Chapter 4

Crystal vision

You said the accident destroyed the 'crystal, ' and your communications system was blind because of that?

Our 'sing-crystal, ' yes.

Michael saw the ship's intricate neural transmission array laid open before him. He followed it forward to an equipment bay. Cables and conduits and banks of cards surrounded a central pedestal. A black and silver crystalline structure stood in a deep socket. It seemed dead, lifeless, dull to his eyes despite the glittering latticework of silver-grey threads that encompassed it. It was not large, no larger than his fist. He could see that it was shattered throughout. Only the silver lattice held it from falling to pieces.

He traced a trunk line to a hull-mounted dish assembly, protected in a massive housing. The dish would direct a tightly-focused signal wherever it was pointed.

Your aiming dish is intact. Only the crystal is broken? The remainder of your communicator is intact? It would function?

Yes, that is correct. But there is another crystal, smaller, that links our primary intelligencer to all of ship, all control, and to propulsion array. It too is broken, shattered like the one you see here.

You are familiar with 'computer' and 'artificial intelligence, ' perhaps. That is like our intelligencers. We have large, primary one, and smaller, lesser ones, helpers. Now they, the lesser ones, help ship survive while primary intelligencer is dormant. It sleeps. Blind, isolated, it cannot function.

You cannot replace the crystal, one or both? There are no others?

Yes, we could replace, easily replace, but the destruction, the accident destroyed the area holding our crystal replacements. They are gone, everything gone. We have searched everywhere here in this place, this south polar region. We find traces of crystal but nothing more. Not enough, not good to replace what we lost. Distance to other land regions too far, too hostile, we cannot go there. We remain silent, cannot sing to home.

Michael felt deep sadness for these beings, for Dee'rah, so helplessly stuck here in a frozen wasteland without the means to leave or call for help. He was a victim, stranded, but his coming here was largely his own choice. These 'people, ' these intelligent beings, were so utterly stranded without hope.

Dee'rah, in my world I have much knowledge of minerals and crystals. Perhaps you can show me more clearly what it is that you need? From what I see in your communicator assembly, it is destroyed, it is not possible for me to know. I must see more closely, perhaps some idea of its molecular structure.

At that moment the most amazing thing happened. Michael's mind expanded, his vision blossomed out. He sensed, then 'saw' the entities. Dee'rah stood, a vague, indistinct glowing figure, and beside her a slightly larger, different figure. Something about this second one was stronger, more forceful.

Michael-mine, this masi'na is father-mine. He believes you are as I said, a high-spirit one. He is anxious that you understand this crystal. He will show you what it is.

Michael sensed himself moving. The two figures moved closer until they three stood facing each other. They were less vague; he could see their faces, intelligent eyes, humanoid features, curious expressions studying him. Dee'rah was lovely, graceful and stately in her bearing. He her father's eyes studied him intently, but respectfully, almost as one equal to another.

We have looked into this crystalline structure to its most basic essence. 'Atomic structure' you would say in words, human. See how we see it.

Michael couldn't help himself; he gasped in surprise. Suspended before his eyes, he saw a crystalline latticework. Its molecules lay in perfectly symmetrical alignment, row upon row of them, each row parallel with adjoining rows. He rotated the cube in his mind; he saw the columns and rows symmetrically aligned with one another. It was a unique structure and he recognized it!

You have found traces of this here?

Yes, with great difficulty. It is so little here, we search much around heat chambers, depths of volcano, the magma. We bore and explore the cold hard mineral foundation in all directions under the frozen cover. We filter much sea water, find minerals and metals dissolved within, but none of this. We are without hope. It cannot be replenished here.

No, it would not be here. But we do have much of this, in various forms, on this world. In other places. I know where large forms of this can be had. I have studied this. We call it 'thorium.' The natural crystalline ore is 'thorianite.' It is a prized radioactive material on this world. We are beginning to study how to produce vast quantities of energy with it. We have used a similar material, 'uranium, ' but it is a deadly substance, too toxic, dangerous for too long. We will soon begin using this one, thorium, instead.

The masi'na, the father, darkened visibly and seemed to draw back from them, but in a moment he regained his 'composure' and if anything, grew more intense.

Horrible! Anathema! The destruction, poison, death-matter! No more bring 'uranium' and 'weapon' to mind, please.

