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PAUSE
Thist section covers the introduction of Undepoldus to the public.
Viewers familiar with this subject may pass on to the next
section.
Please select PASS or CONTINUE.
Public Approval
The Spacers Council agreed with the proposal to approach the Fauna
Preservation Trust (FPT) with the idea of housing Undepoldus at
Regent's Park in his own special building. The members of the
FPT voted to accept the proposal. It transpired that Admiral van
Wijk had included in the proposal that the FPT would be paid rent
for the use of the land where the new Undepoldus house would be
built. The Spacers Council also arranged a special meeting with
the members of the London Metropolitan Council who were members
of the Parks and Planning committees. George showed them Undepoldus
and explained how he was expected to grow. With the aid of processor
simulations and a giant vidcom screen George showed the council
committee members what he expected Undepoldus to look like as
he grew older. Undepoldus was shown in comparison to British adder,
an anaconda, a boa constrictor, a sei whale and a blue whale at
various stages of his projected growth. George also showed a simulation
of Undepoldus at his estimated final size on the soccer pitch
at a football stadium.
The projected building design was shown next. The building
was planned so that it could accommodate Undepoldus when he reached
120 metres. The actual construction would be done in stages so
that the initial building would be quite small but would be added
to as needed .
A special transporter would be built to carry the rocks obtained
for Undepoldus in an underground tunnel. At the remote end of
the tunnel a loading platform would be built to receive containers
of rocks from the transporter moveway system. These would be transported
through the tunnel to an underground unloading bay under the new
building. The unloaded rocks would then pass up a ramp to the
feeding area under processor control. Undepoldus would be fed
automatically.
The viewing area would be serviced by a strip so that no crowds
would build up. The strip would be made longer as the building
became larger.
There would be no problems with Undepoldus escaping. No building
could keep him imprisoned because he can make holes in anything.
The problem is to prevent him from being hurt. Accordingly the
building would be made secure in many ways that will not be made
public.
The London councillors were invited to ask questions about Undepoldus
and his proposed accommodation.
The first question was asked by a woman councillor: "How
do you know that Undepoldus will grow as big as you have projected.?"
George answered. "To be candid madam, we don't know.
We expect him to grow continually as a tree does or as
many fish do. We do know how fast he is growing."
George activated one of the displays he had shown earlier.
"As you can see, we assume that he was one centimetre long
when he arrived on Earth. By using the scale here." George
highlighted the scale. "We can see that his average daily
growth rate is just under 3%. We have measured his growth rate
since he was found. His growth rate is still just under 3% a day.
The extension of the scale shows how big we expect him to be on
a daily basis. He is now thirty-five centimetres long. In a week's
time he will be forty-two centimetres long. In a month's time
he will be seventy-nine centimetres long. I can put it another
way. He doubles his length every twenty-seven days. Is that now
clear to you madam?"
"What sort of creature is he?" Was asked by a man George
could not identify.
"He is very different to any creature on Earth but he has
many features that are found in Earth creatures. His whiskers
seem to be like the fur of a polar bear. We think they act a light
guides because he uses photosynthesis. He consumes minerals from
rocks. This makes him a bit like a plant. He has an external stomach.
It is a bit like the stomach of a starfish that eats coral. He
moves around. That makes him like an animal. He can see, but no
animal we know of has a vision system like his. He is very strange.
We hope that when he is bigger we can find out more about him."
There were no more questions.
George said. "When we invited you here, we had a dilemma.
We need a safe place to keep him but we cannot build it without
your approval. Part of the way that we are keeping him safe is
to conceal the fact that he exists. Now we have shown him to you
and you know that he exists, we ask you to keep his existence
a secret until you have made a decision about our proposal. There
are good reasons for keeping him here in Britain, in London where
he was discovered. One reason is, it will give British people
the first chance of seeing him. A second reason is that this club
is near to Regent's Park and Spacers who are staying here can
help to look after him. If we cannot build a place for him at
Regent's Park, we will take him to Cameron in Arizona or Berlin
or Sydney or even to Lagrange Five. As a Scotsman by birth, I
would like him to stay in Britain."
The FPT representative, Anita Styles, stood up as George sat down.
"Ladies and Gentleman. When the Spacers asked us if we would
like to house a creature from another world, we were flabbergasted.
