Dream thief

by Stephen R. Lawhead

  "So no one ever went back?"

  "Never. Even the watcher ships were withdrawn. Ortu said that was necessary if we were ever to keep peace here on Ovs. Otherwise the temptation to step in and save Earthmen in times of distress would be too great. They had to survive on their own, if they were to become strong."

  "And then the migration began?"

  "Exactly. With Res destroyed, we knew there to be no other inhabitable planets in this solar system. The stars offered our only hope. Again, Ortu led the development of the starships and even led the first wave to leave Ovs."

  Spence nodded slowly. "And now I, too, must think about leaving Ovs. "

  Kyr turned and led them out of the bout to show you before we talk of leaving. Come, there is much to see." ding Spence followed his lanky host through the silent, vacant pathways of Tso and tried to imagine what it had been like,,ant the tall, graceful Martians had lived there and the narrow trafficways rang with the chirrup of their voices and the floating sounds of their eerily beautiful music. He was immediately ov. come with a heavy sense of loss and loneliness, as if someone h loved very much had died.

  11

  … THE LAST THREE DAYS had been a blur of activity to Spence. He felt as if he were a sponge that had absorbed ten times its weight, he had seen and experienced so much of ancient Martian culture. Now he and Kyr stood looking at a large model of the Red Planet which had the area of the underground cities marked on its surface.

  He frowned as he looked at the terrain. "I don't see anything I recognize." The model, of course, had been made before the Martians left; it was several thousand years old. "The surface features have changed a lot."

  They walked around the perimeter of the sculptured replica.

  "Wait a minute," said Spence. "Where is that great volcano?"

  Kyr thought for a moment about what the word meant and then pointed a long finger to an area between two dry canal beds.

  "At the time of the Burning, several small volcanoes erupted in this area. It is not far from Tso."

  "Could it have been active since then? I mean, really active?"

  "It is possible, yes."

  "Then I think that is what we call Olympus Mons. That is the mountain I was walking toward when I got lost." He studied the model carefully, noting the huge canyon directly to the west of the giant Mariner Valley, a hole so big it could have swallowed the entire Rocky Mountain range and still have room for the Grand Canyon. According to the model, the outskirts of Tso lay near one of the tributary troughs which fed into this canyon system.

  "I think this is where I came upon the tunnels. Right here. Since I didn't tumble into the canyon, the installation must lie somewhere in this area." He pointed to the smooth plain eastward.

  "Kali," said Kyr.

  "What is that?"

  "It is a smaller underground settlement which housed the workers building the starships. It is not shown here. The plain is where the starships were built, and from there they left Ovs forever."

  Spence had the picture in his mind of hundreds of shiping like silver balloons into the pink sky of Mars to disappear like fragile bubbles into the void. "Then this is where the last of the Martians left and the first of the Earthmen came. Because, I miss my guess, this is where the installation is."

  "Kali is connected by tunnels with Tso, as are the cities. I will take you there." other Spence had been feeling a greater and greater reluctance to leave Tso and its lone inhabitant. He wanted nothing more than to stay and learn all the secrets of the vanished race.

  "I wish I didn't have to go," he said. "I would give everything I Own just to stay here with you.

  "Then you must return one day when you can stay."

  "I will come back. I promise you that. There are treasures here worth more than anyone on Earth can imagine." He meant the remark as a compliment, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on Kyr. The alien began waving his head from side to side,

  "Did I say something wrong?" 'Your words remind me that I will be alone…" He turned away before finishing the thought.

  "What will you do when I leave? Go back to sleep"

  "No, I will not sleep again. Contact has been made. between our planets. I must now begin the vigilance."

  Spence realized the sacrifice Kyr had made to remain behind. "I will come back, Kyr," he vowed. "Somehow I will."

  Kyr looked at him closely and said, "No creature knows his destiny. Even rivers change their courses in time. I will not hold you to your promise. It is not yours to make."

