The walls of Massarat towered above them, dull gray shadowed with black. As
they rode through the giant cleft that cut almost due west through the
mountain, Pike slowed his grask to a loping walk. He looked behind him and
saw only Paddelack and Barbalan in his wake. A large sigh escaped from his
lungs and he smiled. The Gostum will think twice
before tangling with us again. I’m sure of that.
Paddelack laughed with a scowl. Don’t be. We had
surprise, weapons they had never seen—and one of them on our side. And
still it was lucky. But you’re right; they will remember us.
Pike took the bend that led to the east end of the gorge. All at once the walls lost their dullness as flecks of granite and mica gleamed in the rays of the sun shining directly before them. Pike shielded his eyes; his shadow trailed behind him, providing cover for Barbalan. Now he could see Number Two ahead of them. The shuttle seemed undisturbed, exactly as they had left it more than two unmeasured weeks before.
When he neared the edge of the plateau, where the shuttle was resting, he saw something that at first he could not believe. His thoughts flashed back to the great desert he had seen from Konndjlan. There he had no scale, no way to judge distance; now he had one. He was looking at the ocean. The only reason he knew it was the ocean was because of the change of color at the indistinct coastline. Nearer, the color became greener, more so as the mountain began, and then less so as the altitude increased. Farther, the water merged with the clouds at an invisible horizon. Paddelack had told him that the ocean was two hundred kilometers distant, and now he was seeing—how many times that far? There was really no way to tell; the sight was incredibly foreshortened and all perspective nonexistent. Thus his scale was incomplete. Once again Pike raised his fist at Patra-Bannk.
Pike dismounted and Barbalan did likewise, but Paddelack stayed upon his
grask. I’m going to round up a tender for the
animals,
he said. Be back shortly.
Hurry up!
Pike shouted as his companion gathered
the reins of the grask and led the animals toward the cleft. In you go,
he continued to Barbalan as he opened the
hatch and motioned to the door. Inside, he sat her down at one of the
consoles, found a pack of liet nuts, opened it, and held out a handful for
her. She took them and chewed quietly. Let me see that
shoulder of yours.
No response. Pike took a knife from storage and cut
away the ragged material. That’s quite a cut you’ve
got there,
he said, applying the ultracleaner to the wound. But don’t worry, I’ve fixed a few wounds in my time.
Pike unconsciously ran his thumb down the scar on his own face, then took
the optical suture from its cabinet.
It’s too bad we can’t talk to each other,
he
said. I’d like to talk to you. You’re quite a woman,
do you know that? Probably not, I’d say. You don’t even realize I’m telling
you this.
Pike sighed. Well, this should do
you.
Paddelack climbed in at the moment with the boy Mith clinging to his
shirt. Looks like you’ve patched her up pretty
well. She’ll heal quickly; everyone around here does…you should’ve seen the
folks back there when I came in.
You escaped from Konndjlan!
they
said. Both of us and another,
I said back. Remarkable!
Impossible! The same man who cleared the path?…
So the Gostum aren’t the only ones who will remember
us.
You’re absolutely right. They wanted to feast us
again, but I told them we were in a hurry.
Good. Well, are you ready?
Ready for what, exactly?
Pike did not answer but instead made a check of the message records. There is nothing here from Valyavar and Stringer, it
seems.…No beacon, either.…Crimson, come in. Stringer, Val, are you
there?…On board message recorder, anything?…
Pike turned around. Nothing.
Will you search?
asked Paddelack.
Search where? The whole planet? And after weeks of
being out of touch? They could be anywhere. No, we won’t search. It seems
that we are on our own.
Still plan on going to Daryephna? Don’t ask me to
show you the way. I doubt I could hit it closer than twenty-five thousand
kilometers; it’s been a long time.
Pike smiled, took the Gostum map from his hood, and unfolded it on the cabin floor. A corner ripped where the dead guard’s blood had glued it together. Pike pointed his finger at the spot he guessed to be Massarat, then moved it northeast across the expanse of blue that rent a large gap between two continents. At a large symbol, his finger stopped. Nothing else was near the mark, clearly the most prominent point on that half of the map.
Paddelack nodded with a sigh. You guessed
right. That one’s Daryephna. Those few others? Who knows? Ink drops,
maybe.
Barbalan winced at the one word in her own language.
