LINKS
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The Christa Affair
Chapter Twenty-Four
The quarters the Keeper had prepared for them were elegant -- four lavish suites off the same circular foyer as the L'sa'rian medical facility and the star-room. The four suites were arranged in a semicircle about a common room or antechamber, that was connected to the foyer by a long narrow hallway; the wall opposite the hallway entrance was transparent, overlooking a sunken indoor garden of breathtaking beauty. It was in this room the crew was gathered.
It was early evening, about half an hour after sunset, and the first of the evening rains had begun. The roof of the garden had disappeared, and the lush purple foliage glistened wetly in the soft glow of the overhead lights. Karli snuggled close to Jashi on the soft furry sofa as they waited for Rang and Mowii to make their appearance; everyone else was present, anxiously awaiting revelation of the information imparted to Jashi by the Teacher.
(.... Contentment .... "No snide remarks, Karli? ....") Jashi asked teasingly. Had the serenity of the place calmed even her usual criticism of her bond-sister's somewhat less than desirable habits?
(.... Mellowness .... "I don't care if she \never\ shows up, Jashi. This feels good... I could stay right here forever! Did you ever see anything so beautiful?....") she responded, referring to the garden.
(.... "I agree, Kitten....") He too could just stay right here, and be totally content -- this place felt like home.
The garden was as perfect as the rest of the place; every tree, every vine, every flower was in its individual stage of ultimate beauty. The flowers bloomed, the trees and vines hung heavy with fruit -- each perfectly ripened and ready to eat -- and there was not a single fallen fruit on the ground anywhere.
The Keeper assured them that everything in the garden was safe to eat, and Toko had brought in samples of most of it before the rain began. (.... "Should've saved some for Rang and Mowii....") Jashi scolded, as Karli popped the last of what looked and tasted for all the world like Terran grapes into his mouth.
(.... "There's plenty more. Won't hurt her to get a little wet ....") Karli's laughter rippled in his head and he pulled her closer. For the first time since things had gone awry on Ultazari-Seven, Jashi felt secure.
After several more minutes, Rang and Mowii arrived. With intense effort, Jashi shook off the state of euphoria and pulled himself to full alertness; he cut off Rang's apology in mid-sentence. Suu poured them all a mug of hot coffee from the percolator in the refreshment console -- the Keeper had even duplicated \that\ -- and at last they were ready for Jashi to begin his tale.
"As I'm sure all of you are aware, it's always been a minor mystery that us human-types and other homonids make up a majority of the sentient species in our galaxy." Jashi paused for effect; he found he was enjoying himself. "Well guys, it's no longer a mystery..." A little murmur ran through the group.
(....??? !!!...) Jashi had refused to tell even Karli what he had learned, preferring to wait until he had it sorted out in his head. Besides, he had reasoned, a little suspense would do her good.
No one spoke, so he continued. "This planet once orbited around a star named L'sa, in galactic sector two. It was the third of twelve planets, and the only world of the system capable of supporting life of any kind. The surface of the planet was much as you see the out-of-doors of the city -- at least the inhabited parts in the middle latitudes were -- and populated by a single species of sentient life, whose civilization and technology were highly advanced.
"They had star-drive, but it apparently wasn't very fast, or else they just chose not to stray too far from home. According to the indoctrination I received -- and bear in mind that it's \very\ lacking in details, it's what they \wanted\ me to know, and \someone\ apparently knew the recipient of the Sphere was to be of Terran descent. Anyway... of all the star systems charted and explored by the People -- most of the outer area of sector two, and about a third of sector three -- the only one containing any but the most primitive of lifeforms was Sol. On the world we know as Earth."
A little gasp went up from several members of the group. Karli wiggled in anticipation.
"The culture of the People tied them unbreakably to L'sa'ria. They found several worlds that were suitable for colonization, but in each case the research colonies were all abandoned after sufficient data was gathered to satisfy their scientific curiosity; their Terran operation is the only exception listed in the record. There, their genetic scientists stayed on, with the stated purpose of 'improving' the various species of Terran life."
"How long ago, Jashi?" asked Karli. Her voice was a whisper.
