Vale of Stars

by Sean O'Brien

  “You want to go below?” Kiv asked softly. Bone cancer was still painful, even through the nanoscreen, he knew.

  Khadre shook her head. “Nope. Nothing down there to help me, Kiv.” She smiled and looked out to sea. “I’m glad you came, son.” She closed her eyes again, but this time she looked peaceful. “I’ll miss this.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Khadre opened her eyes and said, “I can’t stay out here any more. I’m just getting in the way.”

  Kiv did not speak but looked at her expectantly.

  “Oh, everyone here has been very accommodating. They treat me well and listen respectfully. But I’m out of my league, Kiv.”

  “You are the one who discovered the vix. You are the founder of the whole movement.”

  “I’m also fifty-two years old. I’m not as sharp as I used to be.” She tapped her temple.

  Kiv did not answer. He knew the limitations of the antiagathic process as well as anyone else—his mother had been unusual to stave off early senescence for as long as she had. Her body might live another ten or twelve years, but her mind would slowly deteriorate despite science’s best efforts.

  “What do you think you might do?” Kiv asked. “You could teach marine biology at the university.”

  Khadre laughed. “If my mind is slowing down, the last place I should be is in front of a bunch of university students. No, Kiv, I’ll find something. Maybe I’ll become a spokeswoman. I’ll give talks in vix language.”

  Kiv nodded. “Sounds good.”

  “I’ll teach people how to speak vix.”

  Kiv started to laugh, but stopped when he saw she was serious. “How?”

  “I’m sure some bright young engineer can rig up some kind of device so we can reach their frequency. Not through a vixvox—through ordinary speech.”

  Kiv thought about it. “Maybe as a curiosity. I don’t see how we can ever really communicate with them. They are from a totally different world.”

  “So were we, once, and we got along. Look at what has happened with the Family and the Domers.”

  “Yes, let’s look at that,” Kiv said, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. It was all well and good for his mother to spout idealistic phraseology, but those same ideals had to be translated into action, and he was the man who had to maintain balance. “We have spent the last thirty-five years trying to integrate the Domers into society and helping them live outside. And at every step, they fight us. We strive to bring them into civilization and they thank us with demonstrations, graffiti, and near-riots.”

  “But look at where we have arrived. Family and Domers coexist peacefully and equally. The only way you can tell Domers apart from Family is the implant system, and that only under a scanner.”

  “What? Mother, you really have been out here too long. We don’t coexist peacefully, we barely tolerate each other. Or rather, we reach out to them, they respond with hate. And now you speak about reaching out to the vix?” He shook his head. “We have to integrate the Domers first, if we can. We have problems already without inventing more.”

  Khadre did not answer. She knew better than to try to debate with her son. He was a fine politician and had a keen mind, and even if his conclusions did not match her own, he nevertheless arrived at them through careful analysis and logic.

  “Kiv, you never really liked the sea, but you liked the beach. You remember?”

  “I still do. I just can’t get there often. Why…?”

  “You remind me of one of those big rocks at the shore.”

  Kiv did not speak but looked at his mother, puzzled.

  “Those rocks look like they are going to stand there forever. The tide washes over them, and when it’s gone, the rocks are still there. But each pass of the water wears a little bit off, until….”

  “I get it, Mother.” Kiv was irritated now. He did not like being lectured to, even in allegory.

  * * *

  Iede thought she was beyond awe, but when she entered Aywon’s personal quarters she found herself breathlessly excited. The wall opposite the entryway was a window, looking down on Epsilon Eridani. Iede’s eyelids fluttered as she fought off a faint. Her entire world, in all its glory, as viewed from the vantage point of a god! Aywon had to gently push her forward into the room in order to fully enter himself. Iede tore her eyes away from the window to take in the rest of his quarters. The room was quite small, but Aywon had made use of all three dimensions in such a way as to maximize space. His personal taste tended towards green, and Iede was suddenly struck with a faint pang of homesickness at the familiar color.

  “You’ll stay here with me, Iede.”

  “My Lord, I am not worthy. I do not wish to intrude upon You.”

  Aywon waved her objection away. “Don’t worry. You won’t be here long.”

  Iede nodded and felt shame that she had even entertained the thought that the arrangements might be permanent. No doubt a meaner dwelling space was being created for her even now.

  Aywon looked at her for a moment, then looked away. Iede thought she saw shame in his eyes for an instant, only to be replaced by resolve.

  “I suppose you have more questions about the ruins.”

  “My Lord, if You wish to speak to me about them, I would be honored to listen.” Iede lowered her head.

  Aywon sighed. “There’s not much to say. We discovered the ruins about a year ago—that’s about three-fifths of a local year—but have learned little. We’re in synchronous orbit,” he looked at Iede and must have read the blank stare on her face, for he added, “that means we stay above the same area on the planet below. We have a satellite network around the globe, of course, and we’ve been using the network to search for more ruins. We’ve found dozens of cities.”

  “My Lord, I asked You in the…room with the other gods if You knew who built them. Is it possible that You know but do not wish to say?”

  “No, Iede. We truly do not know.” A grin spread suddenly on his face. “You know, it is indescribably invigorating talking to you.”

