The atmosphere of the planet was extremely caustic for the visitors. Protective clothing and breathing devices were required when working outside the Mothership, which was parked on the porous, rocky shoreline.
The dominant inhabitants of Klane were a batrachian species called Sloor. At the moment, they were hibernating in the deepest, darkest chasms of the ocean. They were intelligent and potentially communicative amphibians. Little was known about their life cycle and societal organization.
Once every cycle, on its journey around its Red-Giant star, Klane came in close proximity, 67,836 nautical miles, to its largest moon. Brigade Commander Alma Finley, had named it Jade, as it had a deep green coloration — a sure sign of rich copper deposits. As these two celestial bodies approached one another, the gravitational pull was enough to cause Klane’s axis to tip. That phenomenon lowered the atmospheric temperature and created conditions that triggered the Sloor to end their hibernation under the ocean and emerge onto the land. As that time now approached, the Antareans and Brigade members made plans to attempt direct contact with the Sloor.
The discovery of the Sloor had occurred eight Antarean years ago when a Mothership, commanded by Amos Bright, was on an exploration mission to this far quadrant of the galaxy, and identified Klane as a life-bearing planet. A landing party made a brief sighting of a few Sloor who were the last to begin hibernation. It was from a distance and the visitors had been unobserved.
A second trip to Klane, led by then newly promoted Antarean female Commander Beam, was four Earth-years ago. It happened to coincide with the Sloor emergence. Still at a distance, certain changes in the new generation of Sloor were noted. The young had the ability to walk upright on their hind legs. Their parents, like most amphibians, still walked on four legs. Both the youth and adults were capable of flight. The lungs and circulatory systems of the new offspring were measured to be proportionally larger than their parents. They seemed to function more like warm-blooded creatures. These measurable and visible evolutionary changes, some that normally might take hundreds of generations on most planets, seemed to be occurring on Klane with amazing rapidity.
On this current trip, the third to Klane, the investigative, scientific and diplomatic teams included six Antareans, again commanded by Beam, and thirty-eight Geriatric Brigade members, led by commanders Joe and Alma Finley.
In their former life on Earth, the Finley’s had resided in Boston, Massachusetts, and retired to Coral Gables, Florida, where they were among the first to make contact with Antareans. Also in the group were Paul and Marie Amato, formerly of St. Louis, Missouri, and Boca Raton, Florida. Their daughter, Beam Amato, now a resident of Butterfly House, was named in honor of their current Antarean commander, Beam.
Antarean communication within the galaxy moved at light speed through a series of transmitters and boosters erected on several planets, moons and asteroids in every Quad. They were designed to route communications back to Antares, or to Motherships, via the most direct line-of-sight path possible. But a time lag was inevitable. Instant communication was impossible. Now, with missions hoping to expand to other galaxies, the distances that inter-galactic messages would have had to travel were far beyond any communication technology the Antareans possessed.
Initially, communication between Butterfly House and the Brigade had been done via the existing Antarean transmitter links. But as the children settled into their life on Cayman Brac, and the Brigade moved out into the galaxy with the Antareans, a new form of communication had slowly emerged among the Brigade Commanders. It began with Chief Commander Ruth Charnofsky, and the Finley’s. It mystified the Antareans. These three Earth-humanoid commanders, and eventually the other Brigade commanders, were able to communicate with one another using a new form of telepathy — a feat that the Antareans were unable to copy. The Brigade commanders were not sure how it actually worked, other than it required an “act of faith,” as Ruth Charnofsky explained.
“We have learned to listen to an inner voice,” Ruth told Amos Bright, as they returned from the Chimer planetary system in Quad-nine, after a nearly disastrous encounter with a comet that had inexplicably moved out of its projected orbit. There were other Motherships in the Quadrant with Brigade commanders on board. While the Antarean communications officer sent a warning message over normal channels, Ruth Charnofsky was able to contact the Finley’s instantaneously. It was a startling discovery. “We can detect a message sent by one of our commanders as thoughts suspended in time and place. The communication is immediate in terms of the sense, but not the details, of the message. Its presence is “felt” by the other commanders. Acknowledgement of its existence, and therefore its reception, takes what we call, an act of faith. Once the message is sensed, and accepted, we are able to understand it in its entirety. And, it seems to work from any distance.” What Ruth Charnofsky did not reveal to the Antareans was that the children of Butterfly House also possessed this ability.
