Magnetic Pages Article | 1995-04-30 | 88KB | 707 lines
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SOLCIESSA
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' It was all just as superbly'beautiful as the Teklanmeh promised it'would be. But then Barkworth knew that'that extraordinary monolith of Counsel'wasn't intended to serve as an Old!Earth-style advertising brochure.
' He could feel the Jiotextrot line up'on its new bearing as Quincey moved the'quadrant-mounted tiller a little to the'left. A slight wind change had caused'the recommended revision to appear on'the navigation panel in front of her,'the pink and white mountain icecaps'ahead would now be at least three'quarters of an hour away. But it was'not as if they and their two guests, as'they had now apparently become, were in'any hurry. If it hadn't been for them'he might well have gratefully dozed
' "What's our altitude, Quince?" he'asked her, more to revive himself than
anything else.
' Quincey peered at what looked like a'miniaturized Nineteenth Century'meteorological observatory with its
finely detailed brass fittings.
' "Ah - high enough I think..." she
replied languidly.
' Indeed the entire airship seemed'straight out of that Victorian Era on'Earth rather than the Solciesse/equivalent, whatever
[3mthat
[0m might have'been. The only real differences were'that its diesel engines were clustered'around its stern, their throbbing could'only be felt rather than heard. And'although the instruments had ivory'labels that looked engraved, touch'revealed them to be nothing more than'miniature graphic display panels. They'were also apparently keyed to the'lexicons in Quincey's Hilashel, for they were written in Portuguese.
' The sun, very low on the horizon,'now streamed into the open cockpit'cantilevered out from the bow of the'gondola just that more intensely.'Barkworth, gazing down through the open'metal lattice decking at the'whitecapped seas a hundred metres'below, thought he could hear the new'wind swishing across them. But although'the Taurnal Surface which protected'them from the cold air was a near-'perfect transmitter of sound, he'realized it was probably only his
imagination.
' He peered up at the silver ribbed'fabric of the airship itself. Huge,/somehow actually
[3mleaden
[0m against the'brilliant hazed white and gold of the'sky, its surface led his eyes up and'around curves that were just as$impossible for his mind to follow...
' That horrendous crematorium had kept'on climbing into the sky instead of'raising itself just high enough to'hedge-hop as it was supposed to when'trying to dodge artillery fire. When'its engines shut down in mid-air,'Barkworth's bowels had strained to'empty themselves yet a third time, but'when the crash didn't happen he knew'the Adjoahsno had come at last. The'delay had been caused by the Iskurahi'not wanting any rescue attempts'themselves triggering a Terminal War,'even if that meant losing some of its'own people. After all, what were the'lives of so few balanced against the'life of an entire world? But once the'war did go Terminal that was no longer'an issue, so a large Nessik was quickly'lowered over the entire crematorium as'it rose from the ground. This deposited'it gently and safely into an Diursuel'Aid Facility doubtless uncountable
light-years away from Jarra.
' The Third Level Prime Responsible,'as his rank had turned out to be, had'still been aboard the vessel when it'was rescued. When he discovered what'had happened he quite literally didn't'know whether to be grateful or'incensed, and began to gyrate wildly'between the two states. Barkworth'suspected his first month or so in'Paradise would have to be spent in a
Lalleldil.
' Shortly after their own return to'their spacecraft, Eve, the Iskurahi'notified them that they could select'any reward they wished from the special'section of the Teklanmeh that would now'be opened to them. When he and Quincey'selected Solciessa virtually at random,'then saw the Jiotextrot, they joined in'the lottery to fly her at once. To'their amazement considering the'colossal odds they suspected they were'up against, they won the last section'of its route, the delivery from Diehol'to Tonteen and return, about an hour'each way. The entire route began at the'Neselat of Slilslone eighteen hundred'kilometers further south, it had been'deliberately broken up to allow her'lucky pilots two or three hours at the
controls each.
' In Solciessa's pre-Space days'Tonteen had been an arctic research'station, but during the wars it had'moved underground and grew to the size'of a city. It was retained with the six'other cities after the rest had been'demolished only because, like them, it'had been left fully intact. Although'its main needs were now supplied'through Nessiks, the ship's three-'weekly arrival schedule when she had'been the sole means of supply was a'tradition even the System Wars had not'made Tonteen's citizens forget. So she'had been assigned to carrying `luxury'goods' only, though Barkworth suspected'that these were defined as such mostly'by the fact that she delivered them. If'this was so, then the Jiotextrot would'doubtless be secure in her role until'the last days of Solciesse society
itself.
' " - Tea, sir? Cafe, senhorita?"'Barkworth heard the unctuous tones from'behind him. He turned in his seat to'find the Steward and Stewardess had'entered the cockpit from the door'behind and were smiling all round at'them. These two Angels, in costumes'that looked like something out of'ancient Serbia, were the only `crew''the Jiotextrot had apart from the'automatic systems that would take over
if anything went wrong.
