Read Online The White Bull by Fred Saberhagen - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Fred Saberhagen
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your education for their children. Even today a fresh contingent of young people has arrived from Athens for your instruction."
"Dae-dal-us, you are not tru-ly old as yet. De-cades of strong life lie a-head of you. And if you tru-ly learn, you may be ab-le to ex-tend your life." The Bull, suddenly looking remarkably manlike, sat down in his chair again. Lightning flared nearby, close enough to set a human's teeth on edge, and simultaneously thunder smashed. Talus, who had started to move again, stood frozen for a moment, then quivered faintly before pacing on.
Backing away a little from the edge of the dais, I curtly signed refusal. I said: "For five years now I have watched the young men and women coming to be enrolled in your advanced school, and for the past year or so I have seen the graduates come out. I have spoken with them, and I do not know that I wish to be taught whatever it is that they are learning. Not one of them has whispered to me of the stars' or the atoms' secrets."
"Some might have done so. But compared to you, Dae-dal-us, all my students thus far have been fra-gile ves-sels of lim-i-ted ca-pa-ci-ty. Lim-i-ted ves-sels can hold only so much. Sometimes they crack. And, once cracked, are good only as ob-jects of stu-dy."
"Objects of study?"
"To find out how they are made." Now the Bull leaned forward on his chair, until I was able to smell his breath—a not unpleasant smell, like moist dead leaves. The creature ate only vegetables and fruits, and scattered about it on the dais now was a light litter of dried husks and shriveled leaves.
He went on: "But for such a mind as yours, I bring ful-fill-ment, ne-ver bur-sting."
In those days always the same arguments, with some variations, were passed back and forth between the two of us. "Are there no sturdy, capacious vessels among your students?"
"Not one in a thous-and of them will have your mind, Dae-dal-us. Not one in ten thousand."
"But I tried enrolling once, as you well know. The experience was not good for me."
"Of course I re-mem-ber, But you gave up too ea-sily. You must try a-gain."
There were moments when the temptation of the wealth of knowledge became very strong. I knew that wealth existed, and that some doorway to it opened here.
Drawing a deep breath, I entered new ground. "What I would really like to learn is something quite specific."
"And what is that?"
Almost involuntarily I looked around me, to make sure that no one else was listening. The Bronze Man, standing as if still mesmerized by lightning, did not count.
When I spoke again my voice was lower. "Can you teach me to fly? Show me how the wings should be constructed to support a man? I am sure there must be a way."
The Bull, as if startled by this request, sat back in his chair and was silent for a few breaths. His half-human face was as difficult for me to read as ever.
At last he said: "The mat-ter is not that simple, Dae-dal-us. But if
you
stu-dy in my school four years, you will be ab-le to build wings for your-self. I prom-ise you. Would you learn how to cre-ate a flock of birds? E-ven that is not im-poss-i-ble."
The temptation, the promise of knowledge, was growing very great, but still I would not yield. I clenched my calloused hands. "How can it take me four years to learn to build a wing? If I can learn a thing at all, the idea of it should take root within my mind inside four days, and any needed skill should come into my fingers within four months. The knowledge might take longer to perfect, of course. And the process of perfection might go on endlessly. But I do not ask to be able to build a flock of birds complete with beaks and claws, and breathe life into them and set them to catching fish and laying eggs. No, all I want are a few functional feathers for myself."
"En-roll a-gain, Dae-dal-us." The voice of the Bull, solemn and stubborn, maintained its muted and inhuman roar. "You will be-come a tru-ly ed-u-ca-ted man. Hor-i-zons that you can-not guess will
"Dae-dal-us, you are not tru-ly old as yet. De-cades of strong life lie a-head of you. And if you tru-ly learn, you may be ab-le to ex-tend your life." The Bull, suddenly looking remarkably manlike, sat down in his chair again. Lightning flared nearby, close enough to set a human's teeth on edge, and simultaneously thunder smashed. Talus, who had started to move again, stood frozen for a moment, then quivered faintly before pacing on.
Backing away a little from the edge of the dais, I curtly signed refusal. I said: "For five years now I have watched the young men and women coming to be enrolled in your advanced school, and for the past year or so I have seen the graduates come out. I have spoken with them, and I do not know that I wish to be taught whatever it is that they are learning. Not one of them has whispered to me of the stars' or the atoms' secrets."
"Some might have done so. But compared to you, Dae-dal-us, all my students thus far have been fra-gile ves-sels of lim-i-ted ca-pa-ci-ty. Lim-i-ted ves-sels can hold only so much. Sometimes they crack. And, once cracked, are good only as ob-jects of stu-dy."
"Objects of study?"
"To find out how they are made." Now the Bull leaned forward on his chair, until I was able to smell his breath—a not unpleasant smell, like moist dead leaves. The creature ate only vegetables and fruits, and scattered about it on the dais now was a light litter of dried husks and shriveled leaves.
He went on: "But for such a mind as yours, I bring ful-fill-ment, ne-ver bur-sting."
In those days always the same arguments, with some variations, were passed back and forth between the two of us. "Are there no sturdy, capacious vessels among your students?"
"Not one in a thous-and of them will have your mind, Dae-dal-us. Not one in ten thousand."
"But I tried enrolling once, as you well know. The experience was not good for me."
"Of course I re-mem-ber, But you gave up too ea-sily. You must try a-gain."
There were moments when the temptation of the wealth of knowledge became very strong. I knew that wealth existed, and that some doorway to it opened here.
Drawing a deep breath, I entered new ground. "What I would really like to learn is something quite specific."
"And what is that?"
Almost involuntarily I looked around me, to make sure that no one else was listening. The Bronze Man, standing as if still mesmerized by lightning, did not count.
When I spoke again my voice was lower. "Can you teach me to fly? Show me how the wings should be constructed to support a man? I am sure there must be a way."
The Bull, as if startled by this request, sat back in his chair and was silent for a few breaths. His half-human face was as difficult for me to read as ever.
At last he said: "The mat-ter is not that simple, Dae-dal-us. But if
you
stu-dy in my school four years, you will be ab-le to build wings for your-self. I prom-ise you. Would you learn how to cre-ate a flock of birds? E-ven that is not im-poss-i-ble."
The temptation, the promise of knowledge, was growing very great, but still I would not yield. I clenched my calloused hands. "How can it take me four years to learn to build a wing? If I can learn a thing at all, the idea of it should take root within my mind inside four days, and any needed skill should come into my fingers within four months. The knowledge might take longer to perfect, of course. And the process of perfection might go on endlessly. But I do not ask to be able to build a flock of birds complete with beaks and claws, and breathe life into them and set them to catching fish and laying eggs. No, all I want are a few functional feathers for myself."
"En-roll a-gain, Dae-dal-us." The voice of the Bull, solemn and stubborn, maintained its muted and inhuman roar. "You will be-come a tru-ly ed-u-ca-ted man. Hor-i-zons that you can-not guess will
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