Ice Planet

by Nicole Stuart

  Cora looked at her father in surprise. She had never suspected that he had wanted to do anything other than build his businesses, something that he had done well. He was one of those people who always did well in what they attempted. She was glad that she had been given the opportunity to tell him what she knew of the newcomers.

  “Would you be interested to see our base in Mount Kina, Phelan?” Grea’s question was innocent, although she knew that it was not necessary.

  “I'd love to, Grea. How long will it take?”

  “Only a few minutes. I’ll call in a transporter cabinet. I suggest that we go into the warehouse, if it is not in use now. We can transport from there without being observed.”

  “Let’s go!” Phelan collected his keys and they walked over to the warehouse. As they walked in, Phelan stopped in surprise, looking at the bins that contained the two metals. They had been empty an hour ago, yet now there was a pile of metal in each of them.

  “I programed the mining machines to stop if there was any activity in this area,” Grea explained. “It would be most unusual to have the metal appearing in the bins from thin air. They’ll start operating again once we’ve transported out.” Grea worked on her bracelet briefly, and a transporter cabinet appeared near the metal bins. “Shall we go?”

  The three stepped into the cabinet, standing closely together as the door closed. A moment later, there was a quiet click, and the door opened again. They stepped out into the large chamber in the mountain. Cora watched with amusement the look of amazement on her father’s face. She knew that the same expression had been on her face when she had arrived here yesterday.

  “It’s amazing, isn’t it, Dad? It took Savi and me ten hours to drive this distance, and most of a day to climb the mountain. This place is over ten thousand years old. It was built by Grea and her group to serve as a beacon, an arrival point, when they transported over ten thousand years from their time to now.”

  “It’s hard to believe, Cora. It’s also hard to believe that our people had this technology so long ago, and then lost it. It must have been covered up by the political and religious leaders for it to have disappeared so completely from common knowledge.” Phelan turned to Grea. “What other minerals can you mine, Grea? It seems to me that the availability of pure minerals, without the control of the government, must be a force for good.”

  “If a deposit exists, Phelan, we can mine it. Let me show you the minerals database. A long time ago, geologists explored the planet exhaustively, mapping every mineral deposit they found. They did it by traversing the planet at intervals of three feet in each dimension, using quantum probes. I took that a little further, by automating the exploration process. We tend to mine the deepest deposits, because that has the least possibility of causing surface disturbances. We also remove only the metals and minerals we want, so the mining does not create large holes in the land, or produce huge waste heaps. The computer updates this database automatically, so that we have a very accurate record of the size of the deposits remaining.” Grea tapped on the keyboard, then slid to the side so that Phelan could sit next to her and look at the screen. “This is the deposit we’re mining now. The screen shows the amount of metal being removed per minute and cumulatively, and also the amount still in the deposit.”

  Phelan looked at the screen, not really comprehending the words heading the columns, but understanding the numbers. He looked again, more carefully.

  “Am I correct in saying that this deposit contains more than ten million tons of cobalt?” He pointed at the number.

  “Yes, that’s right. This is a deposit that originates in the planet’s core. Normally, such pillars, when they reach the surface, are in a liquid, molten form, and they spread out over the adjacent area, together with the magma and associated minerals. In this case those minerals are copper and silica. In the next deposit on the list, the associated minerals are cadmium and arsenic.” Grea used the archaic terms for those metals, not having come across the modern words yet. Cora quickly supplied the translation. “Over centuries, the original deposit near the surface becomes polluted with surrounding minerals, such as silica and sulfur, leading to a relatively low concentration of the metals we want. At the level we’re mining, the deposit is very concentrated.” Grea smiled. She enjoyed the subject, and Phelan and Cora were good listeners. “We can extract minerals from very weak concentrations, such as the gold contained in seawater, where the concentration is in the region of a thousandth of one per cent. This system is very efficient.”

  Phelan looked at Grea, smiling at a thought that came into his mind.

  “Were you involved in developing this system, Grea?”

  “Yes, I was, to a small extent. I worked on putting the database together, as well as automating the process, so that we could complete the database in years, rather than centuries, and that gave me some ideas. When Aria suggested that I might become involved in working out how to attract the attention of sentient beings to provide the computers here with the reason to send the beacon that would allow us to transport here, I jumped at the opportunity. Working with Aria and Bian was considered the highest aspiration of any scientist. Together with the others in our team, we automated the mining process, freeing it from the need for human operators. We removed the waste rock from the granite of the foothill to leave behind the structures that Cora and Savi saw, and we dumped that waste elsewhere on the planet in formations that could be seen by an interested geologist with an open mind as a guide to this point. We didn’t want to make it too obvious, because we had seen what treasure hunters do to places they suspect contain hidden wealth in some form, so we chose to set out a puzzle that could be solved by highly intelligent people, probably scientists in one or other field. We also excavated this chamber as a secure base, away from most possibilities of a chance discovery. It seems that our work was adequate.”

