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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a70cf77 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50969 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50969) diff --git a/old/50969-h.zip b/old/50969-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 561bc51..0000000 --- a/old/50969-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50969-h/50969-h.htm b/old/50969-h/50969-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 7d53665..0000000 --- a/old/50969-h/50969-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1736 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Big Ancestor, by F. 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Wallace. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Big Ancestor, by F. L. Wallace - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Big Ancestor - -Author: F. L. Wallace - -Release Date: January 19, 2016 [EBook #50969] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIG ANCESTOR *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="396" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1>BIG ANCESTOR</h1> - -<p>By F. L. WALLACE</p> - -<p>Illustrated by EMSH</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Galaxy Science Fiction November 1954.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>Man's family tree was awesome enough to give every galactic<br /> -race an inferiority complex—but then he tried to climb it!</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>In repose, Taphetta the Ribboneer resembled a fancy giant bow on a -package. His four flat legs looped out and in, the ends tucked under -his wide, thin body, which constituted the knot at the middle. His neck -was flat, too, arching out in another loop. Of all his features, only -his head had appreciable thickness and it was crowned with a dozen long -though narrower ribbons.</p> - -<p>Taphetta rattled the head fronds together in a surprisingly good -imitation of speech. "Yes, I've heard the legend."</p> - -<p>"It's more than a legend," said Sam Halden, biologist. The reaction was -not unexpected—non-humans tended to dismiss the data as convenient -speculation and nothing more. "There are at least a hundred kinds of -humans, each supposedly originating in strict seclusion on as many -widely scattered planets. Obviously there was no contact throughout the -ages before space travel—<i>and yet each planetary race can interbreed -with a minimum of ten others</i>! That's more than a legend—one hell of a -lot more!"</p> - -<p>"It is impressive," admitted Taphetta. "But I find it mildly -distasteful to consider mating with someone who does not belong to my -species."</p> - -<p>"That's because you're unique," said Halden. "Outside of your own -world, there's nothing like your species, except superficially, and -that's true of all other creatures, intelligent or not, with the sole -exception of mankind. Actually, the four of us here, though it's -accidental, very nearly represent the biological spectrum of human -development.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="600" height="298" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Emmer, a Neanderthal type and our archeologist, is around the -beginning of the scale. I'm from Earth, near the middle, though on -Emmer's side. Meredith, linguist, is on the other side of the middle. -And beyond her, toward the far end, is Kelburn, mathematician. There's -a corresponding span of fertility. Emmer just misses being able to -breed with my kind, but there's a fair chance that I'd be fertile with -Meredith and a similar though lesser chance that her fertility may -extend to Kelburn."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Taphetta rustled his speech ribbons quizzically. "But I thought it was -proved that some humans did originate on one planet, that there was an -unbroken line of evolution that could be traced back a billion years."</p> - -<p>"You're thinking of Earth," said Halden. "Humans require a certain kind -of planet. It's reasonable to assume that, if men were set down on a -hundred such worlds, they'd seem to fit in with native life-forms on a -few of them. That's what happened on Earth; when Man arrived, there was -actually a manlike creature there. Naturally our early evolutionists -stretched their theories to cover the facts they had.</p> - -<p>"But there are other worlds in which humans who were there before the -Stone Age aren't related to anything else there. We have to conclude -that Man didn't originate on any of the planets on which he is now -found. Instead, he evolved elsewhere and later was scattered throughout -this section of the Milky Way."</p> - -<p>"And so, to account for the unique race that can interbreed across -thousands of light-years, you've brought in the big ancestor," -commented Taphetta dryly. "It seems an unnecessary simplification."</p> - -<p>"Can you think of a better explanation?" asked Kelburn.</p> - -<p>"Something had to distribute one species so widely and it's not the -result of parallel evolution—not when a hundred human races are -involved, and <i>only</i> the human race."</p> - -<p>"I can't think of a better explanation." Taphetta rearranged his -ribbons. "Frankly, no one else is much interested in Man's theories -about himself."</p> - -<p>It was easy to understand the attitude. Man was the most numerous -though not always the most advanced—Ribboneers had a civilization as -high as anything in the known section of the Milky Way, and there were -others—and humans were more than a little feared. If they ever got -together—but they hadn't except in agreement as to their common origin.</p> - -<p>Still, Taphetta the Ribboneer was an experienced pilot and could be -very useful. A clear statement of their position was essential in -helping him make up his mind. "You've heard of the adjacency mating -principle?" asked Sam Halden.</p> - -<p>"Vaguely. Most people have if they've been around men."</p> - -<p>"We've got new data and are able to interpret it better. The theory is -that humans who can mate with each other were once physically close. -We've got a list of all our races arranged in sequence. If planetary -race F can mate with race E back to A and forward to M, and race G is -fertile only back to B, but forward to O, then we assume that whatever -their positions are now, at once time G was actually adjacent to F, but -was a little further along. When we project back into time those star -systems on which humans existed prior to space travel, we get a certain -pattern. Kelburn can explain it to you."</p> - -<p>The normally pink body of the Ribboneer flushed slightly. The color -change was almost imperceptible, but it was enough to indicate that he -was interested.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Kelburn went to the projector. "It would be easier if we knew all the -stars in the Milky Way, but though we've explored only a small portion -of it, we can reconstruct a fairly accurate representation of the past."</p> - -<p>He pressed the controls and stars twinkled on the screen. "We're -looking down on the plane of the Galaxy. This is one arm of it as it is -today and here are the human systems." He pressed another control and, -for purposes of identification, certain stars became more brilliant. -There was no pattern, merely a scattering of stars. "The whole Milky -Way is rotating. And while stars in a given region tend to remain -together, there's also a random motion. Here's what happens when we -calculate the positions of stars in the past."</p> - -<p>Flecks of light shifted and flowed across the screen. Kelburn stopped -the motion.</p> - -<p>"Two hundred thousand years ago," he said.</p> - -<p>There was a pattern of the identified stars. They were spaced at fairly -equal intervals along a regular curve, a horseshoe loop that didn't -close, though if the ends were extended, the lines would have crossed.</p> - -<p>Taphetta rustled. "The math is accurate?"</p> - -<p>"As accurate as it can be with a million-plus body problem."</p> - -<p>"And that's the hypothetical route of the unknown ancestor?"</p> - -<p>"To the best of our knowledge," said Kelburn. "And whereas there are -humans who are relatively near and not fertile, they can always mate -with those they were adjacent to <i>two hundred thousand years ago</i>!"</p> - -<p>"The adjacency mating principle. I've never seen it demonstrated," -murmured Taphetta, flexing his ribbons. "Is that the only era that -satisfies the calculations?"</p> - -<p>"Plus or minus a hundred thousand years, we can still get something -that might be the path of a spaceship attempting to cover a -representative section of territory," said Kelburn. "However, we have -other ways of dating it. On some worlds on which there are no other -mammals, we're able to place the first human fossils chronologically. -The evidence is sometimes contradictory, but we believe we've got the -time right."</p> - -<p>Taphetta waved a ribbon at the chart. "And you think that where the two -ends of the curve cross is your original home?"</p> - -<p>"We think so," said Kelburn. "We've narrowed it down to several cubic -light-years—then. Now it's far more. And, of course, if it were a -fast-moving star, it might be completely out of the field of our -exploration. But we're certain we've got a good chance of finding it -this trip."</p> - -<p>"It seems I must decide quickly." The Ribboneer glanced out the -visionport, where another ship hung motionless in space beside them. -"Do you mind if I ask other questions?"</p> - -<p>"Go ahead," Kelburn invited sardonically. "But if it's not math, you'd -better ask Halden. He's the leader of the expedition."</p> - -<p>Halden flushed; the sarcasm wasn't necessary. It was true that Kelburn -was the most advanced human type present, but while there were -differences, biological and in the scale of intelligence, it wasn't -as great as once was thought. Anyway, non-humans weren't trained in -the fine distinctions that men made among themselves. And, higher or -lower, he was as good a biologist as the other was a mathematician. And -there was the matter of training; he'd been on several expeditions and -this was Kelburn's first trip. Damn it, he thought, that rated some -respect.</p> - -<p>The Ribboneer shifted his attention. "Aside from the sudden illness of -your pilot, why did you ask for me?"</p> - -<p>"We didn't. The man became sick and required treatment we can't give -him. Luckily, a ship was passing and we hailed it because it's four -months to the nearest planet. They consented to take him back and told -us that there was a passenger on board who was an experienced pilot. We -have men who could do the job in a makeshift fashion, but the region -we're heading for, while mapped, is largely unknown. We'd prefer to -have an expert—and Ribboneers are famous for their navigational -ability."</p> - -<p>Taphetta crinkled politely at the reference to his skill. "I had other -plans, but I can't evade professional obligations, and an emergency -such as this should cancel out any previous agreements. Still, what are -the incentives?"</p> - -<p>Sam Halden coughed. "The usual, plus a little extra. We've copied the -Ribboneer's standard nature, simplifying it a little and adding a per -cent here and there for the crew pilot and scientist's share of the -profits from any discoveries we may make."</p> - -<p>"I'm complimented that you like our contract so well," said Taphetta, -"but I really must have our own unsimplified version. If you want me, -you'll take my contract. I came prepared." He extended a tightly bound -roll that he had kept somewhere on his person.</p> - -<p>They glanced at one another as Halden took it.</p> - -<p>"You can read it if you want," offered Taphetta. "But it will take -you all day—it's micro-printing. However, you needn't be afraid that -I'm defrauding you. It's honored everywhere we go and we go nearly -everywhere in this sector—places men have never been."</p> - -<p>There was no choice if they wanted him, and they did. Besides, the -integrity of Ribboneers was not to be questioned. Halden signed.</p> - -<p>"Good." Taphetta crinkled. "Send it to the ship; they'll forward it -for me. And you can tell the ship to go on without me." He rubbed his -ribbons together. "Now if you'll get me the charts, I'll examine the -region toward which we're heading."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Firmon of hydroponics slouched in, a tall man with scanty hair and -an equal lack of grace. He seemed to have difficulty in taking his -eyes off Meredith, though, since he was a notch or so above her in the -mating scale, he shouldn't have been so interested. But his planet had -been inexplicably slow in developing and he wasn't completely aware of -his place in the human hierarchy.</p> - -<p>Disdainfully, Meredith adjusted a skirt that, a few inches shorter, -wouldn't have been a skirt at all, revealing, while doing so, just how -long and beautiful a woman's legs could be. Her people had never given -much thought to physical modesty and, with legs like that, it was easy -to see why.</p> - -<p>Muttering something about primitive women, Firmon turned to the -biologist. "The pilot doesn't like our air."</p> - -<p>"Then change it to suit him. He's in charge of the ship and knows more -about these things than I do."</p> - -<p>"More than a man?" Firmon leered at Meredith and, when she failed -to smile, added plaintively, "I did try to change it, but he still -complains."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Halden took a deep breath. "Seems all right to me."</p> - -<p>"To everybody else, too, but the tapeworm hasn't got lungs. He breathes -through a million tubes scattered over his body."</p> - -<p>It would do no good to explain that Taphetta wasn't a worm, that his -evolution had taken a different course, but that he was in no sense -less complex than Man. It was a paradox that some biologically higher -humans hadn't developed as much as lower races and actually weren't -prepared for the multitude of life-forms they'd meet in space. Firmon's -reaction was quite typical.