Vast Mantis

by Jim Henderson

  Raiza got them to agree to let the crew see part of the village in the morning and to allow Raiza to examine some of the dead and sick. Mantis also got them to agree to provide some written documents. In return, Ximon gave them a couple of small flashlights, turning them on and off as he handed them over. The Ruda were clearly torn between fear and interest, but interest won. Both Ruda gingerly turned them on, pointed the light around, and then blinded themselves momentarily by staring into the light. They then stared in amazement as they turned them repeatedly on and off. They exchanged some indistinct, excited words among themselves. The apparent leader said something to the others and they calmed down.

  Raiza, Peter, Mantis, and Ximon went to examine the dead. Silas stayed back providing cover. Mantis took extensive images, while Raiza and Peter collected samples and carefully examined the bodies. Most of the bodies were covered to some degree with hardened black blisters, many had blackened fingers and/or toes, some had large growths in their armpits or groins, and many had remnants of blood in the fur near their mouths. The expressions on their faces suggested that they had died a painful death.

  Back at the ship, they planned for the next morning. This time Silas would go along as a (heavily) armed escort, while Io and Euclidia observed from cover near the village and Mantis provided back-up.

  Raiza spent the entire night in their ever-maturing medical bay, testing samples and compiling data on the Ruda. Ximon didn’t sleep as well with her absent, but he still got plenty.

  In the morning, Raiza sent everyone a summary of her findings on the Ruda and the disease, so far. This was supplemented with the linguistic information from Mantis and Euclidia. All the robots had apparently been busy throughout the night.

  Ruda: Bipedal, mammalian humanoids descended from a shrew-like omnivore native to Truvoco-4. Adults range from 1.0-1.5 meters in height, and from 40-60 kilograms in weight. They are covered with thin fur and have unique hands with four fingers and two thumbs. The species has two genders and females give birth to litters of 3-10 pups after a standard gestation period of 150 days. Some Ruda live entirely above ground, some dwell in cave complexes and only rarely come up to the surface, and some split their time evenly.

  They again met the natives for breakfast and a tour of the city. The buildings were all relatively small. Some were trades of various sorts – including woodworking, cooking, primitive blacksmithing and pottery. Others were what might be called apartments – each family having two or three rooms out of a building of 20 to 30.

  They also saw below-ground dwellings; relatively snug burrows with multiple small rooms. In most cases, these were just for one family, but there were several that were huge complexes with hundreds of rooms going down nearly 100 meters. The rooms all had dirt floors, but some had rugs or reeds on the floor. Many had decorative wall-hangings. Some of the larger complexes had streams or large ponds on the lower levels.

  They met some of the families, including those of the main delegation. Kweeka had three wives and 15 children in a burrow with about ten rooms. Polygamy was clearly common among the Ruda and one reason soon became clear. As they saw more of the community, they noted that females outnumbered males by almost two to one. This was true in some of the litters of pups they saw. The young were quite cute and bore no small resemblance to some breeds of puppies.

  After a while, they broke into smaller groups. Raiza examined quite a few of the sick, did tests and administered some medicine. She felt their DNA was similar enough that antibiotics for humans might work on the Ruda. Ximon almost cautioned her not to use too much, but anything medical was her realm and he trusted her prudence. She was completely in her element.

  In addition to treating the sick and generally being a good-will ambassador, she gave several lectures on germs and sanitation. She, with the help of Euclidia, had worked out a way to explain the spread of germs to a primitive people with no knowledge of cellular biology.

  Ximon heard her say, “The Shadow One enters a body and attacks it. The body tries to fight it, but the Shadow One is strong. Some of the medicine I gave the sick helps their bodies fight the Shadow One. But all must be careful, if you touch the body or bile of a sick one unprotected, the Shadow One can enter you. That is how it spreads. So, you must protect yourselves.”

