The Far Side

by Wylie, Gina Marie

  “Start action against him for violating his NDA. Evidently it’s moot against Foster, but make sure that his heirs or assigns get absolutely no profit from this.”

  Jack nodded. “I will, Oliver. Now, we all need to see medical personnel. Trust me on this -- every scratch, every bruise is going to cost someone in this. Shucks, if I’m as good as I think I am, every cross word is going to cost people!”

  Chapter 14 :: Let’s Take a Meeting

  Andie shook Kris awake as the sky began to brighten in the east. For the last few days they’d made a morning ritual of watching the sunrise. The big moon in the sky overhead made the world seem claustrophobic, a continual looming presence, although now they could make out detail on the surface, that they couldn’t when the moon first rose at sunset.

  Nearly all of half of the planet facing them was visible, and for both of them it was a truly remarkable sight. “This has to be something like what the shuttle astronauts see,” Andie told her as they oohed and ahhed at the view.

  Kris was more phlegmatic. “It’s blocking off most of the sky, making for a bizarre day. We have a few hours of dawn, then six hours of darkness during the eclipse, then twenty minutes of sunset. Another day and dawn is going to be coming very late in the day. I wonder how they adapt to it here?”

  “I don’t know,” Andie replied. “They seem to be able to sleep longer than we can, so maybe they just sleep more. No wonder they’re so primitive -- they spend maybe eight hours a day awake, on average. Most people on Earth get twice that many waking hours -- and their days are shorter on top of that.

  “And if you think these people have it bad -- we know there is at least one large city on that planet,” she waved at the orb in the sky. “Those people have some really strange hours.”

  Ezra joined them. “We need to talk about how we’re going to deal with the situation.”

  “I thought the plan was to stay loose, cross our fingers and pray hard,” Andie said bitterly.

  “Yeah, that was the original plan, but then along came the Tengri. Last night I spent a lot of time with Melek and Collum. They asked me a question I didn’t know the answer to -- and I don’t think they expected I would. They were really asking the question of you, Andie.”

  “What’s their fucking question?”

  “Well it’s like a lot of things here: fucking complicated.

  “We’ve talked before about how they had to leave their homeland. They were a little more forthcoming about things now. Andie, their ancestors sailed into the blind unknown when they came west. They had literally no idea what was out here.

  “From the sounds of it, they were a bit further south than where we are now, but not as far south as their watch post. Melek says they had a fair wind at their back most of the time. As near as I can tell, their ships sailed about a hundred miles a day.”

  “Twenty hour days, right?” Andie asked.

  “Yes. Andie -- they raised land on the ninety-third day of their voyage.”

  “They came nine thousand miles? In a fucking rubber duckie?” Andie was stunned.

  “Well, they were the best ships they had. And most of them never made it. Most of their people vanished on that voyage, never to be seen again.”

  Andie shook her head in wonder. “That’s -- a long ways. A very long ways.”

  “Yeah, well, he says they’ve explored about two thousand miles west of here on this continent and haven’t found any people -- or another ocean. They didn’t know how wide their original continent was either. They think the Tengri came from the southeast of their home continent, but they weren’t sure. Anything more than about two thousand miles away was terra incognita: barbarian tribesmen, dangerous animals -- every danger under the sun that you can imagine.

  “Put it all together, and we’ve got probably four thousand miles of landmass on that continent to east, and nine thousand miles of ocean, more or less to get there, then at least three thousand miles here, and another ocean of unknown size beyond that. I’m thinking the circumference of the planet is like maybe forty thousand miles.”

  Andie whistled and Kris echoed that. Andie looked around and then asked, “That’s a lot of territory. Still -- what’s the question?”

  “Melek and Collum are Chain Breakers. Their ancestors vowed to return to free the ones they left behind. But, there are nine thousand reasons why that hasn’t worked.”

  “Yeah, we heard that before. A ship big enough to carry enough food and water is pushed backwards by the wind. Anything light enough to row can’t carry enough supplies.”

