[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
in their accomplishments instead of per-sonal advancement.
Something I believe you Cro-Magnons have not been able to achieve."
"Only in isolated cases," Kerwin admitted.
"That still don't make us 'fighting monkeys'," Seeth muttered.
"I am afraid that is what you are known for." Rail swiveled his chair around.
"While I was on your world I observed a sport which, like so many things you
do, is nominally illegal but practiced nonetheless. Two small birds were armed
with short sharp knives on their legs, and then placed opposite each other in
a restricted venue. Those surrounding them placed bets on which animal would
survive the incipient battle and which would do the most damage."
"Cock fighting, yeah. A lot of that goes on in New Mexico.''
"The feeling seems to be," Rail continued, "that if you take any two
Cro-Magnons, arm them, muss their feathers a little and put them in close
proximity they will try to kill each other. I suspect a lot of betting will
take place if and when you do try to join the galactic community."
"Maybe we'll have matured by that time." The analogy embarrassed Kerwin.
Rail shrugged. "Difficult to pass up a chance to make money. We'd have to do
it without the knives, though. Most of the civilized peoples have outgrown
blood sports." Noting that his friends found ongoing discussion of the subject
disagreeable, Rail rose and moved to the far wall.
"Wouldn't you like to see where you've been?" He touched a hidden control.
No curtains parted, no drapes rolled up. No blinds clattered toward the
ceiling. The entire end of the room vanished. Kerwin found himself grabbing
wildly for his seat. They were a thousand feet above the sprawling sub-urban
metropolis that housed the spaceport they'd just left, rising slowly and
steadily toward departure orbit.
"We'll accelerate go faster presently," Rail informed them. "There's a lot of
traffic in this area. We're still relatively close to Alvin."
Exhibiting no symptoms of vertigo, Seeth promptly walked right up to the edge
of the illusory sheer drop. "Hey, this is great!" He put a hand out toward
nothing-ness. "Feels kind of rubbery. Not like glass."
"The effect is accomplished by actually altering the composition of the ship's
hull. If one wanted to spend enough money on the required necessary equipment,
I suppose one could build an entirely transparent vessel, but this would
inconvenience those individuals who are sub-ject to "
Page 86
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Fear of heights," Kerwin moaned, finishing the sen-tence for him as he clung
weakly to his chair.
"Fear of heights?" Seeth looked back at him. "That still bother you, brother
boy? This wall's solid, man. There's nothin' here to be afraid of. Come on
over and take a look. Ain't never gonna see a view like this again."
While Kerwin demurred, Miranda sauntered over and peered out.
"Neat. Like when Uncle Joe flies me to Houston."
Yirunta put a steadying hand on Kerwin's shoulder as he eased him out of his
restraints. "It's quite all right, dear cousin. There may look to be nothing
there, but it's every bit as solid as the rest of the hull."
"I know, I know." Kerwin wiped sweat from his fore-head. "It's all mental. I
know that."
"Then here is an excellent opportunity for you to con-quer an unreasonable
fear."
Kerwin forced his eyes open. There was Seeth, smirking at him. Miranda stood
nearby, looking down while ques-tioning Rail. All three of them were standing
inches from cloudland. So what was he, the intellectual superior of his two
companions, doing standing frozen to the spot, unable to move?
Was he that terrified of an illusion?
With Yirunta helping, he moved a step at a time toward the transparency.
Soon the time to look down arrived. He did so, and swallowed.
They were ten thousand feet above the city. Except for the slow crawl of
clouds, there was no feeling of motion. A slightly redder sun than he was used
to was just rising over the far horizon as day returned to this part of
Nedsplen. The pale, ghostly crescents of twin moons were fading into blue sky.
He forced himself to stand there. Somewhat to his surprise, he did not faint.
The magnificent panorama gave him something to focus on. The city of
Nophia spread out in all directions, indi-vidual structures gleaming as they
were touched by the rising sun. Off to the east, a green belt separated the
smaller metropolis from greater Alvin. Except for the green belt there wasn't
an open patch of ground to be seen. Most of the parks, Rail informed them, lay
beneath underground domes. Along with air and water, sunlight was simply
another commodity to be piped in.
Rapid movement, dimly glimpsed, caused him to lift his head. It was not a
cloud. It had long, sharp teeth and brilliant little nasty eyes that were
locked on him like gunsights, and a wingspan the size of a Cessna, and it was
coming right for him.
It wasn't vertigo but another type of sensory overload that finally caused
Kerwin to pass out.
*10*
"I think he's coming around."
Something cool on his forehead, accompanied by a soft hissing. Cool mist
bathed his face. Opening his eyes, he saw Yirunta nod, put something in his
pocket and step back. Rail was there too, and Seeth. No sign of
Miranda.
