Journey Beyond the Sea
by Geron Kees
Chapter 9
Since the decision to release Bzup from the tank involved everyone aboard ship, and the entire crew save Moira and Til were already present in the catch room, Master Terpin simply convened the meeting then and there. Moira was called from her sleep, and Til Majors watched from the display, and Jem could tell from the expression on the man's face that he was not happy with the proceedings.
"We have no idea how dangerous this creature may be," Til said, when the master acknowledged his request to speak. "I would hope we will be cautious about making decisions to allow its release."
"This is what we are going to discuss right now," the master returned. "I do believe that the safety of Vespris comes before the right of this alien to be free. I have a responsibility to all of you to ensure your safety, and the safety of this vessel, to the limits of my capability."
Til grunted, but looked appeased. For the moment.
Jem was coming to understand some of the complexity of the man. Til had a good heart, and he liked people. But his studies of history had sometimes painted people, and the decisions of people, in an unfavorable light. The human race had a checkered past, and there was much there that was hard to like. Til had come to temper his like of people with a measure of caution in trusting them. He was cynical of officialdom, that much was obvious. And, after being attacked on deck by an orx bearing a cousin to Bzup riding its brain case, Jem could certainly understand why the man thought releasing the alien might not be a good idea. Jem could even sympathize with that thinking, and respect it. Even if he didn't agree with it.
Jem had developed feelings of his own about the alien. His senses told him that Bzup was not dangerous - not purposefully dangerous, at least. It seemed obvious to Jem that the alien was as interested in learning about the humans as the humans were in learning about Bzup. And, that Bzup felt this could not be accomplished while they were separated by walls. That a fight might be coming with the aliens scared Jem, and that it might be a fight fueled by a non-understanding of - or a misunderstanding of - each other's needs and goals, seemed a powerful motivation for him to try to understand these others. Even if it was by proxy, through one of their creations.
And...he was coming to like the weird little alien. Strange as he was, unfathomable as he seemed to be, Bzup had in some way touched Jem deeply. That the alien had somehow singled out Jem for attention was part of that, yes. But...
It was a gut feeling, and that was all there was to it. Gut feelings were not always logical, and not always correct. But every fiber of Jem's being felt it was important to continue to try to know Bzup, and that could not be accomplished properly when the alien was confined.
Jem suddenly became aware of the silence in the room. He looked up, and found the master watching him. In fact, as he looked around, he found that everyone was watching him, even Nico.
Master Terpin smiled. "What are you thinking, Jem-lad?"
Jem couldn't conceal his surprise. "Oh...well...I was just thinking how important it is for us to try to understand these aliens. I can't see that fighting with them is going to accomplish anything but getting some of us, and some of them, killed."
"You feel it's safe to be in the same room with this creature?" Til asked from the display.
Jem looked up at the man, and nodded. "I...I know I don't have much to base that on, but it's just a feeling I have, that Bzup is not dangerous to us. If he had any ability to get himself out of the tank he's in, I think he would have done it. He didn't fight with the drones when they took him off the hull, just displayed maybe some fear and discomfort at being captured by aliens. So far, he's been very peaceful."
"I'll give you that. But it's the not knowing that bothers me. I mean, we have no idea what his capabilities might be." Til looked at Nita. "You said this creature was full of organs you didn't understand, right?"
"That's true. I have not been able to do the same sort of evaluation I would be able to do back in a proper lab. I don't even have good guesses about the functions of some of these organs, because I cannot go inside this creature to look. But we have already witnessed Bzup's ability to grow a snorkel on demand, so I would not be surprised if he could sprout other appendages if he felt the need to do so."
Master Terpin nodded at that. "Any chance this creature could be venomous, or produce dangerous gases, or anything of that sort?"
Nita blew out a frustrated breath. "I can't say positively, but I would guess the answer to be no. I have been able to take small tissue samples from Bzup via drone for the purpose of biopsy, enough to know that Bzup's chemistry is different from ours in the same way that the rider's chemistry is different. Bzup and the riders share a genetic base, but Bzup is by far the more complex of the two. I have been able to do a full postmortem examination of a rider, and I found absolutely no ability in that creature to produce toxins of any sort."
The master considered that a moment, and then nodded again. "What about the chance of contagions?"
"No." That word was spoken with absolute assurance, and Nita punctuated it with a quick shake of her head. "The microorganisms present within Bzup and the riders are not currently capable of infectious interactions with our chemistry. There is no danger of contagion at this time."
One of the master's eyebrows went up at that. "At this time?"
The girl smiled. "Well, there's always a chance of a mutation. But it's a slow process, and we all carry some very powerful, very specialized artificial organisms within our bodies that defend us from such things. I seriously doubt a mutation even leaning towards being infectious would be tolerated by our defenses long enough to become dangerous."
Mister Sharples smacked the tabletop and laughed. "There's one for our side!"
The master turned to him, his eyes crinkling deeply. "You're having too much fun, Frin. And speaking of sides, you seem to be on Jem's side in this."
The engineer laughed. "And why not? He's better than any ship's cat, when it comes to luck. He has the look of a Jonah-killer about him, I say."
That brought forth laughter from around the room, except from Jem and Nico, who just looked at each other in confusion.
"Old superstitions," Deera supplied then, taking pity on them. "Old Earth seafarers once believed that cats aboard ship brought good luck."
Both cats and dogs had come to Benteen with the human colonists. They made wonderful house companions and friends, but had no actual purpose on Benteen other than that role.
"Why?" Jem asked.
The woman shrugged. "Who knows? That's why it's a superstition."
"And what's the Jonah thing?" Nico asked.
Mister Sharples rapped the tabletop with a knuckle. "A Jonah was a person that was thought to bring bad luck to a ship." He laughed. "Both superstitions are ridiculous, of course. Cats made good mates aboard ship back in those days because they kept the rodent population down. There are no rodents on Benteen."
