by Tim Dennis
"I'm supposed to be giving you a tour of the planet." Myles looked at Legong, as much to orient himself as to avoid the Earthman's expectant stare. "There's not much to see from this altitude, we can drop into the atmosphere wherever."
In an instant the two men and their chairs shot across open space and entered the atmosphere. Myles grabbed at the bar across his lap and yes, it was only an image.
"Shit! Don't do that!" He exclaimed.
"I'm sorry Myles, but I didn't do it."
"What?"
"The ship was simply following your wishes."
The back half of the room re-appeared as a very solid-looking sheet of metal wrapping around the sides of the chairs, joined in front by a framework of bars. Myles let his hand brush against the shroud behind him and felt the wall of the pilothouse. He slid his hand up, above the point where the visible structure gave way to cloudless blue sky.
"Did it do that for me too?" Myles asked.
"No. I chose that. You're quite anxious." The Earth-man waited for Myles's response. There was none. "The Director told me of the flooded atoll. This place is your home?"
"Caldera? Yeah. I grew up there."
The Earthman swept his arm out in a gesture of 'after you.' Myles looked around, uncertain what was expected. "Concentrate on where you want to be." The Earthman said. "The ship will do the rest."
Legong spun beneath them, Myles became dizzy and the movement stopped.
"Try thinking of the route you would take, of details along that route, landmarks or geographic features."
After a few tentative bounces into and out of the atmosphere the ship dropped nearly to sea level and began tracing a path a Skimmer might take, shunting itself up and down, keeping always a meter above the surface. The speed and proximity to the ground intensified Myles's unease. The ship rose and slowed, making it easier to absorb the views without nausea. Myles guided, or more accurately, wished the ship up into a range of craggy mountains, dropping down into secret valleys. There were no settlements in this region of Legong. The geology was relatively stable, but access to it was poor. Native Legong flora survived in the high passes and isolated valleys. Red and black lichens painted the hillsides, marking out drainage patterns and sunny pathways through the crags. Beautiful with a stark hostility.
Myles was enjoying the ride, using the ship to explore areas of Legong he'd never even heard of and that few if any Colonists had ever visited. He accelerated and decelerated, climbed and descended. As Myles gained confidence the substantial-looking protective sheathing that surrounded them changed. The silvery metallic sheen softened to a warm tan color, its smooth surface resolving into woven reeds, joining with the chairs to create a single, form-fitting cradle. The framework of bars disappeared. He brought the ship up to terrific speeds without feeling any acceleration, passing from day to night and back to day without taking note of where he was.
Myles thought how the Broad-Plain relief crews would have arrived at Caldera even quicker, had they had ships like this, and in an instant they were over Broad-Plain. A Shuttle shot out of Broad-Plain's Launch Rail. The Earthman's ship pulled aside as it flew past, leaving Myles to wonder if it had reacted to Myles's sudden panic or if the ship had moved itself without his input.
Through all this the almost forgotten Earthman watched Myles, grinning, sharing in the glee Myles felt. As Myles became increasingly comfortable guiding the ship the trip became less of a tour and more of a joy ride. After an hour or so the Earth-man suggested they head for Caldera.
"Oh, right." Myles said. He tried to think what time it would be at his parents' farm. The ship stopped, hovering near a true caldera where a small lava chute had broken the surface. Myles focused, trying to forget the ship and connect solely with his implant.
Hello. What time is it in Caldera. The settlement of Caldera?
Nothing returned. Myles took the ship up, got his bearings, and found his way back to the familiar sea that surrounded his home. Letting the ship slow he looked over at this Earth-Man. A distant cousin, a visitor from another world.
"You ever been to a pig-roast?"
8
A half dozen piglets abandoned a half dozen sustaining nipples and trotted off to the far end of the pen for a better view of the descending ball with its two glowing bands of blue. While still a few meters above the barnyard, five spindly poles extruded themselves from the bottom of the ship, bent themselves in the middle and reached out for the ground. Silently the ship rested its full weight on its new legs creating in the loose sand neither dust nor depression.
