Chapter 12
The sound of the airlock awoke Floyd, who was almost successful in extraditing himself from the chair and Lina's tail. She awakened but when he told her to go back to sleep she curled up in the chair and slept. Floyd followed Tesla out the airlock and saw the Fixer heading to the airplane. By the time Floyd caught up with him, Tesla was again hammering on the propeller trying to straighten it a bit more. Floyd started inspecting the prop and saw a crack which was well formed at one of the bends that Tesla had pounded straight. Tesla stopped hammering as Floyd tried the prop by bending it with his hands. The tip broke off along the crack. Tesla's eyes seemed even bigger as he looked at the broken prop. Floyd said only, "The plane is grounded until we make a new prop. If that had happened while you were flying, the plane would have shaken itself to pieces and you would have crashed."
Tesla pretended to ride the electric bike. Floyd looked at the earnest look on the Fixer's face and knew Tesla needed to try. All he could say was, "Keep the speed down and you might have enough power to make it to the transport device but I doubt it. And wear the helmet. Have you had anything to eat?"
Tesla responded with a shake of his head and Floyd said, "I want you to eat something first and take some water with you. Maybe we can strap a container on the seat behind you." Tesla nodded his head and ran back to the ship. Floyd stopped at the dome to check on the injured. Most were up and two were already working on the metal that Tesla had been pounding on. For the most part the bleeding had stopped but several broken arms and legs needed work. Floyd knew they needed to be straightened but had no idea how he was going to stabilize them. Tesla had used the last of his duct tape and the splint was already in use. He needed his coffee and headed back to the ship.
Lina was up and fussing over Tesla making sure he ate. She had already heated Floyd's coffee and started cooking two pancakes. She said, "Tesla thinks the Fixers will get lost if he doesn't help them find their way. I think he has done too much already and needs to rest."
Floyd sipped his coffee before replying, "I expect Tesla feels the loss of his people just as you do. We have to let him try to help." After most of the coffee was gone he asked, "How are the injured here doing?"
“Maurine has been explaining to Mr. Watson her theory but I don't think she looks good. The Fixer with her has begun to move some but still sleeps. Two of the other Fixers are awake but are in a lot of pain."
Floyd asked Mr. Watson, “How long before you can start another batch of the green goo?"
Mr. Watson replied, "The current batch needs another 12 hours in the fermentation tank and then we will be ready." He added, "The Fixer is wearing the helmet but between his bouncing and the speed he is riding, it is impossible to stabilize the images."
"I will wait until this afternoon to harvest another batch. I told Tesla to keep the speed down." Lina was standing next to him and squeezed his shoulder to say, "Fixers will be Fixers." Floyd reached around her waist and gave her a hug and a pat on her pregnant belly ball. Lina responded with a twitching of her tail which managed to tickle Floyd's neck. She said, "Let me prepare myself and I will help with the injured in the dome."
Floyd asked Mr. Watson, "Any suggestions on how to splint the broken bones?"
Mr. Watson started discussing the characteristics of an ideal splint and Floyd interrupted him by saying, "With the stuff we have."
Mr. Watson did not seem to mind the interruption and said, "The material you call duct tape might be able to stabilize most of the fractures."
"Tesla used the last of the tape to repair the airplane; any other ideas?" Before Mr. Watson could reply Floyd said, "I wonder what the gliders are made of? Maybe I can make that stuff work."
Floyd exited the airlock and made his way down the hill to where the gliders ended up, only one of which seemed intact. He picked up the most damaged one and easily carried it back up the hill to the dome. It was made out of some black cloth that was really rigid. Lina was already at work in the dome cleaning wounds and applying new dressings. Floyd had one of the Fixers stop what it was doing to help him. He drew with his finger thin strips of the wing material that he wanted for splints. The Fixer started pulling tools out of his pockets until he found the knife he was looking for. While the Fixer was cutting the strips Floyd began unbraiding the line which had towed the glider. Another Fixer hopped over on one leg and took the line from Floyd and continued to unbraid it while carefully rolling the individual strands into a ball.
