Infiltration

Lying on his front in the middle of misty half-light, Eight-Two-Three-Ell-Tee-Em slowly became conscious.  The intense cold left his body numb, unable to function just yet, but he was patient  He relaxed, listening to the sounds of hibernation tanks all around his own, as they switched themselves off.  After a journey of epic proportions, they had finally reached their destination.
  The air around him was warming up now, his body tingling as it returned to a more natural temperature.  When he judged that his tank had reached the temperature of the rest of the ship, it was time to become active again.  He was a little stiff after such a long time with no movement, but it was not long until his body began emitting the soft rumbling noise which indicated that he had enough energy to wake up properly.
  Opening his eyes, he stared ahead at the clear cover of the tank, which was still slightly frosted and bore a large metal plate proclaiming the advantages of using EezyFreeze hibernators.  At his silent mental command, a little spheroid of silver whirred up from its resting place - a personal serv'u'bot.  He sent it to the interior controls of the tank, where it activated the exit procedures.  The cover slid soundlessly back, the pad on which he lay tilted, and Three-Ell slid forward into the hibernation chamber.
  Turning first to one side, then the other, he observed other newly-awake kaarim dispassionately.  He did not feel great emotion towards any of them; such ties were not the kaarim way, and were a sign of weakness.  Suddenly, a mental announcement boomed through the minds of every kaa present with, Three-Ell thought, unnecessary volume for so early.
  ALL KAARIM TO COME AT ONCE TO THE MAIN DECK
  He winced, sighed, and turned to join the growing line of figures moving to the exit.

...As you know, we left our homeworld under unfortunate circumstances, and without as much planning or preparation as we would have liked.  As a result, we had not found a solution to this most important of dilemmas.  However, as you know, a team of our top scientists loyally volunteered to remain awake for a portion of the journey, to ponder the problem...
  I wonder if they had as much trouble remaining awake as I am having now, mused Three-Ell, being careful to keep his thoughts protected.  The speaker, a high-ranking kaa named Gee-En-Ess-Two-Five-Six, had been droning on in this manner for some time now.  It seemed to Three-Ell that he started every second sentence with as you know, even when telling them things which most of them could not possibly have known.  Three-Ell silently marked him as one who was likely to climb the ladder of politics quite fast, especially if he kept up this ridiculous sugar-coating of the facts.  Left our homeworld under unfortunate circumstances?  Certainly, if you consider 'unfortunate' the unexpected flooding of an entire continent and the deaths of half our species.
  Bored with listening to political rhetoric, he took the speech as a chance to observe his fellow colonists, although he was unable to turn his body without attracting attention.  This limited his sight to directly in front and directly behind, but he made good use of his front and rear eyes to study the kaarim around him.
  The kaarim were mingled with no regard for race, creating an exciting riot of colours.  Three-Ell could see the bright shells of the seven pure subspecies of kaa - red, white, silver, green, blue, yellow and black - as well as a great number of odder colours indicating mixed-breeds.  He himself was pure, and proud of the shiny crimson shell which marked him as a member of the largest race.







