Snatched from Earth

by Bruce Coville

  They seemed to be forming the words in my own language, though I have no idea how they managed it. Some of us are hundreds of thousands of years old, they said, and I understood that they were answering my question. We are millions. We work together with speed and joy. Now be still, try not to think. It distracts us, and we need to check your body.

  So I floated there, deep in the cool, dark water, a glowing flower covering my face. I was anchored in place by hundreds of worms, some as thick as my thumb, all of them longer than the longest snake that ever grew on Earth.

  We have seen this poison before, they said after a while. Then, worriedly, It is deep within you. It will not be easy, but we can take it out.

  A burning sensation ran through me. I thrashed in the water, but the worms held me tight. I screamed—and was horrified to realize I had driven the breathing flower off my face. I forced myself to hold still—one of the hardest things I have ever done. After a moment it swam back and covered my face again.

  All right, said the worms at last. The poison is gone. At least, the poison of the plants. But you have other poisons we cannot remove, young Tim.

  What do you mean? I thought.

  We sense poison in your heart. One poison has to do with the one you call Maktel. Another has to do with your father. These are poisons we cannot remove. Only you can release them. All we can do is warn you. It is not wise to hold such poisons, to nurture them. They can eat your heart from the inside out, hollowing it like a parasite.

  If the worms took any response from me, I don’t know what it was. Emotions, arguments, sorrows, angers, hurts seemed to be washing through me in a wild rush, but I could not form words around them.

  I was so caught up in my reaction to what the worms had said that I did not see that they were taking me back to the surface until the flower swam away from my face and I suddenly felt myself burst into the air.

  I heard shouts and applause and turned toward the shore, which was about five feet away. Pleskit, Linnsy, and Maktel were waving and cheering. Eargon Fooz was stomping her feet on the ground, a huge grin splitting her face.

  Suddenly I felt a bubbling in the water. Thousands of worms thrust their heads into the air, surrounding me on all sides. They spoke, and though their words were not in English, I could understand them—as if they were sending a separate translation into my head while they spoke aloud to the others.

  “We have pulled the poison from your friend. While we were in his mind, we learned of what has brought you here. You will not find what you are seeking in the city. However, you may find other things there, things that will be important to your people. More than this we will not say, for the city is a place we do not speak of.”

  The heads waved for a moment, then leaned as one to Eargon Fooz. “You have done well to help these visitors. Stay with them while you can. Do not feel bad when you must leave them. They follow a different path.”

  The worms propelled me to the shore. I felt as if I were riding a wave.

  Pleskit and Maktel reached out, and each took a hand to pull me onto the rocks. When I was on solid ground again, I held out my arm to examine it.

  The green strands were gone.

  I turned and knelt at the water’s edge. “Thank you,” I said.

  “It was our pleasure,” replied the worms. “What greater joy could we find than in helping someone on his journey? Travel wisely, young visitor, travel well.”

  And with that, they disappeared beneath the surface again.

  I stood, staring at the dark waters, thinking of what they had said to me.

  “Come on, Tim,” said Pleskit, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder. “We should get moving again.”

  I turned to him. With a smile he handed me the pouch holding the oog-slama. “Glad you’re okay,” he said softly.

  “Me too,” I muttered as I strapped the pouch back around my chest. I followed Pleskit back up the tunnel, thinking about what the worms had said about my feelings toward Maktel.

  * * *

  The next two days took us through more strange and beautiful territory. Each hour we traveled, I blessed the fact that Eargon Fooz was with us and guiding us away from dangers, of which there were many. I loved to watch the way the colors on her skin shifted and changed as we walked through the jungle.

  I was silent much of the time, thinking of what the worms had said. When we stopped for dinner at the end of the first day, I sat near Maktel and tried to speak politely with him.

  He seemed surprised, but later he handed me half of a fruit that Eargon Fooz had picked for him. It was sweet and juicy.

