Strata (12 page)

By all the theories it should have ended there. Neither the natives nor the invaders had the textbook kind of social dynamic that builds Remes. The Northmen should have become just another tribe, with blue eyes and fair hair.

The theories were wrong. Something latent in both races was sparked into fire. It was a big continent, and it was rich.

In short, three hundred years after Leiv, a fleet arrived at the mouth of the Mediterranean. Most of the vessels were under sail although there were one or two, small, fast and inclined to blow up, that could move into the wind. The sails of the big ships bore the Great Eagle of Valhalla on a striped background alternating the colours of the sky, the snow and blood.

The Battle of Gibraltar was short. Europe had been through two hundred years of stagnation.

There was no answer to cannon.

‘I take the point,’ said Marco. ‘This Leiv is an important figure in Earth history. This is not, however, Earth.’

‘It looks like Earth,’ said Kin. ‘An Earth that was only imagined, but Earth.’

‘Are you seriously suggesting—’

‘I’ll tell you what I’m suggesting. I think you and Silver are right. I think humans built this place. I can’t think why.’

Silver grunted. ‘Surely there would be records—’

‘
Not if the Company suppressed them
!’

It was the logical answer. The Company had built this artefact in secret. ‘Jalo’ had been a plant, sent to bring them here. Why would the Company build the disc? Kin thought she knew the answer, and she didn’t like it. But she couldn’t figure out why there had been such a performance to bring them here.

But at least it was all logical. What other answer was there? Mysterious aliens? They would have to be very mysterious. If it was the Company, Kin hated it.

‘We are in danger from every quarter,’ said Marco enthusiastically. ‘We must wear our lift belts at all times. I suggest we move towards a centre of civilization. We might find some clues as to the disc’s origins.’

‘Then there’s our transport,’ said Kin, pointing. ‘I don’t know how long suit power lasts against gravity, but if there’s any sea to cross I’d like to do it in a boat.’

‘They may yet turn out to be hostile,’ said Marco, watching the men.

‘When they see you and Silver?’

In fact introducing the aliens presented a problem. Kin solved it by walking down to the encampment naked. After her earlier appearance as the goddess of mercy, she was confident that the men would sooner rape an alligator.

Leiv rushed towards her and sank to his knees. She looked down at him with an expression she hoped was benevolent.

He was smaller than most of the crew. She wondered how he exerted his authority – until she saw the shrewd glint in his eye, even now, that said here was the master of the unsporting kick and the kidney punch. She felt glad of the stunner, now concealed in her palm.

‘You’re about to have an amazing opportunity to make new friends,’ she said sweetly. ‘This is one saga they’ll never believe. Okay, Silver, come on out.’

The shand appeared at the decent distance, pushing through the bushes further along the beach. As she plodded nearer several men hurried off in the other direction. When they saw her tusks several others followed them.

Grinning fit to burst, Kin walked across to the shand and put a hand in one huge, leather-palmed paw.

‘Stop smiling,’ she said through clenched teeth.

‘I fought it would put them at eafe?’

‘On you it looks hungry.’

Leiv was still standing rooted to the sand as Kin led the shand up to him. She took the man’s hand in hers.

‘Kneel and grovel,’ she murmured.

Silver folded up obediently. Leiv looked at her and then at Kin. Finally he reached out and prodded Silver’s arm.

‘Good boy,’ said Kin, beaming. He jumped back.

To introduce phase two Kin began to whistle the old robot-Morris tune
Mrs Widgery’s Lodger
.

Silver danced mournfully on the sand, gazing heavenward with an expression of acute distaste. But she held the rhythm. She also moved awkwardly. Kin, who had seen her move like oiled water, admired that last touch. Anything sufficiently ungainly was funny. Funny wasn’t dangerous.

The men began to trickle back. Silver danced on, kicking up little sandstorms and shuffling from one foot to the other. Kin stopped whistling.

‘You’ve passed,’ she said. ‘They’re practically about to feed you lumps of sugar. Have a rest. Try to avoid yawning. Marco?’

Marco hissed. He stepped out of the bushes.

In his grey ship-suit and a cloak hastily made out of a thermoblanket he looked passably human, if emaciated. His eyes were too big and his nose was too long. His face was grey as the suit.

But he had masses of flame-red hair. It wasn’t really hair but it
was
red. Perhaps it made up for the eyes.

The men watched him warily, but no one fled this time.

One of them stepped up to Leiv and growled something, drawing a short sword. That led to a moment of confusion that ended with Marco crouched to spring and the man lying on the sand with his sword ten feet away. Then Leiv stopped twisting his arm and took a running kick. The man screamed.

‘Now we launch the boat,’ said Kin firmly.

Silver padded towards the beached vessel and braced herself with a shoulder against the prow. Nothing happened for a moment, and then the boat slid down the beach, only stopping when the stern was moving urgently in the current.

Kin took Leiv’s arm and led him firmly towards it. He was quick on the uptake. Within five minutes the men were on board, the dumbwaiter was humming to itself by the mast, and all eyes were on Silver, hovering out to sea on the end of the cable.

There was an area of dead water where the sea parted round the island before dropping into nothingness. By the time the current tugged feebly at it the boat was flying over the waves.

* * *

Two incidents enlivened the journey. Marco was handed a horn of some sweet substance by a nervous Leiv.

He sniffed it suspiciously and poured some into the ’waiter. ‘It appears to be some kind of glucose drink,’ he said. ‘What do you think, Kin?’

‘Did you try it on the ‘waiter?’

‘It gave a green light. Could it be some form of strengthening potion?’

