by J Battle
Andreas had no intention whatsoever of saying, 'Go on, my son.'
Somehow that was what Iron heard.
If he hadn't stumbled and banged his head against the bulkhead, he might have done serious harm to someone.
With his unconscious son at his feet, and the eager rat-a-tat-tat of the ship’s guns, Andreas could see that things were not really going to plan. Aware that his speech was compromised, he shuffled over to the nearest keyboard to tap in his instructions to the AI to stop killing things.
As he reached out to begin typing, it struck him that his arms were both the same length, as were his fingers and thumbs. How did that happen? They grew on different sides of his body, separated but still in synch. His thumbs were more than 1.5 meters apart, yet they were identical. Did that speak of some sort of divine intervention? Just to make sure his thumbs matched?
He could have been there for hours, lost in this internal loop, his hands hovering over the keyboard. Fortunately, Iron recovered from his fall and guided his father back to his seat.
When he was firmly fastened in, he inserted the little key he always carried into the side of his father's neck and rebooted his implants.
Chapter 22
Dan’s dream was filled with snakes. Glowing, writhing snakes; sliding up and down his body; wrapping themselves around his limbs; squeezing and crushing, hissing and squealing.
He knew that he was dreaming, because he was on Tau Ceti E and there were no snakes on this planet.
He awoke, flat on his back as if pinned to the ground by the invisible elephant sitting on his chest. He was sweating and his head ached, and he felt on the verge of puking. He’d finished the last of his oxygen the day before and he was not looking forward to the new day.
With a grunt he rolled over and pushed himself up to his hands and knees. Then he stopped for a short rest whilst he reconsidered the wisdom of getting up.
Helen was curled up in a ball between him and the sleighs, snoring lightly.
He was just about to ease himself back to the ground when he felt a touch on his arm. He jerked his head around and saw one of the aliens standing right beside him. One of its tentacles was wrapped around his upper arm. It waved the rest of its tentacles at him and squeaked. Then it tightened its grip and tugged him upwards.
‘OK, mate. I’m getting up,’ he grunted as he found himself standing upright. ‘Thanks for your help, but I can do it myself.’
He shook his arm, trying to dislodge the grasping tentacle, but the grip was too strong.
‘Yes, I can.’ He snapped. ‘You can’t really help me, can you? No, you can’t.’
He grabbed the slender tentacle in his free hand. ‘No, it won’t hurt.’
He began to pull at it, trying to free himself. Then his hand began to tingle. He ignored it and began to pull harder. The tentacle gave a little as it stretched, but that was as far as he got. With a yell he released the tentacle and stared at the palm of his hand; it was burning, but there was nothing to see. Within seconds the heat subsided and he was left with just a tingle.
‘So that’s a warning is it? You could do much worse, but you just want to help me?’
Dan shook his head and laughed. ‘I’m losing it, aren’t I? I’m having a conversation with an alien who doesn’t speak English, or any language.’
Then it struck him. He was having a conversation; that was the term he’d used. He hadn’t said I’m talking to myself. And conversations worked both ways. How had he known that pulling at the tentacle would hurt? What had he been responding to when he said ‘Yes I can.’?
He looked at the alien; it rippled its tentacles in encouragement. How did he know that? The alien stepped closer until he could feel her breath on his arm. Now she had a gender!
‘Ar..deen..all,’ he mouthed the word slowly, as if he didn’t have the faintest idea what he was saying. ‘Your name is Ardeenallwys ?’
Ardeenallwys flicked her third and fifth tentacles in an affirmative gesture.
Dan nodded in return. ‘You’re talking to me, aren’t you? You are putting…transmitting thoughts into my head; that’s it isn’t it? That’s how you communicate, by telepathy. Yes, but it’s not easy, because my brain is…strange? Deficient? Cheeky bugger; there’s nothing wrong with my brain.’
Ardeenallwys twisted two tentacles together to show her chagrin at inadvertently insulting him.
‘I’M SURE THAT YOUR BRAIN IS PERFECTLY ADEQUATE FOR YOUR PURPOSES.’