</p> - -<p>"If he asks for cleaner air, it's because his system needs it," said -Halden. "Do anything you can to give it to him."</p> - -<p>"Can't. This is as good as I can get it. Taphetta thought you could do -something about it."</p> - -<p>"Hydroponics is your job. There's nothing <i>I</i> can do." Halden paused -thoughtfully. "Is there something wrong with the plants?"</p> - -<p>"In a way, I guess, and yet not really."</p> - -<p>"What is it, some kind of toxic condition?"</p> - -<p>"The plants are healthy enough, but something's chewing them down as -fast as they grow."</p> - -<p>"Insects? There shouldn't be any, but if there are, we've got sprays. -Use them."</p> - -<p>"It's an animal," said Firmon. "We tried poison and got a few, but now -they won't touch the stuff. I had electronics rig up some traps. The -animals seem to know what they are and we've never caught one that -way."</p> - -<p>Halden glowered at the man. "How long has this been going on?"</p> - -<p>"About three months. It's not bad; we can keep up with them."</p> - -<p>It was probably nothing to become alarmed at, but an animal on the ship -was a nuisance, doubly so because of their pilot.</p> - -<p>"Tell me what you know about it," said Halden.</p> - -<p>"They're little things." Firmon held out his hands to show how small. -"I don't know how they got on, but once they did, there were plenty of -places to hide." He looked up defensively. "This is an old ship with -new equipment and they hide under the machinery. There's nothing we can -do except rebuild the ship from the hull inward."</p> - -<p>Firmon was right. The new equipment had been installed in any place -just to get it in and now there were inaccessible corners and crevices -everywhere that couldn't be closed off without rebuilding.</p> - -<p>They couldn't set up a continuous watch and shoot the animals down -because there weren't that many men to spare. Besides, the use of -weapons in hydroponics would cause more damage to the thing they were -trying to protect than to the pest. He'd have to devise other ways.</p> - -<p>Sam Halden got up. "I'll take a look and see what I can do."</p> - -<p>"I'll come along and help," said Meredith, untwining her legs and -leaning against him. "Your mistress ought to have some sort of -privileges."</p> - -<p>Halden started. So she <i>knew</i> that the crew was calling her that! -Perhaps it was intended to discourage Firmon, but he wished she hadn't -said it. It didn't help the situation at all.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Taphetta sat in a chair designed for humans. With a less flexible body, -he wouldn't have fitted. Maybe it wasn't sitting, but his flat legs -were folded neatly around the arms and his head rested comfortably on -the seat. The head ribbons, which were his hands and voice, were never -quite still.</p> - -<p>He looked from Halden to Emmer and back again. "The hydroponics tech -tells me you're contemplating an experiment. I don't like it."</p> - -<p>Halden shrugged. "We've got to have better air. It might work."</p> - -<p>"Pests on the ship? It's filthy! My people would never tolerate it!"</p> - -<p>"Neither do we."</p> - -<p>The Ribboneer's distaste subsided. "What kind of creatures are they?"</p> - -<p>"I have a description, though I've never seen one. It's a small -four-legged animal with two antennae at the lower base of its skull. A -typical pest."</p> - -<p>Taphetta rustled. "Have you found out how it got on?"</p> - -<p>"It was probably brought in with the supplies," said the biologist. -"Considering how far we've come, it may have been any one of a half -a dozen planets. Anyway, it hid, and since most of the places it had -access to were near the outer hull, it got an extra dose of hard -radiation, or it may have nested near the atomic engines; both are -possibilities. Either way, it mutated, became a different animal. It's -developed a tolerance for the poisons we spray on plants. Other things -it detects and avoids, even electronic traps."</p> - -<p>"Then you believe it changed mentally as well as physically, that it's -smarter?"</p> - -<p>"I'd say that, yes. It must be a fairly intelligent creature to be -so hard to get rid of. But it can be lured into traps, if the bait's -strong enough."</p> - -<p>"That's what I don't like," said Taphetta, curling. "Let me think it -over while I ask questions." He turned to Emmer. "I'm curious about -humans. Is there anything else you can tell me about the hypothetical -ancestor?"</p> - -<p>Emmer didn't look like the genius he was—a Neanderthal genius, but -nonetheless a real one. In his field, he rated very high. He raised a -stubble-flecked cheek from a large thick-fingered paw and ran shaggy -hands through shaggier hair.</p> - -<p>"I can speak with some authority," he rumbled. "I was born on a world -with the most extensive relics. As a child, I played in the ruins of -their camp."</p> - -<p>"I don't question your authority," crinkled Taphetta. "To me, all -humans—late or early and male or female—look remarkably alike. If you -are an archeologist, that's enough for me." He paused and flicked his -speech ribbons. "Camp, did you say?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Emmer smiled, unsheathing great teeth. "You've never seen any pictures? -Impressive, but just a camp, monolithic one-story structures, and -we'd give something to know what they're made of. Presumably my world -was one of the first they stopped at. They weren't used to roughing -it, so they built more elaborately than they did later on. One-story -structures and that's how we can guess at their size. The doorways were -forty feet high."</p> - -<p>"Very large," agreed Taphetta. It was difficult to tell whether he was -impressed. "What did you find in the ruins?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing," said Emmer. "There were buildings there and that was all, -not a scrap of writing or a tool or a single picture. They covered -a route estimated at thirty thousand light-years in less than five -thousand years—and not one of them died that we have a record of."</p> - -<p>"A faster-than-light drive and an extremely long life," mused Taphetta. -"But they didn't leave any information for their descendants. Why?"</p> - -<p>"Who knows? Their mental processes were certainly far different from -ours. They may have thought we'd be better off without it. We do know -they were looking for a special kind of planet, like Earth, because -they visited so many of that type, yet different from it because they -never stayed. They were pretty special people themselves, big and -long-lived, and maybe they couldn't survive on any planet they found. -Perhaps they had ways of determining there wasn't the kind of planet -they needed in the entire Milky Way. Their science was tremendously -advanced and when they learned that, they may have altered their germ -plasm and left us, hoping that some of us would survive. Most of us -did."</p> - -<p>"This special planet sounds strange," murmured Taphetta.</p> - -<p>"Not really," said Emmer. "Fifty human races reached space travel -independently and those who did were scattered equally among early and -late species. It's well known that individuals among my people are -often as bright as any of Halden's or Meredith's, but as a whole we -don't have the total capacity that later Man does, and yet we're as -advanced in civilization. The difference? It must lie somewhere in the -planets we live on and it's hard to say just what it is."</p> - -<p>"What happened to those who didn't develop space travel?" asked -Taphetta.</p> - -<p>"We helped them," said Emmer.</p> - -<p>And they had, no matter who or what they were, biologically late -or early, in the depths of the bronze age or the threshold of -atomic—because they were human. That was sometimes a frightening thing -for non-humans, that the race stuck together. They weren't actually -aggressive, but their total number was great and they held themselves -aloof. The unknown ancestor again. Who else had such an origin and, it -was tacitly assumed, such a destiny?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Taphetta changed his questioning. "What do you expect to gain from this -discovery of the unknown ancestor?"</p> - -<p>It was Halden who answered him. "There's the satisfaction of knowing -where we came from."</p> - -<p>"Of course," rustled the Ribboneer. "But a lot of money and equipment -was required for this expedition. I can't believe that the educational -institutions that are backing you did so purely out of intellectual -curiosity."</p> - -<p>"Cultural discoveries," rumbled Emmer. "How did our ancestors live? -When a creature is greatly reduced in size, as we are, more than -physiology is changed—the pattern of life itself is altered. Things -that were easy for them are impossible for us. Look at their life span."</p> - -<p>"No doubt," said Taphetta. "An archeologist would be interested in -cultural discoveries."</p> - -<p>"Two hundred thousand years ago, they had an extremely advanced -civilization," added Halden. "A faster-than-light drive, and we've -achieved that only within the last thousand years."</p> - -<p>"But I think we have a better one than they did," said the Ribboneer. -"There may be things we can learn from them in mechanics or physics, -but wouldn't you say they were better biologists than anything else?"</p> - -<p>Halden nodded. "Agreed. They couldn't find a suitable planet. So, -working directly with their germ plasm, they modified themselves and -produced us. They <i>were</i> master biologists."</p> - -<p>"I thought so," said Taphetta. "I never paid much attention to your -fantastic theories before I signed to pilot this ship, but you've built -up a convincing case." He raised his head, speech ribbons curling -fractionally and ceaselessly. "I don't like to, but we'll have to risk -using bait for your pest."</p> - -<p>He'd have done it anyway, but it was better to have the pilot's -consent. And there was one question Halden wanted to ask; it had been -bothering him vaguely. "What's the difference between the Ribboneer -contract and the one we offered you? Our terms are more liberal."</p> - -<p>"To the individual, they are, but it won't matter if you discover as -much as you think you will. The difference is this: <i>My</i> terms don't -permit you to withhold any discovery for the benefit of one race."</p> - -<p>Taphetta was wrong; there had been no intention of withholding -anything. Halden examined his own attitudes. <i>He</i> hadn't intended, but -could he say that was true of the institutions backing the expedition? -He couldn't, and it was too late now—whatever knowledge they acquired -would have to be shared.</p> - -<p>That was what Taphetta had been afraid of—there was one kind of -technical advancement that multiplied unceasingly. The race that could -improve itself through scientific control of its germ plasm had a start -that could never be headed. The Ribboneer needn't worry now.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Why do we have to watch it on the screen?" asked Meredith, glancing -up. "I'd rather be in hydroponics."</p> - -<p>Halden shrugged. "They may or may not be smarter than planetbound -animals, but they're warier. They don't come out when anyone's near."</p> - -<p>Lights dimmed in the distant hydroponic section and the screen with -it, until he adjusted the infra-red frequencies. He motioned to the -two crew members, each with his own peculiar screen, below which was a -miniature keyboard.</p> - -<p>"Ready?"</p> - -<p>When they nodded, Halden said: "Do as you've rehearsed. Keep noise at -a minimum, but when you do use it, be vague. Don't try to imitate them -exactly."</p> - -<p>At first, nothing happened on the big screen, and then a gray shape -crept out. It slid through leaves, listened intently before coming -forward. It jumped off one hydroponic section and fled across the open -floor to the next. It paused, eyes glittering and antennae twitching.</p> - -<p>Looking around once, it leaped up, seizing the ledge and clawing up the -side of the tank. Standing on top and rising to its haunches, it began -nibbling what it could reach.</p> - -<p>Suddenly it whirled. Behind it and hitherto unnoticed was another -shape, like it but larger. The newcomer inched forward. The small one -retreated, skittering nervously. Without warning, the big one leaped -and the small one tried to flee. In a few jumps, the big one caught up -and mauled the other unmercifully.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="600" height="488" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>It continued to bite even after the little one lay still. At last it -backed off and waited, watching for signs of motion. There was none. -Then it turned to the plant. When it had chewed off everything within -reach, it climbed into the branches.</p> - -<p>The little one twitched, moved a leg, and cautiously began dragging -itself away. It rolled off the raised section and surprisingly made no -noise as it fell. It seemed to revive, shaking itself and scurrying -away, still within range of the screen.</p> - -<p>Against the wall was a small platform. The little one climbed on top -and there found something that seemed to interest it. It sniffed -around and reached and felt the discovery. Wounds were forgotten as -it snatched up the object and frisked back to the scene of its recent -defeat.</p> - -<p>This time it had no trouble with the raised section. It leaped and -landed on top and made considerable noise in doing so. The big animal -heard and twisted around. It saw and clambered down hastily, jumping -the last few feet. Squealing, it hit the floor and charged.</p> - -<p>The small one stood still till the last instant—and then a paw -flickered out and an inch-long knife blade plunged into the throat of -the charging creature. Red spurted out as the bigger beast screamed. -The knife flashed in and out until the big animal collapsed and stopped -moving.</p> - -<p>The small creature removed the knife and wiped it on the pelt of its -foe. Then it scampered back to the platform on which the knife had been -found—<i>and laid it down</i>.