dishing out generous helpings of assorted culinary offerings
ranging from UNSA eggs and UNSA beans to UNSA chicken legs and UNSA
steaks. Automatic food dispensers with do-it-yourself microwave
cookers had been tried on Jupiter Four but hadn’t proved popular
with the crew. So the designers of Jupiter Five had gone back to
the good old-fashioned methods.
Carrying their trays, Hunt and Danchekker threaded their way
between diners, card players, and vociferous debating groups and
found an empty table against the far wall. They sat down and began
transferring their plates to the table.
“So, you’ve been entertaining some thoughts concerning our Ganymean
friends,” Danchekker commented as he began to butter a roll.
“Them and the Lunarians,” Hunt replied. “In particular, I like your
idea that the Lunarians evolved on Minerva from terrestrial animal
species that the Ganymeans imported. It’s the only thing that
accounts acceptably for no traces of any civilization showing up on
Earth. All these attempts people are making to show it might be
different don’t convince me much at all.”
“I’m very gratified to hear you say so,” Danchekker declared. “The
problem, however, is proving it.”
“Well, that’s what I’ve been thinking about. Maybe we shouldn’t
have to.”
Danchekker looked up and peered inquisitively over his spectacles.
He looked intrigued. “Really? How, might I ask?”
“We’ve got a big problem trying to figure out anything about what
happened on Minerva because we’re fairly sure it doesn’t exist any
more except as a million chunks of geology strewn around the Solar
System. But the Lunarians didn’t have that prob
lem. They had it in one piece, right under their feet. Also, they
had progressed to an advanced state of scientific knowledge. Now,
what must their work have turned up-at least to some extent?”
A light of comprehension dawned in Danchekker’s eyes.
“Ah!” he exclaimed at once. “I see. If the Ganymean dviiization had
flourished on Minerva first, then Lunarian scientists would surely
have deduced as much.” He paused, frowned, then added: “But that
does not get you very far, Dr. Hunt. You are no more able to
interrogate Lunarian scientific archives than you are to reassemble
the planet.”
“No, you’re right,” Hunt agreed. “We don’t have any detailed
Lunarian scientific records-but we do have the microdot library.
The texts it contains are pretty general in nature, but I couldn’t
help thinking that if the Lunarians discovered an advanced race had
been there before them, it would be big and exciting news,
something everybody would know about; you’ve only got to look at
the fuss that Charlie has caused on Earth. Perhaps there were
references through all of their writings that pointed to such a
knowledge-if we knew how to read them.” He paused to swallow a
mouthful of sausage. “So, one of the things I’ve been doing over
the last few weeks is going through everything we’ve got with a
fine-tooth comb to see if anything could point to something like
that. I didn’t expect to find firm proof of anything much-just
enough for us to be able to say with a bit more confidence that we
think we know what planet we’re talking about.”
“And did you find very much?” Danchekker seemed interested.
“Several things,” Hunt replied. “For a start, there are stock
phrases scattered all through their language that refer to the
Giants. Phrases like ‘As old as the Giants’ or ‘Back to the year of
the Giants’ . . . like we’d say maybe, ‘Back to the year one.’ In
another place there’s a passage that begins ‘A long time ago, even
before the time of the Giants’ . . . There are lots of things like
that. When you look at them from this angle, they all suddenly tie
together.” Hunt paused for a second to allow the professor time to
reflect on these points, then resumed: “Also, there are references
to the Giants in another context, one that suggests superpowers or
great knowledge-for example, ‘Gifted with the wisdom of the
Giants.’ You see what I mean-these phrases indicate the Lunarians
felt a race of giant beings-and probably one that was advanced
technologically-had existed in the distant past.”
Danchekker chewed his food in silence for a while.