Seeds

Chapter 2 - Harvest

Well, I promised I'd try to believe her, Goddard thought, but he knew she could see his incredulity on his face. "I don't understand," he said, finally, "What do you mean, that's not Radu?"

Suzee sighed. "I went into his mind once, remember? When I do something like that, even after I've left a person's mind, I still have ... well, I guess you could call it a sense of the person. I know what's in there looks like Radu, but it feels completely different, in my mind." She twisted her fingers in frustration. Describing the sensation to someone who had never experienced it was like trying to describe blue to someone who was colour-blind.

"What do you think it is, then?" Goddard asked, uncomfortably.

"I don't know," she responded, "Something older, something ... I can't really put it into words; just different, very different."

Goddard pondered for a minute; this was not a scenario ever covered in officer's training. How do I ask a crew member if he's really who he's supposed to be, he wondered. How would I even know if he's telling the truth?

"I suppose I could jump into his mind again to find out what's there," Suzee suggested, in a tone of extreme reluctance.

"Would it be safe?" asked Goddard.

"I don't know," she answered, "because I don't know what I'll find." She straightened her shoulders. "But I can't think of anything else, so I'll have to."

"No, you won't, Suzee."

Turning, Goddard and Suzee saw Radu standing in the open MedLab door, watching them.

Of course, he's heard everything we've been saying, Goddard realized. The fact that he wasn't protesting their conclusions was not a good sign.

"Radu, Suzee has been saying that she doesn't ... doesn't think that you're quite yourself, if you follow me," he said, trying to speak in his normal voice and failing totally.

"Yes," said Radu, tilting his head as he looked at Suzee, as if she were some interesting scientific specimen. "I didn't know she could do that." His eyes focused on something unseen in front of him for a second, his eyes moving slightly as if reading an invisible text. It was an oddly familiar gesture, but, Goddard and Suzee realized with a shock, not one they associated with Radu. Instead, it brought to mind Thelma, accessing her internal databases.

"No," he finally said, with a slight smile, "he didn't know either. You're very talented, Suzee."

Hope left Goddard. The "he" had to be Radu.

"Who are you?" he asked. "If you're not Radu, who are you?"

This seemed to be rather a difficult question for the creature in front of them, and it put its head to the side again in thought. Over its shoulder, Goddard could see Davenport, Bova and Rosie, watching in silent horror as well. "I suppose ... you could call me a seed, if you wish," it answered, finally. "I am the last seed of the Calliach-Shelastir."

"Seed?" said Bova, alarmed, "You mean you're one of those parasite things that take over people's bodies, aren't you? And I suppose we're next." He backed up, managing to squeeze himself into as inaccessible a position as possible behind Rosie's examination table. His antennae crackled in preparation for self-defence.

"No, you don't understand," it replied, "You've no need to be afraid. The Calliach are not parasites; we share our existence with other beings, we don't control them."

"Symbiotes, you mean?" asked Bova, still crammed behind the table. He was intrigued, but had no intention of taking anything the creature said at face value.

"Yes, you understand me," the creature responded, with a pleased nod. "Our partner species is the Shelastir, and the name of our planet is Calliashelast."

"Never heard of it," replied Bova, sullenly.

"I'm not surprised," answered the creature, "for we have met with a great disaster. If you don't help us, there will be no more Shelastir, and I will be the last of the Calliach."

"Help you? How can we help you?" Goddard asked, warily. Like Bova, he kept a respectful distance; he was uneasily aware that if the creature turned hostile, it would possess Radu's strength.

"It's a long story," the Calliach answered, "and I think you will be more comfortable hearing it in the Team Room." He gestured graciously towards the nearest jump tube.

"You go first, then," suggested Bova, his antennae still crackling slightly.

"All right," it replied, "but I assure you, you are in no danger."

"You know how to work them?" asked Harlan, as the creature reached towards the jump tube controls.

"Of course I do," it said, "he does." And with that it disappeared down the tube.

