Space Pioneer 3 - The Yanara Archives - 1. Chapter 1

The Horus stopped on Ephos, the Las Vegas-like planet at the edge of the Daglon solar system. The crew parked the warship in a hangar and rented a smaller and less striking ship to fly to Daglon. They landed in Amun, the amusement park, that was built in the style of the old days. Many buildings were sky-scraping towers that were made of steel and glass, others resembled Egyptian pyramids.

The crew got off the ship and departed. The men went to pursue their own activities for a while. Le’Ton left with Chen, the young Titan. Doctor Midad, Corr, Forrit and Galven left each on their own. Lest and Jeff left in an air taxi. The cab followed a major airway from Amun to Sothis, the capital of Daglon.

The airway was busy and many crafts hovered in both directions. They crossed an area, an agricultural district that was devoid of towns. Vast fields stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see.

“What is being cultivated here?” Jeff asked. “The fields look like soy plantations.”

“The plant is called Kamut, a cereal, a basic food on Daglon,” Lest said.

“You grow cereals?” Jeff wondered. “I would have thought that everything is artificially produced.”

Lest gave a laugh. “How? Like the food processor on board of our ship? Well, actually, plant growing is relatively new on Daglon. Maybe I should say it was re-discovered.”

Jeff gave him a questioning look.

“You saw Amun, high towers and vast pyramids, one next to the other,” Lest explained. “This is how Daglon looked 10,000 years ago. The entire land mass was one huge city. Agriculture, farming and land growing had become redundant as everything was produced artificially. The population exploded and living conditions worsened as a result. The political situation became instable also. Various political parties pressed for migrating to other planets, others wanted an internal solution. The latter won. Daglon was re-structured. It took a couple of centuries and it wasn’t easy, but it was finally done. Agriculture was still not a dominant factor for a long time but became increasingly popular when people decided they preferred fresh food.”

Jeff gave a laugh. “I understand. The processor meals are not bad, but the food lacks the smell and taste of fresh ingredients,” he said.

Lest nodded. He pointed ahead. “We’re joining the major airway to Daglon. Eight lines and six levels of airways. The hover pilots must concentrate.”

Jeff was impressed. “I thought you cut down infrastructure,” he said.

“The airways were three to five times the size in the old days,” Lest said.

“Don’t you have a pollution problem?” Jeff asked.

“Why? Because of the hovercrafts? No, they’re hydrogen powered. And we developed other means of propulsion that are environmentally friendly,” Lest said.

“Daglon could teach Earth a lot,” Jeff said.

“Well, Daglon made the same mistakes in the past,” Lest replied.

The air taxi hovered north for a couple of hours and finally reached Sothis. It moved into town and halted at a vast air taxi station. The men got off the cab. Night had fallen. Jeff looked at the avenues and the high buildings around the station.

“These buildings have at least sixty floors. This is cut-down infrastructure?” he asked.

“Most buildings had 150 floors and more in the old days. The land was practically one large mass of skyscrapers. We have pictures. You can have a look at them in Amun’s museums,” Lest said.

They went down the avenue and turned into a side street. Lest pointed at the building at the far end.

“The hotel. I booked a suite. We can explore Sothis as long as we want and either stay here the entire three weeks or move elsewhere before we return to Amun,” he said.

The hotel was smaller than the surrounding buildings. Their suite was on the thirty-first floor.

They set out to explore Sothis the following morning. The men were glad to see a city after months in space. The sun was shining instead of artificial lights, and the air was fresh and smelled of snow. Sothis was located in the northern hemisphere. It was autumn time. The temperature was low, a cool northern wind was blowing and a white frost covered the sidewalk.

Lest inhaled deeply. “I’ve almost forgotten how good it feels,” he said.

Jeff looked at the sun in the sky, the bright natural light. It was an entire different experience than the infinite and impermeable blackness of space.

“I’ve been too long in space,” he said.

