The Fifth Civilization: A Novel (37 page)

Roan awoke to Kotaran voices and footsteps on the ground.
He’d been dreaming about Kotarans, so for a brief moment, the dream and reality
overlapped. When the rifle was shoved in his face, reality definitely won out.
There were three Kotarans standing over him, guns pointed in his direction.

“Up,” one of the Kotarans said, and Roan did as he was told,
getting on his feet and placing his hands in the air. Though he had many
apprehensions about marching with these folks, for some reason he didn’t
believe they’d harm him. Having just survived a fight with a raging psychopath,
he knew when to fear Kotarans and when not to.

Were it not for the grass trodden on the ground and the
footprints in the dirt, Roan might never have known there had been a stampede
here. A few yards into the pasture, the survivors of the
Colobus
and the natives were sitting on the grass being watched by
a group of Kotaran soldiers. The closer Roan got to his compatriots, the more
he heard the sounds of eating. His stomach was babbling by the time he marched
over to them, eager for the Kotaran meat sticks each person munched on.

“Nick!” David yelled, and stood and rushed to Roan. The hug
was enveloping, and it made Roan sore to be pressured in such a way. Yet he
patted the Nyden on the back and forced a smile.

“David, David. Glad to see you again.”
 
David let go and offered him a seat on
the ground. “You can have my ration. I don’t eat meat, you remember.”
 
David handed the package to Roan.
Muttering thanks, Roan sat in the dirt and tore into the meat stick. It was
salty and chewy, but Roan could go for anything right about now.

What was left of the crew looked tired. They were dirty and
unkempt and had hair mussed and clothes wrinkled from sweat.

“Hello, Nick,” Moira said. “Glad you’re still here.”
 
Sundar nodded in agreement. Duvurn was
licking his wrapper, and Roan noticed the Prince’s bodyguard was nowhere to be
found. Probably the guy had gotten killed. Chief and three of his warrior
friends were sitting together, conversing quietly. They kept their eyes on the
Kotarans.

“It’s good to be here,” Roan said. Despite the gift of food
imparted onto all those present, there was an air of uncertainty about their
current situation. They were together, in a field, surrounded by a dozen or so
enemy soldiers. The outlook for their future was grim.

“Anyone have any idea what time it is? In Tokyo, anyway?”

“What does it matter?” Moira asked.

“It’s sometime after midnight in Tokyo,” Sundar said,
casting a woeful glance at the midday sun, which was hovering a little away
from the center of the sky.

“Sounds about right,” Roan said. None of the Kotarans seemed
interested in their conversation. Must not have cared, or spoken English. As
long as the Kotarans weren’t interested in shooting them, that was fine with
Roan.

Some of the soldiers turned in the direction of their
crashed mothership, the tail end of which was sticking up in the air like a
silvery monolith. A figure in a white tunic, flanked by two Kotarans, was
making his way toward the gathering. A Kotaran soldier went to talk with the
figure. After a minute or two, the soldier stepped aside and the figure
approached the assembled non-Kotarans. He resembled Grinek, only taller and
less muscular, and he had a mane of black hair growing on his head. Out of all
the Kotarans in the galaxy, however, Roan knew that this one was the one he
wanted to see right now.

“I will try my best English,” said the figure in white. “My
name is Vorjos. I am…political man from Kotara.”
 
He forced a toothy smile, and judging by
the wrinkles was something he rarely did. His teeth were the color of caution
lights. “We do not want harm. Please, you guests here.”
 
Roan nodded, and smiled, and wondered if
they were all to become
permanent
guests.

“Are you in charge of the Kotaran ship?” Moira asked,
tilting her head to the man. “Thank you for the food and all, but we need to
see some doctors.”

“Yes, yes, all will be given to you,” Vorjos said. Then the
smile dropped. “As to your question: yes, I am the Commander now.”

“And Grinek?” Roan asked. He didn’t know if the Kotarans
knew he’d been the last one to see the good Commander alive. Or if they cared.
The question was more of a grasp at confirmation.

“Commander Grinek…went away. I mean,
passed
away. We found what remained of him a ways from here.”
 
So that, at least, was confirmed. There’d
be no more of that monster.