Again, Jem felt stymied. "What's a rodent?"
Nita smiled. "Small mammals with large, sharp incisors. They were gnawers, and could really make a mess of human habitations. They also carried diseases that could be transmitted to humans."
"Oh. And what about this Jonah guy? How come he brought bad luck?"
The engineer did look like he was having a good time. "It wasn't a guy - or any one, at least. A Jonah could be male or female, it just didn't matter. The superstition arose because some people just seem to be natural attractors of misfortune. You've heard the term 'accident prone'? Well, on one of those old ships, having or causing accidents was a sign of a Jonah. And others feared that the bad luck would envelop the entire ship." He released an amused snort. "Understandable, I guess, because people that feared the supernatural often saw a purposeful misfortune in any event that impacted them negatively."
Til made an exasperated sound from the display. "We're getting a little far afield, aren't we?"
The master gave a small nod. "To be sure. Let's get back to the matter at hand, shall we? Our guest has asked to be released from his tank. Is there anyone here who wishes to comment on that?"
Deera looked around the table, and then looked resigned. "If we let him out, where will he stay? I actually don't want him underfoot in the catch room."
The master nodded. "Anyone else?"
"Well," Nita began, "it may be a moot point where we keep Bzup. For all we know, if we let him out of the tank, he might just make his way straight to the main deck and jump over the side."
"That's another thing," Til said then. "If the creature escapes, what might be the impact on our safety?"
The master looked untroubled by the prospect. "What can he do to us? What can he say about us? If we let him out, and Bzup chooses to leave, all he will know is that we released him. That in itself might be a good sign to these aliens that we are not openly hostile towards them."
"If it escapes, what will we tell our bureaucrats when they arrive?" Til countered, obviously not wanting to give ground.
Master Terpin gave the barest of shrugs. "That we let him out, and he left. Mister Majors, no hostilities have been declared with anyone, just yet. The status of our guest as a caught animal is one thing, and as an imprisoned intelligence, entirely another. I have no intention of precipitating the very conflict we hope to avoid by imprisoning someone who may be much more than we know, to these aliens."
"That seems a very lax attitude, if I may be so bold, sir. These aliens could be very dangerous."
"I will make the decision, and carry the weight of the responsibility, Mister Majors."
"But the danger --"
"Enough." The master said this in a tone that brooked no argument. He sighed, and shook his head slowly. "This is a matter that is beyond our experience, and I see a great danger in dealing with it in purely human terms. My inclination is towards caution, and on that note alone I would maintain our visitor in confinement. But I also believe that too much caution may be to our disadvantage. What we fear this creature may do is every bit as dangerous to our situation as anything it actually may be capable of doing to us."
"Then what do we do?" Til hazarded. "It can't just be allowed to roam free."
Jem felt that he had to speak. He smiled at the man in the display, and raised a hand to catch his attention. "I understand how you feel, Til. But surely you, with your knowledge of human history, must have some idea how awful a war would be?"
Til looked surprised, and then annoyed. "Well...a war would not be good, no."
Jem nodded. "Then we either trust Bzup, and see how that goes, or we will be one step closer to having that war."
Til's annoyance deepened, but he gave a sharp nod of his head. "Okay. I'll withdraw my complaint." He forced a small smile. "For now, anyway."
Mister Sharples laughed. "Didn't I say? Our Jem is a persuasive fellow."
The master's eyes settled on Jem, and he nodded. "It isn't just young Jem. I've had the feeling almost from the start that these events are important to the destiny of Benteen, and I am inclined to entertain ideas that I normally would not. I am like Jem here, in that I sense an importance to understanding our visitor. I also feel that we will be limited in doing that by keeping Bzup confined."
Jem felt Nico's hand find his underneath the table, and they clasped them together tightly.
"But there must be safeguards in place, if we do this thing. At no time will anyone be alone with our guest. All crew will maintain their sidearms in ready mode at all times. Upon his release, we will need to see what our visitor does with his freedom. If he leaves us, so be it. But if he wishes to stay, then we will be embarking on quite an experiment - one that may have lasting ramifications for the colony."
The master looked about that table again. "Is there anyone here, besides Mister Majors, who feels it unwise or unsafe to at least test the waters by allowing our visitor some freedom?"
Jem's own eyes circled the table. He could see that most of the people there looked uncomfortable, and he was sure that the idea of Bzup roaming about the ship did not appeal to them. He could sense their unease. But...he could also see that all of them wanted to do the right thing, and that the idea they might be keeping someone as intelligent as themselves a prisoner did not sit well with them. Freedom was important in the colonies - the ability to be one's own self was highly prized here, and the ability to have such an unfettered life was one of the major considerations prompting many of those that chose to leave Old Earth in the first place.
The silence continued, and the master nodded. "We have long lived lives here on Benteen that have been accompanied by danger. Although we have made safe zones for ourselves, all of us know that this is a very dangerous world for humans. By releasing our guest, I may be making it that much more dangerous for us all. On the other hand, this action could also make Benteen a safer place in the end. You see? There are pivotal moments in all events of importance, and I think we are standing at one now. I feel that the most dangerous course we could take at this time, is to do nothing."
Nita gently cleared her throat, and sat back in her chair. "I think the experiment has merit."
Kel looked about at the others, and then nodded his head. "So do I."
Pora Unguda gave out a small laugh, and smiled. "I would like to see what happens, also."
Mila sighed, and nodded. "I'll train the ship's AI to be aware of our guest's position at all times. It won't be hard to monitor that. It won't be like we don't know where he is, or what he's doing."
Deera blew out a small breath, and shrugged one shoulder. "Like I said, as long as he's not underfoot here in the catch room, I'll go along."
Mya looked up at Til, and then at Jem. She frowned, but then looked resigned. "This is dangerous. But I see the need to do something. I'm in."Moira looked like she was not happy, but nodded. "I just hope no one will need my services as doctor over this." Her expression moderated a little, and she almost smiled. "But I'll go along, especially if it means I can get back to bed."
