The starchild compact, p.23
The Starchild Compact, page 23
Inside the barricaded borders of the Caliphate, however, all was silent. The average man-in-the-street was unaware of what was happening out in space around the planet Saturn. And those who did know kept their mouths shut. Khomeini would put out the word when he was ready, and nobody was willing to take the risk of second-guessing him at a moment in history like this. Khomeini's Islamic scholars feverishly combed the Qur'an for clues that related to the momentous findings in the sky. Following many hours of desperate searching, a scholar hurried into the Caliph's receiving chamber, carrying a calligraphy-covered old copy of the Qur'an. He had contacted the Caliph's immediate staff before leaving his cubical, so that the Caliph would be able to receive him and hear what he had found. He stood silently, eyes averted to the floor as the Caliph swept into the room, gowns surging around him. As the Caliph seated himself on his raised chair, the scholar dropped to his knees and prostrated himself before his ruler.
"What is it? With what did you interrupt my devotions?"
Terrified that he might have made a mistake, the scholar slid the ornate Qur'an toward the Caliph's dais. "The passage is marked, Sahib."
The Caliph didn't move a muscle. "Tell it to me!" he ordered. "And pick yourself off the floor."
The scholar raised himself to his knees, but couldn't bring himself to go further. In a trembling voice, he began to narrate: "from 4;74 – Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him we shall bestow a vast reward."
"And…?" The Caliph's voice sounded menacing.
"In the past, Sahib, we may not have understood correctly. We always presumed the Prophet (may he be blessed) was speaking of the world after death, but now we believe he may have meant the satellite of Saturn, Iapetus…" His voice trailed to silence as the Caliph stood.
"Hand me the holy book." The Caliph demanded.
The scholar shuffled forward on his knees, picked up the ornate Qur'an and lifted it to the Caliph, keeping his head bowed and his eyes averted. For ten painful minutes, the scholar waited for the Caliph to make a sound – any sound.
"So, this is ordained," the Caliph finally said so softly that the scholar could barely hear him. "The Prophet (may he rest in peace) foresaw the events on Iapetus, and gives us guidance." He looked down at the still trembling scholar and reached out his hand to touch the scholar's still averted head. "Well done, my son. Allah will reward your diligence." He stepped down and headed for the door. "Return to your search," he said without looking back.
Three hours later, the scholar was on his knees in front of the Caliph once again. This time the Caliph seemed to grant him a bit of leeway, even to show him a bit of respect. "What have you found, my son? Recite it to me."
Nervously, the scholar recited the last part of verse 154 from Surah number three: Al-Imran: Say: Had you remained in your houses, those for whom slaughter was ordained would certainly have gone forth to the places where they would be slain, and that Allah might test what was in your breasts and that He might purge what was in your hearts; and Allah knows what is in the breasts.
"Give me your interpretation, my son."
"The Cassini II crew was designated to be slain by your holy warrior, Esmail Saeed. This has not yet happened, and we wondered, as did you, Sahib, whether he might have failed his Jihad. But these words seem to mean that the time was not yet ripe. Taken in context with the earlier text I brought to you, it seems that the time is just now becoming ripe for Esmail's Jihad. We need to be prepared, Sahib, for the consequences…" his voice trailed off as before as the Caliph's face clouded up.
"Your counsel is timely and wise, my son." The Caliph reached out to the scholar. "Stand! You will join my senior advisors, and will instruct them in how we are to proceed."
With trembling heart, the scholar rose to his feet and departed the chamber to join the deputies. He was a Qur'an scholar; he knew nothing of policy, nothing of governance, and he was terrified as never before. He had only one chance for being right, whereas the chances for not being right numbered beyond his ability to count. He knew he was doomed, and could find no way to extricate himself.
Meanwhile, the streets of Teheran, Istanbul, Beirut, Cairo, Bagdad, Mecca, Kabul, Karachi, Tripoli, Casablanca – all the great cities of the Caliphate, were calm and quiet, waiting, waiting for the Caliph. Elsewhere, however, Muslims rioted in the streets, attacked embassies in New Delhi, Jakarta, and London, and fire bombed the worldwide residences of the consuls' of the nations participating in the Iapetus expedition.
