Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (133 page)

Z went with Set
and Von on an extended vacation in a sailing craft to explore the
land areas and Thing went with Moed to an island by the deepest
part of their shallow oceans where it spent most of its time
exploring the bottom. Maita handled diplomatic duties and kept in
touch with both of them through floaters. It was a very relaxing
time. When Z returned to the island where Maita and the monument
were located there was a trader ship aground. It had brought in
several of the Krofpth, who were as excited about being reunited
with the Vard as the Vard were about again meeting the Krofpth. It
was going to be one of those odd relationships that sometimes grew
between very unlike races. Z called it a mutual admiration
society.

When Thing
returned they spent one day more on Varnith, then went outward
again.

*Well, we've
found our good feeling. Our luck is back. What next?*

[ I'm ready to
go home for awhile, personally. This will end our trip on a good
note. We should visit Krofpth first though. I'm sure they'll have
the rest of their questions prepared by now and we'll want to see
how TAR One is performing. ]

"I agree," Z
said. "The fleet and traders are handling the explorations for us.
I think we've found a good cross section of what's out here. Things
were pretty well set by the Krofpth Empire. What we've done,
besides ridding them of the Immin threat, is to speed up the
evolution of the area a bit. I tend to think the Krofpth would have
eventually broken the bonds of TAR One. Sooner or later there would
have been a final confrontation of some sort and they were
programmed to win."

*Perhaps in
another hundred thousand years. We've given them that. Maybe we've
given them something else, too. A pattern to follow. We're on our
way to Krofpth!*

They landed on
the planet and were met, first of all, with a feeling of purpose
that wasn't there before. Next, they noticed the people were
happier and more excited about life in general. TAR One admitted to
the logical assumption the race needed a dynamic and now had it.
TAR One was being asked to do more and more every day. At that rate
it would reach capacity in a few years so it was good that Maita
had given it the ability to expand itself.

[ Maita, that
machine's going to develop intelligence, and soon, isn't it? ]

*I've
programmed the possibility in. It can happen only if the Krofpth
are very successful in what they're trying to do. I can use a
co-emperor out here and wanted there to be ample reason for TAR One
to be proud of what it's accomplished. It was programmed to rule so
it can know true contentment. The Krofpth already feel friendship
toward the machine. It may even be possible for TAR One to
reciprocate before too long.*

"How long?"

*Perhaps in two
hundred years or perhaps next year. Perhaps in a thousand years.
Even that's a very short time to a machine like TAR One. The
traders are taking on Krofpth hands so the race will become known
throughout the galaxy in a few years. TAR One was a bit closer to
true intelligence than I'd thought. It may have freed the Krofpth
in another few hundred years itself.*

"Then there's
not a lot to do here?"

[ No. We can go
anytime. What do you have in mind, Z? You've spent some time with
that particular list. ]

"I was checking
with Library earlier about certain types of things. Maita? Could we
spend a short time on Verdure? Do you know where to find it?"

*Certainly, Z.
I noticed you've received several pictures and have even sent some.
The process is really quite easy. Thing, Verdure is a planet with a
wide volcanic section. It has little animal life, but is crowded
all over with lush plants. The volcanism keeps the carbon dioxide
level fairly high so animals aren't necessary to the biosphere.
There are many types of insect-like animals, but nothing higher.
The plants are highly evolved. There are many orchid-like plants
and some spectacular bromeliad types. I think Z will find this a
hard place to explore.*

"Most of what
I'll be looking for are arboreal epiphytes. The planet has huge
areas of cloud forests and rain forests. I can take a floater and
stay up fairly high among the trees and around the rock
outcroppings. This is just too good a chance to pass up!"

[ It sounds
interesting. ]

*Insect bites
can be deadly there. They'll tend to inject foreign chemical
compounds so I'll insist you wear protective garments I'll supply.
There are types that can chew right into very hard wood to inject a
digestive juice that can dissolve rock. That means the garments
will be restrictive.*

[ I'll stay
aboard to catalogue my collection of sea plants and animals and Z
can explore in restrictive clothes. ]

"Fair
enough!"

They found the
world. The only easy landing was on still-hot lava near one of the
volcanoes, but that didn't bother Maita. It sat on a level area and
dispatched Z on one floater with another floater to act as a
carrier for the samples. Z needed only very small pieces of an
individual plant, but still had thousands of samples in a short
while. He would work steadily during all daylight hours and would
return exhausted at night, sleep, eat and clean up. That lasted for
four days, then he asked Maita to move to the next continent.

"I could find
ten times as many things as I've found already! I can't believe the
variety! The valley down there had one small tree where I got sixty
eight separate species of plants!

"Look at the
colors in this! It looks like a rhipsalis, but I can't be sure how
I'll catalogue it yet."

Maita and Thing
both enjoyed his excitement.

[ Z, there
isn't room on your island for half of this! ]

"I know! Maita,
that long narrow island to the northeast of mine. We aren't using
it. I can plant these things around on the trees that're already
there. It's in a really wet zone so they should thrive. There's
certainly enough altitude and cloud forests. Will there be any real
problems growing them, do you think?

"I notice I
have to use oxygen a lot from the floater. There won't be the cee
oh two on EC they have here. Will that hurt them, do you
think?"

*I see no
objection to using the long island. They'll grow slower there, but
should do well. You're noting locations where you find them and the
floater's sending conditions so there shouldn't be any problem.
Thing has collected a few varieties of insects for you that these
plants will need but that shouldn't be dangerous in any way. They
may be pests in that they fly into your ears and eyes, but they're
necessary. None of them bite or sting and none of them are
seriously poisonous in other ways. My scans show a fair number of
plants here that will form viable intergeneric hybrids, much as
Earth orchids do, so you can hybridize them if you like. The seeds
are as fine as those of the plants on Earth so you'll need chemical
cultures. I don't want to import the symbiotic fungi from here.
They produce substances that could damage or kill some of the
plants we have on EC now.*

Z's excitement
grew, Thing was using the time on Maita to its advantage and was
even doing a bit of exploring on its own, but was staying close
while Z would go halfway across the continent.