All eyes turned to Mister Sharples, who just laughed. "I already said I'm with Jem-lad here."
Jem turned to Nico. "Are you okay with this?"
The other boy nodded. "I've got your back. This will be more fun than Marksman!"
Jem grinned, and turned his gaze back to the master. "I'm ready."
The man nodded, and turned to look at the tank. Bzup had not moved from his last position, and was motionless and quiet, almost as if he had been listening, too.
The master nodded. "Let him out."
Deera went back to her desk, and sat down before the small console. She moved her fingers over some airborne icons, and there was a rumble in the floor beneath them. The tank holding Bzup glided slowly out from the wall and stopped.
Jem was aware of several people putting their hands on the butts of their weapons, but no other moves were taken.
The master turned to him, and nodded. "See if you can talk him out, Jem."
Jem and Nico both moved forward. Jem could see that the tank had slid out from beneath the improvised lid, and that the top was now open.
He reached the tank, and laid his hand upon the glass before the alien. "Bzup."
"Jem."
Jem cleared his throat nervously. Would this work? "Jem open. Bzup out."
The alien gave a small shudder, and the pseudopods on which he stood lengthened. One came up off the floor of the tank, another followed, and the alien shuffled forward to the wall. "Out."
"Yes." Jem nodded, and pointed toward the open top. "Bzup. Out."
One of the pseudopods came up again, and the sucker beneath it attached to the inner wall of the tank. And then another, and another. The alien began to walk up the inside of the tank, leaning towards them so as to stay basically upright as it moved. As he emerged from the water, they could hear the faint popping sounds as the suckers attached and released.
"That would come in handy in the engine room," Mister Sharples said merrily, coming to stand beside Jem. To all outward appearances the engineer looked quite jovial and relaxed, but Jem was not fooled. He did not miss that the man had one hand carefully positioned atop his weapon.
"Maybe we can train him as your apprentice," Jem said, smiling.
The older man hooted in glee, but let his eyes go back to watching Bzup as he reached the top of the tank. The alien simply stepped over the edge, and then started down towards them, this time leaning backwards to remain upright.
Nico poked Jem with an elbow. "Oh, to be so nimble!" he whispered.
Jem laughed, and Nico laughed with him.
The engineer reached out and took both boys by their arms, and moved them back from the tank as the alien descended. Bzup continued downward to the floor, managed the right angle transfer there without a hitch, and then stopped, the black circle of his sound disk aimed at the three humans. "Jem. Bzup out."
"I can see that," Jem said.
And then, quite suddenly, he realized that they had reached the limit of their ability to communicate. "Well, what do we do now?"
"Jem," the alien said. "Nico. Nita. Deera. Zzzzzzz."
Jem blinked, and looked around the room. The alien recognized the three humans he had been introduced to before, but not the others. Smiling, Jem patted the engineer on the shoulder. "Mister Sharples."
"Mizterzharplez," Bzup repeated." Bzup."
The engineer's jaw dropped, and Jem gave him a gentle poke. "He's introducing himself."
The man nodded, and then smiled. "Bzup."
Jem moved to the master, and introduced him, and then to each of the others that had not been identified before. With each naming, the alien repeated the words, and then gave his own name. The humans smiled at this, and everyone seemed to relax a little, although Jem still noted that several of them kept their hands near their weapons. This was simply caution and common sense, and Jem could not fault them for that.
After the introductions, the alien also seemed to be at a loss as to how to proceed next. He simply stood there, waiting.
"I think it's safe to return to stations," the master said then. "Anyone that wishes to stay may do so. Not you, Frin."
The engineer laughed at that, but nodded. "I should be getting back to my engines."
The two older men left.
Moira came a little closer and nodded at Jem. "I have to get to bed, or I'll be dozing on my shift." She looked at the alien, frowned, and then nodded at him. "Nice to meet you, Bzup."
"Moira." Bzup obviously didn't understand what was said to him, but that his name was included seemed worthy of a response. The woman smiled, and then left.
The others slowly filed out, after saying something encouraging about their guest, to which Bzup responded with a name for each of them, until just Jem and Nico were left, with Nita and Deera. Deera seemed to have elected herself watch, and kept her distance from the alien, and her hand atop the butt of her weapon, but otherwise just stood and observed.
"That went better than I could have imagined," Nita said. She stood with Jem and Nico, about three meters from the alien. Bzup had made no move to close the distance with them, and that seemed a good sign to all of them. "He's certainly had his chance to be aggressive."
"I don't think he wants that," Jem returned. He smiled when Nita eyed him questioningly. "Just another feeling I have."
"Well, I hope your feelings are on the mark. You certainly seem to have won over the master and the chief engineer."
Jem smiled at that. "I think they're operating on their own feelings, Nita. They just happen to coincide with mine."
"And mine," Nico reminded. He smiled at the alien. "I think we're doing the right thing."
Nita nodded, but bit at her lip. "We're a very small consensus. There will be people back in town that would not agree, and I'd be willing to bet that our government visitors, when they arrive, will scarcely approve of our actions." She shrugged. "It was plain to me that even some of the others here were not thrilled at the idea of Bzup being loose aboard ship."
"He'll win their trust, I hope," Jem said.
Bzup moved then, turning slowly in place, allowing his sound disk to survey the room. Jem tried to imagine then what it must be like to see by reflected sound, and wondered how that differed from seeing with light. It had seemed obvious from their earlier experiments that it was not as detailed a system as the human eye could produce. It made him wonder if Bzup's creators viewed the world in the same fashion. How could a species like that attain star travel? It seemed to Jem that the science needed for that would require a level of detail, and an actual view of nature, that sound alone could not provide.
The disk made its study of the room, and returned to Jem. "Jem. Bzup out."
"You are out," Jem returned, unsure of what the alien meant.
