CONTENTS      THE OLD POND     QUIETUS EST     THE LAST POND     A PROPER CIVILIZATION     PREPARATION     HANSEL AND GRETEL: A DOCUMENTARY OF THEIR LIVES      AUTHORS

       My commander's thoughts penetrated my consciousness through the open telepathic connection.
       "Repeat your tasks, Scout."
       "I am to conduct a preliminary search for intelligent specimens on this planet. I should start with the simple structure creatures and then continue on to the more complex ones."
       "Still, you must not jump to conclusions, Scout. Intellect could be discovered in what we may consider the most unusual form. Remember the energy fields on Cetus?"
       "I'll keep that in mind, Sir."
       "What is the main danger you should avoid at any cost?"
       "An interplanetary incident. I must not provoke the local creatures in any way, not even if that means my own injury or even death."
       "That's right. Is the connection between cause and result sufficient proof regarding the intelligence of the specimens?"
       "No, Sir. That could be a result of their basic instincts. Besides that, they must show a clear intent to achieve a specific aim."
       "Correct. Only proof of an unmistakable intent to achieve a specific goal could qualify them as a proper civilization with which to set up diplomatic contact. Good luck, Scout."
       Commander's limb reached for the launching knob and the acceleration pressed me into my anti-gravity seat.
       At the landing spot, I immediately attempted to camouflage my module as much as possible. Then I started to move downhill over a gentle slope. After some time I noticed an erosive depression and an odd object inside it attracted my attention. I picked it up.
       The specimen was brownish, somewhat round, and no bigger than the top of my limb. Its amorphous shell was partly cracked and there was a crystalline substance inside it. My sonar indicated that it was made of nearly pure carbon. I pressed harder on the edge of the crack with two of my limbs; the crust peeled off and fell on the ground.
       At that instant, a dazzling light from the crystal penetrated my optical sensors. What a beauty! It seemed as if the crystal was grateful to me for rescuing it from a long captivity, and so it rewarded me in the only way that it could.
       At that point though, something overshadowed the light of the local sun and the beautiful glimmers were completely obliterated. My specimen was nothing more than an ordinary peace of mineral reflecting the outer light. How naive of me to interpret a simple physical principle as a display of gratitude. The specimen obviously wasn't capable of any communication at all, so it wasn't worthy of my further attention.
       I resumed my journey over the uneven terrain through countless thin, more or less vertical specimens that were fixed on the ground. I recalled that they belonged to a plant family. Despite the fact that it wasn't likely I'd succeed in communicating with them, I was supposed to make an attempt. They were obviously dependant on moisture because those next to the running water were lushier then the others.
       Not far away I noticed a bunchy specimen lying on the ground. It seemed to have been uprooted and on the top, it had many colorful outgrowths, partially withered from the heat. Could the water still help it to recover? I picked it up, carried it near the running water, and impressed it there into some mud. That place was so pleasant, all shaded and in a shadow, so I decided to rest for a while, forgetting my specimen.
       After a while, my sensor detected a fragrance and I realized that it was my rescued specimen that I smelled. I hardly recognized it because now its posture was upright, its outgrowth luxuriant and gaily colored. Was it possible that this could have been a willful response intended as communication with me?
       No. If I'd sent such a telepathic message to my spaceship, I'd have made a fool of myself. That was just an ordinary tropism, an instinctive reaction of the specimen to changing environmental conditions.
       I had to continue searching.
       Time passed by uneventfully, and just when I began to feel tired and dull, my audio sensor picked up a faint high frequency signal. I switched my tracking device on and started to climb a slope. When I arrived next to a deep crevice in some rocky ground, I realized that the signal was coming from there. My telepathic sense told me that this was without a doubt an emergency call, and its rather complex structure suggested that it was coming from a higher-level developed specimen.
       The crevice was steep so I had to use all my limbs during my descent. On the bottom, it was so dark that I hardly noticed the specimen in need. It was shorter than my limb but much broader, it has four extremities, and it was covered with countless thin, dense outgrowths. When I got near it, its audio signal stopped but its telepathic waving increased.
       I lifted it and began to climb. Though it wasn't heavy, I took pain to toil carefully up the slope. What now? I had to use my remote analyzer, of course. The specimen's chemical structure was similar to the previous one — mostly made of hydrocarbon. While I was eying it, its optical sensors were also aimed at me and its telepathic signal was strong. After several attempts, it managed to get up and then it came limping near me. At that moment, I felt a wet, warm touch of its front outgrowth on my tentacle.