Floyd selected a Fixer whose arm was bent at a 60 degree angle as the first patient. With Lina holding and soothing the Fixer, Floyd pulled on the arm until he felt the crunch of broken bone rubbing against broken bone. The Fixer screamed from the pain and another Fixer handed him a stick-like tool to bite down on. When the twitching of the muscles finally stopped, Floyd had one of the Fixers place the strips against the arm upside down so the curvature of the ends did not dig into the flesh. The second Fixer began wrapping the splints with the cord from the rope. Floyd would check to make sure it did not seem too tight and only when it was fully wrapped did he release his traction. When Floyd finished, the Fixer supported the broken arm with his good arm and bowed to Floyd first and then to Lina.
Floyd did not think much of the show of respect because he was so busy working. Every Fixer who could respond repeated the bow to both of them. Only after setting the fourth leg did Floyd take a water break and ask Lina about the bowing. She said, "They bow to you because you are the Giant from the sky who is to rescue them."
"What are you talking about? I didn't rescue anybody."
Lina's tail was twitching and she explained, "I do not know where the Fixers' myths arise from but they include a story about a giant. Seems you fit the description and your sperm were capable of fertilizing their eggs."
Floyd looked at Lina's pregnant belly ball and finally said, "Whatever. Let's get back to work."
The next Fixer seemed to have a broken hip and Floyd had no idea how to splint a broken hip. He had long strips cut that ran from the Fixer's foot to just under his shoulder. They tied the strips loosely but that was all Floyd could do other than keeping him at rest. The smaller fractures were easy enough and soon they were done with the broken bones. The last Fixer continued to sleep and had bruising from the ear to his shoulder. Floyd palpated as gently as he could and was pretty sure the skull was broken. There was nothing else they could do and Floyd said, "I had better get the green goo. We are all going to be pretty hungry soon."
The Fixer with the broken arm stood up and using his good arm pointed to Floyd then himself. Lina said, "The Fixer would like to come with and help." The Fixer inspected the seine closely holding it up to the light to estimate the size of the mesh. He watched Floyd drag the seine and then held the bucket while Floyd scraped the green goo off the seine. After the next pass through the water the Fixer pulled a putty knife like tool out of his pocket and did the scraping while Floyd rested. With the help, the bucket filled quickly and they made their way up the hill. The Fixer insisted on helping carry the bucket and even though it was harder on Floyd's back because he had to bend over, he let the Fixer help. After they dumped the green goo into the fermenting tank he told the Fixer, "We need to change the water in the tub with the hectopus. Get fresh water from the well but be careful, it bites."
The Fixer did as he was told but was so intent on looking around the ship that the water started to overflow the tub. Lina wiped it up and soothed the Fixer who was very upset with himself. Floyd just ignored the whole episode. When the Fixer returned to the dome Floyd asked Mr. Watson, "The Fixers communicate with each other. Can you figure out how?"
Mr. Watson replied, "I have been working on the issue and it seems as if they use a combination of visual and possibly olfactory signals. They emit strong electrical signals from their brains and I cannot rule out some cross stimulation."
"You mean like a music concert where everyone is responding to
the same sounds?"
"Yes, this is why live concerts are found to be more stimulating to those of your species. This ability to synchronize brain wave activity is poorly developed in humans, but more so in birds that flock and fish that school. The ability of starlings to perform synchronized flight or herring to do the same swimming is probably dependent on this ability. I would expect that the Fixers have compensated for their inability to speak by exploiting this sensation."
Floyd asked, "Why can't they speak? They scream from pain."
Mr. Watson went into a long explanation of the brain areas which need to develop for speech which was way over Floyd's head. He did say, "It is possible that the chip which was installed prevented them from using their voices and therefore those sections of the brain did not develop."