"I think not," Nita said. She watched the alien a moment, and then nodded. "I think he just took a look at the room, and realized we had just released him into a bigger box."
"You mean he wants to go outside?" Nico asked. "He might get away!"
"You heard the master," Nita replied. "If he wants to leave, he's free to do so."
Jem felt an immediate sense of loss, but could only nod in agreement. It was wrong to keep Bzup here if he wished to leave them. Jem was not happy with the idea of losing so soon someone he was coming to view as a new friend. But...if freedom was what the alien wanted, that was what he would have.
"We'll take him up on deck."
Nico reached out a hand and laid it on Jem's arm. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. If he wants to go, we should let him. He hasn't eaten since he got here, and we don't know what he needs. He could be starving right now, and we wouldn't even know it."
"I agree," Nita said. "Let's take him topside and see what happens."
Deera stepped back away from them. "I'll let the master know you're bringing him up."
Jem waved at the alien. "Bzup."
"Jem."
Jem crossed the room, and opened the door to the corridor. "Bzup. Come. Out."
Nico and Nita crossed to stand next to him, and they all watched the little alien. It seemed to be watching them back a moment; and then its pseudopods lengthened beneath it, and it started towards them.
Nita smiled. "I'd swear his legs are getting longer. When we brought him in off the hull, they were very short, and his movement was very slow. He's doubled his speed since then, easily."
Even so, it took a moment for the alien to cross to them. Jem backed through the doorway into the corridor, and Nico and Nita each stepped to one side of the door. Bzup passed between them, and emerged into the corridor. The two humans followed as soon as there was room.
"Think he can handle the steps?" Jem wondered aloud, as the group made its way down the corridor to the staircase. "Bzup, come. Up." He pointed at the stairs, and started up them himself.
Nita laughed. "If he can walk out of that tank like he did, steps will be nothing to him."
She was proved correct. Bzup took the steps almost as quickly as they did, and when they went around to the second staircase to the main deck, the alien handled them with equal ease. There they paused, each taking a turn to hasten off to their cabins to get into outdoor gear, while the other two waited with Bzup. Finally, the three humans, properly outfitted for the cold outside, moved on down the corridor. With Jem leading and the others following the little alien, the group soon passed through the weather door and emerged onto the main deck. Nico closed the door behind them, and threw the latch that dogged it.
The air was cold, with lacy lines of lighter cloud cover woven into the darker gray tapestry of the sky like fine silk threads. There was very little breeze, and the late morning sea was calm and smooth. None of them had donned their polar masks, and it seemed that they would not need them, at least for the present. Vespris was moving on her turbines at the moment, and Jem knew that they were still heading west. But the master did not seem intent on setting any speed records, and the pace of the ship was scarcely more than sedate.
A pretty day for a walk, Jem thought, and then had to smile at the somewhat incongruous thought.
He stepped away from Bzup and waved a hand around them. "Bzup out."
The alien turned slowly, and Jem was sure it was looking about with sound. The others watched quietly, and Jem wondered if they were holding their breaths like he was. What would Bzup do with his freedom?
As if in answer, the alien turned towards the port railing and started forward. Jem sighed, feeling sure now that the alien was making his way back to the sea. They had hardly gotten to know each other, and now they never would have the opportunity to do so. But maybe Bzup being released would have a good effect on his alien masters. Maybe they would understand that the humans only wanted peace.
Jem and the others followed as the alien crossed the deck to the railing. Bzup drew up at that barrier, and Jem could almost imagine the alien reaching out with invisible hands and laying them upon the rail, to stare out across the sea.
"Jem. Bzup out."
"I told you," Jem said, quietly. "If you wish to leave, you can."
The alien bent, leaned under the railing, and stepped over onto the side of the ship. Jem and the others went to the rail and leaned over, looking down the side of Vespris, as the alien made its way to the surface of the ocean. Nita pulled out her pad and pressed a few icons, and held it up for them to see. "We can watch him through the hull cameras."
There was a distinct change in the subtle pace of the ship's turbines, and Vespris slowed noticeably. Nita's pad beeped, and the master's voice issued forth.
"It looks like our friend is going for a swim. We don't want to leave him behind, if all he wants is to get wet."
Jem smiled at that, and briefly turned to offer that smile to the bridge. "Maybe that's all he wants."
Indeed, as they watched, Bzup reached the water, started into it...and stopped. The alien remained there, bobbing slowly up and down with the gentle wavelets, apparently doing nothing at all.
Nita's pad emitted a soft chiming sound, followed immediately by the voice of Master Terpin. "Our friend has just released a considerable blast of sound into the sea."
Nita touched something on the pad's screen, and they immediately heard one of Bzup's strange songs. "Calling for a ride, maybe?" Nita wondered.
Jem listened to the alien sounds, trying to determine if they were anything like what he had heard Bzup make before. But they were far too complex, and too varying, for him to even begin to identify them as familiar.
"He's got a hell of a voice," Nico said, softly.
Jem laughed, and leaned against his friend. "He's just so unique," he said quietly. "So different. I want to know him better. I'm just sorry I can't."
They stood in silence, listening to the alien song, for a good five minutes. Jem felt his stomach growl, and realized that he was hungry. It had been some hours since the morning meal, and the mid-day meal was overdue. He looked up at the sky, again sighed at its beauty, and then looked around at the ship, the sea, and the far horizon.
I'm so glad I came. I'm so glad I'm here.
The sound coming from Nita's pad suddenly cut off. Jem dropped his gaze automatically, just in time to see Bzup turn upon the surface of the sea. The black disk of the sound emitter pointed back their way, and then the alien started back up the side of Vespris.
Nico threw an arm over Jem's shoulder and pulled him closer. "He's coming back!" The excitement in his friend's voice made Jem smile, and he could only nod as they watched the alien make its way back to the deck.
Bzup calmly walked over the angle from the hull to the deck, and allowed himself to come upright again. He stopped then, and his sound disk gave out a soft buzz that struck Jem as a somehow contented sound. And then the sound disk turned to face the humans.
