The Lost Star's Sea

by C. Litka

  06

  Bindare proved to be a surprisingly modern city of some 50,000 people with wide, tree-lined streets filled with electric vehicles. Serrata-proof houses and businesses stood in orderly rows beyond the trees. They all had solar panel roofs to collect the always available solar energy. With everlasting daylight, skylights, and only a few electric appliances, their power requirements were modest as well. Mostly it was used to charge their vehicles.

  'How can such a modern looking city, be just hours away from the feudal stone towers and cottages of the marches?'

  'We're on the bright side now, so electricity can be harvested from the light far more efficiently. But I think it's more a matter of culture. You fine-feathered people bring all the, what you call, advanced technology with you from the core Saraime principalities, where the fine-feathered people dominate. We broad-feathered folk are content to live the way we always have, adopting from the fine-feathered only what we decide we really need. There's a lot more of your kind in the cities, so you'll see a lot more core-island technology. Each to his own.'

  'And everyone gets along? It would seem a source of conflict - old ways and new ways.'

  She laughed. 'They're all the old ways. What you see here is the way it's always been, at least for all practical purposes. I suppose the fine-feathers weren't always here, but that's nearly forgotten.'

  After we'd unloaded our cargo, Captain DenMons gave us a round's leave. 'I expect you back in a round, reasonably sober. I'll be making my calls and the cargo will be arriving as soon as you're back on board, so you'll need to be in good enough shape to load it.'

  'Right,' said KaRaya. 'You can count on us.'

  'I'll not. Surprise me,' she snapped. Mostly bark, but not without a bite I'd not care to test. Hissi stayed on board with her new mentor.

  We got some rooms, took a long shower, opened up a bank account so as not to have to carry our wealth with us. There was something about the mining and lumber towns we'd called on deep in the twilight - and the rough and rather dark humored people, both bright and shadow-siders - that reminded me of drifteer rocks and drifteers. Most weren't menacing, but you had the feeling, well, this wasn't the Unity. I felt a lot more comfortable with my few gold and silver coins in a bank rather than in my inner pocket. Darter or no darter, those deep shadow land towns, brooding on the edge of night had their share of dark corners and, I suspected, desperate men as well. I also picked up a couple of heavy duty jumpsuits, suitable for the oil and black charcoal dust of the engine room.

  We arrived back in good time, in good shape, and got a two copper a day raise. I guess Cap'n Mons wanted to keep us.

  Chapter 19 The Rush