by Thomas Stone
She stumbled on and looked for a clearing. It didn't take long before she found what she searched for: a grassy, moonlit field between the great trees.
Hiding at the edge of the darkened meadow, Kathleen watched and waited before walking out into the open. The wind blew through the treetops, rustling the branches and making an easy, soothing sound. The second moon was coming up adding to the light cast by the first. Kathleen spun around, thinking she had heard the padding of feet, or paws, upon the forest floor. She scanned the darkness behind her. Seeing nothing, she turned her gaze back to the open field.
The stars twinkled overhead while the larger of the two moons dominated the sky. Out from under the forest canopy, there was plenty of light and it revealed nothing but more forest. Kathleen walked to the center of the field and looked upward. She hoped to see a small point of light crossing the heavens, an assurance that her team aboard the Magellan still maintained its orbital position, but she was disappointed. There was nothing to indicate the Magellan was there.
For the first time, she entertained the thought that her team might have left her for good. Perhaps they had already returned to look and, unable to find her, assumed she was dead. Even now, they might be entering Earth space on their return. Kathleen forced the thoughts from her mind and looked at the sky.
Like the Earth's moon, the moons of Mia Culpa rose in the east and traveled west through the night hours. Kathleen faced the second rising moon and determined which direction to take. South was to her right. Over the trees, some miles away, she spotted a craggy peak. That was the landmark she chose to guide her way.
There was nothing but grass between her and the edge of the forest. She turned to the south and started on her way, hoping she would come across a trail that led in the right direction. At the trees, she hesitated. Was that a noise behind her? She looked out over the moonlit meadow. It was empty as before, but the nagging thought remained that something was following.
She turned back to the trees and hurried away. It was difficult to see through the deep shadows. Every few steps she stopped to make certain she was headed in the right direction and to find another tree, or limb, or shadow to mark a new reference point. Now her biggest fear was that she would spend hours traveling in circles.
A twig popped. In the calm forest, it sounded like a gun blast. Kathleen stopped, listened, and watched. Nothing showed. This time she was sure something was there.
Sighting a new bearing, she set off again. Off to the side, a shadow seemed to move. The wind came up. Kathleen couldn't feel it, but she could hear it in the treetops. The increased volume stayed steady for several seconds before she recognized it for what it was: the sound of air being beat by rotors. With her heart pounding, she turned back in the direction of the clearing and ran as fast as she could.
As she ran, she realized she'd been walking in circles after all. She recognized trees she had passed. The clearing should be straight ahead. The craft was straight ahead as well. Kathleen could see lights. She dropped the spear and the small bag and began to shout as she ran.
There was one big tree between her and the clearing. Bright lights illuminated the landing area. She ran under the spreading branches and made straight for the clearing. Grass blew violently under the exhaust of air fans.
Halfway there she stumbled on an exposed root and nearly fell. Recovering, she stood upright and almost ran into a shadow that suddenly loomed over her. Incredibly strong hands gripped her by the arms and ankles. A strap was looped around her elbows and before she had time to cry out, she was pushed onto the ground. The hands that gripped her ankles jerked her legs into the air, and then, with little effort, pulled her straight up into the branches overhead.
A furry hand clamped over her mouth and prevented her from screaming. As she was dragged higher, between the branches she glimpsed the craft as it descended into the meadow. It set down and the engines shut off. Whatever held her suddenly stood absolutely still. Its breathing slowed to practically nothing and Kathleen could feel its strong, slow heartbeat.
The branches prevented Kathleen from seeing the shuttle, but she heard the sound of an opening hatch. Realizing it might be her only chance for rescue, she began to struggle. Kicking her legs free, she managed a half turn and was surprised to see the same young aborigine who had been with her since her first capture. He looked scared.
He said something incomprehensible and removed his hand. Kathleen opened her mouth and started to shout but he immediately clamped his hand over her mouth again. She tried to struggle free but he held her tightly by the strap tying her arms.
Below, someone walked into the forest. Kathleen spotted the shadow as it moved under the tree. There was something odd about it. It didn't move like a person. She stopped struggling and looked closer.
What she saw was wholly unexpected.
As the creature stepped under the branches, Kathleen saw it wasn't one of the survey team. For one thing it was too big.
The thing walked in a strange manner, delicately picking its way along the forest floor. Its three spindly legs moved like a spider, churning quickly, then stopping as it inspected the territory. Kathleen grew very still: this wasn't a rescue.
It seemed to be searching for something. It wandered under the trees systematically, covering one area and then moving on to another.
Arai edged closer to the trunk of the great tree. Kathleen moved with him. She didn't know what was below, but it didn't look friendly. From the boy's reaction, Kathleen knew it was dangerous.
Soundlessly, Arai untied the strap from Kathleen's arms. She stretched and the strap fell to the ground. The creature had left the immediate area but now spun about and looked for the source of the noise.
Arai pulled on Kathleen and motioned for her to follow. They moved down the branch looking for an avenue of escape. Kathleen didn't move as nimbly as her companion and inadvertently dragged a foot along the bark. The beast reacted immediately and rushed to a spot directly beneath them.
