Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (210 page)

"Your floater's
ready. It's shielded like those others and there's plenty of
Volich's antidote aboard. There's also a mean little thunderstorm
coming up that's going to knock out the power so it'll also knock
out the sensors."

"How did you
manage to start a thunderstorm?" Kit asked.

"There's plenty
of moisture in the atmosphere," TR replied. "A floater with an
extreme electrical charge, some special dust for condensation, a
heat absorption grid on the floater. It's not all that hard. One
would have developed by late afternoon anyway. I'm bringing it in
early. Get a move on!"

Kit unhooked
the line to the console, went to the hold port, checked out the
floater, waited until TR said the storm was close over the lab and
hill area and went down. He was able to get in low just as the
storm hit with a fury and to skip around on the floater to put it
in Givzoo's ship. It fit into the hold folded. He dodged into the
lab doors to find both Givzoo and Nortich putting the spores into
tubes with little scoops. He came up behind them with the
anaesthetic, drugged them into an instant coma, took one under each
arm (perhaps a bit roughly, but speed was of the essence), dodged
back out to the ship and was away behind the hill opposite where
Tab would be. It took a total of nineteen and a third minutes. Six
minutes later they were all aboard TR, who moved away more than a
plazsi, staying linked to its floaters with fastcom. It wanted to
be certain it was out of possible range of the psy before
re-awakening Givzoo and Nortich. The scientists confirmed Kit and
TR were close in their estimations of what had happened.

"We weren't
using the psy shields," Nortich explained. "We thought the fungoid
was long dead and gone. That was immensely stupid."

"I hope you've
destroyed those spores we gave you?" Givzoo asked. "They were, of
course, fungoid."

"How many
clones are there?" TR asked.

"We aren't
sure. At least six," Nortich replied. "Two have spored so there are
a minimum of four left down there unless Volich was able to do
something. There aren't any sterilizing lights in that cave!"

"Maybe we
should ... I don't know. We have to wait for Tab to call us," Kit
said. "Is it likely Volich is still alive?"

"I think Volich
will have used the tranquilizers again," Givzoo replied. "She saw
what was happening to us immediately, I'm sure. It was sudden and
she had been out by the group Tab found to study their growth when
she found the entrance to the hill. She had the psy shield on for
that so was able to resist it. I think she injected herself with
the tranquilizer as soon as she found the clone or it would have
been able to kill her. It couldn't locate her so was forced to
precipitate action. When it realizes we're gone I don't know what
it will do."

"I ruined that
lab with a lightning bolt," TR said. "Maybe it'll think you were
killed in there. It was the same bolt that cut most of the sensors
off for your escape. I made a small strike to disable the ones near
your ship for Kit to come in. There isn't any power being produced
now. I burned out the generating facility with that bolt.

"Hey! There
isn't any power being produced – AT ALL – down there!"

"There could be
a gravity feeder backup so we can't be sure," Givzoo said. "It
could still have most of what it needs. I hope Tab will realize
there would have to be more than one or two clones."

"Tab will
handle it," TR said confidently. "We have to worry about the
bioform that will control the fungoid. I can safely assume most of
it was destroyed by that thing?"

"The main
supply in the labs and the cultures, yes," Nortich said. "There's
plenty on the planet it can't reach. It knows it's doomed on
Kuhlicht. That's why it was so insistent on getting off-planet.
Givzoo has convinced it the bioform would be confined to only the
one continent on Grandish for a few decades. It felt it could find
a way to escape in that time. When we suggested that it also seed
itself on Tesfort where no one would bother to look for it it
accepted the opportunity immediately. It's desperate. Tab's saying
we would spread it on hundreds of worlds was something we hoped he
would seize upon from the Tesfort hint.

"You see, we
would have to go to the cave again to get the spores for that so I
was planning to try to introduce something into the feed supply
that would stop further sporing in those that were left. It was all
I could think of. The thing could detect any intense concentration
so I had to go with what occurred to me and to let the thought
pass. I've learned how to repress thoughts from the forefront of
consciousness to an extent. I can remember on a lower level of my
mind where it can't detect. I can't plan on that level,
though."

"What will we
do on Grandish if all the bioform spores are gone?" Kit asked.

"The control is
producing billions of spores on Grandish on its own," Givzoo
answered. "All we have to do is to move it to all the continents.
It'll take a bit longer, but it'll handle the job. We made
projections about it. If nothing at all is done it'll become
ubiquitous on Grandish in less than three years. I concentrated on
a worst case scenario to fool the fungoid here. It believes it will
take thirty Grandish years, which is plenty for its purposes."

"Then how long
if we move it around a bit?" TR asked.

"Four growth
seasons – about a year and a half," Nortich said. "Its seasons
aren't tied to Grandishian cycles, but to Kuhlichtian."

"The fungoid
lives for four years or longer before it must spore," Givzoo added.
"The bioform will be there waiting for the spores so we're talking
about five years to the absolute certainty of total extinction of
the fungoid on Grandish. I think we can live with that. We have
to."

"We'll go
through major sterilization programs on anything leaving Grandish
for six years to be sure," TR said. "What we'll also have to do is
monitor the planet constantly. We can find any of the fungoids that
reach any size by their psy if they're close to where there are any
people, that is."

"The great
reprieve there is those spores are only partially programmed, at
best," Nortich said. "We'll have to monitor this world for a like
period."

"The scary
thing about all this is that there are natural injectors," Givzoo
said. "Tesfort can produce this thing through natural processes.
That's a large part of evolution. It may take millions of years,
but it can happen. If it can happen on Tesfort it can happen
elsewhere. Do you see what I'm saying?"

"Will RNA and
protein chains be a necessity?" Kit asked. "I mean, they're vital
to the process aren't they?"