David raised his hand, as if he were in a school setting.
The fact almost made Roan laugh, if his question wasn’t so serious. He asked something
in Kotaran, which took Vorjos by surprise, and got a somewhat lengthy answer.
David nodded and then addressed the group after a minute. “I asked what they
planned to do with us. Observer Vorjos says we will be in the custody of the
Kotarans for the time being. After all, we are a month away from any friendly
post.”

“Ask him if we’re prisoners,” Roan said. David was about to
interpret, when Vorjos held out his hand.

“No need for that. No, you’re not prisoners, but you must
keep…
stay
with us. There are hostile
beings out there…” —he gestured to Chief— “…who might be
confused
. Is better, I think, that you
stay with Kotarans.”

“You realize you must let those men and women go,” David said,
pointing to the native warriors. “They have no ill will toward us. As you say,
they are confused. We don’t want to give them any reason to hate anyone from
offworld, Observer.”

Vorjos regarded the beings sitting on the grass, wearing
tattered clothes and eyeing the Kotarans with mistrust. Roan wondered why they
hadn’t attacked the Kotarans outright, why they’d suffered the ignobility of
surrender. Perhaps David had convinced them not to, or perhaps surrender wasn’t
shameful for their culture. So many questions, but no way to ask them. Vorjos
let go with a deep sigh, then turned back to David.

“The natives can go about their business. We have no use for
them.”

“Thank you,” David said. The warriors, though, still stood
around warily.

“I’m afraid they’ll have to find their own way home, though.
We won’t have the ship running for some time.”
 
Vorjos turned, creakily, and Roan
believed he was limping somewhat. An injury? Disease? The Observer motioned to
the ship. “Since you have all eaten something, you should all follow me onto
the
Hanyek
now. That’s our ship. I
think that’s the right thing to do, don’t you?”

David was the first to stand, all others wary this could be
a trap. Once David began walking, though, the others followed. Chief and the
natives were up and about now, conversing, and Roan assumed they’d be left
unharmed just as the Observer said. He was good to his word so far. The
Colobus
survivors were being marched to
the ship under guard, for instance, but the escorts kept their rifles slung
behind them.

“Let me ask you something, Observer,” David asked, catching
up with the Kotaran. “Why is your command style so different than Commander
Grinek’s?”

Vorjos didn’t turn, only continued forward to the vessel.
“We had disagreements. He was not the most, er,
easy
commander. Somewhat, ah,
rude
?
Is that the word?”

Roan nodded. This Vorjos was a master of understatement.

“Tell me, Observer,” David continued, “Do you know why we’ve
come to this planet?”

Vorjos stopped and turned, and the whole group stopped. This
was a question that Vorjos had been waiting to answer, Roan thought, or at
least it was of importance to him.

“Yes, I do, Nyden. Grinek believed this planet was the
origin of all life in universe. You knew this, of course. But he believed it to
the fullest, and was willing to do anything for that belief. I…not agree with
all his methods or his reasoning. But clearly, that man discovered something
important—even if it kill him in end.”

“
We
discovered
something important,” Roan said. “You people just followed.”

Vorjos grunted. “Correct, I suppose.”

David jumped in. “Do you believe it would be possible for me
to review the data you have on this planet, so I can compare it with my own
information? We can settle this question as soon as possible.”

“You may look at our scientific data, but only that. I am
interested in joint cooperation, you know. Grinek was not. He wanted whole
planet for himself. That not agreeable to galactic trends. Now listen. Though I
don’t know if this planet is the origin of all life, and I believe in the three
gods of Kotara, I too want to know more about the universe and its creation.
Perhaps with science and the truth, we can get closer to understanding how the
gods and science fit together.”

“I wish that too, Observer,” David said.

“In fact, we have the bodies of some of these natives on
this vessel. Would be useful for your studies.”
 
David opened his beak at this, shocked,
and said nothing for a while. Roan expected him to protest and ask for it to be
returned to the natives. Even though this was probably the right thing to do,
Roan hoped he would keep his mouth shut and just examine the damn bodies. Solve
these questions.

“They will be returned, of course, for proper native
burial,” Vorjos said. “Once we make exam.”

