The Abyss of Time

Chapter Thirty One

     Time passed as the Orchid crew walked, following the two quad riders who had gone on ahead.

     The only way of knowing how much time was passing was by consulting the clocks on the head-up display of their helmets. There was no change in the temperature or the light level. Somewhere, far above the canopy of the jungle and the thick belt of clouds that swathed the whole planet, the sun was crossing the sky, but not a single ray of light penetrated to the jungle floor, where the only illumination came from the bio-luminescence of the organisms living there. It wasn't even possible to tell if the sun was above the horizon, as the planet's forty hour day had nothing in common with the five hours walking, two hours resting, five hours walking, twelve hours resting routine they were following. They used the word 'day' to mean a period of twenty four hours, therefore, since the time it took for the planet to rotate held no relevance for them.

     Three days after Gwent's death, they had just crossed another river and were climbing a range of low hills on the other side when Miller, walking at the head of the column, was brought up short by the sight of a strange object floating in front of him. Jane and Zanele joined him a moment later, and the others gathered round as they also came within sight of it.

     It was a large teardrop made of some perfectly reflective substance, about two metres from its upward pointing tip to the swelling bulb at the base. Miller had almost missed it, as it reflected the colours of the jungle. It was only his own reflection in its mirror smooth surface that had drawn his attention to it, floating a few metres above the jungle floor.

     "What is it?" asked Zanele, staring in wonder. "It looks artificial."

     "Probably some kind of fruit," said Alan, coming closer to stare up at it. "Mirrored surfaces were not unheard of in nature back in our own day. Both plants and animals. The golden tortoise beetle for example, was shiny gold, as if it were made of gold leaf."

     "It seems to be just floating there," said Wilma Matthews. Normally as quiet as a mouse, she was moved to speak by the impossibility of what they were seeing.

     "It's probably hanging from a stalk," Alan replied. "We can't see it because it's probably mirrored as well."

     "I don't think so," said Miller. He reached up with the barrel of his pulse rifle. The bulbous underside was just within reach, but it wouldn't move in the slightest, making only the 'ting ting' sound of metal on metal, when he tapped it.

     "I think it's some kind of artefact," he said. "It was made by someone." He kept his weapon aimed at it as if it might suddenly come to life and attack them. Around him, everyone else did the same. Lucy, remembering her instructions, kept her attention on Rogers in case he tried anything, but the traitor seemed as mystified by the teardrop as everyone else.

     "Made by the cyborgs?" asked Buford warily. "We should destroy it, just in case."

     "They couldn't make it float like that any more than we could," Miller replied. "I don't like it, though. I think we should get out of here."

     "Let's destroy it first," repeated Buford, more firmly this time. He put his finger on the trigger of his weapon.

     "No," said Miller, though. "This might mean there's a civilisation somewhere on this planet."

     "The Swarm Builders," said Connie. "The people who built the Dyson swarm. Maybe they're not all out in space. Maybe some of them are still here."

     "A small team of naturalists, perhaps," suggested Alan. "Or maybe some machines they left behind, to study the remaining life on this world. I can imagine the majority of their race sleeping through the ages, waiting for the universe to cool down, but they're curious about how the last generations of life on this planet adapt to the increasing heat. The slow loss of the remaining water. So they leave some monitoring devices to study the ecosystem so that, when the Swarm Builders wake up a trillion years from now, they can see what happened while they were sleeping."