And the world stood by, in awe of the happenings on Iapetus, and in shock about the rioting on Earth.
Churches, cathedrals, and synagogues throughout the world remained full to overflowing. In the communities surrounding Area 51, business was booming, and worldwide sales of UFO books boomed, some written in the early 1950s, and some hot off the press, but all disappearing from shelves as quickly as they arrived. Crowds gathered at Cape Canaveral, pitching tents and waiting for something to happen – what, they didn't know, but something. Street traffic around NASA headquarters in Houston, and the European Space Agency in Paris was becoming a problem as people in vehicles flocked to the sites to gain some sense of participation in the world-altering events on Iapetus.
The governments of the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, and Israel quietly communicated their intentions to one another, and even more quietly began to increase their military readiness postures, and to review their military contingency plans. The governments of the Russian Federation, China, and India commenced troop build-ups on their mutual borders, and they all communicated to the American President that they intended no threat to the United States or any of its allies. New Delhi quietly let Teheran know that it posed no threat to the Caliphate, and had, in fact assumed a neutral stance in any developing conflict.
#
Rod Zakes had his hands full. Hourly, he received reports of another eager space enthusiast breaking into Jonson Space Center. He was in close communication with his counterpart in Paris, where similar things were happening, except that ESA Headquarters was in downtown Paris, whereas he was located on Galveston Bay outside of Houston proper. He would take his blessings where he could.
Despite demands from each of the mission partners and from his own superiors, there was nothing he could do to increase or speed up the information flow from distant Iapetus. He patiently explained that the trip alone for the radio beam took over an hour and a half, just from the spacecraft to Earth. Since the crew was now inside Iapetus, they could only send short burst transmissions lasting no more than twenty seconds, and then only every three and a half hours.
The holonetworks picked up on his mantra, and searched out astronomers, astrophysicists, and any other type of scientist who would be willing to take a turn at explaining the complex communications tangle to the eager public. At Rod's urging, the Fox Syndicate queried a couple of popular hard science-fiction authors, finally convincing them to appear on their network. Like Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clark during the heydays of the Apollo Program, these modern-day hard science-fiction writers explained the situation in a way that even the news personalities could understand. The pressure eased for Rod after this, and he was finally able to get a few hours of sleep each night, especially after he suggested to Jon Stock that he set himself for a regular detailed broadcast every twelve hours.
He sighed with relief as he watched the Muslim riots die down, the churches and synagogues empty, and the crowds at Area 51 and outside Canaveral, ESA, and Houston dissipate. The die-hards remained, of course, but they had become part of the scenery almost from the launch of Cassini II. He was kept in the loop regarding the ongoing military readiness of the participating nations, and passed this information to Jon, as he deemed necessary, so Jon could tailor his broadcasts according to his best judgment.
As Rod saw it, the fate of the world, and perhaps the entire human race, lay in his and Jon's hands. It kept him awake at night.
Chapter 23
Elke had pretty much been along for the ride thus far on this incredible voyage. Her main function as historian had not been put to any great test, other than maintaining an annotated record of the trip and daily events. Her capacity as a computer engineer had remained virtually untapped. Following her abortive approach to Carmen, she had pretty much kept her romantic attention focused on Michele, although she had hooked up a couple of times with Ginger and one of the guys. She viewed those liaisons as a necessary path to revel with Ginger, since that exotic creature was disinclined to go one-on-one with her. Elke was amused at Jon's team-ups. Ari was saddled with that little terrorist, and Elke still did not understand why Jon had not just jettisoned the bastard when they found him. Chen was with the Doc, and that only made sense, given Chen's long coma. Elke felt a certain empathy for the withdrawn Chinese VASIMR engineer who liked Kentucky bourbon, American jazz, and motorcycles. She had figured out shortly after meeting him that he was gay, and wondered if that may have contributed to his coma, since there obviously was no reciprocation among the crew. Tough break for a competent, likable guy. He got along well with everybody, but she knew better than anyone how lonely his position could be. It made her additionally thankful that Michele was so ambiguous in her sexuality. Jon and Michele would make a good team. His command remoteness would keep her focused on her task, which had mushroomed into an overwhelming responsibility, and her ultra femininity just might melt the captain's cold heart. Demitri and Ginger had partnered in so many things already, that theirs was a natural selection. Elke smiled as she recalled their private time. Between the two of them, she and Ginger had given the Russian the ride of his life.
