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This section deals with what happened after the crew returned to Earth.
It is primarily concerned with Marita Andersson's work.
Viewers familiar with this subject may pass on to the next section.
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Marita's Work
The Spacer's League took great care to resettle the Undepoldus crew on Earth. They had effectively aged three years while nearly 21 years had passed on Earth. Many of their old comrades and acquaintances had retired or had died. They were almost like strangers in their own world. Rosanne was promoted to Rear Admiral and became a senior instructor on Lagrange 5. Carlene and Steve became partners and formed a space yacht company in Pasadena. Marita took a sabbatical and joined the Space Research Faculty at London University. Marita had intended to sort the rock samples that she had collected before they were distributed to interested researchers. She found that some of the rocks had already been sent around the world. The rocks were not thought of as being particularly interesting. There were fairly similar to rocks found on planets and moons in the solar system. Only a few universities had applied for a share of the samples. The Undepoldus mission was widely regarded as a failure and a waste of resources. No aliens had been contacted and the rocks that Marita had collected were only of slight academic interest.

Although she was a lecturer in space studies, Marita soon found that her talents as an athletic coach were much in demand. Although many of her students had not been born when she left on the Undepoldus mission, they had all heard of her success in the Olympics and of the way she had treated recalcitrant students before she became a Spacer. She no longer had a set of cannon balls in a bag that she would ask unwitting students to carry for her but she still had her strength. Few of the male students could match her with the discus or the shot putt. Her time in space had aged her three years but her official age was 47. At the effective age of 29 she was still a young and beautiful woman. Her physique attracted some men and scared off many more. She wore a long blonde wig most of the time in order to look more conventional in her surroundings. She made a point of wearing her formfit under her Earth clothes whenever she gave lectures on space studies. In her lecture on the formfit she would show her students how her formfit was put on and taken off and how the sanitary features operated. Every one of her students had to practice putting her formfit on her and taking it off again as if she were unconscious. This procedure often took four or more students because of her size and weight.

Every one of her students worked hard to prepare for entry to the Spacer's College. They all took part in the special vacation courses that she organised to familiarise them with the rigorous training that they would receive. The toughest part of these courses for most of the students was body familiarisation. Most spacecraft had six or less crew so every Spacer has to be able to act as doctor, therapist and comforter to any other Spacer if the situation requires it. Spacers have to learn more about their companions than most married couples ever learn about each other. The way that Marita organised her vacation courses was deliberately biased to help the male students. All of Marita's students knew about the predominance of female Spacers in space and the need to try to restore the balance between the sexes. The dropout rate among females at the Spacers College was typically less than five percent while more than half the male students failed to complete the course. The female students were therefore encouraged to give the male students as much help as possible in all the vacation course activities.

Marita's students were organised in crews of six - as at the Spacers College. Their tasks in the vacation tests that were similar to those that they would meet later. Each member of each crew had to be able to recognise another crew member from a 10 centimetre square area of the body from a life size image or by touch. They would also be tested on touch talk, ability to reduce stress in their crewmates and how to handle the Spacer partner and share arrangements. The crews competed with and tested each other as practice to improve their test scores. Marita was pleased to discover that her students were also practicing for a test that she had never mentioned and was not included in her vacation courses. It is a fundamental requirement for all Spacers. Every Spacer has to be able to give comfort and pleasure to another Spacer in time of need. Natural abilities are enhanced by training and practice. Romantic ideas and petty jealousy play no part in such relationships. The pleasure that one Spacer can give to and receive from another is almost addictive.

Marita had become so involved with her students that she had almost forgotten about the rocks she had collected when she received a memo from the Extra Terrestrial Geology department. She was invited to meet Peter Whitfield the next day.

Peter Whitfield was a post-graduate student. He had a first class honours degree in space studies and had been accepted as a student by the Spacers College. He made friends easily and was fairly athletic. He was expected to do well as a Spacer. Just as he was about to join the Spacers College he was involved in an accident when playing rugby. He had several broken ribs and a punctured lung. When he recovered he decided to apply to do a further degree in geology. His personality underwent a change and he took no further part in team games. He became a bit of a loner, keeping fit by doing long runs by himself. He studied hard for his second degree and was thought to be able enough to get first class honours for a second time. His geology tutor had known him when he was doing Space Studies and was anxious to find out why he had changed. Peter would not talk about his change of life but his tutor was sure that he sadly missed his previous classmates.

