Chapter 20: A New Dawn

Time: May 19, 9570 5:20 AM UCT

Basel and Eliana had arrived back at the station twenty minutes ago. They had not ventured outside the protection of the station or CAT for close to four months now, not since January 20'th when Eliana first sighted the creature. The strain of their self-imposed imprisonment was wearing on them both.

Earlier this morning they had made a field trip to a large fjord and had landed on an island 67 km north and 8 km west of home. Eliana thought the island beautiful, and one spot in particular stuck in her mind. It was a grassy knoll with a fine prospect of the water thirty meters below. It beckoned to her as a perfect site for a picnic, so much so she mentioned to Basel her great desire for them just to get out and walk around a bit. What were the odds the creature would be lying in wait for them here?

Certainly almost zero. Perhaps the creature was even dead now or had moved on. They had no indication of its presence since the day they found the probe, and even that was just a subjective feeling by Eliana. Their scanner had recorded nothing. Still, the risk to Earth was so monumental, they ate their lunch inside the CAT.

After collecting data on the island for Basel's ecological studies, they flew home and went to separate tasks. Basel went to Level-2 in the main complex to analyze his data while Eliana went down to Level-B in the garage complex and commanded the system there to retrieve one of the samples from the Level-C cold vaults.

She had devoted the last two months of her life trying to gain some understanding of the creature's biochemistry from the strange diamond black wafers, and it was a standing joke between her and Basel that with the utter lack of competition, she was now the world's leading expert on extra-terrestrial biology.

Eliana smiled to herself as she worked. It was time to open the gap with her nonexistent competition a little wider. As she waited for her sample to thaw, her mind drifted back to the beauty of the morning's excursion.

"A world of light! Even Bandar Arenas was never like this, and we're still 36 days from the solstice!" Leaving the chamber control system, she walked over to an adjacent console and began punching up some observation data from the station sensors.

"Sunset yesterday was at 4:20 PM, the sun's azimuth just 22 degrees west of north. Sunrise was three hours later, at 7:25 PM. Three hours of twilight, that's it. The sun was never more than two degrees below the horizon. And today solar noon will be, uh, let's see... In just a few minutes, at 5:52 AM. Sun's altitude will be forty degrees... And the world loves it! The countryside is bursting in the joy of springtime!"

Eliana wandered back to check on her specimen chamber. "In six more days, we'll have 24-hour sunlight. I'll be able to see the sun at due north, no sunsets for two months. So incredible..."

There was a large mechanical sound in the garage above her, totally unexpected. Eliana's mind was just starting to pay attention to it when she heard Basel's worried voice on the intercom.

"Eli, you're breaking station integrity! What are you trying to do?"

She opened the comm line. "What do you mean? I'm down on Level-B thawing my specimen."

"What?! The CAT's airlock just cycled! You didn't do it?!"

Eliana felt her body tensing from the danger as Basel's words struck home. She grimaced as she thought of her devil-dog. She had left it in the back of the CAT. "No! Basel! Are you in the control room?"

"Yes!"

As if to confirm the danger, the station siren began a warning wail. The presence of the creature had been detected outside four minutes ago.

"Basel, lock us... No, wait! Too late! I see the creature! It's coming down the ladder-well from Level-A! I'm trapped!" She desperately wondered what sort of weapon her chair would make.

Basel shouted at her. "Climb into an empty specimen chamber! I'll seal you in from here!"

Eliana spun around and leaped to the back of the room, her mind filled with gratitude for Basel's quick thinking. "I'm in chamber three!" she cried out. "Seal! Seal!"

As the clear carbon nano-tube door began to slide into position, Eliana got her first good look at the creature, or rather, her first good look at its camouflage. It was just a shimmer, a slight distortion of her view of the floor, and it was coming straight for her. The door continued to close, and the creature got to her chamber about two seconds after the lock clicked home. Eliana thought she had never heard a more pleasing sound. And then she gasped in astonishment as the creature slid over to a nearby console and turned off the comm system, cutting her link with Basel.

The two life-forms stared at each other for a moment. At least Eliana knew she was staring, and she suspected the creature was doing the same. Her mind was thinking furiously about how to communicate with her husband, and then she thought of something. "Basel, can you hear me?" she called out. "If you can, wiggle the manipulator arm in my chamber."

The arm remained still. "Apparently not," she thought. "Come on Basel, it's not obvious but there is a way..."

"Eliana, can you hear me?" a weak, tinny voice said.

"Yes! Can you hear me?"

"Thank The Holy! You made it! Yes, I hear you fine through the vibration sensors in the remotes."

Eliana nodded. "But how am I hearing you?"

"I set up a reverse transpondence. I'm vibrating the arm with my voice."

"You are quiet but I can hear you. Excellent idea Basel!" She took a breath. "The creature! It turned off the comm system!"

"Yes, I know. It also tried to transfer primary station control to the garage console. I barely managed to lock it out in time."

"It knows our systems!"

"Yes!"

"How?!"

"I think I might know how. But for now, what's it doing?"

"It's pretending to be an invisible rug about one meter from my chamber."

"Uh huh. Eli, I'm slowly transferring all garage control to here. Should I seal the creature in with you on Level-B, or leave the well open?"

"Seal it in here with me as soon as you can. I want to keep an eye on it."

The creature started to drift away from her and back towards the well. Eliana waved her hands briskly and caught its attention. Eliana then watched in utter fascination as the creature headed for the well as soon as it started to seal. It did not make it, and then returned to its position by Eliana's chamber.

"Basel, this is interesting! I estimate the creature's speed to be at most one meter per second."

"Eli, what's our plan? I know you've been giving this creature every benefit of doubt, but I want to suggest that we kill it."

Eliana paused for a long moment and sighed. "Agreed. Any ideas?"

"A number of them. This might not be too hard. It's in our station now. We control its environment. I think your idea months ago with the lasers is a good one. Let's test if the creature can withstand high heat."

"How soon can you effect the change?"

"Just a few minutes. Let me set up a cool-air feed for your chamber first. It's probably getting a bit stuffy in there anyway."

"Uh, I hadn't noticed but yeah, some fresh air would be nice. Basel!" she cried.

"What?!"

"The creature! It just jumped up against my chamber! I'm seeing its underside!"

"What's it like?"

"No chromataphors at all! I see the spirals of hooks! So incredible, like a sunflower! And it's trying to break into my chamber!"

"How can you see?! Do you have light?"

"Yes! Bioluminescence! My gosh Basel! Such a wondrous ability! I believe I'm seeing thousands of light emitters and light receptors covering the creature's underside." Eliana heard a hiss of cool fresh air entering her chamber and she took a deep breath. "Thanks for the air! The underside Basel, that's how it does its camouflage." Another deep breath. |"It's bio-light and eyes must transmit directly through the creature to control the chromataphors on the other side. What a wondrous design!" Another deep breath, and then a shiver. "A bit chilly in here."

"I'm trying to build up a cool reserve for you. I'm about bake your level with some serious heat." Basel heard Eliana give a small groan. "Eli, what?"