They formed a camp just a few dozen meters off the path, atop a hill that overlooked the podium and archway.
“Just what the hell do we suppose is going on here?” Jaysn asked. “I would be tempted to say natural migratory process, given their apparent level of intelligence, but the way they treat technology, I could also believe some sort of religious ceremony, or even a ritualistic sporting event of some sort.”
Tamana ignored him, instead focusing on Solvig and trying to make her as comfortable as possible as she lay on the ground, with a coat serving as a makeshift pillow. She knelt down in front of her, took one of her hands, and studied the woman’s expression intently. “Dr. Solvig, can you hear us? Are you aware of what’s happening? Do you know who we are?”
“Trespassers. Disruptive.” The woman said softly, then squinted in discomfort. “So, noisy.”
Novik walked over to the two and began scanning Solvig. “Her vitals — respiration, blood pressure, and heart rate — are somewhat elevated, though not dangerously so. Her brain is producing elevated levels of theta waves.”
“So, she’s asleep?”
“More like she’s half-asleep. She must have taken quite a big hit neurologically with that much stimulation. She’s not Terran, so her brain isn’t used to neural interfacing like that. We’re lucky we pulled her out when we did. As it is, she only exhibited the symptoms of minor shock. I’m guessing she’ll recover with a good rest.”
“Trespassers, noisy, disruptive,” Tamana said, slowly getting to her feet. “I don’t like the sound of any of those.”
“Agreed,” Novik said. “It would seem that whoever she spoke to wasn’t expecting us and doesn’t believe our intentions to be benevolent.”
“So, who did she speak to, and where are they? It almost certainly wasn’t one of those humanoids. So, are they somewhere else in the city? Are they out here? Are they in orbit watching us on a vidscreen?” Jaysn asked, studying his clothes.
“Hopefully she can tell us when she wakes up,” Novik said.
Jaysn nodded. “Meanwhile. We seem to have reverted to our original forms. My jacket has changed, as have you and Tamana. I feel like I’m breathing real air again.”
“You’re not, though,” Novik said. “While you are much closer to your original biology and are now seeing in a spectrum comparable to what you’re familiar with, and the air is slightly more breathable for humans, oxygen levels are still very low. I’m still detecting the same odd filtration process changing the air you’re breathing into something your body can use, and your muscles still appear to be subtly enhanced to allow you to function in the higher gravity of the planet. I’d say the portals are designed to make our anatomy optimally compatible with each environment when it reconstitutes us. Optimal is closer to what we’re used to out here.”
“Dr. Novik, are you picking up any additional technological signatures?” Tamana asked.
“Scanning.” Novik looked around. “No power sources or energy signatures other than this,” he gestured to the dais and archway. I do sense portions of the canyon walls are made out of the same building material that was common in the city. Then there’s that.” He pointed to a spot on the canyon wall several kilometers away behind them.
“I’m not seeing anything,” Jaysn admitted.
“I suspect the argon is diffusing the light so you can’t see it, but my sensors show another of those light towers like the one we just encountered. It seems to start right near the base of the cliff and proceeds up and out into that stationary rectangular structure.” He pointed upward to one of the rectangular, gossamer clouds.’ “It will probably be visible once the sun descends.”
Again, Jaysn squinted, unable to make out any features through the atmospheric haze after a couple of kilometers.
Tamana walked up and placed herself next to the two of them. She spoke in a low, almost hushed tone. “Doctor Novik, given what we know about how that interface actually works, do you think there is any way for us to safely access it?”
“You want to what?!” Jaysn stepped back, genuinely surprised. “A minute ago, you were doing everything you could to keep me from using that thing, you all but bit my head off for letting Dr. Solvig use it, and now you’re trying to find a way for us to use it again? I really don’t understand this. At least tell me you’re going to wait until Dr. Solvig wakes up and make sure she hasn’t suffered any permanent damage before you go hooking yourself up to strange alien tech?”
“Jaysn, if that was one of the controllers of this city, and they see us as trespassers and disruptors, what if they decide to evict us? Or worse? This may be a matter of survival now.”
“It might also be a low-level functionary who wasn’t informed of our arrival, or maybe even a dream she’s having. We’ve seen no indication they intend to harm us, in fact, they’re doing a pretty good job of adapting us to keep us from dying. We may be taking all of it out of context. We should at least wait for her to provide a better explanation of what she saw while she was in there.”
