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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 telescope 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 eyes 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 holes 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 alien 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
telescope. 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 store
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 satellite circling this
world.
A crooked smile broke his
expressionless face. The commander
now felt vindicated for his long hours of searching and for the 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 telescope, 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 telescope 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 fined 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 fill over the bridge as the crew members 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
military nature mitigated 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
pointed finally to his screen.
For a moment, the crew were
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 planetoids 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 crew members 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 crew members 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 awhile 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 slept in his pod for many hours, while members of the current
watch were exhausted and would now have to buckle up in preparation to land. After a short period in which the
commander and his crew mulled over the discovery and shared their concerns,
Doctor Arkru arrived with his young assistant, Zorig, bringing fresh enthusiasm
to the bridge.
As 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 collector 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
pare of mismatched shoes on his feet.
His brightly colored tunic, which had been pulled on backwards, was
tucked half-way into his clashing pants.
“Let
me see the monitor,” his voice was tremulous with expectation. “Oh, I wish I
had stayed awake!”
“We
need to run some spectral tests,” Zorig, too, was charged with enthusiasm. “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
monitor. 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-9. communications officer, chief medic and all ship’s officers are to be awakened to supervise personnel at their stations. Crew members and students on compartment watch look lively. Those on patrol inspect the landing pods, 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 pods for touchdown on the new world!”
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