Open Writing

Rigel IX
Later

Silently, they put on their gear: environment suits, sensors, sidearms, and, except Jonathan, heavy armaments. All had powerful lights attached to brackets on their shoulders, and Jonathan and Dennis carried scanning devices. In addition to their sidearms, all except Jonathan carried sawed-off shotguns loaded with double-ought buckshot.

While they waited for the airlock to cycle, Dennis looked at the others and smiled grimly, his lean face hard in the dull glow from outside.

“No more Mister Nice Guy.” Jonathan said nothing, but Cal and Joe nodded their support.
They looked out over the shattered landscape of the alien world, then walked down the ramp and went to a crumbling stone stairway that led below ground. They descended several flights of stairs until they arrived in a large stone room. Warily, they looked around the room, alert to any movement. Before landing, they had scanned the planet carefully to find a place that was clear of aliens, and this group of buildings seemed free of life forms, and very old, thus probably constructed by the planet’s original inhabitants.

Their lights casting multiple shadows on the stone walls, they crossed the room to a doorway, checked it out carefully, then went through the door into a similar but larger room. Other doorways led out of it, and their lights illuminated the dark beyond, and it, too, was empty.

Studying his sensor, Jonathan said, “It seems almost certain that we have discovered a structure dating from the time of this world’s early inhabitants.” He indicated several stone statues lining the walls, each at least three meters tall.

Cal looked at them uneasily. “What do you think these are, Jonathan? Family portraits?”

Jonathan studied them for a moment. “My best guess is that that’s precisely what they are; life sized replicas of themselves.”

Cal turned slowly and looked around the room at the tall stone figures, his shoulder lights illuminated. “Hmmm, why not? That’s what many of our statues are; why shouldn’t they?” He looked around the room again, “Jonathan, any idea how many more of these rooms there might be?”

Jonathan studied his sensor. “There could be dozens. It’s a very large complex, that much we saw from the ship. However, I don’t recommend that we split up to search.”

Cal shook his head. “Absolutely not. We stay together.”

Keeping a sharp lookout, they began to move from room to room, occasionally taking samples from the walls for dating. The dark was oppressive, and they stayed close together, not wanting to get separated. Lights on full power, running on 48-hour cells, they moved on.

* * * *

“Cal! Over here!” Jonathan called from the far end of the room. Cal and Joe turned to where Jonathan and Dennis were working.

“I think we’ve found something,” Dennis called.

Cal and Joe hurried to the other end of the chamber, which was identical to a dozen others they had searched in the last two hours.

Crafter was standing in front of a gray, featureless door, set into the stone wall. It was the first sign they had seen of anything resembling technology, and they played their lights over its surface, studying it.

“What do you think, Jonathan?” Cal asked.

“I don’t know; it appears to be made of a metallic substance that I can’t identify yet.” He continued to play his scanning device over the door.

“The question is, how do we get it open?” Cal said.

“Maybe we could try knocking,” Crafter said.

Cal gave Crafter an exasperated look, but Jonathan turned and said, “You might have something there, Cal. Not knocking, necessarily, but perhaps touching the surface with our hands. The door could be activated by body heat.”

They ran their hands over the surface of the door and around the edges, without success. “Perhaps we should try the rock wall immediately adjacent to the door’s edge.” He began running his hands over the stones. “Look for a hidden recess, or some kind of switch.”

“Here, Cal. There’s something here.” Joe said. He pulled a small stone out of the wall, revealing a smooth metal panel. Cal laid the flat of his palm against it, and the door slid open smoothly, and Cal went inside.

* * * *

“Cal, I believe I may have found what we’re looking for.”

Cal turned at the sound of the professor’s voice, flat and muffled in the muted non-resonance of the room. The walls, ceiling and floor were of the same material as the door, and returned no echo.

Cal, Joe and Dennis played their lights over the section of wall that Jonathan was studying, seemingly no different from any part of its surroundings. As they watched, he brushed away the gray dust, then touched a small panel set into its gray smoothness, and a low hum began. It seemed to come from everywhere at once, and it lasted only a few seconds before dying away. Cal was about to say that they should try something else, when the room was lit by a blue-tinged glow.

Slowly, the glow resolved itself into a shape, until finally a hologram of a vaguely human figure stood in the middle of the room. The four watched, hardly daring to breathe, as the figure’s features became clear. It stood approximately three meters tall, with long, thin legs, and arms that hung down almost to its knees. It’s head was elongated, it’s thorax barrel-like. It resembled the alien creature they had encountered on the planet’s surface, but there were marked differences. This figure projected no menace, and it had neither the vicious teeth, nor the barbed tail.

The alien fixed its sad-eyed gaze on the wall opposite and began to speak. At first, the sounds were a meaningless jumble, and the four listened helplessly. Then abruptly, the voice became clear and spoke an oddly accented English, similar to the Scandinavian lilt of an artificial voice device.