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At Halden's signal, the lights flared up and the screen became too -bright for anything to be visible.</p> - -<p>"Go in and get them," said Halden. "We don't want the pests to find out -that the bodies aren't flesh."</p> - -<p>"It was realistic enough," said Meredith as the crewmen shut off their -machines and went out. "Do you think it will work?"</p> - -<p>"It might. We had an audience."</p> - -<p>"Did we? I didn't notice." Meredith leaned back. "Were the puppets -exactly like the pests? And if not, will the pests be fooled?"</p> - -<p>"The electronic puppets were a good imitation, but the animals don't -have to identify them as their species. If they're smart enough, -they'll know the value of a knife, no matter who uses it."</p> - -<p>"What if they're smarter? Suppose they know a knife can't be used by a -creature without real hands?"</p> - -<p>"That's part of our precautions. They'll never know until they try—and -they'll never get away from the trap to try."</p> - -<p>"Very good. I never thought of that," said Meredith, coming closer. "I -like the way your primitive mind works. At times I actually think of -marrying you."</p> - -<p>"Primitive," he said, alternately frozen and thawed, though he knew -that, in relation to her, he was <i>not</i> advanced.</p> - -<p>"It's almost a curse, isn't it?" She laughed and took the curse away by -leaning provocatively against him. "But barbaric lovers are often nice."</p> - -<p>Here we go again, he thought drearily, sliding his arm around her. To -her, I'm merely a passionate savage.</p> - -<p>They went to his cabin.</p> - -<p>She sat down, smiling. Was she pretty? Maybe. For her own race, she -wasn't tall, only by Terran standards. Her legs were disproportionately -long and well shaped and her face was somewhat bland and featureless, -except for a thin, straight, short nose. It was her eyes that made -the difference, he decided. A notch or two up the scale of visual -development, her eyes were larger and she could see an extra color on -the violet end of the spectrum.</p> - -<p>She settled back and looked at him. "It might be fun living with you on -primeval Earth."</p> - -<p>He said nothing; she knew as well as he that Earth was as advanced as -her own world. She had something else in mind.</p> - -<p>"I don't think I will, though. We might have children."</p> - -<p>"Would it be wrong?" he asked. "I'm as intelligent as you. We wouldn't -have subhuman monsters."</p> - -<p>"It would be a step up—for you." Under her calm, there was tension. -It had been there as long as he'd known her, but it was closer to the -surface now. "Do I have the right to condemn the unborn? Should I make -them start lower than I am?"</p> - -<p>The conflict was not new nor confined to them. In one form or another, -it governed personal relations between races that were united against -non-humans, but held sharp distinctions themselves.</p> - -<p>"I haven't asked you to marry me," he said bluntly.</p> - -<p>"Because you're afraid I'd refuse."</p> - -<p>It was true; no one asked a member of a higher race to enter a -permanent union.</p> - -<p>"Why did you ever have anything to do with me?" demanded Halden.</p> - -<p>"Love," she said gloomily. "Physical attraction. But I can't let it -lead me astray."</p> - -<p>"Why not make a play for Kelburn? If you're going to be scientific -about it, he'd give you children of the higher type."</p> - -<p>"Kelburn." It didn't sound like a name, the way she said it. "I don't -like him and he wouldn't marry me."</p> - -<p>"He wouldn't, but he'd give you children if you were humble enough. -There's a fifty per cent chance you might conceive."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She provocatively arched her back. Not even the women of Kelburn's race -had a body like hers and she knew it.</p> - -<p>"Racially, there should be a chance," she said. "Actually, Kelburn and -I would be infertile."</p> - -<p>"Can you be sure?" he asked, knowing it was a poor attempt to act -unconcerned.</p> - -<p>"How can anyone be sure on a theoretical basis?" she asked, an oblique -smile narrowing her eyes. "I know we can't."</p> - -<p>His face felt anesthetized. "Did you have to tell me that?"</p> - -<p>She got up and came to him. She nuzzled against him and his reaction -was purely reflexive. His hand swung out and he could feel the flesh -give when his knuckles struck it.</p> - -<p>She fell back and dazedly covered her face with her hand. When she took -it away, blood spurted. She groped toward the mirror and stood in front -of it. She wiped the blood off, examining her features carefully.</p> - -<p>"You've broken my nose," she said factually. "I'll have to stop the -blood and pain."</p> - -<p>She pushed her nose back into place and waggled it to make sure. She -closed her eyes and stood silent and motionless. Then she stepped back -and looked at herself critically.</p> - -<p>"It's set and partially knitted. I'll concentrate tonight and have it -healed by morning."</p> - -<p>She felt in the cabinet and attached an invisible strip firmly across -the bridge. Then she came over to him.</p> - -<p>"I wondered what you'd do. You didn't disappoint me."</p> - -<p>He scowled miserably at her. Her face was almost plain and the bandage, -invisible or not, didn't improve her appearance any. How could he still -feel that attraction to her?</p> - -<p>"Try Emmer," he suggested tiredly. "He'll find you irresistible, and -he's even more savage than I am."</p> - -<p>"Is he?" She smiled enigmatically. "Maybe, in a biological sense. Too -much, though. You're just right."</p> - -<p>He sat down on the bed. Again there was only one way of knowing what -Emmer would do—and she knew. She had no concept of love outside of -the physical, to make use of her body so as to gain an advantage—what -advantage?—for the children she intended to have. Outside of that, -nothing mattered, and for the sake of alloying the lower with the -higher, she was as cruel to herself as she was to him. And yet he -wanted her.</p> - -<p>"I do think I love you," she said. "And if love's enough, I may marry -you in spite of everything. But you'll have to watch out whose children -I have." She wriggled into his arms.</p> - -<p>The racial disparity was great and she had provoked him, but it was not -completely her fault. Besides....</p> - -<p>Besides what? She had a beautiful body that could bear superior -children—and they might be his.</p> - -<p>He twisted away. With those thoughts, he was as bad as she was. Were -they all that way, every one of them, crawling upward out of the slime -toward the highest goal they could conceive of? Climbing over—no, -<i>through</i>—everybody they could coerce, seduce or marry—onward and -upward. He raised his hand, but it was against himself that his anger -was turned.</p> - -<p>"Careful of the nose," she said, pressing against him. "You've already -broken it once."</p> - -<p>He kissed her with sudden passion that even he knew was primitive.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There were no immediate results from the puppet performance and so -it was repeated at intervals. After the third time, Firmon reported, -coming in as Halden pored over the meager biological data he'd gathered -on the unknown ancestor. Wild guesses mostly, not one real fact in all -the statistics. After two hundred thousand years, there wasn't much -left to work with.</p> - -<p>Firmon slouched down. "It worked," he said. "Got three a few hours ago."</p> - -<p>Halden looked at him; he had hoped it wouldn't work. There was -satisfaction in being right, but he would rather face something less -intelligent. Wariness was one thing, the shyness and slyness of an -unseen animal, but intelligence was more difficult to predict.</p> - -<p>"Where are they?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Did you want them?" Firmon seemed surprised at the idea.</p> - -<p>Halden sighed; it was his own fault. Firmon had a potentially good -mind, but he hadn't been trained to use it and that counted for more -than people thought. "Any animal smart enough to appreciate the value -of a knife is worth study on that account. That goes double when it's a -pest."</p> - -<p>"I'll change the cremation setting," said Firmon. "Next time, we'll -just stun them."</p> - -<p>The trap setting was changed and several animals were taken. -Physically, they were very much as Halden had described them to -Taphetta, small four-legged creatures with fleshy antennae. Dissection -revealed a fairly large brain capacity, while behavior tests indicated -an intelligence somewhat below what he had assumed. Still, it was more -than he wanted a pest to have, especially since it also had hands.</p> - -<p>The biological mechanism of the hands was simple. It walked on the back -of the front paws, on the fingers of which were fleshy pads. When it -sat upright, as it often did, the flexibility of the wrists permitted -the forepaws to be used as hands. Clumsy, but because it had a thumb, -it could handle such tools as a knife.</p> - -<p>He had made an error there. He had guessed the intelligence, but he -hadn't known it could use the weapon he had put within reach. A tiny -thing with an inch-long knife was not much more dangerous than the -animal alone, but he didn't like the idea of it loose on the ship.</p> - -<p>The metal knife would have to be replaced with something else. -Technicians could compound a plastic that would take a keen edge for a -while and deteriorate to a soft mass in a matter of weeks. Meanwhile, -he had actually given the animal a dangerous weapon—the concept -of a tool. There was only one way to take that away from them, by -extermination. But that would have to wait.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, the creature had a short life and a shorter breeding -period. The actual replacement rate was almost negligible. In attaining -intelligence, it had been short-changed in fertility and, as a -consequence, only in the specialized environment of this particular -ship was it any menace at all.</p> - -<p>They were lucky; a slightly higher fertility and the thing could -threaten their existence. As it was, the ship would have to be -deverminized before it could land on an inhabited planet.</p> - -<p>Halden took the data to the Ribboneer pilot and, after some discussion, -it was agreed that the plastic knife should supplant the metal one. It -was also decided to allow a few to escape with the weapon; there had -to be some incentive if the creature was to visit the trap more than a -few times. Besides, with weapons there was always the chance of warfare -between different groups. They might even exterminate each other.</p> - -<p>Gradually, over a period of weeks, the damage to hydroponics subsided; -the pests were under control. There was nothing to worry about unless -they mutated again, which was unlikely.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Kelburn scowled at the pilot. "Where are we now?" he challenged, his -face creased with suspicion.</p> - -<p>"You have access to all the instruments, so you should know," said -Taphetta. He was crouching and seemed about to spring, but he was -merely breathing relaxedly through a million air tubes.</p> - -<p>"I do know. My calculations show one star as the most probable. We -should have reached it two days ago—and we're nowhere near it."</p> - -<p>"True," admitted Taphetta. "We're heading toward what you would -consider the fifth or sixth most likely star."</p> - -<p>Kelburn caught the implication. They all did. "Then you know where it -is?" he asked, suspicion vanishing.</p> - -<p>"Not in the sense you're asking—no, I'm not sure it's what you're -looking for. But there was once a great civilization there."</p> - -<p>"You knew this and didn't tell us?"</p> - -<p>"Why should I?" Taphetta looked at him in mild astonishment. -"Before you hired me, I wouldn't tell you for obvious reasons. And -afterward—well, you engaged all my skill and knowledge and I used them -to bring you here by the shortest route. I didn't think it necessary to -tell you until we actually arrived. Is that wrong?"</p> - -<p>It wasn't wrong; it merely illustrated the difference in the way an -alien mind worked. Sooner or later, they would have found the place, -but he had saved them months.</p> - -<p>"What's it like?" Emmer asked.</p> - -<p>Taphetta jiggled his ribbons. "I don't know. I was passing near here -and saw the planet off to one side."</p> - -<p>"And you didn't stop?" Emmer was incredulous.</p> - -<p>"Why should I? We're great navigators because we do so much of it. We -would never get very far if we stopped to examine everything that -looks interesting. Besides, it's not a good policy in a strange region, -especially with an unarmed ship."</p> - -<p>They wouldn't have that problem. The ship was armed well enough to keep -off uncivilized marauders who had very recently reached the spaceship -age, and only such people were apt to be inhospitable.</p> - -<p>"When will we land?" asked Halden.</p> - -<p>"In a few hours, but you can see the planet on our screens." Taphetta -extended a head ribbon toward a knob and a planet came into view.</p> - -<p>There weren't two civilizations in the Milky Way that built on such -a large scale, even from the distance that they could see it. Great, -distinctive cities were everywhere. There was no question as to what -they had found.</p> - -<p>"Now you'll learn why they ran away," said Taphetta.</p> - -<p>"A new theory," Kelburn said, though it wasn't, for they <i>had</i> left. -"What makes you think they were afraid?"</p> - -<p>"No air. If your calculations are right, there must have been an -extensive atmosphere a few hundred thousand years ago and now there -isn't any. A planet this size doesn't lose air that fast. Therefore, -it's an artificial condition. Who takes the trouble to leave a planet -uninhabitable except someone who's afraid others will use it—and who -else runs away?"</p> - -<p>"They may have done it to preserve what they left," suggested Halden.