The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year-II

by Jonathan Strahan

  Days passed, and Cao Wen returned again and again to the Outside Depot, filling page after page with notes on the Mexica, dictated by the old man. He'd originally hoped for one or two choice facts with which to spice his survey, and after long frustrated weeks, wrangling the incommunicative prisoner, he'd begun to doubt that he'd get even that much. Now, though, it seemed that flood gates had opened, and the old man was providing more detailed information than Cao had dreamed possible. Now, the thought of advancement within the ministry as reward for all his efforts, which he'd originally held as a slender hope, seemed a very achievable goal.

  This morning, the old man was waiting for him in the interview room, the Remote-Viewing Mirror in his lap.

  "I think we near the end of our cycle of interviews, Ling Xuan," Cao said, not bothering with pleasantries. He slid onto the bench across the table from the old man, and arranged his papers and brushes before him. "I need just one final bit of information, and my report will be complete. I'm not sure just what it is, yet, but I believe that you must have it within you. I want to hear more about the automation of the Mexica. From what you describe, it sounds as though their technological development has taken a different path than our own, but that they seem not far behind us."

  Ling looked up, smiling.

  "I was able to spend long hours last night, watching the skies through this remarkable device. Agent Gu was kind enough to allow me to remain in the courtyard all hours, and so I had a much fuller view of the heavens than I am allowed from my small window." The old man lifted the Remote-Viewing Mirror to his right eye and, squeezing his left eye shut, peered through the device at Cao, sitting across from him. Then he laughed, a soft, strong noise like distant peals of thunder, and continued. "I have been following the path of Fire Star across the heavens. In the last few months, it has risen in the early hours of the morning, rising earlier and earlier every day, tracking steadily eastward across the sky. Just a few week ago, it rose shortly after sunset, and the most remarkable thing occurred. Cui had told me about it, but until this occasion I had never had opportunity to see it for myself. Fire Star seemed to stop in the heavens, and then turned back, now moving westward across the skies. Now it rises at sunset, tracks westward across the sky, and sets by dawn. In another few weeks, if what Cui told me holds true, it will reverse course again, moving once more eastward across the sky, rising earlier and earlier until it once again rises at dawn and sets at dusk."

  "Fascinating," Cao said, without feeling. "Now, to return to the Mexica . . ."

  "There are shapes, shadows, and lines upon the surface of Fire Star, I have found. This most ingenious device allows me to see them with my own eye."

  "The automatons of the Mexica, Ling Xuan," Cao repeated. "Now, you say that they are little more than parlor tricks, fixed in place and able to go through only route motions. But did the Mexica display the capacity to develop these trinkets into something more? A siege engine of sorts, perhaps?"

  "Cui told me that the best astronomers of his time felt that these wandering stars were worlds such as our own. Tell me, do you suppose if that is so, it might not be peopled with beings such as ourselves?"

  "Ling Xuan . . ." Cao began, rubbing the bridge of his nose, his tone menacing.

  The old man, his eyes half-lidded, sways on his bench, like a tall tree blown by a high wind. "I'm tired, Cao Wen. Too many late nights and early mornings, too little sleep. Let us continue tomorrow, yes? I am sure I will be in better spirits then, and better able to hear your questions."

  Ling stood, and knocked on the door.

  "But . . ." Cao began, and then trailed off as the old man exited after Agent Gu swung open the door. Cao sighed, dramatically, and shrugged. He had waited this long. What harm could another day do? But if by then the end of the next day he did not have the answers he needed . . .?

  Cao felt his patience was an at end. He gathered up his papers, and to the empty room he said, "Tomorrow, then."

  The next day found Cao Wen and Ling Xuan back in their accustomed places.

  Ling seemed more lucid and animated today, and didn't wait for Cao to initiate their discussion before returning to their perennial topic of conversation. "All of this talk of the Mexica has reminded me of something I've long since forgotten. A salient fact about the culture of the Mexica that I did not realize until years after my visit to their empire."

  "What is it?" Cao asked, warily.

  "It is one final fact which you must have for your survey. It is something about the culture of the Mexica which I have realized only later in life, which is the reason that the Dragon Throne will prevail, if it should go to war against them. But in exchange for this final bit of information, I request one last favor."

  Cao glanced at the Remote-Viewing Mirror, clutched as always in the old man's gnarled hands. What would the old man want this time?

  "I would go, just once more, beyond the walls of the Eastern Depot. From my vantage point within the Outside Depot, there is only so much of the night sky I can see, and there is so, so much more to behold."

