Read Online Universal Language by Robert T. Jeschonek - Free Book Online
Authors: Robert T. Jeschonek
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been no problem. Once Jalila had set about her task in the Garden, however, things had gotten tricky. She was starting to wonder if what she'd set out to accomplish was even possible, given the tools at hand.
Her scanner could identify floral scents with great accuracy, pinpointing the composition and prevalence of esters, or scent molecules, in any given liter of air. That information, however, was not enough; the scanner and Voicebox were unable to determine what alphabetical or numerical values had been assigned to specific scents.
Jalila had tried a number of techniques to crack the code, such as constructing a matrix based on the chemical makeup of the ester molecules. She'd attempted less scientific methods as well, such as arbitrarily assigning phonemes from the Vox language to certain scents and rotating the assignments until a logical pattern emerged.
But nothing had led to a breakthrough. So far, Jalila was unable to unlock the secrets of the Garden.
And with each passing minute, she was becoming more frustrated. She was convinced the information al-Aziz needed was all around her, in the very air she breathed...but she couldn't access it.
" If you know how to listen ," Folcrum had told her, " you can hear the history of the world in here. "
Obviously, Jalila didn't know how to listen. Folcrum knew, and he was gone.
Of course, there were others who might know, too.
Energized by a new idea, Jalila hurried over to Oric, who had been watching her work. Slipping the scanner into her hip pocket, Jalila entered a message on the Voicebox's keypad. Text appeared on the display, and Jalila touched the control that would convert it to audible speech in the Vox pulmonic language.
" Folcrum knew how to hear the garden talk ," said the Voicebox. " Do you? "
Oric nodded and answered. Jalila had learned enough Vox to understand his words before the Voicebox translated them. " I am a good listener. "
" Please help me to hear the garden ," said Jalila.
" I will do what I can ," said Oric.
Jalila typed on the Voicebox's keypad. " I must find the history of the first coming of the Mazeesh . Where do I begin? "
Oric closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. " Not here ," he said. " This section relates to the worldwide plague of five thousand years ago. "
Turning, Oric moved along the red dirt path through the garden, stopping every few meters to sample the local fragrances. Jalila followed, fascinated by the ease with which he accomplished what had stymied both the scanner and Voicebox.
" The overthrow of the great tyrants ." Oric barely paused by a patch of glowing purple blossoms. " Two thousand years ago. "
On the fly, Jalila scanned the air he sampled, trying to identify the nature of the signals he was interpreting. Though there were many differences between samples, she could find no factors that varied consistently and predictably, producing patterns that could be associated with coded language.
So how was he doing it?
" We ' re getting closer ." Oric took a whiff near a fall of what looked like crimson Spanish moss with a million twinkling gold blossoms laced through it. " The start of the Age of Science , five hundred years ago. "
He had to be homing in on some characteristic of the floral scents that Jalila was missing...but what? If the secret did not lie in the molecular composition of the scent-producing esters, what other variable could serve as the basis for data storage and retrieval?
It occurred to Jalila that perhaps she should think smaller.
" Four hundred years ago ," said Oric, a little further along the winding path. " The Child Wars and Silent Times. "
Perhaps, as unlikely as it seemed, the key existed at an atomic level...or even subatomic.
Oric led Jalila down an offshoot of the main path that ended in a secluded thicket. He stopped and breathed deeply, then nodded. " Here we are . Three hundred years ago. "
Pocketing the scanner, Jalila typed on the Voicebox. " Where does the story begin?
Her scanner could identify floral scents with great accuracy, pinpointing the composition and prevalence of esters, or scent molecules, in any given liter of air. That information, however, was not enough; the scanner and Voicebox were unable to determine what alphabetical or numerical values had been assigned to specific scents.
Jalila had tried a number of techniques to crack the code, such as constructing a matrix based on the chemical makeup of the ester molecules. She'd attempted less scientific methods as well, such as arbitrarily assigning phonemes from the Vox language to certain scents and rotating the assignments until a logical pattern emerged.
But nothing had led to a breakthrough. So far, Jalila was unable to unlock the secrets of the Garden.
And with each passing minute, she was becoming more frustrated. She was convinced the information al-Aziz needed was all around her, in the very air she breathed...but she couldn't access it.
" If you know how to listen ," Folcrum had told her, " you can hear the history of the world in here. "
Obviously, Jalila didn't know how to listen. Folcrum knew, and he was gone.
Of course, there were others who might know, too.
Energized by a new idea, Jalila hurried over to Oric, who had been watching her work. Slipping the scanner into her hip pocket, Jalila entered a message on the Voicebox's keypad. Text appeared on the display, and Jalila touched the control that would convert it to audible speech in the Vox pulmonic language.
" Folcrum knew how to hear the garden talk ," said the Voicebox. " Do you? "
Oric nodded and answered. Jalila had learned enough Vox to understand his words before the Voicebox translated them. " I am a good listener. "
" Please help me to hear the garden ," said Jalila.
" I will do what I can ," said Oric.
Jalila typed on the Voicebox's keypad. " I must find the history of the first coming of the Mazeesh . Where do I begin? "
Oric closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. " Not here ," he said. " This section relates to the worldwide plague of five thousand years ago. "
Turning, Oric moved along the red dirt path through the garden, stopping every few meters to sample the local fragrances. Jalila followed, fascinated by the ease with which he accomplished what had stymied both the scanner and Voicebox.
" The overthrow of the great tyrants ." Oric barely paused by a patch of glowing purple blossoms. " Two thousand years ago. "
On the fly, Jalila scanned the air he sampled, trying to identify the nature of the signals he was interpreting. Though there were many differences between samples, she could find no factors that varied consistently and predictably, producing patterns that could be associated with coded language.
So how was he doing it?
" We ' re getting closer ." Oric took a whiff near a fall of what looked like crimson Spanish moss with a million twinkling gold blossoms laced through it. " The start of the Age of Science , five hundred years ago. "
He had to be homing in on some characteristic of the floral scents that Jalila was missing...but what? If the secret did not lie in the molecular composition of the scent-producing esters, what other variable could serve as the basis for data storage and retrieval?
It occurred to Jalila that perhaps she should think smaller.
" Four hundred years ago ," said Oric, a little further along the winding path. " The Child Wars and Silent Times. "
Perhaps, as unlikely as it seemed, the key existed at an atomic level...or even subatomic.
Oric led Jalila down an offshoot of the main path that ended in a secluded thicket. He stopped and breathed deeply, then nodded. " Here we are . Three hundred years ago. "
Pocketing the scanner, Jalila typed on the Voicebox. " Where does the story begin?
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