  The Martian turned and placed his hand on a smooth, globeshaped object and it opened, revealing two small disks. Kyr handed one of them to Spence, who took it and turned it over in his hand.

  It was a rather flat, roundish thing which looked like nothing more than a seashell which had lost its grooves and fluted edges. It had a warm feeling in his hand.

  "Do you feel the power in it?"

  "I feel a warmth from it. What is it?"

  "This is a… "-he searched for the word-"a bneri – a signal device. I am a Guardian Now that you have awakened me I must guard you, too. If ever you have need of me you have only to hold this in the palm of your hand, think about me, and I will know of your need. I will come to help you."

  This mystified Spence more than anything he had seen on Mars since he arrived.

  "How is it possible?"

  "I could explain the… the science of the device to you, but it would take time. As for the other-traveling to Earth is no problem. The vehicles of the old explorers are preserved here; I can travel anywhere I wish to go."

  "But why would you want to protect me?" He still could not believe it.

  "Because you know the secret of Ovs, and of its cities. And because you are my friend, and the first to have joined our civilizations. In time that will be an important thing to both of our worlds."

  Spence did not know what to say. "Thank you, Kyr. I will take this and use it if ever I have such need."

  "Now we will eat together once more before you go. I will prepare for you a real meal. Yes," he replied to Spence's surprised look, "the first of the rhi has been grown. We will eat our first real Ovsin meal together."

  "But not our last," said Spence. "Not our last." …

  THE GLEAMING DOMES OF the installation shimmered in the hard, bright light of the sun. Overhead a rosy pink tinge crept into the sky. The dull red dust lay powdery and still. Not a whisper of a breeze stirred so much as a particle anywhere. Nothing moved around the installation and for a moment he feared the work-and-research party had gone back to Gotham.

  The air on the surface had less oxygen than Tso, and Spence felt himself growing lightheaded and decided to sit down and rest before continuing on toward the base only a kilometer further.

  Kyr had left him slightly less than three kilometers away. Spence had not wanted Kyr to come too close lest they be seen and the secret exposed. So, after a sad parting he had begun walking alone.

  He wished he had his helmet at once. He had set off at too quick a pace and almost fainted. After a brief rest he adjusted his stride accordingly and drew near the cluster of buildings in agonizing slow motion. Now he was almost there. And he wondered Why he saw no signs of activity-recent or otherwise-anywhere around the installation.

  He climbed back to his feet and struck off again feeling tired for his short walk, and very apprehensive.

  As he came nearer, he noticed a red plume of dust rising high into the air on the far side of the base. It looked like a dust geyser or red smoke drifting on the wind, but there was no breeze.

  In a moment the plume had come near the cluster of domes and stopped there. Spence guessed a vehicle of some sort had driven up. Soon he saw a tiny figure moving among the buildings. It disappeared inside.

  Someone is home, thought Spence. He was not alone after all. He turned and peered back behind him as if he would see Kyr watching him, urging him to go ahead and rejoin his own. He saw nothing but the dull red rock-strewn pan of t
he desert.

  In another hour he was stepping into the shadow of the first long greenhouse. He had returned. …

  ADJANI HAD FINISHED THE day's search and returned to the installation dejected and disappointed. The high hopes with which he began the day evaporated like dew in the heat of the sun. He had showered-one of the few genuine luxuries on Mars-and settled down to eat after a quick scan of the daily log. The wafer screen showed no messages from Packer and company since he had been gone. He munched a handful of the tiny, pelletlike nutribiscuits that they all ate and washed it down with cold fresh water.

  He was thinking about tomorrow's search, the last he would be able to make before leaving Mars. In ten or twelve hours Packer and the rest of the crew would be back, and then they would secure the installation and make ready to leave. There was one more pass he wanted to make along the rift valley to the west. If he found nothing, as he now feared, he would allow that Packer was right and that nothing would ever be found.

  This was his thought when he heard the whoosh of the outer air lock. He turned, expecting to see Packer and a dozen of his cadets standing in the lock. Instead he saw a lone figure without a helmet standing in the shadow at the far end of the glassed-in chamber.

