The Wizard from Earth (50 page)

Andra shrugged.  “Learn and teach.  What else is there to life?”

The Twenty-Second Century in Matt replied, "That's everything."

Carrot folded her arms. 

“Did the mentors tell you anything about the Pandora War?” Matt asked.

They shook their heads. 

“Mentors are very discreet about the lives of past hosts,” Archimedes said.  “But history tells us that once there were mentors in every fair sized village and several in every city.  Then after the war, they all but disappeared from public awareness.  Our mentors admonished us to keep their presence secret.  From all that, I concluded they had lost the war and were fugitives.”   

“Matt,” Carrot said.  “What do you think this means about your brother?”

“He's not my – I don't know what it means, Carrot.  He could be dead by now even if he survived the war, or he could be in hiding.  I don't even know why he came to this planet.”

“Call it intuition.  I think he is alive, and I think he cares about you.”

“Then he should have left a message aboard Herman about what I would face down here.  That would have saved me a lot of trouble.”

“I would like to know more about Earth,” Andra said.  They all nodded.

And so for the next hour and more, Matt told them about Earth, about its history and science and technology, about how printers and robots provided food and clothing and shelter for everyone, about how every disease had been cured, and no one had to die ever again. 

“And you left such a place?” Andra asked with open astonishment. 

“I didn't think I was coming here,” Matt said.  “But – I – don't think this place is so bad.  Since coming here, I've felt – well, I don't know how to describe, I've felt – “

“Useful?” Archimedes asked. 

Matt ended up nodding.  He decided not to mention that coming to Ne'arth also meant that he had gotten to meet Carrot. 

“Tell us more about star travel,” Prin said.

And then, the conversation turned to seeder probes, and Pandoras.  On that subject it was Carrot who provided the most insight.  After she spoke with conviction on the evils of the Pandoras, for a long time only the engine hum broke the silence.

“We could not defeat them when mentors numbered in the hundreds,” Archimedes said.  “How do we defeat them now?”

“We have Matt now,” Carrot said.

“We had his brother before.”

“He's not my – “

“Yes, Matt, but doesn't that make the matter even more grave?  He was everything you are, plus years of experience, plus perhaps the advantages of even greater technology than you brought.  And still the mentors were defeated and driven into hiding.”

“If Earth is so wonderful,” Prin said, “why don't its people come and stop the Pandoras?”

“Maybe Earth doesn't want to stop them,” Archimedes said.  “Maybe the people of Earth want to see this experiment of the Pandoras play out.  Maybe they want to see a mutant species of humanity arise, and if it means wiping out humans here, what of it?”

Andra turned to Carrot.  “No offense meant, dear.  We don't mean to say that you're on the side of the mutants against humans.” 

“I would never join the Pandoras even if I had no attachment to humanity,” Carrot said firmly.  “The one I met was insane.  Is Inoldia her idea of a superior being?  Inoldia may have superior physical powers, but she struck me as very stupid.”

“Maybe that's what the Pandoras want humans to be,” Matt said.  “Before I left Earth, the smartest AIs were often asked what would be their model of the ideal society.  Some of them said that AIs should do all the thinking, and humans should become mindless robots who serve without question.”  He shrugged.  “Those AIs weren't the ones we let run things.”

“I thought the Pandoras were programmed to make humanity superior,” Carrot said.  “How does making us stupid make us superior?”

“The goal of the Pandoras was to make humans superior in terms of survivability.  From the viewpoint of a super-intelligent AI, it's easier to take care of humans if they just do as they're told.”

“It sounds like bees,” Andra said.  “Pandora is their queen, the Inoldias are the drones.”

“She would destroy what is best in humanity in the name of saving humanity,” Carrot said.  “She is insane.”

“To us,” Matt replied.  “But to herself she's still being logical.  Anyhow, I don't think the Hive Mentality is what Eric Roth had in mind for improving the species.  Probably, in his view, the Pandora AI has gone rogue.”