They stayed in Sothis for ten days, exploring the city, walking the streets and visiting places of interest. Finally, they left the town and made a tour through the countryside. Harvesting had begun in some areas, winter crops were sown and planted in others. They stayed for five days in a recreational centre that was located in a rural area. Life in space seemed a surreal thought and they didn’t talk about it. They explored the woods and walked long through the autumn fields until their stay on Daglon came to an end. They travelled back to Amun.

The Horus crew gathered and spent the final evening in a restaurant. They were sad to leave, but also ready to go. It was an odd combination of feelings. However, once they had boarded the Ephos ship the following day, the crew was back in space mode.

The ship took off and flew back to Ephos. Chen departed. The Titan actor planned to look for an engagement on Ephos. The men got on the Horus and settled in their seats.

“All right,” Lest said. “Corr, contact space traffic control and ask for clearance for take-off. Le’Ton set course on Cyrus.”

“Course set on Cyrus,” Le’Ton confirmed.

“Take-off in ten minutes,” Corr said.

The men strapped in and focused on the displays. The ship’s engines came on.

“Countdown three seconds,” Corr said.

The Daglon warship rolled down the runway, accelerated and took off. The ship climbed to orbit and entered space. The Horus took up speed and finally reached the space jump point that Le’Ton had pre-programmed. The sound of the engines changed and the ship dropped out of real space.

“How long until arrival at Cyrus?” Lest asked.

“Thirty-two hours, forty-two minutes,” Le’Ton replied.

“The ship is on autopilot,” Corr said, leaning back in his chair. “The trip should be uneventful.”

It was.

The Horus was approaching Cyrus.

“Okay,” Lest said. “I’m going to brush through the offered deals on the space net. I’m reluctant to contact Perez again.”

“Quite understandable,” Hulton said. “I can also look if I find a profitable deal, captain. I’ll look through the announcements that are not yet published.”

“What?” Lest asked. “Are you able to hack into their system?”

“I had a good time on Daglon, but I got bored after a while and I thought of an activity to fill my days,” Hulton said. “I came up with the idea to establish a connection to the broker service computer. It took me two days to make it work. Not all announcements go live at once, it depends on what the vendor wants.”

“Interesting,” Lest said. He rose from his seat and joined Hulton by the console.

Hulton typed a few commands. His screen activated and showed a long list.

Lest leaned forward. “Excellent work, Hulton,” he said.

They brushed through the list.

“The usual crap,” Lest said. “Stop. What’s this?” he asked, pointing at an offer.

Hulton opened it. The full text showed on the screen.

“A private institution?” Lest asked. “The Society of Yanara Archives?”

“Never heard of,” Hulton said. “They offer a research contract. Price on negotiation. Shall I go back to the list?”

“No,” Lest said. “They won’t get a lot of requests on their offer. Crews looking for a freight contract will skip it at once. Contact them, Hulton. I want to know more about this offer.”

Hulton activated the space intercom. He got through and a stern male voice responded.

“Put the man on the screen,” Lest said.

A haggard man in a long red velvet robe showed on the screen. “You sent a contact request. I’m Okpara, chief archivist of the Society of Yanara Archives on Yanara,” he said.

Lest straightened. “Greetings to you, Okpara. I’m Captain Lest, speaking from the Horus. We’re on our way to Cyrus and we’re looking for a job. I learned of your offer regarding a research contract. Can you tell me more, please,” he said.

The man raised an eyebrow. “How did you learn of it? It was supposed to be published tomorrow when all Yanara archivists will gather,” he said.

“A glitch maybe,” Lest replied. “Anyway, I read your offer. Would you like to elaborate or shall we get back to you tomorrow?”

Okpara pondered. “No, we can sort it out right away, captain. We don’t look for a transport vessel. We look for a craft and a crew capable of following subtle traces in space.”

“What kind of traces? Are you missing a ship?” Lest asked.