"Jem. Bzup in."
Nita laughed. "I sure get that one. He says, 'let's go back inside'."
The alien turned, and started across the deck back towards the weather door leading below. Jem grabbed Nico's hand, and the two of them trotted after him. Nita followed, nodding to herself. "I'm sure his legs are getting longer!"
They got to the weather door and stopped. Nita's pad beeped again. "Well, bring him in out of the cold," Master Terpin said.
Jem laughed, and opened the door, and stepped back and held it while everyone passed through. The joy he felt over Bzup not leaving them made him feel a little giddy. But...what had been the purpose of their trip outside? What had Bzup just done? That he had sent off a signal of some kind was clear. But what kind of signal had it been?
"What do you think he said into the sea?" he asked Nita, as they paused at the head of the staircase.
The girl looked at him, and for a moment frowned. "You're asking me? It could have been just about anything." She looked at the alien a moment, who had also stopped and seemed to be calmly waiting for them to proceed. "But...if he wanted to leave, he had the opportunity. He didn't. So I can't see that it was a call for help." She shrugged. "Maybe it was just an update, like --"
"The natives are friendlier than expected?" Nico supplied.
Jem and Nita both laughed. "Maybe," Nita agreed. "Maybe it was just that."
"Do we take him back to the catch room?" Jem asked. "I don't think Deera wants that."
Nita scratched her chin, thinking. "If Bzup is content to stay in his tank, we could just leave it open. I really think we have to consider he might need the seawater. Deera just doesn't want our friend creeping around behind her while she's working at her desk. I kind of understand that, don't you?"
Jem nodded. "Yeah. I don't think Bzup means us any harm, though. But he's bound to be curious about us and our things. There's no guarantee he won't go for a walk if we leave him alone."
"And Deera's not in the catch room at night," Nico added. "Maybe we can keep him busy during the day, and just take him back at night."
"I guess we'll have to see how it goes," Nita decided.
"We could take him to our cabin," Nico suggested. "He might like to see where we live."
"He couldn't stay there, though," Nita said immediately. "I don't like the idea of him there while the two of you are asleep."
Jem smiled at the notion. "Um...yeah." He gave Nico a fond poke. "I don't really want an audience at night, anyway."
Nico looked surprised, and then delighted. "I didn't think of that."
Nita grinned at them. "I'm glad we're all looking at this from a totally biological perspective."
They laughed at that.
"Hey...does Bzup sleep?" Jem asked, the thought suddenly taking hold. "I mean, I just realized I don't know. Did you ever see him do that?"
"I don't know." Nita's shoulders gave a brief bounce. "There were some long periods where he simply stood quietly in his tank and didn't make a sound. But, how do you tell if someone is asleep when they have no eyes? We monitored his vitals - heartbeats, respiration, and what we decided were his encephalographic signals - and they all pretty much stayed steady throughout the day and night except for the times he was singing. Human vitals slow when sleep arrives, and the brainwave patterns change; but that may not be true for Bzup's kind."
Nico laughed. "You mean heartbeat, don't you? You said heartbeats."
"No. I meant heartbeats. Bzup has three hearts, that I have seen so far on my scans." At the boy's stares, she nodded. "He has three organs that pump his blood through his circulatory system. It's extremely efficient, and I am supposing that there doesn't need to be a great deal of variation in Bzup's pulse rate no matter how much he exerts himself."
Jem shook his head, amazed all over again at how different the alien was from themselves.
"Still, it wouldn't hurt to show him our cabin," Nico insisted. He leaned towards the alien. "Bzup? You want to see where Jem and Nico live?"
"Bzup," the alien said. "Jem, Nico."
"Think that's a yes?" Jem asked.
His friend shook his head. "I have no idea. Let's just do it."
Jem nodded, and turned away from the side corridor that led around and down to the catch room. "Bzup. Come."
The alien seemed to know they were going somewhere else than from where they had started. He turned briefly, and the black disk of the sound transducer seemed to survey the side corridor that led back to the catch room. But it was a brief inspection, and then the alien started off after Jem. They reached the cabin quickly, and Jem opened the door and stepped inside.
"Come, Bzup."
The alien followed Jem inside, and Nico and Nita came next and shut the door. Jem went past the bunks and into the living area, and there turned back to face their visitor. "Bzup." Jem took both hands and slowly indicated the room with them. "Jem. Nico. Home."
"Jem. Nico. Home."
Jem was delighted. "Yes. But I'm sure you don't know what it means. Not yet, anyway."
Bzup turned slowly in a full circle, as if examining everything, and Jem had to wonder what the alien was making of all this. But once the circle was complete. Bzup seemed satisfied, and turned the disk of his transducer back to the boy. "Jem. Nico. Home."
"Yes." Jem nodded. "Yes."
"Yez."
Nico laughed. "He has an accent like the people in Saint John."
Jem smiled, recalling the few times he'd met people from that far southern town. They did seem to have a habit of making their 'esses' sound like 'zees'.
"Doesn't matter, I can understand him."
"A limitation of his transducer, perhaps," Nita said.
Jem flopped on the couch, and Nico came to sit beside him. Nita went around and parked herself on the armrest beside Nico, and then all three humans stared at the alien.
Who certainly looked like he was staring back.
"What do we do next?" Nico asked.
"Beats me," Jem said. "You have any ideas, Nita?"
"This is your show, Jem." The girl laughed. "I wish I could help more, but I don't have a clue about first contact situations."
Jem looked over at the alien, and then stood up. "Bzup. Jem stand." Then he sat down again. "Bzup. Jem sit."
He stood again, and smiled at the alien. "Bzup?"
"Jem stand."
Jem promptly flopped back onto the sofa.
"Jem sit," Bzup volunteered.
"Yes. Yes, Bzup."
"Yez. Yez, Jem."
