Permanence

by Karl Schroeder

  Sitting up, Rue spotted her clothes neatly folded on a nearby chair. This was her first awakening at Colossus and yet she was not surrounded by doctors, nor was she shivering in a cold-sleep vat waiting to be tended to. She didn't feel a million years old like she had every other time she emerged from cold sleep— in fact, she felt great.

  Her feet touched down in deep warm pile carpet. This room was at least seven meters on a side and almost that tall. One entire wall was taken up with high, leaded-glass windows; there were French doors there as well. Rue dressed without looking at her clothes; her eyes were fixed on the vista outside.

  She needed to go to the bathroom, but there was no way she was doing that before she got past those windows. She turned the handle on the doors and they opened to let in a beautifully cool breeze. The air smelled of ice and bare rock, like the penumbral mountains at Treya. Eagerly Rue stepped out onto a wide balcony.

  A quick glance told her she was halfway up the side of a gigantic building perched on an equally huge cliff. Then she turned her attention to what lay beyond.

  The sky at Treya had been alive with clouds. This sky was alive in a completely different way. The whole firmament glowed with sunset mauve and peach, but these colors didn't radiate from the horizon the way sunset had on Chandaka. Rather, at the zenith hung a round golden disk, its edges perfectly sharp. She could look straight at it without difficulty. Near this disk the sky was a lovely peach color, becoming rose, purple, dark blue and finally black at the horizon.

  A brilliant aurora danced throughout this beautiful sky. Wavering curtains of light at the horizon, the auroral bands became coiling serpents when directly overhead. The combination of firmament and aurora laid fairy light over a seascape that stretched away to incredible distance before her.

  That golden disk must be the brown dwarf Colossus, she knew, but it was nothing at all like Erythrion. Neither was this place like Treya, or Chandaka, or any world she had seen in movies or sims.

  A city brimmed over the cliff her building stood upon. Its walls and minarets gleamed like an hallucination in the sinuous light. The cliff itself was pearly white and was backed by ramparts of equally white mountains. It stretched off past the horizons to either side.

  Rue had never seen a real ocean, but she knew that the one before her must be unique. Mountains reared out of it, white with emerald and turquoise highlights: icebergs. Smaller chunks of ice floated in the dark water, their sides licked by white foam. The air that blew back her hair was well below freezing— a perfect temperature, in fact. She leaned against the balustrade and closed her eyes, just breathing it in for a while.

  Someone cleared their throat.

  Rue turned, to find a tall man in the severe black uniform of the Cycler Compact standing at the French doors. "Captain Cassels," he said. "Welcome to Lux and the planet Oculus. I am glad to find you awake. I am Griffin, the abbot of this monastery."

  "How long have we been here?" she asked. "Are the others awake?"

  "You are the first, since you are the captain of the Jentry's Envy," he said with a bow. "You must tell us the order in which to awake the others."

  "How long?" she asked again.

  "A week since we recovered your shuttle," he said. "There was no indication of urgency in your messages, so we took the liberty of awaking you in a traditional way, more civilized than one finds in cycler travel lately, I'd wager."

  Rue was at a loss as to what to say. She just nodded. "We've taken the liberty," Griffin said, "of tailoring you a uniform as befits your station." He gestured at a side table by the windows. Through the leaded glass, she saw folded black cloth.

  "Oh. Well… thank you." She went to the doorway; he retreated and she went to the table.

  "If you and your companions are willing, we would be pleased to give a banquet in your honor at second shift-over," he said. "In the Great Hall of the monastery, of course."

  "Banquet?" Her head was spinning. "Sure." She unfolded part of the uniform. It was an absolute black, with silver epaulets and piping. Her heart flipped as she saw on the breast something she'd seen before only in movies and sims: the silver infinity symbol inside laurel leafs that signified the rank of cycler captain.

  Rue dropped the uniform back on the table. A roaring filled her head and the world faded in and out for a moment.

  "Are you all right?" Griffin was at her side, one hand just touching her elbow.

