GC I am Neon

"I am Neon"

(c) 2017 V. Ravencroft

-Shirrocco Planet-

Dr. Bloch could not remember the last time she ever felt that sick. The D20 shuttle that descendet into the violent atmosphere of Shirroco planet was rocked and shaken as if held by an invisible giant's fist. Much of the momentum was not absorbed by the stabilizers  and translated right into the seat, Dr. Bloch was strapped into.

The shuttle pilot, a hairless humanoid male of the Blue seemed not to share her misery and exclamated with a high pitched laugh."Oh now that is what I call flying Dr. Bloch."

The mousy woman, who was the only passenger on this D20 shuttle, cursed at the pilot quite uncharacteristic to he usual aloft and introvert personality. "Dr. Sudvahl keep that thing level or by god I puke all over this damn bucket."

"I am so sorry Dr. Bloch but the atmospheric conditions  exceed the capabilities of the systems to ensure a stable flight. We are just passing through a storm with wind speeds exceeding 1600 klicks per the hour."

"Can we not wait till this storm subsides?" Dr.Bloch again swallowed in a rapid fashion trying to keep the sour taste from reaching her mouth.

"Sorry, but that storm rages for a good 2000 standard years and there are no signs it will cease to rage within the next millenia or so."

The Blue opened the protective shieldplates that obscured the passengers view outside. Revealing a caudron of colors ranging across all shades of red and blue. The colors belonged to elongated storm clouds swirling and dancing in a seemingly chaotic pattern.

This unsettling vertigo causing visual and another uncontrolled sudden lateral movement was enough to make her lose the battle she had fought, ever since they dove into the atmospheric layers of this jovian giant.

The pilot tried not to look at the heaving woman and said."We will be at the Cloudbase shortly. I alerted medical."

Sure enough there amidst the sheets of colorful clouds and the constant crackle of discharged lightingbolts was a man made object, resembling more or less ther shape of an upside down wide bottomed wine decanter. The bottle's neck ended up in a bright green glowing ball.

The object became bigger by the moment and revealed its true size as the now dwarved shuttle slipped through energy membranes and inside a shuttle hangar with room for at least ten more shuttles.

The violent shaking and moving was thankfully gone and Dr. Bloch hit the safety harness release and got up on shaky feet, looking at the disgusting mess before he seat. She was also aware that some of it was till clinging to her blouse, skirt and legs.

A med robot of the station had entered and said with a soft melodic voice."Please relax, Citizen. We have you back o your feet in no time.

She thankfully accepted the robots help getting on an unfolding film gurney.

The Blue said."I better go too, the smell of vomit always gets me."

"Then you need to work on your piloting skills or have that damn shuttle looked after!" She snapped.

The medbot had completed his diagnosis. "The cause of your sickness was an over stimulated sense of equilibrium. I have administered counter measures. Other than that, a few hours rest will erase all ill effects of this temporary malady."

A large Kilonian multiped, looking somewhat akin to a very meancing centipede, appeared next to the bot and Dr. Bloch on the gurney. "I am so sorry for this Claudia, but so good you came!"

Not feeling very sick anymore the woman said."Only for you, Chimeer, only for you did I leave my beloved study and subjected myself to all this." She reached out and took hold of a upper leg."Good to see you, scissor face."

"Good you are here, my old teacher. Welcome aboard Storm Rider station."

-Stormrider Station-

Claudia stepped out of the shower and put on a clean uniform and felt much better. This entire trip and the location were so far out of her compfort zone, no one knowing her would believe she had made this trip voluntarely.

Dr. Bloch checked her reflection in a mirror field. She was neither tall nor remarkably short. She wore her brown hair in a clean, no frills layer cut bob, that gave her face a rounder appearance than it actually was. She hovered at the edge of slight overweight and purosefully disregarded any health and fitness advise she got from her physician at the anual check up. Not that there was anything ever wrong with her. Dr. Claudia Bloch was just another very healthy 98 year old, of an overall very healthy society. Many described her appearance as remarably unremarkable. She didn't stand out in a crowd of one. Everything was average for a being of Terran human origin. What was not average was her mind.

Dr. Bloch was a leading specialist in her field and a renowned capacity in Non-cell based lifeforms, and especially in non cell based sentient life at the University of New Cambridge.