You see, it does mean something to these
people.
What? Would you tell me?
Paddelack relayed the message to the girl.
There is a story,
Barbalan replied, that when the Polkraitz left Patra-Bannk, they stored
their greatest treasure in Daryephna. They vowed to return and collect it
in some future beclad, but to prevent anyone from taking it, they put a
curse on the city. That is why no one other than Polkraitz can enter.
When will they return?
Barbalan glanced at Pike standing above her. Some
say during the Golun-Patra. And this is the twelfth Golun-Patra.
When
Pike heard this he laughed, but Barbalan calmly continued. However, the Gostum are a practical people, if
nothing else, unlike their Liddlefuran neighbors. We are not going to wait
forever for the Polkraitz and are finding other ways to survive—or to leave
Patra-Bannk, if that is possible.
Which brings us to the Trieskan rockets. Tell me, does
she really believe that the Trieskans are building rockets? If their
technology is at the same level that we saw at Konndjlan, then you must
know that is impossible. Even Jedoval would never try to make up a story
like that.
Once again Barbalan answered through Paddelack. Does it really matter?
She shrugged. If they are building anything that will improve the
life of my people, we should know about it, don’t you think? Life on
Patra-Bannk is difficult. If rockets are being built that would take us to
another world, then it would be worth risking our lives. Even if they
haven’t built them yet but have the Polkraitz plans, it would be worth
it.
What does she mean?
The largest Polkraitz camp was originally at
Triesk. Maybe they left plans or rockets there and the Trieskans have
figured them out.
Pike smiled. Now we are beginning to get a more
reasonable story. Have you tried asking them for help?
I have been told the attempt was made but
failed. Gostum and Trieskans long ago were friends, but since almost as
long, enemies. That is why, when you were seen at Massarat, you were taken
to Konndjlan. It was thought you might help.
Which brings us full circle: if they want help, they
must know what is going on one hundred thousand kilometers away. How? That
is a nontrivial distance even by our standards.
Barbalan spoke in her calm voice after Paddelack translated Pike’s
question. I am not one of the Fairtalian, and
therefore not privileged to know how the information is obtained. I have
heard that even the Fairtalian do not understand the process and that the
method is magic.
So that’s that,
grunted Pike, popping a liet nut
into his mouth. Once magic is invoked, I don’t think
there is anything that I can say about it, is there?
He yawned. Get us a course to Daryephna. Remember to stop at the
Crimson for refueling. Will you do that, Paddy?
First I want to show you something.
Paddelack
sat down in the pilot’s position. Despite twenty-odd years without
practice, he proved himself to be a good pilot, and soon they were
off. Within a few minutes they broke through the lower clouds and passed
the old settlement Hendig had shown Pike earlier. Do you know why that settlement’s deserted?
No,
Pike said. Hendig said it
wasn’t his bronze.
Not mine, either. I do have a guess. You’ve
noticed how hot it is on Patra-Bannk. That means the atmosphere is very
high, breathable to a great altitude. Suppose somebody went up there, found
the temperature to his liking, and started a settlement. Then night
comes. Gets so cold that atmosphere shrinks and collapses. Everyone dies
because there is no air. That’s my theory, but I don’t know much about that
stuff, so shoot it full of holes if you want.
An interesting theory,
Pike said. Well, I’m going to get some sleep. It’s been a long
day.
At first it looked as if it might be just a mountain peak beyond the distant horizon. That was a good theory if the fact that the peak stood alone was not allowed to disturb you. Nonetheless, it was difficult to be sure; the sun reflected off the crystal water and off the approaching land, whitewashing detail with its glancing rays. Even after Pike had first noticed it, a long hour by the ship’s clock passed before the solitary structure rose beneath them. But long before then it was clear they had found Daryephna.
Pike was pleased with himself; after all, he had only lost the rest of the crew, and only one was definitely dead. The others might yet turn up, and this was the most likely spot to find them. So there was no point in worrying yet. Even the episode at Konndjlan had proved useful. Had it not provided the map that led them almost directly to Daryephna? Directly enough so that finding it had been the equivalent of only a few days’ work. Most importantly, the escape from the fortress would add immeasurably to the story he would tell when he returned to Two-Bit. Yes, on the whole, the mission was progressing most satisfactorily.
