Ice Planet Page 11

  There was a moment of silence, and then a buzz of conversation, as the students discussed the matter. In the way of students, many were tempted to accept a radical line of thinking without really considering whether it was valid in the light of the experience of their elders, experience that most of them did not yet have. Others were too set in their ways, too willing to accept that what they knew could and should be questioned, too lazy to invest the considerable mental effort required to formulate their own considered views on the subject. And there were those few, probably not more than two or three of them, who would find that the questions raised resonated with thoughts they had not yet fully formulated. It was those few that Savi wanted to reach, as that lecture of Professor Netteos had resonated in his mind.

  Savi wrapped up his lecture and returned to his small office. He knew that he had placed himself at risk, but surely requesting that his students think, that they consider matters that were not in the box in which they had grown up, was the function of a university?

  Cora arrived at Savi’s office a few minutes later, dropping in on the way to her office.

  “I think that I may have gone a little too far in my lecture today, Savi. One of the students questioned an interpretation of one of the ancient texts. He was obviously basing his question on a misunderstanding of the interpretation, because he asked how it was possible for anyone to hold a view that the text could describe something that pre-dated humanity’s creation. I responded by asking whether actually questioning that was not an essential element in the study of archaeology. He didn’t like that answer, but some of the students applauded.”

  Savi laughed.

  “I did something like that, Cora. I asked my students to imagine traveling back in time to various points, and then to imagine what they would find then, and then to try to explain to themselves what the changes were and what the causes of those changes might be. I think I may have broken though to some of the students. However, we need to watch what is happening around us. It would not surprise me to find that some of the students are spies for StateSec, or perhaps even plants by them.”

  “I agree, Savi. Shall we go to the laboratory? I need to complete some evaluations of the rock samples we brought.”

  Savi understood the intent of that comment. Both of them believed that they could be under surveillance, and a logical place to listen in to their conversations would be their offices, but, even with that belief, it was difficult to guard every word. It would be safest to conduct this sort of conversation away from any possible eavesdropping devices.

  They entered the laboratory through the front door, as a watcher would expect. The area was deserted, but, when they closed and locked the door, Bian’s head appeared around the bend of the staircase.

  “Greetings, Cora and Savi. We’re working up here, to make it less likely that an intruder will see us. Come on up.”

  They found that the transporter cabinet had been moved to the upper floor, and placed in a storeroom next to a filing cabinet. While its streamlined appearance was different, that placement would suggest a similar function to a casual or a hurried observer. It would certainly stand out here in the company of cabinets that appeared to have a similar purpose less than it would in the middle of an open space in the laboratory. The newcomers were sitting at a table in the conference room, industriously working on portable computers.

  “We’re making some progress,” reported Bian with a smile. “The data we have gathered are proving to be very useful.”

  “What is your immediate objective?” asked Savi.

  “We have two main areas of research at the moment. One concerns the time transport, as you would imagine, given our successful transport to this time. There are some refinements we can make to our system, and we believe that we might be able to pinpoint a location in space in present time, and then use that as a target for a future time, without necessarily preparing a computer and transport equipment at that point now to receive a transport in the future. All the evidence we’ve collected seems to prove that the future does coexist with the past. That implies that we will be able to transport to any future time and place if we are able to get to that place now to determine the location. There is still the problem of dramatic changes in the landscape. It wouldn’t be much fun to arrive somewhere to find that it is in the middle of a lava flow or a glacier. In order to obviate that, we need to perfect a probe that will check the place for that sort of problem before the transport occurs.”

  “That will be quite an achievement, Bian, not that what you have already done is not an amazing achievement.”

  Bian smiled at Cora.

  “Thank you for that comment, Cora. When you’re immersed in a project, it is sometimes difficult to see exactly what you have achieved.”

  “And the second project?”

  “That is the remote probe. When our ancestors were planning the exodus of their people, they inspected numerous planets with a remote probe, so that they could check for any dangers, any conditions hostile to human life, including noxious gas in the atmosphere, excessive radiation from the sun, the suitability of the temperature range and many other factors. A very large number of apparently suitable planets were rejected, or placed on a ‘to review’ list, and only a small percentage of the planets checked were approved. I understand that at least several thousand planets were found to be suitable for colonization, but I doubt that as many as a thousand were eventually colonized, because the political and social pressures on the scientific group were mounting rapidly. We don’t know how many colonies were eventually founded, but Kinair was the two hundred and thirty-first planet. Unfortunately, we don’t know what happened after our ancestors were transported here. As it turns out, the conditions on Kinair were not ideal, but the cause of that unsuitability was based on a seven thousand-year cycle, and could not easily be detected in the time available to the researchers.” Bian paused and smiled. “But I digress. The point of my explanation is that the ancients used a remote probe to investigate the conditions on distant planets. That implied that they could locate a particle in the vicinity of a planet light years away from their own, and then use that particle as a target. We can do that, to some extent, by fixing on a particle whose location we can define, and then swapping from that particle to its neighbor particle, and so on and on, until we reach where we want to be. That is a very tedious process, and has many difficulties, not least the time it requires. One of our objectives is to develop, or redevelop, the system our distant ancestors used, so that we can explore the universe for planets suitable for habitation by humans and then explore such planets for human life. In that way, we will possibly be able to determine what has happened to our co-colonists on other planets, and possibly even use the probe to locate a position so that we can transport there. If there are other humans still alive, after having been there for twenty-five thousand years, it will be a good indication that the conditions on that planet are suitable for us.”