Of course there was nothing really new about either the university or the city of New Cambridge on Brittania planet. The world, a moderate GW-C 3A (Gardenworld Class 3A) had been colonized now for almost 3000 years by mostly human colonists from Earth had little secrets left and no surprises. It snowed in the winter and was warm in the summer. Rain consisted of water and it was almost impossible to find much differences to good ol Earth, especially when walking on well maintained duro crete paths between auditoriums, lecture halls, her private study and her on campus home. She never travelled much, and in the last thirty or fourty standard years, a trip to the eastern coast town of Portside twohundred miles from New Cambridge was as far as she wanted to go.

Dr. Bloch even dismissed an invitation to the Hive of Minds, an aloft, elusive association of the brightest minds of the Union with much prestige and clould. She dismissed it as she would have to travel to Pluribus at least once a year.

It was about six weeks ago when she received a GalNet call from Dr.Chimeer. That inhuman, frightening  multipod with huge pinchers, appearing much like a human sized centipede has also been one of her most beloved students. Dr. Chimeer pursuing a career within the Union Science corps had been sent to a recently discovered gas giant, a Jovian planet in the similar recently surveyed Kalhlimka system.

He had called her for help and she had put all her dislikes on second tier and was travelling to this destination ever since.

she tugged on the seams of her blazer, brushed over her kneehigh skirt and went out into the curving, shadowless lit corridor of this station.

A Holdian specialist not taller than maybe fifty centimeters had apparently waited for her. Holdians had great similarities to Earth squirrels and this one made no exception. What ever was not covered by the maroon colored uniform of the Explorer corps was covered inn soft brown and white fur. The being had shimmering black eyes and long whiskers emerging from each side of his pinkish nose. It also shared the large bushy tail with those Terran marsupials that had also been brought to Brittania planet and the Terran parks of New Cambridge.

"Dr.Bloch," the being chattered in a high voice befitting its small statue," if you please follow me I am to take you to the conference room on Deck two."

"Lead the way then, specialist."

"Oh I am sorry, Dr. Bloch. I am Durk Garner, engineering specialist. We all wear multiple heads so to speak. Our meterologist Dr.Sudvahl, doubles as shuttle pilot and I am fetching people between keeping this station in working order."

"Woudn't a page light or a bot have done the same job?"

"Not in your case Dr. Bloch, Chimmie was quite adamant that you be treated with the utmost respect courtesy."

Claudia's usually stern face was disturbed by a soft smile. "I aprreciate the sentiment then."

After a short trip on the Inter Station transport system she and her furry guide emerged on the main deck and stepped into a well lit, compfortable and functional furnished conference room. It was spaceous but not overly big and around the oblong diamond shaped table, eight beings had assembled. The lastest one of which was Dr. Bloch.

She entered the room and reconized on Dr.Chimeer, bt she was certain the bald headed Blue was Dr. Sudvahl. To her all Blue looked very much alike and it could also have been someone else of course.

Next to Chimeer was a Saran female, completley human of course and only recognizeable as Saran by her darker complexion and the traditional Saran wig of black shoulder long hair. There also was a Vantax, a chrome skinned Homo Stellaris, the Holdian specialist and a tall somewhat humanoid Stik.

Chimeer greeted her again, and served her with a cup of hot tea, in a very nice procelain cup with saucer spoon and two lumps of brown sugar on the side. Just as she liked it. However as she noticed the liquid in the cup moving from one side to the other she realized that she didn't imagine the swaying feeling she had contributed to her earlier malady.

"This, this place...this station is moving?" She said with a gulping noise, trying to keep her motion sickness under control.

The Holdian felt addressed. "Only a little, Dr. Bloch. This is a relative small station and these storms out there are, even for a Jovian, quite violent and powerful. You won't even feel it after a while."

The Blue gave her a symphatetic look."It took me two weeks. Dr. Bloch." With a reasuring smile, the Saran woman got up and reached across the table dropping a small blue pill onto the saucer before her."This should completley eliminate your motion sickness Dr. Bloch. I am the CMO of this station and I must say I never came across a case of such strong motion sickness. If I had known, I would have called the CMO of the SC-Nils Bohr to prevent the unfortunate effects you had to experience. I appologize."

Claudia took the pill and washed it down with some unsweetened tea. 'Never mind that now. I am here, but we are safe right?"

Again the Holdian felt addressed and this time he almost sounded as if he felt insulted."Dr Bloch, I am the chief engineer of this floater base, would I sit here leisurly or allow anyone brought aboard if we would not be safe?"

