THE FOREVER GENE (THE SCIONS OF EARTH Book 1) (7 page)

Ko, Vi and the ambassador took up position at the focal point of the semi-circle.  Physician Ti had left the party as soon as it entered the facility.  A pair of the Faerie Folk's nutritionists showed everyone how to order refreshments from a miniature interface module sitting on the arm of each chair.  Among a list of mostly exotic beverages Qara found tea, coffee and water, and opted for the latter, suddenly realising that she was thirsty from the long walk through the forest.

In the meantime, Batu and Oyugun set up their equipment and, after a brief introduction by the president, the ambassador began his presentation.

"Welcome to our research facility," he said, raising his four-fingered green hands in an all encompassing gesture.  "It is entirely contained within this building, which covers an area of approximately three hectares.  We have had to clear an area of the forest in order to build it and for that we sincerely apologise."  He inclined his head towards the curator.  "There are one hundred and seventy-two of my people here, the majority of them analysts, researchers and other technicians.  There are a dozen translators, two physicians and six nutritionists.

"Before I ask Analyst Ko to tell you what it is that we are working on here, I must explain the general purpose of our visit to your planet.  First, I wish to assure you that we are not here to conquer, or to invade.  We have travelled here in a single star ship which is presently in orbit around your Moon.  You have not detected it because it has been kept cloaked, as has this facility.  Our cloaking technology not only screens the cloaked object from observation, it also physically deflects anything which approaches it.  This is the only defensive technology we have deployed.  You will find no weapons within this facility, nor any military or security personnel of any kind.  President Ganzorig's team will be invited to confirm this during their inspection.

"The reason we have kept our presence hidden until now is to give ourselves enough time to prepare evidence of what it is we have to offer you.  We are not naive enough to believe that there will be no hostility towards us or suspicion of our motives.  Now that our facility is up and running, we are in a position to make our proposal.  We are here to trade with you.  Knowing that our technology is superior to yours, you may wonder what it is that we want from you.  In order to answer this question I must tell you of the predicament in which my race is mired."

He went on to describe in some detail the genetic crisis that Vi had told Qara of earlier.  "Our genetic analysts have been working on the problem for a long time, but have been quite unable to solve it.  The more research and testing we do the more anomalous results we seem to produce.  At present, if natural forces are left to determine the gender of our young, one female is born to every eight males and each generation of females produces less young than the one before.  We have the genetic technology to change the gender of unborn males, but have found that females born of this method are almost always infertile.  Our understanding of the whole phenomenon is in so parlous a state that we are not even able to conclusively determine whether the infertility is the cause of our overall decline, or rather a function of it.

"It is one of the reasons we travel the universe seeking out young, innovative races such as yours.  We hope that we shall discover some insight that we have lost, or perhaps never had.  We have come to your planet to study the family system as your race has developed it.  The family system is common to many of our client races, but most of them have imposed external controls over it in order to maximise the potential of individuals within the family.  In our society the family system is regarded as an ancient anachronism.  The accepted theory is that family ties should not be permitted to inhibit the development of the extraordinary personalities the civilisation needs to drive its overall progress.  The talent and potential of our young is identified at an early age and each individual is placed within the most appropriate training facility.  Our females are mated only with genetically suitable males in order to maximise their prospects of producing desirable offspring."

The rather uncharitable thought which popped into Qara's mind at this point was that Tol would have to scrap his planned 'Insight' feature and start working on a new one.

The ambassador continued his monologue.  "Your society is unique in that it imposes no such controls over the family system.  Males and females are free to choose their mates.  Children who would be far more suited to one calling or occupation are allowed to randomly adopt another, often simply following in the footsteps of a parent.  The result is that accidents of birth doom many potentially extraordinary individuals to mediocrity or failure.  We have not found such an imperfect system anywhere else in the universe.

"And yet, the human race has progressed at an extraordinary rate in a very short space of time.  Brilliant individuals have emerged regularly and in sufficient numbers to ensure that your technology has never stagnated for more than a few hundred of your years at a time.  Our analysts have competing theories to explain this.  One is that the human race produces an unusually high number of brilliant individuals and that no amount of chaotic selection can inhibit the development of sufficient numbers of them.  The other is that it is this very aspect of natural selection which drives humanity's progress.  Either way, we are here to request the opportunity to ascertain, through observation and study, whether your system of selection holds the key to our quandary.