They explained to us that it was not dangerous but could grow
to a very large size. We wanted to know more, of course. We were
told a week ago what you have just been told today. If we did
accept the creature, we would have to re-organise the existing
animal enclosures to allow visitors to come and see and learn
about the creature The Spacers League promised to cover all expenses
and to make a contribution to the Trust. We decided unanimously
to accept the offer. Undepoldus would attract visitors from all
round the world to our park. We would be able to obtain more revenue
to help preserve wild life all over the world. However, we could
do nothing without making a formal planning application to build
a new display enclosure. Until the enclosure is built, there will
be nowhere to keep the creature safe. The FPT and the Spacers
agreed that we should approach you confidentially because, as
Mr. McFigg has said, the creature's main protection at the moment
is secrecy. If you approve of the new building, it will not be
necessary to maintain secrecy for much longer. We can provide
temporary secure accommodation for Undepoldus in the Reptile House
while the first stage of building is completed. We trust that
you understand our position. Thank you for listening to us."
There was a hum of quiet conversation among the councillors
then one of them, Mr. Bhattir Sandhu, stood up.
Mrs Styles, Mr. McFigg, as the chairman of the planning committee
I would like to thank you for inviting us here today. All of us
have heard dreadful stories about alien monsters but now, having
seen how gentle this alien is, I am sure that none of us will
think of aliens from other worlds in the same way again. The two
committees here cannot make a decision on their own. However,
it is very seldom that our recommendations are not accepted by
the whole council. In a moment I will ask your permission to take
votes from the councillors who are here.
The first vote is: 'Do you approve of a new building to house
the alien worm in Regent's Park.?' The second vote is: 'Do you
agree to the proposal that an extraordinary meeting of the full
council be called in closed session tomorrow at ten a.m. to vote
on our recommendation.?' I will ask for a show of hands. Those
in favour of the proposed new building please show."
All the councillors raised their hands.
"Those in favour of a closed session extraordinary meeting
tomorrow at 10 a.m. please show."
The vote was unanimous.
Mr. Sandhu said. "Thank you. I declare that both motions
have been unanimously supported. I will ask you all to sign a
petition for an extraordinary meeting that will be transmitted
to the Mayoress as soon as it is completed. Ten councillors are
needed for such a petition, there are twenty-three of us here.
I think it will be a great honour to have Undepoldus as one of
our residents. If anyone has any further comments to make from
the floor, please speak now."
"Mrs. Egan, Parks Committee. I would like to ask: 'When will
the Undepoldus worm be put on display to the general public?"
Councillor Sandhu answered. "Mrs. Egan. Although we approve
of the new building, we cannot speak for the whole council. There
must be confirmation before any decision can be made. You know
the rules. However, if the council approves, I am sure that Mrs.
Styles and Mr. McFigg will arrange that he is put on show as soon
as possible."
George spoke. "As soon as we receive written approval for
the new building, we will hold a press conference to announce
Undepoldus to the world. We will announce when and where Undepoldus
can be seen then. I would like to take the opportunity now to
thank you all for your support. We cannot presume that the council
vote will be in our favour but we will start to prepare a place
in the reptile house tonight. If the vote goes against us, we
will have done some work for no purpose. If it is in our favour,
we will be able to have a display ready in the shortest possible
time. Finally, if any of you would like to meet Undepoldus, please
come and see me before you leave."
Anita Styles said. "Unless anyone has any other business
that they would like discussed now, that concludes our formal
meeting. Is there any other business?"
There was none.
All of the councillors came up to George to see Undepoldus more
closely. George stretched out his arm so that Undepoldus could
crawl along it and let the people see him from all angles. George
said. "He is not a soft furry animal. Do not try to stroke
him."
Confirmation that the London Metropolitan Council had approved
the building of Undepoldus house arrived at the Spacers Club at
10:30 the following morning. The councillors had not been told
that work had begun in the Reptile House two days earlier. By
the time that the confirmation arrived, the work had almost been
completed.
The display area was arranged so that the public could see Undepoldus
through a window made of armoured glass that sloped downwards
away from them. In a trough below the window was a black painted
area. This arrangement made the glass almost invisible. Inside
the sloping glass were two mirrors that were arranged like an
inverted periscope. These mirrors were fitted so that anyone who
might be tempted to shoot Undepoldus would aim at an image one
metre above him. The lighting units were flat panels that caused
no shadows. The area behind the display was an office concealed
by a black translucent curtain. This would enable George or anyone
else who was with Undepoldus to see and hear him and the public
passing by without being seen. George had also arranged that a
vidcom unit and sound system were provided for Undepoldus to use
so he would not be bored while on display. A diamond coated glass
hopper fed by a conveyor was provided for his rock supply. Next
to it was a bowl of water. A set of roboguides was prepared to
provide commentaries for groups of visitors in a variety of different
languages.
On the visitors' side was a pedestrian strip that could be adjusted
in speed. It would allow visitors to see Undepoldus for between
three and twenty seconds, A metal shutter would drop to cover
the viewing area if the strip stopped unexpectedly. The safety
precautions employed were not made public at the time.
