Read Online Thunderbird by Jack McDevitt - Free Book Online Page B

none of us would ever have believed something like this could happen. Doesn’t it violate basic physics?”
    â€œApparently not, Brad.” He couldn’t resist a broad smile. “It’s what science is about, I guess. Discovering where we got things wrong.”
    â€œOkay. Exactly how does it work, Michael? Do you just go through doors, or what?”
    â€œThere’s a grid built into the floor. It’s
big
. And there are some symbols, icons, visible in the wall behind it. You stand on the grid and press one of the icons. It lights up, and the next thing you know, you’re looking at a sky with two moons.”
    â€œIncredible.” Brad sat back and took a long deep breath. “Did you see other people use the system before you did?”
    â€œOne other. Adam Sky went first. He’s one of the security guys.”
    â€œAnd what happened with him? Did he just disappear?”
    â€œThat’s as good a description as any. There was a lot of light, and when it went away, he was gone, too.”
    â€œWhat do the physicists say?”
    â€œI think they’re not sure yet what to say.”
    Brad hesitated. “Michael, when you got onto the grid, were you nervous?”
    â€œAre you serious? I had all I could do not to throw up.”
    â€œBut you went through with it—”
    That large smile reappeared. “No way I could duck.”
    â€œAll right. Now, they’re saying this place is out”—Brad had to check his notes—“in the general direction of the Orion constellation.”
    â€œYes.”
    Brad finished his coffee and refilled both cups. “Michael, pictures from Eden are available now. I didn’t see anything that appeared particularly alien. The animals looked more or less like squirrels and cats and birds. The foliage isn’t quite anything we’d see out back. I mean the colors aren’t the same. But it doesn’t look all that different. Still, we’re being told they
are
different in some basic ways. Could you explain that, please? How are they different?”
    Michael considered the question. “Keep in mind that we’re in strange territory here, okay?”
    â€œAll right. So what do you think?”
    â€œIn most cases, when we try to predict what alien life might be like, we are remarkably provincial. For example, our division between plants and animals is not likely to apply perfectly, and maybe not even remotely, to alien biology. There may well be organisms that move and others that don’t. There may be some that are equipped with collectors and are able to take their energy directly from the sun. And maybe others that eat the ones with collectors, just as our animals eat plants, but there may also be exceptions that we can’t easily predict.
    â€œThe individual world will determine what an organism looks like. A planet with an atmosphere whose density is similar to ours, and which approximates our gravity, will very likely have birds. They’ll resemble our birds, but that still leaves a lot of room for variation. We have convergent evolution, which occurs when two very different organisms try to fill the same ecological niche. When that happens, ultimately they resemble each other. For example, Australian honey possums, butterflies, and hummingbirds all developed a long tongue to remove nectar from flowers. Humans aren’t the only animals that have opposable thumbs. There are hundreds of examples.
    â€œThe result is that, even though they may not be closely related, lots of animals look as if they are. Eden has birds, squirrels, and trees. But, if we take the time to look closely, we’ll probably see some major differences. Their sparrows may have fangs. Even though there are creatures that look like squirrels, they may have scales. A maple tree might have bony support material and be hollow. If we look deeper, at microscopic and genetic levels, we’ll very likely