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Chapter One
The Third Planet
Among the myriad of stars, one distinguishable point
became visible from the ark’s bridge.
When first spotted by Commander Falon, it was entered into the ship’s
log along with all the other observations on his watch. Casually, following normal routine, he
switched to the ship’s scope with the intent of tracking it on his computer
screen, a task that would take most of the hour. The point had appeared suddenly and fortuitously after the
ship began to emerge unscathed from a belt of asteroids, yet continued to compete
with much more wondrous objects in space.
Constellations, star clusters and nebulas loomed as
a backdrop for meteors and comets, and the ghostly trace of exploded stars drew
his attention away. At one point,
which was taped into the ship’s log, he recorded a black hole surrounded by a
brilliant halo of light. Untold
marvels and astronomical enigmas were sprinkled jewel-like over the cosmos to
distract him from that dull point of light. Nothing seemed so spectacular in the cosmos after witnessing
the aftermath of a supernova, a black hole and a gigantic constellation with
its one hundred billion stars. Yet
he knew, with increasing confidence, he had discovered something important this
hour.
Raising
an excited four-fingered hand to his mouth, his huge cat-like eyes widened in
disbelief as the realization grew.
This was not a star; it was a planet—a brand new world!
******
Commander Falon had no external ears, only portholes
on each side of his head that quivered in response to sounds. At this moment, the holes were
motionless, and yet his mind was reeling with thoughts. Although his pupils were dilated with
expectation, his simian face, with mere breathing slits for a nose, showed
little emotion as he stared at the new world. He was, as were others of his kind, completely bald and had
bright pink skin, mottled slightly with red splotches that came with aging, as
did the wrinkles on his neck and chin.
In spite of his gangly arms, which appeared too long for his torso and
his short bandy legs, the commander walked with a graceful bipedal gait. A smile played on his thin lips as he
paced back and forth on the bridge.
The commander surveyed his crewmen critically but
with understanding this late hour.
Orix, his executive officer and the ship’s navigator, had missed the
planet entirely but so had First Mate Remgen and all the other crewmen on
deck. He, alone, had made the
connection, but he must be certain before sounding the alarm. Despite its apparent mediocrity, he had
followed mission procedure, and now, it was paying off. The target point appeared fixed and
radiated dully contrary to the blinking bursts of surrounding lights. The questions he continued to ask
himself were basic to the mission.
Was it a watered world? Was
it a planet that might contain life? Exhausted as he was, Commander Falon, with guarded
excitement, continued the difficult task of tracking the object with the ship’s
scope. For a moment, his eyes grew
fatigued and he looked away from the monitor to study it once more with his
unaided eye. He had detected it
amidst billions of stars. Now that
he had found it, he wondered if it would illuminate with the right color:
bluish white. After months of
searching the cosmos, the distinction was critical—the difference between a
routine asteroid or planet and a world that might support life.
Suddenly, as the last debris from the meteor belt
fell away, the target object brightened into a steady, luminous glow. Falon caught the change at once and
shot back up to his feet. Earlier,
after first discovering it, he noted its constant glow among the twinkling
stars, a characteristic peculiar to asteroids, planetoids and worlds. Now, as he had hoped, there was a
definite bluish-white tint to the planet—confirmation at last…. and something
else that caused him to gasp.
I don’t believe it, he thought, dropping back into
his seat. It has company!
He was almost totally convinced of his
discovery. The absolute proof
would come in the telescopic image on the screen. Judging by its monstrous next-door neighbor, the planet was,
it appeared, circling a moderate-sized star—another factor necessary to support
life. It was not a mere asteroid
or anomaly floating through the universe.
It was connected to a nurturing sun. After lessening the magnification and placing the two
objects on the same grid, he noticed the classic formation. There were, in fact, several planets of
various sizes in this system. One
large planet seemed to have a ring around it. Another gigantic world appeared to be hundreds of times the
size of his target world. His
planet, the only one with he proper tint, was the third planet from its
sun. Additional magnification
showed a large moon circling this world.
