Terralanology: Starting at the Top

By Jonathan Feinstein

The start of a new series based in the universe of "The Terralano Venture." this series will follow the adventures of Relani Di Lasai and her students as they attempt to conduct an archaeological expedition on a failed colony world. However, coming up with the idea of such an expedition turns out to be the easiest part as they first deal with legal issues and then the world in question itself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781300027867

Book preview

Terralanogy:

Starting at the Top

by

Jonathan Edward Feinstein

Copyright © 2021 by Jonathan E. Feinstein

All Rights Reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Megafilk Press, Jonathan E. Feinstein, 923 Drift Road, Westport, MA 02790

Cover art: Bronze Age stone rows at Merrivale, Devon. Public domain photo attributed to Canon LEGRIA HF G25. Date unknown.

ISBN: 978-1-300-02786-7

Stories by Jonathan Edward Feinstein

Gaenor’s Quest

The Red Light of Dawn

The Black Clouds of Noon

The Rainbow of Dusk

The Cold Clear Skies of Midnight

Gaenor’s Prophecy

Signs of Change

Corrected Visions

Inspired Dreams

A New World Revealed

The Maiyim Stories:

The Maiyim Tetralogy

World of Water

Men of the Earth

Island of Fire

Gods of the Air

Three Stories of Maiyim

  A Deadly Union

  An Interesting Title

  A Shattered Family

Ars Nova Magica (and related side stories)

The Maiyim Bourne

The Staff of Aritos

  A Promising Career

  A Fine Adventure

The Tears of Methis

  Freshman Orientation

The Book of Candle

  Dry Dock

Ars Scientiaque Magicae

Unexpected Reactions

Hypothetical Notions

Theoretical Bases

  Lift Off!

Required Components

Experimental Proofs

Desired Results

The Terralano Venture

Agree to Disagree

By the Light of the Silvery Moons

There Goes the Neighborhood

Teralanology

Starting at the Top

Stuck in the Middle (Forthcoming)

Tales of a Dyslexic Wizard

Spelling Disabled

Rede-ing Disabled

Down Time, Ltd.

Down Time

Taking Time

Time Out

Show Time!

Double Time

A Plethora of Deities

Downhill All the Way

In the Sky with Diamonds

The Seed

The Tree

Tempting the Fates

Teasing the Furies

Inspiring the Muses

Dancing with the Sphinx: Waltz

Dancing with the Sphinx: Tango

Dancing with the Sphinx: Foxtrot

Chasing Rainbows

The Care and Feeding of Your Elder God

Stacking the Deck: Jokers

Stacking the Deck: Aces (Forthcoming)

The Wayfarers

A Land without Borders

A World without a Name

A Nation without Maps

A Country without Unity

A Continent without Form

An Ocean without Charts

An Empire without Order

An Island without a Shore

The Pirates of Pangaea

An Accidental Alliance

The Unscheduled Mission

A Planned Improvisation

The Forced Alternative

Other Stories

Elf Alert!

A Study in Ethnology

Off on a Tangent

Author’s Forward

Where to start?

Well, first of all the Covid-19 Pandemic really threw me off, writing-wise. Happily, I am fully vaccinated and, through cautious behavior I did not contract the disease (so far), but my writing very much depends on routine and routine was not something I have had an abundance of in the last year. I’m, ready to get started on writing more stories, but at the moment I need to plot them before I can write them.

Another blow to my usual daytime routines was the fact that my sister and I have been taking care of our father, who remains fairly healthy, but does need help and will be celebrating his 100th birthday a month from when I am writing this.

In any case, I hope to get started writing again this autumn and the sequel to this story is definitely on my list. So, what about this story?

I was inspired by the Time Team Series from the UK in which each episode a team of archaeologists would undertake a three-day long excavation. By necessity, each was fairly narrow in scope – I mean, they only had three days to find a place top dig, find whatever was there and try to put it all together. Most of the time I felt they were very successful and made some rather important discoveries over the course of their 20 year run. It was also fun watching Tony Robinson (aka Baldric from The Blackadder series) explaining what was happening for the audience and watching as he too became fairly knowledgeable in British archaeology as time went on.

