An Ecology of MInd (28 page)

Her observations so far showed that the aliens communicated between themselves using chemicals. These were created and interpreted by different organs in
what could be called the head. The brain and nervous system on the aliens appeared to be decentralized, so head was more of an orientation reference point
than the centre of function, like on most Earth organisms.

The chemicals being released by the ship into the air may not be sinister in nature but merely an attempt to communicate. It would take more analysis to
tell.

In creating the barrier, she tried to place it far enough out from the ship not to seem like an attack. She also wanted to enclose a fairly large area of
the surrounding ecosystem to ensure she included anything that may have left the ship before she reached it. Additionally, the area would act as a test
site for contact between the aliens and the local life forms.

The people trapped within the barrier were a key part of those tests. Kim was being extremely careful because the risks of biologic contact with alien life
were huge. Far more than most people realized. Kim had put considerable thought into the possibility of alien contact and while the potential upside was
great, the chance of extremely negative results from such contact was much, much greater.

Kim made a copy in her quantum systems of everything within the barrier. She could if necessary recreate it. However, the ship had been spreading chemicals
into the surrounding atmosphere before she arrived. There was a risk of contamination before she made a copy of the enclosed area. She would not blindly
recreate anything that got damaged or destroyed within the test area without being very sure it was safe.

Total destruction of the area within the test site and not recreating it was the safest approach. That included people as well. She would not make any
decision yet, but she was quite prepared to be brutal. The stakes and potential risk of disaster were that high. She/he had already been responsible for
the extermination of the entire Neanderthal species that been referred to as the No Chins. She/he had ordered the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of
people in wars over the years. The death of a few thousand people to ensure the prevention of even greater devastation would not cause Kim to hesitate.

She had completed her initial analysis, and it was time to start to understand the links between stimulus and response so that she could begin to
understand the language and thoughts of the aliens. She noticed there were a variety of different types of aliens that were the same species. They seemed
to be units specialized for function.

She picked the type that seemed to be the leader and created a duplicate on the surface about a half-mile from the alien ship. She made an exact duplicate
physically because she noted no physical differences between the individuals of each body type. She noted that the chemicals that they excreted on their
surfaces between different individuals of the same type were distinctive. Probably, identifiers of some sort, but without knowing the meanings it was safer
to make an exact copy of the individual she thought to be the leader. It was a total and complete copy.

She hoped that choosing a leader to copy was not a mistake. She did not want some sort of species obligatory fight to the death. If it happened, it would
give her more information, but not what she was looking for.

Kim controlled all movements and actions by the duplicate by her control of the atoms of its body. She could now have it try to interact with the aliens
and observe the chemical interactions of communication and thought among then, The creation and receiving of chemical messages, would have corresponding
changes in the nervous systems. She hoped to use those to start to decipher meaning.

She could have done all of this with the original leader, but there was a huge risk that controlling the alien's body would be a taken as hostile or a
major insult. Doing what she wanted with a duplicate seemed a better way to go.

Her copy had the same mind as the original, and she would let it think and perhaps communicate, to analyze the connections between the chemicals created
and their meaning. She could also change the copy's ability to think or communicate individually at any time. The copy of the alien was in place and in a
sort of stasis as she had all the atoms of its body locked unmoving in position. She released her hold on the copy's atoms at once and let her copy come to
life.

Leader 2* was suddenly elsewhere. One moment he was at his place inside the ship and the next he was apparently outside the ship. The air was strange but
breathable, and the sunlight was irritating but bearable. His senses were bombarded by a wide range of unfamiliar chemical signatures. He started walking
forward but did not recall willing that to take place but when he tried to stop, he was not able to.

While not being able to be in full control of his body was disturbing, his suddenly being outside the ship was much more disturbing, especially since he
was not in a suit of any sort, so he was exposed to the alien life forms. He took note of everything around him and tried to understand what had happened
to him. He could sense the messages that the ship had been releasing into the air around it coming from ahead so it was reassuring that he seemed to be
moving towards the ship. He could also sense chemical signatures for a number of life forms around it. Some of the life forms were fairly large. However,
nothing seemed to come overly close to him.

What Leader 2* didn’t know was that a large number of people had approached the ship. Some people were filled with fear, some with elation and many with
some mixture of the two. Kim was manipulating them so that they did not see Leader 2* and did not interfere with its progress towards the ship. She had
found years ago that if she just made a person’s eyes move in a given direction; that people would look and move their heads in that direction.

They would make up their own reasons to explain why they had “chosen” to look or move in that direction. It was only one of a variety of ways that Kim used
to avoid detection yet still be able to take action. She made sure none of the humans looked at or saw Leader 2* as he passed. She did similar things to
cover her own actions from time to time in the past. It was a relatively easy and efficient way of bypassing the notice of humans.

When Leader 2* reached the outer airlock of the ship, his involuntary movement stopped. He made some movements of his own to check that he could, then sat
still for a few moments. The involuntary movements did not resume. Leader 2* tried to move away from the airlock, but the involuntary movement of his body
resumed and took him back to the airlock. The message seemed clear. He was to enter the ship.