Other than their unswerving belief in a grand cosmic plan at work in the Universe, a plan devised by an entity they called The Master, the Antareans were a technologically based society. They believed The Master had designed all universal matter, movement, change, action and reaction. They had developed incredible science with, what they imagined, were irrefutable laws. For them to accept any new or contrary physical laws, they had to be scientifically proven. The energy source that powered the Brigade commanders’ instant long-distance communication abilities evaded scientific identification. Yet, the fact could not be challenged — intra-galactic telepathy between Brigade commanders worked.
Spurred on to identify and isolate the energy source of this new capability, some Antarean scientists suspected that a quantum leap in space travel had occurred, something beyond their new generation of Parman guided inter-galactic Motherships. They secretly reported to their High Council that they were encouraged enough to pursue the highly theoretical concept of thought-travel — sending and receiving messages and visuals from the very limits of the universe, if in fact, such limits existed.
But now, with Parman-guided Antarean voyages out of the galaxy imminent, communication with the Antarean home base would be critical once the inter-galactic journey was accomplished. The newly discovered Brigade commanders’ telepathic powers were taken as a sign from The Master that inter-galactic travel was meant to be, and the Antareans were to be the first of their galaxy to do it. The High Council ordered that all Antarean inter-galactic Motherships were to have at least one Brigade commander on board. Since there were only nine such commanders in space, the tenth being Bernie Lewis on Cayman Brac, their availability had become the highest priority.
It was the end of the fifth day-cycle on Klane. The Amato’s had chosen to be trained as biologists. The Sloor fell within their area of expertise, so they were the lead Brigade scientists on this project.
In her laboratory aboard the Mothership, Marie Amato worked on the chemical content of the latest sample of fluid extracted from the depths of the nearby ocean. Commander Alma Finley entered the laboratory, bursting with excitement.
“Great news!” she announced.
“What?” asked a startled Marie Amato, looking up from her Molex-scope, an Antarean version of the electron microscope.
“Ruth has arrived on Antares for the gathering. She left me a wonderful thought.” The way they described their new communication power was likened to picking up a gift. “There’s to be a mission to Earth!”
“Home?” Marie gasped.
“She’s going to request that the children be tested,” Alma continued. “To see if they are ready to join us!” Marie Amato’s eyes filled with tears. It had been nearly sixteen years since she had seen her baby, her little Beam.
“Ruth’s on Antares?” she asked, finally focusing on what Alma had said.
“For the gathering, Dear.”
“Of course. I forgot. When are they going? Who is going?”
“Soon,” Alma answered as she moved to Marie’s side. �
��The Greens and Perlman’s will want to go for sure, plus an Antarean science team. They’re taking one of the new generation Motherships.” Marie stood up.
“Those ships are equipped with Earth atmospheres!” she said excitedly.
“Exactly.”
“That means they plan to take the children off-planet!” She embraced Alma. “Oh, dear God! My baby is coming to me!”
At that moment, Paul Amato entered the lab carrying a sample of fresh lichen spores.
“Who’s coming where?” he asked. Marie ran to her husband.
“Beam! Our darling Beam is coming to us!”
“Hold on a minute,” Alma said softly. “I didn’t say they were coming just yet. They have to be tested and...”
“But a new Mothership?” Marie interrupted. “You said they were sending a new Mothership and four Brigade commanders - Ben and Mary Green, and Abe and Bess Perlman. That’s got to mean they plan to evacuate everyone.” Marie paused in her excitement as a thought crossed her mind. “Of course, first they’ll have to test the children. Oh dear... What if they can’t travel?” Paul put his arm around Marie’s shoulder. She was always highly emotional — a good trait when encountering new species, but a difficult one when disappointment loomed.