"You see," the Calliach was explaining in the Team Room, "as partner species, the Calliach and the Shelastir enjoyed advantages that single species never can. The Shelastir provide the body, (much like yours), and an eager, creative mind. The Calliach are tiny, and almost immobile; mentally, we are calmer, less impulsive, capable of looking more deeply at things, perhaps. When we join with the Shelastir we give them balance, guidance, a second viewpoint on life. Together," it explained, with a sweeping gesture, "we created one of the rarest achievements in the galaxy; a prosperous, stable civilization that neither exploited others nor destroyed its own environment." Its body language, the others noticed, was totally unlike Radu's; it moved the confident elegance of someone who had once been of some importance in its own race, and demanded respect as a matter of course.

"Sounds peachy," Harlan muttered sarcastically. "Then how come you're both almost extinct?"

The Calliach was unruffled by his skepticism. "We were destroyed, in a way, by our own success. Apparently, word of the wealth of our world reached the ears of a race called the Thalliosians. They sent an armada of ships to seize our world, and everything we had. We tried to reason with them, even offering complete surrender, but that wasn't what they wanted. Their plan was simply to exterminate both our species, and take whatever material goods were left over. We'd always lived in peace, had never known warfare, and we were totally unprepared." Its voice fell silent for a moment. "We were entirely destroyed."

"Then what are you doing here?" Suzee asked.

"And what does this have to do with Radu?" chimed in Rosie, whose normal sympathies were somewhat blunted by her concern for her friend.

"As our cities were being blasted into dust," continued the Calliach, "we came up with a plan to save our people from complete annihilation. We put together a fleet of vessels - each carried six hundred embryo Shelastir, and six hundred Calliach, in suspended animation. We searched the skies for a suitable planet, where our people could survive, waiting for the day when we could return home. The Thalliosians, you see, cannot stay in one place for very long. Their methods for extracting everything of value from a planet create such ecological havoc that they are forced to be constantly on the move. In a few generations, they will leave, and we can come back to rebuild our world.

"First, though, our fleet had to break through the Thalliosian blockade around our planet. Only one ship, the one I was on, made it through, and of its crew, only one - my Shelastir and myself - survived, but that was enough. After months, we reached our target. We hid the vessel underground, and set about preparing the rebirth of our people."

"But something went wrong, didn't it?" Bova interjected, knowingly. It always does, he thought.

"Yes," sighed the Calliach. It stared into the distance. "My Shelastir - well, as I said, they are eager, and sometimes impulsive. He wanted to go outside, to explore the planet we were on. I didn't try to prevent him - there appeared to be nothing threatening there. But as we walked along a stream bank, an overhang gave way, and we fell to the rocks below. He was terribly injured."

"The body we found," Rosie said, her voice hushed, "that was him, wasn't it?"

"Yes," the Calliach murmured sadly, "he tried his best to get back to our ship, but ... he was too badly hurt. Normally, when its Shelastir dies, the Calliach dies too; but I knew that I was the last remaining hope for both our peoples. I chose instead to remain alive, and trust that fate would bring me a new host. I waited ... I don't know how long, I couldn't keep track of time, but beyond all hope, one was brought to me."

"Meaning Radu," Harlan growled.

"Yes," the Calliach replied, "and with his help, we can bring the Shelastir embryos out of suspended animation. When they have matured enough, each one will join with a Calliach. Our people will be reborn."

"And just how long is this going to take?" inquired Goddard. The look on his face would have cowed anyone under his command, but the Calliach remained unaffected.

"Oh, not long," it said pleasantly, "the embryos will be raised to maturity in special growth enhancing tanks. In seven or eight years, they should be developed enough that they can cope with the planet's environment, since they will be guided by experienced Calliachs."

The team looked at each other helplessly.

"Seven or eight years?" repeated Harlan.

"And ... and then you'll let Radu go home?" asked Rosie, trying hard to keep her voice steady.

"No," answered the Calliach, "by that time, we will be fully joined. Even now, our neural synapses are growing together; soon we will be inseparable." For the first time, it seemed to sense their opposition. "Don't you see? This will be a tremendous opportunity for him, as well as for us. Both the Calliach and the Shelastir would revere him - they would be a family for him, as he has always wanted. He would be held in the highest respect. And he will never be alone again." It glanced reprovingly at them. "Don't you care that this is what he wants?"

"Now, just wait a second," Goddard said, "if this is something Radu wants, why did he try to warn us about you? And why did you have to take over his body completely? I don't see any of this sharing you were talking about - as far as I can tell, you've simply taken over one of my crew by force."