  “More than adequate, Grea. It was miraculous.”

  “Before we return to the city, Phelan, let me show you the structures that Cora and Savi found.” Grea led them to the chamber door and touched a button on the rock wall next to it. The huge door moved forward a short distance and then swung gently open, letting in the sharply cold air. The clouds had lifted, and the sunlight sparkled on the snow on the ground. They walked to a position near the edge of the platform and looked over. Far below, they could see the gigantic structures, now free of the covering that had protected them during Cora’s visit here. Seen from this angle, it was obvious that the formation was an arrow pointing towards this platform on the mountain.

  Cora dragged her eyes from the structures to look around. The view was amazing. She wondered if the absence of snow and ice would have made it better. Far away, she could see a straggle of vehicles driving along the road towards where the camp had been.

  “That’s strange. There are several vehicles heading this way, yet the camp has been removed entirely. I wonder what they plan to do.”

  “Those look like military trucks, Cora. Is there anything around here that might attract them?”

  “Nothing that I know of, dad. The camp has gone, and there’s nothing else, except the structures that Grea made. Perhaps they’re coming to check them out. They’ll soon be half-covered in snow and ice again.”

  “I’ll get the computer to monitor them, Phelan. It’s highly unlikely that they could get into the chamber, even if they could find the door, but it can’t hurt to know if they try.” Grea turned back into the chamber, and touched the button again. The door swung silently closed, then withdrew into the opening, to seal the gap that Cora had spotted in the diagonal beam of her spotlight. If she had not seen that thin gap, no wider than a human hair, she doubted that she would have discovered the door. She and Savi had had no reason to inspect the cliff face closely enough to spot the crack. That would almost certainly be true of any others who might visit the platform.

  “It’s warm in here, Grea. How did you manage that?”

  “We drilled a hole a few tho
usand feet down, to extract the heat from near the planet’s core to generate the power for the lights and computers. The waste heat from that keeps the air in here at a comfortable temperature. The advantage of that is that we didn’t need to provide for storage of power. The planet is our storage cell. Also, it doesn’t create any pollution, and the rock cover is enough to prevent any heat signature from showing. That all adds to the security of the chamber.”

  “As I said, Grea, it’s all miraculous. I congratulate you and your team.”

  “Thanks, Phelan. I appreciate that. Now, if you’ve seen enough, we should return to the warehouse.”

  “I agree. The sight of those trucks has made me a little nervous. I need to arrange some cover for the material arriving in the warehouse. Perhaps I could get a couple of trucks delivering some ore there. I could sell that as ore, and the movement of the trucks in and out will obscure the fact that the metal is delivered to the warehouse in a different way.” Phelan smiled at Grea. “I’m glad that you showed me this, and told me about all of you. I trust Cora not to cause any problems, but it’s useful to understand what is happening.”

  Grea smiled back at Phelan, and walked the two of them back to the transporter cabinet. They went in, the door closed and opened, and they were back in the warehouse. Cora could see that her father shared her difficulty in comprehending the ease of movement made possible by the cabinet.

  They walked back to Phelan’s office, discussing the desirability of increasing the sales of the copper and cobalt. Eventually, it was agreed that they should increase the quantity by a half. That would meet their need for funds, without disturbing the market too much. When they walked back out to Cora’s car, Phelan walked with them and assisted Grea into her seat. Grea turned to Cora when they were back on the road.

  “I like your father, Cora. Very much. He’s a good man.”

  “I can see that he likes you too, Grea.” Cora’s response made Grea smile. Cora realized that she had known it would.

  Chapter 14

  “Savi asked me to let you know that he has returned to his home, Cora. He said that he needs to work on a cover story, and didn’t want to be seen to be spending a lot of his time here at the laboratory. He suggested that you walk over there, through the back entrance.”

  Cora complied, using the keys that Savi had supplied. She found Savi in his small office on the upper storey. He was looking through the curtains out into the street.

  He heard Cora coming in and put his finger to his lips, then pointed upwards, towards the cornice. Cora looked where he pointed, and saw a small neat hole in the molding. She realized that it could be a surveillance microphone. She nodded.

  Savi sat at his desk and pulled a blank sheet of paper from his printer, and wrote on it.

  ‘That was not there this morning. StateSec suspect I’m up to something.’ He looked up at Cora, saw her nod. ‘I’ll check the rest of the house over the next few hours, but we can’t take a chance. I’ll keep away from obviously going to the lab, or talking to you. Don’t want to draw you in.’ Savi stopped writing, and Cora took the paper and pen.

  ‘Went to the chamber and looked out. Saw column of trucks heading towards it. Camp gone. Trucks military? Can’t think of other reason. Grea set computer to monitor.’ Cora looked at Savi. She knew that, if he was under suspicions, so would she be. StateSec had a reputation for spreading their net wide. She wondered what she could do to protect them both.