Their conversation was interrupted by Lina who was calling for help. Floyd stepped over the injured Fixers and found Lina holding Maurine's hand. She had slipped back into unconsciousness and was having trouble breathing. Floyd helped Lina sit Maurine up which helped the breathing some. Floyd tried to take her pulse but could not really detect any. Her breaths were very shallow but he could hear no rattling sounds. Her belly was swollen almost as much as Lina's and pressing on it caused Maurine to groan from the pain.
Mr. Watson said, "From my review of the medical literature it would seem that Maurine has internal bleeding possibly from a ruptured spleen."
"How do we fix that?"
Mr. Watson began describing in detail the technique for performing a splenectomy but Floyd interrupted him saying, "I don't even know what a spleen is; how am I supposed to remove it?"
Lina was looking at him with her tail drooped to the floor and her eyes were pleading for him to do something. Floyd looked over at the Fixer doctor lying at the bottom of the berth and wishing for all he was worth that the doctor would wake up. He had to do something so he started to hook up their last bag of IV fluids hoping it would be enough. Before he could finish he heard Lina crying. Maurine had stopped breathing. Floyd did not know what to say so he just held Lina and let her cry.
Lina reached under the small pillow and handed Floyd a small cube and said, "Maurine said I should give this to you if she did not make it."
Floyd took the cube and rotated it in his hands but could not discern any function. Lina told him, "This is a three dimensional storage device and can hold the entire library of the Sanctuary."
Floyd asked, "How do I access it?"
Lina's tail drooped a little less as she explained that it used a special reading device but she did not know how it worked.
Floyd picked up Maurine and carried her to the airlock. When he cycled the airlock he found three of the Fixers from the dome waiting. They bowed to Floyd and then took the body back to the dome treating it with great respect. Floyd did not know what to make of their actions but returned to Lina and helped her position the other Fixers in the small berth. It was a tight fit but this opened up enough floor space that Floyd and Lina could stretch out. They used the large parka as a sleeping pad and shirts for pillows. Lina asked Mr. Watson, "Any word from Tesla?"
Mr. Watson replied, "Nothing since he took the helmet off several hours ago. I have been analyzing the image and think that the object in the distance is moving towards Tesla."
Floyd looked at the image and said, "The transport device was rectangular and whatever that is has a round top."
Mr. Watson zoomed the image until the pixels were so evident that it was almost impossible to see anything. Floyd squinted his eyes and it looked like maybe Mr. Watson was right. It took a minute before he realized what he was seeing. "Could that be a bunch of Fixers sitting on top?"
"I have been unable to determine this based on the poor image quality. I estimate that there is a 43.87% chance that you are correct. It is a conjecture which I would not have made."
"Any estimate on how fast it is traveling?"
"No, there are so few frames that I cannot measure any change. If it is moving it is at a slow walking speed."
Floyd pressed further asking, "What was the location of the last image?"
Numbers scrolled across the screen and Mr. Watson said, "Without proper relays I can only estimate the Fixer's last position. It would have been 84.34% of the distance to the known position of the transit device."
"No way would the camera pick something up that far away. They are coming!"
Mr. Watson said, "Your intuition might be correct. They have at least 18 hours of travel at the calculated speed with a margin of error of six hours either way."
Lina could not control her yawning and Floyd said, "Time for some rest." He was tired but found he could not sleep. Trying to feed that many mouths and keep them from freezing seemed an impossible task. Finally, his grandmother's saying came back to him, "What will be, will be" and he fell asleep. When he awoke he could recall some of the colors that surrounded him and the need to keep searching for who had sent them. Morning came. Lina insisted that he have something to eat and his coffee before they began their care of the injured. She needed to talk about Maurine and what they were going to do. Floyd said, "The Fixers seem to already have a plan. If not, I think she should join the rest of The People on the hill."
