How Long 'Til Black Future Month?
Page 19
Yes.
She got to her feet and undressed. Kneeling on her garments, she bowed to the eastern sky and prayed for God to find her worthy, to take away her fear, to show her the true way. Then, trying to hold the peace of the prayer in her heart, she steeled herself and stepped into the pool.
Liquid surrounded her, like warm oil. A step brought her in up to her knees; another step and the liquid surrounded her thighs and tickled her labia; a third step and the ground dropped away beneath her feet alarmingly. She cried out in spite of herself, but the drop was not far, just a foot or two. She was up to her chin in the white pool now, deeper than she’d meant to go.
But submission to God was the way of faith.
So she closed her eyes and prayed again as the liquid began to shift around her, tickling and touching, sensual against her skin. She shivered in pleasure and took it as a sign of God’s approval. And when the moment came, when she felt something enter her body and go up and up until it touched her very womb, she cried out again. But this time her cry was the ecstasy of the exalted, of those who receive the reward for their faith after long waiting. God was great, His purpose had been revealed, and now at last Dihya and her sisters could be saved.
Now at last, Illiyin could become the paradise for which it had been named.
Ayan’s hands trembled as she pressed them against her desk, rising to her feet. “You lunatic,” she breathed. “What in God’s name have you done?”
“Everything in God’s name.” Dihya lifted her chin, the light of rapture shining in her eyes. “I have kept faith like no other in this colony. That is why I was the first rewarded. But I had a duty to share His blessing with all of you.”
The door opened to admit one of the younger women, who set a tray of food and a flask of water on Ayan’s desk. It also admitted Zamra, who carried a clear plastic jug in her hands.
“We’ve searched three times,” the policewoman said. “The only thing we found was this. I thought at first it was from the facility’s cleaning supplies, but it’s the kind that fits into a landcrawler’s storage bin. And look—” She tilted the jug for Ayan to see. Its inner surface was damp, empty but for a scrim of thick, cloudy liquid sloshing about.
Ayan looked at the flask of water sitting on the tray. Faint iridescence sheened the water’s surface.
“Stalling,” she whispered, staring at the flask but speaking to Dihya. “You were stalling for time.”
It was almost dawn. The women of the colony would be rising to begin the day’s work. Bathing before their morning prayers. Drinking water with breakfast.
As Ayan herself had done, before coming to begin the interrogation.
She sat back down; her knees would no longer support her. Umina was silent as well, her expression hollow. Dihya smiled again and reached for the food, picking up a piece of fruit with only a little awkwardness given her bound hands. She had been a good mother before Aytarel’s death, Ayan recalled through a haze of horror. She would be diligent now about caring for herself and whatever was growing inside her.
Ayan put her face into her hands and wept.
The Evaluators
CogNet init: Paul SRINIVASAN
Recip: Thandiwe SOLOMON
Datime: 2206.12.15.16:45
[OPTIMIZED BY COGNET!]
Thandi, the commission votes Tuesday. The team’s disappearance isn’t the key issue, but I don’t like how they’re rushing this. Help me out here, OK? Off the record.
THREAD REPLY FROM THANDIWE SOLOMON
So tell me how that “billable hours” thing works for you lawyers. Because I might, I don’t know, actually have a job of my own.
THREAD REPLY FROM PAUL SRINIVASAN
Please! [CONCEPTUAL EMBED WITH CAPTION: MAN BOWING WITH HANDS PRESSED TOGETHER] What do you want? Dinner? Vacation? Hours of mind-bending sex? Because I would do that for you, Thandi. No sacrifice is too great.
THREAD REPLY FROM THANDIWE SOLOMON
You already told me you let your Spermicept patch expire. Stay the hell away from me. What happened to Wei’s personal logs?
THREAD REPLY FROM PAUL SRINIVASAN
Gremlins? The lag is pretty severe for this mission—two years. Not enough black holes for a better relay, or something like that. I’ll see if I can find them. So, they ate her, right? They totally ate her.
THREAD REPLY FROM THANDIWE SOLOMON
No. I don’t think they ate her.
Recall transcript, WEI Aihua
Meeting with local Influential 1
Datime 2204.1.22.10:10
[OPTIMIZED BY COGNET!]
[ALL SENSORY RECALL EXCEPT AUDITORY SUPPRESSED TO AID LIGHTSTREAMING.]
