Third Moon Rising Read online

  “I understand and appreciate your desire to observe this phenomena unencumbered by reverent Zilans,” she said with an impish smile. “We can all benefit from a more scientific examination of the third moon. The pressing need to define how we proceed from here is also very important. I can present your absence positively. But Carlos, I think you should attend the peak of this Holy Event in four nights.”

  “Thank you, Ceripe,” he said with considerable relief. “I will certainly attend the ceremonies four nights hence.”

  She nodded and turned to leave. Suddenly, she turned back and queried him again. “You are not holding back something about the third moon, are you?”

  The question surprised him, and she saw in his face the answer she sought. He was being open and honest with her. She did not wait for a response, but turned and made her way out of the observation area.

  Gloria approached and took him by the hand. This startled him, for he had forgotten the presence of the other two while he engaged Ceripe in conversation. She pressed his arm to her side briefly without saying anything and nudged him toward the exit.

  NINETEEN

  SEEKING DIRECTION

  The team showed up early for the evening meeting to address areas in which to expand relationships with the Zilans. But Carlos first wanted to find out more about the communications problem and results from New Horizon observations of the large spherical object orbiting Zilia.

  All efforts to find the cause of the communication problem had been to no avail. Samuel had stayed in close contact with Jorge and Licia, and they had conducted another series of tests under his guidance. The Hycomms equipment checked out normal, as did the computer interface and communications control software. The send sequence worked normally up to the point where the message was queued for transmission; then the process came to a halt for no obvious reason. Nor could they communicate the information via the deep-space probes.

  “I suspect something related to the Third Moon Rising event is happening,” Samuel said, “something we have no control over. I know that sounds like a crazy idea, but we are transmitting all other messages normally.”

  “Continue running diagnostic tests,” Carlos said, “and periodically slip information into messages about the Third Moon Rising event to see what happens.”

  “OK, but I can’t do much else without being in the New Horizon,” Samuel replied.

  “I’ll go with you and Karen to the New Horizon this evening. You’ll relieve Jorge and Licia early to conduct additional tests.” Carlos would observe events that night from the New Horizon and then return to the surface in a day or two with Jorge and Licia. With that decided, he turned the discussion to the team recommendations.

  It was pleasing to see how organized and thorough the recommendations were. It was obvious that close teamwork had gone into the effort. Alex Brown presented the first two recommendations, both related to the medical profession.

  The first was to apply medical knowledge for identification and treatment of select diseases. The Zilans had good basic medical knowledge, but it wasn’t anywhere near as advanced as that of Earth in many areas. Alex and Laura believed they could produce significant results quickly, which would be a big plus with the Zilans. It had chafed them from day one that Earth had placed restrictions on helping the Zilans. They could convey much needed general medical knowledge without exposing advanced technology.

  It was essential that they work closely with the Zilan doctors to effectively address the male infertility problem. In addition, Alex and Laura would have the opportunity to observe and learn from the holistic medical practices of the Zilans.

  The second recommendation was to include psychological assessment and treatment, tied closely to the efforts in presenting general medical practices. The Zilans had been slow to address this need because of their strong religious beliefs. They attributed mental problems in general to influence by disbelievers or evil forces. The Zilan solution was to place those exhibiting such problems in special institutions rigidly practicing religious doctrine. The team doctors viewed this approach as oppressive and were anxious to investigate this issue further.

  It would be hard for the Zilans to accept any outside help in this area, but Alex and Laura recognized it was a major issue getting steadily worse because of the infertility problem. Karen and Samuel were educated and experienced in the fields of psychology and sociology, and would help advance understanding in this area.

  Jorge Shivaro presented the third recommendation, which was to help improve the Zilan farming and food processing techniques, if that were possible. The Zilans had farmed semiarid land for millennia and had to deal with extended droughts even in the temperate zones. When it rained, thunderstorms were the norm, creating major soil erosion problems in cultivated land. Jorge, whose education and experience were in environmental engineering and atmospheric science, would lead this effort. Licia, whose primary education and training was in exobiology, would support him. Amanda would help, looking in particular at the feasibility of closed hydroponics gardens. They would also assess the feasibility of applying food reconstitution techniques, which Earth used effectively.

  Laura then provided a summary of the critical side benefit of the recommendations. The activities would provide much closer access to the Zilan population and environment that was required to effectively investigate the infertility problem. Until now, they had no way of taking controlled tissue, blood, and other samples from the population for analyses. Nor were they able to screen any patients for common factors that might provide clues leading to a cause.

  They had discretely collected and analyzed hair samples, which showed elevated levels of zinc and copper, which was normal in highly intelligent people. They also collected soil, water, and plant samples, but not from areas where food production and processing took place. Analyses of these samples provided little information except that the amount of lead and aluminum appeared higher than what humans were normally exposed to, but not dangerously so. They hoped that once the teams gained the confidence of the Zilans, they could investigate the infertility problem more thoroughly.

