by Ezra E Manes
On subsequent orbits, the New Horizon team tracked the dark orb along its orbit and completed every planned test, but with no definable results. Close examination through the telescope revealed nothing but a pitch-black area. The orb appeared to absorb any energy they directed at it, or else it was a perfect reflector, deflecting the energy off into space. The orb tracked on to eclipse each moon in turn, and then passed below the eastern horizon.
The darkened Third Moon Rising event occurred the following two nights as well, eclipsing with the inner and outer moons respectively as they drew closer together in the sky. The New Horizon team conducted every test they could conceive, but all they could determine was that the sphere made a complete orbit each day. It did not disappear and then pop back into existence as previously thought. In all likelihood, the sphere had simply changed reflectivity on the first three nights of its appearance to suddenly shine at the western horizon, and then changed again to become dark as it passed over the eastern horizon.
Carlos was puzzled by the negative results of their extensive tests. Why did the orb change reflectivity, going dark for three nights after shining brightly for three nights? What would it do the next night as the inner and outer moons overlapped in the long anticipated full two-moon eclipse?
Eve interrupted his musings. Gloria is calling from the surface. He was so deep in thought he was not paying attention to the ongoing background communications.
“Go ahead, Gloria. I’m sorry, I was preoccupied.”
“Serintha reminded me a short while ago that Ceripe expected you to attend the peak night of the Holy Seven-Year Two-Moon Phase celebration at the temple. Tonight is that night.”
Carlos hesitated before answering. He truly expected to see no change in the third moon. It had made its statement to the Zilans, and perhaps to his team.
“You aren’t thinking about staying aboard the New Horizon tonight, are you?” Gloria said.
“No, I promised Ceripe I would be there. I’ll return and attend the ceremonies tonight.”
Carlos made the trip to the surface late in the afternoon, bringing Jorge and Licia along and leaving Samuel and Karen aboard the New Horizon. Samuel was engrossed in checking out the communications systems but had not found any problem. Karen had begun the system diagnostic tests directed by Earth and would start forwarding results there as they became available. Eve would monitor the orbiting spherical vessel using the New Horizon sensors.
Carlos enjoyed the evening meal with the team, as well as hearing about their progress in preparing the exchange agreement implementation plans. He enjoyed it so much that he didn’t have much time to get dressed for the formal event at the temple. He made it to the side entrance where Starke waited as the sun was setting.
Carlos was surprised that Pteleg Bnethem was waiting to greet him on the observation level. The leader welcomed him warmly and invited him to join his staff for observations from the front row of the assembled group. Carlos accepted diplomatically, thankful his tardiness did not evoke any negative reaction. Ceripe escorted him to a seat three to the right of the leader’s seat.
Ceripe introduced the two men taking seats between the leader and him. He had met the one adjacent to Pteleg Bnethem; Sarnef Zanchef was High Priest of Zilerip. The one sitting to Carlos’s left was Monlea Hoquinah, High Priest of Oehinaz. Both priests greeted him warmly. Ceripe took the seat to the right of Carlos.
The assembled group quieted as dusk deepened and turned into nightfall. The people around Carlos had both hands clasped together and held firmly to their chests as they looked expectantly to the eastern horizon. The inner moon rose first, and when it was almost one-third above the horizon, the outer moon became visible, rising with the inner moon overlapping it. The view as the two moons rose above the horizon was spectacular, with both moons full.
The scene was breathtaking to Carlos. He looked to the western horizon, expecting to see the darkened new moon orb rising, and emitted an unintelligible exclamation at the sight of the illuminated third moon rising above the horizon. The startled Zilans around him also looked west, and low, murmuring prayers began wafting across the balcony as all settled to their knees. He numbly joined them in kneeling before the rising third moon.
Why had the third moon appeared again as a full moon tonight? Why always look for the logic in everything? he chided himself. Why not just accept things as they are?
Carlos didn’t feel compelled to pray as the others were doing, but he remained in a prayerful position out of respect as the moons climbed higher. He was thankful for the padded carpet on the platform. Otherwise, he would have been unable to remain on his knees very long.
As the overlapped inner and outer moons rose to nadir, the inner moon aligned in full eclipse with the outer moon. The third moon had moved from the west in synchrony with the other two moons from the east, and fully eclipsed with them at nadir. It was a very moving sight, even to Carlos, who felt emotionally overwhelmed as the moons aligned. Forces far beyond his understanding were at play, although he was still reluctant to attribute spiritual significance to what was happening.
The moons passed on through their aligned positions at nadir, with the third moon moving toward the east while the two overlapped moons continued their path toward the west. Now the outer and inner moons had switched relative positions, with the outer moon leading the way toward the west.
After the peak eclipse, Carlos watched as Ceripe reached back to grip the seating with both hands and eased herself up onto the seat. He tried this, but his legs would not cooperate. He felt a strong hand on his left arm, and then Ceripe’s on his right arm, and they lifted him back into his seat. The High Priest of Oehinaz acted as if such help were a normal occurrence, but it still embarrassed Carlos. Ceripe held onto his arm tightly; he smiled reassuringly. He gently pulled his arm free and rubbed his legs to relieve the cramping.