“Sort of,” Okpara replied. “A ship landed and we don’t know where it came from. The crew is long gone. We’re not exactly a space-faring nation, although we have a spaceport on the planet. We don’t have the means to go after the traces and find the ship’s place of origin.”

“The job sounds interesting enough. Can we talk about the price?” Lest asked.

“I’m not entitled to negotiate on the price on my own,” Okpara replied. “It certainly depends on duration and efforts for the search trip, but minimum would be 50,000 credits.”

Lest muted the channel and turned to Le’Ton. “How long is the flight to the planet?” he asked.

“Ten hours in space jump mode,” the navigator said after checking a display.

Lest opened the channel. “Okpara, I’m definitely interested in the deal. Can I get more information, please?”

“I’m not entitled to tell you more,” Okpara replied. “Why don’t you come to Yanara and we’ll talk it over in person? The archivists will gather tomorrow. We would be glad if you joined our meeting, captain.”

Lest thought it over and then agreed. He ended the communication and turned to his crew.

“Set course on Yanara,” he said.

The Daglon warship changed course.

The sun was just rising when they touched down in the Yanara spaceport. Okpara waited for them in the hangar. He was dressed in a long robe and carried a wooden walking cane. The Horus crew looked at him curiously. The old man mustered the Daglon warship, then bowed to Lest and the crew.

“Welcome on Yanara, Captain Lest,” he said. “Follow me, please. I’ll take you to the society’s assembly hall. The other archivists await you there. We are glad you took up on our offer.”

The man pointed at the exit and led the way. Lest and the others followed him. They crossed the spaceport hall, looking around curiously. Typical spaceport staff in spaceport suits were mingling with people, flight passengers probably, who were dressed in long robes and were wearing sandals.

“A stark contrast,” Jeff said to Doctor Midad.

“Yes,” Midad replied. “There are a lot of these worlds in space. The Alliance classifies species and makes contact only with those who have progressed to a certain technological level. Once contact is established, the planets usually change. Some adapt quickly to the developments, whereas others go through a long transition process. A split of society is often observed. While some parties adapt quickly to interstellar contact, others turn back to the traditions of the past. I think Okpara belongs to the latter party, concluding from the way he’s dressed.”

They left the spaceport. Okpara led them to a bus-like vehicle that was parked in front of the entrance. They climbed into it and as soon as they had sat down in the worn seats, the driver started the bus. The trip wasn’t long. The vehicle halted in front of a light brown painted mansion. The house was surrounded by a garden where oversized tulips and lilies grew.

Okpara led them into the house and showed them to an assembly hall where elaborately carved wooden chairs were arranged in rows. A speaker’s desk stood in front of the chairs. Okpara asked them to sit down and then left the room. The men looked around. The windows were high. Heavy green velvet curtains hung at their sides. The green and blue carpet in the room was old and worn. The air in the assembly hall smelled of cinnamon.

The door opened and Okpara and six other men stepped in. They were all haggard and tall, their hair was gray and their skin was yellowish. Okpara stood behind the speaker’s desk and three men stood left and three right of him.

“Welcome again, Captain Lest,” Okpara said. “The Yanara archivists represent the Society of Yanara Archives. The Yanara Archives are very old documents, dated back roughly 12,000 years. They tell of the beginning of our civilization. The documents were studied again and again over the centuries, but they remained mysterious to us. We understood they told of our origin, but we were not able to fully understand the words until eleven years ago.”

“Our civilization progressed over the centuries. We discovered electricity and it simplified our lives. We invented vehicles and machines and ultimately developed a satellite that was brought to orbit for collecting weather data. We developed a craft that carried people around the planet. That was when the Alliance contacted us. They contacted us eleven years ago. You can imagine the stir it caused. They contacted us too early in our opinion,” Okpara said.

The other archivists nodded gravely.

