This is a work in progress , I have no idea whether it will ever be finished , probably not . Maybe it can't be finished , as the story of time is never finished .. or is it , Mr. Hawkins ? The time span of this story is a little over 60 million years , don't think that any of these events occur simultaneously . Furthermore , this here is the BASIC ENGLISH version , like DOS 1.0 , capisce ?

A String of Pearls

by John Le Taunte / Copyright Vinci American Ltd .

Intermission IVX :

The robot turned away for a moment and followed the screen showing the approaching ship that carried Golan Trevize , Janov Perlorat , the child and Gaia to earth . It's not Gaia , he thought , she is just an incarnation of Nyphe , don't make that mistake . Even if they know and see her only as Bliss .

The ship's approach was in it's final phase .

Turning back his head , he looked back at the Dwarf .

" Is this absolutely necessary ? "

" It is . They must not know . "

" What's the flaw with Galaxia ? "

" You'll find out soon enough . "

" I am doubting . "

" Fair enough . If I were wrong , nothing would happen and your future design for mankind will work . But if I am right .... "

" I see . " Daneel responded .

" So , neither the Foundations nor Galaxia must know ... "

" Any part of it . By the way , the idea with the child won't work either , I am sorry , Daneel . Ambisexuality has been often tried in nature , but it's against the first Nyphe Law . The DNA gets autosterile . " The Dwarf finished Daneel's sentence . " Humans are still too young und undeveloped . Any knowledge of the CODE or the reality of the Multiversum would induce a minority complex and they might well destroy themselves . "

" Is this what my old friend Hari called the ' Chaos ' ? "

" I guess it's more a capitulation of the mind when realizing the real complexities of the problem ... you have observed when humans can't solve problems they frequently go into catatonic states , may it be drugs , violence or hate . "

Daneel didn't answer for a minute .

" I still don't really understand how it happened that this .. crystal ...

" Actually I am told it is a concentration of psi - matter .. it just emanates rays in every normal - and hyperenergetical spectre ... , an enormous field of energy ... "

" crystal or field ... just disappeared ? Or did someone cause that ? "

" Someone did ... . But ARTAX must return . "

" Your name is Norrin , you say ? " Suddenly he remembered a human , he once knew , who insisted to ascertain facts over and over . Oh , Partner Elijah , I could really use you here . " Did you have other names in the past . "

" More than you , Daneel , or shall I say , Mr. Dermezel ? "

" You are well informed , Norrin . "

This was a statement , so there were no comments .

" Now , this .. field , crystal however we would call it ... is something that is above the influence of , basically everything , that mortals can even understand or robots , I guess , looking at me , so , how do you think it can be found or moved back to anywhere if it does not exist in the normal four - dimensional continuum anyway ? "

" It is a matter of encouraging favorable circumstances . "

" How does one create circumstances for something that is beyond grasp anyway . If I understand you right , this ... field , object .. existence maybe ... is an integral part of the order of the universe itself , it's an integral part of it . How does one .... influence the universe itself ? "

" We don't , neither you or me , neither populations of whole galaxies could . "

" So ? "

" We can help the Universe to heal itself maybe , if it works out all right . "

" You sound as if the Universe lived . "

" You think not ? "

Another pause .

" So , if this ... thing .. whatever .. does not come back one day , this part of the Universe will .. collapse ? "

" I don't know what exactly would happen , but I would certainly not like to be close when it happens ."

