Between the Strokes of Night

by Charles Sheffield

  And now, watching her eyes creep open, they all felt a renewed and ridiculous sense of urgency. Logic said that another day or two of their thought and discussion would pass unnoticed to Rinker and the others in S-space, but the sense of haste went beyond logic. That feeling dimmed a little as they moved back to the computer chamber, and found the control settings and service robots exactly as they had left them.

  “So what do you think?” said Peron abruptly, as they settled down in a close circle by the gently flickering displays of the main computer console. “I believe her,” said Rosanne at once.

  “I don’t,” Sy added promptly. “She was lying to us.”

  “Lum?”

  “Some of each.” Lum massaged his full cheeks with one hand, and furrowed his brow. “Mostly I believe her. She kept pretty close to the truth, but I think she exercised selective memory. She left some things out.”

  “She sure did.” Sy’s thin face wore a scowl. “Things she didn’t tell us. I could list ten of them. What happens if we reject their suggestion? Who makes the rules that decide what we ought to know, and when? What’s supposed to happen if a Planetfest winner doesn’t swallow the party line? Where do they go? One thing’s for sure, they don’t go back home to Pentecost. I wonder if they have convenient ‘accidents’ in the Cass system — we know there’s ample scope for that around the Fifty Worlds.”

  “We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” said Lum. He wriggled uncomfortably inside his jacket, a brown garment too tight in the chest and short in the sleeves. “Let’s take Ferranti’s story one piece at a time, and see what we agree on. Anything?”

  “I thought her history lesson sounded genuine,” volunteered Elissa. “So did I,” said Peron.

  “More to the point,” said Lum, “I can’t see what advantage she would gain by lying. And I believe her when she says that we are now on our way to their headquarters. But some of her other statements struck me as false. For one thing, I don’t really believe that we’re a danger to the ship and to ourselves, just because we’re strangers here and in normal space. We didn’t get through the Planetfest trials without learning caution. We know how to be careful, and we look before we leap. I think she said we were in danger because they want us in S-space, where they can keep an eye on us. They want to be in control. Well, we can’t afford that. Sy, how’s the reprogramming going for the service robots?” “Done. They’ll obey our voice commands now. But Kallen and I have a question. Do we want it so the computer will activate the service robots in response to our voices, and no one else’s? Or should we leave it working for Ferranti and the others, too?”

  “Must it be one or the other?” said Lum. “Couldn’t you set a trigger, so that we can cut people out if we choose to, based on our voice command? Then we’d be quite safe.”

  Sy raised his eyebrows inquiringly at Kallen, who pursed his lips and massaged his scarred throat.

  “Think so,” he said after a moment. “I’ll try it.”

  “All right.” Lum nodded. “Before you do that, let’s think a bit more about what we were told by Ferranti. What about their headquarters? According to her, it’s about a light-year away from Pentecost. But why put it there? If the rest of her story is true, there are fewer colonies near the Cass system than anywhere else. It would make more sense to locate Immortal Headquarters near Tau Ceti, or some other star with more habitable planets.”

  “I can answer that,” said Peron. “When I was first awakened, Ferranti referred to Sector Headquarters. That means there ought to be others, in other systems. Remember, according to Ferranti all the colonies are twenty light-years or less away from Sol. For S-space travel, that’s only at most a five-week trip. I’ll bet there are several Sector Headquarters, one near each stellar system that was colonized.”

  “So where is General Headquarters?” asked Elissa. “Is there one?” “I’ll bet there is,” said Lum. “Even the Immortals would need some sort of overall organization of resources. And didn’t you get the feeling that at the headquarters we are headed for most of the rules are followed, not made?” “So where is the central one?” repeated Elissa. “Where’s main headquarters?” Lum put his hands up to his head and rubbed at his thick shock of mousy-brown hair. “Lord knows. We have to rethink everything, if travel to the stars is so easy for them. Headquarters could be a hundred light-years away from here. That’s only six months trip in S-space. But it wouldn’t make much sense. Even in S-space, it would be hard to manage an organization where messages take weeks to get around the system.”