  Laura also addressed the increasing female-to-male ratio concern. Most of the Zilans seemed to think that everything would be fine once they solved the male infertility problem. They took the position that if the female-to-male ratio was increasing, that was Zil’s will. The slow change in the ratio served to reduce anxiety about the seriousness of the problem.

  Laura pointed out that there were other factors at work they needed to understand and perhaps correct. Something must have caused a chromosome imbalance to occur over a millennium ago that resulted in the growing imbalance in the sexes globally. If this imbalance continued, males would become scarce in the not-too-distant future. Being in high demand would stroke the male ego but was not a healthy situation for the species as a whole. It would require dramatic changes in the way female fertilization occurred, or the species would become extinct. Working closely with the medical community should open the door for investigation of the imbalance problem.

  Carlos was pleased. Not only did the recommendations address areas that would benefit the Zilans in the short term, they supported delaying providing detailed information in areas of most concern to Earth. In addition, the majority of the team would be engaged in the activities on Zilia. The others would address the real and fabricated issues aboard the New Horizon. This should set well with the Zilans, at least for a while.

  As Carlos was thanking the team, he noticed Alex was shifting uneasily in his seat. “Have we overlooked anything, Alex?”

  “Well,” Alex started haltingly, “Laura and I have to confess to something we did that was counter to direction provided before we departed Messier. I know we were not to do anything to make it easy for the Zilans to obtain our technology without our consent. But it became very boring at times in the last year of our journey, so we began translating basic medical handbooks into the Zilan language, with Eve’s help. We brought thre
e of them to the surface.”

  He paused as a stern look spread over Carlos’s face. However, Carlos couldn’t keep up the charade very long, and the stern look dissolved into a huge grin. “I knew you were translating the handbooks, and since it kept you two challenged and happy, I was all for it.”

  Alex relaxed. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “Because it kept you two out of mischief and the value of having something significant to present to the Zilans early on did enter my mind. I didn’t believe it would take this long to get approval to expand relations. I’m hoping our recommendations will be agreeable to Earth and we can finally get started. How many handbooks have you translated?”

  Alex and Laura looked nervously at one another, and Laura answered. “Seven completed to our satisfaction and another one about halfway through.”

  “That’s great!” Carlos said. “Please print two dozen copies of the finished translations so we can provide them to the Zilans when we get approval to proceed. And I want one copy of each book to give to Ceripe as a gift for Pteleg Bnethem.”

  The team had provided excellent recommendations. However, there was still something missing that Carlos had hoped would be addressed. He opened his mouth to voice the concern, but George spoke up first.

  “This is all well and good for what the Zilans want, but what about what we want from them?” George succinctly expressed what had been on Carlos’s mind. “It’s imperative that we take a close look at the Zilan photonics technology. They had light-based computers while our ancestors on Earth were still traveling around in ox-drawn carts. The electromagnetic wave-particle computing systems they use appear to be very advanced. In addition, their mathematics, particularly in the area of physics, is far beyond anything at Messier or, to my knowledge, on Earth. We need access to this theoretical math as soon as possible.”

  “I agree,” Carlos said. “Are there any other areas that we should seek additional insight into during our initial interchange phase?”

  “Well yes, since you mention it,” Amanda said. “We like to think we have solved the problem of waste recycling, but what the Zilans have achieved is remarkable. Because most of Zilia is arid or semiarid land, they have developed very efficient recycling systems that recover pure water and nutrients for additional use, but without any apparent deleterious environmental effects. We’ve achieved such efficiency but not without undesirable byproducts.”

  “There’s another area we should also consider,” Gloria added. “With the eventual success of using fusion nuclear power for electrical energy generation on Earth, developing alternative power sources was greatly inhibited. The Zilans have developed excellent alternative power sources that have virtually no environmental impact. We could learn a lot from them about efficient electrical energy generation, storage, and transmission.”

  “I guess I should add my thoughts,” Maxwell Williams said. “The Zilans have advanced mining techniques, particularly for strip mining and recovery of the land for its original use. I believe this was the reason they kept us from visiting the southern zone. Where strip mining is feasible, it’s a quick way to extract various metals and minerals from the surface. Having an approach to conduct this mining more efficiently and with minimal environmental impact would be very beneficial to Earth’s new colonies.”

  Carlos smiled, for the team indeed recognized the potential value of Zilan technology. “I appreciate the insightful planning you have accomplished. Please continue developing detailed plans on how to implement your recommendations. I’ll provide all the recommendations to Earth we discussed today. Laura, you’ll lead the efforts to define what medical technology we provide initially, and, George, you’re to lead defining what we want in return.”

  He and Gloria then excused themselves to go collaborate on the message to Earth and the Messier Colony. Samuel transmitted the message as the shuttlecraft lifted off the surface. Gloria remained behind to handle any liaison required with Ceripe’s office while Carlos was off planet. She would also participate in the continuing planning activities to keep them advancing toward completion within the next several days.

