Slow Train to Arcturus Read online

  "It makes a lot more sense than a sudden outbreak of truthfulness," said Lani sourly.

  Howard bowed his head. "Let us go and talk among ourselves."

  "Without any help from your long ears," said Lani.

  The coffee-skinned uThani gave a flash of sudden white teeth, and put his fingers in his ears.

  The four of them walked off into a clear area.

  "We cannot do this," said Howard, his face stiff. "They want to make war."

  Amber held up her hand. "Look. First, not everything here is what it seems at all. One of the things I did find out on the portable encyclopedia-once I got the tribe name-is that the uThani were a tiny Colombian tribe. They were something of a cause celebre when they were discovered-only after their valley was being flooded for a hydroelectric scheme. They were barely two hundred odd members strong. They claimed never to have seen outsiders, which was called into doubt over some steel tools. Anyway-there has been intervention here. Their gene pool was too small to start with for them to have survived without that intervention. They plainly talk to this 'comp.' Beside any of these Conquistador dreams they may have-which are wildly impractical given the number of suits available in the airlocks-within the next hundred years they're going to be on their own, positioned around a sun, with the potential of a million space-habitats-or extinction. So what do we do? I think we bite the bullet and start teaching them. And the best way we can do that is take at least one of them and show him."

  "Yeah? So why hasn't this 'comp' helped them with this airlock dream?" asked Lani. "I'm not saying that I think we shouldn't do this, just that it still smells a bit."

  "Maybe 'comp' wants them to stay primitive," said Amber slowly. "To keep them in a conservation state, as Kretz suggested. In the time elapsed they could have moved from primitive to machine culture, if it and they wanted to change."

  That obviously got through to Lani. "What the hell. I don't like the idea of a machine keeping them eating burned meat. If that's the case… Let's take the country boy to the bright lights. Who knows, we might want to turn this lot loose on the next lot."

  "It wouldn't work," said Amber. "Too few suits."

  "Besides, it would be immoral," said Howard. "After all, Kretz wishes to get back to warn his people of incipient invasion by evildoers himself."

  Lani lifted her eyebrows at him. "Even if the next lot are like the guys that attacked Kretz and his friends? I think that would be pretty fair."

  "They do need help, Howard," said Amber.

  Now that Howard had seen space, seen technology, and was beginning to understand what Kretz had said to him about this being an enormous colony-ship, a ship that was beginning to need repair, he could see that also. "It is our bounden duty to try to help those less fortunate than ourselves. But not to attack others. And by that token the people of New Eden will need help soon too."

  "You might say that they are training you for the job," said Amber.

  Howard pursed his lips. Shook his head. "I don't think I could go back. But yes. I agree."

  "Well, that's all of us," said Lani, practically. "Unless Kretz has some objection, or wants to ask something?"

  Kretz nodded. "Yes. Why does one bite this bullet? Is it edible? And which bright lights?"

  "Very well. We have conferred. We will take one of your people with us."

  "You will need to leave a hostage," said the uThani warrior. "They will be well treated." He obviously saw the hesitation. "Eat meat nearly every day."

  "That does it. I'm not staying," said Amber firmly.

  "Obviously Kretz needs to go. I don't think I can stay," said Lani, equally firmly. "Howard needs a proper medical check… and I won't stay without him." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Why do you want a hostage?"

  "To make sure that you do not kill me."

  Lani gave him a wry smile. "We will need to cross your land to go back home. Your friends can stop us if we don't bring you back on our return. You don't need a hostage and we need all of us to succeed in crossing."

  He looked thoughtful. "Let me confer."

  He melted back into the bushes.

  He returned a little later. With a familiar face-the local who had shot Howard. "We say yes. If you take two of us."

  "Yeah, but why him?" asked Lani.

  The local translator grinned. "He says you are very much of a woman. He wishes to marry you."

  When she stared at him, open-mouthed, he added. "He is good hunter. Shoot much meat."

  "If I'm going to teach you anything, I need names," said Lani.