  “Exactly. I don’t know how a ship can sail against the wind. I shit you not, if you can do that, we’re safer than safe -- we instantly go to ‘national treasure.’

  “In the past, only a couple of times have ships been blown here from the east. Usually the crews were dead or insane -- there was never a problem killing them. Now there are maybe a hundred survivors of a much larger ship, including slaves. That’s a whole different kettle of fish.

  “Chaba and those slaves are going to remind Collum, Melek and the others of the oath that their ancestors took. They’ve had their own problems, make no doubt about it, but no one has been serious about trying to return east for centuries. You don’t need to be a genius to understand that in another couple of generations those oaths would have been swept under the rug, permanently. Now, though, it’s not likely. Now there’s every possibility that they are going to try to go back.

  “And a ship that can sail against the wind would really help...” Ezra concluded.

  “Well, I can build a small sailboat easily enough,” Andie told him. “But I’m telling you now, that that’s just going to get their hopes up -- objective reality is that you’d need something better than wind to do it.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, tacking into the wind is possible, but with most classic designs, your average velocity is lower than it would be running before the wind. Not hugely lower, but still, they might only be able to manage fifty or sixty miles a day. Packing six months of food in a ship is tough. Six months of water? You’d have a submarine, not a ship.”

  “That doesn’t sound very hopeful. I thought the Pacific Islanders sailed really long distances.”

  “Well, they did... but there is no way to tell how many thousands of them died in the attempts. Also, they cheated by using multi-hulls.”

  “Multi-hull is like a catamaran?”

  “Exactly,” Andie told him. “They can sail against the wind better, and they really fly if you’ve got the wind coming from behind you. You can crank two or three times the wind speed.”

  “Pardon? How can that be?”

  “Well, the fact is that a properly designed triangular sail makes its own wind.”

  Andie pursed her lips. “Those steady winds sound like trade winds. Do you know about trade winds?”

  “They mainly blow in one direction?”

  “Right. They occur on Earth from about ten degrees north of the equator to thirty degrees north and from ten degrees south to thirty degrees south of the equator. The trades south of the equator blow the other way, I might add. Back in the day, ships would go out of their way to catch the easterly or westerly trades -- even if they had to go miles out of their way, it was a lot faster than tacking back and forth into the wind.

  “But while that might be a good idea on Earth where a degree is seventy miles, here going south thirty degrees is going to be a big deal. Here, if the planet does have a circumference of forty thousand miles, a degree of longitude here is more than a hundred and ten miles.

  “And, don’t forget those twenty degrees between the trade wind belts have their own name -- ‘the Doldrums.’ Guess why they have that name?” Andie concluded.

  “Bummer,” Ezra said. “I don’t know if we should be falsely optimistic or just tell the truth.”

  Kris spoke quickly. “Ezra, if we lie to them about something important, why would they ever trust us again?”

  “I was th
inking we could tell them Andie could build a sailing ship that can sail against the wind. That’s not a lie.”

  “Yes it is, if you know it can’t be scaled up,” Kris told him.

  “Ezra, we have to tell the truth. Yes, it took a couple of hundred years of research to go from square-rigged sailing ships to schooners that could sail across the Pacific in a few weeks and made sailing around the world in eighty days something less than a pipe dream,” Kris told him.

  “And, Ezra, there are other ways. It took a hundred years to go from steam-power paddle wheels to screw-driven ironclads. Ask if they have black rocks that burn -- coal by another name. If they do, ask if it’s soft or hard. Another fifty years after that, and we were building aircraft carriers, Ezra,” Andie chimed in.

  Andie tapped her forehead. “Up here, I know enough to jump them a hundred years ahead of long bows, virtually overnight. Gunpowder, gun cotton, explosives... you name it. Kill me and they kill the proverbial golden goose who lays technological eggs.”

  Kris couldn’t stand it. “What about Captain Kirk’s Prime Directive?”

