by Kir Bulychev
As we spoke we approached the base of the monument.
The monument was enormous, at least as high as a twenty story building. We stopped, bent our heads back as far as they could go, and looked over the Three Captains.
The first captain appeared to be young, broad shouldered and muscular. He had an almost up-turned nose and a broad face. The captain was laughing. On his shoulder sat a strange bird with two claws and a beautiful crown of stone feathers.
The second captain was taller than the first. He had the very wide chest and thin legs of those people who had been adapted to live on Mars. The Second Captain’s face was sharp and lean.
The Third Captain was a Fyxxian in a stiff space suit with helmet open and thrown over his back, leaning with one hand on the branch of a stone bush.
“They’re not at all old.” Alice said.
“You are correct, little girl.” Doctor Verkhovtseff answered. “They had already won fame and glory when they were quite young.”
We entered the shadows of the trees and walked down the broad path that led to the base. The base turned out to be an enormous establishment but mostly fille with cases, containers, and instruments.
“They’ve started to send the in the museum exhibits already.” The doctor said, as though apologizing for the clutter. “Come with me to my den.”
“It looks just like the Pegasus at the start of our voyage!” Alice exclaimed.
And in fact the passage through the base to Doctor Verkhovtseff’s living quarters was in some ways like walking though our ship when it had been filled with packages, cargo, and all sorts of equipment.
Doctor Verkhovtseff’s sleeping and working quarters turned out to be in a small store room between containers, filled with books and microfilms; there was scarcely room to place a folding cot which was covered with papers and films.
“Sit down, why don’t you; make yourselves at home.” The doctor said.
Other than to the occupant it was completely clear that there was nowhere here to find a place to sit. Verkhovtseff brushed a pile of papers onto the floor. The pages flew end over end, and Alice bent down to gather them up.
“You’re writing a novel?” Poloskov asked.
“Why would I write a novel? Oh, yes, of course, the lives of the Three Captains are far more interesting than any novel. It would be worth while in order to describe them as examples for future generations. But I have absolutely no literary gifts whatsoever.”
I thought that Doctor Verkhovtseff was just being modest. After all, it had been he who flew to the researchers on Arcturus Minor in order to find the plans of one of the Captains’ ships.
“And so,” the Doctor said, “how might I prove useful to my honored guests?”
“We were told that you knew everything there was to know about the Three Captains.” I began.
“We-el,” Verkhovtseff even turned red from embarassment, “that is a clear exaggeration.”
He placed his hat down on a pile of books; the hat tried to slide off, but the doctor caught it and placed it again in its former spot.
“The Captains explored a great many otherwise unknown planets.” I said. “They encountered remarkable animals and birds. We were told they left notes and observations in their diaries and logs. Our expedition is searching for unknown animals from other planets. Would you be able to help us?”
“Ah, that’s why…” Verkhovtseff grew pensive. His hat took this opportunity to slide off the pile of books and vanished beneath the cot. “Hmn,” he said, “if I had known earlier…”
“Papa, may I ask…” Alice asked.
“Of course, little girl.” The Doctor turned toward her.
“One of the stone Captains has a bird with two claws and a crown of feathers on its head perched on his shoulder. There’s no bird like that in the Zoo. Do you know anything about it?
“No.” Verkhovtseff said. “Almost nothing at all. And where is my hat?”
“Beneath your bed.” Alice said. “I can get it for you.”
“Don’t be troubled.” Verkhovtseff said, and crawled beneath his bed until only his legs stuck out from beneath it. It was searching for his hat in the darkness, shuffling papers, and continuing to talk: “They gave the sculptors the last photographs of the Captains. They chose the photos they liked the best.”
“You mean they just came up with the bird. The sculptors, I mean?” I asked, bending low over the bed.
“No, no!” Verkhovtseff’s shoes twitched. “I saw the photos myself.”
“And would you know where they were taken?”
“The First Captain was never separated from the bird,” Verkhovtseff answered, “but when he joined the Venus project he gave the bird to the Second Captain. And the Second Captain, as you know, vanished without a trace. The bird vanished too.”
“So it’s not even known where it came from?”
Verkhovtseff finally crawled out from under is bed. He had the hat rolled up on one fist, and in general he looked very embarrassed.
“Pardon me,” He said, “but I’ve lost the train of thought.”
“I mean, does anyone know where this type of bird originates?”
“No. Oh no.” Verkhovtseff answered quickly.
“Too bad.” I sighed. “It means failure. There seems to be no way you might be able to help us. And we were so hoping…”
“And why do you think that?!” Doctor Verkhovtseff grew indignant. “I’ve done a lot of traveling all on my own. Just let me think a moment.”
The doctor thought for about three minutes, then he said:
“Now I remember! On the planet Eurydice you can find the Dragonette minor. Also, they say, the Dragonette major.”
“I know.” I said. “One of the Captains shot a Dragonette major.”
“Do you know that for a fact?” Verkhovtseff asked.
“I know it. My friend, the archaeologist Gromozeka, told me about it.”
“Odd.” Verkhovtseff muttered and tilted his head to one side, looking me over as if he had seen me for the first time. “Well then just let me think some more.”