When the Undepoldus rocks became available he applied to have access to them with the aim of preparing a thesis for a doctor's degree. Nobody else applied so he was given a small laboratory to use and then left to his own devices. As the rock samples were so similar to those that had been included in the geology course, his supervisor expected him to produce a thoroughly researched paper that no-one would bother to read.

When Marita arrived at his small laboratory she looked around and saw that the samples that she had quickly shoved into a sack were sorted by type and all in sealed glass cases. Peter was making notes at his desk when she came in. He finished dictating his notes to the processor before he looked up to see Marita. He stood up and greeted her warmly with both hands. Marita was not prepared for the apparent caress on the back of her hand. Peter had touch talked: [secret worm, I present my paper at the R.I. soon.] She held the handshake and said how pleased she was to meet the person who was taking such care of the samples she had collected. At the same time she touch talked back: [Dinner, my place, 20:00.] As she released his hand she said. "I will try to tell you where I picked up each of the samples that you have here."
Peter replied. "I would be honoured ma'am. However, I can tell you something about your samples that you were never told."
"Oh please call me Marita." she answered. "I know that you recognise my rank but I am on a sabbatical and you are not a Spacer yet."
"OK Marita. I have been itching to tell you that there are a lot of people who think that the rocks you collected did not come from a planet near Alpha Centauri."
"Why is that? The ship's logs can prove that I did not go anywhere else."
"There are two reasons why these people think that the rocks came from the Solar System. Firstly, they are very much like Solar System rocks and secondly you apparently collected more than anyone could possibly carry."
"These people do not know me. I used to be able to do a dead lift of 120 kilos. I reckon that I could lift between 80 and 90 kilos now."
"The mass of rocks you collected was 137 kilos and the planet that you allegedly got them from has a gravity of 1.2 gee."
"It is amazing what one can do when one has to. An planetquake happened as I was prospecting for suitable rocks to collect. Carlene, the pilot, had to use the motor to keep the lifeboat upright as I carried the rocks back. I didn't feel the weight I was carrying. I remember that I did not want to leave any behind because I couldn't go back to get some more."
"Let me show you one of the cores that you got."
Peter took her hand to lead her towards a glass case in the corner of the laboratory. He touch talked: [Worm here. Talk core.]
Marita thought that Peter was overdoing the secrecy angle but followed Peter's suggestion.
"Yes. I recognise it. It was the second core I took. I noticed it because it seemed to be a bit lighter than I expected. I can't say that I noticed the holes though. The structure is quite interesting. It looks like this one has a wide range of mineral types included in it  I can't say that I have seen anything similar in any of the Solar System samples I studied with."
"It is a little bit like some of the cores taken from one of the Jovian moons but I can't remember which one. Look, you can see the included olivine." He pointed with one hand as he pressed the other inconspicuously against hers. [Worm made holes]
"Yes. I see. " Marita was impressed by the way Peter was able to touch talk. She was stuck for a way to reply in a manner that would match Peter's skill in concealing his actions. She decided to end the tour of his laboratory as quickly as possible. She desperately wanted to get him into a place where they could talk openly.
"Look, Peter, I'm a bit rusty with my geology these days. The last time I studied rocks in detail was 25 years ago. Would you like to show me the paper you are preparing?"
"Of course. I tell you what Marita. I will write down my password so that you can access the file with your processor."
"That would be great Peter." Marita replied as she saw what he had written. 20.00 OK. "I will come back and talk to you about it when I have read what you have written so far."
"Thank you for coming Marita. I look forward to our next meeting."
"It was my pleasure. Keep up the good work. I am sure that your paper will be worth reading when you have finished it."
Their eyes met. They both smiled. She took his hand in Spacer style and pressed it against her forehead. Peter was slightly nonplussed. He could not guess the meaning of the gesture. Marita did not explain it. She just released his hand and left.

