“OH … MY … GIDDY…!” Zack was vaguely conscious that his eyes were closed to prevent them from flying out of their sockets. His teeth were clenched, and his hands were gripping his chair so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
This may have gone on for a minute, but to the intrepid crew of Velociraptor it seemed far longer. Then the plunging, whirling and looping stopped as suddenly as it began, and the ship righted itself. It had been hurled out of the vortex.
“Sub-light speed, Mr Nicholas, if you please,” Captain Bennett spluttered. He waited for his stomach to return to the part of his body it normally occupied.
Mr Zack’s imperturbable constitution had been severely tested. “I have never,” he began, his voice about an octave higher than normal, “experienced anything like that.”
Mr Nicholas had turned an alien shade of green. He seemed incapable of movement. His eyes were trying to focus on his hands. His brain was willing them to move, but the message wasn’t getting through.
“SUB-LIGHT SPEED, MR NICHOLAS!” his captain repeated. The spaceship had travelled a hundred million miles since he last gave the order. His eyes narrowed, and Mr Nicholas’s hands jerked into life. His fingers pressed a series of buttons, flicked several switches and adjusted a dial; after which, his hands slapped back on to the control panel in front of him and his body slumped sideways, eyes staring.
“His eyes are open, but their sense is shut,” Captain Bennett commented. The whine of the ship’s engines decreased in pitch and intensity. The external cameras flicked into life once more. “Where are we, Mr Zack?”
Zack checked the screens on the panel in front of him and shook his head. “I have no idea, Captain,” he said. He undid his seat belt and walked over to the screen on which the forward-facing cameras were projecting the view immediately in front of the ship. “One thing is certain,” he said. “We are nowhere near the Oort Cloud.”
The ship was coming up on a planet of Earth-like proportions. Its medium intensity star blazed at what appeared to Gordon to be a similar distance away from this planet as the sun was from Earth.
There was a groan from the flight desk. Nicholas struggled to an upright sitting position, his face getting back its normal pinko-grey colour. “Welcome back, Mr Nicholas,” Captain Bennett said. “Bring us into geo-stationary orbit round that planet. Attempt identification, if you please.”
“Mr Zack, check its composition and atmospheric conditions. Scan for evidence of life forms.” Zack found that he was familiar with the ship’s scientific instruments. Rapping short commands into the keyboard, he selected from the menus that scrolled down his screens.
“This star configuration is not on the charts in the computer’s memory banks,” Mr Nicholas reported. “We must be in a part of the universe not yet mapped.”
“Collect all available data for future reference,” Captain Bennett said evenly. His eyes were glued to the viewing screens. “We appear to have boldly gone where no man has ...”
“The planet has a core of molten iron,” Mr Zack said. “It is generating a gravitational pull similar to Earth’s. 71% of it is covered in salt water, and there are significant amounts of ice at its poles.”
Gordon never ceased to amaze him.
“Its land masses are clearly capable of supporting life as we know it, especially in its temperate and equatorial zones. Its atmosphere contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, and small amounts of other gases.”
Gordon was excited. “There’s a whole new world down there. We can land and explore. Are there any signs of intelligent life?”
Mr Zack examined the images formed by the mapping rays the ship was bouncing off the planet’s surface. “Large cities,” he reported. “Some enormous buildings, and evidence of a technology far superior to our own.”
Gordon hesitated. Life of any sort could mean bacteria against which they would have no immunity. And how would an intelligent life-form react to visitors from outer space?
“The planet supports myriad carbon-based life-forms,” Zack continued. “It appears to be dominated by one in particular.
“Details?”
Mr Zack examined the stream of data and gave a low whistle. The findings had surprised him out of rôle. “A primate, with a DNA approximately 95% identical to that of humans.”
The ship shuddered. Mr Nicholas pushed buttons, flicked switches and turned dials, all to no effect. “We have lost control, Captain,” he reported. “We’re losing height.”
“Engage reverse thrusters!” Captain Bennett ordered.