  He realised suddenly that Ess-Two must have reached some kind of conclusion, for the background noise of the voice in his mind had ceased.  Paying attention to the front again, he saw that the group of scientists were being called forth.  'Top' scientists, I like that!  These are the only scientists who could be persuaded to help the council plan the invasion of another planet.  Three-Ell, who was also a scientist, stared at the group in some disgust.  Admittedly he would be one of the kaarim to invade the planet, but he justified this to himself by pointing out that he would have died alone, had he chosen to stay behind on the homeworld.
  Meanwhile, one of the scientists was approaching the platform.  His shell was pure blue and he looked quite young, but it appeared that he was the representative of the team.  He seemed nervous at first, but when he spoke his voice was confident and sincere, thankfully lacking the monotonous quality of Ess-Two.
  Friends, my name is Nine-Six-Four-Dee-Tee-Tee.  Along with the rest of the team, I have developed a plan for infiltrating this civilisation which we think will be ideal.  It allows us to live among the natives of this planet without causing them harm or fear.  They will learn to accept and trust us, even to rely on us, but they will believe that we are there by their will, not ours, and thus we will be safe.
  Three-Ell regarded the youngster with a new-found respect.  He was only a fourth-ager, and the fact that he only had two serv'u'bots hovering around him indicated a low rank.  Three-Ell had three 'bots, while Ess-Two openly displayed five.  However, Four-Dee had been chosen to explain this idea, indicating that it was almost certainly his own.  Moreover, unless he was embellishing the facts in the same manner as Ess-Two before him, it sounded like Four-Dee's plan was for a partnership with the natives rather than a take-over of them.  If such was the case, then Three-Ell fully approved, and only wished that he had not declined the offer to join the team.  He decided that he would have liked working with this Four-Dee.
  We have worked long and hard to modify the humble serv'u'bot, making it the key to our success.  Watch...
  One of the 'bots left his side and buzzed out to the centre of the room, hovering a little under two metres from the ground.  Nearby kaarim backed up to get out of the way, leaving Three-Ell somewhat squashed.  However, he still had a good veiw of what happened next.  The air around the 'bot began to shimmer, and a three-dimensional image extended down from it to the floor, solidifying around it until it was hidden inside the head of the image.
  Three-Ell had only seen a few holograms of the natives of their destination, but he recognised this as a male of the species.  He was still fascinated by the concept of a race with two different genders, although even as an objective scientist he could not help being faintly disgusted by their method of reproduction.  So messy!
  The idea of a moving hologram produced by a serv'u'bot was not new, although it had been a fairly limited practise at home.  For one thing, it was expensive, and for another most kaarim did not have enough 'bots that they would spare one for such a pointless luxury.  However, Three-Ell had never seen a hologram as opaque as this one, and he guessed that it would be equally solid to the touch, although how the effect had been achieved was an intriguing mystery.  The image was very detailed and included cloth coverings and foot-protectors such as the real ones wore.  It looked so lifelike, there might as well be a living creature standing there.
  This hologram, made using our revolutionary 'solid light' technique, can be operated mentally as can any serv'u'bot.  Its pickup has been enhanced so that it can be controlled from the other side of the planet, if necessary.  Sensors permit me to see through the hologram's eyes, hear through its ears and so on.
  These beings have very flexible bodies and several useful perceptions which we lack, so the control of one will take some getting used to.  In particular, these beings have the ability to sense their surroundings through every part of their body at once, something which we lack due to our hard shells.  However, that lack is more than made up for by the protection which we receive from these same shells.





  Three-Ell already knew about the ability that Four-Dee spoke of - before his hibernation he had made quite a study of the sense called 'touch'.  He recalled that other limitations of the natives, which the young scientist had failed to mention, were their primitive eyes, only one pair and completely blind at night, and their greatly inferior mode of communication.  Nonetheless, the technology to effectively create a new body for a kaa was impressive.  Hopefully the plan of action would equal it.
  I have spent our journey learning one of the major languages of this planet.  Now I will infiltrate their society through my serv'u'bot hologram.  I will become an 'inventor', one who has new ideas.  I will claim to have created a new technology, namely us, which will make life much easier for the natives.  As the humans take to my idea, you will be able to join me on the surface without disguise.  There will only be a few at first, but steadily more until we are an unquestioned part of their lives.
  Sadly, we do not have the resources to give you all hologram bodies, but a lucky few of you will be able to have modified 'bots.  Those who do will serve as your representatives in the world of the natives, and also as medics to keep you in good health.  The rest will go as individuals or pairs to live with a family of natives in your true forms.  They will see you as their servants, but rest assured that that is only an illusion which must be maintained for the sake of safety, both ours and theirs.
  Oh yes, thought Three-Ell cynically, but a very convincing illusion I don't doubt.  And how long until some of the kaarim get sick of this illusion and rebel?  The only kaarim to get modified 'bots will, of course, be of the highest rank.  He quelled these thoughts with a sigh, reminding himself that the situation could be much worse, that at least there was a chance that everything would work smoothly and no one would be harmed.  Besides, it would be good to get off the ship and back onto good solid ground.  A disturbing thought struck him - what sort of surface would this planet have?  It could be difficult to get around if the ground was too soft; after all, consider how soft the species were who lived there, compared to those on his homeworld.  He could not imagine any surface under his wheels other than good, proper tarmac.
  I leave for our new home as soon as their sun is out of sight, Four-Dee was announcing, And my human  name shall be Fourd.  Henry Fourd.

(c) Copyright Hespa.
This work may be downloaded for thy pleasure, but may not be printed, altered in any way or presented as thy own work.