Read Online Delta Pavonis by John Maddox Roberts, Eric Kotani - Free Book Online
Authors: John Maddox Roberts, Eric Kotani
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that?" Dierdre said. "We don't know what to look for. The effort's been intense, but we've only covered the tiniest part of this system, and we could be looking at alien artifacts without knowing it."
"They might've left here millions of years ago," Colin pointed out. "All traces of their works might have disappeared. The animal life is self-reproducing. If the environment's remained the same, there'd be no need for the dinosaurs to die out or evolve into something else. They might have changed in small ways, but they'd already gone through millions of years of evolution. Life forms like that tend to remain stable until radical environmental change comes along."
"Could this be the aliens' home system?" Schubert wondered.
"I think we'd see more sign of it if it were," Forrest said. "It might be a world-sized lab, maybe a zoo. Whoever they were, they did things in a big way. We can't even be sure that these are the same aliens. Earth might have been visited many times since life appeared there."
The little group stared into the fire, intimidated by the image of such power and such a span of time. Even for people accustomed to crossing the vast reaches of space, it was awe-inspiring. It meant that humans had taken only the first, faltering steps along a path trodden long ago by beings of unimaginable knowledge and power.
"What bothers me most," Colin said, "is the idea that maybe they might still be around."
FOUR
It was just past sunrise when they reached the base of the cliffs. Forrest had chosen a spot near where they had seen the triceratops because the cliffs dipped lower there than at other spots they had surveyed. Fumiyo's party of the day before gawked at the enormous skeleton while a party of four made a short recon farther up the cliffline. Within the hour, they returned.
"Great scaling site, Boss," Okamura reported. "It'll be an easy climb even for the newbys."
The spot they had found was a notch in the cliff cut by a small stream. The base of the notch was no more than ten meters above them and trailing vines dangled within easy reach.
"Govinda, Dierdre," Forrest called, "you two are the smallest. Climb those vines and anchor us some lines up there. Don't go farther in than it takes to find a good anchor point."
"Hot damn!" Govinda said, almost hopping with excitement.
Dierdre's stomach fluttered as she pulled on her gloves. "Anybody got any good first words for when we get to the top?" she asked, nervously.
"Just keep your eyes on your surroundings," Forrest said. "If you want memorable first words, we can make some up later. That's what everybody does anyway."
Each woman grabbed a handful of the vines, braced her feet against the cliff face, and pulled as hard as she could. If they were going to fall, it would be best to do it while they were still close to the ground. The vines held. They began to climb.
Before she had climbed five meters, Dierdre's arms and shoulders began to scream at her. It had started out so easily that the sudden fatigue came as a shock. She bit her lower lip and forged on. In moments, her stomach muscles began to give out. There were still three meters to go. Govinda, with more experience, was almost at the top. Well, so much for being first. Making progress by inches, Dierdre continued her climb. She was determined not to fail in front of Forrest and the others.
It hadn't looked like a difficult climb, not from below. Dark spots began to form before her eyes. She was losing feeling in her hands.
"Just another half meter, Jamail," Govinda called from above. "C'mon!"
Gasping and sick in her stomach, Dierdre inched upward. She was sure she would fall when a hand grabbed the back of her collar and hauled upward. With a final surge of strength, Dierdre scrambled over the crumbly, vine-matted edge of the drop-off and sprawled on her belly in the sweet-smelling foliage next to the tiny stream.
"That wasn't so rough, was it?" Govinda said. She looked as fresh as if she had walked
"They might've left here millions of years ago," Colin pointed out. "All traces of their works might have disappeared. The animal life is self-reproducing. If the environment's remained the same, there'd be no need for the dinosaurs to die out or evolve into something else. They might have changed in small ways, but they'd already gone through millions of years of evolution. Life forms like that tend to remain stable until radical environmental change comes along."
"Could this be the aliens' home system?" Schubert wondered.
"I think we'd see more sign of it if it were," Forrest said. "It might be a world-sized lab, maybe a zoo. Whoever they were, they did things in a big way. We can't even be sure that these are the same aliens. Earth might have been visited many times since life appeared there."
The little group stared into the fire, intimidated by the image of such power and such a span of time. Even for people accustomed to crossing the vast reaches of space, it was awe-inspiring. It meant that humans had taken only the first, faltering steps along a path trodden long ago by beings of unimaginable knowledge and power.
"What bothers me most," Colin said, "is the idea that maybe they might still be around."
FOUR
It was just past sunrise when they reached the base of the cliffs. Forrest had chosen a spot near where they had seen the triceratops because the cliffs dipped lower there than at other spots they had surveyed. Fumiyo's party of the day before gawked at the enormous skeleton while a party of four made a short recon farther up the cliffline. Within the hour, they returned.
"Great scaling site, Boss," Okamura reported. "It'll be an easy climb even for the newbys."
The spot they had found was a notch in the cliff cut by a small stream. The base of the notch was no more than ten meters above them and trailing vines dangled within easy reach.
"Govinda, Dierdre," Forrest called, "you two are the smallest. Climb those vines and anchor us some lines up there. Don't go farther in than it takes to find a good anchor point."
"Hot damn!" Govinda said, almost hopping with excitement.
Dierdre's stomach fluttered as she pulled on her gloves. "Anybody got any good first words for when we get to the top?" she asked, nervously.
"Just keep your eyes on your surroundings," Forrest said. "If you want memorable first words, we can make some up later. That's what everybody does anyway."
Each woman grabbed a handful of the vines, braced her feet against the cliff face, and pulled as hard as she could. If they were going to fall, it would be best to do it while they were still close to the ground. The vines held. They began to climb.
Before she had climbed five meters, Dierdre's arms and shoulders began to scream at her. It had started out so easily that the sudden fatigue came as a shock. She bit her lower lip and forged on. In moments, her stomach muscles began to give out. There were still three meters to go. Govinda, with more experience, was almost at the top. Well, so much for being first. Making progress by inches, Dierdre continued her climb. She was determined not to fail in front of Forrest and the others.
It hadn't looked like a difficult climb, not from below. Dark spots began to form before her eyes. She was losing feeling in her hands.
"Just another half meter, Jamail," Govinda called from above. "C'mon!"
Gasping and sick in her stomach, Dierdre inched upward. She was sure she would fall when a hand grabbed the back of her collar and hauled upward. With a final surge of strength, Dierdre scrambled over the crumbly, vine-matted edge of the drop-off and sprawled on her belly in the sweet-smelling foliage next to the tiny stream.
"That wasn't so rough, was it?" Govinda said. She looked as fresh as if she had walked
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