Ice Planet Page 21

  The surprised Professor realized that the last word came directly and clearly, without the flatness of the translator.

  “I’ll explain later, Professor. Please sit in the chair and close your eyes. I'd like you to direct me to the prison where the people who have not been released are being held.”

  Feeling that he was being swept by a current beyond his control, the Professor did as instructed. To his astonishment, he found that he could see the city of Vidia, laid out as though he was on a mountain near it.

  “Where is the Menta Prison, Professor?” The words were from Aria.

  “It’s on the edge of the city, to the north.” The scene shifted as they zoomed over the city towards the north. “Now a little to the west. That’s right. Follow that broad street. There. It’s the large grey building with the guard towers.”

  They zoomed closer and closer, moving quickly. The Professor gritted his teeth. They were going to crash into the wall of the building! To his surprise, they passed through the wall into one of the cells, and then through another wall into a wide, dank corridor. “The solitary confinement cells are on this corridor, right at the end.” The scene brought the fear back to the Professor. He had been dragged down this corridor by two burly StateSec agents, blood pouring from his broken nose. They had been discussing offhandedly whether they should take him to the courtyard for execution, or keep him for a couple of days to see whether they could beat the names of sympathizers with his seditious cause out of him. They had reached the solitary confinement cells, the door had opened, and he had been thrown into the cell, a space too small to lie and too low to stand. He could still remember the smell of that cell, a mixture of dried blood and urine, feces and fear. He did not know how long he had been held there, without light, food or water. At the end of the time, the door had opened suddenly, and the two StateSec men had stood there. His hope that they might have realized that he was innocent was dashed when one of them pulled him erect and the other administered a scientific beating, bruising and tearing his muscles, before they threw him back into the cell and slammed the door shut. Not a word had been spoken. He had spent the next eternity curled up on the floor in agony and terror. That had been worse than the pain. The terror. The two men had demonstrated that he was entirely at their mercy, a quality that he knew they had in scant supply. When they came again, an undefined time later, they dragged him to a room with three chairs, and sat him in one of them. He noticed that the arm of the chair had a thick encrustation that appeared to be dried blood. One of the men had shone a powerful spotlight in his eyes, a painful experience after so long in absolute dark.

  “Do you want some water, Professor?” The question came in a friendly tone.

  “Yes.”

  A hard slap across the face jerked him back, and set his nose bleeding again.

  “You have forgotten your manners, Professor. Remember to say please.”

  “Yes, please. Water. Please.” The professor could barely get the words out. His dry mouth ached for a sip of water, and his mind was numb, unable to put thoughts together.

  The questioner threw a glass of water in the Professor’s face. He managed to lick up a few drops, mixed with blood and mucous from his broken nose, as they ran down his face.

  “We want you to tell us who is in your group. Who else is trying to overthrow the State?”

  The Professor struggled to put the words together, to reply before this man hurt him again. Every muscle, every joint was aching. He knew that he could not endure much more. Eventually, he got the words out.

  “No group. I was alone.”

  “That’s better, Professor. You must cooperate with us. Otherwise we’ll inflict pain on you that will make what you’ve suffered until now seem like good times. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  Another slap in the face nearly threw the Professor off the chair. Pain lanced through his head from his broken nose, and a new ache flared up in his eye.

  “You’ve forgotten your manners again. Call me Sir.”

  “Yes, Sir.

  “Good. We’ll give you some time to think of the names of your accomplices. If you can’t remember them, you’ll go back to your nice little cell with a new set of aches.” The light in his face went out. Through the lights flashing in his eyes, the Professor could see the man holding some garden shears.

  “We use these to cut off fingers, toes and ears, Professor. A little at a time. The pain is terrible. You don’t want that, do you?”

  “No Sir.”

  “Good. You’re learning. You can think about those names until we come to collect you again. Remember the pain, Professor. Some of the people we’ve treated have gone mad with the pain, but that doesn’t help them. They can still feel the pain.”

  The man punched the Professor in the stomach as a reminder, and then they dragged him a short way down the corridor to a cell that had been designed to hold four people, and threw him in, slamming the door shut behind them.