When news of the permission to build arrived, the Rear Admiral
sent a circular to the news agencies announcing a special press
conference at the Spacers Club the following day. Peter Whitfield
was brought to London to announce his discovery to the press.
Each news service was permitted send one journalist and one camera
operator to the press conference because the accommodation in
the Club lounge was limited. Nobody was allowed to bring any artefact
except their clothes into the Club. Vidcom cameras, microrecorders
and note-takers were provided by the Spacers. The journalists
were told that they could keep the items they used after the press
conference.
George opened the proceedings by introducing Marita. A sample
sack identical to the one she had used had been filled with rocks
of equivalent weight to show to the journalists. They were invited
to try to lift it. A few tried but none succeeded. Marita then
picked up the sack and carried it around the lounge on her shoulder
before putting it down again. Marita then asked them again if
any of them could lift the sack. No-one took up her offer.
George recounted the reasons why the Undepoldus Mission had only
brought back rocks and explained how the damaged Undepoldus spacecraft
had been recovered.
A large selection of the rocks were given to London University
where graduate student Peter Whitfield analysed them.
Then he introduced Peter so that he could describe how he found
the worm.
Peter directed the camera operators so that to show off the various
aspects of Undepoldus to best advantage.
He said. "The analysis work went well until I discovered
that some of the samples were apparently disappearing. As I was
responsible for the samples, I didn't want anyone to notice that
some of them had disappeared. I replaced them with other samples
from the Solar System at first and then I used similar rocks from
Earth. I could not work out why they were disappearing so I checked
the sample cabinet several times a day. Then I found the worm
that was eating them. I told Marita Andersson about the discovery.
Shortly afterwards the University and the Spacers League jointly
devised the story that I was stealing the rocks for my own purposes.
The aim was to keep the existence of the worm a secret until more
was known about it. I was officially expelled from the University
for my actions but I actually went directly to the Spacers College
voluntarily. The expulsion was revoked yesterday because the true
story could be told today. Now, has anyone any questions?"
The journalists' questions and his answers went something like
this:
"When did you discover the creature?"
"On the 24th of February"
"What sort of creature is it?"
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you yet. It is like a very peculiar
caterpillar without legs."
"Could you stroke it like a cat?"
"If you wanted to. Its whiskers are like a yard brush. It
would make your hands sore"
"Can you confirm that is not a newly discovered animal from
Earth?"
"Absolutely, that is unless it was put in the sealed container
by customs officials."
"What do you call it?"
"I call it Undepoldus from the name of the mission that brought
it to Earth."
"How long was it when you discovered it?"
"Seventeen and a half centimetres."
"How long is it now?"
"Twenty-eight and a half centimetres."
"What sex is it?"
"It doesn't seem to have one."
"Have you looked?"
"Those with cameras can view it from underneath the tank
through the glass."
George lifted its tank to eye level.
The camera presented a view of the underside of the worm through
the glass bottom of the tank. Apart from the dark brown patch
there was nothing of special import to be seen.
"Have a look for yourself." Peter said to the girl reporter
who had asked him the question. She blushed and smiled at Peter's
cheekiness. Her colleagues were not slow to capitalise on her
embarrassment.
"What sort of noise does it make?" asked a vidcom newsman.
Peter bent over towards the man's ear and said:
"SShh" very quietly.
There was an immediate chorus from all the reporters.
"What did you say?"
"Sshh."
This was of course misinterpreted and everyone fell silent for
a few moments. Each was expecting to hear the noise it made. Hearing
nothing, some thought they might have missed it before quiet prevailed.
Others thought they were having their legs pulled by Peter.
Raising his hand to quieten them down a bit, Peter said in a raised
voice:
"I said 'sshh' very quietly to imitate the sort of sound
it makes."
There was continued misunderstanding, so the sound man controlling
the P.A. lowered a microphone into the tank. Gradually, the rumbling
crowd of journalists quietened as they listened. Only the faintest
of faint hisses could be heard. The noise was similar to that
made by a glass of champagne, just after it has been poured, but
softer. As the sound man couldn't hear very much he increased
the gain on the sound system and lowered the microphone until
it was practically touching the bottom of the tank in front of
Undepodus. The faint hiss was a little louder but still very quiet.
Suddenly there was a louder trickling sound followed by an ear-splitting
explosion. The sound man pulled off his headphones as if they
were on fire; they weren't - the microphone was. It was emitting
clouds of black smoke. Peter had been watching the vidcom monitor
and had expected the worm to try to eat the microphone, but even
he was unprepared for the resulting deafening noise.
