Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (196 page)

They talked
awhile, but the main thing decided was that they had to make some
kind of plan, but no one had any ideas short of burning the present
fungus, then seeking out others as they came up. They had to agree
that such a plan was as much as impossible because the thing
wouldn't grow in very strong light so would naturally be hard to
detect. If it got any size it could repel searchers through the psy
talent.

Then Givzoo and
Zantoo said they had to get back to their ship. The women might at
that very moment be in danger because of their absence.

"Might I make a
suggestion here?" Kit asked. "Report to the thing that you came
here where we discussed a number of the problems we would face
because of it. Tell it we discussed various methods of destroying
it. It will expect that I'm sure. Maybe the fact you tell it the
truth about such matters will prevent it from punishing any of you.
From what I've heard so far I think I'm beginning to understand the
way it thinks to some extent. I mean that in the context of
analyzing what would be important to a plant that can't move, but
can probably communicate with its psy talent with other clones of
the same thing. It amounts to one large organism, in a way. Don't
tell it about this one suggestion.

"Can you
engineer a virus or bacteria to attack the thing?"

"No. We've
tried those," Givzoo said. "It can control its immune system pretty
well, it seems."

"Poison it,"
Tab suggested. "If it's in some lab you have to feed it. Arsenic
kills plants. You can probably poison it."

"It produces
semipermeable membranes to filter out all such things," Zantoo
replied. "We've tried all kinds of poisons."

"What about
radioactives?" Kit asked.

"It can detect
them somehow and can isolate them with the membranes," Givzoo
answered.

"Then we have
to do some very hard thinking," Kit said. "Try telling the thing
the basic truth about this. It'll expect it anyhow so maybe it'll
come out easier on all of us to not try any deceit or lies about
it. As you've said you can tell it only the part of the truth you
want it to see. It's an old truism that a partial truth is the
greatest lie. I would add that it's also the most effective
lie."

Givzoo and
Zantoo left, looking thoughtful.

Tab looked at
Kit, sighed deeply, shrugged and suggested, "So they've tried
biological agents, poisons and radiation. Why not fire?"

"It can
probably prevent that," T6 replied. "It detects the attacks. It can
possibly detect the direction of attack if not precisely what form
it'll take so will use the psy where it can't otherwise protect
itself. It's learning. I suggest getting rid of that one even if it
means more problems with those spores already spread. Remember – it
couldn't program in those things it hadn't yet learned when it
formed the spores."

"Yes. It has a
strange form of immortality with the programmed progeny," Kit
agreed. "There's something not quite right here."

"We earlier
discussed how much like insects this thing is if in a somewhat
displaced way," Tab said. "If it really follows that form there's
one thing being left out as I see it. The queen is going to die in
childbirth."

"I see what you
mean," T6 said. "I wonder just how big that spore will have to
be?"

"That spore?"
Kit asked. "Oh, yeah. The next one with all the memories of mama.
You did an analysis with TR so you should know pretty much how
efficient that kind of RNA will be."

"Very
efficient," T6 replied. "With all the other factors that will have
to be built in, about six millimeters in diameter ... no, closer to
eleven for all of it. That's one spore that isn't going far!"

"It could if it
were to be sent out into the stream," Tab warned. "Specific
gravity?"

"Close enough
to water that it would move with the current," T6 answered. "It has
to be protected from getting to the salt ocean so maybe it'll have
a coating that absorbs water and sinks?"

"Could it grow
from underwater?" Kit asked.

"No," T6
replied. "I wonder how it'll manage that? It has to get the spores
out of that lab so it'll produce several of them, at the least. It
could possibly engineer a method for ensuring some of them reach a
place where they can grow."

"We aren't
going to learn that here," Tab said. "I'm going to go back there to
face the thing – or you are. I doubt if a native would be invited
in while a citizen of the empire is far more likely to be able to
get spores offplanet. I think it's plain enough that it has that as
a top priority. If I'm right about how that thing thinks I might be
able to get a lot of answers. We'll have to modify the emanations
from our brains or it'll wonder how we could die in the bunk room
and show up in the lab a couple of days later.