Dan whistled. ’That came through loud and clear.’
‘I HAVE LOCATED YOUR LANGUAGE CENTRE AND I AM ABLE TO STIMULATE THE AREA DIRECTLY.’
‘That’s great; it’s really weird finding your thoughts in my head. Can you understand my words clearly?’
‘YOUR WORDS THEMSELVES ARE NOT DIRECTLY MEANINGFUL TO ME BUT I HAVE A SENSE OF THE DATA THEY CARRY AS MY ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND THE THOUGHTS AND IMAGES BEHIND THEM DEVELOP. THE NET RESULT IS THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY.’
Dan instructed his implant to record the proceedings. It was, after all, an historic moment; the first meeting between humans and aliens. The first interaction between mankind and an alien race, if you didn’t count whoever had destroyed man’s orbital installations.
Dan fell silent. What should he say? What was the appropriate etiquette in this situation? He was representing the millions that were all that were now alive, and the billions who had once lived. He couldn’t let them down; not now.
‘My name is Dan Robinson, and I am Human. I seek to do you no harm, but I probably need your help.’
‘WELCOME DANROBINSON. MY NAME IS ARDEENALLYWYS (there was considerably more to the alien’s name, but it came across to Dan mostly as squeaks and squawks that meant nothing to him, ending strangely with DUM DUM DUM!) AND WE ARE EVINESSE. WE ALSO MEAN YOU NO HARM AND ANY HELP YOU NEED IS FREELY OFFERED WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF OUR CAPABILITY.’
‘Thank you, Ardeenallwys. Can you find a way to reach the northern settlements? I’m going to need oxygen very soon.’
‘NORTHERN SETTLEMENTS? ARE YOU THE SAME SPECIES THAT HAS INVADED OUR SPACE AND THREATENS TO DESTROY OUR ECOSYSTEM?’
Dan thought about lying; denying his connection to the human settlers, but how do you lie to someone who is reading your thoughts? It didn’t seem like a good idea to start off their relationship that way.
‘Yes, I am, but I’m sure no harm was intended.’
‘IN VERY MUCH THE SAME WAY AS YOU YOURSELF MEAN NO HARM DANROBINSON?’
‘No, I’m not really in a position to cause you any harm, am I?’
‘CAREFUL CONSIDERATION MUST BE GIVEN AND COUNCIL TAKEN BEFORE FURTHER DECISIONS CAN BE MADE AND ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY EVINESSE TO HUMANS.’
‘If they knew that you were here, they would have come and made friends, just like me.’
‘YOUR SUGGESTION OF FRIENDSHIP AS A FACT IS STRANGE AND NOT SUPPORTED. WE HAVE NO MUTUALLY SUPPORTIVE ASSOCIATIVE RELATIONSHIP AND A MORE APPROPRIATE TERM WOULD BE STRANGERS. DO YOU NOT AGREE DANROBINSON?’
Dan sighed and looked along the watercourse to the north. This interspecies diplomacy was not as easy as you’d think, not when you have to take in to account what someone else had done to balls it up before he’d even got here.
He was hardly surprised when he turned back to find that he was alone again.
*********
‘Greetings, dear, dear Jashna del. Pleasure courses through every part of my body to find myself once again in your august and treasured company.’
Jashna resisted the urge to wrap his shudder wings about him and phase into invisibility.
‘Greetings also, to you Xlytes, most exalted of the Re-Dudds.’
‘I am informed that you were forced to spend time on a Hru-argh ship. Was the stink really terrible? Or did it just remind you of home?’
Jashna felt a little surge of his simmerglow, but he’d doubled up on the suppressants, so he hoped that he’d be able to maintain some measure of control despite the inevitabl
e provocation.
‘Home; how callous of me to mention your home, when we are both fully aware that you can never return there. Such a sad story; mortification fills me.’ Xlytes wheezed.
He moved his small round body close to Jashna and began to sniff at him.
‘You must not allow me to be so insensitive, Jashna-del. I speak what comes to mind; malice is always absent, but perhaps, sometimes, consideration is also not at the forefront of my mind. It is a failing, I accept, but necessary, as otherwise, well, perfection should be sought but not achieved this side of sublimation.’
