For reasons that will be clear later in this entry, I was physically unable to make a report during this first trip, and have been psychologically unable to do so for some time. I am grateful to Space Fleet Command to have allowed me these many years before making my official entry.
It's a long trip, even in a ship that can go ten times the speed of light.
It's taken us, once again, five years to reach Paracelsus, which has been
transformed in the last 200 years. Only two centuries! When we first came
here, it was a hot and dry planet, mostly a desert, but with an atmosphere
and oceans and great stores of fresh water in huge aquifers: a planet that
was not comfortable, but was inhabitable by humans. We found a large island
in the middle of an ocean, surrounded by at least 1000 km of water on every
side. Here we planted some trees, set up a few buildings, and dug some
wells. When we came back, it was with over 200 prisoners, Militia people
who had been particularly vicious. They were set down in what had become
a fairly green island. Nevertheless, they had to build a community from
scratch. A hard life was in store for them. And, given the sea creatures
we had found ten or eleven years earlier, we knew that they would have
no chance for escape.
On the other hand, it could have been worse for them. Their new and final
home was a prison without walls and without guards. The place was theirs
to make what they wanted it to be. No weapons, of course; and no contact
with Earth except for the rare visits when more prisoners would be brought.
What they didn't know was that they would never have the chance to raise
families there. Acting on orders from the Earth government, early in the
course of the five years it took to reach Paracelsus 2, all the prisoners
were sterilized, without their knowing it, through a combination of low-level
radiation and certain pharmaceuticals delivered in their food. This practice
was continued right up to the last group of prisoners, the last of the
Militia.
We dropped off those first prisoners back in the 2700s, after putting down
enough buildings to handle twice their number. There was a year's supply
of food, and two years' supply of seeds. There were ample supplies of water
accessible through the wells we had dug on our first setting foot on the
island.
Then we revisited the planet's one huge continent, or perhaps it would
be more accurate to say its two continents joined by a kind of isthmus.
This is where the settlers, the colonists, moved to on subsequent trips,
and it's a booming place today. Forests, actual rainfall now, and abundant
wildlife brought in from Venus (that is, Earth animals that had adapted
to the warmer conditions on Venus) and Mesnos. Farms, cities, schools and
all the institutions of modern life and culture. Rivers and lakes. But
out in the oceans, there's still a menace that sends chills up my spine
when I think about it. Paracelsus 2 (we like to use the number because
in another star system we had discovered a planet that seemed livable but
that in the end began to spew forth toxic fumes from an excess of seismic
activity) was also the scene of another direct and personal encounter I
had with death up in the mountains. The sea and the mountains, a terrifying
experience for me. All during that first trip. Not a good beginning for
a long friendship.
"Captain," said Commander Constantinos, "this island has all that's needed
to support and sustain human life, but our first exploration makes it look
pretty bleak. No trees or other big plants. The oceans harbor life, seemingly
a huge number of different life forms. We haven't had a chance to look
into that, though: we'll need our experimental surface craft and our submarine."
"While you haven't been looking at the sea, we have been looking from above
at something very promising, Homer, a continent about 1500 km to the west.
Plenty of underground water there, too, just like here, according to our
sensors. We'll tell you more about it when we get together, but we decided
not to touch down there yet: it's probably better to do just one thing
at a time, and a continent will take a good deal of time to explore, even
in a cursory manner. We'll go back there later. This planet has possibilities.
Have you seen any interesting plant or animal life at all down there?"
"There are grasses, ferns, moss, and such things, but not like what's on
Earth or on Mesnos. There is a strange kind of animal life here, with many
species: small ten-legged scurrying things of various colors. Incredibly,
they seem to have bony skeletons and a thick skin, not exoskeletons and
chitin like insects. They seem to be amphibians, but are in the size range
of insects, and from what we've been able to see, have found a niche similar
to the one insects have carved for themselves on Earth. We have a few samples
of the fauna and flora if you think we should study them."
"If I think...! Of course, you'll have to bring them up! More miracles
of life, other paths of evolution! Have you seen anything else on land?
And what about that life you mentioned seeing in the ocean?"
"We haven't found any fish or fish-like things yet. There are soft-shelled
or maybe it's soft-skinned creatures that look something like lobsters
but also with bony skeletons, there are clam-like animals, and jellyfish-like
swimmers washed up on shore: these are the most numerous. There must be
a lot of life out there. But you won't believe what we discovered yesterday.