Leader 2* sensed around him for threats and did not sense any. He appeared to be unharmed so no proof of malicious intent was present. He was not sure of
the purpose of transporting him to outside the ship, or even how he got there. The ship seemed undamaged as far as he could tell.

First, there was the barrier and now this. Neither was directly hostile, but the implications were very disturbing. He felt that they had made contact with
the dominant species on this planet, but he did not feel reassured or in control at all.

With the mental equivalent of a shrug, he offered the authorization chemical codes to the hatch. When it opened, he entered the airlock.

THE SHIP INFORMED LEADER 1* the moment the outer airlock was being accessed. He was aware that the proper access codes were being used but did not know how
or why. He rapidly directed that a team of fighter units be sent to the airlock under the control of his second in command.

The team he sent was not quite to the airlock yet, and it was almost done removing the outside atmosphere and replacing it with ship’s air. He sent a
priority override code to the interior lock to stay shut. He was shocked when he was informed that the same priority override code was given to the door to
open. Fortunately, the safety features of the airlock were designed that in case of conflicting equal orders, the door would stay closed.

Leader 1* used a communicator to inform his second in command of the situation. He ordered him to exercise extreme caution before opening the inner door to
the airlock.

A short time later he received a question from his second in command. “Sir, are you there?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Sir, as far as I can determine through the communicator to the inside of the airlock, it seems to be you inside the airlock, and you are demanding entry.”

Leader 1* was confused but answered “Don’t let whatever it is in. I'll be right there.”

“Yes, sir.”

Leader 1* communicated the situation to his third in command and had him assume control in his absence and hurried to the airlock. His mind was working
furiously the whole way there. When he arrived his second in command, and the unit of fighters were waiting.

“Sir, may I examine you closely? The being in the airlock is very convincing about being you.”

That was very disturbing to leader 1*, but if what his second in command communicated was true it was a prudent step. “Yes, go ahead.”

His second in command did a thorough examination and seemed satisfied but had one more request. “Sir, could you please provide me with an updated life pack
to confirm that you are, in fact, you.”

“That suggests you are still not totally convinced that I am me. This is most odd, but if you feel that is necessary, absolutely.”

As a backup commander of the ship in case of need, Leader 1* provided his second in command with updated life packs regularly. They were basically a
chemical history of whatever information needed to be passed on. It was how young units were educated and trained, and it allowed the passing on of immense
amounts of required knowledge.

In a way similar to how information is encoded in the sequencing of chemicals in DNA; a totally different set of language codes were used to encode data
and memories in a form easily transferred to others of their species. Leader 1* knew that his second in command’s intent was to compare the contents of any
life pack from Leader 1* to previous life packs that he had provided to him in the past. It was this type of prudent thinking that had led to him being the
second in command.

All units had life packs that were kept up to date so that in case of death these packs might have the chance of being recovered and used to pass on
required information. They could also in various forms be stored in libraries. Their home world, for example, had vast libraries of life packs that held
much of the knowledge his species had learned.

Leader 1* made some additions to his life pack to include recent events. He then encapsulated it in a membrane secreted by one of his communication organs
and passed it to his second in command.

The life pack was received and fed to a sensory organ. After a few moments, the second in command said, “Thank you sir, I can confirm that you are in fact
you. What is your command?”

“Let me try communicating with whatever is in the airlock.”

“Yes, sir.”

Leader 1* then moved to the airlock communicator and questioned the life form inside. “What is your purpose?”

“What do you mean, what is my purpose? Let me in and report immediately. What has been happening since I have been gone from the ship?”

Both the message and his own identifying chemicals were communicated to Leader 1*. “Again, I ask, what is your purpose? We know you are not me,” Replied
Leader 1*, this time adding his identifying chemicals to the message.

There was a pause, and then the life form in the airlock answered. “Something very strange is going on. I remember being on the ship at my command rest
then suddenly being outside. My body was controlled to return to the ship where I was released. I had assumed I was transported somehow but perhaps this is
not the case. One of us must not really be me, but as far as I know, I am me."

"If the crew recognizes you as being me and there has been no interruption in your presence on the ship, then the odds are more likely that you are me. You
could be the duplicate, but I cannot account for how I ended up where I was while the crew should be able to account for your presence. If I am not me,
then I suspect that the dominant species on this planet is making some sort of attempt to communicate."

"As with the barrier, I don’t understand how or the purposes of either event, but there seem to be no overt hostile action. I would suggest that you let me
in but have me guarded closely by fighter units. I would also suggest that you mark me in some way to tell us apart."

"I have been outside without a suit, so I recommend full decontamination procedures being carried out on me. I am very concerned by the implications of the
abilities demonstrated by both the barrier and the presence of two of us. The dominant species of this with planet seems to be able to do much that we
cannot. I suggest great care be made not to take any action that may appear hostile to it at this time.”