Terra's World (19 page)

3.22

‘How long?’

Colonel Hardison and Professor Steinberg were standing in the centrifuge lab at the G’grk command centre. The vast, vibrating metal drum in front of them contained the combination of volatile elements which would, once ‘brewed’, become the explosive core of the warhead which the Lance of the Occluded Ones would deliver – hopefully – straight through the crust and into the very heart of the Black Planet.

Professor Steinberg checked the time on his slate. It showed local Central Plains time, but he thought it would be easier to answer Hardison using comforting old Earth units.

‘Couple of hours.’ He shrugged.

Hardison shifted his weight anxiously from one foot to the other. ‘Do we even
HAV
E a couple of hours?’

Steinberg consulted his slate. He still got a bit of a kick from using Fnrrn gadgets. And to think how impressed he’d been by some of the stuff they had back home.

‘Just barely, I think. Nobody knows what the planet’s destructive range is. Nobody even knows exactly what it does – just what’s left after it’s done it.’

Hardison stared uneasily at the centrifuge. ‘Where did they even get this thing? Do they know how to use it?’

‘It was built at the same time as the rocket,’ said Steinberg matter-of-factly.

‘In Dskt?’ asked Hardison. ‘How do you think they got it all the way back here?’

Steinberg shrugged. ‘It’s amazing what you can achieve when you have a rigid caste system and a completely servile underclass of a hundred million or so.’

Hardison nodded grimly. He shifted his weight again and checked his watch. It hadn’t worked for weeks and had no way of showing local time, but he checked it, anyway.

3.23

L
bbp, flanked by his usual armed escorts, stood on the upper balcony of the Forum and watched the ship’s progress with a mixture of unease and admiration. It’s amazing what you can achieve with half a country’s worth of fawning acolytes, he thought glumly.

They’d found his trusty old lemon-shaped spaceship where he’d said it would be – in a little hangar just behind the Life Science Hub – and loaded it onto a low-energy grav-platform. Now they were towing it along through the streets, dozens of them in their ridiculous white robes, while hundreds more stood by and gave out hissing cheers.

It would have been far easier, of course, for him to pilot it back to the Forum, but in spite of his new-found status as the Gfjk-Hhh’s ‘most trusted adviser’, the Gfjk seemed reluctant to let Lbbp out of his sight. Obviously not that ‘most trusted’ yet, thought Lbbp. We’ll have to work on that, in however long we’ve got left, he concluded, casting an anxious glance skywards. The Black Planet hung over the city, a larger disc than any of the six moons, larger even than the sun appeared at the end of the day.

So the plan now was for the ship to be towed back to the Forum, where Lbbp would override the biometric security measures before handing it over to the Gfjk, so he could set out on his quest for glory. That way, Lbbp would never be left in sole charge of the ship. That way, he couldn’t just blast off to freedom on his own.

Odd, thought Lbbp, that they should take such precautions to prevent me from escaping
NOW
, when escape is the last thing on my mind. The absolute last thing.

He became aware of the Gfjk’s presence at his side.

- Is that it?
the Gfjk said sourly.

- I did say it wasn’t very big,
said Lbbp,
but so much the better for your purposes, Luminescence.

The Gfjk turned to Lbbp, a quizzical expression on his face.
- Explain?

- Well, Luminescence,
began Lbbp,
ANYONE
can set off for battle in some hulking great warship, heavy with armour and bristling with weapons. Any fool, any
MORTAL
can defeat an enemy by outgunning it. But to set out unarmed . . . to face such a terrifying threat as this –
he indicated the Black Planet hanging above them –
and thwart it
JUST BY THE POWER OF HIS WORD
, why those are the actions of . . . of a . . .

- A God,
said the Gfjk quietly.

- Indeed, Luminescence,
said Lbbp reverentially. A blip passed, then another. That’s right, thought Lbbp. Believe it. Believe it, and doom yourself.

There was a weighty pause. Eventually the Gfjk spoke, but the words he uttered were
NOT
anything Lbbp was expecting, or hoping for.

- Is there actually going to be room in there for both of us?

3.24

-
S
o let me see if I have this right,
said Billy.
Once upon a time, there was a planet where life was so blissful it was actually called Perfection, and then one day it just disappeared? And now we think – or at least HE thinks –
he pointed to Pktk
– that it didn’t just vanish into space but somehow turned into the wandering Death Planet up there?

- Erm, yes,
said Pktk.

