Space Pioneer 1 - 5. Chapter 5

Jeff and Lest met again in the lounge of the ship.

"There’s something that Doctor Midad and I want to tell you," Lest said.

He led Jeff to the conference room of the ship. Doctor Midad was waiting for them by the door. They sat down at the table. Jeff looked between the Daglon men.

"What’s this about? Is something wrong with me?" he asked.

"Your body responded well to my medication. Your system has meanwhile adapted to the slightly different oxygen level. Your blood levels are normal. You could pass as a Daglon," Doctor Midad said.

"That’s actually why I wanted a Daglon identity for you," Lest said.

"Don’t you think that’s somewhat odd?" Midad asked.

"Well, yes," Jeff replied. "I was already wondering myself why I resemble the Daglons. The doctor on Cyrus noticed it also. I suspect that evolution is much the same throughout the universe."

"This is one reason, but it doesn’t fully explain the results. I’ve checked your genetic profile. Your DNA is 85% Daglon," Doctor Midad said.

"What?" Jeff blurted out. "Are you saying my father was an alien? Or my mother was abducted by an alien spaceship and got a cloned embryo implanted?"

"Class C," Midad said, leaning back in his chair. "Acting on superstitious and religious beliefs. I can’t recommend these people join the space community."

Jeff cast him an offended look. Lest raised his hand.

"Calm," he said. "Let’s talk it over. Jeff, Doctor Midad ran a few tests on your genetic profile. It’s true. You’re 85% Daglon."

Jeff straightened. "How can it be? The result must be wrong," he said.

"I can explain it," Doctor Midad said. "The Daglons left their home planet Seth many centuries ago. Seth revolved around the sun that you call Betelgeuse. The sun expanded over the centuries. It’s still expanding, but it will explode very soon, from a cosmic perspective, that is."

"It’s a red supergiant in the constellation of Orion. It’s about 640 light years from Earth," Jeff said.

Lest nodded. "Seth was destroyed by the expanding sun. Our ancestors knew of the danger, but they didn’t figure the end would come so soon. They managed to build a multi-generational spaceship. Their civilization was a little ahead of yours, technology-wise, I mean."

"They were a typical class C species," Midad said. "Not looking at the facts, but cherishing false hopes. They didn’t work on evacuating the planet, they simply hoped they were mistaken and the end would not come upon them. Irrational, stupid, denying the truth. Sects and cults sprang up. People turned to religion. A dark time fell upon the planet. People started to kill each other off. There was murder and manslaughter all over the planet."

"The multi-generational spaceship was financed by a private investor," Lest said. "The man didn’t ignore the facts. He gathered engineers and scientists and other people as well. Once the ship was built, they took off for Alpha Centauri. It was a risky endeavor, but it worked out against all expectations."

"They named the exoplanet after the financier of the operation. Daglon was his surname," Midad said.

"The Daglon civilization developed," Lest carried on. "The colonists had lost contact to Seth, but they ultimately received a message from Seth. It’s stated in the old history books."

"The message told them that anarchy and chaos were ruling on Seth. The people had dropped back to a primitive state. A small group, the political and economical elite of the planet, had built another spaceship in order to escape," Midad said. "This spaceship was captured by a group of well-educated men and women. They left with it. They had come from all over the planet and had gathered in the place with the spaceship. The endeavor was organized by a small and strong-willed group of people, the later crew of the ship. Their head was Captain Re. He was the commander of the spaceship."

Jeff knew what came next. "Let me guess," he said. "They travelled to Earth."

"We think they did," Midad said. "The Daglons have no more information on the operation. There’s just the entry in their oldest history books. The Daglons received the message soon after their arrival. So the message must have been sent off about six centuries earlier. The Daglon suspected that the other spaceship was travelling to Daglon. They waited for centuries, but the ship never came. It was declared lost in space ultimately."

"The likelihood is very big that they travelled to Earth. Your genetic profile is 85% Daglon. This cannot be just coincidence," Lest said.

Jeff leaned back in his chair, stunned by the men’s revelations. His mind was processing their words. There was a brief silence.

"I wonder why the humans are so behind, technology-wise, I mean," Lest said. "The two spaceships must have reached their respective planets at about the same time, roughly 45,000 Earth years ago."

"I can’t imagine it’s true," Jeff said. "Human civilization doesn’t go back so far in time. Civilization started about 8,000 years ago, according to the artifacts we found."

Lest and Midad exchanged a look.

The doctor scratched his head. "Very odd," he said.

"Not necessarily so," Lest said after a moment of thinking. "Perhaps the colonists were only few. Perhaps they lacked technological knowledge in comparison to the Daglon group."

"Well," Jeff said. "I think the living conditions were bad back then. 45,000 years ago, the planet was in the grips of the ice age."

"Ice age," Midad said. "I don’t understand. Why did they not come to Daglon, but travelled to an inhospitable planet instead?"

"Odd, indeed. We’ll never know," Lest replied. "Anyway, they arrived and also survived, but mixed up with the natives. I think this also supports the assumption that the living conditions were bad."

"The planet back then was inhabited by early men, primitive creatures. Homo sapiens was just on the rise," Jeff said. His eyes widened and he gazed at the Daglon men. "Homo sapiens resembles the Daglons. Homo sapiens entered the stage when the Daglons arrived."