"Oh,
certainly!" Nortich replied. "There can be no thought processes or
memory storage without that!"

"Then your
research must continue," TR put in. "We have the cure for these
types of worlds. That will never be lost. Maita will see to it that
such information is readily available to all for all time here.
What you'll have to develop is cures for the other types of worlds
with other climatic cycles and even other life cycles."

"And for
lifeforms not based on CHON," Kit added. "I see no reason why this
would be confined to carbon-based life. It's the most common, but
there are some other possibilities. I think the Grandish Project
will have a lot of use in the future. This can be the first use of
the grant, then you can find another area of research to
pursue."

"It'll take a
few years to find cures for the others. They should mostly just be
variations of this process," Givzoo agreed. "We can use it as a
training program. Grandish will be the best place to establish it
so we can monitor the world while we do the research. After that we
can go where we're needed."

"Sounds like a
good deal to me," TR replied. "I wonder how Tab's doing down
there."

Learning Process

Tab came out
from Givzoo's ship while TR was rising, reasoning that the fungoid
would certainly concentrate on watching the ship to be sure it left
the planet. He moved quickly away from the lab area and out past
where he knew the sensors to be. There was something he had to be
missing. It was nagging at him so he stopped beyond the hill to sit
by Zantoo's grave to think.

Zantoo had made
a clone under the influence of that thing. The clone was in a cave
or tunnel under that hill to his left. That was damned sure. The
fungoid was already programmed as part of the cloning process,
though everything else could be added through the psy link later,
making for a two-way safety margin. That was almost as sure.

The fungoid had
remained safe under that hill since Zantoo's death by the simple
expedient of not using the psy talent on anyone else. It grew and
learned a hell of a lot since the death of the students and Zantoo.
It had, in the guise of that single growth in the lab, tricked them
into thinking they had destroyed their major enemy. That was
evident and sure.

Then Volich
found its second clone, forcing it to act on the assumption it was
being sought. Volich was obviously using the psy shield when she
was checking the patch of remaining fungoids so would appear to be
part of the directed search. That was most likely from the way the
thing was believed to think. It then seized control of the
scientists, probably killing Volich – but maybe not. Volich had
some protection from the shield. That was an unknown.

It had forced
Givzoo and Nortich to package the spores for spreading on Gran ...
uh-oh! If it had spored it was dead.

Tab's own psy
receptor was on in that lab, the spores had no psy ability he could
detect and Nortich and Givzoo were still being controlled.

Okay. SECOND
clone! Zantoo had cloned more than one of the things. It had to be.
If there was to be another shipment of spores there had to be more
than that one sporing plant. To keep control of Givzoo and Nortich
there had therefore to be yet another. The strength of the psy
ability from that distance indicated it was gestalt so there were
several more of the fungoids. Zantoo could clone as many as he was
directed to clone at one time. Another spored or was sporing so the
spores could be spread to all those other worlds. Assuming it had
already done so there were at least two still alive in that
hill.

Working
backwards from the way the fungoid seemed to think there would be a
minimum of four more and a maximum of ... four. The thing would
limit numbers to limit the sharing of power. It didn't need to
argue with itself.

Six original
clones, of which two had spored, two were for the gestalt power
synergy and two were for emergency backups in case something
happened to the others. Tab wasn't so sure he was proud of the fact
he understood the mind of the thing so well. While he was being
logical and thoughtful he might as well consider other things. The
time for reckless speed was past after he got away from the ships
safely undetected. He could take the time to think out what he had
to do now.

Volich was
using the psy shield when she found the clones so she would have
time to act at the very least for a few seconds. The fungoid would
be confused at being found this quickly. Volich was terrified of
the thing for what it had done to her before and carried the
tranquilizer. If there had been any evidence Givzoo or Nortich had
been influenced in any way she would have used it immediately. She
was therefore probably still alive, but there was the danger she
would awaken at any time now. To awaken would be to die. The thing
could instantly locate her and could remove pieces of her nervous
system.

What a hell of
a time for a thunderstorm! It sure came up fast!

Nortich and
Givzoo were making some kind of plan. They left hints enough he was
to do something to give them time. The other worlds bit should do
that. It should also make it necessary for one or both of them to
go to the fungoids in person to collect the next batch of spores.
Volich might be in that same shed – not likely! She would be very
near the hill. Maybe right there in direct view of the fungoids.
They couldn't "see" her without her mental broadcasts.

Damn! That was
close! Good thing it was a small strike. It seemed to hit the
compound somewhere.... TR? What was happening?

Do NOT
communicate with TR! The ship and Kit knew what they were doing! It
would be best to wait to see if this was a scheme TR had dreamed
up. Tab didn't doubt the ship could cause a local thunderstorm like
this one.

Tab used the
time to observe the low hill where the fungoid clones were hidden
with telescopic vision. There was nothing moving at all. His
passive sensors noted a section of the electrical system near the
compound was out from the lightning strike. TR was doing something.
That was designed to take out a section of the sensory apparatus
near the labs.

Tab moved
around the hill again in time to see Kit running for Givzoo's
disabled ship with Nortich under one arm and Givzoo under the
other. Kit was getting the scientists out of there. Now he was
shooting away with both of them on a shielded floater. What was
that about? They shouldn't be in very much danger yet.

A massive bolt
of lightning struck the lab directly. Not very much would have
survived that!

Think again.
Nortich and Givzoo were removed in such a way that it wasn't likely
the fungoid could be sure if it was natural interference with the
systems or not, then the lab was totally destroyed. There couldn't
be anything surviving in that place after such a massive strike.
That also could be natural lightning striking the high point of the
lab roof.

So! Was there
something about the spores that had panicked TR? Was there
something he didn't know? Something vital?