Marita felt elated as she returned to her office. Then she thought that what Peter had told her must be impossible. The rock she had collected had been put into the freezer as soon as she went aboard the Undepoldus. The rocks had been put into a sealed container so that they would not lose included gases. There would have been some contamination from the ship's atmosphere but that could easily be accounted for. Marita wondered what creature could survive 10 years at a temperature of roughly -35 Celsius. Could it have been some sort of egg or a chrysalis? Without knowing anything about extraterrestrial biology it would be impossible to give an answer. Then the thought struck her that it could be a creature that was comparable to a plant on Earth. Plant seeds could survive for centuries. Marita decided to wait until her meeting with Peter to see if he knew any more about the worm. Then she decided to call Commander Syncayvitch for advice. The existence of an alien creature on Earth was a subject that demanded the utmost secrecy. There was a male Spacer who might be better qualified than most to deal with the worm. What was his name? He had been involved in a court case in Germany but had been found innocent. She decided to scan the news sections to check before she called the Commander. Then she found it. SPACER FALSELY ACCUSED OF RAPE. George McFigg was the man. She read through the story to see if there was any more information about him. He was shortly due to present a paper about cows at the Royal Institution.
Marita mentally composed her message before saying it to the communicator.

"Big-Mar 708. Code 7. See Courier. Big-Mar 708."

She then went to the windowsill and wrote the following message by hand.

From Big-Mar 708 to Commander Ivan Syncayvitch
Peter Whitfield the research student has discovered an alien worm in the rock samples I collected. He hopes to present his paper at the R.I. soon. In view of the contents of his paper I suggest that it is not given any publicity beforehand. Whatever he has written has my endorsement. I have seen the evidence. Peter Whitfield is obsessed with secrecy with good reason.

Big-Mar 708.

As she finished there was a knock on the door to her office. The door was open so she knew that it must be one of her students. She turned to see Li Fan Cho waiting patiently for her attention.
She said. "Fan Cho, whatever you came to see me about is very likely to have lower priority than three. Confirm?"
Fan Cho answered. "Confirmed Marita. I am at your service." She took Marita's hand and touch talked: [What problem? Can I help?]
Marita answered. [Top security. Code 7. Delivery to Spacers Club.]
She said as she touch talked. "These are the results that you have been waiting for. I trust that you will study them with appropriate diligence."
Fan Cho answered: [Monkeys Three] "Thank you very much Marita." and left.

Later Marita received the following message on her screen.

Commander to Big-Mar 708 acknowleged. As you said but more similar needed.

Because the Commander had indicated that more secrecy was needed Marita double-checked her flat for snooping devices. She had no reason to suspect that there were any but she thought that it would be a mistake not to check. She didn't find anything that appeared to be suspicious but then remembered that a snooping device would be designed to look innocuous if it was found. She decided to use her home processor to set up a check. "Link space one Big-Mar seven oh eight."

The processor screen darkened. A voice said: "Acknowledged. Case eight." Marita then said. "Figure eight oh one check." There was a pause. "Use two, five, nine." Marita replied. "Acknowledged, thanks. Big-Mar seven oh eight."

Marita disconnected the processor and put it in the bath. She put in the plug and turned on the water taps. The processor could easily snoop while it was apparently doing its normal job.
Shortly before eight the door chime sounded. Marita thought that Peter was being particularly prompt. When she answered the door, she found that two Spacers had arrived with a new processor.
"Lieutenant Martha Dawson and Lieutenant Gurprit Singh at your service ma'am. We would like to replace your processor. Rear Admiral Chebychev presents his compliments ma'am.
"Come in." Marita replied, surprised at the speed of response. Please convey my thanks to the Rear Admiral for his prompt action."
Gurprit replied. "The order came from Lagrange 5. Rear Admiral Chebychev is the senior officer here in London so it was his responsibility to ensure the order was carried out as quickly as possible."
Martha took Marita's hand after closing the door. [We know about the worm.] she touched. [Please stand by while the Lieutenant makes a further check. Mr. Whitfield is under covert guard. We will leave when he arrives.]
Marita replied with a touch of acknowledgement.
Martha spoke as she touched. "One of your old friends arrived at the club yesterday - Chief Lieutenant George McFigg. He is anxious to renew your acquaintance. He suggested that you might like to have dinner with him at the club tomorrow evening." Marita's mind raced. Martha had given her a coded message. Even if she counted subjective time as real time it was nearly five years ago when she last did a refresher on secret speech. The key was George McFigg. She had never met him. There were hardly any Spacers on Earth who she knew well twenty-one years ago. The Rear Admiral was a Captain then and they had only met a couple of times since graduating. Yesterday and tomorrow when used in the same message mean recently and soon. Most of the rest of the message is in the redundant words: might like to. Yes - MIGHT LIKE TWO! Then number pairs. One might like two! How to answer? "My compliments to the Chief Lieutenant. Please inform him that I can do just as well as he can. I will bring one of his old colleagues with me. I suggest a time of 20.30."
Martha replied. "He thought that you would like the idea. He will send a taxi to pick you up."
Gurprit said. "I have done a check for you ma'am. Your new processor is working satisfactorily. If there is nothing else that you require we will leave now."
"Thank you both." Marita replied. "I will just look outside to see if my guest is coming."