' "Thank you, cafe," Quincey replied,
looking across to Barkworth.
' "Tea for me, thanks", he glanced up'at the Steward. The Steward then asked'Spad and Asta in their language what'they preferred. They both apparently'requested the same items from what'Barkworth could make of their raucous-
sounding replies.
' But then these two, who had come out'onto the flight deck uninvited from the'passenger compartment, looked like'identical twins except that one was'slightly larger. Both reminded him'strongly of Andrew Wyeth's 1967'portrait of Anna Christina that Quincey'had come across in the Teklanmeh last'Christmas. He wondered if they had'acquired their wall eyes phylogenetic-'aly, genetically, or experientially.'The pair were, like Anna, also dressed'in what appeared to be faded light'summer frocks. He only learned the'couple were in fact husband and wife'when they introduced themselves as'such, and which was which through their'subsequent conversation. Though Asta'had turned out to be the male and the'larger, Barkworth had not been sure'because his voice was higher pitched.'He could now also see that although'both had barrel chests, Spad's appeared'to contain a stiff shield-like under-'garment of some sort. Barkworth'suspected that, like ten percent of the'women in Paradise, she had two or more
pairs of breasts.
' His and Quincey's relationship with'the couple had not been a comfortable'one from the start. Though the two'pilot's chairs could swivel round to/allow conversation, Quincey
[3mneeded
[0m to'see what was out in front of the ship,/and Barkworth
[3mwanted
[0m to be able to.'That's what front seats were for.'Quincey had wanted to do the actual'piloting more than Barkworth had, so'Barkworth had been able to put on a'decent show of graciously relenting.'But now Quincey was not so sure she had'got the best part of the deal now that'she had to accommodate these uninvited
guests as well.
' Then there was the fact that they'had to use Hilashels. This would not'have been necessary if they had been on'their own as they had assumed they'would be since Quincey's English was as'good as her Portuguese. Their guest's'rather raucous voices made simultaneous#translations rather hard to follow.
' But perhaps worst of all was that/Spad and Asta both
[3mloved
[0m Paradise. They'loved it as if they had worked all'their lives for it and had not found it'wanting. This just added to Quincey's'annoyance and frustration, for since'they actually seemed a fairly kindly'pair, she couldn't just tell them to get lost.
' The customary few minutes wait was'usually half the flavour with tea, for'superb as Eonmern food preparation was,/it didn't always do a good
[3mcuppa.
[0m'Occasionally though it would actually/come up with a
[3mbetter
[0m cup, and that was'just what the Jiotextrot's Angel had'delivered, it was excellent. The'biscuits that accompanied it were'`default plain' as they always were'when he didn't specify a particular'kind, but at least they were more to'his taste than the dark, dank-looking'carrot cake that had been coming with
Quincey's coffee lately.
' The brew Spad and Asta received in'their tapered clear glass mugs looked'and smelt like hot steaming beer. They'received no solid refreshments, instead'the Steward poured a small jug of thick'yellow fluid into each which turned the'beverages cloudy and appeared to'thicken it into a near porridge. The'pair seemed very pleased with what they'received, although Barkworth had had no'time to consult his Otinda to translate'their expressions. He still did not
particularly want to.
' Still, there were polite ways of'getting rid of people, no matter how'well-meaning they might be. Like gently'introducing them to a whole new way of
perceiving their reality.
' "Do you think the Torsyne have a'social life something like the'Solciesse?" Barkworth asked them.'"After all, if the hardware that'supports their consciousness operates'at speeds millions of times faster than'our own, then they will in effect have/lived through
[3mmillions
[0m of billenia by'now. Yet the Universe has not changed
one iota since their Advent."
' The two of them looked at each
other.
' "And that's in spite of the fact'that the Torsyne have probably become'by now the most fantastic social game'players the Universe has ever seen,'even more so than the Solciesse here,"/Quincey followed him up. "And there
[3mhas
[0m'to be more than one individual Torsyne'for the same reason you can't build'just the one conscious machine. Like
trying to clap with one hand."
' "What extraordinary ideas!" Spad'sounded enthusiastic. "But what can we'possibly hope to guess about the lives'of beings so superior to us in every
way?".
/ "That's
[3mvery
[0m true," Quincey replied'all wide-eyed innocence. "But we can't'help thinking about them, they're'always in the back of our minds. For'instance, I've often wondered if they'still have what we would recognise as
[3mbodies."
' "A lot of the people we know in fact'debate that very thing," Barkworth'lied. "Some of us can't imagine any'form of consciousness being able to'exist without some form of matter for'it to exist in. Others of us thought'that that didn't mean the Torsyne'hadn't found a way. We were all split
right down the middle on that."
' He was delighted to find that Spad!and Asta could only stare at him.
' "But for us humans the reverse'appears to be true," he continued. It'is apparently best for us to keep our'bodies but throw away our minds. The'people who seem to do best in the Human'Universe are the primitive tribes most'Worlds have in their very remote'regions and whom the Iskurahi prefer
remain that way."