“….have activated this recording, I bid you welcome. If events have progressed as have been anticipated, then I and all of my kind are long gone, and only the others remain.”

“It must have some sort of built-in translator,” Jonathan said quietly. “Apparently the delay was caused by its scanning our minds to discover what language we understood.”

The holographic figure continued. “The tale you are about to hear is one of great folly, and of even greater treachery. Let it serve as a testament to my people, and as a warning to others of the dangers inherent in too much knowledge in the wrong hands. My name, and that of my race, is unimportant. What matters is that other races know what has happened here, that they might not make the same mistake as we.

“Many years ago, we were a flourishing and prosperous people. We built large cities, and were beginning to explore the other planets of our system. Our attempts at space travel were in their infancy, but were progressing rapidly, thanks to the many brilliant scientists among us.

“One such was Garn. Always something of a lone agent, he nevertheless worked tirelessly to produce new forms of artificial life, intelligent androids supposedly created to assist in the colonization of other worlds, and to relieve our people of the necessity to engage in the more dangerous occupations. Too late, we discovered his true purpose.

“Unknown to anyone, Garn created a new species, not an android but a hybrid similar to us in some ways, but with certain differences. Where we were peaceful, it was malevolent, almost pathological in its hatred of all other living things, even including its creator and all of his kind.

“We urged Garn to destroy his creations, but by then he had become enamored of the notion that he could use them to conquer our world, to usurp those of us in positions of power, and set himself up in their place. In short, to rule.”

Here, the alien’s face and tone took on an even sadder, resigned cast, and he went on. “Even if you who have activated this message are of an entirely alien race to ours, I feel certain that this is an old tale that you will have heard before. It seems to be the nature of sentient beings to desire dominance over their fellows.”

The four exchanged glances, and the alien continued his narrative.

“Finally, when he judged that he had enough of the creatures, Garn unleashed them on our world. I will omit the details of what followed, partly because they will be of no interest to you, and partly because to recall them is still painful to me. I will just say that there was a series of battles, culminating in one great battle, in which many millions of my people perished. However, we prevailed, and destroyed the creatures. Or so we thought.

“When Garn was finally cornered, he presented us with an ultimatum: he claimed he had concealed a group of the creatures somewhere on the planet; if we would allow him to leave, never to return, he would reveal their location to us.”

“If you are a suspicious people, you will wonder at our naiveté. In our defense, our people have always preferred to think the best of others, rather than the worst. In any event, we trusted him and we let him take a ship and go free. As you might expect, he betrayed us; as he passed the blockade we had placed around the planet, in order that none of the creatures might escape, he contacted us for the last time. He informed us that he had placed aboard his vessel many of the creatures, held in stasis. As our ships closed in on him, his vessel suddenly put on a massive burst of acceleration and got away. He had developed a faster-than-light drive.

“Fortunately, something in his drive malfunctioned, and his craft crashed, but when the site was searched, Garn was missing. We never found him. We searched our planet for the hidden enclave of Garn’s creations, but couldn’t find them either. Then the creatures began to appear again, and we knew it was too late. The war began anew, but this time our resources were badly depleted and our lines stretched thin, and we knew it was only a matter of time before we were overcome. In the battles that followed, we destroyed what remained of our civilization, and still we did not account for all of the creatures.

“There are only a few of us remaining now, dwindling steadily, and our world is no longer capable of supporting life. What became of Garn I do not know. We are not a vindictive people, but whatever the manner of his passing, a part of me hopes it was not peaceful. Where he went, I do not know. However, given our long life span, I fear it could have been almost anywhere on the planet.

“Be warned: whether or not you have encountered them, these creatures cannot be reasoned with, nor can they be tamed to do another’s will, save their creator’s. They have the capacity to learn; their brain is almost as large as our own, and their appearance and belligerent nature belie their intelligence. If they ever escape into the greater galaxy, then all civilized beings everywhere will be in great peril.

“That is my tale. I myself am one of the last of my people, and I will not wait for the creatures to find me. I do not intend to become another of their victims; therefore, I will take my own life and join my ancestors. Perhaps in the next cycle of life in the universe, when all matter once more implodes in upon itself and redistributes, my kind will fare better. Now, I can do no more but wish you good fortune in your attempts to destroy the creatures; better fortune than was ours to enjoy.

Above all, remember, this is not a species; it is a plague, and it must be eradicated, whatever the cost, if civilized beings are ever to be safe in our galaxy again.

“I wish you peace. May your fate be other than ours.”

Slowly, the hologram faded and was gone. The men of Earth mourned the passing of a race of compassionate beings, a people from whom they might have learned much.

They left the ruins and boarded the shuttle. Dennis powered up the engines and they lifted off the surface of the devastated planet. Cal took out his communicator and called the Hermes II. “Four on our way back, Karen.”

