Chapter 34

Molly tapped loudly on the J3 compartment door before opening it. As Sarah’s Clan, Molly, Kathleen, Jackie and Mairia entered the room, the J3 people turned toward them. It was apparent from the expressions on everyone’s face that their arrival had interrupted a discussion.

Sarah said, “Oops, sorry, it looks like we interrupted something. We can come back later.”

Anming quickly replied, “Please stay. We were having a discussion that doesn’t seem to have any solid answers, which means we will have it again and again and again...” Several in the room chuckled on hearing her response.

“Thank you,” replied Molly. “We would like to introduce you to Sarah’s Clan, our senior Command Staff.” She then introduced each member of Sarah’s Clan, followed by introductions of the J3 group.

When the introductions were complete Jiao said, “There are several of us who haven’t seen the orientation videos yet but they are aware of our situation.”

“Okay. In that case let me give you a brief sketch of who we are and other related tidbits. We are on our way to a solar system we’ve name Celia. We are scheduled to arrive there in about 65 clock cycles. This ship is one of four freighters accompanying us. There are seven Dóchas class space ships. The Dóchas class ships are primarily warships with capabilities equivalent to the largest Iridien warship, but they also have exploration support capabilities. They are each led by a Command Staff. The operation of our freighters is overseen by a Dóchas class ship. Our lead ship, Dóchas, is commanded by Sarah’s Clan. Jackie and Mairia are members of Jackie’s Clan who are Fiontar’s Command Staff. Kathleen and I are members of Molly’s Clan and we are responsible for Marthanóir. Fiontar and Marthanóir are the two Dóchas class ships responsible for the operation of this freighter. Our orientation videos will provide you with an overview of us, our culture and history. We suspect it will answer many of the questions my brief comments have raised. If you do have any questions, please ask any of us. We may not have an immediate answer but you will receive an answer.”

“I think the videos are excellent,” responded Jiao. “I think every one of us was impressed with the level of detailed information contained in them. I am not sure I know as much about my people.”

Sarah’s Clan said, “Thank you Molly for the introduction. To our guests, welcome aboard. We hope you are comfortable with these temporary accommodations. Arrangements are being made so that we can offer you a place in one of our Dóchas class ships.”

Ahlam laughed before saying, “You all continue to amaze me. You find us destitute, in very poor health, and with no identification, yet you still welcome us with open arms.”

“It seems appropriate to us,” replied Terry with a smile.

“From the information in your videos, I think we all understand that. In spite of that, our experience has made our welcome here much more difficult to accept. Many of us find your hospitality fantastic but at the same time disconcerting and worrisome, again this is based on our past experiences.

“If you arrived in the Tigsu World the way we arrived here, the welcome you received would be very different. If you were extremely fortunate, you might have a little control over your future. More likely you would be declared state’s property, even before being released from hibernation and having a chance to make your case. If you were healthy, you would be taken to the auction preview area and put on display. Within a day you would be sold. From then on your future would be totally in the hands of your owner. If you were ill, you would be given a short time to recover otherwise you would be taken to recycling. Once a person was declared as property and sold, the chance of becoming a free person again was very small.”

Desheng added, “Undocumented arrivals were treated in a very similar manner in the Oreschre World. Your world is very different from ours in how you view and respect other peoples. Like Ahlam, I sometimes find your hospitality very unsettling.” Several other J3 people nodded their heads in agreement. “Sarah’s Clan, you probably know that Ahlam and I were in the first group released from hibernation. After a week, and a guided tour of this ship, we were told we could move around on our own. At times with nothing to do, I began to venture outside this compartment. Every time I did, it felt like I was being watched by everyone. Even so, everyone was always very friendly and readily answered all of my questions. I didn’t have problems striking up a conversation with anyone on any topic. The crew members liked to talk about what they were doing and many times would go into great detail about their work. To me, it seemed like I was getting mixed messages, as on the one hand they watched me at all times, and on the other they were very friendly.

