New Earth Page 23

  As his brother had done with Elyse, Jordan held out a hand to Aditi. She came to him and clasped it warmly.

  But Brandon said sharply, “We need some answers from you, Adri.”

  “Of course. I will be glad to tell you anything I can.”

  De Falla said, “Let’s go over to the geology lab. The computer should be finished with the profile by now.”

  “By all means,” said Adri.

  As they started toward the tent, Jordan whispered to Aditi, “I missed you.”

  Her smile lit up the landscape. “I missed you, too.”

  De Falla led the little procession through the camp’s bubble tents to the geology lab. Jordan noticed that Meek walked several paces behind Adri, with Longyear beside him. Both men wore tight-lipped expressions, taut with hostility. Brandon walked alongside Elyse, of course, chatting happily with her, nearly oblivious of the others.

  Once in the geology tent, de Falla called up his computer’s profile of the planet’s structure while Adri sat on one of the stools lining the worktable. The others clustered around the table, looking expectantly at the computer’s big flat display screen.

  “As you know,” de Falla said, his round, beard-fringed face utterly serious, “we’ve been digging boreholes at several locations.”

  “To determine the structure of this planet, I presume,” Adri said.

  De Falla went on, “And we’ve hit an anomaly.”

  A wisp of a smile appeared on Adri’s age-creased face. “An anomaly?”

  The display screen lit up, showing a graph that depicted a cross section of the planet’s structure. The metal layer appeared in blazing red at the fourteen-kilometer depth. Below it was nothing but a dull gray, indicating that the deeper structure of the planet was unknown.

  De Falla began, “There seems to be a layer of polished metal—”

  “At a depth of fourteen kilometers,” Adri interrupted. “Yes, that is correct.”

  “It can’t be natural.”

  “It’s not.”

  Jordan felt his breath catch in his throat. Meek looked like a prosecutor who’s just heard his suspect confess. Longyear looked angry, almost, de Falla stunned, despite his previous attitude. Even Thornberry’s usual quizzical smile was gone, replaced by a suspicious scowl.

  Brandon snapped, “You know about this?”

  “Yes, of course,” said Adri.

  They clustered around him, as taut and stressed as a lynch mob. All they need is a rope, Jordan thought.

  Brandon asked, “There’s a shell of metal fourteen klicks deep?”

  “Yes.”

  “All around the planet?”

  “Yes,” said Adri, as if it was the most natural thing in the universe. “Of course. It’s the structural base for New Earth’s crust and biosphere.”

  Meek found his voice. “Look here, are you telling us that the upper layers of this planet have been … landscaped? You’ve deliberately shaped this upper section of the planet, this entire biosphere?”

  In a placatingly calm voice, Adri replied, “New Earth has been constructed to resemble your world as closely as possible.”

  “Constructed?” Longyear squeaked.

  Adri’s smile turned slightly rueful. “We had no intention of deceiving you, my friends. Our policy has been to allow you to discover the truth at your own pace.”

  Jordan said, “Are you telling us that this entire planet has been built, deliberately constructed to resemble Earth?”

  With a nod, Adri said, “And placed close enough to your world so that you would find us, and come to examine us.”

  Elyse gasped, “Red Sirius!”

  “What?”

  “Naked-eye observations of Sirius made more than two thousand years ago, around the time of Christ,” she said, almost breathless. “They reported that the star had turned red.”

  Adri said, shamefaced, “I’m afraid that was due to the construction operation,” he admitted. “I’m sorry if it confused your astronomers.”

  “You constructed this planet?” Meek asked, in obvious disbelief. “This entire planet? You built it?”

  “Not I,” said Adri. “Our Predecessors did.”

  Meek said, “But why? How?”

  Adri glanced at Aditi, then turned back to Meek and explained, “Our race is much older than yours. Our technology, as you’ve seen for yourselves, is considerably in advance of yours.”

  “Then you do have spaceflight,” Thornberry said. “You’re not from this planet, you came from somewhere else.”

