Of Machines & Magics (21 page)

“Steam is hardly abstract. So?”

“I can hear insects coming.”

It was the small ant again but this time, accompanied not by a guard but by a rather larger creature than itself; an ant which suggested a disturbing and un-antlike quality. Calistrope frowned, unable to decide what it was. The insect possessed the same golden colored chitin, the same gleaming black faceted eyes; its carapace, its head, was of an odd shape. Larger in proportion to its body than the others, the skull bulged with what Calistrope suspected was intelligence.

“Come,” it told them.

“Follow uss,” Added the smaller companion.

They were led from their new domicile along corridors. Up ramps, over viaducts, through arched tunnels and came at last to a huge cavern where the ubiquitous growths of fungus shed a far brighter than usual light.

At one end, close to the archway through which they had entered a great black beam pivoted about its center. Each end in turn rose three ells or more before descending to the accompaniment of gargantuan gasps and wheezes.

Calistrope stood rooted to the spot for a minute as the others continued on, he had to hurry to catch up, whispering to himself:
steam, a steam engine, I was right, steam…
When he had caught up he addressed the ants. “What
is
this place? And what is a steam engine doing in an ants’ nest?”

His questions were ignored. The insects went on until they came to two large barrel-shaped objects. One was built of green and brown glass reinforced with carbon filaments, the other was constructed from gleaming segments of brass and copper and…

“
Iron
?” Calistrope breathed the word with disbelief. “Iron? I had no idea there was so much in the world.”

“More than enough,” said the larger ant. “The Nest smelts as much as it needs.”

Followed by Ponderos and Roli, Calistrope walked around the two objects—each one as high as himself. They were secured to the floor of the cavern with steel bolts as thick as Ponderos’ thumb, a shaft of shining steel connected the two cylindrical machines together, steel pipes rose from conduits in the floor and connected to the ceramic machine.

Calistrope frowned and asked the larger ant, “What are they?”

“The Nest has a great deal of knowledge,” it started without preamble. “But knowledge is not enough. The Nest requires also, understanding.”

Calistrope and Ponderos nodded in unison.

“This is a generator of galvanic energy. The Nest requires you to formulate several projects which will make use of this power so its practicalities can be assessed, so its limits may be probed.”

“It is true that I have conducted experiments with certain galvanic fluxes,” said Calistrope thoughtfully, a hand to his chin. He paced forward and back as he thought. “Hmm. The project is of interest,” he walked two more paces and stopped, looking up into the faceted black ocular organs of the great golden ant. He smelled the faintly acidic air which was expelled from the creature’s bellows; as well as improving its breathing capacity the mechanism helped to cool the body—so much larger than nature had originally intended.

“Still, it cannot be done,” Calistrope turned and looked at the generator.

“I don’t follow your reasoning,” said the big ant. “Why can the task not be done?”

“Ah. Let me rephrase my statement. More accurately, it can be done. An interesting task indeed. However it cannot be done by me, by us. “I and my companions already have a job which is of the utmost urgency.”

“There is nothing you have to do except that which the Nest decides.”

“You are wrong.”

Calistrope’s contradiction caused the insect noticeable difficulty. It conferred with the smaller creature.

The smaller ant replicated speech, “How can the Nest be wrong?” although the words were almost without inflection, the humans’ imaginations supplied tones of amazement.

“The Nest may not be in possession of all the facts.”

This suggestion, though presumably far-fetched, was within the bounds of ant-reason. “Of what facts may the Nest not be aware?”

“The fact that the sun is dying and the world will freeze eventually. Even the air will freeze solid.”

“That iss known. It doess not concern us.”

“The Nest is content to die?”

“The world will surfife for many queenss yet.” Continued the smaller ant while the larger simply watched the humans. “Long before, we shall understand the nature of the cossmoss and will trafel to another world.”

“We delay,” broke in the larger insect. “You have seen our experimental generator. Return to your accommodation and consider projects to help our understanding.”