Nico grinned. "You know, he seems to remember everything. If we just keep showing him the meaning of stuff, maybe he can be the one that does all the learning."
They spent the next hour picking things up, putting them down, going out the door, coming back again, walking, running, laying down, getting up, hefting things, putting them down, and just generally performing like a spontaneous mime show for their alien visitor. Bzup seemed to absorb each new situation readily, and could repeat each action back to them immediately. Whether he really understood each of them was uncertain; but he did seem to know he was being taught the basics of a language.
Finally, Jem sat down on the sofa again, and patted his stomach. "I was hungry before we got here, and now I'm simply starving." He laughed. "Dare we take Bzup to the mess?"
Nita gave a little, surprised laugh; and then a hint of mischief came onto her face. "I think we just might. I'd like to see Bzup's reaction to us eating. Maybe we can learn something about what he eats."
Jem jumped to his feet, and Nico and Nita followed.
"Bzup, come."
Jem went to the door and opened it. The alien immediately followed, and Nita patted Jem on the shoulder. "I think he's got 'come' down pat, anyway."
They made their way through the ship and up another staircase, and soon found themselves in the mess. Pora Unguda was seated at a table, reading on his pad and finishing up his meal. He looked up at them as they came in, and smiled. "Well. Come to refresh ourselves, have we?"
Jem laughed. "We're hungry. We don't know about Bzup."
Pora raised a hand and waved. "Hello, Bzup."
The alien turned his sound disk on the man. "Pora."
The man looked surprised, and then pleased. "I'm impressed."
"Imimprezzed," Bzup returned.
The man laughed. "Well, for a moment I was, anyway." He turned his smile on Jem. "He's still repeating things, evidently."
Jem considered that. "Some. But I also think he's learning the meanings of some words. He has a great memory, anyway."
Nico patted Jem's arm. "What do you feel like? Sit, and I'll get our trays."
They decided on seafood for this meal, on the chance that it might prompt some sort of response from Bzup. Some of the meat from their recent catches had been added to the ship's stores, and Jem and Nico both decided on orx steaks and salads, while Nita had ustric and a soup. They sat with Pora and talked, and Bzup stood by the table, almost as if listening. The supply officer watched the alien in fascination almost the whole time, and seemed quite at ease, Jem thought.
Finally, Pora rose from his seat and picked up his tray. "I'd love to stay, but I have things to do. I'll probably see all of you at the evening meal." He looked at the alien again, and smiled. "Nice to see you again, Bzup."
"Pora," the alien responded. "Nicetozeeyouagain."
The man laughed, looking pleased, and left.
"Have you noticed he responds now to others?" Nita asked. "He used to respond only to you, Jem."
The boy shrugged. "I don't know why that's changed."
Nita grinned. "I think it was because you introduced everyone to Bzup. He probably figures, if we're okay in your book, we're okay in his. Maybe in his culture, you only associate with people someone else introduces you to."
Jem considered that idea, and nodded. It seemed strange to him, but who knew what was the norm in a totally alien culture?
He shrugged then. "I don't know, Nita. Bzup seemed friendly towards Pora just now, and Pora seemed comfortable enough with him."
Nita pursed her lips. "Bzup makes friends very easily, it seems."
Nico nodded, seeming to only be half-listening, and pointed at his plate. "This is really good orx. I wonder if it tastes better because we caught it?"
Jem laughed at that. "Could be."
Nico frowned then, looked over at Bzup, and then at Jem. "I hope we're not being rude, eating in front of him."
Jem smiled at the way his friend lowered his voice when he spoke, as if doing so would keep what he had said from being overheard. Nico was just being polite, but what was human politeness to Bzup? For that matter, what were any human manners to the little alien? Bzup would have no way of knowing if anything his new friends did was calculated to be polite or not.
But the idea that they might actually be being rude by eating in front of Bzup bothered Jem. He cut off a piece of his steak, and raised it on his fork and eyed it contemplatively. "Bzup has to eat something. He has to."
Nita nodded. "He doesn't even have a way to take in nutrients, that I have been able to find." She frowned then. "He has some passages inside that lead from some of the organs but then just seem to terminate. Other organs are linked together to no apparent purpose. It's one of the strangest physiologies I've ever seen."
Jem held the fork higher, and gently waved it at Bzup. "Bzup. Jem eat." Then he slowly brought the morsel to his mouth and took it inside, chewed it, and swallowed. He brought up a hand and placed his fingertips to his lips. "Bzup. Jem, mouth."
"Jem. Eat. Mouth."
A faint line, about ten centimeters long, appeared in Bzup's hide, the span of a hand beneath his sound disc. Jem blinked, and pushed his chair back. "Something's happening."
Nita pushed her own chair back and stood, her hand against the butt of her weapon. "Move back, everyone."
They all got up, and stepped back from the alien. The line deepened in color, formed into a ridge, and then suddenly parted, revealing an opening large enough for Jem to stick his hand into.
Nita simply gaped. "What...?"
Bzup's sound disk buzzed. "Jem. Bzup. Mouth. Eat."
Jem gave out an amazed laugh, and turned to the biologist. "Is he saying he's hungry?"
The biologist simply stared. "He's mutable. Amazing."
Bzup seemed unaware of the sensation he had just caused. The alien stood there, the new opening gaping wide, as if waiting.
Jem leaned on the tabletop and tried to see into the opening. It seemed to curve back and then down inside the alien, and there really was not much to see. But there were no teeth present, no tongue, nothing that resembled the inside of a human mouth. It was simply a dark hole in the face of the alien.
"Should I try offering him something, Nita?"
The biologist frowned. "Yes." She laughed then. "But what? Let me think a moment."
Jem went back to the serving area and looked over what was available. "Um...should we try meat first? Or a veggie?"
Nita bit at a lip, and then just shrugged. "I would try the meat first. Make it a fish - try the gruff first."
Jem nodded, opened the cooler, and speared out a gruff filet onto a clean plate. "Should I cook it first?"
