Briefly, he allowed himself to wonder if he wouldve been quite as miserable if theyd at least been able to surround themselves with some comforts, but he didnt dwell on it. What was the point? They were lucky to have what they did. They were grateful for it.
Theyd hated every moment of every day since theyd lost their world and it didnt look like they would see a time, again, when things would be better-not in their own lifetime.
He regretted the thought the moment it entered his mind. The one thing he had avoided above all else was thinking about children. He couldnt bear the thought of fathering more and there would certainly never be any more nieces and nephews.
And yet what future did they have without children?
It was amazing that the loss had created such a vacuum in his soul when he had spent so little time with them.
It hadnt actually been a matter of choice. He was the eldest son of the house. He was expected to join the military and distinguish himself. It was tradition, not only within his family, but within his tribe. Hed been eager to leave, though. Despite the strong ties hed felt for his family, hed had wanderlust. He hadnt been content to settle in his native village. Possibly, if he had never left to begin with to go off to the university for studies, he wouldve been, but he would never know now. All he did know was that once hed broken the ties that bound him tightly to Kipera and his family, he had been restless each time hed returned and ready to go again the moment he was called back to service.
If he had been there there would be no agonizing over anything now. He wouldve died with them and all his troubles would be over. It almost felt like a just punishment to live. They had suffered. He knew they had, but the transition had been brief, the moments of pain and fear relatively few. For him, it seemed endless and it had only been a year now. His life stretched out before him like an endless torture chamber that he was forced to walk.
Lifting an arm, he draped it across his eyes and tried to force those thoughts to back of his mind. He had more important issues at the moment than tormenting himself with his memories and his regrets.
Like the biblical plagues they were so fond of frightening themselves with, the humans were coming and he had no idea how to stop them without further risk to his own people.
Chapter Two
The cloud cover was still so thick that it was difficult to get a view of Venus surface even from orbit. The crew aboard the Mars II lander began to get readings after the first orbit, however, that confirmed much of the data collected by the probe that had been sent before them-at least in so far as the fact that the chemical makeup was rapidly changing. Unless there was some problem with the data they were getting, however, the gasses had dropped even more dramatically in a matter of weeks.
The first jolt was the discovery that the levels of sulfuric acid in the cloud cover had dropped drastically. The readings were so significant, in fact, that they ran the data several times and then checked the equipment and took another reading before they concluded that the readings were correct-unbelievable, but correct. Changes in carbon dioxide levels were equally startling. Overall, the chemical changes had resulted in a nearly 50% drop in atmospheric pressure and more than that in surface temperatures. It certainly wasnt balmy and the atmospheric pressure was still dangerously high, but after checking the figures repeatedly, they realized that they
could
land as theyd been ordered to if conditions allowed. The deep ocean explorer that had been modified for Venus surface since it had already been designed to withstand the pressure of the ocean would be safe enough for a surface survey.
No one was thrilled at the prospect except, perhaps, the two scientists aboard-Kushbu and Rains-but even they were uneasy. They spent a good deal of time speculating on natural phenomena that might account for the sudden, drastic changes, but it was clear to Sybil that even they didnt believe any of the possibilities theyd come up with that didnt include alien interference.
Of course, before the discovery, she wouldnt have believed in the possibility that there was alien technology capable of effecting such a rapid and significant change. She still wasnt sure she completely accepted it, but there was no getting around the fact that this sort change didnt come about without interference. It certainly wasnt natural. Natural changes took place over thousands or millions of years, not in a matter of decades.
They had no real idea when the aliens might have decided to terra-form Venus, of course. It was possible theyd been working on it from the time theyd first arrived and encountered humans in those previously dismissed sightings. That was still only a matter of fifty to a hundred years, however, and it couldnt be avoided that no such changes were detected by the numerous probes that had been sent to study the planet in the late twentieth century.
It was almost easier to believe that some rogue asteroid had ripped the ozone, creating, in effect, a natural pressure relief valve. As farfetched as that seemed, putting it down to alien technology wasnt any easier to swallow.
Something
had certainly made a drastic change in Venus, however, and it hadnt taken long at all to do it.