“We also need to find our missing team members, who may be in danger. This is the first indication of anyone intelligent around here. We should at least try to get them to help us.”
“With all due respect, Dr. Tamana,” Novik interjected. “We’ve seen no indication that they are capable of reason at all. It may have been their equivalent of an automated recording. Why would you think this is an advisable course of action at this time?”
“Because she knows something about this place that we don’t. She’s got additional information she didn’t share at the briefing. Isn’t that right, Dr. Tamana?”
Tamana turned and walked back, kneeling before Dr. Solvig. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Dr. Katsaros.”
“Really? Because it’s all making sense now. It’s bothered me ever since we were asked to accept this mission without getting the full history of the dig or the nature of the find. It really tripped my suspicions when I saw the makeup of this team. No astrophysicist, no mathematician, no real technologist? No expertise could have identified the nature and purpose of that disk almost immediately. Instead, you brought on a xenozoologist and an anthropologist, which, against all expectations, seems to indicate that you knew this was a mission to study alien life.” He shot Tamana an almost angry look, sure he was right this time. “Why else would you even tap me to be on this team?”
Tamana stepped back and surveyed her surroundings, as if hoping for an escape route. She signed heavily and looked apologetically at Jaysn. “I didn’t tap you, Jaysn. I was ordered to bring you.”
“Ordered? By whom?”
“The people who financed this expedition.”
“Exploration Logistics?”
“They are only operationally in charge. Lambda Tonitrus is under a claim staked by an intersystem holding company called Ravenhold Soverign.”
“A holding company? What do they care about mineral rights on LT-9?”
“I don’t think this is about mineral rights, Jaysn. I think it’s about something much bigger. They offered an insane budget for me to discreetly assemble a team to their specifications and lead it out here to conduct a survey. SDEC obtained the mineral rights in exchange for operational logistics. Part of that was, obviously, running operational cover for Ravenhold.”
Jaysn nodded, disappointed. “Onyx Level Classification. That’s a Ravenhold designation, isn’t it? That’s why they got so skittish when I tried to pry into that.”
Tamana nodded. “SDEC has to keep Ravenhold’s claim and the expedition’s existence classified if they want the mineral rights. Ravenhold was only interested in the disk.”
Jaysn’s face went pale. “So, they told you exactly who should compose the team.”
Tamana shrugged. “An exobiologist, an archaeologist, a geologist, a xenozoologist, an advanced synthetic, and Dr. Jaysn Katsaros. You were the only one they asked for by name.”
Jaysn went pale. “By name? Why am I so important?”
“I don’t know, I was just told you needed to be on the team, and to meet whatever demands it took to get you out here. I wasn’t given specific instructions beyond that.”
Jaysn growled and glared at Tamana. “So, it’s starting to sound more and more like we’re not out here on this planet by accident either.” He began pacing to calm himself. “I can’t believe you would keep secrets from us — that you would endanger your team, some of us who were your friends — because the guys with the checkbook told you to”
Tamana’s eyes widened. “Jaysn, I would never–”
Jaysn shook his head. “How much did they give you to sell us out, Disha?” He was shouting now, and Tamana shrank a little.
“I didn’t sell you out! I only took my standard fee. It’s you lot that are getting double what you normally get for a job like this.” Tamana protested.
“Be honest with us, Disha. Did you know what would happen to us? Did they at least tell you how to get us back home?”
“What? No. They didn’t tell me about any of this. I’m just as surprised as you.”
Jaysn took a deep breath and thought for a moment. “You’re not a fool. You must have suspected something, but you went along with it anyway. Hell, it felt wrong to me from the beginning; it must have set off alarm bells for you.”
“I understand how you feel, Jaysn, truly I do. After Clarc, Amin, Wolff, and now Solvig, I’ve decided Ravenhold can go to hell. That’s why I’m telling you all this now, and that’s why I’m going to be the next one to use that interface, not you.”
“That won’t be happening, Dr. Tamana,” Novik said calmly. “Under the circumstances, I believe you should be relieved of command of this expedition. I realize there is no formal, established process for doing so, but please understand, given the circumstances, I no longer consider myself subject to your orders or instructions.”
Tamana merely looked from Novik back to Jaysn, then nodded solemnly.