  “I understand, Bian. That means that you will ultimately be able to relocate our people on a planet that is better than this one. It makes sense. The ancients could not project what would happen to Kinair in the very long term, but a viable human colony that has endured until today will be proof that the conditions on a particular planet were not bad.”

  “It’s a great pity that you have been unable to make contact with other humans. If we as a colony managed to survive the conditions that exist here on Kinair, one would have expected that other colonies could have survived too.”

  “That’s what we thought, Savi, but, on the other hand, it is quite possible that they did survive but did not develop particle technology at the same rate as we did, or developed it and then lost it, as happened to our people. We can only hope that we will find others.”

  Grea came up to the group as Bian spoke.

  “Have you heard from your father whether our delivery was acceptable, Cora?”

  “No, I’ve been busy in lectures all morning. Wou
ld you like to drive with me to visit him? I’m keen to know his reaction to the material.”

  “I'd love that, Cora.

  “We’ll be about an hour, I expect, Savi. We hope to bring good news.”

  Cora and Grea walked down the stairs to Cora’s car, and drove the short distance to the warehouse complex. Cora parked the car and guided Grea to her father’s office. The door was open and they walked in, to find Phelan working at his computer. He looked up and smiled his welcome, and stood to greet them.

  “Hello, Grea and Cora. I’m glad you dropped in. I was speaking to my customer for your metal a few minutes ago. He’s more than delighted with the material, and he wants to double his order. Can you supply that much?”

  “We can, Phelan, but won’t that raise questions? A sudden increase in the supply of those metals is sure to come to the attention of the authorities.”

  “It will raise questions, Cora, but we can arrange a story to hide the facts if you don’t wish to disclose them.” Phelan hesitated a moment. “Perhaps you should tell me more about the origin of the metals. I’ve never seen anything as pure as that, nor as fine. I have a mill that produces ultra-fine material, at quite an additional cost, but it does not come near to the material you’re supplying.”

  Cora looked nervously at Grea, saw her nod of agreement.

  “I believe we should tell you the whole story, Dad. But I must impress on you that it can’t go further.” Cora saw her father’s nod. “As you know, Savi and I were commissioned by a mining company to investigate the origin of several large rock structures at the foot of Mount Kina. We soon came to the conclusion that they were not only unquestionably the result of the work of intelligent beings, but that they were placed there to point to something on the mountain. The only place that we could see was a platform high on the mountain. We could find nothing in the records relating to the rock structures, and the only thing relevant to the platform was a kink in the contour lines of the mountain. We climbed up there to investigate the area, and found that the platform was backed by a door in the cliff. We managed to open the door, and found that it concealed a huge man-made chamber, with several different types of equipment. One of those was a desk with a computer built into its top. We managed to activate the computer, and, after some questioning by it, it decided that it was time to call in some people.”

  Both Cora and Grea could see that Phelan was amazed by what he was being told. Grea smiled, and then spoke, her voice reassuring.

  “Behind what Cora has told you, Phelan, is a much longer story, as you can imagine. Our planet was settled a very long time ago by a group of people transported from their home planet, Kiron, which was found to be threatened by a giant wandering star. The scientists on Kiron developed the science of quantum physics, the study of the elemental particles that make up atoms as well as energy. They soon found that a photon, a particle or wave of light, could be split, and that each of the parts resulting from the split remained ‘attached’ to the other parts, no matter how far apart from each other they might be. That quality, they theorized, arose from their attachment through a dimension in which distance and time do not exist as parameters – each particle in the universe is in direct contact with every other particle. They applied that knowledge to develop a method by means of which they were able to instruct one particle to do something, and the instruction was then performed by a selected partner particle somewhere else. Using the technology they developed from that theory, they investigated numerous planets for their suitability for settlement by the people of Kiron, and then commenced with a program of transporting entire colonies to those planets that were deemed suitable. Each colony consisted of about a thousand persons, selected for their genetic qualities to ensure an adequate diversity, as well as for their education and skills, compatibility with each other and for numerous other factors likely to be important in the establishment of a new civilization in a distant place. Each colony was provided with sufficient equipment, seeds, knowledge and so on, to ensure that they could have a good start. Unfortunately, a powerful quasi-religious sect on the planet gained considerable power during this time, basing their stance on the information regarding the threat posed by the wandering star, and blaming that threat on the actions of the scientists in attempting to gain an understanding of the origins of the universe. They claimed that it was an affront to their Creator, that the knowledge the scientists were seeking was reserved only to the Creator. I don’t need to tell you that the Leaders of that sect profited from their propaganda.”

