by PJ McDermott
Then he would sail to the island, pirate the shuttle and fly to the orbital space station. He’d take his chances on finding transport to a friendly world from there.
He shouted for Thurle and issued directions for a change of course.
Looking for Answers
Hickory and Jess sat at one side of the rectangular table. Opposite them, the admiral, Professor Markhov, Gareth and Kar-sѐr-Sephiryth listened as the two adventurers concluded their report.
“Tirpogh set us free. The elders were busy officiating at a ceremony before the tribe ate. All the adults were involved so the timing couldn’t have been better,” said Jess. “We managed to copy down the drawings, then Tirpogh led us out of the cavern.”
“How is the boy?” asked the Teacher.
“He’s okay. A bit upset at having to leave his tribe, of course. But he realizes there was no choice. He would have ended up on the barbecue if he’d stayed.”
“Jess!” Gareth spluttered.
“What? It’s the truth.”
Hickory continued. “It’s an Ark, just as we figured. There are even instructions for getting inside without blowing a hole in it.” She unraveled the transcriptions they’d copied from the cave. She pointed out the images of the Ark and the lettering.
Markhov swept the symbols with a mobile scanner. “Let me get these off to the lab. They could give us a breakthrough.”
The admiral studied the map and tapped on the figures next to the Ark. “What do you think these represent?”
Jess glanced at Hickory who nodded for her to continue. “It’s only guesswork, but we believe the Ark builders left this record behind when their future came under threat. We know from our records that Prosperine’s sun entered a period of increased activity several thousand years ago. They would have seen a transformation in everything around them, and I suspect they themselves were being affected. They left this on the rock face for a future generation—our guess is they knew those left behind would devolve to a simpler state of being. It had to be easy to understand because it was a warning. A warning to avoid the Ark.”
Hickory traced her finger along the drawings. “There’s something here that has the appearance of a massive explosion.” She hesitated. “I have no proof of what I’m about to tell you, but I think we need to consider getting out of here as soon as possible.”
“What? And leave possibly the most significant scientific find in a decade lying here for someone else to claim?” An angry red flush crept up the admiral’s neck.
“If I’m right, there won’t be anything left for anyone to ‘claim.’ I believe we’ve already set the clock running for an explosion that will destroy the Ark, this island and possibly the planet.” Hickory’s breath came unevenly. She felt sure she was right, but would anyone believe her?
She outlined her four alternatives. “It seems to me the most logical conclusion is a time delay, but if anyone has any other insights, now would be a good moment to share them.” She looked at each of the people around the table.
Gareth coughed. “They’d need to be mad to do it. I think your third option is the most likely—it’s a bluff.”
“Not one I’d like to call,” said Jess.
Gareth nodded his agreement. “It’s a risk, and the consequence of guessing wrong is catastrophic, but I still think it’s the more likely option.”
The admiral put his fists on the table and rose from his seat. “I agree there’s a risk, but there’s danger in everything we do at the Agency. Before I can pull us out of here, I need to be convinced there is a bomb, and if it’s on time delay, how long do we have?”
Markhov gathered his notes and said, “I’d best be going then. The answer has to lie in the script. I’ll get PORO onto it as quickly as possible.” He half rose.
The admiral held up a hand. “We all need to get moving on this. Does anyone have anything to add before we break up the meeting?”
Jess said, “One of the drawings we copied, we can’t make sense of.” She tapped at the map. A picture of a cross sat on top of a hill, encircled by a ring of symbols.
Hickory caught the Teacher’s eye. “Kar, you have some thoughts on this?”
The Teacher looked around the table. “I haven’t worked out what it all means, but I believe the cross figure is both rational and symbolic. I have always thought the Sword of Connat-sera-Haagar has a role in the destiny of Prosperine.”
The admiral stood up, calling an end to the meeting. “If this is the sword, perhaps the professor will be able to shed some light on that mystery too. We’ll reconvene when he gets the results from PORO.”
*
“We’ve finished analyzing the symbols from the cave.” Markhov slouched in a chair in front of the admiral’s desk. His eyes were red-rimmed and his eyebrows drawn together. He pinched the top of his nose between thumb and forefinger and said, “I wanted to give you the highlights before we talk to the others. The crew worked on it all night, and with PORO’s help I think we’ve figured it out.”
The admiral rested his elbows on the desk and joined his hand, pressing his thumbs against his lips. “Go on,” he said.
“After we completed the preliminary analysis, Jimmy retested the entry panel and discovered an aperiodic electrical spike.”
“A what?”
“An aperiodic electrical spike. The computer systems in the Ark are a hybrid of chemical, digital and analog processes. The signals from a digital computer are represented by a sequence of two values—either on or off, or one-zero in binary code. Analog computers, when they were in vogue on Earth, had continuously varying voltages. In the Ark, the pulse streams have been unlocked, so they arrive at arbitrary times. That’s why we didn’t discover it before now.” He paused to allow the admiral to digest this.
“So it’s giving off some sort of sporadic signal—like it’s only working now and then?”