“It would help,” said Ponderos, “if we could visit the library. We are not wholly familiar with the sort of energy you are proposing to use.”

The small ant looked at its companion. There was the merest suggestion of movement in the antennae. “It iss permitted.” And the large ant left them to be taken to the library.

More passages, bridges, tunnels and a low-ceilinged cavern as large in area as the previous one. The atmosphere was hot and the humidity high. Everywhere they looked were racks of pigeon holes extending from floor to ceiling; low tables were set in alcoves around the periphery. Ants and here and there, a human being, stood around many of the tables consulting rolls of grey papery material. Their guide took them to an empty table.

“What is it you wish to see?”

Calistrope shrugged, looked at Ponderos who frowned in a moment’s thought. “Um,” he said.

“Alarm systems,” said Roli into the silence. “Signaling at a distance. Security, locks. All of these when referenced to er…”

“Galvanism,” supplied Calistrope looking at Roli with admiration. “More thievery?”

Roli grinned and looked away.

The ant nodded and manipulated studs which protruded from a square plate at the table’s center.

“What is that?” asked Calistrope, nodding towards the control.

“It alerts the clerks at the proper storage racks. They will extract what documentss there are and send them here.”

“This is already signaling at a distance,” Calistrope pointed out.

“The system ussess steam,” replied the ant. It indicated a number of pipes which ran up the adjacent wall and across the roof. “Wherever possible the Nest choossess learning schemess which are of practical falue.”

They waited. The ant began to groom itself, folding its legs up one by one and running the fine copper colored bristles on its mandibles along the limbs. Calistrope and Ponderos were happy to wait, watching the busy insects at other tables, examining the steam pipes which—now they had been pointed out—were visible everywhere. Small puffs of escaping steam and damp patches on the floor below showed where pipes were imperfectly joined. There were also wires strung tightly between the pipes and running in all directions.

“Perhaps the documents are difficult to trace,” Ponderos suggested when the insect had finished its toilet.

“A fault may have occurred in the system,” it replied and issued some sort of call for assistance. The signal went unheard by the humans but was obviously sensed by all the insects in the library, almost all of them looked up from their work for a moment.

A minute later, an ant—far smaller than their guide and with a red-gold integument hurried up to them. It stood, lifting first one foot and then another—the very picture of impatience.

There was a swift exchange of information via antennae, the messenger was on the point of leaving when Ponderos spoke quickly.

“Also, diagrams of the steam generating site. So we can assess the capacity.”

“What capacity?” asked the ant.

“The power generator is driven by steam, is it not?”

Another touch and swirl of antennae and the attendant worker was off, skittering between tables and record racks. They waited a further ten minutes and then, with a
whoosh
and a snap of springs, a bundle of scrolls came to a stop at the end of one of the tightly strung overhead wires. “Pleasse detach them,” said the ant.

Calistrope did as he was asked and spread the papers out across the table. He stood up in amazement. “These are written in human’s script.”

“Naturally. Iss there any point in re-infenting an alphabet and written language?”

“No. No, I suppose not. I suppose human beings do the writing anyway?”

“For the time being. At some time we shall usse genetics to create suitably equipped clerical workerss. For now other thingss are more important.”

The humans bent over the table to look at the reports and records. Roli fingered the thick grey paper. “This is damp,” he said and turned to the ant. “The air in here is not very suitable for a library of papers.”

“No. The recordss must be copied often.”

“If we replaced your steam pipes with er…” Roli waved his hands at Calistrope inquiringly.

“Galvanic conductors.”

“With galvanic conductors, the air would be drier. The papers would last longer.”

The ant was taken aback to find that a useful enterprise had been suggested so quickly. “Is this possible?”

“Quite,” Calistrope grinned and pointed to where several pipes bent and curved around one another. Water escaped with a steady drip, steam jetted with a subdued hiss. “Much tidier, too.”

The conversation was punctuated by a second set of documents arriving on the overhead wire system. Calistrope took them down and opened out a series of diagrams showing square oven-like boxes with the depiction of flames underneath.

