The Blue People of Cloud Planet (23 page)

The Rhythm of the Drums

Olivia slept most of the night but now the cold was taking its toll and as soon as possible Scott rushed a semi – comatose Olivia to the first pool to warm up. He gave her the last but one container of fresh water to hydrate her body. When the analyser was switched on, he watched the dreaded result that her condition had deteriorated overnight and the words,

‘immediate blood transfusion’, flashed in red.

‘Hold on, hold on.’ He urged. He clasped her hand and made her as comfortable as possible. The shafts of light streamed into the pyramid from the morning sun whilst he warmed himself thoroughly and took a sustaining drink from one of the nearby blue females. He had not drunk fresh water for many days but had no ill effects from the frequent intake of milk supplemented by his dried food store.

Then, on a piece of card from a box in the medical bag, he copied Zec-1’s message using an indelible pen and put his prompts above the dots and dashes.

Meanwhile, Seren had warmed up and fed and she came over and put her hand on Olivia’s forehead. Her shaking body relaxed and she slept. Scott noticed a new necklace had appeared around Seren’s neck, its triangle tantalisingly pointing to her cleavage. He had to force his eyes back to meet hers and he held her gaze as she transmitted,

>> come with me >>

Momentarily, he feared she might be trying to entice him. However she pointed to the card and walked up the ramp and stood by the largest drum overlooking the unusual ‘theatre’ below.

Scott followed, understanding, he could practise the message here in the pyramid.

Seren held the square ‘drumsticks’ and demonstrated the technique, alternately slapping them down on the taut red leaf. The booming filled the pyramid. She handed the drumsticks to Scott and put her hands on his to help him learn the method.

As she brushed against him her touch was electric, and he was affected by the close physical contact. He forced himself to focus on attaining a steady beat. She moved away and disappeared into one of the pools leaving Scott to concentrate all his attention on his ‘music score’. He practised but found it difficult to coordinate the drum beat to achieve consistent dots and dashes. He tried to recall what the blue females had done – three paces in, light off for about 3 seconds, three paces back – then the dots were about 3 seconds and the dashes about six – so he counted in his mind,

‘1000, 2000, 3000’ and found that by writing the numbers, three or six,  above the dots, dashes and spaces, he could get a regular beat. However, after half an hour his arms were aching and he stopped to rest and take a well-earned drink and he saw,

>> that sounds good > but needs to be louder >>

He practised for another half hour and rested until Seren beckoned and then they walked out of the pyramid into the brilliant sunshine with the shimmering light cone streaking skywards. The time approached one hour before noon.

The three drummers were already in place as they approached the drum platform and with an incline of her head, the third Serenite handed her drumsticks to Scott.

The first drum started and 400 blue females walked to their stations on the wide ledge in front of the laser emitting diamonds.

The second joined in and shafts were hefted to the horizontal position.

Scott’s heart started racing. This was it and he looked at Seren who was holding his ‘score’ and she encouraged,

>> you can do it > begin >>

In that 300 metre dwelling on the wide plain of Cloud Planet and surrounded by the Blue People, Scott steeled himself to play the drums as if his very life depended on it – but it was Olivia’s life at stake. Then he crashed down on the big drum and the light went out!

500 kilometres above and just outside Cloud band, the astronauts of LifeSeeker-1 sat in the command dome. AJ, Alison, Steve, Martha and Pete looked dejectedly at one another. There had been no contact with Olivia and Scott for 12 days and all attempts to outflank the black mass had failed. They had even sent one of the emergency shuttles out as a decoy whilst ROL-2 piloted by Alison and Steve went the opposite direction. But the mass just split into three and blocked communications with the astronauts on the ground, from the starship, ROL-2 and the decoy lander.

‘The only comforting fact is that we can assume that Olivia and Scott are travelling from dwelling to dwelling under the moving black mass,’ AJ tried to reassure his crew.

Last night the black mass had remained stationary and they could not be sure why the astronauts on the planet had not moved on – unless, of course, the answers and explanations were to be found in the SOS dwelling.

The gloom in the command dome was shattered when Zec-C suddenly announced,

‘Attention! Attention! The SOS message has changed! Repeat, the SOS message has changed!’

The astronauts all focused on the LCD portion of the dome where the signal was always displayed and gone were the familiar short and long lights of the distress call and in their place a different series were flashing.

‘Zec-C! Can you interpret?’ AJ commanded impatiently.

 ‘There are errors in the message, and the signature is different, I am waiting for repeats to confirm.’

‘What can it mean? Who’s sending the message?’, Steve queried.

The astronauts looked at one another and then Zec-C announced that the message was .....

- O – L – I – V – I – A - -  V – E – R – Y - - I – L – L --

they groaned with dismay at these first three words.....

- E – X – T – R – A – C – T --

this was the agreed word for urgent immediate removal from danger....

- N – O – O – N -  - N – E – X – T -  - S – O – S - - O – F – F --

‘What’s that mean ‘SOS OFF’?’, said Alison.