Elke glanced at Noel, walking a few paces away. Tall, almost regal, handsome, and used to the good things in life. If she were so inclined, Noel would be the kind of man she would seek out. Perhaps her biggest surprise about Noel was when she found him alone in the Canteen one sleep period, quietly playing a plaintive melody on an old German alto block flute. She fixed herself a Café au lait, refreshed his tea, and for the next hour quietly listened to the aural magic he wove, tears streaming down her cheeks. It was the only time she had been alone with him until now.
Normally, Elke quickly grasped new situations, came to grips with their challenges, and moved forward. This world, however, and the incredibly unexpected landscape that lay before her, was straining her coping abilities. Her computer engineering studies at the Technische Universität Darmstadt had included all the necessary science background courses, but she felt technically unequipped to deal with what they had found. Nothing in her technical background led her to believe that the gravity she was experiencing could be – nothing. She had been chatting with Noel, trying to figure if his space structural and VASIMR training gave him any insights, but he was as baffled as she. There's something to be said, she thought, to the regular person's simple acceptance of reality, to use without comprehending. I'm not very good at that.
Aloud, she said, "Doesn't it make you uncomfortable…all this, without having a clue? What if it suddenly stops working?"
"By my unscientific reckoning, it's been working for about a million years. I'm guessing it will keep on keeping on." Noel smiled at her. "It really bothers you, doesn't it?"
"Ja, it really does. My intellect agrees with you, but my gut says it's impossible, and will vanish in a poof any second…and we'll be without our suites."
"Wouldn't that be an ironic end to an incredible journey?" Noel asked laconically. "And which is winning, intellect or gut?"
"I guess that's obvious, isn't it?" Elke grinned at him. She really liked this guy.
#
Ari understood why Jon had assigned Saeed to him, but that didn't make the assignment any pleasanter. Their discovery of this incredible interior demanded his best investigational efforts, and here he was distracted by having to keep an eagle eye on their ward.
Ever since Demitri had presented the crew with his explanation of the column distribution, Ari was struck by the six pointedness. Demitri had emphasized the hexagonal distribution of the columns. But what Ari saw immediately was that each column was at the center of a Star of David. The fact was obvious to him, but he simply did not yet know enough to discern a reason. He understood that the geometrics played a significant role in the total structure, but that was Noel's department, and maybe Chen's as well, using his systems approach. He tapped his link, and started at the result of his calculation. Nearly 181 thousand columns. The engineering staggers the mind. As they walked, he pondered it further. Then he looked at Saeed.
"Saeed, I'm going to share something astonishing with you. These columns – the aliens did not build them."
Saeed looked at him in astonishment.
"They hollowed this entire space out of solid rock, and left the columns in place." He tapped his link again. "They removed thirteen-million-twenty-eight-thousand-one-hundred-eleven cubic kilometers of rock…if they managed to remove a hundred cubic kilometers of rock every day, it would have taken them three-hundred-fifty-seven years just to hollow out the space we see, assuming it covers the entire thing." Ari shook his head in exasperation. It's beyond reckoning.
Saeed remained silent, probably, Ari thought, because he simply didn't have the technical background to understand even a little part of what Ari had just told him. Ari transmitted his thoughts and calculations to the rest of the team "Think your way through this, guys," he said. "This thing we are exploring took centuries to build. I don't care how sophisticated your planetary engineering is, there is a physical limit to what you can move in a finite amount of time. These numbers don't even begin to consider the first open layer we found and whatever complex machinery they installed to make this place work. This is further beyond us than we are beyond the Cro-Magnon."
#
Saeed bided his time. It didn't make sense to continue his Jihad right now, because the crew was scattered, and there still was a lot to learn. When Ari showed him the numbers, he really didn't understand what he was saying, but he clearly understood that the beings who built this place were powerful beyond ken. He tried to visualize a hundred cubic kilometers. He knew the roof was two kilometers over their heads. He imagined a kilometer square reaching to the roof. That would be two cubic kilometers. Fifty of those would be a hundred cubic kilometers, and the builders had to remove that much every day in order to complete the task in 357 years. That kind of dedication, he thought, is normally found only in Islam. Who else would have the patience of centuries?