“The systems have been working continuously ever since they were programmed. No, I’m afraid the pulses only started once we broke through the lock. It took us till now to notice because the signal is transmitted irregularly. George, the point is we’ve been damned lucky to catch it.”
Markhov stared at the admiral’s fingers drumming on the table and narrowed his eyes. “We sent the signals to the lab along with the symbols from the cave.”
“For God’s sake, Jack, get to the point.”
The scientist pressed his lips together grimly. “Short answer, it’s a self-destruct sequence. This place is set to blow.”
The Segniori
Later, in the boardroom, Markhov shared his findings with the others.
Gareth shook his head. “What would make them want to destroy all that they’ve achieved here? It doesn’t make sense.”
The professor raised his eyebrows and smiled grimly. “I’m afraid it does. Once we deciphered the code and unlocked their systems, we found numerous records concerning the Segniori—that’s what they called themselves, by the way.
“Fifty millennia ago, Prosperine’s sun had begun the first stage of a cycle that will eventually lead to it becoming a dwarf star. Its outer envelope of gas began expanding rapidly. Scientists predicted that Prosperine would be engulfed within a hundred thousand years. Of course, the planet would become uninhabitable tens of thousands of years before that. They conceived a grand plan to save their species and their culture from extinction.”
The admiral noted the mixture of wonder and skepticism on the faces of those listening and interrupted. “Start from the beginning, Markhov. Tell us how you know this stuff.”
Markhov rubbed his hands together. “We constructed a test environment inside PORO to explore what we thought was a logical explanation for the storage compartments in the Ark. As you know, we’ve discovered bits and pieces of the puzzle, interesting in themselves but ultimately frustrating because each piece is a separate link in a chain, one small part of a vast three-dimensional jigsaw.
“We were looking for a primary piece of this puzzle,
something we could build the complete picture around. We didn’t get far until this morning. We input the symbols from the cave that Hickory and Jess discovered. It was like waving a magic wand. PORO immediately told us where to find the central puzzle piece.”
Gareth whistled. “The Segniori must have built in a dark sleuth, and when the symbols were placed in the right sequence, it unlocked the key to their database.”
Jess rolled her eyes. “A dark sleuth?”
“A background program that provides an overview of the system architecture to authorized operators—in this case, PORO.”
Markhov beamed at him. “Exactly. And the key puzzle piece turned out to be a visual record of their race, past and present, plus their intentions for the Ark—everything we’d like to know.”
“Press the button, Markhov. Don’t keep everybody waiting.”
Hickory thought the admiral a little terse. Markhov had been working forty-eight hours straight and deserved his moment in the sun.
Markhov flicked a switch to bring the holoscreen to life. “Remember: what we are seeing is a conversion of the original images adapted by our technology so that our senses can understand it, but I think it’s pretty close to the original.”
The playback began with a 360-degree panorama of an assemblage of Segniori under a massive domed roof covered with elaborate floral scroll designs. The images of the Segniori on the holoscreen were blurred. Hickory could see that they were a slender people, with hunched backs, and apparently bipedal. They gathered in groups filling arched alcoves that stretched from floor to ceiling around the circumference of the hall. Each alcove radiated soft light of a different shade of pastel color.
Markhov paused the hologram and said, “The story begins at a time Prosperine was inhabited by an already ancient and spiritually developed society called the Segniori. They were peaceful and prosperous. Artistic talent and prowess were identified early and encouraged. Individuals took delight in being taught skills that allowed them to contribute in a positive way to society. A flat political structure provided overall governance and growth. This is represented in the holovid by the different colors.”
Hickory interrupted, “Very idyllic, but that’s a lot of different voices. There would be at least fifty different shades of color in this hall. How did they manage it? Wouldn’t it have led to a lot of tension?”
“In our culture, perhaps, but the records mention no war and little crime. Every clan or caste had a voice, but major decisions and policies affecting society as a whole were made by three representative supergroups. The Braxit supergroup comprised mainly scientists, those who looked to the future, who watched the stars, who invented solutions and medicines, and the technology that supported society’s development and growth. They’re the ones in the reddish colors.
“The group wearing light blue are the Avrachi. They were builders, constructed cities, roads, communications infrastructure and the factories that turned out products for Segniori consumption. The third influential group were the Cruvet, in yellow. These were the artisans, the literary intelligentsia, the clergy, the historians. They’re the ones who left this record for posterity.”
The camera swung to a group of red-garbed Segniori sitting on a circular platform floating in the middle of the hall. The Braxit seemed to be directing the discussion.
The picture changed to a chart depicting the sun and the nine planets in the solar system, then to a series of complex symbols.
Gareth’s eyes flashed over the screen. “These could be mathematical equations. What does PORO say?”
“Right again,” said Markhov. “This tells us that the Hydrogen fuel in the sun’s core had started to burn out, and their sun had begun to expand, as I said before. The Braxit predicted that the sun’s expansion into the habitable zone of the solar system, including Prosperine, would continue over the following 200,000 years.
“Changes to their planet’s climate and physical geography were already happening, caused by the irradiation of atomic particles. Tectonic disturbances were forecast to increase over the next few centuries, changing the face of the planet. They projected that life as they knew it would cease to exist within 30,000 years.”
