Thousandstar (#4 of the Cluster series)

by Piers Anthony

  She visualized an Erb with rotating propeller-leaves, moving so rapidly it left a turbulent wake in the water. 'Must be.'

  None of the early arrivals were trying to climb the building; instead they were fighting each other. This was a vicious circle; the Squam was pinching the HydrO, the HydrO was needling the Erb, and the second Erb was drilling the Squam. Since each had to keep out of the way of the creature who could destroy it, there was more motion than action. Heem rolled to a stop, tasting the situation as well as he could from a distance. Swoon of Sweetswamp paused similarly, on the other side of the island.

  'I don't understand this,' Jessica said. 'Why aren't they trying to climb the building? This is supposed to be a race, not a battle!'

  "The HydrO management did not select a combat specialist randomly," Heem sprayed. "They anticipated this. If my practice with your vision and sight-needle coordination suffices, I need give way to neither Squam nor Erb. Still, I would prefer not to fight; there is really little to gain from it. Especially if we can ascend the structure while the others are preoccupied."

  'Agreed. Let's sneak through.'

  They rolled forward, cautiously, keeping a taste out for Swoon, who could reach the building just as fast as they could. They also kept track of the battle raging.

  The Squam tore a piece out of the HydrO—but in the process got caught by the Erb. In a moment the Squam's armor had been wedged apart, and the creature lay broken and dying. 'You monsters don't fool around!' Jessica exclaimed, making a graphic picture of it. 'We Solarians take some time in our fights, as in our love-making, usually, having to strike repeatedly. Well—no, in swordplay it can be very quick. And my clone-brother makes love in a flash. So it depends. Still—'

  The HydrO, saved by one Erb, needled the other. The Erb wilted, its mechanism jammed and leaking sap. 'That's gratitude for you!' Jessica said indignantly.

  "That is free-for-all for you." But Heem was not pleased.

  One Erb remained uninjured. It used stem and tendrils to shove the helpless creatures away from the structure, including the HydrO, who had collapsed after its final needle. But the Erb did not attempt to ascend itself. Why? Heem was wary, but Swoon was rolling up rapidly, so he had to accelerate himself. The two converged, and the Erb hastily moved away. 'Odd,' Jessica said.

  The structure turned out to be a tower, round and smooth. It stood somewhat taller than a fern-tree, with a spiral ramp ascending it. Simple enough for any of the contestants. But why had the Erb, obviously in a position to be first to the top, backed off? 'There's not supposed to be danger here, is there?' Jessica asked.

  "Not from the Site," Heem jetted grimly. "But we cannot trust the other competitors."

  Swoon reached the ramp first. She was an exceptionally swift roller, faster than Heem—which explained how she too had passed him on the approach within the checkline circle. She must have been selected for this quality, as well as for her superior piloting. In vehicle or alone, she could move. She rolled right up the ramp—and slid down again, surprised.

  'Our turn!' Jessica exclaimed.

  "No, wait," Heem sprayed. "There is something wrong here." He rolled to the base of the ramp and stopped.

  Swoon recovered from the impetus with which she had been ejected, and approached. "It dumped me!" she sprayed indignantly. "It's roller-surfaced, impossible to mount. I wondered why the Erb backed off." Then, in an aftertaste: "Oh, greetings, Heem of Highfalls."

  "Greetings," he sprayed noncommittally. He inspected the ramp, touching its substance with his own, tasting it carefully. There were no perceptible rollers, but there was certainly a roller effect.

  The Ancients had been the Cluster's finest craftscreatures; they obviously had wanted this ramp to be too slippery to ascend.

  There would be no way to change that except by conforming to whatever approach the Ancients had desired. There was really no way to deal with any Ancient artifact except by its own rules, which were usually obscure. The Ancients were not merely a riddle from the distant past; they were an exciting challenge in every taste of the concept. Which was why every Star of Thousandstar was fascinated by this well-preserved site. It was not mere intellectual curiosity; there could be fantastic technological wealth here. This was the site of hope.

  'I don't know,' Jessica said, also highly intrigued. She loved puzzles; Heem could feel her being coalescing around this mystery. 'Generally the live sites have aural keys, not physical ones. Could it be that this was a usable ramp for them?'