Mr Nicholas tried. “It’s useless,” he said. “A surface computer has taken over the ship. We’ve lost power to the engines.” He stared at his captain. “An immensely powerful tractor beam is pulling us in.”
“Communications channel, Mr Zack, hailing frequency.”
Zack flicked the appropriate switches. “Channel open, Captain.”
“I am Captain Gordon E. Bennett of the Starship Velociraptor,” Gordon announced. “We come in peace. We ask that you release our ship from your tractor-beam immediately.”
The telecommunications screen flickered into life. It revealed a large room containing a long, low, polished table. Squatting on the floor at one end of it was a 500-lb gorilla. Its coat shone a lustrous black over its head, shoulders, arms and rump. Its back glowed with a grey-white sheen that was almost metallic. Gordon recognised it as a silverback, but there the similarity with its Earth cousins ended.
There were documents on the table and the creature was consulting them! Its nimble fingers were adjusting buttons, switches and dials on a console. This great ape radiated intelligence and authority. It looked up now, its huge black eyes staring into the camera facing it. Then its hands moved rapidly in a series of gestures that left little room for misinterpretation.
“I believe it just said resistance is futile,” Mr Zack informed his captain. His hands were once again clasped behind his back, his face imperturbable. He was back in rôle.
The gorilla examined the images it was receiving from the flight deck’s inboard cameras. It stared straight at Gordon and its upper lip wrinkled to reveal massive, brilliant white teeth. It extended an enormously muscular right arm and pointed straight at him, then it turned its hand over and flicked its fingers back towards itself in a similarly unmistakable gesture.
“I think we’re about to experience a close encounter of the third kind,” Captain Bennett said.
NOTES
WORMHOLES; PROOF OF THE PUDDING; THE OORT CLOUD; GENERIC; FOURTEEN BILLION YEARS; “SPACE IS VERY APTLY NAMED”; 93.4 MINUTES; BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH; “HIS EYES ARE OPEN, BUT ...”; A SIMILAR DISTANCE AS THE SUN WAS TO EARTH; PINKO-GREY; MYRIAD; OUT OF RÔLE; BRILLIANT WHITE TEETH; GORDON E. BENNETT; CE3K
Chapter 27
A Meeting Of Minds
Velociraptor passed through the planet’s upper atmosphere to emerge beneath scant clouds. Its steady descent was entirely controlled by guidance systems on the planet’s surface. The terrain below rapidly became clearer. It resembled Equatorial Africa, but from a period on Earth maybe 100,000 years ago. Almost everywhere, the forest was lush and dense, with massive trees. Where areas had been cleared, they were luxuriant and fruitful, with extensive orchards.
Smoothly the starship made its rapid descent, held by a crimson tractor beam shining from an opening in one side of a huge pyramid. The pyramid appeared to be made of stone. There was a laser-hard edge to the light spreading outwards from its apex inside the structure. It flowed into space as an expanding pyramid of energy, cutting through the planet’s atmosphere and easily engulfing the starship.
As they came closer, the enormity of the structure became evident. It was perhaps ten times the size of the largest pyramid in Egypt. There were no visible openings other than the one through which the beam shone. When Velociraptor had come within a mile, an enormous rectangular section slid open to reveal a docking bay the size of a small airport.
With dramatic suddennes
s, the red tractor-beam switched off. It was replaced by several blue-green pencils of light shining from various points within the opening. They measured the dimensions of the ship and brought it with amazing precision to a designated docking area.
The hangar contained a number of very large, saucer-like craft. Each was a hive of activity. Hundreds of gorillas and thousands of chimpanzees were working in teams: building, repairing, fuelling and maintaining the vessels. They were using tools that seemed more advanced than any yet developed on Earth. The work was progressing at astonishing speed.
Velociraptor came to a halt, suspended 20 feet or so above the ground. The blue-green light pencils disappeared, and a warm, white light shone up from beneath the ship, cushioning its descent. Gordon heard the whirr of his ship’s landing gear being lowered and locked. When the ship finally came to a halt on the floor of the hangar, there was no impact at all.