He thought for a few more minutes and then when on to describe the Martian Mantis. That was actually funny. Martian mantises may be found not only in all Zoos, but in many homes as well as pets. Alice, for example, has one.
Then Verkhovtseff went on to tell us about the tadprowlers, about the Fyxxian mudfly, about the Demon Birds of the planet Trool, and about other animals all well known from the pages of Guide to the Animals of our Galaxy.
“No, none of these animals are at all worth capturing.”
“My regrets,” Verkhovtseff said politely, “but I’ve spent my entire life interested in intelligent beings, and haven’t encountered all that many animals. May I give it one more go?”
Verkhovtseff began to ponder anew.
“Just where was I?” He asked himself. “A-ha,” He answered his own question. “I was on the Empty Planet.”
“Where?”
“On the Empty Planet. It’s not far from here, in a neighboring star system.”
“But if it’s an ‘Empty Planet,’ then how does it have animals.” Alice asked surprised.
“That’s something no one knows. You must understand, we were there on a Monday, and the whole sky was alive with birds. But on Tuesday there wasn’t a bird to be found, just wolves howling after herds. And the deer. But on Wednesday you couldn’t find either. The planet was empty.”
“But couldn’t the animals simply been hiding in dens or…”
“No, not at all.” Verkhovtseff said. “We were in a fast scout ship and out of curiosity we flew over most of the planet. There were no animals, and no birds. Just lakes. And I wasn’t the only one who was amazed by it. I’ll give you the coordinates.”
“Thank you.” I said. “But if you can’t remember anything else we’d like a chance to look at the Captains’ notebooks. In their travels and explorations they must have had a chance to observe many different kinds of an
imals.
“And who told you about the notebooks?” The Doctor asked, and frowned.
“Our friend the archaeologist Gromozeka.” I answered.
“I’ve never heard of him. Just why do you want the notebooks? I’ve just remembered the skliss from the planet Sheshineru. There are countless numbers of them there. They told me about it.”
“Thank you very much for the information.” I said. But what I really wanted was a chance to look through the Captain’s notebooks, but for some reason Doctor Verkhovtseff did not want me anywhere near them. For some reason he did not trust us.
“You’re welcome.”
“And the notebooks?” Alice asked.
“Oh, child, what in the universe would you want the notebooks for? And anyway, they’re not here. They’re on Fyxx; they hold them in the Archive. Yes, yes, in the Archive.” Doctor Verkhovtseff suddenly came alive, as though he had thought up a successful lie.
“Oh well.” Alice said.
The doctor was embarrassed, he wiped his eyes with the rumpled hat, and said:
“And you must certainly visit the market in Palaputra.”
“That’s one place we will be certain to stop.” I said. “We know all about it.”
“Then I shall see you off.” said the Doctor.
He stood up and led us back between the crates and containers toward the exit from the base. He walked very quickly, as though he feared we might change our minds and not leave.
We found ourselves back at the monument. We stopped beside it.
“And what happened to the Second Captain?” I asked.
“He died. Everyone knows that.” Verkhovtseff answered.
“We were told he vanished without a trace.”
Doctor Verkhovtseff shrugged his narrow shoulders.
“But you could find the First Captain?” I refused to give up. “He’s still alive?”
“Yes, he’s working somewhere off in space.”
“On the Venus Project? But there must be thousands of people working on it.”
“It would appear you yourself know how to contact him. There is really nothing else I can help you with.”
“Then I can only thank you for your hospitality. Although, in fact, we thought our encounter would go differently.”
“I also thought the same.” Verkhovtseff said.
“Perhaps, when you’ve finished writing the novel, you can send me a copy?”
“I am not writing any novels! I don’t know how! Whoever told you such a thing?”
“I’m talking about the novel you told the researchers on Arcturus Minor was you reason for visiting them a month ago when you asked about the construction of the Blue Gull.”
“What do you mean?” Doctor Verkhovtseff waved his arms furiously. “What about the Blue Gull? What researchers? I haven’t been there for at least six months!”
“Fine, fine…” I said, seeing how disturbed the Doctor became. “We didn’t want to embarrass you.”
“Think nothing of it.” Verkhovtseff said. “If you come this way again, drop in; I’m always glad to see visitors. Especially your enchanting daughter.”
He reached out a hand to stroke Alice on the head, but Alice stepped to one side and the Doctor’s hand hung in the air.
“Well, don’t forget.” He said, stopping beside the monument to the Three Captains. The Sklisses on Sheshineru and the mystery of the Empty Planet.”.
“Thank you doctor.” I answered. “We won’t forget.”
Chapter Six
The Wander Bushes
The Doctor stood for what seemed to be forever at the feet on the enormous stone Captains and twisted and turned his hat in his hands. The golden rays of the setting sun illuminated him, and it seemed he was also a statue, merely much smaller than the rest.
“Waaait!” The long cry suddenly reached us.
We turned
The Doctor was running in our direction, his feet sinking into the sand.
The Doctor reached us, and spent the next two minutes trying to get his breath back, continuingly starting with one or another sentence, but the air in his lungs was insufficient to allow him to finish.