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps," said Taphetta, but it was obvious he didn't think so.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The lack of air had one thing to recommend it—they needn't worry -about their pests escaping. The disadvantage was that they had to wear -spacesuits. They landed on top of a great building that was intact -after thousands of years and still strong enough to support the added -weight. And then—</p> - -<p>Then there was nothing.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="363" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Buildings, an enormous number and variety of them, huge, not one of -them less than five stories high, all with ramps instead of stairs. -This was to be expected, considering the great size of the people who -had lived there, and it followed the familiar pattern.</p> - -<p>But there was nothing in those buildings! On this airless world, there -was no decay, no rust or corrosion—<i>and nothing to decay or corrode</i>. -No pictures, tools, nothing that resembled sculpture, and while there -were places where machines had stood, none were there now. Here and -there in inaccessible locations were featureless blobs of metal. The -implication was clear: Where they hadn't been able to remove a -machine, they had melted in down on the spot.</p> - -<p>The thoroughness was bewildering. It wasn't done by some enemy; he -would have stood off and razed the cities. But there was no rubble and -the buildings were empty. The inhabitants themselves had removed all -that was worth taking along.</p> - -<p>A whole people had packed and moved away, leaving behind only massive, -echoing structures.</p> - -<p>There was plenty to learn, but nothing to learn it from. Buildings can -indicate only so much and then there must be something else—at least -some of the complex artifacts of a civilization—and there was none. -Outside the cities, on the plains, there were the remains of plants -and animals that indicated by their condition that airlessness had -come suddenly. Sam Halden, the biologist, had examined them, but he -discovered no clues. The unknown ancestor was still a mystery.</p> - -<p>And the others—Emmer, the archeologist, and Meredith, the -linguist—had nothing to work on, though they searched. It was Kelburn -who found the first hint. Having no specific task, now that the planet -was located, he wandered around in a scout ship. On the other side -of the planet, he signaled that there was a machine and that it was -intact!</p> - -<p>The crew was hurriedly recalled, the equipment brought back into the -ship, and they took off for the plain where Kelburn waited.</p> - -<p>And there was the machine, immense, like everything on the planet. It -stood alone, tapering toward the sky. At the base was a door, which, -when open, was big enough to permit a spaceship to enter easily—only -it was closed.</p> - -<p>Kelburn stood beside the towering entrance, a tiny figure in a -spacesuit. He gazed up at it as the three came near. "All we have to do -is open it," he said.</p> - -<p>"How?" asked Meredith. She seemed to have forgotten that she disliked -him. He had made a chance discovery because he had nothing to do while -the others were busy, but she regarded it as further proof of his -superiority.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was hard to watch the happiness that her face directed toward -Kelburn. Halden turned away.</p> - -<p>"Just press the button," he said.</p> - -<p>Emmer noticed his expression. "It's such a big button," he objected. -"It's going to be hard to know when we find it."</p> - -<p>"There's an inscription of some sort," said Kelburn loftily. "This -thing was left for a purpose. Somewhere there must be operating -instructions."</p> - -<p>"From here, it looks like a complex wave-form," a voice crinkled in -their radio—Taphetta from the spaceship. "All we have to do is to find -the right base in the electromagnetic spectrum and duplicate it on a -beam broadcast and the door should open. You're too close to see it as -clearly as I can."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Perhaps they were too close to the big ancestor, decided Halden moodily -as they went back. It had overshadowed much of their thinking, and who -really knew what the ancestor was like and what had motivated him?</p> - -<p>But the Ribboneer was right about the signal, though it took several -days to locate it. And then the huge door swung open and air whistled -out.</p> - -<p>Inside was another disappointment, a bare hall with a ramp leading -upward, closed off at the ceiling. They could have forced through, but -they had no desire to risk using a torch to penetrate the barrier—in -view of the number of precautions they'd already encountered, it was -logical to assume that there were more waiting for them.</p> - -<p>It was Emmer who found the solution. "In appearance, it resembles a -spaceship. Let's assume it is, minus engines. It was never intended to -fly. Listen.</p> - -<p>"There's no air, so you can't hear," said Emmer impatiently. "But you -could if there were air. Put your hands against the wall."</p> - -<p>A distinct vibration ran through the whole structure. It hadn't been -there before the door opened. Some mechanism had been triggered. The -rumbling went on, came to a stop, and began again. Was it some kind of -communication?</p> - -<p>Hastily rigged machines were hauled inside the chamber to generate -an air supply so that sounds would be produced for the recorders. -Translating equipment was set up and focused and, after some -experimentation with signals, the door was slowly closed. No one -remained inside; there was no guarantee that it would be as easy to get -out as it had been to get in.</p> - -<p>They waited a day and a half while the sounds were being recorded. -The delay seemed endless. The happiest of the crew was Kelburn. -Biologically the highest human on the expedition, he was stimulated. -He wandered aimlessly and smiled affably, patting Meredith, when he -came to her, in the friendliest fashion. Startled, she smiled back and -looked around wanly. Halden was behind her.</p> - -<p>If I had not been there, thought Halden—and thereafter made it a -point to be there.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Meredith was excited, but not precisely happy. The work was out of her -hands until the translating equipment was retrieved. As the second -highest biological type, she, too, was affected, until she pointedly -went to her room and locked it from the inside.</p> - -<p>Halden kept himself awake with anti-fatigue pills, in part because -Meredith could change her mind about Kelburn, and because of that -locked door.</p> - -<p>Emmer tried to be phlegmatic and seemed to succeed. Taphetta alone -was unconcerned; to him, it was an interesting and perhaps profitable -discovery, but important only because of that. He would not be changed -at all by whatever he learned.</p> - -<p>Hours crawled by and at last the door opened; the air came rushing -out again. The translating equipment was brought back to the ship and -Meredith was left alone with it.</p> - -<p>It was half a day before she admitted the others to the laboratory.</p> - -<p>"The machine is still working," she said. "There seems to have been -some attempt to make the message hard to decode. But the methods they -used were exactly the clues that the machine needed to decipher it. -My function as a linguist was to help out with the interpretation of -key words and phrases. I haven't got even a little part of the message. -You'll know what it is as soon as I do. After the first part, the -translator didn't seem to have much trouble."</p> - -<p>They sat down facing it—Taphetta, Kelburn, Meredith, Halden and -Emmer. Meredith was midway between Kelburn and himself. Was there any -significance in that, wondered Halden, or was he reading more in her -behavior than was actually there?</p> - -<p>"The translation is complete," announced the machine.</p> - -<p>"Go ahead," Meredith ordered.</p> - -<p>"The words will be speeded up to human tempo," said the translator. -"Insofar as possible, speech mannerisms of the original will be -imitated. Please remember that it is only an imitation, however."</p> - -<p>The translator coughed, stuttered and began. "We have purposely made -access to our records difficult. If you can translate this message, -you'll find, at the end, instructions for reaching the rest of our -culture relics. As an advanced race, you're welcome to them. We've -provided a surprise for anyone else.</p> - -<p>"For ourselves, there's nothing left but an orderly retreat to a place -where we can expect to live in peace. That means leaving this Galaxy, -but because of our life span, we're capable of it and we won't be -followed."</p> - -<p>Taphetta crinkled his ribbons in amusement. Kelburn frowned at the -interruption, but no one else paid any attention.</p> - -<p>The translator went on. "Our metabolic rate is the lowest of any -creature we know of. We live several thousand revolutions of any -recorded planet and our rate of increase is extremely low; under the -most favorable circumstances, we can do no more than double our numbers -in two hundred generations."</p> - -<p>"This doesn't sound as if they were masters of biological science," -rustled Taphetta.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Halden stirred uneasily. It wasn't turning out at all the way he had -expected.</p> - -<p>"At the time we left," the message continued, "we found no other -intelligent race, though there were some capable of further evolution. -Perhaps our scout ships long ago met your ancestors on some remote -planet. We were never very numerous, and because we move and multiply -so slowly, we are in danger of being swept out of existence in the -foreseeable future. We prefer to leave while we can. The reason we -must go developed on our own planet, deep beneath the cities, in the -underworks, which we had ceased to inspect because there was no need -to. This part was built to last a million generations, which is long -even for us."</p> - -<p>Emmer sat upright, annoyed at himself. "Of course! There are always -sewers and I didn't think of looking there!"</p> - -<p>"In the last several generations, we sent out four expeditions, -leisurely trips because we then thought we had time to explore -thoroughly. With this planet as base of operations, the successive -expeditions fanned out in four directions, to cover the most -representative territory."</p> - -<p>Kelburn stiffened, mingled pride and chagrin on his face. His math -had been correct, as far as he had figured it. But had there been any -reason to assume that they would confine their exploration to one -direction? No, they would want to cover the whole Milky Way.</p> - -<p>Taphetta paled. Four times as many humans to contend with! He hadn't -met the other three-fourths yet—and, for him, it wasn't at all a -pleasant thought.</p> - -<p>"After long preparation, we sent several ships to settle one of the -nearer planets that we'd selected on the first expedition. To our -dismay, we found that the plague was there—though it hadn't been on -our first visit!"</p> - -<p>Halden frowned. They were proving themselves less and less expert -biologists. And this plague—there had to be a reason to leave, and -sickness was as good as any—but unless he was mistaken, plague wasn't -used in the strict semantic sense. It might be the fault of the -translation.</p> - -<p>"The colonists refused to settle; they came back at once and reported. -We sent out our fastest ships, heavily armed. We didn't have the time -to retrace our path completely, for we'd stopped at innumerable places. -What we did was to check a few planets, the outward and return parts -of all four voyages. In every place, the plague was there, too, and we -knew that we were responsible.</p> - -<p>"We did what we could. Exhausting our nuclear armament, we obliterated -the nearest planets on each of the four spans of our journeys."</p> - -<p>"I <i>wondered</i> why the route came to an end," crinkled Taphetta, but -there was no comment, no answer.</p> - -<p>"We reconstructed what had happened. For a long time, the plague had -lived in our sewers, subsisting on wastes. At night, because they are -tiny and move exceedingly fast, they were able to make their way into -our ships and were aboard on every journey. We knew they were there, -but because they were so small, it was difficult to dislodge them from -their nesting places. And so we tolerated their existence."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"They weren't so smart," said Taphetta. "We figured out that angle long -ago. True, our ship is an exception, but we haven't landed anywhere, -and won't until we deverminize it."</p> - -<p>"We didn't guess that next to the hull in outer space and consequently -exposed to hard radiation," the message went on, "those tiny creatures -would mutate dangerously and escape to populate the planets we landed -on. They had always been loathsome little beasts that walked instead of -rolling or creeping, but now they became even more vicious, spawning -explosively and fighting with the same incessant violence. They had -always harbored diseases which spread to us, but now they've become -hot-houses for still smaller parasites that also are able to infect us. -Finally, we are now allergic to them, and when they are within miles of -us, it is agony to roll or creep."</p> - -<p>Taphetta looked around. "Who would have thought it? You were completely -mistaken as to your origin." Kelburn was staring vacantly ahead, but -didn't see a thing. Meredith was leaning against Halden; her eyes were -closed. "The woman has finally chosen, now that she knows she was once -vermin," clicked the Ribboneer. "But there are tears in her eyes."</p> - -<p>"The intelligence of the beast has advanced slightly, though there -isn't much difference between the highest and the lowest—and we've -checked both ends of all four journeys. But before, it was relatively -calm and orderly. Now it is malignantly insane."