He found her when he sat up. She was still standing against the transparent [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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in their accomplishments instead of per-sonal advancement.
Something I believe you Cro-Magnons have not been able to achieve."
"Only in isolated cases," Kerwin admitted.
"That still don't make us 'fighting monkeys'," Seeth muttered.
"I am afraid that is what you are known for." Rail swiveled his chair around.
"While I was on your world I observed a sport which, like so many things you
do, is nominally illegal but practiced nonetheless. Two small birds were armed
with short sharp knives on their legs, and then placed opposite each other in
a restricted venue. Those surrounding them placed bets on which animal would
survive the incipient battle and which would do the most damage."
"Cock fighting, yeah. A lot of that goes on in New Mexico.''
"The feeling seems to be," Rail continued, "that if you take any two
Cro-Magnons, arm them, muss their feathers a little and put them in close
proximity they will try to kill each other. I suspect a lot of betting will
take place if and when you do try to join the galactic community."
"Maybe we'll have matured by that time." The analogy embarrassed Kerwin.
Rail shrugged. "Difficult to pass up a chance to make money. We'd have to do
it without the knives, though. Most of the civilized peoples have outgrown
blood sports." Noting that his friends found ongoing discussion of the subject
disagreeable, Rail rose and moved to the far wall.
"Wouldn't you like to see where you've been?" He touched a hidden control.
No curtains parted, no drapes rolled up. No blinds clattered toward the
ceiling. The entire end of the room vanished. Kerwin found himself grabbing
wildly for his seat. They were a thousand feet above the sprawling sub-urban
metropolis that housed the spaceport they'd just left, rising slowly and
steadily toward departure orbit.
"We'll accelerate go faster presently," Rail informed them. "There's a lot of
traffic in this area. We're still relatively close to Alvin."
Exhibiting no symptoms of vertigo, Seeth promptly walked right up to the edge
of the illusory sheer drop. "Hey, this is great!" He put a hand out toward
nothing-ness. "Feels kind of rubbery. Not like glass."
"The effect is accomplished by actually altering the composition of the ship's
hull. If one wanted to spend enough money on the required necessary equipment,
I suppose one could build an entirely transparent vessel, but this would
inconvenience those individuals who are sub-ject to "
Page 86
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Fear of heights," Kerwin moaned, finishing the sen-tence for him as he clung
weakly to his chair.
"Fear of heights?" Seeth looked back at him. "That still bother you, brother
boy? This wall's solid, man. There's nothin' here to be afraid of. Come on
over and take a look. Ain't never gonna see a view like this again."
While Kerwin demurred, Miranda sauntered over and peered out.
"Neat. Like when Uncle Joe flies me to Houston."
Yirunta put a steadying hand on Kerwin's shoulder as he eased him out of his
restraints. "It's quite all right, dear cousin. There may look to be nothing
there, but it's every bit as solid as the rest of the hull."
"I know, I know." Kerwin wiped sweat from his fore-head. "It's all mental. I
know that."
"Then here is an excellent opportunity for you to con-quer an unreasonable
fear."
Kerwin forced his eyes open. There was Seeth, smirking at him. Miranda stood
nearby, looking down while ques-tioning Rail. All three of them were standing
inches from cloudland. So what was he, the intellectual superior of his two
companions, doing standing frozen to the spot, unable to move?
Was he that terrified of an illusion?
With Yirunta helping, he moved a step at a time toward the transparency.
Soon the time to look down arrived. He did so, and swallowed.
They were ten thousand feet above the city. Except for the slow crawl of
clouds, there was no feeling of motion. A slightly redder sun than he was used
to was just rising over the far horizon as day returned to this part of
Nedsplen. The pale, ghostly crescents of twin moons were fading into blue sky.
He forced himself to stand there. Somewhat to his surprise, he did not faint.
The magnificent panorama gave him something to focus on. The city of
Nophia spread out in all directions, indi-vidual structures gleaming as they
were touched by the rising sun. Off to the east, a green belt separated the
smaller metropolis from greater Alvin. Except for the green belt there wasn't
an open patch of ground to be seen. Most of the parks, Rail informed them, lay
beneath underground domes. Along with air and water, sunlight was simply
another commodity to be piped in.
Rapid movement, dimly glimpsed, caused him to lift his head. It was not a
cloud. It had long, sharp teeth and brilliant little nasty eyes that were
locked on him like gunsights, and a wingspan the size of a Cessna, and it was
coming right for him.
It wasn't vertigo but another type of sensory overload that finally caused
Kerwin to pass out.
*10*
"I think he's coming around."
Something cool on his forehead, accompanied by a soft hissing. Cool mist
bathed his face. Opening his eyes, he saw Yirunta nod, put something in his
pocket and step back. Rail was there too, and Seeth. No sign of
Miranda.
He found her when he sat up. She was still standing against the transparent [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]