Kathleen and the boy squatted in a crook of the tree and watched from the shadows. The creature knew something was there. As the two watched, it began to emit a high-pitched sound and started to lift off the ground. Fortunately, the branches prevented it from flying freely. Both Kathleen and Arai cowered and remained perfectly still.
The monster, frustrated by its inability to search through the branches of the great tree, returned to the ground and walked back to the clearing. Arai jumped out of the shadows and beckoned for Kathleen to follow. Together, they ran as far as they could until they had to change branches. At the end of the next branch, they ran out of choices. If they were to go any farther, they would have to take to the ground.
The boy looked toward the clearing and, seeing that the coast was clear, jumped to the ground. He turned to Kathleen and motioned for her to follow. The branch upon which she stood was nearly nine feet above the ground. Kathleen didn't think she could safely make the jump, so she prepared to hang and drop.
As she positioned herself, Arai crouched and looked toward the clearing. Something was wrong. In alarm, he jumped up and ran in the opposite direction. Kathleen hesitated. Behind her the same whining sound started up again. She turned to look just in time to see the thing floating up among the branches on the opposite side of the tree. She took a breath, dropped to the ground and ran after the boy, but by then he was nowhere to be seen. Breathlessly, she rounded a tree and rested with her back against the trunk. She peeked back in the direction from which she had just fled. The creature was on the ground and coming her way.
Taking care to keep the great tree trunk between her and the monster, Kathleen ran deeper into the forest. Behind her, the creature heard her retreating footsteps and changed course. As she passed the next tree, she heard a singing in the air and suddenly a metallic javelin struck the trunk, missing her by mere inches, driving its shaft deep into the bark.
Panic took over and she ran without thought, concentrating only on moving her feet a
s fast as they would go. The creature had seen her and continued its pursuit. Each time she glanced over her shoulder it seemed to have gained a little more ground. Through the trees, she saw a light and changed her course toward it.
There was not a moment to spare. She hoped the light would offer some sort of protection, maybe it was Harry and Fagen, come to rescue her. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The light originated from a second creature that stood beside a structure in another clearing set between the trees. The monster was motionless and appeared to be waiting. Kathleen ducked between two oversized tree roots. In front of her, the second tri-legged monster squatted and waited while behind her, the first one closed in.
She had only seconds before the thing reached her. She had to do something immediately. Without another thought, she jumped over the root and looked for an escape avenue, but found there was nowhere to run without being seen. Without a place to go, she stood transfixed by the approaching terror.
A new sound got her attention; a soft hiss came from very near. Kathleen looked but saw nothing. Of course, it was very dark, but the sound seemed to originate from just a few feet away. She looked closer and was barely able to make out a beckoning hand. It reached from the ground as if a corpse was trying to dig its way out of a grave.
She stared as it waved to her. The hissing sound came again. Steeling herself, she inched closer to the hole in the ground and looked down. Again the hand emerged from the darkness. It was the boy's hand. He had found a hole, a cave, and was now hiding within. Frantically, he waved for Kathleen to crawl inside.
Kathleen looked up. The creature approached. Kathleen had no choice. She crawled inside the small cave. Arai moved deeper inside, giving her more room. Overhead she heard the creature as it walked over the area. She moved deeper into the cave as a shadow fell over the entrance.
A blinding light shined into the hole followed by a long metallic shaft that stabbed into the entrance mere inches from Kathleen's face. She clapped both hands over her own mouth to keep from screaming. The shaft withdrew and then came thrusting down again at a slightly different angle, this time a little farther away. After a few more stabbing thrusts, the creature showed no more interest and went away.
For a long time, the Bedoran boy and the young woman sat in the hole without moving, listening for the creature. Kathleen wondered if it was not waiting for them just outside. If so, how long would it wait? For that matter, what was it? And what did it want? Kathleen didn't think she wanted to know. So she waited.
Time passed. Occasionally, she was sure she heard something moving overhead, but whatever it was, it never tried to get her and the boy out of their hiding place. Kathleen was tired, dirty, and beginning to wonder if she would make it out of the situation alive. The boy slept peacefully through it all.
Light seeped into the hole and Kathleen realized she had dozed off. She started to press herself deeper into the hole then saw that the light was not artificial, it was sunlight. They had managed to survive into the morning.
Arai's eyes popped open. He wordlessly looked at Kathleen, then motioned for her to move a little to one side. She did so and the boy crawled past her. Moving slowly and deliberately, he got to his feet and peeked out. With the light, Kathleen was able to better see where she was. The hole was curiously regular. Whether it was made by erosion or by other means she couldn't tell. It was more of a small cave than just a hole in the ground, but it appeared to have caved in at the deep end. Kathleen noted that the dirt was freshly dug which ruled out erosion as the source. Arai motioned to her and she turned her attention back to the opening.
She moved into the light and crouched at the bottom of the hole. The boy stood beside her, making no move to climb out. Kathleen stood until her eyes were at ground level.
