A Simple Truth (23 page)

As often happens when a group of people analyse a problem together each feeds from the ideas of others, each adding a link to the chain of reasoning that grows and gropes towards a satisfactory solution.

"Yes
,"
said another of the tacticians, "we know they can see so we show them a film.  We should be able to put something together quickly that shows the consequences of tampering with his suit or air system.  We beam it to the ferry and Sharma can relay it through the cable on a portable monitor." 

The young man was well pleased with his suggestion, but not all were convinced.

"Hold on
,"
cautioned
Lincoln
, "it's a good idea but we don't know that they can u
nderstand two-
dimensional images.  The fact that they can see doesn't imply that their brains will interpret visual images the way we do."

Silence again.  After a few seconds
Naganda
broke the impasse.  "I think we've enough to go ahead with for now.  Let's prepare the film and the verbal warning for transmission,
and then
if anyone thinks of anything better in the meantime we can amend our plans."

The tactician who had made the suggestion
,
and
several of his colleagues
,
w
ere
dispatched to make the arrangements, and the task was allocated an 'A' priority for use of anyone's time or equipment that they needed.  Sharma was contacted to brief him on the intended plan of action.  "Pity we don't have a hologram projector on board
;
"
he commented ruefully, "then we could show them an authentic three-dimensional construction."

***************

This was an adventure Knight had not bargained for.  He was apprehensive, but at the same time filled with a heady exhilaration.  Deep down he felt that he was in safe hands, that these creatures knew exactly what they were doing and meant him no harm.

He was gently lowered to the inner surface by his giant companion and found that he could stand upright quite comfortably in a field of about half a gee.  The little yellow kangaroos were standing some distance away huddled together and peering anxiously at him, perhaps wanting to come closer but afraid to do so.  Their large red companion displayed no such caution.  He removed the strange collar from his head and took hold of Knight's arm, gently indicating the way he wished to go.  Knight found it easier to think of the alien as 'he' rather than 'it', it seemed more respectful somehow.

Gingerly the yellow creatures followed the odd pair to the opening from which they had emerged earlier.  Knight decided against any form of struggle or resistance.  There was nowhere to escape to in any case.  He had a good supply of air and as long as he communicated his need for oxygen in sufficient time he would be safe.

He was walking on a clear glasslike surface that covered an array of long hollow cylinders with their open ends pointing upwards.  Inside each was a central spike surrounded by several toroidal rings of varying diameters and thicknesses.  Knight looked around in all
directions;
there must have been
tens of
thousands of them.  The group began to move downhill on a slight slope, and it was then that Knight noticed the opening ahead.  It was just that, a rectangular hole in the surface structure.  As he moved closer he looked anxiously for some steps, but saw none.

'Red', as Knight had
named
him continued right to the edge but Knight began to pull back.  He did not like the idea of a dangerous opening like that and felt quite ill at ease, wondering how he could get through safely.  The other seemed to sense his fear and let him go, leaving him about a metre from the edge.  Then to Knight's horror Red let himself fall straight into the hole.  He simply stood at the edge and fell forwards.  Knight looked behind him.  The yellow creatures were some distance away, nearer than before, but still taking no chances.  He was glad they were keeping their distance, the last thing he wanted was for one to dash up and push him in.

He stepped forward cautiously to see what had happened to his guide.  To his astonishment he was apparently hanging by his feet on the other side, upside down and looking straight up at him.  Abruptly he swung himself forwards again and came to rest at the edge by Knight's side.  By his behaviour he clearly wanted Knight to go down in the same way.  How could he explain that he could not hang like that by his feet?  Red apparently took such abilities for granted.

Then, as if reading his mind Red summoned one of his smaller colleagues and held him over the hole.  Without any fuss or resistance 'Yellow' was dropped straight down.  Knight stared after him aghast.  He could not possibly stop himself from falling right down to the next surface, easily twenty metres below.  But, as if to confound his earthbound assumptions the creature slowed and stopped in mid-air about two metres on the other side, and paradoxically flew back upwards, landing neatly in Red's waiting arms.

The others took this as a cue for a game and began leaping in and out of the hole, somersaulting and generally having a wonderful time.  They looked
just
like playful children eager to show off their skills to anyone who would watch, and Knight began to suspect that that was exactly what they were, children.  He understood now of course.  The gravitational field that he had begun to take for granted was produced artificially, and since such a field could be generated it made sense to reverse it on the other side.  Then people on both sides would call the surface a floor rather than a ceiling, and passage from one side to the other was as easy as falling through a hole.

Knowing the situation helped.  He now knew
that
he was in no danger, but could not bring himself t
o swing through as Red had done.  T
he only way he could proceed was on all fours.  It was an awkward process.  Half way thr
ough his head told him to hang o
n tight to the inner edge lest he fall back to the outside, and his feet told him to grip the outer edge lest he fall inside.  It was a very disorientating experience.  He found it best to focus on what his head was saying and try to ignore his feet.  That way he could drag himself in slowly without half his brain feeling as though he was committing suicide.

On the inside he stood erect once again, sheepishly joining his companions who were all through by now and waiting patiently for him.  He realised that his clumsy behaviour had already told the aliens how little faith mankind had in logic and observation, and from this they could probably deduce
how far down the road of self-
mastery we had progressed.

