A Fire Upon the Deep

by Vernor Vinge

  Note 118

  He stopped, remembering all the children they had left aboard the boat, and on the ground around it. Just a few days ago, he’d been playing with them at the High Lab school. The last year had been so strange — boring and adventurous at the same time. The barracks had been fun with all the families together, but the grownups hardly ever had time to play. At night the sky was so different from Straum’s. “We’re beyond the Beyond,” Mom had said, “making God.” When she first said it, she laughed. Later when people said it, they seemed more and more scared. The last hours had been crazy, the coldsleep drills finally for real. All his friends were in those boxes…. He wept into the awful silence. There was no one to hear, no one to help him.

  After a few moments he was thinking again. If the dogs didn’t try to open the boxes, his friends should be okay. If Mom and Dad could make the dogs understand….

  Note 119

  Strange furniture was scattered around the room: low tables and cabinets, and racks like kids’ jungle gyms — all made from the same blond wood as the doors. Black pillows lay around the widest table. That one was littered with scrolls, all full of writing and still drawings. He walked the length of one wall, ten meters or so. The stone flooring ended. There was a two-by-two bed of gravel where the walls met. Something smelled even stronger than smoke here. A bathroom smell. Jefri laughed: they really were like dogs!

  Note 120

  The padded walls soaked up his laughter, echoless. Something … made Jefri look up and across the room. He’d just assumed he was alone here; in fact, there were lots of hiding places in this “dungeon.” For a moment, he held his breath and listened. All was silent … almost: at the top of his hearing, up where some machines wheep, and Mom and Dad and even Johanna couldn’t hear — there was something.

  Note 121

  “I — I know you’re here,” Jefri said sharply, his voice squeaking. He stepped sideways a few paces, trying to see around the furniture without approaching it. The sound continued, obvious now that he was listening to it.

  Note 122

  A small head with great dark eyes looked around a cabinet. It was much smaller than the creatures that had brought Jefri here, but the shape of the muzzle was the same. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Jefri edged slowly toward it. A puppy? The head withdrew, then came further out. From the corner of his eye, Jefri saw something move — another of the black forms was peering at him from under the table. Jefri froze for a second, fighting panic. But there was no place to run, and maybe the creatures would help find Mom. Jefri dropped to one knee and slowly extended his hand. “Here … here, doggy.”

  Note 123

  The puppy crawled from beneath the table, its eyes never leaving Jefri’s hand. The fascination was mutual; the puppy was beautiful. Considering all the thousands of years that dogs have been bred by humans (and others), this could have been some oddball breed … but only just. The hair was short and dense, a deep velour of black and white. The two tones lay in broad swaths with no intermediate grays. This one’s entire head was black, its haunches split between white and black. The tail was a short, unimpressive flap covering its rear. There were hairless patches on its shoulders and head, where Jefri could see black skin. But the strangest thing was the long, supple neck. It would look more natural in a sea’mal than a dog.

  Note 124

  Jefri wiggled his fingers, and the puppy’s eyes widened, revealing an edge of white around the iris.

  Note 125

  Something bumped his elbow, and Jefri almost jumped to this feet. So many! Two more had crept up to look at his hand. And where he had seen the first one there were now three, sitting alertly, watching. Seen in the open, there was nothing unfriendly or scary about them.

  Note 126

  One of the puppies put a paw on Jefri’s wrist and pressed gently downward. At the same time, another extended its muzzle and licked Jefri’s fingers. The tongue was pink and raspy, a round narrow thing. The high-pitched wheeping got stronger; all three moved in, grabbing at his hand with their mouths.

  Note 127

  “Be careful!” Jefri said, jerking back his hand. He remembered the grownups’ teeth. Suddenly the air was full of gobbling and buzzing. Hmp. They sounded more like goofy birds than dogs. One of the other pups came forward. It extended a sleek nose toward Jefri. “Be careful!” it said, a perfect playback of the boy’s voice … yet its mouth was closed. It angled its neck back … to be petted? He reached out; the fur was so soft ! The buzzing was very loud now. Jefri could feel it through the fur. But it wasn’t just the one animal who was making it; the sound came from all directions. The puppy reversed direction, sliding its muzzle across the boy’s hand. This time he let the mouth close on his fingers. He could see teeth all right, but the puppy carefully kept them from touching Jefri’s skin. The tip of its snout felt like a pair of small fingers closing and opening around his.

  Three slipped under his other arm, like they wanted to be petted too. He felt noses poking at his back, trying to pull his shirt out of his pants. The effort was remarkably coordinated, almost as if a two-handed human had grabbed his shirt. Just how many are there? For a moment he forgot where he was, forgot to be cautious. He rolled over and began petting the marauders. A surprised squeaking sound came from all directions. Two crawled beneath his elbows; at least three jumped on his back and lay with their noses touching his neck and ears.

  Note 128

  And Jefri had what seemed a great insight: The adult aliens had recognized he was a child; they just didn’t know how old. They had put him in one of their own kinderschools! Mom and Dad were probably talking to them right now. Things were going to turn out all right after all.

