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Sail the Sea of Stars - chapter 17

 
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2016 6:26 pm    Post subject: Sail the Sea of Stars - chapter 17 Reply with quote




CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THE SCHOLAR, THE DEVIL, OR ME?


    Magellanic clouds (maj'e•lan'ik) Two satellite star clusters of the Milky Way galaxy, named after the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who sighted them in 1520 A.D. Earth/standard/dating during his historic first circumnavigation of the planet. The star clusters are visible only from Earth's southern hemisphere. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are approximately 75,000 and 84,000 light years from the Milky Way proper, respectively. The star clusters are also referred to as Nubecula Major and Minor.
"Thank you, trusty mechanism," I said to the console screen. "Now, just for fun, please tell us why Carrington's grandson named the planet Nestria."

I typed the request into the computer and then I leaned back to wait for the instant, computerized answer. When the answer came, it just kept coming until I realized I had asked a vague question to a very smart computer. An amateur's mistake. Their were 55,300 results.

"Some computer whiz you are," said Danceea. She used a rounded and insistent hip to shove me, chair-and-all, away from the keyboard, then her hands did a miniature ballet on the keys while she said, "Give the poor thing a few hints."

She instructed the computer to check historical references and Biblical references for the word Nestria. She also told the computer to look for the word as a geographical location in mythology and science fiction. Such uses should be given first priority on the read-out.

This time the monitor displayed a much shorter list of words spelled N-E-S-T-R-I-A, along with their definitions. I felt absolutely certain that the very first item on the list was the origin of our mystery planet's name. It was so appropriate.

Nestria (nes'tre a) n. A fictional asteroid in a children's story entitled Tom Swift and the Asteroid Pirates, by Victor Appleton II, copyright 1963 A.D. Earth/standard/dating.

______________

Carrington's little genius had probably read that story when he was about four years old. Danceea gave me a smug look and tapped her fingernail on the monitor, confident that we'd found the answer.

So, now we were ready with all the answers for our report to Captain North about Carrington's research on the alien artifact. My token punishment for the pirate ship incident had turned me into the second most knowledgeable person on the Candlelight concerning our destination.

Danceea's official addition to the Candlelight’s crew was a shock to me when she and I reported to the captain, shortly after we’d left Tason. Admiral Simmons had contacted Aldarrin and Carainon Aderron shortly before lift off and ask them to convince Danceea to join the Candlelight as a technical advisor on the mission to Nestria. Her status as research assistant to Dr. Carrington gave her unique knowledge about the artifact, second only to the team members of the expedition we were enroute to rescue.

Danceea's mother had hastily packed a few essentials for her daughter, and then she and her husband had raced to the Candlelight to convey the admiral's urgent request to their daughter. Neither they nor I were surprised that this remarkable young woman agreed to help the Candlelight rescue her former mentor from the danger he and his team faced.

___________ * ___________ * ___________ * ___________

Ten minutes after Danceea and I finished our hasty review of Dr. Carrington's data log, I was sitting at Neil Barnes' borrowed console station on the bridge, using the keyboard to punch up various entries from Carrington's data tapes. Danceea sat at the station next to me, ready to make me look smart if I was asked any questions I couldn't answer. Captain North sat in his command chair, waiting to be briefed about the alien artifact and the planet on which it was located.

I had begun the briefing by zeroing in on the parts of the highly technical data log which we dumb laymen could understand, and displaying the results on the big panoramic bridge screen.

"And here, sir, is some stuff about the metal that the artifact is made of. They can't actually date the artifact because the metal doesn't show any signs of corrosion."

North pondered that for a moment, tugging absently at his mustache. "That's impressive. Even crystalsteel corrodes if you give it a few hundred years. Maybe the artifact isn't all that old."

I glanced over at Danceea. She took the hint and jump right in. "Most of Carrington's team is convinced it’s ancient, and that it may even predate the formation of the Alliance. Look here."

From her own station she called up data that appeared on the large, wraparound screen at the front of the bridge. It was a section of Carrington's material which dealt with the planet Nestria itself.

