The Blue Gem, page 12
“No. The planetary defense system depended upon the radar reflections from the strobing radio navigation beacon for primary acquisition. It only needed one laser ranging reflection to confirm the validity of its aim. That is all there was in its memory.”
“From where did this comet come?”
“I extrapolated its course backward as well as I could. It came from deep space. Its course was similar to many comets, except it came in above the plane of the planetary ecliptic.”
Suh-Joh carefully scratched herself with a long, sharp spine as she sat unbreathing. Her paat-kli moved to the scratched area.
Son-Nih stirred, clicking his exoskeleton with worry. “If there was one Other out there, could there be more?”
“I just don’t know. Possibly. The universe is endless.”
Suh-Joh looked up. “Son-Nih, what worries you?”
“Remember, they used a fusion device on Chud-Loo, a weapon of mass destruction on a helpless planet.” He paused and gently emitted a whiff of the sour odor of fear before adding, “If they did this once, might they not do it again?”
No one spoke.
Suh-Joh looked from one to the other. Even the idea such a weapon might be used made them afraid. They recalled the horror stories told to them while young, part of their conditioning against using nuclear weapons. No wonder the Council wanted to seize upon an easy solution; they did not want to face the possibility of this nightmare coming to life. It was far easier to believe the Disobedient had wiped themselves out in a fit of madness.
“You may be right. What can we do about it?”
“We can tell the Council—”
“That bunch of inbred females won’t face reality. It would distract them from thinking about their next mating cycle,” Suh-Joh said. She softened her voice and added, “I’ll do what is necessary. There must be some way to find from where the Others came. Scholars, your assignment is to search the archives to find the technology needed to seek out the home of the Others. Remember, the fate of Hool and the Way-of-the-Mother may be in your hands.”
Suh-Joh hoped the answer was ready at mandible and would only require the right input to the holo-terminal to find it. She realized it was probably a tedious search with little chance of success. That is why I recruited these scholars.
Both scholars abased themselves and responded, “Oh blessed Hive-Mother, we hear and obey you.”
Suh-Joh waved their dismissal. “Report back in one cycle of the Children-of-the-Sky. If you need to travel, see Son-Nih so he may arrange the proper protection.”
She moved to the resting-rock and draped her four rear limbs over it. She used a long spine to scratch between the armored plates of the skin on her neck where the paat-kli had neglected a few flakes of skin. She was thinking.
Son-Nih started to say, “Oh blessed Hive-Mother—”
“Son-Nih, forgo the honorific when we are alone, please. You wanted to say …” She paused to emit a soft fragrance, one of acceptance.
“Suh-Joh.” Son-Nih hesitated, savoring the ability to squeak out her name in a higher pitch of informality.
“Yes, my dear Son-Nih.”
“Using the complex technologies of the past will require many resources. From what area shall we take them?”
“My dear Son-Nih, have you forgotten I now control four Hives directly? That there are at least four more Hives whose fear I can smell from great distance? Every Hive-Mother within my sphere of influence will help us, willingly or not.”
“The Council may not look kindly upon the use of more ancient technology.”
“I will keep my ears and breathing flaps open. We may have to move quickly if there’s any indication of action.”
“I’ll make sure our Chosen-Male warrior cohorts show their presence in the main connecting tunnels.”
“Yes and demonstrate their ability to arrive quickly using the shuttle from the Good-Child. We don’t want anyone to forget distance no longer buys safety from my spines.” Suh-Joh squeaked amusement.
Son-Nih joined her.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Hive of Suh-Joh
5,103 Year of the Mother.
“So, Sad-Loh, my scholar, what have you discovered in the archives of our blessed foremothers?”
The day’s sunlight had not reached the light shafts leaving the great hall dim. Along the walls, the ancient trophies were but shadowy outlines.
Sad-Loh got down on her forelimbs, preparing for the position of abasement. “Oh blessed—”
“Please, no honorific.”
