A Problem in Translation

By J Alan Erwine

Humanity's first contact with an alien species, the Lemec, is complicated by the fact that the aliens don't use an entirely verbal language...not only that, but the other aliens in their "domain" seem to worship the Lemec as some type of gods, and as they seem to anticipate every move that Captain Shiro Takahashi and his crew make, humanity begins to think that maybe the other aliens know something that they don't.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J Alan Erwine
• Release date: Mar 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463471098

J Alan Erwine

J Erwine was born Oct. 15, 1969 in Akron, Ohio. Early in his life he was exposed to science, and specifically astronomy. From there on, J's passion turned to science fiction, a passion that's never died. Due to family issues, J eventually found himself in Denver, Colorado, where he still lives (well, right outside now.) From the time he could put subject and predicate together on paper, J has been writing stories. None of those early stories exist anymore (thankfully), but that passion for writing has never waned. After several years of rejection, the story Trek for Life was eventually sold to ProMart Writing Lab editor James Baker. It wasn't Asimov's, but it was a start. Since that time J has sold more than forty short stories to various small press publishers. In addition ProMart also published a short story collection of J's entitled Lowering One's Self Before Fate, and other stories, which is still available. ProMart also published a novel from J entitled The Opium of the People, which sold a few copies before going out of print. The relevance of the novel after the events of September 11th caused J to self-publish the novel, as he felt the story had a lot to say in the new reality we now find ourselves living in. Now, this same book has been re-released by Nomadic Delirium Press. Eventually J would become an editor with ProMart. Then, after the untimely death of ProMart editor James Baker, J would move on to ProMart's successor Sam's Dot Publishing. J also spends most of his time working as a freelance writer and editor. J's novel was voted a top ten finisher in the 2003 annual Preditors & Editors contest, and his short story The Galton Principle won a ProMart contest for best story over 5,000 words. In addition, a number of his stories have been voted "best of" in various issue of The Martian Wave and The Fifth DI… and have been included in Wondrous Web Worlds Vols. 2, 3, 4, and 6. In 2009, the Ephemeris Role Playing Game was released. J is the co-creator of this game, and has written numerous supplements for the game. J has now sold three novels and four short story collections, all of which are still available from various sources, including Smashwords. J currently lives with his amazing wife, three wonderful children, three cats, and a very quiet turtle.

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A Problem in Translation

By J Alan Erwine

Published by J Alan Erwine at Smashwords

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Original Copyright 2012 by Sam’s Dot Publishing

Current Copyright 2020 by J Alan Erwine

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without the written consent of the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passes in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, broadcast, etc.

For my amazing wife, Rebecca, and for my three wonderful daughters: Eryn, Juliah, and Alexis. You make me want to be more than I’ve ever been, and I’m so thankful all of you are in my life.

Introduction to this Version

This novel was first published by Sam’s Dot Publishing, and it was based on a short story that was originally published in Alternate Realities. In fact, that story basically became the first chapter of the novel. I later came back to this universe, and wrote a story that was published in Hadrosaur Tales. That story basically became the second chapter of the novel. Eventually, the entire story came together for me, and I can tell you that writing this novel was an unbelievably enjoyable experience, and I was constantly reminded why I wanted to be a writer.

Like my first two novels, I’m rereleasing this book I’m now striving to be more of an independent author because to be blunt, I can now make more money publishing independently than I can publishing with the small presses. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the small press. They give you so much freedom, and I am very grateful for all that they’ve done for my career, but now it’s time for me to strike out on my own and do my own thing. I guess I’m growing up, but please don’t tell anyone…

I’ve gotten so much positive feedback on this book, with many people asking me to write a sequel to it, and it’s definitely something that I’m considering. I’ve also had people request that I create a role playing game based on this universe. The idea is definitely intriguing, and I would be open to doing it, provided I could find the time, which means fewer hours at the real job, which isn’t likely to happen at any point in the very near future.

Hope you enjoy this novel as much as I enjoyed writing it.

J Alan Erwine

February 27, 2020

CHAPTER ONE

The Astrid translated out of hyperspace into an uncharted star system. Captain Shiro Takahashi and his crew had come to the system to harvest hydrogen from the gas giant their mass spectrometers told them had to be there. Fuel was running low, and they weren’t sure how many more systems they’d be able to check before they ran so low that they’d have to return to the Earth system.