' "So they get a head start on the'rest of us," Quincey said. "But then I/guess we are
[3mall
[0m now basically as'irrelevant to Evolution as dumb'animals. There is nothing we can say to'each other that can mean more than a'mere song carried over the vast and'ever-widening gulfs between us. Even'the meaning of Meaning itself has'become nothing more than a figment of
our collective imagination."
' "Careful, Quince. Thinking like that'really isn't a good idea in a Paradise'of Compulsory Fun," Barkworth tried not
to grin at her.
' But this only sent her into a fit of'giggles. And Quincey was the only woman'Barkworth had ever met who could giggle
with infinite sarcasm.
/ "That's
[3mexactly
[0m right," she said,'her voice dripping with it. "We can't'get through life happily unless we'become little more than talking'animals. Then by the time our Worlds/get Closed Out we probably
[3mare
[0m talking'animals. Maybe not even that. Sometimes'I wonder if the Torsyne aren't keeping'us as pets. Could be the Torsyne see us'as little more than walking talking
DNA."
/ "We've
[3mnever
[0m really thought deeply'about the Torsyne, Quincey," Spad said./"But do you think we
[0m should?
[0m After all,/as Barkworth has just said, what
[3mgood
does it do you?"
' "That sounds like good sound common'sense, Spad," Barkworth agreed. "Why
should we indeed?"
' He winked surreptitously at
Quincey.
[3m"I
[0m do it because I feel
[3mcompelled
[0m'to," Quincey's voice now had an edge to/it. "But then why does
[3manybody
[0m feel'compelled to do anything? - And that's'something else I can't figure out about'the Torsyne. Do they do what they do'because they feel compelled to? Would'we feel compelled to do half what we do'if we all woke up one day to find we'could dine off electricity, live in'Space since we didn't need an'atmosphere or even a world, could'design and build wholly new versions of'ourselves at will, and didn't need sex'since we wouldn't have to die until we
felt like it?"
' "And not have to know what it's like'to have to try and scratch itches in'impossible places?" Barkworth suggested
helpfully.
/ "Perhaps they are just
[3mkind
[0m and we&shouldn't
[3mask
[0m why," Spad said.
' Quincey just stared at Barkworth,'her hands spread wide in a gesture of
helplessness.
' "Some of us have wondered if they'are actually as kind as they could have'been," Barkworth took up the challenge.'"Just because they've satisfied most of'our animal needs, food, shelter, and so'on, it doesn't mean they satisfied our'emotional ones. There's really been no'real change in the Ultimate Program'that controls the Human Condition, has'there? The motivations we evolved to'support our animal needs more often'than not interfere with those we'developed for our social needs. And if'there's one single conflict that has'underlain all the others of human/history, it has to be
[3mthat
[0m one. And'that's where the Torsyne may also be'ahead of us. They appear to have'resolved it for themselves so that they'and their Tinsla are not only as benign'as the day they were created, but%capable of staying that way forever."
/ "How do we actually
[3mknow
[0m they solved'it for themselves?" Quincey now'actually argued with him. "Since it's'the Iskurahi who really looks after our'affairs? How would we even know if they/had had a
[3mwar
[0m amongst themselves? Or'even with some other Torsyne-like group'that might have arisen somewhere else'in the Universe and which we know'nothing about? Would we even know if'they had all wiped each other out'leaving nothing behind but the Iskurahi'and the Teklanmeh all running on!automatic like this airship can?"
' "Or evolved themselves to an even'higher state of grace," Barkworth shot
back.
' "So what do you think the Torsyne'could have done to make things better?"'Asta said as if it had never crossed'his mind that such a thing might be possible.
' Barkworth had an idea. "Did you have'zoos and game parks on your Home!World?" he asked he and his wife.
' The old couple indicated that they'did, but were not sure they knew the
difference.
' "To put it in crude terms,"'Barkworth wondered already if he'shouldn't have known better, "in a zoo'animals were put in pens so that the'public could see what they looked like.'The animals were fed, watered, looked'after in enclosures that resembled'their natural environments as closely'as possible. But the various species'were kept separate from each other so'that they could not interact. A game'park on the other hand is simply a'piece of the natural territory many of'those species have inhabited together'for millenia, but protected from being'trampled flat by humans wanting to!watch. - Are you with me so far?"
' "Yes," both the old people chorused
eagerly.
' "So, okay, which is kindest to the'animals, a zoo or a game park? Second,'which of the two do you think Paradise!- the Universe - most resembles?"
# The couple looked at each other.
[3m"Both,
[0m really," Asta replied. "We'are fed when we want to be, our Worlds'are plainly not pens, and the Tinsla'are only around when we need them. And'we can all interact with each other
perfectly normally."