“The two breeds on Oreschre would never have interacted this way. We were always suspicious of each other, even in mixed work environments.”

“That certainly isn’t the case here,” said Anming. “Ahlam and I are of two different breeds in the Tigsu World. There, the Sarque and Seranc breeds resided in totally separate geographical areas. Before arriving here we only knew those of our breed, and the Tigsuma who constitute a significant portion of the population. There are other breeds on Tigsu, but again, neither of us have had contact with them.”

“In the Oreschre World,” mused Desheng, “the most populous breed is the Orema, with the Coschenz breed making up about a fifth of the population. Many of the key advances in technology are based on discoveries made by a Coschenz.”

“Desheng, did you figure out why the crew were monitoring your activities?” asked Lenore.

“Yes.” He chuckled before continuing with, “When I did, I was embarrassed by my misinterpretation of their intent. It was because they felt responsible for my safety. Since I wasn’t linked to the ships systems I wouldn’t know when there was an emergency. They tried to keep tabs on my location so they could assist me if there was an emergency. Again, while at the time it was disconcerting I never felt any hostility.

“My understanding of their actions came a few days ago. I was wandering around when a woman tapped me on the shoulder, just before the alarm began blaring. Her touch caused me to jump. The shock was so great that I felt like I had jumped nearly the length of the corridor. With her hand on my shoulder she quickly guided me toward a small compartment, or maybe ‘pushed’ is a better description. As soon as we entered it the door closed and automatically sealed. It all happened much quicker than it is taking me to tell it. While we were in the compartment she told me that I responded very well to her prompting. I laughed and then asked why the alarm had sounded. She told me, then we chatted until we heard the compartment door automatically release. Seeing my expression, she told me that the drill was complete and that we survived. I thought it was kind of strange as she hadn’t spoken to anyone since we entered.”

“She told us of your shocked expression,” replied Kathy.

“If it had been a real emergency, didn’t she put herself at risk by coming to my aid?”

“Not in this case. There are times when it could have, but it really depends on circumstances. She was near you and already wearing an environmental suit when the drill started. This gave give her an edge when it came to getting you into the safety compartment before things went critical. Whether we wear an environmental suit or not depends on where we are working. This is why you seldom see us wearing one in here, but you usually do see those in the manufacturing area wear one, without a helmet. An environmental suit is like a sort of space suit. With it we can work in partial atmospheres, or in an emergency, it allows us to reach the safety of our special compartments.”

“We are amazed at how quickly all of you respond when those events occur. When I am out in the manufacturing area, it seems that often the workers know in advance what the other will do next.”

“They likely do know. You are seeing a benefit of our telepathic communication,” said Sarah. “You know that we communicate telepathically as well as vocally?”

“That was in your orientation videos, and we have heard of mind talk but ... There were people on Oreschre who claimed to be telepathic, or of having other mystical abilities. From my perspective, those with the boldest claims were usually well short of a full load. On the other hand, I knew a few who were so in touch with their surroundings that I listened to them carefully. Doing that benefited my group many times, as long as we didn’t read too much into what was said. Unfortunately, I didn’t fully understand, no make that heed, their comments about this great off world job opportunity.” Several laughed at his reference to how they came to be there.

“Seeing the future and telepathy are two of many psionic abilities. From our perspective there are several ways to easily demonstrate telepathic ability, but we realize that unless you have the ability there can still be some lingering doubt. The person you respected sounded like someone who could see or perceive the future. This is a valuable ability, but it also has some grave perils. One of those is reading too much into what is seen, as you noted. The future is a complex web of events that are continually altering their links or interactions due to recent events. Thus, one small change at any time can drastically alter an outcome. So we feel one needs to avoid looking too closely at the details.”

“I heard similar comments from them.”

“Say, it is nearly lunch time, so why don’t we join the crew in the dining area while we continue to get acquainted? After lunch, we can continue in one of the conference rooms.”