“Yes, I forget. Where to begin?” Sad-Loh squatted on the floor and rocked back onto her hind limbs. She raised her head. “The problem of detecting signs of civilization across interstellar distances is a stiff spine to bend. Since the Others demonstrated a willingness to use fusion explosives in the past, they may use them again and that can be detected. At least, in theory. Let me explain how we could use that …” She finished explaining what she had learned.
“So, do it.” Suh-Joh rippled her spines in a gesture of authority.
“It is not easy. A network of detectors scanning large distances of deep space need to be located far from Hool, away from any area of activity to reduce interference with the faint trace of the electromagnetic pulse associated with a fusion explosion. It must be on the outer fringe of our system.”
“Son-Nih, work with scholars, find out what is needed and then do it.” Suh-Joh’s breathing flaps flared.
“The cost? Don’t you want to know what it will cost?” Son-Nih’s breathing flaps flared.
“We’ll pay it anyway, won’t we?”
“You are committed to finding the Others with no care about its cost?”
“If there is anything which can destroy our planet, then we must pay whatever is necessary to prevent it.”
Son-Nih made a gesture of abasement as acknowledgment.
Suh-Joh indicated both acceptance and approval.
The records of the project to build the deep-space detection system are very complete. I, Kot-Nih, enjoyed learning how it was done. The scholars, Sad-Lo and Lil-Tih, trained technicians and put them to work learning the long-forgotten technologies of deep space construction. Sad-Lo and Lil-Tih used information from the archives to build the tetrahedral-shaped detection system, which they located at the outer edge of the Hool system. When the scholars found it necessary to provide metals and minerals that were difficult to find on the long-exploited surface of Hool, they sought them in the asteroid belt.
Over time, Suh-Joh’s Hive developed an extensive mining operation in the asteroid belt, which supplied Hool with materials that once had been scarce and costly. Suh-Joh’s space activities stimulated more interest in space transportation. As a result, demand for her off-planet resources grew.
The resources produced from the space activities of Suh-Joh impressed even those who ran the orbital station above Hool. Everyone thought the only new source of resources was on the distant planet Kamah, under the double sun of the Daughter system. Suh-Joh proved otherwise.
Nevertheless, Suh-Joh’s industry and wealth aroused jealousy. The Council of Hive-Mothers secretly called a meeting to discuss her growing power.
On the first day, they reviewed Suh-Joh’s use of high technology equipment and computers. At the start of the meeting on the second day, Buk-Tar asserted her position as Eldest Hive-Mother and led the discussion on what should be done about Suh-Joh.
“That abomination Suh-Joh now uses the ancient forbidden technologies. Does that not mean she has stepped beyond the Way-of-the-Mother?” Buk-Tar asked.
The more conservative Hive-Mothers raised their breathing flaps, twitching them in disapproval. They held Suh-Joh in reluctant respect for her support of the Way-of-the-Mother. In addition, many used the resources she supplied and had also taken the first steps to expand their business interests into space. Those who had profited from dealing with Suh-Joh had already informed her of this meeting.
“Eldest and most honored Hive-Mother, we do not believe she has stepped beyond the Way. And she gives often to the Shrine-of-the-Mother,” a conservative Hive-Mother said.
“Does she not use the technologies from the past?”
“She has made no secret of what she is doing or why. She uses it because she does not agree with the findings of this Council. She is determined to seek out the Others.”
“Is that not an affront to this Council?”
“She is doing so at her own expense.”
“Bah. She has the brains of a naat-jii. Let her waste her own resources chasing ghosts among the stars. She has ignored our findings. That demonstrates she is not fit for the Council. So, let us take up the issue of her right to sit among us.”
“Eldest and most honored Hive-Mother. That can only be done in an open Council meeting. This is not such.”
There was a faction of the Hive-Mothers who feared what Suh-Joh might do should they ban her from the Council. If this came to pass, she could hold them responsible, which might lead to civil war. In addition, those who profited in dealing with her, held her in respect. They too, did not want war, for that would disrupt their business activities.
“Leave then, if you wish to lick her feet like the paat-kli feasting on your dead skin,” Buk-Tar said.
