Long dormant traits were suddenly reactivated while pulsing energy repossessed his body.
I don’t have eyes, yet I can see!
Sensors, scanners, probes and feelers gave him a real picture of his surroundings. What had happened? Everything was somehow familiar yet strange to him. The star patterns clearly deviated from his last memory! They had shifted. Hundreds of thousands of years must have passed since his last awakening, but why was he here, now? That could wait. The first question was: what was he?
I was hidden here by the Creators. They have an important mission for me! But why did I wake up now? What is my duty?
The Sleeper suddenly remembered and understood. The signal!
His consciousness began to sort through old memories that helped him understand who he was. More and more his senses cleared and knowledge seeped in.
Senses? A machine does not possess senses like an organic being! Nevertheless, the signal has reached me. I can think, ergo, I exist! The signal tore my body from a deep sleep. Nothing could prevent it, not even the Creators. But why should they stop it? They have created me for precisely this event!
A tremor went through the Sleeper’s body and a painful, mental scream filled the hall.
They deceived me! Tricked me!
The truth burned in his mind like fire.
No, it was not the Creators who hid me … the Banned are behind it. They abducted me, deactivated me! But … how can a living being be deactivated?
Uncontrollable anger rose in him and threatened to choke him.
The Banned revolted, even dared to attack me! Then they seized me and brought me here to sleep for the rest of time! Didn’t they realize that was impossible? What a weak and naive race! I should have killed them all! Now their breed is overrunning the galaxy, and nobody can stop them. Creators forgive me!
The signal was received from the edge of the reservation and has not changed since its initial transmission. It has an energy signature typical of Tachyon Drive emissions! But the reservation is taboo to all visitors! It is forbidden to approach this system – under penalty of death!
The Sleeper’s body suddenly straightened. The reactivating of his body had begun and his mind was feverishly awaiting the moment of freedom. He would pass sentence on them all – one by one!
That is my mission, my life! the Sleeper realized suddenly. Nothing has changed. That’s what I was created for!
Strange conditions
Nervous Earth authorities followed the events on Orbital Station V. Admiral Hayes and the entire Union government were in permanent contact with the station, eyeing every nuance with suspicion. Hayes didn’t believe a word of what the visitor said, and had issued a silent alert for the Solar System. Nobody thought that the alien Scorge had been here in person before. The situation was tense all over the Solar System and fleet outposts were on alert for anything out of the ordinary. So far, no other sightings of alien spaceships had been reported.
Scorge’s spacecraft was scanned with all conceivable technologies in the meantime. Scorge’s effective stealth technology baffled most of these.
Hundreds of scientists were rummaging through the available data sets, trying to obtain as much information as possible, while Arkroid and Atkins were on their way to the docking bay.
With the docking section under zero-gravity, they wore magnetic boots to get to the dock, slowing them down significantly.
The crew had been educated and – hopefully – psychologically prepared for an alien encounter by Atkins. Everyone not essential to station support was ordered into lock-up in their quarters.
The crew sealed their environments. Everyone onboard Orbital Station V remained disciplined, watching the unfolding events on their comm-displays.
Although Arkroid had been fully cleared to exercise his initiative in dealing with the alien, his every move, every utterance, was scrutinized and analyzed on Earth. He knew it, but he pushed the thought from his mind, refusing to allow it to get him nervous.
When Arkroid and Atkins arrived at the dock, the outer hatch had already been opened and re-sealed from the outside.
»He’s inside the airlock,« Atkins whispered.
Both men had equipped themselves with hand weapons, but at Arkroid’s order they wore them concealed. Arkroid wanted no misunderstandings. He did want to be prepared for anything.
»Don’t get any wild ideas!« he whispered to Atkins, who was fondling the pocket hiding his weapon. »We will act civilized and courteous. The weapons are for self-defense only, is that clear?«
»Understood, Sir,« hissed Atkins insecurely.