The planet is orbiting at nine AUs as expected, Brenna Kincaid said from her position at the helm. Size is two point five Jupiters. Chemical make-up similar. She turned and faced the captain at his control console near the back of the bridge. Should be an easy refueling, she said.

Brenna had the kind of smile that lit up her face, the kind of smile that Captain Takahashi always got lost in. She had sandy blonde hair, and most people would have said she was a few kilos too heavy, but it didn’t matter to Takahashi. Every time she smiled at him, the universe narrowed to focus only on her.

Trying not to think about Brenna, he nodded, stroking his thin mustache, and trying to keep his mind on his work. Good. You know the procedures. The viewscreen quickly showed the fiery plasma of the ship’s entry into the planet’s atmosphere.

Satisfied that the fueling was beginning, he turned to Quent Regget at the communications console. Quent, send by ansible to Earth that we’re refueling and preparing to proceed to Beta Ceti. Expect to leave system within forty hours.

Quent nodded. There was little formality aboard the Astrid. They’d spent more than two years together and discipline had become lax. Everyone knew their job, and everyone did their job. It was that simple.

Takahashi watched as Quent attached the AI connection to the neural shunt in his temple. The shunt was a small nodule that had been surgically implanted into Quent’s brain years earlier, and even after all this time, it still made Takahashi shudder every time he looked at it, or every time he saw Quent plugging himself into the ship’s system. It was hard for him to imagine someone wanting to wire themselves to a computer system, even if the wiring wasn’t permanent, but it did make for much faster communications between man and machine. Even so, it wasn’t something Takahashi was planning on doing any time soon.

Quent was tall, and muscular with a perfect smile and vid-star good looks that made most of the women of the crew act like idiots. Takahashi always found that funny, because he knew it was the same kind of effect that Brenna had on him.

The crew busied itself around Takahashi, and he watched their progress from the monitor at his console, occasionally stopping to watch the swirling clouds of the gas giant churning around his ship.

The refueling went as expected. The ship passed through the upper reaches of the gas giant’s atmosphere, drawing hydrogen into its massive fuel tanks; breaking orbit thirty-three hours after fueling had started.

Fueling complete, First Officer Inessa Alexandrova said from her chair beside Captain Takahashi. Inessa stretched regulations by wearing her hair long and unrestrained. He’d always thought that she had the most beautiful hair he’d ever seen. It was straight and black as midnight, hanging three quarters of the way down her back. Where most people would say Brenna could stand to lose a few kilos, Takahashi always thought that Inessa could stand to gain a few. She was far too thin, but still muscular, and even if people had never heard her name, her face made it very clear that she was from the Russian Consortium.

He had a good crew, and they always did their jobs, and he was proud of them as a slight smile crossed his face. Good, he said. Prepare to translate back to hyperspace.

Brenna Kincaid nodded her understanding from her seat at the helm before she turned and began the necessary calculations to return the ship to hyperspace. Takahashi watched as she was verifying the AI’s calculations, but her face suddenly twisted into a frown. Captain Takahashi, she said, and then paused. I have an anomalous gravitational signature. It’s on an approach vector, she finally managed to say.

That was something he’d never heard before. He wondered if it might be a stray asteroid that none of them had picked up on sensors. Can you be more specific? he finally asked.

She called up a visual display of the object on her console, and Takahashi watched as she suddenly grew very still, only her hands trembling. There’s a ship approaching at roughly .2C.

The bridge grew silent. We don’t have any other ships out here, the captain finally said, unnecessarily.

It’s not one of ours, Brenna replied. The bridge remained silent while she called up a display on the main view screen. The unidentified ship wasn’t much more than a large cylinder with several protuberances, which Captain Takahashi could only guess at the significance of. He just hoped that none of them were weapons.

It’s an alien ship, Quent finally said, although it hardly seemed necessary.

No one answered until the captain began to snap his fingers in Quent’s direction. After five snaps, he got his voice back. Quent, send the greeting.

Quent nodded, putting his index finger against his neural shunt as he tried to direct the ship’s AI to do something none of them had ever thought they’d do. No response, sir.

Are you sure?

I’m scanning all frequencies.

Captain, Inessa shouted. I’ve got an energy surge headed towards us.

What kind of energy? Takahashi asked, his voice much louder than he’d intended.

