Swallow the Sky: A Space Opera (10 page)

There was another shout
as the display switched to a closer view of their destination. Carson wondered
how the astronomers of Old Earth must have felt when the Labeyrie Hypertelescope
captured the image for the first time. To a world beset with overpopulation,
rising sea levels, and runaway pollution, the new planet must have looked like
paradise. It was younger and more geologically active than its namesake but
with the same mix of oceans, ice caps, and continents. Most important of all,
the oxygen-rich atmosphere shouted the promise of life across ten light years. Little
wonder that it spurred the building of the human race’s first starship.

Aiyana detached herself
from the schoolchildren and returned to Carson sporting a huge grin.

“Darling –” she began.

Uh oh,
he was
beginning to know that smile.

“The kids were telling me
that they’re riding down on the Elevator.”

“Oh no, it’s a tourist
trap.”

“Oh please!”

“You are not getting me
on that thing. If anyone saw me I’d be a laughing stock.”

Aiyana pouted for a
moment then appeared to change the subject.

“Remember that garden
where we met the night we escaped from Kaimana?” she asked.

“Yes…”

“I’ve an idea…”

“Yes…”

The large almond eyes stared
into his.

“Well, after we ride down
– down the Elevator that is – and get freshened up, wouldn’t it be fun if we
found a bar and met some nice girl. If we all got along we could try re-enacting
that statue in the garden, taking, um, turns being in the middle”

So it was that Carson found himself among the Huan schoolchildren waiting for the Elevator.

Like all citizens of New
Earth, he was all too familiar with the iconic structure. The original had been
built six thousand years ago to finally establish a civilized means of
achieving orbit that did not require attaining planetary escape velocity. Even
though the project had been technically feasible for centuries it still took a
major tragedy at the Magnetic Acceleration Launch Facility to generate the political
will and massive financing required to begin construction.

Twenty years and
countless Ecus later the Elevator went into operation. After performing
flawlessly for more than three hundred years it was finally rendered
obsolescent by the invention of the push drive. By that time the Elevator had
become a cherished landmark and the proposal to demolish it caused uproar. So
it survived, catering to tourists and the incurably nostalgic.

Aiyana, by dint of her
recent studies, knew all about it and was showing off her knowledge to the
schoolchildren.

“How high is the Elevator
dearest Aiyana?”

“Forty-five thousand
kilometers dearest Lin”

“Why doesn’t it fall
down?”

“Because it’s anchored in
geocentric orbit and dangles its cable to the ocean”

“Are we going all the way
down?”

“No, we are disembarking
three hundred kilometers above New Earth and we’ll go from there. It would take
several hours to travel the entire length and your dear chaperones and dearest Carson would strangle us.”

They all peered over the
edge of the bus’s observation deck. Overhead in the inky blackness of space the
stars were obliterated by the dazzling glare reflecting off the sea. A thin
black ribbon, about a meter wide, descended from an infinity point in the sky
and vanished into the brilliant aquamarine light where everyone was staring.

The children squealed as
the Elevator gondola finally rose into view. The original utilitarian design
had been replaced by a translucent ring-shaped structure that encompassed the
cable. The ring was bisected by an arch housing the traction apparatus.

Everyone hurried on
board. Carson would have hated to admit it but he was enjoying himself. Like
locals everywhere he had never bothered to see the sights that all the tourists
came for, and even if he did run into an acquaintance Aiyana’s presence
provided the perfect alibi.

“I know for a fact this
gondola has an emergency push drive, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the
traction engine didn’t work at all.”

“Shush, you’ll spoil it
for the children.”

The descent took about an
hour. The curve of the horizon slowly straightened and the sky became a
delicate violet as they entered the atmosphere. The children clapped as the
huge floating base station appeared out of the azure light. Originally the base
had been all business, shifting huge amounts of cargo and millions of
passengers to and from orbit, but now the station was a vacation resort
surrounded by an armada of pleasure boats.

As they landed Aiyana
hugged the children goodbye and bowed respectfully to the chaperones.

“Where to now?” she asked
as they picked up their bags “Do you still have a home here?”

“I used to, but I sold it
to help pay for the ship. We’re staying in the academic village at Makoto College, part of the University of New Earth. One of the advantages of being an official
scholar is that you get permanent residential facilities.

“It’s close to the
Archives and the Great Museum, and it’s where we’ll find Kalidas, even if he
has been officially kicked out.”

The doors of the Elevator
reception area swept aside and they walked out onto a wide sunlit plaza. The
floating terminus was shaped like a huge cone with gently sloping sides, the Elevator
cable anchored at the apex. All around them terraces of colorful buildings
descended down to the marina that surrounded the entire structure.

Carson closed his eyes
and relished warmth of the sunlight on his skin. He breathed deeply – the sharp
ocean air was wonderful. Above the din of the miniature city he could hear the
distant sound of waves and the cry of seagulls.

“Oh my God!” Aiyana
cried.

Carson could not work out
what was wrong – she was staring around intently. It was a lovely view but
Aiyana seemed dumbfounded.