When they had recovered from the shock, the whole crowd burst
into laughter. The bang was an excellent way to end the press
conference - nobody wanted to ask any more questions. With their
ears still ringing the reporters said their goodbyes and departed.
Peter was formally honoured later that day. The Fauna Preservation
Trust installed him as a life member at an extraordinary meeting
held at Regent's Park. Few members were able to be there in person
but the vidcom net linked a record number of participants.
Rear Admiral Chebychev and Commander Sincayvitch were pleased
that the introduction of Undepoldus to the press had gone well.
With George and Marita they entertained Peter to dinner in the
Ambassador's dining room. Undepoldus was provided with a tank
of rocks but he preferred to perch on George's shoulder. Peter
recounted some of his experiences as a new cadet and was clearly
happy to be at the Spacers College. When the meal was over, the
Rear Admiral told stories about his early experiences as a Spacer.
The Commander started to contribute one of his own when there
was a call at the door. Gurprit stood there looking worried.
The Rear Admiral said. "Come in Lieutenant and close the
door. You are looking very worried. What is the problem?"
"Chaos sir. All the strips that go in the direction of Regent's
Park have stopped. All London bound moveway entrances on all moveways
have been closed. North London is now a no go area for floaters.
Hundreds of thousands of people are going to Regent's Park to
see Undepoldus. Londoners like queuing sir. They all wanted to
be among the first people to see Undepoldus at Regent's Park tomorrow
morning. Most of them are carrying sleeping bags. The London Police
have been overwhelmed by the crowds. All vidcom networks are telling
people not to try to go to London. All flights to London from
all over the world including the luxury sub-orbital services are
fully booked for months ahead. If I may say so sir, we Spacers
have become so used to Undepoldus that we did not realise what
effect the news of his existence would have on the public sir."
"You may say so Lieutenant. None of us realised what
impact the news of Undepoldus would have. We have become used
to him being around. I'm afraid that it looks like a black mark
for me. I should have foreseen the problem. I don't think that
there is anything that we can do to stop the crowds now."
George said. "Sir, I have a suggestion. We can put Undepoldus
on the conference room table and set up a series of vidcom cameras
around him. The signals can be sent to all the news networks.
We can announce that Undepoldus will not be going to Regent's
Park until London traffic has returned to normality. I know that
a lot of people will be disappointed sir but I think that is better
than the chaos that exists at the moment. May I also suggest case
five before the announcement is made sir? Some people might want
to protest about the postponement here sir."
The Rear Admiral was about to interrupt but changed his mind.
He said.
"George, your suggestion is the only course we can take in
the circumstances. Case five is in force. Gurprit call on any
Spacer you meet to assist you in setting up the vidcom cameras
as George has suggested. You have the acting rank of Commander
on my authority. Ivan would you please lend the Lieutenant your
jacket. He might have problems convincing some Spacers of his
authority without it. George, you thought of it. Prepare a speech
for the announcement. Marita, please convey Undepoldus to the
Conference room. Peter, please accompany Marita. Ivan, please
go to your cabin and handle any vidcom calls from the London authorities.
I will have to make a report to the Council forthwith."
Marita picked up the tank and held it close to George's shoulder.
Undepoldus remained where he was. Marita put the tank on the table
and picked up Undepoldus with both hands and put him in the tank.
It was clear that he did not like this treatment but he stayed
in the tank as Marita picked it up again.
George sat alone in the small dining room as he tried to work
out what form of words he would use. The chaos would have to be
stopped as quickly as possible. After a while he had decided what
he would say.
As he went towards the conference room he saw Spacers of every
rank laying cables from the Conference room to the communications
centre. When he got to the conference room Gurprit was directing
the arrangement of the cameras as Spacers brought them in. Gurprit
looked a little odd in the Commander's dress jacket. It was a
bit large for him. George noted that Commander Surgeon Smith was
following Gurprit's instructions as if he were a raw Lieutenant.
Expertise had seniority over rank.
One of the cameras was focused on George as he sat down at the
head of the table. Monitors were set up on either side of the
camera. One showed the view that the public would see. The other
was blank for the moment. Then a side view of one of the news
services' anchor men, Russ Beatty, appeared. George composed himself
as someone raised three fingers in front of the remote camera.
Russ was talking about the traffic chaos when he turned and saw
George on his second monitor. He said. "We now pass you over
to the Spacers Club where George McFigg, the worm's keeper will
make an announcement."
George put on a sad face. In a sombre voice he said. "The
worm Undepoldus is dead." George bowed his head and said
nothing for fifteen seconds. Russ Beatty looked shocked. The Spacers
in the Conference room looked aghast. Undepoldus was alive and
well in front of them. George slowly raised his head and said.
