The Power of Gnaris (6 page)

“I have
already done this. My first act after hearing about the deaths at
the centre on Hikon was to warn the other planets; my next act was
to cancel all flights, as you say. The only flight that I permitted
out of Hikon was the ferry ship that is coming to get us; and there
are no passengers on board, only crew. What is the second thing you
wish to bring to my attention?”

“I had a lead
. . . an idea . . . but it has come to naught.”

“Oh?”

“Yesterday,
when Elena was showing me around the town . . .”

“Elena showed
you around?” Barrow’s voice resonated around the room.

“Yes, I gave
her a tour of my ship, and then . . .”

“What is your
interest in Elena, Captain Forster?”

Forster’s face
turned a darker shade of red. “No interest. We just get on well
together because she has lived among humans, and is also fluent in
my language. She is the only Karavec I’ve met who shares some
experiences with me.”

Barrow tried
to conceal his anger. “No interest you say? Keep it that way. Such
. . . um . . . liaisons, as practised by humans, are forbidden by
the Karavec.”

Forster bowed
in acquiescence.

“ Now, what is
this lead you mentioned?”

“Yesterday, we
saw the prisoners being taken to your palace. Among them I saw a
pair of conjoined twins.”

“Twins are
very rare on Arion, and throughout the Karavec race.”

“Yes, but
Elena told me that Karavec twins are identical in every way. Even
their retinas bear the same patterns.”

Barrow nodded.
“And what does this have to do with the murders?”

“Don’t you
see? If the twin of one of the workers at the Embrycultural Centre
is the murderer, then he could have gained access by using his
twin’s key card and PIN. The retinal scan would have matched
perfectly, and he could have opened the door.”

Barrow nodded
again. “They must have been separated.”

“Of
course.”

“Did you do a
search of the database of the records of embryo births for such
twins, and in particular those that have been separated?” His voice
rose in anticipation.

“Yes, and I
could find none that matched any of the workers at the centre.”

“What about
the Embrycultural Centre on Hikon, have you also searched the
database of those who work there?”

“Of course. I
have so far found nothing.”

“And yet this
seems like a plausible explanation. Perhaps someone has tampered
with the records.”

“That is a
possibility. I will continue to make enquiries following this lead;
but I will also look for other clues. That’s one reason why I must
visit Hikon. When do we leave?”

“The ferry
ship is arriving later today. It will require a few hours to refuel
and restock supplies. We should be able to depart tomorrow.”

“Good; and how
long will it take to get there?”

“Three
days.”

“How fast is
your ship?”

“About five
percent of the speed of light.”

“My ship can
reach eighty percent. We could be there in less than five
hours.”

“I have
already explained that your ship will not be granted access to
Arion.”

“Do you not
have a craft that can travel at the speed in darkness?”

“That is not
an option for us at the moment since our mother ship was destroyed,
and its replacement is still under construction. Besides, we have
never built a smaller ship that can travel at this speed. The
reason is simple. If we were to travel between Arion and Hikon at
the speed in darkness, it would take just a matter of minutes, but
the gnaris required to get up to speed would be enormous, and we
could easily miss our destination planet while braking from such a
high speed after such a short period of time. We travelled from our
own galaxy to the Milky Way at the speed in darkness, but even then
our braking systems failed.”

“Very well.
Three days it is then.”

“Now, Captain
Forster, you must get some rest before the journey. It will be
quite tiring.”

* * * * *

The following
afternoon, Forster, Elena and Barrow sat in the first class section
of the ferry ship
Gnaris Voyager
. The ship was quite small,
carrying a maximum of forty passengers and a crew of five

two pilots, an engineer and two cabin
staff. But on this occasion there were no other passengers, and
only four crew members.

“I am not used
to such a small craft,” said Forster. “It reminds me of those crude
interplanetary ships I’ve seen in the Earth archives.”

Barrow was not
very charitable in his response. “This is not a crude vehicle,” he
said, raising his voice. “My people do not design ships to just
travel between planets, as you suggest. These ships are good for
inter-galactic travel as well as travel between solar systems.”

