Ancient Birthright (8 page)

Maybe if I send the incremented sequence as a reply the machine on the other end will understand that someone is receiving the transmission.

In his frustration, Saigg encoded the sequence incremented it by one, and connected into the ship’s transmitter. He pressed the send actipad without stopping to ask Team Lead Feuua for permission to transmit.
So what if they yell at me?
The stupid signal was the most boring one we’ve received. The only thing even remotely interesting about it was that it was consistently getting stronger every cycle. As if the signal was directional and the antenna was getting closer and closer to pointing directly at the ship.

A cycle later when the next signal came in it was identical to those from previous recordings except the sequence tagged on the end was incremented by eight. Saigg added eight to the sequence and transmitted the result. It would take a little over seven hours to reach Treterra.

The next time the signal arrived, it had changed. The pulses were shorter and did not fade as quickly as before. The sequence tag was no longer an incrementing binary number. This time, it contained a sequence of bits that were obviously adding two binary numbers to obtain a sum. The last two numbers received did not have the resulting sum in the data. Saigg again encoded a reply that included the last two numbers and the missing answer.

I’m doing it. I’m establishing communications with a planet in our home star system.

Three cycles later Saigg sat staring at his VH screen.
What‘s this data supposed to mean? I’ve been looking at it for hours, but it is just a string of two-hundred binary ones followed by a string of two-hundred binary zeros with the sequence repeated one-hundred times. It’s more like a pattern rather than data. Maybe if I try the data as a visual picture on my terminal… All I get is a bunch of horizontal lines. What can I send as a response? This has to be some kind of test. If I rotate the pattern by alternating the lines to one, zero, one, zero…

Saigg saw Crew Leader Domm Feuua scowl as he stomped toward Saigg’s work area. “I see you are ignoring your primary duties again so you can work on this worthless theory. The waste receptacles have gone un-emptied all cycle, and I am receiving complaints about it. This is your primary area of responsibility. I knew this would happen when I agreed to Command Prime’s request to take you on. I can’t even rely on you to complete that simple task. See to it immediately.”

Seething, Saigg completed the sequence modification and transmitted it before going to empty the waste receptacles he’d cleaned out an hour ago. Well...all but one. That container was also in the waste-recy bin since he’d kicked it so hard the side had caved in, making it useless.

Chapter-9

Socorro, New Mexico: Transjump plus 0 years, 184 days:

Beldon studied his latest data file from the VLA. The object he’d found was coming toward Earth. The radar data showed the object just under four point seven billion miles away, and it was on a course that would intersect with Earth’s orbit. The current VLA system projection was that the two masses would cross paths in one hundred and forty-six years at current velocities. His data tonight showed clearly, that the object’s current velocity was changing. It was accelerating toward Earth. Each day of acceleration shortened the time until it intersected Earth’s orbit. He calculated an impact or near miss in a little less than five years if the rate of acceleration remained constant. When he opened the sequence tag file, he smiled and jammed his clenched fist in the air. The information was changed to vertical lines rather than the horizontal ones he’d transmitted. This meant the intelligence on the receiving end found his pattern and displayed it, then recognized it for the pattern it represented. He could now attempt to send a scanned picture. He just had to break it down to equal length lines of data.

Beldon found a book with a reasonable graphic of the solar system. He scanned it on his flatbed scanner and converted the captured image into the ones and zeros he’d need to transmit the picture. Before transmission, he added an arrow that pointed at Earth on the graphic.

Seven hours later, his heart pounding, he displayed the returned picture on his computer monitor. It showed the picture he’d sent. Now, not only did Earth have an arrow pointing to it, it had a smaller second satellite much smaller than the Moon and a circle that showed the second object closely circling Earth.

“Dust off the dining room table and tidy up the teepee, company is coming for a visit,” Beldon said.

He rubbed his temples as he thought. It’s time to get serious with the communications, and find out what their intentions are and where they’re from. The next transmission should be something that will give us common ground to build on. We’re communicating in binary or base two, the language of Earth’s current computer systems.

Binary is unlikely to be the normal number system used by the approaching object unless it’s totally computer controlled. Current theory holds that humans use a base ten counting system because we have ten fingers. I can start with a page of base ten numbers and see what comes back. I’ll send the same information I sent as the example binary sums where the last two numbers aren’t added together.

First, I’ll need to send a page with the numbers zero through nine and several examples showing how the symbols progressed past nine. Then I’ll need to include the binary equivalents to ensure they understand my meaning. On the bottom half of the page, I’ll include the previously transmitted numbers and sums along with several new unsolved problems.

Less than an hour later, Beldon clicked the transmitter activate button on his computer screen.

#

Beldon looked at the stack of homework he had to complete before tomorrow morning and groaned. It had been almost a year since he started his search using the radio telescope system. These all night sessions working with the VLA antennas, were beginning to take their toll. The upgrades had been completed on the remaining antenna systems, and the array was back on line.

Fortunately, the two spare antennas I’m using are well away from the others, so no one has noticed me using them.

Turning sixteen didn’t make life any easier. My problems still exist. Problems like Billy Breathsword, Danny Wilkins, my nosey sisters, and the added pressure of being horny all the time. If there is a good-looking girl around, I have my very own compass pointing the way. God, I’m tired of carrying my books in front of me at school.

His mom was back to work and was as overloaded as she’d been before the upgrades. His dad was home all the time now. He’d been injured on the job during the upgrades and the required eighteen-hour days. He was on extended disability due to the injury to his spine and left leg. He fell from an antenna after his crew had followed the boss’s orders not to use the safety harness fall protection in order to speed up the installation.