  “Our civilization does have the capability for spaceflight, yes,” Adri said. “But we—myself, Aditi, all the others you have seen here on this world—we have lived on this planet since our conception. We have never been anywhere else.”

  “But to build an entire planet,” Jordan objected. “It’s fantastic!”

  “Who built it?” Brandon demanded. “If you and your people have been born here, then who the hell built this planet?”

  “Our Predecessors,” said Adri.

  “Your ancestors?”

  “Our Predecessors,” Adri repeated.

  “Why would they do such a thing?” Meek demanded again. “What’s the purpose of it all?”

  “Why, to bring you here. To encourage you to make contact with us.”

  Frowning, Brandon said, “Wouldn’t it have been easier for you to come to Earth and announce your presence?”

  “And what would your reaction be if suddenly a starship appeared in your skies? Even if we beamed messages to you, instead of sending a starship, your world would be in turmoil, wouldn’t it?”

  Jordan almost chuckled. Glancing at Meek, he said, “There are plenty of people on Earth who’d be terrified, true enough.”

  “What would you do?” Adri repeated.

  Meek answered, “Why, we … we’d try to ascertain who you are, of course. And what you want.”

  With a sad shake of his head, Adri replied, “The shock of such a meeting would be traumatic for you. Why, even now, on Earth there are people who claim there can be no other intelligent races in the universe!”

  “So we have a few benighted fanatics,” Thornberry said.

  “They deny the possibility that the indigenous life in Jupiter’s ocean could be intelligent,” Adri pointed out.

  “The leviathans,” Elyse murmured.

  Adri went on, “We have studied your history very thoroughly. We have seen the dreadful consequences of sudden contact between two of your own cultures.”

  Longyear muttered, “Wounded Knee.”

  “And a hundred other tragedies,” said Aditi. “The Aztecs and Incas. The Polynesians. Even the Chinese went through centuries of exploitation and humiliation.”

  “That is why,” Adri resumed, “we decided to make our contact with you as gentle as possible. We did not go to your planet and announce ourselves. Instead, we encouraged you to come here, to us.”

  “You lured us here,” said Meek.

  “If you wish to use that term,” Adri replied gently. “The point is that only a small group of you has come here, as we expected. And we have allowed you to discover the truth about us in your own time, at your own pace.” Turning once again to Meek, he added, “And even so, we face suspicion, hostility, and outright fear.”

  Jordan said, “You’re telling us that we have nothing to be afraid of.”

  “Oh no,” said Adri. “You have much to be afraid of. And so do we.”

  CULTURE SHOCK

  “What do you mean by that?” Meek demanded.

  Adri hesitated, then replied, “Contact between two intelligent cultures is fraught with dangers.”

  “You’ve contacted other intelligent species?” Brandon asked.

  “Not I personally,” said Adri. “None of us has ever been beyond this planet. But our Predecessors, our progenitors, over the course of the millennia they have come into contact with many civilizations.”

  Jordan blurted, “There are lots of civilizations amon
g the stars?”

  Adri shook his head sorrowfully. “Intelligence is the rarest occurrence in the universe, I’m afraid. And even at that, in so many cases, an intelligent species destroys itself before it can attain true self-mastery.”

  Brandon said, “But we’ve seen no evidence of any intelligent races in the galaxy, until now. We’ve searched for almost two centuries, and our telescopes haven’t turned up anything.”

  “As I said,” Adri replied, “intelligence is very rare. However, the universe is very large, and there are many intelligent civilizations scattered among the stars.”

  “Intelligent species destroy themselves?” Jordan asked.

  “Unfortunately, that seems to be the norm. It’s very rare for an intelligent species to survive long enough to achieve true civilization.”

  Thornberry pushed to Adri’s side. “So that’s why you’re here? To help us to survive our own shortcomings?”

  Adri hesitated for several long moments, staring into Thornberry’s questioning eyes. At last he answered, “Yes, that is part of our purpose.”

  Jordan caught the nuance. “But only part of it?”