  By the time Carlos, Samuel, and Karen arrived at the New Horizon, they had received Earth’s reply. Carlos was both impressed and concerned by this. It was obvious people in control on Earth were making themselves available to answer correspondence from the team. This mission was surely not suddenly so important that it pulled them away from everything else they might be doing. If it was, then what was he overlooking? He was tempted to send a message asking what was going on, but he knew if they thought he should know, they would inform him.

  The message only heightened his feeling of unease. Earth approved all recommendations except the psychological assessment and treatment initiative. The message stated that the team was not to engage in any activity that had even the slightest risk of alienating the Zilans and causing them to back off from providing data or access that would facilitate finding the cause of male infertility. The message also asked for better definition of their communications problems and directed they forward results of complete system diagnostics to Earth.

  Carlos appreciated receiving quick action on the recommendations but was still curious as to why Earth was so concerned about Zilan infertility issues. This was particularly curious since Earth expressed no concern about the possible exposure of the New Horizon team to whatever was causing the problem. He felt his anger rising again at being pressed to find a cause for the problem when they had just received approval of recommendations that would give them essential information and access to people to investigate the problem.

  And how in hell could they describe their communications problem when they couldn’t send anything that referenced the Third Moon Rising event? Not even by way of the Hycomms system, with its small transmission delay. He decided to leave it to Samuel to be creative in answering questions about the communications problem, and to have him correspond with system designers at the Messier Colony regarding the problem without involving Earth. This pleased Samuel, because he had some good ideas about how to use the space probes to set up alternative communications links, and he wanted to address this with the Messier designers.

  Carlos was still chagrined that Earth had not expressed any concern about risks to his team. This might be reasonable if they did not expect the team to ever leave Zilia. However, if they were not concerned about his team, why press for a quick solution to the problem?

  Tests run by Laura and Alex had not revealed anything so far in the Zilia environment that would affect the team. Carlos was sure they were overlooking something. Anything that would affect a male Zilan should also affect a male from Earth. Of course, the question as to whether anything was affecting the male team members’ fertility was a moot point.

  He put aside this negative line of thought and went to join the others preparing to watch events that night over Zilia. He would discuss Earth’s message with those on the surface the next day. For now, he wanted to learn as much as he could about the mysterious spherical vessel orbiting Zilia.

  TWENTY

  SURPRISING OBSERVATIONS

  The New Horizon’s orbit carried it over and well past Zilerip as nightfall enfolded the city. Carlos focused the spaceship’s sensors back toward the western horizon where the third moon should materialize. He planned to ping its surface with full-spectrum electromagnetic radiation and analyze anything that bounced back. He had Eve turn the Horizon’s small but powerful telescope to examine the object, with appropriate filters in place to permit direct observation safely by eye. Carlos wanted to personally scrutinize the surface of the sphere.

  Nothing materialized! Jorge and Licia waited in the control center with Carlos as the minutes passed, and still no object appeared. Neither said anything as Carlos muttered concerns under his breath.

  “Nothing is happening as viewed from down here,” Gloria stated matter-of-factly, calling from the surface about half an hour later. “What do you see from ou
t there?”

  “Nothing, absolutely nothing! We’re monitoring for anything unusual, but my intuition tells me it’s doubtful we’ll see anything.” His tone gave away his growing anxiety. “Have you heard anything from Ceripe?”

  “Not a word,” she replied. “Carlos, what’s bothering you?” He was using the word “intuition,” which was something he almost never did. He had to be very unsettled about the object not appearing, or something else.

  He paused before answering. “I’m wondering if the third moon not appearing tonight is a message to us as well as the Zilans. I know that sounds like nonsense.”

  “Try not to worry. We’ll continue monitoring from here, and I’ll let you know if we hear from Ceripe’s office.”

  After breaking off communication, Carlos continued to feel something press against his thoughts that he should be able to reach in and extract, but it wouldn’t solidify. Then after a few minutes, it came to him. Nothing was there! They were looking for the wrong thing.

  “Hey, why not look for evidence that something is there but not visible?” he mused aloud. He could see understanding light up Licia’s eyes, but Jorge had a puzzled look on his face. “If the object is still present nearby, it should block light from background stars in some small area as viewed from the New Horizon.” Jorge and Licia both nodded their understanding and began setting up sensors to scan space methodically along the expected path of the third moon.

  There it was! The sphere was in the expected orbit, a pitch-black orb blotting out the view of stars as it continued along its track. Carlos quickly contacted Gloria and advised her of what they had discovered. He asked that she get a message to Ceripe at the Temple of Zilerip to make sure they were observing the phenomena of the darkened moon, which should show up as a “new moon” as viewed from the surface.

  Gloria called back about an hour later and indicated that the Zilans were very appreciative of the information. They had finally located the dark moon as it rose well above the western horizon to an area where stars were clearly visible. The third moon did indeed appear as a new moon phase to those on the surface.