"This part talks about Nestria's geological make-up. The planet seems to be just one big desert. It has no detectable volcanic activity, which means the core is probably cold. There's almost no free water anywhere on the planet. Carrington's people are convinced that the canyons are primarily formed by erosion rather than tectonic movement — in spite of their unusual depth — and that the atmospheric water has since been lost to space.

Captain North was obviously giving each item careful thought. The crowd waited patiently during the brief silence each time before he answered. "So . . . there's very little atmosphere?"

Danceea looked over and me with a faint smile, and I knew she was waiting to see if I knew the answer. By gum, I actually did, so I gave it.

"Ah-ah. That's the riddle, Captain. Water: no. Atmosphere: yes. The surface conditions at the artifact sight are Earth normal. The air is oxygen rich with no detectable toxins. That's tough to figure. Carrington's people are stumped by that one. They speculate that maybe the artifact structure is, or at least contains, a planetary air factory."

I glanced at Danceea and she gave me a bawdy wink that made me want to giggle. Captain North didn't notice us because he was staring at the display screen, lost in thought. Then he said, "Would the Beltherians risk a military action against them just to take possession of an air factory?"

"No, I doubt it," I said firmly.

Danceea quickly countered. "Don't be to sure. They might,"

The captain and I gave her the same startled look and the same answer, in unison.

"Why?"

The lovely lady milked the moment with a dazzling smile and a confident answer. "I guess it would depend on what the factory is converting into air, and how it's doing it. The artifact is city-sized, and there aren't any big air vents showing, so the process might be something brand new. Like, turning energy into oxygen."

"If that thing turns out to be nothing but a giant air conditioner, I'm going to be disappointed no matter how it does it," said North.

I grinned at Danceea and resisted the urge to stick out my tongue. Her eyes narrowed with mock anger, then she turned to the Captain. "Think for a moment about the example I just gave. If can turn energy into oxygen, perhaps it can do the same with any other element."

Splitting atoms and producing energy had been done hundreds of years ago by mankind — but putting Humpty Dumpty back together again had proven to be as difficult and gluing all the broken fragments of a smashed drinking glass back together with glue and a pair twizzers. Science fiction had done it often. Reality hadn't managed it yet.

North realized the implications of Danceea's statement, but he still hadn't heard hard evidence about what the artifact really was. "What else have you got, Miss Aberron?"

"Mostly theories, but plenty of those." She tickled the keyboard like a concert pianist, and the entire wraparound bridge screen exploded with text and graphics depicting data about the artifact. "Remember, Captain, the investigative team includes over four hundred specialists, all tops in their fields. Each one has his own pet theory about the artifact.

Danceea rose from the bridge station and hurried down the center aisle to the narrow flat section of the deck between the lowest bridge station and the bottom of the fifteen-foot high display. She started on the far left side of the bridge and went striding across the curved deck, pointing up at sections of the screen that pertained to different theories, speaking rapidly as she went. She sounded like a pitchman at a sideshow.

"Folks, this is Professor Richard Lawton's theory, who thinks the artifact holds samples of life forms from thousands of planets that were destroyed by natural disasters, like supernovas or asteroid impacts. And this is Zinswabin Ira Ka's theory, who is certain the artifact is a hyper-computer beyond anything in our galaxy. Here we have Zolcanihee's theory, which says he can prove it’s the holy city of Reerakanga, the home of God himself. And I love this one. Dr. Bartholomew DeWitt thinks the artifact made the planet — from scratch."

Danceea ended up on the far right-hand side of the deck at the base of the big screen. She folded her arms and gave the watching crowd a bright smile that dared anyone to doubt her knowledge on the subject. Her feet were planted wide, her shoulders were squared, and she held her head high. Every man in the room fell in love with her, right there on the spot.

There were murmurs from the bridge crew and observers decks as the crowd discussed Danceea's words and the info on the bridge screen. Boy, Danceea was certainly the center of attention.