Behind the snorting piglets stood perhaps twenty colonists, mouths agape, as two humans dropped from the small hole in the ship's underside.
"Hi." Said one of them. "This is- um," Myles turned to the Earthman. "I don't know your name."
"The Councilors have been calling me 'Honored Guest.'"
"I can't call you that. I suppose your real name is unpronounceable in our language?" Before the Earthman had time to respond, Myles addressed the crowd. "He's a traveler. From Earth." No one moved. "Um, these are my parents, Mom, Dad; Harry owns the cafe on the main isle, I showed you that. This is Bento, her folks, our families go back, well, a long time. I don't know these others, but I assume you're all from Broad-Plain?"
Silent nods from half the group. No further movements occurred for an uncomfortably long time. Finally, Myles's father stepped forward with an outstretched hand. "Pleased to meet you, Traveler. Come, let's get you a plate. Do you eat mammals?" The two men shook hands and went off towards the spit.
So he shakes hands. A basic human thing, or something he's learned since he arrived?
Introductions completed, the diners appeared to return to normal dining activities while in fact filling the com-net with questions and chatter. Within ten minutes there wasn't a soul on Legong who didn't know of the alleged Earthman's presence. Although official sources continued denying knowledge of such a visitor, it must be admitted that even Council Clerks have families, and personal networks pieced together enough evidence to confirm Myles's assertions. Of the six long tables set up for the banquet those nearest Myles and the Traveler gradually emptied and those further away became crowded. Mallick stood beside the salads and sides, alternately sneering, smiling and talking to himself as he picked at the food. Myles ate with gusto, Traveler and father following his lead, while Bento, Harry and Li pushed their dinners around their plates without eating. Finally it was Li's children, Myles's army of nephews, that were first to approach.
"How fast does your ship go!" The eldest asked. "Are you a bad man?" from another, and then "I want cake."
Ice broken, Traveler spent most of the next hour sidestepping questions as the roasted pig thinned, revelers fattened and shadows lengthened. Before being taken off to bed, the children were brought back to say goodnight.
"Are you a god? Have you come to take us all to Eden?" Said the five-year-old.
In silence lamps were lit and left to hover over the tables as chairs discretely shifted a little closer to the Earth-man.
"That's just a story," their mother said. "The man's not taking us anywhere." There was just a hint of question in her voice.
Traveler leaned down, looking the little boy directly in the eye with a warm, easy smile. "It sounds like a wonderful story. Would you tell it to me?" Traveler avoided looking up at the adults, holding the child's focus.
"It's a fable like mommy said. There's a land far away from here with no sky-rocks or fire-holes. It's a place where the ground doesn't move and things grow everywhere, not just where you make them grow." Some of the adults slipped away into the darkness and other sat, fidgeting as the child went into great detail about the Eden planet. Finally Li took them away.
"There is a belief" started Zuza, Bento's mother, "that the original Colonial Arks were diverted, that there is another planet, fully terra-formed, and a navigational error sent us here instead."
Mallick, forgotten until now, huffed loudly and went into
the barn. Traveler noted the departure, noticing also Myles's drawn breath and darting eyes. Not wanting to shift the focus, he continued listening attentively. One by one the diners opened up, explaining to Traveler the dangers they faced, justifying the belief in Eden as a salve for the disappointments of daily life on Legong. He'd already learned of the constant hail of meteors, the huge investment needed to maintain massive fleets of Diverters and Destroyers, and the advances, either invented or championed by Krykowfert, that returned troops to their families and made life on Legong more than just a battle for survival.
"He's a savior, in a sense." Myles's father said. " And it's not just the economy and settlement security that's improved."
"He's given us time, time for arts and families, time to enjoy ourselves, time our ancestors never had." Mother added.
"There's not a life on Legong that hasn't been touched by Krykowfert."