"No. He can't cook what he eats in the sea. Just bring it to him raw."
Jem nodded, closed the cooler, and brought the plate over to Bzup. "How do I...what do I do now?"
Nita scratched at the back of her head and eyed the alien. "The riders have water jets to enable them to move through the sea, and openings where they can take in food from the water they use for propulsion. I've looked at the video of Bzup being taken in off the hull multiple times, because I was certain he had a water jet at that time. But scans of Bzup later showed a very confusing internal structure, and I could find no internal sign of a water jet that matched what I saw in the video. So I thought I had been mistaken." She watched the little alien thoughtfully. "But...if Bzup is mutable, if he can change elements of his structure to fit his needs...I really have no idea what his capabilities might be."
"He is an artificial life form, isn't he?" Nico asked. "I thought you said he was, just like the riders."
The girl looked unsure of herself. "What I said was that he shared the same DNA origins. Bzup's genome is far more complex than a rider's, though. And it does contains non-coding sequences, which feature I would normally assign to evolutionary DNA, not like that used in the riders."
Jem was shocked, and stared at the alien anew. "You mean, it could be Bzup's DNA from which the riders were made? Could Bzup be...one of the invaders?"
Nita simply shook her head. "I don't know now. I was basing my assumption that he was not one of them on the fact that he has no way to manipulate his environment - no arms, no hands - and tool-using is a trait of every intelligent species we have encountered thus far. But if Bzup can modify his structure to suit his needs...he may be capable of a lot more than I originally thought." She nodded. "I wondered, after he produced the snorkel when he was in the tank."
Jem stared at the alien. Could he be one of the invaders?
And then, it just didn't matter. Bzup had made an overture of friendship towards Jem and the other humans, and that was all that counted right now. The rest would be sorted out in time, Jem figured.
"I like Bzup. I'm not going to worry just who he is right now." He smiled. "He certainly looks hungry."
Jem moved slowly towards the alien, holding up the plate. "Bzup. Eat."
Bzup's sound disk issued a soft buzz. "Eat."
Jem moved closer, until he stood just before the alien. This was the closest he had gotten to Bzup yet. Jem moved the plate to the opening, and used the fork to begin to push the filet towards it.
Suddenly, there was movement within the mouth, and Jem froze as a slender, dark cord of flesh appeared. It was no more than the width of his forefinger, and looked soft and moist. The end of it was trifurcated, forming three delicate appendages, each ending in what looked like a tiny suction cup. Jem just gaped as the tiny ends touched down on the fish filet, daintily explored it, and then suddenly grabbed it and withdrew, taking the filet inside the mouth.
Bzup's sound disk gave a soft buzz, and the entire alien gave a faint shudder. "Bzup, eat."
Nita came forward, her eyes wide, but a grin on her face that showed her delight with this new development. "I think he wants more."
Jem found that he'd been holding his breath, and released it. Laughing in amazement, he returned to the cooler and got out two more of the fillets. He brought the plate back to Bzup, and the alien repeated his exploration of the fish with his 'tongue', and then took both fillets inside. The mouth closed as suddenly as it had opened, grew again to a faint line, and then disappeared altogether.
Bzup's sound disk emitted a distinctly contented buzz.
On impulse, Jem reached out and laid his fingertips against the alien's hide. It was soft, like his own, but conveyed a certain feeling of toughness to it that suggested great strength. It was surprisingly warm, and there was just enough of an underlying sense of velvet to it that it was very pleasant to touch. "He's got a great feel to him."
Nita emitted a disapproving cluck. "That was careless, Jem. What if Bzup's kind view a touch as an attack?"
Jem pulled his hand back, and briefly surveyed his fingertips. "I'm sorry. I didn't think. I just" --he smiled at the alien-- "I just wanted to touch him."
"Didn't seem to offend him," the girl admitted.
Jem nodded, and turned back to the alien. Slowly, he moved his arm forward, and again gently laid his fingertips on the alien's hide. "Bzup. Jem touch Bzup."
"Touch Bzup," the alien repeated.
Jem withdrew his fingers. "He seems okay with it."
The biologist gently rolled her eyes, but nodded. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Do you think I could touch him?" Nico asked.
Jem grinned. "Ask him."
Nico came closer. "Bzup? Nico touch Bzup?"
"Nico touch Bzup," the alien agreed.
Nico grinned, and carefully laid his fingertips against the alien's side. "Oh...he feels amazing."
Jem also placed his fingertips back on Bzup's hide, and grinned at Nita. "Join the party?"
She laughed. "If neither of you turn purple and shrivel up overnight, I'll consider it tomorrow." She nodded. "Okay, now we know he does eat. We have to be sure to offer him food every time we eat ourselves." She eyed the alien critically. "I'd love to have him in front of a scanner now, to see where that fish went, and what happened to it."
Jem grinned then. "You think he...uh, produces waste products?"
The girl laughed. "We'll find out, I'm sure. Just be careful where you walk when you're around him, for a day or two."
The three humans laughed at that, and everyone sat again and finished their meals. Once done eating, they all rose from their seats to clean up.
Nita paused as she put her tray away. "Do you think he'd mind, Jem? Standing in front of a scanner for me?" It was clear the biologist had been thinking about that for some time now.
"I don't see why he would, as long as its non-invasive."
"It's the same type scanner I used on him before," she returned. "I scanned him inside the inspection tank that time, but there's a portable unit I can use, without making him get back inside." She grimaced. "I feel badly now about the way we shuffled him around when he got here, like some animal specimen. I had no idea he was intelligent at that point."
"I doubt he holds it against you," Jem said quietly. "This other scanner is in the catch room?"
"Yes. Deera has a number of scanners there they use to assist with, um, carving."
Jem nodded. "Let's go see."
They returned through the ship to the catch room, and found Deera there, with her drones lined up behind the chair to her desk. She grinned at them as they entered. "I thought of a solution. Bzup can stay here in his tank - if he will, that is - and I'll just keep my guys here to keep an eye on him."