" And .. this .. thing is missing since what ... 55 million years , and if we don't get it back , something real bad is going to happen in a couple of years and this universe we know would , what , cease to exist ? "

" Maybe in a million years , maybe in 10 years , maybe in 1000 years , but yes , take your pick . "

" Let me try to get this together : ARTAX is something neither me nor you know exactly what it is , but it has to do something with a CODE and this CODE has something to do with the order of the universe and it was in this Galaxy for many million years and then it disappeared 50 million years ago and we don't know why , or how , and if we do not get it back pronto , there'll be something like the big bang reversed in this universe or part of it ;  and of course we don't even know where it is , and if we know where it is , we couldn't do anything with it since it's five - dimensional . That about covers it . "

" Oversimplified , but basically correct . "

" I can deduct logically that you believe that something can be done , although I could not even start a computation on what it could be . But , you are here . Still , I cannot find any logical possibility even to find a starting point to solving this puzzle , consequently I really see no logical point to lend you my help . I could not change anything anyway , neither anyone in this Galaxy could , so there is no logical incentive , or can you name one ? "

" No . And , quite true , there is no logical incentive . But , if I may ... do you remember what your oldest friend once told you ? "

" You are talking of Hari Seldon , and , no , I do not see how psychohistory could help in this scenario you are picturing . "

" I was not talking of Hari Seldon ."

For the second time of the day , something in Daneel's memory rung .

" You mean Elijah Baley ? "

" Daneel , do you remember what Elijah told you when you considered the situations he was in as unsolvable ? "

" Please specify . "

" Every situation holds the key of it's solution in itself . A robot however , while being logical , but not necessarily reasonable cannot imagine this . Wasn't it true ? Scientifically , your IQ , your abilities and possibilities are way above humans , but inherent things are hidden from you ."

" I must admit the thought has occurred to me . I accept that you are seriously concerned , but , being a robot , I have to base my decisions on logic . So , can you give me more information about your mission ? "

" I know the basics , but remember , even considering I am old , that happened over 50 million years ago . You may find details of the planet Jewel , if you find someone there to talk to ... "

" Will IT talk to me ? "

" IT has not been seen since millions of years , but since Jewel still exists .... try your luck . "

" Well , for all I know , this part of the story started many million years ago ..... "

Chapter One

It had been a hard life sometimes , but not ungratyfying , Mel Bonvivier mused , as he looked upon his small agricultural estate that ran partially parallel to the ILA - Strip of the Hunan Spaceport .

The clouds on the horizon darkened again . Rain was a common phenomenon on Askaan IV , or Kaan , as the locals called it .

It brought record crops in many years , food that sold for high prices now to the Independent Merchants . Nobody knew exactly what was happening on Trantor nowadays , but real , organic food still went for a premium , for those who could afford other staples than the soybean convenipacks .

A VESTA Class cruiser started to approach the landing area , hardly visible in the clouds . The VESTA hulls were often reconfigured to swift small merchant ships , and every time he saw one it reminded Mel of his time in the Merchant Guild , traveling the Galaxy for twenty years , first on the MOONATA , and later , until she was destroyed , the HEIZENBERG .He had joined as soon as he could , after his military service , which still seemed to him the greatest waste of time mankind had ever devised . He had seen it too often . Planets were destroyed and rebuilt , but behind the facades of the Imperial powers , it had always been the same Corporations that destroyed and rebuilt , making riches in the process , like a child building sand castles on the beach just to see them washed away by the new flood .

Only the child did not get paid for it .

He had almost risked a court martial after he refused further service after Tekeuze , when a mentally challenged local Count had persuaded his old school friend Eggon Hatter , Prime Minister to Emperor Hadrian II , to stamp out a revolutionary conspiracy on Tekeuze , the second planet of the Phallo System , known for its mineral - rich asteroid belt .

The Imperial Dragoons had dutifully arrested the conspirators and executed about 4000 civilians when the Security Service found out that the conspiracy had exclusively existed in his Lordship's Count Ephraim's mind . It was a little too late then . The Empire had to cover up as much as it could , he was sent to leave after some months in jail .

Unconsciously he fumbled for stiff right hand wrist , a reminder of the interrogations .

The service on the MOONATA he remembered as the most zesty part of his life , running legal and sometimes illegal cargo through the Galaxy , being poor , then being rich , then being poor again . What a life for a young man , zaftig girls in every harbour , the good comradeship in the shipyards , the conspiracies with fellow merchants , the stark emotional impact of fights or love .