The assembled group watched reverently as the three moons continue their synchronized march across the sky. The inner and outer moons were again overlapped about two-thirds as they slipped below the western horizon, and the third moon dipped below the eastern horizon.
The sky lightened with the approaching dawn, and Pteleg Bnethem approached Carlos slowly and offered his hand in the Earth fashion. “Thank you for coming tonight, Ambassador Sepeda. Your presence has blessed us all.” After this simple statement, the leader turned and departed.
The two high priests also shook his hand in turn and thanked him for attending the ceremony, then followed the supreme leader off the balcony.
Ceripe did not say anything as she escorted Carlos out of the temple. There was a strange look in her eyes, almost a glow, as she said good-bye to him.
Ceripe did not invite him to the temple the following night, and he had not expected her to. She had previously explained that the most reverent period of the holy event occurred from the start of the Primary Two-Moon Phase until the night of the full eclipses at nadir. The subsequent nights were also part of the two-moon phase celebration but more for consummation of marriages and other important social events.
Gloria greeted him at the embassy, suggesting they go on to bed as the others had after the long night of observations. They were all a little in awe of the full eclipse event but had nothing else to report regarding third moon observations. Carlos was only too ready after spending the night on his knees.
The third moon did not appear in either the full moon or new moon states the next night. This was as could be expected if the third moon was indeed the prophesized religious symbol, with it appearing only during the most reverent portion of the Holy Seven-Year Two-Moon Phase. At least this was how Laura Brown and Gloria rationalized it to Carlos.
But he was not satisfied that the third moon had vanished, and tasked those aboard the New Horizon to initiate searches of the panoramic star field. Seven hours later, the darkened orb was found in a high geostationary orbit, maintaining a position directly over a spot on the surface just north of Zilerip. From th
ere, the orb would not block the view of either moon as the planet rotated. It appeared the third moon had moved to an observation position.
Reflecting on the continued presence of the moonlike orb, Carlos again felt he knew something important about its appearance near Zilia. However, he couldn’t focus his thoughts sufficiently to make the information materialize, and it stayed as elusive that night, as was obtaining any additional information about the darkened orb.
TWENTY-ONE
SUPREME MEETING
The day after the darkened third moon assumed its geostationary orbit, Carlos woke in early afternoon to hugs and kisses by Gloria. She apologized for waking him, but Ceripe had called and awaited his return call as soon as he could respond.
It was hard to let her go, but he did when she whispered him a promise of sweet things to come. He moaned and rolled out of bed to attend to a minimal bathroom routine. He dressed quickly and headed to the central meeting room where Gloria was waiting. He made the call to Ceripe without further delay.
“Hello, Carlos,” she said in a tired voice. Her face was a bit haggard, and she looked like she had not slept in days. “I hope you are rested enough to be tolerant of my intrusion. But I have an urgent request.”
“I am probably much more rested than you, Ceripe. I hope you can take a break soon.”
She smiled at him wanly and then continued. “The manner in which the third moon participated in the Holy Seven-Year Two-Moon Phase as a new moon greatly impressed our senior officials, but it disturbed many of them as well. Some have suggested that perhaps you knew it would appear as a darkened orb and chose not to attend ceremonies those nights. And you alerting us to the presence of the darkened third moon increased this speculation.”
Bemused, he could only shake his head.
“I do not believe you knew the third moon would darken, nor does our leader,” Ceripe said. “But the darkened moon certainly caused a stir when observed where you said it would be. This placed me in the awkward position of defending my agreement that you not attend observations for the three nights leading up to the full eclipse. Fortunately, Pteleg Bnethem acknowledged that I had consulted with him and he had agreed with the decision.”
“We were just as surprised as you when the third moon did not appear illuminated as before,” Carlos said. He felt bad about placing Ceripe in an awkward position, and tried to explain. “We detected it darkened before those on the surface because of our position in space.”
He paused, then added, “I sense there is more to this call than to let me know some are raising questions.”
“Yes, there is,” she replied. “You returned to the temple the night of the Holy Two-Moon full eclipse and the illuminated third moon’s return. This caused even me and Pteleg Bnethem to wonder if your presence at the temple synchronized with illumination of the third moon has more meaning than we previously thought.”
“I assure you, if I knew anything else about the third moon and its activities, I would tell you.”
“I know. Pteleg Bnethem asked if I thought it possible that you could have created the Third Moon Rising event using the technology of Earth. I said no, and he agrees. However, he suspects some of our senior people may think this.
“This prompted him to ask for a meeting with you as soon as possible, this evening if you can, to gain a better understanding of what you know about recent events. This would help prepare him to cut off suggestions by others that might lead to a demeaning of the Holy Third Moon Rising event. He would also like to hear your thoughts on the first steps we should take in expanding our relationship. Could you support this meeting over dinner, to begin at 9:50 this evening at our supreme leader’s offices?”
