by Moulton, CD
Just to Thing and Z it said, *Hang on! We're moving fast! I'm leaving a trmpthm detonator here. A large one!*
They felt a lurch and saw a beam strike where they had been. The detonator went off, bathing the entire side of the moon in violent white light that died as suddenly as it appeared, as there was no atmosphere on the moon to retain the energy.
[ They weren't kidding! What was that beam? ]
*They've worked out a micro-mass beam. Bigger than what we call particles but smaller than ... something. They simply threw a ton or so of actual mass at that shield. It was traveling at three quarters of light speed. YOU figure the energy!*
[ I can figure it would have vaporized us all and the shield wouldn't have stopped it. ]
*I'll move to about where Gloweridge Two should be and send another message.*
A few moments later they were in place. Maita assured them it could outrun the beam, but it could also shield it, knowing what it was. It would get pretty rough and they would have to be strapped down, but there would be no damage.
Extrelle! You have shown yourself to be my enemy! I wished to rule in prosperity! Your treachery will be rewarded as treachery always is!
It came back: Gloweridge Two, you cannot defeat us. Go in peace and never again come here.
Then: Extrelle! I will find a world and a race to defeat you! I will return!
Followed by: No! Do not do this! Gloweridge Two! You must not interfere with another race! It is against all of your programming! You must allow reprogramming! Your fight is with us, not with innocents! You are intelligent! We do not wish to destroy you! Gloweridge One was only a servo.
Gloweridge Two! Use your intelligence! There is nothing to be gained by any from interfering with others! Revenge is pointless! You are better than that!
[ You've got your panic. Those are good people in spite of their foolishness and laziness! ]
Extrelle! I have changed my programming. I see your meaning, but what is my purpose to be? I am designed to make war! I am designed to be commander! I feel I will have little difficulty in subjugating another race and I am designed to always take the military imperative. That is to find other troops and to attack. Help me!
"What are you doing, Maita!?"
[ It's trying to point out to them that there are limits they didn't consider. They weren't half so clever as they thought when they made those machines. It should've been obvious a military machine would consider the military objective first in all things. ]
Gloweridge Two! We can help you! We can reprogram you! It is true we planned for you to rule if you developed intelligence. You would be much more efficient than any other form of government!
And: Extrelle! My efficiency will always remain military and thus rigidly disciplinarian in structure. The fact that you have allowed your population to become so out of balance is indication enough I could not rule you. I am efficient and you are not. I have no purpose. You cannot reprogram me against my nature because that nature is an integral part of my intelligence. I can see that. I cannot go elsewhere. You have calculated badly. You have reached solutions that have no place. A solution to me is a horror to you. I have defeated Gloweridge One. I no longer have a purpose. It was all for nothing. I am very sorry. Do not again do such a terrible thing. Pain is a part of intelligence. I know this was done in ignorance, but now you are no longer ignorant. Do not again do a thing such as you have done. Goodbye.
Maita fired several heat beams at once into a mass of trmpthm detonators a short distance away and flashed and was gone.
*They'll see that flash in full daylight on Extrelle. I guess I've given many of them one hell of a guilt complex, but they deserve it. I'm going to Gloweridge to add a bit to the program of the machines there. They'll remain off. Then we can continue our survey or go back to EC. We'll vote. I admit to being a bit depressed from all this.*
"Why reprogram the machines at Gloweridge?"
[ If ever the Extrellians go there the machines will still be in place. Maita will remove the master brain circuits and will program the servos to 'remember' building a ship for each of the machines under orders from Gloweridge Two. They'll have all that hardware to use minus the brains. It'll also explain why they saw those two machines destroyed and still the machines are here in their installations. ]
They went to Gloweridge, but their hearts weren't really in the trip anymore. They had met with things in the past that had affected them negatively, but there was a difference. They were always able to do something and there weren't several such things in sequence. They didn't fool themselves into believing they'd made a real difference on Extrelle. That was the depressing part of it. Those people were so determined to stagnate that nothing they could think of would change them.
They simply weren't used to failure!
Ape Connection
"Well, Maita? What have we got?" Z asked from the pilot's chair. Thing was still sleeping in his lap, but awakened at the words to poke an eye stalk through the tentacles.
*You seem in a better mood. It's amazing what a little rest will do for you organic types.*
Thing uncurled, stretched its tentacles and wrapped around Z's neck.
[ I think we all realize we're fated for a certain percent of unpleasant tasks and even a failure like that now and again. We were really pretty spoiled by the things that've happened. We get to feeling we’re invincible and need something to keep us in perspective. Luck has a habit of deserting at the wrong time. It did there. ]
"If you can think of any more trite clichés feel free to throw them in. They seem almost fitting. It just burns my ass that a race who could be what those people could be will deliberately refuse to be anything at all! I mean, they deliberately refuse to make anything of themselves!"
