Village in the Sky, page 21
“I’m sorry to hear it. But you meant no harm. That is what matters.” Alex paused. I saw a brief image of their children, laughing and playing like human kids. Then they were all gone.
“You want to find them because intelligence is so rare in the universe. Do I have that right?”
“Yes. But if we’ve lost them, we’ve found you. Life-forms like yours are extremely rare.”
I hope you are not planning to run off as well.
“Unfortunately, we won’t be staying. But I suspect now that we know you’re here, others will come to study how you developed. If you don’t mind our revealing your presence.”
If they would be as generous as you have been, I would be pleased to see them.
* * *
We had just begun walking away when Robbi Jo said, “We need a name for this.”
I’d been thinking the same thing. “How about ‘Collective’? ‘Collie’ for short.”
Alex looked at me with an expression that suggested would I please get serious. “I mean it,” Robbi Jo said. “If you don’t like ‘Collie,’ how about ‘Larry’?”
“Larry?” Alex was getting annoyed. I was backing away from the baby bear when I stumbled over a root. Robbi Jo grabbed me and we both went down.
“You guys okay?” Alex came over to help.
Gabe was also asking if we were okay. I’d come down on my head and I could feel a swelling already starting around my left eye. Otherwise I was fine. Robbi Jo was bending over me, looking at my face. “How’s your vision?” she asked.
My lid was hanging slightly. “I’m good.”
She didn’t look pleased. “You’re going to get a black eye, kid.”
“We’ll have something in the ship to treat it,” I said.
“You know what that might be?”
“No. But Belle will know.”
“Good. So where are we with Larry?”
“I guess,” said Alex, “we can call this whatever we like. I mean, they don’t know what a name is. I certainly didn’t see that coming.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“A hive mind that includes trees.” Alex was wearing a large smile. “You know, we came out here to try to figure out what happened to the villagers. Where they went. That was going to be the big story if we could come up with an explanation. But if this one is legitimate, if we’ve actually got a section of forest out here that’s alive, and functioning like an intelligent being… Damn, that doesn’t happen often. The Ashiyyur constituted a major shock when we realized what they were capable of. But they’re nowhere close to this thing.”
“Careful,” I said.
“About what?”
“Calling Larry a ‘thing.’ Keep in mind that they can pick up everything you say. Or think. We might want to be a little careful about the labels we pin on them.”
“You’re right, Chase. I guess I better get my act together.”
Robbi Jo smiled. “Maybe they’ll arrange for one of the leopards to come out and talk to us instead of having us stand there and talk to a tree.”
We said goodbye to Larry and returned to the lander. Robbi Jo opened the hatch.
We looked back at the trees. Maybe we expected to see the baby bear come out and wave. But nothing was moving.
Alex took a close look at my eye. “We’d better get you back to the Belle-Marie before it gets any worse.” We climbed inside. “How about,” he said, “if I sit in the pilot seat? If there’s an emergency—”
“I’m all right, Alex. But you can sit there if you want to.”
“Maybe Robbi Jo would like to take over?”
“Sure,” she said. “I’ve got it.”
Gabe rejoined the conversation. “Do we still want to track down the aliens? You guys are right: we have a much bigger story now.”
Alex replied, “Why not? We’ve come this far. If they got scared off by Larry, they probably wouldn’t have bothered to go far.”
Gabe continued, “Even if that’s true, Alex, and they’re nearby, searching a planet for a village is a fairly big deal. But okay. We should probably do what we came for.”
A flock of birds showed up and fluttered by in a wide arc. There were more than a hundred of them. They were small birds, with blue bodies and white wings, and they flew in formation. As we watched, they circled us a couple of times and settled on the lander, all of them, squeezing in together. A couple lost their balance and slipped off, but then came back and found a place. Robbi Jo started the engine and was about to lift off when, in a single instant, they rose into the air and flew back toward the trees.
19
The most compelling advantage to be gained from our knowledge of history is that we should be able to avoid making the same mistakes a second time. But another lesson to be learned is not to expect similar events to repeat themselves.
—Tiel Chadwick, Memoirs, 1309
Unfortunately, while the book the leopard had given us was filled with astronomical pictures, there was no photo of the editor. But of course, after our encounter with Larry, that seemed of trifling significance.
Gabe was on the link as we closed in on the Belle-Marie. “I think,” he said, “we should find out whether the collective is a one-shot, or whether living forests really exist elsewhere on this world.” We were still struggling with the name. Nobody liked “Larry.” “That’s going to be the first question we hear when we get home. Maybe, for that matter, it’ll give us a sense of whether they’ve been telling us the truth.”
“About whether they’re a collective?” I said. “Why would they lie?”
“I don’t know.” I could almost see Gabe up there shaking his head. “I have no idea.”
Robbi Jo was seated to my left, in the pilot’s seat.
Behind us, Alex was tapping his fingertips on the arm of his chair. “It’s not a bad idea,” he said. “Though I’m not entirely sure how we could confirm it.”
