The Search for Earth

By Bennie Grezlik

For decades the Thousand Worlds traded goods, sentients, and ideas to the benefit of all. The lone worm in the intergalactic apple was the dreaded Taranok Empire that used the gate system to enslave hundreds of worlds. The only threat to the Empire's absolute dominance was Jan Youngblood, who held the key to the gate system. Jan's burning ambition was to save his family and to find ancient Earth once more!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bennie Grezlik
• Release date: Dec 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310742217

Bennie Grezlik

Bennie Grezlik has been writing and publishing lies since 1978. In the last few years, Stonegarden.net has released three of his novels, the latest being The Search For Earth. He has written stories for a number of anthologies, the most notable being a series of zombie tales for Yard Dog Press. He also wrote and produced for about five years the Skip Thruster, Space Detective plays that were brought to life for ApolloCon by enthusiastic actors, otherwise known as fans. Skip Thruster radio plays were first aired on KPFT, Houston.In another life back in the psychedelic sixties, Bennie was a technician at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston from 1966, through 1969. You read that title correctly. This was before the center was named for its mentor, Lyndon B. Johnson. And, yes, Bennie used a slide rule because it was sexy and because it was B.C. (Before Calculators).

Book preview

Chapter 1

whispered Annie into Peter's ear.

Peter's fingers flinched as they flew over the control panel. She was losing, so he wasn't surprised that she would try to distract him. They stood across from each other separated by a tank filled with stars and spaceships.

Annie was thirteen years old, sandy haired and green-eyed, with a smile that would start as a scowl, then curl deep dimples into her cheeks. Peter had shorter hair but his face was a replica of Annie's face because they were twins. Up until six months ago, even their body shapes had been identical. Then, Annie's breasts blossomed into little pears. When he first noticed, Peter had remarked upon her changes with boyish humor. Annie had delivered such a withering stare that he kept his mouth shut about the subject after that.

Annie had been born five minutes before Peter and she never let him forget that he was the younger brother. When they went anywhere alone, she always assumed the role of protector. This situation frustrated Peter, especially since he had begun to grow taller than his sister. Since he was getting bigger, he should look after her, not vice versa. He tried explaining that to her one day. She flashed their trademarked dimpled smile and said, That's the kind of logic I would expect from a normy. Infuriated, but nonetheless wary of her intellect, he replied, You know I'm not a normy. We came from the same egg. We're both Eugenes. She said nothing, but her look suggested that she doubted that someone as dumb as he could have once shared her protoplasm.

Technically, they were only half-Eugene. Their father was a full-blooded Eugene. Their mother, although highly intelligent, was a normy. Of course, Annie and Peter never thought of their mother with the impudent term they reserved for non-Eugenes.

Now, they looked at each other through the tank. He had outscored her three games to one. He grinned and said through almost closed lips,

She did not respond.

He let his lips move a little more.

Peter looked around.

Annie reset her side of the intergalactic layout.

said Peter.

Peter glanced quickly.

Earplants could send and receive radio waves over short distances. When sending speech, the mastoid bone acted as a conduit for sound into the tiny buried mike. Some time ago, Annie and Peter discovered that they could speak to each other subvocally over short distances through their earplants. They learned to interpret subvocal murmurs, which might sound to someone next to them as the faintest of sighs. Now, Peter had the impulse to rub behind his ear where his earplant had been buried in his mastoid bone six years ago. His look gave him away.

Peter glanced again.

He heard a snort in his earplant and she flashed him an indulgent smile that didn't make it all the way to the dimples.

Peter looked dubious. He played his ace.

Peter's eyes flashed red.

Peter shrugged.

They moved to the new position. The Invaders game had cockpits inside the tank. If you concentrated, you could see beyond the game, but the illusion of being in a spacecraft was powerful. Annie put her UniCard in the slot and suddenly they were busy with hordes of fighter craft disgorging from an ominous looking mother ship above them. Peter quickly ran his score double Annie's, then triple, then he noticed that her laser shots had become random. she said through unmoving lips. Peter looked up and jumped. The blue beret was almost touching the 3D tank. The face beneath the beret was angular and smooth. It could even be called handsome, except the skin looked too taut on the bony skull. The eyes darted from fighter to fighter as the twins sprayed crossfire throughout the tank. The lips curved into an amused smile.

gloated Annie's voice in his ear.

