by M. D. Cooper
“That’s no problem,” Isa replied. “Send me the coordinates, and we’ll meet you there.”
They passed through the double doors of the hotel and out into the bright, early morning sunshine.
“To reach the fjords, we have to pass through the Central Range,” Ada said. “Your pinnace will figure out the route. The views are spectacular.”
After walking out to the hotel’s parking lot, Isa and Martin climbed into Isa’s borrowed ship, while the Tyrians climbed into theirs. Isa input the figures Samuel had sent her over the Link, and started up the engine. The pinnace lifted as smoothly as ever. Isa wondered if she could afford to buy a similar vessel with the creds she would receive for making the infomentary. She probably wouldn’t have enough, but it was something to aspire to. It would be cool to fly around Carthage and pop over to Knossos to see Martin in her own aircraft.
The pinnace’s nose turned, and they swept over Ushu toward Mount Athos. The slopes were lightly gilded by the rising sun. Isa settled in for the ride, anticipating another awe-inspiring day on Tyre.
A while later, Martin said, “Hey, are you recording this?”
They were flying around Mount Athos, and the rest of the Central Range was coming into view. The line of magnificent peaks was breathtaking. It was almost impossible to believe that the mountains had formed naturally and had only experienced a little tweaking by the FGT.
“I am now,” Isa replied, gazing steadily at the panorama. Pulling the dry facts from the Link and adding her personal perspective, she created some commentary to go with the recording.
The pinnace was flying them swiftly along the range, seemingly heading for a gap that would allow passage through to the northern side. Sure enough, a short time later, they began to bank to the left. A low saddle between the peaks appeared, and white, craggy slopes rose on each side of them, highlighting the brilliant blue of the sky opening up ahead.
The land that spread out on the northern slopes of the range was clothed in deep, rich green. The Tyrians ship—which they had lost sight of at some point—could now be seen in the distance. It had flown beyond the shadow cast by the mountains and was glinting in the daylight.
Isa and Martin had been chatting about the Athens trip and Erin and other subjects of mutual interest. Martin had finally found the words to describe Malcolm, carefully explaining how annoying he was.
Isa didn’t think Malcolm sounded half as annoying as Martin was making out, but his words reminded her of her unease about her Tyrian friends.
They’d taken her to see several places in the days since she’d left the hospital, but she’d never again seen the odd behavior she’d witnessed that first time in the restaurant, yet it had left an impression that hadn’t been erased.
When Isa caught sight of the Tyrians’ pinnace, she remarked, “I probably sound paranoid, but I should tell you I think there’s something odd about Samuel and the others.”
“Odd? In what way? I only saw them for a moment, but they seemed normal enough to me.”
“I’m not saying they aren’t normal. But there might be something more to their befriending me than they’re telling.”
“What makes you think that?”
Isa explained about the whispered argument she’d witnessed the day she’d first met her new acquaintances. Relating the incident out loud made her realize how weak her evidence sounded. “I don’t know. I can’t explain it well, but it isn’t only that they stopped arguing the moment they saw me. I get the impression that they aren’t being themselves—I just feel that there’s more to their offer to show me around than they’re letting on.”
“Do you know what other reason might they have?” Martin asked.
“No, I haven’t figured that part out yet. I’ve just been avoiding them as much as I can, making excuses. I’ve only been out with them a couple of times, but I thought you would really enjoy what they had in mind for today, so I took them up on their offer.”
“Maybe they want the fame of appearing in your infomentary.”
“No, it isn’t that. If anything, they seem reluctant to appear in any shots.”
“In that case, I don’t know either. Why would they go out of their way to help you unless they were proud of their planet and wanted to promote it? Nothing else makes sense.”
“I know. Maybe I’m….” Isa was about to say ‘crazy’, but the word hit too close to home.
She did worry sometimes about her mental health, but that had nothing to do with the Tyrians. She was sure of it. This was something else.
“Paranoid?” Martin asked with a smile.
“Maybe.”
He squeezed her knee. “Interesting. If they do have some kind of malicious or ulterior motive for accompanying you on these trips, we might be able to figure it out together.”
“That’s true.”
A short while later, the pinnace began to lose height. The coast was approaching, its aquamarine and white lines stretching wide.
“Look at that,” exclaimed Martin. “I think that must be where we’re going.”
To their right, a series of convoluted cliffs and chasms lifted from the sea and reached deeply inland, as far as the foothills of the mountain range. Isa began to record what she was seeing.
“It’s hard to believe that at one point, all this would have been covered in ice,” Martin remarked as they drew closer to their destination.
“Would it?” asked Isa.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it would. Geology isn’t my subject, but as far as I understand, fjords are created by glaciers. Tyre must have undergone at least one ice age, and glaciers must have grown out from the mountain range, slicing out deep valleys as they worked their way to the sea. The ice probably stretched out into the ocean too, calving huge icebergs.”