- W - - = - - 1  0 – M - - P - - = - - 2  0 – M - - W - -= - - 1  0 – M --

‘Is this code?’, Pete wondered.

- L – A – N – D - - O – N - - O – L – I – V – I – A - - P – A – L – M --

‘On Olivia’s palm?! What does that mean?’ Martha puzzled.

It was AJ, who shouted triumphantly,

‘A day landing! A daytime landing! Scott’s going to turn off the light shaft at exactly noon tomorrow. We have a 10 minute window to get the emergency shuttle in. Then ‘P’, yes, 20 minute pause to get Olivia on board and then the light shaft will be turned off again for 10 minutes to allow take off. Brilliant, Scott!’

‘On Olivia’s palm?!’ Alison queried and then she got it, ‘he’s going to put Olivia’s palm top down as a beacon to land on. We can program that in.’

‘Zec-C give me your analysis of a day landing with one dwelling switched off – surely you computed this before as feasible?!’ AJ commanded.

‘Correct and a 50 kilometre space between light shafts gives an 85 per cent success. Also 10 minutes is minimum window to position shuttle adjacent to light shaft for descent when switched off. I conclude Zec-1 has computed this for Scott. Also Olivia’s palm top as a beacon gives a radius error of 10 metres for the landing. Emergency shuttle will have to be completely programmed for whole operation with critical timing. Taking into consideration these extra factors the success rate drops to 75 per cent – so significant risk and Scott’s timing down on the planet is critical.’

AJ looked at the other astronauts gravely.

‘You have Zec-C’s analysis and we have a crucial decision to make.’

There was no hesitation and the mission to rescue Olivia was unanimously confirmed.

‘Zec-C!’ AJ continued, ‘Programme emergency shuttle 1 and prepare descent plan. We need automatic opening of the shuttle hatch at 1 minute after landing and closure 2 minutes before takeoff. That gives a window of 17 minutes to get Olivia strapped in and for Scott to get away from the lander.’

‘Astronauts - extra food and water to go down plus replacement palm top for Scott – I’m certain he’ll send his up with Olivia.’

‘Martha - prepare sick bay for every eventuality – we should get the diagnosis from Scott’s palm top as soon as Olivia is on board the starship.’

Everyone moved with renewed hope.

Scott was exhausted, cold, soaking wet and his arms were so painful that after about 1 hour he collapsed to the ground – surely he had got the message through. Seren had stood still holding the card and willing him to succeed and somehow her encouragement gave him extra strength to keep the drumming going. The third Serenite drummer picked up the drumsticks and, with a cock of the head, resumed the usual SOS signal as if nothing had happened.

Seren’s attendants helped him back into the pyramid where Olivia was still asleep and he collapsed into the hot pool which quickly revived his aching body. He then checked Olivia’s condition – it had stabilised but she was plainly very ill.

‘Hold on, hold on another day and we’ll have you back with Martha.’ And he cradled her head and knew that the hardest part was yet to come!

Emergency Evacuation

During the afternoon and following morning he gave Olivia the last of the fresh water. The cold night had worsened her condition but all he could do was keep her as warm and comfortable as possible. She was now comatose but breathing and alive.

He checked his watch. They had previously synchronised all their watches with Zec-C to the 20 hour day of Cloud Planet. It was now 1 hour before noon and the drumming started outside and soon the pyramid was flashing to the familiar SOS message. He left Olivia with Seren’s attendants; they would bring her out to the open space in front of the pyramids at Seren’s signal.

Scott walked out into the dwelling with Seren. He was wearing a wet suit – 10 minutes in this freezing cold rain was going to test him as well as the blue females. He placed Olivia’s palm top in the centre of the open space, it was at least 50 metres square, surely enough margin for error. Then they walked to the platform where the three drummers beat their incessant rhythm.

Timing was absolutely critical and Scott glanced at his watch yet again checking the digits as they approached 10.

’09:59:00’

He handed his watch to Seren so she could hold it for the duration. She inclined her head and the third drummer ceased drumming and handed the drumsticks to Scott. The SOS message stopped and the dwelling remained lit.

’09:59:30’

Scott prepared himself; surely 10 minutes would not be as bad as yesterday’s hour of drumming?

’09:59:50’

He positioned the drumsticks and looked at Seren. Her eyes dazzled with encouragement.

’09:59:57’

He crashed down on the drums and 400 blue females took three paces forward.

’10:00:00’

The dwelling switched off, the mist and rain came in and the temperature fell. Scott focused on his drumming which was easy to begin with but as the minutes went by the rain drenched his face and his arms started to become heavy.

’10:05:00’

The beat of the drums was so loud that he wondered if he would even hear the exhaust of the rocket motor.  Now he was really aching and wondered if he could go on. Seren’s eyes encouraged in the mist and rain.

>> keep going > be strong > be strong >>

’10:08:00’

And above the booming of the drums he could make out a new noise....