Novik turned his photoreceptors to Jaysn. “I think it’s time you took charge, Jaysn.”
Jaysn shook his head. “On the contrary, Lev, I’m up to my neck in this thing. Some company wants me here. That’s enough to keep me second-guessing every decision I make. In fact, of the four of us here, you are the only person whose judgment I trust at this point. Therefore, I vote for you as expedition commander from here on out.” He raised his arms and mimicked, eliciting cheers from an invisible audience. “Do I hear a dissenting vote? No? Then the motion carries, one to nil.”
With Dr. Amin in the lead, Clarc and Wolff crept down the narrow staircase in complete darkness. Several times, one of them missed their footing and stumbled, usually no more than a few meters downward before they caught themselves or hit a natural landing. At multiple points, they were overtaken by another group of humanoids that appeared behind them. Clarc decided that, in addition to incredible agility, they must possess some form of enhanced night vision or echolocation that lets them move confidently in near-total darkness.
They encountered multiple cave-like chambers, allowing them to look out from the bluffs over the valley as they stretched out and rested. Clarc noted that shadows had already covered the canyon outside, particularly as they got lower into the valley. The sun was setting, and in the amber twilight, she could see they were now only a few hundred meters above ground. Every five or ten minutes, one or two more humanoids would wander into the cave, look at them curiously, and then proceed to continue down the stairs.
“How much further do you think this crazy marathon goes?” Amin asked.
Clarc shook her head. “You know, that’s funny. I’ve been trying to figure out the point of all of this. Honestly, if it were a marathon, or some sort of test of athleticism, that would make as much, if not more, sense than anything else I can come up with. From a zoological perspective, with their physical build, they’re acting completely against their nature. They should be scaling the cliff and climbing trees, not running through streets and caves like this.”
Wolff nodded. “They’re intelligent, though, so this must have some meaning for them.”
“Yes, but what? You could interpret this as ritual behavior, but, it also reminds me of ant colony behavior. I see no evidence that it’s spiritual or religious in design. I’m not an expert on that. I also haven’t seen any indication that this is intended as a competition or a battle for dominance within the group. So, what are we in the middle of?”
“Well,” Amin said, climbing to his feet and dusting off his hands. “There is one way to find out. We’re only a hundred or so meters up. We should be out of the caves by nightfall.”
“Assuming we’re exiting the caves at ground level. As weird as this trip has been, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we kept going on a Jules Verne-style journey to the center of the planet next.”
“Wouldn’t that be great?” Amin beamed. Clarc had never seen the man so happy as when he was in a cave. She decided her next study would be on geologists’ behavior under stress.
They continued downward for another hour and were relieved to find the staircase did not proceed underground but instead opened up to a narrow ledge about three meters off the ground. The bluff face curved slightly outward, and the three were able get into a crouch and make a controlled slide down the floor of the crater valley. They landed on what looked and felt like soft moss but had a much more pungent odor, almost like rotting flesh.
The sun had long since passed behind the cliffs, putting the entire valley in shadow. Above them, the starless sky had turned a faded indigo, and as the light dimmed, the sounds of animals waking filled the forest ahead. Their time in the caves had adjusted their eyes to the darkness a bit, but it was currently about as dark as Clarc felt comfortable travelling with on an unknown planet.
“This planet has no moon, and there are no visible stars, so it’s going to get really dark. I wonder how long the night is,” she wondered aloud.
“Actually,” Amin noted, “If this is a similar argon atmosphere to the city, it should diffuse the light of the sun and always have a bit of glow even in the middle of the night. Depending on the axial tilt, I suspect we’ll have dusk for several more hours once the sun moves in front of us.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Clarc said.
“Still, I don’t like it,” Wolff said. “Don’t the most dangerous creatures hunt at night?”
Clarc shook her head. “That’s a bit of a misnomer. Some creatures, such as owls, become nocturnal to avoid competing with hawks for food. On the other hand, several species of nocturnal mice evolve enlarged eyes and greater night vision because fewer predators are hunting them at night.”
“Great, so are we owls or mice, do you think?”
“Those humanoids have excellent night vision and seem to be pretty close to the top of their food chain. My guess is that the real nasties are those giant birds, and they’re day feeders.”
