Smar: Return of the Machines

About the Author

Inspired by science fiction from an early age by the space race of the 60s and the moon landings, sci-fi has always been a passion. This series of books was inspired by the fascination of the exploration of our nearest planet Mars. What secrets could and will be discovered when we finally send a manned expedition to its surface? This is just one view of what we might find on what we think is a barren planet that may have sustained life in its past history.

Copyright Information ©

David T Bennett 2024

The right of David T Bennett to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398491779 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398491786 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2024

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

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E14 5AA

Chapter 1

Not Again!

Karel had enjoyed the past few months of what he considered to be relative freedom on Topside. He had never spent so much time above ground before nor been so happy. With only the sky above him, he basked in the sunlight of the day. Watched as the daylight shadows moved slowly and freely amongst the rocks across the barren red landscape from dawn to dusk. Making the most of the scattered rocks, deep ravines and high mountain ranges that made up Topside. Casting shadows large and small from mountain top to a valley deep. Multitudes of them dancing their way across this vast red sun-kissed wasteland.

Not for them the long wait for the briefest of opportunity to dance when only lamp light permitted as it was amidst the forlorn, endless darkness of Below. Once the sun set and the sky went from red to deep purple and then black, Karel revelled in the glory of the night sky. The stars shimmering brightly against the darkness of the space betwixt them.

Each night as he lay back in his bed, he had been studying the stars and had begun to recognise some of the constellations that Tega and Nerak had shown and told him about. He was fascinated by the beauty of these twinkling lights set against the vastness of the night sky. He knew that the names of these constellations had come from the ancient scriptures of old, but he had no inkling of what they were, the sheer distance each had travelled, nor the time taken for each tiny flicker of light to reach him merely to greet him for the briefest of moments.

No idea that he was actually looking at light from a long and distant past. Light that in some cases had left its point of origin long before the formation of Smar itself. A light from the very depths of this vast, endless and ever-expanding universe.

Yes, he was thoroughly enjoying being away from the confines of Below where day and night had no meaning. Only the hours on the clocks designated the difference between them. When they should sleep and when they should be awake. Where darkness reigned supreme over light. Allowing only the meagre light of the lamps and fires of the Smarians as they went about their daily business. Tolerating its flicker amidst the vast darkness of the huge caverns and endless passageways that made up Below.

Tega and Nerak had been suspicious at first of his wanting to stay on Topside but had now grown accustomed to Karel’s wish to stay out in the open even when they had disappeared for days inside some of the strange places that Tega had taken them to. Karel had insisted that he stayed on Topside to make sure that nothing untoward would happen to their kit whilst they were busy investigating the deep, dark, enclosed confines of the caverns and caves. Well, that and the fact that there was no way that anyone was going to make him go back underground ever again!

The sheer thought of being in a confined darkened place appalled him! Lamps or not! Before Topside he had to endure the confinement of Below having never seen the daylight before. Wondering why he alone seemed to yearn to be free of the claustrophobic underworld of Below. Why he hated so the feeling of being trapped and enclosed by Below. He could not speak out as everyone else seemed content living underground and would wonder why he did not conform to their normal way of life.

Consider him a freak and someone who perhaps should not be allowed the freedom to stay amongst normal folk. Someone who should be locked away from society in case he hurt himself or others, as he obviously was not normal. Locked away for his own good and the good of others. Plus, then they would not have to think about him anymore and could go about their daily business without strange folk like him around.

He had managed all his life to conceal his deep fear of being Below. Struggling every day with it and hiding it behind a torrent of questions (His defence mechanism!) whenever anyone had tried to engage with him for fear of them discovering his dark secret. But now that he had tasted the delights of being Topside he was never going willingly underground again. Tega and Nerak had just gone along with it.

They just thought he was being a tiny bit eccentric. Eccentric or just feeling a bit freaked out by all the weird markings and strange objects that Nerak kept on finding. At least they didn’t have to suffer the relentless bombardment of questions that always followed whenever they mentioned him joining them underground. They thought that he might like to join them on one of their many excursions deep into the abyss looking for any signs of intelligent life, but it would seem not.

Nerak on the other hand was so excited by all her discoveries she did not see the scepticism in their eyes. They did not see what she saw in those strange markings. The more she found the more she studied. The more she studied the more she began to understand. Nerak was slowly but surely making sense of some of the markings and began saying that they meant something. That they were not random markings as first thought by the scientists of Below. The more Nerak studied them she could see that they were structured. The lost language of the ancients perhaps.

