[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
joined my mother and sister at Windhome, pretendin I needed break from study. Others had
different cover stories, like charterin an airbus to leave them in Avernus Canyon for several
days campout. We rendezvoused at Helmet Butte and laid our ambush accordin to what I
knew about regular Impy patrol routes.
What d you have done next, if you d succeeded? Hedin asked.
Oh, we had that planned. I know couple of oases off in Ironland that could support us,
with trees, caves, ravines to hide us from air search. There aren t that many occupation
troops to cover this entire world.
You d spend your lives as outlaws? I should think you d soon become bandits.
No, no. We d carry on more raids, get more recruits and popular support, gather
strength enemy must reckon with. Meanwhile we d hope for sympathy elsewhere in Empire
bringin pressure on our behalf, or maybe fear of Ythri movin in.
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Maybe, Hedin grunted. After a moment: I ve heard rumors. Great bein with gold-
bronze wings, a-flit in these parts. Ythrian agent? They don t necessarily want what we do,
Firstlin .
Ivar s shoulders slumped. No matter. We failed anyhow. I did.
Hedin reached across to clap him on the back. Don t take that attitude. First, military
leaders are bound to lose men and suffer occasional disasters. Second, you never were one,
really. You just happened to get thrown to top of cards that God was shufflin . Softly: For
game of solitaire? I won t believe it. His tone briskened. Firstlin , you ve got no right to go
off on conscience spin. You and your fellows together made bad mistake. Leave it at that, and
carry on. Aeneas does need you.
Me? Ivar exclaimed. His self-importance had crumbled while he talked, until he could
not admit he had ever seen himself as a Maccabee. What in cosmos can I-
Hedin lifted a gauntleted hand to quiet him. Hoy. Follow me.
They brought their stathas off the trail, and did not rejoin it for ten kilometers. What they
avoided was a herd belonging to Hedin: Terran-descended cattle, gene-modified and then
adapted through centuries-like most introduced organisms-until they were a genus of their
own. Watchfires glimmered around their mass. Hedin didn t doubt his men were loyal to
him; but what they hadn t noticed, they couldn t reveal.
On the way, the riders passed a fragment of wall. Glass-black, seamless, it sheened above
moonlight brush and sand. Near the top of what remained, four meters up, holes made an
intricate pattern, its original purpose hard to guess. Now stars gleamed through.
Hedin reined in, drew a cross, and muttered before he went on.
Ivar had seen the rum in the past, and rangehands paying it their respects. He had never
thought he would see the yeoman-well-educated, well-traveled, hardheaded master and
councilor-do likewise.
After a cold and silent while, Hedin said half defensively, Kind of symbol back yonder.
Well... yes, Ivar responded.
Somebody was here before us, millions of years ago. And not extinct natives, either.
Where did they come from? Why did they leave? Traces have been found on other planets
too, remember. Unreasonable to suppose they died off, no? Lot of people wonder if they
didn t go onward instead-out there.
Hedin waved at the stars. Of that knife-bright horde, some belonged to the Empire but
most did not. For those the bare eye could see were mainly giants, shining across the light-
years which engulfed vision of a Virgil or a Sol. Between Ivar and red Betelgeuse reached all
the dominion of Terra, and more. Further on, Rigel flashed and the Pleiades veiled
themselves in regions to which the Roidhunate of Merseia gave its name for a blink of time.
Beyond these were Polaris, once man s lodestar, and the Orion
Nebula, where new suns and worlds were being born even as he watched, and in billions of
years life would look forth and wonder. . . .
Hedin s mask swung toward Ivar again. His voice was low but eerily intense. That s why
we need you, Firstlin . You may be rash boy, yes, but four hundred years of man on Aeneas
stand behind you. We ll need every root we ve got when Elders return.
Startled, Ivar said, You don t believe that, do you? I ve heard talk; but you?
Well, I don t know. Hedin s words came dwindled through the darkness. I don t know.
Before war, I never thought about it. I d go to church, and that was that.