  So they introduced themselves. "Me Nama-ti-spaniti-goro-y-timi. Him Dandanidi-ti-dala-po-rado. Names very important thing to us," explained the translator. "Mine means he-who-stalks-jaguar-without-bow-and-falls-over-root."

  "They're certainly a very long thing," Lani said. "Anyway, I refuse to bend my tongue around that much of a mouthful. Perp-One and Perp-Two will do for you two."

  The hunter looked at the translator. Said something that made the other crack up. The translator turned back to Lani. "Perp-one is good for me. But my friend he say you not call him name that sounds like bad smell. Not respectful for future wife."

  "I suppose 'My-Lord-and-Master' would suit him?" said Lani with a dangerous level of sarcasm.

  Translator gabbled. His shoulders shook at his friend's reply. A sense of humor was obviously an uThani trait. "He say you too strong a woman for that. Call him Dandani."

  "I'll call him 'Uppity,' " she said with a nasty grin. "It's shorter than 'Delusions-of-Grandeur.' "

  So Uppity and Perp-one cheerfully continued with their lessons in elementary space safety and the basics of what a vacuum actually was, either in happy unconcern about the meanings of their new titles, or just humoring this woman who could shoot. When it came down it, they were quick learners, and their smiles were quite infectious.

  So, according to med-diagnostics, were they.

  "You're all next," said Amber. "It appears that population control here is via disease. And Med-diagnostics picked up plasmodium in my blood. First, I don't want anyone getting sick, and second, we don't need to pass our new germs and parasites on to the next bead. I should have thought of it before we came here."

  The space-bags were packed-with everything from the strange clothes to the bows and poisoned arrows. And two of the brightly colored flying creatures, recently deceased.

  "Do you have to take chickens?" asked Amber, looking dubiously at them.

  "Not chickens. Parrots," said Perp-one. "Why you want to put our bows in here?" he asked. "What if we meet dangerous animals or good food?"

  "Trust me. You won't meet either. I should let you leave those things out. Hard vacuum would sort them out, PDQ. Now, close up those helmets. And do what you're told and don't panic. Breathe slowly and calmly. Decompression sequence is beginning. And I'm just popping a few tranquillizers…"

  28

  "We can put in every fail-safe known to man and build in as much computer backup and redundancy as possible. We still won't stop really determined, really stupid humans from wrecking everything. Looking back at history it only takes one ass to destroy millions of lives. Give them a Stalin, a Hitler, a Mugabe or a Pol Pot and they'll destroy their own habitat. That's something we can't engineer out of the system."

  –

  Senator Lin Te Kauni: Transcript of the Debate in the SysGov Upper House on the Slowtrain funding bill.

  Outside again, Kretz listened hopefully. He began receiving Selna. She was plainly simply repeat broadcasting. Well, that was a sign of rationality at least, even if her voice was full of fear.

  "-has been large explosion from the alien habitat. Enough to rock the ship. Things have been violently thrown around here, but the electromagnets held. I do not know what they are doing. I am making preparations as best I can to lift the ship at any sign of attack. I repeat, Kretz or Abret, there has been…"

  It was worrying enough to have distracted him from another, nearer alarm. The rebreather sy
stem was bleeping at him. He'd just started using his reserve.

  Abret was trying to do what he knew he should have done a long time ago-learn the language of his captors. His jailors were less cooperative than they'd been with Derfel, of course. He was, apparently, an evil usurper. Only the one would speak to him at all, and he appeared to hate his prisoner. Abret was also wondering whether the alien food would kill him before hormonal changes did.

  And, of course, he was devoting a great deal of time to thinking about escape. It wouldn't be easy. The bars were rusted, but it was a very thin layer of rust. That must have been a very good corrosion resistant alloy that they'd used many hundreds of years back. Selna's repeat broadcast was a bit more rational-sudden fear had plainly forced her back to her senses. Abret hoped that it would last, but her attempt to fly the ship would probably be disastrous. She had neither the engineering nor the navigational skills it would need.