"We do not ask this boon lightly, nor do we undervalue it.  We have identified what we believe to be the most significant problem faced by your race and we offer to assist you to overcome it.  Your population is exploding at a rate with which you cannot cope.  Your planet is rapidly running out of natural resources and can no longer sustain its population.  President Ganzorig has informed us that there are an estimated nine billion inhabitants of planet Earth, not counting its other species.  Despite your best efforts, the numbers of most of these other species are dwindling towards extinction.  Even your more developed nations face ruin once their resources are exhausted.

"The solution is to colonise other worlds so that your population can spread out and relieve Earth of its burden.  However you have not yet developed a star drive and our analysis of the level of your technology is that, by the time you are in a position to do so, your planet will be in ruins and you will no longer have the resources to go into space."

The ambassador paused for breath, or perhaps for effect.  Qara glanced at the rest of the group.  The euphoric mood of earlier had cooled rapidly in the few minutes it had taken the ambassador to succinctly summarise the dire condition of planet Earth.

He was well aware of the effect of his words.  "I am sorry to express it so starkly, but we believe we can offer you the knowledge you need to achieve a solution."

Without further ado he stepped back, and left the facility's head analyst to continue the interview.  Ko was a slightly shorter, thinner individual than the ambassador and not as comfortable a speaker.  Although he spoke in the same high-pitched tone as the other Faerie Folk, his manner was less assured and his sentences clipped.  As far as Qara was concerned, he did not display the warm sincerity exuded by Vi.

"It is not possible to simply give you our star drive," he began brusquely.  "Although there are some similarities, your technology is fundamentally incompatible with ours.  What is required is for us to introduce you to the concepts you will need to develop your technology to the necessary level.  Then we can assist you to design star ships and the systems you will need to operate them.  We will teach you the basics of space navigation and, when the time comes, give you the co-ordinates of star systems which may be suitable for you to colonise.

"We are aware that you do not have a central planetary authority, so our offer is available to any of your nations who wish to participate in the programme.  That is why we have brought such a large team of analysts and researchers with us.  We estimate that about twenty to thirty of your nations are in a position to take up our offer, although we recommend that as many as possible join forces with each other.  Our experience with other races tells us that it will take approximately six of your months for your most developed nations to successfully launch your first star ships.

"The fundamentals of star travel are simple.  You have already discovered the existence of black holes, and your speculation about the existence and function of wormholes is well founded.  We will teach you the mathematics to enable you to plot wormholes through space.  Each wormhole must pass within a precisely measured distance of a black hole.  The star drive opens the wormhole and taps the immense energy created by the acceleration of matter being drawn into the black hole.  The energy is used to stabilise the wormhole and propel the star ship through it.

"It is too dangerous to open a wormhole within the atmosphere of a planet.  A portion of the atmosphere is inevitably sucked into the wormhole when it opens, and this has been known to destabilise the wormhole to the extent that it ruptures.  In the early days of space travel, a number of star ships were lost as a result of this effect.  Also, the loss of even a small portion of a planet's atmosphere can have disastrous consequences for its ecology.  Most races avoid this problem by building a space station.  Your existing space stations are inadequate for the purpose, but you are fortunate; your Moon is ideally situated for use as a space station and is large enough to meet your needs."

Abruptly, Ko stopped speaking and there was silence while the members of his audience simply gaped at him, stunned by the enormity of his revelations.  Tol now had enough material for a whole series of 'Insight' features, and the tour of the facility had not even begun yet.

The presentation wasn't finished and the ambassador stepped forward again.  "We are mindful of the fact that a promise of helping you to achieve space travel in the future will not satisfy those among you who are doubtful of our intentions or perhaps even of our ability to carry out our promises.  The star drive is only one of the things we have to offer.  A more immediate difficulty faced by your population is the shortage of proper housing.  Billions of humans are either homeless or reside in sub-standard structures.  Many are without electricity for light and heat.  The explosion of your population, and the rapid dwindling of your planet's resources, has caused the cost of building materials and electricity to soar to levels which make it impossible for your nations to construct proper living facilities for all of the planet's inhabitants."