  There were nine men and two women in that cell. They shared their pitifully small rations with him, sufficient for the four persons the cell was designed to hold, and nursed him back to health over the next months. Every time he heard the sounds of feet in the corridor, the Professor quailed in fear. He knew that those two men were coming for him. But they never came. They seemed to have forgotten him. The first time that his fear left him was when he saw Cora, standing outside the prison gates to meet him and his fellow prisoners and lead them to safety. He would never forget that corridor!

  They zoomed through the wall. A woman was lying on the floor, curled up in agony. They could see the blood marks near her head.

  “Stanley, there’s a woman in the cell here. We need a transporter and two people to help her. The transporter will have to go in the corridor. The cell is too small for it.”

  “No problem, Geoffrey.” The new voice was unemotional. A second later, there was a sound at the cell door, and it swung open, then clattered to the floor. Two men entered the cell, lifted the woman tenderly, as they might a sick baby, and carried her out to the transporter they could see in the corridor. There was a bustle of noise down the corridor, shouting and heavy footsteps as the guards saw the men carrying the woman. Stanley’s voice came again. “I arranged with Derlet to set up a force field across the corridor. We’re safe.”

  Geoffrey moved their view to the adjacent cell, found a man there, unconscious and bleeding.

  “There’s another one, Stanley, in the next door cell.”

  “Coming.” The voice was that of the young woman, Jeanette, who had served the coffee to Aria.

  Geoffrey moved on, into the next cell, and the next. In each cell they found another prisoner. Each time a team of two people transported in to break open the cell and rescue the prisoner. They saved twelve people before they were assured that the cells were clear, and then the Professor guided them to the second prison. The Professor knew only the location of this prison, not the layout, but the floor plan was similar, and they had no difficulty in finding the solitary confinement cells. The story was the same, except that two of the prisoners they found had already died from their injuries. That depressed Aria, but she held her feelings in check until they terminated the viewing session and found themselves in the chairs in Montagu. To Aria’s surprise, Savi was there. He had arrived only moments before, transporting in from Vidia.

  “I heard of what you were doing, Aria, and I suggested to Bian that he come to support you. He insisted that I come.”

  Aria rose from her chair and held onto Savi.

  “It was terrible, Savi. I can’t believe that humans could do that sort of thing to other humans.” Aria felt tears of grief coming. She did not try to hold them back.

  “The people who did that were not humans, Aria,” said the Professor. “I found out early in the time of my imprisonment that they were below animals.”

  “That is the sort of thing that the Universal Community aims to prevent, Aria. No human in
the Community would consent to the existence of a government that would condone what we have seen.”

  “I want all of our people to see what we have seen today, Geoffrey. I want them to be in no doubt about what their government has done in their name.”

  “We recorded it all, Professor. I’ll make it a part of the presentation to the citizens of Kinair.”

  *~*

  Aria walked with Savi back to where he had been working before he came to her.

  “I’m puzzled that Bian wanted me to come to support you, Aria. Why would he do that?”

  “We discussed the events of our arrival here while you and Cora were harassing the StateSec men, Savi. I mentioned to him that I liked you very much. He must have thought that qualified you as the best person to send to help. He knows that, deep down, I’m an emotional sort of person, even though I hide it well in my work.”

  “It still is a puzzle, Aria, Why not him? Why me?”

  “He knows that a father is not always the best person to handle female emotions, Savi. A father-daughter relationship carries too much childhood history.”

  Savi looked at Aria in stunned surprise.

  “Bian is your father?”

  “Didn’t you know that, Savi?” The realization brought new understanding to Aria. “I saw that you were attracted to me, but I thought that you were holding back because of your relationship with Cora. That seemed strange when I saw that Cora was developing a relationship with Petros, but you didn’t seem to mind that, and yet you made no advances to me. Now I understand. You thought that Bian was my husband!”

  Savi realized that they had stopped walking and were facing each other. He took Aria in his arms.

  “Cora is a very good friend, but no more, Aria. I was delighted that she has come closer to Petros. I think he is very well suited to her.” He paused, hugging Aria. “I feel quite stupid not realizing the truth.”