“Yet on him I have come to agree with you, Matt,” Carrot said.  “If there is a hell, I hope he is burning in it.”

“One more happy thought before I retire,” Archimedes said, glancing over at Geth.  “A handful of Inoldias could be a challenge for a legion.  So why don't your Pandora Boxes make an army of Inoldias and take over the world tomorrow?”

None of the humans had an answer for that, but Ivan spoke,  “It is possible the Pandoras are in conflict with one another.”

Matt repeated aloud what he had said.

“But how does that explain why the one on the Isle doesn't make an army?” Archimedes asked.

“I do not know,” came Ivan's reply.  “I am simply observing that seemingly illogical and inconsistent behavior on the part of the Pandoras would be accounted for if they are in conflict.”

They listened to Matt relate and Archimedes nodded.  “Maybe that's something we can exploit.”

“A glimmer of hope,” Prin said.

It was in the lapse of conversation that they all noticed at once that the pitch in the hum of the engines changed.  As the hum deepened, Matt became aware that the ship was slowing.

"Andra," Archimedes said.  "Why are we stopping here?"

She raised her hand from the throttle levers.  "I'm not touching anything!"

The engines slowed more, then coughed and came to a complete stop.  Matt looked out the window.  The sun had set and they were adrift in darkness that blended sky, clouds, and sea.  There was no sight of land.

"How could both engines fail at once?" Prin demanded.

"They didn't," Geth said. 

He came forward, yawning, and Andra stepped aside as he took the helm.  Geth pulled a side lever, then aligned the throttles while looking over his shoulder at the engine housings. 

"We should be able to wind-start . . . . "  he murmured.  The propellers windmilled freely, then the engines rattled and hummed back to life.  "There we go!"

I don't remember teaching him that
, Matt thought.  Aloud, he said,  "What was wrong?"

"Nothing, really.  We ran out of fuel.  I switched over to the emergency reserve tank."

"We're not even to Espin!" Archimedes exclaimed.  "How could the main tank have run dry already?"

"I had to dump about half of it."

“Why in the world would you do that?"

"It's a long story," Geth said.  "May I tell without interruption?"

They waited.

Geth continued,  "The holes that the Roman Witch punched into the balloon have been competently sealed by my daughter, but not before we lost a great deal of levitation gas.  So much so, that even with all the ballast released, I could not sustain a safe altitude over the city.  I determined the only way to raise altitude was to lighten the ship further by dumping some of the fuel.  I didn't want to dump half the tank, but that is what it took to maintain a good altitude.  Otherwise this ship would have floated so low over the Bay of Rome that it would have taken a hundred flaming arrows each to gondola and engines and we would have been adrift – and likely dead as well – long before this."

"Oh," Archimedes said.  "Are you – well, you do seem to know how to fly this ship, I'll grant that.  But now we don't have enough fuel to reach Britan, so what are we to do?"

"The emergency tank should have enough fuel to reach Espin," Prin said.  "We can avoid Roman occupation troops if we fly deep inland and slowly release enough gas to softly crash in the deepest forests.  Then we'll hike our way to the coast and reach Britan by ship."

"Do we have money for passage?" Andra asked.  "Every haddie Archie gave us, we spent on building this poor thing."

"You think of this vehicle as a poor thing?"

"It is if we have to crash it."

"I fear I am too old for an extended hiking trip through the forests of Espin," Archimedes said.  "Also, I hear the interior of the island is infested with bears.  Carrot, you can fight bears, can't you?"

"We will not have to crash and my daughter will not have to fight bears," Geth said.  "Now, I once fished these waters, and know them somewhat.  Many of the smaller islands are unaligned with Rome, and we will safely land once we find one with a prominence high enough so that we can moor without the release of more gas.  Then we will descend the slope to a settlement.  Naval rum is a near-universal commodity, and if we cannot find barter with the natives, then Matt can obtain its purchase by offering his services as a healer."