For the first time, the Calliach seemed slightly discomforted. "He ... he was frightened at first," it explained, "which is understandable. He didn't comprehend what was happening, and I was forced to take full control temporarily. I would have preferred a different way, but there was no time."

"Well," said Goddard, with the air of one cutting a useless discussion short, "this has been a terribly sad story, and we wish you the best, but I'm afraid you can't have Radu. He's his own person, not yours."

The Calliach frowned at Goddard's words, as if his reaction took it by surprise. "I really don't understand why you object so strongly," it said, its head inclined quizzically.

"Because it's wrong!" Goddard exploded. "You have no right to take over someone's body, their life, without their permission!"

The creature seemed to withdraw into itself for a moment, as it accessed Radu's memories. "You fought a war once against his people," it eventually resumed, "and killed many of them. Was that also wrong, Commander?"

"That's a good question," answered Goddard, uncomfortably surprised by the creature's debating skill, "but we didn't feel so at the time. We had no other choice - it was either fight or be destroyed ourselves."

The Calliach looked at him reproachfully. "Then why do you condemn me? Everything I have done has been for the survival of not one, but two races. And I have no intention of killing or hurting anyone. You're not being fair, Commander."

Goddard wished for some brilliantly logical rebuttal to this, but nothing came to mind.

"After all," the Calliach continued, "you don't need him - you don't even like him. I, on the other hand, will care for him just as he will help care for our people. It's simply selfishness, Commander, to deny him this opportunity."

"What do you mean, we don't need him?" Goddard snapped back, "He's our navigator!"

"I'm sure you can find your way home without him," shrugged the Calliach. "Your ship is very advanced."

"And who told you we don't like him?" added Rosie, indignantly.

"I know what I have seen," replied the Calliach, simply. "Since I have been with him, he has been alternately ignored and humiliated. Once he fully understands what I'm offering, the choice will be obvious."

Miss Davenport, her face set, spoke for the first time. "Let Radu tell us that," she said, "and we'll accept it. Otherwise, we never shall."

The Calliach seemed to finally tire of the discussion. "You must accept it - you have no choice. I've set the vessel on a return course to the planet. In a few hours, we will arrive, and he and I will leave the ship. The rest of you will be free to go wherever you wish. There is simply nothing more to be said on the matter." It turned and left the Team Room without another word.

"So, if this thing keeps Radu," asked Bova, as the Team Room door slid shut behind it, "do I get promoted to navigation?"

"Bova!" the others chided in exasperation.

"Well, someone has to do it," he shrugged, slumping despondently onto one of the circular Team Room benches. "It's not that I want it to happen."

"Navigation...." Goddard said to himself, thoughtfully, "Yes, I think our first step is to get back up to the ComPost and see if we can regain control of the ship. Once we do that, we may have some room to negotiate."

As they headed for the jump tubes, Harlan drew Goddard aside. "This is all my fault, isn't it?" he asked.

"Why do you think that?" asked Goddard, rather startled by the suggestion. It was far more common to hear Harlan protesting that things were not his fault.

"He's part of my team. If I had been paying attention, I might have noticed something was wrong before it was too late. And maybe," his voice faltered slightly, "if I'd been nicer to Radu over the past couple of days, this thing wouldn't have got the idea we'd just let it take him."

Goddard shook his head. "We all had a chance to notice something was wrong, and nobody did. Without Suzee, we still wouldn't have figured it out. And if this thing is as desperate as it says, it wouldn't make any real difference how we treated Radu. Right now, it's simply trying to justify itself so that we don't interfere." His mouth twisted wryly. "I may never say this again, but I don't think any of this is your fault, Harlan."

Oddly, Harlan's face didn't brighten at the unexpected support. Looking down, and speaking so softly that Goddard could hardly hear him, he asked, "What if it's telling the truth? What if Radu actually would be happier there than with us?"

Goddard sighed. That question had been bothering him as well. "I think Miss Davenport had the best answer," he finally said, "If Radu himself tells us that, I'll believe it. Otherwise, I'm assuming he's being held prisoner."

"If he wants to stay with this thing," asked Harlan, "do we just let him?"

"If he wants to stay, we can't force him to come with us," answered Goddard. In fact, he thought bitterly as he headed for the jump tubes, right now I can't think of any way to keep him with us at all. He hoped that at the ComPost they would find some more answers.