’10:09:00’

..... and, yes, thank God, it was the unmistakable sound of a powerful rocket engine in full reverse thrust.

’10:09:30’

Now it was visible and he urged his painful arms to continue.

’10:09:45’

The roar was deafening and the huge craft was now only metres from the ground. Surrounding its main central rocket engine were four fins carrying smaller boosters for manoeuvrability. These held the hydraulically controlled legs.....

’10:09:50’

.......which concertinaed onto the hard clay.....the emergency shuttle was down.....

’10:10:00’

Scott stopped beating; the blue females took three paces backwards. The dwelling lit up and the sun shone. The second and first drummers ceased and the multitude of very blue females made their way quickly to the nearest pools to recover.  Like Scott they had 17 minutes to recover before it was time to switch the dwelling off again.

’10:11:00’

As he walked down to the open space, Seren’s attendants came out of the pyramid carrying Olivia. The hatch of the shuttle opened and a ladder extended to the ground.

Scott reached the craft, ascended the ladder and retrieved the supplies together with the new palmtop. He then placed his original palm top carrying the vital diagnosis together with video of key points in their journey, in the body of the craft.

’10:15:00’

Seren kept showing the watch to him.

Scott now carried Olivia up the shuttle steps while the blue attendants took the supplies into the pyramid.

’10:20:00’

It was awkward but he managed to strap her in vertically ensuring that the head restraint was carefully positioned. He gently kissed her and squeezed her hand,

‘Hold on, not long now, remember I love you!’

’10:25:00’

Seren inclined her head and the first drummer began. Four hundred blue females, who were not thoroughly warmed because of the time restraint, made their way back to the ledge. Then the second drummer started.

’10:27:00’

Scott and Seren quickly made their way to the big drum.

’10:27:30’

The ladder retracted and the hatch closed. Scott heard the roar of the main rocket engine.

’10:29:30’

He picked up the drumsticks and .....

’10:29:57’

....crashed them down sending the blue females three paces forward.

’10:30:00’

The light cone shot up into the clouds and the main engine increased thrust sending red clay flying. Slowly it lifted off the ground and started to accelerate into the mist and rain.

’10:35:00’

Scott continued drumming, his arms now leaden. Seren kept the watch in front of him and inclined her head.  This resulted in hundreds of young blue females running up the ramps to the ledge.....

’10:38:00’

...... where they helped their seniors some of whom were shaking at the arms and legs....

’10:39:30’

..... even with help, some collapsed pulling their wooden shafts with them and odd lasers ignited and shot into the clouds...

’10:40:00’

...... Scott stopped drumming as did the second and first drummer. The exhausted blue females fell or collapsed backwards and dropped their shafts on the ledge. The full light sheath instantly jumped into Clouds. The sun shone brilliantly again on hundreds and hundreds of Blue People who crawled or staggered towards the hot pools aided by their younger helpers. They had given their all to rescue Olivia.

Scott was exhausted, soaked to the skin and very cold. He could not feel his arms but he was so relieved. He looked at Seren and mouthed a massive ‘thank you’. Her eyes dazzled and she beamed a huge smile but he was shocked at how blue she appeared. She could hardly stand and would have fallen had he not gathered her up into his arms and carried her. Even though she felt icy cold, her touch and proximity electrified him as she clung to his neck. They struggled into the pyramid and fell into the comfort of the hot pool.

The emergency shuttle with its precious cargo docked with LifeSeeker-1 approximately 1 hour later and the astronauts anxiously waited for the re-pressurisation of the lander dock. When they saw Olivia they were shocked at her comatose condition and pale face. She was quickly loaded onto the maglev  and transported to the sick bay.

Martha, grim faced, sat by her and powered up the palm top,

‘My God! She needs a full blood transfusion – what on ‘earth’ is wrong with her?’

‘My plans included that all potential astronauts gave blood at regular intervals before and during their training for any mission.  The transfusions were ultra centrifuged to separate the solids from the plasma. The liquid was frozen and its relevant red and white corpuscles are dried and stored with desiccant at 5 degrees Celsius.  This technique has proved successful for storage periods of over 30 years. Each of our astronauts has more than five times their blood volume on the starship – Olivia is going to need half of hers!’

One hour later AJ entered the medical centre and stood alongside Martha outside the isolation unit. Like every other aspect of the starship, this facility was ‘state of art’ for the middle 22
^nd
century. But most impressive was the computer controlled and fully robotic surgery function; but that would not be needed this time.

His heart momentarily lurched as he saw Olivia’s pale face and observed the multitude of tubes and diagnostics which controlled and monitored her condition.

‘What do you think, Martha? Will she survive?’

‘It’s touch and go, AJ, the next 24 hours are critical. I’m transfusing as fast as possible to get the salt out.’

‘Zec-C!’ AJ commanded, ‘Give me your estimate of Olivia’s survival chances.’

‘50/50’

AJ and Martha shuddered at this dreadful reply.