Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (123 page)

[ Yes. ]

*Next stop is
Klarmuth.*

[ That means
absolutely zilch to us, Metal Mind! ]

*Good. You
sound like Z so you don't deserve to understand more than him!*

"Do you know
what the sound 'zilch' means in the Krofpth language?" Happ
asked.

[ Of course. We
have the language. It means the rotted husk dropped from a webber
nest. How fitting! ]

They approached
the world from outsystem, but Z, sitting in the pilot's dome, said
they would find nothing. "The sun's a red dwarf. It's nova'ed since
it was first found and recorded," he pointed out. "It's a pity.

"What would the
people be like, Maita?"

*They were
K-form mammals. The fur was already mostly lost. They would be
smaller than you, more nocturnal in vision. A fair people, but one
without much drive. It was an easy world.*

The world was,
in truth, barren. The water and atmosphere had boiled away when
their sun became a red giant. The only evidence there had ever been
life was a large laid stone building at the intersection of what
had been two large rivers.

[ Oh, no,
Maita! That's so sad! They had only recently discovered
civilization! ]

*I would say
twenty thousand years ago. I'm analyzing the primary. The decay
from that type ... yes. Eighteen thousand two hundred to two fifty
years ago. It is, indeed, sad. The universe is a very uncaring
place.*

"Could the
Krofpth Empire have saved them?" Happ asked.

[ It would have
required moving the entire biosphere so it's not likely at all. You
didn't have the technology and most probably wouldn't have
developed it in that time. The technology we have is basically
accidental. We don't even know how it works and are a bit afraid of
it. Add to that the fact intervention would have destroyed the
ability of such a cultural stage to advance again and again you are
denied basis for guilt. ]

"I have to
unlearn a lifetime's conditioning!" Happ cried. "It will take
awhile!"

"Let's go
somewhere else, Maita," Z suggested. "These things depress me."

*We'll try
Katix. It was a bit farther back in evolution, but isn't far in
distance. Mostly water world. Too easy for some things, but
probably like Zeezia in others.*

Katix had a
civilization, but it was aquatic and dolphin-like. They couldn't
advance except in theoretical sciences, but were great fun lovers.
It was an easy life on a very easy world. It was, indeed, much like
Zeezia – including the people.

*Next stop is a
radio source we passed not far away. Maybe a re-evolution on Fred.
The people were....*

"Fred!?" Z
asked. "There's a world named Fred?"

[ Even I get
that one! I know English. The name 'Fred' in Z's native language is
a very common one, Happ. ]

"It's a common
name in my race, too," Happ said. "I see the humor."

*Then let's go
see Fred!*

Paranoia

*Well, there's
Fred!*

It was a
pleasant enough looking planet. Maybe two thirds water, polar caps,
a lush tropical zone with a lot of islands in the wide seas. The
water seemed relatively clear and clean, as did the air. There were
fleecy clouds floating across the skies in most places and one
large tropical storm in the southern hemisphere.

"It looks like
a picture postcard," Z said. "All we need are some tile-roofed
houses and some sailboats."

*There are some
very deep oceanic trenches, but much of the water is shallow. The
islands are mainly volcanic or built by sea organisms in the
tropical zone. The constitution seems basically to be calcium
carbonates so maybe its not unlike a particularly fast-growing
coral on Earth. The plants are unlike what you would expect. As a
matter of fact, so are the animals. How strange! Go to room two and
I'll show you what we have on the floaters! I didn't think we would
find anything like this much above.... This is purely amazing!*

The crew headed
for room two and seated themselves before the large holovid screen,
Thing sitting on both of their shoulders. It was excited. Maita
wasn't sending it the information, but was making it wait with Z
and Happ.

*Look at
this!*

The screen
showed large cabbages in a field, or what seemed to Z to be much
like cabbages. Suddenly, two of them moved!

"Intelligent
plants?" Z asked. "We've seen them before."

