The Long Weekend

By Scott C. Anderson

David Soto, supervisor for a large offworld mining concern, was saddled with mining a primitive planet alone. His intentions were good when he decided to “progress” a native culture that could not speak.
Over fifty thousand years later, this civilization struggled to make sense of their heritage.
Archeologists discover the remnants of this once proud people, who were removed by David Soto so long ago. In current times, with people unable to deal with the idea that they were not alone in the universe, Dr. Roman Santino and his group will try to make sense of history in these troubled times.
Written for all ages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329774957

Book preview

The Long Weekend

By Scott C. Anderson

This is a book of fiction. Characters, places, names, theories, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to persons, alive or dead, along with their events or locations is purely coincidental.

Disclaimer:  My stories are written in a conversational style. The actions within this adventure are written in a conversational style from an alien perspective.  Phrases, expressions, wording and grammar may suffer during the translation.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Second Edition

© 2015, 2022 by Scott C. Anderson. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-329-77495-7

A long weekend

David Soto needed a vacation.  The length of time didn’t matter, just as long as he went somewhere, anywhere.  David sat in his mining saucer, looked out at the green grass of the building’s expansive rear yard, and reviewed his life. 

For David, duties and responsibilities seemed to come easy to the young man.  He was finally thirty years old and lived his life alone, but was never lonely.  As a Mining Supervisor for Kohli Material and Supply, David was one of the few people who actually enjoyed his job.  Unfortunately, that was not the case with so many of his coworkers. 

The Pel civilization flourished on the blue-water planet in the SevenOne Solar System.  Advanced as any known race, and more advanced than most, the Pel strictly controlled planetary offworld traffic.  His position, his duties and title, offered the man an opportunity for an unlimited amount of offworld travel.

Today, David was angry.  He didn’t want to mine by himself on this particular world and actually expected at least one of his supporters to join him.  But this was the way of things and David consciously fought his disappointment.  If corporate was willing to trust him with this job, as no one else would step up, then he would tackle it alone. 

Taking one last look, David checked his onboard systems.  This Palatial-Class Miner, designated with a number series that included thirty-one characters, was old but recently serviced and somewhat updated.  The onboard robotic miners were state of the art, but the ship itself, a large saucer that resembled a big black hockey puck, was over one-hundred and sixty years old.  Weapons and shielding were considered modern and adequate, even if the saucer had an old-world charm about it.  David wouldn’t waste a minute wondering if he was given the worst ship in the fleet.

The call from the central operator was expected.  He was required to obtain final clearance to lift from the surface and track his prearranged route.  This was a standard procedure and David acknowledged the call. 

David waited for the image to clear.  Luckily it was Jasmine.  Hi Jasmine.  How’ve you been?

Bored and stored in a dark little room.  How about you?  The twenty-two-year-old woman brushed aside her luxurious long brown hair.

I’m alone.  Route is confirmed and systems’ check performed.  Return time is also confirmed.  It’ll be nice to get back home.  Thanks.  David added the thanks part, simply because she always treated him well.

Understood.  I’ll be on and off for the next week and a half.  You get into trouble, you call me.  Thanks.  Jasmine genuinely liked David.  She liked the way he treated her.  He wasn’t required to be respectful, but it helped.

David closed the call and again checked his onboard systems.  He acknowledged several confirmations for everything from environmental to predesigned route, to estimated time on the job.  The saucer rose from the landing pad.  Within moments the saucer broke free from the gravity of SevenOne.  The last brief tug of atmosphere signaled the change in the gravity engines. 

Free and in open space, the Palatial Miner rotated slightly against the never-ending starfield, and then shot off at an incredible speed.  The straight-line drive to the SevenNineThree system would take thirty-nine hours of travel time.  This was an arduously long trip, which probably explained why David was left to perform this operation alone. 

Taking one last look at the onboard systems, all seemed to be working perfectly.  The forward shielding produced a cone shaped protective screen that would either push or alter course to avoid asteroids or debris in the flightpath.  For larger planetary bodies, the onboard systems would adjust course to avoid collisions at speeds that could easily disable the saucer. 

Per his habit, David closed the forward window covers.  He saw little benefit in tempting fate.  Few miners were comfortable with traveling this fast for thirty-nine hours.  And, it wasn’t that David was fearless, but the young man held a faith in his onboard systems that few could match. 

Falling asleep in his stateroom, another personal habit on long trips, David fell into a series of dreams.  The last dream involved adventure and gold; lots of adventure and tons of gold.  The details were sketchy as David was awakened by the soft chimes of the navigation systems.  Safely in his bunk, David asked for a status.  A popup screen, three feet wide by two feet tall, appeared next to his bunk.  The systems detected a UFO.