It was time to contact the RoboShop , he remembered . Two of his Harvest Mekks had developed mechanical trouble , as they often did and the manufacturer hid behind contract clauses that defined the cognizant Court of Jurisdiction as the Municipal Court VII , Trellian Sector , Trantor . Yes Sir , right , to travel to the Center planet just for a complaint about two Mekks .

That left him no other choice but to bring them to Old Jed Conti, a mercurial leftover from the Naval Engineer Corps who now ran a workshop over in Haussen , the neighboring city . Maybe Jed was not drunk today , Mel hoped . Not too drunk .

His Com beeped , and he grabbed for it . As expected , it was his wife calling . His second wife , Tallia , who did share his elder days . She was a good wife , he realized again , he could have had much worse luck .

Never though he could keep out of his dreams the picture of Cyrene , the light of his life that died in the burning wreck of the HEIZENBERG after an encounter with some old cruiser stolen somewhere by Tyrannian pirates , leftovers of the old Tyrannian Regime . Thats what the Trantorian News Channel reported , as usual .

Dakota was missing , she told him , maybe he went to the Plateau again . Mel sighed .

He had been on a six - month cover mission for the Guild to get gold and high - tech circuitry from an Empire planet to a freaking cold banana planet at the outer Galactic Hemisphere called Terminus , a name he had never heard of before , when the news of the destruction of the HEIZENBERG had reached him on Anacreon .

Half a year later , while he was busy trying to transfer most of the credits he had earned in the last seven years into drinkable alcohol , he was approached by a Guild representative , who introduced himself as the Stewart . The Stewart brought a gift. A little bundle of diapers , delivered into the sudden clumsy hands of Mel .The diaper inmate was wet and complained loudly about this uncivilized treatment .

The Steward informed him that Cyrene's and his son , that she bore without his knowledge , had been luckily saved from the wreck of the HEIZENBERG and that the Guild life insurance company would furnish him with means enough to live a good , if not spectacular life on any reasonable planet . On the condition that he would be a good father to the child and to keep his mouth shut .

Being used to clandestinity in his Guild Work , that was no problem for him , Mel assured the representative , but why the secrecy about a child of a normal Guild member and his lover ? The Steward hinted on implications of Imperial bureaucrats with the pirates and explained that the Empire would like to hang the HEIZENBERG affair as low as can be . That made perfect sense to him . Empire as usual . Oysters are more talkative .

It had not been an easy change for him , from a bachelor drunkard to a fresh father , and he had fucked up big a couple of times in the first two years . Slowly though , he saw in his son the only remaining link to his love for Cyrene and he pulled it together .

He had remembered Askaan IV from two real profitable deals in his Merchant past and decided to settle there . Although he hardly had any friends , at least he did know some people there .

Mel Bonvivier had never been a man of much loquaciousness and as farm work was a mostly solitary job in these days of tiktok mekks , he stuck mostly to himself . His joy was reading books to his son , and , as the boy grew up , collect as much of the Imperial data files as he could . He remembered well that knowledge is the sharpest weapon of all , and the pen beats the sword eight times over in the long run .

Eight years later he met Tallia Banda , a widow of another former Merchant colleague who had died in the suppression of the Independent Merchant League project . Linge Chen had ordered the nuclear destruction of three planets without a blink of the eye .

Similar fates gave birth to similar feelings and loneliness finds comfort in sharing memories . They married a year later .

So , the boy was missing and his step mom had probably alerted the whole Galaxy . Again . Mel smiled , remembering his boy days . A boy is a boy . The kid was undoubtedly on the plateau again , the highest hill in the vicinity and probably had a hell of a time .

His wristwatch indicated 1756 on the Imperial Scale .. late afternoon . He went the ten steps to his glider and hobbled in , using the left hand to fish for the KeyLink . Mel chuckled to himself and grabbed the steering control . The clouds had tightened and the glance of lightning reflected from the glider’s hull .It would be an hour’s ride back to the farm , and in between he would pick up the kid .

