Matroyshka

Cycles Go ‘Round [Chapter 7]

“A fallen meteor came down and did some damage to a bit of farming equipment,” were the details I got from dispatch on my way to the client’s planet. “The Grengians there are a simple kind, welcoming, but I’ve heard they can be stubborn. We’ve set aside several cycles for you to be able to hash out what sort of reimbursement will be needed for their claim.”

I double-checked the ship’s navigation as I descended upon the planet. It seemed as if every inch of the surface was covered in grid-like formations of farms, stacked upon each other, laden with even smaller grids of plants in all colors my eyes had ever known. Neatly among the farms were roads, all of equal width, crisscrossing the visible surface.

With various larger transport craft setting down and lifting off, landing space seemed to be at a premium. For once, I was glad to have such a tiny ship, more so that the landing fees were covered by the company. Of course, the coordinates that the client had forwarded us were a ways off, so the hoverbike was a necessity for the rest of the way.

Before locking up the ship, I contacted dispatch one last time. “Grep, are you there?”

“I hear you, Anna.”

“When was the last time the company reached out to the Grengians here?”

“Oh, it’s been… seems a decacycle.”

I hummed. “The notes said that they were a simple people. They’ve been… busy here on this planet.”

“Simple, hard-working,” Grep stated. “Course, trying to categorize everyone of a species in the way is in bad taste, even if it is positive.”

“Well, I can already tell you, tracking down this client isn’t going to be a walk in the… hydroponic farms.”

“Well, as you know, you have ample time. Just put on your best face and get back to me when you can.”

“I hope I will.”

The air of the planet, at the very least, was fresh and earthy, no environ suit required. Carried by the hoverbike, at much less than top speed, of course, I garnered multiple glances my way by the locals. The Grengians were short and gangly, with pale green skin and wide eyes, hands, and feet not too different than my own. Their residences and businesses were hidden beneath the massive farm structures, hiding most of the sunlight from the paved streets below. Despite the rubbernecking, the grid-like layout of the thoroughfares made approaching the coordinates fairly easy.

I knew I had arrived when the attention of the locals was more drawn towards the scene of the accident than myself. Shoving the hoverbike to the side of the street, I morphed into the edge of the crowd to seek out what was so interesting.

Before I could get close enough, the sea of small heads twisted up towards me, all wide eyes eventually finding their way my direction. “Uh, hi. I’m Anna with Cycles Go ‘Round Insurance. I’m looking for the resident by the name of Pawal.”

“Get, get, get,” the raspy voice called out. Some of those blocking the road began to disperse, and one of the locals finally made their way to me. “That’d be me myself, Anna insurance-folk.”

Pawal had light blue streaks on his skin, showing what I guessed to be signs of age. He grabbed my wrist and yanked me further into the group, my strength somehow no match for his. “Uh, yeah, let’s see what’s been damaged, I guess. A meteor, huh? They can be troublesome here, I’ve heard, on smaller planets like these.”

Only the most talkative of locals remained around the impact zone. To be honest, it wasn’t much larger than myself, had I laid down beside it. The meteor itself, a blobby, slick, shiny, and at that point, uninteresting rock, remained inside. I noticed Pawal’s other hand pointed up to the air to one of the stacked farm structures. The view was straight up to the daylight above, a neat hole, pierced through multiple layers at a steep angle. “The meteor has done great damage.”

“It has indeed,” I said, just able to free my wrist in order to have both hands available for my tablet. “But that’s what we’re here for. We will simply have to calculate how much damage was caused in total, and I’m more than happy to sit down and cover all this with you. I assume… we will start with… the cost of the construction, then the amount of product… and the production… lost as a result of this. I’m sure our main office has asked you to prepare all documents and other financial records to make sure that you get the most out of…”

I realized that my words were being lost beneath the local’s conversations, even Pawal joining them. Those that remained were chattering around the impact zone, eyes jumping up and down from the meteorite. “I, uh, is there something I should know about this, though?”

Pawal turned back and shrugged. “It is silly nonsense, Jawok neighbor-folk is talking.”

“It is not! Look at the thing.”

The client jerked back, hands out before him. “What is there to see, I see it has destroyed my planters. No more!”

“It is a strange material. Not of this world, you see. A mix of metals. An alloy.”

“Most… meteorites are not of this… or any other world, I’d assume,” I spoke up, trying to redirect the conversation.

The locals looked at me, only to continue without seeming to consider my words. “It has landed on my plot on the way out of yours, Pawal. My damages, too. I also get a share of money from insurance-folk here. But if the meteorite is of value…”

Pawal clapped his hands together. “Talk of a fool.”

“The geologist-folk!” Jawok exclaimed.

“He is halfway around the planet. So much trouble for him. You may call him if you like.”

“I will. He will be here. If this meteorite is of money material, then I will not take insurance-folk money. That is decided now.”