  “It’s as much as I can tell you for the moment. Now you know something of who we are and why we are here. I think it best for you to absorb what you’ve just learned before we proceed any farther.”

  “There’s more?” Meek asked.

  “Oh, yes. Much, much more.”

  “But you’re not going to tell us what it is,” Brandon said accusingly.

  “In time,” said Adri. “For now, Aditi and I must return to the city. You’ll want to discuss what I’ve told you among yourselves. Tomorrow is another day.”

  The humans stood mutely as Adri and Aditi made their way to the entrance of the bubble tent and went outside into the silvery shadows of the night.

  Jordan followed them, like a man in a dream. Aditi turned back toward him, extended her hand to him.

  Suddenly Brandon gripped Jordan’s shoulder. “You can’t go with them, Jordy. Not now.”

  He stood rooted to the spot. Adri and Aditi both faced him. And his brother.

  “Jordy, you’ve got to stay here. We’ve got to talk this over, digest what they’ve told us.”

  “It’s all right,” said Aditi. “We understand.”

  “We’ve been waiting for you for centuries,” Adri said. “We can wait another night.”

  Jordan looked from Aditi to Adri to his brother. Brandon seemed gravely determined to keep him from going with the aliens.

  “I … I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said to Aditi.

  “Tomorrow,” she said.

  Then she and Adri turned and walked slowly through the shadows cast by the Pup’s wan light, heading for the forest and their city.

  Jordan turned reluctantly, and walked beside his brother back to the bubble tent where the others waited. They were a hushed, subdued group, still standing at the worktable, with the geological profile of the planet glowing on the big display screen.

  “Do you believe what he told us?” Meek asked, looking torn, troubled.

  “This entire planet has been … built … to resemble Earth?” de Falla wondered aloud.

  “By damn,” Thornberry exclaimed, “I’ll bet you that the planet really is hollow!”

  Brandon scoffed, “How could we have the gravity—”

  “Those energy screens,” Thornberry snapped. “I’m willing to bet me underdrawers that this entire planet is a hollow shell, with a gravity-producing energy generator at its center.”

  Verishkova agreed with a nod. “Until a few minutes ago I would say such an idea is nonsense. But now … maybe not.”

  “But that’s not the really important point,” Jordan said.

  Meek said, “The fact that he admits they’ve constructed this planet deliberately to lure us here? You don’t find that important?”

  “Not as important as the fact that Adri told us his people have been created by a race that has found many other intelligent species. His … Predecessors, as he calls them, apparently have been traveling across interstellar distances for god knows how long.”

  “He said intelligence is very rare in the universe,” Yamaguchi said, her voice low, thoughtful.

  Longyear added, “He also said most intelligent species wipe themselves out.”

  “Poppycock,” Meek sniffed. “Do you really believe everything he tells us?”

  “I believe that we’re well on our way to destroying ourselves back on Earth,” Jordan said.

  “You can’t blame us for natural disasters like the global flooding.”

  With a wan smile, Jordan replied, “Can’t I?”

  Pointing to the display screen’s profile of the planet, Thornberry said, “I believe what the facts tell us. This planet is an artificial construction.”

  “A whole planet?” Jordan marveled. “They built this entire planet?”

  “To lure us here,” Meek said.

  Jordan shook his head. “Why would they go to so much effort? What’s the purpose behind all this?”

  “Conquest?” Longyear suggested.

  “Assimilation,” said Elyse. “Instead of destroying us, they want to assimilate us, blend our genes with theirs, make us part of their empire.”

  “They want to steal our women?” Yamaguchi almost laughed, despite herself.

  Brandon glanced at Jordan. “It’s the other way around. One of us has stolen one of their women.”

  “Be serious,” Jordan growled.

  “Okay,” Brandon replied. “I’ll be serious. What Adri’s told us is that his people have been created by a race that has a much higher technology than ours. Much higher.”

  “Interstellar flight,” Verishkova murmured.