/ "But that's just it, we
[3mcan't,
[0m can'we?" Barkworth now began to feel a'little annoyed himself. "To interact'naturally all our preContact env-'ironments would have to have been'allowed to continue. We would have to'find - or earn - our own food, look'after each other, cope with our own'criminals, keep our planet tidy. In'other words, to be truly free we should'have been allowed to keep our old jobs,/our money, our politics - even our
[3mwars
[0m'if that really has to be the price.'Sure, no Nessiks, artificial conscious-'nesses and so on, but we could have
lived with that."
/ "But Contacted Worlds
[3mhave
[0m that'choice, don't they?" Asta replied.'"They don't have to Sign Up. Besides,/why should people
[3mhave
[0m to work when
it's not necessary?"
/ "Ah, but
[3mchoice.
[0m If a world is not'told that it has that choice, then it'doesn't have to know. The Torsyne could'quietly sabotage any systems we develop'that give them problems - or even alter'the nature of the Universe in some way'so that they can't work. They could
probably do that by now."
' The couple looked at him completely'mystified. But then he had been
stretching it a little.
/ "But why
[3mshould
[0m the Torsyne keep'people ignorant? Quincey did a fair'imitation of Spad's voice. "Is
ignorance bliss?"
' Barkworth had to laugh, it was'hopeless. Quincey giggled again. Time
to give it away.
' "Did many of the people on your'world go back to the simple life?"'Barkworth asked Asta, he hoped that he'and his wife's hilashels would'translate the change in mood. "Live in'pre-Industrial Age cottages, do'handcraft, eschew all electric and'electronic devices? A lot of our people
certainly did."
' "Most of them," Asta replied,'Barkworth's Hilashel translated its'tone as relieved; he hoped the express-'ion on his face was the equivalent of a'broad smile. "Very few even step out of'their villages in their entire
lifetimes."
' "Some of us on the other hand are'the exact opposite," Barkworth looked'at her. "Quincey and I belong in that'group. And although we don't call'ourselves by the name, we are in fact'Conversationalists. We wander round the'Universe keeping our brains alive'talking to anybody else who wants to do'the same. We talk about any worthwhile-'seeming subject we can think of. Okay,'Quincey is probably actually right,'brains and minds really do seem no more'relevant to life now than muscle. But'if we don't do our best to keep them'alive, we feel we are dying. And we'don't want to do that before we have
' Barkworth didn't even look at the'couple to see what kind of reaction'that had received. He gazed forward'instead to the Arctic landscape already'resolving itself into greater detail'ahead of them. The map in the Teklanmeh'had shown that the mountain chain'running across their horizon and under'which Tonteen was located was in fact a'narrow peninsula, the first of five'reaching out from a massif to grip the'top of Solciessa's globe like the'fingers of a huge hand. For a moment he'thought he could see the strip of water'between the first `finger' and the one'behind through a gap in its high'mountain peaks, but he doubted if the'airship was anything like high enough.'It was probably just a false reflection
from the sky.
' Suddenly, out of the corner of his'eye, Barkworth saw a glint in the sky'like sunlight on metal. It was too high'to be a reflection from the ice and'certainly too bright to be a flier, but'when he looked in its direction it was
gone.
" "What's up?" Quincey asked him.
' "Just thought I saw something,
that's all. Probably nothing."
She nodded.
' "What do you think the Tinsla are'actually made of?" Spad asked him'softly out of the blue. "I've always/wondered. They seem so
[3mhuman,
[0m but I've never seen any -
[3mblood."
' Barkworth gained the eerie impress-'ion that Spad had carried this secret'desire to know how Angels worked in the'back of her mind ever since she was a
little girl.
' "Truth is, nobody knows too much'about how they are physically made," he'replied. "They have so very few'accidents, and no Tinsla has so far'presented itself to anyone for/vivisect- ion. Sure, they
[3mlook
[0m like'human beings and dress according to'whatever region of a world they are'assigned to. Yet they are physically'immensely strong, never tire, com-'municate with each other in Digital'Jemma, and can fly using their inbuilt'Pasovirs, though you rarely see them
doing that."
/ "They are very
[3mnice,
[0m aren't they"'Spad said. "They were there so quickly'when Asta had that bad fall of his not'so long ago." She looked at her husband'with an odd expression Barkworth
assumed was fondness.
' "You can't deny that," Asta respond-'ed enthusiastically. "Polite without'being servile, knowledgeable without'appearing to be, helpful without being'interfering, there when you need them,
not there when you don't."
' Barkworth saw the little gleam come
into Quincey's eye.
' "So why didn't the Torsyne let'humans and all the Universe's other/natural species die off - or even
[3mkill
[0m'us off - so that the Tinsla could take'over?" she asked. "If they are so much
[3mnicer
[0m than we are."
/ "What about those
[3mother
[0m Tinsla?"/Barkworth said. "The ones we
[3mdon't
[0m see? They aren't so warm and cuddly."
' "I'd certainly never want to see one/of those
[3mStromlos,"
[0m Spad visibly
shuddered.