There was a rustle behind them and three more humanoids exited the cave, leapt three meters to the ground, and instantly proceeded at a hearty trot into the trees beyond. “That seems to be the direction to be going.” Clarc nodded. “Shall we?”
The three started off into the woods after the humanoids. After just a few meters, the narrow path turned into a wide, well-worn trail, so flat and smooth that Clarc would even accept calling it a narrow road. Though it was considerably darker in the thick of the jungle, the terrain allowed them to proceed at a brisk pace slightly faster than a normal walk, but slower than a jog – and considerably slower than the pace of the other humanoids, who passed them less frequently now, but still regularly and with little effort. True to Dr. Amin’s prediction, Clarc was pleased to find it did not get much darker than when they first left the cave, and within a few hours, it was definitely getting lighter.
Clarc stopped suddenly in her tracks, sniffing the air. Wolff and Amin followed suit. “What is it?” Wolff asked.
Clarc’s face lit up with astonishment. “Don’t you smell it?” she said, barely containing the excitement in her voice.
Amin and Wolff both sniffed the air. It was Amin who immediately caught what had excited her. “Smoke!” he said in astonishment, then started back up the path.
Ten minutes later, the three of them were standing in a wide clearing, and not just any clearing. One that had obviously been made by someone, that someone most likely being the humanoids. “There,” Wolff said, pointing to the right, where a narrow plume of gray-white smoke could be seen rising up from behind a hill.
The three cautiously walked to the top of the hill as the most amazing sight Clarc had ever seen slowly unfolded before them. There, at the bottom of a narrow sloping field, was an entire village of humanoids. She saw the unmistakable shape of domed huts, obviously made of mud and leaves, machine-leveled areas where perfectly aligned rows of fruit-bearing plants stood proudly, and in the middle a smouldering bonfire being tended by a dozen or so humanoids.
“Boy, did I underestimate those guys,” Clarc smiled, laughing slightly. “They’re not just intelligent, they are reasonably advanced: fire, or at least what passes for fire in this atmosphere. Those huts would indicate basic tools. Those crops obviously mean a communal structure. I wonder if they’ve got ceramics or basic metallurgy.”
Cautiously, they walked toward the village. As they neared the outskirts, one of the humanoids spotted them and began making odd, guttural noises. He was soon joined by others, and within a few minutes, Clarc estimated half the village was standing in two files on either side of the bonfire, all making the same noise – a cross between the bray of a donkey and a low-pitched bird call.
“I wonder if they’ve been told we were coming by the hundred or so that beat us here?” Wolff wondered aloud.
“Hey, there are some bald, skinny things that joined the race, they’re cool though, be nice to them?” Clarc offered.
“Any chance they were just waiting until we trespassed on their land and they’re waiting to take us out as a group?” Amin shuddered, suddenly his old, cowardly self.
“I still don’t think they’re violent by nature, especially not with those large, exposed eyes,” Clarc assured him.
Wolff glared at her out of the corner of his eye. “You’re ready to bet your life on that, though?”
Clarc thought for a moment, then nodded, stopping to study the crowd once more. “They never really paid us much attention before, but now they really seem focused on us.”
The strange cries suddenly appeared behind them. The three turned and saw four of the humanoids emerging from the jungle and running toward the assembled crowd in the village. They began beating their chest with their left hand in rhythm with the cry. The crowd did the same, growing increasingly excited. The four runners passed between the rows of villagers and continued toward the base of the cliffs about a half kilometer away at the far edge of the village.
Once they had passed from sight, the villagers turned their attention back to the three visitors, their chants growing more intense.
Clarc smiled out of one corner of her mouth. “Well,” she said, “when in Rome, I guess?” Amin and Wolff both shrugged as Clarc broke into a slow jog, beating her chest with her left hand and doing her best imitation of the grunting noise the humanoids were making. She swore she could see grins of amusement on some of their faces as she passed.
As they continued through the village, she tried to take everything in. The bonfire seemed largely ceremonial or possibly intended as a signaling device. The lack of oxygen made it smoke and smolder rather than blaze, and villagers had to constantly tend to it to keep it lit. She saw no indication of fire being used for manufacturing, smelled nothing resembling cooked food or meat, and the tropical climate certainly did not require it for heat. None of the humanoids wore any clothing or decorative ornamentation, such as beads or rope necklaces, and she saw nothing resembling textiles adorning any of the hut-like homes. She tried to peer inside them, but they were too dark, and she was moving at too fast a pace to stare for long.