Mr. Wilkins had tried to cover up the accident and blame it on shoddy work from the maintenance crew, but
someone
had called OSHA and reported the accident. A team of investigators showed up the following day and shut down the entire operation when they found the maintenance crew working twenty-five feet above the ground without fall protection. The final report was still pending, but the preliminary findings had pointed at overwork and mismanagement. The OSHA investigation found that upper management’s orders to complete a job with too little staff and on an unrealistic schedule could only be accomplished by disregarding OSHA safety standards.

At dinner, his mom relayed a rumor that said that Mr. Wilkins would be fired as the scapegoat to satisfy the inspectors. It was common knowledge that his orders to complete the upgrades as quickly as possible came from the director.

Beldon and his sisters tiptoed around the house trying to stay out of their dad’s sight.

Either he’s so high on painkillers that he’s out of it, or the pain is so bad he’ll bite my head off just for walking in the room.

Terrie came home from school that afternoon and walked in the front door. Duane, startled out of a drug-induced nap, grabbed her and shook her so hard Beldon had stepped in to try to get her away from his dad’s grasp. It’d taken him several minutes to calm his Dad and bring him back to reality but Terrie got away with little more than a scare.

Not only do I have to avoid Bruiser Billy and his sidekick Dumber-than-Dirt Dan, but with Dad acting this way, home’s not a safe haven either.

A few days later when Beldon got home from school, he noticed that his stuff was disturbed. His computer was on, and his stack of programming books, tipped over. He was beginning to wonder if his dad was searching his room looking for something to relieve his boredom or just looking for something to confront him with so he could use it to make Beldon’s life as miserable as his own was from the pain.

When Beldon started his project, he’d added file encryption and password protection to his computer and all of his files involved with the VLA. It wouldn’t stop the FBI or CIA from being able to read them, but it should at least keep his father and sisters out of his business.

“What are you up to, Bel?” his Dad said from the doorway in slow drug slurred speech. “I tried to use your computer today and all the data files were locked.”

“That’s my private stuff Dad. It’s just data I’ve been compiling for the science fair this summer.”

“So why’s it locked?”

“I don’t want anyone messing with it and changing anything. My entire project could be ruined.”

“I don’t like it. I don’t want you hiding things from me. Just the other day I heard the Wilkins’ housekeeper found naked pictures of high school girls displayed on his kid Danny’s computer when she went in to clean his room. His father searched his system and found a butt load of pictures of his son in compromising situations with girls in his class. They tried to cover it up, but the housekeeper told her husband, and now it’s all over town. The kid’s reputation is shit, not to mention the parents of the girls in the pictures. I find any of that stuff on your system, and you’ve had it, kid. I’ll take that computer away so fast the bits will fall off the hard drive.”

“I don’t go on dates, Dad. All my files are communications with space aliens. I just wanted to make sure no one messed with my files.”

“You smart mouthing me, Bel?”

Beldon stared at the floor not answering his father.

“Ask him why he locks his door every night,” Sandy called from her bedroom doorway.

“You lock your door?”

“It’s the only way I can get my homework done. If I don’t, someone is always interrupting me.”

“No more locked doors. That goes for all you kids. I find a locked door, and the lock is gone. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes Dad, no more locked doors,” mumbled Bel.

Sandy is going to go into meltdown. She locks her door more than I do. Every night when she calls Brad for their phone sex session, she locks it for hours. That backfired on you didn’t it, Sandy? Now I’m going to have to get a memory stick and move everything to it.

Chapter-10

Universe Explorer
: Transjump plus 0 year, 210 days:

Saigg was ecstatic with the progress he’d made on decoding the secrets of one of Treterra’s current written languages. Beldon called the language “English”. The exchanges with Beldon resulted in Saigg understanding a small dictionary of item names. He now knew how to change the binary data of many of the received files into the alphabet used by Beldon and his kind. The key was something called ASCII code.

Team Leader Domm Feuua walked through the work area and announced an all team meeting would start in thirty truebeats. Saigg knew his efforts would be one of the primary topics, and the general expectation was that Team Leader Feuua would use it to get rid of him.

Saigg arrived early and took a seat about halfway down the wall. The seats along the wall were reserved for low ranking support staff. They were rather hard and uncomfortable. The room filled quickly after Team Leader Feuua’s friends started the rumor of Saigg’s pending dismissal.

The last soul to arrive was Team Leader Feuua. He took his position at the head of the table and sat looking expectantly at the door. Several moments passed before a late arrival walked in and took the only empty chair in the room, the one next to Feuua. Command Prime Jamz Garuu took the chair and turned to face the assembled team.

“I’ve asked Command Prime Garuu to join us today so he can get a firsthand report on our efforts. Let’s begin. Section Lead Gambii, your report.”

Section lead after section lead gave their reports. The reports were obvious vocal sketches of the written reports that Saigg had complained about a thirty-cycle ago.

“Saigg Garuu, do you have a comment to make on the reports just given?” Feuua asked.

Saigg stood. “Nothing additional to the observations I made a thirty-cycle ago.”

A smile creased Domm Feuua’s face. “Please tell us what those observations were.”

“I observed that the reports were exact copies of the ones from the two previous thirty-cycles. They held the same information and the same grammatical and syntactical errors I had corrected the previous thirty-cycle.”

“What was the outcome of your learned observation?” Team Leader Feuua said as he squirmed and his facial colors bloomed with the bright-green of satisfaction and expectation waiting for Saigg to report on his work.

“You assigned me the task of learning what I could from a pulsed signal beamed from within the star system we are approaching, an unknown signal that was essentially a series of pulses of unvarying duration, frequency or amplitude.”

“What claim had you made about signals of this nature?”

“Sir, I felt that studying obvious data transmission signals might yield a dictionary of machine language communications that could possibly assist the remainder of the team in deciphering the spoken language.”