A Woman of the Iron People

by Eleanor Arnason

  I looked at Ivanova, surprised.

  “They said the planet does not belong to us. And it is not our history that we are afraid of changing. They said—Mr. Fang said—consult the natives. Ask them if they want to have us here.” Ivanova paused. “That is why we are going to the village.”

  “One village is going to decide this issue for the entire planet?”

  “No. Of course not. We are going to the nearest village to explain who we are and why we have come into their territory. To ask if we can stay. If they say no, we will apologize and leave. If they say yes…”

  Tatiana said, “There is something on the shore.”

  The boat slowed. I made out the thing. It lay on a mud bank, entirely out of the water. A long object, narrow and dark. A lizard?

  Tatiana said, “A canoe.”

  “What?” I held out my hand. She gave me the binoculars. She was right. “We tipped over next to the eastern shore. How could it possibly have gotten here?”

  “The current certainly would not have brought it,” Ivanova said.

  The boat slowed, edging toward the bank. Ivanova spoke in Russian. Tatiana went into the cabin. The boat stopped. Eddie came out on deck, Agopian following.

  “How deep?” asked Eddie.

  Ivanova glanced at the instruments in front of her. “A little over a meter.”

  Eddie went over the side and waded to shore.

  “Comrade?” asked Agopian.

  “Stay here. Unless you want to go.”

  “Of course I do. It’s clearly an artifact—made by aliens. I’d like to touch it. I’m already wet.”

  She laughed. He followed Eddie. I raised the binoculars again. Eddie was at the canoe. I could estimate the size now. It was too small. Eddie touched the wood. Agopian came up, his shoulders hunched against the rain, his pants soaked to the waist. They spoke. If they’d been natives, I would have understood them. But the gestures they made had no clear meaning. Agopian pointed. Eddie shook his head. They looked around them. Agopian pulled out a camera. He took pictures of the canoe. Eddie walked back toward us.

  “It isn’t our canoe,” I said to Ivanova.

  “No?”

  “Too small. And there’s something else. The shape of the prow.”

  Eddie climbed back onboard. “It’s old. The wood is rotten. There are plants growing inside it.” He glanced back at Agopian. The short man was still taking pictures. “There aren’t any footprints on the shore. I’d say it washed up, maybe in the spring. This river must flood. I don’t think it was new then. It looks as if it’s been in the water for years.”

  “There isn’t much chance of finding them, is there?” I said.

  “No.”

  “They should have been on the eastern side of the river,” said Ivanova. “Near the main channel, like you and Derek.” She paused, then shouted. “Comrade!”

  I jumped.

  Eddie grinned. “You see what it’s been like on the ship. She has one hell of a bellow.”

  “I have almost never yelled at you,” said Ivanova.

  Agopian waded back out. Eddie helped him onboard.

  “It isn’t much to look at,” he said. “But it is an artifact.” I heard an odd tone in his voice. “They aren’t a figment of our imagination.”

  “Who?” asked Eddie.

  “The aliens. The natives. Other people. Sentient life.” He laughed. “And I’m here.” He looked down at his pants. “I’m going to have to change my clothes.”

  Eddie nodded. The boat began to move, edging out toward deeper water. The men went into the cabin.

  I stayed next to Ivanova. The boat picked up speed. The rain grew heavier. The islands and the shore became dim shadows. Water ran down the windshield and beat on the unprotected deck in back of us. The wind carried it under the overhang. It touched me. I shivered.

  “Go inside, comrade. I don’t know what diseases it is possible to catch on this planet, but whatever they are, you are asking to catch them. You are exhausted. You haven’t eaten properly for days. And now you are getting wet and cold. Give the binoculars to Tatiana. I don’t believe she will be able to see anything. But one does not give up when lives are at stake.”

  I went in. Derek was lounging in a chair, his legs out, his shoulders against the back. Not the way he usually sat. He looked exhausted. The others sat around him, drinking tea and talking softly. Lights glowed pale yellow.