Chapter Two

Guard duty in the outskirts of the old Normannic sector of the Galaxy must be the last step before embalming , Rod thought . What have I done to deserve that posting ?

Lieutenant Commander Rod ( Roderick ) McLane was the Captain of the BUTTERFLY , a 100 m diameter , spherical light cruiser , a variation of the old Lemurian Corvette design . Imperial military service in the outer provinces has become much of a show , the Empire did not have a real grip anymore .The local viceroys , princes , dukes and ministers paid lip service to the Emperor , but in reality the fight who could saw out the biggest slices of the cake had long begun .On the other side , no one ever dared to attack Imperial forces openly , the Empire still controlled the biggest fleet of space ships in the history , and , slow though it was in decisions , no planet or province could risk to be openly attacked in revenge or for retribution .

His first officer , Major Tang Ratha was absent for one or the other staff training duty on Cephalus IV and his new Weapons Officer , Lieutenant Boyt van Outeren was in sickbay for some unutterable venereal disease he caught on the last shore leave on Zaragoza , reportedly trying on three girls at a time . Rod was somehow glad that his swanky IO was gone and the temporary loss of the young lieutenant did not bother him much either , but it made for the fact that the rest of the BUTTERFLY’s officers had to do more duty , related to the smaller number on board the duty roster was tight .

Petty Officer Sinclair Lewis knocked and walked in , as usual exclusively dressed in sport briefs and his beard . No shoes , either . He carried a stack of printouts .

“ Hi , Cap ! “ , he greeted , not much in accordance with standard regulations . “ I have the list of the goods we impounded yesterday from that little smuggler yacht off Corona . “ .

McLane’s face lightened up a little .

“ Anything interesting ? “

“ Not bad , Sir . We got 50 barrels of what these guys call Cognac , real old - fashioned wooden barrels , would you believe ... , about 200 pounds of designer drugs either for erectile dysfunction or headache or both, we haven't found out yet , we're feeding them to van Outeren , haha , cigars , , twelve credit Rolexes , a thousand uncensored copies of that video book from this hmm , .. what’s her name , Teresa Da Villa , " I was the Secret Lover of Emperor Gregorius " , all that usual stuff , but one thing caught my attention and it's quite interesting , there were 200 master copies of the new Mara van Taan vidibook , legal ones , in their safe . "

" So .... ? "

" Yea , I thought that's funny , Cap . "

" I am unable to follow you , Petty Officer Lewis , I only work here . "

" Well , Sir , you have heard about Mrs. van Taan , I guess ? "

" Isn't she this .. hm .. conspiracy theorist , with that idiotic 3D - Show that says that all the Empire is run by some sort of mekks , who look like people , and some scientists in cahoots on some godforsaken planet on the fringe of the Galaxy ? "

" Indeed , Sir , that is her . "

" Well , so she sells a lot of books . Good for her . So what ? "

" Well , Sir , I happened to chance a look at the bill of lading the yacht carried . These books , the file says , are from Terminus . "

" Termi .. what ? "

" Terminus , Sir . Located circa 50,000 parsecs from Trantor, between Anacreon , which is about 50 light years away, and Smyrno, it is described as a planet poor in resources, particularly mineral resources, and of negligible economic value. "

" Petty Officer Lewis , when I need an oracle I don't understand I read the orders of the Admiralty . What the heck are you talking about ? "

" Well , Sir , what I thought , hm , if you'd put yourself in the position of a conspiracy theorist ..... . "

" I can do that , Petty Officer . I remember my first divorce . "

" Right , Sir . So , you know , Cap , I was with the Merchant's Guild before they got us on Tuwaate and offered us service in the Navy or five hundred years of jail and a honorable execution ? "

" Was that when Linge Chen had Tuwaate sterilized with nukes ? "