He raised his hands in another all-encompassing gesture.  "The answer to this crisis is around us.  We did not bring any building materials with us.  This facility is constructed of the most abundant resource on the face of your planet.  It was completed in a fraction of the time it would have taken had we used any of your conventional building materials.  Buildings constructed of this material can be produced quickly and cheaply and can withstand extreme temperatures, both hot and cold.  The material also draws solar energy, stores it, and converts it into light and heat, which is distributed through the walls of the building."

Before he could continue, one of the president's aides leaned forward and whispered urgently into Ganzorig's ear.  He stood up immediately.  "I am sorry to interrupt you, ambassador, but I have just received word that squadrons of Chinese and Russian hover-copters have entered Mongolian airspace.  I must leave for the city at once.  I have already made some preparations in anticipation of such an eventuality and I shall do everything in my power to safeguard you and your people.  Once the crisis has been dealt with I shall return and look forward to completing the tour of your facility."

"Do not worry about us, Mr President," responded the ambassador.  "No-one will be able to discover our facility while it is cloaked."

The president and his companions hurried out of the facility and raced through the trees.  They boarded the waiting 'copters, which rose into the clear blue sky.  After a few moments the ancient forests of Tsetseegun Uul were silent and empty once more.

CHAPTER FOUR

David crossed Tremont Street and strolled across Boston Common towards the Frog Pond Cafe. His next patient interview was not until one o'clock and he could afford to spend an hour relaxing with a coffee in the warm autumn sun.  He crossed the crowded common, picking his way between the mid-morning picnickers and idle MIT students competing for space on the neatly cut lawns.  To the right, along the tree-lined Freedom Trail, a group of grubby looking individuals was conducting a peaceful, if noisy, protest.  He watched as they pressed colourful leaflets into the hands of reluctant pedestrians hurrying or strolling along the walkway.

Ignoring the commotion, he activated his 'link and checked that his pulp-download of the Boston Morning Tribune had arrived.  Most people were content to watch the news on their screens or 'specs, but he preferred reading it himself rather than having it hurled at him in the sensational tones affected by Personet news anchors.  At the cafe he found a recently vacated table and selected his order from its touchscreen interface.  He projected a holographic screen from his 'link, positioned the projection at a comfortable height above the table, and called up the front page of the Tribune.

As usual, the main headline featured the Faerie Folk.  In the six weeks since their emergence from the steppes of Mongolia they had dominated the media.  The latest news was that their pilot building programme, near Bangkok in Thailand, was nearing completion.  It was the culmination of a fascinating series of events, which began with ominous reports of Chinese and Russian hover-copter gunships criss-crossing Mongolia, searching for the Faerie Folk's facility. Both powers announced that they merely wanted to satisfy themselves that it contained no threats to world security.

No-one believed this, of course, and it was obvious that each wanted the Faerie Folk's technology for itself.  It seemed inevitable that there would be conflict, either between Mongolia and the intruding powers, or between the intruders themselves.  Sensibly, Mongolia did not launch a military response, although its government protested strongly at the presence of foreign forces within its borders.

Initially the rival 'copter squadrons searched the Bogdkhan National Park, occasionally putting troops on the ground to comb dense areas of forest, but they found nothing.  Then, suspecting that the Mongolians had somehow misdirected them as to the location of their target, they extended their search over a much larger area.

For ten days the tension simmered and the world held its breath as it waited to see who would find the facility first, and what the response of the other would be. Nothing happened, however, because they were simply unable to find anything.  The facility seemed to have vanished from the face of the Earth.

While the search was taking place, the intruding powers were deftly outmanoeuvred by the quick-witted young president of Mongolia.  Before embarking on his initial visit to the facility, he had ordered his parliament to prepare a proclamation declaring it a foreign embassy.  Upon his return, he ratified the proclamation which, under international law, gave it the status of an independent state. The chancellor of the Northern European government in Munich issued a statement guaranteeing its territorial integrity, and the rest of the world's major nations quickly followed suit.

