Forbidden Planets by Peter Crowther

Author:Peter Crowther
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
ISBN: 9781101117897
Publisher: Penguin Group US

“Kloster,” I asked the engineer, shortly after our arrival, “does it not strike you odd that this planetoid would be so constituted as to support human life so perfectly? The mix of elements in the atmosphere, the gravity, the warmth—all seem perfectly suited to sustain life.”

“Zihl,” Kloster said, an unaccustomed smile on his lean face, the corners of his mouth almost touching his prominent cheekbones, “I never took you for a Demiurgist.”

I had no notion what the engineer meant by this, and I’m sure my expression showed it.

“Surely you’ve heard the stories about ancient aliens, Assistant Astrogator?” Kloster asked, his tone like that of a teacher addressing a small child.

“Oh,” I said, after mulling it over for a time, “you mean the Old Ones? Such as are portrayed in the pseudo-rationalist dramas?”

Kloster blinked slowly, as if in sudden pain, and shook his head sharply. “Yes.” He took a long sigh. “Well, one who holds to the Demiurgist doctrine believes that these ancient intelligences existed in actual fact, and not just in the fanciful writings of dramatists. There is no evidence for these ancients, as there is none for sentient beings from any source but Old Earth, but the proponents of Demiurgism see inferences everywhere, from the ‘fine-tuning’ of certain cosmological values to the balance of chemical constituents in some planetary bodies, which they argue is proof of ancient terraforming.”

“And you think that this planetoid proves the Demiurgist doctrine?”

“No,” Kloster said with a faint smile, shaking his head slowly, “I said it sounded as though you did.”

With that, the engineer turned on his heel and walked away, leaving me puzzled by the turns of our brief conversation.

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