He hopped on the table and next to him appeared a three dimensional projection of the upside down bottle. "This is a Mark IV cloud base approved for gas giants up to class X. We are held at station by an ArtiGrav anchor and can raise tripple layer Paradim shields. The walls are made of the same material as the armor of our battle ships. Molecular compacted Ultronium. All systems are green and we have enough energy for the next 2000 years. We are safe Dr. Bloch."

She raised both hands."I am glad this is so, but I didn't make this long trip to be lectured on Jovian stations. Why don't we cut through all the introductions and small talk and right to the matter at hand. Chimeer, why am I here?"

The Kilonian flowed out of his spoon shaped vari form seat and erected almost a third fof his body seqments."Let me give you a little background, Claudia. It will help you understand why I called you and hopefully won't make my reason for calling you less insane."

The projection of the station changed to a representation of the M-0 galaxy, with all its spiral arms and the bright glowing galactic center.

Chimeer highlighted one quadrant of the galaxy and said."This is, as you all know the Upward Sector of our galaxy and the core of Union space." The projection focused on one of the spiral arms. This is the outer spur of the Sagittarius arm and below it is the Orion arm.

While the apparent dark region between the spiral arms are not void, the star population in what Astrographers call the arm gaps is much less than that of the spiral arms itself."

Claudia, like the others looked at the projection and so far nothing new had been added to what they and pretty much everyone knew, but she surpresed a snippish remark, because it was Chimeer who gave the presentation. It had taken her quite some time to get the shy Kilonian youngling to speak openy before a class of hundreds of students, so she didn't want to curb hyim now.

Chimmer projected a green line from one arm across the darker gap to the other arm." The majority of Union systems are in the Orion arm, but the march of expansion has now added many new destinations in the Sagittarius arm. To the many member societies and colonies in this part of the arm one must of course count the Stepping Stone system with the connection to the Small Magellanic Cloud.

While modern space ships can cross the gap of 6000 light years without much problems, it is preferable to make a 6000 light year non stop trip with freshly serviced ISAH pods and all fuel tanks topped off."

Dr.Bloch thanked the Saran woman for another cup of tea and begun to wonder if she should say something after all. She had never been a very patient woman, especially if she was removed form her compfort zone, but instead of asking her star pupil to come to the point she sunk two lumps of sugar in the hot beverage and slowly stirred it.

Chimmer who knew her well from the semesters he had spend studying under her and from the two years as her assistant was certainnshe would understand the reason for his sermon soon. He continued. "There is an enormous stream of passenger and cargo traffic, going both ways. Now there are relative few star systems in this region of space and when Kalhlimka system was surveyed it only featured one Jovian with three major moons and two rock core planets, around a tired red sun, but it happens to be only 5500 light years from Gelbendawn system on the Orion side a system with three Jovians, no less than seven rock core planets and a gaggle of moons. A system already well developed.

These facts make Kalhlimka system a perfect service point system, for check ups, freight distribution, passenger hubs and of course an excellent fuel stop."

The three meter tall Stik, a native of the distant planet 'Woorld', assisted the Kilonian by taking over."The Union is the only space faring multi cultural society that utilizes gas giants, primarily of course for fuel production. We are also the only such known society in known galactic history that has no less than 74 sentient member species that are native to gas giants, most prominently of course the Bellebees and the famous Hotzies. We have over a thousand gas giants on record where we found some forms of life. Thus by Assembly law we must survey all new celestial real estate, be it rock core, ice ball, sun or gas giant for life and should there be sentient life, the planet can of course not be occupied or utilized. It belongs to the sentient species."

Dr. Bloch nodded."I am well aware of this and I made it my life's work to identify life and especially sentient life in places and under conditions that were always considered unable to support life, but I didn't spend my time coming here on the leisure deck or under GalNet entertainment; I read and checked all your survey findings on Shirrocco. There is nothing that suggests a new life form."

She got up herself and opened a common accessible folder and with flicks of her wrist threw survey data onto the projection."Radar studies don't show any mass concentrations of matter. There aren't any bacteria or even RNA strand like molecules in the micro analysis of atmosphere samples.

The only faintly but completley irrelevant interesting fact is that there is a unusual high percentage of Neon gas in the atmosphere."

The Kilonian klicked with his scissor like mandibles. "Yes, but..."

The door to the conference room opened and a man in a modern black business suit in the popular star sailor cut came in. He was human and had a plae complexion to his bright white hair and use space ship dealer smile. For a human he was tall and Claudia could not deny a certain suave handsomness. He straightforward approached her. "Dr. Bloch, what a privilege to meet you and then outside of the New Cambridge University campus. I am a great admirer of your work." He pulled a black business card and and swiped it onto the conference table surface."I am Ralph M. Iseratte. SII Energy Resource Procurement Inc."