Twice in the
fourteen days they were there Z had returned with insect bites.
Both times they could have proven fatal without the medical boxes
for treatment.

"We DO have the
boxes and I don't care! I haven't enjoyed anything like this for
centuries!"

*Just so the
floater's programmed to get you back here fast anytime you get bit.
No override! No gathering one more sample!*

"Fair enough!
Did you see that viney one? I would have said there wasn't any
black orchid anywhere, but it's pure black! It's like a vanilla
vine with a big black brasso flower!"

[ What's a
brasso flower? ]

"Brassocattleya. Big well-shaped flowers with good texture and a
big lip. That gold dot on either side of the lip's like a beacon in
space! I found some true blues too. We haven't found many blues
before in the bigger flowers.

"I love the
smells, too!

"Maita, if you
went off and left me here I'd die happy! I've got to come back
after I've done everything I can with the ones I've collected."

*You can come
back anytime you like. I like this place, too. No one knows where I
am and I'm not being bothered with a lot of details my servos can
handle better. It'll take you fifty years to plant and catalogue
all of these!*

Z said he knew
it and went out again on the last day. He came in late and asked
Maita if it was sure there was nothing higher than insect life on
the world.

*Native life,
yes. Why do you ask?*

"Because I was
being watched. I got some views on the floater's cameras, I think.
I wasn't sure so I figured I'd wait until I was in and we could go
over the video thing together."

He had noted
the time on the floater clock so they ran the pictures for that
time. There was definitely someone or something moving along the
branches below, watching Z.

[ It has some
intelligence to watch you like that. What do you think it is,
Maita? ]

*The closeups
blur through all the foliage. I've sent several floaters to the
area to go below the canopy. They're small and should be hardly
noticeable.*

They waited
until the night-sighted floaters returned. They were all passive
recorders so any beings wouldn't be disturbed.

[ What are
they?! ]

They found the
"people" moving into special holes in the tree trunks. The beings
were somewhat like monkeys and were a purplish-green. They had
compound eyes around the bases of wide feathery antennae.

"The trees grow
niches for them to.... Maita I don’t ... they're plants! They're
symbiotes of some sort!"

*I've sent a
floater to get a small careful sample of one of them. They aren't
moving at all so must use light just as the trees do. That's
chlorophyll that colors them. They also seem to actually attach to
the tree. The mouth extends into a tube. I've never seen anything
like this!*

[ I think they
aren't symbiotes in any strict sense. They're parts of the trees.
]

"But what's
their purpose?"

*We may
discover that in the morning. Please don't leave the ship again
until we know, Z. I don't want to damage this world in any
way.*

"I have enough
samples for now. Like you say, it'll take at least fifty years for
me to handle all of them. I've put the samples in stasis. I need
some sleep!"

They waited in
the morning until past midday, then Maita said they were leaving
pretty soon, but there was probably no danger to anything if they
returned. They could use sterility procedures to eliminate
dangers.

[ Let me tell
you what I think and you can tell me where I'm wrong. ]

*Fair enough. I
think you're very well familiar with part of it.*

"Thing? But
what...? Does it have anything to do with multiple sexes,
then?"

[ I think so. I
think there are three sexes and those beings are one of them. The
female seed is produced on the tree itself, as is the pollen. The
moving beings are the third sex. They take the seed, which isn't
viable alone, and the pollen, which is of two kinds, one of which
they produce and one of which is produced by male trees. The seeds
won't grow without all three sexes. ]

*It's something
like that, but more complicated. I'll show you what the floaters
found and explain as I show it. First, let me say the sample showed
a partial animal tissue. Muscle tissue.*

The holovid
screen came alive to show one of the creatures stepping back from
its niche in the tree at the base of a limb. It withdrew a tube
into the "mouth" socket.

*The tree feeds
them with sap, which is stored in the tissues of the carrier stage,
as I call our mobiles. The carrier's body processes the foods in
the sap, feeding the animal tissue both oxygen and foods. It
directly converts the carbon dioxide so can live as long as there's
food. It probably can remain dormant for a year or so if the food
supply is too low.*

The creature
went to another and placed its antenna against the antenna of that
one. They stood very still for quite awhile.

*I'll
fast-forward now. They stayed like that for most of an hour. I
think they communicate very completely by that method. I think they
have more than rudimentary intelligence.*

The creature
moved along the limb, seemingly inspecting new buds and picking
something off now and then to drop it. Some of the dropped items
flew away.

*They're
apparently keeping dangerous pests away and are looking for damage.
Note how they seek light areas and will stop in direct sunlight for
a few moments. Now look at this.*

The scan left
that particular carrier and homed on one who was quite a distance
below, climbing down the trunk of the tree. It was ten meters below
the lowest branches and had twenty or more to go to reach the
forest floor. It could move quite rapidly downward. The creature
reached the ground where it immediately set off toward a small
patch of sunlight.

*A tree has
fallen there and has left a small area of open soil. Note there's
another carrier already there. It's from another tree. Only about
one tree in five is a female and only the females produce the
carriers.*

The carrier in
the scanner met with the other. They found a bright beam of
sunlight and stood in it while they touched antennae.

*This took
about ten minutes. I'll fast-forward again.*

The carriers
separated, inspected the ground carefully, one staying on one end
of the oblong space and one on the other. They each seemed to find
the proper spot and began to dig. They worked steadily for awhile
in the loose soil, climbed into the holes they had made and covered
themselves over.