It’s…it looks like a deuterium plasma at an energy level of two million kilojoules.

Brenna, take evasive action, Takahashi shouted louder than he needed to.

The helmsperson did everything she could to avoid the energy blast. The ship vibrated harshly as it tried to move out of the way of the intense energy. Takahashi grabbed the armrests of his chair, trying to hold on against the shifting gravities as the ship’s artificial gravity system tried to compensate for the unexpected maneuvers.

As the deuterium plasma passed, it became obvious that the aliens had intended to miss them. The blast passed more than two hundred kilometers from their original position, which wasn’t much different than their current position. Things tend to happen slowly in space, even with massive ion engines like the Astrid had.

Sir, I’ve got something, Quent shouted. They’re broadcasting X-rays. I even have visual.

The captain took a deep breath. Let’s see it.

The image of an alien flashed onto the view screen. The creature had a brownish green bulbous body that was nearly circular except for a slight protrusion at the top of the body. There were what looked like sensory organs of some kind mounted on the bulge. The creature also had six multi-jointed limbs protruding from its body. The torso rested on three of the limbs, which formed a tripod beneath the creature. It was covered in shimmering scales that seemed to not touch the body. It might have been clothing, or it could have had any other purpose. Takahashi had no way of knowing.

Can you make out anything they’re saying? Inessa asked. Takahashi could hear the strain in her voice; something he’d never heard before.

Quent shook his head. The AI’s working on it. His normal jovial smile was gone.

Send our greeting back to them on the same frequency, the captain said. Hopefully they won’t fire at us again.

After thirty seconds more of sending messages at each other, the translator aboard the Astrid began to sort out the words of the aliens. Unknown/ Aggressive/ Violent ship, you are violating/ intruding upon/ stealing the territory/ realm/ property of the Lemec. What are your intentions/ aggressions/ actions? The brownish green shading of the shimmering scales seemed to be changing as it spoke.

Captain Takahashi shook his head and looked at Quent. Is this the best the AI can do?

Quent shrugged.

Is this the way the creatures speak, or is it a flaw in the translation programs? Takahashi asked.

I don’t know, sir. This is the first alien I’ve ever tried to communicate with. Quent’s smile was nervous; a definite change from the annoying but endearing grin he usually gave people.

The captain glared at his communications officer. Get on the ansible and update Earth. I want communications at my control.

Yes, sir, Quent responded crisply. The bridge of the Astrid had taken on a level of formality it hadn’t had in years, possibly since they first left Earth.

Alien ship, we had no idea we were in your space. We have not had contact with any other species. We are not aggressive.

There was a five-second delay before the alien responded. This is not/ is Lemec space.

The captain looked around the bridge, but no one seemed to understand the alien’s message any better than he did.

You have attacked/ stolen/ raped the Vintho.

Takahashi stared at the view screen for several seconds. I’m sorry, but we are having trouble understanding you. We may be having trouble with our translator. What are Vintho?

The Vintho are in/ on/ of the planet.

Lifeforms? Inessa asked from beside him. She began a scan of the planet. After twenty seconds, she shook her head and looked at Captain Takahashi. There were tears wreathing her eyes, and he’d never seen her frown like she now was. Sir, there seems to be an organization in some of the hydrogen and helium in the planet’s atmosphere. It’s possible there are lifeforms down there.

Captain Takahashi sat back in his chair and shook his head. And we just scooped them up for fuel.

Inessa nodded.

The captain turned back to the alien. Are you Lemec, or is your species Lemec?

We are Lemec. I am Birnea. We are the protectors/ saviors/ guardians of the Vintho and others/ many/ all (?). The shimmering scales darkened.

Captain Takahashi began to rub his temples. This is beginning to give me a headache.

You are new/ different/ dangerous to us. We wish to know/ find/ absorb more about you.

That at least seemed somewhat promising to Takahashi. We would like to know more about you, as well.

Your ship is capable of hyperspace/ trans-dimensional space/ (untranslatable)?

The captain shrugged. Yes.

Will you return to our homeworld with us?

A straight translation. Inessa said. That worries me.

The captain nodded his agreement, as he silenced the communications pick-up. He took a moment to survey the bridge. A dozen concerned faces looked back at him. He knew that his next decision could change the universe as he knew it, but more importantly, it could kill his crew. Still, he didn’t feel that he had much choice. This is a once in a lifetime chance, he said to the crew. We have to take it.