  We had a campfire, and Pleskit and Maktel sang a couple of songs from Hevi-Hevi. Then they had a farting contest. It was in full swing, and getting so hilarious that I had fallen on the ground laughing, when we heard someone approaching.

  Immediately we fell silent. Eargon Fooz shifted into what looked like a battle stance.

  Then our visitor stepped into the light.

  CHAPTER 12 [LINNSY]

  THE SECOND GRAND URPELLI

  I almost jumped out of my skin when Ellico vec Bur came limping from behind the tree and said, “What in the name of Ikthar’s beard were you thinking of to run away from our ship on a planet you knew nothing about?”

  “We were prisoners,” retorted Maktel. “It was our duty to escape.”

  Ellico looked astonished. Bur looked angry, or maybe disgusted. It was hard to tell with that tiny face. “You were not prisoners!” it screeched. “You were stowaways!”

  “You abducted us,” insisted Maktel.

  “That is the second time you have made that absurd charge,” said the Ellico portion, raising an elegant eyebrow. “Please remember, you were the ones who sneaked onto our ship, and then hid when we came aboard. We most certainly did not want you on this trip, and would have been very happy to get rid of you before we exited Earth’s atmosphere if we had had any idea you were on board. Abducted, indeed. What nonsense!”

  “You wouldn’t take us back,” said Maktel firmly. “You kept us locked in a storage space.”

  “Soft-hearted of us, wasn’t it,” said Bur, “since by the laws of space we could have flung you into the void.”

  “You didn’t tell us that!” cried Tim, turning to Maktel.

  Maktel looked embarrassed.

  Ellico vec Bur heaved a very human-sounding sigh. “All right, we have decided it is time the four of you understand what is at stake here.”

  Since they were holding a ray gun, we decided we might as well listen.

  “Sit down,” said the Trader(s). “This is going to take a while.”

  We sat—even Eargon Fooz, though she looked terribly confused and distressed.

  Ellico vec Bur rested one foot on a tree stump covered with curling orange moss, then set the hand holding their ray gun on the lifted knee. The other hand continued to grip the top of their cane.

  “Who’s your friend?” they asked, gesturing to Eargon Fooz.

  She introduced herself.

  “We appreciate you taking these four on,” said the Ellico portion. “Troublesome though they are, we would just as soon have them survive. Now, as our suspicious young friend here guessed”—they gestured toward Maktel when they said this, of course—“we did not go to Earth simply to discuss the peanut butter franchise with Meenom, or even to pick up our new ship.”

  “I knew it!” said Maktel triumphantly, looking at the rest of us.

  “That was about the only part you got right,” snapped Ellico vec Bur. Leaning heavily on their cane, they said, “Since you think we are so wicked, why don’t you tell us what it is you suspect us of?”

  “I… uh… I don’t know, exactly,” said Maktel. “I just had a feeling you were up to no good.”

  “Well, someone’s up to no good,” said the Trader(s). “But it isn’t us. In fact, both of our stated reasons for coming to Earth were true. We did want to discuss the franchise with Meenom, as a way of reviving our own faltering fortunes. A
nd it truly was a convenient place to pick up our new ship. But these were also covers for our main purpose, which was to investigate some rumors we’d recently uncovered regarding a plot to disrupt communications all across the galaxy.”

  “How can that be?” asked Pleskit. “The system has many protections built into it. And what would a plot such as that have to do with Earth, anyway?”

  “The uncharted urpelli!” gasped Maktel.

  “You’re on the right track,” admitted Ellico vec Bur, somewhat grudgingly. “Though we doubt you have any idea yet of its true significance.”

  “Well, the urpelli certainly makes the planet far more valuable than we first thought,” said Pleskit.

  “The appropriate phrase might be ‘infinitely more valuable,’ ” said Ellico. “What you have in your sector is not merely an uncharted urpelli, which indeed would be a remarkable thing in itself. What you have is something known to exist in only one other place in the entire galaxy.”