Daryephna stood alone on a plain of green that was uninterrupted but for a few low hills and rivers. Pike guided Number Two over the city, if that was the correct word for the solid structure that swept up below them. Whoever had built it had appreciated the highly symmetrical. The perimeter of Daryephna traced out a diamond with concave sides, each several kilometers long. From the corners of the diamond the four major arms of the city spiraled inward, intertwining as they rose to the central peak. Minor arms were interlaced between the larger arms and also merged into one at the center. Pike could not decide whether it was magnificent or ugly.
Having chosen a landing site between two of the spiral arms, Pike took Number Two downward. They descended slowly, carefully.
Suddenly Barbalan screamed and clasped her head between her hands. She bent to her knees with a contorted face and looked as if she would vomit.
What’s happening to her?
It’s the Fear setting in. Take her up, man! Can’t
you see she’s in agony? Take us up!
Yes, you’re right, absolutely,
Pike responded
quickly but confusedly.
Paddelack knelt by Barbalan. Are you all right
now?
The young woman nodded. You seemed like
jelly. Nothing was straight. Everything went dim.
That’s all right. We’ll fly elsewhere.
Pike flew kilometer or so out and landed there, this time with one eye on
the controls and the other on Barbalan. When they were solidly on the
ground, Pike asked, Did you feel anything,
Paddelack?
Not a thing. Never did last time I was here,
either. Nothing at all. That’s what I told you.
I remember your story. I didn’t feel anything,
either. I must admit it is curious, curious indeed.
Paddelack glanced at Barbalan. What will we do
with her? We can’t take her inside.
Then obviously she has to stay here. That’s clear,
wouldn’t you say?
Pike began arming himself.
Won’t need those, you can be sure of that. No one
is here.
We’ll see. You can come with me or stay with her.
Pike jumped out of the shuttle without waiting for an answer and was
greeted by the hot Bannk wind.
We’ll be back later,
Paddelack explained to
Barbalan, showing her where food was stored. Then he too hurried to exit.
Pike walked along on one of the spiral arms as it gradually wound its way inward to the center of the giant rise. There was entrance at the central juncture, simply an archway cut into the gray walls. There was nothing to be seen on the inside. As far as Pike could tell, everything was completely black.
You’re hesitating,
Paddelack called, out of
breath, from behind him.
I’m not—
If one finds himself at a gateway,
his
companion said in a wheedling voice, what should
one do but go through it?
With that, Pike sucked in his breath and stepped forward. Inside, it was
light, bright, clean, an almost fluorescent white with a hint of blue
bouncing off the tentlike walls. Pike could not discover the source of the
illumination. When he had been outside, the inside had appeared totally
dark, pitch-black. Had something switched on when he entered? He hadn’t
noticed anything. Was it a clever illusion? What illusion? Pike walked
forward, expecting his footsteps to echo loudly. But there was no sound
other than that which directly reached his ears. Dead? Anechoic? Pike
jumped up and landed hard. Now he heard something off a far wall. That was
better. Hello!
he shouted,
cupping his hands to his mouth. Again there was not a great echo, just a
slight reverberation.
Whom do you expect to find? Your grandfather?
No, just testing, just trying to get a feel for the
place.
Pike walked over to the wall and ran his hand across the smooth
surface. You know, I think we are expected,
welcome.
Paddelack pinched his nose. I don’t feel anything
of the sort. If you want to be Sarek and steal Ostlan’s Vase, that’s fine
with me, but don’t be surprised when the Bentagen attack.
I’ll keep that in mind.
About the only thing I can say for this place is
that it is at a reasonable room temperature—if I could remember what a
reasonable temperature was.
Paddelack was right; Daryephna did seem to be pleasantly insulated against the impossible outside world.
Now that we’re here, what should we look for,
would you mind telling me?
Anything unusual—
Oh, come on,
Paddelack laughed. you’ll have to do better than that.
I’m particularly interested in the metal that Hendig
showed you. If you have any, let me know immediately.
Why? What’s so important about that?
Just curious, that’s all.
Ten light-years to be curious? I can think of
other ways of satisfying my curiosity.
Patience, my dear Paddelack, patience.