"Let's attach.
We can share programming on this. First one to reach the thing will
follow the plan. If we both reach it we'll both follow the plan.
That's built into the scheme. That thing isn't the only one who can
depend on having shared memories and schemes!"

They attached
the com lead. After less than a minute they separated, then Tab
went out and back to his hotel. He'd become a glassware salesman
for a short while so Kit could become another shady carrier with no
particular place to go now that Grandish was quarantined. He would
try to get in touch with Givzoo and Zantoo to see how the thing
reacted to their honesty about talking of destroying it.

After about two
hours Givzoo came into the game room where Kit was playing a solo
game of World hopper. Givzoo sat across the table to tell Kit the
fungus took the news its agents had discussed its destruction with
these others as a natural and expected thing. It merely asked what
things were discussed.

"I reported
that you had asked about biological agents and poisons," Givzoo
said. "It merely asked what I told you. It seemed rather pleased –
though I don't really know how to tell if it has the abilities to
be pleased or displeased – when I said I told you nothing worked. I
didn't mention about fire because I can see we are somehow
prevented from thinking about something so obvious.

"I am to bring
you to it. I told it you wanted to converse with it directly. It
seemed to desire that after a period of thought – or a pause
anyhow. I don't really think you can resist it.

"Oh yes! It
doesn't know you're the same one who was in the bunk quarters. It
thinks the two who were in there are dead."

"How did you
manage that?" Kit asked.

"It asked what
happened after the explosion," Givzoo explained. "I told it that
some of the chemicals in the press room exploded. It said you
stopped broadcasting identification and location at the moment of
the explosion. I merely said there didn't seem to be any way a
person who was close to that kind of explosion could survive. It
then dropped the subject and hasn't brought it up again. I'm rather
glad it didn't ask about bodies or what we did with them."

"Obvious, A
plant doesn't worry about bodies," Kit replied. "I think I can
shield myself against the thing so maybe I can learn something with
a face-to-face talk. Face to stalk or whatever.

"How does it
speak?"

"I can't
describe it," Givzoo replied. "You suddenly have the words in your
head. Part of the psy power, I imagine. I once used an induction
teacher at University and it's not unlike that."

"I see. Well,
let's go visit with a fungus!" Kit suggested, standing and waving
at the door.

*

Tab went out of
town where TR sent a floater to transport him to the swamp below
the lake. The floater then went below the surface of the water, up
the stream to the skiff, attached a lead, drew the boat out of
sight of the labs and the sensors, then returned it to where Tab
was waiting. Tab was sure some of the spores must be in that swamp
so spent a good bit of time searching until he realized he didn't
know what he was looking for. There were any number of fungal
growths almost everywhere he looked. He didn't know the planet's
natural juvenile growth so couldn't very well distinguish among
them. How could he tell? He'd have to make it a priority to learn
to identify those particular spores. There would be different sizes
according to their programming so he'd have to discover a feature
that would definitely identify them.

Tab then took
the boat to start for Lope's. He would have to explain why he was
gone for so long.... No, he wouldn't. He'd said he might be gone
for several days. If Kit was to be asked to meet with the fungus he
would be better off waiting. If not he should be en route for the
labs instead of back to Koosd.

That was yet
another consideration, but the floater informed Tab that Kit had
been asked to come to face the fungus only a few minutes after Tab
wondered which way to go so he would go to Koosd for a time, then
would arrange to go back to Milk Lake. Lope promised he could use
the boat anytime he chose so he could stay in character.

It was the
fourth or fifth time he’d felt the slight repulsion as he rowed
down Flint Creek before it registered. The feeling was weak and
didn't last for more than a few seconds when he noticed it. It
would be an instinctive reaction of the fungus upon detecting his
presence.