"
"Try me. I've been to lots of places, seen lots of things."
"Try this for size. We saw near the horizon, in the seas, something that
looks like a monster."
"What do you mean, a monster? Monsters belong in fairy tales or in myths
and legends, not in a scientist's report."
"See, I told you you wouldn't believe me. Captain, we're talking something
that's huge, maybe 30 or 40 meters across, swimming out there. I can assure
you it's frighteningly large. We've captured it on visudisk, and it looks
just as eerie on our scanners as it did out there in its element. The scanners
are too small to allow us to get any detail, though. Maybe we can enhance
the quality of the images and see something on the visuscreens on Constellation."
"Imagine that! A monster, a sea-monster at that! Pardon my skepticism,
Homer, I find it hard to swallow."
"Captain, if it's as big as we think, it could swallow us!"
"No doubt about it: we'd better investigate that, and whatever else might
be lurking in the sea, before we explore the continent. We'll be in transporter
range in a few minutes. You can come up here for a day or so and let us
take a look at your pictures, examine the life forms you've collected,
and then we'll fly the sea crafts down to the surface. This sounds intriguing."
"Jama, what can you tell us about these scurrying creatures?"
"There are scavengers there, as well as vegetarians, and carnivore hunters.
The couple of hundred samples Homer and his crew collected really cover
a lot of ground. They all have fairly primitive brains, more like ganglions
than brains, good eyesight (of course, the hunters are exceptional in that),
and good hearing. Only one group of these animals seems to want to live
in a colony. And they're hunters. The hunted seem to depend on speed and
an uncanny ability to bury themselves in dirt in no time flat. The hunters
don't seem to work alone, ever."
"Cooperative hunters, even at insect-size level. That's a new one. Maybe
they move fast because of the heat here. It's a hot planet, somewhat hotter
than Earth, about like Venus, I think. I imagine that they don't have any
capacity to regulate body temperatures."
"Actually, they are both hot-blooded and cold-blooded."
"You mean, some are one way and some are the other?"
"No, I mean that they're all cold-blooded in the sense that they turn off
their heat regulation systems when the temperature ranges between 25 and
37 degrees. Below or above those parameters, their warm-blooded mechanism
kicks in. We've not exposed them to too-harsh temperatures, but they can
take temperatures as low as 10 and as high as 45."
"Amazing. When we know what they need to live, maybe we can make a little
terrarium for them."
"Or a paracelsarium."
"OK. A paracelsarium it will be. On another topic, are preparations made
for the boats? When can we send down a larger party for that exploration?
Have you chosen your staff? Have they been trained in using the equipment?
Sorry about these questions; they're required by the manual."
"Everything's ready, Captain. We can leave in the morning."
"Good. We'll get everyone down, in rotations of about 100 people at a time.
We'll try to combine some rest and recreation with the work we're charged
with doing."
"Janus, as chief of security, you must make sure that no one gets out in
the water to swim, or even dips a hand in it, until we're sure it's safe.
All indications are that on this planet the oceans are warm and are teeming
with life. Strange, on land it seems that living things are at a pretty
primitive point of evolution. Anyhow, we can't take chances in the water.
Everyone instructed and otherwise ready and properly equipped?"
"Yes, Captain. The submarine crew, all five of them, know that they must
not provoke any of the creatures here. Their instructions are to
try to evade pursuers, to stun them if force is needed, and to kill only
in the last instance. I've spoken to the ten persons who will accompany
me on the Wavehopper. They also know what to do, and what not to do."
"While your units are on mission, Janus, we'll be looking for a place to
sink wells here on the island. We should have plenty of drinking water
when you come back."
"Captain, so far we have not seen any evidence of serious atmospheric disturbances.
There are clouds, there are winds, but there haven't been any storms. It
looks pretty safe out there. Even the waves are moderate. How far out should
we go? Do we dare venture much beyond the sight of land? And what about
taking a dip?"
"For starters, I want you to be conservative. No swimming; I know that
will disappoint some people, especially with the warm salt water and the
hot sun, but we can't take chances with so many unknowns. Stay pretty close
to shore. Make sure you keep within radio contact of the shore party; if
you lose direct contact, get right on to the Constellation radio signals.
And also make sure that Wavehopper and Deep Crawler are in constant touch.
Remember, what had seemed to be a huge monster was actually a pod of something,
like medusas, but swimming together as though with a purpose. On Earth,
some of these things are poisonous. They might be very dangerous here."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" said Janus, putting on a sailor's cap that he produced
from apparently nowhere. Another of his magic tricks. Christina smiled.