“So what would you like to know, evaluator?”
“Tell me more of your people, Loves China.”
“If you don’t mind, would you call me Aihua, please?”
“Oh? Your assistant mentioned that your names sometimes have meaning.”
“Yes, but … [LAUGHTER] That doesn’t mean we like those meanings.”
“Ah. Please forgive, Aihua. Your language still confuses.”
“I’m amazed by your facility with my language, actually.”
“We learned from First Contact team.”
“Yes, but we’ve had just as much time to learn your language, and … well. [WEI CAPTION: HERE I ATTEMPT TO SPEAK IN MANKA C. THE MANKA WORD FOR ADAPTATION TRANSLATES POORLY. ITS MEANING IS MORE LIKE … SUBMISSION? FITNESS?] We am still terrible/poor at adaptation.”
[RATCHETING SOUND. WEI CAPTION: MANKA LAUGHTER. THANKFULLY HE RETURNS THE CONVERSATION TO ENGLISH.] “It is true, you do not adapt quick as we. But that is expected. You are not evaluators.”
“Ah, yes. Since you mentioned that, if I may ask—what exactly is your role? I’ve asked Hashish, the nurturer who’s been showing me around, but it was … unclear.”
“I am evaluator.”
“But what does that mean? What do you evaluate?”
“Everything. People. World.”
“For what purpose?”
[SILENCE FOR 2.5 SECONDS] “I do not understand, Aihua.”
“On my world, people evaluate … processes, performances. For the purpose of improving them.”
“Yes. Improvement. Adaptation. Same with us.”
“I … see?”
“You do not.”
“Sorry, I—”
“It takes time for people so different to adapt. You do well. No need for fear.”
“Thank you. Ouch!”
“The shells of [RECALL BLUR. WEI CAPTION: LOCAL DELICACY, UNPRONOUNCEABLE] are sharp. You are injured? Shall I summon humans?”
“No, I’m fine, it’ll stop in a minute. Could you give me something to—yes, thank you. Most of your biologicals are harmless to us, and vice versa. I just hate that I’m bleeding on this lovely cloth.”
“It is unimportant. More?”
“Yes, please, it’s delicious. You’re an excellent cook.”
[AUDITORY RECALL ENDS. SEE GUSTATORY RECALL, 2204.1.22.10:15, FOR CONTINUATION.]
Team Clog of TE Mission, Dar-Mankana
Post by WEI Aihua—Public
Datime 2204.1.20.19:30
[OPTIMIZED BY COGNET!]
My first professor in sapio told me never to “Earthropomorphize” xenospecies, but the first thing that leapt into my mind when I saw them was that the Manka look like upright cheetahs (cheetae?). Males and females are indistinguishable to my eyes, lean and deep-chested, while nurturers, the third sex, are noticeably more muscular and squarely built. I pride myself in that my subconscious at least selected a predatory Earth analog, which should keep me from relaxing my guard too much.
COMMENT FROM WANG
It’s just “cheetahs.” And you have three PhDs?
COMMENT FROM WEI
None of them are in linguistics, OK? Shut up.
Team Clog of TE Mission—Dar-Mankana
Post by WEI Aihua—Teamlock
Datime 2204.1.23.11:50
[OPTIMIZED BY COGNET!]
I could KILL Rafkind and the whole First Contact team! What Neanderthal decided to tell the Manka about Christianity? This is exactly why the UC banned Americans from TE teams.
Fortunately, the district potentate seemed more amused than anything else by the idea of one man’s death absolving the wrongs of a whole species. “Just one?” Cute.
Now I’m wondering what else FC screwed up.
FC Report Detail p. 67: Cultural Notes
Datime: 2201.4.7.14:40
[OPTIMIZED BY COGNET!]
[AUDITORY EMBED WITH CAPTION: MANKA LOVE SONG? RECALLERS: MULTIPLE; PUBLIC PERFORMANCE.]
My love sings behind me
And touches the nape of my neck
I do not look around
My heart flutters fast with fear.
FC Report Detail p. 224: Cultural Notes
Recall by First Contact Team Member John RAFKIND
Datime: 2201.5.13.9:24
[OPTIMIZED BY COGNET!]
[AUDITORY EMBED WITH CAPTION: OBSERVED CLASS 2 DECEPTIVE IDEATION.]