A crooked smile broke his expressionless face. The commander now felt vindicated for
his long hours of searching and for their many months in space. Had he not caught its first glimmer,
the ark might have passed this planetary system entirely and spent weeks,
perhaps months, searching for a new world. While crew members manning the space-going ark were lulled
into drowsiness and lethargy, Commander Falon, his staff and Doctor Arkru, the
scientific director aboard ship, had taken turns standing watch. The star maps created by earlier
explorers and the color spectrum pointing to evidence of water, oxygen, and
life were the business of everyone aboard the ark, and yet most of the crewmen
and student collectors were now asleep.
Those on watch ignored the great window of the bridge, except to glance
up occasionally at a passing comet, meteor or celestial anomaly, except one
lone sentinel, whose mind never seemed to rest.
While on his long, lonely vigil, Commander Falon had
become the first member of the mission to glimpse the new world. Now that he had honed in on the point
with the ship’s scope, he could barely contain himself as he adjusted the
settings. In support of his visual
findings, was the murky appearance on the monitor of the new world, which
circled its own sun. Now it was
time to bring as much detail as he possible on the screen. Adjusting the computerized scope
as he magnified the image hundreds of times, he received only a blurred
likeness at first, but there was no mistaking the blue, white and brown
splashes of color against the blackness of space.
“Great Celestial Father,” he whispered, as he
fine-tuned the image on the screen, “wait until Doctor Arkru sees this. A living planet, after all these
months!”
The crew surrounding him went about their chores on
the bridge, oblivious to this momentous event, until awakened by the sound of
his voice. In speech resembling
the chirp of crickets and croaking of frogs, he gave the first order of his
watch. “Standby by for landing instructions!”
“Sir?”
the executive officer looked up from his controls.
“Landing
instructions?” First Mate Remgen muttered with surprise. “Where to
commander? All I see out there are
comets, meteors and stars. I’ve
never seen the universe this cluttered before!”
Commander Falon had given an incomplete order, which
left his subordinates suspended over their controls. Prepare to land when? They pondered amongst themselves. More importantly was the question where? Remgen seemed quite correct: all there
was out in deep space was chaos.
The commander, himself, had written recently in the ship’s log:
For such a long time, our ship, on its mission to find
living planets and collect specimens to populate other worlds, has seen the
birth and death of stars, brushed comets and witnessed anomalies beyond
imagination, never ceasing to wonder at the majesty of the Celestial Father’s
realm. More rare than a black hole
or exploding star and less common than even the most massive star are the
handful of planets spread throughout the universe supporting life…
Remgen exchanged a dubious look with Third Mate Kogin,
the watch officer piloting the ship.
Following the standby command should come the coordinates to land, but
it appeared as if the commander, who was busy at his monitor, was not sure. An uneasiness fell over the bridge as
the crewmembers paused in their tasks.
How was it possible that they had all not seen the target planet
too? The inexplicable fuzziness of
the image began to clear gradually for the commander, until he was almost
certain of what he had found. His
training and experience had conditioned him against hasty judgments. The perfectionist in him wanted to be
one hundred percent sure. As he
looked away from screen to gauge the reaction on his crewmates, his mind reeled
with the discovery. When he looked
back, the image had cleared to almost perfection—ready for inspection, yet for
one more moment only for his eyes.
“Sir,” the pilot ventured nervously, “I’ve been at
the helm before you arrived on the bridge. Is there something out there we’ve missed?”
“Look, all of you!” he cried, after transferring the
image to the screen.
For a moment, the crew was speechless. The ocean bound world, they could
plainly see, had moderately large land formations that were dotted with
apparent cloud masses throughout.
On each pole there was obvious indications of ice caps. To put the finishing touches to this
picture, there was a lovely pale moon circling this world.
