Delta Pavonis (14 page)

The planet had abundant flora and fauna, but nothing had been discovered that was as "exotic as the dinosaurs and other anomalous life forms found at Delta Pavonis. All life forms discovered so far seemed to be of common origin and consistent with variations in the planetwide ecology, much as their Earth analogues had been.

"They've been there nearly two decades," Fumiyo pointed out. "Surely they'd have found anything bizarre if it was to be found."

"Not necessarily," Dierdre said. "Orbital surveillance only tells you so much. We've been here for years without detecting those great big dinosaurs, or the mammoths, or even the whales. Somebody's got to get up close to find some things. It took a shoestring operation like ours to stumble across them. The whole population of the Alpha Centauri expedition isn't as big as one old-time major city on Earth, and most of them stayed in space. Only the dumb and adventurous go down onto the planets. A planet's a big place for just a few thousand explorers to cover, even with two decades to do it in."

"They're combing the place for transporters now," Derek said. "There are some life forms that seem rather intelligent, but so far no sign of artifacts, culture or archaeological remains. Of course, that double-star setup makes for occasional catastrophic climate changes, which wouldn't be very conducive to the rise of civilization. Seismic activity's supposed to be pretty fierce as well. Otherwise, it sounds like a fine place. Better than this one, anyway."

"Tau Ceti?" Sieglinde asked.

"Another system like ours, or Earth's: four Jupiter-style gas giants, a few lifeless rocks of the Mars-Venus variety, and one Earth-type. The climatological situation is very benign in the temperate zones, but no intelligent life so far. They haven't been there as long as the Alpha Centauri expedition. They've found some puzzling remains—what look a little like wall foundations—but artifact status is uncertain. If they're alien or humanoid artifacts, they're incredibly ancient."

Sieglinde leaned back and pondered. "Quite aside from the mundanities of planetary exploration and the bizarre things we've discovered here, there's another anomaly that has my brain reeling."

"At least yours reels," Derek commented. "Mine went numb a couple of years back. What's troubling you now?"

"When we blasted out of solar orbit, three-quarters of the Island World expeditions chose nearby star systems that featured Sol-type primaries and definite evidence of planetary systems. We had no certainty of finding Earth-type planets at all, much less in any abundance. I'd have been happy and surprised to find one in five planetary systems. Now three of us have reached our destinations, and all three found usable Earth-type planets. It's far too small a sampling for statistical analysis, but it's also far too great a coincidence. The general distribution of planetary types has been about as expected—the bulk of matter tied up in a few gas giants, smaller rock balls and some asteroids. But an Earth-type takes an extremely delicate balance of mass, distance, elements and so forth. There has to be a tremendous amount of water, and the orbit has to maintain a distance throughout the year that allows the very narrow surface-temperature range at which water stays liquid except for ice caps and some atmospheric vapor. To top it all off, it's necessary to have a varying planetary axial tilt in order to maintain a mix of benign climates. In the great cosmic crapshoot, we've rolled too many naturals."

"Should that surprise us?" Dierdre asked. She waved her hands in an all-inclusive gesture, taking in the whole planet and a large part of the solar system. "Just look at this planet! We've known since we got here that there was something unnatural about it—the way it's divided up into climatic and ecological zones, the incredible diversity of life, all of it differing from one zone to another right down to their molecular structure. If our aliens can build a whole world as artificial as this one, what's to stop them from building an Earth or two in any solar system they come to?"

"Priority message coming through," Ping said. A moment later a voice from one of the orbitals filled the room.

"This is Survey news service. Today we've received further confirmation of the planetary lab theory. Dr. Krishna Srinivas of the Beowulf Island survey team reports that his team has discovered fauna seemingly related to that found on Alpha Centauri's Terra Nova."

"I don't know whether to cheer or be scared," Dierdre said.

"I've been scared since we got to this place," Sieglinde affirmed.

The meeting broke up. The next bombshell arrived a few months later, with the first report from Eta Cassiopeiae.

EIGHT

The newcomer arrived by shuttle early in the morning, while it was still cool. They had rolled dice to see who got the task of meeting him, being his escort and giving him his orientation. Dierdre had lost. There was a spaceport facility on the coast now. The scoutcraft would be bringing him in from there.