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Click here to buy
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But since- Can so many people be entirely wrong? They are many, I ll tell you. Off in
town, at school, you probably haven t any idea how wide hope is spreadin that Elders will
come back soon, bearin Word of God. It s not crank, Ivar. Nigh everybody admits this is
hope, no proof. But could Admiral McCormac have headed their way? And surely we hear
rumors about new prophet in barrens-
I don t know. I do think, and I tell you I m not alone in it, all this grief here and all those
stars there can t be for nothin . If God is makin ready His next revelation, why not through
chosen race, more wise and good than we can now imagine? And if that s true, shouldn t
prophet come first, who prepares us to be saved?
He shook himself, as if the freeze had pierced his unheated garb. You re our Firstlin , he
said. We must keep you free. Four hundred years can t be for nothin either.
Quite matter-of-factly, he continued: Tinerans are passin through, reported near
Arroyo. I figure you can hide among them.
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Click here to buy
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V
Each nomad Train, a clan as well as a caravan, wandered a huge but strictly defined
territory. Windhome belonged in that of the Brotherband. Ivar had occasionally seen its
camps, witnessed raffish performances, and noticed odd jobs being done for local folk before
it moved on, afterward heard the usual half-amused, half-indignant accusations of minor
thefts and clever swindles, gossip about seductions, whispers about occult talents exercised.
When he dipped into the literature, he found mostly anecdotes, picturesque descriptions,
romantic fiction, nothing in depth. The Aenean intellectual community took little serious
interest in the undercultures on its own planet. Despite the centuries, Dido still posed too
many enigmas which were more fascinating and professionally rewarding.
Ivar did know that Trains varied in their laws and customs. Hedin led him across a
frontier which had no guards nor any existence in the registries at Nova Roma, identified
solely by landmarks. Thereafter they were in Waybreak country, and he was still less sure of
what to expect than he would have been at home. The yeoman took a room in the single inn
which Arroyo boasted. I ll stay till you re gone, in case of trouble, he said. But mainly,
you re on your own from here. Roughly: I wish twere otherwise. Fare always well, lad.
Ivar walked through the village to the camp. Its people were packing for departure. Fifty
or so brilliantly painted carriages, and gaudy garb on the owners, made their bustle and
clamor into a land of rainbowed storm in an otherwise drab landscape. Arroyo stood on the
eastern slope of the hills, where scrub grew sparse on dusty ground to feed some livestock. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
joined my mother and sister at Windhome, pretendin I needed break from study. Others had
different cover stories, like charterin an airbus to leave them in Avernus Canyon for several
days campout. We rendezvoused at Helmet Butte and laid our ambush accordin to what I
knew about regular Impy patrol routes.
What d you have done next, if you d succeeded? Hedin asked.
Oh, we had that planned. I know couple of oases off in Ironland that could support us,
with trees, caves, ravines to hide us from air search. There aren t that many occupation
troops to cover this entire world.
You d spend your lives as outlaws? I should think you d soon become bandits.
No, no. We d carry on more raids, get more recruits and popular support, gather
strength enemy must reckon with. Meanwhile we d hope for sympathy elsewhere in Empire
bringin pressure on our behalf, or maybe fear of Ythri movin in.
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
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Y
B
B
r r
Maybe, Hedin grunted. After a moment: I ve heard rumors. Great bein with gold-
bronze wings, a-flit in these parts. Ythrian agent? They don t necessarily want what we do,
Firstlin .
Ivar s shoulders slumped. No matter. We failed anyhow. I did.
Hedin reached across to clap him on the back. Don t take that attitude. First, military
leaders are bound to lose men and suffer occasional disasters. Second, you never were one,
really. You just happened to get thrown to top of cards that God was shufflin . Softly: For
game of solitaire? I won t believe it. His tone briskened. Firstlin , you ve got no right to go
off on conscience spin. You and your fellows together made bad mistake. Leave it at that, and
carry on. Aeneas does need you.
Me? Ivar exclaimed. His self-importance had crumbled while he talked, until he could
not admit he had ever seen himself as a Maccabee. What in cosmos can I-
Hedin lifted a gauntleted hand to quiet him. Hoy. Follow me.
They brought their stathas off the trail, and did not rejoin it for ten kilometers. What they
avoided was a herd belonging to Hedin: Terran-descended cattle, gene-modified and then
adapted through centuries-like most introduced organisms-until they were a genus of their
own. Watchfires glimmered around their mass. Hedin didn t doubt his men were loyal to
him; but what they hadn t noticed, they couldn t reveal.