  She then issued the masks she had modified for their faces and showed them how to make crude gloves (since human gloves wouldn’t work on six-fingered creatures with claws). Again, she explained how to care for the sick while avoiding infection and talked about the importance of hydration and sanitation. The Ruda were very respectful and listened as if she was a very font of wisdom.

  As they continued touring, one of the leading Ruda pointed to a large, sealed-up chamber and pointed out, “We did not burn all the dead – many we buried there.” It was adjacent to a couple of other deep chambers.

  Raiza said, almost in a panic, “Is there a stream down there?”

  The Ruda replied, “Yes, a large stream connects all these deep chambers and forms pools for drinking and bathing.”

  She was clearly deeply upset. “Please, take me to the water in this neighboring chamber now!”

  The Ruda was a bit taken aback at her obvious concern but did as she asked.

  Once there, Raiza quickly took numerous water samples and sat on the floor to examine them. She turned to the Ruda in despair. “This is why your people continue to get sick. This water is filled with the hands of the Shadow One. It came from the bodies in that next chamber. No one must drink or use this water or the Shadow One may take them. You should seal up the water from the chamber of the dead.”

  The Ruda were confused but rushed to comply, seemingly understanding what she was saying. They clearly regretted losing the waterflow into a couple of chambers but seemed to grasp the importance. Raiza repeated herself several times to several different Ruda to ensure they understood. Ximon felt that the fact that they had lost a large percentage of their population meant they had enough spare room to deal with the loss of waterflow.

  Finally, they had to bid farewell to this group of Ruda for good. Raiza would clearly have stayed until every Ruda was healed, but they had to get going. She left them with some more food and gave a female who had cared for the sick some medicine and instructions.

  The Ruda gave the crew a few pieces of decorative pottery and a crude depiction of Mantis painted on flattened reeds. It was nicely done for a primitive people with primitive tools.

  When they gathered back on the ship, they compared notes. Silas mentioned he and Shao had found some caches of weapons – some primitive bows and spears. He felt there were too many and they weren’t ideally suited for hunting, so the Ruda did apparently war with one another. Peter had helped Mantis gather some crude documents with a written, pictographic language. Mantis had discussed these with the Ruda somewhat so she hoped they could translate them.

  They flashed their lights as they flew low and slow over the Ruda town and headed for other points on the planet.

  Ximon flew several thousand kilometers to a larger city they had observed from above. This city was completed walled with a mix of stone and wood and the gates were firmly shut. They saw no sign of Ruda moving in or around the city, but there was a sizable burn area in one open courtyard of the city and they noted several dozen dead bodies scattered around outside the walls. They made multiple passes looking for any movement but saw none.

  Finally, Ximon got tired of waiting and landed in a large courtyard, everyone watching carefully for any movement as they did so. When they shut off Mantis’ engines, the place seemed utterly dead. However, a few moments later what appeared to be an old Ruda using a cane emerged from one of the surrounding buildings and walked slowly toward them.

  This was unexpected, but they were ready, so Ximon lowered the ramp. The crew went down to meet this unflinching native. He stood just a few meters from the end of the ramp and only expressed mild surprised as the crew descended.

  He spoke before th
ey did. “Greetings, Sky Ones. I take it you have come to take me.”

  As had been the case, Raiza spoke for them. “Greetings, old one. Why would you think we have come to take you?”

  “The Shadow One did not take me, so certainly it is time for the Sky Ones to do so.”

  “But you are not dead, old one.”

  “I thought perhaps I was. If I am not, I will soon be. I am all that is left, and I am weak from hunger. Will you then wait while I die?”

  Riaza asked quizzically, “What do you mean you are all that is left?”

  “Certainly, you must know. They are all dead now, everyone.” He pointed around the city with his cane. “We shut up our city to keep the Shadow One out and let no others in, even when they pounded at our gates because He pursued them. But, somehow, He got in and took vengeance upon us. I only live, I assume, as a jest by the Shadow One.”

