Chapter 15

It was impossible, was the shipwide consensus. There was no conceivable way that a culture obviously in the early stages of agrarianism, with but a single field planetwide under true cultivation, could have advanced to organized iron mining and smelting just a century later. "It took us several thousands of years to cross that bridge," said Toshimura. "To even suggest that another species could make the transition in a mere hundred is nonsense!"

None could argue with the proposition that conceptually such an extreme leap forward in so short a time was unbelievable. But none could argue, either, with the reality that it had happened. After initial skepticism had exhausted itself—rather quickly, in a scientifically oriented community in which proof took precedence over hypothesis—spectrographic analysis proved the accuracy of Igwanda's statement. And as the Gardener at last took up orbit around Eden, analysis also showed that the "cloud" cover so constantly concealing Centerville from view was in fact smog generated mostly by the furnaces in which the metal was being extracted and worked.

This development brought an abrupt end to any lingering disagreement about when the landing should take place. However much Igwanda still wanted to reconnoiter the aliens from orbit—and he wanted it now even more in light of this unexpected development—it clearly wasn't going to be possible. The first week of orbit produced just two brief breaks in the smog cover, lasting an aggregate of six hours. Infrared scanning could penetrate the smog but produced images too unclear to be of real value. It was plain that there would be no prolonged orbital surveillance because there could be no prolonged orbital surveillance; all would have to be staked on an early landing at the settlement.

In their exhilaration over the removal of all obstacles to their desire, the scientists readily assented to Igwanda's request (which he politicly transmitted through Meiersdottir) that they set down first in a location far from the Centerville settlement.

"It's sensible," said Heisinger. "In our visit to Centerville our focus will be on the natives. Yet we know virtually nothing of their world. The Argo returned no biological samples, no geological, no atmospheric. Clearly there are many similarities to Earth, but we should know about the differences. It's not my field, but I suspect that greater knowledge about their environment will help those of us who have responsibility for initial contact with the natives."

So it came about that the Gardener's initial touchdown on Eden took place half a world away from the planet's only known settlement of intelligent beings.

Lander technology had improved appreciably since the Argo's visit a century earlier. In particular, gravitronic engines had been significantly reduced in size, allowing expansion of crew space; a contemporary lander could accommodate a dozen individuals and their personal protective gear, scientific sampling equipment, and enough supplies to allow them to remain on the surface for as long as several weeks. After much negotiation, it had been agreed that four of the complement for this landing would be military—Igwanda, his senior sergeant and second-in-command Chavez, and troopers van Damm and Mohammed Ahlia. Heisinger headed the three-member biological team, there were a chemist, two geologists and a physicist, and Shaw piloted the lander.

Their chosen site was environmentally similar to the Centerville region—a combination of apparent woodland and open meadow, not far from a flowing river. There was also a substantial population of various forms of wildlife, including a number of species whose siblings, or at least close cousins, had been viewed in Centerville's surroundings. Allowing for expectable hemispheric differences, it was as close an approximation as could be found from orbit to what they'd encounter when they set down at the settlement itself.

Igwanda was now in acknowledged full command. A few of the scientists had objected, arguing that the ship's orders on that point were intended only for a landing at the settlement, but even the recalcitrant Shaw admitted that they made no such distinction. By Igwanda's decision the first out the airlock would be himself and his soldiers, although Meiersdottir persuaded him to relent to the extent of allowing Shaw to actually set foot on the planet first by prerogative of rank.

"You must, however, move no more than a step or two from the foot of the ramp, merely enough to allow us passage," he told the No. 1 firmly. "We have no idea what awaits us." With an exaggerated sigh, Shaw agreed.

Protective attire, too, had been much streamlined since the Argo's day. Respirators were smaller and more flexible; instead of gloves the hands, as well as all other exposed skin, were covered by a spray-on coating that allowed a much greater sense of touch while being impervious to all known toxins; only the proper reagent would dissolve it. Clothing was more lightweight and sealed to the body with the same coating. In the warm weather of their landing site the crew might have been going to a picnic by outward appearance.

Except, that is, for their weaponry. Igwanda insisted that each crew member wear the sidearms in which they'd been trained in their six-week stint on Earth. Much smaller and yet more powerful than the cutters that were all the Argo's crew had available, these lasers were designed for the primary purpose of killing living beings; they both sliced through tissue and incinerated the surrounding area to the point that any but the slightest wound would prove almost instantly fatal to its target.

Igwanda and his troops alone carried the heavier artillery, called "blasters"—stubby weapons that looked something like sawed-off automatic shotguns but fired projectiles that would explode with devastating power on contact. Their users were trained to aim not at an enemy's body but into the ground at his feet; the resulting explosion was of such force that nothing within five meters would survive intact. Overshots were guarded against by a rapidly adjustable guidance system that would divert the projectiles immediately downward if they flew beyond a fixed dis­tance.

Finally, each crew member carried a small pack on his or her back with hidden power connectors to the clothing. Voice-activated, it would instantly turn its wearer into the landbound equivalent of an electric eel, sending high-voltage electric shocks through anyone or anything touching any part of the clothes, though grounded to the wearer.

Many of the scientists, as well as the first officer, had protested what they perceived as an excess of caution. "We aren't going into a combat zone here," said Shaw wearily. "Humans have landed on numerous planets without all this ... equipment."

"But never on one with advanced life-forms," the colonel replied. "Those who landed here before found themselves immediately under attack by the only creatures they encountered, for reasons we still do not understand. We cannot be sure that something in our appearance, our odor, whatever else does not engender similar hostility among other species—or, on the other hand, that we do not appear to this planet as appetizers on the menu of predators. It is my responsibility to protect this crew to the best of my ability, and I intend to do so."

Shaw rolled his eyes, but donned his armament without further argument; the others followed suit.

Igwanda insisted on an hour's wait after the landing before debarkation. The gravitronic engines, though much quieter than those used by the Argo, still emitted enough noise to attract attention for some distance; and the lander, of course, was quite visible in the final stages of its descent.

But all seemed entirely placid. A few creatures of various sizes that had fled the site during the landing itself gradually returned, evidently finding no threat in the stationary vessel. Other than that the only disturbances came when a flying predator abruptly stooped on something about the size of a large chipmunk, carrying its still-struggling prey off in the Eden equivalent of talons, and another goat-size landbound animal made a quick meal of a smaller one.

Extension of the ramp and cycling of the airlock created only a minor additional disturbance. A few nearby creatures bolted, but the larger ones merely startled momentarily and went back to their grazing as the unknown, therefore unfeared, humans appeared. Shaw obediently waited for the arrival of the military contingent, but as the troops stationed themselves strategically around the ramp's base nothing appeared to challenge them. After another half hour's delay the colonel gave the all-clear signal for the waiting scientists to emerge.

Before the lander had departed the Gardener a number of ground rules had been established. First, there was to be minimal interference with the environment. "Keep plant samples small," Heisinger had directed. "And take from diverse areas rather than a single site. As for animal life, for this landing we want no live specimens nor do we want to kill anything. You'll almost surely find some carrion, and I think it's better if we take only that. Atmospheric samples should be separated and, to the extent possible, taken from different areas to allow for varying concentrations of pollen, spores and so forth. Diverse soil samples are also desirable. If fruits, nuts, seeds and so forth can be found, naturally we want samples—but again, on a small scale. As much as possible we want to leave this area with so little sign we were ever there that it will be obliterated within a week or two."