She heard the craft before she saw it, then the clumsy, boxy shape came into view over a range of low hills to the southeast. She remembered her first ride on such a craft. It seemed years ago, although it had been—what? She counted. Just under one Delta Pav year, about one point one Earth year. Things had changed considerably in that short time.

There was now an experimental agricultural station next to the landing field. The maize was coming along nicely, she noted. The plants were grown from original Earth seed, never adapted for offworld conditions. There were stations like this all over the archipelago, taking advantage of the Earth-type soil conditions to replenish the orbitals' precious supply of unaltered seed. The viability of gene-manipulated flora was always suspect, and a supply of control material was a necessary hedge against unforseen consequences.

Dierdre held on to her hat as the scoutcraft's rotors stirred up a minor tornado of grass, twigs and dust. Next to the main cargo door the crew had painted a tyrannosaur and the words "Dino Express." When the craft was settled, the door lowered and extruded its ramp. From inside, the cargomaster grinned and waved.

"G'morning, Dee!"

She waved back. "Good morning, Karl. What did you bring me?"

"Got some exotic instruments for the boss lady, six crates of wine from Avalon, this month's holo releases from Deryabar Studios and a brand-new superluminal commo specialist, still in his original wrapper."

"That last item's the one I was sent for. Send him out. The rest can go up the hill by robot cart."

"He'll be right out." Karl chuckled maliciously, which, when she thought about it later, should have given her some warning.

An apparition appeared at the top of the ramp, and Dierdre gaped as she had at her first dinosaur. He looked slightly older than herself, slightly taller, and far paler. He managed to look thin and flabby at the same time, and he descended the ramp on legs as wobbly as a drunk's. But it was not his obvious unsuitability to the climate that had her goggling. That was not uncommon among newcomers just down from the orbitals with no acclimatization training. No, it was his clothes.

For some reason, this one had not chosen to wear practical coveralls, nor yet the hokey safari-style get-ups generally favored by sightseeing asteroid-dwellers down for a visit. He was wearing this season's highest fashion, the sort of thing Avalonian socialites wore when being interviewed by those breathless holo reporters that Dierdre detested so much. His short jacket was brilliant scarlet, heavily embroidered with gold thread. An eruption of foamy lace cascaded from his throat, topped by a face as perfect as genetics and surgery could make it. His sky-blue tights terminated in pointed shoes with high, red-laquered heels. In ten-percent gravity, they would be elegant. Planetside, they made him teeter alarmingly. She forced herself not to stare at the ornate codpiece. It had to be padded. Heavily.

"I'm Dierdre Jamail," she said when he reached bottom. "I'm to show you around and take you to your quarters."

He managed a weak smile. Perspiration covered his face and dripped into the lace fall. "The famous discoverer? Charmed." He offered a soft hand. "I am Matthias Pflug. I'm here from the Martin Shaw Institute, superluminal department."

That, at least, was impressive. The Shaw Institute accepted only the top graduates each year. But it had to be somebody's idea of a joke, sending this one here.

"Dr. Kornfeld says I'm to see to your needs personally. There are all sorts of rumors going around concerning this mysterious mission of yours."

He took out a large handkerchief and mopped his face. "Is it always so hot here?"

Dierdre was perfectly comfortable in the early-morning coolness, but she remembered how it had felt her first morning here.

"This is as cool as it gets. We'd better get you indoors, where the atmosphere's controlled. Maybe you ought to ride. The cargo robot ought to be here soon."

"I think I can walk it," he said.

"Pardon me in advance for saying it," she said, as they trudged slowly uphill, "but you really aren't dressed for the climate." Or for much of anything else, she added mentally.

"This came up so quickly," he said, still mopping, "I didn't have time to get ready. And under no circumstances would I wear one of those Ernest Hemingway White Hunter outfits that've become all the rage." He stopped and pointed at a group of brown animals munching grass nearby. "Are those things dangerous?"