"Yes, he is a good healer, I'll grant that.”  Archimedes patted his robe but by popular request refrained from displaying once more the lack of scar.  “And how are the barrels of rum to be transported from the shore of this hypothetical inhabited island up the slope of the hypothetical prominence upon which the airship is to be hypothetically moored?"

"My daughter may enlist to carry them."

Carrot smiled.  "I prefer that to fighting bears!"

Matt frowned.  "Geth, how did you think of all this?"

Geth shrugged.  "It is entirely straight-forward."

Carrot giggled and tapped Matt lightly on his temples.  "It is possible to think with one's own brain, you know."

None of the humans had a good comeback,
and if Ivan did, he kept it to himself. 

51.

Despite Carrot's faith in her father's plan, an island with a suitable mount for mooring was harder to find than envisioned.  The stiff breeze made the mooring a battle, damaging the port rudder and engine.  The islanders were disinterested in bartering and in no need of a healer.  And, they were short of rum. 

Then a Roman navy ship came, bristling with soldiers anxious to win the million-grams-of-silver bounty for the stolen airship.

Yet, somehow, everything worked out.

The soldiers departed after Carrot ambushed a few.  Civilian ships arrived and their sailors had the occupational ailments typical to their profession – that was how her father put it – and were eager to trade their rum for a healer's services.  They paid so well that Matt hired islanders to carry the barrels to the ship and Carrot had only to watch. 

Archimedes, Prin, Andra, and Matt repaired the control surfaces and engines.  Carrot wandered about loosely and finally Andra sent her to collect flowers and sea shells as 'scientific specimens.'  Carrot knew she was being banished. 

She had time to wander the cliff-side and gaze at the sea and ask,
What am I to do now?
She felt nostalgic for the Leaf, where no one had ever treated her as if she were a nuisance.  Somewhat subversively, that led to the thought,
What would I do without Romans?

Housekeeping
, she thought.  She was good at that.  But though she found it relaxing, it was hardly enough to satisfy her  now!  She had seen the world beyond the villages of North Umbrick.

Then she watched Matt climbing over the engine, smearing grease and oil upon the jumpsuit that never permanently dirtied, and thought about a life with him.  She realized that when she thought fondly of him, it was not about rescues or feats or even 'virtual' excursions.  What made her smile were their times spent simply talking.  Whether it was about starships or simply the recipe of ice cream . . . .

Her daydreams fashioned a future for when they returned to Britan.  Matt could be an itinerant healer, and as he traveled from village to village, he would need someone to protect him from Romans and brigands.  But she would be more than just a bodyguard! 

Villages had children, and yes, as she had thought many times before, she could teach.  After all those hours in the library of Archimedes and the archives of Ivan, she had worlds of knowledge inside her – and hadn't Matt himself said that learning and teaching were everything?

See
, she thought,
I don't need legions to give me something to do!
 

In the end, they spent over a week in repair, ballasting, and fueling the airship on the island, and it would have been faster to Britan to have taken the
Eureka
.  Not that Geth was complaining.

Once they had boarded, it was Carrot, under her father's direction, who spun the props.  She undid the knots and climbed the mooring rope as the airship ascended.  A handful of islanders waved, then descended to the beach to resume fishing as if nothing special had happened. 

Watching them from the rear of the gondola, Carrot felt a little sad.  They seemed happy in their circumscribed lives, but in a way their utter lack of intellectual curiosity made them also seem an evolutionary step down from a species that had once bridged stars. 

Matt tapped her shoulder.  "We've got a job for you."

Finally
, she thought.  But they only wanted her to hold a hand-drawn map before her father while he sighted landmarks. 

"I wonder what is going on in Britan now,” Geth said.  “Even without their fleet, the Romans are capable of great mischief.”

By then they all knew of Matt's sky view, and waited for his a satellite intel report.

"I don't see troop movements,” Matt replied.  “A lot of soldiers on the streets of Londa, but Ivan's survey doesn't spot any soldiers more than a hundred klicks outside the city."