  "No— I mean yes, I, I'll be all right." She turned away from him, so that he wouldn't see the tears starting in her eyes.

  "I'd hoped to give you a tour of Lux this afternoon," said the abbot. "But I see you've not fully recovered from your flight."

  "No, it's all right." She wiped her eyes and turned to smile at him. "Abbot Griffin, I would love a tour. Maybe, if you gave me an hour to freshen up? Please, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

  He smiled graciously and bowed again. "Of course. One of the sisters will be waiting outside the door if you require anything. An hour then?"

  She nodded. After he left Rue turned back to stare at the folded uniform. It seemed to draw light to itself, as if it were the magnetic focus of the room. Her hand hovered over the smooth cloth for long seconds before she summoned the courage to turn a fold aside and gaze again on the infinity symbol. That symbol was no doubt chiseled into the stones above this monastery's gate. It was the symbol of her civilization.

  • • •

  TWO HOURS LATER, Rue was high above the city in an aircar, staring down at the domed towers of Lux. Many of the buildings had atria or open shafts penetrating them; from above, the shafts made patterns of dots across the rooftops. The Abbot had explained that since Oculus was tidally locked, Colossus never moved from its position near the zenith. The builders of the city could put skylights and light-pipes in permanent place, confident that Colossus would throw its amber light deep into the heart of any building without pause.

  For all its medieval appearance, Lux was built of plastics and ceramics, all based on minerals and chemicals mined from the ocean. The ocean was global, for Oculus was a Europan world, covered in continents of ice with a twenty-kilometer deep ocean beneath them. Only here at the point closest to Colossus was the water exposed, in a circular ocean two thousand kilometers across. Lux clung to the edge of this ocean, but most of Oculus's cities were dug deep under the ice, at its interface with the unfathomable depths of water.

  "See down there," said the abbot. Rue followed his pointing finger to the base of the ice cliffs. There, dark archways opened into the white walls. As she watched, a large ship exited one archway. It cast wings of water up and behind it from small feet of some kind that it ran upon.

  "Hydrofoils," said the abbot. Rue smiled politely, though she didn't understand. Now she saw there were many ships on the water, from very small sailing vessels to huge square things loaded with shipping containers.

  "I hope you are with us long enough to go sailing," said the abbot. "The bergs are beautiful and home to many birds."

  She nodded again. The view was spectacular, but by now Rue was so overwhelmed she was barely registering it. She was still trying to get over the experience of walking the halls of the monastery wearing a cycler captain's uniform.

  Everyone who had seen her dressed this way had stopped. The men had bowed; the women curtsied. There was no irony to it. They were sincere in their respect. Rue kept wanting to say, "hang on, I'm not what you think I am" — but she was what they thought she was. The implications had just never registered with her until now.

  Before they had entered cold sleep for the trip down here, Crisler had summoned everyone to a meeting and said, "Here are the things we can't talk about while we're at Colossus." He had spoken of the necessity of not revealing details about the nature of Jentry's Envy. "We have to claim ignorance of its origins and course for now," he had said with grim authority. At the time Rue had nodded with the others, but she knew that Crisler's priorities only made sense to those of her passengers who were from
High Space. He couldn't be trusted anyway: Mike's discovery of the hidden photos proved that.

  She felt she had managed to convince Crisler that she would adhere to his wishes. As soon as he awoke, though, he would realize that this was her world and she could and would say whatever she wanted to these people. There was no reason for her to keep the secrets of the Envy for his sake and no way he could enforce his wishes here. She was tempted to rub his nose in that fact.

  Earlier, when the abbot had asked if she had a preference as to who to revive next, Rue had been strongly tempted to say, "Leave Crisler and his men in cold sleep." It would have been so easy. But she didn't know whether she had the authority to do that, now that they were all under the care of the monks. And also, the level of cold sleep they were under was light; it wouldn't be healthy to leave them in that state for much longer.

  She no longer needed Crisler and he must know it. That was probably why he had come along personally on this expedition, but what could he do about it?

