The Golden Space (32 page)

“That isn’t murder,” Andrew said. “It’s self-defense.”

“It’s nothing of the kind.”

“We could shoot her with a rod and sabotage her craft. We’d be far away by the time she came to her senses.”

Karim seemed to be considering this; his dark face was taut. “We might miss,” he said at last. “And even if we don’t, her craft or her Bond might call Rescuers. I suggest that we continue on our way.” He turned toward his vehicle, then paused. “One more thing,” Karim said. “Don’t use your screen to talk to me. She might tune in.”

She was waiting on the bridge, leaning against the side of her craft. She held no weapon; she had left them room to pass. She was a small woman. The hands at the edges of the sleeves of her baggy white jacket were slim. She wore boots and brown pants. She smiled as they drew near; her mouth was broad, her cheekbones high, her pale eyes large. Her strong features did not seem to match her small body.

Karim’s craft slowed to a stop; Andrew pulled up behind it. Karim opened his dome, and Andrew did the same, glancing apprehensively at Merripen as the dome slid back.

“Hello,” the woman said.

Karim growled a greeting.

“I thought I’d see you again. Please do get out. You must want to stretch a bit.”

Merripen waited until he saw Karim moving around the front of his craft, then climbed out himself. “Go ahead,” Andrew muttered. “I’ll wait.” He rummaged at his side and picked up a silver wand. Merripen shot him a warning look, then joined Karim. The taller man wore a bland, placid expression.

“You’re going to Harsville, aren’t you?” She did not wait for an answer. “I thought so. I took a shortcut. Do you know anyone there?”

Karim mumbled something that could have been yes or no.

“I don’t. I’ve never been there. In fact, I don’t know this area at all well. What’s the matter with your friend?”

“He’s not feeling well,” Merripen replied.

“That’s too bad. I can help him.”

“He’ll be all right. He’s just tired.”

“My name’s Eline. Who are you?”

“I’m Merripen. This is Karim. The fellow over there is Andrew.”

“What are you doing out here alone?” Karim asked.

Eline poked at the asphalt with her toe. “Oh, just moving around.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’m a Rescuer.” Merripen tried not to betray his surprise that she had said it outright.

“We are truly fortunate, then,” Karim said smoothly. “Had we run into any difficulties, you would have been nearby.”

Eline stood up straight, looking relieved. “Right. I’m glad you understand. Some people don’t at all. We’re here to help. I’ve even got my equipment.”

“Oh, I understand,” Karim said. “I sympathize, in fact. People like you are always disparaged by those who are concerned only with passing matters.”

“I know.” She sighed. She seemed young; she had none of the hesitancy or weariness Merripen was used to seeing. She had probably grown up with Rescuers, knowing nothing else. “They think we should just tend to their bodies. But the soul is more important, surely.”

“Too many of us simply can’t look beyond our own world,” Karim said, sounding sincere. “That is to be expected, I suppose.” He bowed slightly. “But we must be on our way.”

“I’ll follow you.”

“As you wish.”

As Merripen returned to his craft, he could feel Eline watching him. He got in and Andrew leaned toward him.

“So she’s going to follow.” He closed the dome as Merripen settled in his seat. “Wonderful. I wonder where Karim learned how to sound so convincing.” They followed the other man across the bridge, while Eline tailed them. “I’ve heard they torture people into accepting their truth.”

“I’ve never heard that.”

“How could you?” Andrew stretched out his legs. “Maybe we should go back.”

“We can’t. She’d only follow. If she saw where we were going, I don’t think we’d get there.”

“We’re having bad luck.” He glared at the back of Karim’s craft.

The road curved over a hill. The morning rain had stopped, but the sky was still pewter. Karim’s craft hovered at the crest, then settled to the ground. Andrew drove up beside him.

Below lay what had been Harsville. The ruins of four houses lay scattered over blackened earth; two others, partly burned, had broken windows. Only one cottage was untouched, but the yard in front of it was strewn with furniture and clothing.

Merripen was unable to speak. Eline had pulled up. She had opened her dome and now stood on her seat, staring out at the ruin. Her mouth was open.

Merripen turned toward Andrew, but the other man had left the craft and was moving around the front toward Eline. He grabbed her arm and pulled her from her craft, dragging her over the door and onto the ground. His knife was out. He twisted one arm behind her back while holding the knife to her throat.

Merripen’s legs shook as he got out. Eline’s eyes were wide. She struggled and her face contorted. Andrew twisted her arm more tightly.

“You knew,” Andrew said.

“I didn’t.” Her eyes pleaded with Merripen silently.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know.”

Andrew pricked her throat with the point of his knife, and Merripen saw a drop of red. He felt dizzy. Karim had crept up to his side and was watching Andrew warily. “I don’t know anything,” Eline said again. “I haven’t been here before.”

“I see,” Andrew said. “You’re not afraid of me. You have your other life to look forward to. I hope you like it, because I may be sending you there soon.”

Eline’s face was pale. Merripen thought he heard her whimper. Karim said, “Let her go.” Andrew glared at him. “Let her go.”

Andrew lowered the knife and pushed the woman from him; she fell, sprawling on the ground. Karim helped her up. She clutched at his arms with trembling hands.

“I thought you people weren’t afraid to die,” Andrew said harshly.

“I am,” she said. Her voice was high. “I’ve fought against it. I’ve tried to have more faith.” She clung to Karim, who stood stiffly, as if unable to decide what to do with her. “I was sent out alone, to test myself. But I’m still afraid anyway.” She let go of Karim and sat down hard on the ground, covering her face with both hands.

“That was stupid,” Karim said to Andrew. Andrew put his knife away, then began to walk down the hill toward the town.

Eline looked up as Merripen went to her. “I didn’t know about this,” she said.

“I know.”

