Iduna (dumarest of terra)

by E. C. Tubb

  Outside the light was dying, strands of cloud drifting high against the emerald, thin wisps which formed moving patterns of changing complexity. Kathryn stared at them, glad to be out of the gloom, away from the scenes of pain and disrupted bodily functions. She had been a fool, perhaps, to have made the personal visit but anything was better than just waiting and it did no harm to demonstrate her closeness to the people and her interest in their troubles.

  But it had not been pleasant to see the afflicted slaves writhing on their cots, skins burning, lips cracked, fevered eyes staring at her with the mute appeal of a stricken beast What had the monk said?

  There, but for the grace of God, go I!

  And, but for an accident of birth, she too could have been a slave, born to serve without question, living the span of her days in a manner chosen by others. A bad thought which she dismissed as a technician sprayed the envelope with sterilizing fluids and later helped her out of it when they were safely high and on their way back to the palace.

  Gustav was waiting and anxiety made him sharp.

  "You were stupid, Kathryn. You should not have gone to visit the sick. The risk was too great."

  "There was no risk. All precautions were taken."

  "Did you filter every cubic inch of air between here and there? Made sure you touched no part of the raft? Floated on the ground? How can you claim you took no risk?"

  He was becoming foolish. She snapped, "I did what I considered best and that's all there is to it. A ruler has certain responsibilities and I had to demonstrate my concern. Have you correlated all the data? Good. Your conclusions?"

  She frowned as he gave them. From the first reported case the increase and progression were frightening. On every estate there were slaves in the terminal period and others were suspect. A natural progression but what had caused the sudden outbreak? And why was it so widespread?

  "I suspected a carrier," said Gustav. "Such are rare but not unknown and so I checked on all movements from ten days before the first case until now. A waste of time, I'm afraid; the movements of slaves can be found but not those of overseers and certainly not those of owners and nobles."

  "An importation?"

  "It would seem it has to be. No disease is suddenly created and there has to be a reason for the outbreak. I checked all ship arrivals and visitors. Most stayed in the city to conduct their business. Tanya Ell had a guest stay with her for ten days and Marion Cope a visit from her nephew. He is still with her as far as I can gather. Aside from the consignment of slaves brought by Hylda Vroom that is all." He added dryly, "Esslin is hardly a tourist attraction."

  "Don't make jokes, Gustav!"

  "No. I apologize, my dear. Was it bad?"

  "Worse than I thought. A sick woman lacks dignity and a dying one begins to lack all the attributes of humanity. The men-" She broke off, shuddering. "Hnaudifida makes no sexual distinction."

  And was no respector of persons. Now the slaves, soon the overseers and free residents of the estates, then the nobles and owners. She thought of the city filled with dead and dying, creatures who dragged themselves over the stones, burning, begging for water, rotting even as they begged.

  There, but for the grace of God, go I!

  "Kathryn?" Gustav was staring at her. "You said?"

  "Nothing." She must have sub-vocalized the words or whispered them-what did it matter? "Run the data through the computer again and make sure the technicians are doing their job. Check on all known movements since the ban. Most don't think it applies to any but slaves. Sarah Magill had visits from Maurneen Clairmont, Ina Hine, Arora Kochbar and Tamiras."

  "Tamiras?"

  "He went out there to test the geological structure for a proposed installation or something. Check it out. All the visits were within the last few days. See if there is a correlation. There has to be a common factor. It's the only explanation for the widespread distribution and increase of the disease. Find it for me, Gustav. Please."

  "I'll find it," he promised. "But on one condition." He smiled at her expression. "Nothing too serious. I just want you to promise never to do anything as foolish as visiting the dying again. Yes, foolish," he repeated sharply as she lifted a hand in protest. "What if you fall ill? Die?"

  "Would it matter?"

  "To me, yes. To Esslin, certainly. And what of Iduna?"

  "Perhaps I would be with her."