Gabe was waiting with a cozaline medication for the left side of my face, which had swollen to immense proportions by the time we reached the Belle-Marie. It didn’t get rid of the swelling, nor would my left eyelid open, but it eased the discomfort. “You get an application every six hours,” he said. “I’ll set the timer.”
Everybody sat back and relaxed. We had dinner, crossed an ocean, chased a sunrise, and found ourselves over a block of land that would have been ranked somewhere between a giant island and a small continent. “Ideal place to check,” said Gabe. “Let’s go down and take a look.”
I didn’t think they would let me go to ground again, and to be honest I was glad for the opportunity to take a pass. Robbi Jo said she was tired, so the guys went.
The landmass was mostly forest. There were a few hills, a mountain range, several rivers, and three large lakes. We set the Belle-Marie for a stationary orbit. They landed just off the edge of a forest on an open field north of one of the lakes. Alex checked in, reported no unusual circumstances.
They activated their imagers so we could follow them. The surrounding forest wasn’t quite as dense as the one where the village had been. They climbed out of the lander and stood there in bright sunlight, looking around and waiting for the feeling that they were being watched.
“You getting anything?” Robbi Jo asked.
“Nothing yet,” said Alex.
“It took a good while before any of us started hearing Larry,” she said.
They waited a few minutes and seemed simultaneously relieved and disturbed that nothing was coming through. They started toward the forest. They talked more than they usually would have in this type of situation. Maybe they were hoping, if there was a collective, to get a quick response from it. They reached the trees, found a trail, and followed it into the woods. Gabe periodically said hello to the trees. After about a half hour they came back to the lander. “We’re not getting anything,” Gabe said.
They climbed back inside, lifted off, and flew south across a mountain range. On the far side they descended near a river onto an open patch in the forest surrounded by hills. We stayed with them in the Belle-Marie. The river glittered in the sunlight, its banks filled with an array of multicolored blossoms. Birds circled the area, and one was floating in the water. “You guys would like this place,” Gabe said. “The aromas are—” He sighed. “Don’t know how to describe them, but everything’s off the charts here.”
“He’s not exaggerating,” said Alex. “If you were planning on retiring, this would be the place. Except that it’s back.”
“What’s back?” Robbi Jo said. “The watcher?”
“Yes. There’s another one here.” Alex looked around at the trees but obviously saw nothing. “Hello, out there,” he said. “We know you’re here.”
Robbi Jo took a deep breath. We were both on the bridge. “Chase, I wonder if we automatically try to block off this kind of hive mind? That would explain why it took us so long to pick them up.”
“I suspect that was maybe the same problem I was having: I didn’t want to recognize that something had penetrated my head until there was no way to back off the reality.”
Alex and Gabe stood close to each other, a few steps from the lander. We could hear the wind glowing around them. Finally Alex said, “I guess we’ve answered the question. Larry’s not alone.”
“What do we do now, Alex?” said Gabe. “You want to go for a walk in the woods?”
“That’s probably not a good idea. Let’s play it safe. Get back in the lander and clear out.”
But they didn’t move.
“You still getting vibes?” I asked.
“Yes, Chase. Somebody’s interested in us.”
I’d enjoyed our experience with the collective, after we managed the rescue. But nevertheless, this wasn’t a world I would have picked to live on. Robbi Jo let me see she was in full agreement. We were using the telescope to scan the area. It looked like an ordinary forest. On the ground, Alex was calling out again to the presence, but apparently still not getting a reply. Then they started walking toward the trees. So much for playing it safe.
Belle’s lamp came on. “Got activity,” she said. She enlarged an area near the edge of the field, where the shrubbery was spread out. Some of it was moving, but we couldn’t see what was causing it.
“Maybe just the wind,” Robbi Jo said. She leaned over her link. “Movement at the edge of the woods, guys, off to your right.”
They needed a minute. Then Gabe responded, “We can’t see anything either, other than some vegetation swaying in the wind.”
Alex continued talking to the collective: “You there? Anybody listening?”
I was glad to see them both unbuckle their blasters.
The movement stopped.
“Maybe it was just the wind,” I said.
Gabe replied, “Don’t have any wind at the moment.”
Belle broke in: “Shrubbery is moving again.”
Something was emerging from the bushes. It was hard to make out because it was the same color as the vegetation. But gradually we saw what appeared to be a large round head, and as more of it became visible, we realized we were looking at a huge snake. Or maybe a dragon. It had several pairs of legs, and the head possessed eyes and a mouth large enough to swallow either Gabe or Alex.
“That thing is seriously large,” Robbi Jo said. “Get the hell back to the lander.”
Alex raised his left hand as if signaling no need to worry. “We see it.”
“It’s headed in your direction,” I said.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Alex. “It’s not a problem.”
“What are you talking about? That thing could have either of you guys for lunch.”
“Relax, Chase.” Gabe was standing in front of Alex’s imager. He smiled and waved.
Robbi Jo broke in: “That thing does not look like something you want to fool around with. Get back in the lander and get the hell out of there.”
“We’re okay,” said Alex.
“What gives you that stupid idea?” I said.
“It feels right.”