They exited the village and followed the assembled humanoids down a narrow trail between fields of fruit trees right up to the base of the cliffs. The top wasn’t quite as high as it was where they descended on the other side, but was of a similar shape and material — at least the top half of it was. As they approached, they noted that the lower half of the rock face shimmered with the consistency of quicksilver. In other sections, it appeared to be made of smooth, obsidian-like black stone that seemed to absorb all of the light around it, reflecting nothing.
“What the hell is this?” Clarc said aloud.
Wolff turned to Amin. “This can’t be a natural geological formation, can it?”
“Not like one I’ve ever seen,” Amin said, his mouth agape. “It almost looks like the material used to construct the buildings back in the city, except without the odd teal glow.”
Clarc stroked her hair in confusion. “Could this be where the two meet?”
“Anything is possible,” Amin said. “That looks like an energy field of some kind filling in the gaps. Remember, Dr. Novik said our biology had been modified back in the city, but here we appear to be closer to our natural forms. So, assuming the two biospheres are incompatible, it probably requires those portal things to adjust your biology to exist in each one. Maybe the energy field serves as a seal to keep them separated.”
“Could that be what killed all the inhabitants? Or at least what drove them out of the parts of the city we saw?” Wolff asked.
“I suppose anything is possible,” Amin said, still studying the wall. “It could be that the initial impact damaged a much larger portion of the surface. This would seem to indicate at least partial reconstruction since that time.”
Clarc crossed her arms. “That must have abandoned it, however. These humanoids have evolved over millions of years, as has the plant life. Between the disk and the technology inside the city, they could have rebuilt the entire planet in a matter of months or years.”
“What if they were wiped out by the aftereffects of the impact?” Wolff suggested.
“It’s a sizable crater, but I’d hardly call it an extinction-level event. I’m still wondering how a race that has self-sustaining fusion and trans-dimensional transportation capabilities even let that thing near their planet, much less let it collide with them.” Clarc sighed.
“Mass driver? It may have been shielded and launched at them as a doomsday weapon.”
Clarc nodded. “It’s one possibility.”
Amin shrugged. “I hate that every hypothesis we put forward creates a whole set of more disturbing questions.”
“Agreed,” Wolff smiled.
The four humanoids they were following stopped in a line at the entrance to a stone-lined circle, fifty meters in diameter and ringed by what must have been at least half the population of the village. In the center of the circle was a tall, narrow, conical obelisk, made from the same non-reflective black material as the “walls” on the cliffside. Unlike the walls, however, it glowed from within with a bluish-teal light the same way most of the structures in the city did, though Clarc decided it looked less odd in daylight than it did in the interior of the city.
“This must be the award ceremony for your marathon,” Clarc smiled and jerked a thumb at Amin.
Amin smiled, and the three continued walking, joining the villagers around the outside of the ring, while their companions continued inside. The lead humanoid turned away from the obelisk, pounded his chest three times, and let out a loud, prolonged wail. The assembled crowd followed suit, falling completely silent, their eyes transfixed on the lead humanoid. Then, without hesitation, he stepped forward, stretched out both his hands, and placed them on either side of the obelisk.
There was a surge of noise, as something resembling a bolt of lightning shot down from the rectangular cloud above, striking the humanoid, who shrieked in horror and agony as he dissolved into a cloud of black swirling motes. Clarc looked at Wolff in Amin in horror. The motes hovered in the air for a few moments, then as the crowd quietly grunted under its breath, began to stretch itself over the heads of everyone assembled, eventually sliding toward the obsidian wall, where it reassembled into a new brick-like section approximately half a meter square and fitted itself neatly and seamlessly into the construction.
When it was done, the crowd brayed in celebration.
“What the hell?!” Amin said in a panic. “Did he just?”
Clarc nodded and took a step backward. “I think he did.”
After about a minute, the crowd grew silent again. The second humanoid in the line of four turned, pounded his chest three times, and wailed loudly, just as the first had. As before, the crowd followed suit. In an exact repeat of the previous ritual, the humanoid turned, grabbed both sides of the obelisk, and a second bolt of lightning consumed the humanoid. As the one before, the humanoid died screaming in agony as his body was torn apart and made into dust.