Peter wished she would shut up. When someone was as close as this stranger, he felt self-conscious with subvocal earplant communications. As if reading his mind, Annie said,

Peter looked up again. The face turned toward him before he could look away. They locked eyes for an instant. The face nodded, and the figure walked past Peter, baggy pants swishing, then threaded its way past the dozens of popping, flashing, squealing games vying for attention, and out of the arcade.

At first Peter felt relief. So it was nothing after all. Just a normy tourist flirting with youth. Then he remembered the eyes. No, it really was a zombie. He had looked at zombies before, of course, but he couldn't recall any who had looked at him. And all the ones he had seen had been alien zombies. Human zombies were rare. The eyes had seemed... direct, as if stripped of the normal respect for privacy. Or was he imagining things? Grandma Jo had told them once that zombies used to be really dumb, fit for no more than brute labor. She had been instrumental in dismantling the zombie program on Gate World, so she hated the idea of zombies. Now they were everywhere, of every species, thanks to the empire. Grandma Jo told them that when she was a girl, you could tell right away that it was a zombie when you looked into their eyes. Blank, zero, empty, nobody home. Peter wished that Grandma Jo were still alive so that he could ask her about this character.

He noticed that the control panel beneath his fingers was dead. The game was over. Annie stood beside his cockpit.

I tried to tell you, said Annie. He'll be out in the concourse waiting for us.

She had spoken aloud. He had become so accustomed to her muffled voice in his earplant that the sound of her real voice was jarring.

Peter? Are you in a coma? Let's go see if Mr. Mechanica just happens to be reading a newspaper across from the arcade entrance.

He had been thinking about the eyes. They were strange eyes, possibly hijacked by an internal controlling agent. Probably just regular zombie eyes, he decided. Yet, there was something else in those eyes. Somewhere beyond the electronics, somebody was home. This was interesting. He climbed out of the cockpit.

Follow me, said Annie.

He sighed. Of course, she would lead the way. She was already walking two steps ahead of him. He had to hurry to catch up.

****

In a cafe along the main concourse of the gate transit station, Jan sipped herbal tea and watched the crowd stream past. Across from him sat Koris, who droned on and on about the possibilities that Jan would learn something of Earth on his pilgrimage to the imperial embassy at Ochofa. Jan didn't really mind Koris' ponderous lecture. As a typical Lorelan, Koris could talk about a subject in excruciating minutia for hours. Unlike most humans, Jan found the slow, deliberate cadence of Lorelans soothing. That was especially true of Koris, who had been Jan's counselor for the past ten years.

The only thing that bothered Jan about listening to Koris was the translator. Jan had never suffered the undignified fad of having an earplant insinuated into his mastoid. He was quite happy, he always said, with his natural senses, thank you. Without an earplant, Jan had to attach an external translator device on one ear to understand Koris. He had borrowed the device from Koris. Jan found it disconcerting hearing Koris' melodious native Lorelan in one ear, and the electronically translated English version in the other. Earplants worked the same way, of course. His own children, Annie and Peter, were quite experienced with earplants. They told him that it was just a matter of focusing your attention to one ear or the other, and that he would get used to it. But he never did. So, when he talked to Koris (or more to the point, when he listened to Koris), he waited until he got the gist of what Koris had to say, then he switched off his translator. Once in a while Koris would tap his hand to indicate that he was about to speak on a new subject. Jan would switch on his translator until he got it, then switch off.

Jan let his attention wander to the flow of life along the pathways of the main concourse. The gate transit building was high, wide, and long. Duty-free shops and cafes lined each side. Kiosks for magazines, flowers, Happy Daze, and trinkets from the Thousand Worlds peppered the walkway. Since this was the Gate World side of the Gate World/Lorelan transit, the crowds were mostly human, with a sprinkling of Lorelans and an occasional exotic sentient from one of the other K-worlds in the gate system.

To the untrained human eye, all Lorelans looked pretty much alike. They had soft, furry skin with many folds. They walked with their heads down, as if studying their shuffling feet, and wore variations of the hasaas, or trousers, cinched up nearly as high as their stooping shoulders. Compared to the lethargic Lorelans, the humans in the crowd looked hyperactive. Jan smiled. He identified more with the calm, deliberate Lorelans than with his own scurrying race. Koris was tapping him on the wrist. Jan switched on his translator.

I worry about you, old friend. Koris's soft puppy eyes stayed on Jan's face as he shook his head. The skin folds in his cheeks swung with each head movement. The corners of his mouth turned down into a concerned frown as he formed the smooth Lorelan phrases. You are about to embark on an important mission. I truly hope you find what you are looking for, but I worry about you.