  Adjani moved quickly, his senses pricked like a cat's on the hunt. A rush of excitement stirred him as he recognized the figure even before his mind could attach the name.

  "Spence!" he gasped as the lock opened and his friend stepped unsteadily into the room.

  "Adjani. It was you…" Spence was assailed by a strong out pouring of emotion. He fell on his friend's neck and hot tears of relief spattered the green of his jumpsuit in dark splotches.

  Adjani, too, cried and laughed and shouted for joy.

  "Spence, you're alive! Alive! I knew it-in my heart I knew it! Thank God! You've come back!" The lithe Indian fairly danced in circles around him.

  Spence threw off his gloves and wiped at his eyes with the heels of his hands, looking boyish and embarrassed. "You missed me, huh?"

  Adjani threw his head back and laughed as if that were the funniest thing he had ever heard. "Missed you? No, not at all. I can't believe it. You're alive." He laughed again.

  "Where is everybody? I expected a bit more of a welcome than this."

  "They have all gone to the North Pole-rather they should be on their way back from there now. We are leaving tomorrow. I thought we would have to leave you forever." Adjani fixed him with a firm look.

  "I know I have some explaining to do. Actually, it's better that it's just you and me. You can help me think through what to say to the others. That has been on my mind since I found out I was coming back."

  "Found out?" asked Adjani with some surprise. "Did you doubt it?"

  "Plenty!" said Spence. "I never thought I'd see this place – or any other-ever again. I was a dead man more times than I care to think about."

  "Well, come, tell me everything. Are you hungry? I'll fix you something. Sit down. Rest-you look like you've lost weight. You look exhausted. But you look better than I've ever seen you." He paused, standing over Spence and grinning from ear to ear.

  "Welcome back, my friend. Welcome back to the land of the living."

  12

  … DoN'T BELIEVE IT. I don't believe it." Packer recited his litany once again. He sat in the chair where he had collapsed upon entering the base, and stared at Spence as if he were seeing a ghost. His mouth hung open and his eyes bulged slightly, making him appear first cousin to a cod. "I just don't believe it."

  "You didn't think you had seen the end of me, Packer? I paid for a round-trip ticket."

  "I can't believe it."

  Spence gave Adjani a conspiratorial smile. "That's Packer, always the keen conversationalist."

  Packer then leaped up and proceeded to give Spence's back such a pounding that Spence wished he had stayed quite out of range of the burly giant. "Reston, you old fox. How did you do it?

  Tell me that. How did you ever do it? Look! Not a nip of frostbite on hint! How did you do it?"

  Spence then proceeded to give Packer a version of the story he and Adjani had carefully constructed between them. He said that he had stumbled into a warm-air shaft which kept him from freezing to death and also allowed him to distill a small amount of water vapor-enough to keep him from dehydration-by using his helmet.

  He told how he had walked every day to try and find his way back, the trail having been obliterated by the storm. He could only walk as far as he could return in the same day. That way he could be back in his warm air vent by nightfall. Each day he had gone out a different way and on the last day had been fortunate enough to have been spotted by Adjani and picked up.

  "Adjani, why didn't you radio us when you found him?"

  "I started to, but you were already on your way back. We decided to let it be a surprise."

  "Surprise! Well, I'll say it is! Spence, I sure am glad to see you. I thought you'd bought your ticket that first night. I was sure of it. And then the storm and everything. I don't believe it."

  "I never thought I'd see this place again, either. I had almost given up hope of finding it."

  Packer grew serious; his eyes, still twinkling, regarded Spence sharply. "What made you do it, Spence? What made you run out into that sandblaster out there? I can't figure it."

  Spence lowered his voice; there were others gathered around that he did not wish to involve in his private affairs. "I think you're entitled to a full reading on that score, Packer. I think I'd like to wait until we can sit down and talk it over."