Naturally, I did not want to just write an imaginary archaeological expedition. I needed a science fiction background for it to take place in and so I went back to the universe of my early series; The Terralano Venture and decided it would take place about 20 years later. After that, everything just kind of fell into place. Of all the characters from the first series, only Ralani is back for the entire series but a few of my old favorites are mentioned or have cameo appearances especially in the first half of this story.

I could go on, but I think the story speaks for itself…

Jonathan E. Feinstein

Westport, Massachusetts

July 11, 2021

Prologue: In the Beginning

At first glance, Doctor Ralani Di Lasai told her students, "the Great Pyramid of Dalani might seem to be similar to those of Terran Egypt, but there are some marked differences. For one thing, the Dalani pyramid is a tetrahedral structure, not a square pyramid like those in Egypt or, for that matter, the pyramids of Mesoamerica. Also, the Dalani pyramid was a unique edifice. So far as we have discovered, the Dalas never tried to build another. Furthermore, there are no internal chambers. The pyramid is a solid structure and no one knows for certain why it was built. The most popular theory is that is was a monument, probably to the gods of Dalani, although a minority of Lanirip scholars maintain it was a monument marking the founding of Dalani itself. That is possible, but unless we can learn to read the writing system of ancient Dalani, we probably will not know.

We have no equivalent of the Rosetta Stone which allowed for the first translations of Egyptian Hieroglyphic and Demotic writing, or the multilingual stelae that assisted in translating Mesopotamian cuneiform. Until we have an accurate translation, we will not know whether the markings that circle the base of the Dalani Pyramid explain why it was built or are simply a lot of graffiti left by several millennia’s worth of pilgrims and tourists.

Doctor Ralani? one of the students raised her hand. A stray lock of medium brown hair fell across her face and she absent-mindedly brushed it back. The motion made Ralani glad she had continued to wear her own hair in what Terrans called a Pixie cut. Ralani’s natural hair color was light brown, like most Lano, but she kept it dyed a specific shade of reddish-brown, the same color as that of her adopted Terran sister, Serafyma Ivanoff.

Miss Duguay? Ralani replied.

Don’t those markings seem to be too even and uniform to be casual graffiti? Janet Duguay, one of the Terran graduate students in Ralani’s class, asked.

I wasn’t serious, Miss Duguay, Ralani replied. I’m sorry, my sense of humor has gotten me in trouble with some of my colleagues too. To say it a little more seriously, those markings, which we are certain are a form of writing as it bears some semblance to other such markings of the period, might be a prayer of some sort or might be the names of all the people who worked on building the structure written end-to-end. We simply do not know.

So, none of that system can be translated at all? Janet asked.

Well, we can recognize numbers in that written language, Ralani replied. The very earliest forms of writing seem to have been used for accounting purposes and we have a lot of what we think are inventory lists. We know how many of various things were counted, but not what those things were, at least not for certain.

Doctor Ralani? one of her Lano students raised his hand. I thought some of those words had been translated from their earliest pictographs.

Possibly, Mister Trano, Ralani replied to Trano Bi Lano, but those pictographs are over a thousand years older than the Dalani writing and from an earlier culture. It is possible the meanings shifted and evolved as much as the writing itself did.

Trano, she knew, was one of her brightest students and, like Janet Duguay, on full scholarship here at Fenelir university. It was unusual, however for him to ask questions in class. Normally, he would have waited until he could ask privately, but perhaps he was starting to become comfortable enough in class to come out of his shell. Ralani thought it was a good sign and flashed him a slight smile.

We are not even entirely sure exactly when in Dalani history the pyramid was built, Ralani continued. The ancient writer Rano Ki Foratchi said that the pyramid was built by the first king of the united Dalani Kingdom, but the writing is more in keeping with that of the Fifth or maybe Sixth Dynasty of Dalani. It is possible that Rano was correct and that the writing was inscribed on the surface of the pyramid later, but he also does not mention the writing at all in his description. We think that the pyramid was partially buried in sand at the time of his visit which might account for that.

Could the writing have been added still later? Janet asked.

I would not say it is impossible, Ralani admitted, but Rano Ki Foratchi visited Dalani over two and a half millennia after we think the Pyramid was built. The Dalanis were using an alphabetic script by then and probably their language had changed radically as well. We have no reason to think anyone knew the more ancient script, which we think was syllabic in nature, by that time. We can read the alphabetic script and know it was introduced during the Second Inter-Dynastic period when Dalani was ruled by the foreign kings of the Grendi Empire, but it was a radical change and, as I mentioned, we have no bilingual documents with that and the ancient writing together. So, we only have Rano’s word for when the pyramid was built and we know, from some of his other writings that he was not the most accurate of historians.

