Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (124 page)

"I hope so,"
Happ said with feeling. "I don't want anyone to ever be isolated
for such causes that are beyond anyone's control or desires."

The subject was
decided to be delayed until it was further researched. University
would give a final decision on action. They headed for the next
world, Zulevt.

*This one has
radio, holovid and much more. They're colonizing two other planets.
They're reptilian, not unlike the Kheth and not unlike Happ.
Somewhere between. They seem, from what I can see, to be rather
strongly regimented. Maybe too much. It could be a slave society,
though ... maybe not. Things are a bit ... different. I can't
exactly identify the problem.*

"We can go in,"
Z suggested. "They're certainly advanced enough."

[ Can you
extract enough of their language, Maita? If there's going to be
some other problem we don't need language at the same time. ]

*Get some rest
while I work on it. I believe it will be a relatively easy
language, as structured as it seems. No idioms, Z.*

Z grunted and
went to the shower, ate a good meal, then laid in the pilot's chair
where Thing soon joined him. They slept while Maita got the
language. Z and Thing were awakened before Happ because Maita had
used the portable probe to learn about the Neephs, as the people
called themselves.

*They aren't
slaves in a sense we're against, as you can see. They're slaves to
their nature, which decrees they must remain isolated. I need a
vote. Will we do harm to contact them?*

[ No, we may do
some good. I don't understand the psychology of this being. Maybe
you should get another subject on the probe, Maita. I can't say
this one's sane as we understand the word. ]

*I got three
already. They're the same. Very much the same. This is a matter of
a racial trait that is obviously genetic.*

"They're sure
there are others out here," Z said. "They want to be sure they
aren't ... bothered. We can make it plain to them we'll beacon the
system so no one comes. They have to agree that no one GOES from
here, either. They can't have it both ways. If we stay out, they
stay in. They want isolation this much they get it."

[ As badly as
you said it I have to agree. Whatever they want. There's some great
lack in these people. It's rather sad, but we've run across this
sort of thing before. Bad inheritance. Overly territorial. It's
part of them as much as their hands and feet are. ]

*I sense that,
too. I'll wake Happ and have him come here, then we'll land
somewhere. We don't have to stay if we can't make reasonable
contact. We have to try, under the circumstances.*

Happ came in
soon and given a language crystal. He remarked the language
certainly seemed unfriendly, if a language could project such
things.

[ We feel the
same about that. It has a negative sound to it. That can be a bad
sign, I fear. The language tells us much about the people. They
won't trust anyone. ]

Maita used the
frequencies the planet was using to tell the Neephs they were
coming in. They were attacked with beam weapons.

[ Oh, groan!
Not another one of those! Maita, this gets so tiresome!]

"I assume you
have experience with such as this, but I have to admit I don't much
like being at the focus of all that energy!" Happ protested. "I'm
not used to it at all!"

"We can shield
anything they have," Z assured him. "It's just that it's so
unnecessary and so boring. It tells us a lot more about them too.
We're being attacked before they know anything at all about us –
and after we told them we're peaceful."

[ Maybe they'll
have the sense to stop it when they see they make no progress with
it. I don't need another Klatch where they keep shooting that silly
crap at us until we flatten their entire military establishment!
]

*They're
stopping already. I'll carry everything on the open speakers. You
can make your own determinations about them.*

There was a
pause, then, "Enemy ship! Why are you here? What do you want?"

*We want
nothing. We're merely a diplomatic ship of the Maitan Empire. Were
we to be actual enemies we have the facilities aboard this ship to
have destroyed this entire planet or any part of it. To fire on a
ship before you even determine its purpose is stupid, at best.*

There was a few
moments pause, then, "You must want something here! What is this
Maitan Empire?"