On the way, the riders passed a fragment of wall. Glass-black, seamless, it sheened above
moonlight brush and sand. Near the top of what remained, four meters up, holes made an
intricate pattern, its original purpose hard to guess. Now stars gleamed through.
Hedin reined in, drew a cross, and muttered before he went on.
Ivar had seen the rum in the past, and rangehands paying it their respects. He had never
thought he would see the yeoman-well-educated, well-traveled, hardheaded master and
councilor-do likewise.
After a cold and silent while, Hedin said half defensively, Kind of symbol back yonder.
Well... yes, Ivar responded.
Somebody was here before us, millions of years ago. And not extinct natives, either.
Where did they come from? Why did they leave? Traces have been found on other planets
too, remember. Unreasonable to suppose they died off, no? Lot of people wonder if they
didn t go onward instead-out there.
Hedin waved at the stars. Of that knife-bright horde, some belonged to the Empire but
most did not. For those the bare eye could see were mainly giants, shining across the light-
years which engulfed vision of a Virgil or a Sol. Between Ivar and red Betelgeuse reached all
the dominion of Terra, and more. Further on, Rigel flashed and the Pleiades veiled
themselves in regions to which the Roidhunate of Merseia gave its name for a blink of time.
Beyond these were Polaris, once man s lodestar, and the Orion
Nebula, where new suns and worlds were being born even as he watched, and in billions of
years life would look forth and wonder. . . .
Hedin s mask swung toward Ivar again. His voice was low but eerily intense. That s why
we need you, Firstlin . You may be rash boy, yes, but four hundred years of man on Aeneas
stand behind you. We ll need every root we ve got when Elders return.
Startled, Ivar said, You don t believe that, do you? I ve heard talk; but you?
Well, I don t know. Hedin s words came dwindled through the darkness. I don t know.
Before war, I never thought about it. I d go to church, and that was that.
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
But since- Can so many people be entirely wrong? They are many, I ll tell you. Off in
town, at school, you probably haven t any idea how wide hope is spreadin that Elders will
come back soon, bearin Word of God. It s not crank, Ivar. Nigh everybody admits this is
hope, no proof. But could Admiral McCormac have headed their way? And surely we hear
rumors about new prophet in barrens-
I don t know. I do think, and I tell you I m not alone in it, all this grief here and all those
stars there can t be for nothin . If God is makin ready His next revelation, why not through
chosen race, more wise and good than we can now imagine? And if that s true, shouldn t
prophet come first, who prepares us to be saved?
He shook himself, as if the freeze had pierced his unheated garb. You re our Firstlin , he
said. We must keep you free. Four hundred years can t be for nothin either.
Quite matter-of-factly, he continued: Tinerans are passin through, reported near
Arroyo. I figure you can hide among them.
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
V
Each nomad Train, a clan as well as a caravan, wandered a huge but strictly defined
territory. Windhome belonged in that of the Brotherband. Ivar had occasionally seen its
camps, witnessed raffish performances, and noticed odd jobs being done for local folk before
it moved on, afterward heard the usual half-amused, half-indignant accusations of minor
thefts and clever swindles, gossip about seductions, whispers about occult talents exercised.
When he dipped into the literature, he found mostly anecdotes, picturesque descriptions,
romantic fiction, nothing in depth. The Aenean intellectual community took little serious
interest in the undercultures on its own planet. Despite the centuries, Dido still posed too
many enigmas which were more fascinating and professionally rewarding.
Ivar did know that Trains varied in their laws and customs. Hedin led him across a
frontier which had no guards nor any existence in the registries at Nova Roma, identified
solely by landmarks. Thereafter they were in Waybreak country, and he was still less sure of
what to expect than he would have been at home. The yeoman took a room in the single inn
which Arroyo boasted. I ll stay till you re gone, in case of trouble, he said. But mainly,
you re on your own from here. Roughly: I wish twere otherwise. Fare always well, lad.
Ivar walked through the village to the camp. Its people were packing for departure. Fifty
or so brilliantly painted carriages, and gaudy garb on the owners, made their bustle and
clamor into a land of rainbowed storm in an otherwise drab landscape. Arroyo stood on the
eastern slope of the hills, where scrub grew sparse on dusty ground to feed some livestock. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]