  Brandon resumed, “And they’ve found other intelligent species among the stars. They’re rare, but they do exist.”

  “If they don’t wipe themselves out,” said Thornberry.

  “So why have they gone to all this trouble to make contact with us?” Yamaguchi asked.

  “Yes,” said Meek. “What’s behind all this? Why are they here? What do they want of us?”

  “That’s what we’ve got to find out,” said Brandon. “We can’t plan our response to all this until we find out what Adri really wants of us.”

  Jordan shook his head. “Bran, I don’t think you realize where we are. It doesn’t matter what our response is. With the superior technology they have, they can do whatever they want with us.”

  Meek’s face went white. “That’s right! We’re at their mercy!”

  SECURITY

  Jordan slept fitfully, his dreams filled with a kaleidoscope of shifting, blending visions: Miriam laughing with him as they rode a tandem bicycle through a winding trail along a sunny, sandy beach that suddenly turned into the tsunami they narrowly escaped in Singapore, smashing everything before it in a raging wall of water; Aditi looking over her shoulder at him as she walked away, sorrowful, pained; the president of Argentina putting the pistol in his mouth and blowing his brains out rather than agree to a cease-fire with his rivals; Meek, terrified, hiding behind his bed, turning into four-year-old Brandon, the day their father died; and then it was Miriam dying in agony while he stood watching helplessly; thousands of staring, bone-thin African children in the refugee camp slowly starving, too weak even to cry; millions of homeless, helpless families fleeing the implacable floods that were swallowing up their land; alien civilizations scattered among the stars destroying themselves in wars, population explosions, diseases created in laboratories; Miriam, Miriam, Miriam.

  His eyes snapped open. It wasn’t dawn yet, the bubble tent was dark except for the tiny numerals glowing on the face of his wristwatch. Jordan got up from his cot and trudged barefoot to the common lavatory.

  Sleep knits up the raveled sleeve of care, does it? he said to himself. Not always. Not every night.

  It was an hour before Sirius rose above the horizon, but already the sky was turning milky white. Jordan liste
ned to the sounds of his companions’ sleep: a gentle snore, a troubled moan, something that might have been a throaty chuckle.

  Sounds like Thornberry, he thought. At least Mitch is having a happy dream. Brandon’s with Elyse. He wanted to be with Aditi.

  Returning to his cubicle to dress, Jordan thought briefly about tiptoeing out of the camp and walking to the city. But he shook his head. They’d wonder where I’ve gone, why I’ve left. Meek would think I’ve been kidnapped.

  Instead he went to the dining area, floor lights turning on as he walked. A solitary robot stirred to life at the sight of him. The dining area filled with light.

  “May I serve you?” the robot asked.

  Sliding into the nearest chair, Jordan felt weary, deeply tired, down to his bones.

  “Tea, please. With milk.”

  The robot pivoted wordlessly and trundled into the kitchen.

  Jordan sat there, thinking, trying to decide what his next step should be. By the time the robot returned with a steaming mug and deposited it on the table, he had made up his mind.

  He drank the tea slowly, weighing the pros and cons of his decision. After all, he told himself, it’s not as if I have any responsibilities here. They’ve relieved me of my duty. I’m just an unemployed bureaucrat now.

  And he realized that more than anything he wanted to be with Aditi. Needed her warmth, her understanding.

  He drained the mug, then went to his cubicle and tapped out a message to Brandon on his phone: Gone to the city to learn more from Adri.

  That ought to do it, he thought. Then he went quietly through the bubble tent, stepped out into the pearly-gray predawn glow, and headed for the city.

  He hadn’t counted on the guards.

  A pair of man-tall robots was standing at the edge of the glade, by the trail that led to the city.

  “Good morning, Mr. Kell,” said one of them as he approached. Its voice somehow reminded Jordan of a policeman’s: calm, polite, inflexible.

  “Good morning,” he answered.

  “Where are you going, sir?”

  “To the city.”

  “I’m afraid that is prohibited, sir.”

  “Prohibited? Why? By whom?”