The Ships of Aleph (6 page)

‘You sound very certain for – forgive my presumption – another mere mortal. Assuming that’s what you are.’

‘I’m as mortal as you. I just have access to information you don’t.’ Her tone was sympathetic. Pitying, almost.

I laughed, a little bitterly, ‘And here I was thinking I had been given all the knowledge in the world in order to ... ’ to what, though?

She completed my sentence gently, ‘ ... to give a unique perspective. Come up with unexpected insights.Your patron – the being you think of as God – is powerful and immortal. But he’s not omnipotent. He seeks answers, and he uses his subjects to work towards them. He watches over you, but he also watches you.’

‘So you are saying that I, no, everyone in the world, is an
experiment
?’ It was preposterous, yet now she stated it, entirely logical.

‘Not exactly. There is a word that would be closer –
computer
– but you won’t know that term.’

‘You’re right. I don’t. What does it mean?’

‘It’s ... this is going to sound odd but I don’t think I can tell you what a computer is, because I’m using one in order to talk to you. Some of the concepts simply won’t translate.’

I couldn’t decide whether to be incredulous, impressed or offended. All three, perhaps. ‘And you’re not part of this great
computer
?’

‘No. I have a patron of my own and he runs his domain in a rather different way.’

‘Ah. You come from beyond the starry window, don’t you?’

‘The starry window? Oh, I see. Yes, I do. Are you familiar with the concept of islands?’

‘I am.’

‘It might help to think of this place – your world, this village, the great machine enclosing them – as one massive island. Many of the lights you see from your starry window are other such islands.’

‘Islands in a sea of darkness! How far do these islands extend?’

‘Forever. Can you imagine an endless sea with numberless islands in it?’

I thought for a moment; it was a new concept, but until Captain Estrides corrected me I had assumed the machine containing the world must go on forever. ‘I can,’ I said.

‘My island – my hab, as we call it – is still part of the same  ... archipelago as yours, though we use the word system. The name for this system is Aleph.’

My mind whirled, as question piled upon question.

‘Are you all right?’ asked Captain Estrides.

I realised I had staggered backwards. ‘Yes, I just ... this is a lot to take in.’

‘Of course. And there’s more, if you think you can handle it.’

‘Yes! I want to know it all!’

‘All right. Firstly, there’s something I need to show you.’

I followed her out of the village and through the mist. A strange contraption awaited us in the corridor, like a low ox-cart with no oxen – and, I realised when I looked below it, no wheels. It floated just above the floor. She told me to get in and sit, which I did. The contraption moved, smoothly but with alarming speed. Thanks to this device – which the Captain called a ‘flitter’ – it did not take long to get to the starry window. I asked questions all the way, and she did her best to answer them. Some of her answers even made sense.

Back at the window, we dismounted from the machine. The view had returned, but now it was dominated by a construction beyond my wildest dreams, floating in the dark. I reached for comparisons to make sense of what I was seeing, and came up with a dragonfly, a thin silver body with wings at one end. But what wings! They spread wide, yet looked thin as gossamer, so much so that I could see the brighter lights beyond them. In colour they were reddish, save for flashes of iridescence in their slow unfurling, for these great wings were not yet fully extended. This dragonfly was newly hatched and feeling its way, yet even so its magnificence was awe-inspiring.

Captain Estrides gave me time to absorb the view before speaking.

‘That’s my ship. I’m the head of an expedition travelling from Aleph to another system, an unexplored one. Your patron is contributing materials to this expedition, which was why we’ve stopped off here. The mission will take many years though we’ll be asleep for most of that time. My crew are all volunteers who know they may not return; even if they do, everyone they know will be dead long before we get back to Aleph. We have sufficient crew, but only just; people willing to leave everything behind are understandably rare. That’s why I would like you to join us, if you will.’

I managed to look away from the great ship to see the expression on her face; the ship filled her with wonder too, even though it must be familiar to her. ‘You want me to journey with you, on that?’ I asked.

‘If you want to. You’re still free to go back to ... Omphalos, wasn’t it? if you prefer. Or stay in the reconstruction of your village. I must warn you: if you do come with us we’ll have to speed-train you before you go into stasis, and you’ll need to be prepared for hardship and danger.’

I thought of the Duke’s expedition. That same formless fear I’d woken with on the day of departure had returned.

The Captain waited, then when I did not speak said, ‘It won’t take us long to conclude our main business here; we’ll be taking the cutter back to the ship in about three hours. I’m afraid that doesn’t leave you much time to decide.’

‘
Hours
? I’m not sure how long ...’

‘That would be under half a day, for you. I’ll come back here before we go: if you want to come with us, just be at the window when I return. I wish I could answer more of your questions or at least give you longer to consider, but I’ve got duties elsewhere and once a lightship gets going, you’re just along for the ride.’ She smiled at that thought, and I yearned to ask her to explain further.

Instead I just said, ‘Thank you.’

She climbed back onto the flitter, and left.

It has been hard to make myself write. I want only to watch the ship as it sails imperceptibly slowly through the darkness, propelled by unimaginable winds. But Captain Estrides will be back soon and I must hurry to finish my account.

It fills me with fear, this idea of a dark and endless sea, of countless worlds beyond my comprehension. My hand shakes at the thought even as I write.

Of course, I knew my answer as soon as she asked the question. I will miss my books, but if I cannot take them all, then I will take none of them, not even this one.

There are other seas, and they extend farther than my mind can grasp. The time has come to continue my journey.

More by Jaine Fenn

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Tower of Chaos Press

Publisher of fine Science Fiction and Fantasy

www.towerofchaospress.com