Gurprit had checked but had not said that all was OK. Evidently the flat was not free of snooping devices. Outside the door Martha touched [Go back in. Say to Gurprit 'You forgot your box'. Get your formfit and keys.]
Marita said. "Gurprit, you forgot your box, I'll get it for you."
As she went back into the flat she wondered who might be spying on her. Was it a sinister organisation or just a voyeuristic snooper? Apart from the knowledge that a worm existed, she had no secrets. Almost all the knowledge that she had was over twenty years old. She wrapped her keys in the formfit so that they would not make a noise and put the formfit in a shoe box. Then she went downstairs to join the others. Peter was there, waiting for her, standing beside a taxi.
He said. I gather that you have been told of the change of plan. My friend Ranjit knows of a good place for us to go."

Marita got into the floater and Peter sat beside her. Ranjit lifted off immediately. Marita looked at him as the floater cleared the buildings. It was dark but she was sure that she could detect the edge of a toupee under his turban. His beard looked just a little too tidy. Satisfied that Ranjit was a Spacer she relaxed. She wondered how much Peter had been told by the Spacers. As she had been away from Earth for so long, she had lost contact with the way the Spacers League ran its administration. In twenty years it had presumably developed and improved. She debated with herself whether the all-pervading nature of the Spacers League was comforting or intrusive.

Peter was quiet. Marita guessed that he was thinking about the way the Spacers had operated too. Marita thought that she recognised Russell Square as the floater began its descent. She had visited the Spacers Club a few times since she had settled in London - mainly for the purpose of keeping up to date with Spacer affairs.

The taxi landed in the small courtyard normally reserved for the personal floaters owned by Spacers. Marita and Peter were met by Rear Admiral Chebychev and Commander Sincayvitch.
"Welcome both of you, we have a lot to talk about. Peter, I am Leonov Chebychev and this is Ivan Sincayvitch. I am the Spacers Ambassador in London and Ivan is the resident club commander. Please come with me to my private office. There is a lot to discuss. Marita mufti."
Marita then realised that she had misinterpreted the secret speech somewhat because the answer she gave could be delivered in person.
The Commander said. "Marita, Leonov said that you would meet an old friend. I trust that you will regard me as a friend and old for a Spacer. You will meet George McFigg shortly. George's speciality is development of first contact techniques. He is also a fine geologist. He will be able to talk shop with Peter while retaining a Spacer's perspective. You will also meet Gurprit again. He has a nose for snooping devices."
"Thank you Ivan. Does George speak Swedish? "
"I don't know. Why do you ask?"
"I just wondered how well he is prepared for first contact with me."
"You fell for that one Ivan. I thought that your records were complete in every detail. Now I know that even you are vulnerable." said Leonov.
Marita explained to Peter. "Commander Sincayvitch knows every Spacer by sight and acts like a favourite uncle to all of us. He knows where every Spacer is serving and where a Spacer's nearest family is living on Earth."
Leonov said. "Every Spacer knows Ivan. If someone talks about 'The Commander' they always mean Ivan."
"That is a fearsome reputation to maintain isn't it?" Peter answered.
Leonov said. "If you end up being one of us Peter, you will perhaps be granted the privilege of visiting the Commander's cabin one day. Then you will see how he does it."
Peter's attention was drawn to the number of Spacers who were wearing nothing but formfits as they passed through the dining room. He noticed that a few of them glanced towards the group with interest. Marita always caught people's attention because she was so tall, even among Spacers.
Then Peter noticed the decorations. Models of every sort of spacecraft and orbiting station were either mounted on the walls or suspended from the ceiling. Many were used as lighting units. The others were lit by spotlights to show off their features.

