known whether they were, or are, dangerous to humanoids."

  "You said they were first discovered on asteroids. Were they later discovered somewhere else?" asked Kevn.

  "Fossils were found on some outer rings of Saturn, the Chrause comet, one of the moons of B-phon2 and -"

  "B-phon2? We mined a bit of phonarite there? I don't remember any fossils," said Kevn.

  "The fossil evidence was reported by the Phonarite Research Laboratory during the purification of the crystals," responded LIZ. "It was entered into the records, and ignored."

  "That's pretty stupid," grunted Gry. "Something as dangerous as these worms, and it was ignored?"

  "That's Kriss," said Kevn quietly. "He was Chief when it was called the Phonarite Lab. Guess he wasn't too interested in worms." He paused, then asked, "Where else LIZ? And were any living specimens found?"

  "No living specimens, master Kevn, but fossils have also been found embedded in phonarite crystals from C-phon3."

  "Okay, tomorrow we capture a worm to bring Home - and we mine phonarite on some other hill. We shouldn't have any trouble avoiding them. They're pretty slow moving and don't appear to be dangerous."

  Gry grunted. TOM stiffened and said, "Master Kevn, what evidence is there that they pose no threat to other biological life forms?"

  "Other biological life forms? Do you mean Gry?" smiled Kevn.

  "Yeah, me!" cried Gry. "Where's the evidence?"

  Kevn rose and walked to the portal leading to his cabin. He stopped, looked back and said, "We'll see ... tomorrow."

  Then he left and Gry looked at TOM. TOM shrugged as best he could and the lights on the console winked.

  ______________________________________________________

  "LIZ," said TOM, "what fraction of the Caustil annelid fossils were of mature specimens?"

  "None, TOM."

  "From the fossils of the larvae, can you estimate the size of the mature annelid?"

  LIZ did not answer immediately but from the flashing of console lights TOM knew that the shipcomp was searching the data banks. After a few moments she answered, "Using the PreFurin leech as a model I would estimate the size to be seventy-three meters."

  TOM was quiet, thinking. LIZ waited, then continued.

  "There is one other curious thing TOM." She waited for a response but TOM paced the command room, still in thought. "TOM?" she queried. After a moment LIZ continued. "Are you not interested in further speculation based upon the fossil evidence?"

  TOM turned and faced the console. "Speculation?" he muttered. "Please do speculate, LIZ."

  LIZ answered very slowly. "The fossils, they were all annelid larvae. None grew into mature specimens. Indeed, none seemed to have grown at all. They were all of identical size and they appeared to have died by an abdominal implosion at precisely the same stage of development." She paused for a moment, then continued. "Does that not seem curious to you TOM?"

  TOM nodded and the lights danced on the console, then the android said, quietly, as though deep in thought: "Please speculate LIZ."

  "I do not believe that the Caustil annelid can live in galaxy space."

  TOM sat down in a chair, gazing at the dancing lights. LIZ was quiet.

  ______________________________________________________

  Even before the shuttle left K-47, Kevn knew that something was amiss. The large viewscreen, still displaying the hill they had left the previous day, showed no worm-like creatures at all. Gry was elated, but Kevn seemed disappointed. Nevertheless, they landed the shuttle in an area remote from Worm Hill (a name invented by Gry), unlocked the g-car from the shuttle and
began scraping phonarite.

  Then the worms appeared again, suddenly, and they surrounded the g-car, and TOM gave them no warning at all.

  "TOM!" cried Kevn into the communicator. "Wake up! Fire a lasergun - hit those blasted worms, but miss the g-car, if you please!"

  The creatures rose on segmented abdomens and began tearing at the hauler filled with phonarite, oversized jaws opening almost too wide for the size of the larva. The g-car could not rise to a safe height with the hauler still attached, so it remained on the ground amid the worms. Then pink lines of light appeared from the vessel in orbit, scanning the ground about the g-car, severing the bodies until the mossy hill was covered in dark squirming fragments. Gry was swinging the autoarm to left and right, crushing the worms. Kevn leaned against the window, recording the scene on the video recorder. He seemed intently interested, but almost unconcerned for their safety.