“It feels right? Can you see that thing?”
“Take my word for it, Chase. No need to panic.”
“It’s okay,” said Gabe. “We’re good.”
Robbi Jo’s hand gripped the chair arm.
The creature was completely out of the underbrush, walking calmly toward Alex and Gabe. I never thought of a snake walking before. Or wearing an expression. The thing looked hungry. “Alex,” I said, “please. Get out of there. Now.”
“Calm down, Chase. Everything’s okay.”
Gabe seemed to have entered a hypnotic state. He was just standing, facing the approaching creature, his blaster in his right hand, pointed at the ground.
Robbi Jo had lost whatever composure she’d had. “Something’s happened to them. We have any way to intervene?”
If we took the Belle-Marie down, we’d never get back into orbit. Even if I could, there was no way we’d get there in time. The creature was headed for Gabe, mouth open, drool spilling out onto the grass. “Gabe,” I said, “shoot it. Stop that damn thing.”
“It’s okay,” Gabe said, sounding as if he was looking at a squirrel. “Don’t worry.”
We had one chance. “Belle.”
“Yes, Chase?” Even the AI sounded in a state of shock.
“Play the Deep Sky Sonata. And make it loud.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Just do it.”
She turned it on, not at the beginning, with its solemn, gradually building melodies, but with the rousing harmonic intensity that comes almost midway, with the complete reversal of the original theme. We couldn’t see Alex. The telescope was trained on Gabe and the walking snake, which was only a few steps away from him. I was holding my breath, terrified.
We were getting the adagio in G major, which broke into its hurricane rendition. Gabe staggered. I thought he was going to fall, but he caught himself and struggled to raise the weapon. While he did, the creature’s head exploded and the thing collapsed. We heard Alex: “Gabe, get away from it. Get clear.”
Gabe was still not going anywhere.
Alex fired a second round at the animal, but it was pointless. The thing was dead, sprawled across the ground. He hurried over to Gabe. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Why’d you do that? I thought it was friendly.” He sank to his knees.
“I picked up a sense that you looked tasty. Come on, let’s get out of here.” He helped Gabe back onto his feet. Then they turned and started for the lander.
A half-dozen birds came out of the trees. They looked like hawks, circled the open field, and began to zero in on the lander. Or really on Gabe and Alex as they hurried back to the vehicle. The hatch opened. They were both holding their blasters, but Gabe was muttering in a confused manner. Alex stopped, turned, and fired the weapon. One of the hawks blew apart. He helped Gabe onto the ladder and took out another hawk. The others sailed overhead and retreated toward the trees.
Moments later they were both inside, breathing more easily. Alex closed the hatch. He looked into the imager that Gabe wore on his shirt. Which is to say, he looked directly at Robbi Jo and me. And probably at Belle’s lights. “Thanks, guys,” he said. “And Chase, anytime you want to ignore me and go in a different direction, feel free.”
* * *
“So much for my assumption,” said Gabe as we gathered in the passenger cabin, “that any collective intelligence was likely to be friendly. Like Larry. This place is going to provide a challenge for anybody who wants to figure out what’s going on here.”
“Maybe we need to keep in mind,” said Robbi Jo, “that it’s apparently another group intelligence. Larry’s group were friendly little birds, baby bears, trees, and two-legged leopards with no claws. Remember how shocked they were when we started talking about predators?”
Alex settled into the chair behind mine. He reached up and put a hand on my shoulder. “We’re fortunate you guys were here. Thanks. We got seriously lucky this time.”
Gabe sat, breathing. “I guess we know why the villagers decided to leave.”
“You think they knew about other collectives?” asked Robbi Jo.
Gabe still looked a bit out of it. “Maybe not in detail. But I’d bet they suspected the one they’d experienced wasn’t alone. Even if they was, who’d want to live with them in the area? I can’t believe what happened down there. I was staring that monster in the face, but I was completely immersed in a warm, friendly sense that everything was okay, and that the creature would do no harm. I literally couldn’t fire the weapon. I don’t even think I wanted to.”
“You kept behaving,” said Robbi Jo, “as if that monster was a friendly kitten. These group minds are more dangerous than we thought. This one apparently took you over. Both of you.”
“I’d never have believed,” said Gabe, “that was possible.” He put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “You have a hell of a staff, kid.”
* * *
Later, Alex joined me on the bridge. “It was you, I assume, who thought of using the sonata.”
“Yes.”
“That was brilliant. Thank you.”
“I’m glad it worked. I couldn’t think of anything else that had even a chance.”
“I should apologize for jumping on you about using the lander to save the tree.”
“It’s okay, Alex.”
“I want you to know that you’ll always have a place with Rainbow, as long as you want it. And I trust your judgment completely to do what’s best.”
“So what do we do now? Check out the nearby worlds?”
“That sounds like a plan.”
“Okay. Since we have no idea where they could be, we might want to refuel.”
“How do we do that?” Gabe asked. He’d come onto the bridge and was standing behind me. The flights Gabe took were mostly just around Confederate worlds. So I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t know much about long-range missions.