  He'd given some thought to this explosion, and the violent throwing things about. The only thing that he could think of that could possibly do something like that would be some kind of explosive decompression.

  29

  "There is really no place for danger-sports in a modern society. We cannot allow people to willfully risk their lives for no gain whatsoever."

  –

  Senator Achmed Selbourne, on the passage of the law outlawing participation in non-computer-override vehicular racing, paragliding, rock-climbing and skydiving.

  The two uThani had been remarkably unperturbed, out in space. They'd even helped Howard guide Amber along and across.

  When repressurization was complete, and their helmets were undogged again, Lani said:. "I'm impressed. You were very calm."

  Perp-One sat down. "That, strong woman, is because anything that bad has to be a dream." His voice was shaking a little.

  "Well, another successful crossing," said Howard, tiredly. "Just one more, Kretz."

  The alien shook his head. "The bad news is that my suit's rebreather system's indicators say I have insufficient air for another crossing. And I have heard strange things happening at my spacecraft."

  They stood there, silenced by this matter-of-fact announcement. "So what do we do now?" asked Lani, finally.

  "What can we do, except to go on into the habitat?" said the alien. "We cannot sit here in the airlock forever. Perhaps I can somehow be fitted into a human suit."

  He didn't sound very optimistic.

  "Is not as heavy as home," said Perp-One, putting into words what Howard had felt, but was not sure if was just light-headedness. The air felt heavy, though, a little like breathing soup.

  "It actually looked bigger than the last one from outside," said Lani. "Is that possible?"

  Amber looked doubtful. "It could be. The real cost apparently wasn't sheer size but fitting the insides."

  "Well," said Howard, "bigger or not, whatever lies inside this bubble surely can't be as hard to cross as the watery jungle. Shall we go?"

  Everyone nodded. Howard noticed that the two uThanis' knuckles were white on their bows.

  The door swung open, to show Howard just how wrong he could be. They looked across five kilometers of distance to the far airlock-platform. That was a lot of open space, even if it was broken up by many pinnacles and vertical ridges. The air was full of flying things. Things that, except for their wings, looked very human.

  Had he come from Eden to Heaven? And-to judge by the blackness of the wings of the creature spiraling in towards them-was Lucifer back in Heaven?

  The face-paint reminded Kretz of unpleasant encounters, even if he'd never seen anything like the rakish array of head plumes. However, the flier appeared more curious than threatening. "Who are you guys?" she asked, folding her wings and pulling her very human arms free. "Interesting clothes, dudes."

  Her garment came under that heading too. It was tight and yet plainly flexible. Kretz envied it.

  "We're just passing through. No intention of being any trouble to anyone," said Howard.

  The flying-woman looked incredulously at him, taking in his size. "How do you ever get off the ground, big guy? And don't you get a breeze up your skirt? You sure aren't from Icarus."

  A second flier came swooping in and landed. He had a longer blue wing and head plumes of similar shade, just tipped in red.

  "Neat landing, chick," he said, grinning at her.

  Behind him two more wings were dropping in. Rapidly any numerical advantage the travelers had had was being overwhelmed. There were others dropping towards them too.

  The first one lifted her chin. "All my landings are neat, Andy. Not like yours."

  "It's a pity your stalls-spins are so lousy," he said.

  Looking at this new place, Dandani knew that Chief Fripara-wa-reepa would be disappointed. They'd learned just how to get the people here, not that it was easy-nor was bringing game home going to be easy either. It was green enough. But he could see no water. And what did a hunter do on land that went straight up and down? And how did you fight an enemy who could fly?

  Nama-ti said: "Nice tits. Shame about the wings, eh Dandani?"

  Dandani nodded. "Make them chasing you afterwards a lot harder to avoid. Neat trick, though, the flying. We could shoot more carpincho that way."

  Nama-ti turned to the woman who shot straight and said, in their language: "We go home now?"

  "I'm not stopping you. The airlock is back there," she pointed.