' Barkworth shuddered a little'himself. These things were normally'only sent out to capture narcotic and'other serious criminals. From the 3D he'had seen of them it was as if they had'been perceptually engineered to arouse'sheer terror in anybody who saw one for'real. They looked a little like'mechanized ostriches. Their huge'drumstick legs were fastened to a'similar shaped body and moved with that'same kind of prancing motion except'that they somehow made it look in-'finitely obscene. Their chests though'were more human in shape so that there'they looked a little more like'centaurs. Their arms were skinny,'almost withered-looking, but their'exceeding long and powerful looking'fingers were able to arrest people in'the original sense of the word on the
spot.
' But if their bodies were horrifying,'Stromlo heads were gut-churning.'Although human in shape, they were very'much smaller and looked as if they had'been blow-moulded in white plastic'right down to the `hair' and `eyes'.'Indeed they looked just like doll's'heads from Earth mounted on very long,'scrawny necks. But while the hair had'at least some airbrushed-on color, the'eyes had not and therefore appeared to'lack irises. They were merely blank'orbs with very tiny intensely dark'spots in the middle where the pupils
should have been.
' "Do you think the Tinsla could ever'turn against us?" Spad asked Quincey'worriedly. "If the Torsyne should
someday disappear?"
' Barkworth jumped as suddenly a low'intermittent buzzing sound came as if'on cue from the Jiotextrot's instrument'panel; a large red translucent cube'flashed in synchrony. A voice then
announced:
' "We apologise for interrupting your'command. The Jiotextrot has now placed itself under automatic control."
' Quincey quickly let go of the'controls as if they had come alive. She'didn't quite know where to put her'hands at first, but then she just sat'back, stretched within the confines of'her chair, and let her arms dangle by her side.
' "Seems a little early to go auto-'matic," Quincey looked at him. "I'thought it was supposed to happen only
when we were nearly there."
' Barkworth could only shrug his
shoulders.
! "Well, we weren't off course."
' Although there was one mountain peak'that the ship did seem to be headed'for, it was still too early to say if'it was to be their actual destination'since sideways drift could only be'guessed at. He could certainly not yet'pick out the two mooring masts he knew
to be above the city itself.
' Then he jumped in his seat as an'enormous racing seaplane shot from'underneath them with an ear-shattering'roar straight out of the 1930's. It'passed so fast and so close that by the'time Barkworth had fully realized what'had happened it had become a rapidly'diminishing silhouette over the skyline'ahead. He felt the gondola heave and'twist slightly as it was buffeted by'the wash from the plane's slipstream.'The controls in front of him moved in'an attempt to compensate, but it was'still several minutes before the motion
was fully corrected for.
' "Guess that's why we went auto,"
Quincey observed.
"Yes..."
' But something niggled in Barkworth's$mind as being slightly out of place.
' He watched the plane bank and turn'in the distance. It looked as if it
was going to come back.
' "Wonder where it came from?" he'asked. "I wouldn't have thought'Solciessa's Mechanical Entertainments'Network extended this far north apart
from the Jiotextrot."
' "There's something else a little'strange too," Quincey said. "The'collision avoidance systems of both of'these machines should have made it'impossible for that thing to come as
close to us as that."
' And that, Barkworth realized, was'what had been trying to think of. His
stomach began to freeze.
' Meanwhile the plane was indeed'flying back towards them. At first it'seemed as if it would pass some'distance away to their left, but'suddenly it banked into a steep turn,'levelled out, and roared across their
path directly in front of them.
' This time Barkworth was able to get'a good look at it. It really was a'superb machine. The engines, each'driving a pair of unusually large'contrarotating propellers, were mounted'in long sleek nacelles on the wings.'Underneath the gleaming fuselage were'slung two slender floats nearly as long'as the plane itself. There was no'paintwork nor anything ornamental of'any description, it was a flying'machine Howard Hughes himself might'have been proud to build and fly.'Indeed, Barkworth could swear he'had seen the pilot in the bubble canopy'raise what looked like a fedora with'the same flourish that fabled multi-$millionaire himself might have used.
/ " - Did you see
[3mthat?"
[0m Spad shouted
in apparent delight.
' They all watched as the machine then'swung up into the air in a half-loop.'However it didn't roll back over into'the straight and level as Barkworth'expected, but three-quarter rolled into'a tight right-hand turn that once more
took it towards the mountains.
' Then it did the impossible. Engines'shrieking, it pulled back up and over'into another tight loop which it made'no attempt to level out of. Instead'that exquisitely beautiful machine'dived vertically towards the sea in
front of their very eyes.
' But then, even more incredibly, it'slowed to a halt only metres above the'waves as if gently grasped by a Hand'from the sky. It must have remaining'suspended there in mid-air for several'seconds until, engines still screaming,'the tail swung down so that the machine'was once more horizontal and pointing'ahead of them. Then it began to pick up'speed at to what even to Barkworth's'eye seemed an astonishing rate, veering
off to their left as it did so.