“Whoa.”
“Whoa?”
“Apologies. A colloquialism.”
“Ah. We must learn more of your world so that we may adapt to these colloquialisms.”
“That would certainly be possible after Trade Establishment, Hashish.”
“Why did you express a colloquialism, John?”
“Uh, well … the male Manka walking by with that group of children. For some reason, when he looked at me, I got the cree—er, I felt uneasy.”
“That was an evaluator.”
“An evaluator of what?”
[RATCHETING SOUND. RAFKIND CAPTION: I THINK THAT WAS A LAUGH?] “Many things, at many times. For now, those children.”
“Were all six of those the evaluator’s children?”
“There were three children, John.”
“Three? I didn’t get a good look, but I’m sure I saw more.”
“There were three children.”
[RECALL ENDS.]
Team Clog of TE Mission—Dar-Mankana
Post by Angela WHETON—Public
Datime 2204.1.24.12:40
[OPTIMIZED BY COGNET!]
Did some extra scans of the southeast main continent today. Those palladium deposits … Have you guys seen the stock prices since the CogNet-Pallenergy merger? My God, I might actually get out of student loan debt before I die.
Also noticed an unusual concentration of calcium in several deposits around the city. Hector went with one of the locals to check out a nearby site and was shown an open-pit grave. [VISUAL OVERRIDE EMBED WITH CAPTION: LONG, ORDERLY ROWS OF SEVERAL HUNDRED CLEAN, POLISHED BONES, ORGANIZED BY TYPE.] Each pit is several hundred feet deep, bones layered with dirt. Local called bones “the price paid.” Ritual? Tag for sapiology review.
Oh—Hector has asked me to note for the official team log his hypothesis that the burial pits are “f__ing creepy.” So noted.
Recall transcript, WEI Aihua
Meeting with local Influential 2
Datime 2204.1.24.13:10
[OPTIMIZED BY COGNET!]
[ALL SENSORY RECALL EXCEPT AUDITORY SUPPRESSED TO AID LIGHTSTREAMING.]
“Forgive me for staring, evaluator. It’s just that you look so different.”
“I have striven greatly to adapt since we last met. Does my appearance please you?”
“I don’t really know what to make of it. You look …”
“More like you.”
“… Yes.”
“This disturbs you.”
“Surprises me, evaluator. On my planet there are creatures that can change their coloration to blend in with the environment, but … [VISUAL OVERRIDE EMBED WITH WEI CAPTION: THE EVALUATOR’S FACE. NOTE THE SHORTENING OF THE MUZZLE AND REPOSITIONING OF THE EARS, AT SIDES OF THE HEAD RATHER THAN THE TOP.] ”
“It has been difficult, yes. Your people are strangely configured. Even more strange inside.”
“How do you …”
“Your blood’s taste is most intriguing. [PAUSE] I have no intention of eating you, Aihua.”
[LAUGHTER] “Uh, sorry. On my world … well. Our entertainment is full of scary creatures that want to gobble us down.”
“Entertainment? But your people are apex predators, are you not?”
“I suppose we are. Huh. Maybe that’s why the idea of being preyed upon doesn’t really scare us.”
[SERIES OF HARSH EXHALATIONS. WEI CAPTION: THE EVALUATOR APPEARS TO BE EMULATING HUMAN LAUGHTER.] “Yes, no need for fear! Tell me, Aihua. Why do you not have children?”
“What?”
“Why do you—”
“Sorry, I heard. The question just—it’s not something my people usually ask in casual conversation.”
“I shall remember and adapt. For now, will you answer?”
“Well, we have a problem with overpopulation and its effects: crowding, homelessness, starvation, worse. We’re correcting now, but the problem took a long time to develop, so it will take a long time to resolve.”
“And in the meantime, your people must simply suffer?”
“Unfortunately, yes. It helps that we’ve formed the Trade Network with other sapient species. That increases the resources available on my planet.”
“But with greater resources, your numbers will continue to grow. There’s nothing to make you stop.”
“We have our own sapience, which tells us that such growth is unsustainable. Because of this, only some of my people choose to reproduce. I’m one of the ones who chose not to.”
“I see. But if sustainable growth was possible?”