*There are more
than four thousand worlds joined in a trading and informational
guild that we call the Maitan Empire. There are world members in
all parts of the galaxy. You appear advanced enough where you'll
soon leave this planetary system. If there is to be trade we'll
wish to know you and to make ourselves known to you. We wish to
know all of those with whom we later have contact.*

"We wish no
contact with any other world and certainly with no empire. We wish
no trade. Go away."

*That's a
choice you must make for yourselves. If you wish us to leave, we'll
leave. Should that be your choice you will be expected to stay
within this planetary system. You will NOT be permitted to expand
into the galaxy. There's no room for such silliness in empire
space.*

"We cannot be
conquered. We will die to the last one before we will be
conquered!"

*No one said
anything about conquering anyone. That's your fantasy. We'll leave
and never again intrude into this system, but if that's your choice
you won't intrude into our space, either.*

There was
another long pause, then, "Please go away. We have no plans to
leave this system. We wish no contact with others."

*Very well. I'm
very sorry. You're limiting your people very badly. Should you ever
wish contact or to join with the family of worlds that's the Maitan
Empire there will be a beaconsat beyond your outermost planet.
It'll serve to ensure that no other from the Maitan Empire ever
comes here. There's a large lever on the side of the satellite.
Should there ever be an emergency where you need emergency help or
if there's a change of desire and you wish contact simply reverse
the lever and we'll come. We wish you good fortune. Goodbye.*

There was
silence as Maita rose above the atmosphere. They placed the
satellite and put a beacon light on it to make it easy to locate,
then left the system.

"What if they
shoot down the satellite?" Happ asked.

[ Then there's
nothing to stop other traders from coming here. They won't. It's to
their advantage as they see it for the beacon to be there. ]

*I think
they'll eventually condition themselves to meeting others. They
have a desire to go out and there's no other way they can do so.
They'll change. They have a genetic flaw they must overcome.*

[ How can you
be sure? ]

"They're
expanding within the system. They want to go out," Z reasoned. "I
think they have the intelligence to overcome their territorial
instincts, which is what this is about. They had to do that to ever
leave the home planet."

"Maita, please
go back," Happ requested. "I think I can do something."

[ Not likely,
but what do you plan? Tell us and we'll vote on it. ]

"I want to
speak with them on a video circuit, then we will go," Happ replied.
"We are very much alike. I think I see what they fear."

Maita dropped
into N space to reverse course and returned to orbit the world. It
announced their return and explained that a video circuit was
needed, then they would be gone. They would stay until the circuit
was provided. As there was the choice of looking at the aliens for
a short time or having them stay for a long time the circuit was
soon provided.

Happ was alone
in the camera's eye. "My name is Happ and I am of the race called
the Krofpth. As you can see, we are much alike. I will have the
ship show videos of a race called the Kheth. They are also much
like us both. Many races in the Maitan Empire are much like us and
many are very different.

"I don't know
what you expect of aliens. I am very different from two other
beings here, who I will show to you soon. The differences in the
members of the Maitan Empire are beyond your imagination and even
mine – and I have seen many races. There is relatively near here a
race of intelligent, mobile plants! There are mammals and reptiles
and amphibians. There are aquatic intelligences and machine and
land intelligences. There is no end to variety.

"It is very
hard for some to join others and it is easy for others. That is
natural. It is part of each of our evolutions. It is something some
must overcome. Some, such as my race, wish to meet as many and as
varied a group as we possibly can. We are fascinated with
peoples.

"Here is a
being who is beyond classification. It is called Thing and is from
the planet, Menta. Menta is thirty thousand plazsis from this world
on what we call the 'N' arm of the galaxy."

Thing climbed
onto Happ's shoulder and held around his neck.

"Thing has an
intelligence much too high for us to measure. It is a very close
friend of mine," he continued as Z came to stand beside him with a
hand on his shoulder.

"This is Z. He
is from Terra, a planet close to where Menta is. They are only a
thousand plazsis apart, which is a very short distance in the
Maitan Empire. Z is a mammal and is my close friend, also.

"You can see
from viewing the three of us that we are very different,
physically.