David was still not happy with this, but bowed slightly.
Perhaps he believed if he didn’t give verbal consent the morality of the
decision would go away. Vorjos gave a bow in return, and then turned around,
beginning once again his trek to the Kotaran vessel.

Roan looked over his shoulder, past the waddling Duvurn, to
see the four warriors were still conversing. Once in a while, one of them would
look in the direction of the Kotaran ship. Everything must be so strange to
them now. So incomprehensible. And yet, he was sure these beings had a capacity
for wonder. They must be overwhelmed by it now. Must be saying to themselves:
what else is out there that we never knew about?

There was a canyon some ways away from the downed
Hanyek
. When Roan happened upon it, the
view took his breath away. Several miles wide and many hundreds of meters deep,
the canyon was a dramatic break in the monotonous forested landscape. A wide
river on the canyon floor reflected the reds and purples of the twilight sky,
and in the distance, the tops of a few mountains still glowed with yellow
sunlight.

Roan found the canyon by chance, wandering away from the
Hanyek
after deciding nothing of
momentous importance was happening on the ship. Moira was helping the Kotaran
doctors treat some of their patients and explaining how their medical standards
were far below that of Earth. Sundar was secluded in his guest quarters,
praying. Duvurn was last seen heading in the direction of the mess hall, no
doubt to regain the calories he had lost while running. And David had stationed
himself in the medical bay, discussing Aaron’s Planet with the doctors there.
 

The Kotarans permitted Roan to wander around, though not
very far, and also told him to be back by nightfall or they would send out a
search party. He would not like it if it came to that, they’d said. Roan had
every intention of obliging.

Now that he’d found a good spot to relax and be alone, he
planted himself on the canyon edge and dangled his legs in the air. He yelled
his name across the vast expanse, listening to the repetition of the echo.

Then he yelled the name of Kel Streb across the canyon,
hearing the double echo of the name’s hard and soft consonants. She would’ve
liked the view, though she was never one for finding sunsets romantic. Always
found them more tragic than anything. By now the sky proposed black, and Roan
searched every corner of the sky, desperate to save the memory of this
beautiful sight. A little beauty was what he needed after a day like today.

Was any of this worth all the death they left in their wake?

Aaron, Kel…not to mention all the others who’d died on the
Colobus
. He saw Kel’s face, on the
Surface back in Tokyo, smiling and saying something. The exact words he
couldn’t make out, but they didn’t matter. When she was in his mind, Roan
didn’t feel alone. Didn’t feel like he had to wallow in whatever was eating his
insides. Bonding with friends and lovers—those are the experiences that
make you human.

Or whatever species you happen to be.

The sky had all but surrendered to darkness and Roan felt
the tears coming on. Another beautiful sight, gone. He buried his head in his
hands. A part of him that wanted the cliff to erode then and there and fling
him into the canyon.

“Nick Roan.”

He sniffed and saw the blue alien standing a few meters away.
In all likelihood he’d been there for a while. “Hi, David,” he said, sniffing
again. Roan knew there was no hiding his tears.

David took a seat on the cliff. “You were thinking of Miss
Streb, weren’t you, Nick?”

“You got me, David.”

“Sorry?”

“You’re correct.”

“Let me tell you something. I have also gone through a tough
loss. My parents died when I was much younger than you, when an earthquake
toppled their home. I was studying in another country at the time, and the dean
waited until I’d finished a presentation on mitosis to tell me. You can imagine
that, with all the love I lavished on these parents, I was very upset at their
deaths.”

“Of course.”

“I was despondent for days. My studying suffered. Friends
were concerned that I was not going to last beyond the normal mourning period.
But in the end, I was able to overcome the loss, and was back at university the
next week. Do you want to know how I did that? You may not have an idea.”

Roan was sure this was going to turn into another lecture
about God or whatever the Nydens believed in, and if it was an attempt at
conversion he was going to throw himself off the ledge and into the canyon.

“No, Nick, this is not going to be about my embrace of Nyden
ideals…I wasn’t even twenty, you realize, and a Nyden isn’t even supposed to
make a decision about his philosophies until he reaches that age. What got me
to accept my parent’s deaths was the realization that their deaths made my love
real. Of course, we accept all parents and lovers and friends as loved, but
when they are gone our love is magnified. This is a natural reaction to many
things, mentally and spiritually…we want things we don’t have.

