General Max Shorter Read online

  III

  "City" is not necessarily descriptive: perhaps less so than theapplication of Euclidean axioms to advanced geometry. Physically, it wasthis:

  1. Three dozen stone arches whose keystones were inverted bowls.

  2. A smooth-walled recess in the sheer face of a cliff.

  3. A level lip of rock, as precisely flat as though honed, from whichthe arches seemed to grow.

  "Is this all?" Mr. Tucker asked.

  "Yes, sir," Captain Meford said.

  Mr. Ryan came to the viewing section. "It looks," he said, "as thoughthe cliff were split down to here and then hewn away to leave thestructures there and the apron."

  "We found no tools, sir. There were no tools here, nor with them."

  "Nothing else at all?"

  "They left behind some four hundred chips of stone, apparently numbered.We have them in the dome. And there's a two-line inscription on one ofthe arches. There's nothing else."

  High above the men and the ship, the new wind sang in one of theinverted bowls and fluttered lightly over the inscription. It, like theface of the cliff, was oxidizing. Dust filtered down before the recess,alien symbols falling. Life is the recording angel of time. Withoutlife, all ceases.

  "Dust," Mr. Tucker said. "Dust ... dust ... more dust. Soon the dustwill be over everything. When the wind is gone, it will be there to holdour footprints."

  Inside the air-conditioned scout, the men shivered.

  "How did you come to find them?" Mr. Ryan asked.

  "I saw the constructions from the photos, sir. This had been missed bythe mapping party. It's easy enough to see why when you see thepictures."

  "This the only one?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "How can you be sure of that, Captain Meford? It's a large planet."

  "I had one of the machines scan the remaining maps for geometricalpatterns, sir."

  "Isn't that done routinely?" Mr. Tucker asked rather sharply.

  "Yes, sir. But you see, we've always expected that if we were ever goingto encounter intelligent life on a planet, it would be ratherwidespread. Accordingly--and this is the routine procedure, sir, used,as far as I know, by all contact parties--we ran through a statisticallysignificant sample of the terrain. There was nothing on Miracastle outof the ordinary. There was the typical, low-order vegetable matter,about what we always find. It was a very typical planet, sir."

  The third man from the Earth Committee, Mr. Wallace, seldom spoke. Whenhe did, his voice was mild, and there was a sense of child-like wonderin his tone. "The natives?" he asked.

  "They ... had fled when we discovered the city."

  "Where did they flee to?" Mr. Wallace asked.

  * * * * *

  Captain Meford glanced upward. Other eyes followed to end just below theedge of the view screen. Above stood the sheer face of the cliff. Cloudsroiled below the summit, obscuring it from view.

  "There is a long sloping plateau up there, and a series of natural cavesback in the next cliff face," Captain Meford said. This did not seemadequate. He continued: "Most of the air-changing activity starts in thelow-lying areas, at first around the dome positions. It advances alongan elevation front, gradually drifting up. Little tongues are carried upin advance by the heated currents. The aliens retreated before it. Onthe plateau you can see the sentries. I guess they posted themselvesthere, at intervals, between the edge and the new caves, to define thelimits of safety. They died there. Six of them. The rest, severalhundred, reached the caves. They are dead, too."

  "I see," Mr. Wallace said.

  "When you first discovered them--?" Mr. Ryan asked after a moment.

  Captain Meford hesitated.

  Mr. Tucker said: "I believe one of your men killed himself lastnight--wasn't it? A technician? I was told he felt you could reverse theair-changing equipment in time to save the aliens. I understand that wasvery much on his mind for the last week or so."

  "I'm not too familiar with the man, sir. He was on Captain Arnold'sshift, I believe."

  "Captain Meford," Mr. Ryan insisted, "when did you say you firstdiscovered the aliens?"

  Captain Meford hesitated. The others waited.

  "They were then scaling the cliff, sir."

  "And General Shorter, was he told of this immediately?" Mr. Ryan asked.

  "I don't know when the general was told."

  "You discovered them?"

  "Yes, sir. I ... you see, at the time the winds completely prohibitedair traffic. As you know, the air scouts are not stable enough until ...later. Later, I ... Yes, sir. I discovered them."

  "Did you then inform the general?"

  "No, sir. I informed the duty officer."

  "Did he inform the general?"

  "I don't know."

  "Why didn't you tell the general?" Mr. Tucker asked.

  "I was then in communication with Captain Geiger, and I felt he...." Thesentence trailed away.

  "Would tell the general?" Mr. Tucker prompted. "Well, did he?"

  "I believe he did, sir," Captain Meford said. He let out a long breath.

  "May we see the aliens?" Mr. Ryan asked.

  "I wouldn't advise it, sir," Captain Meford said. "High flights arestill very risky because of the wind velocities."

  * * * * *

  After the evening meal, General Shorter called Captain Arnold aside."Mind if I go over to Nine with you?" he asked. "The air around hereis--well, the fact of the matter is, I'd like to get away from them forawhile."

  "Of course not, sir," Captain Arnold said.

  "We'll call it an inspection. Which might be a good idea at that. Withthese people running around trying to interfere with my schedule. Pokingaround. Asking questions. Taking men away from their work, basically."He tapped his teeth with his right thumb in reflection. "I'd bettercheck up on all the domes tonight, just to be sure."

  "Yes, sir."

  "I wouldn't want anything to go wrong because they're here."

  In the dressing quarters, they donned surface suits and exited throughthe locks to Miracastle. In the area immediately beyond the Dome, thesolidly positioned connection rails radiated away. The general gesturedfor the captain to lead.

  The wind buffeted them. Inside the surface suits it was quiet.

  "David?" the general asked.

  "Yes, sir?" Captain Arnold said. He was fastening his safety line in thekeyed slot. He fumbled with it for a moment before the wind.

  "You on suit communications?"

  "Yes, sir." Captain Arnold straightened and moved forward. The generalreplaced him and dropped his safety line in place with practicedefficiency.

  Captain Arnold, surrounded by dust devils, became a distant, indistinctbulk. His motions were ponderous. The general could no longer see hisface or his expression.

  "I do not entirely understand this, David," the general saidconversationally. "The investigation. I thought I had powerful friendsin the Corps. Though a man makes enemies." The general lurched awkwardlyover the broken surface of Miracastle, drawing the safety line taut. Hemoved toward the connection rail again. "A general is separated frommuch of his command. Some of the technical refinements are tooinvolved--and, of course, men hide their feelings." Once again hestruggled with the wind, turning slowly at the end of the safety line:held from the devouring anger of the planet only by the slenderumbilical cord from the stars. "General Grisley, now. I think he'ssixteen star, in headquarters. He was a politician. He came up fast. Infact, he was my adjutant a few years ago. He was always a man to hold agrudge."

  Captain Arnold made no reply.

  "You know how politics is in the Corps."

  Dome Nine rose from the swirling mist before them. The wind seemed toincrease in fury. And still, inside the suits, there was the sound onlyof labored breathing and the general's voice.

  "These natives," the general said. "They were very primitive, David."Neither could see the other's face. "I can't think of them asintelligent at al
l. I feel they were very low on the evolutionaryladder. I wouldn't call it a city, as I've heard it called. Naturalformation, more likely. Nature plays strange tricks."

  * * * * *

  They were at the lock of Dome Nine.

  Inside, the general removed his helmet. "David," he said, "I've beenmeaning to talk to you for some time now. You've got a good career infront of you in the Corps. You're going to move up. With a few breaks,right to the top. I'm just now writing up my evaluation for your files.I plan to give you a very fine recommendation,