Heavy Planet (49 page)
Authors: Hal Clement
“The second does depend on a bit of your technology which I don’t know but you may. Is there any possibility of your seeing lights such as those on the helicopters from where you are? I suppose it couldn’t be done by your unaided eyes any more than it could be done by mine but you have many optical devices which I know little about, probably some which I’ve never heard of. I’m standing by.”
Benj’s screened image held up one finger and nodded just as Barlennan finished speaking but the boy waited for the other question to reach him before he spoke.
“I can answer your first question, and Mr. Cavanaugh has gone to find someone who can take care of the second,” were his opening words. “Kervenser started out on his scouting flight about eleven hours ago. It wasn’t realized that he must be in trouble until about eight hours later, when everything popped at once: Kervenser and his flier gone, the
Kwembly
frozen in and Beetchermarlf and Takoorch somewhere under the ice; at least, no one knows that’s where they are but they were working under the hull and there’s no other place anyone can think of for them to be. One of the sailors, Reffel, took up the other flier with a vision set to look for Kervenser, and searched very close to the Ksuembly for a while. Then we suggested that he move out to where an accident to Kervenser wouldn’t have been seen or heard from the cruiser, which he did; of course Dondragmer lost sight of him from the bridge. Then we got into a discussion with the captain; everyone up here got interested and it turned out that no one was watching Reffel’s screen for several minutes. Then someone noticed that the screen had gone completely blank: not no-signal blank but nolight black; that was that.”
Kwembly
frozen in and Beetchermarlf and Takoorch somewhere under the ice; at least, no one knows that’s where they are but they were working under the hull and there’s no other place anyone can think of for them to be. One of the sailors, Reffel, took up the other flier with a vision set to look for Kervenser, and searched very close to the Ksuembly for a while. Then we suggested that he move out to where an accident to Kervenser wouldn’t have been seen or heard from the cruiser, which he did; of course Dondragmer lost sight of him from the bridge. Then we got into a discussion with the captain; everyone up here got interested and it turned out that no one was watching Reffel’s screen for several minutes. Then someone noticed that the screen had gone completely blank: not no-signal blank but nolight black; that was that.”
Barlennan glanced at Guzmeen and the scientists. None of them spoke, but none of them needed to. No one had been watching the screen when Reffel used the shutter! It was not the sort of luck one counted on.
Benj was still speaking.
“The sound wasn’t on, of course, since no one had been talking with Reffel, and no one has any idea what happened. This was just before my mother called you, less than half an hour ago. That would make something like two and a half hours between the two disappearances. We’ll have to wait for your other answer, since Mr. Cavanaugh isn’t back yet.”
Barlennan was a little bewildered by the arithmetic, since the boy had used Mesklinite number-words with human number-background. He got it straight after a few seconds of thought.
“I’m not complaining,” he returned, “but I gather from what you say that over two hours passed between the Kwembly’s freezing in and Kervenser’s disappearance, and our being told about it. Do you know why that might have happened? I realize, of course, that there was nothing I could have done but there was some understanding about keeping me up to date with the land-cruisers. I don’t know just what your job is at the station; you may not have
that information; but I hear from my communications man that you have been talking a lot to the
Kwembly,
so you may be able to help. I’m waiting.”
that information; but I hear from my communications man that you have been talking a lot to the
Kwembly,
so you may be able to help. I’m waiting.”
Barlennan had several motives behind his closing remark. One was obvious enough; he wanted to learn more about Benj Hoffman, especially since the latter was good with the Mesklinite language and if Guz were right, seemed to want to talk to Mesklinites. Maybe he would be like the other Hoffman, a second sympathy-center in the station. If so, it would be important to know just how much weight he could swing.
Also, the commander wanted to check unobtrusively on Guzmeen’s notion that Ben had been chattering with
Kwembly
crew members. Finally, even Barlennan could tell that Benj was young for a human being doing serious work: his selection of words and general narrative style had been a give-away. That fact might well be put to good use if a reasonably close relationship could be established.
Kwembly
crew members. Finally, even Barlennan could tell that Benj was young for a human being doing serious work: his selection of words and general narrative style had been a give-away. That fact might well be put to good use if a reasonably close relationship could be established.
The boy’s answer, when it finally came, was inconclusive in one way but promising in another.