  “Tell us what you know of the coming of the Shadow One.”

  “As you wish Sky One.” He proceeded to tell them of the coming of the plague months back. He, too, was certain it had originated in To-Ruda and had followed To-Ruda refugees to every land and slain all it could.

  When he finished, he looked tired. “So, will you take me now?”

  Ximon signaled Raiza and had her interpret. “We will take you. We have a work for you.”

  “I will do as you say, but what work could you have for me?”

  “We will see, old one. Come aboard our ship and we will feed you as we set about this work.”

  He started walking slowly up the ramp without a look back and apparently no fear. “Very well. I am hungry.”

  On board the ship, he met the rest of the crew, including all the robots. He was curious, but not greatly frightened. He was, likewise, curious about the ship, but took it in his stride. He simply seemed to assume that he would see strange things in a ship of the Sky Ones.

  Euclidia brought him a large and diverse meal, which he ate with gusto. Raiza then took him to the medical bay. She gave him a mild sedative and then examined him thoroughly. He had clearly been infected by the plague, but his body had defeated it and it seemed he would now be immune. They learned his name was Karacka-Go and he was of the Go-Ruda.

  They flew to where they had determined To-Ruda likely to be and found a small village there with some observable activity. They landed about a kilometer away and waited. Then Raiza awakened the old Ruda and had him accompany her, Ximon, Silas, and Peter. They again brought food as they approached the village. Peter carried Karacka-Go part of the way because he tired easily. But once they neared the village, Raiza walked ahead of the others with Karacka-Go. They sat the food on the ground and stepped back several paces to wait.

  It didn’t bring the local natives out. Raiza instructed Karacka-Go to see them and ask them to come to a meal with the Sky Ones. They kept him in sight in case the natives were hostile.

  After a few minutes, Karacka-Go returned slowly, followed by three very black and nervous Ruda. The sat on the far side of the food with bowed heads. Karacka-Go sat on the other side of the food and said, “Come, eat. The Sky Ones will soon join us.”

  The To-Ruda were tempted enough by the food to come forward and eat. They were clearly quite hungry. After a few minutes, Raiza approached and sat next to Karacka-Go, followed by Ximon, Silas, and Peter. The To-Ruda were alarmed when they saw the crew, but Karacka-Go said, “Be not alarmed and offend not the Sky Ones. They wish to speak with you.”

  The To-Ruda appeared ready to bolt but were apparently cowed enough to stay. Their heads were kept down in reverence.

  Raiza then spoke. “Greetings, To-Ruda. We have questions for you.”

  In reply one of them mumbled, “Yes, Sky One.”

  “We have seen the evil work of the Shadow One across the land and are told that he first came here. Tell us of this.”

  One of the To-Ruda seemed terrified at this. He stood and spoke rapidly. His dialect was a bit strange so Karacka-Go filled in some things that Raiza couldn’t catch.

  “Sky One, we meant no evil. Some of the wise ones from To-Dan City determined to go to Mount Darakan to see what was there.” With this he pointed to a tall, dark mountain about 40 kilometers away. “We all begged them not to go for all knew of old that Darakan was a dark place, but we could not stop them. They returned several days later, claiming to have found marvelous things in a great cave, but they soon fell before the Shadow One. He started slaying all that He could throughout the lands of the To-Ruda. Our people fled into the woods, or to our brethren the Go-Ruda and Ne-Ruda. Yet the Shadow One followed our people there and punished them for helping us. The evil came from here but was not our doing. We have suffered much and will likely soon die, but please do not slay the rest of us now.”

  Raiza took over. “We did not come to slay you. Tell us of the Shadow One in your village.”

  They explained that He had come when their wise ones returned and had caused great death, first in the city and then here. Many of the people had scattered, but some had stayed. Apparently, the population of their village was only one twentieth of what it had once been and some of those were sick or dying.

  “Very well. We thank you for speaking the truth. Do not move and we will bring more food for your people.”