- Fair enough,
said Billy.
Just wanted to get it sorted out in my head.

- Is there NO explanation as to what happened to Perfection?
asked Terra.
Not even a clue?

Pktk fiddled with his slate. Fthfth cast an anxious glance out of the window. Was that really Perfection? The long-lost planet of peace and beauty? What had happened? And how long did they have to work it out?

- There’s one version of the legend here, it’s in a particularly obscure old dialect. The slate’s taking its time translating it . . . Come on, come on,
said Pktk impatiently, bashing the slate with his free hand.

Hey, look at that, thought Billy, people do that here too.

- Right, here we go,
said Pktk, and he read:

- ‘Crowds gathered on the steps of the Temple-Palace of Sha’ha-las at dawn. The philosopher-priests and the scientists emerged together to rapturous cheers. They carried before them a great golden urn, a sealed vessel within which the Deliverers were contained. At the appointed hour, the urn was opened and the Deliverers were released to carry out their task. To preserve. To perfect . . . The Deliverers sprang forth, and began to unweave Perfection. Cell by cell, molecule by molecule, they took the planet apart.’

Pktk looked up from his slate.
- What’s a Deliverer?
he asked.

The only thing which came to Billy’s mind was the image of a bloke on a moped bringing him pizza. He didn’t really think it was worth mentioning this.

- Nanites . . .
said Fthfth quietly.

- Nanites?
asked Terra.

- Teeny tiny sub-microscopic intelligent machines, smaller than cells. My mother uses them at the nosocomium.

Terra experienced a flashback to her first day at the Lyceum. There was little Fthfth, proudly describing her parents’ occupations. ‘
- My father’s name is Knkt-sh-Dstnk-sh-Hbf and he is
EXTREMELY
clever. He is Director of Applied Science at the Hrrng GravTech Research Hub. My mother is called Hskth-sh-Fnl-sh-Gskt and she is
EVEN CLEVERER
. She is Chief of Cellular Surgery at Hrrng Nosocomium.’

- Cellular surgery,
said Terra. Registering Billy’s bewildered expression, she went on. –
Nanites are like incredibly small robots. They can be injected into diseased or infected cells and they can actually repair the cells individually.

- That signal!
said Fthfth.
That signal
YOU
thought –
she shot a look at Pktk –
was just background radiation – it must be the nanites communicating with each other. The nanites my mother programmes at the nosocomium use just the same kind of incredibly high frequency . . .

- So what if you made – nanites, was it?
Billy asked. Terra nodded. Billy went on.
What if you made nanites, and programmed them to destroy rather than repair?

- They would dismantle living tissue,
said Pktk.
They’d turn it to dust.

- How could one urnful destroy the whole planet, though?
Billy frowned.

- If they were self-replicating nanites, they’d recycle the consumed matter and make copies of themselves,
said Pktk.
There’d be enough to destroy everything in about a spectrum.

- But why?
asked Fthfth in distress.
If their life was so perfect, why did they do this to themselves?

- The legend said they were obsessed with
KEEPING
their life perfect. Once you’re at the top, the only way is down. Except it isn’t,
said Billy.
There isn’t just down. There’s
OUT
!

- They destroyed themselves rather than risk becoming flawed and ordinary like every other planet in the universe,
said Terra angrily.
What is the matter with people?

Billy shrugged.
- Once people decide they’re always in the right, it’s amazing just how wrong they can end up being.

- Fine,
said Fthfth,
but once the stupid g’shbks had destroyed their own planet, shouldn’t that have been it? Why is it wandering about trying to do the same thing to everyone else?

- Bad programming,
said Pktk.
You have to be very careful when you’re giving instructions to machines. They’re very literal. They don’t use intuition to work out what you mean, they just go by what you say.
EXACTLY
what you say.

- You think the Deliverers are still following their original directive?
Terra said thoughtfully.
If they were just programmed to destroy all life, they wouldn’t know that they were supposed to stop after one planet’s worth . . . But how is the planet moving?

Pktk went to the window.
- What if there’s no planet left? What if they consumed the whole thing? What if the object up there is just a planet-sized clump of nanites? Shuffling through space under some sort of propulsion system the nanites are generating between them, looking for life to destroy . . .

Pktk stared up at the black orb, in awe and not a little admiration at how far the nanites had surpassed their makers’ expectations. Suddenly his eyes opened wide, his jaw fell open and his skin became the palest grey . . . He turned back to his friends.