[ They're
moving, dum-dum! Plants that move around? We've seen that too, but
they couldn't very well develop intelligence. This is a first!
Mobile and intelligent plants! Amazing! ]

*They have
radio. Obviously they can and did develop a higher
intelligence.*

"I read
somewhere about a planet where plants had developed the ability to
move about and were even known to have developed a language," Happ
reported. "It was listed as a curiosity by our empire. It was a
restricted world, of course. We wouldn't take chances of
interfering with anything so unusual. If I remember correctly there
was debate about whether there was even the possibility of us
understanding each other. The answer was a resounding NO!"

[ I would say
not. These are part plant and part animal I'd say. I still doubt
seriously we could actually understand one another. Everything they
do would be from a far different perspective than we could ever
hope to understand. I was speaking with Tab on the fastcom about a
case he and Kit are working on now. The people have a strange logic
that doesn't make sense to them, but they'll solve the case, I'm
sure. TR's very inventive in those situations – usually. ]

"What do you
mean, different logic system?" Z asked.

"I have heard
you speak of the detectives before at times," Happ said. "Can you
tell us something of it?"

[ There have
been several thefts of cargo from a warehouse. The people called
Tab and Kit in to solve the case. That's quite normal. What isn't
so normal is that they may not be given any information about the
thefts, what was stolen, when or anything else until the case was
solved! ]

"That's neither
normal NOR logical!" Z replied. "You're describing a system of
ILLOGIC!"

[ To us,
perhaps. To those people it's a matter of having two different
sources to identify the thieves. One must not influence the other
or everything is suspect. They know who took the stuff and only
need confirmation. Needless to mention when they turn someone in
there will be no doubt of the guilt of the perpetrators. ]

"Perpetrators
now?" Z exclaimed. "How very studious of you!"

*Knock it off.
We must study this place. I'm in touch with Library and find this
is the world you learned about. It wasn't on any other listings so
I missed it. It wasn't on a list with any other world and I can see
why. It's unique – so far as I know.*

"It'll have to
be done with floaters," Z agreed. "I suppose plants will become
inactive at night so that may be the best time for most of it.

"How do they
build things like radio?"

*They can
control certain structures so they simply isolate metals and grow
antennae and so forth. It's truly amazing!*

Maita and Thing
went into a conference they wouldn't finish for hours or even days
so Happ and Z played a long game of Stars and Comets, an extremely
complicated game that combined many principles of three-D chess
with computer games and chance rolls of a 60-sided spheroid (Sexta
decahedron?). Happ had such a logical viewpoint he was able to
defeat Z in only sixteen hours. Four sessions of four hours. After
that they used Maita's storage banks to study a few principles Happ
wanted to know about while Z pulled out a computer and some
equipment to study samples of the plants he had collected and to
update his files on all the plants and the worlds they were taken
from. Then Z laid for Happ and tackled him as he came out of room
nine where he had been working on some personal project. Happ
responded quickly and they wrestled and played awhile. They became
true friends in that game. Happ had a good sense of humor and could
appreciate Z's.

Finally, Maita
announced Thing was in its cubicle and wouldn't want to be
disturbed for ten or twelve hours, minimum. Maita then showed Happ
and Z what it had learned about Fred and its strange
inhabitants.

*This is what
was known about them at the time Library was established and this
is what they've done since. You can see their progress is a very
steady if slow thing. There are no erratic jumps and starts. In
another million and a half years at this same rate they'll be in
space. That gives me something to look forward to. It gives me a
reason to want to go to another galaxy – to see if perhaps there's
anything like this there. If there was such a race who were in
space we could meet them!*

There were
pictures and explanations. It was, as Maita had said, amazing.

*We'll go to
Narmach, next planet on my list, and won't bother Thing unless we
find something very much out of the ordinary. It hasn't had any
rest in thirty four hours, which is long even for Thing.*

They went to
that world to discover a society of mammals in a feudal period. Z
was a bit sorry he couldn't go aground there. He enjoyed those
kinds of worlds despite their ingrained cruelties, disease and
violence. There were other things, too. The world was only a few
hundred years from space flight unless they didn't survive the
nuclear period that would surely come.

