Exiled to the Stars (74 page)

"About the only thing Doctor Koh
has
accomplished is to improve our detectors.
I
think we should mount those detectors in the small airship or a heli, and fly a search pattern around Site One. I think it will detect an energy signature coming from some nearby, but possibly isolated, area. I suspect that the spiders considered their system hazardous, and wanted to stay a safe distance from it. I'd also mount as many different radiation detectors as possible on the ship. If the spiders were afraid of it, I'd be afraid, too, until I confirmed there was no threat.

"Finally, I think I'd expand on Doctor Koh's work in improving our detectors. Instead of just working to increase their sensitivity, I'd also try to extend their detection range." He shrugged. "I doubt that the spiders used the same ranges we do. For all we know, the spiders hearing range and visual range was far above or below our own. In fact, their use of red light suggests their vision might extend into the infrared end of the spectrum.

"Doctor Koh disagrees with me, of course. He is certain that since the sun's spectrum is similar to that of Sol, their vision range, at least, would be close to our own. But, Doctor Susan, the spiders were subterranean creatures. For all we know, they didn't use vision much, or at all. Perhaps they used some sort of sonar, like a bat. Maybe I'm wrong, and Angel is right; but we need to
know
!"

Susan nodded, smiling. "I agree." She straightened. "Doctor Jackson, I didn't make you take an eight-hour flight just so we could chat. Doctor Koh has asked to be relieved of his position as head of the Power Team, so he can return to lab research."

Wen Ho straightened with a grin. "Really? I guess he finally realized that we weren't going to learn anything counting the angstrom units of red light. Now maybe we can begin making progress!"

Susan frowned. "
Doctor
Jackson," she said sternly, "I would remind you that Doctor Koh is an outstanding, and highly respected, scientist! He is also a friend."

Wen looked alarmed. "Oh, Doctor Susan, I'm sorry! I didn't mean that the way it sounded. Doctor Koh is
my
friend, too. We grew up together. But Angel is pure research scientist. Put him in a lab with samples to analyze, and he's brilliant. But outside his lab, well, I'm sorry, Doctor Susan, but he's not very effective."

Susan relaxed, and her frown faded. She nodded. "Angel has come to realize that, as well. I'm appointing you to replace him as head of the team, but I will
not
remove him from the team. He has much to contribute. I hope you will realize that, and make an effort to minimize the friction that will be inevitable in this situation.

"Now, I’m beginning to realize why the Administrator wanted someone to oversee the entire alien technology effort. Science is often too compartmentalized. Before you leave for Site One, I will arrange for you to meet with Michiko at the lab, and for her to provide you with our notes concerning the hearing, sight, and vocal organs of the spider people. We did quite a lot of research on the spectrums we think they used. That may give you a starting point and a few ideas.

"Naturally, I'll also expect you to consult with Frank Wong. He's not under my department, but he's been analyzing many of the samples from both sites. I'll want you to arrange to keep up-to-date on his work.

"Also, when you get up there, you will find a young woman named Doctor Rena Ramos. She is a computer scientist, and will be studying the tablet things. But she will also be trying to determine the type and level of the power they used, which means you will have a certain amount of interaction. I expect that interaction to be friendly and enthusiastic."

Wen nodded. "Of course, Doctor Susan. I think that's a
great
idea. The only things at site One that we can be fairly certain are working are the tablet things we found in the central building. They could be the key to unlocking the entire power system."

Susan nodded. "I'm glad you realize that. But just for the sake of formality, I'll tell you that I specifically want her to have access to those tablet things, and she
is
authorized to experiment with them."

Wen smiled. "I understand, Mistress. Angel was terrified of those things. He was certain that if anyone even
looked
at one hard, the whole place would blow up. I'll be happy to work with her."

Susan smiled and nodded. "Good. Over the next couple of years, as we get people trained. I rather expect we will build a team around her. If we can crack their computer system, well, think how nice it would be to be able to pull up a maintenance manual for the power system."

The next years were busy ones for Susan, Ken, and the colony. For three years, Susan devoted every spare moment to her studies, and in three years, she attained the computer's PhD certification in computer science. But "spare moments" had become increasingly rare as she devoted all her energy to fulfilling Vlad’s dream.