  Aria held Savi tight. No other response was needed.

  Chapter 20

  The first group of people transported to Munich in the morning. The time was good to see the city in its full splendor. It was mid-Spring, and the people arrived an hour before midday. The air had that springtime crispness, but without the chill. Jeanette had arranged that a welcoming committee of people from ten different planets was there to meet them. The people arrived in groups of three, into a field that had been used for the Oktober Fest. The tents had been erected for that festival, and the trestle tables and long benches were ready for the visitors. Even the funfair was ready, with several rides available to amuse the visitors. When the people arrived, the welcoming committee distributed communication bracelets and explained how to use them, and directed the people to an area where they could watch the recordings of the conditions in the prisons. Professor Netteos and Ortimus had added their own commentaries, detailing their suffering in a clinical way. At the end of that harrowing section, the show continued with the recording of the viewing trip, concluding with snippets of views of different parts of the city, showing homes, factories, shops and offices. When that came to an end, Aria stood to speak.

  “We have invited you all to come here, so that you can understand what it is we are offering you as a replacement for what we have in Vidia. I understand that it is springtime here, so we can look forward to several months of weather like today, followed by winter, with snow and rain, although the weather in this part of Earth is usually good, with long interludes of clear skies and sunshine during the winter. This city is an ancient one, with many centuries of a tradition of cooperative independence and manufacturing excellence. The industrialists among you will be surprised at the excellence of the equipment of the factories you will be seeing, and the businessmen will, no doubt, appreciate the quality of the offices and shops. All of this is available to us, as a result of a freak accident that killed a very large percentage of the population of the world, leaving behind the entire infrastructure almost undamaged. We can resurrect that infrastructure with a little work, and take our place in the Universal Community. I welcome you all to this world, to our new home.”

  Aria left the stage to the sound of enthusiastic applause, and walked over to Savi, who was waiting for her, and took his hand.

  “I'd like to choose our new home, Savi. I have a good idea where that will be.”

  “And where is that, Aria?”

  “We will both be working at the university on Ga-In, so there’s no need for us to be in the city, so I thought that we might have a look around Garmisch-Partenkirchen. That is certainly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.” Aria paused, then smiled. “Alongside Montagu, of course.”

  “I agree with you on that. How do we get there?”

  “I asked Sorpe to arrange to have a transporter placed there for the next few days, so people could visit the area.”

  They walked over to the transporter, now receiving only a trickle of new arrivals, and entered.

  The transport to Garmisch-Partenkirchen was quick, and they stepped out of the transporter into a dazzlingly clear spring day. The view was amazing, with the mountains around the flat valley, now with bunches of spring flowers breaking through the crisp white snow adding patches of color. Sorpe had arranged to have several cars available, but they chose to walk. Their chosen route took them through the delightful shopping area to a street on the slope of the mountain with little houses alongside. Halfway up the street, Aria stopped and turned to Savi.

  “This is the house I want, Savi.” It was a relatively small house with a small garden separating it from the sidewalk, and a number of trees in the garden, now bare of leaves, although the buds promised that it would not be long before this was remedied. The sun was shining on the house, seeming to concur with Aria’s choice.

  “I love it, Aria. When can we move in?”

  “Let’s look around inside and see what it needs. I’m sure that the shops in the town will have most of the durables, so all we need to organize is food.”

  They found that the door to the house was unlocked. They entered, and found that, apart from a little dust, they needed to do nothing to make it habitable.

  “You asked when we could move in, Savi. I think that we can do it tomorrow, as soon as the power supply is connected. We’ll arrange a transported power unit to be delivered and connected.”

  *~*

  The decision to relocate to Munich or Garmisch-Partenkirchen was made just as easily by the other citizens. Each one had his or her own reasons and preferences, and they were satisfied by the city or one of the several small towns around it. Petros and Cora listened to Aria’s description of her new home and decided to visit the town. They chose the house next to the one chosen by Aria and Savi. The remaining members of Aria’s team followed suit, settling in different parts of the village, and several Professors, lecturers and writers, including Professors Netteos and Gerven, and Ortimus followed, creating an enclave of intellectuals in the area. This drew in several others, and soon the village was a thriving small town.