</p> - -<p>Taphetta rattled his ribbons. "Turn it off. You don't have to listen -to this. We all are of some origin or other and it wasn't necessarily -pretty. This being was a slug of some kind—and are you now what it -describes? Perhaps mentally a little, out of pride, but the pride was -false."</p> - -<p>"We can't demolish all the planets we unthinkingly let it loose on; -there are too many and it lives too fast. The stars drift and we -would lose some, and before we could eliminate the last one, it would -develop space travel—it has little intelligence, but it could get that -far—and it would escape ahead of us. We know an impossible task when -we see it. And so we're leaving, first making sure that this animal -will never make use of the products of our civilization. It may reach -this planet, but it will not be able to untangle our code—it's too -stupid. You who will have to face it, please forgive us. It's the only -thing that we're ashamed of."</p> - -<p>"Don't listen," said the Ribboneer and, bending his broad, thin body, -he sprang to the translator, shook it and banged with his ribbons until -the machine was silent. "You don't have to tell anyone," crackled -Taphetta. "Don't worry about me—I won't repeat it." He looked around -at the faces. "But I can see that you will report to everyone exactly -what you found. That pride you've developed—you'll need it."</p> - -<p>Taphetta sat on top of the machine, looking like nothing so much as a -huge fancy bow on a gift-wrapped package.</p> - -<p>They noted the resemblance vaguely. But each of them knew that, as a -member of the most numerous race in the Milky Way, no longer feared -for their mysterious qualities—despised, instead—wherever they went, -there would never be any gifts for them—for any man.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Big Ancestor, by F. L. 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L. Wallace - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Big Ancestor - -Author: F. L. Wallace - -Release Date: January 19, 2016 [EBook #50969] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIG ANCESTOR *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - BIG ANCESTOR - - By F. L. WALLACE - - Illustrated by EMSH - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Galaxy Science Fiction November 1954. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - Man's family tree was awesome enough to give every galactic - race an inferiority complex--but then he tried to climb it! - - -In repose, Taphetta the Ribboneer resembled a fancy giant bow on a -package. His four flat legs looped out and in, the ends tucked under -his wide, thin body, which constituted the knot at the middle. His neck -was flat, too, arching out in another loop. Of all his features, only -his head had appreciable thickness and it was crowned with a dozen long -though narrower ribbons. - -Taphetta rattled the head fronds together in a surprisingly good -imitation of speech. "Yes, I've heard the legend." - -"It's more than a legend," said Sam Halden, biologist. The reaction was -not unexpected--non-humans tended to dismiss the data as convenient -speculation and nothing more. "There are at least a hundred kinds of -humans, each supposedly originating in strict seclusion on as many -widely scattered planets. Obviously there was no contact throughout the -ages before space travel--_and yet each planetary race can interbreed -with a minimum of ten others_! That's more than a legend--one hell of a -lot more!" - -"It is impressive," admitted Taphetta. "But I find it mildly -distasteful to consider mating with someone who does not belong to my -species." - -"That's because you're unique," said Halden. "Outside of your own -world, there's nothing like your species, except superficially, and -that's true of all other creatures, intelligent or not, with the sole -exception of mankind. Actually, the four of us here, though it's -accidental, very nearly represent the biological spectrum of human -development. - -"Emmer, a Neanderthal type and our archeologist, is around the -beginning of the scale. I'm from Earth, near the middle, though on -Emmer's side. Meredith, linguist, is on the other side of the middle. -And beyond her, toward the far end, is Kelburn, mathematician. There's -a corresponding span of fertility. Emmer just misses being able to -breed with my kind, but there's a fair chance that I'd be fertile with -Meredith and a similar though lesser chance that her fertility may -extend to Kelburn." - - * * * * * - -Taphetta rustled his speech ribbons quizzically. "But I thought it was -proved that some humans did originate on one planet, that there was an -unbroken line of evolution that could be traced back a billion years." - -"You're thinking of Earth," said Halden. "Humans require a certain kind -of planet. It's reasonable to assume that, if men were set down on a -hundred such worlds, they'd seem to fit in with native life-forms on a -few of them. That's what happened on Earth; when Man arrived, there was -actually a manlike creature there. Naturally our early evolutionists -stretched their theories to cover the facts they had. - -"But there are other worlds in which humans who were there before the -Stone Age aren't related to anything else there. We have to conclude -that Man didn't originate on any of the planets on which he is now -found. Instead, he evolved elsewhere and later was scattered throughout -this section of the Milky Way." - -"And so, to account for the unique race that can interbreed across -thousands of light-years, you've brought in the big ancestor," -commented Taphetta dryly. "It seems an unnecessary simplification." - -"Can you think of a better explanation?" asked Kelburn. - -"Something had to distribute one species so widely and it's not the -result of parallel evolution--not when a hundred human races are -involved, and _only_ the human race." - -"I can't think of a better explanation." Taphetta rearranged his -ribbons. "Frankly, no one else is much interested in Man's theories -about himself." - -It was easy to understand the attitude. Man was the most numerous -though not always the most advanced--Ribboneers had a civilization as -high as anything in the known section of the Milky Way, and there were -others--and humans were more than a little feared. If they ever got -together--but they hadn't except in agreement as to their common origin. - -Still, Taphetta the Ribboneer was an experienced pilot and could be -very useful. A clear statement of their position was essential in -helping him make up his mind. "You've heard of the adjacency mating -principle?" asked Sam Halden. - -"Vaguely. Most people have if they've been around men." - -"We've got new data and are able to interpret it better. The theory is -that humans who can mate with each other were once physically close. -We've got a list of all our races arranged in sequence. If planetary -race F can mate with race E back to A and forward to M, and race G is -fertile only back to B, but forward to O, then we assume that whatever -their positions are now, at once time G was actually adjacent to F, but -was a little further along. When we project back into time those star -systems on which humans existed prior to space travel, we get a certain -pattern. Kelburn can explain it to you." - -The normally pink body of the Ribboneer flushed slightly. The color -change was almost imperceptible, but it was enough to indicate that he -was interested. - - * * * * * - -Kelburn went to the projector. "It would be easier if we knew all the -stars in the Milky Way, but though we've explored only a small portion -of it, we can reconstruct a fairly accurate representation of the past." - -He pressed the controls and stars twinkled on the screen. "We're -looking down on the plane of the Galaxy. This is one arm of it as it is -today and here are the human systems." He pressed another control and, -for purposes of identification, certain stars became more brilliant. -There was no pattern, merely a scattering of stars. "The whole Milky -Way is rotating. And while stars in a given region tend to remain -together, there's also a random motion. Here's what happens when we -calculate the positions of stars in the past." - -Flecks of light shifted and flowed across the screen. Kelburn stopped -the motion. - -"Two hundred thousand years ago," he said. - -There was a pattern of the identified stars. They were spaced at fairly -equal intervals along a regular curve, a horseshoe loop that didn't -close, though if the ends were extended, the lines would have crossed. - -Taphetta rustled. "The math is accurate?" - -"As accurate as it can be with a million-plus body problem." - -"And that's the hypothetical route of the unknown ancestor?" - -"To the best of our knowledge," said Kelburn. "And whereas there are -humans who are relatively near and not fertile, they can always mate -with those they were adjacent to _two hundred thousand years ago_!" - -"The adjacency mating principle. I've never seen it demonstrated," -murmured Taphetta, flexing his ribbons. "Is that the only era that -satisfies the calculations?" - -"Plus or minus a hundred thousand years, we can still get something -that might be the path of a spaceship attempting to cover a -representative section of territory," said Kelburn. "However, we have -other ways of dating it. On some worlds on which there are no other -mammals, we're able to place the first human fossils chronologically. -The evidence is sometimes contradictory, but we believe we've got the -time right." - -Taphetta waved a ribbon at the chart. "And you think that where the two -ends of the curve cross is your original home?" - -"We think so," said Kelburn. "We've narrowed it down to several cubic -light-years--then. Now it's far more. And, of course, if it were a -fast-moving star, it might be completely out of the field of our -exploration. But we're certain we've got a good chance of finding it -this trip." - -"It seems I must decide quickly." The Ribboneer glanced out the -visionport, where another ship hung motionless in space beside them. -"Do you mind if I ask other questions?" - -"Go ahead," Kelburn invited sardonically. "But if it's not math, you'd -better ask Halden. He's the leader of the expedition." - -Halden flushed; the sarcasm wasn't necessary. It was true that Kelburn -was the most advanced human type present, but while there were -differences, biological and in the scale of intelligence, it wasn't -as great as once was thought. Anyway, non-humans weren't trained in -the fine distinctions that men made among themselves. And, higher or -lower, he was as good a biologist as the other was a mathematician. And -there was the matter of training; he'd been on several expeditions and -this was Kelburn's first trip. Damn it, he thought, that rated some -respect. - -The Ribboneer shifted his attention. "Aside from the sudden illness of -your pilot, why did you ask for me?" - -"We didn't. The man became sick and required treatment we can't give -him. Luckily, a ship was passing and we hailed it because it's four -months to the nearest planet. They consented to take him back and told -us that there was a passenger on board who was an experienced pilot. We -have men who could do the job in a makeshift fashion, but the region -we're heading for, while mapped, is largely unknown. We'd prefer to -have an expert--and Ribboneers are famous for their navigational -ability." - -Taphetta crinkled politely at the reference to his skill. "I had other -plans, but I can't evade professional obligations, and an emergency -such as this should cancel out any previous agreements. Still, what are -the incentives?" - -Sam Halden coughed. "The usual, plus a little extra. We've copied the -Ribboneer's standard nature, simplifying it a little and adding a per -cent here and there for the crew pilot and scientist's share of the -profits from any discoveries we may make." - -"I'm complimented that you like our contract so well," said Taphetta, -"but I really must have our own unsimplified version. If you want me, -you'll take my contract. I came prepared." He extended a tightly bound -roll that he had kept somewhere on his person. - -They glanced at one another as Halden took it. - -"You can read it if you want," offered Taphetta. "But it will take -you all day--it's micro-printing. However, you needn't be afraid that -I'm defrauding you. It's honored everywhere we go and we go nearly -everywhere in this sector--places men have never been." - -There was no choice if they wanted him, and they did. Besides, the -integrity of Ribboneers was not to be questioned. Halden signed. - -"Good." Taphetta crinkled. "Send it to the ship; they'll forward it -for me. And you can tell the ship to go on without me." He rubbed his -ribbons together. "Now if you'll get me the charts, I'll examine the -region toward which we're heading." - - * * * * * - -Firmon of hydroponics slouched in, a tall man with scanty hair and -an equal lack of grace. He seemed to have difficulty in taking his -eyes off Meredith, though, since he was a notch or so above her in the -mating scale, he shouldn't have been so interested. But his planet had -been inexplicably slow in developing and he wasn't completely aware of -his place in the human hierarchy. - -Disdainfully, Meredith adjusted a skirt that, a few inches shorter, -wouldn't have been a skirt at all, revealing, while doing so, just how -long and beautiful a woman's legs could be. Her people had never given -much thought to physical modesty and, with legs like that, it was easy -to see why. - -Muttering something about primitive women, Firmon turned to the -biologist. "The pilot doesn't like our air." - -"Then change it to suit him. He's in charge of the ship and knows more -about these things than I do." - -"More than a man?" Firmon leered at Meredith and, when she failed -to smile, added plaintively, "I did try to change it, but he still -complains." - - * * * * * - -Halden took a deep breath. "Seems all right to me." - -"To everybody else, too, but the tapeworm hasn't got lungs. He breathes -through a million tubes