  "Ma'am?" She blinked in surprise. The abbot had asked her something.

  "I said, would you like to return? Your people should be awake now and you'll want to orient them before the banquet."

  "Of course, Abbot. Forgive my inattention." I said that the way Grandma would have wanted, she thought to herself.

  "You have much on your mind, no doubt," said the abbot neutrally. He steered the car back toward the massive monastery tower.

  Rue sat back in the deep upholstery, no longer seeing the cliffs with their wheeling birds and overhanging towers. She was thinking that she could completely isolate herself from Crisler while they were here and there was nothing he could do about it. If she was truly a cycler captain, it was time for her to adopt the responsibilities to her own people that went with the title— far away from the grasping hands of the Rights Economy.

  * * *

  RUE AND MAX stared down at the Great Hall from behind an ornate carved screen. The place was packed with extremely rich looking people. "Oh, shit," said Rue. "What are we going to do?"

  "Don't look at me, this was your idea," he said. Max was still annoyed that she'd had him decanted. The taste for adventure he'd had on Treya seemed entirely gone. Even the exotic wonders of Lux seemed to hold no fascination for him.

  The monks had dressed him up in a gray cycler crew uniform and so far Max hadn't been able to muss up this suit. She knew he would before the evening was out, but at least he'd get through the reception line with his reputation intact. And he looked great just now.

  She told him that and he shrugged. "I clean up well. Shall we do it?"

  They walked down a long curving hallway that finally opened up on a gallery above the cavernous space of the hall. A sweeping limestone staircase dominated this end of the chamber and they were forced to walk down this, arm in arm, while everyone in the place watched. This was the idea, apparently; everybody else had done it.

  They were met at the foot of the stairs by the abbot, who proceeded to introduce Rue to the mayor of Lux, several iron-haired industrialists with predatory eyes, the entire city council, some artists and musicians whose names or reputations she pretended to know, a famously charitable philanthropist, and a deep-diving adventurer invited to the party to add zest. This was before they'd gotten ten meters into the hall, which was forested with suits and gowns.

  "Ah, yes, I'd forgotten why I became a recluse," said Max during a brief break. He smiled and nodded at someone in passing, then said, "Two rules: one, stay near the drinks table. Two: never agree to do anything with anybody, even if it sounds like fun. Hey, in fact, tell them I'm in charge of your schedule and they should come to me to arrange things."

  "What are you talking about?" Nobody had done anything except say hello to her.

  "You'll see."

  They met Rebecca near the center of the scrum. Rue's doctor looked stunning in a long silver ball gown, her hair done up with amber pins. She hugged Rue and Max. "This place is wonderful! I'm so glad I came; I just wish we'd been able to bring Mina."

  It had been something of a shock when Rebecca had taken up with one of the female officers on the Banshee. In retrospect, it had explained much to Rue— to her embarrassment she realized she should have known early on in her acquaintance with the doctor. "We'll have to take pictures to show her," said Rue to Rebecca now. "Where're the others?"

  "Laurent and Mike are over there," she pointed.

  "You see? The drinks table," said Max with a nudge.

  "…And Crisler and his people are there."

  The admiral was all decked out in full uniform and looked completely comfortable among the generals and flight jockeys who had surrounded his men. He seemed to be having a good time.

  A succession of charming middle-aged men drifted past, all making invitations for Rue to join them for dinner, or golf (whatever that was), or a tour of the city. Max stood off to one side, imperceptibly shaking his head. She thanked them for their invitations and said she was booked up. She supposed they saw a business opportunity in her cycler.

  Enthusiastic couples stopped her to ask about the Envy. She told them superficial things about the cycler, but by now her natural caution had asserted itself and she let out only the smallest bits of information she could get away with.

  In truth, the new habitat was amazing and she was bursting to talk about it to somebody. A kind of cylindrical crystal palace lit from its axis, the habitat rotated to produce about one g, a rather dizzying spin considering its small size. Its interior was one open space, which over the first few days after its creation had sprouted a kind of grassy plant that could (Katz had discovered) be eaten.