“This is your steam generator?”

“Yess.”

“You heat water with fire?”

“The heat actually comess from the rocks. Further down from here, the rocks are very hot. The boilerss are attached to the rock.”

“And this one is your steam engine?” he asked pointing at a drawing. “The one we passed on the way?”

“Iss so. Yess.”

Calistrope contrived a fierce expression of cogitation. “It seems to me,” he said, remembering the conversation he had overheard, “that the engine would be far more efficient with a, um, a condenser,” Calistrope looked closely at the diagram. The depiction of a pipe with steam flowing from it caught his eye. “Here,” he said. “At the outlet.”

“Why would that be more efficient?” asked the ant.

“Pressure,” Calistrope answered. “The pressure difference would be greater.”

“I see the possibility. It will be conveyed.”

They stayed a little longer, examining diagrams and written records. Ponderos took particular note of the location of the steam boilers. “I think it essential that we visit the boilers,” he said. “Absolutely essential.”

“It will be conveyed.” But the ant was quite preoccupied.

Calistrope folded up the papers and rolled up the scrolls and attached them to the overhead clips. A handle on the end of a cord almost asked to be pulled. Calistrope pulled the handle, let it go.
Twang
went a coiled spring,
whoosh
went the papers and they disappeared along the wire.

Calistrope grinned. “Morph would be in his element here, don’t you think?”

“He would never stop asking questions,” Ponderos smiled. “Not a minute’s peace.”

Later, after food had been brought to them at their rooms and paper and writing tools provided at their request, they started on two projects. Calistrope began to design an electric signaling device, Ponderos and Roli made a drawing of what they could remember of site plans for the steam generators.

Their neighbors came by as they were working.

“You told the ants to add a condenser to the steam engine,” accused Pol, his brows pulled together in a dark frown, disapprobation loud in each syllable.

“It was something we mentioned in passing,” Calistrope replied. “Of no real importance but it seemed a good idea at the time.”

“The steam engine is our responsibility. You keep to your own work, we will keep to ours. Is this understood?”

“Of course,” Calistrope agreed. “No one wants to gather leeks where another has planted.”

“Just so.” And Pol, followed by his colleagues, stalked off to his own room.

Hour followed hour, mealtime followed mealtime until an ant—either the larger one or another of identical caste came to see them.

“We are informed that you provided several insights of a practical nature.”

“I believe that to be so,” Calistrope nodded and sketched in one or two lines.

“With remarkable dispatch.”

Calistrope leaned back against the wall. “We, that is the three of us, spend our time in intellectual effort. It is what we have trained ourselves to do, our vocation.”

“The Nest recalls that you had another mission, to do with the cooling Earth.”

“That is so. But on reflection, it will do later just as well as now.”

“You will certainly die before leaving the Nest’s service.”

“I doubt it.”

The ant was silent for some considerable time.

“You expect to outlive the Nest?”

“By a considerable margin.”

“How did you expect to affect the freezing of the Earth?”

“Near here is a community called Schune. There are people there who can control the engines which move the Earth. We have to tell them to start the engines, to move nearer to the sun as it shrinks.”

“The Nest knows of the place you name but be assured, there are no persons there. It is deserted. It has been deserted since before the Nest was established and there have been more than eight hundred queens. Where did you come by this information?”

“From cousins of yours. A nest near Sachavesku. Engineers, though they shape living creatures rather than hard machinery.”

“They are not known to us. Sachavesku? The name is not familiar. Doubtless there are many subspecies of ant across the world, it is only to be expected that they explore areas of obscure and minor interest.”

“Not all nests have the foresight of this one?”

“It is unlikely. As to your objective, I suggest you put this from your minds; you will not be leaving the Nest so your hypothesis cannot be tested

Calistrope shrugged. “Well, it is of no importance. What is important is the matter which my friend Ponderos raised. We need to see the steam generators with our own eyes.”