Bento sat up and started toward the pig for another helping. "Yeah. Like the polar refugees." She nodded at Mallick in the cow barn.
Myles grunted and tossed his fork on his plate. The gathering fell silent again. The mood shifted. Traveler looked around at the turned-away faces. "This is a problem in your society?
Father spoke plainly. "It's the cost of progress. Part of the reduction of force was the re-arrangement of the close-in defense system. The polar regions are not protected from the smaller meteorites that make it through the net. This meant the polar settlements had to be abandoned. A small number of people were displaced."
"Thousands." Bento said, returning with a plateful. Myles again harrumphed, eyeing her disapprovingly. She ignored him. "Krykowfert's changes stirred up a lot of history. This whole Eden nonsense is only part of it." Now Bento was getting glares from almost everyone present. "What? Like it's a secret?" She said, staring down her detractors.
Harry stepped in. "A lot of people were compelled to leave their homes, it brought up issues about the circumstances of our ancestors leaving Earth. Surely you can understand"
This time Bento huffed.
"I'm just saying," Harry said, "if someone made me give up the cafe, I don't think I'd take too kindly to them."
"This was life and death-" Bento added.
"My cafe is my life. Look, I'm not saying I agree with it, but I understand the feelings. Earth has a history. It's an easy target for blame. We just never expected you to actually show up."
"The benefits, shared by many, paid for by a few." Traveler said.
"It's hard to blame Krykowfert, nothing sticks to him. The diversion theory is just conveniently unprovable. Makes Earth a scapegoat." Myles said.
Father, being more diplomatic than Bento, cut off her attempt at an answer. "Automated terra-forming ships had been sent from Earth before the Arks departed. The original colonists expected a fully terra-formed planet, instead they found a young system filled with asteroids and an untouched planet of mostly rock and fungus. Many people blamed Earth for at least incompetence and at worst an intentional diversion. Well, you know what Earth was like during the diaspora."
The evening ended feeling oddly normal. Those Relief Workers from Broad-Plain that remained slipped away. Li and his wife, and the nephews, filled the bedrooms upstairs. Bento and Harry left Traveler, Myles and his parents in the yard and took up positions on the living room couch. Harry found the sheets provided and made a bed for himself and Bento as she undressed.
"You notice anything different about Myles tonight?" Bento questioned Harry from a dim pool of light falling on her from the kitchen. She'd made it halfway through her change of clothes, taking a moment to stretch before surrendering to the confines of her nightdress. She couldn't understand Harry's distraction.
"I asked if you noticed anything."
"Myles?" He asked. "I don't know. What do you mean?"
"He seemed happy. No. Energized."
So was Harry. Bento pushed him away.
9
All hips and chest, Pig pranced across Myles's sleeping mind in a revealing spandex two-piece. He flexed and twisted, showing off boney, jutting hips and emaciated ribcage. Only his head remained fully covered by skin; shoulders, back and haunches hacked into divots and hanging strips of flesh.
"What is it with you people?"
"Yes, yes," Myles stammered, "I'm terribly sorry."
"If it hadn't been for me you'd have drowned on that beach!" Pig waggled his forehoof, a shred of crackling flung itself into the air.
Myles grimaced. Pig pirouetted, arched his spine and threw his head back, dramatically drenching himself in a shower of barbecue sauce
"I thought, you see, Pa was holding you in just that way..."
"Do I exist only for YOUR benefit? Kept fat and happy, waiting obediently for you to decide my fate?"
"Hang on a minute..." Myles stared keenly at the pink beasty in the bikini. Pig's expression turned from stern to concern. "Pigs don't talk."
"Uh, of course we don't." This time Pig stammered. "It's. it's telepathy. Animals can do that you know."
"Telepathy? Then why are your lips moving?!"
Pig fell on all fours and let out a plaintive grunt, his suit ceased to be, along with his eyes. Skin wrinkled, tightened and darkened and bones exposed themselves. In an instant Pig was gone.