“I don’t know why you weren’t told about Kervenser and the freeze-up right away,” he said. “Personally, I thought you had been. I’d been talking a lot with Beetchermarlf; I guess you know him; one of Don’s helmsmen; the one you can talk with and not just listen to. When I heard he’d disappeared I was concentrating on what could be done about it. I wasn’t here in the comm room quite all the time; it’s not my duty station. I just come when I can to talk with Beetch. I admit someone should have told you sooner. If you’d like I’ll try to find out who should have and why he didn’t. My mother ought to know, or Mr. Mersereau.
“I don’t know how much explaining I’d better supply about the background to my job here. On Earth, when someone finishes basic education (the sort of thing everyone has to get, like reading and physics and sociology) he has to work at unskilled labor on some essential job for two to three of our years before he is eligible for either specialized or general higher education. Nobody says it right out, but everyone knows that the people you work for have the main say in what you can do afterward. Nominally I’m assigned to the aerology lab here as a sort of picker-upper and hey-you; actually anyone in the station who yells first and loudest gets me. I must admit they don’t make my life very hard. I’ve been able to spend a lot of time talking to Beetch the last few days.” Barlennan was able, with fifty years experience, to translate without effort the thought behind a human being’s use of the word day. “Of course,” the boy went on, “knowing your language helps. My mother’s a language nut, and I picked it up from her. She started on yours ten years ago when Dad was first connected with the Dhrawn project. I’ll probably be doing comm work semi-officially a good deal of the time from now on. Here comes Mr. Cavanaugh with one of the astronomers whose name I think is Tebbetts. They’ll answer your question about seeing lights, and I’ll try to find out about the other business.”
Benj’s face was replaced on the screen by that of the astronomer, a set of broad, dark features which rather surprised Barlennan. He had never seen a bearded human being, though he was used to wide variations in cranial hair. Tebbetts’ was a small Van Dyke adornment quite compatible with a space helmet but it made a drastic difference to the Mesklinite’s eye. Barlennan decided that asking the astronomer about it would be tactless. It might be better to get the information from Benj later. There was nothing to be gained by embarrassing anyone.
The facial extension, to the commander’s relief, did not interfere with its owner’s diction. Tebbetts had evidently been given the question already. He started to talk at once, using the human tongue.
“We can detect from here any of the artificial lights you have, including the portables, though we might have trouble with beamed ones not pointed our way. We’d use regular equipment: photomultiplier mosaics behind an appropriate objective; anything you’re likely to need could be set up in a few minutes. What do you want us to do?”
This question caught Barlennan by surprise. He had, in the few minutes since discussing the matter with his scientists, been growing more and more certain that the men would deny being able to detect such lights. Certainly if the commander had been a little more foresighted he would not have answered as he had. In fact, he was regretting what he said well before the words reached the station.
“You should have no trouble spotting our land-cruiser
Kwembly
; you already know its location better than I do, and its bridge lights would be on. Its two helicopters have just disappeared, and they normally carry lights. I’d like to have you scan the area within, say, two hundred miles of the
Kwembly
as carefully as you can for other lights, then tell both me and Dondragmer the positions of any you find. Would that take long?”
Kwembly
; you already know its location better than I do, and its bridge lights would be on. Its two helicopters have just disappeared, and they normally carry lights. I’d like to have you scan the area within, say, two hundred miles of the
Kwembly
as carefully as you can for other lights, then tell both me and Dondragmer the positions of any you find. Would that take long?”
The message lag was quite long enough to let Barlennan realize how he had slipped. There was nothing to be done about it now but to hope, though that word is a bad translation of the nearest possible Mesklinite attitude. The answer did cause him to brighten up a little; maybe the slip hadn’t been too serious: as long as the human beings didn’t find more than two other lights near the Kwemhly!
“I’m afraid I was thinking merely of detecting lights,” said Tebbetts. “Pinpointing the sources will be harder, especially from here. I’m pretty sure we can solve your problem if your missing helis are shining their lights. If you think they may have crashed, I shouldn’t think there’d be much chance of light, but I’ll get right to it.”
“How about their power plants?” asked Barlennan, determined to learn the worst now that he had started. “Aren’t there other radiations than light given off in nuclear reactions?”
By the time this question reached the station Tebbetts had left, according
to his promise; fortunately Benj was able to supply the answer. The information happened to be basic to the Project, which had been carefully explained to him right after his arrival.
to his promise; fortunately Benj was able to supply the answer. The information happened to be basic to the Project, which had been carefully explained to him right after his arrival.