“Boo…” He said. “Bu..”
“Butterflies?” She asked.
“Nah… No. Bushes. I…for-got to tell you about the bushes.”
“What bushes?”
“I was standing right by the bushes and forgot to even mention them.”
The Doctor pointed at the monument. Even from where we stood some distance away it was clear the sculptor had illustrated an enormous, splendid bush at the feet of the Third Captain, carefully carving its leaves and branches out of the stone.
“I thought that was just to make it pretty.” Alice said.
“No, its one of the wander bushes! You mean to tell you’ve never even heard of the wander bushes?”
“No, never.”
“Then listen, please. It will only take two minutes. When the Third Captain was on Aldebaran’s seventh planet he got lost in a desert. There was no water, no food, no nothing. But the Captain knew that if he did not make it to the base his whole ship’s crew would die, because they were all sick with a fever contracted in space and the vaccine was only at this one abandoned, empty base in the foothills of the Sierra Barracuda mountains.
“And then, when the Captain’s strength was exhausted and he had lost his way in the sand, he heard a distant singing. At first the Captain was certain it was a hallucination, but despite that he gathered the last of his strength and headed in the direction of the sounds.
“After three minutes he had crawled in among the bushes. The bushes in those places grow around small springs, and before sand storms their leaves stricking against each other producing melodic sounds. It appears the bushes are singing. So, in this way, the bushes in the Sierra Barracuda mountains lead the Captain to the water by their singing, gave him the chance to survive a terrible sand storm, and save the lives of eight other astronauts who were dying from a cosmic disease. To commemorate this event the sculptor chose to add a bush to the statue of the Third Captain.
“Therefore, I think it may be worth your while to look in on Aldebaran Seven in the area of the Sierra Barracuda, to find the bushes. Also, the Third Captain said that the bushes are covered with enormous, softly iridescent flowers in the evenings.”
“Thank you, Doctor?” I said. “We will certainly try to find these bushes and bring them to Earth.”
“Do you think they can grow in pots?” Alice asked.
“Certainly.” The doctor answered. “But in truth I have never seen the bushes myself and they are very rare. They’re only found at springs in the very center of the desert that surrounds the Sierra Barracuda mountains…”
…The Aldebaran system lay not far off, and we decided to search out the bushes, if possible, to find out what their singing sounded like.
For eighteen times our landing boat cris-crossed the entire desert, and only on the nineteenth pass did we see a flash of green in a deep hollow. The boat spiraled down over the sandy valleys, and we made out bushes surrounding a spring.
The bushes were low, just up to my belt, and possessed long, leaves that were silver on the inside and thick roots which came out of the sand easily. We carefully dug out five of the bushes, choosing those which already had buds, transferred them to a large box filled with sand, and brought our trophy back to the Pegasus.
That very same day the Pegasus took off from the desert satellite and headed on its way.
As soon as acceleration had ended I began to ready for the survey camera, because I hoped that glowing flowers would soon blossom on the bushes, and Alice went and got paper and crayons in order to draw them.
It was then that we heard the low, harmonious singing.
“What’s that?” The engineer Zeleny was surprised. “I didn’t turn on music. Who turned it on? Why won’t they let me get any sleep?”
“That’s our bushes singing!” Alice shouted. “Does that
mean we have a sand storm heading our way?”
“What?” Zeleny dismissed the idea. “Where would we get a sand storm in space?”
“Let’s go take a look at the bushes, Papa.” Alice insisted. “We’d see what’s up.”
Alice ran off toward the hold, but I held back a few seconds to grab and load the camera.
“I’ll take a look too.” Zeleny said. “I’ve never seen singing bushes before.”
I suspected that in fact he wanted to take a look out the nearest window because he was afraid we were in fact due for a sand storm.
I had just finished loading the camera when I heard a shout. I recognized Alice’s voice.
I threw down the camera in the crew’s lounge and hurried down the ladder way toward the holds.
“Papa!” Alice shouted. “Just take a look at that!”
“Save yourselves!” Zeleny roared. “They’re walking!”
A few more steps and I had run up to the double lock doors to the cargo hold. In the open doors I collided with Alice and Zeleny. More precisely, I collided with Zeleny who was holding Alice. Zeleny looked frightened and his beard blew wild, like from a wind.
On the other side of the airlock door leading to the hold stood the bushes. The sight was utterly terrifying. The bushes had extracted themselves from the sand and were moving heavily and slowly on their short, deformed roots, advancing on us. They were walking in a half circle, shaking their branches, the buds had opened and reddish flowers now glared at us like hostile eyes from amid their leaves.
“To Arms!” Zeleny shouted at the top of his lungs and handed Alice to me.
“Close the door!” I said.
But it was too late. While we had been talking, trying to get past each other, the first of the bushes had passed through the hold lock and we were forced to step back into the corridor.
One after another the bushes followed after their leader.
Zeleny, pressing all the emergency buttons on the nearest com panel, ran off to the bridge for weapons, and I grabbed a mop that was standing against he wall and tried to protect Alice. She was looking at the advance of the bushes enchanted, like a rabbit at a boa constrictor.