“I meant no
offence,” said Forster. “I merely meant that the layout of the
ship, not the technology that drives it, reminds me of those from
the past.”

“Please choose
your words more carefully Captain Forster. I would not wish for us
to fall out again.”

“Gentlemen,
please,” said Elena. “Jim is here to help us.”

“Jim! Do you
dare to address him so informally? He is Captain Forster to
you.”

Elena bowed
her head in acknowledgement. “Please forgive me, Great Savant.” She
turned towards Forster. “And please accept my apologies Captain
Forster.”

The
ill-feeling dissipated when a Karavec came aft from the cockpit.
His appearance brought a smile to Barrow’s face.

“Ah Sirrow,”
said the Great Savant, “how good to see you again. Let me introduce
you. This is Captain Forster from Earth. He is travelling with us
to Hikon to help investigate the murders of the embryos. Captain
Forster, this is Sirrow, captain and pilot of this ship. He has
been a loyal Karavec in this position for many decades.”

Forster stood
and offered his hand. “I’m pleased to meet you,” he said.

Sirrow looked
surprised. He had been told of this strange custom of the humans,
but was unprepared for such a gesture. Not wanting to offend,
Sirrow slowly extended his own hand.

“And this is
Elena,” said Barrow. “She is assisting Captain Forster in his
investigations.”

Elena nodded
her head in acknowledgement.

“Tell me,
Sirrow, are we expecting a good trip?” Barrow asked.

“Oh yes, Great
Savant. There are no adverse weather conditions for our take-off,
and the journey through to Hikon will be a smooth one. Our ETA at
Hikon is three days and four hours. Fortunately, the two planets
are favourably-aligned; otherwise the journey would have taken
longer.”

“Who is your
co-pilot, Captain?”

“Joodrow. He
has recently joined my crew from the
Gnaris Trader
. He has
an excellent record.”

Forster looked
inquisitively at Elena.

“
Gnaris
Trader
is the cargo ship that travels regularly between Arion
and Hikon. It is at present in dry dock, as are all ships except
this one.”

Sirrow turned
to Elena. “Please tell Captain Forster that I hope he enjoys his
trip.” He nodded his head in Forster’s direction, and then turned
back towards the cabin.

A few minutes
later, the ship blasted out of its Arion orbit, and after an hour
it had reached cruising speed, and was on its way to Hikon.

‘We’re now at
cruising speed,” said the stewardess. “You can remove your
harnesses, and are free to walk around the ship.”

Forster had
not travelled at high speed in such a small ship before; so he felt
a little apprehensive. “Is this ship strong enough to withstand the
forces experienced at such high speeds?” he asked.

“Don’t worry,
captain,” said Barrow. “The ship may be small, but she is very
tough. Besides, the gnaris provided by the pilots and the engineer
will ensure that the ship is untouched by any extreme physical
forces.”

For the next
three days the ship hurtled through space. The passengers could see
nothing except distant stars through the craft’s windows, and the
faint outline of the sun Ogien. Only the dim lights inside the
passenger cabin afforded a little comfort from the blackness that
surrounded the ship. When the ship approached Hikon, sunlight
gradually increased, and the stewardess shut the blinds to protect
the sensitive Karavec eyes.

Forster passed
the time chatting with Elena and occasionally with Barrow,
listening to music or watching videos on his personal screen. At
times he slept, but the stress of the journey made prolonged sleep
difficult. The stewardess offered him occasional meals, but he ate
little. As was their custom, the Karavec had no need for food.

Then, after
three days, which seemed to Forster more like three weeks, the ship
began to slow down. The stewardess made the announcement to secure
the harnesses again.

Forster, who
sat on the port side, pulled aside one of the blinds, and peeped
through the crack. The ship was bathed in sunlight. He looked out
in wonder at the vista of a very large planet that came into view.
Barrow reached to close the blind again to protect his eyes from
the glare.