The Council went silent.
It was at that moment Suh-Joh appeared. “Hoo-Lii.” She inflected her greeting with an element of challenge. “Buk-Tar. You have dishonored this Council. You have violated the rules you have sworn to uphold. You are no longer fit to lead the Council or even your own Hive. Once again, you must step aside.”
“Hoo-Lii. Never.”
“May the Spirit-of-the-Mother bless your offspring. Your actions are heresy against the Way-of-the-Mother. I choose to enforce the Way.” Suh-Joh rose up on her two rear hind limbs.
“You abomination, you user of obscenities, I’ll never step aside for you.” Buk-Tar rose up and rippled her spines.
“You are wrong on those accusations, like much of what you do. You do not step aside for me. You will step aside because you no longer honor the Way-of-the-Mother. By the time the two Children-of-the-Sky set today, you will ripen a daughter, or I will ripen one for you.” Suh-Joh emitted an odor containing an element of challenge. She raised her spines into a halo of challenge.
“You cannot—” Buk-Tar’s voice rose to a snarl.
“I can, and you will. At this moment, my Chosen-Male warriors occupy your hive. Your unripened ones have already made the gift of water to me. You no longer have a Hive; it is now under my control. You have your choice; die either at the spines of your chosen successor, or on the open surface of Hool. You no longer have a Hive, nor a place on this council.”
Collectively the Council of Hive-Mothers hissed.
Buk-Tar leaned back and called out in a voice high-pitched and shrieking, “Destroy her. She’s an abomination. She cannot do this, it’s against the Way-of-the-Mother.” Her breathing flaps flared wide open.
“Again, you are wrong. The Way-of-the-Mother provides for the survival of the fittest in a world free from weapons of mass destruction. It does not exist to preserve those who would hide behind the Council when she is no longer fit to lead. The Council exists to solve problems without violence and act as an agent to protect the Way-of-the-Mother. I only tried to find the source of those weapons. The users of those obscenities must be rooted out and destroyed.”
“Lies, lies, and more damned lies. You are seeking vile secrets of the past to conquer and rule Hool in your foul image.”
“Your mouth is filled with untruths. Your aroma has the taste much like that of naat-jii dung.” Suh-Joh’s breathing flaps closed tightly as though near a bad odor. “Every bit of information I’ve obtained from the ancient archives is on the holo-terminals. Use it and judge. This Council meeting is over.” She glanced around the meeting area.
The Hive-Mothers collectively made the faintest hint of the gesture of abasement usually reserved only for the Eldest Hive-Mother. This time it was directed toward Suh-Joh. They had acknowledged her power and ability to lead the Council.
“Hoo-Lii,” Buk-Tar screamed in the fashion of a traditional challenge. “You cannot. I’ll strike you down.” She heaved her bulk and rose to her two hind limbs.
“Try.” Suh-Joh stood fully erect on hind limbs as though in the position for personal combat. She rippled her spines. The quills on the fringe of her mating-flap erected. She moved, with the quickness only seen in young Chosen-Male warriors, to the position halfway between them. “Do not try me, for you will force me to violate the peaceful nature of the Shrine-of-the-Mother.” Her spines rose, and her breathing flaps pulsated rapidly. She lowered her head as though preparing to enter combat.
Buk-Tar flinched and retreated.
“You live until the two Children-of-the-Sky set in the west.” Suh-Joh slowly looked around the Council at each member, one by one. There were no challenges. She left as abruptly as she had arrived.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
5,110 year of the Mother.
“So, the deep-space monitoring system comes online today?” Suh-Joh looked out over the large cavern from a high ledge that contained the warrens of the engineers and administrators.
Harsh light cast stark shadows on the rough-hewn rock walls and the cavern’s flat, polished floor. Nearby, at one side, sat the exploratory ship, the Good-Child, which was undergoing a re-fit. Two new shuttles—small and fragile—clung to the side of the Good-Child like tiny offspring. It looked small in the giant cavern, now empty of the heavy lift shuttles used in the burgeoning space freight business.