It's a good thing his classical training is defective, or he'd slip on
a mask with two faces, like the old Roman god whose name he bears.
The two crews got in a longboat and went out to where their craft were
awaiting them in a kind of protected harbor. A bunch of jellyfish looked
at them through their eerie ring of eyes. The on-shore party watched as
they finally went away.
"Sentra, how has the photography been going?" asked Pharsilla, the commander
of Deep Crawler.
"It's been a real treat, Lieutenant. It's amazing that we've not seen anything
that looks like a fish yet. Lots of those jellyfish-like things, nautiluses,
conchs, things that look like squid but with ten tentacles and two longer
arms. We've been able to take pictures of floating islands of plants of
all colors. Look at the one up there: red and yellow flowers, green stems
and leafy-looking structures."
"Beautiful. Flowers swimming in the ocean, none on land. The Captain was
right, though, some of these creatures look downright unfriendly. I wouldn't
dare send anyone out in these infested waters. The sea is crowded, like
some places on Earth and Venus where life is too abundant! I've never experienced
an ocean so stocked with living things. Look at that ugly thing!"
"Lieutenant, these jellyfish-like things scare me. They have eyes making
a kind of circle on their back; 16 eyes. And they seem to swim in groups.
I've noticed that they hunt with incredible efficiency. Even those squids,
that seem so fast, can't outswim them; they're sort of hemmed in by 20
or so jellyfish, which corral them and then move in for the kill. They're
hunting machines. Even three of them seem to be enough to close in for
the kill. Strange. You never see them hunt alone, or for that matter in
pairs, even if their prey is smaller than they are. It's as though they
get more intelligent when there are more of them."
"Yes, and the larger and the smaller species all seem to work in groups.
Those creatures that made up what looked like a monster must all be over
a meter across, with legs at least two meters long."
"Speak of the devil, just ahead of us, there's a welcoming committee."
"Olney, get in touch with Wavehopper right away. We'd better warn them
about this. If these things are as organized as their smaller cousins,
we might be in for something."
"Deep Crawler to Wavehopper. Warning. A school of those giant jellyfish,
about 20 meters down, is approaching us. Be on the alert. From what we've
seen of the other jellyfish, they can be persistent and deadly hunters.
Over."
"Wavehopper to Deep Crawler. Warning received. We have our lasers readied
and set at stun. We have observed smaller jellies at work: they're terrifyingly
efficient hunters. Keep us informed of your progress. We're all glad we
were not allowed to go for a swim. Over."
"Hermione, is that you? Pharsilla here. Listen, get your crew inside. Tell
Janus, I mean tell Commander Skyhawk, that it might not be a bad idea to
turn Wavehopper around. The school is huge, a circle at least 100 meters
across and about two or three creatures deep. I'll leave the channels open,
but we've all got to get ready for action here. They're sizing us up, and
I think they're coming after us. They're beginning to break their circle
and form all around us. It looks serious."
"Commander Skyhawk here," said Janus. I'm calling in the crew right away.
Let us know if you need support of any sort."
Suddenly, on what seemed to be a signal from one of the jellyfish, the
attack came, simultaneously from all sides. They were caught in a tangle
of tentacles, with huge gaping maws and vicious teeth trying to cut into
Deep Crawler's walls. The sub lurched sharply to one side, then another.
"They're working in harmony with each other!"
"They've grabbed the periscope! They've trying to pull it off!"
"Our orders are to try everything before using lethal force. Olney! Try
a rapid deep dive! Sentra, a quick electric shock on the surface of the
ship! That should loosen their grip."
The submarine dived suddenly to about 50 meters at the moment the shock
loosened the grip of the jellies. They recoiled, as if caught by surprise.
"The evasive tactic seems to have worked, Lieutenant! No, wait, they've
regrouped and they're coming after us!"
"Plunge deeper! Get down to 100, even 150 meters."
"They're following us this deep, Commander! Should I try 200 meters?"
"200 meters, and spin to starboard, then cut back sharply to port. OK.
Up and down patterns now! ... We can't shake them!"
"Some of them have caught up with us."
"Head for the surface, or rather to 10 meters."
Standard evasive tactics did not seem to work. The shocks had less of an
effect after the initial jolt; can they adjust that fast? Whatever Pharsilla
tried, their pursuers kept coming. Even the amazing speed of this craft
was no obstacle to the surging herd. It took some time, but finally, they
caught up to Deep Crawler, and once again they attacked in formation and
got her in their grasp.