- The G’grk! Their rocket! We need to stop them! We need to stop them firing their rocket!

3.25

L
bbp’s feet scampered down the Forum square steps, and his mind scampered in search of a way to convince the Gfjk that taking his adviser along on his sacred mission was really
NOT
a good idea.

The Gfjk was already striding across the square, towards the little lemon-shaped spaceship which had been set up on a podium. He waved regally at the crowd of supporters who had come to see him off.

What to say? What to say? He’d come so far – he’d almost persuaded the Gfjk that he was invincible, almost got him into the ship, blasting off on his suicidal quest – and now it turned out that the Gfjk was expecting him to come along? How could Lbbp talk him out of it?

As Lbbp’s eyes darted around the Forum square, an idea began to form in his mind.

- Luminescence,
he called to the Gfjk, who now stood at the foot of the podium.

The Gfjk paused mid-wave and turned towards him.
- Yes?

- I was just wondering – which of these plinths would be the best one to put our statue on?

The Gfjk blinked.
-
OUR
statue?
he said.

- Yes!
said Lbbp happily.
They’re bound to make one of us, aren’t they? After we save them all. I reckon –
he looked slowly around the square –
THAT
one. In that corner. It gets the most sun. We can get rid of . . . whoever that is.
He waved dismissively at the statue currently occupying the plinth, and in truth, he didn’t have the faintest idea who it was supposed to be.

- Erm . . .
said the Gfjk uneasily.

- You’ll be in front, obviously, Luminescence. Hmm, I am
slightly taller, but we can make sure they make you taller.

The Gfjk-Hhh squirmed at the thought of sharing plinth-space with this grovelling mortal. He liked the idea of being a statue – he’d had that silly hovering one re-modelled with his face – it had been one of his first acts as Gfjk – but so far there hadn’t actually been a proper statue made specifically in his honour. He didn’t like the thought that the first one, the first bespoke statue of the Gfjk-Hhh, would not depict him standing alone, but as part of some bizarre double-act. That just wouldn’t do. The Deceiver would be disappointed; should he let him down gently?

G’shb gently. Gently is for those with something to fear. Gently is not for Gods.

- Actually, Deceiver, I’m going on my own. Sorry, but that’s how it is. That spaceship is dreadfully cramped and I am NOT going to save my people while sitting on someone’s lap. I trust there are no objections?

Careful, thought Lbbp. I have to act just crestfallen enough to be convincing, but not so much as to change his mind. Lbbp made his biggest saddest face and said,
- If you think that’s best, Luminescence.

- I do. Now stand over there. I must address my people.

The Gfjk-Hhh climbed onto the podium. Hissed cheers and applause ( you learned that from Terra, you cheeky f ’zfts, thought Lbbp) echoed around the square. The Gfjk raised a hand and the clamour subsided.

- Beloved children!
he began.
Above, you see the destroyer, the eater of worlds, the bringer of death whose coming was foretold . . .

Apparently, thought Lbbp. Not sure where, or by whom, but never mind.

The Gfjk went on.
- But my coming was also foretold! Death is coming, and I am ready! Ready to destroy the destroyer!

Oh, just get in the ship, thought Lbbp. There must be a way I can speed this up. Once he’s . . . out of the way, there might just still be time to find a way to actually stop that
planet, but not if he stands there making speeches until the thing is actually touching the ground.

Lbbp glanced up at the Black Planet. It all but filled the dawnward half of the sky.

An idea came to him. Just as the Gfjk was about to begin reciting another glowing tribute to his own wonderfulness, Lbbp roared,
-
LOVE AND GLORY TO THE GFJK-HHH
!

The crowd, ever mindful of the necessity of appearing at least as loyal as the next Fnrrn, took up the chant immediately. The Gfjk’s words were drowned out. He raised his voice, but the impossibility of making himself heard became obvious. So, with a final regal wave, he climbed through the open hatch and entered the spaceship.

The chanting faded away.

There was a moment’s pause. The crowd began to look around, anxiously.

A voice came from inside the ship.

- Deceiver . . . ? Come here a moment.

Lbbp looked expectantly at his two escorts. They marched him to the podium and helped him climb through the hatch.

Inside the spaceship, the Gfjk-Hhh was sitting in the pilot’s chair and staring at the array of controls in front of him. Registering Lbbp’s arrival, he waved a hand in the direction of the console.

- How does all this work, exactly?