' It was only when the plane began to'skitter across the water like a'slow-motion pebble, rising briefly then'diving again to the same limiting level'at least three times, did Barkworth'realise that it was probably not a'malfunction of the plane but of its'pilot. It was now all too clear what he
was trying to do.
' He looked at Quincey. She had gone'white, and only briefly managed to'unlock her transfixed gaze to glance at
' And then they heard the plane's
engines die.
' Quincey's sigh of relief was very'audible in that stillness. They both'watched its propellers came to rest at'copybook crisscrosses as its Necker'Surfaces took over. Once more gaining'altitude, the plane turned towards'their stern, then passed out of sight in complete silence behind them.
% "Deus Meo..." Quincey said softly.
' They all just sat there and gazed'absently at the mountains ahead. One'almost had to go out of one's way to'die violently in Paradise, those that'did usually did so in protest against'its inhumanity. Barkworth wondered if'that was what the plane's pilot had had
in mind.
' They heard a light footfall behind
them.
' "Sir, Senhorita," the Steward said'when they turned round to look at him.'"You will be pleased to know that the'young woman piloting the aircraft is
now safe - "
/ "-
[3mWoman?"
[0m Quincey said, unchar-
acteristically surprised.
' "Yes, Senhorita," the Steward'affirmed. "At present however we have'very few details as to what happened or'who she is. All we know is that she'made a deliberate but fortunately'incompletely successful attempt to
tamper with the aircraft."
[3m"Tamper..?"
[0m Quincey was even more'surprised. "She must have been'inordinately clever. Technically,
anyway."
' "Yes, we believe so, senhorita. We'would like to express our deepest'regrets to both of you for what has'happened. Incidents of this kind are,'as you know, extremely rare. Should you'wish to discontinue your journey with!us we do have a Nessik on board."
Barkworth looked at Quincey.
' She shook her head. "No, thank you,'that won't be necessary. I'm not going'to let that woman ruin my trip. Why'couldn't she have Nessiked to a"Terminal World like anybody else?"
' "Thank you, senhorita," the Steward'actually sounded as if he admired her attitude.
' "Is there anything else you require
sir? Senhorita?"
' Barkworth glanced across to Quincey'again. But she just sat staring&straight ahead of her, coldly furious.
' "No, thank you," Barkworth nodded to
' The Steward then asked the same'questions of Spad and Astra in their'language. They also declined anything'further or to leave the Jiotextrot. The Steward then bowed and withdrew.
' Barkworth didn't feel too much like'talking either. He was just too shocked'at what he had just seen. No doubt the'Iskurahi would hold an enquiry; the'full story would come out. It certainly'would be interesting to learn why the'woman had wanted to end her life in'that particular way instead of the'painless, pleasant means the Iskurahi'provided. Why did she also apparently'want witnesses? Was she even somebody
they knew?
He tried to think of names...
' It was only the change in vibration'in the Jiotextrot's engines that made'Barkworth refocus his eyes on what was'ahead. The two mooring masts turned out'to be sited at the opposite ends of a'sharp ridge between two foothills, the'ship was headed for the slightly nearer'starboard one. Barkworth wasn't really'surprised he hadn't seen them earlier,'for some absurd reason he had assumed
they would be much higher up.
' " - Quince..?" he turned to look at
' But she still gazed straight ahead,'as frozen as the landscape. All the'fury had gone from her face though. In'fact she looked completely drained. As'on Jarra her reaction had been a'facade, she simply hadn't known how to
handle what she had seen.
' Quincey was not the kind of lady who'could be kissed or cuddled let alone'talked out of a shock. He would just'have to bide his time as he had had to'then until she was ready. And there was&no way of guessing when that would be.
' The Jiotextrot's engines all but'shut down as it coasted along on'momentum. Barkworth noticed it was also'shedding altitude relatively quickly,/indeed he wondered if it wasn't
[3mtoo
[0m'quickly. But he didn't really believe'that, and sure enough a hundred metres'away they were nearly level with the'meter-wide metal sphere at the top of'the mast. The motors revved again, and'there was a definite feeling of'deceleration as Barkworth saw a'complex-looking mechanism emerge from'the protective housing the sphere in'fact formed. Sliding down the slender,'unstayed metal pole to the level of the'probe he assumed now projected from the'nose of the ship, it extended an'arm-like drogue. He then heard the(
[3mchung
[0m of a solid metal coupling.
' A very fine grinding vibration'underlying that of the motors then'passed through the ship. Barkworth'suspected this had something to do with'the sideways-facing propeller set in'the lower vertical tailfin he had'noticed when he first saw the'Jiotextrot, and indeed the stern of the'ship slowly drew round until before'long he was able to look out to his'right over the sea back along the way
they had come.
' Then, with the slightest of sideways'twisting jerks, the aft probe engaged,'and the motors finally shut down. The
Jiotextrot had docked.
