by Ian McDonald
Toquinho chimes. Your delivery from Queen of the South.
He has not seen this escolta before. Wagner sends them over from João on rapid rotation. It would not do for security to become too familiar with the secured. The wolf is working well in João: the de-Mackenzie-isation is straightforward. Revenge attacks are few though there is still friction between Santinhos and former Mackenzie Helium dusters who have contracted to the resurgent Corta Hélio. Disrespects, cold shoulders, glances and looks. ‘This is a Brasilian city, speak Portuguese!’ Squarings-up, facings-off; flash-fire fights. As long as the helium flows. Wagner, who has worked on the glass, understands that the future of fusibles lies in space, not on Earth.
The delivery is a long, shallow impact-case. Lucas trusts it has not been sent by BALTRAN. Where everything is printed, shipping hand-made goods is a vanishing skill. The delivery sits in his desk but Lucas hesitates to unseal it. To open it is to accept the challenge within; to let it test his courage and commitment. Yet he aches to snap the locks and hold the thing inside in his hands, press it against his body, explore its curves and contours.
Robson is with Haider in Theophilus. The adoption will be straightforward and Wagner is the only one who can begin to heal the wounds driven deep into that boy. Lucas’s hand made some of those wounds. He almost believes that all he did was enable the kid’s rage but self-delusion has never been Lucas Corta’s sin. He wielded Robson like a blade of meteoric iron.
Luna is with her mother in Twé. Eldritch child. Her painted face, half living, half skull, has become lunar legend; the symbol of hope, persistence and justice. Lucas cannot shake the notion that it will always be there, within her skin.
Lucasinho is preparing for his first independent visit. He is going to Meridian to see Abena Asamoah. Lucas argued firmly against it – not that the journey might be too much for Lucasinho, but that Abena Asamoah would eat him alive. Dangerous, ambitious, hungry young woman. The spaces and sinuses of Oxala had rung to shouting voices. The strength of Lucasinho’s resistance was what had convinced Lucas to let him go. That zashitnik will be going with him. Lucas can’t remember her name, but she was handy on the flight of the Orel. He might offer her a permanent contract.
What wreckage we are, each and every one of us.
But the family is away and he has nothing but a day of meetings and a special delivery from Queen of the South.
‘Toquinho, cancel my ten thirty.’ He opens the locks, removes the lid. ‘And my eleven and eleven thirty.’
He lifts out the guitar case and sets it on his desk. Every instinct is to open it at once but that would rush the experience. Everything has its pleasures and perfections. Lucas Corta runs his fingers over the true leather, the bright brass hasps and hinges. Then he snaps the catches and opens the case.
What strikes him first is the perfume. Wood, priceless organic varnishes, natural resins and polishes; Lucas almost reels at the aroma. Then he sees the colours, sungolds and ambers, dark mahogany, mother-of-pearl lozenges hand-cut from Twé-farmed shellfish between the frets, the halo of marquetry around the sound-hole. He picks it up like a newborn. It is light and muscular and filled with life. He sits down carefully but the guitar tells him how to hold it, where to place it, how to meet its body with his.
He wants it to speak, to welcome its first vowels, to hear its tone and voice, but his fingers hesitate over the strings.
He knows nothing. Less than nothing.
That is the beginning of any relationship: strangers drawn to each other.
Can he do it? He has the time, the dedication, the discipline to learn hard things, but is there more? What if, after years of study and practice and learning, he realises he will never be able to make those strings whisper and laugh like João Gilberto?
It will still have been a journey worth taking. Perhaps only João Gilberto could be João Gilberto, and all that is necessary is for Lucas Corta to be Lucas Corta. Still, some day, some year; it will be good to duet with Jorge Mauro.
His fingers strike the strings. It is out of tune. Irrational to have expected concert pitch to survive the trip from Queen of the South.
So, tuning then. The first thing that he will perform every day of his playing life.
All good work is the work of a lifetime.