  "But you would have left me." He stepped closer, one hand lifted to touch her cheek, the fingers tracing a path to her lips. Fingers which kissed as they moved. "And if you leave me, my dearest," he whispered. "What have I left? You promise?"

  She nodded. It was good to have someone to make decisions at times. Someone who cared.

  Tamiras said, "This is ridiculous. Gustav, if we weren't old friends I'd take offense at the implication. To even imagine that I could be responsible for such a thing is beyond reason. Why, for God's sake? What reason could I have for spreading hnaudifida?"

  "I didn't say that!"

  "You implied it."

  "No, I was merely checking out certain data. Looking for a common factor which would give a lead of some kind to the cause and spread of the sickness." Gustav gestured at the papers littering his desk. He looked strained, dark circles of fatigue magnifying the brilliance of his eyes, but held himself with an unexpected firmness. "A job which needs to be done and I am doing it."

  "Why you? Why not the technicians?"

  "Must we always rely on others? As I remember it, Tamiras, you are always becoming personally involved with your rafts and crews and equipment. Why not leave it to your technicians?"

  "A man can only trust himself." Tamiras shrugged, then smiled. "You've made your point, Gustav. And, by doing this, you feel closer to Kathryn, right?"

  A man shrewder than he at first appeared. The straggle of beard distracted the attention from the set of the lips and line of jaw, the creases of resolve and the directness of the eyes which, at times, held the impact of spears. A clever man- why did he stay on Esslin? A son of an exile who owned no lands and no fine houses. Who made his way on a pension granted by Kathryn in an effort to heal the breach caused by his rebellious parent. A warped genius who worked in the field of electron magic and who could easily find fame and backers on other worlds.

  But he was no longer young and other worlds could never be home and on Esslin he had respect and as much fame as a man could ever be granted. And more freedom than most.

  Now he said quietly, "I know how it is, Gustav. The frustration of being always regarded as an inferior. Women think of us as children, irresponsible boys who have no concept of the duties attending maturity. They give us our toys and, as long as we are good, tolerate us and our eccentricities. Even my own mother never really understood the importance of my work. And even though I've proved my ability a dozen times, who will give me their trust? I make field-baths and talk of electronic dirt removers and am allowed to construct household utensils. But when I demonstrate that I have the knowledge to master the climate I am shunned. No man must ever be allowed to become too powerful. Not on Esslin."

  "Give it time, Tamiras. Things will change."

  "Time? I have no time! I-" Tamiras broke off, lips pursed beneath his beard, looking at hands which trembled. When they were still he said blandly, "We digress, old friend. It is good that a husband wants to help his wife and I am the last to decry your motives. Even though by helping her you set the yoke more firmly about your neck. Now, as to my movements, they are simply explained. I went to check the geological substrata in various areas and to take measurements of the planetary magnetic field at certain selected points. I also took sightings as to elevations and elementary dispositions of any heights in those regions. If you wish I can let you have my scheduled plan of operations which includes dates, times, findings and comments. Had I expected your accusation I would have brought it with me."

  "There has been no accusation," said Gustav. "This is an investigation, no more. But I will be pleased to check yo
ur records. Would they, by any chance, include details of any others you may have met during your journeys?"

  "I keep records, Gustav, not a diary. How do I know what others might have done? One thing I am certain about however is that none of them would have wanted to spread sickness in the land. What could they gain by it? Their own property is at risk; with the harvest so close they will need every slave they can get to work in the fields." He added thoughtfully, "Of course, there is one remote possibility, but I hesitate to mention it."

  "Possibility?" Gustav frowned. "You mean you have suspicions of someone who could be responsible?"

  "Not that. Not exactly. I was thinking more on the lines of an unsuspecting carrier."

  "That has been checked. None of the residents of the afflicted areas are or could be carriers. The outbreak is recent, a resident carrier would have been spotted long ago."