It was just as well Sybil didnt have the option of joining the landing party or not. Shed been chosen to stay aboard the Mars II and monitor the ship and the ground crew. She didnt particularly like the assignment-being left completely alone for the two days they meant to spend collecting samples-but she hadnt liked anything about the assignment to start with.
She didnt know if it was Spencers suggestion that had planted the thought in her mind or if she wouldve felt that way regardless, but almost from the time theyd left the Earth behind, shed felt like she had a bulls eye painted on her back. It was a relief to arrive unscathed at their target orbit, but not a huge relief. She still felt as if they were being watched.
She was monitoring the landing when that feeling intensified abruptly. Accompanied by a flickering of light behind her, Sybil felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck prickle. Whirling while weightless wasnt a bright idea, but Sybil reacted instinctively to the abrupt certainty of danger. She had time to register an odd phenomenon of light in the cockpit behind her before her momentum carried her across the cockpit and into the hull. By the time shed fought her way around again, the light had vanished, but there was no relief in that. A solid form stood where the light had been.
Sybil sucked in a sharp breath to scream, launching herself toward the apparition. She collided with it hard enough to carry both of them against the back wall of the cockpit, but the half-formed plan to subdue the intruder came to nothing. By the time theyd stopped moving, she was locked tightly against the intruder instead of the other way around. She hadnt managed to wrap her mind around that or think of an alternate plan of attack when the sudden sensation of stinging ants washed over her. It increased to a burn that was rapidly reaching the point of being unbearable when it was followed by a descent into an abyss of blackness before she could even assimilate what was happening.
A strange, bluish glow met her gaze when she attained consciousness again and opened her eyes. Movement caught her attention before her memories caught up to her and she turned her head automatically toward the motion. Her heart leapt with fright at the discovery that she was surrounded by thin, gray, almost featureless beings barely taller than a child. That paled beside the twin discoveries that her suit and helmet had been removed and she was bound to the gurney she was lying on.
A frantic search of her mind to understand what was happening brought no comfort. The last thing she remembered was discovering an intruder and trying to subdue him before he could attack. Hard upon that memory came others, distant, vague, but substantial enough that she was pretty sure she was looking at, and had found herself in a similar situation to, reports from years ago involving alien abductions.
She sucked in a sharp breath and strained against the restraints when one of the creatures moved closer. Lifting an odd looking instrument, it seemed to wave it over her. Dont! Sybil exclaimed sharply, flinching as far from the instrument as she could.
Scanning, the creature responded in a mechanical voice-in English!
Sybil was shocked enough that it took several moments to sink in that it was scanning her. It struck her to wonder why the voice sounded so
canned. A translator? As bizarre as it seemed that it could speak English, given the fact that theyd decided the aliens had been to Earth many times, she supposed it wouldve been stranger if they hadnt figured out how to speak English in that length of time.
It still sent a shiver through her.
Where am I? Why am I here? What happened to my suit?
Why are you here? the being countered.
Sybil stared at it blankly, but her mind was alive with rampant speculation. I dont know where I am, she countered. You tell me.
The creature studied her dispassionately for a long moment and then backed away.
A disembodied voice spoke then, but it was clear it wasnt speaking to her since the language was alien. It was deep and Sybil had the impression it was male, but she realized fairly quickly that she couldnt draw conclusions from anything known to her. The beings shed been staring at with such horror didnt seem to
have
sexual organs at all.
When the voice ceased, the gray things moved closer once more. Sybil flinched again, but tensed when she realized they were removing her restraints. The urge to attack was so strong she trembled with it, but logic won out. She had no idea where she was, but she knew she wasnt on her own ship anymore. Even if she succeeded in overwhelming the aliens, where would she go?
It still went against the grain to allow them to help her from the table and escort her from the room without a whimper of protest. She tried to comfort herself with the thought that they hadnt killed her when they could have-easily-but it was cold comfort at best.
