SOPHA (Jim Able: Offworld Book 2)

  JIM ABLE: OFFWORLD

  Episode Two

  SOPHA

  Ed Charlton

  Copyright

  © 2017 Ed Charlton

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN 978-1-935751-36-6

  *

  Published by Scribbulations LLC

  PO Box 1106

  Kennett Square

  PA 19348

  USA

  Dedicated

  to MMC

  Introduction

  The story so far...

  In the first episode, ABLE, Jim Able has traveled to a planet called Turcanis Major V. On TMV-I, the largest moon, he has met Sopha Luca, a member of the Regdenir religious sect and the only inhabitant of the TM system to have traveled offworld. Jim is one step closer to finding out why.

  To convince the alien to meet with him, Jim has told a small untruth about a TV interview he has recorded with a well-known scientist.

  Jim is privileged to witness a Regdenir ceremony and begins to understand the root of their beliefs as he watches the planet TMV, or Mainworld, rise over the horizon of the moon.

  Chapter One

  The moment the green dawn lit Sopha’s face, the Regdenir spoke a single word, the others began to sing, and to Jim’s lasting astonishment, Turcanis Major V burst over the horizon.

  ***

  Nothing had prepared Jim for what he saw. Mainworld seemed pleasant enough when he had held station above it. It had oceans and continents, clouds and storms, much like any other planet. Now, refracted through the atmosphere of its largest moon, it looked far different. The green glow was more than the reflected sunlight. This was like the sun shining through the leaf of a living plant. It gave him a thrill of wonder as the world changed color around him. He felt as awed as at the approach of a majestic animal. Jim felt as if he were watching Life itself appear before him.

  As the planet cleared the horizon, its hold over him lessened. The green fire faded, and familiar details returned somewhat. It seemed to shrink a little, becoming more like a massive jewel, precious and fascinating. Jim looked over to the Regdenir, taken up in their worship; he looked back to the planet and understood. Not moving or thinking, he allowed himself to be absorbed in the sight.

  Sopha was at Jim’s side, looking earnestly into his face.

  “It’s beautiful,” Jim said softly.

  “It is Beauty.”

  They continued to watch the risen planet for a few more minutes before Sopha motioned for Jim to follow. They walked to the very edge of the platform and gazed together at the long drop below. A river ran down either side of the landing strip. Jim could see the water surging up, through, and around the elaborate roots of trees at the valley’s edge.

  Sopha began to speak in Standard once more. “You are fortunate to come when Beauty is full, and her path is at night. This is a festival time in the cities. Every eye is on Beauty tonight. You see why I urged you to arrive in daylight? Every Regdenir alive would have seen your craft.”

  Jim nodded and looked again at the planet dominating the sky. He laughed, a broad smile relaxing his face. For the first time in many long months, his spirit was soaring.

  “Our ancestors,” began Sopha, “were mathematicians and astronomers. The root of our religion is in mathematics. I dare say the audnir do not mention that. These mathematicians knew how to measure distance using shadows and angles. Do you have a word in Standard for this?”

  “Trigonometry.”

  “Hmm, yes. This is the science they knew. Our first Holy Works are the B’Metir, a set of drawings showing the distance between Beauty and us, between us and the sun. Then come the paths of our worlds as they orbit the sun. Those great minds knew the sizes of each dancer in this play.”

  “What of other worlds and the galaxy?”

  Sopha nodded. “Yes, they deduced that other suns would have other planets. They knew about all these things. Against the scale of the galaxy, this—that you see rising before you—is as nothing, merely a one-dimensional point, occupying no discernible place in the great scheme of things. That they could calculate this from their observations alone humbles us today.”

  He began to walk Jim around the edge of the platform farther from the tunnel’s mouth and the valley wall. The rock was a delicate pale green in the planet light, its patterns and drawings starkly black.

  “Yet they knew what you now know. It is beautiful. How can it be that something so insignificant can be so beautiful? It was a puzzle that was long in the solving—more so than the mere numerical calculations. It was a puzzle of the spirit as much as of the mind. The key to our belief, James Able, is in the ‘nearly’ and the ‘almost.’ Beauty is almost nothing, nearly a mathematical point. But it does have mass; it does occupy a physical space. It has a diameter. It has weight. It has motion and gravity. That is the dividing line. That is the nexus. However small it may be, it does exist, and it is beautiful. Thus the universe is changed.”

  He was silent, seemingly having said all he needed. Jim was about to begin asking questions when the Regdenir spoke again.

  “The universe is a cold and empty place, James Able. There is no comfort for flesh and blood in the vacuum. In the scorching hearts of stars or the dead rocks of old worlds, there is nothing for us. We look at them and quake in our hearts. For all our thoughts and feelings, space is far deeper than we can hope to conceive, far longer than we can hope to tell, far taller than all our highest ambitions combined. Perhaps, then, we should all despair and quail at the vastness and be overwhelmed at the impersonal coldness of it all?”

  He paused, apparently expecting no answer.