  Ezra laughed. “Surely you know what Kirk would do in a situation like this? Find someone to...” He shook his head ruefully. “Sorry, I get a little carried away. Honestly, Kris, I have no idea what the best thing to do is. Ditto for you, Andie.

  “I’d say from what I’ve seen, Melek and his people are about where the Roman Empire was at Zero BC, with the exception of the long bows. We’re talking two thousand years of technology -- that isn’t something three people can put much of a dent in, no matter how hard they try.

  “I think, though, that if it looks like we’re here permanently, we’re going to have to teach them all we can,” Ezra said soberly. “But the real bitch will be if the cavalry rides to the rescue -- particularly if the cavalry comes in the next few days.

  “We’re going to have to be very careful,” Ezra concluded.

  “We should tell Melek the truth,” Kris replied, knowing she was sounding stubborn. That was okay, because she was stubborn. “As for that Prime Directive, Andie, you’ve watched enough Star Gate. SG-1 would tell a primitive culture ‘Sorry, we can’t trade weapons technology with you’ but every time they met an advanced culture they would say, ‘We’re peaceful explorers! We’d like to trade for your weapons technology.’”

  Andie made a face and cautioned, “And just how are you going to tell Melek where we came from and how we got here? We don’t even know if we’re in the same galaxy, Kris! We could be in some alternate universe. How can we be honest when we don’t know the answer ourselves?”

  “I don’t know,” Kris replied. “I do know if we lie to them and they figure it out...”

  Ezra chuckled. “The problem is that Andie is a purist. Me, I’m a pragmatist. No matter how you cut it, Andie, that Far Side Door makes space here close to space back home. Use the folded piece of paper metaphor, and somehow I’ll try to explain to him that we have no idea how far we came. It’s conceptually true, which should keep Kris happy.”

  “The folded paper metaphor?” Andie asked, momentarily drawing a blank.

  Kris rushed to answer before Ezra could, enjoying the moment. “Take a piece of paper and draw dots on it at opposite ends, and then draw a line between the dots. That’s the distance from A to B. Then fold the paper and put the dots in contact. The distance has decreased dramatically.”

  Andie was dubious. “I don’t think that’s at all like what’s happening.”

  “But it’s conceptually true, right?” Ezra asked.

  “Well, sort of. I’m still holding out for a wormhole.”

  The three laughed easily, the earlier tension gone.

  Melek and Collum appeared while the rest of the camp was starting to stir. “Anything?” Melek asked Ezra, who translated for the girls.

  “Nothing. We talk about things, between us.”

  For an hour they spent trying to get the idea that they had arrived in the rookery across to Melek. At least the paper metaphor helped there.

  In the distance they could see a party of a half dozen men moving down the road, coming over a small hill about six miles away. A few minutes later, more people were visible, then wagons and then more people.

  “A hundred,” Ezra told Kris, “give or take a few.”

  Kris kicked her backpack. “I figure we have twice as much food as we need to get back to the rookery.”

  “And they’re going to be just behind us,” Ezra reminded her.

  Melek pointed, showing considerable excitement. Kris understood, even if she felt cold inside as he pointed at the newcomers, showing considerable animation. Sure, he was now assured of personal survival. What about Andie and Ezra?

  Speaking of Ezra... “Ezra, you have about five minutes to convince Melek of the value of Andie’s knowledge of ships.”

  “Weapons, too!” Andie reminded them.

  Ezra said a lot of words while Melek watched him carefully. Andie nudged Kris. “I get the distinct impression he’s waiting for us to fold.”

  “Yeah. Ezra -- it has to be quid pro quo.”

  “Yeah, if they think they’re going to get jack from torturing anyone,” Andie piped up, “one day they will think the sun is rising early -- because I’ll blow the fuckers up.”

  * * *

  Melek could hardly contain himself. He was sure it was Captain Dumi coming. The men marched in good order, and the formation was tight and well-disciplined. Seros wasn’t capable of that sort of discipline.

  He listened to Ezra with half an ear at first. Then he realized what Ezra was trying to say. Collum had come and was standing close by as well.

