Descending Road - THE FOSSIL WHISPERS by Dana W. Paxson

THE FOSSIL WHISPERS

1529 4D

Pleased, he took the prize back to the City. Delicate work with microjets of water disclosed a translucent structure of startling beauty, a palace built for tiny nonhuman creatures. Fascinated, he set a team to work with other microtools, and found a whole culture he could hold in his hand, complete with doorways, wall inscriptions, utensils, furniture, and art. None of it looked human.

“Arlen", his chief anthropologist said, “We think this is the home of the seed-beings of the City-builders themselves, maybe the sixth or the seventh generation out of the original starship germ cells.”

“City-builders? Do you mean the beings who made this place before the Colonization?”

“This city, and all the other underground cities: Monford, Purusil, all the rest. We believe this stone is the home of their microscopic ancestors. It ties in with some similar discoveries the Regional Government has kept secret.”

Arlen‘s excitement rose. “Keep working on it.” So. A link, at last, to the founders of the great underground cities, built long before the Colonization over ten thousand years ago. There might be a link to the aliens here, and to space travel itself. He would find out.

Two stones: the artifact and the anth. He would marshal his science teams, and extract from the anth the secret of the ship’s drive. Before the government and the aliens could find out what he was doing, he would lead humankind again into space.

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	THE FOSSIL WHISPERS 1529 4D Pleased, he took the prize back to the City. Delicate work with microjets of water disclosed a translucent structure of startling beauty, a palace built for tiny nonhuman creatures. Fascinated, he set a team to work with other microtools, and found a whole culture he could hold in his hand, complete with doorways, wall inscriptions, utensils, furniture, and art. None of it looked human. “Arlen", his chief anthropologist said, “We think this is the home of the seed-beings of the City-builders themselves, maybe the sixth or the seventh generation out of the original starship germ cells.” “City-builders? Do you mean the beings who made this place before the Colonization?” “This city, and all the other underground cities: Monford, Purusil, all the rest. We believe this stone is the home of their microscopic ancestors. It ties in with some similar discoveries the Regional Government has kept secret.” Arlen‘s excitement rose. “Keep working on it.” So. A link, at last, to the founders of the great underground cities, built long before the Colonization over ten thousand years ago. There might be a link to the aliens here, and to space travel itself. He would find out. Two stones: the artifact and the anth. He would marshal his science teams, and extract from the anth the secret of the ship’s drive. Before the government and the aliens could find out what he was doing, he would lead humankind again into space.