Tega and Karel normally just nodded their apparent interest mainly to hide the fact that what she was saying made no sense to them at all. How could Smarians from the long distant past possibly read and write when a lot of Smarians now could not do either! Absolute poppycock they thought but were polite enough to keep it to themselves. They had no wish to offend their dear friend and were happy to let her continue.

Nerak was in her element. Every day she would find more and more signs that there had been a race on the surface. A race that she believed were intelligent. Perhaps more so than the Smarians of the present day! Her task now was to find the proof. The proof to take back to the Great Council and hopefully get her good friend and mentor, Professor Snikwah, out of that awful prison that he was being held in.

As for Karel, well, he was more concerned with the survival tricks that Tega was teaching him. Like how to pick out the easiest rocks to light up and the best rocks to heat up and stay warm. Which ones would give off the most heat and for longer? Checking the vast red sky above for signs of oncoming storms. Where best to set up camp to wait out the more violent ones to which there were many.

Obviously, Karel desperately preferred it if it was not in a cave! He really, really did not like caves but sometimes a cave was the only safe option against the ferocious power of the storms. Then he would reluctantly have to shelter inside the relative safety of the cave but even then, only as far in as he had to. The need to survive overriding his fear and hatred of being in an enclosed place no matter how big the cave!

They might have been really big to Tega and Nerak but to Karel the walls of the cave knew of his fear and would close in and crush the life out of him. Survival outside was more what Karel was interested in. How to exist as best as one could on this bleak, harsh, unforgiving but stunningly beautiful and, more importantly, wide open terrain that Karel now called home.

They had moved much further North over the last couple of months and far away from the landing site where they had their close encounter with the walking machines and that vast bubble machine. Something that they still talked about sometimes at night beside the campfire. They debated what they were and where they came from. What they wanted and why they had such strange faces inside those hideous walking machines.

Karel did not much care for who they were or where they came from just as long as they did not come back! Tega felt much the same, but Nerak wanted to know more. Her inquisitive mind that was constantly seeking answers to all those questions that were running through that brilliant brain of hers overtaking any fear of the unknown.

As she always said Why would you be afraid of something that hasn’t and may not happen yet? Why be afraid of something that you know nothing about? Cautious yes but not afraid. It’s the irrational fear of the unknown believing it to be bad that stops you from learning about something that may potentially be good!

Karel and Tega did not subscribe to this idea at all. Always preferring to err on the side of what they already knew as opposed to perhaps suffering the consequences of something that they did not know. Run first, live another day and be enlightened in safety later! was their motto. They did not have the inquisitive and positive mind that Nerak did but still respected her for it. They did not understand it one bit little but respected her for it!

They were also far away from the base in case anyone came snooping around looking for Nerak or trying to find out what they were doing. It was a rarity that anyone did ever venture outside the perimeter of the base especially this far north but something that they had to be aware of. The Great Council would certainly not have approved of Tega taking Nerak to the places where Hundrey, his old friend and mentor, had spoken of. To where Hundrey had believed that the ancient ones had lived over a millennium or three ago.

Nerak on the other hand was only too pleased to go where there was any chance of finding evidence of the ancient race that preceded them. Evidence that she could use to prove that they were not the first civilisation to live on Smar. That there had been an advanced civilisation that had once lived above ground in vast cities spanning the entire planet at a time when Topside was rich with vegetation, vast oceans and huge rivers of water. A civilisation that was so advanced that the Smarian race as it is today would be considered vastly primitive in comparison.

Nerak wanted to find the evidence of their existence and perhaps of why they had disappeared from Smar. None of this mattered to Karel. He just loved being alone amidst the desolate wastelands of Topside although he did rather like the idea of a race that lived in cities above ground. It seemed to him a much more civilised way to live! Tega was just along for the ride.

After many years of being alone and happy to be so on Topside he was surprised as to how content he was to have his travelling companions. Karel who was keen and eager to learn about Topside survival and Nerak, the shining light of perpetual positivity and goodness that brought a warmth to his heart. Not that he would ever tell them that though. No, show no sign of emotional weakness he thought. That way when they eventually leave him, he would not have to feel the loss and emptiness that would inevitably follow.

Laying back admiring the red glow of the midday sky, something that he did on a regular basis as it certainly beats doing any work, his four arms spread out wide and his tail waving slowly and gently from side to side in front of him. Bliss! His mind was relaxed too. No thoughts other than what he might conjure up for the evening meal and as they did not have a lot to choose from that didn’t take long, were present. He was relaxing quite nicely as he did most days when left alone until he began to hear a noise.

