We owed it all to Greater Than’s determination to reconnoiter. I found that wonderful word and like it because it’s not exactly like any of our words but carries the feel of what I have in mind: not just walking around, looking around, but moving to acquire information with a hostile, military eye.
Our warder, as he still thought of himself though it was obvious that our settling was making his authority irrelevant, turned his vigilance more and more to the surrounding areas. I saw these explorations as very useful, though in different ways than he intended them. I talked Ampersand into accompanying him on his investigative probes, which he did as much out of his own scientific curiosity as any influence of my own evaporated authority. Which I admired because he could barely stand even being around Greater Than, much less under his direction. He was not congenial with Point, either, but tolerated his conversation. The very qualities that made him an excellent academic aide did little for his interpersonal skills and appreciation of any wisdom not drawn from books.
The search parties usually numbered four, and often included Point, Pound and Minus. The latter two were different in background, but similar in their approach to the new world. Pound was a tall, very thin former archivist whose character was a mousy and wash-ed out as his fur, but had adapted a firm attachment to Greater Than. “Toady” is a wonderful word of yours that might apply. And resonate with us: we have an aversion to amphibians and reptiles going back to dawn or our memory.
Minus, a chef and retailer of spices back home, was one Ascension follower whose orientation was being shaken. The cult’s devotion to leaving civilization for the primordial trees having apparently been more attractive when living in comfort and security but less so when confronted with the crudities and unknown risks of our newfound planet. The pair followed Greater Than relentlessly and bore his offhand abuse gladly. Both were sharp-eyed and intelligent, however, and as useful for exploration as any of us. Ampersand didn’t care for them, either. He described the field trips as a solitary communion with Nature and Discovery hampered by inferior companions.
Paren, of all people, started going on the trips. Uninvited, to say the least: Greater Than would order her to stop following the group, but she would just lag father behind and continue to shadow their explorative trips. I think Ampersand resented her presence as much as any of the others. She was present, along with the males named, when they stumbled onto The Ruins.
Minus had been the first to spot the stub of brick chimney barely visible above the spread of morning glory. He moved in for a closer look, falling behind the march of the other males and allowing Paren to catch up as he examined both the overgrowth of pink flowers and the remains of the chimney. She followed his gaze and gasped the phrase the others repeated to me later, “That thing was made!”
Minus called the party back and they all just stood staring for a long moment. The implications were manifest, the ramifications many. To Greater Than the main one was: “This planet is inhabited.”
When he repeated that to Point and myself, amid a circle of onlookers back at The Oak, the pilot said, “Or it was.”
The chimney was mistaken for a building at that point due to its size. Or a remaining fragment of a building. But it was obviously of intelligent design. Pound had clambered through the morning glory and pulled vines away to reveal the square corners and regular masonry pattern.
“Perhaps not,” Ampersand sniffed. He’d thought it over and come to his usual dismissive conclusions. “Perhaps it’s just a very unusual natural formation, If it’s a building, why is there no city?”
Whereupon Point sent a thrill through us all by calmly stating, “There are cities.”
Greater Than was on that immediately, of course. Where? How did he know? Why hadn’t he mentioned it?”
“I saw no reason to bring it up until needed,” Point told him. “Especially without anything to prove it. They are far from here, off towards the dawn. I saw them while I was trying to land. Before we were too close in to pay attention.”
“But you didn’t notice any details worth telling us about.” Greater Than made it clear what he thought of Naval intelligence and attitude.
“I apologize for not making closer observation. I was somewhat occupied at the time with searching for a place to land without killing us all. It’s a shame nobody could have made some notes and sketches, but everyone else was strapped in for dear life at the moment.”
I noticed that even the self-contained pilot was getting a bit tired of the Trinchan’s approach. He looked around and went on. “This planet is occupied. By someone that builds big cities. But they are too far from here to worry about. What we need to do is explore these ruins to find out whatever we can about the inhabitants. And perhaps locate useful material and information.”
Since the major problems of Settling had been solved at that point, I could have predicted the enthusiasm with which most of the males, especially Equal and At, would greet that remark. The were almost salivating at the prospect of rooting around in an alien civilization. Ampersand was also ecstatic about the opportunity to delve. Those who didn’t share their zest were the Ascension. They’d escaped cities, and now cities lurked over the horizon. But everyone agreed to start excavating the site of the ruins.
There was a bit of bickering over whether the investigation would be of a scientific or military nature, but it was finally decided that Greater Than would be in charge and evaluate the threat involved in anything that turned up, but allow Ampersand and At full freedom of access because it was hard to judge what nuggets of information might be vital to us. As the plans to set out for the ruins at first light of morning were hammered out I heard Paren telling Carat and Semi, “…it’s big enough to live in, and this really nice red color. And the whole thing is covered with beautiful flowers.”