Flight of the Maita Book 37: Run Around the Pond

By CD Moulton

Someone is messing up the empire judge machines. The crew investigate to find who and why. They use disguises. Kurk and Thing can't be disguised, so take over the T-K Agency - and do a great job!

• Language: English
• Publisher: CD Moulton
• Release date: Dec 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311756633

CD Moulton

Born in Florida, travelled the world as a rock guitarist with some big names in the late sixties, early seventies. Been everything from a high steel worker to longshoreman, from musician to bar owner, and much more. Educated in botany and genetics. Now living in paradise (Panamá!)

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Flight of the Maita

Book 37

Run Around the Pond

© 1990, 2011 & 2016 by C. D. Moulton

all rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, either electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder/publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

The crew investigate tampering with the empire judges. Kurk and Thing do the detective thing while the others are busy.

Critic comment

The basic story is alright, but the antics of Kurk and Thing make this one worth the price and more.

– IA Rtng: ***

Note: I have enjoyed reading Moulton’s work. He is one of the very few authors today who can combine a moral message and a good story, meanwhile maintaining a great deal of humor.

It has been noted before that much of his work would be well-suited for the moving picture industry. I wish him success in that area, should he wish it.

I am moving from the area due to health matters and will no longer be making these comments for him. I wish him and all well – IA

Author’s note: IA passed away from colon cancer on February 9, 1991. Godspeed, Ivan – CDM

Contents

Prologue

Chapter one

Chapter two

Chapter three

Chapter four

Chapter five

Chapter six

Chapter seven

Chapter eight

Chapter nine

Epilogue

About the author

CD was born in Lakeland, Florida, in 1938. He is educated in genetics and botany. He has traveled over much of the world, particularly when he was in music as a rock rhythm guitarist with some well-known bands in the late sixties and early seventies. He has worked as a high steel worker and as a longshoreman, clerk, orchidist, bar owner, salvage yard manager and landscaper – among other things.

CD began writing fiction in 1984 and has more than 300 books published as of 3/15/16 in SciFi, murder, orchid culture and various other fields.

He now resides in Puerto Armuelles David and Gualaca, Chiriqui, Panamá, where he continues research into epiphytic plants and plays music with friends. He loves the culture of the indigenous people and counts a majority of his closer friends among that group. Several have adopted him as their father. He funds those he can afford through the universities where they have all excelled. The Indios are very intelligent people, they are simply too poor (in material things and money. Culturally, they are very wealthy) to pursue higher education.

CD loves Panamá and the people, despite horrendous experiences (Free e-book; Fading Paradise). He plans to spend the rest of his life in the paradise that is Panamá

- Estrelita Suarez V. de Jaramillo – 3/15/2016

CD is involved in research of natural cancer cure at this time. It has proven effective in all cases, so far. It is based on a plant that has been in use for thousands of years, is safe, available, and cheap. He has studied botany, and was cured of a serious lymphoma with use of the plant, Artemisia annua.

Information about this cure is free on the FaceBook group, Artemisia Cancer Cure plus. CD asks only that all who try it please report on its effectiveness on that group.

Run Around the Pond

Prologue

That was really the thing that gave it all away, if you'll excuse the bad pun, Kurk, the Pluton member of the crew, said.

Kurk was from a world in another plane. He stood a little less than two meters, was shaped generally like the Terran, Z, or the robot, Tab, (K-form) who was designed to be indistinguishable from a Swaz. Kurk was muscular, covered in fine, shiny black fur, had long sharp claws and eyes that glowed a pale green from natural biophosphorescence. The phosphors were also in his long sharp teeth, two of which, the canines, extended almost to his chin.

Z had dubbed him their Furry Horror from the first.

[ Hah! Stick it where the sun don't shine, you fuzzy horror! ]

Thing, the Mentan member of the crew and the one the pun was directed toward was a squarish globe about half a meter in diameter. It had four tentacles in lieu of arms and legs and independent eyes on short stalks. It was an empath who breathed through membranes so was unable to vocalize directly.

"I keep telling you that's furry horror! You never get that right!" Kurk shot back.

Maita, an intelligent spaceship and emperor of the Maitan Empire through no desire of its own, had worked out the speech differentiation for Thing and itself more than three hundred MGS (Maitan Galactic Standard) years past.

[ – ] indicates the middle C tuning fork sound that precedes and follows anything Thing says, while *–* indicates the bell-like tone that comes before and after its own personal vocalizations through speakers all over the ships and in EC (Empire Center) as well as built onto several gravitic floaters such as the one Thing was generally riding around on.

Thing was sitting on Kurk's shoulder at the moment with its floater hovering a meter above.

We had a nasty little surprise or two of our own, Z, the aforementioned Terran, replied. That woman was something else entirely!

*Was she a woman or something else?*

[ Yeah, Z. You never make any sense. ]

The group always played juvenile tricks on one another and were free with the insults. It was done with great affection. There was a deep love among them all – the machines as well as the organics. It had grown until the group, referred to by most people in the Maitan Empire as The emperor's crew, was truly a unit composed of those six machines and beings. Tab and TR could generally be considered a single being, as could Kit and T6. The four could interlink with Maita to become a truly supermind.