Inessa nodded, but she frowned at the same time. I hope this won’t be a mistake.

Takahashi tried to smile at her before he turned back to the view screen and turned the communications system back on. We will return to your homeworld with you.

I have the coordinates, Brenna said. They sent them straight to my console.

The captain nodded, trying not to look alarmed. Now wasn’t the time to worry his crew, but it seemed that the aliens knew more about them than they were letting on, and that didn’t seem possible, but what could he do about it? Not much, he realized. Matters now seemed to be going in a direction he felt he’d have very few choices in.

*

The homeworld of the Lemec was only four light years from the star system that held the Vintho homeworld. The Astrid translated out of hyperspace less than two AUs from the Lemec homeworld, high above the ecliptic, and immediately began to fire its engines for orbital insertion.

The Lemec named Birnea immediately appeared on the view screen, or at least they guessed it was Birnea. Is your ship/ shell capable of landing/ joining with our world?

No, the captain said. We have a special craft for landing.

The Lemec made a strange gesture with two of its prehensile arms or tentacles and the view screen flashed off. Any guesses on what that gesture meant? the captain asked. He didn’t get a reply, nor had he expected one. Inessa, what can you tell me about the planet?

Inessa inspected the displays on her console and began to read off a string of information. .93 AU from its primary, which is a G5 star. Radius and mass of the planet are slightly higher than Earth’s. Density is lower. Gravity is almost equivalent to Earth’s; at least it’s close enough that we wouldn’t notice a difference anyway. She scratched her temple as she studied the information. Rotation period of less than twenty-two hours. Water makes up nearly eighty percent of the surface area. Atmosphere is predominantly nitrogen and oxygen at near Earth sea-level pressure. I would guess we could breathe it, but probably not for long. Too much oxygen.

You’d guess? Captain Takahashi asked, trying not to frown. Now would not be a good time to start showing any kind of disfavor towards his crew. I need something a little better than a guess.

Of course, sir, Inessa said, scrutinizing the console more closely. We can definitely breathe it, but like I said, not for long. I’d imagine you’d develop a rather nasty case of euphoria after a while.

Captain Takahashi grunted his understanding, stroking his thin mustache. Maybe the high oxygen levels were why the aliens were so hard to understand…they were all a little spacey perhaps.

The alien appeared on the view screen again. Unknown/ aggressive/ violent ship, you will send a ship/ envoy/ victim to the surface now.

Captain Takahashi stared at the screen. He silenced the audio pick-up and turned to his crew. I don’t like the sound of this. Quent, can’t you get a better translation for me?

Quent shrugged. I don’t think it’s the translator. I think it’s their language.

Takahashi resisted the urge to throw his hands in the air. That’s insane. How can any species survive with such a vague language?

Quent shrugged again.

It was rhetorical, Captain Takahashi mumbled.

He looked at each of his crew. There’s a big difference between an envoy and a victim, he said. I’m not sure I’m comfortable being either one, but I won’t ask any of you to go. I’ll do it."

Sir, Inessa said, suddenly standing. You shouldn’t leave the ship.

Captain Takahashi just stared at her.

You’ll need a pilot, sir, she said in a quieter voice.

We can’t both go, Inessa. You’ll have to stay.

Then I volunteer, Brenna said, standing up.

Thank you, Brenna. I was hoping you might. Quent, we’ll check in every half-hour, and make sure you’re reporting everything that happens back to Earth. If anything goes wrong, I want them to be able to fix it.

Yes, sir.

*

Humidity was the first thing Captain Takahashi noticed upon landing on the Lemec homeworld. The planet obviously held a great deal more moisture than Earth. Water seemed to drip from everything. The second thing he noticed was the smell of smoke, obviously from the fires they’d seen on their descent through the atmosphere. Several of what looked like forests seemed to be burning. He’d counted more than a dozen of them. None were close enough to threaten the city they’d landed in, but it didn’t seem like it would take much for them to expand. His light-headedness quickly told him that oxygen was overly abundant.

He and Brenna descended the landing craft’s ladder and didn’t move once they were on the ground. The planet was green; more shades of green assaulted their eyes than either of them had ever seen before. Large green tree-like plants rose all around them.