“Of course I will come. But perhaps I should bring someone along who is better prepared to answer specific questions about our initial efforts to expand relationships. We propose providing you information in the medical arena first, and I am not a medical doctor.”
Ceripe smiled. “No, that is not necessary. The discussion will remain at the summary level. Remember to not overdress. As I hope you have learned, we Zilans are not ones for formal attire, except in religious ceremonies.”
Carlos readily agreed to the dress suggestion. The Zilans were very practical, and he appreciated the informal dress code at even the senior government level.
He summarized for Ceripe the team recommendations for expanding relations, including the areas of Zilan technology of interest to the team. The discussion became awkward when he explained that several of the team would be busy conducting thorough tests of New Horizon systems as directed by Earth. Ceripe listened carefully and did not ask any embarrassing questions.
After he finished, she asked several questions about who would be participating in the recommended initiatives and when they could start. She also asked what support would be required from her office and what continuing interaction would be required with other Zilans.
He answered forthrightly, indicating that they should start interaction within a week, and added that specific details of the plan needed to be completed in collaboration with her staff, and perhaps others having appropriate backgrounds. This pleased her, and she generally agreed with the plan. However, she did have a caution for him.
“I understand you are operating under direction from your superiors. However, I implore you, do not delay the technical exchange for very long. You plan is good for the near term, but our senior officials will soon become impatient. Their concerns will be allayed by outstanding results in the other initial efforts, which I anticipate, but they will not be held off for long.”
“We will expand into other areas as quickly as we can,” Carlos said, with some relief that she had not probed deeper. “And I assure you, we will make decisions locally to stretch to the limit the direction we have received. You will not be disappointed.”
“We have come to respect your team, Carlos, and know you will work openly with us. However, we have growing doubts about your leaders. I suspect you have similar concerns, but I will leave that discussion for another time. I look forward to seeing you tonight.”
That concluded the conversation. Carlos turned to find Gloria still waiting nearby.
“So things start getting a little complicated now,” she said.
“I’m afraid so, sweetheart.”
“I’ll collect what you’ll need for the meeting while you go take a bath and get dressed.”
After discussing what he would need, Carlos headed to their private quarters.
Carlos was still wishing one of the doctors had come along as he arrived at the government office building burdened with a heavy briefcase. He was still uncomfortable meeting with senior Zilans and felt more confident when someone else was there to draw some of the attention.
Ceripe was waiting for him in the lobby. She greeted him cordially and escorted him up to a private dining room. They did not have long to chat, for Pteleg Bnethem soon walked in.
The leader greeted Carlos with a small bow and a welcoming salutation, and he returned the gesture. The leader then shook his hand and thanked him in English for joining them for dinner.
“Ambassador, would it spoil your appetite to begin our discussions over dinner?” Pteleg said as they sat down around a small table at the front of the room. “If so, we will wait until we have enjoyed the meal before beginning.”
“No, Your Eminence, discussion over dinner will be fine. We all need to take sustenance after the long nights we have been keeping.”
The leader smiled and nodded in agreement. He raised his hand to signal someone out of sight, and a server soon brought drinks and light appetizers to begin the meal.
Ceripe was quiet initially, letting Carlos and Pteleg Bnethem get more comfortable in talking to one another. They chatted briefly about the health of Carlos’s team and how they were adapting to the Zilia environment.
“How are my people treating their esteemed visitors?” the leader asked as he looked over at Ceripe and smiled.
“We have been treated very well from our first day here,” Carlos said.
“Tell me,” the leader said, launching right into the primary subject area of interest, “have you been able to discern anything additional about the third moon from your observations?”
“What has been most interesting is what we have not been able to determine.”
The leader paused in the process of lifting a bite to his mouth, and looked up inquiringly.
“We applied our most advanced instruments and techniques attempting to determine its surface and internal composition. It is a spherical object with a uniformly smooth surface, and is in orbit much closer to Zilia than the inner moon. The sphere did not reflect any energy at any frequency we directed at it. Nor has it emitted any energy traces we can detect. It simply moved through its orbit and reflected light from Arzét until switching to its dark phase. Other than this, we have been unsuccessful in determining anything about its basic composition.”
Carlos paused to look at the leader, who had stopped eating.
“Please continue, I want to hear all you can tell me about the third moon.”
“The third moon seemed to pop into existence at the appropriate time for initial observation from the Temple of Zilerip,” Carlos said, “and then moved in orbit until it eclipsed with the two moons as seen from the surface. I say it popped into sight because one moment it was not there, and the next instant it suddenly came into view.
“We believe the moon changed its surface reflectivity at the time it appeared at the western horizon, reflecting Arzét’s radiation to suddenly appear as a brightly illuminated moon. It changed back after dipping below the eastern horizon, appearing to disappear. We were not looking for a darkened moon at that time on the daylight side of Zilia, and do not know if we could have detected it even if we had looked for it then.