“Great
leaping comets,” exclaimed Remgen in a breathless voice, “he found one! Our commander found us a terrestrial
world!”
“Finally,
after all these months, a life-supporting planet!” the pilot cried jubilantly,
clasping his four digit fingers together as if to pray.
There were different names for the phenomena on the screen. The star maps often listed them as animate planets or blue-white worlds. Almost always they were terrestrial and could support life. To the religious minded, today’s discovery was a sacred event, for it proved that the Celestial Father’s reach was immeasurable. At the far end of the universe, nearly a year into the mission, one more prize had been given to them. It was, as were the other planets encountered, the only reason for their odyssey in space, and this time it was the commander, himself, who had discovered a new world.
All of the crewmembers on the bridge were acting
like Doctor Arkru’s students, the commander noted indulgently. The long wait, in which they had all
spent periods of time in their pods, was over. They would once again be on firm ground and out of harm’s
way with the prospects of added provisions for the ship’s stores. Most of them, on scientific and hunting
expeditions, would have a chance to explore the alien world.
Orix, the executive officer, who had been charting
their voyage at this hour, was one such grateful crewmen and rose up to
vigorously shake Falon’s hand.
“Congratulations commander, your instincts were
right,” he spoke reverentially, “the color spectrum indicates life.”
“Instincts be damned!” snorted the first mate.
“While the rest of our heads bobbed for lack of sleep, our commander never gave
up! He found us a world!”
“The will of the Celestial Father rides with the
ark,” declared Commander Falon, folding his arms.
Looking out at the chaos in space, the commander
sighed. It would have been fitting
if Eglin, the ship’s medic, who was also the chaplain, could say a few
words. When they began the
dissent, he would have Eglin give a prayer to the ship’s company as he sat
buckled in his seat.
“Prepare to land sir?” the pilot looked up from his
controls.
“Yes,
of course, set the coordinates Kogin,” the commander sighed with great
satisfaction, “this old ark could use the rest!”
“This
calls for a celebration!” Remgen clasped his eight fingers together, looking
around for agreement on the bridge.
“When
we land safely, we shall celebrate properly,” Falon promised, patting the First
Mate’s arm. “For now, waken the galley and have Wurbl bring us some strong
Revekian beer.”
Raising the ships phone up to his mouth, he punched
a large gold button on the panel.
Though self-controlled most of the time, the excitement detected on his
expressionless face was visible in his trembling ear holes and the quivering
movement of his nasal slits and mouth.
His smile widened in its crooked fashion and, for the first time anyone
could remember, moisture glistened in his great, unblinking eyes. This was, Falon reminded himself,
Doctor Arkru’s moment too. The
Collector, as they called him, was the chief scientist and organizer of the
mission. He, more than anyone
else, was responsible for the search for terrestrial planets and the collection
of specimens on alien worlds.
“Doctor
Arkru,” the commander said, clearing his throat, “you wanted a wake-up call
when a new world came into view.”
“Now
there’s an understatement for you,” Remgen chortled to Orix as they chatted
with the other crewmembers on watch.
There
would be great laxity in the next hour, especially with the Collector arriving
on the bridge. Doctor Arkru would
insist on an immediate celebration when he joined the crewmen. Soon the entire ship would be given the
glad tidings: a terrestrial world, not far away by the interstellar yardstick,
had been discovered by the commander.
The long periods of slumber, interspersed with monotonous routine, would
be replaced by adventure, exotic foods and a daily regimen of work and
recreation. There would be no drug
induced sleep for a while nor the idling sameness of the compartments and
passageways of the ship. Everyone,
from the youngest shipmate to the commander, himself, would have a chance to
set foot on the new world.
On the other end of the phone, still
draped in sleep, Doctor Arkru groped around for his robe as he spoke: “When
will we be preparing to land, Commander Falon?”