“The fusion converters give off neutrinos which we can detect, but we can’t spot their source exactly,” he told the commander. “That’s what the shadow satellites are for. They detect neutrinos, which are practically all coming from the sun. The power plants on Dhrawn and up here don’t count for much against that, even if it isn’t much of a sun. The computers keep track of where the satellites are and especially whether the planet is between a given one and the sun, so there’s a measure of the neutrino absorption through different parts of the planet. In a few years we hope to have a statistical X ray of Dhrawn. Maybe that isn’t a good analogy for you: I mean a good idea of the density and composition of the planet’s insides. They’re still arguing, you know, whether Dhrawn should be called a planet or a star or whether the extra heat is from hydrogen fusion in the middle or radioactivity near the surface.
“But I’m sure as can be that they couldn’t find your missing fliers from their neutrino emission, even if their converters are still on.”
Barlennan managed to conceal his glee at this news; he merely answered, “Thanks. We can’t have everything. I take it you’ll tell me when your astronomer finds anything, or when he is sure he’ll find nothing; I’d like to know if I have to stop counting on that. I’m through talking for now, Benj, but call here if anything comes up on either the fliers or those friends of yours. After all, I’m concerned about them, though perhaps not the way you are about Beetchermarlf. Takoorch is the one I remember.” Barlennan, having had more direct contact with human beings and more selfish reasons to develop such skills, had been able to read more accurately between the lines of Benj’s talk and obtain a more nearly correct picture of the boy’s feelings than Dondragmer had. It would, he was sure, be useful; but he put it from his mind as he turned away from the communicator.
“That could be both better and worse,” he remarked to the two scientists. “It’s certainly just as well we didn’t set up that blinker system for night communication ; they’d have seen us certainly.”
“Not certainly,” objected Deeslenver. “The human said they could spot such lights but there was no suggestion that they made a habit of looking for them. If it takes instruments, I’d bet the instruments are busy on more important thing.”
“So would I, if the stakes weren’t so high,” returned Barlennan. “Anyway, we wouldn’t dare use it now because we know they’ll be looking this way with the best machines they have. We just asked them to.”
“But they won’t be looking here. They’ll be searching the neighborhood of the Kwembly, millions of cables from here.”
“Think of yourself back home looking up at Toorey. If you were supposed
to examine one part of it closely with a telescope, how much of a slip would it take to make you glance at another?”
to examine one part of it closely with a telescope, how much of a slip would it take to make you glance at another?”
Deeslenver conceded the point with a gesture.
“Then we either wait for sunrise, or fly a special if we want to use the Esket as you suggested. I admit I haven’t thought of anything else. I haven’t even thought of what we might do there which would make a good test.”
“It shouldn’t matter too much. The real question would be how soon, and how accurately and completely, the human beings do report whatever we set up for them to see. I’ll think of something in the next couple of hours. Aren’t you researchers setting up for a flight to leave soon, anyway?”
“Not that soon,” said Bendivence. “Also, I don’t agree with you that details don’t matter. You don’t want them to get the idea that uv could possibly have anything to do with what they see happen at the Erket. They certainly aren’t stupid.”
“Of course. I didn’t mean that they should. It will be something natural, making full allowance for the fact that the human beings know even less than we do about what’s natural on this world. You get back to the labs and tell everyone who has equipment to get onto the Dada that departure time has been moved ahead. I’ll have a written message for Destigmet in two hours.”
“All right.” The scientists vanished through the door, and Barlennan followed them more slowly. He was just beginning to realize how valid Bendivence’s point was. What could be made to happen, in range of one of the
Esket’
s vision transmitters, which would not suggest that there were Mesklinites in the neighborhood but which would attract human interest and tempt the big creatures to edit their reports? Could he think of such a thing without knowing why the reports were being held up? Or, for that matter, without being quite sure that they were? It was still possible that the delay on the Kwembly matter had been a genuine oversight; as the young human had suggested, each person might have thought that someone else had attended to the matter. To Barlennan’s sailor’s viewpoint this smacked of gross incompetence and inexcusable disorganization, but it would not be the first time he had suspected these qualities in human beings; not as a species, of course, but on an individual basis.
Esket’
s vision transmitters, which would not suggest that there were Mesklinites in the neighborhood but which would attract human interest and tempt the big creatures to edit their reports? Could he think of such a thing without knowing why the reports were being held up? Or, for that matter, without being quite sure that they were? It was still possible that the delay on the Kwembly matter had been a genuine oversight; as the young human had suggested, each person might have thought that someone else had attended to the matter. To Barlennan’s sailor’s viewpoint this smacked of gross incompetence and inexcusable disorganization, but it would not be the first time he had suspected these qualities in human beings; not as a species, of course, but on an individual basis.
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