The presentation displayed an unidentified flying object keeping pace with the saucer for only a few moments.  Quickly falling behind, the object or ship continued to try and keep up.  Unusual readings were detected and the navigation systems instructed the saucer to double its speed, rapidly leaving the unidentified ship far behind. 

This scenario was not unusual.  It was the readings from the ship that would not identify itself and did not produce a ship’s registry that caught the interest of the onboard systems.  The saucer’s last option was to wake David and request information or direction, with the possibility that this was a known entity to the pilot that was not shared with the ship.

David replayed the presentation and examined the readings.  The UFO could have been trying to communicate, or was in preparation to fire weapons, it was hard to tell. 

Knowing that his onboard systems were intelligent, David requested that he be alerted to any detection of this specific UFO signature.  The standard staff of a Palatial Miner was either three or four, depending upon the assignment.  The load requirements of this operation recommended a minimum of three crewmembers. 

Yawning and thinking, David decided to go back to sleep.  He had a few more hours of down time, and decided to make the best use of his time.

The approach-scan of SevenNineThree held very few surprises.  There were tribes of humans, an assortment of animals and birds throughout the continent, and an equal variety of creatures living in the oceans.  The human population were considered a backward people, pre-tool, and with limited communication capabilities.  David’s only interest was that the locals wouldn’t bother him while he mined their planet.

Reaching the limits of the upper atmosphere, the saucer had already switched to planetary gravity.  Dropping through the atmosphere at a predetermined pace, the saucer would slowly descend from the heavens.  Heat buildup was completely avoided at this speed, which also allowed for active and precise scanning.

This time David opened the window covers and watched the world grow bigger.  This blue-water world seemed safe and familiar.  The chosen continent had patches of slight cloud cover but sat in the sunlight.  The sun reached out to this area of the globe, filling the mountains and prairies with a new day. 

David’s schedule would keep him on planet for four days.  This wasn’t bad duty, but it was isolated.  Thinking more about it, this really wouldn’t be as bad as he imagined.  Sitting back in his chair, David allowed the landscape to reach out and greet him.

David spoke softly to his onboard systems.  The mining operation would start in less than an hour.  David’s behavioral and detection systems indicated that the local clan or tribe of humans would continue their activities, oblivious to David’s presence.  This was good news.

SevenNineThree was a known inhabited treasure planet, even if the indigenous peoples were unaware of the riches buried deep within their world.  During his last briefing, David was told that the local population would give him no trouble, and on rare occasions, would even help with the mining of specific ores and elements.

The isolation of a lone miner was something that David appreciated on this trip.  Had he been included in the office politics, then he may have felt differently.  He was frequently left out because he was well liked, and also not subject to playing the games that others found so entertaining.

The saucer soft landed and extended its fourteen landing feet.  Each would accommodate the saucer’s considerable weight and self-level.  The saucer made no noise and was completely silent if viewed from outside the ship. 

Stepping into the parking garage, David looked at the various pieces of robotic mining equipment.  Silent and efficient, the nearby control panel became aware of his presence.  Indicating a prepared state, the onboard systems needed only his confirmation to proceed.  Choosing to give a physical response, David walked to the panel and pressed a highlighted key. 

With the suddenness of cold efficiency, the bots began to come to life.  Cylindrical and blue, the body of each bot wore a simple art deco design of chrome and a composite that was a glossy-blue.  Harkening back to an ancient steam design, the bots’ articulated arms, and rotating head and face, provided David with interaction and amusement.  Floating from their docking frames, each bot lined-up for the operation.

The two rear garage doors parted at the center and swung out on massive hinges.  The large twenty-foot-tall doors swung completely out as the access ramp rolled out and lowered into position.

Next to the garage doors, on David’s right, the eighteen-foot-tall digger began to power up and come to life.  Contained within its own garage, the digger backed out and floated from the saucer. 

Looking around the green-grass valley, the local humans, about twenty, scurried from the ship.  Equipment began to pull out and move away from the saucer.  The locals had nothing to fear, as the intelligent bots could interact with the humans, ensuring their safety.

David continued to watch the four brave ones.  That was the name he had given them, the brave ones.  Curious and daring, the two males and two females watched the tracking of the massive digger as it headed toward the base of the mountain.  The army of bots moved from the saucer and followed the digger.  The brave ones followed the digger and bots, as the garage doors began to close.

The digger floated one foot above the ground as it slowed to confront the face of the rocky mountain.  The business end of the digger turned towards the base of the mountain in preparation to enter.  From David’s vantage point, all he could see was the back of his equipment, with the curious brave ones keeping a safe distance.

