by S A Pavli
“Sending now.” Our drone screens cleared and then displayed a different jungle scene. There were not as many trees, with light dappled space between them. But the trees were even taller with huge outspread branches, The view zoomed into one of the trees to show that it swarmed with squat hairy figures clutching spears. The four explorers were surrounded on the ground, their two robots standing guard with the Hianja between them. Around them, in the trees and on the ground, the natives stood in their hundreds, screaming, jumping up and down and waving their spears.
“Why are the robots not firing on them Hamo?” I asked.
“There are too many Paul,” he replied. “If they start throwing their spears, some are bound to get through. We can’t pick them up, there is not enough room for the ship to land. I wanted to warn you to watch out for these creatures.”
“We are still out in the open Hamo, no sign here of any them.” I replied. “Listen, send the ship in anyway. The sight of it may frighten them off. Oh, and instruct the robots to use their lasers to set fire to a few branches and small trees. That may scare them away.”
“Good idea Paul. Watch yourselves down there. I suggest you all withdraw.”
“Message received Captain. We are in good shape for now. Keep us in video contact.”
The natives were still making a racket and behaving as if they were psyching themselves up to attack. Perhaps they thought the robots were devils and the screaming and aggression was to frighten them away? I was no expert on primitive societies. I looked closely at the natives. They wore no clothes and their spears were just sharpened sticks. They were more ape than human, with receding foreheads and close set eyes. Could they be the ancestors to intelligent humanoids? Genetically modified by the Makers? If so, they clearly needed a couple more million years of evolution.
Laser light suddenly lanced out from the two robots and small fires immediately sprang up in a number of small bushes in the clearing. They were strategically starting the fires to form a protective ring around them, a good move I thought. The natives gave a loud groan and moved away. Suddenly one of the natives ran out into the clearing. He was different from the others, his face and body covered in gaudy paint. He was wearing the snout of a ’hogigator’ on his head and talons on his hands. Screaming and leaping up and down in a furious war dance he ran towards the explorers waving his spear. A few feet from them, both robots turned their guns on him and his body was torn to bits.
There was a deathly silence from the natives, then a deep groan of terror. As one, they turned and ran for it. In seconds they were all gone. We all sighed with relief.
“Captain, perhaps you can ask the team to take a sample from the native. A bit gruesome I know, but we need to check the DNA.” Manera was being practical as always. I was about to ask Hamo to do the same.
“Will do Manera. I know what you are thinking,” replied Hamolatonen. It was, I suspect, what we were all thinking.
Team 3 decided to boldly continue, in the hope that they may learn more about the natives. We spent a little more time looking at the feeds from our two drones before deciding to head down towards the beach and around the headland. We shouldered our backpacks and made our way carefully down the hillside towards the beach. Once there we made our way around the headland keeping close to the beach and clear of the jungle. The sea looked very enticing until I noticed the large number of jellyfish and large scuttling crab like creatures.
“In the past, I think this world must have been uninhabitable,” mused Manera as we shuffled through the sand, kicking up little golden sprays. “Then the climate must have changed and it is now going through a fertile period. In another million years it will probably switch again and most of this life will die out.”
“Nature is prolific and uncaring,” I remarked.
“Nature has created us so that we can do the caring for it,” she said.
“I’ve not thought of it quite like that before,” I said.
“Life and intelligence is built into the Universe Paul. We find it everywhere.”
“I suppose so,” I said. “Does that make you believe in a God? Or some kind of divine power?”
She thought for a moment before continuing.
“It depends on whether you believe that the Universe is the ultimate reality, and nothing else exists beyond that, or whether there is something beyond that. If the first, then we do not need a God. If the latter, then who knows? You could make up anything you wanted.”
I knew that the Hianja took a pragmatic view of reality. For them, inventing a God, created as many questions as it failed to answer! The Universe, in all its beauty, richness and grandeur, was enough.
We trudged through the sand, enjoying the slightly cooler air coming in from the sea. Cora was staying closer to the jungle, using the drone to explore the margins. Taros was taking samples from the sea, kicking out occasionally at the odd over inquisitive crab.
As we rounded the headland, we were confronted with a view that chilled our blood. Sunning themselves on the beach, barely one hundred metres from us was a horde of monstrosities, the like of which I had never seen before. Giant lobsters would be the best way to describe them, but even that does not do justice to how fearsome they appeared, even from a distance of one hundred metres. There must have been fifty of the monsters scuttling about the beach, grabbing up the little crabs and jellyfish from the surf. Some of them were exploring the edges of the forest, going in to dig out small animals and insects. Others were simply lying on the beach sunning themselves. The beach as far as we could see was carpeted by the dirty red and brown monsters.
We all froze.
“Everybody back, slowly,” I said. Before we could move, one of our two drones banked around the forest and over the giant lobsters and headed in our direction. This attracted the attention of the monsters. Some of them looked up, then followed the path of the drone in our direction. I knew immediately what their tiny brains would think as soon as they saw us. Lunch!
We turned and ran as fast as our legs could take us through the heavy sand.