When they were done eating they checked the Fixers in their berth. The Fixer doctor was now awake but seemed unable to move his right arm. He kept pointing with his left hand. Lina said, "The Fixer doctor wants to check the other Fixers." They helped him sit up and he used his good hand to feel them breathing and felt their abdomens. He looked at the splints and nodded his approval. Then he needed to lie back down. Lina told him, "You need to rest and later you can check the others." The Fixer nodded his head and seemed to fall back asleep.
In the dome the Fixers had rearranged some of the stones and made a small platform and on it lay Maurine. She was covered with a quilt made of what looked like random pieces of cloth and was surrounded by small items and tools from the Fixers. Just below her was one of the Fixers who had not made it through the night. He too was surrounded by small items from all the other Fixers. Floyd nodded in approval and said, "A Fixer wake." He and Lina did their best with dressing changes and wound care but they were out of supplies and were using rags made from their meager stock of clothes and plain water. The Fixers who could walk had taken over the task of getting fresh water and had dug a pit toilet outside of the dome.
Lina asked, "Has any of you had anything to eat?"
The Fixers looked down and did not respond. She told Floyd, "They need to eat if we expect them to heal."
Floyd agreed and one of the Fixers went with Lina to prepare some pancakes out of the green goo. When they came back Lina was carrying the Fixer doctor on her back. The helper distributed the meager rations and Floyd helped set the doctor up so he could inspect their work. Mostly he nodded his approval except for the hip fracture. He made Floyd remove the splints and with much pointing and input from Lina they created a traction device which pulled the leg straight. Then he was tired but wished to sleep amongst the Fixers. A place was made for him and the Fixers made sure he was covered. As Floyd and Lina were about to leave he told the Fixers, "I think Tesla will be here by nightfall with the other survivors. They will need food and water. Lina and I will do our best with the food and you can prepare by having water ready. Those who could stood and all bowed to Floyd.
On the way back to the ship Floyd said, "I wish they would quit doing that. I am just a jet jockey and not some sort of god."
Lina's tail was wagging and she squeezed Floyd's hand saying, "It may be important to them and maybe you should let them be."
"It's embarrassing. If you think it is important I’ll ignore it."
"What's a jet jockey?"
Floyd paused for a moment as he tried to figure out where the term had come from. He explained, "At one time my job was to fly airplanes that could fly faster than sound. The other sailors called us jet jockey
s as a sort of nickname."
When they had entered through the airlock Lina went to check on the injured Fixers in their berth and Floyd went forward to work with Mr. Watson. He asked, "Any idea how many Fixers might be arriving?"
Mr. Watson replied, "Tesla is wearing the helmet again and the one good image I got indicated about 30 Fixers on the roof with several walking alongside the transport device. I have no way of knowing how many are inside."
"Did you get a position fix?"
"The helmet came active in a position about 12 miles out. I expect the Fixer to arrive shortly."
"We are going to have a lot of mouths to feed. Any suggestions?"
"The smaller carbon units will require approximately 1000 Calories per day and if the total number is 85 that would mean that they will consume the entire batch of green goo in a single day. Since each batch requires 5.34 days to process, it would appear that a significant shortage exists."
"When will the barley be ready?"
"I have found some data that indicates the immature kernels can be used as a food source but you will lose 45.67% of their final nutritional value."
Floyd responded, "We might need to just to survive, but if it forces starvation later it is a devil's bargain. Even if we put everyone on half rations, except Lina, we cannot make enough food."
Mr. Watson responded, "An interesting word usage, 'a devil's bargain' which seems very apropos."
"Looks like we need to get busy and design a better method of processing the green goo if we’re going to survive. Any ideas?"
Mr. Watson responded, "Technically, a computer does not generate original ideas but I have been working on a larger scale system. It will require significant metal work to fabricate the containers and also an external heat source. The distillation column seems like it will be the most difficult part to fabricate. Hopefully, the power source in the drone or in the transport device can be used for heat."