"Perhaps they are preparing for an attack," Geth said.

“It seems we should steer clear of Londa and environs,” Archimedes said.  “Do you Britanians have any idea of a safe place to land?"

"There is nothing for us in Umbrick any longer," Geth said, glancing at Carrot.  "For us to show there would only attract Roman attention and endanger lives." 

"Yes," Carrot said quietly.  She realized her only friends were with her or in Kresidala by now.

"How about Fish Lake?" Matt said. 

"Where?" Geth asked.

"Where we met him," Carrot said.

"The people know me and like me," Matt said.  "And it's far enough from Londa that if the Romans march, we'll see them coming from a long way."

Carrot watched him stare at what she knew to be a pop-up window.

He continued,  "Yes, I see the village by the lake.  I can't make out Tret or the others, but their home is still there."

Geth laughed.  "Matt, we could use your talents in the Leaf."

"I don't want to get involved in a war."

"Wars are very social institutions, I'm afraid,” Archimedes said.  “You may not be able to avoid being involved.  And I'm sure after your performance in the Coliseum, the Romans won't forget you."

"Valarion certainly will not,” Carrot said.  “You threw dirt in his face.”

"He might also hold a grudge about the small matter of destroying half the imperial fleet," Archimedes said.  "But that's a strike against us all."

"After we did that," Matt said, "I thought they would know to leave us alone."

"Romans are very persistent," Geth said.  "Especially when humiliated."

After further discussion, they agreed that Fish Lake was the most optimal landing in Britan.  To avoid sighting by Roman ships, they spanned the southern coast of Espin rather than the direct route through the Medinian Straits.  Clear of Espin, Geth steered north.  Hours later, out of the horizon-clinging mist emerged rocky cliffs that Carrot had last seen from the stern of a ship departing Londa.

At the sight of her home island, she wept.  Her father patted her and said, "There now," but his eyes were moist too.

They grazed the trees of the Dark Forest.  Geth shed ballast and they drifted over the western plains.  Matt directed them to a hill north of Fish Lake.  It was a clear sunny day, the air warm and still, and they moored with grace.  Carrot assisted Archimedes with the rope ladder.  Hobbling down the hill, he shunned her aid and put his walking stick to practical use.

Halfway to the village, they were met by farmers.  Tret was at their fore.  He took one look at Matt and said, "I thought as much."

They loaded Archimedes and the scientists onto a donkey cart and Geth and Carrot and Matt followed while being pumped for information.  Their greeting at the village was tumultuous.  Children danced and men embraced Matt and women decorated him with flowers.  They showed him to the house that they had prepared in hope he would return and stay.  Inside was a bed, a chair, a table, and a shelf with ten dog-eared books.   Carrot thought that if one ignored the beetle scampering across the dirt floor, it was comparable to his accommodation in Rome – where the 'house pet' would have been a cockroach.   

The village still had huts that had been vacated due to plague.  The scientists took one and Geth and his daughter took another, until Geth said, "You're old enough to live on your own and perhaps you should start," and had her move to the hut next door.

An inter-village feast was held that evening and then the fireside storyteller gave his place to Matt before the swollen crowd.  After being encouraged to speak louder, Matt described their adventures, though Carrot noticed some critical parts were omitted – such as any reference to Ivan, or Matt's role in dropping a falling star to foil the False Boudica.  But such modesty hardly counted, for the villagers were ready to believe any feat from the Wizard from Aereoth, who cured plagues with a touch of his hand and traveled the world in a flying ship.

"Did you really throw dirt in the Emperor's face?" a little boy asked.

"That was about all I did," Matt said.  "Carrot was the one who fought him."

"Her?" an older boy asked.  "How could she do anything?  I know girls make fine archers, but don't they lack the upper body strength to excel at swordsmanship?"

Precocious brat
, Carrot thought.

"She's a lot stronger than she looks," Matt said.