At first, the ComPost didn't appear to offer any comfort to the team. Checking the navigation console, they quickly discovered that the Calliach had been telling the truth in at least one thing; the Christa's course had indeed been reset for a return to the planet they had left the day before. Further, it had somehow been locked in, so that they were unable to change it. Even Thelma was unable to find an override mechanism.

"How does the Calliach know how to work the Christa?" wondered Rosie, as she watched Suzee and Bova fruitlessly searching for a way to unlock the system.

"You heard it," replied Bova, "Anything that Radu knows how to do, it knows."

"Since when does Radu know how to lock up the master navigational controls like this?" Harlan asked, leaning glumly on the nonfunctional helm.

"Over the past two years, Radu has learned many things about the Christa's navigational system," Thelma answered, her voice incongruously cheerful. "You just never asked him about any of it."

The comment didn't do much to lift the gloom that had descended on the crew.

"How long before we reach the planet?" asked Goddard.

"A little less than an hour," answered Bova.

Great, thought Goddard, we've got less than sixty minutes to find a solution, or lose a crew member. "OK, brainstorming time, people. We need ideas, and we need them now."

The crew stood in silent thought for a moment. "If we could find it another host...." suggested Bova.

"Where from?" snapped Suzee. "Are you volunteering?"

Rosie squeezed her eyes shut in intense concentration. "Maybe...." she murmured.

"What?" prompted Goddard.

"I was just thinking," she said, in a hopeful voice, "that maybe the Thalliosians didn't kill all the people on its home planet. Maybe it doesn't need to start raising new ones." Her own tender heart found it hard to conceive that any race would be so cruel as to exterminate another deliberately.

"It's a possibility," replied Goddard. "Thelma, what can you tell us about a planet named Calliashelast?"

"Everything," said Thelma, with a tinge of mechanical pride in the Christa's databases. "I can show you the history of the planet from the time it first formed in orbit around its sun until ...."

"Not all of it," Goddard suggested hastily, "but can you give us a summary of the war with the Thalliosians?"

"Certainly," answered Thelma, "Screen on, please."

They watched events unfold on the screen for several minutes. When it finished, they looked at each other wordlessly.

"It doesn't know, does it?" asked Suzee, finally breaking the silence.

"It can't," said Harlan, "It would have been on the planet for some time before this all happened."

"We've got to tell it," said Rosie. "I mean, this changes everything, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Goddard replied grimly, "this changes everything."

The Calliach had returned to the MedLab, where it was going through the rest of the Andromedan databases. After all, if I'm going to inhabit this body for a long time, it thought, I should know how to look after it.

All in all, it was quite pleased with the way things had worked out. The physical capabilities of its new host were impressive; ideal for the years of solitary work that raising the Shelastir embryos to physical maturity would take. It found Andromedan mental characteristics highly suitable as well; intelligent, co-operative and loyal, capable of great feats of determination and willpower.

That, of course, it thought, feeling momentarily less satisfied, is the problem. As the slow physiological process of grafting its nervous system onto Radu's proceeded, it found, to its dismay, that Radu had not yet accepted his fate as the new guardian of the Calliach-Shelastir. His loyalties still remained firmly with the Christa and her crew, and he was putting up a stiff fight to remain with them.

It's a good thing we're almost there, the Calliach thought. In a few more hours I won't be able to stay in complete control. As it was, it found its remaining energies drained by a constant internal debate.

Can't you see this is the best possible solution for both of us? it asked Radu, almost plaintively.

You have no right to take me away from my friends. I belong with them, not you, Radu argued, as he had been doing ever since he had found the creature in control of his body. If he couldn't persuade it, he hoped he might be able to wear it down until he could take control again. He knew, though, that he didn't have much time. Already, his thoughts were starting to merge with those of the Calliach. If I don't get free soon, he thought, trying to fight down panic, I'm not going to exist as an independent mind any longer.

Friends? scoffed the Calliach. Friends who are either tormenting you or ignoring you? What type of friends are those?

My best friends, Radu answered. Memories started to swirl through the Calliach's mind: Rosie, offering her friendship on the first day of Starcademy; Harlan, willing to stand back-to-back with Radu in a fight; even Miss Davenport, patiently working with him for hours to help him keep up with the others in class.