“But this is far different than someone who has a better
model spaceship than yours. That is material, whereas love is something
spiritual. At least, that’s what I believe. And anything, including death, that
increases this love can turn into a benefit.”

“You’re saying it’s
good
our loved ones die?”

“No. Like you, I don’t want the pain. But perhaps if some
good can come out of the loss, out of something we can’t change, why try and
deny its effects?”

A part of Roan wasn’t sure whether he believed everything
David was saying, but he knew there was probably some truth in it somewhere. He
wanted to consider it more, so he directed his gaze to the canyon floor. In the
gathering darkness, the river looked jet black.

“At the very least, Nick, I can tell you that our trip has
not been in vain.”

“Oh? Did we discover the secret of life, David?”
 
Roan cast a sharp glance at David, who had
curled his beak into an approximate smile. But the Nyden didn’t answer, and
Roan quickly considered the implications of his question. “What? We did? David,
what have you found out?”

“I will tell you another story. This one is more recent. It
seems the Kotaran massacred a good number of natives. Terrible business, and I
have insisted that the bodies be returned to their tribes for burial. But in
the name of science, I did something perhaps a little unethical. I examined the
bodies, along with the Kotaran doctors, and compared the data from Aaron’s
research with the research the Kotarans carried out. They have much better
facilities for this kind of thing than any we would’ve had on the
Colobus
, and perhaps it is fortunate
that we came across them. If only we could have done without the
murders
, of course.”

“Yeah, David, what did you find?”

David was now looking off into the canyon, too. “You see, I
tested some DNA samples from the dead natives with some of the DNA information
stored in Aaron’s pad. Fortunately, the Kotaran computers are incredibly fast.
With the samples of human, Nyden, Bauxen, and Kotaran DNA already on the pad,
we are able to compare it easily with that of the other Four Civilizations.
There were remarkable similarities.

“The DNA base pairs that are found in these natives are
identical to those found in all our species. Ten of the twenty standard amino
acids that make up proteins are identical, also, just as Aaron and I discovered
among all four galactic species. So the genetic material, at least, indicates
that they are related to us.”

“But how old are they, as a species?” Roan asked. “They’re
so
primitive
. I mean, they can’t have
been the first ones to develop.”

“Actually, I don’t believe they were. Our preliminary
analysis does show that this planet’s inhabitants are the oldest of the five
known species. Not only does it make sense with the theory of the panspermia comet
originating from around here, but also, their DNA shares the most similarities
with Nydens, who previously had the record of earliest known civilization.”

“But you said they weren’t the first to develop.”

“I will get to that. Bear with me, Mr. Roan.”
 
He rubbed his beak with his feathers,
obviously reveling in these details, a detective unmasking the killer. “There
is something else in the genetic material that indicates a link. Now, life is
made up of six basic molecules: amino acids, phosphate, glycerol, sugars, fatty
acids, and nucleotides, correct?”

“Uh…sure.”

“It is. Phosphate, as you may know, is a highly valued
resource not only for organic but also inorganic material. Phosphate is needed
to construct and modify molecules, such as in DNA. In the material world, it
can also be mined to make phosphorous, which can be used to make weapons, or
lights, or even energy sources. Among the minerals valued by the Earth
colonies, in fact, it is the sixth most sought after.”

“What? So we have rocks in our bodies?”

“Everyone comes from inorganic material, Nick, if you
believe in what you call on Earth the Big Bang. Everything was just stardust at
some point, no? Or so we thought…” David laughed. “That is another story. I
will finish.

“So, phosphate. It turns out that these natives have more
phosphate inside them than any of the other alien species—or phosphorous,
I should say, which is the chemical present in phosphate. A human DNA strand,
for example, has a backbone of phosphorous and sugar. Now, in humans, Bauxens,
Nydens, and Kotarans, phosphorous accounts for point fourteen percent of our
chemical makeup. These natives, however, are made up of point sixteen percent
phosphorous.”

“And that means?”