  Tatiana glanced up. “She wants me?”

  “Yes.” I handed over the binoculars. She left. I sat down on a couch, feeling disoriented. Maybe it was the light. So pale and steady. So foreign. Nothing like firelight. I rubbed my neck. The others glanced at me, then continued their conversation. It had something to do with a concert on the ship. A composer who was using elements of native music taken from our reports. Eddie thought the work was superficial. Agopian thought it was interesting. Derek asked a question now and then.

  I lay down and closed my eyes. Someone put a blanket over me.

  Derek said, “We’re almost to the camp.”

  I sat up. The lights were off. The cabin was empty, except for the two of us.

  “It stopped raining,” he said. “Come out.”

  I stood, stretching, and followed him onto the deck. Tatiana was at the wheel. The other three leaned against the stern railing. Eddie’s long hair fluttered in the wind. Behind them was the river valley, dark with forest. Above them the sky was iron-gray. In the west—on my right—it was clearing. Rays of sunlight came through the clouds and touched the river. No. The lake. It stretched around us, wide and silver-gray. Birds soared over the choppy water. I looked to my left. I could just barely make out the eastern shore. “It’s bigger than I expected.”

  “You probably were thinking of something on Earth,” said Eddie. “I noticed in your reports—you kept trying to make this world a second Earth. Not only you. All the field-workers. Everything was compared to something at home. Most of the comparisons are going to turn out to be false and wrong. This place is alien. We don’t belong here.”

  “That has not been determined,” said Ivanova.

  The boat turned in toward the western shore. It was close, and the bluffs were easy to see. They were tall and eroded, topped with forest and cut by deep ravines.

  “It really is a lovely planet,” said Agopian. “Earth must have looked like this, before the capitalists got hold of it.”

  “Huh,” said Eddie.

  There were domes on the shore: tan and soft blue, creamy off-white, celadon-green. In front of them was a dock, extending into the lake. It floated, long and jointed, moving up and down section by section as the waves washed in.

  People came out of the buildings. They ran toward the dock. So many!

  “Eddie,” said Derek.

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t think we have the energy for any kind of celebration.”

  “Leave it to me.” The boat stopped. Eddie climbed onto the dock and ran toward the people.

  The engine stopped. I heard water and the wind. Birds cried. Human voices spoke. I did not understand them. Eddie gestured. The people turned and walked back to the camp.

  We climbed out, and Agopian tied the boat. Eddie returned, one person with him: a tall and slender woman. Her skin was dark brown. Her hair was shoulder-length and wavy. Her coveralls were terra-cotta red.

  “This is Liberation Minh. She’s a member of the medical team.”

  “A pleasure.” She shook our hands. “We’re going to need to do a preliminary examination. It won’t take long. We will take you apart once we have you on the ship. But now—all we need is a few samples. A few tests.” She turned and led the way. Derek and I followed.

  “We have found parasites in your colleagues. A few worms or wormlike creatures. A number of microbes. None doing really well, but trying. If they were larger, we’d speak of courage and enterprise.” Her accent was African. That surprised me. I would have bet she came from the Americas. That name and that coloring. M
aybe her parents had been American.

  “Also, we have found malnutrition. Our microbes—the ones that were supposed to help you metabolize the native flora and fauna—did not work as well as we had hoped.”

  We reached the end of the dock. Vehicles had gone over the muddy ground, mashing down the vegetation and leaving deep ruts. I saw one machine: a hillclimber with huge wheels. It was parked next to a dome.

  Liberation Mihn said, “That is it, except for a little metal poisoning. The crust of this planet is rich.”

  Oh, good, I thought. Our microbes were failing, other microbes had moved in, and we were being poisoned by who knew what? Zinc. Copper. Manganese. Lead.

  We followed her into a blue-gray dome. Inside was a pale gray carpet. Hexagonal windows looked out on the evening lake. There were rooms full of medical equipment. I entered one, and a tech came in, tall, with a hawk face. “Please undress, unless you are uncomfortable with nudity or men.”