Maita used
floaters to explore the world, then they moved on to Jahrah, which
had apparently developed nuclear bombs and used them. Just what
they were afraid might happen on Narmach.

[ It'll take
them another six to seven thousand years to re-evolve, then they'll
probably do it again. Some of these races are cyclical for this.
Some outgrow it and some eventually manage to exterminate
themselves. ]

Thing came from
its cubicle as they approached the world. It had slept for almost
fourteen hours and had eaten a very solid meal before coming to the
pilot's dome. Maita gave it information about Narmach.

[ Hmm. Too bad
Z and Happ and I couldn't go aground as wizards. That can be great
fun. Tell Happ about our experiences on Tlorg, Maita. ]

It then told Happ about the strange experiences it had
known on several worlds such as Tlorg (Book five:
Now
You See It – Now
You Don't
),
where there were problems that must be solved. Happ was most amused
at the description of the two-headed golem Maita made and
controlled on Tlorg and the way it always argued with itself. Thing
and Maita demonstrated the golems' act to Happ. They then discussed
Fred again and Thing gave a few of its own ideas, but no arguments
started. Maita was outclassed in many ways by Thing and would defer
on questions such as this. There would be no chances taken
whatever.

*Shall we try
Yusef? It could be interesting.*

[ No objections
from here. What's it supposed to be like? ]

*No information
on it. It was simply listed as a closed planet. There was a
longstanding argument about it for some reason. Apparently, the
closing was to protect people going in, not the natives.*

"I remember
something about some chemicals that infiltrated everything and
poisoned people without them knowing it," Happ said. "It had a
native population who were contacted very early, but no one ever
had much contact with them for some reason. We passed over it for
the safety of all concerned."

When they were
above the planet Maita sent floaters. They waited until they had
reports.

*Remember what I said about the possibility of people being
poisonous to one another, Happ? These would definitely be deadly
poisonous to all of you. Remember the gincha Tab traced that was
contaminated with thallium? (Book eight:
The Newlitch
Problem
)
That's only one of the bigger problems here. These people's systems
will lock thallium and several other deadly metals into special
cells in the skin where it grows out and is dropped off as the skin
is normally replaced. The food here is deadly and the people are as
deadly. Contact with them over a period of time would cause your
bio-systems to absorb enough of the poisons through your skins to
damage you seriously. Breathing the air is deadly, drinking the
water is deadly. A good place to stay away from for our types of
beings.*

[ But what
about the people here? Are they advanced enough that they should be
contacted? Won't that become a real dilemma at some future time?
]

*Not yet. Maybe
a hundred years. It'll still be our problem, but maybe the contact
with the Krofpth Empire will make it easier on everyone. Maybe
they'll be able to understand why contact will have to be so
limited.*

"If I remember
correctly we are as poisonous to them as they are to us," Happ
said. "That would seem logical to me."

Maita checked
with Library, then reported, *True. The natural oils of the Krofpth
seem to interfere negatively with the bio-systems of the natives.
It's much like insecticide poisoning. This saddens me. I think
they're probably a good people.*

"Maybe we'll find other races who can interact with them,"
Z suggested. "Maybe we can solve several such problems at once.
There's always a possibility. We find a hell of a lot of things on
our jaunts around the galaxy. If the Mactowans could meet their
neighbors (Book sixteen:
Now You Tell Me!
) I'm sure these can find
someone."

[ That's true,
Maita. We always avoid worlds that have high concentrations of
those elements. As big as the galaxy is there should be quite a few
of them. The traders' sensor probes would simply inform them the
world was off-limits due to absorbable poisons. They wouldn't even
check further. We can run the lists and find people for these to
contact. They can become a group of traders on their own. ]