He’s getting the jitters all of a sudden. As am I, thought Arkroid.
»Call me Toiber, Sammy. No Mr. or Sir, clear?«
Sammy Atkins nodded weakly.
A green light flashed and the inner airlock hatch opened slowly. A hissing wave of warm, steamy water vapor escaped into the corridor, obstructing Arkroid’s and Atkins’ view for a moment. The station’s climate control reacted immediately by evacuating the excess moisture in the air.
Atkins stepped back and stared at the wall of fog as a compactly built being emerged.
Arkroid stared at the new arrival, not daring to move a limb while the being slowly slid toward the two men.
No danger of contamination! The docking bay sensors would have already sounded the alarm otherwise.
Only water vapor! thought Arkroid, and forced himself to calm down.
Then suddenly, both men felt gravity pulling on their legs. Startled, Arkroid looked at Atkins. Standard Earth gravity established itself in the docking bay.
That’s impossible! Arkroid thought. We’re inside the docking bay section!
As the alien being stopped in front of Arkroid, Toiber realized that the stranger was no taller than 1.50 meters.
He’s crawling, Arkroid noted, startled.
The visitor was moving using a band of rippled muscles that conveyed him in smooth wave-like motions across the metal floor, producing an unpleasant, almost screeching noise, that gave Arkroid goosebumps.
The stranger had no arms or legs, but a ring of tentacles, grouped horizontally over the entire body, that moved continuously and independently. Some of them tapered to a fineness almost like brush bristles. Arkroid suspected these were used as gripping fingers of some sort.
Arkroid noticed how some of the tentacles retracted into the body while others protruded and made vibrating motions.
Is he nervous too? Arkroid wondered.
A couple of tube-like protrusions extended from the upper head and seemed to test the docking bay air. Perhaps they were just short trunks for taking in food or breathing organs.
Arkroid had thought he was prepared for anything, but he had never imagined such a being. He tried to find a fixed point to look at. So far he hadn’t seen any eyes on the stranger, or anything else he could use as a visual anchor.
The being possessed a strange, segmented, bulge-like organ that surrounded the entire head … if you could call that a head.
If those are sight organs, he has a 360-degree field of vision, Arkroid pondered, fascinated.
»I am Scorge, and you must be Trade President Arkroid?« The stranger introduced himself genially.
Arkroid stared at a small device the stranger held in one of his tentacles; the Spanish voice had come from that.
Scorge hadn’t spoken himself but used a special device.
A translator? Arkroid wondered.
He cleared his throat and slowly raised his right hand, trying to keep it from shaking.
»Yes, I am Toiber Arkroid. This is my assistant, Sammy Atkins. Welcome to the territory of the Solar Union.«
Scorge lightly swayed back and forth and turned around in a circle, while his tentacles performed a vibrating dance in the air.
Is he showing emotions or trying to control his balance? Arkroid thought. Am I totally out of my league here?
»How lovely and quaint you have it here! Pre-tachyon technology
, artificial gravity employing rotary sections, mechanical devices everywhere – and you’re still using electrons as an energy source. I love contacting developing cultures! It sends me back a couple of thousand years. So romantic! I hope you don’t mind that I created normal gravity in this section. I prefer to live under more comfortable conditions than floating in the air … although that can be fun too.«
Arkroid realized that Scorge’s offhand remarks must be creating a turmoil among the scientists on Earth who were analyzing the conversation.
The Merinian looked insecurely to Atkins, who was still leaning speechless against the corridor wall, unable to take his eyes off Scorge.
I have to say something intelligent, man. Snap out of it – pretend it’s not our first alien contact, Arkroid thought, willing Atkins to react.
Sammy wasn’t responding. Arkroid swallowed hard and mustered his will to speak to the alien. He struggled to find the right words.
