World of Tiers 04 - Behind the Walls of Terra

by Farmer, Phillip Jose

  In the east, or what was the east in the world they'd just left, a massive red body appeared over the hills. It rose swiftly and revealed itself as a body about four times the size of the Earth's moon. It was not round but oblong with several blobby tentacles extending out from it. Kickaha thought that it was changing shape slightly.

  He felt the earth under him tilting. His head was getting lower than his feet. And the edge of the high hills in the distance was sagging.

  Kickaha sat up. The pains seemed to be slightly attenuated. Perhaps it was because the pull of gravity was so much reduced. He said, "This is a one-way gate, of course, Urthona?"

  "Of course," Urthona said. "Otherwise I would have taken the Horn and reopened the gate."

  "And where is the nearest gate out of this world?"

  "There's no harm in telling you," Urthona said. "Especially since you won't know any more than you do now when I tell you. The only gate out is in my palace, which is somewhere on the surface of this mass. Or perhaps on that," he added, pointing at the reddish metamor-phosing body in the sky. "This planet splits up and changes shape and recombines and splits off again. The only analogy I can think of is a lavalite. This is a lavalite world."

  Red Orc went into action then. His leap was prodigious and he almost went over Urthona's head. But he rammed into him and both went cartwheeling. The beamer, knocked out of Urthona's hands by the impact, flew off to one side. Anana dived after it, got it, and landed so awkwardly and heavily that Kickaha feared for her. She rose somewhat shakily but grinning. Urthona walked back to them; Red Orc crawled. "Now, Uncles," she said, "I could shoot you and perhaps I should. But I need someone to carry Kickaha, so you two will do it. You should be thankful that the lesser gravity will make the task easier. And I need you, Urthona, because you know something of this world. You should, since you designed it and made it. You two will make a stretcher for Kickaha, and then we'll start out."

  "Start out where?" growled Urthona. "There's no place to go to. Nothing is fixed here. Can't you understand that?"

  "If we have to search every inch of this world, we'll do it," she said. "Now get to work!"

  "Just one moment," Kickaha said. "What did you do with Wolff and Chryseis?"

  "I gated them through to this world. They are somewhere on its surface. Or on that mass. Or perhaps another mass we haven't seen yet. I thought that it would be the worst thing I could do to them. And, of course, they do have some chance of finding my palace. Although. . . ."

  "Although even if they do, they'll run into some traps?" Kickaha said.

  "There are other things on this world . . ."

  "Big predators? Hostile human beings?"

  Urthona nodded and said, "Yes. We'll need the beamer. I hope its charge lasts. And . . ."

  Kickaha said, "Don't leave us in suspense."

  "I hope that we don't take too long finding my palace. If you're not a native, you're driven crazy by this world!"