  Note 129

  * * *

  Note 130

  Lord Steel had not taken his name casually: steel, the most modern of metals; steel, that takes the sharpest edge and never loses it; steel, that can glow red hot, and yet not fail; steel, the blade that cuts for the flenser. Steel was a crafted person, Flenser’s greatest success.

  Note 131

  In some sense, the crafting of souls was nothing new. Brood kenning was a limited form of it, though mainly concerned with gross physical characteristics. Even kenners agreed that a pack’s mental abilities derived from its various members in different measures. One pair or triple was almost always responsible for eloquence, another for spatial intuition. The virtues and vices were even more complex. No single member was the principal source of courage, or of conscience.

  Flenser’s contribution to the field — as to most others — had been an essential ruthlessness, a cutting away of all but the truly important. He experimented endlessly, discarding all but the most successful results. He depended on discipline and denial and partial death as much as on clever member selection. He already had seventy years of experience when he created Steel.

  Note 132

  Before he could take his name, Steel spent years in denial, determining just what parts of him combined to produce the being desired. That would have been impossible without Flenser’s enforcement. (Example: if you dimissed a part of yourself essential for tenacity, where could you get the will to continue the flensing?) For the soul in creation, the process was mental chaos, a patchwork of horror and amnesia. In two years he had experienced more change than most people do in two centuries — and all of it directed. The turning point came when he and Flenser identified the trio that weighed him down with both conscience and slowness of intellect. One of the three bridged the others. Sending it into silence, replacing it with just the right element, had made the difference. After that, the rest was easy; Steel was born.

  When Flenser had left to convert the Long Lakes Republic, it was only natural that his most brilliant creation should take over here. For five years Steel had ruled Flenser’s heartland. In that time he had not only conserved what Flenser built, he extended it beyond the cautious beginnings.

  But today, in a single circling of the sun abou
t Hidden Island, he could lose everything.

  * * *

  Note 133

  Steel stepped into the meeting hall and looked around. Refreshments were properly set. Sunlight streamed from a ceiling slit onto just the place he wanted. Part of Shreck, his aide, stood on the far side of the room. He said to it, “I will speak with the visitor alone.” He did not use the name “Flenser”. The whitejackets groveled back and its unseen members pushed open the far doors.

  Note 134

  A fivesome — three males and two females — walked through the doorway, into the splash of sunlight. The individual was unremarkable. But then Flenser had never had an imposing appearance.

  Note 135

  Two heads raised to shade the eyes of the others. The pack looked across the room, spotting Lord Steel twenty yards away. “Ah-h … Steel.” The voice was gentle, like a scalpel petting the short hairs of your throat.

  Steel had bowed when the other entered, a formal gesture. The voice caused a sudden cramp in his guts, and he involuntarily brought bellies to the ground. That was his voice! There was at least a fragment of the original Flenser in this pack. The gold and silver epaulets, the personal banner, those could be faked by anyone with suicidal bravado…. But Steel remembered the manner. He wasn’t surprised the other’s presence had destroyed discipline on the mainland this morning.

  The pack’s heads, where they were in sunlight, were expressionless. Was a smile playing about the heads in shadow? “Where are the others, Steel? What happened today is the greatest opportunity of our history.”

  Steel got off his bellies and stood at the railing. “Sir. There are some questions first, just between the two of us. Clearly, you are much of Flenser, but how much—”

  Note 136

  The other was clearly grinning now, the shadowed heads bobbing. “Yes, I knew my best creation would see that question…. This morning, I claimed to be the true Flenser, improved with one or two replacements. The truth is … harder. You know about the Republic.” That had been Flenser’s greatest gamble: to flense an entire nation- state. Millions would die, yet even so there would be more molding than killing. In the end, there would exist the first collective outside of the tropics. And the Flenser state would not be a mindless agglomeration grubbing about in some jungle. The top would be as brilliant, as ruthless as any packs in history. No people in the world could stand against such a force.

  “It was an awesome risk to take, for an even more awesome goal. But I took precautions. We had thousands of converts, many of them people with no understanding of our true ambition, but faithful and self-sacrificing — as they should be. I always kept a special group of them nearby. The Political Police were clever to use mob assassination against me, the last thing I had expected —I who made the mobs. No matter, my bodyguards were well trained. When we were trapped in Parliament Bowl, they killed one or two members of each of those special packs … and I simply ceased to exist, dispersed among three panicky, ordinary people trying to escape the blood swamp.”

  “But everyone around you was killed; the mob left no one.”

  The Flenser-thing shrugged. “That was partly Republican propaganda, and partly my own work: I ordered my guards to hack each other down, along with everyone who was not me.”

  Note 137

  Steel almost voiced his awe. The plan was typical of Flenser’s brilliance, and his strength of soul. In assassinations, there was always the chance that fragments would get away. There were famous stories of heroes reassembled. In real life such events were rare, usually happening when the victim’s forces could sustain their leader through reintegration. But Flenser had planned this tactic from the beginning, had envisaged reassembling himself more than a thousand miles from the Long Lakes.