  "You go back too?" he asked.

  "We've still got business ahead," she said. "We're going have to cross this place."

  "How you do that? You fly like them?" Nama-ti asked.

  "Nope. And before you say 'so how you do it?', Perp-One, I have no idea."

  "We'll try asking them," said Howard. Dandani had decided a while back that he too was a dangerous individual. Not because he had shot a man, or lived through cigale vine poison, but because he always seemed to actually get things done. You had to watch people like that, especially the quiet ones. Besides, if he did get angry, he was as big as two men.

  So Howard asked. He interrupted the cheerful bickering with a loud clearing of his throat.

  "Peace be with you, brothers and sisters. Can you help us? We need to know how we can get to the far side of this habitat. Unfortunately, we cannot fly."

  You could cut the sudden silence, it was so tangible. Howard wondered if he'd said the wrong thing again.

  They all looked at him. Finally, the man with red tips to his headdress said: "You've got to be having us on, haven't you?"

  Howard shook his head. "We can't fly."

  "That is so weird," said the girl who had landed first. "You come from the habitat next along, don't you?" There seemed no animosity in this question. And it would seem that they had a good understanding of other habitats.

  Howard pointed at the two uThani in their woven cloaks and loincloths, holding their bows and looking wary. "They do. We come from two and three along. Kretz doesn't come from Earth at all. But he is a good being. We are trying to help him to return to his home."

  "Three different habitats?" exclaimed red feather-tips. "And none of you fly? Wow. It's really bizarre when you find out that old legends are true."

  He didn't sound upset about it. Howard persisted. "So, can you tell us which way to go to reach the far side of your habitat? We mean no harm to anyone."

  "Without flying?" asked the man.

  Howard nodded.

  The flyer shook his head. "A bit tricky for you to get there, if you don't fly. I don't rightly know if it can be done."

  "Right now it would be tricky to get there even if you did fly," said one of the others. "The Goshawks are not cool on other people in their air-space. And in case you forget they're on top right now."

  "Hey, the Goshawks are just not cool," said red-tipped head feathers to her. He turned back to them. "So. What are the opportunities like for flight out there? In space I mean, outside Icarus."

  "Why don't you go and have a look?" said La
ni, her voice brittle.

  The flier shook his head. "We've got a prohibition on it. We've got nearly eighty years to go before we get to Signy. We'll need suits then. We can't have trashed all of them playing."

  "Signy?" said Amber in an enquiring tone.

  "What we've decided to call our star," said the flier. "After the founder of our habitat cooperative. It's got a gas giant approximately three times the size of Earth but without the heavy elements. There is a reasonable chance of an upper atmosphere life-zone, besides the habitats we'll build."

  Howard swallowed. What did all this mean? Lani looked equally mystified, as did the uThani. Amber was beaming though, and Kretz looked-as well as Howard could judge by the alien's face-fascinated.

  ***

  At first Amber had taken them for a bunch of playboys. Well, playgirls too. The first one in had been distinctly sexy. But this conversation suggested that not only did they still know why they were going, but they also knew a lot about where. You couldn't really say that about the average citizen of the Matriarchy of Diana. For them Diana had effectively become all of reality, and the purpose of the journey or even the existence of the journey, little more than something touched on in school. Slightly less interesting than Founder Susan-who could bore any girl to tears by the third time they had to study her life. "You're already in planning against arrival?"

  Red feather-tips grinned. "Sure. I might even live to see it."

  "Not likely," said one of the women. "You'll deck it before you're thirty, Andy."

  "A fine flier like me? Ha," he said loftily.

  "There is just one question I have to ask," said a flier at the back. She was small but her wings and outfit were jet black, and she commanded instant silence. With black hair and little golden chevrons on her cheeks she was an arresting sight, but still not someone you'd have thought called for the sudden respectful silence in this rowdy, cheerful crowd. Maybe it was the single black feather with gold trim in her hair.

  "Yes?" said Amber.

  "Are you prepared to learn to fly?" she asked.