As they entered the ambassadorial suite they were joined by George and Gurprit.
Leonov introduced George. "Marita and Peter, may I introduce George McFigg. George, Marita Andersson and Peter Whitfield. Time is pressing. Gurprit will provide the introduction."
Gurprit said. "Peter, you may be wondering how and why we found out about the worm before you told Marita. We have a team of Spacers whose job it is to look after all Spacers who are resident in ordinary homes in London. We keep a very low profile. We monitor all communications links to these premises for the purpose of tracking down snoopers. We also monitor places where Spacers spend a lot of time. This includes London University. We do not want to know what messages pass along these communication links but we do want to find out if anyone else is doing so. We then trace the taps and bugs until we find out who is doing the snooping. Many organisations would like to know what Spacers are doing and what their business on Earth is related to. We then bug the snoopers. We have very sophisticated techniques that have so far remained undetected. We monitor what the snoopers are monitoring. It is through this means that we found out about the worm. We know that you have been very careful to say nothing to anyone but Marita about it but you have done things that would arouse the interest of anyone who is knowledgeable about E.T. geology. We know that you started transferring rock samples from the Solar System collections to one sample case about a fortnight ago. It is clear that you did not want anyone to notice that the rocks from one of Marita's core samples were disappearing. We then had you followed because we knew that you would not be able to do this for very long. The samples were disappearing too quickly. We saw you collect rocks from many places including people's gardens. We obtained a duplicate card key to your laboratory to check why the rocks were disappearing and saw the worm. We have invented a cover story that may prevent the snoopers from discovering your secret. We suggest that you are collecting all the samples that Marita brought back for your own purposes. Maybe you will produce a paper one day that cannot be duplicated by other researchers because they do not have access to the original rocks. We know that the snoopers have not yet discovered your secret but we do know that they are interested. We have seen prowlers who have tried to get past the University security systems to get to your laboratory. None have succeeded so far but we know that no security system is invulnerable. Your processor is bugged by a remote link to the University's network. Anything that the processor's camera can see has been relayed to the snoopers. You should be congratulated because the way you communicated with Marita in your laboratory was undetectable. It was only when one of my colleagues remembered that you had been on a Space Studies course that we realised you had used touch talk. We guessed why you had contacted Marita and why she suggested that you should come to her flat. Marita is a fine officer. Even after 21 years she remembered to take the usual precautions when she was about to discuss Spacer affairs. It would have been strange if we had appeared before Marita called for a security check to be done. Even so, we are sure that our actions could have caused suspicion among the snoopers. They may well ask themselves why Marita is not having a conversation with you in her flat. We have arranged that recordings of Marita's normal evening occupations are now being fed to the snoopers to give the impression that she is still there. We could not do anything that would give the impression that you were there with her. The snooper's devices are still intact and working. We want to give them the impression that we were not able to find them. We have only a few hours before the snoopers begin to suspect that we know of their existence. My colleagues are monitoring them now. Now you know the situation as well as we do. It is back to you now sir."
"Thank you Gurprit for an excellent report. Please return to your monitoring station. Alert me if we need to move faster than planned."
"Thank you sir. Certainly sir."
Gurprit left.
Leonov said. "Peter, this office is totally shielded. There are no communication systems that link to this room. Gurprit was unable to remain in contact with his colleagues from here. I know he feels uncomfortable when he is isolated in this way."
He continued. "A task force has been set up to retrieve the worm. I expect that it will arrive here in a few minutes. Regrettably it was necessary to arrange a temporary failure of the University's power supply to disable the processor in your laboratory. A Spacer who has been made up to look like you volunteered to go to your laboratory just before the power failure. Anyone who was watching would not have thought it unusual because you have gone back to your lab many times during previous evenings. The watcher will not see you come out of the University. It could be more than an hour before he becomes suspicious that you are not behaving in your usual manner. By that time we should have the worm here, safe in the Spacers Club. We have not yet made plans for the next move. Have you any suggestions?".
"I - um - er I'm still trying to absorb what I have just heard. I can't say that I like the idea of being called a thief that steals rock samples but I must admit that it is a good cover story to protect the worm. What will I do when the story gets out? I will certainly be censured if not expelled from the University. Then I will not be able to present my paper."
"Don't worry about that Peter. Before the news goes public, you will have disappeared - to the Spacers College - to rejoin your friends. We have contacted your original classmates and have asked them if they would like to help you catch up with the course they are on. They said: 'How soon can he come?' How soon would you like to go?"
Peter burst into tears. "Can you really organise that for me? he spluttered.
Marita will keep you posted about the worm. You will be helped in the preparation of your paper by the College staff. You are the discoverer and your name will be cleared when the paper is published. We have taken the liberty of preparing things for your journey. The police will be informed that your flat was burgled while you were out. George here will look after the worm. We want to keep its existence a secret until we know more about it. You can leave as soon as we have had the dinner that you were expecting."
Peter tried to control his emotions. "Er - how - er what shall I tell my family?"
"You will be able to tell them what you like at your swearing in ceremony. We thought that it would be a nice surprise for them."
Peter just mumbled. Leonov smiled. "Your class record was exemplary. Your work with the rock samples and latterly with the worm has shown us that we should do anything short of kidnapping you to get you into the Spacers College. Go outside now. You will find a Spacer there who will assist you in preparing for dinner. She will also show you around the club. You will be given the rank of acting cadet so that you will be able to make use of all the club's facilities while you are here."
Peter still had tears running down his face as he got up to take his leave.
Marita took his hand and touched. [Your tears are the best thank-you that Leonov could wish for. We will see you at dinner.]