“Sounds amazing,” Isa said, “but I’m glad the ice retreated. Look what it left behind.”
Below them, deep fjords sank down to the water, their rocky faces dotted with trees that clung impossibly to the vertical faces.
Martin clutched Isa’s arm. The words to describe what he was seeing eluded him, but he was jabbing a finger at a spectacular waterfall. A wide, silver curtain was pouring from the top of a fjord into the shadowed, watery depths of the ocean below, rainbows glistening among the drops.
Isa immediately zoomed in on the stunning sight and continued to record.
“We have to go there,” said Martin finally.
Isa replied, “I’m sure we can, somehow. In fact, it looks like that’s where we’re going.”
The Tyrians’ pinnace had slowed, and Isa and Martin had nearly caught up to it. The vessel dropped out of the sky and landed just beyond the top of the waterfall. Isa’s pinnace soon lowered itself down nearby. By the time she and Martin had climbed out, Ada, Samuel, and Rahmin were at the edge of the fjord, standing near the shallow river that fed the waterfall. They were already wearing their a-grav packs.
Isa and Martin took theirs out of the pinnace and joined the Tyrians. A stiff, salty breeze was blowing from the ocean, and the air was loud with the sound of falling water.
“The best way to go down is through the waterfall,” Ada explained. “It’s fairly fine, so the force of the water isn’t so strong that it’s uncomfortable. You can change into swimwear now if you’d prefer, but your clothes will dry quickly, anyway, in the warm wind.”
Martin was standing at the very edge and peering down to the bottom.
“Tell me you aren’t thinking of diving from here,” Isa said.
Martin turned toward her and beamed.
“It must be a hundred-meter drop,” said Isa.
“According to Eamon, it’s a hundred and forty-eight meters,” Martin replied. “But there are no rocks in the water at the bottom.”
He had a glint in his eye that Isa remembered from Athens, when he’d decided to compete with Usef at tsunami-surfing acrobatics.
“But maybe another time,” he went on, walking back to the group.
“Yeah,” said Rahmin. “Floating through the waterfall is cool too, and the fun lasts longer.”
Isa put on her a-grav pack. Samuel was already stepping off the cliff, and Ada quickly followed him. It wasn’t long before Isa was doing the same, her heart racing when she found herself looking between her feet at the deep blue water below.
She guided the pack to take her in amongst the jewel-like drops of the waterfall, and was quickly soaked in tepid water. The spray, mist, and rainbows around her took her breath away. Taking her time, she sank lower and lower, passing greenery that sprouted from the wet rock and small, intriguing caves.
Just before she reached the ocean, she saw that the others were floating sideways out of the stream of water to a rock ledge. Isa moved in the same direction and joined Martin and the rest of the group, perched on the flat rocks.
Martin was removing his pack and stripping off his clothes. “Coming for a swim, Isa?” He clearly couldn’t wait any longer.
“Okay,” she replied. “Give me a minute.”
“We’ll join you,” Rahmin said.
Martin put his stuff in a pile and positioned himself at the rock edge. He lifted onto his tiptoes, jumped, and executed a perfect swan dive. Isa watched as he entered the waves, making barely a ripple. She waited for him to break the surface before jumping in and making somewhat more of a splash. The water was cold but not unbearably so. As soon as she surfaced, she swam over to Martin, who was treading water.
“You know,” he said. “I love my seeding site, but this place is beautiful. Just beautiful.”
As she looked at the green and grey of the tall rock cliffs, the delicate waterfalls, and the aquamarine ocean, Isa couldn’t help but agree.
* * * * *
The day at the fjords with Martin and the Tyrians was a fantastic diversion—so much so, that Isa forgot to mention to the Tyrians that she was going to see Tony that evening.
He was scheduled to arrive on the daily flight from Carthage after agreeing to talk further with her about about Tyre’s attractions. It was coming in late, so Martin had returned to the hotel to relax while Isa waited at the spaceport.
She could have created a holo that would make it look like she and the planetary engineer were at an exciting location for the interview, and it would have looked entirely authentic, but that felt like she’d be cheating the viewers. Besides, she knew that actually being on Tyre would spark a natural enthusiasm in Tony’s expression and tone that she’d want to capture. He hadn’t minded at all when she’d made the request, only saying that he was glad of the excuse to visit his favorite planet.
While she awaited his arrival at Ushu’s air and spaceport, she considered possible locations where they could record the interview. Perhaps they could go to the peak of one of the lower mountains, or somewhere even more spectacular. Her only problem was that there were so many places to choose from.
Should I take him to the fjords?
Despite her reservations about Samuel, Rahmin, and Ada, the day had been magical. Compared to the solid, artificial structure of the air and spaceport, her memory of the fjords seemed almost unreal. But then again, so had the chute at Mount Athos, the golden cavern, the crystal caves, and everywhere else she’d been. It was like living in a fairy tale.
She spotted the curly-haired engineer coming out of arrivals, and caught his attention with a wave.