Flour, sugar, butter, eggs.
The four fundamentals of cake.
The connections between his reforged memories still surprise Lucasinho Corta. Think of Abena Maanu Asamoah and his memory says, Cake.
‘I made cake?’ he asked Jinji.
You were famous for it, Jinji says and throws up a montage of images of parties, surprises, gifts, culminating in him anointing Abena Asamoah’s chakras with real cow-cream from his strawberry gateau.
‘I’m bringing cake,’ Lucasinho says.
Jinji calls up recipes but none of them are worthy of Abena.
‘Is there a thing called coffee cake?’ Lucasinho asks.
There is, Jinji says and shows him how to make it. The ingredients are rare – one unobtainable in the political climate, but printers can synthesise a coffee flavouring that will pass for anyone who has never tasted the true bean – and the equipment dauntingly technical.
I can requisition a catering microwave oven, Jinji says.
‘Will it make a difference?’
As much as the synthetic coffee.
Flour. Lucasinho frowns at the white powder. He sticks a finger into it. Surprised by the silky liquidity, he pushes his hand into the bowl, feels it flow over his skin, through his fingers.
Sugar. He sniffs the crystals, moistens a fingertip, dips, tastes. Images flood through him, a torrent of sense-memories so vivid and poignant he reels back against the cook-room wall.
Butter. Congealed cow-fat. He takes the pat, squeezes it through his fingers, enjoys the greasy unctuousness. He rubs a smear along each cheekbone. It feels dirty and sexy.
Eggs. He holds each one up before him, marvels at its perfect completeness. It is a universe in the palm of his hand. Yet it came out of a living creature. He shakes his head.
From such unpromising materials, he must work magic.
Coffee cake says, I would move the Earth in the sky to make you happy. He remembers he said that, somewhere, to someone. Luna. On the dark walk.
The bowls, the bakeware, the implements, the flavourings and decorations are to hand. Something is missing. Something is not right. Lucasinho takes a deep breath. Then he kicks off his shoes, slips his shirt over his head. He draws in his belly muscles, unfastens his pants and lets them fall. He steps out of them, kicks them away.
Naked, he stands ready for cake.
He cracks his fingers, lifts the butter and begins. Above him, beyond the curved brow of Oxala, beyond the artificial sky of Boa Vista, the bare, airless, radiation-blasted surface of the Sea of Fecundity stretches beyond the edge of seeing.
GLOSSARY
Many languages are spoken on the moon and the vocabulary cheerfully borrows words from Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Yoruba, Spanish, Arabic, Akan.
Pronunciation guide: in Portuguese, nh is pronounced like a Spanish ñ. Lucasinho is approximately ‘Lucasinyo’. The diphthongs ãe and ão are nasal, almost an ‘n’ sound.
A: common contraction for asexual.
Abusua: group of people who share a common maternal ancestor. AKA maintains them and their marriage taboos to preserve genetic diversity.
Adinkra: Akan visual symbols that represent concepts or aphorisms.
Afilhada: goddaughter.
Amor: lover/partner.
Amory: polyamorys, one of the moon’s many forms of partnering and marriage.
Anjinho: little angel. Corta term of endearment.
Auriverde: the Brasilian flag.
Banya: Russian sauna and steam bath.
Beija Flor: Hummingbird.
> Blackstar: AKA surface worker (derived from the nickname of the Ghana national football team).
Boceta: Brasilian slang for vagina.
Bogan: Australian slang for a vulgar person of low status.
Bruxa/Bruxaria: witch/craft.
Chib: a small virtual pane in an interactive contact lens that shows the state of an individual’s accounts for the Four Elementals.
Coracão: my heart. A term of endearment.
Cunhada: sister-in-law.
Escolta: bodyguard.
Feijoada: a Rio de Janeiro bean and meat stew. An icon of the city.
Four Elementals: air, water, carbon and data: the basic commodities of lunar existence, paid for daily by the chib system.
Gatinha: kitten/young woman.