The admiral frowned. “So, 20,000 years ago. And the regression is still happening? The current day Avanauri and Erlachi peoples are actually going backward in evolutionary terms?”
Markhov glanced at the Teacher and nodded heavily. “It sucks, but yeah. You’re the obvious exception, Kar.”
The admiral’s eyes flicked around the room, then settled on the professor. They were like blazing fireballs, but his voice was measured. “Twelve months ago, our scientists advised us that the Avanauri species were close to a flashpoint. In a few hundred years’ time, these people are supposed to experience massive growth in their brain cells. Now you’re telling us the opposite. How do you account for the difference in views?”
The professor shifted in his chair. “They are close to a flashpoint, just not the one we would want to happen. I checked the earlier research notes. There was a notable increase in gamma wave activity in the study sample that led to their conclusion, but there was also a relatively high proportion of subjects with increased delta waves. I ran a comparison of these against the rate of expansion of the sun’s envelope, and the correlation is over ninety-five percent. I’m sorry to say, there is no impending increase in brain capacity amongst the Avanauri.”
Hickory felt her stomach sink. She’d grown to love the Avanauri and the Erlachi, to admire them for their struggles to survive in a hostile climate, and for their ingenuity and essential honesty. She had friends amongst them. And Kar…his belief in his destiny and in his God was absolute. She couldn’t imagine what he must be feeling now. She placed a hand on his arm and struggled to find the words that would make things better for him. “I’m sorry, Kar. I…I’m so sorry. I felt sure you were the first of a new society—a symbol of the positive future of the Avanauri people, something they could aspire to. There has to be a solution, a way to reverse the devolution of your people. How can this be possible?” Even as she said these things, Hickory wondered what kind of being Kar was, if not a forerunner of his race.
Kar-sèr-Sephiryth’s features were unreadable, his voice devoid of emotion. His eyes glittered as he addressed the room. “You need not be concerned for the people of today. The world is as we have always known it, and nothing has changed. But for the future, for our children and our children’s children, my heart is set to breaking. How can it be, that the Avanauri will be denied their place in eternity? It seems strange if this is the will of Balor.” He lowered his eyes and it seemed that he had finished speaking. Then he drew in a long breath and shook his head. His gaze held them all. “No, Balor is not a capricious God. His will is steadfast. For the sake of all on Prosperine, I pray that you, my friends, with your knowledge of the universe, will find an answer.”
Tears glistened in the corner of Hickory’s eyes. Her heart soared with pride. Even in the darkest times, this naur was a beacon for his people.
A sheen of sweat covered the admiral’s forehead. His fingers drummed on the table. “There’s no doubt there will be repercussions when the Agency hierarchy hears about this, and I feel for the Avanauri people. I hope there is something we can do, but we can’t do anything about it at this moment. Please let’s focus on what we can affect. And I’m confused. If the Segniori’s goal was to fly off to a new home elsewhere, why is the Ark still here?” He looked around, hoping for an answer.
Hickory’s gaze remained fixed on the Teacher. “Something stopped them from going,” she said.
Gareth inhaled deeply. “What if…what if there were two Arks? The first one sent ahead to survey and establish the new colony—”
Jess broke in. “It’s possible—given what we know of their culture, the builders would leave on the first flight. The settlers, the scientists, the artists would join them later.”
“A second Ark would carry most of the history, techno
logy, and culture. They might even have planned a third ship to carry the bulk of the citizens. It would be prudent to wait until they received a green light from the advance party before they committed,” said Markhov
“You could be right, although, we’ve only scratched the surface of level one, and that’s enormous. Perhaps levels two and three were meant to carry the people,” said Gareth.
“But the second Ark never took off?” The admiral broke into a smile and slapped the table.
Hickory felt her heart leap. “They never got the green light. The pioneers never returned, nor did they send word. Perhaps they met with an accident or encountered a hostile species.”
Markhov nodded his head slowly. “Yes, yes. That all makes sense. Ark II is fully functional. It could have taken off anytime in the last 50,000 years, but it didn’t. Why? Because it needed Ark I to tell them where to go. I’ll instruct my investigators to focus on getting access to the other two levels. That shouldn’t be too hard now we have the code. If we find that one of them is designed to carry people, I’d be confident that’s the answer. I can put this hypothesis to PORO.”
“So, how does the bomb fit into this story?” said the admiral.
Gareth’s face lost its excitement. “We have to believe all their hopes for the future were tied up in that second Ark. As generations passed and the pioneers didn’t return or send word, those left behind would become more and more worried about the future of the species.”
Jess agreed. “But they’d still hold out hope that the call would come. They’d anticipate such an undertaking would take a very long time.”
“Yes,” said Markhov, “but as time passed, perhaps centuries, they’d notice things beginning to change and they’d want to safeguard the Ark and its contents until the others returned. So, they created an explosive event that would destroy the Ark if it was opened without having the knowledge of the appropriate code. We triggered that with our ham-fisted attempts to blow in the doorways.”