Wolff shook his head and took a step back. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”
“I’ve read about ritual suicide and ceremonial sacrifice, sure,” Clarc arched her eyebrows. “Have I seen a population voluntarily use lightning to turn themselves into construction materials!? Of course not.”
When the braying subsided, and only two humanoids remained, Amin began looking around nervously. “I think we’d better get out of here before they ask why we aren’t lining up to become bricks as well.”
Clarc nodded and turned to leave. They had almost reached the fruit fields when they heard a third blast of lightning. The usual braying subsided, replaced by panicked grunts and barks that were growing louder.
“I think we’ve been missed,” Wolff said calmly. “What do we do now?”
Clarc froze in her tracks and turned, just as a group of three dozen villagers could be seen rapidly pacing toward them. “Let’s not panic,” she said, feigning calm. “Maybe we can find some way to communicate with them and convey that we really don’t want to be a part of their wall.” She held her arms out to her sides, hands open, remembering this had almost worked back in the city.
The message was lost to the villagers, who continued to close ranks, eventually pushing the three back toward the circle and the obelisk.
“What’s plan B, Doc?” Wolff said, looking around him. “We’re a bit outnumbered, and even the little ones are a lot bigger than we are.”
“I hate resorting to violence, especially since I’m still convinced they’re not brawlers,” Clarc said, raising her fists. “Aim for the eyes, I guess?” She was saddened that their first contact with another intelligent species had come to violence, but lunged forward with a war cry and swung blindly with her cybernetic arm. She made solid contact with the face of the humanoid directly in front of her. He quickly fell to his knees, grabbing his cheeks. His shriek of pain distracted the others just long enough for Clarc to push her way through them and sprint back up the path and out of the village, grateful that she merely had to push away any humanoids who got too close and not actually fight them.
She darted through the village, taking a surreptitious route behind a couple of mud huts, hoping to get closer to the bonfire and a possible weapon, when she caught sight of Wolff, several paces behind her, now running in the opposite direction, back toward the obelisk.
Amin, she thought. They must have gotten Dr. Amin.
Cursing, she broke into a run, finally reaching Wolff, who had resorted to using judo throws to clear the path in front of him. They spotted Dr. Amin, shrieking and kicking, as three humanoids, without ceremony or hesitation, carried him over their heads toward the obelisk.
“Wolff! Help me!” Amin was screaming. “Help!”
The villagers tossed him unceremoniously toward the obelish.
The sky cracked. The air went metallic. Amin screamed Carc’s name just as the lightning swallowed him.
The resulting black cloud seemed to hover slightly longer than the others, then, to the chants of the assembled villagers, moved to the cliffside and formed into another section of black wall.
The humanoids cheered and beat their chests, then turned to regard Clarc and Wolff.
“The hell you will,” Wolff shouted, as the humanoids advanced on them. He reached into his jacket and felt the handle of his sidearm. Without thinking, he fired three times into the air. The blast, normally a nearly invisible ball of expanding plasma, was a flash of golden light in the alien atmosphere, and the shot sounded distinctly different to Clarc, with a high-pitched overtone and a strange hissing. The spectacle caused all of the humanoids to stop in their tracks, some cowering in fear, others frozen with what she could imagine where stupefied looks on their faces. None moved as Clarc and Wolff began to walk backward up the path toward the village.
“Okay, now what?” Wolff asked.
Momentarily safe from being sacrificed to the obelisk but now having drawn all eyes toward the two of them, Clarc scanned the village. Finally nodding to a gathering of humanoids at the far end. “It makes sense that Tamana and the others will be searching for us. If they lost is among all the other cubes, their logical course of action would be to trace the flow of wisps backward to the start of the ‘marathon’ over there. So, I’m thinking, if we start there and go forward, we might eventually find them. If nothing else, it should get us back into the city where they are.”
“That’s a lot of if’s,” Wolf said.
“You have a better idea?” She had already broken into a run before he could answer.
The two continued through the crop fields to a clearing, then onto a well-worn trail leading into the thick jungle. Their pursuers stopped at the edge of the fields before the clearing, and all began beating their chests and braying in unison as they did when the runners returned to the village. Clark could not tell if it was hostile or celebratory, but she was at least pleased they weren’t being pursued for the moment.