  “You’re making it hard,” said Sy softly. “Think simple.”

  “You mean Sector Headquarters is the only one?”

  “No. Think Sol.”

  The others looked at him, then at each other.

  “He’s right, as usual,” said Peron. “All the ships started from Earth. It was the center of the sphere of expansion, so it’s still the natural hub for coordinating colonies and sector headquarters. Main Headquarters ought to be Earth.”

  There was another silence.

  “Earth!” said Rosanne at last. Her voice was hushed, and the word came from her lips like a benediction. “If General Headquarters is back on Earth, maybe we can go there…”

  “Not actually on Earth,” said Lum. “We know you can’t go down to a planet’s surface if you live in S-space.”

  Kallen was shaking his head. “No. Can’t live on planet. We could visit.” He looked greatly excited.

  “He’s quite right, you know,” said Sy. “We all agree that anyone in S-space wouldn’t be able to keep their balance in anything more than a micro-gravity field. But perception and physical tolerance are nothing to do with each other. Your body could stand gravity all right. You’d have to be supported and restrained, but you could visit the surface of Earth — or of Pentecost — living in S-space.”

  “That would be enough,” said Rosanne suddenly. “Even a short visit, in S-space or in normal space. I want to go to Earth, see where everything began. We’ve talked about it and thought about it so much. Can you imagine flying down through the atmosphere, and walking on Earth’s surface?”

  “Steady on,” said Peron. “Don’t get carried away. Sol is eighteen light-years from here. I know that’s only a few weeks travel in S-space, but it’s nearly two centuries back on Pentecost. Everyone we know there would be long dead before we even reached Earth, let alone came back to Cass.”

  Rosanne shrugged. “I can’t speak for you, but I already said goodbye to all my best friends. It’s curious, but I think we were set up for it. We said our farewells before we lifted off from Pentecost. Remember, they encouraged us to do it, and we thought it was in case we died in the off-planet trials? But it makes sense. If winners go through indoctrination and move to S-space, they would outlive all their contemporaries on Pentecost in just a few S-space weeks. Do you realize that the people we left back home have already aged five years since we last saw them?”

  “I’ve been thinking of that,” said Lum. “I’m not like you, Rosanne, I really miss some of the friends I left — and I’d like to see them again sometime. That’s something else we ought to be worrying about. We’ve been dealing with Olivia Ferranti on the ‘united we stand’ basis, as though we all have identical objectives and want the same things. But we don’t. I know you all well enough to be sure that’s not true. We should get our personal preferences out on the table, so we’ll know what we’re bargaining for with the Immortals.” “But what are our options?” said Elissa. “We can go to Headquarters, I suppose, and live in S-space there. Or we could return to Cass and live on The Ship, and work with the government of Pentecost. But I’m sure they won’t let us go back down to the surface of Pentecost, and live the way we used to do, even if we want to. We know too much. Maybe they’d let us go to one of the other colonies. Or maybe we can go to Earth.”

  “That’s why I’d like to know what we want,” said Lum. “We each have our own desires and priorities — but what are they?”
/>
  “Why don’t you start?” said Rosanne. “It’s your question, and it gives the rest of us more time to think.”

  “Fair enough.” Lum took a deep breath. “I’ve known what I want ever since the moment when I found out there are other planets and colonies, and a way to reach them in a reasonable time. Ferranti mentioned at least seven inhabited planets, and I’ll bet there are more. I want to move to S-space, and see everything. I’d like to visit every planet, and every arcology, and every headquarters. If I could do it, I’d like to see every planet in the Galaxy — even if most of them prove to be like Glug.”

  Rosanne nodded. “I don’t know if that’s all possible, but at least you’re voting for a move to S-space — otherwise you’d be dead long before you reached your first colony. Sy? What about you?”