‘As ever, Xlytes, you leave so few words for the rest of us.’
‘Your wit is greatly valued by those few who can appreciate your parochial obtuseness. I believe that, in discussion with a small group of dear friends…’
‘It would have to be a small group.’
‘Good effort, Jashna del. Well done. You should keep trying; you never know, one day. As I was saying, I said that Jashna del is to witty repartee what a Hru-argh is to a shovel. I was speaking in old Re-Duddish and I fear that the elegance and irony are somewhat lost in translation.’
‘Shall we get on?’
‘Eagerness; eagerness. I recall that you were never one for patient planning and preparation.’ He deepened his voice and in what Jashna had to accept was a fair imitation of his voice, said, ’Come on, come on, let’s move it, time leaks away.’
‘Yet?’
‘If your word count continues to diminish, your next response will be no more than a grunt.’
Jashna grunted; he couldn’t help himself.
Xlytes moved even closer. Jashna fought hard to resist the urge to either step back or tear the heart from the Re-Dudd.
‘Touch me, Jashna-del. Feel my soft, silky fur. Smell its delightful heady scent. Touch me, Jashna-del. Touch me.’
Jashna didn’t feel the slightest inclination to follow these instructions, but he’d known that the creature would make this approach.
From his belt, he withdrew a small, thick baton. He placed one end in the center of Xlytes’ chest and pushed, with a little more force than was entirely necessary. The Re-Dudd was sent staggering across the small room.
With their low center of gravity, it is very hard to push over a Re-Dudd, but Jashna came very close.
‘Jashna del, Jashna del. There is no need for violence. I was merely seeking to consolidate our friendship, and you must see that our co-operation would be more effective and complete if you were under my sway.’
‘Any further attempts will be met with an escalation in the force of my response. Does understanding shade your thoughts?’
‘Can we not still be friends, dear, dear Jashna del? As we were in the old days?’
'We were never friends; not in my eyes and not in yours. Focus on our situation, and forget your malicious games.’
‘If that is the attitude you care to adopt, for now, so be it.’
‘We are to be joined by another, I am informed.’
‘Yes, your information is adequate. A female Archtron who bears the name of Clessy something or other.’
‘An Archtron? I am not familiar with this race.’
‘A hominid creature, with just the two legs and arms; somewhat like yourself in that respect, though I believe the knees work the other way, and she will probably be much smaller, I hope. You take up far too much room in the confines of a space ship with your height and your ridiculous wings, and those big ugly feet, and the permanent danger that something insignificant will annoy you and cause you to lose control.’
‘You are many things, Xlytes, but I would never call you insignificant.’
‘I believe I set you up with that one, Jashna-del. See, we are already working as a team.’
Jashna turned away and surreptitiously slipped another suppressant between his lips. This very, very long voyage was going to feel as though it had an extra very tagged on to its end.
Chapter 23
‘What the …?’
‘Moira, calm down. There’s no point in getting agitated.’
‘Don’t tell me to calm down, Jimmy! I’ll rant and rave if I want to.’
Jimmy just nodded; he remembered.
‘How could this have happened? They can’t really have been destroyed by bloody aliens. There must be some other explanation; we don’t live in a 20th century Hollywood Sci-Fi blockbuster.’
‘We can only go off what the message says.’
‘Don’t try being reasonable with me, Jimmy. You know it never works.’
‘Have there been any other broadcasts from TCE?’ Nigel asked calmly, trying to ignore his sister’s scowl.
‘No other messages.’
‘What about general day to day broadcasts? They’ll have some sort of local radio station going, surely.’
‘Nothing at all; at any level; from any source.’ Jimmy sighed.
‘So we believe this? It’s not a hoax, or some sort of publicity stunt?’
‘We have to work on the assumption that it is genuine.’
‘And what does that give us, hey boys. Exactly what are we going to do with that?’ Moira’s staring eyes were making Jimmy uncomfortable.