  “But no. We know something else about the universe. We, here on this rock, know something that no one else knows. We know that Beauty exists. Against all the terrors that have been created amongst the stars stands this. This, too, was made. This, too, has its place in the galaxy. The picture is not complete without this. With Beauty in that picture, therefore, it is not all horror and despair. Knowing that Beauty has a place is what changes everything.”

  They continued their walk along the rim of the platform until they were at its western end. With the planet suspended above them, the arching lines and inscriptions stood out clearly in their intricacy and complexity.

  “It is like this, James Able. Beauty is a flame, lit in a dark room. No matter how small the flame, the darkness of the room is held back all the while the flame burns. Also, Beauty is like a face. It is the face of a lover, one face shining amongst a vast crowd of strangers.”

  He turned to face Jim and, clasping him by the shoulders, spoke in an authoritative voice that split the quiet of the night and sent the electricity of surprise through Jim’s limbs.

  “You asked me a question! Why do we refer to our planet as Beauty? Look! Ask yourself! Look!”

  He stepped to Jim’s side but held onto his shoulders, one arm pressing across Jim’s chest. Jim was staring straight at the planet, its soft light transfixing him.

  Sopha’s voice was urgent, whispering in his ear, “The universe is made beautiful, whatever else it holds, because it also holds this!” He paused.

  Jim was aware of Sopha’s breath on the side of his face, and his legs tingled in the awareness of the long drop behind his heels.

  “Because of this fact, James Able, we know there is also a place for love and hope and truth.” He released his formidable grip on Jim’s shoulders and resumed his usual tone. “This is our belief. This is our task. We stand before the universe, holding up the one small candle.”

 
Jim looked again into the face of Beauty. So this was their answer to Einstein’s question: Is the universe friendly?

  No, but...

  ***

  Jim and Sopha were alone on the promontory. Jim had neither seen nor heard the others leave.

  The path back in only planet-light was slow and difficult. Jim suspected that Turcanian eyes were better adapted to low light than his. When they came out of the ferns behind the house, its windows already shone with light, and the smells of food were in the air.

  Although Sopha’s sons served and did not speak, two other Regdenir were at the meal and answered if addressed. Their use of modern Turcanian was interspersed with archaic references that slowed conversation somewhat. Jim wondered if they might consider his attendance at the ceremony somewhat heretical. They did not say so in his hearing.

  Sopha spent some time decrying the audnir for never looking up at Beauty, for locking themselves in their houses at night.

  “Even though they have ‘rediscovered’ astronomy, they are blind to what they are seeing.”

  Finally, Jim had the opportunity to ask his questions. “Why do you need to own an infrared scanner?” he asked with an involuntary sigh.

  Sopha laughed. “You are of a single mind, James Able. There is a fish in the seas to the south of Appinar that, when it bites, will never let go. You truly have found your calling in life, have you not?”

  Jim frowned. “As we discussed earlier, I have great doubts about that.”

  Sopha shook his head. “No, doubt yourself no more. All who breathe make mistakes. We all make the wrong choice at some time. We learn best when we err most.”

  One of Sopha’s sons placed a dish of long purple stems on the table in front of his father. Sopha took a cup of orange powder and sprinkled it over the stems. To Jim’s disgust, the stems began to writhe and twitch.

  “Can you ingest food with sulfuric acid?”

  “It depends on the concentration, I think,” Jim answered, hoping for a way out of eating it.

  Sopha nodded. “Then do not take the behrra. The longer they take to die, the stronger the acid. Within a few minutes, if you drop one on the table, it will burn the wood.”

  “Are they animals?”

  “They are a primitive form of life. We see them fossilized in many places.”

  Jim watched as they all ate with obvious relish. He said, “May I ask an easier question?”

  Sopha said, “Begin.”

  “We received news of you from a shopkeeper on a station at Arietis. We also heard from the captain of a trade ship owned by Himdu-Cola. Do you remember which of them you talked with first?”

  Sopha stopped chewing for a moment and smiled. “No.”

  Jim shrugged. “Oh well.” He guessed Liz wasn’t going to like that answer. “And can you confirm for me again that neither of them made any arrangements with you to meet people from Earth?”

  Sopha’s eyes flashed. He said, “I had no such desire! I met many people. You know this already! I had no desire for any more contact.”

  Jim waited a moment and then said with a smile, “So what is it about the scanner? Why was it so important to you to own one?”

  Sopha did not smile back. He looked into the distance with a solemn expression.

  “Did Madhar Nect tell you of the audnir’s greatest sin?”

  “I... I don’t think so.”

  “Eighty-nine years ago, they defiled Beauty.”

  “Ah...the spaceship.”

  Sopha nodded. “They sent a foul machine to touch the face of Beauty. They dared to go there and walk upon it as if it were no more than the dirt of the street.”

  Jim said nothing, waiting to hear more. Sopha pushed away his plate, a behrra still squirming in its death throes.

  “Not only did they defile it, but the machinery they used to land will have burnt the Holy Ground. And now to the answer of your most persistent question.” Sopha’s eyes flashed under his brows. “The craft they used left behind a...relaunch module. There remain discarded parts, burnt and leaking foul chemicals into the atmosphere of Beauty.”