  “Wandering around forever isn’t for me.” Sy was smiling, but there was something in his look that suggested his disdain for Lum’s travel plans. “I want to visit Immortal Headquarters — whichever one is the most appropriate, wherever their science is farthest developed. What we learned on Pentecost is probably generations out of date. After that, I’d like to visit the galactic center.” “That’s thirty thousand light-years!” said Peron.

  “Sure it is. I don’t mind. If I have to go back to cold sleep for a while to get there, I’ll do it. The rest of us have all been under once, and it wasn’t a bad experience.”

  Rosanne was staring at him and shaking her head. “Sy, I worked with you on the Planetfest trials, and I know you’re pretty much all right — but you’re certainly weird. The galactic center!”

  He grinned back at her. “So? Let’s hear from somebody normal, then. Where do you want to go?”

  “Well…” She hesitated. “I like the Cass system, and I liked Pentecost. But I agree with Elissa, they wouldn’t let us go back there for a long time. So forget that. I’d certainly like to see Earth — who wouldn’t? Apart from that I suppose I’m a lot like Lum. I want to see lots of other places, wander around the colonies and the habitable planets, see what’s there…”

  Elissa winked at Peron. I told you so, said her look. I win that bet. Rosanne’s a lot more interested in Lum than she’ll ever admit.

  “What about you, Peron?” she said loudly.

  Peron looked as perplexed as he felt. “I’m not at all sure, and I just wish I knew. I want it all — to be back home on Pentecost, to travel, and to take a really close look at the Immortals.”

  “You’re not much help!”

  “I know. I suppose the best answer is that I can’t say for the long term. But for the moment I want to know more about S-space, and the only way to do that is to move there for a while. Olivia Ferranti makes me feel like a child in the cradle. She didn’t exactly say it, but she must think we’re upstart babies. When I think of all that she has seen and done, and the things she told us about…”

  “Not to mention all the things she has seen and done, and not told us about,” said Sy drily. “Kallen, it’s your turn.”

  The tall youth nodded. He stood silent for a while, as though organizing his words.

  “Rosanne told Sy he was strange,” he said at last. He smiled shyly. “I am afraid that she will judge me even more so.” He cleared his throat, and spoke louder than any of them had heard before. “Back on Pentecost, I lay awake at night with my own dreams. I wondered what we are, as a species, and what in time we might become. It has always seemed to me that humans are best regarded as a transitional stage, something between animals and what may come after. I speculated. What will that next phase be? The question always seemed an unanswerable one; but no longer. I want to see the future — the far future. And like Sy, I will be happy to return to cold sleep in order to accomplish that.” He smiled again. “After I have had a good look at S-space, but not before.” “I always told the others you were the dreamer,” said Elissa. “The far future? You’re worse than Sy. Let’s see, what conclusions do we have? We’re quite a mixed bag. We’ve got two votes for the colonies, and for taking the grand tour; one for science and the galactic center; one for the future; and one who’s not sure just what he wants. What else? We all think we’re not getting the whole story, and that Olivia Ferranti knows things about S-space life that she hasn’t told us. Nobody relishes the notion of spending a long time at local Headquarters, but we know we’ll have to start there. And I gather we’re all itching to take a trip to Earth if we can find a way to do it. That’s my summary. Anything missing?”

  “At least one thing,” said Peron. “There’s still one person we’ve not heard from. What about you, Elissa — what do you want to do?”

  She gave him a peculiar stare. “You mean, where will I go? Peron, you’re a bone-headed idiot and a blind tardy. Are you trying to embarrass me?” To Peron’s surprise there was a burst of laughter and incoherent comments from the other four.

  “You name it, Peron!” said Lum.

  “Name it. Name what?”

  “Anything you like.”

  “Lum’s right,” said Elissa. She moved across to Peron and hugged him, while the others cheered.

  “You name it.” She ran her knuckles along his ribs. “Shake me loose — if you can. I’m going where you’re going, and it would be kind of nice if you’d make up your mind and tell me where that is. But you don’t have to do it now, because it looks like we all agree on the next step. We go to S-space, then to Earth. Think it’s feasible?”