Ralani glanced at the clock and realized that class time was nearly over, I think we shall stop here for now. Please read Chapter Four in your textbooks between now and our next class. Also, I have posted several articles on the Dalani civilization in our class’ online library. Most of the articles are short, although there is one video documentary that is somewhat lengthy. I think you will find it entertaining. There was a flurry of activity as the students put their notepads away. She was somewhat amused that so many of this younger generation had started taking notes the old-fashioned way, with a pen and notebook. In her day, everything had been done by nanoelectronic tablets with virtual ink. An accomplished Thalua, like Ralani, could do so merely by thinking at the tablet, but she found out the hard way that she absorbed the information much better by physically writing it down.

There were few Lano worthy of the title Thalua among those of her students’ ages, however. Ralani had been an exception; she had been something of a prodigy and her abilities were accelerated after an injury while visiting Earth. Some Terrans might call her a wizard and think of Thallirip as magic, but it was an inherent ability in nearly all Lano. She had just undertaken more training in the scientific discipline than most. Ralani smiled to herself. It was her sister, Lilla, who was the more serious Thalua. Lilla also taught here at Fenelir University, but she was in the Department of Applied Thallirip. Ralani taught Terralanirip, or as Terrans called it, Terralanology, which was a combined study of human and Lano anthropology and sociology. It was Ralani who first started calling it Terralanirip, in fact, and she was one of the founders of the combined study although these days very few people, even within the field, realized it.

Ralani tossed her own notes into a briefcase and started back toward her office. Nearly lost in thought as she walked, she heard her name being called. Ralani turned to find Janet Duguay following her. Yes, Miss Duguay?

I have a few questions, Janet admitted.

I have only known you since the semester started, Ralani chuckled, but I do not recall a time when you did not have ‘a few questions.’ I have time right now. Would you like to ask them over a cup of coffee?

You drink coffee? Janet asked.

I drink coffee, yes, Ralani replied.

I didn’t know many Lano who drink coffee, Janet admitted. I’ve been drinking hoi since my private supply ran out, but it is not the same.

Not the same at all, Ralani agreed. Coffee is an acquired taste, but I have spent a lot of time with Terrans both in space and on Earth. She paused to smile and then added, I’m Terralano.

Aren’t we all? Janet asked. Since their mutual discovery, Terran and Lano societies had fully integrated with each other. Some worlds might have more Lano inhabitants than Terran and vice versa, but no one really thought of members of the other species as alien any longer. The integration process had been surprisingly swift and after a few initial bumps, relatively smooth as well. Lano and Terrans, it turned out, had more in common than not.

We are, Ralani smiled, but keep in mind that I am just old enough to remember a time when that was not the case. My sister, Lilla, was the first Lano to adopt a Terran sister and I still remember the day she brought our new sister home.

What was that like? Janet asked.

Interesting times, Ralani laughed, and I am sure you know the old human saying about that. I think my father had the biggest shock. He took one look at Serafyma and asked ‘What from the deepest Hell is that?’ he got used to her in time. Sera’s a dear and I love her. Too bad she and her husband decided to live on Earth; haven’t seen her in over five years. We didn’t have too much time to let her acclimate, however. The riots started in Pansilli and some of the other cities soon afterwards. We were living in a small town called Bori about two hours from here and things were quiet there so Sera, Lilla and I didn’t know what we were flying into until we got to the spaceport.

Why were you going to the spaceport? Janet asked.

To get some human hair dye, Ralani replied. This is not my natural color, you know. Most Lano have light brown hair, some few are blond, but anytime you see a La with red hair, you can be certain it’s dyed, but this was Sera’s natural color and I liked it, so… she trailed off. Anyway, by the time we got to Pansilli there were protests going on and the Council of Generals wanted to interview the members of the first Terralano integrated spaceship, on which my sisters served. Because I was there, they got me too. They weren’t expecting a teenager and, well, it was the first time I’d ever heard the term ‘Terralano’ but I said something one of the protesters liked, I guess, and he placed a pin on my blouse that said ‘I’m Terralano!’ One of the generals spotted it and started asking me questions. My own little bit of history, I guess.