When Peter had left Leonov said. "He's a fine young man. I didn't tell him that his old classmates started badgering their tutors to let him join their course as soon as he recovered from his accident. We couldn't say anything to him because he seemed to be set on getting his doctor's degree. We didn't want to try to impose our wishes on him. We planned to wait until he re-applied but the worm forced us to push things along a bit. Now, George and Marita, if you will accept the responsibility, I would like you both to take joint charge of the worm."
George said. "It will be an honour sir. I never expected that the first contact I would have with an alien entity would be here in the Spacers Club."
"George, mufti at dinner. What do you think Marita?"
"Since I unwittingly brought it to Earth, it would have been my responsibility anyway. I should be its adopted mother. I cannot think of a more worthwhile job to do. I am sure that George and I will get along fine."
"Well, that's settled then. Have you any comments Ivan?"
"Well, since it is a living creature and it will spend some time here in the club, I think that it ought to have a name. What should it be called?"
George said. "The logical name for it is the name of the mission that found it. I think that it should be called Undepoldus. Then, when its existence is announced, the general public will no longer think that the Undepoldus mission was a failure."
"Well said George. Are you happy with that Ivan? And you Marita?"
"It is a bit long but it is a name that the public know already. I'm happy with it."
"It suits perfectly. It is a name unlike any name used on Earth and it does add value to the Undepoldus mission as George said. I hope that it won't mind being called Undepoldus." said Marita.
There was a knock on the door. A Spacer opened the door and stood in the entrance with a fish tank in her hands. May I present the worm sir, with the compliments of Lieutenant Commander Jane Wanneroo and Lieutenant Sil Agonistes."
"Thank you Sil. Please put it on the table. "
"Sir, Lieutenant Commander Wanneroo was injured by the worm. She is being treated in the dispensary for what seems to be an acid burn. She apologises for her absence sir."
"Please ask Jane to join us at our table when and if she has recovered enough. We would like to hear her report. It is important to know how dangerous the worm is. We would like your report too. Please provide Jane with any assistance she needs. Thank you Sil."

PAUSE
The next section deals with the first encounters with the worm and events current at that time.
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