The Calliach tried to dodge the flood of memories. But you were unhappy when I first entered your mind, bitterly unhappy, it reminded him.

It was a bad day, that's all, Radu tried to explain. Harlan was right; I was sulking, worrying about how I did in a stupid game, when everyone else was just having fun. In a few days, I would have forgotten all about it.

He felt hope for a second, as he sensed a pang of doubt, guilt even, in the Calliach's mind. But it was replaced by a renewed determination, as strong and as desperate as his own.

We need you, the Calliach beseeched him, the embryos - our children - need you. Without you, they have no chance. How can you abandon them?

That was a tough one for Radu. As his mind started to merge with the Calliach's, the same protective instinct that Andromedans normally felt for eggs in the Hatchery was being extended to the Shelastir embryos. For a second, he wavered. The children need me, he thought, there's no one else who can help them. Then his resistance welled up again. No, I'd like to help them, but I can't do that and remain with the Christa at the same time. And the Christa and her crew are my primary responsibility. You'll just have to find someone else.

There's no one else - you are the only one who can help us, the Calliach started to answer, but was interrupted by Commander Goddard's voice over the intercom. "Mr. Radu - I mean, whoever you are - could you please come to the ComPost right away? We need to talk."

"What?" asked the Calliach in a tired voice, as it emerged from the jump tube. It eyed the others warily, suspecting they were planning some sort of trick, but it noticed a strange expression on their faces, replacing their earlier hostility. It looked almost like pity.

Goddard cleared his throat before addressing the creature. "We were looking over the historical tapes from the Christa's library," he began, "Miss Ianni thought there was a chance that some of your people had survived, that you wouldn't need Radu after all."

The Calliach looked at Goddard with no hope in its eyes, "And I know you found nothing. Believe me, we wouldn't have tried such a desperate plan if we'd felt there was the slightest chance we could have survived otherwise."

"We found out some ... well, interesting things," Goddard continued. "For example, did you know that the Thalliosians attacked your world over five hundred years ago?"

"So long?" mused the Calliach. "I knew it was a long time, but I had no idea." If I had known it would be centuries, it thought, I would never have had the courage to stay alive. Then it brightened. "At least it means that we should have no problem returning home. The Thalliosians could never stay on one planet for so long."

"Unfortunately," Miss Davenport stepped in, as Goddard seemed reluctant to speak further, "there will be a considerable problem with returning to your world. Screen on."

The viewscreen appeared, showing a satellite's-eye view of the aftermath of the war on Calliashelast. "Apparently," Suzee took up the story, "after taking every bit of material wealth they could get from the surface, the Thalliosians decided to try deep-core mining, to strip the last mineral resources from the molten core of the planet."

"Deep-core mining?" echoed the Calliach in horror. "But that's terribly dangerous. It can destabilize the structure of the planet, causing ...." Its voice trailed off, as it followed Suzee's eyes back to the view screen. There, the last recorded image of Calliashelast throbbed briefly, as though something inside it had awakened. Tiny glowing lines started to trace across its surface, growing steadily larger and brighter. Finally, with a suddenness that stunned even the crew who had watched it earlier, the skin of the planet burst outwards in a silent, blinding explosion. When the glare died down, only a drifting cloud of space dust remained.

"No," said the Calliach, in a dazed voice "it can't ... I mean, not even the Thalliosians would ... Tell me," it turned to the others, angrily, "tell me this is not true. You'd do anything to keep your friend, wouldn't you? This is a trick!"

"No, it isn't," Goddard answered gravely, "you can check on the navigational console yourself, if you want. Your planet no longer exists."

It stumbled over to the console, but didn't bother to look - it sensed the truth. Instead, sitting down beside the console, it started to laugh, even as tears streamed down its face. "You know, it's fantastically funny, isn't it? I waited five hundred years to return to a dead planet." Goddard kept a careful eye on it; if the creature lost total emotional control, it could use Radu's body to do terrible damage to the ship. "Five hundred years I lay there, all alone, unable to move or see, knowing that the chance of ever finding a new host was too small to calculate. For five hundred years I kept myself alive by telling myself that the impossible would happen. And when it does, I learn that it was pointless from the start - our home is gone. The Thalliosians must think that's the best joke in the cosmos."

"They might if they were around to hear it," Bova said quietly, "but they didn't get away in time. When the planet exploded, they went with it."