  Five days after the visit to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Mian contacted Savi and Aria on the communicator.

  “It seems that the rush is settling down for the two of you. Tressin and I agreed that it was time to contact you to arrange a meeting. We'd like to discuss the idea of you, Cora and Savi and your teams joining us at the university.”

  “We'd love that, Mian. As you said, we’re more or less settled here. When shall we meet?”

  “If you could come tomorrow morning, we can have breakfast and then take you on a tour of Setlen. We’ll have our discussions after that. I guess that it will take about half a day. To get here, get in the transporter and think of University of Setlen. Tressin and I will be waiting for you.”

  “What is the time zone there, Mian?” Savi had been warned by Geoffrey and Sorpe that one of the problems they faced was the difference in time zones between different places.

  “We’re about an hour behind you, Savi. If you transport out at eight, we’l
l have time.” Mian laughed. “We tend to start early here. It gives us more time in the day to do what we want to do.”

  “We’ll be there, Mian. Thank you very much.”

  “There’s nothing to thank us for, Aria. We’ll see you in the morning.”

  *~*

  Aria was a little nervous as she walked to the transporter. It was a wonderful day, with a small nip in the air, although the strength of the sun promised that it would warm up soon. Savi noticed her nervousness and sympathized. He felt the same. Their future depended to a large extent on this meeting.

  Savi and Aria had walked over to Cora last evening to extend the invitation to join them on the visit, and arranged that she meet them at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen transporter station, so they could arrive together at the university. She was waiting for them when they arrived, standing outside the transporter to enjoy the awe-inspiring views, and she greeted them with her customary smile.

  Mian and Tressin were waiting at the transporter in the main concourse of the university. There were numerous people, some obviously students and others, obviously faculty members, walking past.

  “Welcome to Setlen, Aria, Cora and Savi. We know you’ve seen it through the particle viewer, but we think you’ll find it to be much more in real life. This town has a unique atmosphere. Let’s go for a quick walk in the town, so that you can get an idea of the context.”

  Tressin guided them out of the university and into the street.

  “The university and the town are about twenty-five thousand years old,” he explained. “Most of it is original. The ancients really built it to last, and they designed it all, including even the fields, so that it make an harmonious whole.” He pointed up the slope to the foothills of the mountains that surrounded the town. “Up there are the graves of the founders of the city, and of civilization on the planet. They were the people who conceived and developed the system of transport by means of the manipulation of the particles, and they were the last of the population of Kiron to transport to safety, as far as we know. Their grandson built and equipped the university with all the knowledge available to them, and instituted the custom of adding to that knowledge as much as possible. That custom has endured until today, although it was almost lost in the dark days when the religious fanatics tried to destroy the city and the university.” Tressin smiled at them. “My father was one of the farmers who helped in that research work. Our family farm, just outside the cliffs that surround the valley, produced a considerable part of the food that sustained the farmer-scientists, and my father and mother were both active in scientific research. Mian’s parents were also very active, in the face of regulations that could have had them executed for that work. Mian and I were the first to enter this valley in many generations, after it had been sealed by the religious Leaders, and we discovered the university and all its knowledge. The university had several rooms that were obviously intended for teaching, and they included computers that were used for giving interactive lectures in a wide variety of fields. We undertook a computerized education in the field of quantum physics, and our experimentation with the communication equipment, that had been constructed all those thousands of years ago, attracted the attention of Jirgt, Derlet and Sorpe and Geoffrey. From that beginning, the Community reestablished the university, and it has since become one of the most important research and teaching institutions in the field. We have a core lecturing staff, people who mainly conduct research as well as teaching, and a large number of lecturers who are based in other universities throughout the universe and work here part-time. Most of our core staff work part-time in other universities and research units as well. That helps to ensure that the knowledge we have here is distributed throughout the Community. It also ensures that our graduates have access to work opportunities throughout the Community. The system works very well.”