scattered over his body." - -It would do no good to explain that Taphetta wasn't a worm, that his -evolution had taken a different course, but that he was in no sense -less complex than Man. It was a paradox that some biologically higher -humans hadn't developed as much as lower races and actually weren't -prepared for the multitude of life-forms they'd meet in space. Firmon's -reaction was quite typical. - -"If he asks for cleaner air, it's because his system needs it," said -Halden. "Do anything you can to give it to him." - -"Can't. This is as good as I can get it. Taphetta thought you could do -something about it." - -"Hydroponics is your job. There's nothing _I_ can do." Halden paused -thoughtfully. "Is there something wrong with the plants?" - -"In a way, I guess, and yet not really." - -"What is it, some kind of toxic condition?" - -"The plants are healthy enough, but something's chewing them down as -fast as they grow." - -"Insects? There shouldn't be any, but if there are, we've got sprays. -Use them." - -"It's an animal," said Firmon. "We tried poison and got a few, but now -they won't touch the stuff. I had electronics rig up some traps. The -animals seem to know what they are and we've never caught one that -way." - -Halden glowered at the man. "How long has this been going on?" - -"About three months. It's not bad; we can keep up with them." - -It was probably nothing to become alarmed at, but an animal on the ship -was a nuisance, doubly so because of their pilot. - -"Tell me what you know about it," said Halden. - -"They're little things." Firmon held out his hands to show how small. -"I don't know how they got on, but once they did, there were plenty of -places to hide." He looked up defensively. "This is an old ship with -new equipment and they hide under the machinery. There's nothing we can -do except rebuild the ship from the hull inward." - -Firmon was right. The new equipment had been installed in any place -just to get it in and now there were inaccessible corners and crevices -everywhere that couldn't be closed off without rebuilding. - -They couldn't set up a continuous watch and shoot the animals down -because there weren't that many men to spare. Besides, the use of -weapons in hydroponics would cause more damage to the thing they were -trying to protect than to the pest. He'd have to devise other ways. - -Sam Halden got up. "I'll take a look and see what I can do." - -"I'll come along and help," said Meredith, untwining her legs and -leaning against him. "Your mistress ought to have some sort of -privileges." - -Halden started. So she _knew_ that the crew was calling her that! -Perhaps it was intended to discourage Firmon, but he wished she hadn't -said it. It didn't help the situation at all. - - * * * * * - -Taphetta sat in a chair designed for humans. With a less flexible body, -he wouldn't have fitted. Maybe it wasn't sitting, but his flat legs -were folded neatly around the arms and his head rested comfortably on -the seat. The head ribbons, which were his hands and voice, were never -quite still. - -He looked from Halden to Emmer and back again. "The hydroponics tech -tells me you're contemplating an experiment. I don't like it." - -Halden shrugged. "We've got to have better air. It might work." - -"Pests on the ship? It's filthy! My people would never tolerate it!" - -"Neither do we." - -The Ribboneer's distaste subsided. "What kind of creatures are they?" - -"I have a description, though I've never seen one. It's a small -four-legged animal with two antennae at the lower base of its skull. A -typical pest." - -Taphetta rustled. "Have you found out how it got on?" - -"It was probably brought in with the supplies," said the biologist. -"Considering how far we've come, it may have been any one of a half -a dozen planets. Anyway, it hid, and since most of the places it had -access to were near the outer hull, it got an extra dose of hard -radiation, or it may have nested near the atomic engines; both are -possibilities. Either way, it mutated, became a different animal. It's -developed a tolerance for the poisons we spray on plants. Other things -it detects and avoids, even electronic traps." - -"Then you believe it changed mentally as well as physically, that it's -smarter?" - -"I'd say that, yes. It must be a fairly intelligent creature to be -so hard to get rid of. But it can be lured into traps, if the bait's -strong enough." - -"That's what I don't like," said Taphetta, curling. "Let me think it -over while I ask questions." He turned to Emmer. "I'm curious about -humans. Is there anything else you can tell me about the hypothetical -ancestor?" - -Emmer didn't look like the genius he was--a Neanderthal genius, but -nonetheless a real one. In his field, he rated very high. He raised a -stubble-flecked cheek from a large thick-fingered paw and ran shaggy -hands through shaggier hair. - -"I can speak with some authority," he rumbled. "I was born on a world -with the most extensive relics. As a child, I played in the ruins of -their camp." - -"I don't question your authority," crinkled Taphetta. "To me, all -humans--late or early and male or female--look remarkably alike. If you -are an archeologist, that's enough for me." He paused and flicked his -speech ribbons. "Camp, did you say?" - - * * * * * - -Emmer smiled, unsheathing great teeth. "You've never seen any pictures? -Impressive, but just a camp, monolithic one-story structures, and -we'd give something to know what they're made of. Presumably my world -was one of the first they stopped at. They weren't used to roughing -it, so they built more elaborately than they did later on. One-story -structures and that's how we can guess at their size. The doorways were -forty feet high." - -"Very large," agreed Taphetta. It was difficult to tell whether he was -impressed. "What did you find in the ruins?" - -"Nothing," said Emmer. "There were buildings there and that was all, -not a scrap of writing or a tool or a single picture. They covered -a route estimated at thirty thousand light-years in less than five -thousand years--and not one of them died that we have a record of." - -"A faster-than-light drive and an extremely long life," mused Taphetta. -"But they didn't leave any information for their descendants. Why?" - -"Who knows? Their mental processes were certainly far different from -ours. They may have thought we'd be better off without it. We do know -they were looking for a special kind of planet, like Earth, because -they visited so many of that type, yet different from it because they -never stayed. They were pretty special people themselves, big and -long-lived, and maybe they couldn't survive on any planet they found. -Perhaps they had ways of determining there wasn't the kind of planet -they needed in the entire Milky Way. Their science was tremendously -advanced and when they learned that, they may have altered their germ -plasm and left us, hoping that some of us would survive. Most of us -did." - -"This special planet sounds strange," murmured Taphetta. - -"Not really," said Emmer. "Fifty human races reached space travel -independently and those who did were scattered equally among early and -late species. It's well known that individuals among my people are -often as bright as any of Halden's or Meredith's, but as a whole we -don't have the total capacity that later Man does, and yet we're as -advanced in civilization. The difference? It must lie somewhere in the -planets we live on and it's hard to say just what it is." - -"What happened to those who didn't develop space travel?" asked -Taphetta. - -"We helped them," said Emmer. - -And they had, no matter who or what they were, biologically late -or early, in the depths of the bronze age or the threshold of -atomic--because they were human. That was sometimes a frightening thing -for non-humans, that the race stuck together. They weren't actually -aggressive, but their total number was great and they held themselves -aloof. The unknown ancestor again. Who else had such an origin and, it -was tacitly assumed, such a destiny? - - * * * * * - -Taphetta changed his questioning. "What do you expect to gain from this -discovery of the unknown ancestor?" - -It was Halden who answered him. "There's the satisfaction of knowing -where we came from." - -"Of course," rustled the Ribboneer. "But a lot of money and equipment -was required for this expedition. I can't believe that the educational -institutions that are backing you did so purely out of intellectual -curiosity." - -"Cultural discoveries," rumbled Emmer. "How did our ancestors live? -When a creature is greatly reduced in size, as we are, more than -physiology is changed--the pattern of life itself is altered. Things -that were easy for them are impossible for us. Look at their life span." - -"No doubt," said Taphetta. "An archeologist would be interested in -cultural discoveries." - -"Two hundred thousand years ago, they had an extremely advanced -civilization," added Halden. "A faster-than-light drive, and we've -achieved that only within the last thousand years." - -"But I think we have a better one than they did," said the Ribboneer. -"There may be things we can learn from them in mechanics or physics, -but wouldn't you say they were better biologists than anything else?" - -Halden nodded. "Agreed. They couldn't find a suitable planet. So, -working directly with their germ plasm, they modified themselves and -produced us. They _were_ master biologists." - -"I thought so," said Taphetta. "I never paid much attention to your -fantastic theories before I signed to pilot this ship, but you've built -up a convincing case." He raised his head, speech ribbons curling -fractionally and ceaselessly. "I don't like to, but we'll have to risk -using bait for your pest." - -He'd have done it anyway, but it was better to have the pilot's -consent. And there was one question Halden wanted to ask; it had been -bothering him vaguely. "What's the difference between the Ribboneer -contract and the one we offered you? Our terms are more liberal." - -"To the individual, they are, but it won't matter if you discover as -much as you think you will. The difference is this: _My_ terms don't -permit you to withhold any discovery for the benefit of one race." - -Taphetta was wrong; there had been no intention of withholding -anything. Halden examined his own attitudes. _He_ hadn't intended, but -could he say that was true of the institutions backing the expedition? -He couldn't, and it was too late now--whatever knowledge they acquired -would have to be shared. - -That was what Taphetta had been afraid of--there was one kind of -technical advancement that multiplied unceasingly. The race that could -improve itself through scientific control of its germ plasm had a start -that could never be headed. The Ribboneer needn't worry now. - - * * * * * - -"Why do we have to watch it on the screen?" asked Meredith, glancing -up. "I'd rather be in hydroponics." - -Halden shrugged. "They may or may not be smarter than planetbound -animals, but they're warier. They don't come out when anyone's near." - -Lights dimmed in the distant hydroponic section and the screen with -it, until he adjusted the infra-red frequencies. He motioned to the -two crew members, each with his own peculiar screen, below which was a -miniature keyboard. - -"Ready?" - -When they nodded, Halden said: "Do as you've rehearsed. Keep noise at -a minimum, but when you do use it, be vague. Don't try to imitate them -exactly." - -At first, nothing happened on the big screen, and then a gray shape -crept out. It slid through leaves, listened intently before coming -forward. It jumped off one hydroponic section and fled across the open -floor to the next. It paused, eyes glittering and antennae twitching. - -Looking around once, it leaped up, seizing the ledge and clawing up the -side of the tank. Standing on top and rising to its haunches, it began -nibbling what it could reach. - -Suddenly it whirled. Behind it and hitherto unnoticed was another -shape, like it but larger. The newcomer inched forward. The small one -retreated, skittering nervously. Without warning, the big one leaped -and the small one tried to flee. In a few jumps, the big one caught up -and mauled the other unmercifully. - -It continued to bite even after the little one lay still. At last it -backed off and waited, watching for signs of motion. There was none. -Then it turned to the plant. When it had chewed off everything within -reach, it climbed into the branches. - -The little one twitched, moved a leg, and cautiously began dragging -itself away. It rolled off the raised section and surprisingly made no -noise as it fell. It seemed to revive, shaking itself and scurrying -away, still within range of the screen. - -Against the wall was a small platform. The little one climbed on top -and there found something that seemed to interest it. It sniffed -around and reached and felt the discovery. Wounds were forgotten as -it snatched up the object and frisked back to the scene of its recent -defeat. - -This time it had no trouble with the raised section. It leaped and -landed on top and made considerable noise in doing so. The big animal -heard and twisted around. It saw and clambered down hastily, jumping -the last few feet. Squealing, it hit the floor and charged. - -The small one stood still till the last instant--and then a paw -flickered out and an inch-long knife blade plunged into the throat of -the charging creature. Red spurted out as the bigger beast screamed. -The knife flashed in and out until the big animal collapsed and stopped -moving. - -The small creature removed the knife and wiped it on the pelt of its -foe. Then it scampered back to the platform on which the knife had been -found--_and laid it down_. - - * * * * * - -At Halden's signal, the lights flared up and the screen became too -bright for anything to be visible. - -"Go in and get them," said Halden. "We don't want the pests to find out -that the bodies aren't flesh." - -"It was realistic enough," said Meredith as the crewmen shut off their -machines and went out. "Do you