  "A small flatfloater could mount this readily," Heem agreed. "Or any of the jet species. But why should the Competition Authority require us to ascend to the top, if there is no way for any of the host species?"

  'I think we have here another riddle,' Jessica said, delighted. 'One set up by the Ancients, and used by the Competition Authority. To make this a real multi-level challenge, so that mere guessing at the outset, or racing ability in space or on land or in water, is not enough. The winner of this competition will be lucky, swift, and smart. Deserving in every respect. The early arrivals here merely have more time to solve the final riddle, but if they are not smart enough, they have no chance to win.'

  "I do not taste it precisely that way," Heem sprayed. "A smart late arrival will never win through the stupid early ones, who will kill him rather than allow him to prevail. We shall have to solve the riddle before more competitors arrive, or we shall have to fight merely to hold our place in line. Recall what happened to the first three arrivals."

  Jessica retouched her image of the three wounded and dying creatures. She needed no reminder. Lives were now at stake.

  Already, Sickh was arriving, emerging from the shallow water.

  'There is a globe or something at the base of the ramp,' Jessica said. 'Focus your taste on it, Heem—I want to see it clearly.'

  He was more concerned with the ramp and the arriving competition, for he knew how smart Sickh and Windflower were. He did not want to needle either of them, which meant he would simply have to solve the riddle before they reached the tower. But he obeyed Jessica's directive rather than argue.

  She formed a picture of a small sphere, with a line hovering inside it, balled on one end. Both globe and line gave off a faint radiation that made it possible for him to locate them accurately; he doubted it was taste, because if the particles of their substance were being constantly emitted, they would have eroded entirely away in the time since the Ancients departed. Yet it seemed like taste. Synthetic stimulation of his perception? Another indication of the sophistication of Ancient construction. Even minor details were crafted to last virtually forever, performing in manners the technology of moderns could hardly match.

  Heem moved nearer the globe, touching it with a small section of his skin. The line moved, its ball swinging to point at the place of tangency. He slid his skin to the side, and the line followed.

  'That's a dial of some kind,' Jessica said. 'A three-dimensional indicator. See—it points to you where you touch the globe, then remains where put when you retreat. You can set it where you want.'

  Sickh was near, and Windflower was motoring through the lake. Another Squam was coming within perceiving range, too. Already this place was getting crowded, with two of each host-species in the neighborhood.

  The nearest Erb set his drill, orienting on Sickh. 'Uh-oh,' Jessica said. 'That Erb gave way to us, because it is afraid of HydrOs—but it is not afraid of Squams! We'd better help Sickh.'

  "You keep forgetting she's competition too! She may solve the riddle before we do!"

  Jessica responded as he knew she would. 'Sickh is also a lady—and a friend. Remember how she broke open the first crack in the wall, and how she hauled you out into the fresh air so you could recover. Without her, we would not be here at all. If we have to lose to somebody, let's lose to a friend.'

  Heem acceded. Jessica had a more sophisticated conscience than he did. "The dangerous one is Windflower; she's the specialist in Ancients. She will know how to get up
that ramp." He rolled toward the male Erb, who retreated expediently.

  "You're letting a Squam in?" Swoon of Sweetswamp needled incredulously. "At least facilitate your own kind!" And her concluding message was flavored with a strong savor of sex appeal. But she gave way to the Squam, as she had to.

  'Why that brazen vixen!' Jessica exclaimed. 'She's trying to seduce you into giving her the advantage!'

  "One female really resents tasting her technique being employed by another," Heem sprayed with a certain resigned mirth.

  'So?' Jessica demanded indignantly. 'When did I ever employ—don't answer that!'

  "Too bad she's competition," Heem continued. "She has a most enticing flavor."

  'All right! I'd have flavor too, if I were—never mind. Just get back to your business.'

  Sickh slithered up, investigated the ramp, and examined the globe. She seemed to be able to fathom the dial as readily as Heem could; the indicator probably gave off sonic vibration too. Remarkable device.

  After a moment's experimentation, Sickh aimed the ball end of the line at the Star. She slithered onto the ramp—and up it.