The communication screen flicked back on. That long table was now surrounded by silverbacks and somewhat smaller females in approximately equal numbers. They were seated on the floor as the first male had been, staring at images of the starship’s flight deck and its tiny crew. The signing between them was rapid and urgent. Their body language suggested consternation.
“They appear to be some kind of Council,” Mr Zack commented. “I think they are trying to decide what to do with us. An experiment, Captain, if I may?”
“Proceed, Mr Zack.”
Zack stood in front of the ship’s camera and raised his right hand in the Vulcan greeting. “Live long and prosper” he intoned. The effect on the gorillas was immediate. Their grunting became louder and more staccato, almost like Morse code. The gestures flew between them at an even greater rate.
“Fascinating,” Zack said.
“In what way, Mr Zack?”
“Clearly, they can see me, Captain.” Mr Zack commented. “Perhaps their instruments detect brain-waves and reconfigure them as some kind of hologram.”
Mr Nicholas was staring at the monitor with mounting concern. “Captain, I advise caution! They’re huge! They could tear us apart in seconds.”
Gordon shook his head. “Gorillas are peaceful vegetarians. They use aggression only when threatened. I have no intention of threatening them.” He glanced over at the monitors showing activity outside the ship. Under the watchful eye of a supervising gorilla, chimpanzees were manoeuvring a ramp into position immediately under the ship’s main hatchway. “Chimpanzees, on the other hand …,” he mused, leaving the sentence unfinished.
A high-pitched squeak sounded somewhere near the back of Mr Nicholas’s throat. He was, however, the ship’s pilot, and determined to keep a stiff upper lip. Gordon stood at Zack’s side, and stared straight at the camera. The magnificent male at the end of the table raised one of his massive arms and the assembly fell instantly silent. There were no chimps around that table. On this planet, gorillas appeared to be the dominant species.
“Merge with me, Zack.” Zack slid smoothly into Gordon. There were clamorous responses and rapid signings from the watching gorillas. Gordon remembered a greeting that Zack had told him was polite in India. He placed the palms of his hands together in front of his chest and bowed his head in respectful greeting. “Namaste,” he murmured.
He looked up, and saw something truly remarkable. The male at the end of the table was bowing his head and pressing his massive hands together in a replica of Gordon’s gesture. It seemed to be the signal for every gorilla round the table to stand and do likewise. The male in authority then held out both hands, open palmed: an expression of welcome and invitation.
“Now that’s what I call a civilised response.” Zack murmured. Even Nick was reassured. He smiled bravely at Gordon.
With a hiss the hatch doors swung open, and in seconds the pressure had stabilised inside the ship. The air outside was clean, fresh and invigorating. Perhaps no creature on this planet had been polluting it in the name of progress and the pursuit of profit.
“Phasers on stun, Mr Nicholas,” said Captain Bennett. He drew his own and convincingly adjusted its intensity level. Mr Nicholas did the same. Both weapons were securely holstered before they emerged at the top of the ramp. Gordon led the way, with Nick rather hesitant in the rear.
“Fascinating,” Zack said. “They have completely encased the ship in a force-field. Presumably, they are checking for alien micro-organisms.”
“Sensible,” said Gordon. He would have done the same, had the technology been at his disposal.
The force-field looked like a clear, glass dome. He could hear a low hum. It may have been coming from a generator supplying the power for it. Presumably, scanners were analysing their physical composition, brain structure, DNA …
They stood at the bottom of the ramp and looked around. The enormity of it all was overwhelming. What they had thought was stone was obviously nothing of the sort. The inside was a maze of interlocking poles, rods, blocks and sheets of a material that looked like plastic. It must have been incredibly strong.
Sunlight streamed in through transparent panels in the outer sloping walls. Rather like one-way glass, the panels allowed those inside to see out, while seeming impenetrable from the outside. Perhaps they were impenetrable to anything larger than light.