“Cora, instruct the robot to cover our escape. Get the Peacekeeper fighter here.”
“Yes Paul,” she said calmly. “I suggest we get into the jungle and take cover. We can use our guns to keep them at bay until the fighter arrives.” She was right of course. There was so many of them, and they were scuttling up the beach towards us at a fearsome speed. The soldier robot would no doubt make mincemeat, or lobster meat, out of most of them, but it only needed one to get past it for us to be in trouble. On the open beach we would be vulnerable.
We veered towards the jungle. The soldier robot, metal insect against nature’s fearsome equivalent, covered our retreat, and as the giant creatures came closer its machine gun burst into life. I looked quickly behind me as I got to the edge of the jungle to see lobsters exploding all over the beach. Manera was just ahead of me with Taros panting next to her and Cora bringing up in the rear. We entered the seclusion of the jungle, but the trees at this point were widely spaced. We needed to get deeper into the jungle, and I could not help wondering if we were jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. But we had no choice. Our lone soldier robot was being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. It was surrounded by a pile of dead monsters, and being bypassed by others as it backed down the beach. And those who had escaped around it were heading for us.
Frustratingly, that part of the forest we had entered was thinly populated by trees and would provide no obstruction to the giant crustaceans. But they did slow them down and provide some cover for us. Cora picked them off as we scuttled deeper into the forest. But our luck got worse. Instead of getting thicker, the trees thinned out altogether and we arrived at a huge rocky outcrop, a cliff of crumbling rock, stepping up into the sky.
We had no choice but to head into the boulders and attempt to climb up into the cliff. If we could get high enough, they would not be able to get at us. Our climbing ability should be a lot better than theirs we reasoned. We s
potted a path leading up between two huge boulders and scrambled up it, slipping and sliding. Behind us, Cora shot another huge monster almost at point blank range. I pushed Manera in front of me.
“Get up high and cover us,” I shouted giving her my gun. She nodded and scrambled up ahead of me. Taros came panting behind me. He was a chubby fellow, clearly unfit and he was making heavy going of it.
“More time… in the gym.. And less .. In the lab!” he gasped as he struggled up the incline. I followed him and Cora came behind us. I could see a number of the giant lobsters scuttling through the trees. The path narrowed to the point where we could just squeeze through.
“Thank you God!” I gasped. But my relief was short lived. Ahead of me I heard a scream and I turned the corner and nearly bowled over Manera and Taros who were both stopped in the narrow path.
“What..!” I began, before I also saw them. A group of the hairy little natives that had attacked Team 3 stood frozen in surprise at the entrance to a small cave set in the rock face. A small fire guarded the entrance to the cave and there was a big pile of sticks and branches against the wall.
So they have fire, and they have weapons. Perhaps they are not as backward as we thought.
The thought passed across my brain as we stared at each other. I noted that they appeared to be a family group, half a dozen adults and three little hairy cubs playing on a large boulder. The cubs squealed and running on all fours they scuttled into the cave, followed quickly by the three females. There was one mature male and two younger ones and they bared their fangs at us, growled and backed up slowly towards the cave entrance.
“Back up slowly,” said Manera. “Try not to look threatening. Don’t smile.”
I remembered that for apes and monkeys, baring teeth was threatening. Probably an unnecessary warning We are not much in the mood for smiling! I told myself, as we slowly backed around the corner. Cora came up behind us. She was backing up around the path, gun at the ready. One monster was trying to get at her but the path had narrowed. Its bony feet scrabbled on the rock as it tried to push itself between the boulders. It was terrifying close up. A huge mouth with serrated teeth snapped at us and massive pincers reached out to grab us. It made a hair raising screeching noise. Cora calmly backed up towards us, stopped and turned.
“Why have you stopped?” she asked.
“Ah, family of natives…” Manera pointed nervously up the path.
“We have discovered where they live,” I said. “Which is very interesting, scientifically, but under the circumstances… awkward.” A pained expression crossed Manera’s face briefly. I suspected she was wondering if there was any circumstance for which Constantine would not have a ready made wise ass comment!
“Um, do you think you should kill that thing,” said Taros, pointing at the giant lobster creature still screeching and trying to squeeze itself between the two boulders.
“If I kill it, another one will take its place,” said Cora.
I was going to say better the devil you know but decided that would be one inappropriate quip too far.
“For now we are safe. When our fighter arrives, we can clear out these vermin,” said Cora, matter of factly.
“Just one problem,” said Manera. “The natives have spears. They may decide to use them on us.”
Cora hefted her gun.
“I think we can prevent them.”
“I don’t want to kill them,” said Manera in a small voice.
“I seem to remember Paul telling me…” began Cora.
“Yes, yes, if it is a choice between them and us then we have to kill them,” said Manera. “It’s just, they are so cute and innocent. And the little babies…”
“I have an idea, let’s kill this bastard,” I said pointing at the giant lobster. “He is getting irritating. That may persuade the cute little natives…” I gave Manera an amused look, “… that we are either their friends, or Gods which should not be interfered with?” I looked around questioningly at the others.
“That almost makes sense,” said Manera.