“I appreciate you coming all this way,” she said when Tony had walked over to her.
“No problem,” he replied. “I was due to pay a visit in a couple of weeks. I just brought my plans forward. How have you been getting along? You look as though you’re enjoying your stay.”
“Do I?” Isa asked. “I guess it must show. I think Tyre is amazing, and I’m dying to tell everyone about it.”
“I’m glad to hear that. While it might be nice for Tyrians to have this place all to themselves, it isn’t really fair to keep the secret from the other New Canaanites.”
“That’s right,” Isa replied. “There’s plenty here for everyone. By the way, I met your friend Samuel. He’s been showing me around, along with some of his friends.”
“Excuse me?”
“Samuel. And he introduced me to two more Tyrians, Ada and Rahmin.” When Tony continued to look blank, Isa said, “You probably heard about my cave rescue?”
“I did, but I also heard that you were okay. I was glad nothing serious happened.”
“Thanks. The only damage was to my pride,” said Isa ruefully. “Anyway, a man named Samuel came up to me as I was leaving the hospital, and told me that he knew you. He said he’d heard what I was doing on Tyre and he wanted to help. He said you’d suggested that he could be my informal guide.”
“There must have been a miscommunication somewhere,” said Tony as his brow lowered. “I don’t know anyone named Samuel.”
DISCERNMENT
STELLAR DATE: 03.20.8937 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Government Center, Ushu
REGION: Tyre, New Canaan System
Tony had invited Isa to his office in the modest government building in Ushu. The place was dark and quiet. All the staff had gone home for the evening except for a single security guard manning the front desk.
Tony showed Isa into his room, which was sparsely furnished with only a couple of chairs and a desk that held a built-in holo display. He motioned to Isa to sit down.
On the way over, they hadn’t spoken at all about the Tyrians who had befriended her. Isa’s suspicions about them had been on the wane. None of them had done anything that she considered strange since the argument she’d walked in on at the restaurant. She’d told herself the spat could have been about anything, and that the three friends undoubtedly had private business between themselves that they didn’t want to share with new acquaintances, so it wasn’t hard to explain their sudden change in attitude when they saw her returning from the restroom.
But that was before Tony had said he didn’t know anyone named Samuel. Now she had another reason to suspect their motives. Why would Samuel lie about something so trivial?
“I’m not sure what to make of all this,” the planetary engineer said, “but I am concerned. It sounds like someone’s used my name as a way to manipulate you, which is odd. I mean, it isn’t like you’re working on anything politically sensitive or even significant.”
Isa raised her eyebrows.
“Important though your project is,” Tony hastily added.
“I’m just kidding,” said Isa.
“On the other hand,” said Tony, “what this person, Samuel, has done isn’t exactly a crime. I think we need to find out who he and his friends are. Then maybe we can figure out why they’ve done what they did and what they might want.”
“Okay,” Isa replied, “if you say so. Though I don’t plan on having any more to do with them now. It’s giving me the creeps just thinking about them.” Her years spent mining asteroids, when everyone relied on others for their safety, had given her a healthy disrespect for people who demonstrated they couldn’t be trusted.
“Do you know their surnames?” Tony asked.
“No, they only used the most basic Link presence, and it only revealed given names—or they just don’t have last names.”
“Do you have any images of them? I guess it’s possible that I do know this man Samuel after all, and I’ve just forgotten. Not that it would excuse the lie about me asking them to show you around Tyre.”
Isa wished she had augmented vision like Erin and could record everything she saw. However, she did have the recordings for the infomentary and searched through them for her friends. She realized that her offhand comment to Martin earlier that the three Tyrians’ seemed reluctant to appear in her shots hadn’t been hyperbole. They’d somehow successfully managed to avoid appearing in any recording she’d made. She almost felt like contacting Martin to check that Samuel, Ada, and Rahmin did actually exist.
“I don’t have a single image of any of them,” she told To
ny, “but I can describe them to you.”
“You said they met you outside the hospital, didn’t you?” he asked.
“That’s right. That was where Samuel approached me.”
“Let me see if any security scanners cover the area.” Tony spent a moment searching, then shook his head. “No luck there. Okay, we’ll go ahead with your descriptions. Wait a moment.” He paused for a moment, his eyes ticking up to the left in his Link-tell.
Isa had spent several days with the three Tyrians, so it wasn’t hard for her to recall what they looked like. Isa described Samuel, Rahmin, and Ada to the AI. Then she and Tony waited while Onyx searched her data on the settlers.
Onyx replied a few seconds later.
He activated his holo display.
“Rahmin Butler,” he said as a holo of a man appeared above his desk.
Isa didn’t need to take more than a cursory look at the spinning figure of a very tall, well-muscled man with shaggy, light brown hair down to his shoulders.
“That’s him.”
“Ada Grey.” Tony switched the holo for one of a red-haired woman dressed in a boiler suit.