"I can't be sure," responded Jashi. "There's the problem of no common time reference -- which seems pretty careless of them, if they knew I would be familiar with Earth's period of rotation and orbit -- but I'd have to guess at between thirty and seventy-thousand years. I'm sure we can nail it down a lot closer later, when we get a chance to delve into their science. And yes... Humankind is at least \one\ result of their genetic manipulation. It seems as the only near-sentient life they had ever encountered, our ancestors were their pet project. They had a certain fondness for mammalian water-creatures too..."
(....!!! .... "Dolphins?" ....)
(.... "Yep! Or what became dolphins, anyway ....") "Somewhere between ten and thirty thousand years ago their star went nova."
(....!!! .... "The disaster the Keeper spoke of!....")
(.... "Fraid not, Kitten, just a minor inconvenience ....")
(.... ???? ....)
"Their scientists had ample warning of the impending nova; the record suggests they may actually have \caused\ it, but it isn't clear whether it was intentional or not. The only real problem involved -- which they solved rather quickly -- was finding a way to draw power from the interior of the planet, instead of from the dying star. With their ability to rearrange matter to suit their whim, they just moved everything inside."
Jashi paused again -- not for dramatic effect this time, but to organize his thoughts. His newly acquired knowledge was so voluminous it was difficult to relate it coherently; he found himself stuck on a technical point.
"The People possessed knowledge of, and the ability to access a parallel dimension..." His voice trailed off in confusion as he struggled to find the right words. "No, not parallel... It's more like a closed circle of an infinite number of dimensions. Think of it like this... As if all matter in the universe vibrates in harmony. If you shift the frequency of that vibration, the matter is shifted from this dimension into another. The L'sa'riani used that knowledge to set their world free of its dying host."
"They shifted it, there was no star in the new dimension to hold it in orbit, so its trajectory became a straight line. When they were beyond the gravitational attraction of the nova, they just shifted it back!" It was Toko, eyes wide with excitement at the thought of such technology. "Must require a hell of a lot of power!"
"\That's\ how this planet came to be traveling against the galactic rotation!" interjected Rang.
"Correct! Both of you," agreed Jashi. "The trajectory of the liberated planet brought them close to many stars as they moved across the galaxy... L'sa was near the rim of sector two, in the upper corner -- almost on the opposite side of the galaxy from where we are now. Several thousand years after their journey began -- at their closest approach to Sol -- the research colony was evacuated. When the researchers returned to L'sa'ria, they brought their two pet projects with them.
"Every star system that came within a hundred light-years of the planet-turned-spaceship was carefully checked for worlds capable of supporting life. When such a world was found, the People manipulated it, reforming it to be as much like L'sa'ria as possible, then seeded it with plant and animal life, and the latest results of their Genetically-Improve-the-Primitive-Terrans Project. Shortly after their runaway world reached sector four -- somewhere between five and twenty thousand years ago -- the disaster struck.
"The record doesn't tell what caused the disaster, only the nature of it." Jashi was again being dramatic; this was \fun\... Such awesome, overwhelming knowledge!
The others were squirming in their seats in suspense, but no one said a word, knowing that any interruption would only delay the telling even more. (.... Mock anger.... "Jashi Abram!....")
"Complete details of the disaster can be found in the Hall of Records; we'll have to research it later."
(.... !!!! .... "Jashi!!....") This time the anger was real.
(.... "Okay, Kitten, don't self-destruct!....") Jashi grinned at her; Karli scowled in return. He jumped as she roughly gouged him in the ribs with her elbow.
"The normal life-span of the L'sa'riani was somewhere between fifty and a hundred Federation-Standard years. They lived a happy and satisfying life, and felt no need to live beyond that -- even though they possessed the medical technology to do so -- preferring instead to make their contribution to the society, then leave the bettered world to their offspring. By the time they had entered sector four, the ratio of male to female births had declined from its almost perfect one-to-one, to only one male birth in twenty... Four generations later, not a single male was born.
"Their medical scientists had foreseen the problem -- though if they knew what caused it, that information wasn't in my indoctrination -- and for several generations the by-now all-female species was perpetuated by artificial insemination with stored sperm. Though some of the sperm had been donated by males who later fathered male children, all the children born of the Continuation Program were female. There had been no male L'sa'riani anywhere in the world for several generations when the sperm banks were all simultaneously destroyed. And no, I don't know why, or by whom."
"But Jashi..." interrupted Suu. "If they created half the intelligent species of the galaxy thru genetic engineering of Terran stock, why didn't they fix their own problem?"
