A TOOTHACHE ON ZENOB
BY BOYD ELLANBEE
Strange to think that from twenty-odd
light-years away, other eyes see our own Sun
blazing in the middle of a familiar constellation....
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, October 1958.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Pehn Karn sat in the signal dome, idly waiting while his friend,adjusted the dials of the receiver. The recording tape spilled over thetable in loops of aluminum.
"Doesn't this job get dull?" he inquired.
Nautunal turned the fifth dial a few degrees, and glanced up. "Dependson your interest. It's true this is just routine space-sweep, butnoise from space is amazingly variegated. Just one more sector to scantonight, and I'll be through. What's matter with you, Pehn? Your facelooks little lopsided."
Pehn tried to grin, and fingered the slight swelling on his cheek. "Myface will never be my fortune, I guess. I don't know what's matter.Just ache."
Even at his best, as Pehn's family loved to remind him, he was anugly young man; he had none of the rounded placidity of feature whichwas the ideal of his race. His olive skin stretched too tightly overhis cheekbones, and his black eyes peered too intensely from theirdeep sockets. It helped very little that he happened to be extremelyintelligent.
Pehn covered the aching place with his hand, and tried to concentrateon the emerging spills of tape. As a matter of fact, he had been havingsevere periodic toothaches for six months now, but had never spoken ofit.
Suddenly he bent forward. "Hold it! Just minute. Let me see that."
Nautunal raised one eyebrow. "Don't let it get you, lad. Listening tospace is apt to make you jumpy. Your friends over at Atomics wouldn'tlike that. More than once I've thought I was finding some sort of sensein all this chatter, but it never pans out. It's just noise. There maybe other inhabited planets besides Zenob, just as Bidagha claims, butif so, they aren't talking."
"Stop, watch tape," said Pehn. Nautunal shrugged his shoulders, but hepicked up the tape and watched as it trickled through his fingers.
The machine was recording short bursts of energy, separated by distinctpauses: ".. .. .... ... ... ...... .... .... ........"
"Two and two," remarked Pehn, "are four. Three and three are six.Four—"
"I know. I've been to kindergarten too. Four and four are eight. Hasyour aching face affected your mind? You ought to submit yourself fortreatment."
He reached to shift the scanner, but Pehn grabbed his hand.
"Can't you see? Somebody is trying to show us they know how to add.Someone out in space. Keep watching. I wonder if they use duodecimalsystem, or what? Where is it coming from?"
Nautunal dropped his skeptical pose, and watched the emerging tape insilence. The growing table of symbols built all the simple additionsup to 10 plus 10, by the laborious accumulation of dots. Then it beganagain, systematically, "One and one are two, two and two—"
Pehn turned his wondering eyes on his friend. "Is this trick? Joke yourigged up for my benefit?"
"Is this a trick?"
N