Their docking bay was close to one of the building’s inner walls. A set of doors in that wall now slid open, revealing a spacious compartment approximately ten feet high and twelve feet wide. It looked like a lift. The silverback they had seen first on the Velociraptor’s communication screen emerged from it and loped majestically towards the force-field surrounding their ship.
He was followed by two females and, curiously, a young gorilla. The youngster could not have been more than two years old, if the rate of growth in this species on Earth was anything to go by. Instead of a formal reception committee, this group appeared to be a family coming to see a closely related but significantly different creature.
Captain Bennett walked towards them, followed by his flight lieutenant. He stood as close as he could get to the glass-like barrier, stared out at them and smiled. The little gorilla jumped up and down with excitement, making a flurry of signs to her parents. Then, tugging free from her mother’s grasp, she scampered over to the glass and put her hand against it.
She and Gordon faced each other, similar in size and a world apart. Gently Gordon brought his hand up and pressed it to his side of the glass. The two hands were aligned, separated only by the thickness of the force-field.
“Way to go,” Zack whispered.
The force-field vanished. The humming stopped. The two hands met.
NOTES
CONSTERNATION; THE VULCAN GREETING; HOLOGRAMS; NAMASTE; ZACK’S POLITICAL LEANINGS; HER LITTLE HAND.
Chapter 28
Now You’re Talking
Gordon and Nick stared out of the windows on either side of a massive carriage. The monorail ran through a lush delta with high mountains on either side. There were no seats in the carriage; the species that had designed and built it didn’t need them.
They were sharing their compartment with the infant and one of the adult females they had met an hour or so ago. The carriages behind and in front each carried an adult male and female and several items of equipment. Gordon got the distinct impression this was an equal opportunities planet. He had seen them carry on a large basket piled with ripe, inviting fruit. There was a general air of excitement and expectancy.
The whole area teemed with animals of every description. They had apparently been ordered according to species and behavioural patterns. For several minutes, they passed through open prairies with grazing herds of bison, buffalo, wildebeest, onagers, gazelles, zebra and elephant, to name but seven. The rivers must have been teeming with fish and shrimp. Herons, cormorants and flamingos waded, darted and fed in their thousands. A profusion of hippos and crocodiles wallowed, rippled and basked. Rhinos ploughed along the muddy banks.
The infant gorilla jumped up and down, pointing
at each animal. She made her signs for Gordon and Nicholas to copy, while they made the sound of the sign in their own language. When she wasn’t pointing and signing, she held hands with both Nicholas and Gordon, clearly delighted with her new playmates.
They saw sheep and goats clambering over rocky slopes covered with tough grass and thorny bushes. They passed through an enclosure at least a mile in diameter, where big cats, hyenas and other predators prowled. The monorail then entered a wooded area where troops of monkeys ran along branches. They were eating the fruit that grew there in profusion, and anchoring themselves with their prehensile tails. Brightly coloured birds and butterflies flew and fluttered everywhere.
A few minutes more and the ground on their left dropped steeply away into a vast crater. The rail kept to the mountain slopes, affording the passengers an excellent view right across a sunken valley, several miles wide. By now, Nick and Gordon had decided they were passing through an immense National Park, though they didn’t know why. They were not, however, prepared for the sight they now beheld.
“WOW!” said Gordon, in awe. “I told you they were that colour.” He pointed at a huge dinosaur, contentedly grazing in a clearing below them.
“It’s Jurassic Park,” Nick breathed, and scanned the sky for incoming pterodactyls. The infant gorilla, whose name was something like Circle-squiggle-comma, capered around the compartment with great glee, pointing and signing at the vast creature below. “Dip-lo-doc-us” Gordon said slowly, and repeated her sign to show that he had understood. Clearly, there had been no extinction event on this planet.
The monorail ran around the edge of the crater. It gave them a chance to observe several species of dinosaur before sweeping through 180˚ and heading back along the other side. They left the cratered valley behind and came to an area of open plain, dotted with trees and bushes. Their compartment slowed and came to a halt at a platform. The occupants of the car in front were waiting for them. The car behind drew up, and the group assembled.