' It now seemed to be almost super-'naturally quiet, he could only hear the'wind sighing gently around the mast. He'had expected to see other structures'and buildings dotted round the land-
scape, but there were none.
' Suddenly an extraordinary orange'glow that must have covered a rec-'tangular area as huge as the airship&itself appeared deep beneath the snow.
' " - Quince!" He tried to draw her'attention to it, but she still stared'fixedly ahead, unmoved. In any case it'would have been too late, when he$looked down again the glow had gone.
' The snow split along the ridge, then'slid with a rush down both slopes. The'slopes now revealed themselves to be a'huge pair of Hindenburg-size metal'doors, they glistened greyly in that'golden polar light. With a cracking and'banging of not fully unfrozen joints,'the ridge the doors formed parted, then'slowly and agonizingly began to open.'As Barkworth tried to peer down into'the void below, he heard the soft hum'of an electric motor start up somewhere'ahead of him and felt a slight down-'wards jerk. The doors juddered a little'as they came into their fully open'position, then the Jiotextrot began to'move down into that immense yawning'shaft like the giant elevator it had
now in effect become.
' The brief glimpse Barkworth had of'the walls of the shaft before the bulk'of the airship dimmed the light showed'them to be a deep brown, as if the'concrete-like material had picked up'the colour of the wooden formers it had'been cast with as well as their grain.'The effect was extraordinarily med-'iaeval, an impression that was only'reinforced by the glowing three-pronged'electroluminescent panels set in a'diagonal pattern a metre or so apart in'the walls. They looked eerily like
softly-glowing fleur-de-lis.
' "How wonderful!" Spad intoned behind
' "Isn't it, dear," her husband agreed'in the way all good husbands in Paradise agree with their wives.
' At long last Barkworth could see a'long, narrow sliver of light beneath'them. It seemed to grow wider faster'than their rate of descent would allow,'then he realized that another immense'pair of doors was opening up at the'bottom end of the shaft. He found it'hard to estimate just how far down the'ship was, but Tonteen had to be at'least an entire kilometer below the
surface, perhaps even two.
' The sight that greeted his eyes when'they passed beyond the door into'`daylight' was just so extraordinary he'couldn't believe it. They were'descending into the `sky' of an'underground city much vaster than he'and Quincey had imagined. And the'sudden joyous shouts of welcome that'rose into the air from what must have'been thousands of young throats as the'airship at last came to rest was little'short of deafening. It then began to'dawn on Barkworth what Tonteen really'was. It was nothing less than the'source of the monoculture that was
Solciessa itself.
' Tonteen may have started off as an'arctic research station, but had ended'up as a gigantic nursery. Indeed its'buildings looked just like the multi-'colored wooden blocks cut in simple'shapes he had played with when he was a'child, except of course that they were'several hundred times bigger and'appeared to have been made of various'kinds of terra cotta. Cylinders, disks,'slabs, half-rounds, rods, blocks,'blocks with half-circles cut out of'them, all had been put together as if'by a similarly huge artistic child to'fill that vast underground space almost'to its Sky. The tallest had a steeple-'like tower that reached up close to the'port side of the Jiotextrot's gondola,'this was obviously the point from which'her `luxury goods' (candy? toys?) would
be unloaded.
' Barkworth only noticed now that'neither Spad nor Astra had made a'sound. Even they had been struck dumb
by the spectacle.
' Most of the buildings were capped'with pyramids, cones or spheres. But'other rooftops, like the many other'horizontal planes lower down including'the `bridges' joining the buildings,'were planted in gardens complete with'shrubs and even trees. Nor were all the'vertical planes unadorned, many had'complex designs moulded into them to'charm the vision in a way that was'almost tactile. Here many windows could'be seen, and they too were of all
shapes, sizes and colors.
' It was from these windows and'gardens that the younger children,'formed into lines or tidy rectangular'groups, shouted in their glee. The one'group of older children he could see'were being marched in a weirdly formal'fashion from one building to another'directly opposite. It crossed his mind'that part of Jiotextrot's function'might be to serve as a magic totem from'the World of the Grown Ups, or perhaps'even a much-loved figure from some vast'equivalent of Earth's Punch and Judy'show (Be a good boy Jontril, else we'won't let you see The Big Kind Airship
when it comes today).
' Yet when Barkworth looked down'towards the streets and parks at ground'level, there seemed to be something odd'about the perspective which he couldn't'quite fathom. It made him think of that'strange `forced perspective' some movie'makers had used a hundred years ago.'Then he realized what it was. The'buildings had been designed to the'scale of their inhabitants. The heights'of the doorways the children occasion-'ally passed through gave the clue; he'estimated them to be about two-thirds
`adult' size.