  Jim frowned and asked, “And you want to pinpoint where they are?”

  “I will find them. I will go there. I will remove them.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “The main task I set myself was the procurement of a space-worthy craft. It had to be one that would cause minimum damage on takeoff and would leave no foul discharges in its wake as it traveled. This I found with comparative ease and had delivered to this place by a most discreet supplier. A person, I may say, who did not ask questions as you do. The scanner was a secondary thought and proved much more troublesome to find.”

  Jim nodded and smiled at his host. “I see. I understand. Thank you. Thank you, Sopha Luca, on behalf of the Office of External Affairs.”

  Sopha bowed his head but flashed his eyes again at Jim.

  “And, now, let me ask you perhaps a personal question?”

  “Okay.”

  “In the picture I found of you, your face was different. We spoke earlier of details. I am curious that people from Earth change their appearance.”

  Jim was taken aback. He could not think of any way his appearance was different, except his clothing.

  “I...I am not sure I know what you mean.”

  Sopha reached out, and his rough finger touched Jim’s right cheek, beside his nose, and again along his jawline.

  “Here and here. You are different.”

  “Ah...yes...yes. You’re right! When I was injured—at Ch’Garratt—I was burned down this side of my face. The picture showed some scar tissue that had built up in the healing process. I had it removed quite recently.”

  “How is this done?”

  “Oh, a laser scalpel. It’s very simple. They just burn the dead tissue off.”

  Sopha did not understand. “Please explain.”

  “Are you familiar with lasers? Stimulated light. If you focus particular frequencies of light in the right way, it can burn through things. There are many examples of them in civilian and military use.”

  Sopha shook his head. “No, you are mistaken. I remember now. I have seen this device. It is a child’s toy!”

  “No, it’s not at all a toy.”

  “Yes...yes. I have seen one...a laser scalpel...that was its name. Where I purchased the scanner, the trader sold one to a small boy. It is a toy, James Able, a toy!”

  Jim had to think back to the original briefing file. The trader had been arrested; that was how Sopha was spotted. Yes, he was arrested for selling something to a minor. Was it a scalpel?

  “Okay...I think I know what happened. The trader you dealt with...did not...was not always trading within the law. What he sold was not a toy and should never have been given to a minor.”

  “Such things are dangerous, then?”

  “Sure. You can do a lot of damage with any laser. Think about it. It’s a beam of light that can go enormous distances at about—what is it for you?—400 million murtel per second and, with the right configuration, vaporize whatever it hits! It’s no toy. It’s a serious offense to sell them where they might be misused.”

  Sopha was silent, staring into the distance again. He turned his face toward Jim but said nothing. Jim wondered if he had offended the Turcanian in some way. But then Sopha smiled and called over one of his sons.

  “Bring the Redille. It is a special occasion. Tonight we celebrate the questions of James Able.”

  “And the answers of Sopha Luca,” Jim added politely.

  Redille was a viscous alcoholic beverage. Happily, Sopha only poured one measure for each of them and then had the bottle put away. After they had drunk, Sopha seemed more excited and animated than Jim had yet seen him. The conversation strayed back to the audnir spacecraft.

  “You understa
nd, James Able, that the defilement on Beauty must be removed?”

  “I understand. It is sad that they used such limited technology. Using a craft like yours would not leave any pollution.”

  “No! Have you not listened to anything I have taught you? They must not go back in any craft!”

  Oops, Jim thought to himself.

  Sopha continued, “The audnir defiled Beauty with their presence once. It cannot be permitted again. I cannot go back in time and undo the defilement, but I can remove some of its consequences.”

  “Are you sure it’s okay for you to go?”

  Sopha hesitated. “It has been a topic of discussion for nearly ninety years. Many great thinkers have written about it. I shall be bringing the matter to some closure.”

  Jim understood more than Sopha had perhaps intended to say. “You’re putting yourself at risk.”

  “Even by traveling away from home, I may have offended many. Yes, you are right; there will be those who think I go too far. I even run the risk of having all my contributions wrapped around with secure commentaries within the Regdekol, to be visible only to my superiors. The stakes are high, James Able. I appreciated your comment, from before we met, that I do not act ‘on a whim.’ The stakes are high.”

  Jim got up from the table and walked to the window. The dining room, like the fountain room, looked out onto the landing strip and his flier.

  “What a day!” he said aloud.

  Sopha was watching him from the table. “Are you thinking of your journey back?”

  “Yes. I should be going soon.”

  “Then there is but one piece of business left to us.”

  “What’s that?” said Jim, turning.

  “The recording. Now you know why I cannot let you encourage the audnir to think of space travel. It is better that you do not appear to them. Knowledge of other races and other worlds, as you yourself wrote, will mean they will try again to explore this system. Then they will defile Beauty in their ignorance. I told you we stand against the darkness in the universe. The audnir know only darkness and spread it wherever they go. They are lost to us, but we have a responsibility not to let them loose on the galaxy. We can never let them loose on Beauty.”