Mr. Watson began to display engineering drawings but Floyd was having trouble following them. He asked, "Can you print these drawings out and I'll see if Tesla or another of the Fixers can make sense out of them."
Mr. Watson objected that the drawings were very standard and any engineer could easily follow them. Floyd's comment was, "Well, I’m not an engineer and they don't mean anything to me."
Mr. Watson pointed out that they had very little paper and he did not think it was appropriate to waste it when all the information could be easily seen. Lina had come forward and eased the tension by saying, "We have enough to do now. Let's wait for the rest of the Fixers to arrive before we worry about this new machine."
Floyd grumbled something unintelligible but then brought out the cube that Maurine had left for him. He put it under the high resolution camera and took multiple images for Mr. Watson to analyze. He said, "Lina says this is a memory chip of some sort but needs a special reader. Thought you might figure out how to read the thing."
Mr. Watson commented, "It has no external connections which would mean it needs a reader that interrogates it with an external energy source. It may be beyond our capabilities."
"I'll let you work on it. Lina and I have a lot of cooking to do before our guests arrive."
Floyd divided the processed green goo into two equal halves and Lina started cooking the pancakes. The Fixer, who had helped Floyd, presented at the airlock and was gesturing with his one good arm. Floyd looked to Lina who said, "I think the Fixer wishes to help move the injured Fixers from our berth to the dome."
Floyd just nodded and he and the Fixer moved aft to the small berth. The two Fixers were both awake but barely moving. Floyd picked the first one up and had the Fixer carry the blanket and rags they were using for bandages. The Fixers in the dome had prepared space for the new arrivals and Floyd laid the Fixer down carefully. The Fixer doctor was helped over, to examine the injured Fixer. Floyd went back for the second Fixer and after he had placed him in the assigned space, started back to the ship. He turned and said, "Tesla should be here in a few minutes but the others are still several hours out." The bowing was repeated but Floyd just ignored it and headed back to the ship. Before he entered the airlock he saw the dust plume of the motor bike and waited for Tesla to arrive.
Tesla looked like he was riding at full throttle and kept his speed up until he ascended the small hill and finally came to a stop right at the airlock. He got off the bike and handed Floyd the helmet. Floyd did not berate the Fixer he just asked, "How far out and how many?"
Tesla looked up as he did the math in his head and then tried to make Floyd understand with gestures. Floyd interrupted him saying, "Come aboard and type it so I can read it. And have something to eat."
Tesla looked at the dome and it was obvious that he wanted to check on the Fixers but Floyd said, "They are doing well enough, I need to know what to expect and you need to eat."
Several of the Fixers were standing outside the dome and Tesla waved at them before following Floyd into the ship. Mr. Watson was pretty adept at getting specific information from Tesla and soon they concluded that another 75 Fixers would arrive in about three hours. Tesla hurriedly ate the pancake Lina handed to him and drank a couple of containers of water before heading to the dome. Mr. Watson said, "We estimated pretty well and were within one standard deviation of the correct number."
Floyd asked Lina, "How many pancakes were you able to make?"
Lina said, "I had enough of the green goo for 45 pancakes but they are fairly small."
Floyd asked Mr. Watson, "How many calories in each pancake?"
"The pancakes, as you call them, vary somewhat in size but they average around 697 Calories each. Half of a cake will produce an average weight loss of one kilo per week and severe malnutrition in four to five months."
Mr. Watson continued to discuss the nutritional merits of the pancakes but Floyd had already tuned him out. He said to himself out loud, "It’ll be a full year before more grain can be produced. If we can squeeze by until the machines are ready for harvesting and processing the green goo we might just make it. But I have to make sure we save enough of the grain and beans for seed."
Lina spoke up, "Don't forget the babies."
This caused Floyd to smack his forehead and frown. Mr. Watson spoke up saying, "The mammary glands are metabolically pretty efficient and if Lina is given adequate nutrition she should be able to provide adequate nutrition to the babies."