Most rooms contained nothing. In others there were banks of forms that might have been taken for controls of some sort, but if they were controls, they were certainly not for humans and, in any case, certainly not functional. This left Pike and Paddelack wondering if they were controls at all. Chairs and sofas were to be found in some of the larger chambers, but they were all too big and slightly out of shape. Almost everything in Daryephna seemed slightly out of shape; straight lines or simple curves didn’t seem popular. The overall impression was one of utter desertion, quickly and thoroughly done.
What do you make of all this?
Pike asked as they
sat in a green park from which a ramp spiraled to heights yet unexplored.
Well,
Paddelack replied, since it has webbed feet, it can’t be an eagle.
Pike squinted at his companion, who was sitting on the turf. What do you mean by that?
You look at a curved wall and ask, why is that a
curved wall and not a straight one? You see a ramp instead of a staircase
and wonder, why is that a ramp? Why is the metal this color? Why is the
light source hidden, and why does the light have a peculiar tint? It seems
to me that whoever built this place was slightly different from us, so they
built a city that looks slightly different from one we would
produce. That’s all. Why read any more into it?
For the first time since they had left Konndjlan, Barbalan found herself alone. The Fear had taken care of that, or, more accurately, the feigning of the Fear. She had felt nothing whatsoever when they neared Daryephna, but after many of Paddelack’s stories and his assurances that she would be attacked, she thought that playacting was the best thing to do.
Besides, now she was alone, and that was what she wanted at the moment. Now she could concentrate her attention on the necklace that she had kept hidden from the others. The chain was heavy metal, the links forged and welded. She could barely slide it over her head, but she did, and that might prove be a good thing in the future. The pendant. The secret must be there. Barbalan fingered the thick disk, engraved on all sides: fire, rockets, helmets, spears. The workmanship was detailed, but that did not interest Barbalan.
Were the symbols a code? The hieroglyphics were standard Gostum symbols representing Polkraitz, Fairtalian, Gostum. No, Barbalan decided, the symbols were not a code.
A telclad or so later, she managed to open the pendant, when she discovered
that by pressing the sun figure, the disk could then be unscrewed into two
halves. Inside the bottom half was a needle that pointed almost due west: a
compass, of course, but Barbalan had never seen one before. Inside the top
half was a circular card that fell out when she turned that half of the
pendant over. That annoyed Barbalan; she was getting tired of
maps. Konndjlan was clearly marked, and fifty kilometers or so away was
marked the stala. The stala; what did that mean? The root of the word was
carry.
The suffix didn’t make grammatical sense, unless it was
shorthand for phrase endings. Maybe how to carry?
Barbalan looked up
and the answer was clear. The stala were how the Fairtalian got to the
other Gostum headquarters. And the map simply showed the way to the stala
nearest Konndjlan. There were even directions that showed how to use the
needle to find the way.
Barbalan turned the map over to find a list:
Stala-Konndjlan | 1,4 |
Stala-Sect | 2,9 |
Stala-Pant | 3,2 |
Stala-Triesk | 4,9 |
Stala-Forbidden Elsewhere | 4,8 |
Stala-Forbidden Elsewhere | 5,3 |
…………… | … |
There were less than two dozen entries. Barbalan recognized the names of
several Gostum headquarters. She had even been taken to Pant once,
blindfolded, since she was not yet Fairtalian. Obviously, the stala had
been the method. But what did 1,4
mean? Barbalan had no idea. She
closed the pendant up tight. She felt half Fairtalian.
On the third trip into Daryephna Pike made his first real discovery. He had almost given up hope of finding anything remotely intelligible in the city; so much of what they had seen made little or no sense. Here it was a skeleton of a city. Under the central peak was a park with a dry fountain in its center. Blue-green turf, expertly tended, naturally, covered it, walkways crossed it, roads circled it. This central atrium dissolved into doorways, archways, ramps, and concourses that led to places already explored and places unknown. Pike started each search from this central park. He walked kilometers upon kilometers, found rooms, many locked, many open, none very enlightening. He began to realize that it would take months, if not years, to make a thorough search. He was almost ready to give up and take his leave, as Hendig must have been about to do twenty years earlier. But Hendig had found something. Paddelack had seen it; so had Pike. In this skeleton of a city something was to be found.