  Melek knew that this was the most critical thing he’d ever done in his life. How could he convey to Ezra and those he protected that very shortly this was all going to be out of his hands? Ezra was telling him of one thing after another that could be theirs if they treated them fairly. It made Melek sick that he couldn’t assure the man that they’d be treated fairly.

  Helpless, he turned to Collum. “Sachem, he seeks assurance.”

  “And you can’t promise it, can you?” Collum said gently.

  “No, Sachem.”

  “Well, it will not make your task easier to know that in something like this I’d like to tell you that I know my brother’s mind and that all was well. Except I don’t know his mind -- nor do I know General Flaner’s mind, either. Once he was my brother’s tutor and there is a strong bond between them. General Flaner was always easily swayed by flatterers and charlatans.”

  Melek closed his eyes. “I can’t deliver these three to Flaner without assurances.”

  Collum laughed bitterly. “Assurances that he would violate in a moment if he thought it necessary. Tell me, Melek, who are these three?”

  “They say they are strangers from a very distant place who traveled here. They say it is further, even, than Big Moon. I don’t know how to credit what they say.”

  “You need to be more observant, Melek,” Collum told him.

  “Sachem?”

  “More than once they’ve had discussions among themselves. I’m as sure as I can be those discussions are about what to tell us -- as we keep talking about what to tell them.”

  “I imagine so, Sachem.”

  “Kris, Melek, shakes her head when she listens to Andie’s ideas of what to say, and often about what Ezra says as well. She was, I’m certain, the one who made sure that we knew of their weapons.”

  “Even now they haven’t been very forthcoming about the weapons that she and Andie carry,” Melek told the Sachem.

  “We know she killed the Tengri. We know it was with a weapon like Ezra’s. That alone, Melek, speaks volumes about what sort of a person she is. Clearly, Ezra is her guard. Clearly, he has to do things that take him away from her, as it did then. She did what she had to do. I spent some time trying to understand what emotions she felt afterwards.”

  “Sachem? She looked -- victorious.”

  Collum laughe
d. “She looked like any man would, after his first kill. Relieved, pleased, scared, upset that something like that was necessary. And Ezra? If you were the guard to the King’s daughter? How would you react if you were far away when she had to defend herself?”

  “I would be ashamed, Sachem.”

  “Perhaps. Or perhaps you would be intelligent enough to know that you’d done your duty in full earlier, teaching her how to defend herself. Ezra had to be with us, don’t you see? He never leaves the two women unless he must, but when he must, he doesn’t look back.

  “He was pleased, Melek. His student did what she’d been taught. What teacher isn’t pleased at that? None of us is but mortal, Melek. We can’t always be there for our students -- and now and then, no matter how much we wish otherwise, those we teach will have to prove what they’ve learned. Kris did so.”

  Melek groaned with frustration. “I can’t do this, Collum. I can’t be responsible for this.”

  Collum patted Melek on his shoulder. “Sergeant, think about one thing. Ezra isn’t stupid. Think on another thing: Kris isn’t stupid. And contemplate Andie: she is, I think, the smartest of all of us. They know and understand the risks. They trust us to do our best -- and so we shall. That said, they have tried to reserve knowledge of their weapons as much as possible. They don’t talk about them; they don’t wave or display them as a proud bowman would. They go about what they do quietly, without bragging or posturing. In a word, Sergeant, describe what that is?”

  “Confidence, Sachem.”

  “Exactly.” Collum turned his eye on the distant column. “Send Cellon down to the column and tell them where we are.”

  “Yes, Sachem.”

  Melek did that and turned back to Collum. “It is done, Sachem!”

  “Now, I have a request for you that you need to be sure that you understand. I want you and me to spar, hand-to-hand. Convey to Ezra what we are going to do. Then, after we spar, ask Ezra to spar with me.”

  “Sachem...” Melek felt dizzy. The Sachem was older, slower, except for running, and then he was as strong as or stronger than any man. It would not be good.