North was motionless for several seconds, deep in thought, his eyes unfocused. Then he said, "Is Dr. DeWitt really serious? He has reason to believe this thing actually made the planet around it?"

Danceea was still smiling, basking in the moment. "Yes, Captain. Completely serious. DeWitt thinks the planet only looks old because of the way it's being made. Sort of the opposite of an old planet which has lost its ecosystem, its water, and its air. The artifact will make water next, then the oceans will form, and eventually organic life will be created."

North nodded slowly. "Interesting. I don't buy it, but it's interesting," The crowd chuckled. "Any other good theories?"

Danceea walked to the middle of the display screen and pointed up at a section which covered a theory she hadn't mentioned. "Here's my favorite, Captain. It states that the artifact contains the entire population of the race who built it, and they're all in suspended animation, waiting for something."

"Hmmm." North was absently tugging at his mustache again. I was afraid his upper lip would go bald if he didn't break that nervous habit. "Waiting for what?"

"Good question. Uh . . . a cure for a fatal disease that infected them all. Or the eventual demise of an enemy species who couldn't be defeated. Maybe they're waiting for a universe that makes sense to a race of poets. Or the return of the five-cent cigar. We could speculate all day."

"Yes, we could. But we won't," said North. "I see your point. That's not a bad theory. But why couldn't the artifact just be a city that was built to be populated by living beings?"

"It could be, sir. Either self-sufficient or just abandoned and self-maintained. But that's the first guess that comes to mind, and it's less interesting because it's less mysterious."

Into the brief silence which followed, a voice called out from the observers deck above. "That theory does have one interesting aspect." We all looked up to see Randy Henson and Bill Jenkins with their elbows propped on the guard rail of the lower observers deck.

"And what might that be, Mr. Henson?" said the captain.

"If it's a self-sufficient city, and the data from the initial probe showed no indication that anyone was outside of it, then the citizens must be a trifle anti-social, since they spend every night at home. What will this race of hermits think when one group of life-forms shows up to study them, and a second group shows up to lay claim to their city, and a third group shows up to keep the first two from fighting over them?"

Randy Henson's remark chilled the crowd into silence. Nobody liked the answer which came to mind. Captain North shifted his gaze back to Danceea. She didn't like the answer either, so she glanced over at me. I certainly didn't like it, and I didn't like the fact that everybody was staring at me. But we both felt like we’d just opened Pandora's Box.

An as a matter of fact . . . we had.

___________ * ___________ * ___________ * ___________

A few hours after the briefing with the captain, Danceea and I joined Randy Henson and Bill Jenkins in one corner of the main dining hall. Horace the Giant was there, along with Janet Whitmore from the medical section (one of those classic "unapproachable" blonde beauties, but smarter than most folks realized), and Joan Drew (who worked in the mess hall and was taking a break).

For particular reason, I noticed that no two people at the table were drinking the same beverage. Randy had coffee, Bill had rudenmelon juice with vodka (a drink which he called a hyperdriver), Horace had iced herbal tea, Janet had hot chocolate, and Joan had a tall glass of prune juice which everybody refused to look at. I fetched a fruit punch for myself and a glass of wine for Danceea, thereby increasing the variety of beverages.

A discussion was in progress when we arrived. It concerned the nature of a hypothetical galaxy under Beltherian rule.

"Their whole philosophy is one of self-indulgences," lectured Bill. "They don't believe in any form of moderation. Each Beltherian considers himself the center of the universe. Everything else is property."

"Everything and everyone," said Randy as he stared down into his coffee cup.

"The weird thing about 'em is their complete lack of conscience. They never feel guilty. It's the way they're brought up. They feel absolutely no need to justify anything they do. No one else's opinion means squat."

"Like that captain of the pirate vessel," said Horace, leaning forward and casting a shadow over the whole table. "He was wearing wrist-cuffs and ankle-cuffs, and he was headed for a hearing with the Council of Justice which would undoubtedly result in his execution for God-only-knows how many atrocities — yet he wore that faint smile, as if he was still convinced he had done nothing wrong. It was like he thought we were funny for acting so self-righteous."

