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They started a retreat, withdrawing as quickly as pos-sible. For the bulk of
their forces this was simple be-cause they were faster than anything the Com
could muster. But for the mother ship, an artificial planetoid over ten
thousand kilometers in diameter, such flight was not possible. While the
mother ship could attain the speeds required, powering up and the preparations
necessary to prevent killing all aboard
would take per-haps three days. In its present shape the mother ship was not
as fast as the Com ships pursuing it.
Due to the limitations of their power sources, the Zinder Nullifiers had an
effective range of under one light-year; they had closed to within a parsec of
their quarry when it started to move.
The Dreel knew they could not outdistance the Nul-lifiers, but those aboard
the task force did not.
"Turn the forward disk on and keep it on, aimed at the Dreel mother ship,
unless needed for defense,"
ordered the military men; the military computers agreed that it was the only
thing to do.
A hole opened before the Com task force, a hole in space time. Not having
enough experience to appre-ciate the effect of the Nullifiers, the fleet
officers sud-denly discovered that they could no longer see their quarry on
the other side of the hole. Even light was destroyed
and they were moving into the very hole they had created!
Scientists all over the task force held their breath.
Something winked, momentarily producing an ef-fect like a photographic
negative, then there was noth-ing, not even Nullifiers.
The hole, though, didn't stop; it expanded in all directions, devouring
everything in its path. The Dreel mother ship was caught when the hole was
barely a light-year wide; it devoured two stars and their at-tendant planetary
systems within five days. And it kept growing. And at its center was nothing.
Gramanch, a Planet in the Galaxy M51
THE BLUE-WHITE EXPANSE OF GRAMANCH SPREADbelow the shuttle as it
rose toward a small and not very imposing moon. Gramanch had several moons,
most no more than cratered rock and airless wastes and none larger than three
thousand kilometers around. The shuttle's destination was smaller than that
but different in that it was a private moon accli-matized for its owners and
not very natural at all. It was said that they had snared an asteroid,
refurbished it as one would an old spaceship, added a drive, and moved it into
orbit. Certainly it had not been there even a year.
Approaching it one could easily see the differences. One hemisphere was
protected by some kind of energy shield that gave it the appearance of
slightly opaque plastic; there were signs of greenery beneath, and of clouds.
The other hemisphere was harder to make out but as the shuttle approached the
surface could be seen.
It was pitted but not as cratered as the other moons. Only a huge concave dish
whose metal ribs gleamed in the sunlight indicated that this must be the area
of the space drive.
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The Gramanch were a spacefaring race; they were expanding and had managed to
do so without conflict, although there were some uneasy moments with sev-eral
of the nonhuman spacefaring races they had en-countered. The people of
Gramanch were small, barely a meter tall, swaddled in long sable fur from
which faces like miniature lions or Pekinese dogs peered. They were unusual in
that they walked on all fours but sat on hind legs when they wanted to use
their thin, delicate, ape-like, fingers with opposable thumbs. They were like
some sort of impossibly furry kangaroos balanced on thick thighs and curled
yet muscular, furry tails.
The ship docked easily and the passengers felt slightly lighter than they had
been. The difference was enough to put a spring in their step, but not enough
to be uncomfortable.
Their hostess, a striking female whose flaming or-ange fur was tinged with
gray and white, greeted them as they debarked: "Welcome, welcome to
Nautilus,"
she told them, apparently totally sincere. "I am Sri
Khat, your hostess and the manager of this facility. Please do not worry about
your luggage; it will be transferred to your rooms. If you will just follow
me."
They trotted happily after her, thirty-four in all, taking in the strange
little world beyond the tiny two-ship-terminal.
It was green and beautiful. Grass was everywhere, and they could see copses of
alien trees off to the left. The buildings, too, were alien, but were somehow
pleasing and not a little imposing. Strange birds flitted through air that was
exceptionally invigorating and pleasant; flowers, familiar and alien, grew
everywhere; here and there small animals scurried to and fro. They passed
beautifully manicured gardens and fountains spurting crystal-clear water. Amid
this bucolic wonder the hostess stopped, turned, sat up and faced the crowd.
"Welcome again to
Nautilus,"
she repeated in the pleasant, professional tones of an old-hand tour guide.
"This world, the only known product of the coopera-tion among private
interests of alien creatures, exists for your comfort and pleasure. It is a
resort free from pressures and fears. Feel free to come and go as you like, to
wander our fields and woods, to fish our streams to jump into a fountain if
that suits you."
They chuckled at the last, as they always did, and she continued.
"Shops and stores here are for your convenience; no tax collectors will spoil
your leisure. We have fitness programs, sporting courts, restaurants, clubs
and lounges, and even a gambling casino for your enjoy-ment. Everything on
Nautilus is designed to help you enjoy the money you have spent and will spend
here. Maps are to be found in every guest room."
A furry hand made as if it were pawing the air, the Gramanch version of
raising a hand. She nodded, rec-ognizing the man.
"What is 'Nautilus'?" he asked curiously. "It is not a word that I've ever
heard."
Sri Khat's mouth formed a toothy Gramanchian grin. "Nautilus is an alien word,
of course," she told them. "In the legends of a long-dead alien race it was
the name of a fantastic pirate ship."
They laughed again at that, for there was a joke in it. Their bank accounts
would be far lighter when they left this place.
Another pawing. "Yes?"
"We've heard rumors that you can do wonders arrest aging, cure even the most
severe illnesses. Is that true?"
"It is true that we have certain curative methods," the hostess acknowledged.
"As you may know, we ac-cept a large number of seriously ill people every day
for treatment inour special wards, and we don't charge for it. Our success
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rate is quite good with terminally ill patients. Of course, you are helping
pay for the service by spending your money on
Nautilus, so if you drop a bundle in the casino you can at least console
yourself that your loss helped save someone else's life."
They liked that touch. It was also good for business.
"May we see where this is done?" another asked.
A head signaled the negative. "I'm afraid not, for several reasons. First, our
space is limited the medi-cal work is done inside this world, far from here.
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