Myles's forehead connected with the underside of his parents' coffee table. Fwlling back to the rug he opened his eyes and stole a glance at Harry and Bento stacked on the couch beside him. They remained blissfully asleep, apparently unmolested by talking dinners. As his senses awakened the complete absence of bacon smells told him it was much too early to get up, but he did anyway.
Taking care to avoid obstacles, Myles made his way to the kitchen before turning on a light. The curtains here were more sheer, but still only the faintest blue shone through. He rubbed his eyes and made a pot of tea, poured himself a cup and went to the door.
It will be chilly out.
He turned around and picked his way back through the living room, finding the stack of towels and robe his mother had left out. Orange with sky blue lining, it hung off his belly in a sheet and folded back between his legs to cling in his crotch. Myles pulled it out. It slipped back up.
Must be a design feature.
Myles checked the knot in his sash, plucked the robe from his crotch once more and opened the kitchen door. At the far end of the barnyard Traveler sat at one of last night's tables, sipping from a cup Myles had not seen before. His robe appeared fitted, thigh length, ample in the shoulders and pinched at the waist over a pair of soft, matching trousers. It was all violet until he moved, revealing green iridescent threads that clashed with the tan battle uniforms of the dozen Council Guards ringing the barnyard.
Myles sprayed the sand with tea.
He took a moment to compose himself. Mostly young and nervous, the Guards surrounding him could have been from any settlement on Legong, but they weren't relief crews, they wore Destroyer insignias. They were from close-in meteor defense ships. Two he recognized.
Norte and her smiling henchman Peto stood kicking the dirt between Traveler's spherical ship and one of Krykowfert's own K-ships.
Traveler stood beside him. "Your Council wishes me to return to Central Command." He said. "They are concerned for my safety."
Myles looked around at the Guards, Norte, and Peto. "Look," he said, "I can get Bento. She's S.I., they have authority on the surface."
Traveler sipped his drink. "No. I didn't come to your colony to cause trouble. I will return with your friends. I just didn't want to leave without saying goodbye."
"Are you leaving Legong, I mean, going back to Earth?" Myles asked.
"No. I still have much to discuss with your Council." Traveler said. "Thank you, Myles. Your family made me feel welcome. It was good to meet them, and the workers from Broad-Plain. It would be good for me to meet more Legongs."
With that, Traveler finished his drink, got down from the table and nodded at Norte and Peto. Norte dipped quickly into her implant
and the Guards left their scattered posts and filed back into the K-Ship. She scowled, pausing to look Myles over before pulling herself up into the belly of Traveler's sphere. Peto gave him a wave, Myles returned it awkwardly, then he too disappeared into the Earth ship.
"They're not my friends!" Myles shouted after them.
Myles went back into the kitchen with the intent of waking everyone in the house. His father waited for him at the table.
"Sit down, Myles." He said.
Myles scraped a chair across the stone floor and sat. "Look Pa, I know what you're gonna say-"
"The Council isn't a perfect body Myles, and you know Earth history as well as anyone on Legong."
"But you met him-"
"That's just one man. There may be millions, billions more back on Earth. And if they have this ability to shoot across the galaxy at will... It took five generations for our ancestors to make that trip Myles."
Myles sat back and huffed. "I'm going to talk to Bento." He got up from his chair.
"She's in the shower."
Myles stood with Bento in the pilothouse of the Seafall as she guided the Skimmer across the lagoon back to the Main Island. Harry chose to stay on the deck below. It was still early, the sun rose behind them over Tugot Key, casting a low, sharp light on the cliffs of the Main Island ahead of them, making the pastels of Myles's neighborhood contrast sharply with the dull sheen of City Center.
Bento listened stoically to Myles's tirade, his typical rant against a meddling and outdated Council, with the addition of this new theme of injustice perpetrated against the Earthman, whom Myles insisted on calling 'Traveler.'
"He should be given the opportunity to travel, meet people here on Legong. Even if there are problems still on Earth, what better than to show him who we are, what we've accomplished."