She led the way to her office and started making the coffee. This is a Colombian-Brazilian blend, I’m told. A medium roast. Is that okay?

Sounds like home, Janet smiled. I’ve developed a taste for the darker shades, but I went to college at Cornell and earned my Master degree at Harvard and medium roasted South American coffee was probably what I had most often while studying at night. I don’t suppose you managed to import some Dunkin’ Donuts, did you?

Sorry, Ralani laughed, They would have been mummified by now had I tried, if I had not eaten them all myself. I have some, well, you might call them sweet biscuits.

Wonzellos? Janet asked.

Wonzelloi, Ralani corrected her, Yes, you’ve had them? Good. She put several of the biscuits on a plate while the coffee brewed. Finally, after they had each had time to taste the biscuits and have a few sips of coffee, Ralani asked, So what did you want to talk about?

Well, I realized something in class today, Janet replied. In all the time I’ve been a student of Terralanology, I taken classes about archaeology both here and on Earth, but none of the books I’ve read, nor have any of my teachers ever mentioned work done on any of the colony worlds.

There have been studies of the cultures of the various worlds, haven’t there? Ralani countered. I teach a class on general Terralanirip, although that’s considered a freshman-level class. There are more advanced ones offered both here and on Earth. I earned one of my degrees at Brown University so I know that’s being taught there.

Oh anthropology, sure, Janet nodded. Anthropology, both physical and cultural was just one of the disciplines included in Terralanology which also encompassed, archaeology and linguistics. On Treloi and other predominantly Lano worlds, sociology was lumped into the larger field as well. That last had surprised Janet when she first arrived on Treloi. In Terran universities, sociology continued to be a separate discipline. Fortunately, as a doctoral candidate, she was not required to bone up on sociology in order to specialize in archaeology. But, why haven’t there been archaeological studies of our colony worlds?

Archaeology generally involves the past, Ralani pointed out, We mostly study periods from which there are no living people.

There is forensic archaeology, Janet replied. That’s most often applied to current cases.

True, but that’s really an application of archaeological methods to a forensic investigation, not archaeology for the sake of learning more about past cultures. With only a few exceptions, archaeology does not cover modern history.

I can name excavations modern enough to refute that, Janet told her. Both here and on Earth, but not on any of the colonies.

A good point, Ralani admitted, and yes, there have been modern excavations, but generally long enough after the fact that there’s no one left to just ask about it. While on Earth I once heard two professors arguing about their respective fields while at a department party. One was a cultural anthropologist and the other an archaeologist. The anthropologist said something like ‘If you want to know about the people, all you have to do is ask them,’ The archaeologist laughed and countered with ‘The people? The people are dead!’ In essence, that is the difference. We don’t dig on colonial worlds because most colonials would be insulted because a dig there would imply they do not know their own history, which, when you think about it, does not go all that far back.

There is a saying among Terran anthropologists, Janet told her. What people know is probably wrong.

Ralani laughed. I know that adage, but you are cherry picking. The other half goes, ‘What people tell you is likely to be true.’ However, I’ll admit that we have not been digging on any of the colony worlds.

Could we? Janet asked. I came to study on Treloi because I wanted a unique educational experience. Being the first to excavate on a new world would certainly do that.

Archaeological expeditions are expensive, Ralani pointed out, and take a lot of planning. We don’t have the money and even if we did, we could not just pack our bags and rush off. We would need to apply for a grant, arrange for transportation, food, shelter, equipment and have specific goals. We would also need to find a world that would welcome our investigation.

We could apply for a grant, though. Right? Janet asked.

It would take a while to put a grant together, Ralani considered, but maybe by the end of next academic year. We still need a potential target though, No one is going to fund us without one.

If I can find a world where we can dig, though? Janet asked hopefully.

Perhaps, Ralani nodded. Do you have one in mind?

Not yet, Janet told her enthusiastically, but I’ll find one.

Ralani was working quietly in her office a week later when there was a knock on her door. Come in.

Janet entered the small office and announced, I found it!

Found what? Ralani asked and then remembered their earlier conversation.

A colony world to dig on, Janet replied. Have you ever heard of Alanoi?