"Consider us
all. We are all very different, yet we are all much alike. I beg of
you to not turn away from your family – the family of life in the
galaxy. There is only sadness in such a path.

"We will go
now. Good fortunes."

*The beacon is
in place. You may call us at any time.*

Maita again
left the system.

"Do you think I
did any good?" Happ asked.

[ We won't know
for years, but I'd say you gave them something to think about.
Maybe they'll join because of your little speech. Maybe they'll
retreat into their own system for centuries. ]

*Well, I want
to see a system next that has psiltripium in minute amounts.
There's no life there, but the system should be spectacular. It has
a double sun. The suns are only one light hour apart or a little
less and the planet is between the suns at the center of gravity,
which constantly twists and distorts it. It's one large
volcano!*

They soon were
approaching the system, but there was no planet there!

[ What happened
to it? ]

"It was pulled
one kilometer out of orbit," Z said. "It's now a part of one of
those suns. Right, Maita?"

*Probably. The
only problem is finding what could have pulled it out of orbit. The
thing was there for millions of years and was in a stable system. I
can't see why it would leave orbit.*

[ Psiltripium,
I'd say. ]

"How do you
figure?" Z asked.

*I see it as
possible. Psiltripium is formed from heavy metals and volcanoes and
such. Give me your math, Thing.*

There was
silence for that point to be shared, then Thing explained what it
thought must have happened. Maita showed what it was talking about
in the holovid screen.

[ Psiltripium
is, as you know, much heavier than you can imagine. It's almost a
quarter as heavy as neutron mass. It's formed on worlds such as
that one that used to be down there and collects in small spots
during particularly violent eruptions or goes to the center of the
world. If it moves to the core there's no problem. Everything will
remain in balance. ]

The diagram
showed the process.

[ That world's
internal heat was mostly caused from the twisting and compression
by those two massive objects at whose center of gravity it was
held. It had a solid core of nickel, iron and all the heavy metals.
The psiltripium, therefore, settled around that core, not at
planetary center. It's tremendously massive and develops
independent gravity. That's why it's used as focus for Maita's
gravitic grids. The twisting and volcanism would probably allow the
psiltripium to move in the liquid magma layers around the solid
core.]

The diagram
showed the twisting process and the psiltripium settling on the
core surface. It was moving to form small nodes on the core.

[ Note that the
stuff sort of balances around, but then a certain critical mass is
reached and their gravity is suddenly pulling from one node to the
next. The molten sea flows and pushes its small bit, too. One day
one of the masses suddenly moves and combines with another. It's
all over. Now other bits are moving toward this one lump, each one
adding that much mass. All on this side of the world. It's evenly
spread on the other side. Do I have to explain what happens next?
]

"It's like one
of those balls with a weight on one side," Z said. "It
wobbles."

"And the wobble
takes it out of the center of gravity so it falls into a sun," Happ
said. "Maita can compare masses of the stars with Library records
to prove it."

*It's not in
either one and it didn't break up and end in both. The mass of the
stars is exactly what it should be with normal decay.*

[ It can't
disappear! This isn't Tlorg! It had to leave orbit with an extreme
wobble. ]

"If we knew
which direction it flew off in we could find it," Z said. "If we
knew when it flew off, that is. It probably went wobbling off at
ninety degrees from the stars' orbital plane."

[ I think I
see. I guess it's possible. It would tend to ... mmmmm. ]

"I don't see,"
Happ said.

"If the planet
was spinning the weight to one side could cause it to shoot off in
a long spiral, increasing speed as it went. The weight would lead
the overall direction of the flight path," Z lectured. "As the two
suns are mutually orbiting we can't find where or when the thing
flew out of orbit, itself. It tried to orbit both suns, but the
wobble made it fly off at ninety degrees. Anything else and it
would be orbiting the entire system or would be in one of the
stars. It isn't in a star, and it isn't in orbit around the
system.