  The grass had more in common with human DNA than any Earthly plant. It was also an efficient recycler of gases, liquids, and solid waste. Katz estimated that it could support a population of well over a hundred humans, maybe indefinitely.

  Orchestral music started up somewhere and Rue saw that couples were starting to waltz in a cleared area of floor. No sooner had she noticed this than a young man stepped up boldly and asked her to dance.

  "Oh! Uh, no, thank you. But thank you, I mean…"

  She fended off several more offers over the next minute. Dr. Herat and Mike were drifting over, occasionally pausing to talk to various bald, distracted looking men who were minimally well dressed and thus must be scientists.

  "This place is amazing!" Herat was saying. "They say there's some kind of ruins in the ocean, but they're so far down nobody's been able to do more than map them by radar. I'd love to come back here when we're done with the Envy."

  "Mr. Bequith," Rue said as they strolled over. "Do you know how to waltz?"

  "Yes, I do," he said.

  "Then perhaps you can teach me."

  Rebecca grinned and tipped her glass to Max.

  "I realize you're the captain, but I think you should let me lead," he said.

  "Whatever you say."

  He showed her the basic footwork. It was easy enough; they moved to the edge of the dance floor and Rue took a deep breath and let him pull her into the swaying throng. Michael Bequith put his hand on the small of Rue's back and she forgot everything else.

  She stumbled a lot and laughed at herself, but Mike's strength literally pulled her through her missteps. It was thrilling and her only regret was that she wasn't decked out in one of those fantastic confections the other women were wearing. It must look odd, two uniformed figures dancing out here.

  But no, there went two men, who were obviously into each other. To hell with it, it was time she just cut loose and enjoyed herself. Rue laughed again and let Mike twirl her around so that she almost lost her sunglasses.

  The song ended and they danced another, then another. Just when she was getting giddy and tired, a strong voice behind her said, "May I have this dance?"

  She turned. This man was unknown to her; he was probably in his forties and had strong, severe features and close-cropped gray hair. A gaudy ring through one ear spoiled the military ef
fect.

  He was dressed in a well-worn counterpart to the uniform she had on.

  Mike bowed and let go of her hand. He had that mysterious smile on his face that he sometimes got— he seemed to be scoring some point in a game only he understood.

  "R-Rue Cassels," she said as the cycler captain took her hand. "Captain of Jentry's Envy."

  "Travis Li, captain of the Dauntless."

  Somehow, they were dancing. She looked around for Mike, but he had vanished among the bodies. Rue tried to think of something clever to say to this captain Li. Her mind was a blank.

  "I hear you've just returned from Chandaka," he said. "What's the situation there?"

  She frowned. "…Situation?"

  "You rode a beam into Chandaka. That must mean they're still maintaining their ties with the halo."

  "Ah, I see." She was dancing with a dashing cycler captain and he wanted her opinion on something political! Where was Jentry when you needed to rub his nose in something?

  "We were not welcomed with the same… enthusiasm as here, I'm afraid," she admitted. "The Compact maintains the monastery there, but I got the feeling… well, that they were going through the motions. They wouldn't have let us ride the beam in if it hadn't been a humanitarian situation."

  "The Envy isn't ready to support full-time occupation, then?"

  "It wasn't at that time." Was he grilling her about her ship, now?

  "If you need appropriations for supplies, I know who to talk to locally," said Li. "This is my homeworld; that's why I'm visiting."

  "Appropriations? Tell me more." The little Ediacaran still huddled against Rue's breast; she had been planning to see about selling it tomorrow. But of course, the monasteries of the Cycler Compact existed to maintain the fleet. Now that her cycler was officially part of that fleet, she must have access to all kinds of resources.

  They danced and Captain Li told her what was possible for her now.

  * * *

  MUCH LATER, AN exhausted Rue made her way to the drinks tables. Sure enough, there was Max, holding forth to a small crowd of matrons. Herat and Mike stood nearby, discussing something intensely with a bearded man and his wife.