  “We’ll have to do some arm-twisting,” said Lum. “But we have an awful lot of power so long as one of us is here in normal space. Do you realize that a tiny boost from the engines of this ship, one we wouldn’t notice, would make it impossible for anyone in S-space to stand up? You can bet that they all know it — they must be wondering what we might do next.”

  “So let’s tell them we’re ready for the next round of bargaining,” said Peron. “And let’s insist that it be done here, not in S-space. That’s going to make any of them uncomfortable, and eager to get back to their usual environment. Agreed?”

  The others nodded.

  “I can hardly wait to see S-space,” added Rosanne. “I hope that Kallen and Sy changed the control program correctly. I like the idea of all my wishes being granted.

  “Or at least.” She did not look at Lum. “Most of them.”

  PART THREE:

  THE PATH TO GULF CITY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Peron was drowsing when the alert sounded. For a couple of minutes he struggled against awakening, trying to merge the soft, blurred tones into the fabric of his dreams.

  roomb… roomb… roomb… roomb…

  He had been back on Pentecost, back when the idea of competition in the Planetfest had itself been like a dream. Twelve years old; the first tests, part of the State-wide evaluation of every adolescent. The blindfold maze was presented to them as no more than a game, something that they could all enjoy. He had scrupulously obeyed the rules, mapping his path by ears alone, following the soft, purring will-o’-the-wisp tone of the muted bell.

  It was seven more years before he understood the hidden purpose of the maze test. Sense of direction, yes. But more than that. Memory, courage, honesty, and a willingness to cooperate with other competitors when single talents could not provide a solution. It was direct preparation for Planetfest, though no one ever admitted it.

  So how was Sy performing in the maze? That was a mystery. Sy was a loner. He didn’t seek partners, even when the task looked impossible for a solo performer. Peron, hauled back to full consciousness, realized that he had been confusing past and present. Sy was here, now, on the ship. When Peron took the maze test, he had never heard of Sy.

  But it was still a good question. How had Sy found his way through the preliminaries for Planetfest? That was a puzzle to be filed away and addressed later. Meanwhile, that insistent tone was continuing, summoning Peron to action.… roomb… roomb… roomb.

  He sighed. So much for sleep. He had been trying to push the S-space sle
ep requirement down to its lower limit, to less than one hour in twenty-four. But he had been overdoing it. He stood up unsteadily, noticing that Elissa had already left their living quarters, and made his way to the central control chamber.

  Olivia Ferranti was already there, gazing out of the port. Elissa and Sy were at her side, staring out into the formless sea of milky-white that sat outside the ship in S-space.

  Except that it was no longer formless. Dark, complex shapes were there, drifting past the window. Peron saw a tracery of wispy rectangles, joined by braided lines of silver. Attendant on them, although not connected to them, were veined doublet wings like giant sycamore seeds.

  Olivia Ferranti acknowledged Peron’s arrival with no more than a brief nod. “Remember what I told you when we were heading for Sector Headquarters?” she said. “I’m not sure you believed me. There’s one of the reasons why Rinker didn’t want you messing with his ship. Look at the power drain.”

  On the main console, every readout showed energy consumption up near the danger level. Peron glanced at the indicators for only a moment, then his attention was irresistibly drawn back to the shapes outside the port.

  “What are they?” he said. “Are they taking our power?”

  Olivia Ferranti was keying in a signal to the communications module. “They certainly are,” she said. “That lattice shape is a Gossamere — one of the surprises of interstellar space. You’ll never find one within a light-year of a star. The strangest thing about them is that they’re quite invisible in ordinary space, but so easy to see here in S-space.” She indicated the screen to the left of the port where a frequency-shifted image was displayed, allowing them to see outside the ship at the wavelengths of normal visible radiation. It showed only the star field of deep space. Sol was the nearest star now, nearly three light-years ahead and no more than a faint point of light.