  Pleskit gasped. “Are you saying…?” He stopped, as if he couldn’t bring himself to speak the words.

  Ellico vec Bur finished for him. “We’re saying that Earth is located close to a second Grand Urpelli—so close that the urpelli’s licensing would be included by law in the Earth franchise.”

  “And my Fatherly One holds that franchise,” murmured Pleskit in awe.

  “But you were talking about a scheme to disrupt communications across the galaxy,” persisted Maktel.

  The reply came from Bur. “Ellico’s people like to say that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The weak link in the galactic comsystem is its reliance on the single known Grand Urpelli.”

  “How weak can it be?” asked Pleskit. “That urpelli is the most heavily defended thing in the galaxy!”

  “Its weakness lies in its uniqueness,” said the Trader(s). “The problem is that there is no alternative system—or hasn’t been, until now. The speed of the system depends on funneling vast amounts of information through that one bottleneck. If someone could shut down the Grand Urpelli, and at the same time provide an alternative—well, the galaxy would be at their mercy.”

  “And someone is planning to do that?” I asked.

  “Precisely. That was what brought me to Earth.”

  “So are you, like, a government agent?” asked Tim.

  Ellico vec Bur laughed. “Hardly! We work for no one but ourselves.”

  “If what you are saying is true,” said Pleskit excitedly, “then Earth is far more valuable than any of us had realized.”

  “That is stating it mildly,” said Ellico vec Bur. “The Trader who controls this urpelli will become one of the richest beings in the galaxy. Why do you think you have had such troubles since you arrived on the planet? The few who know about this urpelli desperately want control of Earth, and were furious when your Fatherly One managed to secure the franchise. They will do anything to destroy his mission. But that is not the worst of it.”

  “What else could there be?” asked Pleskit in astonishment.

  “What are the five great motivating forces?” asked Ellico vec Bur.

  “Love, hate, money, revenge, and power,” replied Maktel immediately, as if reciting some lesson.

  “Precisely,” said Ellico vec Bur. “And if driving forces are combined, they become vastly more powerful. The desire for money alone would be enough to cause some Trader(s) to move beyond ethical behavior and try to take over this urpelli. But for someone with a grudge, a hatred of the Trading Federation, an urge for revenge, a desire for power, a lust for money, and a connection to a powerful group of discontents who would like to overthrow the Trading Federation completely, the goal would be more than simply gaining an incredibly valuable resource. Their intent is broader. They want to control the galaxy.”

  “The Trading Federation would never let that happen!” cried Pleskit. “They don’t like to use force, but they would certainly be willing to use it in a situation like this.”

  “You would be right,” said the Ellico portion of the Trader(s), “save for one thing. These schemers have a brilliant ally named Dr. Limpoc who has figured out how to close an urpelli. Not attack it. Not take it over. Simply cause it to cease functioning. And if they shut down the Grand Urpelli, then the one near Earth will be the only option to keep the galaxy as we know it running. Since they can threaten to destroy that as well, they will be able, in essence, to hold the entire galaxy hostage. Any attempt to free the urpelli from their control will be fraught with the danger that if they are overwhelmed, they will simply destroy it out of spite.”

  The audacity of the plot left us breathless.

  “Why don’t you contact the Trading Federation with this information?” asked Pleskit.

  Both of the Trader(s)’ faces scowled at this suggestion. “We are not on good terms with the Federation at the moment. No one in a position of power would believe us even if we did try. We might be tempted to let the plan go forward if preventing this takeover did not represent a matter of enlightened self-interest.”

  “Who is behind this scheme?” asked Pleskit.

  “Well, it’s a group, of course. But the main player is someone you know well.”

  They paused, then said something that made Tim and Pleskit cry out in horror.

  “Her name is Mikta-makta-mookta.”

  CHAPTER 13 [MAKTEL]

  PODS!