Sixthmonth 14, Year 43 A.L.

Michiko came hurrying into Susan’s office, with an air of triumph. Michiko was a rare visitor nowadays. She had slowly adopted Susan’s habit of nearly living in her lab. But now, she was displaying a wide smile. Susan replied with one of her own. “You’ve found something!” Susan exclaimed. “Tell me about it!” She ushered the younger woman to a seat.

“Well,” Michiko began, “You know that since you started us talking to each other, I’ve been getting a lot of questions from the other scientists. Most of them have been about the spider people, and it made me realize how little we’d learned from the cadavers.”

Susan nodded. “I’ve never been happy about that, either,” she replied. “But the bodies were so dessicated…”

Michiko nodded agreement. “I know. But about a month ago, ‘Turo Venn asked me about their vision, and he was not happy with the little I could tell him. Oh, I told him that we didn’t think they had compound eyes, but rather had ‘normal’ eyes, apparently with binocular vision. That would be expected from predators, of course. And I told him that we
thought
they could see deeper into the infrared than we can.

“Well, he got angry. He told me that he had figured out that much himself, and that if we didn’t know any more than that, we’d been wasting our time for the last four years. Well, that made
me
mad, and I’m afraid I was rather nasty to him.

“Later, though, I got to thinking about it, and I decided there was some truth in what he said. I realized that we were so worried about damaging or losing one of our samples, that we really weren’t very thorough.”

Susan frowned. “Come to think of it, you’re right. Even our dissections weren’t very detailed, once we realized the internal organs had mostly decayed. We just kind of assumed there would be little to see. Besides, remember? We had some other priority items going, and we thought that research into the spider people would just be for curiosity’s sake.” Her expression turned shocked. “Good Heavens, Michiko. We were almost negligent!”

Michiko’s smile resurfaced as she nodded. “Anyway,” she continued, ‘Turo’s complaint embarrassed me, and sent me back to the cadavers.

“Now, most of the questions I’ve been getting have concerned the spider peoples’ vision, so I decided to start there.”

Susan nodded. “Good choice. Who knows how much we’re missing because we’re looking at things in visible light, and they were designed for infrared.”

Michiko’s answering nod was excited. “Yes! Exactly. Well, it cost me two eyes, but I finally succeeded in partially rehydrating an eye.” Susan’s eyes widened, and Michiko continued, “Oh, it didn’t last long. But it lasted long enough for me to run some tests. I also tested a wolf lizard eye, to make sure I was comparing predator with predator. I wanted you to be the first to hear the results.”

Susan smiled. “So, what did you learn?”

Michiko leaned forward in her chair, excitement in every cem of her stiffened body. “Well, the spider people lived underground for a
long
time. Long enough that their eyesight had become very poor. That would be death for a a predator, of course.

“It was also long enough for their visual range to shift dramatically to the red end of the spectrum. I can’t guess how long that would take, without knowing whether they were originally diurnal or nocturnal. But it
has
to have been a
long
time. I suspect that the last of the spider people couldn’t even go outside in daylight without artificial aids to keep from being blinded.

“It looks like
our
visible spectrum is on the high edge of theirs. We’re missing nearly everything there is to see, because we’re looking too high on the electromagnetic spectrum!”

Susan frowned. “Well, how far into the infrared could they see?”

Michiko’s wide grin faded slightly. “Uh, well, I can’t really be sure. My equipment didn’t go that far. But I think there’s a possibility that they could even see some microwaves!”

Susan’s expression mirrored Michiko’s own excitement, now. “So, our people should be wearing night-vision goggles whenever they’re in spider-people territory. Who knows
what
we might find!”

Michiko shook her head. “I think we may need something more sophisticated than night-vision. That only covers the near-infrared. We’re going to need instruments that can show us the deep infrared.”

Susan straightened. “All right, Michiko. Write this up as a paper, and get it to me as quickly as you can. I’ll make certain that every scientist working on the alien project sees it and knows they need to move their researches down the electromagnetic spectrum.
Including
Arturo Venn!”