The client shook his head and rolled his eyes at me before bowing to his neighbor. “See if it makes a difference. Anna insurance-folk, it is late in the day and we must wait for neighbor-folk’s nonsense. Do you have lodging for the night?”

“The night? My ship is back at the yard not far from here—“

“Too far. Wife-folk and children-folk will accept you for the night.”

I looked around at the surrounding lodging. “That is…”

“There is no choice, Grengian people will show you comfort.”

I nodded slowly, glancing up at the thin strip of sky above. “Then I will gladly accept.”

---

I soon found myself at the client’s dinner table, knees hitting the bottom of the furniture from the cramped chair, being stared at by two young Grengians. Pawal’s wife-kin served us dinner while the children fired off questions, putting my translator through its paces. I assume whatever I responded back with was just barely coherent, but they accepted it nonetheless, eyes relentlessly drawn to me. Before I knew it, it was dark outside and Pawal was guiding me to a guest room, my stomach still full with the plant-based meal and my ears no longer ringing with constant talk.

The bed was a good deal shorter than what my legs would have enjoyed, but it was undoubtedly better than staying back on my ship and having to ride back out to the site. It felt like I had only just closed my eyes to drift off to sleep when there came a knock to the door. “Anna insurance-folk. The geologist-folk is here.”

I sat up, emancipating a groan as I saw the client in the doorway. “I thought I heard… he was on the other side of the planet.”

“Ha, the planet is not that big. He is looking at the rock.”

“Right now? Isn’t it the middle of the night?”

Pawal laughed again. “Terran are a funny kind, or just you? The night is over. The day is come.”

I rubbed at my eyes, somehow not crusted over. “Can I ask… how long is it exactly?”

“Two suns, or did you not notice? Haha! One-quarter hexaturn is our night here. Long days, short nights. Sunlight during all the year.”

“That isn’t nearly enough, Pawal,” I mumbled, forcing myself up. “Though… that makes perfect sense here, doesn’t it?”

“Up, up, you want to see the rock?”

I decided that if I did as Pawal desired, I could sooner than later find myself back on a mostly normal sleep pattern. “It now has become part of my duty to see this through, I guess.”

The one I recognized as Pawal’s neighbor-folk was already chatting with the new arrival, a more manageable crowd looking upon the meteor.

“It is not a meteor at all, he says!” Jawok announced.

Pawal pushed into the group. “If not a meteor, what is it?”

The one who I assumed to be the geologist spoke up. “It is not an alloy of a natural form. This is manufactured.”

“By who or what?”

“My eyes are not for this sort of thing, but I believe it to be a spacecraft.”

“What sort of craft?”

“One for landing, of course. And it has landed here.”

The Grengians looked back and forth among each other. Fearing how long the discourse might drag on, I spoke up. “Are you saying that something or someone is inside? I could check for a signal, maybe…”

“It is too small.”

“Why would it come this way?”

“By accident? Or because of an emergency?”

“Is it dangerous?”

“A creature could be in there?”

“No, it is too small. It is said so.”

“There are smaller creatures than us.”

“Why would they come here?”

“Like I said—“

“Hey—“ I butted in. “Could it be… opened?”

Several sets of eyes met mine before anyone dared to speak again. “The Terran-insurance-folk has such an idea.”

“She could want to sell it insurance.”

“If it is an it.”

“It is not our matter who she sells insurance to.”

“It should leave my property, then.”

“It can’t leave if it is trapped there inside the craft.”

“Can a craft really be so small?”

Pawal clapped his hands loudly. “That is enough. We must call engineer-folk from nearby. He can examine the craft. He has tools to see what is inside. Then we can tend to it and the insurance-folk can sell it her insurance.

I stared at the once-thought rock. “Uh, I don’t really want to need to—“

“Call the engineer-folk.”

“Call him!”

The chatter continued while I assumed their second expert of the day was being reached out to. I wandered a bit, watching my wrist communicator for any sliver of a signal able to reach off-planet. When I was finally able to connect to a comms satellite, I tapped away a message to Grep.

This is Anna. These people are… quite nice, but talkative. I think I’m making progress, but there’s this whole deal going on right now. Hardly able to proceed. Do you think they would take it badly if I tell them to fix the damage on their own, and then we can comp them?

As I waited in place for a reply to come back my way, I garnered a few looks. I halfway expected for someone to ask if I were lost or in need of lodging, but at least most of the locals seemed to be focused on their daily tasks as the day went on. Finally, a ding came to my inbox.

That’s not good business, Anna. Just stick around. Remember, you have the time. Just don’t have too much fun! -Grep

“Thanks,” I said under my breath, sighing as I turned back to return to Pawal’s farm.

Sparks were flying as I arrived. The onlookers had managed to pull themselves far enough away as the engineer-folk did his work. The client found and joined me, speaking loudly over the sound of the whirring machinery.

