Into the Sea of Stars

Chapter 11

Automated Archival Unit 2

First Completion Date: 2087

Primary Function: Archival. A farsighted effort instituted by the United Nations Historical Preservation Organ ization. Having evaluated the prospects for war, a multinational team set out to provide as complete a record as possible of the history of mankind on Earth. Replicas of all major works of art were pro duced, all major libraries were copied. The data was placed aboard four units, two of which were suc cessfully launched from Earth orbit only days before the first nuclear exchange of the Holocaust War.

Evacuation Date: August 1, 2087.

Overall Design: O'Neill Cylinder, 400 meters by 100 me ters. Minimal life-support systems. Design was to be largely self-sustaining and self-navigating.

Propulsion: Plasma Drive.

Course: SETI Anomaly One. Political/Social Orientation: None.

"We've locked onto that signal, Ian. It's just come out of occultation by a gas giant, four A.U. ahead. There's strong background interference from a number of radio sources closer in to Delta."

"Shelley, which unit is the beacon from?"

"Ian, it's Archival 2!" The tone of her voice caused the others to turn and look in her direction. Ian was already pushing forward to peer over her shoulder at the display screen.

"The jackpot!"

Ian and Shelley started to hug each other, and in her enthusiasm Shelley planted a long kiss on Ian that had the others clapping and cheering.

"All right, all right," Richard said, his curiosity no longer capable of being contained, "what's Archival 2? Is it Smith's unit?"

"No, it's just the mother lode of a historical dream. It's the archive ship, launched just before the war. It con tains everything, Richard. Everything you could imagine. The only complete record of everything from before the war. Good lord, Beaulieu will kiss my feet just for the chance to look at it, just to touch it for one minute. We'll be blowing our noses on honorary doctorates for this!" Ian floated out of the room weeping with joy.

"I guess that means we go to Archival 2," Stasz said quietly with an attempt at understatement.

" Stasz, you said you were picking up a lot of back ground interference. What is it?"

"Oh, only a broad spectrum of interference from a large number of radio frequencies-what you'd pick up in near- Earth space. You know, a first-class civilization, billion-plus-people level of communication…" His voice trailed off.

"I think we better tell Ian," Ellen replied, her anxiety now obvious.

"You'll get an argument over it," Stasz responded. "That mad historian wants his archival unit first."

"Where are the signals centered?" Richard asked.

"In toward Delta Sag. Initial printout indicates a small planetary body; it all seems to be coming primarily from that one source."

"Anything from the region of Archival 2?"

"Nothing."

"Fine then," Richard replied. "Originally we had planned to stay out here and monitor them for several weeks before we made the move. But let's get into Ar chival 2 instead. He'll see the wealth of information there, the historian in him will want to preserve it at all costs, and, I daresay, we'll be hauling back to Earth with the news within a day-this Franklin Smith adventure for gotten. So, let's go on in."

Stasz gave a grunt of assertion, and even Shelley seemed satisfied with Richard's conclusion.

Elijah sat in the back of the cabin, silent, staring at the ball of light whose heavily filtered globe now filled the monitor.

"Hard dock."

Ian was out of his seat and pushing off for the airlock, calling for the others to follow.

Within minutes he was suited up and urging on Shelley and Ellen, acting like a little boy whose parents refuse to get out of bed on Christmas morning.

Stasz came back to join them, and from a small attache case he produced three stun pistols.

"Ian, you better take these along, just in case."

" Stasz, there hasn't been anyone aboard that vessel since it launched a thousand years ago."

"Bull. This thing's in orbit when it should be heading for the galactic core, that beacon is in perfect working order, and we've picked up strong transmissions from only ten A.U. away. They've been here, Ian, they might be in there now."

"Well, if that's the case, I guess we'll just have to talk it out when we meet them."

"They didn't talk it out when I met them," Elijah said.

Ian looked around at the rest of the crew.

"Look, I know you're not too thrilled about this. I'm just going in to confirm what's in there. If it really is Archival 2, I think that information takes higher prece dence over anything else. We'll see what we can take back with us, then we get the hell out of here. Does that satisfy everybody?"

The rest were silent.

"Give me the damn guns and let's get going."

And then he thought again of Smith. "I'll be with you in a moment, I forgot something."

"Come on, Ian," Shelley called, "this isn't the time to go to the bathroom."

But he was already out of the chamber. Several minutes later he reappeared, and without another word he mo tioned them into the airlock.

If Smith did board them, Ian hoped he had now pro vided the insurance policy. He had pushed five of the six activation switches on the thermomine. If they were threatened with boarding, simply pushing down on the sixth and pulling it back up would finish the job.

The inner airlock to the unit opened effortlessly, and Ian, followed by Ellen, Shelley, and Richard, floated into an open expanse of corridor.

"Oxygen check looks good, Ian," Shelley reported. "No toxicity readings."

With a sigh of relief he pulled off his helmet. He had always hated the claustrophobic things anyhow.

"Look, Ian, that plaque."

He pushed off gently and came up against a plaque of gold set into the far wall; reaching out with his suction holders, he clamped onto the wall like a spider.

He started to tremble as he read the first line in Old English.

Automated Archival Unit 2

Launch Date 2087

"So that only the best of our world

May be remem bered."

The same phrase was repeated in half a dozen other languages, beneath that was a small directory and map giving directions to the vast interior storage areas.

"This is it, Shelley, this is it!"

"It looks like the catalog directory is over this way," Ellen called, her apprehensions momentarily forgotten in the enthusiasm for what they had found.

The other three followed her as she floated along the docking corridor and stepped into a slowly rotating stair well that led down to the rotating mass of the cylinder.