Pike’s mind was fairly blank as he approached the end of a walkway overlooking a large lobbylike area. The wall before him had seemed a dead end until the corridor opened to one side and the lights beyond offered their cool greeting. The chamber was immense, curving away in all directions to unresolvable distance. The room was so big Pike thought it must be a rocket hangar. He wandered. It was not long before he noticed rectangular shapes of various heights far opposite him. It took ten minutes to get close; even interior distances were deceiving on Freeze-Bake. By then he could see that the rectangles were stacks of large plates, flat, frosty gray. He walked over to the closest, which stood waist-high, and tried to lift the top plate. It came up easily in his hand.
It was metallic hydrogen. The color was right, a little whiter than magnesium and, of course, the lightest metal he had ever handled. Pike dropped the sheet and a whoosh of air shot out as it landed on the stack with a thud. Then he went to Paddelack to gloat.
Paddelack admitted his defeat. All right, I’m
impressed; you found the stuff here just waiting for you, your quest is
ended. Now would you mind telling me what you were trying to find?
I’m sorry I didn’t mention it earlier, but I didn’t
want to turn out a fool. Do you know what this material is?
Well, I remember that Hendig showed me his
piece. It was very light, but that’s all I know.
Paddelack picked up a
sheet, just as Pike had before, and dropped it. Whoosh. Yeah, this is the same stuff.
Metallic hydrogen.
Paddelack whistled.
You know something about it?
Paddelack was annoyed. I was an engineer,
remember, even if a bad one. Give me credit for once having known
something.
Then tell me, if you have metallic hydrogen, what
would you do with it?
Paddelack’s eyes lit up and he hopped on top of the stack. What would I do with it? Why, I’d transform the
world! Do you realize what this is? A room-temperature
superconductor. Lossless transmission lines and electrical wiring. Do you
realize just how much electrical power is lost in the wiring? An incredible
fraction. This stuff would end all that, save billions of quintens. You
could get rid of that lousy liquid helium, too, you wouldn’t need it. Train
tracks? Levitate your trains. We do that already, but with that sloppy
liquid helium. Giant accelerators to ring the world, if you want them. And
if it’s strong enough, what a building material! Lighter than anything
else! And, by Sarek, if it’s cheap enough to make, it’s
inexhaustible. Hydrogen only makes up half the Universe. Sarek, I’m sorry I
doubted you. This is a find! We’ll be rich. What a thought! Maybe my twenty
years here will have amounted to something!
Pike nodded. I thought it was worth the trip. But,
he said, looking around, is there more? As amazing as
the substance is, it isn’t enough to change a civilization, is it?
Paddelack swiveled around from atop his perch and surveyed the
storeroom. Not even enough to make us rich.
I’d rather change a civilization, wouldn’t you?
Hah. All I care about is getting off this planet
with enough to keep me comfortable for my trouble.
Pike grinned. You are a rather sleazy character. You’d
team up with anyone to be high and dry, wouldn’t you? Liddlefurans, me,
Gostum, anybody. I’d say you’d betray your own brother to get yourself off
this improbable world—
Why you—
One would never guess that you were so desperate from
your cocky manner of speech. A good hiding place, words, don’t you
agree?
Suddenly Paddelack’s eyes lost their new-found glimmer and he spat on the
floor. He knelt down on top of the stack until he was staring straight into
Pike’s eyes. Look, man, you have no idea of what
it is like to live on Patra-Bannk for more than twenty years. To wake up
day after day and not be sure the sun has moved a centimeter. To wish time
would fly and carry your life nearer to its end, but only to have the sun
sit there and laugh, dragging you along minute by agonizing minute. Do you
know what it is to pound your fist on a door for months on end just to be
allowed to breathe real air, and at the same time to know that if that door
opened, you’d be frozen solid in a second? Worst of all, to realize that
all hope is gone, all hope that you’ll ever get off. Just because
of one fool minute when this damned planet decided to play a trick on you
and you weren’t looking. It gnaws at your stomach for every painful minute
of every infinitely long day and of every infinitely long night. Man, I
would sell my soul to get off this planet, make no mistake about that.
And the added treasure here makes for slight
recompense, eh, Paddy?
Have you never lost all hope?
Never.
Well, then you’ll never understand what it means
to be given a second chance.
I make my second chances. And that includes finding
the manufacturing facility. A good idea, don’t you agree?
Paddelack nodded. A good idea. Let’s hope we know
it when we see it.