Chap. 419  Lost and Found

“I scanned all his personal journals into the database before I turned the backpack over to Security,” Jansen told Raylan.

“How about the plant survey notebooks?”

“Well, of course, Chief! It’s all in the database. Since he’d already allowed us to keep the plant notebooks, I figured we’d keep those. But his personal journals are, if damning, still his personal property.”

“Yes. Especially this letter from his-I don’t know the word for a person who takes orders from rich men for artifacts, but we know who I’m referring to. Let’s call him the Contact. If these items didn’t prove it, this letter from Contact in the future certainly proves L’ichen’s been very busy stealing,” Raylan said.

“You found things in the bunker?”

“We did. Artifacts, clothing and dragon cargo boxes, Commo took the clothing to Chief Elene. And I gave the cargo boxes to the Telgar Weyr riders. Everything dovetailed so neatly, Jansen, I commend you.”

She shrugged. “It worked out, boss, just perfect. I just wish Chief Elene’s Library hadn’t been ransacked, but if nothing else, it tells us he was fully aware of his crimes. Where did L’ichen go? I’m almost afraid that he’ll be skulking around the cantonment, waiting to attack someone else.”

“No one has a clue where he went. Maybe he’s in one of the caverns on Mt. Garben? I don’t know. But as for him thinking of attacking someone else? He’d be foolish to do so. The moment Administration Chief Evvelin learns of his attack, which should be any moment now, I’m sure she’ll ask for volunteers to escort women and kids until we find L’ichen.”

Jansen laughed. “Knowing Evvelin, she’ll be out there with a sword herself. She hates thieves, bullies and criminals.”

Raylan laughed. “No doubt, and I also have no doubt she’ll have plenty of men stepping up to the task, even in the rain. People are pissed.”

“My computer lit up with messages. Security has put a guard in the library. They’ve put a message on the main bulletin board that “a” backpack has been found and is waiting for claiming at the Lost and Found desk there. Data put out a warning message to all of Landing to beware of L’ichen.  Engineering put a new lock on the bunker, you’ll have to tell me about that, and will be welding it shut tomorrow. They’ll be opening the warehouse tomorrow.”

“Looks like no one has been sloughing,” Raylan said. “When Landing’s folk get roused up, things happen.”

“You didn’t go into the warehouse, though.”

“Nay. To look at it you would think the warehouse is impossible to enter. There’s no sign of ash removal. But Data insists that the Yokohama pinpointed the first ping from L’ichen’s datalink as being INSIDE.  I have no reason to doubt him. How he got in through all that ash, though, is the question.”

“Well, Chief, while I’ve been waiting for you to come in, I did some research on that warehouse. It was at one time used for shuttle maintenance, specifically, the Shuttle Moth which we all know crashed into the sea. But let me you what I found. It took some digging in the database. I wasn’t even sure if there was ANY history of those early days, but Turing is in a good mood tonight.”

She brought up a picture. “This was taken about five years? after colonization,” she said.

The picture opened to show the immense warehouse, the bay door opened. Inside one could see what appeared to be crates, with a team building a framework. On a wall at the far end was a large blob of blue gray paint. A man was standing just outside of the warehouse, a look of pride and satisfaction on his face.  

Over the top end of the door was a large, handpainted sign that read,

“Natural History Museum of Pern. Established in year 5”

“Huh!” Raylan said.

“And look, chief,” Jansen said, as she zoomed in on the man.

In one hand he held the leashes to two harnessed animals that appeared to be cats.

The caption said, “DR Plank with Fetch and Rajah at the opening of his Natural History Museum, Year 5.”

“Amazing. That’s good work, Jansen, it never occurred to me to go looking for a photo of the colonists!”

“There’s not many, boss. I’m betting they were awfully busy.”

“Those are cats, I’m sure of it, but I’ve never seen such a beast.”

“I didn’t have the time, but now I do,” she said. “Turing, tell me what these animals are,” she said.

The database ticked over for a moment, then produced the information:

“Bobcat  Lynx rufus   Wild cat found in North America from S. Canada to northern Mexico. Head and body 50-100 cm, weight 5-18 kg. Primarily nocturnal and solitary as adults.

 Males larger than females. Tail is bobbed, tip of tail black above, white below. Color and spotting variable, with all black specimens occasionally found in Florida. Habitat is highly variable. Hunts smalls mammals (rabbits and rodents) and birds on occasion.

She stopped the database.

“Bobcat. What a lovely cat,” Raylan said. “I wonder if Plank intended to release them, like they did with lions, tigers and cheetahs?”

“If he did, they didn’t make it. I don’t have a clue what a rabbit or a rodent is, so maybe they didn’t find enough to eat.”

The thought of the cats dying of starvation was depressing.

Raylan nodded. “Well, if anything, this photo is solid evidence that the warehouse we were outside of today is probably DR Plank’s. And if it is…my word, Jansen, maybe it still has artifacts in it!”

“I want to be there when they open it, Chief. He was a scientist. I’m betting my breakfast it’s full of all sorts of wonders.”