  "Recent-so who has come to Esslin within the immediate past? Visitors? Relatives? And what of Hylda Vroom's slaves?"

  "You cover old ground. I've checked. In any case the slaves arrived after the first reports of the sickness."

  "Which leaves us what?" Tamiras frowned in thought. "Who else? Who could have arrived and-" He looked up to meet Gustav's eyes. "The monks."

  "The monks? No!"

  "Why not? Oh, I'm not talking about a deliberate attempt to spread infection, I'd be the first to defend them from that accusation, but what about a carrier? A man who doesnt even know he carries hnaudifida and spreads it in sheer ignorance."

  "A monk-but his companions?"

  "Could be immune. It happens, Gustav, and on other worlds they may not be as prone to the disease as we are here on Esslin. Mind you, I make no accusation. It is a possibility and perhaps a remote one. But it could be the answer."

  "No." Gustav shook his head. "You're forgetting something. They have been here for some time now-if one was a carrier then why has the disease taken so long to show itself."

  "The carrier could be a recent arrival."

  "And the rest?" Gustav moved some of his papers, selected one, ran his eyes over the list of figures. "The monks stay in the city close to the field. How could they have been in contact with slaves residing on distant estates and so far apart from each other? The thing is impossible."

  Tamiras said, "The Festival. You're forgetting the Festival."

  The three-day period when harsh discipline was relaxed and carnival prevailed. A safety valve to release pent up emotions, anger and resentment allowed to boil away in dancing and drunken orgies and wild abandon. A time in which the wise kept to their homes and only the guards were out in force.

  "The Festival," said Tamiras again. "The monks were here before it and the contacts could have been made then." Casually he added, "And don't forget that one of the monks died. It might be interesting to find out from what."

  The body had gone, converted into ash and basic constituents and returned to the universe from which they had been formed. Brother Juba was now nothing but a memory and the work which three had handled must now be completed by two. But not for long. Already replacements were on the way now that the Church had received grudging permission to establish itself on Esslin. The first pecarious foothold which must be strengthened with younger blood and more resilient sinew.

  The cycle which Remick had experienced before but now doubted if he would again. He would stay-few monks ever retired to spend their last days in the beautiful tranquility of Pace where they served to the last in bringing comfort to those tormented by mental anguish or physical pain. He would stay and Brother Echo would stay and they would die here on this world and be burned and remembered for a while and then forgotten as those memories were erased by time.

  But something of them both would remain as something of Juba would linger. A hand lifted to strike and then lowered with the intended victim untouched, a degree of tolerance intended where none had been evident before, a moment of concern for another instead of blank indifference-these things would be their monument.

  To the guards who came to close the church he said, "What is this? We have the permission of the Matriarch."

  "Shut up!" The back of the woman's hand bruised his lips in a casual blow. "Where is the body of the one who died?" She scowled when he told her. "Burned? How about his effects?"

  She collected them as he watched, hands deft within their gloves, her bulk taut in places against the transparent membrane which covered her. A garment Remick had seen before and he restrained Echo as the man began to protest.

  "Leave them, Brother."

  "But Juba! His things!"

  Scraps and pieces without intrinsic worth. A piece of well-rubbed stone which he had found when a lad and found a tactile pleasure in its contact A faded smear of pigments which could have been the likeness of a woman's face or the abstract swirls of a fevered brain. A pocket maze with little steel balls running in an elaborate pattern of garish colors. A kaleidosope. A device for producing bubbles from soapy water. A pair of hand puppets. A lip-flute. A book filled with entrancing pictures.

  Juba had always liked children.

  Remick watched as they were thrown into a sack, the small accumulation which was the sum total of a life. As the guard straightened he said quietly, "How bad is it?"

  "What?"

  "The sickness. How bad is it?"

  A question Gustav answered later when, leaving the church and Echo under guard, the woman bustled him to a room in the palace.