  “My Lord?”

  “You’re curious. You want to know…well, everything.” His grin faded. “We lost that fire long ago. We’re content now to observe and study, but there’s no passion in us. I hope that you won’t become infected with the same malaise in your stay.” He looked at her for a long moment, then said brightly, “While you’re here, though, you may as well soak up as much as you can. Here.” He swam through the air to a wall panel and said, “Access mission log.” A holo menu appeared before him. “Access Costellan speech one.”

  Iede noted again Aywon’s implication that she would be leaving and could not help but feel a pang of regret. She was beginning to like this god—and not for His godliness, but for His…humanity.

  The holo projector came to life. A young man appeared in air, standing behind a podium. He was outside, but the sky had a curiously blue tint to it. The image was frozen—the man seemed about to speak.

  “This is Eduard Costellan,” Aywon said.

  Iede swallowed. “The Costellan? The same one who—”

  Aywon nodded gravely.

  Iede looked closely at the image. The man could not have been more than eighteen years old. “My Lord, when was this recording made?”

  “This is a recording of the launch crew’s speeches the day before the voyage. It was made two hundred and twenty-one years ago, Earth years. That’s roughly…one hundred and thirty-five years ago the way you count years. Of course,” he added reflectively, “we’re a little bit out of synch with Earth time due to the slight relativistic effects of the journey.”

  This meant nothing to Iede. She just stared at Costellan’s image hanging in space before her. Suddenly, the blue sky made sense to her. “This was recorded on Earth!”

  “Of course. Not in this format, of course—but we’ve adapted it to our systems now.”

  “‘Green air, wind, and sky/Not the blue of the old home/New beauty to see.’” Iede quoted. She c
ontinued to stare at Costellan. She had known, intellectually, that he was physiologically a man and as such must have had a youth as well as an old age, but her mental image of him was of an aged patriarch. She had to force herself to believe that the dashing youngster (younger than she was!) before her was the same man whom she had based a religion upon.

  “Would you like to hear his speech?”

  Iede turned to Aywon. “If my Lord thinks I am worthy.”

  Aywon opened his mouth but seemed to think better speaking. Iede saw annoyance in his jaw as he said to the wall panel, “Run.”

  Costellan immediately came to life and smiled at an invisible audience. He was dressed in a blue jumpsuit adorned with patches of all shapes and colors. Behind him, pennants and flags flew in a strong breeze, and Iede could even see a flock of birds in the distance.

  “Thank you, Madame President. Assembled guests, my crewmates have spoken at length about what the mission ahead means to them, so I will not belabor it. What I have to say has mostly been said already. I would like to make only a few points. Of my own.

  “Nineteen years ago, construction began on the vessel that hangs above us now, awaiting the order to unfurl her sails and get underway. I was eleven years old then. I did not dream that I would be standing here now, less than twenty-four hours before launch, addressing the world. Now that the moment has come, I still have trouble believing it.

  “Much has been made in the news of late that the two thousand people who have chosen to make the journey are somehow abandoning Earth and the System. I know that there have been some acrimonious things said in the Systemweb about us, and about me. I was told by numerous public relations experts to ignore the comments and make today’s speech idealistic, full of bright promise and hope. I could have done that, but I chose instead to answer the critics.

  “The Martian Confederacy was established forty years ago this year, and the last census places its population at just over one million people, with five thousand new immigrants every Earth year. Twenty years ago, the Europan colony was founded: current population, eighteen thousand. No fewer than eight orbiting habitats provide living space for over ten thousand Earth citizens. Are these examples of traitorous cowards fleeing an overworked Earth for more fertile pastures? Or are these colonies and habitats bold pioneering strides for the greater glory of the human race? Ask a Martian or a Europan. Better still, board a Systemship and go there yourself to see what these intrepid adventurers have carved out of native rock and ice.

  “Now we are prepared to make the next step. In one hundred years, humans will set foot on a planet outside their home solar system. But none of the people standing on this platform in front of you will do so.”

  Iede shivered slightly when Costellan said that. He had been right, but perhaps not in the way he had expected. Had he known, even then, what the future held for him? She shot a quick glance at Aywon at the wall panel. He was floating near the panel, eyes closed, his face completely at peace.

  Costellan spoke again. “I know the analogy has been made before, but I think it bears repeating. We are children of Earth who have grown and who must seek our fortunes elsewhere. But, like all children, we will never forget our mother. Thank you.” Costellan waved to acknowledge applause and the holo faded out.

  “He was a poor public speaker,” Aywon said, “and yet his words always affect me profoundly.”

  Iede nodded slightly. “Why, my Lord, was the journey undertaken?”

  Aywon smiled indulgently. “Your question has been asked countless times by children who are beginning their true education among us. The answer is in the form of a riddle. Would you like to hear it?”

  Iede nodded.

  “Why did the man climb the mountain?”

  Iede scowled. She felt that Aywon expected a deep, soulful answer from her, but she could not think of one. The only answers that came were somehow ugly in their pragmatism. “Because it was in his way?”