She looked at him with a smile. “Okay, chief, now I know you didn’t come in here without some treasures that you found. What are they?”

Raylan grinned. “Maybe I should wait until everyone in Science is here to see them?”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO! It’s late, they’ve all gone home to their families, and I’ve been dealing with a madman L’ichen running amok. When I wasn’t sifting through his backpack, arranging for the necropsy on a dead dragon, scanning L’ichen’s journals and his plant notebooks, I’ve been wondering where the madman will strike next, and wondering if I’ll get home without being drenched, where my cat is waiting to be fed.  I think I deserve to see what you brought.”

He laughed.

He pulled out the tooth first. “It was in a sock, of all things.”

She gasped. “That’s a tooth or I’m a wherry. It’s bloody enormous.”

“About 20 cm, give or take a few.”

“Whose mouth did it come out of?”

“I don’t know other than it’s a big ass predator that was fossilized.”

“Let’s scan it and see if Turing can identify it.”

Turing took its time, this time.

“Maybe it’s not really a tooth?”

“Oh, it’s a tooth, alright,” Raylan said, “There’s no doubt in my mind.”

“Ah,” Jansen said as the data bloomed on her screen.

Maxillary tooth of Tyrannosaurus rex, (90% confidence level). Usually referred to as T. rex, it was one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs of Earth’s Late Cretaceous era (~ appx 65 Mya BCE).

Adult T. rex averaged 12 meters in length (40 ft), 4 m (12-13 ft) in height measured at the hip and weighed from 9K-15K  kg. (20k-33K lbs) Display image?

She gulped. “Am I reading those values right?”

“Uh, he’s your database, but yes. My stars, what a monster.”

“Dinosaur. Obviously the word is the root for our present usage of ‘saurian’ for our dragons. Did it fly?” Jansen said.

“I’m not much for the aerodynamics of dragons, never mind dinosaurs, but I seriously doubt it. So click on display, for star’s sake!”

She typed yes.

They both were gobsmacked.

After a long moment, Raylan said, “No doubt this thing was a carnivore. What a monster, no, just monstrous. I’m too much a scientist. I would have LOVED to have seen this beast, but from a distance.”

“Like from the back of a dragon, HIGH up in the air,” Jansen said, “although looking at it, I bet it couldn’t jump.”

“Or fly…”

Display morphology and literature on Tyrannosaurus rex?

“Oh, I bet you have tons. I don’t have the time tonight, Turing,” Jansen said.

That’s it?” she asked of artifacts.

“Oh, no. This is something from Earth’s history.”

He pulled out the disc and handed it to her.

“It’s silver,” she said.

“Aye, I’m sure of it. We have very little silver on Pern, although maybe there’s sources for it in places we’ve not been to yet.”

On one side was a drawing of a spacesuited person, saluting a flag in the background of what appeared to be a cratered area.

The words on the rim said “The Eagle has Landed.  Apollo 11 Misson First manned landing on the Moon, July 20 1969.”

On the back was a large bird with talons extended, about to land on the Moon, and the words on the rim saying “One Giant Leap for Mankind.  United States of America.”

“You bet this is historical,” Jansen said, “I don’t ever remember learning about the landing, but it obviously happened.”

“Yes. So did you find anything in L’ichen’s backpack?” Raylan asked, thinking, now it’s my turn.

“Oh, yes, first exhibit, I give you the Morpho butterfly.”

She pulled it out of her desk drawer and handed it to him.

Raylan took it as if it were made of the most delicate crystal.

“My word, what a beautiful creature.”

“It’s from Earth, a place called Coastal (sic) Rica.”

“I thought this was glass.”

“It’s not, it’s called Plexiglas.”

“Is this all?”

“No,” she said, smirking, “There’s two more. Other than his notebooks, both personal and data collection, yes. One was sent to Acquisition, and the other, well, Chief Elene brought it, dripping wet because she got caught in the rain. She went home.”

“What did you send to Acquisition?”

“It was a metal case. It had a label saying it was the logbook of Lt. Cook, a pilot of the Yokohama.”

“No!” Raylan exclaimed, astonished.

“YES. We sent it to Acquisition in case it was paper, we didn’t want to open it and have it disintigrate. They said they’d scan the data if it’s still legible.”

“Whoa. I want to read it. What a catch! What a THIEF that L’ichen is!”

“Yeah. He had good taste, that’s for certain. And I can’t wait to read it, I hope to stars Acquisition can save it. Elene was drooling, almost, at the thought of reading it.”

“Well, it’s been a long day, Jansen, and I know you’re ready to go home.”

You don’t want to see what the other treasure was?”

“Uh, sure.”

She handed him the sock.

“A sock? Wait, this is the mate to the sock we found the tooth in, in the bunker,” Raylan said.

“I guess L’ichen liked socks for storage?”

“No one checks socks for stolen artifacts.”

He felt the rock and this time had no fear of reaching in it.