" Just before . So I took the offer . But , lately when I was on Trantor on this shitty new tactical maneuvers class , I met some of my old friends and we had a beer . "

" One beer ? "

" About nine to three . But , what I was told very late one morning at the Stardust Bar , very hush - hush , was , that Chen's office had contracted the Guild for massive high - tech deliveries to this funny planet , Terminus . Now , isn't it funny that this lady throws out these conspiracy theories that there is a danger to the Empire from the fringe , but the merchandise she sells comes right from that same fringe ? From a planet that by the books has no industry ? If her theories were right , there would be the enemy , but then the Empire spends all that money there . This is a stinkburger , if I ever saw one . "

" So now you are going into that conspiracy business yourself , Sinclair " McLean grinned .

" Well , Sir , I heard that you know Colonel Ruthgaard of the BOSS , maybe you can talk to him about this . "

" Maybe I could , you're right . Actually I think I should talk to him and imagine what fun we'd have . This adventurous duty we are in here since four months , having completed .. " McLane checked the computer console " exactly 2688 orbits around Kaan by now , without as so much as an irregular meteor drew me as well back into contemplation quite often . And after 28 years in Fleet service , there is a lot to contemplate , would you agree , Mr. Lewis ? "

" Of course , Sir ."

" I have been to lots of these tedious courses myself . And I remember , one of my classmates also mentioned Tuwaate some times ago . He was then a Lieutenant 2nd Grade on the ORLITZER , where the new .. recruits .. from Tuwaata were transported . And , coming to think of it , he was sure that it was not what it seemed . He was sure that the new .. recruits , the former members of the Guild , were actually agents of the Merchants , not some poor sods that were caught at the wrong time in the wrong place . Isn't that a funny story ? "

Sinclair remained silent .

" Well , Sinclair , what do you think we two tin soldiers can do about this ... conspiracy ? "

" Sir , this lady makes a stop on Kaan in 6 weeks . Maybe we'll see the show and check her out . "

" Ok , we'll see . We'll have to wait until Major Ratha is back . So , what's about the paperwork ? "

“ Of course , Sir . Amm , the contraband was , as per regulation , officially destroyed , Sir . Here is the list , the notary seal and the hmm , original certified and notarized signature of Major Ratha . “

“ Very good . “

Petty Officer Sinclair Lewis stopped at the door . “ Sir , Lieutenant Weygand will relieve you in five minutes . However , there are specimens of the contraband leftover in the Analysis Room , would you care to evaluate them personally ? ““

" Well , let me try a bottle of what they call Cognac and I need to make personally sure the cigars are really contraband , I guess ... , hmmm .. what about the video book ? “

" Mostly silicone , Sir . "

" Tempora non mutantur .... or , as Voltaire would have put it , plus ca change , plus c'est la meme chose . Goodnight , Mr. Lewis . "

The SALADUR materialized close to the small , a thousand - light-years averaging , more or less spherically part of this relatively young galaxy that the First Fakok has asked the ship and it's crew to investigate whether it was suited to be enclosed on the growing net of bases and the influence sphere the Geweihier were establishing in this new galaxy .

An anthropologist from a Earth - Class like planet would be reminded of giant crabs when trying to catalogue the Geweihier . They were about 2 metrical units high and wore a chitine based exoskeleton which was additionally strengthened by molybdenum and silicates that they took with their food . They had six limbs , obviously two lower ones for movement and four , slightly smaller ones for manipulation . The body ended on it's highest point in a helmet - like encapsulation , where eight small eyes and other sensatory or olfactory senses were located .

JacAL13 , the captain , ordered his crew in the COM - department to fish for everything possible on hyper wave with an short indication of his right sheer-arm . This sector was unknown and if he discovered and conquered it in the name of the First Fakok's glory , promotion , lots of geegee and maybe free choice of a couple of fems would follow .

He went to his quarters and indulged , maybe a little sinfully , in his small supply of geegee and slumped between his personal rocks for a little restitution . That was the plan .