Jem laughed. "That was a quick change of heart."
The woman smiled. "Well, I got to thinking about it...and I called the master, and he said that Bzup had had an opportunity to leave, and didn't. And that no one had been eaten, incinerated, or taken over. I started to feel badly, and tried to figure out a way I could do something to help." She waved a hand at her drones. "All I want is to feel secure here. I don't really mind Bzup being here, otherwise."
"He eats," Nita said, and filled in the catch supervisor on Bzup's ability to produce a mouth at will. Deera stared owlishly at the alien, and shook her head. "That's good to know. I can get all the gruff he wants, if that's the case. Or any other food fish."
Nita set up the scanner, and Jem had Bzup follow him around behind the unit, which hung by an arm from the overhead near the sectioning tables, and which could be moved about to wherever it was needed. Bzup seemed comfortable with a lot of words now, and when Jem told him to 'stay', the alien stood quietly in one spot while the scanner was placed before him.
Jem stepped back, and Nita pulled out her pad and activated the scanner. The woman squinted at the small screen, and then shook her head. "I want to send this to your display, Deera."
That woman nodded, and pulled out her own pad. "Okay. The channel's open."
The large display filled with the scan, and Jem could plainly see the outline of Bzup's body, and the unfamiliar arrangement of internals within. He squinted at the display, unable to make sense of anything he saw. Well, almost nothing.
"Bzup has no skeleton?" Jem looked over at the creature in amazement. "I didn't realize he was an invertebrate!"
"He's not. Well, not exactly." Nita pointed at the display. "Those faint, dark lines are a structure of sorts, though not of bone like we have. They're flexible, more like our cartilage, but stronger, and apparently able to conform to new shapes yet retain enough rigidity to keep the internal structure intact. But --" She frowned.
She did something on her pad, and the image of Bzup slid to one side of the display, and another just like it appeared next to it.
Or, at first glance, it was like it. But as Jem stared at the two, comparing, he was struck by differences. "They don't look the same," he said. "Is it the angle?"
"No. I took the first series from exactly the same angle."
Jem turned to look at her. "How can they be so different?"
The biologist shook her head. "He's changed, internally. Some organs appear to have moved, two have grown in size, and there are a few things here now that were not there before."
Jem pointed to two irregular masses to either side, high up in the body, at where he would have considered Bzup's shoulders to be, if he had had them. "Those are new."
Nita nodded, and zoomed in on them. They each appeared to be tightly curled masses, as if someone had taken a rope, wetted it, and wrapped it into the tightest ball they could manage. Each mass was just beneath the outer hide. But their purpose was unfathomable to Jem, and it must have been the same for Nita, because she simply sighed and shook her head.
Nita moved the focus of the scan about, looking at different things, and finally nodded. "There. That's where the fish went."
Jem stared at the close up of the oblong organ in question, and thought he could make out the shapes of the fish fillets inside, completely unchanged as yet from the way they had looked when Bzup had ingested them. "He swallowed them whole. I wasn't certain there wasn't something down inside to chop them up."
Nita shrugged. "I'll bet they're gone tomorrow, or the next day. Some sort of digestion is taking place there, I think."
They looked some more, and then Nita cut off the scan. "Well, I know even less now than I did before."
Nico came up and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You know he changes, inside. You didn't know that before."
"No." Nita smiled. "But for everything I've seen now, I have ten new questions." She laughed. "So much for sleeping tonight!"
Jem could sympathize. Bzup was a true mystery, and the more Jem got to know the little alien, the more he realized how much they were different. Bzup was the offspring of a completely different biosphere, one born of a world as yet unnamed and unknown. That he might be more than he seemed was obvious now...but how much more?
Jem sighed. "I think that's enough for today. My head hurts."
Nico grinned, and Nita nodded. "You and me, both."
Jem turned and looked back at the large tank. "You think he'll stay here for the night if I tell him to?"
"Another experiment, is all I can say, Jem." Nita waved at Bzup and then motioned at the tank. "Let's see first if he'll go back inside."
Jem asked Bzup to come, and when the alien followed, Jem led him back to the tank. He put a hand on the transparent front, and turned to gaze at the little creature. "Bzup. Bzup home. Bzup stay in. Jem come tomorrow, Bzup come out."
The only thing Jem wasn't certain about was the 'tomorrow'. But the alien should have the gist of it, anyway.
"Bzup in."
The alien extended a pseudopod, and proceeded up the face of the tank, and soon was again standing in the water inside. "Bzup in."
"Good." Jem nodded. "Good."
"Good."
Nico came up and put a hand on Jem's shoulder, and they both turned to face Nita, who gave them a weak smile. "I guess we'll see."
Jem looked back at Bzup, and then leaned closer to the girl. "The drones won't hurt him, if he comes out in the middle of the night or something, will they?"
"No. I'll talk to Deera, though, to make sure they understand they're just to watch and alert."
Jem nodded. "They'll call me if he comes out of the tank?"
"You, and a few others." Nita smiled. "Relax, Jem. No one wants to hurt Bzup." She turned then, to go talk to Deera.
Nico leaned against Jem and blew a tired-sounding breath. "What a day!"
Jem leaned against his friend, and nodded. "I'm tired, and I didn't really do anything."
Nico pushed his face against Jem's cheek, and kissed him. "We'll relax tonight, okay?"
Jem smiled, turned his head, and offered a kiss of his own. "I can't wait."
Finally, they went to go. Jem gave the little alien a last look, standing there alone in his tank, and wondered if Bzup was afraid of where he was, or worried about what might happen to him. He had elected to stay with the humans, but what was happening in the mind of the alien was a total unknown. Jem tried to imagine himself in Bzup's position, with the roles reversed, and could not.
They left then, each immersed in their own thoughts, of the night ahead, and what tomorrow might bring.
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