"Cultural prohibition? Religious taboo? Who knows." Jashi grinned mischievously. "Complete details of the disaster can be found..."
"... in the hall of records," echoed Suu. "Nevermind. Please continue."
"The People used their life-prolonging medical techniques to extend the continuance of the species almost another thousand years; it was during that time that the stimulation became necessary." Jashi paused to let them digest the information he had just related.
"How awful!" gasped Suu. "To live a thousand years, knowing that when you died, the species died too."
"No wonder they needed mood control!" said Karli. "And that entertainment center... Could they have become so desensitized in a thousand years of living to need that much stimulation to experience pleasure?"
"I guess eternal life isn't what it's cracked up to be," joked Mowii, a bit sarcastically. "A millennium of boredom!"
Suddenly they were all talking at once, asking questions, speculating; even Mowii was excited by the story. Jashi fielded their questions as best he could with the limited details supplied by the orientation.
"You can all take the orientation," he said at last, as their questions threatened to overwhelm him. "Then you'll be able to read the language and do all the research you want. In fact, I think we should split into several teams and each team can research a specific area of knowledge. Toko, you'll have to do the scientific research, along with Suu, who can do the medical branch of it while you do weapons. Karli, you check out detailed history... We'll figure out the rest later." Those named nodded their assent. Karli's eyes were wide at the thought of being able to know the secrets of the People who walked Terra before Humans had. Old-Earth history was her hobby -- this was Pre-Earth!
"The orientation will take longer for the non-telepaths. I'm sure the Keeper will be able to determine the proper rate of data transfer for each of you. I hope the Keeper's modifications to the ship's computer will allow it to accept direct transfer of at least \some\ of the most pertinent data."
"Except for Karli, orientation for the rest of you will take from two hours to three days," interrupted the Keeper. "Karli, your orientation will take just under two minutes. If you wish, I can install a Teacher in your ship and instruct your device in its operation and control.
Jashi questioned Toko with his eyes; his crew-mate responded "put a hold on it" in sign language. In spite of the recent developments, Toko still felt a smattering of distrust for the artificial intelligence they had come to know as the Keeper. It was too smart, and too damned helpful; machine or not, nobody gave away everything without wanting something in return.
"Not at this time, Keeper, but thank you for the offer. If I desire it later, I will ask." Jashi felt a little foolish, rejecting an offer that would allow them to take the entire knowledge of this world with them on departure, but he had always respected his friend's judgement.
"Very well, Supreme Captain," responded the Keeper dutifully.
Toko signaled Jashi again in sign. Jashi nodded, and again addressed the Keeper. "Keeper, I wish that our activities within our quarters not be monitored, unless we request it. Can you comply? And please address me as just Captain, or Jashi -- titles make me nervous. And instruct your protege in the ship to do the same."
"As you wish, Just Captain. There is nothing within your quarters that is a danger to you. If you require my services, code red-nine, green-one, yellow-one from the terminal in any room." The Keeper was gone before Jashi could correct the mistaken form of address.
(....Laughter.... "From Supreme Captain to Just Captain. What a put-down. For somebody so damn smart, he sure can be dense!....")
(.... Careful, Karli, he might find that insulting ....")
Jashi started to question Toko regarding his distrust of the Keeper, but Toko silenced him with a wave of his hand. He was fiddling with his multiscanner, as he had been earlier in the evening; finally he returned it to its clip on his utility belt. "Okay, as best I can tell, the Keeper has withdrawn. I scanned the entire range of radiation earlier, and the one that would seem to indicate when the Keeper is present has ceased."
"Why the distrust still?" inquired Jashi.
"Don't know, just bear with me till I've taken orientation and done some research... Until I know all I can about it, I don't want to take any chances -- especially not with any more modifications to the \Klondike\. I've set my scanner to warn if our privacy is violated."
"Good idea... Let's all do the same," agreed Jashi, "But remember to turn it off before summoning the Keeper or leaving our quarters... That thing can be a mite touchy! Until further notice, multiscanner and needlegun at all times, just to be safe... And communicators when outside our quarters. Let's call it a day; right after breakfast tomorrow, we'll check out the star-room, then we get down to serious research." He stood to his feet and reached out his hand to Karli.
"We \still\ don't know why we were sent here," muttered Rang, as he swallowed the last of his coffee and headed for the door. Neither Jashi nor Karli heard his grumbling.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
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