"Those are just calves," Dierdre assured him. "That's an agricultural station. We have sheep, too. Don't worry about the dinosaurs. They mostly avoid this place since we've moved in, although a really big pterosaur got away with a lamb a few days ago."

He studied the clear sky apprehensively. "I want to see the fauna, of course. Maybe from a shuttle."

"We'll find you something." She wondered who she could con into guiding this impossibility into the bush.

When they reached the now-sprawling lab complex and passed inside, he almost fainted from relief. "Air!" he said. "I'd almost forgotten what air was like. It's like breathing under water out there."

"You may not be cut out for this kind of life," she hazarded. Mouths dropped open as they passed people in the corridor. Others came out of offices and labs to stare. If one of the mysterious aliens had dropped into their midst it could not have been more out of place.

"You'll be staying here," Dierdre said, pushing aside a plastic curtain. The chamber was no more than four meters on a side, furnished with a cot, a chest and a hanging rack.

"Rather, ah, Spartan, isn't it?"

"It's better than sleeping on the ground with the bugs chewing you. We're outside most of the time. We only use our cells to sleep in and then we're usually so exhausted we don't pay much attention to the surroundings."

"I suppose asceticism has its own charm. Mortification of the flesh and all that. Thank you, Miss Jamail. Please tell Dr. Kornfeld that I would like to see her at her earliest convenience. Now, I think I had better lie down for a few minutes." He collapsed bonelessly onto the bunk.

Dierdre made sure he was still breathing, then went in search of Sieglinde, whom she found in the transporter chamber. "Doc, this guy is a joke. One of your enemies must've sent him, or maybe one of his."

"No, I asked for him personally. Former student of mine." She spoke without taking her attention from her instruments. Dierdre had always admired Sieglinde's ability to keep her attention on two things at once. It did make her speech rather abstracted, though. "Family's one of the big rich ones from the old days in the Belt. Self-designated aristocrats, very prominent socially."

"I never had any use for that sort," Dierdre said.

"They never had any for you either, I'll wager."

Dierdre winced. Sieglinde tolerated arrogance, but she had no liking for self-importance. She had an abnormal sensitivity for the difference between the two, and did not hesitate to let you know when you had crossed the line. She could make it hurt.

"Right. He says he wants to see you as soon as possible, but I'd let him rest a while."

"I've scheduled his presentation for 2030, right after dinner. Pass the word that nobody is to have too much wine or beer with dinner, I want everybody clear-headed for this."

"Got you. Are we in for another historic occasion?"

Sieglinde nodded, her fingers continuing to dance over her keyboard. "As important as the Rhea Objects, or this island, or your discovery of the transporters."

"
Sic transit gloria mundi
, huh? Or should it be
gloria cosmos
? No, that's mixing Latin and Greek. I never was good with Classical languages."

For the first time Sieglinde looked up and smiled. "Close enough, but don't worry. It's true we live in an age of marvels and the historic occasions are coming thick and fast. This may well prove to be one of the watershed periods of human history, as important as coming down out of the trees or learning to speak or going into space. But don't worry, you'll still be in the history books. Maybe not right up there with Columbus or Magellan, but at least equal to Lindbergh."

Dierdre grinned. "Great. Everybody remembers his name, even if they're not too sure what it was he did. Beats being forgotten."

"Good. You haven't lost your sense of humor. There're times when it's all you have to keep you going."

At the mess table, Dierdre's word about moderation drew some groans.

"Ahh, shut up," Forrest told the groaners. "A few months back a bladder of beer off a shuttle was the biggest luxury you could dream about. Now you're whining because the boss lady turns off the tap. What a bunch of orbies." This last was a word of opprobrium coined by the planetside personnel. It was short for "orbiters."

Down the table a vociferous argument was going on. "It
has
to be padded!" Okamura insisted. He turned to Dierdre. "You saw him closest, Dee. What's your verdict, padded or unpadded?"

"Padded," she said, assuredly.

"I don't know," Fumiyo said. "I knew a guy back at the Academy. He was skinny like that, but you should have seen his—"

"Crap," said Hannie, succinctly. She had just come in from a three-day jungle trek, guiding a team of paleontologists and holographers. She was still dressed in her filthy outback coverall. "I haven't laid eyes on this orby fashion plate yet, but there isn't one of them worth—"

"Assembly in the amphitheater in five minutes," said Sieglinde's voice over the intercom. "Move it."