“That air movement” she
said, “that’s called a breeze, isn’t it?”

She pointed to the horizon,
jumping with excitement

“And look – you can
actually see the edge of the planet!”

Carson finally realized
what was happening: this was the first time Aiyana had truly been outdoors. She
had spent nearly all of her life in the synthetic environments of spacecraft
and the arcologies. Kaimana, roofed-in and sheltered by the caldera’s walls,
was hardly better. Their short escapade on the outer flanks of the volcano was
probably the closest she had ever come to the natural world.

She put her hands to her
face, tears seeping over her fingers.

“It’s so beautiful, so
beautiful.”

More passengers came out
of the terminal, streaming round the two figures standing motionless in the
sunshine.

Within an hour Carson and
Aiyana had boarded a bus to Cissokho City, the capital of New Earth.

“The University is in the
center of Hawkins, the original capital” Carson explained. “Once the Little Ice
Age started the government decided to relocate further south but the academics
stayed put. It was a miracle, really, because the move preserved a lot of the
original colonial structures. If the government had stayed the city would have
mushroomed and buried all the historical buildings within centuries.

“Now Hawkins is an
academic town and the University has become the official guardian of the
historic sites and the archives. Plus, of course, it’s a huge magnet for
tourists and pilgrims.”

“So that’s where we’re
staying?”

“Oh no, as visiting
scholars we get the royal treatment.”

When they got to Cissokho
City Aiyana desperately wanted to stop and do some sight-seeing but this time Carson really did put his foot down.

“I’m sorry, but we’re
only a few days ahead of Shin and Asima, and we just can’t afford the time. I
promise you, when we’re done with all this, I’ll take you everywhere on the
planet.”

As if to emphasize the
urgency Carson splashed out on a private taxi to take them the eight hundred
kilometers up the coast to Hawkins. Aiyana spent the journey pressed against
the windows, transfixed by the view. The taxi may have been smart enough to
notice her behavior – it was clearly attuned to the tourist trade – and
periodically it wove inland to include the most picturesque scenery.

Carson, however, was
already at work. He had contacted the main Post Office in Hawkins to advise them
of an imminent delivery – he was through with hanging on to mail packets – and
he had left messages for Kalidas. For the moment the disgraced researcher was
not answering.

The taxi dropped them at
the Old Campus, a good distance from the tourist centers. During the centuries
of blizzards and ice the University had developed a hunkered-down style of
architecture, a tradition that had never really gone away, and as Aiyana
scanned the campus she had difficulty distinguishing some the buildings from
the landscape. There was one exception.

“What is
that
?”

She was pointing to the
northern sky at what appeared to be a huge funnel-shaped swarm of gnats.

“That’s the Fountain Building. Weird looking thing, isn’t it?”

It was an attempt, Carson said, to balance the need for mass student accommodation with the distaste for
large-scale structures. Instead of building a single giant edifice, the regents
of the University had created three thousand self-contained floating
apartments, each held aloft by its own push drive. Each apartment cycled from
base to summit over a ten day period, hence the title.

“Although the residents
have an earthier name”

“It was one of those
things that seemed a good idea at the time. It’s ludicrously expensive to
operate but of course the regents refuse to replace it – you’ll find a lot of
that on New Earth.”

They strolled through the
heavily treed campus to the main administration building. At the reception
counter they found a human attendant dressed in a neat grey uniform, and
although he appeared as young as everyone else, something in the cautious way
he moved suggested great age.

The receptionist glanced
up as they walked through the ancient stone entrance. He looked blank for three
seconds before finally achieving a hit on his facial recognition database. His expression warmed immediately.

“Professor, it is good to
see you again, honored scholar. I trust you will be staying with us.”

“Purely a courtesy title”
Carson muttered to Aiyana.

“Hello George, it’s so
nice to see old faces. Yes, I’ll be staying on campus if you’ll have me.”

Carson put his hand into
the green circle on the counter to confirm his identity.

He indicated Aiyana

“This is my distinguished
colleague Professor Aiyana from the University of Mita, I am hoping you can
accommodate her as well.”

“I’m delighted to meet
you Professor. Accommodation is a little tight at the moment Professor Carson –
would it be acceptable if I you and your colleague shared an apartment?”

No fool, was George.

They hurried across the
campus to their allotted quarters.

“Wow!” Aiyana said examining
the apartment’s antique furnishings “this is just like the ship’s main cabin.”

Except for the
restrained good taste
she added to herself.

The antiques included the
plumbing system.

“So you have to twist
this handle every time you use it?”

After the tutorial in
ancient hydraulics and a quick shower, Carson made ready to drop off the mail.

“Why don’t you stay here
and unpack, I’ll return in two or three hours.”

“Unpack what? Hell no,
I’m coming with you. I’ll just wander round Hawkins while you do the business
at the Post Office.”

She put her arms round
his waist and gently rubbed her breasts against his chest.

“Afterwards we can get
something to eat and then find a bar. You do remember my idea, don’t you, my
big-brained professor?”