“Good with me,” said Taros. “Anything to stop that thing screeching.”
“Paul, can you shoot it? I am running out of bullets,” said Cora.
“Pleasure.” I cocked my gun and raked the monster with a quick burst. It gave a final screech, like metal nails raking across a blackboard before collapsing. I walked over to the monster and kicked a large claw.
“That’s a lot of lobster meat,” I said. It twitched and Manera gave a little scream of fear as I jumped back hastily. “Bloody thing takes a lot of killing.”
“You have to get its brain,” said Cora. She gave a quick burst of her gun, exploding the creatures head.
“That should do it,” I agreed.
With the creature dead, and its infernal screeching silenced, we listened for any activity from the little apes, but it was quiet. In the distance we could not hear our soldier robots guns. Had it disposed of all the monsters or had they taken it out by sheer weight of numbers?
But, the indomitable Cora had the answer. She took out her tablet and pasted it to the boulder then brought up the pictures from the drones which were still hovering overhead. She steered the drone until it was hovering over the beach. It was strewn with the bodies of the giant lobsters. In the middle, under a pile of them was our soldier robot. Cora brought the drone lower and zoomed in to the robot. It was still alive, but one leg had been damaged and when it attempted to move it went around in a circle. But the lobsters were giving it a wide berth.
Their numbers had been decimated, and the few that were left had lost our scent and were wondering back to their original home.
“I think it may be safe to leave here now,” said Cora. “If we can move that creature out of the way.”
And in fact, it proved to be impossible even with Cora’s super strength. The creature had got itself well and truly lodged between the boulders in its furious efforts to get at us. After some minutes of intense grunting and cursing, getting our hands and clothing covered with the creature’s slimy blood, we gave up.
We’ll have to climb over the bastard,” I said. There was a gully which led up and over the boulder and down the other side. Cora boosted me up and I managed to scramble to the top. From there I undid my belt and, with Cora giving them a boost, used it to assist Manera and Taros to get up with me. I lowered my belt and Cora grabbed it and with Manera and Taros supporting me I pulled her up.
On top of the boulder we could again see the entrance to the cave that housed the little native family. They had exited the cave again and one of the males had quietly crept down the path and was peering around the corner. When they saw us on top of their boulder there was much squeaking and they all ran back inside again. Manera laughed at their alarm. I think she would have loved to stay and study the little family. We slid down the other side of the boulder and cautiously made our way back to the beach. Cora used her drones to keep an eye on the giant ‘lobsters’.
We were contacted by Hamolatonen in the Settang. He wanted to know why we had recalled the fighter.
“Just a small emergency down here,” said Manera. The sight of the giant lobsters caused a furore on the ships. Everyone wanted to view video of them.
“Just get us away from here please,” said Manera. “Just in case some of them decide to come back. Oh, and we need to retrieve the soldier robot. It’s still alive but its leg is damaged.”
Our ship arrived to pick us up and we were relieved to call it a day. Using another soldier robot we were able to retrieve the damaged robot and transport it back to the ship. We had taken DNA samples from all the dead creatures, including the giant lobsters and the dead ’hogigators’, to go with all the other samples of small wildlife and vegetation, and boarded the aircraft.
Back on board the Settang I left Manera and her team to sort out and store their biological samples and retired to our apartment for a much needed shower and change of clothes. I returned to the science area to f
ind Manera and a couple of her team hard at work, gazing at figures and abstract pictures on their screens.
“What have the high priests and priestesses of the mystical sciences discovered?” I asked casually, although at that point I was more interested in a long cold beer.
“You are not going to believe this,” said Manera, bright eyed with scientific excitement.
“Oh, there’s not much I won’t believe,” I muttered. “But try me.”
“These creatures, the natives that attacked team 3, have got the same growth genes as we have. And you of course.”
“Go on?” I looked at her questioningly. “So they have been modified by the Makers? But it must have been recent right?”
“You would think so,” she replied. “Since they don’t look much like us.” She looked at me speculatively. “Well, perhaps a little..”
“Hey, I’m nowhere near as hairy,” I protested to laughter.
“But, it does not appear recent,” continued Manera. “The genes are not part of the normal growth genes. Something has gone wrong. The new genes have been rejected by the host genes and isolated. As a result they have become inactive or recessive.”
“Mmm. Why would that happen?” I asked.
“We have no idea,” she replied.
“Well, in that case my lovely,” I pulled her into an embrace. “Why don’t you and your brilliant colleagues get yourselves freshened up and meet me in the bar for an ice cold beer. Or what passes for one on this crate.” My opinion of Hianja beer was well known.
“Give us a few more minutes to finish up here,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”
I nodded and left them at it, thinking about what we had learned. So, the Makers had been here, done their work and left. Unsuccessfully, it appeared. So they were not omniscient, but imperfect like the rest of us. That was somehow comforting to know.
Chapter 18
The search continued, The Settang and the three Earth ships continued to jump to likely Earth type planets. Most of them continued to be marginal, and we discovered a couple more with the remains of an advanced civilization. Normally, finding such a thing would be sensational, but after the fourth or fifth we became blasé.