"Oh, that's even funnier," the Calliach replied, in a choked voice, "three races destroyed instead of just two! You can't get much funnier than that, can you? The universe itself must be laughing."

Rosie knelt down beside the distraught Calliach. "At least," she said gently, "they can't hurt anyone else ever again. That's something, isn't it?"

Instinctively, she reached out and laid a hand on its shoulder to try and comfort it. She felt it go rigid, then relax, as if all tension, all fight, had gone out of it. It looked up and smiled at her.

"You are a kind person, Rosie Ianni," it said, so softly she could hardly hear it, "Promise me you'll look after him for me, won't you?" Then it leaned over and buried its head on its arms. The long Andromedan hair fell about it like a shroud.

"What?" said Rosie, bewildered. She gave its shoulder a shake, but it remained unresponsive. All her medical instincts were telling her that this was not a good sign. "Please, just talk to us," she begged, "I'm sure it'll make you feel better," but it remained as silent and motionless as the body they had found on the planet.

Seriously alarmed, she gave it another, much harder, shake. This time, the slight figure beside her started, like someone awakened from a deep sleep. It sat up and brushed the hair out of its eyes, then held its hands out before it, opening and closing them slowly as if it were not quite sure it remembered how to do it properly.

Suzee let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "Radu, you're back!" she cried, running over to him.

"Yes," he answered, his voice thick and dazed. He felt as though he had been pushing against a door with all his strength, only to have it suddenly open on him, sending him tumbling.

"All right," said Goddard, "but we've got to move quickly to keep it that way. Rosie, do you know how this thing was controlling him?"

"I think so," she replied, " I understand the microscanner readings now; there is a small object lodged near the base of his skull, close to his brain stem. That must be the Calliach. From there, it must have been able to connect with Radu's neural pathways."

"Can you remove it without hurting Radu?" asked Goddard.

"Yes," she said, thoughtfully, "if I can detach its neural connections. It'll be a complicated operation, though."

"We may not have very long," Goddard said, glad to finally have a chance to do something. "Any moment it may get over its shock, and try to regain control. Make your preparations as quickly as you can, Rosie. Bova and Suzee, you'll be scientific backup to Rosie. Harlan, take Radu to the MedLab. We've got to neutralize this thing as soon as possible."

"C'mon, Radu," Harlan said, as Radu struggled to his feet, "you'll not have to worry about this thing much longer. I promise."

"No!" Radu cried, pulling away from him. "You can't ... you don't understand...."

I was afraid of this, thought Goddard, that thing hasn't given up, not by a long shot. Trying to keep his voice calm and confident, he approached Radu, who backed away nervously, his hands clasped protectively over the back of his neck. "Radu, you're not thinking clearly. Let us remove that thing, and you'll feel like yourself again. We'll make sure it doesn't hurt you or anyone else ever again."

"It didn't hurt me, Commander," Radu replied, "At least, it didn't mean to. It just wanted to go home, like us. And now," an expression of grief twisted his face, "I think it's dying."

"Tell me again," asked Bova, as they gathered in the MedLab, "why this is a bad thing."

Radu shook his head. "It's not evil," he tried to explain, "it was telling the truth. It's the last of its kind. And when it dies, they'll be gone forever."

"That doesn't excuse what it tried to do to you," Goddard said. Radu's protective attitude toward the creature wasn't sitting well with him; he had yet to be convinced that the Calliach wasn't still keeping some degree of control over Radu.

"Well, it had a point, didn't it?" argued Radu. "Both humans and Andromedans were willing to kill each other, in order to preserve their own kind. All it wanted was a new host, so it could save its people. Remember, they normally live joined with others like that - it didn't understand that we're different."

"But still," Miss Davenport interjected, "to hold you against your will like that ... anything with any moral sense would have known it was wrong."

"It ... it misunderstood some things at first," Radu answered, flushing slightly as he remembered the self-pitying mood he had been in when he first encountered the Calliach. "It really thought that I'd want to join with it, once I understood what was going on. And you have no idea," he turned his eyes imploringly towards the others, "no idea how alone it was. It was nearly crazy with loneliness - it wasn't thinking clearly." Five hundred years, he thought with a shudder, centuries without contact with anyone else, totally forgotten by every living thing. Whatever harm it had done, it had already paid a terrible price.