"Exactly," said Randy. "Morality is a joke. The Beltherian creed is `I want it, so I’ll take it'. If they were ruling the galaxy you can bet that every other human being would be their slaves, plain and simple. As for the other sentient species, I don't think the Beltherians would tolerate their existence. They would keep a few thousand beings from each the more intelligent races, as long as they earned their keep with new technological discoveries."

"You don't think the Beltherians would value anything but technological hardware?" I said to Horace.

"Nope," said Randy. "Admittedly the Beltherians are frighteningly intelligent. But things like art and philosophy are produced by a joint effort of the mind and the heart. The Beltherians have bred heart right out of the race."

"Deliberately," Bill said.

"Right. Think about some of the life-forms in the Alliance who've established civilization even though they didn't possess a high degree of tool-using abilities. The Calfacteons, for instance. They had a planetary government long before their first industrial revolution. A Beltherian-ruled galaxy would have no need for the Calfacteons."

The group had turned downright somber as we stared into our drinks and painted gloomy mental pictures. The earlier speculation about the artifact had caused everybody to wonder just what would happen if the Beltherians got hold of something truly valuable or truly destructive. Vice Admiral Simmons had mentioned the possibility that the artifact was an abandoned super-armory.

"What would happen to Tason?" I suddenly said. Everybody turned to look at me with expressions that were almost hostile. I suddenly remembered I was sitting next to a native Tasonian, and my face did fine imitation of a ripe tomato itchin' to be picked.

Danceea apparently didn't want the conversion to fizzle out just because of her, so she said the most emotional charged thing possible.

"They'd keep the human women," said Danceea.

"Only the young and attractive ones," said Janet Whitmore, who certainly fit into that category just as well as Danceea.

"The rest of the populace wouldn't rate much consideration," said Horace.

"The aquatic forms might," said Bill, whose hand seemed rather firmly wrapped around his drink glass. "I think maybe the Beltherians would use them for . . . food. High protein content." Some of the people at the table lurched visibly. Bill's expression instantly became apologetic, and he quickly added. “Well, uh . . . maybe they would just kill everybody off."

"Not everybody," said Danceea. "They'd need somebody to work the mines."

"Mines?" said Randy.

"Right. Tason is loaded with mineral deposits and metal ore. From high orbit the Beltherians could blast away at the areas where deposits were detected, and then they'd put Tasonian slave crews to work digging the ore out. It might require the whole population to mine it out in less than a century. It would a big job."

I visualized beautiful Tason being hammered from high orbit by Beltherian ships, and then Tasonian citizens being driven by ruthless masters to work in the mines until the labor killed them. Planetary rape.

Nobody spoke for a long time. Finally Randy looked at me and said, "David, why don't a few of us go over Carrington's data one more time? We might find something that would prepare us for . . . whatever’s coming."

Most of the folks at the table were eager to join in. We had some time on our hands before we reached the Magellanic Clouds and the strange planet called Nestria. And we had one whale of a mystery to solve. We also, had a hell of an enemy to face. Forewarned is forearmed.

Hopefully.

___________ * ___________ * ___________ * ___________

The trip to Nestria would take a little over two months at top speed, which is an impressive statement concerning the distance we had to travel. A galactic stellacruiser can cross the galaxy from edge to edge in two months if it flies above the galactic plane, where space is less cluttered. The Magellanic Clouds are separated from our galaxy by a big, empty piece of interstellar space approximately eighty thousand light years across. This distance would make commercial trade between the galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds very impractical, if there was somebody there to trade with. But as far as anyone knew, there were no known star-traveling species living among the stars of the Magellanic Clouds.

Hundreds of exploration ships and unmanned probes have been sent to search for sentient life, but the clouds contain millions of stars. Even with the help unmanned probes like the one which discovered Nestria, the job of investigating ever star system, even briefly, will take centuries. Meanwhile, the Milky Way galaxy itself is filled with millions of star systems which nobody has ever gotten around to investigating yet.

