Kai became angry with himself and, forcing down such reflections, tramped through the alien dust to Gaber's dome.
The cartographer had returned to his patient translating of taped recordings to the master chart, over which the probe photos were superimposed. As Kai's teams brought more detailed readings, Gaber updated the appropriate grid and removed the photo. At the moment, the tri-d globe looked scabrous. In the other half of dome was the seismic screen which Portegin was setting up. Glancing quickly past it, Kai thought Portegein was loosing his knack: the screen was on and registering far too many core points, some barely visible.
I'm days behind myself. I told you that, Kai, said Gaber, his aggrieved tone somewhat counterbalanced by a rueful smile. He straightened, twisting his neck to relieve taut muscles. And I'm glad you've come because I cannot work with Portegin's screen. He says it's finished but you can see it's not functioning correctly.
Gaber swung his gimballed chair about and pointed his inking pen at the core monitor screen.
Kai gave a closer look and then began to fiddle with the manual adjustments.
You see what I mean? Echoes! And then faint responses where I know perfectly well your teams have not had a chance to lay cores. Here in the south and the southeast . . . Gaber was taping the screen with his pen. Unless, of course, your teams are duplicating efforts . . . but the readings would be clearer. So I have to assume that the machine itself is malfunctioning.
Kai barely attended to Gaber's complaints. In his belly a coldness formed, a coldness that had to do with thinking about the Others. But, if it had been the Others who laid the faintly responding cores, then this planet would have been interdicted. One thing was positive in Kai's mind: his teams had not set those other lights, nor duplicated work.
That is interesting, Gaber, he replied with a show of an indifference he was far from feeling. Obviously from an older survey. This planet's been in the EEC library for a long time, you know. And cores are virtually indestructible. See here, in the north, where the fainter cores leave off? That's where the plate action had deformed the land mass into those new fold mountains.
Why didn't we have those old records? Of course, a prior survey would account for why we haven't found anything more than traces of metal and mineral deposits here. Gaber meant the continental shield. But why under a logical regime no mention is made of a previous seismic history, I simply cannot understand.
Oh, it is old, and probably got erased for modern programs. A computer does not have an infinite capacity for data storage.
Gaber snorted. Scorching odd, I call it, to send down an expedition without the full facts at their disposal.
Perhaps, but it'll cut down on our time here: some of our work's already done.
"Cut down our time here?" Gaber gave a derisive laugh." Not likely."
Kai turned slowly to stare at the man. What maggot's in your mind now, Gaber?
Gaber leaned forward, despite the fact the two men were alone in the dome. "We could have been . . ." he hesitated affectedly, ". . . planted!"
Planted? Kai let out a shout. Planted? Just because the seismic shows old cores here?
Wouldn't be the first time the victims weren't told.
Gaber, we've got the Third Officer's beloved and only offspring with us. We'll be picked up.
Gaber remained obdurate.
There'd be no point in planting us. Besides, what about the Ryxi and the Theks.
Gaber snorted scornfully. The Theks don't care how long they stay anywhere. They live practically forever, and the Ryxi were to plant anyhow, weren't they? And it isn't just those cores that convince me. I've thought so a long time ever since I knew we had a xenobiologist and heavy-worlders with us.
Gaber! Kai spoke sharply enough to startle the older man, you will not mention planting to me again, nor to anyone else in this expedition. That is an order!
Yes, sir. I'm sure it is, sir.
"Further, if I find you without your belt one more time
Sir, it pokes me in the gut when I'm bending over the board. But Gaber was hurriedly fastening on the force-screen belt.
Leave the belt slack, then, and turn the buckle to one side, but wear it! Now, bring your recorder and some fresh tapes. I want to recon those lakes Berru charted . . .
That was only yesterday, and as I told you I am three days behind . . .
All the more reason for us to check those lakes out personally. I've got to show some progress in my next report to EV on deposits. And . . . Kai tapped out a code, waiting impatiently at the terminal for the print-out on the mysterious core sites, we'll do a ground check on a couple of these.
Well, now, it'll be good to get away from the board. I haven't done any field work yet on this expedition, said Gaber, pressing closed his jumpsuit fastenings. He reached for the recording unit and tape blanks which he distributed in leg pouches.
His tone was so much brighter and less dour and foreboding that Kai wondered if he'd been unfair to keep the man continually in the dome. Could that be why Gaber had come up with the astounding notion that they'd been planted. Too little action narrowed perceptions.
But Gaber, as witness his laxity over the belt, was so narding absentminded that he was more of a liability than the youngest youngster in the landing party. As Kai recalled, Gaber's credentials rated him as ship-bred, having made only four expeditions in his six decades. This would likely be the last if Kai made an honest report of his efficiency. Unless, the insidious thought plagued Kai, they had indeed been planted. Better than most leaders, Kai knew how undermining such a rumour could be. Yes, it would be better to keep Gaber so fully occupied that he had no time for reflection.
Kai did, however, have to remind Gaber to strap himself into the sled seat, which the cartographer did with profuse apologies.
I do wish I'd been born a Thek, said Gaber, while Kai checked the sled's controls and energy levels. To live long enough to watch the evolution of a world. Ah, what an opportunity!
Kai chuckled. If they're not too involved with thinking to look around in time.
They never forget a thing they've seen or heard.
How could one tell? It takes a year to carry on any sort of a dialogue with an Elder.
You young people can only think of quick returns. Not end results. It's end results which count. Over the course of my years on ARCT-10, I've had many meaningful chats with Theks. The older ones, of course.
Chats? How long a lag between sentences?
Oh, not long. We'd scheduled replies on a once a ship week basis. I found it extremely stimulating to formulate the most information in the fewest phrases.
Oh, I'll grant the Theks are past masters at the telling phrase.
Why, even a single word can have unusual significance when uttered by a Thek, Gaber went on with unexpected volubility. When you can appreciate fully that each Thek holds within its brain the total knowledge of its own forebears, and can distill this infinite wisdom in single succinct words or phrases . . .
No perspective . . . Kai was concentrating on lifting the sled out of the compounds.
I beg your pardon? Gaber's apology was more of a reprimand.
Their wisdom is Thek wisdom and is not readily applicable to our human conditions.
I never implied that it was. Or should be. Gaber was distinctly annoyed with Kai.
No, but wisdom should be relevant. Knowledge is something else, but not necessarily distilled from wisdom.
My dear Kai, they understand reality, not just the illusion of a very brief and transitory lifespan such as ours.
The telltale, as sensitive to thermal readings as to movement of any object larger than a man's fist, rattled, informing the two men that they were passing over living creatures, at that moment hidden from their eyes by the thick vegetation. The rattle turned into a purr as the sensitive recorder indicated that the life form had already been tagged with the telltale indelible paint with which the various scouting teams marked any beasts they observed.