Claudia was quite overwhelmed by the man's no hold bars in your face boldness. "Uh nice to meet you as well Mr. Iseratte.What bringd you..."

"Glad you ask, Dr.Bloch." He cut right into her question."I am representing SII corp and we have have first claimed this planet. Now SII is as always complying with any and all the many Union regulations regarding new claimed worlds, and we welcome the diligent detail oriented investigation of the Science corps lead by Dr. Chimmer, but trillions of credits are at stake. This planet has no native life not even a hint of non sentient molecule combinations that could develop into something eventualy. We have checked the data, Science Central has checked the data and now you, a foremost expert in this field confirmed it. I am hoping all this will lead to final verdict soon. Tiny Tim transporters with Scooping stations are already on its way."

Dr.Bloch said."I just came here and I would like to have a little time to check the data in detail."

"Of course, Dr. Bloch. As I said SII is a great admirer of your work and there could be a research position at Onyx planet in your near future, Dr. Bloch."

Claudia was not a materialistic person and she was more than just contemt just right where she was, but every scientist and scholar knew about the paradise of knowledge and the true boundless pursuit of it, an invitation to Onyx planet represented."I am flattered, Mr. Iseratte, but I am happy where I am at."

The SII agent smiled into the room and left. It was the coldest smile Claudia had ever seen. The Saran woman shivered."Ammuntherah the devourer has a friendlier smile than this man."

Chimmer spread mandibles."He is urging us to clear this planet, so they can move in with their refinery platforms and make MOLGAS out of the planets atmosphere. The science council is symphatetic to our hesitation of course, but now it has given us ten more days in which we need to find tangible reasons to take this planet on the off limits list."

The Vantax joined the conversation."I am affraid Chimmer is seeing something no one else can see. I neither like or dislike SII, but they have a valid claim and I for one think we should pack up and moce on to the next planet. There is nothing extraordinary about this Class VI. We even had a Hotzie specialist telepresent lat week and it too confirmed that there is no sentient, heck no life at all out there."

Chimmer pointed to the Vantax, "By the way this is  Dr. Yolti our bio chemistry specialist. The quiet Stellaris next to him is planetologist Dr. Hilburger and the Saran female to your left is Patha Negis, MD and as you know our chief medical officer. The Stik to my right, listens to Gwoonly and is in his final six month of the 22 month Citizen Service. He choose to volunteer with the Explorer Corps and was assigned to us."

The Stik rose from his seat."I am going to study Astro biology, Dr, Bloch and Dr. Chimmer told me so much about you."

Claudia waved in front of her. "I am still sitting here not realy knowing why I am here. If I get it straight, SII wants this planet. Science Central already went over the reports and is inclinded to release this world. Dr. Yolti thinks there is nothing out there to warrant any more study, but despite all that yo think there is something, right?"

Chimmer clicked with his mandibles."Yes, Claudia. But I am not going to point out what it was I saw or think I saw. I want your unpoluted, unbiased opinion. Just bear with me and simply check our scanner results, observations and all that. We got ten more days."

Claudia leaned back. "Alright, this time the roles are reversed and you challenge me to see. I accept and the first question I ask if sentient life of any kind is expected, what about a psionic evaluation?"

"There was a Psi talent aboard the UE Vandegris that initially surveyed this system, but no psionic activity was recorded in their official survey report. I have summoned Makma Makedi, to make another psionic evaluation, he is a Leedei friend of mine and a very potent telepath form what I understand."

-Forestall planet-

This conference room was several thousand light years distant and near the top of a 20,000 meter tall stratosphere scraping  building. The building was the headquarters of SII Energy and Fuels Inc. a wholy owned subsidary of Schwartz Intergalactic Industries.

The view from its floor to ceiling view ports was spectacular and allowed a spectator to look over the entire Eastern continent and the big ocean of Forestall planet.

The being standing by those windows was Bathasar Steelgrip, the General manager of SII Energy and Fuels.

SII was by far the biggest mega cooperation in the known universe. Officially known as the "good company' as it had never been involved in any scandals or openly reported bad news in the entire 3000 year history. SII had officially not participated in the controversial Gene Clone experiments that led to the Gene Clone revolt so long ago. SII had not participated in the Corporation wars. SII was by far the biggest employer and had a stellar reputation to care for is employees. The phrase 'we take care of you if you take care of the company' had been a recruitment slogan for almost the entire 3000 years of the companies existence. SII was squeaky clean on the outside and no official evidence to the contrary ever surfaced. But there were rumors to the contrary. Most citizens dismissed them as just that, with the very valid argument that after 3000 years of being the good company, these rumors were simply the voiced envy of competitors.