"Why do you think it's dying now?" asked Harlan.

"I can feel it," said Radu, sadly, "It's given up. The only thing that kept it alive all these years was the hope it could save its people. Right now, it's breaking its connection with me; when it's finished, it will die." He felt a strange sense of loss at the thought, as though he were speaking of an old friend he had known since his hatchling days.

"I don't know why it feels it's failed, just because its home planet is gone," Rosie reflected, as she checked a monitor that showed Radu's analysis to be correct. "After all, it was on the nicest little planet right where it was."

"Rosie," hissed Goddard in exasperation, "don't give it ideas." All we need, he thought, is for that thing to revive and take control again. He noticed unhappily how Radu's face had brightened at the idea.

"Did you hear that?" Radu said. He closed his eyes, and tried to reach the Calliach before it faded away entirely. "She's right, your people may have lost one home, but they could build another."

No, a voice whispered in his mind, I see now that we were wrong, trying to escape our fate like this; we were destined to die centuries ago. Even on a suitable planet, I couldn't bring the embryos to maturity without a host - the equipment is sophisticated, but it still needs to be monitored and adjusted. And I know now that I was wrong to try and force you to join with me. These are your friends; it would make you terribly unhappy to leave them. I should have known it from the start; I suppose I really did know it, but I chose to believe what I wanted to believe. I am sorry, Radu, for all the distress I have caused for no good purpose.

"But it could work," asked Radu, feeling renewed hope, even as the Calliach seemed to sink deeper into despair, "with a new host?" He opened his eyes and looked at the others. "Bova, Suzee - can't you think of anything? Something it could use for a host, instead of me?"

The others pondered the problem. "What about the squonkeys?" Rosie finally said. "They're small, but they could probably work the equipment, if the Calliach directed them."

"No," Radu shook his head, "it says it's already tried them. It can't make the necessary connections to the mind of an animal; something about incompatibility with mental processes based primarily on instinct. It needs something more logical, with a higher ability to process information, like ... like...."

Thelma's face was blank as she tried to follow Radu's train of thought. She finally smiled in comprehension. "You mean," she nodded, intent on making sure she understood him, "like a Gizbot?"

"This is wild," Suzee said, gazing around her in admiration tinged with awe. "I've never seen anything like it." Her voice echoed slightly through the darkened passage.

They had returned to the planet, landing the Christa near the mysterious opening in the hillside. Under the direction of the Calliach, they had been able to deactivate the force field and enter the buried ship that carried the last remains of Calliashelast. At first, they could see nothing, but as their eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness, they could begin to pick out details of the interior.

"These must be the growth tanks the Calliach mentioned," Rosie said, as they wandered past tall transparent cylinders, filled with a liquid shimmering with luminescent bubbles.

"And these," added Bova, as he made Goddard and Davenport extremely nervous by poking his nose into every container and closet he could find, "must be the embryos and the Calliachs." He ran his hands over a series of polished metal storage containers covered, despite the warmth of the interior, in a layer of frost. "Wonder if they've survived for five centuries? Probably not."

"The Calliach says that there's no reason they shouldn't have," replied Radu, in a sharper tone than he normally used. "They can remain in suspended animation indefinitely."

"How is the ship still powered after all these years?" Miss Davenport asked, looking around nervously.

"A combination of geothermal energy and solar power from camouflaged receptors on the surface," Radu explained. "Apparently, using renewable resources was one of their main talents."

Rosie took a deep breath. "Ready, Radu?"

"As I'll ever be," he answered. Reaching up, he pulled his long hair away from the back of his neck.

Rosie examined the area just behind his right ear, near the base of his skull. "The laser scalpel shouldn't hurt much," she said, "but if you want, I can freeze the area first."

"Don't bother," he told her, "it says it can get out as easily as it got in."

Rosie watched in fascination as a small dark object started to become visible through the pale Andromedan skin. Slowly it worked its way outwards. Finally, she was able to seize it with her tweezers, and pull it free, like a splinter.

Holding it up, she stared at it for a moment. It was encased in a hard, dark shell, and was pointed at one end, rounded at the other. It looked like nothing so much as a watermelon seed. Such a tiny thing, she thought, for the fate of two races to depend on.

"All right, Thelma," she said, as she prepared for the next step.