Then President Ganzorig flew to Thailand, where he persuaded its government to be the first to take advantage of the Faerie Folk's offer to build housing desperately needed in that country.  Not long after an agreement was reached, a Mongolian airbus landed at the busy Bangkok International Airport and a large contingent of Faerie Folk disembarked, led by a smiling Ambassador Ba.  The ambassador dealt smoothly with the media, announcing that they were there to begin construction and repeating the offer to pass on the new technology to any nation that wanted it.

The Chinese and Russian governments were suitably embarrassed by the ease with which their quarry had eluded them and had no choice but to pull their forces out of Mongolia. Ganzorig requested them to make amends for their incursion by recognising the status of the facility as an international embassy.  As soon as they had grudgingly done so, the facility was uncloaked and a large contingent of international observers was invited to inspect it.

David's 'mote chimed as a call came in from the Factory.  "Answer", he said, slightly annoyed.  He hated receiving calls from work when he was out, but Penelope was usually good at screening them and only forwarding him the important ones.

"Sorry to bother you, sir, but I thought I had better put this person through to you," she said.

"Who is it?"

She hesitated.  "I'm not sure, sir.  I think he said that he is the ambassador of Bolivia but I couldn't hear him clearly, his voice seems to be distorted by a bad connection.  He says it is a matter of great importance so I said that I would see if you were available."

"Alright, I'll speak to him."  He stifled his irritation and said, "Good morning, David Herald here."

There was silence on the line and he was about to repeat himself when the caller spoke in a high-pitched voice with a slightly metallic tone.  "Good day, Dr Herald," it said.  The voice was strangely familiar, although for a moment David couldn't place it.

"I apologise for disturbing you without an introduction or appointment, but I would like to discuss a transaction of mutual benefit with you.  It involves a matter of some delicacy and, for that reason, I would prefer a meeting in person if you are amenable."

Again there was silence, this time as David scrolled through his memory in an attempt to put a name to the caller.  He couldn't remember ever meeting the ambassador of Bolivia and yet he was sure he had heard the voice somewhere before.  Staring vacantly at the front page of his pulp download, the latest photograph of the smiling face of Ambassador Ba caught his eye, and his mind suddenly made the connection.

"Are you still there, Dr Herald?" asked the ambassador.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else," he stammered.

"I realise that my call is unannounced and I beg your forgiveness.  I have a great many commitments at present and find myself compelled to ignore the appropriate social etiquette.  If you are prepared to meet with me, I shall arrange a suitable location where I will make amends for my impolite approach.  I am presently engaged with the hand-over of our inaugural housing estate in Bangkok, but I should be able to meet with you in three days.  Will that give you enough time to travel to Thailand?"

David couldn't imagine why the leader of the Faerie Folk might want to meet him.  Was he interested in something the Factory had to offer? What he could imagine was his wife's reaction if he turned down the invitation.  She was fascinated by the Faerie Folk and even he couldn't help but be intrigued by the prospect.

"If you give me a chance to speak with my wife and clear my schedule, ambassador, I am sure that I can make myself available."

"Of course, Dr Herald, and by all means extend my invitation to your wife and any of your colleagues who may wish to accompany you."

"I will do so, thank you.  Is there someone my assistant may call to make the necessary arrangements?"

"Yes, Translator Vi will co-ordinate the meeting and can be contacted on the 'link I am using now.  I look forward to meeting you, Dr Herald."

The call was disconnected.

David sat for a few minutes, wondering about the purpose of the ambassador's request. His coffee had arrived but sat untouched on the table.  He called Pris but she didn't answer, probably busy with a lecture.

Then he called Chunky, partly to see if he wanted to come along and partly to make sure that the whole thing wasn't one of his practical jokes.  If it was, his reaction to the news was impressively genuine and, when no chuckled confession was forthcoming, David decided he had to take the incident at face value.  Always keen to embark on an adventure, Chunky readily agreed to go, but not before he had the audacity to ask whether David was having him on!  David didn't bother to dignify that with an answer.