think it will work?" - -"It might. We had an audience." - -"Did we? I didn't notice." Meredith leaned back. "Were the puppets -exactly like the pests? And if not, will the pests be fooled?" - -"The electronic puppets were a good imitation, but the animals don't -have to identify them as their species. If they're smart enough, -they'll know the value of a knife, no matter who uses it." - -"What if they're smarter? Suppose they know a knife can't be used by a -creature without real hands?" - -"That's part of our precautions. They'll never know until they try--and -they'll never get away from the trap to try." - -"Very good. I never thought of that," said Meredith, coming closer. "I -like the way your primitive mind works. At times I actually think of -marrying you." - -"Primitive," he said, alternately frozen and thawed, though he knew -that, in relation to her, he was _not_ advanced. - -"It's almost a curse, isn't it?" She laughed and took the curse away by -leaning provocatively against him. "But barbaric lovers are often nice." - -Here we go again, he thought drearily, sliding his arm around her. To -her, I'm merely a passionate savage. - -They went to his cabin. - -She sat down, smiling. Was she pretty? Maybe. For her own race, she -wasn't tall, only by Terran standards. Her legs were disproportionately -long and well shaped and her face was somewhat bland and featureless, -except for a thin, straight, short nose. It was her eyes that made -the difference, he decided. A notch or two up the scale of visual -development, her eyes were larger and she could see an extra color on -the violet end of the spectrum. - -She settled back and looked at him. "It might be fun living with you on -primeval Earth." - -He said nothing; she knew as well as he that Earth was as advanced as -her own world. She had something else in mind. - -"I don't think I will, though. We might have children." - -"Would it be wrong?" he asked. "I'm as intelligent as you. We wouldn't -have subhuman monsters." - -"It would be a step up--for you." Under her calm, there was tension. -It had been there as long as he'd known her, but it was closer to the -surface now. "Do I have the right to condemn the unborn? Should I make -them start lower than I am?" - -The conflict was not new nor confined to them. In one form or another, -it governed personal relations between races that were united against -non-humans, but held sharp distinctions themselves. - -"I haven't asked you to marry me," he said bluntly. - -"Because you're afraid I'd refuse." - -It was true; no one asked a member of a higher race to enter a -permanent union. - -"Why did you ever have anything to do with me?" demanded Halden. - -"Love," she said gloomily. "Physical attraction. But I can't let it -lead me astray." - -"Why not make a play for Kelburn? If you're going to be scientific -about it, he'd give you children of the higher type." - -"Kelburn." It didn't sound like a name, the way she said it. "I don't -like him and he wouldn't marry me." - -"He wouldn't, but he'd give you children if you were humble enough. -There's a fifty per cent chance you might conceive." - - * * * * * - -She provocatively arched her back. Not even the women of Kelburn's race -had a body like hers and she knew it. - -"Racially, there should be a chance," she said. "Actually, Kelburn and -I would be infertile." - -"Can you be sure?" he asked, knowing it was a poor attempt to act -unconcerned. - -"How can anyone be sure on a theoretical basis?" she asked, an oblique -smile narrowing her eyes. "I know we can't." - -His face felt anesthetized. "Did you have to tell me that?" - -She got up and came to him. She nuzzled against him and his reaction -was purely reflexive. His hand swung out and he could feel the flesh -give when his knuckles struck it. - -She fell back and dazedly covered her face with her hand. When she took -it away, blood spurted. She groped toward the mirror and stood in front -of it. She wiped the blood off, examining her features carefully. - -"You've broken my nose," she said factually. "I'll have to stop the -blood and pain." - -She pushed her nose back into place and waggled it to make sure. She -closed her eyes and stood silent and motionless. Then she stepped back -and looked at herself critically. - -"It's set and partially knitted. I'll concentrate tonight and have it -healed by morning." - -She felt in the cabinet and attached an invisible strip firmly across -the bridge. Then she came over to him. - -"I wondered what you'd do. You didn't disappoint me." - -He scowled miserably at her. Her face was almost plain and the bandage, -invisible or not, didn't improve her appearance any. How could he still -feel that attraction to her? - -"Try Emmer," he suggested tiredly. "He'll find you irresistible, and -he's even more savage than I am." - -"Is he?" She smiled enigmatically. "Maybe, in a biological sense. Too -much, though. You're just right." - -He sat down on the bed. Again there was only one way of knowing what -Emmer would do--and she knew. She had no concept of love outside of -the physical, to make use of her body so as to gain an advantage--what -advantage?--for the children she intended to have. Outside of that, -nothing mattered, and for the sake of alloying the lower with the -higher, she was as cruel to herself as she was to him. And yet he -wanted her. - -"I do think I love you," she said. "And if love's enough, I may marry -you in spite of everything. But you'll have to watch out whose children -I have." She wriggled into his arms. - -The racial disparity was great and she had provoked him, but it was not -completely her fault. Besides.... - -Besides what? She had a beautiful body that could bear superior -children--and they might be his. - -He twisted away. With those thoughts, he was as bad as she was. Were -they all that way, every one of them, crawling upward out of the slime -toward the highest goal they could conceive of? Climbing over--no, -_through_--everybody they could coerce, seduce or marry--onward and -upward. He raised his hand, but it was against himself that his anger -was turned. - -"Careful of the nose," she said, pressing against him. "You've already -broken it once." - -He kissed her with sudden passion that even he knew was primitive. - - * * * * * - -There were no immediate results from the puppet performance and so -it was repeated at intervals. After the third time, Firmon reported, -coming in as Halden pored over the meager biological data he'd gathered -on the unknown ancestor. Wild guesses mostly, not one real fact in all -the statistics. After two hundred thousand years, there wasn't much -left to work with. - -Firmon slouched down. "It worked," he said. "Got three a few hours ago." - -Halden looked at him; he had hoped it wouldn't work. There was -satisfaction in being right, but he would rather face something less -intelligent. Wariness was one thing, the shyness and slyness of an -unseen animal, but intelligence was more difficult to predict. - -"Where are they?" he asked. - -"Did you want them?" Firmon seemed surprised at the idea. - -Halden sighed; it was his own fault. Firmon had a potentially good -mind, but he hadn't been trained to use it and that counted for more -than people thought. "Any animal smart enough to appreciate the value -of a knife is worth study on that account. That goes double when it's a -pest." - -"I'll change the cremation setting," said Firmon. "Next time, we'll -just stun them." - -The trap setting was changed and several animals were taken. -Physically, they were very much as Halden had described them to -Taphetta, small four-legged creatures with fleshy antennae. Dissection -revealed a fairly large brain capacity, while behavior tests indicated -an intelligence somewhat below what he had assumed. Still, it was more -than he wanted a pest to have, especially since it also had hands. - -The biological mechanism of the hands was simple. It walked on the back -of the front paws, on the fingers of which were fleshy pads. When it -sat upright, as it often did, the flexibility of the wrists permitted -the forepaws to be used as hands. Clumsy, but because it had a thumb, -it could handle such tools as a knife. - -He had made an error there. He had guessed the intelligence, but he -hadn't known it could use the weapon he had put within reach. A tiny -thing with an inch-long knife was not much more dangerous than the -animal alone, but he didn't like the idea of it loose on the ship. - -The metal knife would have to be replaced with something else. -Technicians could compound a plastic that would take a keen edge for a -while and deteriorate to a soft mass in a matter of weeks. Meanwhile, -he had actually given the animal a dangerous weapon--the concept -of a tool. There was only one way to take that away from them, by -extermination. But that would have to wait. - -Fortunately, the creature had a short life and a shorter breeding -period. The actual replacement rate was almost negligible. In attaining -intelligence, it had been short-changed in fertility and, as a -consequence, only in the specialized environment of this particular -ship was it any menace at all. - -They were lucky; a slightly higher fertility and the thing could -threaten their existence. As it was, the ship would have to be -deverminized before it could land on an inhabited planet. - -Halden took the data to the Ribboneer pilot and, after some discussion, -it was agreed that the plastic knife should supplant the metal one. It -was also decided to allow a few to escape with the weapon; there had -to be some incentive if the creature was to visit the trap more than a -few times. Besides, with weapons there was always the chance of warfare -between different groups. They might even exterminate each other. - -Gradually, over a period of weeks, the damage to hydroponics subsided; -the pests were under control. There was nothing to worry about unless -they mutated again, which was unlikely. - - * * * * * - -Kelburn scowled at the pilot. "Where are we now?" he challenged, his -face creased with suspicion. - -"You have access to all the instruments, so you should know," said -Taphetta. He was crouching and seemed about to spring, but he was -merely breathing relaxedly through a million air tubes. - -"I do know. My calculations show one star as the most probable. We -should have reached it two days ago--and we're nowhere near it." - -"True," admitted Taphetta. "We're heading toward what you would -consider the fifth or sixth most likely star." - -Kelburn caught the implication. They all did. "Then you know where it -is?" he asked, suspicion vanishing. - -"Not in the sense you're asking--no, I'm not sure it's what you're -looking for. But there was once a great civilization there." - -"You knew this and didn't tell us?" - -"Why should I?" Taphetta looked at him in mild astonishment. -"Before you hired me, I wouldn't tell you for obvious reasons. And -afterward--well, you engaged all my skill and knowledge and I used them -to bring you here by the shortest route. I didn't think it necessary to -tell you until we actually arrived. Is that wrong?" - -It wasn't wrong; it merely illustrated the difference in the way an -alien mind worked. Sooner or later, they would have found the place, -but he had saved them months. - -"What's it like?" Emmer asked. - -Taphetta jiggled his ribbons. "I don't know. I was passing near here -and saw the planet off to one side." - -"And you didn't stop?" Emmer was incredulous. - -"Why should I? We're great navigators because we do so much of it. We -would never get very far if we stopped to examine everything that -looks interesting. Besides, it's not a good policy in a strange region, -especially with an unarmed ship." - -They wouldn't have that problem. The ship was armed well enough to keep -off uncivilized marauders who had very recently reached the spaceship -age, and only such people were apt to be inhospitable. - -"When will we land?" asked Halden. - -"In a few hours, but you can see the planet on our screens." Taphetta -extended a head ribbon toward a knob and a planet came into view. - -There weren't two civilizations in the Milky Way that built on such -a large scale, even from the distance that they could see it. Great, -distinctive cities were everywhere. There was no question as to what -they had found. - -"Now you'll learn why they ran away," said Taphetta. - -"A new theory," Kelburn said, though it wasn't, for they _had_ left. -"What makes you think they were afraid?" - -"No air. If your calculations are right, there must have been an -extensive atmosphere a few hundred thousand years ago and now there -isn't any. A planet this size doesn't lose air that fast. Therefore, -it's an artificial condition. Who takes the trouble to leave a planet -uninhabitable except someone who's afraid others will use it--and who -else runs away?" - -"They may have done it to preserve what they left," suggested Halden. - -"Perhaps," said Taphetta, but it was obvious he didn't think so. - - * * * * * - -The lack of air had one thing to recommend it--they needn't worry -about their pests escaping. The disadvantage was that they had to wear -spacesuits. They landed on top of a great building that was intact -after thousands of years and still strong enough to support the added -weight. And then-- - -Then there was nothing. - -Buildings, an enormous number and variety of them, huge, not one of -them less than five stories high, all with ramps instead of stairs. -This was to be expected, considering the great size of the people who -had lived there, and it followed the familiar pattern. - -But there was nothing in those buildings! On this airless world, there -was no decay, no rust or corrosion--_and nothing to decay or corrode_. -No pictures, tools, nothing that resembled sculpture, and while there -were places where machines had stood, none were there now. Here and -there in inaccessible locations were featureless blobs of metal. The -implication was clear: Where they hadn't been able to remove a -machine, they had melted in down on the spot. - -The thoroughness was