Read Online Poseidon's Wake by Alastair Reynolds - Free Book Online

Tantors did, too.’ Ndege looked down at her fingers, lost in herself for a few seconds. ‘It occurred to me that perhaps Ru would find this of interest.’
    Goma had gone so long without allowing herself hope that it was rather odd to feel that all the doors were not yet locked. But Ndege knew both of them well enough. Tantors were the answer to any argument.
    ‘She might not believe me.’
    ‘She doesn’t need to. The mere possibility that there might be Tantors will be enough. Admit it, Goma – you’re the same.’
    ‘You said this could get both of us into trouble.’
    ‘I did, and I meant it. But if it made a difference to Ru’s decision, then I think the risk would be worth it, for both of us.’
    ‘I . . .’ Goma began.
    ‘You don’t know what to say. That’s understandable. You don’t know whether you’ve been given a bomb or a gift. My suggestion? Use it wisely. You’ll only have one chance with Ru.’
    ‘Thank you,’ Goma answered.
    Ndege returned the slip of paper to Gulliver’s Travels , tapped the book against her table and then rose to replace it in the bookcase. She flashed a quick smile and then it was gone. ‘I await developments, daughter.’

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    Kanu and the robot trod water next to each other. They were in a wide, calm sea, nothing but ocean and sky to the limit of vision. Swimming was natural enough for Kanu – he was always happier in water than on land – but the thought of the robot having to share the same unforgiving element struck him as both comical and ludicrous, a profound violation of all that was right and proper.
    ‘Aren’t you made of metal?’ he kept asking. ‘Aren’t you too heavy for this sort of thing?’
    ‘So are you,’ Swift answered every time. His frock coat looked heavy and sodden.
    ‘But I only have to swim a little bit to support my weight.’
    ‘That’s your problem,’ Swift said. ‘You’re not moving at all!’
    It had been Kanu’s move for quite some time, but whenever he felt himself on the threshold of committing, some doubt stayed his hand. The longer he delayed his move, the worse the indecision became.
    ‘Well, then,’ Swift said, obligingly enough, ‘I shall simply make another move while you think about it.’
    ‘Is that in the rules?’
    ‘Different rules for different times. We have to think innovatively now. It’s no good being held back by old patterns.’
    Swift picked up one of his own pieces, a knight, preparing to place it on the floating board. The chessboard rose and fell on the gentlest of swells, hingeing in the middle in a manner that made Kanu think of the languid wingbeat of a giant manta ray.
    It was odd, now that he paid proper attention to it, that all the pieces were the same colour. Kanu did not appear to have any of his own on the board.
    Then Swift lost his grip on the knight. It slipped from his fingers, bounced off the side of the board and vanished under the water.
    ‘I’ll fetch it,’ Kanu said.
    ‘Would you be so kind?’
    Kanu submerged. The sun’s dazzle was kinder under the waves and its trembling light fell on the sinking chess piece. As the knight descended, a string of bubbles left the horse’s mouth. Kanu snatched for it, but his fingers closed on water. The knight was still falling.
    Kanu followed it into darker, cooler waters. Never mind, he was made for this. He could stay submerged for as long as a sperm whale and dive just as deep. Already he could feel the old engine of his heart beginning to slow, the blood leaving his extremities.
    But even with his webbed hands and feet, it was becoming harder to match the speed of the knight’s descent. The water was almost totally black now, the chess piece’s progress marked only by the silvery thread of its bubbles.
    There was something below him.
    It was a huge form, a concentration of deeper blackness, ink upon ink. He thought for a moment that it was a pinnacle, a summit pushing up from the ocean’s bed. But the