  “No.” I put on a gown. He attached machines to me. They made the usual machine noises. He made the kind of human noises that were usual during a medical examination.

  “No trouble there. Or there. You seem to be in the—what is the term?—pink of health. I don’t know if that refers to the color of healthy Europeans. If so, it is another example of racism. How hard it is to get such things out of a language!”

  There were more noises, machine and human. Finally he said, “I can see no trouble at all. Except your weight. It’s down a bit, and it is never a good idea to be too thin. Try to eat a little more until your weight is back up to where it should be.”

  “Okay.”

  “And the problem with menstruation. That is most interesting! I will refer it to the proper committee, along with your test results. The bathroom is next door. Please read the instructions on the monitor and follow them exactly. Thank you for your patience.” He gave me a dazzling white smile. “And welcome back. God is great!”

  He left. I found the bathroom, followed the instructions, dressed, and went down the hall. By this time it was night. When I looked out the windows, I saw only my own reflection and the gleam of the corridor lights. I came to a room with chairs. Derek and Eddie sat there. Both looked tired.

  “How are you?” I asked Derek.

  “Some scratches and bruises. One ugly bite. But otherwise okay.”

  “One ugly bite?”

  “I’ll tell you about it later.”

  I glanced at Eddie. “What next?”

  “You are assigned to dome number five. I’ll take you there. Dome three—the big one—has the commons and the dining room.”

  “Not tonight. I just want to go to sleep.”

  “Yes,” said Derek.

  “Okay.” Eddie stood.

  We went out. The sky had cleared. Stars gleamed overhead. To the east I saw a planet. It was yellow and so bright that it cast a reflection: a yellow line that barely wavered. The water must be quiet. The air was still. We moved past buildings and machinery. Metal gleamed dimly in the light that came out windows.

  Eddie stopped and pushed open a door. We followed him into a corridor made of glazed yellow panels. Lamps shaped like flowers were fastened to the walls. Their stems were ceramic. Their petals were frosted glass. A light blue carpet covered the floor. I felt its texture through my slippers. Soft. Our feet made no noise as we followed Eddie.

  “Here.” He opened another door. A light came on. I saw a bedroom: blue walls and a pale tan carpet. There was a hexagonal window over the bed. The window was at an angle, set in a wall that curved.

  “This is yours, Lixia.”

  I made the gesture of gratitude.

  “Derek will be next door. The bathroom is down the hall. I can get you food, if you’re hungry.”

  “No.” The bed had a cover: a floral pattern done in white, dark blue, and tan. It looked comforting. Was that the right word? Comfortable. Like home.

  “Good night,” said Eddie.

  They left me. I dimmed the light, undressed, and lay down. The bed was soft. The cover felt cool and smooth. I thought of getting under it, but could not manage the effort. I closed my eyes.

  I woke to darkness. Above me was the window. Stars burned outside. There was someone in the room. I wasn’t sure how I could tell, but I was certain. Where was the light? I didn’t remember turning it off. I reached out carefully, feeling along the wall. Surely there ought to be a switch.

  “Relax,” said Derek. “It’s only me.” His voice came from the floor.

  “What in hell?”

  “The bed was too soft, and I was lonely. I wanted something familiar.”

  “Oh.”

  “They smell funny, Lixia. I think it’s the difference in diet. And the lack of fur.”

  “Could be.”

  “And there’s something about the air in these buildings. It doesn’t feel right. It barely moves.”

  “If you want to sleep on the floor, it’s okay with me.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What happened to you, Derek? After you got to the sandbar.”

  He laughed. “Nothing much. The nearest land was a marsh. I swam over there. I thought maybe I’d be able to find a trail. I got bit.”

  “Is that what you were talking about?”

  “More or less. It was a kind of lizard. Not even as long as my forearm. But brightly colored and fearless. I thought those colors had to mean something, and there had to be a reason why the animal was fearless. Either it scared other animals or it tasted like shit.