Why hadn't he
felt the repulsion in the swamp?

Answer: For
some reason there were none of the fungi growing in the swamp.
Why?

Because
something in that swamp inhibited its growth? Maybe because the
water level in Flint Creek at the time didn't carry any of the
spores into the bogs?

That could be
checked later. Right now would be a good time to locate one of
those things so the next time he felt the repulsion he was going
ashore to find it.

He rowed for a
few minutes, then felt the sensation. He spun the skiff to his
right and felt the sensation lessen so went back to the other
shore. He pulled the skiff aground and walked back a ways the way
he had come. Suddenly the feeling was there again. He moved around
to find the strongest sensation, then circled in until he was at
the strongest point. It was an old rotting tree stump with a number
of different fungi growing on it. Tab didn't know one from
another.

One thing was
damned certain. It wasn't going anywhere. It may prove important to
know where one of the things was at some later date. The thing was
only in the first stages of growth so there wasn't much danger it
would spore before they could destroy it.

Tab went back
to the boat after tying a marker ribbon to the stump, then back to
Lope's farm. He talked with the farmer for awhile, then headed for
Koosd and Veen's Inn where he had a good meal (Had he been a
Grandish it would have been excellent. He ate it for appearances)
and booked the room for a few more days.

There were
tales of farmers farther down Flint Creek whose stock were avoiding
certain spots near the water even more than they avoided the water
itself. There was talk about evil spells.

"I don't
believe in evil spells," Tab said. "If it was only one farmer I
wouldn't argue. It isn't. You've told me about several places on
different farms so there's some cause we haven't found yet. If
someone will draw me some directions to those farms I'll go
investigate in the morning. I'll bet I can find what it is!"

They talked
until quite late, people drew maps, then Tab turned in for the
night. In the morning he was up and about early so he could go to
all three farms in the one day. He was lucky in that by the fourth
spot he checked he knew what the fungus looked like. It was a
common type found on many worlds in one form or another. It grows
on rotting wood, forming "shelves" of growth, was a yellowish grey
color and had strange veinings of a golden color.

Tab reached
down to pull a bract from the log and was struck in the psy part of
his mind with a definite attack from several directions. The
farmer, who was standing a few meters away, was literally knocked
to his knees by the force.

That was
very
bad news! It should have been obvious long before this that
this kind and strength of psy power would definitely indicate
communication among the things. If the first one was part of that
particular chain this could be disastrous. It would mean there
would be no need to program the spores. The memory could be added
after they were growing.

Well, time to
show these, at least, that they weren't immune to attack
themselves. Tab found all of the ones that had been located and
pulled them. On his way back to Koosd he put them on the floater
for TR to analyze. He stopped at Lope's farm later in the
afternoon, took the skiff and headed back toward Milk Lake. He used
the infra-red vision to search along the lake shore, found various
of the fungi growing on rotting wood and destroyed them with a heat
laser TR sent on the floater. He didn't hope to get rid of the
things in any such manner as there were undoubtably thousands of
spores that may not grow for decades, but it would break their
communication chain. The laser destroyed the things quickly enough
to where they couldn't send any signals, which was good.

They didn't
seem able to detect him so easily at night with all his emanations
turned off. The brain would find there were more and more of its
offspring that were no longer there in the morning.

Tab turned the
psy power part of his mind to its highest sensitivity, but soon
couldn't detect anymore of the fungi near the lake shore so he went
slowly back down Flint Creek.

There WEREN'T
any above the swamp! That was a major break that could have a very
important side-effect – or two. If, as Tab now suspected, the range
of the psy power was greatly limited there had been no
communication of the destruction of those fungi destroyed at the
farms. Maybe the mother growth at those labs would be thrown into
confusion when none of those close to the labs took up whatever
communications they held in the morning. It could reach to A Port
in some ways so perhaps it was aware of the ones on the farms. They
wouldn't be there in the morning – though there were a lot of them
Tab hadn't found.