Lina's tail was erect and quivering as she replied, "How am I going to feed six babies when I have only two breasts?"
Floyd had to smile despite the stress and said, "They will have to take turns just like the baby birds." Lina then needed to know what a bird was. "Mr. Watson can explain later. Right now we need to estimate how many beans we have and how many we need for seeds." As Lina and Mr. Watson worked on the problem Floyd went aft to the now vacant berth and lay semi-propped up, thinking. He may have even fallen asleep for a short nap when Mr. Watson announced that the transport device was arriving. Floyd and Lina left the ship to greet the newcomers and carried with them the pancakes Lina had made.
The transport stopped at the base of the hill and Fixers climbed down from the top and began exiting the doors. There were Fixers everywhere. Floyd caused them to settle down when he used his command voice saying, "Welcome, we have little but will share what we have. Those in the dome are waiting for you but I wish each of you to take one-half of a pancake that Lina has made. Times are tough, but if we work together we can survive."
All of the Fixers bowed to Floyd and then to Lina as they filed past and accepted the food. They seemed to form two groups, one of which headed for the dome and the other that stayed near the transport device. He looked back and saw Tesla was directing the Fixers, only some of whom who would be in the dome. The others would need to shelter in the transport device. Several of those who had ridden inside the device were injured and helped to the dome by others. Lina and Floyd entered the dome and w
orked with the injured until Lina's fatigue became obvious. Lina told Floyd she needed to rest but was worried about what they were going to do with Maurine. Floyd announced as they were leaving the dome that they would have a burial ceremony tomorrow at midmorning. The Fixer doctor looked at him and nodded acceptance.
After they were back in the ship Lina wanted to talk about the burial. She told Floyd, "In the Sanctuary we were recycled, but I have learned the description of what The People had done traditionally. A ceremony was held and the deceased carried to the site of either burial or exposure to the sky. A prayer ceremony was mixed with songs as the body was lowered into the ground or raised on the platform."
Floyd asked, "Can you sing any of the songs?"
"I am not a singer but I know the songs. I don't think I could sing in front of a group."
Mr. Watson spoke up saying, "If you would sing the songs to me, I will record them and can play them when needed." He then suggested, "I have a recording of Floyd singing his simple song. I think it should be added to the ceremony."
Floyd looked at the computer screen and said, "Are you nuts? I used to punish my kids by singing to them."
Lina spoke up saying, "It is a simple song, but a song of great hope. I think it should be played."
Floyd retorted, "Whatever. Mr. Watson, you are in charge of the ceremony. I’ll have Tesla give his input." He asked Lina, "Why do the Fixers treat Maurine with such reverence?"
"We talked about this a little before she died. The Fixers were the ones who gave her the idea for a new kind of testing. She was able to work with them because they would be out in the field taking measurements beyond the monitoring of the Sanctuary."
They were both tired and their small berth seemed luxurious after the past few nights. They awoke in the morning and Floyd savored the last container of coffee. Lina worked with Mr. Watson on the burial service. When Floyd heard he needed to say a few words he just groaned. Mr. Watson started reviewing the traditions of The People and of humans but Floyd interrupted him saying, "I will say something. Just tell me when."
When they left the ship and headed for the dome the Fixers were waiting. They were using pieces of the wrecked gliders as caskets and teams of Fixers lifted them above their heads. The entire troop began the long walk to the hill of the dead. The Fixers would rotate in and out of rank taking turns carrying the dead. When they finally reached the hill the Fixers formed a column and marched up the hill following Floyd and Lina. When they crested the hill the sound of Lina singing was broadcast by Mr. Watson. After a couple of traditional songs, it was Floyd's time.
He faced the assembled and stood silently for a moment. He spoke slowly and told of his finding of the hill of the dead and what it meant to him. He continued, "Those that died on this hill believed that life was more than just being alive. We cannot know what lies beyond death of the body but my very being tells me that there is more. Today we celebrate the passing of two more of our comrades and in this time of sorrow we need to always remain hopeful of the future."