  “I figured I didn’t want to take the chance. I had to get the wound open and bleeding. I didn’t have a knife on me. I’d lost it. I didn’t want to take the time to find something sharp.” He paused. “I chewed the wound open.”

  “What?”

  “I was lucky it was in a place I could reach. If that animal had bit me on the ass, I’d probably be dead. I got it bleeding freely, and I sucked out everything I could. But I still got goddamn sick. The animal was poisonous.”

  “Where was it?”

  “The wound? On my arm, right above the bracelet. I wondered if maybe the brightness attracted the animal—or angered it.”

  “The bracelet?”

  “The one that belonged to the Trickster. I tracked the oracle and found where he threw it into the lake.”

  “You took it back a second time.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Do you still have it?”

  “Not anymore. I don’t like being pushed around by anyone, even a spirit. But too many bad things have happened. I threw it in the river. I apologized to the Trickster. I told him I’d find a way to make up for everything.” He paused. “After I got over being sick, I decided to stay where I was. My arm hurt. I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to swim any distance at all. And I didn’t want to go back in the marsh. I figured, I’d wait for a rescue or until I was feeling a bit better. I gathered wood and built a fire. I’m tired, Lixia.”

  I said, “Good night.”

  His breathing changed almost at once, becoming deep and even and slow. He had gone to sleep.

  I followed his example.

  I dreamed that I was back on the ship in a corridor. The walls were made of ceramic tile, glazed oxblood-red. Derek was in the corridor. He was dancing. The gold bracelet was on his wrist. It shone brightly. Derek sang in the language of gifts:

  “I am the Trickster,

  O, you foolish woman.

  What I want, I take.

  What I take, I keep.”

  Eddie

  Sunlight came through the window. I groaned and sat up. Derek was gone. He’d left a pillow on the floor. The covering was brown and gray: a pattern of swallows in flight.

  I found my clothes and went looking for the bathroom, which had been used. There was steam on the mirror and two damp towels. They’d been hung up, not especially neatly. I straightened them, turned on the shower, and climbed in. Ah! The simple pleasures of civilization! Hot spray beat on my head and back. The soap
smelled of lemon. There was a loofah hanging on a hook in the stall. I got it wet and scrubbed.

  The water went off. I pressed the button that turned it on.

  A voice said, “If you wish to obtain more water, wait a minute, then press the ‘On’ button. But remember, you have already used your daily allotment.”

  “There’s a whole lake out there. A river as big as the Mississippi. And the water is clean.”

  The shower did not answer. I pressed the button again, though I felt guilty about it—as I was supposed to. The water came on, and I washed my hair.

  When I was done I got dressed and wandered through the dome. I found evidence of occupation in almost every room: rumpled beds and pieces of clothing. A necklace lay on a table. It was antique silver and coral. Sunlight touched it. It gleamed.

  Another room held a book, which I turned on. The title appeared on the screen:À la Recherche du Temps Perdu par Marcel Proust. My French was close to nonexistent. I turned the book off and put it back where I had found it and then went out of the dome.

  The day was bright and windy. The lake glittered. Clouds moved across the sky. Eddie waited for me. He wore a flower-print shirt, dark-green and red. His hair was in braids. His jeans were tucked into high boots made of real leather. He had sunglasses on. The lenses were green-gold and highly reflective. I could not see his eyes.

  “Good morning, Lixia. I thought I’d make sure you found the dining room.”

  “Thanks.”

  We walked toward the biggest dome.

  “How’d you sleep?”

  “Okay. Where do I get new clothes?”

  “Dome one. It’s all standard issue. I’m sorry about that. No one thought to bring anything from your cabin.”

  “You didn’t expect to find me.”

  He laughed. “Maybe so. We’ve gone to a hell of a lot of trouble—and set a dangerous precedent—and you may be right. We may not have believed that you and Derek were alive.”

  “Lucky for us that you came down anyway.”

  Eddie did not answer. I glanced at him. He was frowning. I knew what he was thinking. It wasn’t lucky for the people on the planet.