In short, the galaxy is a big place. If it weren’t for the instantaneous communication of jinn wave and astounding speed of hyperdrive-equipped startships, the Alliance of Sentient Life could not function as smoothly as it does.

___________ * ___________ * ___________ * ___________

One morning, about two weeks into our journey, I came up to the observers decks carrying my after-breakfast coffee. Danceea was sleeping in because she'd stayed up late the night before, conferring with a group of scientists from various sections who wanted to discuss their theories about the Nestrian artifact. She had earned the respect of the Candlelight’s top scientists, and she had frequently demonstrated why Dr. Carrington had chosen her as his trusted research assistant at the University of Dusseldorf for almost two years. She had become an important member of the scientific community aboard the Candlelight, and her knowledge on the subject of the Nestrian artifact had proven to be invaluable. The only negative aspect of all this was that the ship's resident eggheads were spending more time each day with my girl than I was!

All that said, the young lady certainly deserved to sleep in this morning.

I wanted to see what the bridge crew might be up to, so I made my way to the lower observers deck with my coffee cup in hand after having a hearty breakfast which I'd have to work off later in the gym.

Communications officer Tony Thorn would sometimes play Big Band music over the PA system on the bridge. It livened up the dull trips. On this particular morning, however, Tony had elected to present something of a classical nature. I learned later that it was called Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, by Rafe Vaughn Williams. It was written over four hundred years ago, and apparently it had aged like fine wine, getting better with the passage of time. The orchestra was comprised entirely of stringed instruments, and the result was a sound that made me think of starlight drifting through the void — which was very appropriate, since the Candlelight was doing exactly that.

We were high above the galactic plane, seemingly motionless despite our tremendous speed. The bridge crew had filled the whole panoramic display screen with a computer enhanced, light-adjusted view of what was outside. Traveling faster than light made naked-eye viewing impossible, of course, but the artificial screen image was so life-like it couldn’t be distinguished from the real thing. Below us, the galaxy was a bright whirlpool which we seemed to hang above, even though we were rising up from it at an incredible speed.

Here above the galactic plane the view was not hampered by the interstellar dust which drifted between the stars. We could gaze across the whole hundred thousand light-year expanse of the Milky Way. It seemed to stretch away forever. It was like a glowing sea of stars, and we sailed above it like the mythical Flying Dutchman, exiled from the living, doomed to an endless journey.






Ahead of us were the Magellanic Clouds, two clusters of stars so dense and numerous that they still looked like two great, hazy wads of pure light. Only a few blazing giants showed themselves as star-points. There was a nova at the far edge of the larger cluster, gleaming like a mote in God's eye. If there had been any planets with life forms circling that star, they were now reduced to blowing gas being pushed outward from their mutinous primary. Similar tragedies had happened in our own galaxy before.



Rafe Vaughn Williams' music filled the bridge area. Outside, the flat spiral of stars dropped further and further behind us as we ascended towards a cloud of cosmic cousins who were still largely an unexplored country.

Somewhere up ahead of us, lost against the size and brilliance of our destination, were Carrington's three ships, filled with inquiring minds, unaware that they were being pursued by three unholy intruders who came with evil intentions. Last of all was us, climbing through the darkness, leaping up out of the sea of stars, hoping to catch Satan by the tail before he got his hands on something that might give him the advantage for which he had always lusted.

It was very lonely up here, so high above the bright warm sea. I wondered which of us would be making the long plunge back.

The scholar, the devil, or me?

_________________
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon May 07, 2018 1:32 pm; edited 6 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2016 8:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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The best version of Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis is this one by the Morton Gould orchestra, but it's the second piece on the record, so you have to start the YouTube video at the 5:30 mark.

This is the album I've had of this piece for decades, even before I wrote Sail the Sea of Stars in 1982. Very Happy
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Vaughan Williams,Fantasia On Greensleeves , Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis, MORTON GOULD


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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