It was not the usual noise of the wind blowing across the desert nor the noise that was then followed by an oncoming storm. Tega was already teaching Karel how to distinguish between them. No, this noise was different yet strangely familiar. As to why it seemed familiar, he did not have a clue, but it just did. Not moving a muscle, he strained to try and make out just what this strange, yet familiar noise was.

Nope! Try as he might and he did try, he could not make out exactly what it was, but he did establish that it was coming from the other side of the hill. Karel lay there debating whether to go and investigate or not. The noise was not getting any louder, so it wasn’t coming his way, a good thing he thought, but it was bugging him as to why it seemed so damned familiar.

Well, if it’s not coming my way best leave it alone. As Nerak says, ‘Why worry about the unknown if it’s not bothering you!’ or something like that. Either way I’ll stay here unless it gets any louder, he thought to himself. But the noise did not go away and his peaceful day was being ruined because of it. He thought of all manner of things that it could be, but none seemed to satisfy him enough to stop his curiosity from growing stronger.

He even tried to shut it out completely by covering his ears and singing a little song but that did not work either. Partially because he had a terrible voice (He was about as tuneful as a scorse was fragrant!) and partially because he had to keep stopping as he could not remember all the words! After many attempts at everything he could think of to try and ignore it or justify what it was, his curiosity got the better of him and very, very reluctantly he got up.

Karel dusted himself down and looked around. Everything was as it should be. Nothing stirred across the enormous and desolate expanse of Topside as far as he could see but that damn noise was still there in the background. Quietly whining away and emanating from the other side of the hill. Tega and Nerak were inside one of the many caves below him that they had entered that morning and he certainly did not expect them back before dark.

A few more moments contemplating what to do, arguing with himself and losing, before Karel finally gave in, shrugged his shoulders and started to climb to the top of the hill. His brain was still working overtime trying to recognise that damn sound. Racking through all his memories trying to find the right one. Explanations popping into his head only to be discounted immediately.

Arrhh! What is it? screamed Karel as he made his way slowly to the top. Had he have realised what it was he probably, no, definitely would not have gone to the top of the hill. Nope, he would have run in the opposite direction and hid. Vowing not to come out of hiding until the noise had stopped and gone away. However, he didn’t, so he did continue on up to the top all-be-it very cautiously. One cautious step followed by an equally cautious step he crept up the hill.

For reasons unknown to Karel, he dropped to the floor as he approached the top of the hill. He did not know why nor spent much time thinking about it, but it was the same impulse that had told him that he recognised the noise in the first place. He crawled up the last few metres to the top and very, very slowly and reluctantly peeked over. At first, all he could see was more of the desolate barren landscape that was Topside.

Well, that was a waste of time, he thought. Relieved that there was nothing unexpected there to terrorise him.

The noise however was still there in the background. Quiet but still annoyingly there. Like a song that you cannot remember the name of or who sung it still constantly playing away inside your head. Never-ending and befuddling your brain. Thinking he should take a closer look Karel removed his binoculars from his belt and raised them to his eyes.

He slowly surveyed the horizon looking for what he knew not. Nothing. A feeling of relief was beginning to fill his body. He swept across the horizon again sure that he must have missed something for that frustratingly annoying noise was still there. Suddenly amongst the desolate wasteland of Topside, shimmering in the sunlight, there it was. Karel froze. He could not believe what he saw.

No! It can’t be! he screamed inwardly to himself and pushed the binoculars away from his eyes as if to make it go away. A few seconds passed as what he saw sunk in. He looked in the opposite direction and closed his eyes tightly, praying that he was wrong. Karel opened his eyes and turned back towards what he saw. He shakily raised the binoculars slowly to his eyes again. Hoping upon hope that what he thought he saw was merely an illusion. A trick of the mind. Topside playing one of its cruel tricks on him.

His breathing becoming deeper and his heart rate faster as he focused on the direction of the noise only to confirm what he had seen previously. He shivered with fear at what he saw and tried to look away, but he had become mesmerised by its presence. Unbelievably taken a back at what had been creating that strangely familiar and now terrifying sound. Something that he had hoped and believed that he would never see again!

The next thing that Karel remembered was running down the hill towards the cave that Tega and Nerak had entered earlier that day screaming his head off. Screaming what he did not know nor care just so long as it made a noise loud enough for Tega and Nerak to hear him. Tripping up over a rock he fell and had begun to tumble down the hillside in a very unbecoming way indeed. Head over heels he rolled and rolled down the hill. Arms, legs and tail all being flung in every direction until finally, he came to an abrupt stop.

The thud of hitting something had taken Karel’s breath away for a moment. Eyes still closed he made sure that everything was still working. Fingers, toes, arms, legs and tail. Yep, all seemed to be in working order! Feeling as though he