“The moons, Nick. The moons. This planet has two—one
of them is closer, maybe a few million miles out, like Earth or Nydaya’s moon.
This planet’s second moon is farther out, yet still visible—in fact, we
should be able to see it soon. It is as large as the closer moon, but only
half
of what its total mass should be.
Some cataclysmic event sheared it in half, probably, but I will get to that
later.

“Anyway, it just so happens I was reviewing the information
about this planet in the Kotaran ship’s computers and their quick scans of the
system showed that the half-moon has large reserves of phosphate. Obviously, we
won’t know the precise breakdown of minerals until we reach the moon—but
the scans detected traces of water and carbon, the building blocks of life.

“Now, Nick, here is my theory. Life originated
on that moon
. Carbon was there, water
was there, and probably all the rest of the compounds needed to create life.
What that planet had was a lot of
phosphate
,
too, and when life originated on that planetoid, it was made up of a lot of
phosphorous. Who knows how long life there lasted—millions of years,
maybe only centuries, maybe just a few months—but it was on there, until
something was strong enough to shear it in half. And that force, which must’ve
been going at close to the speed of light, brought a good hunk of that moon
along with it.”

 
“That’s a lot of
speculation,” Roan said. He thought for a moment. “So you think whatever
destroyed that moon carried pieces of it across the galaxy? For millions of
years, this hunk of moon traveled the galaxy, becoming a comet, seeding life
from lunar bacteria? Is that what you’re telling me this panspermia is all
about?”

“Perhaps it wasn’t exactly a comet. But a traveling rock,
yes. Pieces of it broke off, collided with worlds, gave them this moon’s life.
Some of these chunks went into nothing. But at least five of them collided with
planets in the vast expanse of space—incredible, isn’t it?”

Roan sighed. “Seems like an awful coincidence.”

“Or something else.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. What could have caused
the moon’s destruction? The finger of God, maybe? An asteroid?”

“There’s no telling,” David said, shaking his head. “My own
theory was that it was a super particle, a remnant from the Big Bang, traveling
beyond the speed of light—but it could have been an extremely large body,
or some star burst. Many have theorized on this, you know. There
are
strong energies in the universe. We
won’t have any solid answers until we get to that moon. I assume the locals
have some fascinating legends that I desperately want to hear.”

David stood. He held out his talon, and Roan took it to
heave himself up. The stars were out now, and it was the most brilliant light
show he’d even seen. Aaron’s Planet didn’t have the orange and neon glow of the
urban sprawl of Earth. Even the underdeveloped colonies couldn’t compare. This
place was absolutely dark. Stars twinkled from a million different systems, and
far-flung galaxies were visible as faint splotches. Overhead, the Milky Way
spilled infinitely to the horizon.

“Where do you suppose Earth is?” Roan asked, his star
navigation training long faded from his memory.

“Over there, I’d say,” David said, pointing to a quadrant of
the sky over the rightmost mountain. “I’m unfamiliar with star charts in this
part of the galaxy, though.”

David pointed to a star in the sky, right above the horizon,
glowing red. “That’s Bauxa’s sun, if I’m not mistaken. And Nydaya is…well, my
planet might not be visible this time of year.”

“How about that,” Roan said, forcing a smile. “Looking up
the stars can make you feel pretty crowded sometimes, doesn’t it?”

“Yes it can,” David said, squawking. There was much more
that needed to be discussed, Roan thought, and there would be plenty of time to
do it in Kotaran custody. Theories on the origin of life, speculation about the
planet, recounting their two-month journey. What to do when they got back to
Earth. What they remembered about Aaron. About Kel.

Roan was going to say something of finality, but thought
against it. He let the moment speak for itself. David’s head shined gold, and
the two of them stepped back onto the craggy rocks, working their way from the
cliff back to the ship. Through the woods, the dim lights of the Kotaran
mothership beckoned them back for the night.

***

Two Mountains watched the two sit on the ledge, his eyes well
suited for darkness. David and
Nikrun
had been talking on that outcropping for a long while, and now were beginning
to move up the hill. The native watched while sitting on a log not too far from
the cliff, safely out of view. He preferred it that way, wanting to meditate
now instead of attracting attention.