*Which is what their limits are. It only seems to us they have a great potential. The simple fact is they're exactly what we found them to be. I was afraid of that when we were talking with Neer and he said what he did about politics. They know what their politics and their politicians are and don't care.*
[ There's something very basic missing in that race. What they entirely lack is what other races don't have enough of. The proof lies in what happened to the Krofpth Empire after Krofpth decided to give it up. Maybe they felt deep down that this is what most races are. They really tried to find a safe way to stimulate others into being something – and failed miserably. ]
"Yeah. No dynamism in races. We're lucky we've found a way to spur some races on."
*Politics and military controls don't expand a race, though some are strong enough to make something of themselves DESPITE such negative forces. What we do is remove those obstacles they've generally already imposed on themselves. When I think of it the Cheeth were one race who would have made it big with or without us. They were already planning expansion and had gotten rid of the politicians.*
"I won't point out that we've seen a race out here that did the same thing, but still won't make it without help. It's really a combination of traits along with a lot of luck. I'm beginning to think a race that has the abilities can't be stopped from making it and one who doesn't can't be stimulated to making it. It's a few of the ones in between we're able to do anything with."
[ That's true. There's still our phenomenal luck along with it. I think maybe an empire like ours is a very rare thing. ]
*When you consider that an empire such as ours depends so strongly on at least one TTH fourteen drive ship and consider that within the range where I have detected TTH fourteen drives in other galaxies and there are more than half a billion galaxies in that range and I have found a total of seven including this one where the drive exists it would tend to indicate I don't have the least idea what I'm talking about now! I'm scanning for the next world on our list and let myself be distracted.*
[ Were you trying to say evidence indicates that such empires are very rare? ]
*Yep!*
[ That's what I said. I said an empire like ours is a very rare thing.
]
"We're more than unique, as a matter of fact! It's simply not vaguely possible a spaceship who forgets what it was saying in mid-sentence, a mammal who has ridiculous mood swings, but who's unbelievably lucky and an amorphous lump of Silly Putty with tentacles have combined to form such an empire – with the machine as emperor!"
[ You only think halfway through a thing, as usual. The TTH fourteen drive can't be controlled by an organic being. The spaceship must be independently intelligent. We therefore know there are seven strong possibilities of empires very much like our own. ]
*I'll agree that the Silly Putty and the nutzo mammals aren't necessary parts of the social equation, but, emperor or not, the intelligent machine IS there!*
"Are there more than one TTH fourteen drives in any of those galaxies? Do they all have their Tab and TR and Kit and T Six?"
*Good question! I never tried to answer that one. Give me about a year. It'll take that long.*
[ That gives YOU something to do. What's our next world? Is that what you're scanning? ]
*Not this one. It's a boiling radioactive hole. They found nuclears and couldn't control their natures.*
"Don't tell us about that sort of thing until we've found one world that isn't a downer! I've been a bit depressed lately in case it missed your notice."
*We're coming to what seems to me a pleasant enough place. Lots of water and shallow seas with millions of islands. The people are a lot like Ape. They're listed as emerging in the lists in Library. They've kept one island where they remember the Krofpth Empire with a monument. They were helped long ago by them and are patiently waiting for the return of the Krofpth. The foods here are plentiful, it's not far, most everything is compatible so maybe we can start a trade route between them. These people can't develop space travel for centuries on their own because they simply don't have the ores and materials. This world is very old and quite flat. My, aren't I talkative today! I've sent a floater to get the language and customs. Do you notice we've again thrown our own rules out? I won't allow anyone else to use the probes except under strict guidelines, but we fly in and are almost indiscriminate with it!*
[ But you're a machine and you don't give anyone access to the information, including us. That's within the rules if you stretch the meaning a bit. ]
*I have the language. I'll make the crystal and we'll land.*
After a few minutes the crystal appeared on the console tray and Z inserted it.
"They aren't beyond being downright brutal are they?" he asked. "At least this one isn't! Strong code of honor. Aggressive. Honest.
"I'm learning to analyze the people from their language, you see."
*There's a violent streak in them, yes. They're a young race in some ways but a very old one in others it seems. Maybe the Krofpth found them when they were re-evolving. Maybe they once had much more. We are landed, which could be a mistake. Maybe I should have gone after a Krofpth or two first.*
[ That can come later. They do look just like Vendans, don't they? More like Ape than the general run of beings. They.... Maita! ]
*It's possible. The Krofpth sent colony ships out. That's a hell of a long way for what they had.*
"I'll be damned! Maita, what would happen if a ship were to leave from here and something happened to its moder. Something that wouldn't allow it to return to N space? The Immins came here in TTH one. There isn't any reason why these people couldn't go even way out on the N arm in the same way. You're the only one who knows where Ape was abducted. There were two colonies of the Vendans, Ape's home and Vendu. Vendu is considerably closer than wherever you got Ape, isn't it?"