Globo: a simplified form of English, the lingua franca of the moon, with a codified pronunciation comprehensible by machines.
Ghazi: Arabic knight-of-the-faith. On the moon, a warrior-scholar of the University of Farside.
Gupshup: the main gossip channel on the lunar social network.
Humpy: Western Australian slang for a rough shack.
Irmã/Irmão: sister/brother.
Jackaroo: Mackenzie Metals slang for a surface worker, from an Australian word for a male apprentice sheep-station hand.
Jo/Joe Moonbeam: new arrival on the moon.
Keji-oko: second spouse.
Kotoko: AKA council, of rotating memberships.
Kuozhao: dust-mask.
Ladeira: a staircase or ramp from one level of a quadra to another.
Laoda: boss of a Taiyang surface squad.
Maame: Mom in Akan. The standard Asamoah term of maternal endearment.
Madrinha: surrogate mother. Literally ‘Godmother’.
Mãe de Santo: Mother of the Saint, abbess of the Sisterhood of the Lords of Now.
Malandragem: the art of the trickster, bad-assery.
Mamãe/Mae, Papai/pai: Mother/Mom, Father/Dad.
Mirador: a viewpoint or lookout.
Moto: three-wheel automated cab.
Nana: Ashanti term of respect to an elder.
Nikah: a marriage contract. The term comes from Arabic.
Oko: spouse in marriage.
Okrana: VTO private security.
Omahene: CEO of AKA, on an eight-year rotation.
Orixa: deities and saints in the syncretistic Afro-Brasilian umbanda religion.
Oware: Asante strategy game of the pit-and-pebble type.
Primo: cousin
Santinhos: ‘Little Saints’; slang name for residents of João de Deus.
Sasuit: surface-activity suit.
Saudade: homesick melancholy. A sophisticated and essential element of bossa nova music.
Sobrinha/o: niece/nephew
Terreiro: meeting place for Afro-Brasilian religions.
Tia/Tio: aunt/uncle.
Wushi: Taiyang security.
Zabbaleen: freelance organics recyclers, who then sell on to the LDC which owns all organic material.
Zashitnik: a hired fighter in trial by combat; literally defender, advocate.
Zhongqiu: the second most important lunar festival after New Year.
Dramatis Personae
CORTA
Lucas Corta: Eagle of the Moon.
Lucasinho Corta: only son of Lucas Corta.
Ariel Corta: former lawyer in the Court of Clavius.
Wagner Corta: estranged brother of Lucas Corta, moon-wolf.
Robson Corta: son of Rafa Corta and Rachel Mackenzie, under the protection of Wagner Corta.
Luna Corta: daughter of Rafa Corta and Lousika Asamoah.
Alexia Corta: Earth-born Iron Hand of Lucas Corta.
Elis: madrinha of Luna Corta.
Marina Calzaghe: former PA and bodyguard to Ariel Corta, returned to Earth.
Jorge Mauro: musician and one-time amor of Lucas Corta.
Nelson Medeiros: chief escolta to Lucas Corta.
TAIYANG
Lady Sun: the Dowager of Shackleton, grandmother of the CEO of Taiyang.
Darius Mackenzie-Sun: late son of Jade and Robert Mackenzie, protégé of Lady Sun.
Sun Zhiyuan: CEO of Taiyang.
Amanda Sun: ex-oko of Lucas Corta.
Tamsin Sun: Head of Legal Services.
Jaden Sun: board member and owner of Tigers of the Sun handball team.
Amalia Sun: Amanda Sun’s agent to the University of Farside.
Jiang Ying Yue: Taiyang Head of Security.
MACKENZIE METALS
Duncan Mackenzie: oldest son of Robert and Alyssa Mackenzie, CEO of Mackenzie Metals.
Anastasia Vorontsova: oko of Duncan Mackenzie.
Apollonaire Vorontsova: keji-oko of Duncan Mackenzie.