All the villagers scrutinized her, and Archimedes, who had during the stopover of their air journey learned of Carrot's strength, said, "Here, Carrot, show them."  He pointed his pipe stem at a boulder used as a seat.  "Pick that up."  

Carrot looked at her father, who looked elsewhere while attempting to suppress a smirk.

"I really would rather – "

"Don't be modest," Archimedes said.  "Pick it up.  The children want to see."

One little boy said, "Pick it up!" and then the others chanted,  "Pick it up!  Pick it up!"

Carrot wanted to slink into darkness.  She could hide among the forest brush, and subsist on nuts and berries . . . .

Matt's voice spoke inside her head,  "Carrot, if you do it they'll leave you alone."

She wasn't sure about that, but she wasn't sure about a diet of nuts and berries either.  She sighed and picked up the boulder.  She counted to three and put it down.  There was dead silence.

I am a freak
, she thought. 

Then they all applauded.

"Could you teach me how to do that?" a very small boy asked.

"It doesn't really work that way," she said.

"So, are you a witch?" a girl asked.

"That is not a precise term.  I am actually what is called a mutant."

Several in unison said, "Ah."

"What's a mutant?" the very small boy asked. 

No one who had said 'Ah' had an answer.

An older women said, "Dear, do you have other clothes to wear?  I have an old dress and it should fit if I take it in."

"Is your mattress thick enough?" another woman asked.  "I think we have a spare.  That is, I assume mutants sleep."

By the end of evening, Carrot had several dresses and a dresser.  Her bed was piled with blankets and her feet had been measured for sandals promised the next day.  A boy her age asked if she'd like to go fishing.

But over the following days, her novelty wore off and so did their attention, while Matt the Healer had a never-ending line of patients.  With so much free time, Carrot attempted to corral children into the semblance of a school.  However, though eager to be in her company at first, they soon began to find ways to avoid her.

"I thought I would be good at teaching," she confided to her father one evening, "but the children won't listen to anything I say except when it comes to being a warrior."

"Talk to Archimedes," Geth said.  "He was a teacher."

When she inquired, Archimedes replied,  "You expect your students to like you?  Well, I suppose that could work in theory . . . to be honest, I never gave their feelings toward me much weight.  Although, I must admit I was somewhat fond of them, until they grew to be senators and such.  They become difficult to handle at that stage."

She decided his experience wasn't applicable.

Then somehow, she ended up helping the village women with laundry and sweeping and gathering of firewood. 
Not so bad
, she thought. 
The day is sunny, the work is light, I am with people I enjoy.
  She also had the pages of a thousand books stored in her photographic memory, which she could finally meditate upon. 

Then one day a group of men came to the village.  They wore swords and archer's bows and dark and well-padded clothing, and hard expressions.  Their complexions spoke of time in the wild.  The villagers responded warily, as if they were brigands, but Carrot immediately recognized them as fighters in the Leaf.

"We seek the Wizard," their leader said. 

"He's not about at the moment," an elder said.  Actually, the villagers all knew that the scientists were with the airship, but even the children understood that was confidential information.  

"Then we'll stay until he is," the leader replied. 

Curious, Carrot set down her basket of laundry and asked, "What is it that you wish to ask of him?"

The man gave a dismissive glance.  "No matter of yours, girl.  It concerns a weapon of war."

"You mean, like a catapult?"

"Well . . . yes.  You know of catapults?"

“A little.  I have been taught by one who knows a great deal about them.”

They led her to the cart upon which the catapult rested.  She immediately saw that a metal joint-piece had been misassembled.  She examined their assembly instruction sheet and spotted the copying error and wondered how many other catapults in the Leaf had the same flaw.  Nonetheless, it was simple to correct.

"Just pull out this peg, reverse the fitting, reinstall.  There!"

They set it on the ground and fired a test load.  The leader watched the rock plummet into the brush and said,  "Impressive range and power for a weapon, but I question its practicality as it has no accuracy, and has a tendency to break as well."