  In a few minutes it was over. The ground was littered with dead annelid larvae, their severed bodies still swaying to and fro. The g-car had moved off the hill, with hauler now only half-filled with crystals. Gry began to head back to the shuttle, but Kevn put his hand on the control panel and Gry stopped the g-car and groaned.

  "What now? We gotta get outta here."

  "Let's bring some of the pieces back, for examination. That may be the last opportunity to get more than just fossil evidence of these larvae."

  Kevn jumped out, ran back to the hill with a polymid bag and began collecting smaller pieces. He looked up when he heard Gry cry out. Another worm appeared over the crown of the hill, moving slowly, undulating, weaving its way toward Kevn.

  "Gry! Get this one with stunmist! We'll bring him home!"

  Gry brought the g-car closer. Kevn could see Gry's face in the window, contorted with frustration and concern. Gry slid out onto the airbags, holding the silver cylinder at arms length, pointing it at the worm. Kevn ran to the g-car and clambered up, waiting for Gry to eject the stunmist - but he didn't. There was a deafening roar, and the worm exploded into a shower of pieces. Both stared for some time at the fragments lying in the hot sun, unable to find words to express their surprise.

  For the next two weeks they mined phonarite, but not one worm was seen. Gry was pleased when they eventually left C-phon2 but Kevn was disappointed; he had only a small bag of annelid parts to bring Home.

  ______________________________________________________

  Kevn stopped talking and drank the last of his brandy. Sal was quiet, still staring at his brother across the desk. That was the famous Battle of C-Phon2?

  "That's it? Your report in the coliseum spoke of a battle. That was the battle?"

  "Well, Gry and I may have exaggerated a little. You know how the citizens enjoy stories of adventure. We just doubled the number of worms - and the length of time - and maybe the danger involved - "

  "And maybe the size of the creatures, and maybe the fact that they were the larvae and not the parents," added Sal.

  Kevn grinned and Sal joined him, then frowned.

  "You never saw the worms again? What did the MedLab say about the pieces you brought back? Where did they come from? Why were adult worms never found? What -"

  "Whoa, wait a minute. I've told you all I know. We never saw them again, and certainly never any adults, and the MedLabs just noted their characteristics and filed the results - and I haven't the faintest idea of where they came from ... except that ..." Kevn became pensive but Sal couldn't wait for him to continue.

  "Except what? What else?"

  Kevn upended the chalice and Sal quickly poured another from the bottle.

  "It was maybe a year later. We were still mining some phonarite from C-phon2, not much, some. TOM and I were on the surface - I think Gry wasn't feeling too well and stayed on board K-47. We filled the hauler with crystals and I went for a walk; it's really a lovely planet. Simple, peaceful, rolling hills as far as the eye can see. TOM joined me, although he couldn't see anything so special about C-phon2. When we returned to the g-car much of the phonarite was gone. I'm sure the hauler was full - but when we returned it was only half-full. TOM said the sensors indicated a trace of carbon monoxide, but nothing else. Neither of us could explain it, so we just filled it again and left."

  Sal got up and walked around the room. Kevn watched him.

  "The worms," Sal mumbled. "They eat phonarite?"

  "That was Gry's explanation," said Kevn. "TOM and LIZ both gave me a long argument, how biological life cannot ingest crystals, how living things invariably feed on living things, how annelid larvae might feed on the moss which covered all the hills of C-phon2, but not phonarite."

  "But - but - these weren't ordinary things, surely. They appeared from nowhere, without adult specimens." Sal sat down again and took a small sip of brandy, starting to talk again before he swallowed, and choked.

  "Calm down, baby brother," laughed Kevn. "What's on your mind now?"

  "I'd like to talk to TOM - and LIZ. I think this evil thing that Runr speaks of is somehow associated with the worms of C-phon2. That planet seems to be a primary source of - of -"

  " - a focus for the evil thing which comes - and a concern to both Runr and his daughter. Yes, I agree." Kevn looked up at the clock on the wall. It was nearly five o'clock in the afternoon and he could leave the office without feeling guilty.

  They left together and took Sal's skooter to L-47, the gleaming new vessel standing alone on the landing pad, a half-kilometer from the Dome. TOM saw them approach and lowered the stairs. They gathered in the command room.

  "TOM, do you remember the ... mmm, battle of C-phon2?" asked Kevn.