Jan looked gratefully into Koris's eyes. Koris was the only sentient who took Jan seriously. His own parents thought he was mentally unstable because of his devotion to the search for Earth. Thirty eight years after the gate from Earth to Gate World had been vaporized by a madman, everyone had forgotten about Earth. Jan recalled with shame that his own father had had a part in the destruction of the Earth gate. Michelle, the twins' mother, had believed in Jan once. Hadn't her ten-year contract with Jan been proof of that? Now they reluctantly signed each other to one-year contracts, and that mainly for the sake of Annie and Peter. Now, his only friend was Koris.

Thank you, Koris, said Jan. You have given me some important clues in my search for Earth. I've entrusted you to escort Annie and Peter back to their mother's home. With such a friend as you, I feel at peace. I don't understand why you worry.

Jan, you have a certain... innocence about you. Believe me, I like that. Innocence is somewhat of a Lorelan trait, so I understand. But, your own people-

Think I'm crazy? I know that, Koris. Have you been talking to Michelle? I think she believes I'm crazy, too.

Yes, I occasionally talk to her, said Koris. She is always concerned when you have the twins visiting with you. I take your part, you know. You are good to your children, no one can deny that.

Jan smiled. No one doubts my good intentions. But my family has come to believe that I'm not responsible.

Koris vigorously shook his head. The flaps of fuzzy skin made shlupping noises. I don't believe that. Innocence is not the same as irresponsibility.

Thank you, friend. Jan looked into the crowd again, lost in thought for a moment. Look at them, Koris. Lorelans and humans both going about their business. Just another day. No one thinks of Earth. And why should they? There are a thousand worlds in the gate system. Who cares about just one world, a world lost before most of them were born?

You and I care, my friend. You have told me many times what a wonderful planet was - is - Earth. Your fealty to your race's planet of origin is all the more amazing because you are one of those who was born several years after Earth had disappeared. Now is your chance to make a case that Earth, in all its glory, is out there in hyperspace waiting for you - waiting for all of us. Koris looked at an ornamental timepiece dangling from his neck. It is time for your journey to Ochofa.

Jan looked at his wrist secretary, his one concession to technology. Ah, yes. The train for Ochofa leaves in forty five minutes. And I have to transit the gate, yet. He rose. And here come the twins just in time to see me off.

Peter sprinted ahead of Annie. Koris, there was this, ah, person kind of watching us in the arcade-

said Annie.

Someone watching you? said Jan. You kids weren't trying to cheat the games, were you?

No, Dad, said Annie. Peter just got a little paranoid because there was an adult in the arcade.

Peter was stung. That was the same accusation he had hurled at Annie ten minutes ago.

said Annie.

Hey, you two, said Jan. Stop staring at each other as if you're going to start throwing punches. You know what I told you about fighting. Whatever is going on, you can talk it out with Koris, because I have to go.

Yes, Dad, said Annie.

Koris seemed to puff up. Yes. We'll have a long talk, just the three of us, over milk shakes and dinochick burgers.

Annie looked at Koris and then away. She didn't like the way he patronized them. She admired the Lorelan traits of cool logical patience and empathetic helpfulness, but Koris oozed chumminess.

I have to go, said Jan, then slapped his forehead. I almost forgot, kids. I have to call your mother to tell her Koris will be escorting you back to Port Elysium.

I could call, if you like, said Koris.

No, said Jan, it's my responsibility. But I need to find a public call booth.

There's one by the flower kiosk, said Koris. Follow me. They politely stayed one shuffle behind Koris as he led them across the concourse.

Dad, you really should get an earplant, said Annie.

Nonsense, said Jan, as he stepped into the calling alcove. Public facilities are perfectly adequate. He looked at the three blank walls. How do I work this thing?

Just tell it Mom's code, said Peter, with a trace of disgust.

Jan fumbled through his pockets. Here it is. Ah, computer, connect me to GW7852713281. No, wait. I mean GW7852713218.

Yes, sir, said an androgynous voice from within the walls of the alcove. Do you wish a privacy blanket?

Eh?

Dad, it's so no one outside the booth can hear you, said Annie.

Oh! No need for privacy. It's just me and my kids. And my friend.

God, thought Peter. Sometimes he makes me wonder if he really is a Eugene.

said Annie's voice in his ear.

Peter stared at his sister.