  Note 138

  Still … Lord Steel looked at the other in calculation. Ignore voice and manner. Think for power, not for the desires of others, even Flenser. Steel recognized only two in the other pack. The females and the male with the white-tipped ears were probably from the sacrificed follower. Very likely only two of Flenser really faced him. Scarcely a threat … except in the very real sense of appearances. “And the other four of you, Sir? When may we expect your entire presence?”

  Note 139

  The Flenser-thing chuckled. Damaged as it was, it still understood balance-of-power. This was almost like the old days: when two people have a clear understanding of power and betrayal, then betrayal itself becomes almost impossible. There is only the ordered flow of events, bringing good to those who deserve to rule. “The others have equally good … mounts. I made detailed plans, three different paths, three different sets of agents. I arrived on schedule. I have no doubt the others will too, in a few tendays at most. Until then,” he turned all heads toward Steel, “until then, dear Steel, I do not claim the full role of Flenser. I did so earlier to establish priorities, to protect this fragment till I am assembled. But this pack is deliberately weak-minded; I know it wouldn’t survive as the ruler of my earlier creations.”

  Steel wondered. Half-brained, the creature’s schemes were perfect. Nearly perfect. “So you wish a background role for the next few tendays? Very well. But you announced yourself as Flenser. How shall I present you?”

  The other didn’t hesitate. “Tyrathect, Flenser in Waiting.”

  * * *

  Note 140

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  Note 143

  Note 144

  Note 145

  Note 146

  Note 147

  Crypto: 0

  Syntax: 43

  As received by: Transceiver Relay03 at Relay

  Language path: Samnorsk->Triskweline, SjK:Relay units

  From: Straumli Main

  Subject: Archive opened in the Low Transcend!

  Summary: Our links to the Known Net will be down temporarily

  Key phrases: transcend, good news, business opportunities, new archive, communications problems

  Note 148

  Distribution:

  Where Are They Now Interest Group

  Homo Sapiens Interest Group

  Motley Hatch Administration Group

  Transceiver Relay03 at Relay

  Transceiver Windsong at Debley Down

  Transceiver Not-for-Long at Shortstop

  Date: 11:45:20 Docks Time, 01/09 of Org year 52089

  Note 149

  Text of message:

  Note 150

  We are proud to announce that a human exploration company from Straumli Realm has discovered an accessible archive in the Low Transcend. This is not an announcement of Transcendence or the creation of a new Power. We have in fact postponed this announcement until we were sure of our property rights and the safety of the archive. We have installed interfaces which should make the archive interoperable with standard syntax queries from the Net. In a few days this access will be made commercially available. (See discussion of scheduling problems below.)

  Because of its safety, intelligibility, and age, this Archive is remarkable. We believe there is otherwise lost information here about arbitration management and interrace coordination. We’ll send details to the appropriate news groups. We’re very excited about this. Note that no interaction with the Powers was necessary; no part of Straumli Realm has transcended.

  Note 151

  Now for the bad news: Arbitration and translation schemes have had unfortunate clenirations[?] with the ridgeway armiphlage[?]. The details should be amusing to the people in the Communication Threats news group, and we will report them there later. But for at least the next hundred hours, all our links (main and minor) to the Known Net will be down. Incoming messages may be buffered, but no guarantees. No messages can be forwarded. We regret this inconvenience, and will make up for it very soon!

  Physical commerce is in no way affected by these problems. Straumli Realm continues to welcome tourists and trade.

  Note 152

  Chapter 6

  Note 153


  Looking back, Ravna Bergsndot saw it was inevitable that she become a librarian. As a child on Sjandra Kei, she had been in love with stories from the Age of Princesses. There was adventure, a time when a few brave Ladies had dragged humankind to greatness. She and her sister had spent countless afternoons pretending to be the Greater Two and rescuing the Countess of the Lake. Later they understood that Nyjora and its Princesses were lost in the dim past. Sister Lynne turned to more practical things. But Ravna still wanted adventure. Through her teens, she had dreamed of emigrating to Straumli Realm. That was something very real. Imagine: a new and mostly human colony, right at the Top of the Beyond. And Straum welcomed folk from the mother world; their enterprise was less than one hundred years old. They or their children would be the first humans anywhere in the galaxy to transcend their own humanity. She might end up a god, and richer than a million Beyonder worlds. It was a dream real enough to provoke constant arguments with her parents. For where there is heaven, there can also be hell. Straumli Realm kissed close to the Transcend, and the people there played with “the tigers that pace beyond the bars.” Dad had actually used that tired image. The disagreement drove them apart for several years. Then, in her Computer Science and Applied Theology courses, Ravna began to read about some of the old horrors. Maybe, maybe … she should be a little more cautious. Better to look around first. And there was a way to see into everything that humans in the Beyond could possibly understand: Ravna became a librarian. “The ultimate dilettante!” Lynne had teased. “It’s true and so what?” Ravna had grumped back, but the dream of far traveling was not quite dead in her.

  Life in Herte University at Sjandra Kei should have been perfect for someone who had finally figured out what they wanted from life. Things might have gone on happily for a lifetime there — except that in her graduation year, there had been the Vrinimi Organization’s Faraway ‘Prentice contest. Three years work-study at the archive by Relay was the prize. Winning was the chance of a lifetime; she would come back with more experience than any local academician.