Alanoi? Ralani asked. Her eyes widened in shock and surprise, but Janet failed to notice.

It’s an abandoned colony world, Janet explained. No one lives there, so there will be no one to insult. Actually, there have been three attempts to colonize it, or so I’ve read. I have a lot more to study, but I’m still downloading the files into my account. I rushed over to tell you as soon as I could though. Anyway, it’s an Earthlike, or Treloilike world, if you prefer, out in the…

Yes, Ralani interrupted her. I have heard of it. It might be suitable. We only have a few documents and descriptions of the settlements there so there is something to be learned. Yes, I think that world will do quite nicely, but as I have already told you, we cannot just up and go there. Now, we must start to organize a formal expedition, apply for funding and all the rest. That’s going to be a lot of work.

You can count on me to help anyway I can, Janet promised.

Oh, I already do, Larani told her. I’m going to need you and as many of your classmates as we can recruit.

Having a Plan Is the Easy Part

One

Ralani! a man’s voice called from behind her as she crossed the main quad of Fenelir University’s campus. Doctor Ralani! Wait up, please. He was an older Lano gentleman whose hair was starting to go gray and whose golden skin had developed a host of wrinkles.

Doctor Zelano? Ralani recognized the man who had been trailing her. He had been on the faculty at least a decade longer than she had. So far as she knew, he had always resented the fact that she held the Helani Bi Terralano Chair of Terralanology while he was still an associate professor. The difference was a matter of prestige only, since she knew his seniority granted him a larger paycheck. Consequently, he usually did his best to ignore her unless he needed her for something. She was tempted to simply keep walking, but her parents had brought her up to maintain courtesy and so allowed him to catch up. I’m supposed to be in a meeting in a few minutes, but how may I help you?

I was wondering if I might prevail on you to cover my introductory class on Physical Terralanirip next semester and the theory class the semester after that? he requested. I know you already have a full schedule of classes, but unless I can find teachers to cover for me, I won’t be able to take my sabbatical. I’ve missed out for the last two years and I really want the time off to write. You understand, I know you do.

Ralani sighed. She had written a textbook, three novels and a library shelf full of articles over the past fifteen years and, so far, had never taken a sabbatical. Have you asked one of our new instructors yet? she asked.

I have and Doctor Norani too, Zelano replied. They’ve taken on most of my load, but I still have these two classes left. Then I thought of you. You’re the best in the department, Relani. Everyone knows that.

Relani nearly laughed in his face, but once again courtesy won out. Good thing for you I have not been an Apathete in over three decades. She kept the thought to herself. Zelano had made promises before he had not managed to keep, but Relani noted that this time he made no promises, just the request. He must be desperate. Very well, Relani nodded, I suppose I can fit an extra class in each semester. Enjoy your sabbatical.

Oh, thank you, Ralani, thank you! Zelano told her happily. We can get together next week and go over the texts I use and the syllabus.

I’ll see you then, Ralani promised before hurrying on to her meeting.

The Department of Terralanirip was housed in a brown brick building on the south end of the campus. During her stay on Earth, Ralani had seen similar buildings with ivy clinging to the walls and had been tempted several times to import Terran ivy to decorate this campus with. The first few times, she chided herself for that. Most Lano would never see the charm of letting such vines encrust their buildings. Then it occurred to her that ivy, being alien to Treloi might become an invasive pest in short order. The last time she had considered it, she asked a friend in the Biology Department to conduct a feasibility study concerning the introduction of ivy and, if it turned out to be invasive, a safe means by which to limit its spread. Her friend liked the idea of ivy-covered buildings and went right to work on the problem, but a month later reported that ivy would just not grow on Treloi. The soil was all wrong and compounds that were beneficial for Treloian plants were lacking in sufficient nutritional value for many Terran plants, ivy included. He had suggested a number of other climbing plants from other worlds, but each one he had tested came up lacking in one way or another. In the end, Ralani could only enjoy ivy-covered buildings here in her mind’s eye.

The department’s building housed offices for each of the faculty members, a small conference room for them to meet in, a laboratory, that the entire department had to share and two classrooms. Ralani had booked the smaller of the classrooms to meet with the organizational team for her proposed expedition to Alanoi twice a week all this past academic year. Because they could not coordinate all their schedules during the day, those meetings were held in the evenings