I said that to shock you. Undepoldus is not dead but London is
dying by the minute. You have heard and seen that London's traffic
system doesn't work anymore. The worm Undepoldus is the cause.
Too many people want to see him at once. Undepoldus will not
be at Regent's Park tomorrow."
George paused and imagined that he could see all those who were
watching.
"I repeat. Undepoldus will not be at Regent's Park
tomorrow.
Undepoldus will not go to Regent's Park until all London traffic
has returned to normal. Everyone who has tried to go to Regent's
Park tonight should go home now. You will all be able to see Undepoldus
more clearly in your own homes than you ever could in Regent's
Park." George gestured to Gurprit off camera.
"Here he is now." The monitor view switched to the tank.
George continued. "We will transmit views of Undepoldus live
for forty-five minutes every hour until further notice.
We will organise a lottery for tickets to see Undepoldus at Regent's
Park. To enter the lottery you must write your name and address
on a postcard and send it to The Spacers Club, London by surface
mail. Families and groups should send only one postcard with the
names of all those who wish to see Undepoldus written clearly
on the card. Any cards received without franked and dated stamps
will be rejected. If we detect that anyone has sent two or more
cards, that person will be permanently excluded from all lottery
draws. When the lottery begins, five thousand people will selected
at random each day. The winners will be notified of the date and
time that they should arrive at the Regent's Park ticket office.
Only those whose names are on the selected postcards will be admitted.
All postcards delivered to the Spacers Club by the postal services
will be checked by processor-controlled robots.
Finally, any person who causes a disturbance tonight or at any
other time because of the postponement will be permanently barred
from seeing Undepoldus at Regent's Park."
The camera view returned to George as he was finishing his announcement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are sorry that we have had to take
this course of action. You have seen why on your vidcoms. Undepoldus
will be with us for a long time. Thank you for your attention."
"This message will be repeated several times an hour until
further notice."
Gurprit switched off the microphones. The changing views of Undepoldus
in his tank were resumed.
Gurprit then switched the monitors to the London news channels.
One was repeating George's message unedited. Another showed police
floaters over Marylebone Road. They were broadcasting George's
message to the crowds below them with their P.A. systems. The
view changed. In Piccadilly Circus the advertisement signs
had been replaced by George's message. The stripway signs in the
view simply flashed Out of Service. Crowds poured down
Regent Street towards the camera. Most people stopped to see George's
message displayed once, then they continued walking. George had
seen recordings of the way crowds had gathered in London in the
past for celebrations and funerals of famous people. As the news
service cameras switched from view to view he saw that this time
the crowds were not just in one area or along a chain of connected
streets. Wherever the view was shown the density of the crowds
was the same. There were incidents where crowds going towards
Regent's Park met crowds going home. The sheer mass of people
prevented movement in both directions. Police floaters were now
broadcasting a few words taken from George's announcement. "Undepoldus
will not be at Regent's Part tomorrow. Please go home."
A small group of protesters were on the street outside the
Spacers Club entrance. They shouted: "We want Undepoldus!
We want Undepoldus! What do we want? We want Undepoldus!"
As the news camera scanned the view, two Spacers could be seen
setting up a screen outside a first floor window. They disappeared
into the window and the screen lit up showing Undepoldus in his
tank. The crowd gave a half-hearted cheer and then began to disperse.
The vidcom view changed again to the crowds in Marylebone road.
Some were walking but most were now on strips. the 'Out of Service'
signs had gone and were replaced by the usual array of coloured
destination signs. Another view in Tottenham Court Road caught
a strip sign changing from red 'Out of Service' to flashing amber,
'Caution, Strip Starting, Please wait'. The crowds were visibly
less dense and the rate that they were dispersing increased as
more and more strips came back into service. The chaos was being
brought under control.
The vidcom views of the crowds were more and more interspersed
with views of Undepoldus and less serious news items. The passengers
on a chartered sub-orbital flight from Singapore demanded that
the pilot turn back when they heard that Undepoldus would not
be at Regent's Park. When the pilot said he couldn't turn back
because the plane was in free fall, some of the passengers decided
to try to take over the plane. The pilot responded by turning
off the gravity units. This made most of the passengers bilious
and the troublemakers helpless.
George's message had done its job. The mad rush of people towards Regent's Park had built up in four hours and took just over an hour to disperse. The chaos was over.
PAUSE
The next section covers the events
in the Reptile House.
Viewers familiar with this subject may pass on to the following
section.
Please select PASS or CONTINUE.