bewildering. It wasn't done by some enemy; he -would have stood off and razed the cities. But there was no rubble and -the buildings were empty. The inhabitants themselves had removed all -that was worth taking along. - -A whole people had packed and moved away, leaving behind only massive, -echoing structures. - -There was plenty to learn, but nothing to learn it from. Buildings can -indicate only so much and then there must be something else--at least -some of the complex artifacts of a civilization--and there was none. -Outside the cities, on the plains, there were the remains of plants -and animals that indicated by their condition that airlessness had -come suddenly. Sam Halden, the biologist, had examined them, but he -discovered no clues. The unknown ancestor was still a mystery. - -And the others--Emmer, the archeologist, and Meredith, the -linguist--had nothing to work on, though they searched. It was Kelburn -who found the first hint. Having no specific task, now that the planet -was located, he wandered around in a scout ship. On the other side -of the planet, he signaled that there was a machine and that it was -intact! - -The crew was hurriedly recalled, the equipment brought back into the -ship, and they took off for the plain where Kelburn waited. - -And there was the machine, immense, like everything on the planet. It -stood alone, tapering toward the sky. At the base was a door, which, -when open, was big enough to permit a spaceship to enter easily--only -it was closed. - -Kelburn stood beside the towering entrance, a tiny figure in a -spacesuit. He gazed up at it as the three came near. "All we have to do -is open it," he said. - -"How?" asked Meredith. She seemed to have forgotten that she disliked -him. He had made a chance discovery because he had nothing to do while -the others were busy, but she regarded it as further proof of his -superiority. - - * * * * * - -It was hard to watch the happiness that her face directed toward -Kelburn. Halden turned away. - -"Just press the button," he said. - -Emmer noticed his expression. "It's such a big button," he objected. -"It's going to be hard to know when we find it." - -"There's an inscription of some sort," said Kelburn loftily. "This -thing was left for a purpose. Somewhere there must be operating -instructions." - -"From here, it looks like a complex wave-form," a voice crinkled in -their radio--Taphetta from the spaceship. "All we have to do is to find -the right base in the electromagnetic spectrum and duplicate it on a -beam broadcast and the door should open. You're too close to see it as -clearly as I can." - - * * * * * - -Perhaps they were too close to the big ancestor, decided Halden moodily -as they went back. It had overshadowed much of their thinking, and who -really knew what the ancestor was like and what had motivated him? - -But the Ribboneer was right about the signal, though it took several -days to locate it. And then the huge door swung open and air whistled -out. - -Inside was another disappointment, a bare hall with a ramp leading -upward, closed off at the ceiling. They could have forced through, but -they had no desire to risk using a torch to penetrate the barrier--in -view of the number of precautions they'd already encountered, it was -logical to assume that there were more waiting for them. - -It was Emmer who found the solution. "In appearance, it resembles a -spaceship. Let's assume it is, minus engines. It was never intended to -fly. Listen. - -"There's no air, so you can't hear," said Emmer impatiently. "But you -could if there were air. Put your hands against the wall." - -A distinct vibration ran through the whole structure. It hadn't been -there before the door opened. Some mechanism had been triggered. The -rumbling went on, came to a stop, and began again. Was it some kind of -communication? - -Hastily rigged machines were hauled inside the chamber to generate -an air supply so that sounds would be produced for the recorders. -Translating equipment was set up and focused and, after some -experimentation with signals, the door was slowly closed. No one -remained inside; there was no guarantee that it would be as easy to get -out as it had been to get in. - -They waited a day and a half while the sounds were being recorded. -The delay seemed endless. The happiest of the crew was Kelburn. -Biologically the highest human on the expedition, he was stimulated. -He wandered aimlessly and smiled affably, patting Meredith, when he -came to her, in the friendliest fashion. Startled, she smiled back and -looked around wanly. Halden was behind her. - -If I had not been there, thought Halden--and thereafter made it a -point to be there. - - * * * * * - -Meredith was excited, but not precisely happy. The work was out of her -hands until the translating equipment was retrieved. As the second -highest biological type, she, too, was affected, until she pointedly -went to her room and locked it from the inside. - -Halden kept himself awake with anti-fatigue pills, in part because -Meredith could change her mind about Kelburn, and because of that -locked door. - -Emmer tried to be phlegmatic and seemed to succeed. Taphetta alone -was unconcerned; to him, it was an interesting and perhaps profitable -discovery, but important only because of that. He would not be changed -at all by whatever he learned. - -Hours crawled by and at last the door opened; the air came rushing -out again. The translating equipment was brought back to the ship and -Meredith was left alone with it. - -It was half a day before she admitted the others to the laboratory. - -"The machine is still working," she said. "There seems to have been -some attempt to make the message hard to decode. But the methods they -used were exactly the clues that the machine needed to decipher it. -My function as a linguist was to help out with the interpretation of -key words and phrases. I haven't got even a little part of the message. -You'll know what it is as soon as I do. After the first part, the -translator didn't seem to have much trouble." - -They sat down facing it--Taphetta, Kelburn, Meredith, Halden and -Emmer. Meredith was midway between Kelburn and himself. Was there any -significance in that, wondered Halden, or was he reading more in her -behavior than was actually there? - -"The translation is complete," announced the machine. - -"Go ahead," Meredith ordered. - -"The words will be speeded up to human tempo," said the translator. -"Insofar as possible, speech mannerisms of the original will be -imitated. Please remember that it is only an imitation, however." - -The translator coughed, stuttered and began. "We have purposely made -access to our records difficult. If you can translate this message, -you'll find, at the end, instructions for reaching the rest of our -culture relics. As an advanced race, you're welcome to them. We've -provided a surprise for anyone else. - -"For ourselves, there's nothing left but an orderly retreat to a place -where we can expect to live in peace. That means leaving this Galaxy, -but because of our life span, we're capable of it and we won't be -followed." - -Taphetta crinkled his ribbons in amusement. Kelburn frowned at the -interruption, but no one else paid any attention. - -The translator went on. "Our metabolic rate is the lowest of any -creature we know of. We live several thousand revolutions of any -recorded planet and our rate of increase is extremely low; under the -most favorable circumstances, we can do no more than double our numbers -in two hundred generations." - -"This doesn't sound as if they were masters of biological science," -rustled Taphetta. - - * * * * * - -Halden stirred uneasily. It wasn't turning out at all the way he had -expected. - -"At the time we left," the message continued, "we found no other -intelligent race, though there were some capable of further evolution. -Perhaps our scout ships long ago met your ancestors on some remote -planet. We were never very numerous, and because we move and multiply -so slowly, we are in danger of being swept out of existence in the -foreseeable future. We prefer to leave while we can. The reason we -must go developed on our own planet, deep beneath the cities, in the -underworks, which we had ceased to inspect because there was no need -to. This part was built to last a million generations, which is long -even for us." - -Emmer sat upright, annoyed at himself. "Of course! There are always -sewers and I didn't think of looking there!" - -"In the last several generations, we sent out four expeditions, -leisurely trips because we then thought we had time to explore -thoroughly. With this planet as base of operations, the successive -expeditions fanned out in four directions, to cover the most -representative territory." - -Kelburn stiffened, mingled pride and chagrin on his face. His math -had been correct, as far as he had figured it. But had there been any -reason to assume that they would confine their exploration to one -direction? No, they would want to cover the whole Milky Way. - -Taphetta paled. Four times as many humans to contend with! He hadn't -met the other three-fourths yet--and, for him, it wasn't at all a -pleasant thought. - -"After long preparation, we sent several ships to settle one of the -nearer planets that we'd selected on the first expedition. To our -dismay, we found that the plague was there--though it hadn't been on -our first visit!" - -Halden frowned. They were proving themselves less and less expert -biologists. And this plague--there had to be a reason to leave, and -sickness was as good as any--but unless he was mistaken, plague wasn't -used in the strict semantic sense. It might be the fault of the -translation. - -"The colonists refused to settle; they came back at once and reported. -We sent out our fastest ships, heavily armed. We didn't have the time -to retrace our path completely, for we'd stopped at innumerable places. -What we did was to check a few planets, the outward and return parts -of all four voyages. In every place, the plague was there, too, and we -knew that we were responsible. - -"We did what we could. Exhausting our nuclear armament, we obliterated -the nearest planets on each of the four spans of our journeys." - -"I _wondered_ why the route came to an end," crinkled Taphetta, but -there was no comment, no answer. - -"We reconstructed what had happened. For a long time, the plague had -lived in our sewers, subsisting on wastes. At night, because they are -tiny and move exceedingly fast, they were able to make their way into -our ships and were aboard on every journey. We knew they were there, -but because they were so small, it was difficult to dislodge them from -their nesting places. And so we tolerated their existence." - - * * * * * - -"They weren't so smart," said Taphetta. "We figured out that angle long -ago. True, our ship is an exception, but we haven't landed anywhere, -and won't until we deverminize it." - -"We didn't guess that next to the hull in outer space and consequently -exposed to hard radiation," the message went on, "those tiny creatures -would mutate dangerously and escape to populate the planets we landed -on. They had always been loathsome little beasts that walked instead of -rolling or creeping, but now they became even more vicious, spawning -explosively and fighting with the same incessant violence. They had -always harbored diseases which spread to us, but now they've become -hot-houses for still smaller parasites that also are able to infect us. -Finally, we are now allergic to them, and when they are within miles of -us, it is agony to roll or creep." - -Taphetta looked around. "Who would have thought it? You were completely -mistaken as to your origin." Kelburn was staring vacantly ahead, but -didn't see a thing. Meredith was leaning against Halden; her eyes were -closed. "The woman has finally chosen, now that she knows she was once -vermin," clicked the Ribboneer. "But there are tears in her eyes." - -"The intelligence of the beast has advanced slightly, though there -isn't much difference between the highest and the lowest--and we've -checked both ends of all four journeys. But before, it was relatively -calm and orderly. Now it is malignantly insane." - -Taphetta rattled his ribbons. "Turn it off. You don't have to listen -to this. We all are of some origin or other and it wasn't necessarily -pretty. This being was a slug of some kind--and are you now what it -describes? Perhaps mentally a little, out of pride, but the pride was -false." - -"We can't demolish all the planets we unthinkingly let it loose on; -there are too many and it lives too fast. The stars drift and we -would lose some, and before we could eliminate the last one, it would -develop space travel--it has little intelligence, but it could get that -far--and it would escape ahead of us. We know an impossible task when -we see it. And so we're leaving, first making sure that this animal -will never make use of the products of our civilization. It may reach -this planet, but it will not be able to untangle our code--it's too -stupid. You who will have to face it, please forgive us. It's the only -thing that we're ashamed of." - -"Don't listen," said the Ribboneer and, bending his broad, thin body, -he sprang to the translator, shook it and banged with his ribbons until -the machine was silent. "You don't have to tell anyone," crackled -Taphetta. "Don't worry about me--I won't repeat it." He looked around -at the faces. "But I can see that you will report to everyone exactly -what you found. That pride you've developed--you'll need it." - -Taphetta sat on top of the machine, looking like nothing so much as a -huge fancy bow on a gift-wrapped package. - -They noted the resemblance vaguely. But each of them knew that, as a -member of the most numerous race in the Milky Way, no longer feared -for their mysterious qualities--despised, instead--wherever they went, -there would never be any gifts for them--for any man. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Big Ancestor, by F. L. 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