Michiko smiled. “Thank you, Susan.”

Eighthmonth 7, Year 48 A.L.

Doctor Andre Benton slammed into Susan’s office, waving his tablet. “Did you
see
this, Doctor Renko? Did you see what that…that woman
said
?”

Susan Renko straightened, shaking her head and suppressing a smile. “Good morning, Andre. I assume ‘that woman’ is Rena Ramos?”

Andre dropped into a chair uninvited, his body stiff with anger. “Of
course
it’s Ramos! How dare she? How
dare
she?”

“
Stop it
!” Susan ordered. Andre jerked, and she continued, “Now, close your eyes, take three deep breaths, and then you can tell me what’s happening.”

Andre obeyed, struggling to control his seething anger. Finally, though, he regained enough control to speak in a calm tone. “Have you seen what she said about me in the newsie? She gave Kerry Jenson an interview, and when Kerry asked about my latest paper, identifying the Type 7 tablet thing as a communicator, she said, “Doctor Benton has discovered that we call them ‘tablet things’, so he’s decided they obviously must be like our human tablets. He often assumes the spider people thought like we do, that is, when he bothers to think at all.” He finished reading the quote, and barely restrained himself from throwing his tablet onto Susan’s desk.

Susan suppressed a smile, and shook her head. “Andre, I warned you that it was too soon to publish that paper. You simply don’t have enough evidence that the spider peoples’ Type 7 tablet thing is a communicator. In fact, all you’ve done is get one to produce a buzz at the very upper end of the human audio range.

Andre’s expression turned desperate. “But don’t you
see
? That buzz is a carrier wave! It
has
to be!”

Susan shook her head. “No, it doesn’t. Now, you
may
be right, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t have years of work ahead of you proving it.”

Susan sighed and shrugged. “I’m becoming very tired of this silly war between you two. The time has come for the two of you to deal with each other.” She made a decision, and straightened. “I want you to go up to Site One.”

Andre’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to protest, but Susan forestalled him.

“No,” she continued, “I won’t make you work for her, at least not yet. But you
will
work with her team.” She held up a hand. “I said, ‘
with
’, not ‘for’. I’ll instruct her to give you your own lab, and you can take your lab assistant. You’ll work independently. But since Rena is running the computer investigations up there, I want you to share your work with her.
All
of it. I’m going to order her to do the same, and share her team’s work notes with you. You’ll either learn to get along, or one of you will kill the other, and right now, I don’t much care which.

“Now go pack. I have to call Rena.”

Fourthmonth 17, Year 51 A.L.

Susan smiled as her caller’s face appeared on her monitor. “Well, Rena,” she greeted the woman. “I haven’t talked with you for a while. How’s married life?”

Rena Benton flushed. :Uh, Oh, it’s uh, fine,” she replied. “Uh, Doctor Susan, do you happen to have a Type 7 tablet thing in your office?”

Susan nodded. “Of course. I have samples of all the different styles. Just a moment.” She rose and went to the display case containing her samples, and retrieved the Type 7. She returned to her desk. “So, what are you and Andre up to now?”

Rena looked flustered. “Uh, we’d like to try something before I explain. Is that all right?”

Susan smiled. “Of course, Rena. Just tell me what you need.”

Rena nodded. “Don’t bother with the stuff on the front, for now. But if you hold the tablet thing like a human tablet, you’ll find your index fingertip on or near a small hole in its back.”

Susan turned the tablet thing over, and nodded. “I see it.”

Rena nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Now, see if you can find a pointed object to stick in the hole. Not hard, and you won’t have to keep it there. Just something to press in with, like pushing a button.”

Susan found a stylus that fit the hole, inserted it, and pressed. It certainly
felt
like she’d pressed a button, but nothing happened.

She raised her eyes to the monitor. “Nothing,” she said. Rena looked disappointed, and sighed. “I guess Andre was right. I hate that.”

Susan grinned. “Okay, now tell me what that was all about.”

The disappointment faded from Rena’s face, replaced by something like triumph. “Well, you know that Andre’s up at the city, right?