At first they simply let themselves drop down the shaft, but with the gradual increase in acceleration, they soon grabbed hold of the handrailings to break what could have developed into a disastrous fall.

Another gold plaque pointed them into a dimly lit cor ridor that was lined with racks of filing cards.

"Now that's curious," Ellen whispered. "It's the pre- computer method of filing data. I remember reading about it. Seems awfully cumbersome."

"Logical though," Ian replied. "They must have a com puter master, but this was included in case of a total power failure. Look over there."

He pointed to a brightly painted circle where several dozen large books were laid out side by side.

Ian approached the books and stared at them with eager anticipation, the way some people approach a gourmet meal or the first night with a new lover.

"Ian, come over here and look at this," Shelley cried. "Good Lord, just look at what they have!"

Shelley was waving a small filing card over her head, which she had, in her enthusiasm, plucked out of one of the filing cabinets.

Ian came over to her side and examined her find. "I remember you talking about the old Apollo missions," she shouted, "so I saw this cabinet with Ap — As listed on it. Here's a card that lists an Apollo 8. Level Three, Room 224, File 203-090-112-130. Ian, they don't have one Apollo card in there, they have half a hundred!"

The four of them looked at each other and within sec onds they were all busy digging into the files, each one looking for his or her favorite topic, exploring the answer to a question from the world of the past that had forever puzzled them.

Ian was overwhelmed. He thought the discovery of the library aboard the longevity unit had been the find of lifetime, but this was simply beyond his comprehension. In simple awe of it all, he started to weep. He had found the Valhalla of historians at last!

Hours later he staggered back to the filing area, leaving the others to the enthusiastic examination of the finds. There was enough sense still about him to realize that this unit had not been vacant for the last millennium. First off, something had altered its course from the original route into the galactic core. Second, something had provided the data to this vessel and had guided it into orbit. Finally, there was significant evidence of repair and main tenance.

He was drawn back at last to the books set off in the white circle. They were obviously set there to draw a visitor's attention. Not sure what to anticipate, Ian reached over and opened the first book.

He suddenly realized that Shelley had come up to his side.

"What is it?"

"I think it's a translator. Look, the pictographs for a man and a woman. Here's a diagram of our solar system and a map giving our location in relationship to the rest of the galaxy. That's it-these books are a translator for anyone, or anything, for that matter, who might find this ship."

"Ian? Stasz here."

There was a note of anxiety in his voice.

"Go on."

"Ian, I've just picked up a high-energy burst from the forward antenna of Archival 2. Damn near blew me out of my couch."

"I think we just hit the doorbell," Ian said softly. "Rich ard, Ellen, did you hear that? Meet me back in the catalog area before we head out."

Within the minute Stasz was back with more news.

"I've just locked on to several incoming energy sources, I can't tell what they are yet, but they were in high orbit around this planet. They're accelerating like mad. Damn it, you people better hurry!"

A doorway at the far end of the corridor slid open and Ellen burst through it panting for breath. "Where's Rich ard, I want to get moving!"

"Richard, how long before you get back here?" Ian tried to sound calm, but he knew his nervousness was showing.

"Another five minutes, at least, Ian. I'm way the hell at the other end of this ship."

Damn it! Ian silently cursed himself. He had screwed up. He should have had everybody stay together. He got so carried away by the honey pot that he had not thought of the consequences.

"Ian. Look, why don't you people head on out without me? Ahh, I mean you'll stand a better chance that way."

"What is this, Richard, a god-damn video drama? Cut the garbage and move your fat butt up here."

He could hear the audible sigh of relief.

"I hoped you'd say that, but at least my offer sounded good."

"You'd never have made it if I was in command," Ellen muttered.

"Ian, you have two minutes. They've already started to decelerate. For God's sake, get moving!"

Richard finally burst through the far door, gasping for breath and looking as if he was on the verge of an apo plectic fit.

"Let's go!"

Ellen took off at a run, while Shelley and Ian fell in on either side of the exhausted physician.

Reaching the stairway, they pushed Richard ahead of them while he cursed them and begged pitifully for a mo ment to regain his breath.

"Ian, I've got them on visual, there's three of them. They're about our size but look like they're armed, a couple of old-style missiles slung under each of them."

" Stasz, can we punch through to translight from a standing start?"

"Increases the breakup possibilities by a factor of ten. I must remind you that you never liked the odds to start with."

"Screw the odds; power the damn thing up."

"One of them is swinging into the opposite docking port, Ian. This doesn't look good at all…" There was a high-pitched shriek of static and then nothing.

"Do you think they hit him?" Shelley cried.

"If they had, we would have felt the vibration run through the ship. I think they're just jamming him. Come on, Richard, move it!"

They were rapidly moving into the low-gravity region and finally, in exasperation, Ian braced himself on the ladder and leaned onto Richard's backside, giving him a tremendous shove.

Richard arched up and away like a champagne cork popping out of a bottle. With a crash he slammed into the bulkhead on the other side of the stairwell and ricocheted out into the main zero-gravity corridor. Ian and Shelley were right behind him.

They pushed off for the opposite end, where their own docking port was located. Ellen was already there and waving them on.

Just another twenty meters to go and suddenly Ian felt a slight shifting in the air, as if a distant doorway had been opened. Grabbing a handrail, he looked back the way they had come. Another docking port was open. A shadowy figure filled the bay, and Ian felt a tremor of fear. They had lost the race.

Trying to smile, he raised his hand and tossed the stun pistol away. The figure he was facing had some far heavier artillery.

" Ahh, greetings, friend," he said in a high, squeaky voice. " Ahh… We've come in peace for all mankind. How's that?"

The blast knocked him over backward, slamming him into darkness.