“Engineer-folk has the right tools,” he said with a nod. “He says there is something inside.”

“Hopefully not anything delicate.”

“It was not so delicate that it could not smash my planters,” Pawal said lowly.

I glanced to the side to see him forcing a smile my direction. “Was… that a joke, Pawal?”

“An attempt to keep up with you, Anna insurance-folk.”

“It is open!” The Grengian at the impact site called out. At that point, there were more locals about than when I had arrived. I stuck to Pawal to make sure we made it into the center of the group.

Despite its melted, distorted exterior, the fallen object seemed to have a proper structure inside. However, even deeper inside was some sort of mechanical object. It seemed fully unnatural, with metallic humanoid-adjacent features, attached to a stout, round body with robotic appendages in the form of a biped.

“It is a creature!”

“It’s a machine.”

“Is it the dangerous type?”

“It doesn’t even seem like it’s working.”

“It could be dangerous if it was.”

“Why was it in the meteor?”

“It wasn’t a meteor, it was a craft.”

“A pod, like one ejected during an emergency.”

“What sort of an emergency?”

“Why does that matter?”

“It is dead?”

“Machines don’t die, they stop working.”

“Engineer-folk does know about machines.”

“Yes, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Who could know about a machine like this on this planet?”

“The brother-folk of my wife-kin works for robot making factory in neighboring system.”

As the chatter go to me, I backed away, leaving Pawal to shrug and nod with the various ideas. I hoped I could find the satellite’s favor once again and ask Grep to reconsider me being there, but the tall structures did me no favors. The client eventually pulled away from the group. “Good news, Anna insurance-folk.”

“Yeah?”

“The robot-knowing-folk can come visit in a day. It is of great interest, so of course.”

“Oh…”

“My guest bed is your pleasure for one more night, at least.”

“I… appreciate your hospitality.”

That night, Pawal’s children seemed to have come up with plenty more questions for me to fumble through. At the end of it all, I was happy to be able to return to the guest room, but somehow even the cramped space of my ship seemed preferable.

It was bright day by the time Pawal called on me. It was still far from enough sleep, but the thought of being able to get off the planet that day forced me to get myself up and prepared.

The neighborhood was chatting in a big circle around the impact zone. Inside the pod was the mechanical being, still immobile. It was not long before a vehicle came along the road, carrying the guest of honor from off-planet.

The robot-knowing-folk had several instruments with him. He seemed to part the sea of locals to examine the thing that had descended upon them. “Is it alive?”

“A robot is not an alive thing.”

“Shush, robot-knowing-folk must work.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Not if it is not working or living.”

The so-called expert raised his hand to the air, his body leaned close to the pod. For once, the crowd listened. “It is alive! There is a signal of a brain of sorts!”

With his computer, he seemed to talk with the machine— in the programs and numbers sort of way, of course— to do whatever seemed necessary. The locals, as well as myself, crept closer. The head area of the robot suddenly folded open, revealing a chamber where there was a tiny but separate creature. Its tiny eyes and purple body were indeed active, glancing about us from its tiny cockpit. It began to squeak and jerk about, shaking a minute fist up at us.

“What is it saying?”

“It is too tiny.”

“It does not use our words.”

“We need someone who can translate.”

“What sort of thing is it? And what does it speak?”

“Wait!” Pawal said loudly. “Anna insurance-folk has the power of a translator. She has communicated to my children-kin with it.”

I stepped back as the eyes of the locals found me once again. “I… perhaps my translator can decipher his language.”

The Grengians stepped back, allowing me closer. The tiny voice inside the robot inside the pod inside the impact zone squeaked at me, allowing the words to be pulled apart and put back together.

“I have determined that this world and its resources and people shall now belong to me. I demand to see the leader of this world to transfer command to me.”

I stood, watching the various eyes follow me up. “I, uh… it wishes to see your leader.”

“The leader-folk!”

“She is to the south.”

“Is she not busy?”

“She leads busily, yes.”

“We can get her here for something as important as this.”

“We must contact her.”

I glanced back to the road, attempting to remember where I had left my hoverbike. Before I could step off onto the road, a small hand grabbed at my wrist. Pawal shook his head at me as I turned around to face him. “This has become a great matter, Anna insurance-folk.”

“That is… yes, it has.”

“Perhaps bigger than a dispute over land. I think that neighbor-folk Jawok will not need my insurance money from Cycles Go ‘Round insurance.”

“Oh.”

“For you to put aside your job duties to observe this event, Terran-folk must be very inquisitive.”

“I mean…”

“I should have given you my documents on the day you arrived,” he smiled, offering out a data chip. “But I have been happy to have you as my guest. You will not wish to stay another night, to see our Leader?”

“I, uh… no. I’ve already lazed around here quite a bit. Other things to attend to. But I will see to getting you your money as soon as possible, getting you working again.”

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