  "I understand. No pressure-just curious."

  "Adjani tells me I'm back in time to help close up."

  "Yes, indeed. You made it back just in time. We're leaving as soon as we can seal up this compound. Shouldn't take but a few hours. You are fit to travel, aren't you? You look like you've lost twenty pounds-"

  "I'm fit enough. I'll have nothing to do but rest once we're aboard."

  "That's another thing! I have to radio back to Gotham and let them know we found you. I'm afraid I gave up on you, Spencer. I told ComCen you were missing, presumed dead. That's one mistake I'll gladly correct pronto."

  "No! I mean, couldn't we let it wait for a few days?"

  Packer's eyes narrowed. "There's some trouble, isn't there? I'm dense, but not that dense. You want to tell me about it?"

  Adjani spoke up. "Again that would be better discussed in private between friends. All right?"

  Packer shrugged. "I'll hold off sending the report, but you two are going to have some explaining to do as soon as we're under way." He smiled, his features relaxing into their normal benign smirk. "I don't care if you've nipped the Crown Jewels, I'm just glad you're back."

  Olmstead Packer turned to those gathered around and yelled, "Let's get this show on the road! I want everything stashed, stowed, and shipshape in three hours. Kalnikov is bringing the transport into alignment now. Personally, I don't want to spend another night in this chicken coop. Let's go!"

  The cadets let out a whoop and the place swung into a ferment of activity. Adjani settled himself at a nearby computer terminal and reactivated the drone program which ran the installation in the absence of human caretakers. Spence went back to his bunk in the team leader's quarters and picked up his still-packed frame from the bed he had never slept in.

  It seemed like ages ago that he had wandered half-crazed out into the cruel Simoom. And everything that had happened after that seemed like a dream. But now, as he stood looking belongings, he was once more acutely aware that he was still vulnerable e to the mysterious blackouts, and still no closer to solving the enigma of their cause-his flight had been futile from that respect. His sanity dangled by an all-too-slender thread. He did not know how much more he could take before that tenuous thread snapped! …

  ARI SAT UP IN bed with a start. The dull ache that had driven her, after weeks of dogged endurance, at last to bed had finally disappeared. The churning emptiness had gong and she felt almost herse
lf once more.

  The awful news about Spence had been a shattering blow.

  For days she had done nothing but sit in her room while the cruel words "presumed dead" tore at her heart. She cried until tears refused to come, and then entered a state of benumbed indifference to life. Her father, at wits' end, summoned doctors who advised sedatives which she would not take.

  But this morning she told herself that her vigil of grief was over, that she would face the day with resolve and put her life back together. The effect was like a cool wind rising in the night to blow away a long, sultry hot spell. This weather change in her brought with it renewed hope that somehow, some way her life would resume, even flourish.

  It was this change, so fresh, so startling in its suddenness, that brought her awake out of a leaden sleep. And she had a feeling of waking to unfinished business-knowledge which seemed to dance just out of memory. Like a butterfly it flitted close, but when she tried to capture it, to hold it and remember, it darted away again.

  Ari hummed with the feeling that she knew something very important, though she could not remember what it was. The feeling hounded her all day.

  She rose and went about the morning routine with a lightness and cheer that would have delighted any who had seen her. She filled her small room with a sunny radiance that splashed against the walls and chased the shadows-as if a window had been opened on a new spring morning full of golden sunlight and glowing promise.

  She wondered what the change could mean. An answer to prayer? Thankfully, she accepted it as such and launched into her day relieved, refreshed, and revived.

  "Daughter, you look absolutely reborn!" her father shouted when she met him for breakfast. The director always took breakfast in his own dining room while he skimmed the news of the world which ComCen gathered from various satellite news services and patched together for him in a special vid-disc edition of the Gotham Times.

  "I feel much better today, Daddy."

  "You look marvelous, my dear. Simply wonderful. Oh, I can't tell you how good it is to see you like this. I was beginning to think that… Well, never mind. Breakfast?"