  Savi stood again and looked through the crack of the curtain out into the street, taking care not to move the curtain. He beckoned to Cora. She joined him and looked out. She felt her heart hammering. There was a car parked on the opposite side of the street, with two men in it, both looking at Savi’s house.

  “They were there when I arrived,” Savi whispered, his lips close to Cora’s ear. “They’ve done nothing in the time since then.”

  “What can we do?”

  “I’ve not come up with any bright ideas. Perhaps we should go and warn the others. They could be at risk.”

  Savi moved silently over to the door, taking the sheet of paper with him. The fact that StateSec had been able to install a listening device in his home was a good indication that they had free access to the house. It would not be a good idea to leave an incriminating document lying around where it could be found. That thought led to another. He raised his hand, and walked over to the filing cabinet in the back corner. He had filed the full report on the structures there. He opened the drawer and looked through the documents. The report was not there! Savi was not sure whether the careful wording they had used in the report was sufficiently incriminating to warrant the arrest of him and Cora. On the evidence of the present surveillance, it seemed to be. His heart sinking, Savi led the way downstairs. He crossed over to the front door and laid his coat carelessly across it, as though it had fallen unnoticed from the rack, and he and Cora walked quietly through the kitchen to the back door. He opened the door and they stepped quietly through, locking it behind them. This time, Savi placed an old newspaper against the door, making it look as though it had blown there. The two telltales would notify him if someone had entered the house in his absence. He looked up at the back windows of the laboratory building. He could not be sure, but he had a feeling that Aria was watching them from the window of the conference room where they were working.

  They walked across the small garden and out through the gate concealed behind the shed, taking care not to follow a regular path that might give away their use of the gate. Cora used her key to enter the building, and they were met by Petros. He raised his finger to his lips, and pointed upstairs. Their hearts falling, the two walked up the stairs. It seemed that their security arrangements had been to no avail.

  Aria met them at the head of the stairs, and took them into the conference room, closing the door quietly behind them.

  “Two men entered the building a couple of minutes after you left, Cora. They came in very quietly, and they stuck a small device under the large table in the laboratory room. We believe that it is a listening device. Nina was upstairs in her room when they did it, so she didn’t notice them, and she walked out of the room down the passage. The men heard her make some sound, and hid away from possible observation. I managed to signal to Nina not to talk, and to remain where she was. After a few minutes, the men obviously thought that it was safe, and they left the laboratory, locking the door behind them. Petros was watching them from a room at the top of the stairs, and he saw them go, then climb into a car parked outside and drive off. We checked the device and confirmed our assessment that it was a listening device with a radio transmitter, but we left it there. We’ve been discussing the situation, and decided that the best course of conduct is for the two of you to record a conversation that will show your innocence. You can transport to the chamber to do that, and then we can feed that into the device at an appropriate time. We have been recording the sounds of the building since then, and we can feed those sounds into the device, and let them believe that all is normal. We can kill the microphone, so that only what we feed into it can be heard.”

  “We’ve discussed the possibility of us all withdrawing to the chamber and continuing our work there, but we believe that we owe your people, our people, an obligation to fight this system that allows the government to terrorize its citizens. We can fulfill that obligation best from here.” Petros smiled at Cora. She could see that the words were meant sincerely, that they were not mere bravado.

  “We need to warn Phelan as well. Cora and I have visited him twice by car, and it is possible that StateSec has him on their surveillance list.”

  “I agree, Grea. Will the two of you go to him? You should use the transporter, so that you are not seen again in his area. We can’t be too careful.”

  Cora and Grea acted on Bian’s suggestion, walking quietly up the stairs to the storeroom where the cabinet had been placed. It required only seconds to place a transporter cabinet in the warehouse, and the two women wa
lked across to Phelan’s office. He was surprised to see them again so soon, but welcomed them into his office. They closed the door behind them, and Cora started speaking.

  “We believe that Savi and I are under surveillance, dad. There is a surveillance device in Savi’s office at home, and the report we wrote regarding the structures has disappeared. I didn’t tell you that we have issued only a brief synopsis of the report, in the belief that anyone who reads the first sentence will not bother to read the details of the report. I hope that belief is well-founded. There were two men in a car outside Savi’s house. They’ve been sitting in the car and looking at the house for more than half an hour. At the same time, two men entered the laboratory building and placed a listening device under a table there. It’s clear that Savi and I are under suspicion. We’re taking steps to misdirect whoever is listening, and we felt that it is necessary to warn you, so that you can take your own precautions.”

  “You will be welcome to join us in the chamber on the mountain, Phelan. For now, we have decided that we won’t be withdrawing to there, but the possibility exists. We’ve decided that, at present, our duty requires us to assist Cora and Savi, and all of the people, to fight this State terrorism in whatever way we can. We can do that most effectively by being here, where we can take positive action as required.”

  “What are you thinking of doing, Grea?”

  “We haven’t worked out any plans yet, Phelan, but Bian and Aria are two of the most intelligent and capable people I’ve ever met. They’ll come up with some ideas.”