He drank half the horn, and smacked what passed for lips. Then he laughed vaguely and drank the other half.

Later he programmed the dumbwaiter to duplicate it, and when the men had got over their amazement at the disposable plastic cups they were passed back as fast as they could be filled. Spasmodic singing broke out, and there was an occasional clattering of oars as rowers missed their stroke. Finally Kin, after Leiv’s unspoken plea, switched off the machine.

Later Silver tried her hand at rowing. Sitting amidships and grasping two oars, she followed the stroke easily. One by one the rowers stopped to watch her. The boat didn’t slow until her oars snapped.

Marco found Kin sitting in the skin shelter behind the mast, drinking martinis and thinking.

‘I wish a private word,’ he said.

‘Fine,’ said Kin, patting the rug beside her. ‘How is the head now?’

‘Better. That drink obviously contains dangerous impurities. I don’t think I will try any more for an hour or so.’ He fished in his belt pouch and pulled out a roll of plastic. It opened out into an aerial photograph of the disc.

‘I got the computer to prepare it before we left the ship,’ he said.

‘Why didn’t you show it to me before?’

‘I did not wish to encourage any foolhardy explorations. However, now that we are penetrating the disc … Look at the photo. What is missing?’

Kin took the sheet. ‘A lot,’ she said. ‘You know that. No Valhalla. That’s why Leiv found the waterfall. No Brasil. The Peaceful Ocean is tiny, look, round here on the back of Asia—’

‘Any additions?’

Kin peered at the map. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. Marco used a double-jointed thumb to point to the centre of the disc.

‘The cloud cover makes it a bit indistinct, but
that
shouldn’t be there. That island in the Arabian Sea. You notice it’s perfectly circular? It is the geographical hub of the disc.’

‘What about it?’

‘Don’t you see? It is an anomaly. We’ll find the disc civilization there if anywhere. These people are barbarians. Intelligent, yes – but space-going?’

He looked at her.

‘Are you afraid this may turn out to be a Company artefact?’ he said carefully. She nodded.

‘There is an old kung story,’ said Marco softly, his voice like the currents in a quicksand, ‘concerning a lord who had a high tower built. Then he called various wise kung together and said, “I will give my finest oyster farm and the famed kelp beds off Tchp-pch to the kung who can determine the height of that tower using nothing but a barometer. Those who fail will be exiled to the dry lands because that’s the way it goes for the not-wise-enough.” So the wise kung tried and, although they could find the height to within a few
chetds
, this was not considered accurate enough and they were sent to the dry lands.’

‘I like folk tales,’ said Kin, ‘but do you think this is—’

‘Then one day,’ said Marco loudly, ‘the wisest kung, who hadn’t hazarded an answer yet, took his barometer to the home of the lord’s master builder, and said, “I will give you this beautiful barometer if you will be so good as to tell me the height of the tower.”’

A shadow loomed over them as Silver thrust her fangs over the deck awning.

‘Forry to interrupt,’ she said, ‘but you might be interefted in thif …’

They looked past her. Most of the men had stopped rowing and were staring up into the sky.

Kin stared with them. There were three specks moving across the haze like high-altitude jets.

‘Vapour trails,’ said Marco. ‘Obviously They have come looking for us. We won’t have to go and offer them our barometer.’

‘What can you see, Silver?’ Kin asked. The shand twanged a fang.

‘They appear to be flying lizards,’ she said. ‘The method of propulsion seems mysterious, but we may learn more, since they are losing height fast.’

Leiv tugged at Kin’s arm. Around them men were methodically tossing oars and bundles into the water and diving over the side after them. The little man seemed to be desperately searching for words. Finally he remembered one.

‘Fire?’ he suggested, and tumbled her backward into the sea. The coldness numbed her, but she knew enough to twist and kick out convulsively. Treading water and gripping a handy oar she watched the sky. The specks had made a wide turn and the distant double thump of a sonic boom rolled across the sea. Marco and Silver had stayed on the boat, staring.

Soon three lizard-shapes with theatrically batlike wings glided over the wave tops to circle the boat in perfect formation, treading the air with two sets of cruel talons. Wisps of smoke trailed from their dilated nostrils.

Then they drifted towards the north, becoming specks again as they made another turn. They also gained height. If they were aircraft, thought Kin, I’d say this was going to be a bombing run.

As the first dragon plummeted towards the ship, Leiv put one hand firmly on her head and pushed her underwater.

She bobbed up furious, her ears ringing. The water was steaming. Smoke was rising from the boat.

There was a sudden mound in the water beside her and Marco surfaced, gasping and cursing. A bigger splash further along marked Silver’s return from the depths.

‘What happened? What happened?’ gasped Kin.

‘It hovered and breathed fire,’ said Silver.

‘And no bloody lizard does that to me!’ screamed Marco. He struck out for the charred hull, rocking it violently in his attempt to get aboard.

Another beast drifted down. There was a quiet splash as Silver somersaulted and kicked away for the green depths.

There was also a groan from the water-treading men as they saw Marco uncloaked for the first time, grasping an oar with all four hands. As the dragon homed in it was bright enough to tread air just out of reach of Marco’s impromptu weapon, wingbeats making spray patterns on the sea while it gathered its breath.

Something white shot through the water like a cork and gripped a pair of hovering claws. For a second Silver and the startled creature hung there. Then the wings met with a clap as they shot down into the sea, and Kin heard a distinct hiss.

The third dragon must have been the brightest, thought Kin. The brightest
always
fought last. It was too late for it to stop its flight. Instead it passed over the boat with its wings spread like parachutes, and, as it thundered by above his head, Marco screamed and leapt.