Saeed put thoughts of Jihad aside for the time being. He knew that Allah would reveal the right time to him. All he needed to do was remain focused on his surroundings.
Quicker than he expected, they arrived at the next column. It appeared the same size as the one from which they had entered into this magic place. This column, however, appeared to have no openings.
"Makes sense," he heard Ari mutter. "You can't hold up that rock sky with a bunch of hollow tubes."
#
The four other teams had reported to Jon. All the columns were solid, so far as they could determine. He had merged the four individual holoimages into a single image so that it appeared to Michele and him that the others were sitting on the grass around them. The only thing that gave away the illusion was that the individual skies and grass colors were just sufficiently different that the eye picked it up. But it still was easy to forget that they were not actually sitting there.
Ari projected his calculations before the group. "I think this is more important than we have been giving it credit," he insisted. "Wrap your minds around this. If these guys removed one hundred cubic kilometers of rock daily – let's put that in visual perspective: That's a square with sides the distance we just walked reaching all the way to the rock dome two clicks above us – if they removed that amount of rock each day, it would take them three-hundred-fifty-seven years to remove the rock that filled this interior." He let them think about that for a bit. No one said anything, but from their faces, Jon could tell that they were really pondering this amazing fact.
"Now ask yourself this," Ari continued. "What kind of scientific and engineering progress have we made in the last three and a half centuries?" Again he stopped, letting this sink in as well.
"Mon Dieu!" Michele whispered.
Noel let out a low whistle.
Demitri nodded his head vigorously. "That's what I been trying to tell you guys. These beings, these aliens, these whoever-they-are – they were very bright guys."
"And it's been here how long?" Chen asked.
"A million years, perhaps," Carmen noted with awe in her voice. "What are we dealing with? Where did they go? Why...?" Hew voice trailed off in thought.
"We're pretty scattered right now," Jon told the group. I don't want to spread us out any further for the time being. Try to do some in-depth investigation near your columns, but stay within sight of the column base. Let's check in again in five hours, at…" He gave them the exact time, and terminated the holographic connection. He looked at his fetching companion and said, "Dr. deBois, Michele, it's time for your star performance…" He paused as she looked at him with a glint in her eye. "As a botanist," he finished, with a wink. "I'm going to do some in-depth thinking about all this. I need to gain some kind of understanding. I'll be right here. If you need my help, just call. I'll be there directly." He settled with his back against the massive column, brought up his pad, and commenced his analytic thought process, placing and labeling points in space as he laid out the problem.
#
Michele felt in her element. On one hand, she wanted to shed her clothing and dance naked in the meadow like the carefree nature-child she had always been. On the other hand, her scientist side wanted to know, and the list was too long to recite, but it started with what was directly underfoot. The meadow included clumps of wild flowers scattered randomly across the surface. She examined several flowers closely. In appearance they exactly mimicked Earth flowers of the same variety – exactly. Even the male and female varieties were present in proper proportions. She sat cross-legged on the ground, quietly watching. She let herself relax as she had learned on the many field trips of her graduate years at the Sorbonne before she had to isolate herself in a lab at Berkeley. She let herself go until she began to feel at one with nature. While doing this, she had the distracting thought that the nature she was communing with was five kilometers below the rocky surface of Iapetus in an impossible artificial gravity field. As she sat quietly, she began to hear the sounds of nature around her. She could feel the soft breeze, and hear minute sounds that the process of life produced. With a sigh, she placed several miniature microphones around her area, and hooked them to her link, while feeding the audio channel to her ears as well. Her link told her the probability of insect life in the grasses was approaching 100%. Then she heard a sound that was as distinct as it was well known. A bee came buzzing in front of her and attached itself to the nearest bloom, and then one-by-one it touched all of them. Just like on Earth, she thought. I wonder about earthworms. She dug a little way into the soil, and came up with two fat ones. Just like Earth. She sat back and put her mind to work.