She stood up, wiping her face with a soiled sleeve. Karim went back to his craft and leaned inside; he stepped away and the craft moved down the hill slowly. After sending the other two after it, he returned to Merripen’s side. “Let’s walk down.”

Merripen hesitated. Eline’s face was frozen; she lifted her chin. “What could have happened?” Merripen asked.

“We knew that there were strange things going on north of here. We’d better try to find out what happened.”

Merripen followed Karim down the hill, Eline at his side. Andrew had already reached the bottom; his back was stiff as he strode into Harsville. “Are you all right now?” Merripen asked the woman.

“I’m fine. I’ll get over it.” Her face had a hard look now, as if she had decided to be brave.

The three vehicles floated into the town’s main street and set down in a row. Andrew leaned against one, head down. Karim approached the unburned cottage, threading his way through the debris on the lawn. He went to the door and looked inside, then came over to Merripen. “It’s been stripped clean. The people must have left a while ago, and then raiders came and took what they could.” Andrew had moved to the edge of the lawn; he was watching Eline.

Merripen wandered toward another structure, peering at the burned building. He stopped, raised a hand to his mouth, and moaned softly. Under blackened timbers, the bones of a human hand gripped the ground; the wrist still wore a tarnished Bond. He stood there silently until he felt a hand on his back. Karim steered him toward the cluttered yard.

Merripen sat on a torn-up chair that wobbled under him. He said, “They didn’t leave. They were killed.”

Karim was silent as he seated himself on a rotting leather ottoman and rested his arms on his legs. Then he murmured, “We can’t stay here.”

“I know.”

“Where are you going to go, Merripen?”

Merripen glanced at Eline, who had wandered into the middle of the road, out of earshot. “I don’t know. Back to the Citadel, I suppose.”

“You’re going to give up?”

“Why shouldn’t I? I’ve seen all I need to see. I see what we are, what we always were.”

“I could go on with Eline. That would give you and Andrew a chance to go back.”

Merripen heard a cry, and turned. Eline was staring down the road; Andrew stood next to her. Eline’s hands fluttered.

A band of men had emerged from the trees and was walking toward the road. They were unshaven, dressed in dirty pants and tops made of hides and fur. But they also carried silver wands. The slender weapons were pointed at them.

Merripen was afraid to move. The other man plucked at his sleeve, helped him up, and guided him toward the road. “Don’t try for a craft,” Karim whispered. “They’ll shoot before you reach it.” They stood with the others as the men walked toward them. He peered at Andrew, relieved to see that the man had not reached for his knife.

Merripen thought: We should have stayed in our craft; we would have been safe. His face grew hot; he felt his legs tremble. He wasn’t ready to die, even after all this time. He suddenly envied Eline. If she could hold on to her peculiar faith, she would meet her death calmly. Merripen was afraid not only that he would die, but also that he would die badly, begging to be spared, pleading with the strange men who were now approaching them. He hoped that he would die quickly, and just as strongly hoped that he would not die at all.

The men stopped a few feet away. Merripen did not move. Karim was still; then, slowly, he lifted his arms and held out his hands, palms up.

A brown-bearded man stepped forward; the others lowered their wands. Merripen held out his own hands, as did Eline. Andrew frowned, but extended his arms after a few moments.

The men before them seemed to relax. Their eyes gazed at them placidly. Merripen drew a breath. He suddenly had the impression that the men were being controlled by some outside force; they seemed to be waiting for someone to tell them what to do. Perhaps implants were directing them.

Brown-Beard, who seemed to be the leader, said a few words, but Merripen did not understand them. He glanced at Karim. Abruptly, the band was around them, pawing their bodies and searching their pockets. One man seized Andrew’s knife and held it up. A man jostled Merripen; he heard a laugh. Then he was being pushed. He stumbled, but kept on his feet.

The men spoke again, babbling. Karim frowned. “I think they want us to go with them,” he murmured. They were being herded up the road; as they left the town behind, Merripen tried not to think of their abandoned vehicles and the burned buildings. They had been spared, though he did not know why.

IV

The singing of the men was harsh and unmelodious; Merripen found himself walking in time to their rhythm. Eline wobbled a bit as she walked. One of the men walked near her, holding her arm when she seemed most tired. Once, when they stopped for a moment, the man reached out and touched her hair gently. She stiffened, but did not pull away.

In the afternoon, a light rain began to fall, and the air became misty. They came to plowed fields ready for planting; ahead, through the mist, Merripen saw the ghostly shapes of buildings. As they came closer, his surprise grew. The fields surrounded a village of straight roads meeting at right angles and square, tidy houses built of wood and stone. The center of the town was dominated by a windowless white marble building; stone steps led to its flat roof. Did these unkempt men live here? It was hard to believe.

As they left the fields, people came out of the nearest houses. Unlike the men, these people wore clean white garments, the women in long robes, the men in short kilts and shirts. Children babbled at the men and ogled the newcomers; Merripen had never seen so many children. Soon they were surrounded by a sea of bodies and noise. One young woman made signs at Merripen with her hands; not knowing what to do, he smiled, and she laughed.

Brown-Beard stopped in front of one house and greeted the woman in the doorway, who held a baby, then waved his arms at Merripen, who finally understood that they were to follow him inside. The crowd drifted away as they entered.

Merripen surveyed the room. In the center stood a long wooden table and benches; mats covered the floor. One corner near a window seemed to be a shrine of some sort; a little table held a small clay figure of a bearded man. The beard had been painted a bright yellow. With a shock, he saw that a small holo screen had been hung on the wall behind the table.

He had no time to wonder at it. A young man pushed him; Brown-Beard and another man led them up wooden steps to the second floor. They opened a door and pushed their prisoners into an empty room. The door closed behind them. Merripen tried the door; it was bolted.