  Gustav also wore a prophylactic membrane as did the medical technicians who came to take samples of blood and tissue from the unresisting monk. As they left Gustav gestured to a table bearing wine and small cakes.

  "Eat and drink if you wish. This may take a little time."

  To starve and thirst would accomplish nothing. Remick helped himself to a cake and goblet of wine. The cake was scented with a delicate fragrance, the wine held body and warming strength.

  "A disease," he said. "I had heard rumors but nothing was certain. How bad is it?"

  "Bad enough. How did the other monk die?"

  "Juba? He was old."

  "And age killed him? That alone?"

  "It helped." Remick did not mention the rough handling of the guards. "He was not diseased, brother. You have my assurance on that."

  "How can you be sure? Living as you do, moving from one poverty-stricken area to another, eating when you can, always in contact with the sick-you recognize the possibility?"

  Remick said quietly, "Hnaudifida has an incubating period of six days. The first symptoms are headaches, fatigue, lassitude and irritation. Then comes a mild fever and aching of the joints. The first eruptions usually become manifest on the softer regions of the body: the armpits, the groin, the insides of elbows and knees. Sometimes on the face and neck. After four days the lassitude has increased to a point where voluntary movement is resisted and the fever rages with a higher intensity. The eruptions spread and form oozing ulcers. There is a general loss of bodily fluids. The patient becomes incontinent and care must be taken to see that vomit is not sucked into the lungs. After the second week death is inevitable. How many cases have been reported to date?"

  "Thirty-nine."

  "Isolated?"

  "Yes, thank God."

  "Slaves?" Remick had expected the nod. "You may expect another two hundred percent to fall sick and of those about fifteen percent will recover if given the proper care. They will then be immune to hnaudifida." Pausing he added, "As Brother Juba was immune. As both Brother Echo and I are immune."

  "You have all had the disease?"

  "No, nor many others we have been innoculated against. Surely, brother, you did not think the Church so irresponsible as to send devastation among others. No monk is a carrier. All monks have been protected as far as medical science will allow against a variety of ills. How else can we do our work treating the sick?"

  A thing Gustav should have known. A thing he should have guessed and yet why should he have suspected? How well did he k
now the monks? They came and worked among the poor and it was hard to remember that they were products of a high technology which used all knowledge and skills to achieve efficiency. He remembered things he had heard; of the long training each monk had to undergo, the conditioning and indoctrination and acquiring of ability. The poverty they displayed was real, a defense against the sin of pride, for only by rejecting possessions could they give full attention to their supplicants.

  A man who has nothing has nothing to lose. And having nothing to lose has everything to gain.

  Such a man could be envied.

  Gustav said, "I must apologize for the inconvenience you have been caused. But, for the duration of the emergency, your church must remain closed."

  To his surprise the monk didn't object. Instead he said, "Perhaps we could be of help. As we are immune we could tend the sick-it will do no harm to bring them together. Also we could help to develop vaccines to save those who have been at risk. I have knowledge of the techniques and would be pleased to work with your technicians if they agree."

  They would agree, argue though they might at first, but Kathryn would see that they obeyed his orders. And the monk had given him confidence that the outbreak could be controlled. The man was so calm, so self-assured. A man confident of his strength as Dumarest had been.

  Dumarest!

  Why had he been such a coward as to allow the man to take his place?

  Chapter Nine

  The wind was from the south, blowing from Katanga over the Juntinian Sea, a breeze loaded with fragrance which stirred the leaves of blooming trees and caused their multicolored fruits to swing and turn in random motions. Blooms and fruits on the same tree and all the blooms fully open, all the fruits at a perfection of ripeness.

  When you owned a universe all things were possible.

  Dumarest halted, breathing deeply, looking over a conception of paradise. Ground which felt like a soft mattress covered with thickly piled carpet. Air scented with a dozen perfumes. Trees and bushes covered with blooms and fruits, nuts and berries of all imaginable hues, shapes and flavors. The moat with its fish. The castle which dominated all.