“Maybe I’d have a child. Probably. But it isn’t possible, so no kids for me. [SIGH] Now. Not to change the subject, but I’ve brought some delicacies from my own world to share …”
“Good. I am most interested in consuming some of your world’s delights. And if I may say, Aihua, the shine of your hair is very fine today.”
[RECALL ENDS.]
US NATIONAL EXOPLANETARY SURVEY—MEMORANDUM
Levl: Official
Prio: Medium
Init: Salim GILBERTO, FC Team Biological Surveyor
Datime: 2201.11.13.03:00
[OPTIMIZED BY COGNET!]
Esteemed Survey members, colleagues, and friends:
You will see from my FC report that Dar-Mankana is home to a plethora of species—substantially more than our own, which has yet to recover from the advent of the Anthropocene. But a mere 2 million years ago, Dar-Mankana hosted three times more species than at present.
What could trigger such a holocaust? Evidence suggests an intrusion in several key food webs: a polyphagous predator which ate its way through tertiary and secondary consumers with such abandon that it likely caused its own extinction. “Superpredators” may be pop-science clickbait, but Dar-Mankana could represent our closest brush with one of these evolutionary bogeymen. The lingering damage is still discernible: a relative dearth of megafauna, skewed predator-to-prey ratios, insufficient biomass all around for the energy that this planet produces.
Further pre-TE study is strongly recommended.
FC Report Excerpt, p. 530: Xenological notes
Datime: 2201.7.7.6:32
[OPTIMIZED BY COGNET!]
[SOME DATA LOSS HAS OCCURRED; RECOMPILATION POSSIBLE IN APPROXIMATELY 127 DAYS.]
[BUFFERING … ] contrast to Dr. Gilberto’s assertions.
The crater is small—less than half the size of Earth’s Chicxulub crater, which is widely believed to have triggered the extinction of the dinosaurs. While certainly large enough to cause catastrophic local damage, this cannot explain the mass extinction.
Core samples from the ocean floor reveal an abundance of palladium and [BUFFERING … ]
Team Clog of TE Mission—Dar-Mankana
Post by Hector PRINCIPE—Teamlock
Datime 2204.1.25.06:30
[OPTIMIZED BY COGNET!]
Sorry if this is fuzzy. Can’t slee
p. Theory time!
Why aren’t there more Manka? They’re ripe for Sagan’s “technological adolescence.” We’ve seen this on so many planets that it’s practically a law of nature; they should be bursting at the seams, same as us. But the Manka are precisely the right population size for their society’s resources. Nobody’s hungry. No idle youth. Plenty for all.
So. Unobserved social controls? The Kama Rhythm Method Sutra? Histocompatibility crisis?
COMMENT FROM WEI
Maybe they’ve already been through the tech teens. Gilberto’s extinction?
COMMENT FROM PRINCIPE
Two million years ago was tech infancy. Or pre-partum: The Manka precursors probably weren’t even tool-users.
COMMENT FROM WHETON
Off topic but you know what I keep thinking about? (Can’t sleep either.) The architecture. Four spires on every important building. Four lobes to every artistic motif. They got six fingers. Three sexes. WTF is with the veneration of four? What’s their math?
COMMENT FROM WANG
Base-8. Pain in the ass; had to recalculate all the potential royalties in my report. But yeah, another variation on four. Shit, I can’t do theory at oh dark thirty. Sleep, you apes.
CogNet init: Thandiwe SOLOMON
Recip: WU Li Bai
Transl: English-Cantonese
Datime: 2206.12.16.20:02
Respectful greetings, Dr. Wu. My name is Thandiwe Solomon, with the Extrasolar Sapience Department of Rhodes University. I was intrigued by your position paper in The Journal for the Study of Applied Sapiology. As someone who’s been in the field and seen how easy it is to make mistakes, I agree wholeheartedly with your recommendation for a minimum 10-year survey between First Contact and Trade Establishment.
Sir, it is my understanding that you were Wei Aihua’s mentor during her postdoctorate. Have you been briefed on her latest mission?
THREAD REPLY FROM WU LI BAI
Indeed I have, Dr. Solomon—and so must you have been, if you’re asking me. I imagine your UC clearance is still active?
THREAD REPLY FROM THANDIWE SOLOMON
It is, sir. Though in the interest of full disclosure, my level is only Secret.
THREAD REPLY FROM WU LI BAI
I shall tailor my responses accordingly. What is your question?