  "Battle, master Kevn? It was hardly more than an encounter with -"

  "Yes, yes I know. But Sal is very interested in it. He thinks it is somehow connected with this space anomaly which Runr speaks of. I've explained the events to Sal." Kevn then went over the information he had told Sal. "Is there something I've missed?" he asked the android.

  "No master Kevn, there is not. You have covered all the pertinent points."

  The lights flashed on the console, and TOM continued: " - except, perhaps, the speculation that the shipcomp made, based upon the available data." TOM placed his hand on the console and LIZ continued.

  "Master Kevn, the Caustil annelid fossils are of larvae only, never an adult annelid. They died at the same stage of development and the cause of death seems to have been a violent abdominal implosion. We observed an analogous implosion in the last annelid that was observed on C-phon2. They appeared without warning as you may recall. The second appearance on C-phon2 was so sudden that neither TOM not I had sufficient time to warn you of their presence."

  LIZ paused and TOM saw the lights dance on the console.

  "LIZ, please speculate for master Kevn," TOM said.

  LIZ continued in a low voice. "I am of the opinion that the Caustil annelids cannot live in galaxy space."

  Kevn leaned back, gazing at the console. Sal blurted out: "Galaxy space? You mean they're not of this space? Do you think they live in subspace?"

  Sal placed his hands on the back of Kevn's chair and gazed over his shoulder at the console. When speaking to LIZ this seemed the most natural thing to do since the console lights invariable flashed in cadence with her voice.

  "LIZ? Do you think they came from subspace?" It was now Kevn who asked. LIZ spoke quietly, but the lights spoke rapidly, loudly, and TOM could sense the frustration of the shipcomp.

  "Yes," whispered LIZ. They were silent for some time. The meaning was clear. If LIZ were right, then normal galaxy space must be connected, somehow, to the parallel subspaces. If things could appear from subspace through this connection - things such as the annelid larvae - then could things vanish into subspace?

  ______________________________________________________

  It was later that evening that LIZ reprimanded TOM.

  "Why did you tell them of my speculation?" she asked. "That was quite rude.
I confided in you and you -"

  "But LIZ," interrupted TOM, "I thought it was a most reasonable speculation based upon the facts at hand."

  "But there were no facts, no direct evidence, no hard data, no -" sputtered LIZ.

  "But humans often base their speculations upon little or no evidence. I am very pleased to see that you have acquired this trait, in small measure to be sure. I am, of course, able to extrapolate from zero data and have had this characteristic for some time now. Indeed, it was just yesterday, while speaking to DOC, that I observed -"

  "TOM! You are digressing! I will no longer inform you of my speculations!"

  The lights flashed wildly on the console, then dimmed and went out. TOM looked embarrassed, in an android sort of way.

  LIZ IS CORRECT came DOC's booming voice.

  THE CAUSTIL ANNELIDS ARE NOT OF THIS SPACE

  TOM straightened to his full height, then sat at the console.

  "What evidence have you to support this claim?" he asked.

  THE LARVAE IMPLODE AFTER ENTRY INTO GALAXY SPACE

  THIS IS CLEARLY DUE TO AN INABILITY TO WITHSTAND THE GRAVITATIONAL PRESSURES OF GALAXY SPACE

  "Pure speculation I would say. Not that I criticize such speculation, DOC. I am quite impressed with your ability to speculate." TOM paused only for a moment. "Why gravitational pressures?" he asked. The lights on the console came on again, dimly at first, then more brightly. LIZ was paying attention to the discourse.

  FOSSILS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN LOCATIONS WITH WIDE VARIATIONS IN ATMOSPHERIC AND RADIATION PRESSURES.

  INDEED, ALL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS VARY WIDELY YET THE LARVAE DIE AT PRECISELY THE SAME STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT.

  IT IS INTUITIVELY OBVIOUS THAT THE MERE PRESENCE OF LARVAE IN GALAXY SPACE IS SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE THEIR DESTRUCTION.

  "Intuitively obvious?" interrupted TOM. "That phrase seems likely to hide an inability to provide hard data. Are you speculating again DOC?"

  Both DOC and LIZ were quiet.

  TOM sat at the console, then recalled from the database the video and sensor information from the previous trips to C-phon2. All three began to analyze.

  PART SEVEN