"Stun the jellies holding on to us!"
"Stunning them doesn't seem to be enough! We may need more force."
"First level shock!"
"That seems to have gotten them off the ship, but they've got plenty of
replacements."
In fact, they doubled the number of attackers, and began to pull the ship
in different directions. Can they think? A frightening thought. And just
look at those maws!
"Lethal force!"
One after another, the beasts loosened their grip, then floated lifeless
towards the surface. After five attacks–was the number significant?–the
survivors let out what sounded like a collective scream, and headed up
to the surface.
"Commander, we're free down here. Had to kill a great number of them, 50
or more. Be careful: they're on their way up. They're vicious and seem
to have a high degree of intelligence. Head back to shore! They might capsize
you!"
"We've already turned around, Pharsilla. Follow after us. Kill any that
pursue us. We hope we c..."
"Commander! Commander!"
The creatures had struck. Their tentacles had grasped the Wavehopper's
railings. They were trying to pull the craft down, under water! The ship
rocked fore and aft, and port to starboard at the same time.
"A soft approach didn't work undersea. We'll go straight for force here,"
shouted Janus over the strange piercing shrieks of the jellyfish. The crew
wasted no time in firing.
A red ray from the cabin struck one, then another, a third. From below
decks, more rays struck more jellies. The herd was attacked from behind
by Deep Crawler. But the jellies attacked a second, a third, a fourth time.
A hundred corpses were floating nearby.
Suddenly, Giorgina cried out in a crazed voice, "The bastards! They want
direct contact, do they? Let me at them! They'll get what they want!" Saying
this, she suddenly bolted out the door, firing at a jelly that was attacking
the radio mast. It screamed, let off a puff of putrid pus-like blood, then
loosed its grip, dead. A wave created by the action of the battle splashed
over Giorgina. She aimed at another Jelly, shouting, "Take that, you bastard!"
Then another.
Meanwhile Janus called out as loud as he could, "Sergeant! Giorgina! Come
back inside! That's an order!" Too late! A fifth assault of the jellies
turned the ship around, throwing Giorgina in the water. From Deep Crawler
and from Wavehopper deadly rays finally freed the craft. But Giorgina!
"Pharsilla! Try to get to her. One of those things is about to try to swallow
her whole!"
As Lieutenant Hermione spoke, Giorgina stopped struggling. Through the
transparent maw of the jelly her legs could be seen descending into the
digestive system of the monster. Its serrated teeth ripped into the young
woman's thighs. "Kill it! Giorgina's already dead! Don't let it eat her!"
The full power of the ray blasted the giant jellyfish apart. A deft manoeuvre
allowed Deep Crawler to recover the bloodied remains of their crewmate.
The herd, greatly diminished in size, swam away, leaving in all some 150
of their companions behind.
Janus remarked, "You would almost think they had real intelligence,
at least as much as wolves or lions have."
The two ships returned to port, with their sad cargo. Giorgina's lifeless
and mutilated body was wrapped in a heavy cloth. The first skirmish against
a local life form. The first human death on Paracelsus. Would it be the
last?
Wavehopper limped back, with some serious damage. Several crewmembers were
injured by being thrown around the cabin during the violent battle with
the giant jellyfish, but no injury was serious. Except for one. Deep Crawler's
damage was slight. The crew was all safe.
Subsequent reconnaissance by Deep Crawler indicated that schools of these
creatures roamed the seas all around the island. Interestingly, they now
kept their distance from the submarine. Do they have enough intelligence
to transmit their fear of the craft to other schools? They must have a
method of communication, given the way they hunt. Are these intelligent
or near-intelligent life forms?
Jama's team of experts verified that even a group of three can hunt successfully,
but that they are helpless as individuals or as pairs. She concluded that
they seem to have a kind of collective brain power, linked by psychic or
telepathic forces that will have to be studied in the future.
Smaller versions of the jellies had a brain-like structure just behind
the eyes, with huge portions of the brains running down four "seams" in
their bodies, to a ring of neurons that ran around the edge of the bodies.
Somehow the shape of the nerves seemed to have something to do with their
ability to communicate with each other, and with other pods. That, and
the fact that the large ones must have a brain the size of a dolphin's.
With these creatures surrounding the island, no future prisoner could conceivably
escape. No guards would be needed to keep watch in this grim place.