Kai became angry with himself and, forcing down such reflections, tramped through the alien dust to Gaber’s dome.
The cartographer had returned to his patient translating of taped recordings to the master chart, over which the probe photos were superimposed. As Kai’s teams brought more detailed readings, Gaber updated the appropriate grid and removed the photo. At the moment, the tri-d globe looked scabrous. In the other half of dome was the seismic screen which Portegin was setting up. Glancing quickly past it, Kai thought Portegein was loosing his knack: the screen was on and registering far too many core points, some barely visible.
“I’m days behind myself. I told you that, Kai,” said Gaber, his aggrieved tone somewhat counterbalanced by a rueful smile. He straightened, twisting his neck to relieve taut muscles. “And I’m glad you’ve come because I cannot work with Portegin’s screen. He says it’s finished but you can see it’s not functioning correctly.”
Gaber swung his gimballed chair about and pointed his inking pen at the core monitor screen.
Kai gave a closer look and then began to fiddle with the manual adjustments.
“You see what I mean? Echoes! And then faint responses where I know perfectly well your teams have not had a chance to lay cores. Here in the south and the southeast …” Gaber was taping the screen with his pen. “Unless, of course, your teams are duplicating efforts … but the readings would be clearer. So I have to assume that the machine itself is malfunctioning.”
Kai barely attended to Gaber’s complaints. In his belly a coldness formed, a coldness that had to do with thinking about the Others. But, if it had been the Others who laid the faintly responding cores, then this planet would have been interdicted. One thing was positive in Kai’s mind: his teams had not set those other lights, nor duplicated work.
“That is interesting, Gaber,” he replied with a show of an indifference he was far from feeling. “Obviously from an older survey. This planet’s been in the EEC library for a long time, you know. And cores are virtually indestructible. See here, in the north, where the fainter cores leave off? That’s where the plate action had deformed the land mass into those new fold mountains.”
“Why didn’t we have those old records? Of course, a prior survey would account for why we haven’t found anything more than traces of metal and mineral deposits here.” Gaber meant the continental shield. “But why under a logical regime no mention is made of a previous seismic history, I simply cannot understand.”
“Oh, it is old, and probably got erased for modern programs. A computer does not have an infinite capacity for data storage.”
Gaber snorted. “Scorching odd, I call it, to send down an expedition without the full facts at their disposal.”
“Perhaps, but it’ll cut down on our time here: some of our work’s already done.”
“Cut down our time here?” Gaber gave a derisive laugh. “Not likely.”
Kai turned slowly to stare at the man. “What maggot’s in your mind now, Gaber?”
Gaber leaned forward, despite the fact the two men were alone in the dome. “We could have been …” he hesitated affectedly, “… planted!”
“Planted?” Kai let out a shout. “Planted? Just because the seismic shows old cores here?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time the victims weren’t told.”
“Gaber, we’ve got the Third Officer’s beloved and only offspring with us. We’ll be picked up.”
Gaber remained obdurate.
“There’d be no point in planting us. Besides, what about the Ryxi and the Theks.”
Gaber snorted scornfully. “The Theks don’t care how long they stay anywhere. They live practically forever, and the Ryxi were to plant anyhow, weren’t they? And it isn’t just those cores that convince me. I’ve thought so a long time–ever since I knew we had a xenobiologist and heavy-worlders with us.”
“Gaber!” Kai spoke sharply enough to startle the older man, “you will not mention planting to me again, nor to anyone else in this expedition. That is an order!”
“Yes, sir. I’m sure it is, sir.”
“Further, if I find you without your belt one more time …”
“Sir, it pokes me in the gut when I’m bending over the board.” But Gaber was hurriedly fastening on the force-screen belt.