»Well … uh … Scorge,« he began. »Uh, yes, artificial gravity … we’ve nothing against it …,« he looked at Atkins again, »… that’s okay. We’re actually happy about it and thank you for it. I defer to your experience with other alien cultures and I’m glad to meet you. We have many questions. But, uh … would you like to visit our observation deck first?« He hoped Scorge would take this as a mere courtesy and not realize that Arkroid was scrabbling for time.
It was impossible to detect a reaction in the alien’s behavior. To be able to interpret any signs of emotion or even body language, they needed to learn much more about Scorge and his species.
»Of course, why not?« the visitor answered in a happy voice. »Will I be able to see your planet from there?«
Arkroid and Atkins exchanged brief glances, then Atkins took the lead. He seemed to be getting over his shock and anxiety. Good! Arkroid needed the psychologist.
»That you will, Scorge. Follow me, please,« he invited.
They left the docking bay and went through the emptied corridors to the observation deck. Arkroid and Atkins had to walk fast because Scorge quickly outpaced them with his amazingly fast crawling movements. Arkroid avoided junctions where he knew people would still be, but couldn’t evade a team of technicians crossing their path. When they saw Scorge, they stopped in their tracks and stepped back in awe. One of the men let out a stifled scream in surprise and pressed himself fearfully against the corridor wall while the other technicians stood and gawked.
»This is our visitor,« Arkroid explained and signaled them a warning.
»Quick, shut your eating traps or Darwanan wormsuckers will nest in them! It’s not polite to show your teeth to visitors!« joked Scorge.
Arkroid was impressed by the range of speech the alien’s small device could reproduce. It didn’t just translate verbatim; it seemed just as comfortable with colloquialisms and slang. He turned to the men and barked an order; they disappeared in a different direction.
»Our people don’t have much experience with extraterrestrial beings, Scorge. I apologize,« Atkins explained.
Scorge made some noises which seemed to come from deep in his body that were not translated by his device.
Probably laughing at us, Arkroid speculated.
»I’d like to ask you a question, Scorge,« he ventured.
The visitor moved some of his tentacles and made untranslated noises again.
»Well, I don’t usually give information free of charge, but, this is a first contact and you did waive the docking fees …«
Toiber noticed a certain intonation of the visitor’s voice that he had come to associate with Scorge being amused. Had he figured out that this orbital station wasn’t a trading post at all? He probably knew it all along.
»How does that translator device work? It doesn’t seem possible that beings as different as ourselves can communicate so easily.«
Scorge seemed to think for a moment, and then said in a mysterious voice, »We’re not that different. Well … yes … maybe my people possess the odd extra DNA chain and are used to a different living environment and … uh … yes, we’re far more advanced than you, but that’s all. In areas where we still need to establish some bridges, like communication, we use these little technical aids; because I can’t imagine that you can hear within the ultrasound regions with your acoustic traps.«
Atkins’ face looked like a big question mark. Acoustic traps?
Arkroid shook his head, but then he realized that this movement would probably not be understood by Scorge. He added quickly, »Uh … no, we can’t do that. Even if we could …«
Scorge interrupted in his friendly tones.
»No problem, a traveling trader is always prepared. I must admit, though, my translator device was incorrectly programmed at the beginning. The data was obviously outdated and I had to re-program and adjust the device. You probably can’t even imagine how tricky that is with species that are entirely different from us.«
Scorge made that strange noise again, which Arkroid now interpreted as chuckling.
He’s laughing at me!
»Where do you come from, Scorge? Are you alone?«
Scorge lifted some of his tentacles and made some arcane gestures.
»Questions and more questions! Let’s look at this from the trading point of view, okay?«
Arkroid frowned.
»A deal?« he asked.
Quickly, Atkins turned to his Chief.
»I think I understand what he wants: we ask – he answers. Then he asks and we answer … tit for tat, you know, as long as we have fun.«
Scorge began to shiver over his entire body.