  They sat but were clearly terrified. Peter and Silas brought more food in boxes for the To-Ruda to take back to their people.

  Raiza closed with, “We will leave you now. Live well with those you have left.”

  As they got back on Mantis, Karacka-Go asked, “Do I die now?”

  Raiza said, “No, you will rest and eat more and may yet aid us. Only then will we determine where to take you.”

  “As you say.” And he went to rest in a cabin that Raiza had pointed out to him.

  The crew discussed a plan.

  Ximon said, “So, clearly we need to go to this mountain and see what we can find.”

  Elsbeth questioned that. “Do we? Haven’t we explored enough?”

  Silas shook his head. “We’re not really sure what caused the plague and we haven’t really hit points all over the globe yet. I think we go there and then maybe a point or two in the other hemisphere.”

  “Fine. What’s the plan at this mountain, then?”

  Ximon had Mantis project imagery of the mountain on the screen. “That’ll depend on what we see there. It’ll only take a short while to get there and survey it.”

  Raiza interjected, “Assuming we find something there to investigate, I recommend we return to vacuum suits. Though you are not too susceptible to the plague, there may be variant strains or greater concentrations there. We should be careful.”

  “Sounds reasonable. Strap in, everyone and we’ll go do some fly-bys.”

  The mountain rose almost two thousand meters above the surrounding hills but had several large areas on its slopes that were nearly flat. These areas were generally covered in thin grass and short shrubs while the steeper areas were largely barren. Their surveys quickly revealed a large cave about two thirds of the way up the mountain and several hundred meters above one of the flat areas.

  Ximon indicated this area on the map. “Okay, I think that cave is our destination. We’ll land on that flat area there and then climb up.”

  Silas looked at the slope and the cave. “Who are we taking?”

  “I think we need several. You, me, and Raiza. Elsbeth, we need you and Peter in case there’s something mechanical we need to deal with. I think we leave it at that. Shao, you’ll keep an eye out on sensors and provide overwatch. You’re also our backup in case something goes south.”

  Elsbeth wasn’t too keen on this plan. “How about you go, and you just let me know if you need me?”

  Ximon rolled his eyes. “It’s safer with a sizable group, and since it seems likely we’ll need you, it makes sense for you to go.”

  “Sure, you would think that.”

  “As Raiza suggests, us humans will wear vacc suits. We’ll just take light weapons. Si
las, you and Peter can pack heavier. We’ll also want a med kit and a tool kit.”

  Silas pondered this. “Sounds good. I’m bringing Io, too. He should be okay on this terrain and he’s great at documenting.”

  “If you think he can make it. Let’s get ready.”

  They geared up and got moving. It was slow, clumsy climbing in vacc suits, but the slope wasn’t too steep. They took regular breaks to avoid overheating and soon made it to the cave entrance. It was roughly ten meters across and obviously went back quite a way into utter darkness. They all switched on their suit lights and continued forward. The cave narrowed and turned as it went on. After a few hundred meters, they came to something remarkable.

  A small, sleek shuttle lay partially buried in rock and dirt. It wasn’t any standard design that Ximon knew of and its general construction seemed a bit odd – abnormal ratios, odd-looking materials, and non-standard doors and sensors. The door stood open on the port side with wood and metal tools lying on the cave floor nearby.

  Elsbeth looked at the tools disdainfully and then at the door. “This door looks old and like it’s been here a long time, but I think it would have stood up to those tools unless it was partially ajar.”

  Ximon shrugged and shined his suit light inside. Within the shuttle, three skeletons with spare bits of flesh remaining sat in the remnants of the seats. Another skeleton lay on the open floor of the shuttle behind the seats. The rest of the crew came in behind Ximon and shined their lights around.

  Elsbeth examined the front screen area and the area around the door. “This looks sound. I think this might have been effectively airtight until they finished off that door with those levers out there.”