The low whining sound from the digger only meant that the field generation was in progress.  Projected out and into the mountain, an initial clear cylindrical scan and field was created.  The preliminary scans indicated deposit locations and estimated yields.  The second field, a barely visible distortion in front of the digger, then pushed into the mountain wall.

Silent and efficient, the wall collapsed as solid rock and earth were realigned to a beige dust.  Returning the solid material to its original atomic form, the mounds of sifted beige dust began to cascade out of the curved hole in the mountain.  A flat floor was provided for ease of entry.

Two cleaner bots, about the size of a standard coffee table, moved in to work their part of the operation.  The cobalt blue cleaner bots installed a track, a piece of yellow flexible rope that led from the mouth of the newly-formed cave to an area several hundred yards away from the site.  The flexible robe solidified and hung four feet in the air.  Each cleaner bot then created a distortion field between the bot and the flexible rope. 

Moving in and around the mounds of beige dust, the distortion field attracted the material and guided it towards the end of the flexible rope.  Following the guide, the soft beige dust moved along the track, surrounding the solid line, until it literally reached the end of its rope.  Falling from the field, the steady stream of material would deposit away from the mining site and provide only mounds of dust.

David wanted a firsthand look at the progress.  Speaking to the onboard systems, the right rear cargo door opened and David stepped from the saucer and walked down the ramp. 

The local clan kept away from David and his ship, as he walked through the green-grass valley in the bright sunshine.  The only interference, if you could call it that, was from the brave ones.  The four humans followed at a safe and respectable distance, and never interfered with David’s progress.  David made eye contact with each of the four humans.  Oddly, he felt no fear. 

The digger had moved into the newly-formed cavern with only the smooth backside visible.  The cleaner bots had extended the rope track, as material continued to flow from the work site. 

Stopping and turning, David checked to see if the brave ones were still with him.  The group of four also stopped, with expressions that appeared to say that they were intentionally keeping their distance.  They weren’t hiding from him, and they only appeared to want to know what he was doing and what was going on. 

Deciding to initiate contact, David spoke slowly and clearly.  Are you interested in what I’m doing?

Each male and one of the females returned with a grunting sound, similar to an acknowledgement.

Stay here.  This is not safe.  David motioned toward the cave.  The similar grunting response gave David the impression that they could understand him.  But, with duties and a schedule, David nodded and then turned back to his work.  Leaving the group behind, David entered the cavern. 

David walked the smooth floor for about fifteen yards, and then the temporary overhead lighting came on.  The equipment didn’t need lighting, as the convenience was installed for David’s benefit. 

Reaching the digger, David said, Show me the progress. 

The large smooth backside of the digger swung open from left to right.  The rear storage area of the digger was beginning to fill.  Plates, one foot thick by three feet square, began to fill the cargo area.  Gold, silver, and other elements were processed for ease of storage.  Various colors filled the hold, but gold was the brightest and most obvious.

A popup viewscreen, three feet tall by two feet wide, was provided for David’s inspection.  The list of material and weights were on schedule.  David saw the requested amounts listed on the left, with the actual mined amounts on the right.  This was good work. 

David’s mental images of appreciation appeared to be detected and then filtered throughout the family of bots.  Several of the digger’s extended ore pullers, also about the size of a coffee table and with articulated arms, noticed the presence of the Pel citizen.

The digger then mentally communicated with David.  The intelligent machine indicated that he was the most appreciative human that this series of equipment had encountered.  The digger meant this comment as a compliment, and then returned to its duties.

David was actually a little surprised, as he didn’t feel he was doing anything out of the ordinary.  Very few Pel were able to easily communicate with the mining equipment, so David also took this as both a compliment and an achievement. 

Since childhood, David had been brought up and believed in respecting all forms of life, whether organic or manufactured.  This comment made David turn to look out to the mouth of the cave.  The brave ones were still looking in, but not crossing the threshold of the mineshaft. 

Originally feeling alone, David now felt that he had a receptive robotic workforce, and a local human audience.  This was becoming an interesting mission.  At least that’s the way he began to look at his situation.

David couldn’t get over how he had been tricked into taking on this mining operation.  Originally, Ricky Soames was supposed to lead this group of three miners as he was to oversee the operation.  Ricky apparently had made other arrangements, as did Linda and Jarrod, the couple that was supposed to accompany Ricky.  The last-minute change of plans appeared orchestrated, as though they didn’t have the decency to come out with the request ahead of time.

Without hesitation, David began to walk around the digger as he stepped in front of the massive machine.  The removal of waste material slowed and then stopped as the digger recognized David’s presence.  The human’s safety was the digger’s first concern.

Continue.  The single-word instruction from David was all the digger needed to continue. 

The very large cavern was now over a thousand feet into the mountain.  Originally very hot, the digger provided an air-conditioned and oxygen-rich environment for David. 