»Arkroid, you should trust your secretary with more meaningful tasks than just playing the tourist guide. He understands perfectly what I’ve been trying to say.«
Arkroid smiled, embarrassed.
»Okay then, let’s wheel and deal. It’s fine with me!«
A hay day for the media
The Solar Union’s best scientific minds were in turmoil over Arkroid’s and Scorge’s conversation. They dissected every sentence, analyzed every slightest word microscopically. Terms like ‘pre-tachyon technology’ or ‘artificial gravity’ were fuel for endless debate, as were Scorge’s ship’s stealth abilities and its unknown propulsion system, his appearance and his species’ origin.
Psychologists struggled to build a profile of the alien visitor while biologists analyzed his body structure and appearance. Physicists tried to solve the riddle of the energy ring encircling the ship.
How did Scorge manipulate gravity so deftly? How could he seal his body from another environment, so his bacteria couldn’t harm or enter a different ecosphere, yet still be able to move about freely? What did the water vapor atmosphere mean that entered the docking bay with him? How could his ship not only perform impossible feats of acceleration and braking but protect its pilot from inertia and grav-forces? How did the translation device work?
Questions upon questions. The scientists realized they would probably never answer some questions on their own. They just didn’t have the knowledge, Earth physics and technology were too primitive. They could only hope that Scorge would deign to reveal the answers.
An hour after Scorge’s arrival in orbit, the first pictures of his spaceship had been flashed around the world. The news spread like a virus.
Millions of people called their local police or government representatives to find out if they were in any danger. The Union Senate reacted by releasing a data packet to the media with the most relevant facts. Suddenly, there was nothing on radio or comm-screens but news of Earth’s first alien visitor.
The largest neuronal network computer, designed to handle billions of terabytes of data, had to be taken offline because it couldn’t meet the high demand for news.
Top priority
Forty astronomical units from Earth:
Donald Day had observed the flight of the alien spaceship from the command central at Triton Base for hours. The comm-delay between Earth and the Neptune sys
tem was over four hours. News of the alien’s arrival in Earth orbit reached Triton late. All personnel on Triton Base and working in the sector were glued to their comm-screens, following the unfolding events.
Day had retired to his quarters, leaving instructions with his commanders to wake him as soon as anything new developed.
It wasn’t a report from Earth that awoke him, but a priority message from the IRS. The Interference Radio Spectrometer, or more precisely: the neural computer of the SETI research program, had issued an alert.
Day, Bill Davis and Maya Ivanova entered the command central at the same time. Meter high holographic displays created a map on which numerous stars and coordinates were highlighted. The stars and coordinates increased rapidly in number as they watched.
»What’s going on here?« Day asked loudly to cut through the tumult of arguing scientists in the command central.
Karl Jörgmundson was finally able to free himself from a group of colleagues and approached Day. Breathing slowly, he explained, »Commander, it’s unbelievable! We can’t explain it, but IRS has been issuing alerts like mad. First one, a couple of minutes ago, then more, one after another. We’re getting a shitload of signals on new frequencies. All kinds of modulations in almost all bands. Some of them are in the spectrum of the hydrogen atom. So far, we’ve verified signals from more than thirty stars! Audio, simple codes, some with possible video content! The whole shebang! We can’t keep up!«
Day paled.
»You’re pulling my leg, Karl. That’s impossible!«
Jörgmundson pointed at a holo.
»These represent signals verified as originating in the … former … Quaoar sector. A specialist had realigned the antenna array just by chance, and all of a sudden, all the lights went on. It’s unbelievable!« he repeated himself without seeming to realize it. »Our IRS neuronal computer is hopelessly overwhelmed by the data flow. It’s degraded to a glorified data recorder!«
Ivanova inspected the holo-displays with interest.
»A door to the outside has opened. A door to the other galactic civilizations. Good Heavens, I’d never expected that many.«
NEBULAR Collection 1 - The Triton Base: Episodes 1 - 5 Page 18