A smile was playing on Lest’s lips. "Not a coincidence, I think. But why then did you say that human civilization started only 8,000 Earth years ago?" he asked.

"We have not yet found reliable evidence that there was a highly developed civilization before the Flood," Jeff said.

"The flood?" Lest asked.

"Yes," Jeff said. "Our oldest religious texts tell of a disastrous flood that submerged the lands and killed most of the people.

Midad gave him a strange look. "Religious texts?" he asked.

Jeff gave a laugh. "Yes, but the Flood was real. There’s evidence of it. The ice age ended abruptly 9,700 BC. The ice melted in only a few years, the sea levels rose hundred meters and more, and huge ice lakes broke. The northern hemisphere had been entirely covered with ice. All the ice melted in just a few years," he said.

"How can this be?" Midad asked.

Lest gave him a meaningful look. "We’ve already witnessed the results of a planet-forming accident. Think of Breedos," he said.

"Right," Midad said. "This makes sense, of course."

Lest closed his eyes briefly. He was focusing on his neural implant. "We must stop for now. Le’Ton sent me a message. I need to go the bridge." He rose to his feet. "Good night, Jeff and Midad," he said and left the conference room.

Midad pushed his chair back.

"Just a minute, please, Doctor Midad," Jeff said. "Breedos?" he asked.

"The Mohic Empire," Midad said. "The empire we’re flying to. They need material for forming a moon, ore that they can’t mine by themselves. The Mohics settle on two planets. They tried to form another planet in their solar system. It’s farther away from the sun. It was entirely covered with ice."

"What happened?" Jeff asked.

"The Mohics planned to melt the ice by an artificial and controlled greenhouse effect. The operation got out of control. The planet was entirely flooded with water. The water has meanwhile turned back into ice," Midad replied.

"You think the Seth colonists tried to end the ice age on Earth by a controlled greenhouse effect?" Jeff asked.

"Sounds like it," Midad said. "I need to hurry now, Jeff. We’ll continue our talk when we will have left the Mohic Empire."

"I understand it’s a critical operation," Jeff said, rising to his feet also.

"Delivering the ore to the Mohic Empire?" Midad asked. He smiled slightly. "Last time we were late and they shot our ship after delivering the cargo. The Mohics are aggressive, but they pay very good. We’ll arrive at the edge of their solar system in short, that’s why Lest hurried to the bridge. Rest now. There’s nothing you can do. Have a good night, Jeff," he said.

Midad gave Jeff a nod and left the room. Jeff walked to the door. The revelation was a shock but also a relief in his eyes. He was 85% Daglon. He straightened. Jeff suddenly felt he belonged on Lest’s ship. He left the room and walked down the corridor confidently.

Lest contacted him through the neural intercom a short while later and told him to stay in his room. They would touch down on the Mohic planet and discharge the cargo. The crew would not disembark and the ship would leave the very night.

Jeff was lying on his bed and thinking things over. A sudden thought came to his mind. He sat up abruptly.

"Why didn’t occur this to me earlier? It is apparent," he said.

The planet’s name, Seth, and the name of Lest’s spaceship, Horus, were the names of two ancient Egyptian gods.

***

Jeff and Lest met in the galley the following morning. They were standing at the counter.

"How did the operation go, captain?" Jeff asked.

Lest waved his hand. "No problems at all. We arrived in time. They got the cargo and we got the credits. We have meanwhile left their solar system and are back in outer space. It was late when I finally was able to rest. I’m tired today," he said.

Jeff took a sip of his drink. It tasted of hot chocolate mixed with coffee. Jeff had meanwhile gotten used to it. He told Lest of his thoughts on the names of the ship and the planet.

"An obvious connection, I think," Jeff said. "The Egyptians built huge pyramids 5,000 years ago, long after the Flood, and long after the arrival of the spaceship on Earth. Ages had passed, but the Egyptians still used the ancient names. They were obsessed with preservation. They embalmed their dead, the bodies of the elite, and placed them into sarcophagi, huge coffins, kind of preservations tanks. They believed the dead journeyed through the worlds beyond and ultimately left the caskets."

"Sounds like a cargo cult," Lest said. "I suspect the second spaceship was not a multi-generational spaceship but a ship with cryo-tanks on board."

"God, yes," Jeff said. "They slept all the journey through space. They awoke and climbed out of the tanks, like the Egyptian dead climbing out of their caskets. We need to find out more about the Egyptians. I think they held the knowledge of their origin."

Lest nodded thoughtfully. "Jeff, how about we travel to Daglon and bury your comrades? They are 85% Daglon as well. I can’t take their bodies back to Earth, but Daglon would be a good place for a funeral. What do you think?" he asked.

Jeff didn’t reply at once.

"Was I being blunt?" Lest asked. "I apologize, Jeff Caspar."

"I’m fine," Jeff said. "It’s just the memories. I can’t push them aside all the time."

"It’s only natural, Jeff. Let me know if I can help you," Lest said.

He placed his hand on Jeff’s arm. Their eyes met. An instant later, Corr and Le’Ton entered the galley. Lest turned abruptly to the food processor and studied the menu. Jeff seized his cup and took a sip of his drink, then he greeted the Daglon crew members. Corr and Le’Ton gave him curious looks.

***