“That’s
Hikon,” said Elena. “It is the home planet of the Karavec, and has
always been out of bounds to other species. No one visits Hikon
except the Karavec, and what goes on there is a mystery to all but
the Karavec. You are very privileged to be allowed to come
here.”

“It’s quite
different from what I expected,” said Forster, “and quite unlike
any planet I’ve ever seen in my travels. Why does it appear so
red?”

“Hikon is
indeed unlike any other planet populated by the Karavec. It is not
a sunless world like the others, but it has a unique spin that sets
it apart from other planets in this system, or anywhere else in the
galaxy; maybe the whole universe.”

“What is
that?”

“Its period of
revolution and its period of rotation are almost the same.”

“That means
one half of the planet is always facing the sun and the other half
is always facing away from the sun, in total darkness.”

“That’s right.
We call the two halves the Hot Zone and the Cold Zone.”

“So the side
facing the sun is a perpetual desert where nothing can live, and
the half shielded from the sun is a permanent ice sheet, and
nothing can live there either. So where do the Karavec live?”

“Isn’t it
obvious? We are a race that does not like the light, so we live on
the narrow strip of land that is just beyond the sun’s horizon. We
call this the Home Band. It is not in the extreme cold part of the
Cold Zone, but it is a place where we can comfortably exist.”

Barrow took up
the tale. “When we first arrived on Hikon, we did not live out in
the open. Our life raft ships landed on the Home Band, and we
continued to live in them for several years until we were able to
construct the infrastructure for existence on the planet’s
surface.”

Forster spoke
next. “I’ve never come across such a planet before. There are
plenty of planets where the day is a little less than a year, and
I’ve heard tell of some planets where the day is longer than the
year

there was one in the Solar system
of Earth, a planet by the name of Venus

but I’ve never heard of one where the day and the year are exactly
the same.”

“Not quite
exactly,” said Barrow. “There is a very small difference, but it is
hard to notice. The Karavec have to move the boundaries of their
towns every few years, but not by far. It’s a very slow shift.”

After a few
minutes silence, Elena spoke again. “Is there something bothering
you, Ji . . . , I mean Captain Forster?”

“Is Hikon the
fourth planet of Ogien?”

“No, it’s the
third planet. Why do you ask?”

“Nothing of
importance.” After another lengthy silence, he asked, “Do you know
anything about the fourth planet?”

“Only that it
has life, including some primitive kind of humanoids. You seem very
interested in that planet.”

“It’s not
important. I’ll tell you about it some time. Does the planet have a
name?”

“It is called
Ziemia.”

One hour
later, the ship glided to a halt at Terminal Two of the main space
station of Hikon. The way into the arrivals hall was enclosed, and
protected from the elements. Nevertheless Forster was enthralled by
the scenery he glimpsed through the windows. In the direction of
the Hot Zone, he saw a halo, a soft pink glow that extended from
horizon to horizon. In the opposite direction, the sky resembled
the night sky on any planet, a sky filled with a myriad of bright
twinkling stars.

When he set
foot in the arrivals hall, he discerned a stunned silence. Not many
Karavec worked there, but it seemed to Forster that every one of
them stopped what they were doing and fixed their eyes on him.

“Why are they
staring?” he asked Barrow. “Have they never seen a human
before?”

“No, they have
not; nor any kind of alien. But that is not the reason why they
stare at you. Your reputation as a detective has gone before you.
They are just curious.”

“So do they
see me as a threat?”

“Not as a
threat in the way you mean. What could you do to endanger a whole
world of Karavec, every one of whom possesses gnaris? No, you are
not a threat to us in that sense. But your presence could be a
threat to the sovereignty of the Karavec people. It is fortunate
for you that you are with me and my guest here on Hikon. If you had
arrived independently, then you would not have survived for even a
second.”

When they
exited the arrivals hall, a vehicle waited to transport them to the
Great Savant’s palace on Hikon.

“You will
notice another difference from Arion,” said Elena when they passed
along narrow crowded streets. There is no roof. On Hikon we can
live freely on the surface of the planet. There is light and heat
enough for us to live comfortably.”