The group went over to the dining room and began inputting their food choices to the dispensers. Anming and Jiao assisted those just released from hibernation with selecting their food.

The two groups intermingled as they sat down at the tables. Once everyone was seated they began to eat. Zhaos took his first bite of post hibernation food and his face lite up in a smile. He said, “Wow. This is really good.”

“All the choices are good,” replied Gao. “Some are better than others.”

“Well I would never have believed food coming from a food dispenser would taste this good if I hadn’t seen and tasted it.”

“Sarah’s Clan,” said Anming, “how much do you know about where we come from?”

“Not as much as we would like to know,” replied Erin. “We swapped copies of our knowledge bases with the Iridiens when we were with them in Sol system. However, there isn’t much detail on either the Tigsu or Oreschre Worlds. This is also true for several other smaller members of Alliance of Worlds.”

“Actually, what we have is available to you on the learning center terminals,” added Molly.

“I’ll look at it. Can we add to it?” asked Anming

“Yes,” replied Erin. “New information and updates are tagged with a byline for the contributor.”

“Did I understand that you have computerized learning?” asked Zhaos.

“Yes, Zhaos,” replied Molly. “It is one of the bits you will learn when you see the orientation videos.”

“So we can use the learning centers?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

“Good. Sorry for questioning your comment.”

“Zhaos, we would prefer you to ask whenever you have any doubts about what is said.”

“Oh, I will. I am glad we can access the learning centers as my Standard fluency is not very good. This is mostly due to lack of practice. Standard does have some limitations in expression. Is there a language module for your language?”

“Yes. Well, sort of.” Zhaos frowned. “I really don’t have a simple answer. There is a language module for our core, or base language, which we call Connemare. This is very similar to Sol systems’ planet Earth’s Celtic language that many of us learned growing up. The reason I said core, is because in practice we tend to sprinkle in words from Earth’s English, Celtic and a few other languages. We usually do this when we think the word chosen is a better fit for the concept we are trying to express. This tends to occur more for technical terms. In part, we do this rather than deriving a technical word in our core language. It also occurs with words describing emotions or feelings.”

“That makes sense to me. On Tigsu, our native Sarque language was different from the official language, which was essentially the Tigsuma language. When I took advanced schooling in space ship design, one requirement was to become fluent in Standard. Before today there were only a few opportunities outside of school to practice it.”

“You are doing fine. If you want a refresher, there is a module for Standard. All the modules coach you in speaking by holding a conversation with you.”

“So you speak Sarque?” asked Anming.

“I haven’t used it in some time. When I was young we conversed in it at home. I still understand it. Well I think I do. My Standard skill is probably better.”

By the time they had all finished lunch they were the only ones left in the dining room. Jackie looked around before saying, “Let’s put our dishes away and clean up our area. Once we’re done, we can stay here, move to a conference room or return to your compartment. If we stay here we will have refreshments readily available. The conference room will be quieter. So let’s clean up and then decide.”

When Jackie looked around after cleaning up she noticed that most everyone had returned to their earlier seat. “It seems as though everyone would like to continue our chat here. Correct?” Nearly all the J3 people gave an affirmative nod of their head. “Good. Feel free to get more to eat or drink at any time. So who would like to be first?”

It was quiet for a few moments before Zhaos said, “Okay. I have only been up a short while, but it seems like there is only one person from each family who has been released from hibernation.”

“You’re correct,” said Anming. “The container now holding the hibernation chambers on this ship had berths for 2000, but only 1052 were filled when the Órarduine found it. Ninety-six chambers held corpses and another five died before the Órarduine could sort out the problem. Basically, the Durale were not feeding us correctly.”

“So of the several thousand we were told would be on the ship, there are only 951 left,” replied Zhaos with a horrified look on his face and tears in his eyes.

“Sorry to break it to you so bluntly.” Zhaos just nodded as tears rolled down his cheeks. Several others in the room had similar expressions. “Based on what we have learned from those activated, these hibernation containers are from several different departure locations. So the total number of people taken by the Durale seems to have been very large.”