Balthazar of course knew better. He was devoted to two things only to his boss and mentor, the almost mythical immortal president and CEO of Schwartz Industries and to profit.

He turned with a fluid motion and faced the four other beings present. "I like the numbers I am seeing, Flora. I am about to depart for Onyx planet where I will meet Mr. Schwartz himself."

He addressed the orange haired woman sitting on the massive conference table of mirror polished Chrome steel.

The woman who was native to Forestal planet, gave a faint smile. Her department lorded over millions of MOLGAS dispensing operations. From small intersystem refueling depots, for small personal space craft to massive battle ship and freighter refuling points throughout Union space. MolGas was the tradename for molecular compacted hydrogen. Any source of Hydrogen or Helium could be refined and used as compacted fuel for the matter / antimatter anhilitation energy based ISAH engines that allowed time dilitation free Faster than light travel.

One of its most practical sources were water or ice planets and from very early on gas giants. Planets with liquid water were usually deemed to valuable for fuel production, but not so  the abundand and seemingly worthless gas giants.

Flora had just projected the latest sales numbers and market projections. Esoecially the market projections were quite interesting as they were broken down into regional projections.

Baltashar highlighted a a region of sparse star population between two galactic arms and said with an almost nonchalant manner. "What about our project in the Kalhlimka system. Are we soon to begin production there. If I recall the gaseous orb was well suited for refining operations."

The being addressed was not human but a tall four armed green lizard, with short wings that no longer enabled the being to fly and distinct gray colored throat folds."It is Balthazar.The planet is in a prime location for a very profitable refinery and stop over operation."

"I hear Enroe Fuels is considering putting up shop on one of the two rock core planets. If I read these reports correctly, they intend to haul MoGas to that planet for fuel distribution."

"Yes Sir, that is indeed their plan, but the transport costs will add considerably to the price, they of course also eye Kupershine system, at almost 300 light years as an alternative stop over. We do the same and these are workable, but less than ideal solutions if the Science Council decides to close Shirrocco planet for utilization."

Balthasar stabbed his finger at the projection that now showed a holo image of that planet."It shoudn't take the Science corps that long to come to a decision and send their findings to the Council. What is taking them so long?"

"The lead investigator, a well respected Kilonian believes he has observed life."

"Life? While I am a Seenian Sentmac and not an experienced astro biologists, I can read the digested findings. The data shows nothing supporting that idea."

"True, but the original survey report of the UE Vandegris did also have a psionic component and the psionic talented Science officer reported a brief feeling of a concious thought eminating from Shirrocco planet."

"Such a report would have caused the Science department to send a psi talent or a ship with Leedei psi tech."

"We were successful in somewhat altering the reports, and convince the talent not to recall anything unusual."

"We were lucky then that the system was surveyed by the Explorer corps and not by a fleet unit. will they not ask for another PSI talent?"

"I have an excellent man at the source. We are currently dealing with the telepath and should they ask for another one, this one will be certain that there is nothing indeed."

"Out of machine borne curriosity. Is there something alive and even sentient?"

"Very unlikley Sir. Or not for long."

He was a Shiss and he had taken cirizenship and shelter within the Union while Shistaa the former homeworld of the Shiss and center of the Shiss empire was now mostly destroyed with an Union Army occupation lording over the last vestiges of the once proud and mighty Shiss.

His name was Hzzzagthy and he had little use for old Shiss glory sentiment. He was an Union citizen and he also was the director of the SII Alternate Resource Procurement (SARP). A clinicial name for a black oprations division using any and all method to secure an object or an objective for SII Energy & Fuels. A private  intelligence and clandestine group with virtually unlimited resoruces, operating outside all moral, ethical or legal boundaries.

Hzzzagthy's nestling brother had been the right hand confidant to the All White Nestling and the once unchallenged leader of all Shistthah, yet even at the very height of Shiss power and influence, his brother had a fraction of the tools available to him. even the Shiss leadership had moral and cultural based taboos and lines they could not cross, SARP had none of these limitations. Hzzzagthy loved his job and he was good at it, as he had been at this post now for nineteen years.