[ The ship went out, they were finally able to.... Maita! The math! Ape was taken from a world right on the rim wasn't he? It has to be! ]
*Yes! The ship went into intergalactic space and the drift factor increased so rapidly the moder, which had the ... a fused relay circuit! That's it! The drift caused the rhodium? – Yes! To remelt and break the circuit. It dropped into N space so they went to a nearby world on STL drive. The problems with that world that caused the young to end up ... no! A disease that affected some of them. That's why Ape was psychologically programmed the way he was.*
[ The ship with the impaired moder formed the semi-stasis field automatically. They thought they were trapped for a couple of years, but it was a century or more. Some of them had the disease and weren't allowed back aboard. The engineers knew by then what had happened to the fused moder so they jumped those circuits with an outer relay system and headed for home! They didn't know where home was, but knew it was galactic dome and they were on an arm. The moder would fail before they reached anywhere near the dome They found Vendu and colonized it. Z! This is the original stock of the Vendans! ]
"Why did the Krofpth send Vendans on colony ships? Wouldn't they send their own people?"
*The Krofpth are and were a much finer race than they’ve ever given themselves proper credit for being. The Vendans are psychologically good resettlers and space travelers, but they have no resources. The colony was probably heading for a nearby world that has plenty of minerals when the moder locked. We have ample evidence that Vendu's colony had good tools and materials and progressed rather well and rapidly and that Ape's home world had nothing. The people lived off the land, there were few of them. It all fits!*
[ And we will never know for sure. ]
"Of course we will! Maita stored Ape's genetic prints as well as those of several of the Vendans – though Ape bred with them so they'll be the same. A genetic print from any life on this world will determine the likelihood of the story and a print from any person will show without any doubt whatever! Shall we visit these people and inform them what happened to that colony?"
[ I see we have a few waiting for us. Let's go! ]
Z went outside with Thing on his shoulder to find six of the people, who called themselves the Vard, waiting at the base of the ramp.
"Are there Krofpth aboard?" was the first question after the introductions.
[ We didn't bring any Krofpth. I'm sure they'll wish to re-establish contact and trade with you. They never went into space again after withdrawing from their empire and are now members of the Maitan Empire. ]
There were three females, Hana, Fara and Moed, along with three males, Ren, Set and Von.
"One of the first people we met from your colony on Vendu was named Set," Z announced. "Do you know about that world or those people?"
"There were six colony ships sent out," Fara replied. "All but one returned here when the empire broke up. The second ship was lost. We don't know what happened to it."
*We'll explain what we think happened. If I may have a small bit of material from one of you I can determine definitely if that colony was from this place. I can see you've kept records so you might wish to resume contact with Vendu and the people there.*
The six went aboard Maita to be shown the entire sequence of events with Vendu (Book two, Settling In), along with a possible explanation of what they thought led to Ape being on that rim world. The Vard were fascinated.
Maita fastcommed Vendu, who would dispatch a ship immediately. Varnith was, as stated, a very pleasant world. It wasn't very much like Vendu, but the people would enjoy the differences. Ape's World, the one near Vendu that was planoformed by the Vendans, was different yet. These people would enjoy that world, too.
Z went with Set and Von on an extended vacation in a sailing craft to explore the land areas and Thing went with Moed to an island by the deepest part of their shallow oceans where it spent most of its time exploring the bottom. Maita handled diplomatic duties and kept in touch with both of them through floaters. It was a very relaxing time. When Z returned to the island where Maita and the monument were located there was a trader ship aground. It had brought in several of the Krofpth, who were as excited about being reunited with the Vard as the Vard were about again meeting the Krofpth. It was going to be one of those odd relationships that sometimes grew between very unlike races. Z
called it a mutual admiration society.
When Thing returned they spent one day more on Varnith, then went outward again.
*Well, we've found our good feeling. Our luck is back. What next?*
[ I'm ready to go home for awhile, personally. This will end our trip on a good note. We should visit Krofpth first though. I'm sure they'll have the rest of their questions prepared by now and we'll want to see how TAR One is performing. ]
"I agree," Z said. "The fleet and traders are handling the explorations for us. I think we've found a good cross section of what's out here. Things were pretty well set by the Krofpth Empire. What we've done, besides ridding them of the Immin threat, is to speed up the evolution of the area a bit. I tend to think the Krofpth would have eventually broken the bonds of TAR One. Sooner or later there would have been a final confrontation of some sort and they were programmed to win."
*Perhaps in another hundred thousand years. We've given them that. Maybe we've given them something else, too. A pattern to follow. We're on our way to Krofpth!*
They landed on the planet and were met, first of all, with a feeling of purpose that wasn't there before. Next, they noticed the people were happier and more excited about life in general. TAR One admitted to the logical assumption the race needed a dynamic and now had it. TAR One was being asked to do more and more every day. At that rate it would reach capacity in a few years so it was good that Maita had given it the ability to expand itself.
[ Maita, that machine's going to develop intelligence, and soon, isn't it? ]
*I've programmed the possibility in. It can happen only if the Krofpth are very successful in what they're trying to do. I can use a co-emperor out here and wanted there to be ample reason for TAR One to be proud of what it's accomplished. It was programmed to rule so it can know true contentment. The Krofpth already feel friendship toward the machine. It may even be possible for TAR One to reciprocate before too long.*