  "The key!" Swoon sprayed, rolling close. She brushed against the globe, causing the line to change orientation—and abruptly Sickh slid to the base of the ramp.

  'That's the key, all right!' Jessica exclaimed. 'I wish I'd fathomed it! Set the pointer on the sun, and the ramp freezes. Could be like a time clock, since the position of the sun indicates time of day. Move that indicator, and you roll, ready or not. Oh, do you roll!'

  Sickh made a pass at Swoon with one pincer, and Swoon retreated in haste. Sickh reset the pointer, started up the ramp—and Swoon rolled in toward the globe. Sickh halted, and Swoon halted. They were at an impasse; if the Squam mounted the ramp farther, the HydrO would arrange to dump her down again.

  'I begin to appreciate the dimension of the problem,' Jessica said. 'No one can make it to the top without the cooperation of those at the bottom—who will lose if they do cooperate. Very neat challenge!'

  "So the early arrivals aggravated each other in exactly this fashion, and got embroiled in a fight, the conclusion of which we tasted," Heem agreed. "Only the Erb survived—and he dared not betray the secret to us, so had to retreat without attempting the ascent. Yet why didn't he merely set the dial and rush up before we arrived? He was waiting for us."

  'I don't think we've fathomed the whole mystery yet,' Jessica said. 'Maybe we should make another deal with Sickh.'

  "Maybe so," Heem agreed reluctantly. "But we can't communicate with her, without translation. Not technically enough, fast enough."

  'Oh, pooh! She will understand.'

  Heem moved to the base of the ramp, blocking off Swoon. "Fair warning," he jetted at her. "We are in competition, and my transferee means to compete. Roll back."

  "But the Squam is on the ramp!" Swoon protested.

  "You are perceptive."

  "I refuse to sit still for this!" Swoon rolled toward him.

  Heem needled her with a long-distance, accurate shot. She rolled back, surprised at his proficiency; she was well beyond normal needle-range. Conversational jets required little physical cohesion, as their flavor alone counted; needles lost their force much sooner.

  Sickh, realizing that Heem was guarding the dial, giving her a chance, slithered rapidly up.

  "You are rolling away my chance, and yours!" Swoon jetted. "You are betraying the Star you represent. I can offer you so much more than any Squam can!" And she sprayed him with sexual flavor.

  She certainly did have a tempting taste! No doubt she had been selected for this quality, too. Her offer would have been quite attractive, except for two things. First, Jessica's cynical laughter was echoing through his system —a strange effect for one who could not hear. Second, he knew what happened to a HydrO female who reproduced. Swoon was suggesting copulation, not reproduction, but still the memory disturbed him. Heem stood firm, preventing her from interfering.

  Suddenly Sickh came sliding down the ramp. Yet no one had touched the dial. 'I begin to glimmer why the Erb did not race up,' Jessica said. 'The rules change halfway up. This is no minor, one-stage challenge.'

  Sickh slithered up beside Heem, her forepart aiming away from the tower. 'She is giving us our turn,' Jessica said. 'I told you she would understand. She will guard the dial for us, now.'

  Heem rolled to the dial. It was now mis-set—not a little, as might happen in time as the radiation from the Star changed its angle, but a lot, as if jogged entirely out of place. Yet no one had touched it. Sickh did not believe that he, Heem, had moved it either; her attitude suggested that she had failed, not he.

  He reset the dial to point at the sun; Jessica's visual image helped. The ramp firmed, and he rolled up it. 'We're on our way—maybe!' Jessica said.

  Halfway up the tower—one loop of the spiral—there was another globe. 'Uh—I don't think we can safely ignore it,' Jessica said. 'Obviously we have to set it too, or the whole thing bounces out of whack. But I doubt it aims at the sun; someone must have tried that already.'

  Heem agreed. "But what else should it orient on?"

  'I've got it! Is there a moon for this planet?'

  "There are three. Only one is readily perceivable, however—and none have taste for me."