It was another beautiful day on Mia Culpa. Sunlight streamed down among the massive branches and illuminated the forest. A short distance away, Kathleen could see a small building, obviously too sophisticated to be attributed to construction by the aborigines. There was no movement and no sign of the creatures she had seen the previous evening.
Arai, with help from Kathleen, shimmied out of the hole. Using his tail, he reached down and took Kathleen by the hand. With relatively little effort, she was lifted out. Once again, Kathleen marveled at the strength of the little fellow.
He looked at Kathleen and she could almost swear he smiled. She had no idea if a smile among the primitives meant the same thing as a smile among humans, but in any case, it didn't appear to be a hostile expression.
Outside the cave at last, the Earth woman took a quick look about. There was no activity around the low building that sat in the small clearing. It was oddly constructed. There were no windows and, at least from the side Kathleen could see, no doors either. She couldn't imagine what it was used for, much less who or what had built it.
Arai wanted to leave the area, to go in the opposite direction away from the building. Kathleen hesitated. There was no movement, nothing to indicate the presence of the strange creatures. She took a step toward the building. Arai made a whining sound. Kathleen looked back. The boy looked at her and waved his tail frantically, and then, with a pointing digit, indicated that he wanted to go the other way.
Kathleen wanted to check out the building. If there was another intelligence on Mia Culpa, an intelligence capable of building sophisticated structures, perhaps whoever had built it would help her contact the members of her crew aboard the Magellan. It was a long shot and she knew it, but at the moment it seemed to be her only shot. The mysterious creatures she had seen the night before were nowhere to be seen. For all she knew, they were gone.
She urged the boy to accompany her. Stubbornly, he refused. But he didn't go away either. He moved to the closest tree and climbed up into the lower branches. From his perch he watched Kathleen as she stepped toward the clearing.
The structure wasn't as large as she originally thought. It was circular and low with a portion of its roof flattened out. On the flat part was something that looked familiar, like a solar heat collector. Although the design was one she'd never seen before, the collector was a popular source of energy for people on Earth and had been for nearly two centuries. Nothing special about that. She circled the building.
The opposite side was a mirror image of the first side. It was perhaps thirty feet by forty-five with seamless walls that showed no sign of windows or doors. Its purpose was not readily apparent.
Kathleen approached the structure warily. It looked to be built from a molded material because its surface was perfectly smooth. At one end the grass was trampled as if someone had walked up to it. The trail led back into the trees, in the direction of the larger clearing.
Kathleen looked to the tree in which the boy sat. If she hadn't known exactly where he was, she couldn't have spotted him. He sat on his perch and watched her with great interest. He saw her look at him and he twitched his tail in response. Kathleen waved back and felt silly doing so.
The sun beat down on her exposed body. She thought about going back into the forest where it was cool, but decided to take a closer look at the building first.
Passing out of view of the boy, she approached the building. Two feet from the wall, she felt a tingling sensation. She stretched out her hand and felt pricks of electricity. A force field.
She peered forward. It looked as though a tiny, vertical seam had formed in the few seconds that she stood there. Fascinated, she leaned even closer. In the next moment, before Kathleen could react, the seam opened and a pair of smooth, massive arms reached out and pulled her into the building. The seam resealed itself in seconds.
*
In the trees facing the opposite side of the building the young Bedoran sat and watched. When the female didn't show herself he moved to another branch in order to get a better angle. He was surprised to see she wasn't there and couldn't imagine where she had gone. He twisted his neck, as a bird might, and looked all around. She was nowhere in sight.
/>
In his experience, he had never encountered a building of any kind. Nothing more than a few rocks piled on top of one another. So the structure itself was fairly imposing for the young Bedoran. The idea that Kathleen had gone inside didn't even cross his mind. It was perplexing.
Well, he reasoned, the first virtue of the hunter is patience. With that, he settled back and made himself comfortable.
Chapter 23
"The alien shuttle is returning to the surface," said Bonner.
"Keep a track on it," said Fagen, "see if you can determine where it lands." Fagen turned to Blane. "How are you doing, Bart?"
"I'm okay."
"Not going to go crazy on us again, are you?"
"I said I'm alright."
"Okay, okay. Are you ready with your analysis of the alien probe?"
"I suppose. There's not much to tell. It was a two-way pulse that sought out our computer circuitry and strolled through. It bypassed our software security without a pause. I don't understand how it did it, but it was able to access any file it wanted. The transfer of data was done at an amazing rate. The good news is I was able to access the alien computer, if that's what it was."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the data pathways are unlike anything we have. They seem to be based on a neural network, which is no surprise, but it's certainly not a human neural network. It's not that it's just extraordinarily fast, the connections allow for simultaneous transactions. That's where it differs from our own neural-based networks. Understand, I only got a glimpse of the processing power. What I saw, what I felt, well, it was weird. It was as if I was hooked up to something alive. And it was aware of me."
"Are you saying the alien computer is alive?"
"Uh, well, it sure seemed to have those characteristics. There was definitely some sort of embedded consciousness."
"What is its purpose? Curiosity? Exploration?"
"No, definitely not that. I think it was assessing any threat we might offer."