       That was a communication without any doubt! That creature had showed me its affection and gratitude for saving him. I have to inform my friends on our spaceship that I had finally discovered...
       Wait, I said to myself. Where was such a ridiculous idea coming into my head from? "Don't jump to conclusions"the commander had said. Was the creature's behavior an indubitable sign of its intelligence? Of course not. It was nothing more than an instinctive response. What it did was neither an intentional act, nor a willful choice among several possibilities. Regrettably, there was still nothing important to report.
       I had to search further.
       The local sun was over its zenith when I caught another telepathic signal, this one stronger and more complex than the earlier ones. I set off toward its source and before long I noticed in the distance such a specimen that I could not compare to anything I've ever seen before.
       It — or should I say he? He has four extremities but he only used the lower two for moving. He held an obviously artificial, dark, oblong object in one of his upper extremities. Specialization? If so, that was a sign of a much higher developmental stage. Before he noticed me, I was able to discover that his skin was covered with a strange material. This appeared to be for protection from environmental influences?
       I felt a thrill at meeting such an interesting specimen. I decided to remain hidden and to watch him for a while. He fetched several thin objects from around the area and put them on the fire next to him. An intentional act? Probably. But this was not proved, not yet.
       At that instant, the specimen noticed me watching him and he stood as if he was frozen. Then he swiftly aimed that dark, oblong object at me. A flash came out of it, a bang uttered, and something struck the ground close by me.
I swiftly hid myself behind a rock. He and I began badly, I thought. Was that my mistake? I quickly withdrew a bit and he attempted to follow me, but he moved very clumsily. When he saw that he didn't have any chance of catching me he returned to the fire.
       There he took a long burning piece from out of the fire and he began to trail it onto the dry plants. Why was he behaving with such recklessness? The trace instantly grew up into a wall of fire and the moving atmosphere began to drive it towards me, so I was forced to retreat. Luckily, the ground under my tentacles became increasingly wet so the fire lessened quickly and soon I had to wade through the shallow water.
       When the smoke disappeared, I noticed that the atmospheric movement had meanwhile turned and now the fire threatened the thoughtless specimen. Yelling loudly, he awkwardly ran away from it, but it seemed that the fire would soon catch him .
       I had to help him, at once.
       I rolled in water, sprinted after the wall of fire and dashed through it, momentarily disengaging all of my sensors. On the other side, I lifted the falling specimen and firmly pulled him on to a plantless, stony part of the ground. He sobbed helplessly while I struck the singed pieces of his cover.
       The specimen was emitting feverish mental waves horror, confusion and dismay. Most likely he wasn't hurt seriously for he soon began to utter incomprehensible audio signals and then he began gesturing wildly. After a while, I understood that he wanted to get back to his belongings, which were outside the burning area. I showed him that I wouldn't mind, and then he led the way there suspiciously looking askance at me.
       He had much equipment placed around some kind of shelter, and there was a big mechanical device. Some sort of a primitive vehicle? He showed me his sooty extemities and pointed at the running water nearby. So, we headed there while I kept the distance of several steps apart from him. Safe is safe, I thought, as long as I'm uncertain whether he's capable of planning and realizing his possible intent, whatever it might be.
       There the specimen took off the scorched parts of his cover, washed himself and then sat down on the cobblestones to dry up. What next? How could I have tested his intellectual ability? I felt I was close to the final cognition but it was still shrinking from me.
       Suddenly, the specimen excitedly got up pointing at something behind me. Instinctively, I turned around and...
       When I recovered my senses, I realized I couldn't move any of my limbs. My whole body was tied with a strong rope. Now I felt an obtuse pain on the spot where the specimen had struck me.
       He paid no heed to me. He was holding a tiny gadget close by his upper roundness and uttered into it quick, countless audio signals. I managed to grasp some mental images, which he'd been emitting.
A large crowd of specimens looking like him gathered all around the thick metal bars, which formed a kind of a cage. Inside that cage was something. Some creature... somebody...
       I was inside that cage. There wasn't any doubt about it.
       Despite my dizziness and pain, I felt a triumphant satisfaction. I've succeeded, finally. I fulfilled my task on this planet. I had managed to discover a species that was capable of a thoughtful intent and of working toward its realization. What a sensational success! I had to send, right away, a telepathic message to my colleagues on our spaceship.
       I should inform them we could indeed establish the diplomatic contact with an undoubtedly proper civilization.

Copyright 2006 by Edward Rodosek