  “What you’re describing seems to apply also to our people, Grea.” Phelan smiled grimly, realizing that the desire of a few to gain power over the many, as well as untold wealth, was not solely a characteristic of the people of Kinair.

  “It does seem so, Phelan.” Grea was pleasantly surprised by the ability of Phelan to accept and understand the seemingly fantastical story he was being told. She realized that she should have expected that from the father of Cora, an uncommonly intelligent young woman. “As a result of the pressure, the scientists on Kiron decided to transport the colonists with less equipment than they would have desired, resulting in the failure to provide them with the equipment that would enable them to return to their home planet or to transport to another colony planet, or even to communicate with them. It was hoped that this shortcoming would be remedied when the main task of establishing viable colonies had been completed, but it seems that they were not able to complete that plan. Our colony on Kinair was the two hundred and thirty-first to transport out, and we brought with us many scientists and much information, which we used to redevelop some of the technology. Part of that was the ability to transport people and other forms of matter over huge distances, inter-stellar distances. The leader of our group, Aria, took that further to enable us to transport over time, forward in time.”

  “When was the original settlement, Grea?”

  “It took place nearly twenty-five thousand years ago. We, Aria and her group, developed the principle of transport forward in time about ten thousand years ago. Although that seems to be an unimaginable time, the transport was practically instantaneous. In our time, when Cora and Savi initiated the transport, the planet in our time was in an extreme ice age, and we, the science group involved in the development of quantum physics, were convinced that our only real chance of surviving was to transport forward in time to a period when the conditions on the planet were better and when intelligent life might make it possible for a civilization to develop. That is why we placed the giant stone markers at the foot of Mount Kina. We believed that the position lent itself to the durability of the structures, as well as having the best chance to attract scientific interest, and the location of our base, in the chamber high on the mountain, stood the best chance of remaining undisturbed by glaciers, floods and the build-up of thick ice deposits.”

  “So you transported ten thousand years to the present?”

  “Yes, Phelan. It was the first time that a transport of humans had taken place, and that the transport covered a time range longer than a week. Fortunately, we were able to secure all of our equipment and records, and the whole scientific team arrived without loss. One of the technologies we brought with us was the mining equipment and its associated database. The mining equipment uses the matter transport technology, dismantling the particles that make up the desired minerals deep underground, and then reassembling them in the desired delivery location. The minerals that are delivered are atomically pure, because the equipment extracts only the atoms that make up the mineral specified, and it is in molecular fineness. That is how we are able to deliver the quality of metal that your customer seems to like. We found that the purification of minerals using heat, mechanical or chemical means almost always produces a sub-optimal product, and that makes many uses of it a compromise.”

  “I’m astonished, to say the least, Grea. I could see that the metal you delivered was unusual, but I could never have imagined how unusual it is. I hope tha
t your arrival in this time has not disappointed you?”

  “We’ve found some wonderful people, Phelan, even though the political situation is not as comfortable as we hoped. We’re optimistic that we will be able to complete our planned program in this time, because we can always retreat to our chamber on Mount Kina. It has been undisturbed for over ten thousand years, so it should be safe for a few more.”

  “What does that program hope to achieve, Grea?” Phelan’s interest was clearly genuine.

  “We hope to develop our science to the point where we can emulate our remote ancestors on Kiron, Phelan, and so be able to transport everyone who wishes to come to a safer and more congenial planet. With some luck, we may also be able to find our long-lost cousins.”

  “I envy you, Grea. I would have loved to be part of what you are doing. I believe that you and your group have the potential to make our world, our people, what we would like them to be.” He grinned ruefully. “Unfortunately, my parents were not able to secure for me a place in a university to study physics, which is what I would have loved doing. I had to settle for business. That has been good for my family, particularly because it enabled us to give Cora the education she deserved. You’ve probably seen some of her qualities. It delights me that she has an association with you and your group.”