“Whoa,” he said, revealing it. “It’s big, the biggest hunk of amber I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said. “And, by the egg, it’s got something in it.”

He turned it over and over. “It looks like a tiny little head, and strands of hair!”

“Yes,” Jansen said, “And I scanned it and Turing is 90% confident as to what it is.”

“Okay, turn about is fair play. What did Turing say it is?”

“It’s an animal from Earth, a mammal that flew. It’s called a bat.”

________________________________________________________

The staffer at the Lost and Found department was locking up for the night when a man came hurrying to the door, head down to keep the rain out of his face.

“Wait, wait! Is this the Lost and Found?” he asked.

Really, the staffer thought, really? I’ve been sitting on my arse for the day, waiting for some madman to demand a backpack, and now it’s quitting time and you show up?

He sighed in resignation. “Yes, it is, what can I do for you?”

“Well, please, can I come in out of the rain? I’m soaking wet.”

The staffer sighed and pushed the door open. The man followed him in.

“Thank you. You weren’t locking up, were you?”

“Well, yes. It’s a few minutes past quitting time. What are you…” he looked hard at the man. Elderly, like me. Wet as a fish.

“Thanks, mate. I thought I’d drown out there.”

“What are you here for? A backpack, by any chance?”

“Backpack? I don’t need no backpack, I gots a pack horse, you know? And a wagon, but, well, I’m here for my slicker. You can see I needs one. Bad.”

“Yes, I can.” The man was rapidly dropping half of the dragon lake on his floor.

“I’m here to get the Council to hear my petition again. And I were looking at the bulletin board, and oh, wait, it’s a bit confusing, let me, let me backtrack. I were here six months ago, petitioning the Council for relief from tithing. They wouldn’t hear of it, can you imagine? Me, an old man, ain’t got…”

“Listen, sir, please get to the point? I want to get to my wife and dinner.”

“I’d love to have dinner, too, but, anyways, I were here and didn’t even bemember but I must have brought it with me. Didn’t need it, though, you know, it were beautiful weather that day.  Didn’t even think I’d need it, until a week ago, just afore we left my cothold, and the sky and my sheep, I raises sheep, you know, they start telling me rain is coming. Sheep do that, you know, people don’t know nothin’ bout sheep. Anyway I been thinking, where did I see it last, I looked here, I looked there, I couldn’t find it nowheres at home, you know?  and then when I gets here, I bemembers I did, I brought it last time. They told me to check the Lost and Found list on the bulletin board.  And I see, slicker slicker slicker slicker. Lots of slickers, one o’ them gots to be mine.

So we gets in here nobbut an hour ago, just at sundown and we be hurrying all day. We’re put up in visitors quarters like last time and I says, I left my slicker here and they says, oh, if a guest leaves sumpin’ we take it to Lost and Found. I thinks, I’ll go check with the Lost and Found but first I puts the team and the wagon up in t’barn and on my way here, the sky opens up.”

He’s repeating himself. I’m a little younger than him, stars help me it I get like this. I made my wife promise if I ever get like this to just put me down humanely, the staffer thought.

“When were you here last?”

“Six months ago? No, maybe it were five, it were a fine day, sor, a FINE day and…”

Six months. “I have several slickers in the back, I only have so much room here by the desk. What color was it?”

“Oh, it were, oh, dear, it’s so old, I shear sheep and sometimes they get scared and…”

“I can imagine. I’ll bring out the one that looks like it might fit you.” What IS it about louts like him? He needs a handler, someone to lead him about by the hand. I want to be rid of you.

“Thankee sir, I thank you for taking the time out to help an old cobber like me.”

The staffer walked past the three backpacks next to his desk.

It took him some time to find the slicker. He came out where the man was waiting.

“Nay, that’s not mine.”

The staffer rolled his eyes, but said nothing . He went back into the storeroom. He didn’t hear the entry door open, then shut.

He’s leaning on my counter, the staffer thought. Lout. He handed one of the slickers to the man.  

He tried one on. “Nay, it don’t fit. Let me try that other one.”

It better fit, codger, I’m not going to go through the entire bloody backroom looking to fit you. If you forgot it, you deserve to get wet.

He pushed the second slicker over the counter.

The man pulled the slicker on, and while the staffer thought it might not fit, the other seemed happy. “Aye, it’s mine, alright! Thankee sir!” He reached in one of the pockets. “I sees you is an honest man, sor, there’s still a mark in my pocket. Here.” He offered the staffer the mark.

Of course I’m honest, you lout, he thought, but he said, “No thank you. This is my job.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” he said, losing his patience at last. “I don’t take money, but please, you are taking my time. Please leave, I want to get home.”

The old man tugged his wet forelock. “Yes, sor. I’m sorry to have taken up your time but you’ve been so helpful, and..”

The staffer almost literally pushed the man to the door. “Good luck on your petition tomorrow.”

The man disappeared into the night. The staffer turned to lock the door, hearing the rain begin to really come down. He pulled his slicker up over his head and stepped into the rain to head home.