Annie smiled.

I'm sorry, sir, said the wall, but I am unable to complete your connection because of unusually high trunk traffic in the Gate World sector where your party resides. You may try again later, or you can leave a store-and-forward message and I will deliver it the instant a channel opens. What is your preference, sir?

Oh, I suppose I'll leave a message. Michelle, this is Jan. I'm here with the kids and Koris in the Gate World/Lorelan transit terminal. Koris has put me onto some information about Earth. I'm going to the imperial embassy on Lorela to check it out.

Mom, said Annie, I want it to go on record that Dad promised to take us to the imperial gardens the next time he goes to Ochofa.

That's right, said Jan, the next time, if you approve, Michelle, I'll take the kids. It's about time they saw the gardens. This time I'm going alone. Koris will bring the kids to your place sometime today. So, wish me luck. Ah, computer, I guess that's all.

Jan stepped from the alcove and gathered the twins into his arms. Annie hugged her father while Peter endured the embrace stiffly. Then Jan embraced Koris. Maybe the next time you see me, he said to all of them, Earth will be a part of the Thousand Worlds.

Jan pulled the translator from his ear and handed it to Koris.

No, keep it as a gift from me, said Koris. You'll need it for your trip.

Thank you, friend. As Jan walked away, he turned once to wave at them, then he was lost in the crowd.

Ah, sighed Koris. I wish we were all going with him. Your father is a dedicated man. If Earth is ever found, it will be because of him.

I'm sick of hearing about Earth, thought Peter.

said Annie,

Peter had to strangle down an impulse to speak aloud, very loud, to his sister.

said Annie.

Come, children, said Koris. There's no purpose to standing here. He began to slowly lead them along the concourse.

Annie looked around. Koris, I think the bus station for Port Elysium is in the other direction.

Of course it is, said Koris. But I need to stop at a comfort station. It's right around this corner. Please be patient with this old Lorelan.

They entered an empty corridor. Annie glanced at Peter behind Koris' back. Peter shrugged. Koris stopped at a door halfway down the corridor. The twins stared at him as he opened the unmarked door and held it for them. He laughed softly as they hesitated. I know this seems strange, but the Gate Authority has provided special facilities for Lorelan beta males. That's what I am. You have nothing to fear. There is a waiting room for you down this hallway. I'll try to come back as quickly as I can.

Why can't we wait for you on the concourse? said Peter.

Because this is safer, said Koris.

I don't get it, said Peter. There's nothing dangerous on the concourse. As soon as he said the words, he thought of the zombie from the arcade, but Koris couldn't know about that.

Your father entrusted me with your care, said Koris, irritation creeping into his voice, and I say you wait for me in here.

Annie shrugged. Sure, Koris, whatever you say. Come on, Peter.

They entered the hallway and Koris closed the door behind them. Peter put an ear to the door and listened for a second. Then tried to open the door. Locked, said Peter

I don't like this, said Annie.

Koris! Peter yelled. His voice echoed in the hallway, then there was silence. The hallway was long. Something moved down at the other end. Then the lights went out. They reached for each other and held on. They both yelled in unison, Koris!

That slimeball, said Annie. Wait until I tell Dad about this.

Shhsh, said Peter. Listen. There was a swishing sound coming toward them.

It's the baggy pants, said Peter.

The zombie, said Annie. I'm calling the public emergency channel.

Something touched them, everywhere, and for a moment, Peter thought the ceiling had fallen. It was a net. In panic, they struggled against the course fabric. It must be RF shielded, said Annie. The emergency channel won't respond.

I know, said Peter. I'm trying, too.

Then hands were upon them. They cried out. Peter felt a sharp pain in his side. He felt Annie kicking against the net, then he was tired, more tired than he had ever been. Nothing seemed more important than sleep. The hands held something against the mastoid bone at the back of his ear. He felt a sensation like a small explosion inside his head. The last thing he remembered was Annie whispering in his ear over and over, but her voice slowed and faded until at last there was silence.

Chapter 2

Jan approached the gate near the center of the transit building. Uncharacteristically, the crowds milled about aimlessly. Then he saw the electronic blinking star above the gate signifying that the gate stability alarm had been tripped; a scrolling sign beneath said in five languages that all transits would be delayed by 30 minutes. Jan sighed. In the old days, the gate to Earth never had a problem with instability. Now, he was told, the stability alarm shut down the gate several times a week.

Jan looked around. Everything was different in the old days. The