Over the years, Suh-Joh’s hive had built several massive space freighters at her manufacturing facility in the asteroid belt. In the process, she had branched out into other areas of construction, increasing her resources. Her hive now dominated interstellar transport. She remembered her debt to the priests at the Shrine-of-the-Mother and tithed an ever-increasing amount of food and resources each year.
“Yes, oh blessed Hive-Mother Suh-Joh.” The engineer’s body quivered. He was an unripened male who had become a specialist in spacecraft construction. “All of the receptors are now in orbit around Hekta.”
Hekta was the most distant planet of their system, a ball of frozen gases, which had absolutely no life upon it. “They are ready for use.” The engineer had supervised the construction of the receptors in this cavern, which had been lifted to orbit and then transferred to the distant space station.
Suh-Joh sought regular updates on the status of the project and had little patience for the normal delays of large construction projects. “So, tell me again what additional information can be gathered from this technological marvel that you have constructed.” She emitted an odor that only the most powerful dared use.
“Oh blessed Hive-Mother, it is not for me to describe the capabilities of the system. I am but an engineer who assembled this creation under the direction of Sad-Loh and Lil-Tih. Much of this is beyond my comprehension.” He rippled his breathing flaps in the direction of Sad-Loh who stood quietly to one side. “I am a builder, one who turns the dreams of scholars into reality.”
Suh-Joh turned toward Sad-Loh. “Well, my little scholar, what have you created? Tell me, what can it do?” She spoke gently and emitted a fragrance of comfort.
Sad-Loh flexed in abasement to Suh-Joh. Even though she had explained the system to her before, Suh-Joh never tired of hearing about its development. “Oh, blessed Hive-Mother, the Ear-to-the-Universe is a simple collection of listening devices. It looks for the signature of a fusion explosion. At the same time, we may be able use it to find those strange portals that allow us to jump through openings in space-time faster than the speed of light.
“In the past, we knew only of two points, which were found by accident and after much tedious calculation and searching. Theory says the Ear-to-the-Universe will hear echoes from undiscovered transfer points when the fabric of space-time flexes as a ship jumps through.”
“Have you found more of these strange points?”
“Not yet. If Others come, we will know their entry gates.”
Suh-Joh’s spines rose for just a moment. She wafted the odor of approval. “I see, my little scholar. Yes, we do indeed need to know that. I look forward to a report each day on what you learn from listening to the universe.”
“Oh blessed Hive-Mother, please be aware we may listen to empty space for a long, long time before we hear anything that speaks to us.”
“Yes, my little one, of that I am aware.”
Thirty years passed before the Ear-to-the-Universe picked up a faint signal that might have come from fusion explosions. The source was far from Hool and in a direction away from any of the worlds they visited. The scholars were uncertain as to their origin. Their distance made them appear to pose no danger to Hool; at least that was the opinion of the Council of Hive-Mothers.
These infrequent pulses continued for a twenty-year period and then ceased. Over time, the faint pulses provided a direction, but not an exact distance to their source.
“Sooner or later, the Others will reveal themselves.” When Suh-Joh spoke those words, little did she realize how much time would pass before anything more was heard.
Bit by bit, Suh-Joh went from eagerly awaiting each day’s report to a brief review of the annual summary. During this time, the astronomers made other discoveries of distant quasars, pulsars, and gamma ray bursters, adding to their knowledge and wonder of the universe.
The exploratory ship, the Good-Child, ventured forth and confirmed several new transfer points revealed by the Ear-to-the-Universe. None of the voyages encountered civilizations or heard any of the electromagnetic radiation from an inner planet. No system possessed planets offering any hope of conditions suitable for colonization.
Eventually, the Ear-to-the-Universe found a transfer point adjacent to a triple-sun system. Even though it had no habitable planets, it was near the system from where the faint electromagnetic pulse had originated. In the 5,200th year of the Mother, Suh-Joh ordered the installation of a monitoring station at the outer limits of the triple-sun system to watch the nearby system. The monitoring station focused on the system in which the astronomers believed the Others lived.