Mounds of raw material and ropes of glistening elements shimmered in the temporary lighting.  The cleaner bots continued with their chores, but looked to David from time to time.  The slightly larger bots, the ore pullers, were busy detecting the specific ore or element, surrounding it with a suspension field, and guiding the load toward the digger. 

The lower section of the digger would accept and then process each ore or element.  Nothing was wasted, as the digger and processor could reduce, separate, and then process the laundry list of materials. 

Originally believing he was too jaded for this type of work; David saw the simplicity in the mining process and the tireless work of the robotic workforce.  This was impressive, whether anyone else thought it was didn’t matter to David.  These bots were working harder than anyone, or anything, he had ever encountered.

Apparently, this sense of appreciation didn’t go unnoticed, as bot after bot appeared to be reading David.  The Pel civilization had recently passed its fifty-thousand-year cycle.  The Pel civilization, his civilization, grew to accept a world devoid of toil and strife.  Other human societies may still be stuck with the inability to progress forward, but the Pel continued to plod along and improve.

Feeling uncomfortable, David turned around.  The brave ones were standing in the mineshaft, next to the digger.  Are we feeling brave?  David didn’t expect an answer.  Surprisingly, all four nodded in agreement. 

David couldn’t get angry.  If they could speak, then they would have told him, but their language imagery indicated that they were merely curious and meant no harm.  Without irritation, David said, It is dangerous in here.  Each of the four held up their hands, waist high and palms out, indicating that they understand and would leave.

David said, Wait!  The four froze.  In a pack hanging from his right hip, David reached in and found a package of crackers.  The Pel mostly ate a thick two-inch square cracker that contained all the nutrients the body needed.  David wasn’t experimenting, but believed that these people had difficulty obtaining food.  He removed a package of crackers, each package held twenty-five crackers, and handed a single cracker to each of the brave ones.

The males and females didn’t know what to do with the small light-brown square.  David took one and placed it in his mouth.  He was hungry anyway, and this was as good a demonstration as he could provide.  Following his lead, each took the cracker and ate it.  Looks of satisfaction were followed by nods of appreciation.

As the Pel cracker was very filling, David handed each male and female two more crackers.  Appreciative and nodding, each took two more crackers and quickly ate them.  David didn’t know it, but the humans were very hungry. 

The tallest male motioned toward the pack of crackers.  He then pointed outside with his right hand.  David’s language imagery indicated that the male was asking for more food for his people.  At first, David believed that the four were acting independently of the group.  David found it surprising that the three others were nodding towards the taller male in agreement, and were actually concerned for their people instead of just helping themselves.

The service pack that David carried was supplied with two packs of crackers.  David handed the remainder of the first pack to the male, and then opened the second pack and also handed it to the male.  With open hands, David indicated that that was all he had with him.  The four nodded and then backed from the mineshaft. 

Once again alone, David looked to the rectangular black sensor panel of the digger.  He said, I think I’ve just about seen everything.  The digger didn’t respond, but did internally acknowledge the statement.  David nodded to the machine.  He was finished with his inspection and said, Continue.  Call if you run into anything unusual.  The low chime meant that the digger understood David’s instruction.

Stepping out of the mineshaft and into the sunshine, David looked around.  The brave ones had dropped the empty packages to the ground.  The group of twenty stood at a safe distance and began moving up and down, as if bowing.  Each member moved, as if each had been fed.

Not knowing what else to do, David bowed in return.  This apparently sat well with the group, who mimicked his actions.  David made eye contact with the brave ones, but they and the group continued to stand at a safe distance.  David continued toward the saucer and the access ramp.  The onboard systems detected his approach and right rear cargo door opened.

Walking to the bridge of the saucer, David made himself a cup of coffee.  The procedure to make coffee wasn’t difficult, but it was relaxing.  Sitting and sipping, David had created a viewscreen for the status of the mining operation.  He then created a second screen and confirmed the creation of several pieces of machinery.

Change

On the third day, David awoke early.  He had been dreaming again and desperately wanted to remember all of the details.  Giving up, he showered and prepared himself for the day. 

The status screen on his bridge console indicated that the cargo hold was almost complete at seventeen tons of gold.  The other ores and elements were also nearing their completion weights and measurements.  This was good work.

Checking his manufacturing screen, David saw that the device to be left behind was ready.  After briefly checking his mail, and finding nothing new or of value, David headed to the parking garage. 

The device David had created was a simple tool used for construction.  About the size of an automobile, the rectangular creator sat on a floating pallet.  David would move the device to an open field near a grove of trees.  The floating pallet, primarily used for the movement of cargo and machinery, followed David as he walked out of the saucer. 

David had pre-scanned the open field.  The creator would