  The odor of fear that Pleskit emitted at the mention of the evil hamster-woman who had once tried to drain his and Tim’s brains almost sent me into kleptra myself.

  “If this information makes you think that Mikta-makta-mookta was a more serious threat than Tim and Pleskit realized when they first faced her, you would be correct,” continued Ellico vec Bur. “She is, to be frank, one of the most dangerous beings in the galaxy.”

  “Is Harr-giss involved too?” asked Pleskit, after he had recovered from his initial shock. Harr-giss had been Mikta-makta-mookta’s partner back when she was spying on the Fatherly One.

  “That is hard to say. As far as we know, he is still in confinement. Even so, it’s possible he has a hand in this plot.”

  Despite the Trader(s)’ explanation, their motives remained unclear, and I still did not entirely trust them. On the other hand, what they had told us fit perfectly with the secret message the Motherly One had given me to carry to Meenom.

  “Here is one thing I still do not understand,” I said. “Why did you take our side during that debate about whether we should have a party in the embassy?”

  Both of Ellico vec Bur’s faces looked startled. “Because we thought it was a good idea,” they said simultaneously.

  “It wasn’t to cause some sort of trouble?” I asked.

  “This wretched childling is even more suspicious than we thought,” muttered Bur in disgust.

  “And what about that rapid takeoff?” I persisted. “Why were you in such a hurry to get away from Earth?”

  “We received an urgent message from our informer that the plotters have accelerated their plan. Our goal was not to escape Earth; it was to intercept a ship carrying a being important to this scheme. Unfortunately, we failed in that attempt.”

  “I have a question,” said Linnsy. “After we pulled you out of the ship, why did you go back in?”

  “To retrieve some information we need to stop the schemers,” said Bur.

  “What kind of information?” I asked.

  “That does not concern you, Maktel,” snapped the Trader(s), both of them speaking simultaneously.

  I got the impression they did not like me very much.

  “What happened to the ship?” continued Linnsy. “Did it blow up?”

  “No. It is crippled but capable of being salvaged.” The Ellico portion sighed. “Such a beautiful little ship. It was very painful to have it crash on its first journey.”

  “What was that all about, anyway?” asked Tim. “Who attacked us?”

  “We’re not sure,” said Bur, its voice angry. “But it’s a g
ood guess that it was someone involved with this plot. The ringleaders are based here, after all. According to my informant, their scheme is set to launch in thirty kerbleckki.”

  “But that’s less than two days!” gasped Pleskit.

  “Precisely,” said Ellico. “Which means we have to get to the city as soon as possible if we’re going to stop this madness. We don’t particularly want the four of you tagging along. On the other hand, we don’t want you wandering around loose, either, since you might do something to alert them that we’re coming. Besides, our friendship with Meenom compels us to protect Pleskit. So we’d better travel together.”

  “All we need to do is get to the city,” said Pleskit. “I can contact any embassy there and they will take care of us.”

  Ellico vec Bur laughed—both parts at once, which made for a weird sound. “You’ll have a hard time telling anyone in Ilbar-Fakkam what we’re up to.”

  “Why?” I asked. “Don’t they speak Standard Galactic?”

  “They don’t speak anything,” said Ellico. “The place has been deserted for over three hundred years!”

  I almost burst into tears. How were we ever going to get home?

  “We’ll start out at first light,” said Bur, “so you’d better get some sleep now. Eargon Fooz, you know the territory. If you would continue to travel with us, we would appreciate it.”

  “I will go as far as the edge of the jungle,” she said. “That is as far as I ever intended to go. My people do not enter Ilbar-Fakkam.”

  “How come you didn’t tell us the city was deserted?” asked Linnsy, her voice bitter.

  “You did not ask,” said Eargon Fooz, sounding surprised by the question. “You knew of the city and wanted to go there. Since it was built by two-leggers such as you, this made sense—or, at least, as much sense as anything two-leggers do.”