“Just put that thought out of your mind, Sweetheart. I’m sure they’re going to pass the tests with flying colors,” he assured his wife.
“No doubt,” Alma Finley added, trying to cheer the doubtful Marie Amato.
“You really think so?” Marie asked hopefully.
“I surely do. They’re extraordinary kids. Bernie says that in many ways they possess abilities beyond the Antarean Council’s expectations.”
“Then the Ants will want to use them,” Marie said with contempt. ‘Ants’ was a euphemism the Brigade had given to the Antareans. Of course, it was never used in their presence.
“From what I’ve gathered from Bernie,” Alma said smiling, “no one will ever ‘use them,’ unless they want to be used.”
Marie and Paul nodded. “Bernie says they’re quite a force, with a strong collective mind of their own.” Her words gave the Amato’s pause. They realized they didn’t really know very much about their daughter, or the other children. After a long awkward moment, Alma Finley changed the subject. “So? How goes the work?”
Paul removed his arm from around his wife’s shoulder and placed the latest sample on the work bench.
“The temperature is rising. The lichen spores are metamorphosing again,” he said.
“And the ammonia content of the sea has dropped another six percent,” Marie added. “It has been dropping consistently during the last four daylight periods. At this rate, the emergence may be sooner than we anticipated.” That was exciting news. If true, Alma Finley had to accelerate the expedition’s greeting preparations.
“How much sooner?” she asked.
“Depending on the lichen activity, I’d say half the time we estimated,” Paul answered.
“Maybe less,” Marie said softly.
“But that could be only a month.”
“Or less,” Paul muttered, as he examined his new samples under the Molex-scope. “It appears the lichens have accelerated again.”
Alma Finley was concerned. A member of the Antarean High Council was supposed to be present at this emergence. She would have to inform Antarean Commander Beam immediately. But what if the expedition was ready to leave for Earth? Or maybe the gathering had concluded? Would there be a Mothership free to travel to Klane with the chosen Council member? With inter-galactic travel imminent, the new fleet had been committed to those missions. Two new Motherships, with Brigade commanders Frank Hankinson and Betty Franklin aboard, were going on separate missions — the first attempts across the great void to galaxies as yet unnamed. Alma Finley’s thoughts reached out to her commander husband, Joe, who was outside, fifty-six kilometers to the east of the Mothership’s laboratory.
“We’re spread pretty thin,” she communicated, after informing him of the Earth-mission and lichen changes.
“Something big is up, Alma,” he told her. “I’ve sensed it all through this last daylight period.”
“You mean with the Sloor?”
“Yes. And on Antares and Earth. And there’s more.” His voice sounded concerned.
“The children?” she asked.
“No. At least I don’t think so.”
“Then what?”
“It’s just... well, I’ve had no actual messages from Frank or Betty, but I know they will complete the test flights on the new Motherships shortly and request clearance to make their inter-galactic jumps. I sense a surge of something. An activity I can’t define.”
“What does it feel like?” his wife asked. Joe had the gift of great sensitivity even before the Antarean processing for their departure from Earth.
“Radical changes. Evolutionary accelerations. Like we observed here four years ago. But more. And not just here...” Joe Finley was a solid, level-headed man. He did not frighten easily, nor panic. But there was an uneasiness in his voice that Alma did not like.
“Are you okay, Joe?”
“Me? Oh yeah. No sweat. After I take one more measurement, I’m coming in.”
Later, in the daylight time-period, an excited Joe Finley entered his shuttlecraft, anxious to meet with the others at home base to discuss the sensation that troubled him. As he lifted off the beach, banked, and headed toward the Mothership, he did not notice the slight agitation on the gray oily surface of the sea nearby. As he sped away, it grew in intensity.