‘What options do we have? Do we have enough fuel to divert elsewhere?’ The more she raised the heat, the calmer Nigel sounded.
‘We’re heading away from the bulk of the settled stars. We have enough attitude adjustment power to change our course and, if we use the remaining anti-matter fuel, we could change our course enough for us to get back to, say, Sirius, but without any fuel to slow us down. We’d have to rely on someone being able to catch us before we shoot back out of the settled region.’
‘How long would it take us to get to Sirius?’
‘Something like 750 years, at our current speed.’
‘750 years! That’s bloody ridiculous! I’m not hanging around on this ship for that long; I’ve got a life to live.’
‘It’s a moot point, anyway Moira. We could perhaps survive in the ZTC’s for that long, but the ship won’t. Not travelling at this speed for such a long period. The Superskin protective layer will have been stripped away long before we reach Sirius, by the microscopic debris that continuously strike us, and I doubt if many of the ship’s internal systems could keep running for that long.’
‘So we continue on to Tau Ceti E?’ said Nigel.
‘And hope that something, someone, has survived,’ continued Jimmy.
Moira hissed and floated towards the bar. ‘You two could be twins! I’m having a drink. I’ll need it to put up with you two; Jimmy 1 and Jimmy 2.’
**********
Jullie surveyed his squad. They were all lean and eager, and smaller than your average Sherdling, and they were absolutely loyal to him.
‘When you get down there, kill everything you find. This is a barren world, with few resources. We cannot allow ourselves to be forced to share with lesser creatures. No matter what you find, you must destroy it; is that understood?’
‘Your instructions bind us, Great Leader of ours. Compliance is absolute and factual.’ The leader of the squad held himself upright, his snout barely reaching as high as the middle of Jullie’s chest.
‘And if you should come upon someone who is familiar to you?’
‘He too will be exterminated.’
‘Good, Dellinay, very good.’
Dellinay adjusted his weapon across his sloping shoulders and began his descent. He was followed by the five members of his team; each one armed and ready to follow Jullie’s orders.
Jullie watched them go. Then he called over another team to make the entrance to the underground area bigger. He wanted to be safely settled down there before the Hru-argh returned. It might take some time, but he was absolutely certain that they would be back; and this time they would bring a full size invasion scale fleet. They would tear this planet apart as they sought an answer to the inexplicable destruction of their ships. And, if they couldn’t find the answers they were look
ing for, then vengeance would do very nicely.
*********
She hesitated before the tall wide door, with one hand half raised in a gesture that would cause the door to slide open and expose her to consideration and possible dismissal.
Behind the door was the famous, no, notorious creature, perhaps the only one of his race to leave his distant world and travel the Galaxy, who would have such an important impact on her future.
She’d already met Xlytes, and what a doll he was, with his little round furry body, big brown eyes and funny little voice. She knew he was very important, but she couldn’t help herself from giving him the biggest hug ever when he’d invited her to touch him. The feel of his soft silky fur and its lovely clean fruity scent; she could even smell it now, and her fingers tinkled as if they could remember his touch.
At least she would have one ally on this daunting trip.
The door opened and her throat tightened.
‘Enter.’ There was a coldness to the voice; she fought the urge to flee and stepped forward.
‘Greetings; your presence carries the hope for future benefits.’
‘Greeting to you, Sir.’ She couldn’t think of anything more elaborate to say, and she still wanted to run.
He was enormous; nearly twice her size, covered in thick coarse fur, with tiny beady eyes either side of a great hook of a nose. She tried to keep her eyes away from his crazy back to front knees and ugly, talon-like feet.
She recalled the words Xlytes had used to warn her. ‘Beware of his elegantly smooth and sweet words. He’ll tangle you up with them if you allow him. He’ll seek to influence you to his cause.’
‘Are we not all on the same side?’ she’d asked.
Xlytes had grunted in a manner she took to be a laugh. ‘Child, there are always flavors and degrees; always as many designs as players in the game.’
‘And your designs?’
He’d lifted his little body and pronounced, ‘The future of our Confederation, of our Galaxy, of life itself. These are sufficient to one such as I.’