As Michael explained his knowledge of thorium, thorianite, and uranium, his memories produced images as he had experienced them. Dee'rah and her father could see those images. Both were very disturbed at the uranium-weapon images, his knowledge of death and toxic waste and radioactive poisoning. But he also recalled his images of the thorium minerals and his professional work in exploring and evaluating north American deposits, some of them quite rich and unique. He focused on the image of a cubical sample of thorianite, a unique cube with another cube angled within it, its corners protruding from the sides of the first cube.

Yes! Oh, blessed sight! Yes! That is it!

The two figures literally pulsed with excitement, flaring so brightly that Michael squinted and almost shaded his eyes, until he realized, feeling quite foolish as he did, that he wasn't using his eyes at all. He was half awake, not dreaming. When did he start "see-speaking" in his mind with these people while awake? Was this what telepathy was about?

No matter. If telepathic people could get excited and figuratively jump and dance around the room holding each other, these telepaths were putting on a good show of it! In another instant the space around them expanded and filled with brightly glowing people. Exited telepathic people could spread "good news" quite rapidly. Michael saw hundreds, perhaps a thousand or more excited, glowing figures and radiating happiness.

The oddest thing happened just then. A slender figure just the same shade as Dee'rah approached and seemed to meld for a moment between her and her father, then all three pulsed quite brightly, and then "she" as he surmised, blended with Dee'rah and the two of them stood, literally "hugging" each other for a long moment. They separated slightly, and he felt himself being regarded intensely and somewhat warmly.

Daughter-mine was right with trust, to close-speak with you. She explains you are high-spirit, shepherd, protector. She is most right! Welcome, Michael-ours!

He felt in the knees, overcome with emotion. The happiness and hope radiating from these beings was overloading his senses, his mind. He struggled to cope.

He was lost in his own feelings for a moment, and when he "looked again," as it were, he found himself with Dee'rah and her parents. The others had faded away.

Ummmm, I don't want to 'rain on your parade, ' as we say, which means...

Silly Michael-mine, you must learn! The moment you 'see' it in your mind, we see it. But please, explain in your way, of what must you remind us?

Hummph, errr, ok! Yes, silly me. All my life I exhale air through my vocal chords and move my lips and struggle to find the right words. Why ever would I have a problem not bothering with that!?

He mentally smiled at them, feeling suddenly light-hearted and amused, almost in a comic, joking mode. They brightened even more, and grew closer together.

Michael-mine! Humor? A joke? How delightful! How different! Do you humans do that? Much? It is wonderful! Thank you for sharing!

He felt quite foolish, trying to stare open-mouthed in a mind-speaking session. How does one do that? Well, perhaps it is the mental state, the thinking and feeling it, and the happy emotions that go with it. That, and the shy embarrassment that follows.

Yes, Michael-mine. Special! you have no idea how special. Thank you. But you are concerned, worried... ?

I am very worried. Please remember that I am here on the ice. I remain in danger unless rescue comes. Now there is a new problem. The thorium crystals are a great distance from here...

... and he visualized the two great continents north of Antarctica: South America, across Central America, and up into North America. His mind's eye took them into the western portion, across the high plateau desert, and into the central Idaho mountains. Just a bit farther north, along the Salmon River, then just north of that great winding river he took them to Lemhi Pass.

... here is where I call home, these mountains. This portion is named 'Lemhi Pass;' these are the greatest deposits of crystalline thorium on the entire continent.

He visualized the crystal thorianite, in pegmatites and in great black fist-sized cube-within-cube chunks of it, and he swore he heard a hundred or more gasps in his mind.

So rich! So much! How can it be? We have never seen such rich forms of it!

In some ways this world is blessed. This mountain region is unusually blessed with mineral riches of all kinds. We have wonderful veins of what you need. I have a good friend, a professional associate, who has access and can provide me with a large quantity. How much do you need? If I can carry, say... He visualized a wooden container holding about 75 or 80 pounds of thorianite, rich 90 percent grade, as about the maximum he could carry on a long journey from the remote Idaho wilderness.

He was astonished to see his friends, the Masi'shen, nearly extinguish from sight, pulsing weakly. Dee'rah and her mother melded together, holding each other. Jon'na-ren, he realized as her father's identity, struggled to regain himself, and slowly came back to his normal appearance.

Michael-ours, you cannot know. I ... we cannot begin to make aware ... the incredible riches you offer us. Perhaps some day, you will appreciate the worth of the gift you offer, so easily, so freely ... so generously! You would do this, for us?