Sally of Sarah’s Clan said, “Before we found you it was believed that the conflict between the Durale and the Dutsuz was strictly an intra world dispute. The Durale are a minority breed in the Dutsuz World who believe that they should be the rulers of that World. Through the use of guile and treachery, they are attempting to take over. They’ve used several techniques to seduce others into assisting them. Before we left the location where we found you, we advised the Iridiens that you had been found, and what we saw as the potential implications. At our next way point we expect to hear from them on how they, the Monque, or Alliance of Worlds are responding to the Durale. Regardless of the message, we anticipate that any action they take will, to some extent, have an effect on us. We will reach the J4 way point in about 26 clock cycles.”

“If the Durale went to so much trouble to obtain us, why did they leave our container behind?”

“Most likely, greed,” replied Molly. “When we arrived at the scene they were attempting to capture a Monque cruise ship. The Emprica carried some 3000 passengers, and some were key Monque public figures. They likely planned on recovering the container that you were in after they had captured the cruise ship. Having the container attached would have had some significant impact on their ships’ maneuverability. In tactical or combat situations, maneuverability can be the difference between success and failure.”

“That makes sense.”

“So do we know how long we were in hibernation?”

“We have estimated that the longest have been in hibernation for about 1150 clock cycles,” replied Cheng. “Each of us knows the date of our last memory. The difficulty is determining the current date at our departure location. We are currently basing our estimates on what we remember of the Iridien calendar compared to ours, but the error could be significant. So far we haven’t found the equation relating the Iridien calendar to either of our home worlds. We do know the relationship between the Órarduine calendar and the Iridiens’.”

“Makes sense,” replied Zhaos. “Perhaps we can ask the Iridiens for the conversion equation.”

“We will,” replied Jill.

“My name is Serarck, and like Zhaos today is my first active day out of hibernation. We may be able to work out the calendar relationship if we can remember the date we joined the Alliance of Worlds. I would think that there is an entry in the Iridien database indicating their date for the event.”

“We’ve looked at that,” replied Ahlam. “The difficulty is that the Iridien calendar links it to the Alliance of Worlds calendar.”

“Okay. Can you tell us where we are in the universe?”

“Sure,” replied Aoife. “We are in a galaxy we call the Milky Way, which is a spiral galaxy. We are on the Orion arm of the galaxy. An image would likely be better but I don’t think we have a projector in here.”

“Will I have access to the star maps in the learning center terminals?”

“Certainly. You can also see a map showing our route to A-Celia, along with current location and our starting position.”

“Great.”

“So you can read star maps?” asked Desheng.

“Yes. I graduated with a certification in space ship navigation a short time before signing up for this opportunity. I managed to do that in spite of being female, and in less time than it usually takes. Even though the off world opportunity didn’t feel quite right, my sister and I inquired and were quickly accepted. She is in one of the other hibernation containers.” She sighed and then continued, “Perhaps I should tell you a bit about us as it may be important to some. My father was a well-known official in our region on Tigsu. I suspect this was part of the reason that I was able to go to school and get my certification in space navigation. As you can tell by my features, I am Tigsuma. Except for my sister the rest of my family is dead. They died in an explosion shortly after my graduation. The explosion was officially declared an accident, which neither of us believed. Based on events afterward, we believe the perpetrators intended for us to die as well.”

“Serarck, how do you know your sister is in one of the other containers?”

“We’ve always known where the other was. When we were young we thought all siblings could do that, until we began to interact with others and learned otherwise. We decided it was something we should keep to ourselves. Even our parents weren’t fully aware of this.”

“A good choice,” said Sarah.

“I hope that my sister and I being Tigsuma doesn’t create any problems.”

“Not from my standpoint,” said Ahlam, “you’re in the same boat as the rest of us.”

All the J3 people said, “Here! Here!”

“Besides, I try to judge people by their actions rather than their appearance or kin,” added Anming as she and Jiao hugged Serarck.