The Shiss turned to the last person in the room. While the man at the other end of the long table  appeared to be physically present, neither he nor the chair he was sitting on were more than hard light form field Avatar projection of  the few thousand light years distant Ralph M. Iseratte inside a small guest suite aboard the Stromrider station."Ralph has everything under control, isn't that so?"

"Yes, Mr.Hzzzagthy."

--""--

-Stormrider Station-

Claudia had spend the last two days pouring over every detail of the survey recordings and the analytical data. She had forgotten to pay attention to the ever swirling motion in her ever present tea cup, as she knelt on the vari from chair. She was leaning over the work desk with both her arms tugged underneath her chest. With one hand at her chin also holding a multi point stylus in pencil mode only to shif t position to call up a new document upon the work surface or to take a sip of tea. The study lab was darkened and the only light came from a spot light over the work desk.

Chimmer came in, looking at her in her worn out real wool sweater, as he has looked at her so many times thirteen years ago. When she still was his academic mentor. The Kilonians had been Union memmbers now for over 1100 years and were a well established society. You could find Kilonians in almost all aspects of social life. As soldiers of course first and foremost, as officers and crew in the spatial navy. There were Kilonian lawyers, actors, construction workers, engineers, and businessmen. But even today it was rare to find a Kilonian scientist or scholar. It was no longer a stigma to be a knowledge seeker, as it once was. Kilonians did have scientists but they also were the natural born bullies in a society that elevated bullying into an art form and encouraged it. The humans had a very apt term for those who were on the receiving end of being bullied. The term was Nerd or on Chimmer's homeworld Yuixi. Chimmer was the very definition of a Yuixi. He wqas the last that crawled out of his parents eggnest. Already missing several of his legs and his last segment, chewed off by his much more aggressive siblings.

While Chimmer had been born to an afluent family and to a time when the Kilonians were Union members for a long time, being a Yuixi was still a stigmata and a social handicap.

In the very old days long before Union membership, the brightest Yuixi were sent too the feudal lords as "Thinkers" and once they were able to prove themselves useful by coming up with an invention, preferably a weapon or something to outdo the other feudal lords, had a fairly safe existence, until of course one of their inventions failed to impress or was outdone by the invention or development of the Yuixi of another feudal lord. However those who weren't accepted by a feudal lord's household would live out their lifes at the margins of their societies. Trampled upon, bitten, if hunger was strong eaten or simply killed for sport.

This mentality was slowly erroding, especially as the Kilonian held the thinkers of other species in high regards.

Slowly erroding didn't mean it had been eliminated when he went to Union school.

His parents much rather saw him joining the Union Army where most Kilonians ended up, or perhaps joining one of the successful wrestling teams. Nothing kept Kilonians more mesmorized than Kilonian wrestling. Seeing two powerful and dangerous looking centipedes coil in complex strangle holds has become quite popular even beyond the boundaries of Kiloni society. That it held no appeal to him was of course another disapointment for his parents.

He was a good student though and eventually was allowed to gof off planet for his 22 month citizen service. He served it at the Science Council and his interest into biology, xeno biology and then especially Astro biology had been kindeled forever.

Being lucky he was allowed to go to New Cambridge, where he met Claudia Bloch. She never saw him as a Kilonian but as a shy student hungry for knowledge.

Chimmer secretly loved this human female more than anyone, and respected her more than the Hundred segmented Kilonian god that was supposed to exist.

She noticed him."How long have you been there?"

"I don't know, Claudia. I wanted to ask if you needed anything..."

"No I don't need anything, Chimmie but I know why you came. You wanted to see if I had found anything."

"Have you?"

" I am affraid not. There is nothing out there that is alive at least this is my preliminary..."

She paused as she looked at a recording of a storm. Then she said. "System, page Dr. Sudvahl please."

Chimmer crawled closer to the table.

The head of the blue appeared floating in mid air and the projection said."Yes Dr. Bloch?"

"I am sorry to disturb you at this hour but would you join me in my lab?"

"Dr. Bloch it is third hour standard day, you are not disturbing. I was expecting your call any time now anyway. I am on my way."

With an impatient gesture she swiped all the files of the surface and populated the clean work space with image pairs of storms She had pulled eight such images as Dr. Sudvahl came in. "Yes I knew you would come across them."

Chimmer klicked his pinchers."What is it you talking about?"

"I had the same reason you had for not telling Dr. Bloch what to look for as I can not explain what we are seeing."

Chimmer and now the Vantax who had come in also looked over the motion repeating images of swirling storm cyclones. Chimmer feared his