“It
won’t be long professor,” the commander’s voice constricted as his eyes traced
the great blue sheets on the planet that indicated water and life. “Doctor
Arkru,” he confessed with complete candor, “once again the Scientific Fathers
are correct about blue-white planets.
We’re certain this one is terrestrial as some of the other worlds. It has oceans and vast cloud masses
too.”
******
In a short while the lives of everyone on the ark
would change drastically as the ship prepared once more to land on an alien
world. Though jubilant and filled
with high expectations, the officers and crewmen had no illusions about what
lie ahead.
The old collector could barely contain himself as he
scrambled around his cabin looking for his pants, tunic and shoes. He had slumbered in his pod for many
more hours, while Falon and his staff, after awakening earlier, sat tirelessly
on watch. After a short period in
which the crewmen mulled over the commander’s discovery and shared their
concerns, Doctor Arkru arrived with his young assistant, Zorig, bringing fresh
enthusiasm to the bridge. As
everyone else on the ship, both the professor and his assistant would soon be
fastened in their seats. Entry and
touchdown were imminent on the new world.
As with Falon, Zorig, and the others, there was
mixture of feline and simian traits in Arkru’s face and body, but the doctor’s
face was far more mottled with time.
The wrinkles on his neck were extensive, and his ear and nose slits were
crusted with great age. Normally
the professor was, despite his years, particular about his appearance. To set a good example for his
technicians and students, he always appeared clean, well groomed and in the
proper attire. During this special
occasion, however, the good doctor appeared eccentric and disheveled. There were, to the crew’s amusement, a
pair of mismatched shoes on his feet.
His brightly colored tunic, which had been pulled on backwards, was
tucked halfway into his clashing pants.
“Look
at that view,” his voice was tremulous with expectation. “Our commander
discovered a new planet. I wish
I’d been awake!”
“We
need to run some spectral tests,” Zorig declared excitedly. “We must check the atmosphere for
toxins. Oh look, professor, there
are ice caps, just like Raethia and Beskol!”
“Simmer
down lad,” Remgen chided gently, “there’s plenty of time for that. Just look at it Zorig and enjoy the
view. Isn’t that a beautiful
sight?”
“Beautiful!”
Zorig almost wept. “I can’t wait to explore that world!”
For
several moments Doctor Arkru and his assistant looked with wonder at the
screen. Though the planet was
still a long way away, the magnification made it look as if they were hovering
directly overhead. Everyone agreed
it was the most promising world so far.
Against his better judgment, Falon allowed his crew a short round of
libations, thanks to Wurbl, the ship’s chef, who, with his assistant, brought
Revekian beer for everyone on the bridge.
The commander rose slowly and shakily to his feet, the rush of the
strong draught causing him to tilt this way and that as he took command of the
bridge. At first, he placed an arm
around the professor and the first mate, as the two men stood sharing their
thoughts.
“Doctor
Arkru, officers of the bridge, members of the crew,” he declared with a slight
slur, reaching down clumsily to snap on the ships intercom, “its time to wake
up the ship!”
“You
mean the entire ship?” the pilot looked up at him in disbelief.
“Now here this,” the commander called out over the
ark, “a terrestrial world has been sighted. Prepare to land.
Those on patrol, awake your shipmates. Engineering mate on duty bring the ship to thrust-nine. Communications officer, chief medic and
all ship’s officers are to be awakened to supervise personnel at their
stations. Crewmembers and students
on compartment watch look lively.
Those on patrol inspect the landing stations, while technicians on duty
insure that all containment chambers for specimens are secured. Batten down all hatches crewmen, and
secure all items not attached to the bulkheads or deck of the ship. Preliminary estimations indicate a
watered and oxygenated world with gas levels that might require our suits. The chief medic will insure the
integrity of our equipment and report back within the hour. All hands take care of your morning
business, including, if scheduled, the feeding and care of specimens on aboard
the ark. At 0075 star time, all
hands will strap themselves into their landing stations for touchdown on the
new world!”
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