  'Um. You have a mental ephemeris, don't you? A table of System bodies and times? You can calculate where that moon is, even though you can't see it. The biggest, closest one. Yes.' She delved into the ephemeris Heem remembered. 'Let's see—it should be about there.' She added a glowing mood to her vision of the sky. 'It should not glow like that by day, but who's going to know the difference? I love this mental painting. Is it correctly placed?'

  Heem verified it by his calculations. "Yes." They set the indicator to point to the moon. Nothing happened. Heem rolled on up—and the ramp turned to rollers, dumping him helplessly around the tower and down to the ground.

  'So much for that,' Jessica said. 'The Ancients weren't much for looking at the moon. Not much romance in their hearts.'

  "What has a moon got to do with romance in a blood-pumping organ?"

  'Nothing.'

  Windflower had arrived. Heem rolled out of the way, giving her a turn. Swoon made a spray of muted fury, but kept her distance. "She's the expert on the Ancients, isn't she?" he jetted rhetorically.

  The Erb flashed at him inquiringly; Heem felt the reflected starlight on his skin, and Jessica formulated a momentarily blinding glint of light. These visual constructs were intriguing. Heem made a little spray of acknowledgment, but did not move. He and Sickh guarded the base of the ramp.

  Windflower tried the ramp, and got nowhere. She investigated the globe. She oriented the indicator on the Star, and traveled up the spiral. 'Just like that!' Jessica marveled. 'She certainly does understand the Ancients!'

  But in a moment Windflower came down again. She was not rolling, but twining along on her own power. Why had she changed her vegetable mind?

  The lady Erb came to stand beside them. After a moment Sickh went up the ramp again. Then she returned, under her own power, as the Erb had.

  'Must be our turn,' Jessica said. 'I'd really like to know what's going on!'

  Heem rolled up the ramp. He reached the second globe and checked it. The indicator was oriented, but not on the moon, or anything else they could fathom. Heem moved beyond the dial—and the ramp was firm.

  'Windflower set it correctly!' Jessica exclaimed.

  "Then why should she back down, instead of going on to the top?"

  'Because she wasn't the first to arrive. We were asking her advice, so she gave it. She showed us where to set the second dial. Now she has repaid us for the chance we are giving her.'

  "Where did she set it? It seems random to me."

  'It must be something she could guess from her knowledge of the Ancients. Something obvious. If the first dial points at the sun, the second—'

  "The Hole!" Heem sprayed.

  'The Hole!' she repeat
ed. 'Of course!' She considered momentarily. 'We can't go on up; she was only showing us. We have to give her first turn. It's only fair.'

  Heem did not argue with her. He rolled down the ramp.

  Now Windflower went up. She made it almost to the top of the tower—then slid down rapidly, barely staying on top of her roots. 'She must have tripped a third relay,' Jessica said. 'One that's more difficult than the others.'

  "Now we know how to approach it. The three of us will keep taking turns, until one of us scores. That gives us one chance in three to win—with the assurance that a friend will win if we do not. This seems worthwhile."

  'Heem, I love you.'

  The simple statement almost dissolved him. It was serious; there was no banter in her emotion, no teasing. They were now at the crisis point, within range of success or ultimate failure, either of which meant separation.

  Heem made no overt response, because he was unwilling to reconcile himself either to victory or defeat when both meant the end. He merely accepted her statement. That was enough.

  Windflower set the bottom dial and moved clear. Sickh and Heem checked it, noting the setting: the one the Erb had tried at the top. The wrong one. This was necessary information—but they could not tell what the dial pointed to. It seemed random, and it assuredly was not.

  Sickh reset the dial for the Star and mounted the ramp. She paused at the second dial, then went on, approaching the top. And slid rapidly down. She set the dial, allowing them to see her wrong guess.

  "Another moon," Heem decided, checking against his ephemeris. He was still bothered by his inability to fathom the rationale of Windflower's guess, which had surely been an educated one. A wrong guess did not necessarily indicate failure; it might merely be the elimination of a viable but unapproved alternate.

  It was Heem's turn again. 'There's got to be some rational setting,' Jessica said. 'Some pattern I can grasp. Windflower understands the Ancients as well as anyone can, but hasn't guessed this one. That means it is either random, which I don't believe, or relates to something we have not yet understood.'