CHAPTER FOUR - BEFORE THE HIGH COUNCIL CALLS
More than 400 of the original 941 Geriatric Brigade members were on Antares, for the gathering. The rest were working on various planets across the galaxy. The reunion brought old friends together after missions that had separated some of them by hundreds of light years. Most had not seen one another for more than an Earth-decade. They embraced joyously and excitedly exchanged information about the wonders they had seen. Those who had traveled the farthest from Antares marveled at how vast the Milky Way Galaxy was, and at the fact that it was only a tiny part of the Universe.
All were healthy and vigorous, showing no signs of aging. In fact, they appeared years younger than they had when they first left Earth. Word of the Brigade’s endurance, wisdom, kindness and fertility had spread across the galaxy. Several widows and widowers had mated with, or married, humanoids from planets in distant systems.
The main topic of conversation was about the children, a subject the Brigade spoke about only among themselves, and always in hushed tones. There was an electrifying rumor of an impending trip to Earth to test the children. Everyone hoped for a positive outcome that would allow the children to leave Earth safely. The Brigade members whose children were at Butterfly House could hardly contain themselves, knowing they might soon have their children with them. Many who wanted to start families of their own were also anxious to know the children’s test results. If all was well, and the children were able to space-travel now, the voluntary hiatus on conception among Brigade members, or with beings from other planets, would be lifted.
Few had experienced difficulty in adapting to intra-galactic travel and exploration. All were aware that the Antareans valued the Brigade’s presence on their Motherships, especially when exploration of new star systems and planets was involved. In fact, among all space-traveling beings, it was often discussed that the Antarean facility for intra-galactic exploration and trade had increased greatly because of the Geriatric Brigade. It was also rumored, now that inter-galactic exploration might soon begin, that the Parman Guides would not cooperate unless Brigade members were on board — a development said to be quite troubling to the more conservative Antarean High Council members.
Excitement reached a peak with the arrival of the Brigade’s chief commander, Ruth Charnofsky, and her Subaxian mate, Panatoy. The celebrated couple had been working with forty Brigade members in the Harati System, with a carbon based
simian life form called Chula. While traveling from the Harati System to Antares, they had stopped at their home on Rigal Quad-four, in Andromeda, to visit their daughter, Autumn. She had been born on Earth, but was transported to Rigal because she was genetically 89% Subaxian and therefore required the atmosphere and ultraviolet light on that planet to thrive. Ruth’s and Panatoy’s arrival on Antares signaled that the gathering was about to officially begin.
While Brigade members renewed old acquaintances, the first order of business for the commanders was to report to the Antarean High Council. Ruth Charnofsky, Ben and Mary Green, and Arthur and Bess Perlman were the only Brigade commanders present for the gathering. Joe and Alma Finley were on Klane, awaiting the emergence of the Sloor. Commander Betty Franklin was on the shakedown cruise of a new generation Mothership, and if all went well, would be on her way to explore another galaxy. The same was true of Commander Frank Hankinson. His Mothership, should it prove worthy, would travel across the vast, deep void to a second chosen galaxy. Bernie Lewis, the tenth commander, was ensconced at Butterfly House with the children. While the five Brigade commanders were in an anteroom waiting to be called into the High Council meeting, Ruth Charnofsky informed the others that she had sent a message to Cayman Brac regarding the proposed trip to Earth.
After their hurried tour of the Great Hall of Kinnear, Amos Bright escorted Gideon Mersky back to his guest quarters, promising to pick him up later and personally escort him to the dinner and festivities. Bright then hurriedly changed into official robes to attend the High Council meeting. He was late because, in deference to the Brigade gathering, the council had adjusted their planetary time to Earth days and nights which were much shorter than Antares time periods which were based on their underground life near their ice planet’s core. Above ground, Antarean days were nearly three times longer than Earth’s. But now, everything operated temporarily at twelve hours of darkness and twelve hours of artificial Earth daylight. This bright illumination and time change was disconcerting for most Antareans, especially those like Amos Bright who had not been in space with Earth-humans for a while.
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