We had a surprise or two ourselves, T6, one of the two other intelligent spaceships who were members of the crew said over the speakers. You took enough time! We were able to handle our little job, then to clear up the backlog at the agency!

T6 and its robot partner and friend, Kit, along with Tab and his ship, TRD-60, ran a detective agency for Maita. Kit was made in the form of a reptilian Kheth, who were not greatly unlike the Terrans and Swaz, in general form. They came later in the crew and had distinctive voices of their own.

I've noticed, reported and checked on a few things that keep cropping up at the agency at Perfect Three lately, TR, as TRD-60 was affectionately called, said.

[ Such as? ]

There was a bit of a mix-up on Frim, Tab replied. A small problem with one of the empire judge machines. I think there was deliberate sabotage. Those machines haven't gone bad in three hundred years and they're suddenly having problems? I'm supposed to believe that?

Yuh, T6 agreed. That messy little screw-up on Drove could have caused some real hostilities between Norshters and the Veep. I think that was contrived.

And Goron, of all places, had a mess starting there that could have started trouble, Kit said. It doesn't add up.

Taken individually they don't mean anything. Adding them up like this gives a much different slant to the equation, TR put in. "I'm receiving reports about screw-ups in two places on Bypass right now so Tab and Kit can come aboard and we'll go see what's happening. We'd better stay in close contact through fastcom, Maita. We can have a meeting when this is settled to see if we come to the same conclusions. Maybe we can find something to connect these problems besides the fact that there haven't been any problems for so long, now we have two or three a day.

If the judges going bad were the same age we could believe it was a defect in programming that was activated by a date or something, but one was three hundred seventeen years in use and one was less than four years in use and they don't have the same type of drive module.

The group were in room two aboard Maita. The ships hangared together in their cave on EC so Tab and Kit went out and to their ships who, immediately headed for Bypass.

Sheesh! We didn't even have time for our ain't we wonderful party yet! Z complained.

[ Yeah, Maita! We always have a little party so we can brag when we've come back from one of our little adventures! ]

*So? What should I do about it? I didn't start those reports. They've been coming in for almost a year now. They do bother me, though. I built a good number of those machines myself and know for an absolute fact they can not screw up. I'm checking it through recording central and there are no internal reports in, meaning someone's learned how to tamper with the judge machines. You know what that means?*

It's more than a little bit scary, Kurk replied. "Those machines actually run the empire. They can cause any number of disasters if they get too far off program.

"If they're not reported internally to recording central I don't suppose they can affect the empire itself – but they can learn to do exactly that if they can gimmick an individual judge. It's only a matter of time."

[ That is scary and that has to be stopped if it's a matter of some nutcase tampering with them! We should also determine how it's done so we can thwart such things in the future. ]

"What would worry me most is why anyone would do anything like that, Z mused. What's the plan? I don't think anyone wants to take over the whole empire – since the Immins. If any had survived I'm sure we would've heard of it. It's been at least a hundred and fifty years."

*No Immins for one hundred sixty six years, four months and nineteen days. I'm a bit worried about this. I think we'd better watch this situation very closely. I have a very bad feeling because it demonstrates some kind of discontent. If there is a problem with a race or group of races that leaves them feeling oppressed or discriminated against it has to be corrected. I think anyone in the empire knows my feelings about that crap.*

I’d have to agree with Z in that there doesn't seem to be any reasoning behind it, but time would show that, Kurk said. You and TAR One can handle anything anyone can throw at you. Z told me you let the Krofpth machine run things while the two of you took care of that last world. Seeing as no one even knew about it I'd say it did a hell of a good job!

[ An exceptional job if you ask me. Maita spent a major part of the past few years in redesigning a lot of its own parts and installing a lot of neat new stuff. It's giving some of it to TR and T Six. Z handled the problem on that world all by his insipid if likeable self. ]

Yeah! While you completely screwed up Kurk's whole plane! Z accused.

Only two worlds, Kurk said, tossing Thing into the air and catching it. It was limited by the fact that's all there are for it to screw up in Pluton space.

*I'm getting a report of strange doings at Ellit. Shall we investigate it while the robots are otherwise occupied? It would appear our problems are multiplying rather at a more accelerated pace all of a sudden! Maybe we can get there in time to be able to trace whoever's doing it.*

I'm ready! Kurk replied.

[ I vote yes. ]

Go for it! Z agreed.

*Prepare for IDmode!*

[ Oh, no! Not that again! ]

Chapter one

*You two know Ellit from being there so many times, but I don't think Kurk knows the place.*

I was there with T Six once helping Kit with a case, Kurk said. It's a planet a lot like Perfect Three. Maybe a little better. The Ells are a somewhat strange people. They're not classifiable in some ways, but they seemed honest. I found them interesting and funny.

[ They’re racially honest. They're fairly good craftsmen and produce a good percent of medical machinery for Hospital. They generally have truly wonderful senses of humor. They're really very intelligent. ]

They look just like Basset Hounds! Z said. They're basic mammals, same as Kurk and me. They're funny as hell and intelligent as hell at the same time. I really love those people!