' One might have preferred such a'place to be outside in the fresh air'instead of under a Sky obviously made'of some sort of electroluminescent'material. But if that was part of the'price the Solciesse felt they had to'pay for their survival, then it seemed'a small one when one looked at this'extraordinarily attractive city./Perhaps it had even been
[3mbuilt
[0m as a'children's shelter as soon as the Wars'began and the information carefully'hidden, that might go some way to'explain why the 3Ds had revealed'nothing about its true nature. Normally'there were stiff penalties for knowing-'ly causing false or misleading 3Ds to'be entered into the Teklanmeh, but the'Iskurahi, knowing the nature of the'Solciesse, may well have allowed them'Compassionate Exception even though the!danger had passed long, long ago.
[3m"Quincey,"
[0m Barkworth got up and put'his arm around her shoulder. "You've'got to look at this. It has to be one'of the most fascinating places I have
ever seen."
' And much to his relief she did look.
' "Yes, it is beautiful," she agreed
without emotion.
' "Sirs! Senhoritas! Welcome to'Tonteen..!" the Steward bounced onto'the deck arm in arm with the Stewardess'as if their customers had just won the'All-Solciessa Entertainments Jackpot for 2039.
' Even in a Paradise of Clockwork'Angels, a Tinsla's face was capable of'displaying more emotions than many'humans could. And they could change so'astonishingly realistically. The'expression on the Steward's face became'suffused on the spot with a Gentility,'even a Cherishing. Even the Steward-'ess's became expectantly flushed, as if'she was looking forward to that time'that could never arrive when she too'could give birth to a new inhabitant of'Tonteen. There were times when'Barkworth felt almost ashamed (almost'ashamed...) of his occasional suspicion'of them, when even that sardonic'nickname of `Angels' Tinsla had#acquired on Earth seemed misplaced.
' "I'm sorry, we simply had no idea."'Barkworth said to them, spreading his
hands.
' "We like to reserve this as a/
[3mspecial
[0m surprise for our guests, sir,"'the Steward beamed with Confraternal
Glee.
' Out of the corner of his eye Bark-'worth saw Quincey give an involuntary'shudder. She had never particularly'liked children, and especially hated'the mawkish sentimentality lavished on'them lavished on them all over Para-'dise. Although he had always thought it'unfortunate that this part of her'character was apparently missing, he'found the relentless no-nonsense mind'that replaced all that infinitely
preferable.
' It then crossed his mind she was now"returning to her old self at last.
' Spad and Asta however suddenly'delivered a surprise. They jumped up'and clutched each other, then appeared'to neck furiously. Their faces pinched/up, and they
[3mululated
[0m particularly
loudly in an arab-like fashion.
' Barkworth had no doubt that they/were
[3mcrying
[0m in their particular way.'Was it all this on top of the attempted'suicide they had all just witnessed? Or'had there been a tragedy with a child;'had they lost one, or had Spad been'unable to have one at all? Some women'felt they could not bring children into'a Paradise in which all humans were'orphans, but he doubted Spad would be
one of those.
' He just did not know what to do or
' The Steward however apparently did.'He quickly stepped across to them and'wrapped his arms around the couple. He'then spoke a few words quietly to them'in their own language. Barkworth saw'Asta lower and raise his jaw briefly to'signal what appeared to be an assent,'for the Steward then gently manoeuvred'them through the door back into the
passenger compartment.
' Quincey sighed with relief, but'Barkworth could see she had not been
entirely unmoved.
' "It's perhaps just as well they went'when they did," she said in a low'voice. "There's something here that'might have made them cry even more'loudly. I've been looking hard, but'there are very few teenagers down
there."
' Barkworth's eye raced up and down'the streets looking for the missing'kids. "Perhaps they are all inside,'studying or something. Or on another'part of the planet. Why, what do you#think might have happened to them?"
' "I've been thinking about how the'Solciesse have managed to keep their'society running so long. They also'regulate their numbers to those part-'icularly low levels. Could it be that'the kids get weeded out - culled - if'they show behavioral problems? Like'failing to please, or being mildly
impolite?"
/ "Oh, now, come
[3mon
[0m Quincey," Bark-'worth's concern for her returned.'"There's no way they could do that. The'planet would have been Closed Out in'short order and all Iskurahi machines'removed. Then they would have had to go'back to their old methods of population'control, whatever they might have
been."
' "The Iskurahi lay down the law with'respect to very little, everything else/is negotiation. It's
[3mhard
[0m to believe,/but not
[3mimpossible
[0m to. - In fact it'makes you wonder why the Torsyne don't/insist
[3mall
[0m Worlds do the same with
their kids."
' "Well, we can only check it out when/we get back to Eve. It's only an
[3midea,
[0m'Quince, we'd better leave it there for
now."
' Quincey remained silent at that.'They just gazed out across the city as'the Jiotextrot floated at her moorings,'stirring occasionally in the brief
gusts of artificial wind.
' Then they heard the Steward step
back into the cockpit.
' "Sir?
Senhorita? Would you care to'retire to the lounge for refreshments'before you return to your spacecraft?'We can also take you down to Tontine'and present you to some of its young
citizens if you wish."
' "Thank you, you have been most'kind." Barkworth replied. "But I think'under the circumstances we should
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