“The contact was welcomed by certain parties and they adapted quickly to the change. However, the premature contact stirred mostly fear in the people and caused upheavals and riots all over the planet,” Okpara carried on. “Yanara culture was destroyed and people were left with nothing to base their lives on. They turned back to traditions, back to the beliefs of the past. In short, they turned back to their roots. We remembered our origin and turned to read the Yanara Archives again.”

Okpara paused.

“The Yanara Archives suddenly made sense to us. There was no mystery any longer. The archives tell of our origin. As we see it now, our ancestors came from a different planet and settled on Yanara 12,000 years ago,” he said.

“I’m beginning to understand, Okpara,” Lest said. “You spoke of subtle traces.”

“Yes,” Okpara replied. “Traces only. We don’t know where the settlers came from. We assume that the spaceship was programmed to fly on autopilot while the people slept in cryotanks all the way through space until the ship reached Yanara and entered orbit. The computer woke up crew and passengers, 5,000 people, concluding from the manuscripts. The ship landed on Yanara and the settlers built up a colony. The documents end here.”

“You don’t have more historical records of the time?” Lest asked in surprise.

“Unfortunately not, captain,” Okpara replied. “Our historical records start 3,352 years ago with the foundation of the kingdom Zalaki. We know that farmers cultivated the land many centuries before this event. We found remains of old monasteries. Monasteries have a long tradition on Yanara. The Yanara Archives were detected in a monastery 2,945 year ago by Suthek II, then king of Zalaki. The documents were passed on for centuries. The Society of Yanara Archives was founded 823 years ago and has kept the documents since. The society is a monastic community.”

“I see,” Lest said thoughtfully. “Do the documents mention the place of origin?”

“Unfortunately not,” Okpara said. “The documents are numbered. They start with number thirteen and end with number twenty-seven. The first twelve documents and any possible later documents are lost. The archives describe the first settlement, the built-up of the civilization. They refer to events that happened before this time, however, and from these paragraphs we conclude that the settlers arrived in a spaceship.

“Can you be sure the date is correct and the colony was established 12,000 years ago?” Lest asked.

“Three independent tests dated the paper. The results were roughly the same: 12,000 years, 11,600, and 11,900 years,” Okpara said. “Since the documents allude to an older culture, we can truthfully say that Yanara culture is 12,000 years old or older.”

“This doesn’t necessarily prove that the spaceship arrived 12,000 years ago,” Lest said. “It just says the documents were written 11,000 to 12,000 years ago.”

“The documents are written in present tense,” Okpara replied. “The descriptions are vivid. They aren’t a recollection of things, but a description of the present. Also, a passage describes in detail the stellar constellation that marks the beginning of seedtime in spring. We asked an astronomer to analyze the stellar constellation. His analysis suggested the text describes the constellation as it was 11,500 to 11,800 years ago.”

“I see,” Lest said. “Why are you so interested in uncovering this mystery? You don’t belong to the pro-space party. Don’t you fear the past will collide with the future that lies in space? Don’t you fear more trouble on Yanara?”

“We hope to reconcile the past and the future,” Okpara said. “We want to show that fear is unfounded. Our future lies in space where the elders came from. Yanara isn’t a planet doomed to ruin. Yanara’s roots are in space and its branches stretch to space. Yanara is like a tree and this tree can flourish and blossom.”

The archivists looked seriously at the Horus crew. The Horus crew smiled politely.

Lest straightened. “Well put words and a beautiful image. I trust you can reconcile the past and the future. As to the documents, could we have a look at them?”

The archivists exchanged concerned looks and talked quietly. Finally, Okpara turned back to Lest.

“You may have a look at the documents, captain. Under supervision, of course,” he said.

“Of course,” Lest said, rising to his feet.

The others stood also. Okpara raised his hand.

“Not all of you. Only two of you may follow me to the holy room,” he said.

“Jeff, will you come, please,” Lest said. He turned to Okpara. “All right, please take us to the holy room.”