Little could be seen of this level yet as they were standing at the foot of a long slope similar to the one on the other side.  Knight understood the purpose of the slopes
now;
they formed a thin section in an otherwise thick surface to allow easy passage from one side to the other.

The lack of view all around was more than compensated for by the view overhead.  The next inner surface was another floor, and a couple of aliens could be seen moving over it.  Every detail could be seen quite clearly, and Knight felt as though he was looking down from a tall cliff, without a safe
ty
rail to cling on to.  He began to feel quite dizzy.  He quickly learned that for all its fascination it was best not to look up.  For although an astronaut soon becomes used to working in any orientation in zero gee, in a gravitational field his old instincts return in full force.  He began to feel strong pangs of nausea, but knew that at all costs he must avoid vomiting inside his suit.  Ordinarily it was just a severe discomfort until the suit was removed, but here he would have to live with it indefinitely.  He closed his eyes and waited for a while, and eventually to his great relief the feeling passed.

He followed his patient guides to the top of the slope.  There he felt as if he had emerged into the open air rather than being enclosed in a vessel.  There was open space all around.  A roadway led from the hole and was flanked by what could only be described as fields.  In them were what appeared to be large fungoid growths, probably some form of food supply guessed Knight.  Further investigation was interrupted by Red touching his arm.  The request was clear enough despite the poor communications, so Knight complied and followed closely behind the little group.  Here and there were squat buildings sitting amongst the fungus, like
small wide
igloos.  One was surrounded by a fine
mist;
it was spraying a liquid over the surrounding vegetation, a nutrient Knight decided.

Suddenly he stopped again, no doubt to the consternation of the others, but he had become aware that nowhere was there any light source.  Everything was lit by a pinkish daylight, but there was no sun in here, everything was completely enclosed.  This was very puzzling.  He wished desperately that he could talk to his
companions;
there was so much he wanted to know.  He had tried of course but had received no response.  Although his helmet filtered much of the sound some would still have got through.

His earlier fear had almost completely gone.  Paradoxically he felt safe.  He was not being compelled to do anything against his will, merely encouraged to go with the aliens.  He felt that if he wished to go back to the hole to get outside again then he would be assisted and not prevented.  For the time being he was quite enjoying himself; his curiosity was being exercised to the full, to an explorer this was a true wonderland.

More slopes and holes could be seen periodically, exactly the same as the first but without any apparent identification.  In fact there were no markings of any sort anywhere, no signposts, labels, nothing to distinguish one part from any other.  Knight counted the holes and squat buildings as the group moved along in an attempt to estimate his position relative to his entry point.  But he knew that the activity was unlikely to be of any benefit, he did it more by instinct than as part of any specific plan.

He guessed that the outer spheres were the food production areas, perhaps the main population was situated further to the inside of the vessel.  Such an arrangement would be sensible.  Any damage caused from outside would then affect only a small number of aliens and the food production loss would presumably not be serious.  If that was the case then perhaps Raminski's attack had not been such a disaster after all.

Knight began to wonder how access to the inner spheres was achieved.  His curiosity was soon satisfied
.  C
oming into view was a giant pillar stretching between the two surfaces.  Yes of course, this would be the inside of one of the connecting links.  By such a network the aliens had access to any part of any sphere.

The children, Knight found it natural to think of them in that way, were evidently not used to such slow progress.  They leapt forwards along the road, returning later and racing back the way they had come, repeating the process endlessly.  Red on the other hand behaved in a much more adult fashion.  He was walking instead of leaping, although he did not appear comfortable moving in such a manner.  Knight felt that without himself to slow them down they would have reached their destination long ago.  He began to feel a distinct attachment to the little party.  No direct communication was possible, but from the way Red kept looking over his charge Knight felt that he was being well looked after.  Even the children seemed pleased to have him with them, he felt sure that most of their antics were for his benefit.

They had almost reached the pillar now.  The fields had ended and a circular area was left clear for about ten metres all around.  The pillar itself was about fifteen metres in diameter Knight judged and the ground rose to meet it in a neat radius.  An opening was visible at the top of the radius about three metres from the ground.  Perhaps the locals could run up the radius and through the opening but for him it would be difficult enough without a vacuum suit, and impossible with one.  He was learning fast not to make any assumptions in here though.  He watched with amusement as Red walked confidently up the radius and turned through ninety degrees as he did so.  He then looked back to watch Knight follow, which he did but very slowly and unsteadily.  The gravitational field followed the curve, so that at the top the pillar looked like a large horizontal cylinder linking two vertical curving surfaces.  It seemed to Knight that it was the vessel itself that turned as he moved forwards and he found the sensation most peculiar.  The opening was now a hole in the floor and this time he accurately guessed the method of entry.

If they had wished merely to cross to the next surface they could have walked along the pillar but they were evidently going further than that.  Red swung himself through the hole and waited for Knight to follow.  He stood at the edge looking down at Red who in that position looked like an enlarged comic reflection.  He tried to gather enough courage to drop into the hole but couldn't do it.  Angry with himself and with the impression he must be creating he resorted again to crawling through on all fours.

Inside the walls were like polished silver.  There was no internal lighting but the blackness was punctuated at regular intervals by light from the entrances along the route.  It was strange to see a straight passageway after so many curves
,
and what a passageway.  It appeared to stretch endlessly in both directions.