Read Online The Cydonian Pyramid by Pete Hautman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Pete Hautman
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Lambs call it Plague. The Medicants call it evolution. I call it
autismus.
”
“They are sick with numbers.”
Artur raised his prodigious eyebrows. “So say the Lambs.”
The traffic thinned as they approached the outskirts of the city. After a time, Lia saw a tree, and then another, and then an open field planted with some sort of crop. Soon they were surrounded by more land than buildings, and the only other traffic consisted of a few larger transport vehicles. The open areas grew more expansive — one field planted with corn stretched as far as she could see. Artur did something with the reins. The “horse” vanished, and the cart accelerated rapidly. Lia gripped the armrest with both hands. Within seconds they were traveling so fast that the wind stung her eyes and blew her hair straight back. Fields and trees became a blur as they raced down the highway. Artur’s face was wide open, his mouth drawn into a joyful smile.
They maintained their speed for some time. When nothing terrible happened, Lia’s fear turned to exhilaration. She was filled with wonder at the distance they had covered. The tall buildings of the city sank into the horizon. Flat fields became rolling hills. The road carried them up a long slope, then down into a valley and along a meandering river. The cart slowed. They turned off the highway onto a narrower road. Artur twitched the reins, and the horse reappeared before them. The clopping sound resumed.
Artur raised an eyebrow at her. “You like that,
bubeluh
?”
“It was . . .
fast,
” Lia said. They had slowed to a walk. It felt as if they were crawling. “Why do we now go slowly when we could be moving quickly?”
“Better you should ask, ‘Why go quickly when we could take our time?’”
“I don’t know.”
“I will tell you.” A boyish grin cut through his bearded face. “Because it is joyful fun to race the wind, but only when no one is watching.” They entered a forested area. The pavement ended, and the road surface became hard-packed dirt. Trees and brush pressed the sides of the road; an occasional branch dragged across the sides of the cart.
“You don’t want people to see you go fast?”
“It is unseemly to motor free before worldly eyes.” The road curved toward the river and led onto a low wooden bridge. Lia leaned to the side and looked over the railing into the water as they crossed the river. She could see fish holding their places, facing into the current.
The narrow road climbed slowly, making frequent turns, back and forth, up the side of the lush river valley. Artur withdrew into his own thoughts as Lia watched the numberless trees pass them by.
A S THEY FOLLOWED THE
CLOP, CLOP, CLOP
OF THE not-horse up the switchback road, Lah Lia thought back to her time as a Pure Girl. In her memory, hardly a day had passed since she had stepped through the Gate on the pyramid, but already her years in Romelas felt like another life, distant and gone. The Lait Pike had once remarked upon this.
We travel into the future by leaps and bounds,
he had told her.
Each step opens a gulf between our present and the past. Wherever we go, there we are, moving toward what is to come.
Even though the Gate had taken her to the distant past, she was moving inexorably into her own future.
Clop, clop, clop.
They came up over a rise and out of the woods into a wide-open treeless space, rolling hills displaying a checkerboard of cultivated fields. Artur pulled back on the reins; the cart slowed.
“Listen,” he said.
Lia heard a faint sound, like a gurgling creek, becoming louder. Artur pointed at the field just ahead of them on the right. The surface of the field was moving, as if covered with a living soft, pulsating layer of dusky blue and gray. The gurgling sound became a rumble, almost too low to hear. Lia could not imagine what she was seeing. Artur brought the cart to a halt, dropped the reins, and clapped his hands loudly.
The field exploded. Birds! The flock
autismus.
”
“They are sick with numbers.”
Artur raised his prodigious eyebrows. “So say the Lambs.”
The traffic thinned as they approached the outskirts of the city. After a time, Lia saw a tree, and then another, and then an open field planted with some sort of crop. Soon they were surrounded by more land than buildings, and the only other traffic consisted of a few larger transport vehicles. The open areas grew more expansive — one field planted with corn stretched as far as she could see. Artur did something with the reins. The “horse” vanished, and the cart accelerated rapidly. Lia gripped the armrest with both hands. Within seconds they were traveling so fast that the wind stung her eyes and blew her hair straight back. Fields and trees became a blur as they raced down the highway. Artur’s face was wide open, his mouth drawn into a joyful smile.
They maintained their speed for some time. When nothing terrible happened, Lia’s fear turned to exhilaration. She was filled with wonder at the distance they had covered. The tall buildings of the city sank into the horizon. Flat fields became rolling hills. The road carried them up a long slope, then down into a valley and along a meandering river. The cart slowed. They turned off the highway onto a narrower road. Artur twitched the reins, and the horse reappeared before them. The clopping sound resumed.
Artur raised an eyebrow at her. “You like that,
bubeluh
?”
“It was . . .
fast,
” Lia said. They had slowed to a walk. It felt as if they were crawling. “Why do we now go slowly when we could be moving quickly?”
“Better you should ask, ‘Why go quickly when we could take our time?’”
“I don’t know.”
“I will tell you.” A boyish grin cut through his bearded face. “Because it is joyful fun to race the wind, but only when no one is watching.” They entered a forested area. The pavement ended, and the road surface became hard-packed dirt. Trees and brush pressed the sides of the road; an occasional branch dragged across the sides of the cart.
“You don’t want people to see you go fast?”
“It is unseemly to motor free before worldly eyes.” The road curved toward the river and led onto a low wooden bridge. Lia leaned to the side and looked over the railing into the water as they crossed the river. She could see fish holding their places, facing into the current.
The narrow road climbed slowly, making frequent turns, back and forth, up the side of the lush river valley. Artur withdrew into his own thoughts as Lia watched the numberless trees pass them by.
A S THEY FOLLOWED THE
CLOP, CLOP, CLOP
OF THE not-horse up the switchback road, Lah Lia thought back to her time as a Pure Girl. In her memory, hardly a day had passed since she had stepped through the Gate on the pyramid, but already her years in Romelas felt like another life, distant and gone. The Lait Pike had once remarked upon this.
We travel into the future by leaps and bounds,
he had told her.
Each step opens a gulf between our present and the past. Wherever we go, there we are, moving toward what is to come.
Even though the Gate had taken her to the distant past, she was moving inexorably into her own future.
Clop, clop, clop.
They came up over a rise and out of the woods into a wide-open treeless space, rolling hills displaying a checkerboard of cultivated fields. Artur pulled back on the reins; the cart slowed.
“Listen,” he said.
Lia heard a faint sound, like a gurgling creek, becoming louder. Artur pointed at the field just ahead of them on the right. The surface of the field was moving, as if covered with a living soft, pulsating layer of dusky blue and gray. The gurgling sound became a rumble, almost too low to hear. Lia could not imagine what she was seeing. Artur brought the cart to a halt, dropped the reins, and clapped his hands loudly.
The field exploded. Birds! The flock
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