The amphitheater was a holographic pit. It was circular, with tiers of seats that could accommodate up to two hundred spectators. Besides Team Red, all the lab and support personnel were present, about half filling the room. Sieglinde expected to have a much larger facility, eventually.

Dierdre took a seat near the middle of the room. She picked one that was flanked by empty seats and was gratified when Forrest took the seat to her right. He had plenty to choose from. Hannie sat to her left and Dierdre leaned toward Forrest, not to make a play for him, but because Hannie had not had time to bathe before dinner and the summons to the amphitheater. The woman was overpowering in every possible way.

The lights in the seats dimmed while those in the pit brightened slightly. There was a gasp as Matthias Pflug walked into the center of the pit. Not only had he not changed into planetside clothes, he had added a short evening cape, a garment so spectacularly useless that anyone with pretensions to fashion just had to own one. Dierdre heard an especially loud gasp next to her but at that moment Pflug began to speak.

"Dr. Kornfeld has asked me to make a special trip here to bring you a presentation of the holographic record transmitted to us at the Shaw Institute through superluminal communication from the expedition to Eta Cassiopeiae. This transmission arrived mere hours ago. We have put considerable labor into reducing it to the form you shall see. Quite aside from the historical import of the events at Eta Cassiopeiae, this has been a momentous use of Dr. Kornfeld's superluminal communication technology." His voice and manner were far more assured now, and Dierdre realized that much of his earlier shakiness had been sheer fatigue. He had put in some long hours at this project. There was much raucous cheering at the praise for Sieglinde's technological marvel.

Dierdre felt a hand at her knee. Shudderingly, she relaxed into her chair. At last, he was making his move. It was about time.

"This transmission," Pflug continued, "came on the narrow band used only by the Shaw Institute. The senders wanted to make sure that the news would be handled at this end by responsible people." Team Red felt the rebuke in his words. Some of them made rude noises. The hand slid along Dierdre's thigh. She vowed to herself not to fall into an attitude of abandoned acceptance for at least five minutes. Or until the holos started, at which time nobody would be able to see what was happening.

"What you are about to see is a condensation of several months of exploration on Eta Cassiopeiae's two Earthlike planets." There were shouts of disbelief. "Yes, I said two. The discoverers named them Atlantis and Xanadu. Dr. Kornfeld's wonderment at the frequency of Earthlike planets goes up a notch, eh?"

The fingers dug painfully into Dierdre's thigh. She winced. Was he a little kinky? Then she realized something: it was her
left
thigh. She looked over and saw Hannie's face, staring downward with an unreadable expression. Dierdre's mind went through a disorienting change of gears. Sure, Hannie was a little weird, but then, weren't they all? Sure, the two of them had been friends, after a fashion, but this? Then she noticed that the Amazon was not paying her the slightest attention. Hannie's eyes were glued to Matthias Pflug.

"Get ready for something even more bizarre. These two planets don't just orbit the primary, they orbit
each other
!" From the audience there were cries such as, "Scientific impossibility," and, "Oh, bullshit!"

"Scoff if you like," Pflug said, "but it's true. These two planets, Earthlike within a few hundred kilometers of diameter, are not the sole anomaly of the system. Other planets consist of a single, Mercurylike, lifeless rock, and three gas giants. A little different from the other systems so far, eh?"

Dierdre had to admit that Pflug had some style. It was a bit hard to concentrate, with Hannie's hand clamping down like a power tool. She took the woman's thick wrist in both hands and dug her thumbs into the nerve point on the small finger side, pressing as hard as she could.

"Ease off, Hannie! I only have one femoral artery in that leg, and you're destroying it!"

Hannie leaned close, the pressure causing her no apparent pain. "I want him!" she hissed.

"What? Him? Pflug? You can—" At first, all Dierdre could think about was that she had prayed to find someone to take the little fop off her hands. Now she realized that he might be worth something. "—You can take a flying leap. He's mine."