*They really are a lot of fun, but we're not here on some kind of vacation so we'll want very little contact until I've read the machines and have some idea of what's going on. It seems to be some crazy plot to make the empire itself look bad – though that explanation doesn't make much sense to me either. I can't see any point. It's stupid. Why? Why would anyone do anything like that? Hurting the empire would hurt every member in it eventually. There's nothing to gain whatever and everything to lose!*

Maybe they want to run the empire themselves, Kurk suggested.

*All they'd have to do is ask! Everyone in the whole damned galaxy knows I'd like to be free of the job! It's my greatest dream to be able to turn most of the ruling crap over to TAR One and we can spend our time exploring new worlds.*

[ I have an idea. ]

Treat it kindly. It's in a very strange place, Z quipped.

[ Maita's started that 'Prepare for IDmode' warning again, and now you've reverted to your old asinine self. It looks like Kurk and I have to run things now that you two are demonstrably incompetent. ]

Hah-anh! Kurk cried. "You run things! I don't want that job anymore than Maita does!"

So do we get to hear your idea or do we have to guess? Z asked.

*I guess we'll have to hear it. Damn!*

[ You were away for more than two years and TAR One took over the empire. There was a small difference in the way things were done – a bit of regimentation that wasn't there before. We've known for centuries that the stronger a hand the emperor shows the easier it is for someone to take over. You've always remained at a very minimal control posture so there was never anything useful to seize on. Someone sees an opportunity because of the slightly increased bureaucracy. I think perhaps they want to force a stronger governing agency on the empire. From what you've been sending me about this mess I can see they're trying to make the judge machines act in a more restrictive way than before. To increase such restrictions automatically increases repressive psycho-reactions. Someone wants to use the natural resentment for purposes we can't yet know or even guess. My sociomath equations have considered this kind of thing from the first and they can be very strong incentives to alter various factors. ]

I'd think they'd try to set them up so they could get away with more, not less, Z argued. Why would they move to restrict themselves anymore? Are they cutting out any other restrictions they're hiding with new ones in other places?

*It doesn't look like it. It's only a general slight tightening of certain rules. I don't know why anymore than you do! I can't see the purpose in having the judge machines give out minimally harsher sentences for any minor transgressions, though we have to consider the fact that it increases the more serious sentences on the same ratio. Perhaps that's the aim, but it still doesn't explain why anyone would do such a thing.*

So they can take over themselves when enough of the people rebel against the pressure? Kurk asked. It's an old dodge in politics on Hades. Get the general population angered enough at the incumbent sort of thing. You get elected to straighten out the mess.

No ... that wouldn't work because there're no elected judge machines or emperors.... So they can maybe force some kind of phony inflation on markets of their choosing, Z suggested. You may be right, Thing. We were on an emerging world where the empire isn't even dreamed of and didn't know what was happening out here. I'll bet it turns out to be some kind of economic squeeze play! Remember how the Immins tried to insert economic control mechanisms? Even the Tlessarian brain tried a little of those sorts of things.

*I monitored most of the time and agree that TAR One did some things a bit differently. You were programmed originally for absolute control over the Krofpth Empire and a little of that came through the data, TAR One. I didn't think it was of enough importance to bother with because it was mostly things I wanted to do myself, but I tended to let the traders guild handle. It wasn't this wide and general, mostly drawing a more distinct line between ethics and criminality.*

TAR One is in contact? Kurk asked. Hi, Tar One!

*It was being discussed here so I opened our constant link to the conversation.*

Hello, everyone. I am as yet unused to control of such an enormous entity as the Maitan Empire and may well have tried to exhibit somewhat too much control, TAR-1 agreed over Maita's speakers.

[ You simply tried to control the greed of a very few of the traders who tend to play too close to the line between proper and improper conduct. It was probably something that should have been done from the first. It wouldn't be even the little problem it is now had it never been allowed to start. You were right. ]

The problem is that taking such control makes you suddenly responsible for one hell of a bunch of other things, Z noted. That's why we felt it was better to let the traders regulate themselves in those areas. We tried to exert a minimum pressure in a certain direction, but left it to them to do what would seem to obviously be in their own interests. If they make their own rules they become responsible for the enforcement of those rules. They end up making only rules that don't have a lot of impact on honest traders, but that put crooks out of business.

[ The outlaw worlds attract all those who want to operate outside the guild, but we've seen their own rules are a lot more restrictive than those of either the guild or empire. Honest traders trust each other. The outlaws don’t! They know better! That also works in everyone's best interest in the sociomath if only because the shifting of responsibility from any agency tends to limit the blame that can be laid on that desk. ]

I still have much to learn, TAR-1 agreed. The rules are withdrawn to their former extent, but there may be some lasting damage.

*We made many such errors as we built the empire. I'm going to enforce the rules between the laxness I showed and the more structured rules you enforced. The laws were always there, we just didn't enforce them until they reached a certain point. You erred in tightening the system a bit too much, but I erred in not tightening it enough. I don't think there's any lasting damage. It served