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Authors: Liz Williams
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the ship. Maybe she'd end up crumbling into a little pile of dust. The thought of aging did not particularly bother her, but it was still a reminder of how little time she really had, here on this unforgiving world.
Still, she had few enough regrets. She'd raised a family—children, grandchildren, surely great-grandchildren, by now, to honor her image in the Ancestor's Alcove even if she wasn't dead yet—and maybe her books on myth and folk tales were still being read.
If I
'
m lucky
, Shu thought. But her musings were interrupted by Bel's voice calling her name.
“Shu? I've tried calling camp. I can't seem to raise them.” There was a faint, but discernible edge of panic in the girl's voice. Shu scrambled back into the aircar.
“We'd better get back,” she said tightly.
Bel took the aircar out through the labyrinth—too fast, Shu thought. She gritted her teeth, and closed her eyes, but when she did so, she saw only the face of the thing they had met, gazing at her from the shadows of her mind. She did not like to think of what might have happened at the camp. Once they were out of the cliff wall, however, the strip lights in the aircar seemed to brighten, and the communications console in front of Bel whirred into life. Bel punched in the coordinates with an urgent hand, and Sylvian's puzzled voice answered.
“It's all right,” Bel said shakily into the console. “We couldn't reach you, that's all. Some kind of communications blackout.”
“Maybe it's the field,” Shu said.
“There's some data back from the ship,” she heard Sylvian say. “It's downloading now; I'll back it up for you.” She signaled out and Shu leaned back in her chair, limp with relief.
They spent most of the following day back at base camp, analyzing the data that Bel had gleaned from the ruins, and the books that Shu had brought back with her. Most of the books were too worn for analysis, but a few pages still remained. The languages were a lot closer to Old Syrean and Pasque, and Shu found a number of significant passages. The story of the colony's early origins took the form of myths: speaking of Irie St Syre as the world from which the colony had sprung, and giving a slanted account of the reason whythe colonists left. As far as Shu had understood it, the government at the time had sought reconciliation with Shikiriye and the colonists, but this text spoke unequivocally of persecution, and Shu wondered uneasily where the truth might lie.
Predictably enough, to Shu's eyes, Elshonu Shikiriye's paternalistic utopianism had encountered resistance quite early on. Elshonu had been the typical charismatic leader: autocratic and adored. Patriarchies seemed to generate this kind of individual—very different from the democratic counsels of modern Irie, Shu thought with initial complacency, but then a picture of Bel's mother floated into her mind. There was talk of schism, relating to Elshonu's attempts to set up a society that practiced perfect harmony with its environment. Shu couldn't make out exactly what the arguments were about, but it was fairly clear that a good third of the colony had disagreed with their erstwhile leader's methods and departed for settlements elsewhere.
There was also some mention in the books of biomag-netic currents bisecting the northern hemisphere of the planet. The texts commented on these at some length, and they had obviously preoccupied Elshonu. He compared them to the Songlines of his ancestors, except that these were definite currents that could be experienced and felt. In other passages, the writer spoke of Elshonu's increasing obsession with these currents. Although they were a natural phenomenon, they could be harnessed and used, Elshonu believed, but the passage did not say how or why. There was mention too of the “generator”. Shu didn't know what this might be, but she remembered the glimmering console in an otherwise empty chamber. Was this the generator, and if so, what purpose did it
Still, she had few enough regrets. She'd raised a family—children, grandchildren, surely great-grandchildren, by now, to honor her image in the Ancestor's Alcove even if she wasn't dead yet—and maybe her books on myth and folk tales were still being read.
If I
'
m lucky
, Shu thought. But her musings were interrupted by Bel's voice calling her name.
“Shu? I've tried calling camp. I can't seem to raise them.” There was a faint, but discernible edge of panic in the girl's voice. Shu scrambled back into the aircar.
“We'd better get back,” she said tightly.
Bel took the aircar out through the labyrinth—too fast, Shu thought. She gritted her teeth, and closed her eyes, but when she did so, she saw only the face of the thing they had met, gazing at her from the shadows of her mind. She did not like to think of what might have happened at the camp. Once they were out of the cliff wall, however, the strip lights in the aircar seemed to brighten, and the communications console in front of Bel whirred into life. Bel punched in the coordinates with an urgent hand, and Sylvian's puzzled voice answered.
“It's all right,” Bel said shakily into the console. “We couldn't reach you, that's all. Some kind of communications blackout.”
“Maybe it's the field,” Shu said.
“There's some data back from the ship,” she heard Sylvian say. “It's downloading now; I'll back it up for you.” She signaled out and Shu leaned back in her chair, limp with relief.
They spent most of the following day back at base camp, analyzing the data that Bel had gleaned from the ruins, and the books that Shu had brought back with her. Most of the books were too worn for analysis, but a few pages still remained. The languages were a lot closer to Old Syrean and Pasque, and Shu found a number of significant passages. The story of the colony's early origins took the form of myths: speaking of Irie St Syre as the world from which the colony had sprung, and giving a slanted account of the reason whythe colonists left. As far as Shu had understood it, the government at the time had sought reconciliation with Shikiriye and the colonists, but this text spoke unequivocally of persecution, and Shu wondered uneasily where the truth might lie.
Predictably enough, to Shu's eyes, Elshonu Shikiriye's paternalistic utopianism had encountered resistance quite early on. Elshonu had been the typical charismatic leader: autocratic and adored. Patriarchies seemed to generate this kind of individual—very different from the democratic counsels of modern Irie, Shu thought with initial complacency, but then a picture of Bel's mother floated into her mind. There was talk of schism, relating to Elshonu's attempts to set up a society that practiced perfect harmony with its environment. Shu couldn't make out exactly what the arguments were about, but it was fairly clear that a good third of the colony had disagreed with their erstwhile leader's methods and departed for settlements elsewhere.
There was also some mention in the books of biomag-netic currents bisecting the northern hemisphere of the planet. The texts commented on these at some length, and they had obviously preoccupied Elshonu. He compared them to the Songlines of his ancestors, except that these were definite currents that could be experienced and felt. In other passages, the writer spoke of Elshonu's increasing obsession with these currents. Although they were a natural phenomenon, they could be harnessed and used, Elshonu believed, but the passage did not say how or why. There was mention too of the “generator”. Shu didn't know what this might be, but she remembered the glimmering console in an otherwise empty chamber. Was this the generator, and if so, what purpose did it
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