  Aywon smiled again. “No. But that answer would tell your examiner much about your personality. You would have been marked for possible engineering training based on that.”

  “Because he wanted to see the view from the top?”

  “Again, no. That answer would have possibly put you in line for the arts, or possibly the Groundseers themselves. Do you wish to hear the true answer? The answer Costellan himself gave when he was asked the same question just before his death?”

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  “The answer is: because it was there.”

  Iede nodded slowly. Aywon cocked his head and stared at her for a moment.

  “You don’t understand, do you?”

  Iede stopped nodding and licked her lips. “No, my Lord,”

  “That’s all right. The answer at first is disappointing, I know. In time, the answer satisfies.” He paused. “But there is a corollary to the riddle that no one seems to think of.”

  “My Lord?”

  “Why was the mountain there?”

  Iede blinked and thought for a moment. An answer had presented itself immediately, but she could not imagine it was the correct one. She did not think that she could so easily solve a god’s riddle.

  “You are about to say something,” Aywon said.

  “My Lord, I do not—”

  “Say it.”

  Iede took a breath and said, “So the man could climb it?”

  Aywon smiled. “That’s the answer. At least, as I see it. You’ve climbed a very tall mountain, Iede, as have your brothers and sisters planetside.”

  Iede did not answer immediately. Aywon was hiding something—that much was obvious. No doubt there were truths that she was not yet ready to accept. She would be patient.

  “My Lord?”

  Again, Aywon tried to conceal a look of disgust. “Yes?”

  “About the speech I heard. What kind of people set out on this journey?”

  She thought she saw worry crease Aywon’s features for an instant. He seemed to come to a decision, and his face cleared. “They were outcasts, Iede. Not quite criminals, for it was not yet illegal to hold such views as theirs, but pariahs, certainly.”

  “What views, My Lord?”

  “They were what used to be called socialists. They believed that every member of society had an unbreakable obligation to every other member of society.”

  Iede blinked in surprise. How else could a society be run? “And they were exiled because of that belief?”

  “Not quite. They were encouraged to volunteer for the mission.”

  Iede could not fathom a kind of civilization that would find such views as heretical. She made a feeble stab at envisioning a culture run on nonsocialist lines and could not. With a tiny shake of her head, she dismissed the almost-vision.

  “The people who left, my Lord…were they…?” she did not know how to complete the question.

  Aywon sighed. “We have records on every one of the original launch crew and the colonists. Would you like to see them?”

  Iede’s eyes went wide. “I am…allowed?”

  “No, not really. But I won’t tell anyone if you won’t.” He smiled indulgently.

  “No, my Lord.”

  “There is one condition I must insist upon, though.”

  Iede thrust her face forward a bit, anxious to accept whatever Aywon said. “Yes, my Lord?”

  “You must stop calling me ‘my Lord.’ Or anything else like it.”

  “My Lord, I—”

  “Ah!” Aywon thrust his hand out, palm up, and waggled it about. “No more. I am Groundseer Aywon. You can call me Aywon in private, though in public I’d prefer Groundseer.”

  “I do not wish to show disrespect, my….” Iede caught herself.

  “There’s a difference between respect and reverence, Iede. Besides, what have I done to earn your respect?”

  “You saved my life.”

  The statement did not have the effect Iede imagined it would. Aywon seemed to deflate visibly. “True. But what more could
we have done? So much…so much.” His eyes were far away for a moment, then he snapped them back to Iede. “Let me get the records on Ship for you. I have some things to attend to. You will remain here in my quarters until I return.”

  Aywon showed her how to use the holo viewer and how to advance to the next file. “I will be back before you should need to eat or drink. If you find the need to eliminate, I’m afraid I will have to ask you to hold it. We have strict recycling protocols here, and I haven’t the time to show you how to use the nearest reclaimer. I’ll be back soon, though.”

  Aywon left the small room. Iede looked at the door for a moment after he was gone, then turned her attention to the holo records. She had much to study.

  Chapter 23

  “How many times do you want me to say it, Foz? You were right.” Sirra buried her face in her hands for a moment, then looked at the young linguist. “I’m sorry. I’m still a little….”

  “Sure,” Fozzoli said, then looked back at the holo display between them. It was a complicated mass of symbols, lines, and arcane markings intended to decipher the new data about the vix’ language. Fozzoli studied the holo for a few moments, but his posture indicated he wasn’t really looking at it. Sirra realized she was being childish.

  “All right,” she said, tearing her mind away from the near-death experience she had had six hours ago and focusing on the problem before her. “What have you got for me?”

  “Here,” Fozzoli said, indicating a particular line in the holo. “We used to think that this frequency was used to express awe and reverence, since it was the one we saw most often in vix utterances referring to us. But your experience, along with some other clues, makes me think it’s something else.”

  “You’re still on that, eh? What other clues?”

  Fozzoli smiled sheepishly. “Well, we’ve seen this frequency most often when the vix refer to…uh, excrement.”

  “Shit?”

  “Yeah. I’ve also seen it in references to unusual sexual practices. They seem to have a strong incest taboo.”

  Sirra considered this. “You say you saw the same frequency when the vix referred to me?”