He could not overhear a claw scratch on his quarter's doors , and hissed unfriendly , the sign for whoever was out there to come in and be careful .

It was a Ghark , a rating as low as you could go and still be called an officer , JacAl13 thought . If ever an enlisted member has greeted a Ghark , it must have been dark .

" Reflection of the Fakok , " the Ghark said " we have found an unknown object , obviously a spaceship , a local one . "

JacAL13 kicked a couple of rocks , and stared silently at the Ghark .

The Ghark flubbed . " What are we to do with this ship , Reflection of the Fakok ? "

" You dumb flubbers take it of course what the hell is wrong with you , have you forgotten ALL the basics ???? Go get me ONmec4 ."

The Ghark disappeared like lightning .

Interlude

The buildings of the Bureau of Social Security ( BOSS ) are hermetically sealed from the outside . Officially , they do not exist except a small building in the Gaard Sector of Trantor , there are no blueprints to be found or contractors to be asked . The facilities had been blasted up to eight miles into the rock bed of Trantor and were covered on the surface by thousands of neat block buildings of living quarters for Grey’s who had no idea what was below them

In the old tradition of the Empires of Mankind , the builders had not been aware that they did not only built their greatest structure , but their own tombs as well .

Colonel Doran Ruthgaard of the Imperial Specials thought for a minute about this other side of .. public service , and told the Office Mekk to pull the file Terminus

Chapter Three

The boy leaned back and rested his back on a somehow rectangular piece of rock . He had a persistent dream the last days but he could hardly remember anything about it except that he always met strangers who turned out to be himself . What a nonsense . His fingers dug unconsciously in the sand that millennia of wind had smothered out of the volcanic rock, when he recognized they had found a little crystal and stopped . He drew his hands close to his eyes and examined the little stone . It was another piece of Arconite , as he had found many here before , but it was of exceptional clarity .

He heard , in the background of his school memories , Frors Mantell , his old teacher of chemistry , drone :

“ Arconite is an essential soil trace mineral for all forms of life . When animals do not have it in their diet , they begin to loose weight . When we lack Arconite , our hair turns white and our heart can inherit serious damage .It can be added to plowed soil , together with other essential minerals . Arconite is a complex Potassium—hexasulfate , composed of 6 potassium atoms , 12 oxygen atoms and 3 silicone atoms . The summary formula is 3 [ K2 SO4 ] .However , Arconite crystals are not hard and impregnable like glass-crystals , as soon as our saliva touches them , they dissolve through our bodies ….The ancient name for Arconite is ‘ Idi Nyphe Tears ’ , though we have no information where this name originates from …. “

How could such a beautiful crystal just disappear into you , and keep you alive ? That was it , what Mantell had said , wasn’t it ? Maybe there is no difference between dead crystals and warm life , maybe it is all one , are we just too blind to see ? Viruses are said to be dead and they live , too .

Why did his school chums laugh when he told them about these questions that never left his mind ? His new teacher , Mrs. Galice , just shook her head and told him to be more attentive and to concentrate on standard deviance solutions and quadratic equations . His daddy had just looked sadly at him when he reported back from school and shrugged his shoulders , to indicate he felt too old to change the world .

The expected rain has arrived and thunder mixed in the ambient noise . He knew his daddy would dutifully search for him and get him back , if just to keep his mom from filing a petition to the Emperor to send the Specials out . It did get pretty dark here on Kaan when it rained in the evening . The wind took up and pretty soon all around him lightning struck the higher elevated rocks .

He was not afraid , when the lightning seemed to strike him .

Suddenly his vision was all of a burning white and green sensation , except of the view of the crystal he still held in his hand . A slowly rotating tetraeder of green light materialized in the gem's center within a misty cloud in the middle that seemed to form a human , female face , her dark hair giving the impression of black flames against a background of the brightest emerald green he ever saw . A pair of deep purple eyes looked , as he felt , right into his heart .

" Are you all right , son ? "

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