* * * *

Immediately after returning from the surface, Cal called everyone together. When they had all watched the recording Jonathan had made of the alien’s message, Cal said, “I don’t believe there’s any reason to doubt the truth of what we’ve just seen, given that we met one of those creatures. Nor can there be any doubt that we, as the people on the spot, have the responsibility of doing something about it. The question before us now is, what?” He paused, looked around, and said, “I would appreciate any suggestions anyone might have.”

They looked at each other, and Karen said, “Well, that’s what I’d like to know, too. Just what is it we’re supposed to do? The hologram said that they had no faster-than-light drive. Maybe the guy who nearly escaped had something like it, maybe not. But from what the alien said, he sure as hell didn’t share it with any others of his people.”

“A reasonable assumption, Karen, although, if you recall, the messenger also said that the creatures have the capacity to learn, a capacity that approached his own people’s. Such a potential could conceivably give them an intelligence equal to our own, or greater,” Arnold said.

“If their creator could invent a faster-than-light drive, or something like one, then it is possible that, eventually, the creatures could too.”

The others absorbed that in silence, and Arnold continued, “While we don’t know how much time has passed since that hologram was made, it would nevertheless be prudent to assume that the creatures have not been idle.”

“What are you suggesting?” Karen asked. “That we sterilize the planet? How would that grab the folks back home? No matter how warlike or aggressive these creatures might be, they are still, by all accounts, a sentient race.”

“Yes, ” Cal interrupted, “but, if we are to believe the alien, these creatures were created in a laboratory.”

Karen looked hard at Cal, “True, but what difference does it make where they came from? Think of test-tube babies, artificial insemination.” She paused. “Regardless of their origin, they are a species of sentient, living creatures populating this planet. We don’t have the right to exterminate them just because we see them as a threat to ourselves, any more than we have the right to take the same action against anyone else. And we all know that,” she finished.

“Good argument, sweetheart, but we have to do something,” Cal said. “The alien was right. It was just pure, blind luck that the creator of these creatures crashed before he could escape. If those…things ever got out into the galaxy, it could mean the end of all civilized life. With their aggressive nature, and the right weapons, it would only be a matter of time before they took over everything. Humans and whatever species that might exist that we haven’t seen yet, all would fall before such a relentless onslaught. We might be the only ones that can stop that from happening. In the face of such a threat, maybe what the folks back home think is secondary.”

Everyone sat in thoughtful silence, then Jonathan said, “Cal? If I may…?” Cal nodded. “Although apparently the creatures don’t have FTL drive yet, and may not even be capable of piloting a spacecraft, it is, as you said, only a matter of time.”

Karen broke in, “Wait a minute, Jonathan! We can’t be sure of that. The alien said that the other’s ship was destroyed.”

Jonathan nodded patiently. “That’s true, Karen. But they didn’t find him. He may well have managed to rebuild his ship. Who knows?”

“So, if what Jonathan is saying is correct, then the aliens, having the potential to be almost as intelligent as their creator, could conceivably also develop FTL travel themselves,” Cal said. “I don’t need to tell you what that would mean, or the dilemma it leaves. On the one hand, Jonathan is right: we can’t take the risk that the aliens eventually will develop FTL drive and get out into the galaxy.
“On the other, Karen is also right; Federation policy prohibits us from taking any action that would interfere with a species’ development, let alone result in their extermination. What we have to decide is, are these creatures a sentient race that deserves a chance to evolve and expand, or are they, as the alien in the message said, merely a plague, a disease to be wiped out?”

All but Arnold began to debate heatedly. Then Arnold said, “Cal, there’s still the matter of the device, which is, after all, our primary objective on this mission.” He stood and walked to the front of the room.

Cal leaned back in his chair. Although the message from the alien took priority in his mind, he hadn’t forgotten the original purpose of the mission, to which they had attached retrieval of Jonathan. Soon, they had to return to the planet again and examine the device. They had been told it could not be removed from where it was. The crew of the first ship to find it had tried, and had found it could not be done, that it was tied in directly somehow to the magnetic field of the planet.

So they would have to do their testing right here, right now. With the threat the alien creatures presented, they would be working under more pressure than they expected, and that thought brought him back to the problem of the aliens, and what they should do about them.

The problem nagged at him. How could they justify even debating making such arrogant decisions as the survival or extinction of an entire species? On the one hand, the aliens were obviously sentient beings. However, they were creations of another race, and not products of natural evolution. Perhaps extinction wasn’t necessary, he thought. Maybe some kind of blockade would be the best solution. Keep them isolated on their planet, and not let them out into the galaxy. As he formed this thought, he saw its flaws. As he’d said previously, it would only take a few to escape for the entire exercise to be futile.

The debate looked like going on for some time yet, and Cal groaned inwardly. He was tired, he needed at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, and it didn’t look like he was going to get it.