A narrow, dimly lit corridor adjoined the small examination room. Sybil glanced up and down it when she was taken from the room, but there was little to see beyond the fact that it seemed to go on for quite some distance. There were no windows. She wasnt even certain that there were any doors opening off the corridor, but she finally decided there were, that the thin cracks she could see were joints for sliding doors. This was confirmed, more or less, when the beings halted and an opening appeared. Lights flickered on-the dim bluish ones from the other room-and she was pushed inside. The door sealed shut behind her before she could turn around.
She stared at the panel, trying to control her runaway heart, trying to think.
Why had she been taken? Why was she here instead of dead? Where was she?
A shiver skated through her and she wrapped her arms around herself, wondering if the deep cold she felt meant they were in space or if it was the result of shock and the fact that she had nothing but her underwear on.
And what had happened to the landing crew, she thought abruptly?
Were they here, too? Where they dead? Or were they on the surface of Venus, wondering what had happened in the orbiter?
She shook the thought. She didnt have time to worry about them now. She was on her own and so were they. Not that she could see that that helped her in any way. She couldnt remember a damned thing after discovering the intruder behind her. Had they docked with the Mars II without her noticing?
That seemed unlikely, but what other explanation was there?
The strange sensations shed felt just before she blacked out surfaced. She felt her throat close with horror, but it seemed indisputable that they must have used something like the particle transporter-on
her
!
Was that the reason for the scan? To see if she was still in one piece?
The thoughts gave rise to a panicked internal evaluation, but she couldnt tell that she was suffering from anything but the cold and she wasnt even sure that was because of the temperature around her.
After a moment, she glanced around uneasily. The room she found herself in was a cube maybe six foot square-make that seven, she decided once shed looked up at the ceiling and then at the narrow cot attached to one wall.
It was a prison cell, she realized abruptly. It had to be.
The door opened while she was studying the cot. There was no sound, no warning beyond a prickling along her skin from the currents of air and a faint scrape along the metal floor. She whirled, prepared to defend herself, but the sight that greeted her swept that instinct right out from under her. This was no little gray creature!
Sucking in a sharp breath, Sybil retreated to the furthest corner, plastering herself against it. The being stared at her for a long moment and then took a step closer. The door sealed behind him so fast Sybil barely caught the movement.
She knew the very instant she was trapped inside the tiny cell with the thing though! She wouldve screamed if she couldve found her voice. Instead, she stared at it with wide-eyed horror.
Why are you here?
Sybil flinched when it-he-spoke, but she recognized the voice, or thought she did, that shed heard before. He tilted his head. You spoke English before.
Sybil licked her lips. I dont know where I am, she said finally.
His lips tightened, drawing her attention. The mouth was surprisingly human-like, thin lipped but then that particular trait wasnt all that uncommon. She watched it form the next words and caught a glimpse of teeth that looked a bit sharper than shed ever seen in a human mouth-more predatory.
Like a cat.
She blinked as the impression deepened, flicking a quick, assessing look at the face. The shadows cast by the strange light, she decided, had given her the impression of a monster.
Or maybe shed just expected a monster?
He wasnt human. That much was certain, but he was surprisingly human-like once she managed to throw off her shock and fear enough to actually study the face. The form was certainly human-like, although he seemed exceptionally tall.
You know where you were.
Sarcasm laced the comment, sparking another flicker of surprise and the realization that hed already made the comment once.
Yes, she said finally, then added, orbiting Venus.
Why are you here?
Sybil chewed the inside of her cheek, trying to decide whether to answer that or not or, more specifically, what would be best to say. Taking readings of Venus atmosphere, she replied finally, realizing that it was pointless to try to lie. She was pretty sure they would be able to tell what the instruments on the ship were for.
To what purpose?
Sybil felt her first flicker of resentment. Scientific curiosity, she said, an edge to her voice that stilled the quaver of fear that had laced it before.
Annoyance, she thought, flickered in his eyes briefly, and then suspicion. Youre a scientist?
Sybil nodded a little jerkily, relieved that that wasnt a lie. Yes.
The suit you were wearing looked amazingly military.
She felt her cheeks flush with a combination of irritation and embarrassment that hed caught her in a lie-one of omission, but still a lie. I am, but Im attached to the space program. How much, she wondered, did he/they know about them?