"Did you ask about their hard-water compound?" Chunky enthused.  "I still can't get my head around it.  How can H
2
O become a building material, simply by altering its composition?"  He had been obsessed by the concept since it had been announced.  The actual formula hadn't been made public as the Faerie Folk were anxious to prevent it from being inaccurately applied.  The last thing they wanted was poor quality structures giving the technology a bad name.  Instead, any nation which wanted it would be sent a team of analysts to instruct and supervise local contractors.  The formula would eventually become common knowledge, but by then sufficient building projects would have been completed and its integrity well-established.

"No," said David. "I was too surprised to ask anything.  You can ask him yourself at the meeting if you want."

David called Penelope and instructed her to clear his schedule for a few days and to make the arrangements for him to fly to Thailand with Pris and Chunky.

Pris called as he was ordering a fresh cup of coffee.

"Hello, I missed your call, how is your day going?"

"Weirdly.  How would you like a trip to Thailand to meet the Faerie Folk?"

She laughed.  "Very funny, you're getting as bad as Chunky.  You must be really bored to come up with silly stuff like that.  Anyway, I have another lecture, so I can't talk now."

"So should I tell Penelope not to book you on the airbus?"

"Are you being serious?  When?"

"We leave on Friday morning.  Unfortunately your brother is coming too."

"But we are supposed to be going to the convocation dinner at MIT on Friday night with John and Alison."

A pregnant silence betrayed the fact that David's memory had failed him for the second time that day.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten, I told you about it weeks ago."

"Didn't we go to the convocation dinner last month?"

"No, that was the faculty prize-giving.  Your memory is deteriorating very badly for someone who isn't getting any older."

David had given up trying to keep track of the never-ending series of social engagements he attracted. John Wilson, the ambitious head of Pris' department, was particularly determined to be seen with MIT's most celebrated graduate as often as possible and insisted on inviting David and Pris to every social function on the calendar.

"You would rather sit in a cold auditorium listening to a bunch of over-dressed academics with inflated opinions of themselves than fly to warm, sunny Thailand to meet beings from another planet?"

"Not when you put it like that, no.  What should I tell John?"

"Tell him you will invite Ambassador Ba to the next convocation dinner.  I'm sure that will make him very happy."

Pris laughed again.  "You're not being very helpful, you know.  Don't worry, I'll think of something."

"Does that mean you want to come, then?"

"Someone with your IQ shouldn't pretend to be dense, dear."

It was David's turn to laugh.

Pris had to go then, and David returned to his pulp download.  An item at the bottom of the front page caught his eye.  It was a conspiracy theory claiming that the Faerie Folk had an ulterior motive for their visit to Earth.  Of course, the media delighted in running these stories despite the fact that there was never any hard evidence backing them up.  It was inevitable that, once the novelty of the arrival of the Faerie Folk had worn off, the media would look for more and more outrageous angles to keep the sensation alive.

Today's story was particularly lurid, and he read it for its entertainment value.  According to an interview with a group of Brazilian industrialists, the purpose of the introduction of the hard-water technology was to disguise a plan to steal Earth's fresh water.  The Faerie Folk needed the water to sustain a massive battle fleet passing through the galaxy on its way to conquer a rival civilisation.

If that was so, asked Personet reporters at the interview, why didn't they despatch part of the battle fleet to Earth to simply take the water?  Because their weapons are so destructive that the water would be contaminated in the process of subduing Earth's military defences, replied the industrialists.  And the Faerie Folk are concerned about the humans spiking the water once they discover what the invaders are after.

Why does the battle fleet need to pass through the Milky Way when it could travel directly to its destination using the star drive?  Because the Faerie Folk are lying about the star drive; it exists only in theory and their ships actually take light years to travel through space.  They have promised humanity this non-existent technology in order to secure its blind co-operation.  The alleged incompatibility of terrestrial technology is just an excuse to give them time to get the water-siphoning apparatus in place.  They would have the world believe that the apparatus is necessary for the conversion of water into building materials, but its real function is to send the water up to the star ship orbiting the Moon.  Unless something is done to stop them, the Earth will be left an arid ruin.

David was a little surprised that a respectable publication like the Tribune would run such an unlikely, if ingenious, item on the front page.  The cynic in him wondered how the water would be transported through space to the distant battle fleet.  Perhaps the Faerie Folk could use wormholes which would siphon water like giant straws.