Denny Mackenzie: youngest son of Duncan and Apollonaire; disinherited by Duncan Mackenzie for treachery.
Kimmie-Leigh Mackenzie: (briefly) betrothed to Irina Efua Vorontsova-Asamoah.
MACKENZIE HELIUM
Bryce Mackenzie: brother of Duncan Mackenzie, CEO Mackenzie Helium.
Finn Warne: First Blade of Mackenzie Helium.
Hossam El Ibrashy: First Blade of Mackenzie Helium.
Rowan Solveig-Mackenzie, Alfonso Pereztrejo, Jaime Hernandez-Mackenzie: executives Mackenzie Metals.
Analiese Mackenzie: dark-amor of Wagner Corta in his dark aspect.
AKA
Lousika Asamoah: Omahene of the Golden Stool.
Abena Asamoah: political science student at the Cabochon colloquium and legal assistant to Ariel Corta.
VTO
Valery Vorontsov: CEO VTO Space.
Yevgeny Vorontsov: CEO of VTO Moon.
Sergei Vorontsov: CEO VTO Earth.
Irina Efua Vorontsova-Asamoah: ecologist and daughter of a dynastic Asamoah/Vorontsov marriage.
LUNAR MANDATE AUTHORITY
Wang Yongqing: Chinese delegate to the LMA.
Anselmo Reyes: delegate from the Davenant Venture Capital fund.
Monique Bertin: European Union delegate to the LMA.
UNIVERSITY OF FARSIDE
Dakota Kaur Mackenzie: ghazi of the Faculty of Biocybernetics.
Dr Gebreselassie: physician to Lucasinho Corta.
Rosario Salgado O’Hanlon de Tsiolkovski: failed ghazi, zashitnik to Ariel Corta.
Vidhya Rao: economist and mathematician, former banker with Whitacre Goddard.
EARTH
Marina Calzaghe: former PA TO Ariel Corta.
Kessie: sister.
Ocean: niece.
Weavyr: niece.
Skyler: brother.
OTHERS
Mariano Gabriel Demaria: director of the School of Seven Bells, an assassin’s college.
Haider: Robson Corta’s best friend.
Max and Arjun: Haider’s care givers.
Lunar Calendar
The Lunar Calendar is divided into twelve lunes named after the signs of the Zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, plus a New Year’s Day.
The days of each lune are derived from the Hawaiian system of naming each day after a different moon-phase. Thus the lune has 30 days and no weeks.
1: Hilo
2: Hoaka
3: Ku Kahi
4: Ku Lua
5: Ku Kolu
6: Ku Pau
7: Ole Ku Kahi
8: Ole Ku Lua
9: Ole Ku Kolu
10: Ole Ku Pau
11: Huna
12: Mohalu
13: Hua
14: Akua
15: Hoku
16: Mahealani
17: Kulua
18: Lā’au Kū Kahi
19: Lā’au Kuū Lua
20: Lā’au Pau
21: ’Ole Kū Kahi
22: ’Ole Kū Lua
23: ’Ole Pau
24: Kāloa Kū Kahi
25: Kāloa Kū Lua
26: Kāloa Pau
27: Kāne
28: Lono
29: Mauli
30: Muku
Additionally, the larger cities (with the exception of Queen of the South) operate a three-shift system: mañana, tarde, noche. Each shift is eight hours apart. Noon in mañana is 8 p.m. in tarde and 4 a.m. in noche.
Also by Ian McDonald from Gollancz:
Brasyl
Cyberabad Days
River of Gods
The Dervish House
Necroville
Luna: New Moon
Luna: Wolf Moon
Luna: Moon Rising
Copyright
First published in Great Britain in 2019 by Gollancz
an imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
An Hachette UK Company
This eBook first published in 2019 by Gollancz.
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Copyright © Ian McDonald 2019
The moral right of Ian McDonald to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (eBook) 978 1 473 21677 8
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Lymington, Hants
www.orionbooks.co.uk
www.gollancz.co.uk