When Floyd was finished the Fixers placed the bodies in the center of the circle of bones. Mr. Watson began playing the recording of Floyd singing his simple song, over and over. The Fixers filed past Floyd and Lina each bowing before sprinkling a handful of dirt over the bodies. When the Fixers were done Floyd and Lina took their turn together. The music ended and the Fixers started returning to the dome in a random fashion. Floyd and Lina stayed till all the others had gone and then slowly walked back holding hands.
Lina said, "It was a nice ceremony. You did very well with your eulogy."
Floyd nodded his acceptance and said, "I thought your singing was lovely. Why don't you sing more?"
"I was afraid you would not like it. I do enjoy singing and maybe I can sing to the babies."
Floyd looked at Lina's ever so pregnant belly and asked, "Any idea when the babies might be born?"
“Mr. Watson and I have been working on that question. I would be delivering soon according to the records of The People, but it seems that the Fixers had longer pregnancies as do your people. Mr. Watson thinks it will be another month before the babies decide to be born."
When they returned to the ship Tesla was waiting and had the electric bike all charged up and Floyd's backpack. He was pointing off to the hills and Lina said, "Tesla wants you to take him into the hills where you found the growing rock."
"I need to stay and help with the injured."
Lina was adamant when she responded, "There are others for the injured now. You need to be free for a while and explore. Please, go with Tesla."
Lina's tail was erect and he knew she was serious and the look on Tesla's face was just as obvious. Floyd just nodded and checked the backpack to make sure the emergency kit was in place and enough water for two. He gave Lina a kiss on her head and donned the helmet. Tesla climbed up into the support Floyd had made and they were off. Floyd had only been back once to gather more phosphate rocks but remembered well the route. Soon Tesla was again standing up and Floyd did his best to ignore the bouncing. When they arrived at the site of the mine Tesla headed up the hill to the small cave he had spotted in the image from Floyd's first visit. He had to wait for Floyd and the electric lantern in the backpack.
The small opening led to a tunnel that they followed until it opened up into a small cave. At the far end was something reflecting their light. Floyd held the lantern just to keep Tesla from running ahead. When the light started to illuminate the contents Floyd just stared. There was a row of large pottery vessels that were filled to overflowing with different types of grain. On the shelves above were rows of books some of which appeared to be handwritten. Tesla pointed to the piece of metal that had reflected the light. It was a sign but Floyd could not read the inscription until he held the light at enough of an angle to prevent glare. It read, "Herein lies the history of our people and gifts for those who may follow. We ask that in exchange for the gifts that our history be preserved."
Floyd sent Tesla back to the bike for the helmet and sat in the darkness thinking. It looked like there might be enough grain for them to make it and more importantly they had seeds for another crop. When Tesla returned Floyd donned the helmet and took images of as much as he could with the limited memory storage available with the built-in camera. Tesla was running his hands through the grain and Floyd told him, "Take some of each type of grain and we will see if Lina can get them to sprout. Floyd filled the backpack with something that looked like wheat figuring Tesla was just going to stand up and bounce anyway. He also took one of the books hoping that Lina would be able to read it.
On the way back Tesla spotted one of the miniature monitoring drones and made Floyd stop so he could pick it up. The bike was now seriously overloaded and Floyd proceeded much more slowly than normal. Mr. Watson began downloading the images when they were in range. By the time they made it back to the ship everyone already knew about the discovery. Tesla handed the miniature drone to another Fixer and insisted on carrying the backpack to the ship even though it now weighed almost as much as he did. When Floyd entered the ship he announced, "Now, Mr. Watson, I deserve a beer." Instead of listening, yet again, to Mr. Watson's explanation about the lack of said beverage he sat and watched Lina and Tesla sort through the seeds he had packed into his pockets. The water was refreshing but a beer would have been better.