Thelma came forward and deposited her charge at Rosie's feet. "This is Gizbot 8045," she said proudly, "who is pleased to be of service."

Rosie knelt beside the Gizbot, and lifted a small panel on its side. She carefully placed the Calliach into the specially-modified chamber, equipped to provide the creature with the nourishment it would require for eight years in its new host. "There you go," she whispered, "I hope you'll be comfortable."

"Is it working?" asked Harlan, peering at the Gizbot suspiciously, "How do we know if it's all right?"

Suddenly the Gizbot sprung to life. Beeping twice, it spun in a circle, then threaded its way between them, heading for a control panel on the wall of the chamber. Extending a probe, the Gizbot quickly established a connection. The lights brightened, and the team could hear the sounds of the ship awakening from its centuries-long sleep.

"Oh, I think the Calliach's in control," said Suzee, watching it in satisfaction. "Have you ever seen a Gizbot make a move like that without hitting one of us or running into the wall?"

Late that evening, Miss Davenport was heading for bed when she noticed a light on in the Team Room. Honestly, she thought, you'd think they had enough sense to get to bed early after a tiring day like today, what with body-snatching symbiotes and engineering midterms. Certainly, I'm exhausted.

She looked into the room, prepared to give the inhabitants a lecture on the necessity of sufficient rest for space travellers, but thought better of it when she saw that the only person there was Radu, apparently lost in thought.

"Difficulty sleeping, Radu?" she asked, her voice softer than her classroom tones.

"No," he said, still staring into space, "just ... thinking about things, that's all."

"Ah," she nodded, "Regrets, perhaps?"

He looked up at her in surprise. "Well, no, not exactly. It was the strangest feeling, though. At first I was scared, and then I was angry about what it was doing to me, but underneath I could tell that it didn't want to hurt me. It even ... well, I guess I could feel that it liked me. I'll kind of miss that."

"I understand," she said, and it occurred to him that she actually did. "Tell me, did you ever consider staying with it?"

"No," he shook his head firmly, "I belong with the team, with the Christa." Then he faltered and reddened, as if he was confessing something terrible. "But maybe ... if this had happened two years ago, perhaps - perhaps I would have chosen differently."

"Well," said Davenport, "things have changed over the past two years. We've all changed." For one thing, she thought, I would never have had a conversation like this with a student two years ago.

"I wonder if it will remember me," Radu said absently. Then he looked up at Miss Davenport, a ghost of a smile creeping over his face. "One thing I will really miss is having someone to write my engineering tests for me. I never got an "A" in engineering before." The smile vanished and he sighed. "I suppose I'll have to do it again, won't I? Since it wasn't really me who wrote it in the first place."

"Yes," replied Davenport, frowning slightly. "Of course, I wonder...."

"What?" he asked.

"The creature's technology was so different from our own. And even if they have a concept similar to Young's Theorem, they surely have a different name for it. So, I was wondering, how was it able even to figure out the questions, much less answer them?"

"I don't know," he said, puzzled, "I never thought of that. I know it could read my mind, but...."

"It's possible," Davenport said, with a sense of pedagogical satisfaction, "that you might know more about engineering than you think."

It was a beautiful evening, on a planet that now had a name; New Calliashelast. Outside, the sun was quietly setting, gold fading to orange and maroon. The squonkeys had found their nests in the trees, and were settling down, chattering quietly to each other. A star glimmered through the gathering dusk.

Somewhere under the earth, a small pyramid-shaped machine bustled through a maze of growth tanks, pipes and power conduits. It was not quite what it seemed, however; inside, something was alive, thinking, as it tirelessly took readings here, made adjustments there.

Good ... the embryos have all survived the voyage ... the Calliachs seem to be all right as well ... some of the equipment has deteriorated, but I can soon repair it. Eight years ... that's such a short time, hardly enough to get things ready ... I think they'll like this place, though ... In the evenings, we can gather outside and I will tell the young ones the old stories about where we came from, and new stories, too, new ones about how we found a second home ... I really should start composing a new story right away ... Eight years isn't very long when you have so much else to do....

It paused a moment in its constant activity, trying to gather its creative inspiration. "Once," it began dictating to itself, "in the darkest hour of the Calliach-Shelastir, we were visited by a ship called the Christa...."

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