  Cao straightened, and folded his arms across his chest. "Absolutely not," he said, sharply. "Out of the question." Cao rubbed the bridge of his nose, and tried to compose an appropriate counter offer. "No. Instead, if you don't tell me what I want to know, you will be punished. Yes, and I will have the Remote-Viewing Mirror taken from you."

  Ling shrugged, unmoved. "I have seen the heavens with my own eyes, from within my little box. If you take away my vision, I will still have my memories, but if I am unable to venture beyond these walls, my memories will be all I have, anyway. What have I to lose?"

  Cao jumped to his feet, and began furiously to pace the floor.

  "This is unseemly, Ling Xuan. This is unacceptable."

  "And yet it is happening," Ling said, his expression serene.

  Cao Wen stormed to the door, and pounded loudly with the heel of his fist.

  Gu opened the door, his expression curious.

  "Agent Gu, remove this prisoner from my sight immediately!" Cao Wen said imperiously.

  Gu looked from Cao to Ling and back, shrugged, and took the old man by the elbow, leading him slowly from the chamber. "This way, old man."

  Cao collapsed back onto his seat, glowering.

  Cao Wen sat on the hard, unforgiving bench, waiting while bureaucrats shuffled back and forth across the polished floors of the Ministry of War, about the business of the empire.

  Cao didn't have to test the old man's resolve. He knew that Ling meant what he said. If Ling said he wouldn't answer any further questions without receiving his boon, he wouldn't speak another word. Not another useful word, at least.

  "Deputy Minister Wu will see you now, Cao Wen," said a steward, appearing at the open door.

  Cao swallowed hard, rose to his feet, and crossed the floor.

  "O Honorable Deputy Minister," Cao said, bowing low.

  The imposing figure of Deputy Minister Wu was crowded into a spare, simply made chair on the far side of the room. There was a low table at his side, covered with rolled maps, bound sheaves of paper, and small notebooks. At his elbow stood his secretary, a weasel-faced man with ink-stained fingers who recorded everything said in the room in exhaustive detail.

  "Cao Wen," the Deputy Minister said, a faint smile on his thick lips. "I harbor hopes that you come to deliver your survey of the Mexica."

  "Not quite yet, this one is afraid to report," Cao Wen answered, his voice tremulous.

  "Why am I not surprised?"

  "My interrogation of the prisoner Ling Xuan these last weeks has been exceedingly productive," Cao continued. "I believe that, with one final addition, it will be complete and ready to present to the Minister of War."

  "And then on to the Dragon Throne itself?" Wu asked, eyes narrowed.

  Cao Wen swelled with pride, but his voice wavered nervously when he answered. "Yes, Deputy Minister. I believe it will not only summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the Mexic military, bu
t the survey should further provide a sound justification for why the Middle Kingdom will inevitably defeat the Mexic militarily, should it come to open warfare."

  "And what is this last addition, one wonders, and what is it that the Ministry of War will be asked to authorize in its pursuit?"

  With as little detail and as briefly as possible, Cao explained that the old man who was his primary source for the report had requested one night beyond the walls of the Eastern Depot, in exchange for his final testimony.

  "For what purpose?" Wu asked, when Cao had completed his summation. "Some conjugal business, perhaps? A fine meal, or an evening of drunken revelry?"

  "No," Cao said simply. "Star-gazing."

  Wu looked at Cao, disbelieving. "And in return for this small privilege, we will get the secret to defeating the Mexica?"

  "Yes," Cao said.

  The Deputy Minister steepled his fingers, and pursed his thick lips.

  "Having paid quite a lot to get this far along in the game, Cao Wen, it seems a shame to withdraw when there is just one final wager to make. You will have your authorization. But return with this storied survey in hand, or don't bother returning at all."

  Cao bowed, deeply, and scuttled away.

  Three days later, approaching the middle watches of the night, Cao Wen arrived at the Eastern Depot, where he was met by Director Fei Ren.

  "I am not happy with this development," Director Fei said, as though his expression was not explanation enough, "but the Deputy Minister of War has managed to get the approval of the emperor himself for this little excursion, so there isn't anything I can do about it."

  Before Cao could reply, Agent Gu arrived, escorting Ling Xuan.

  "Temporary Resident Ling Xuan," Director Fei said, turning to the old man. "Know that a great many bureaucrats have been put to a great deal of trouble on your behalf."

  The old man just smiled, clutching the Remote-Viewing Mirror to his chest.

  "You have until sunrise, old man," Director Fei said, and then turned his attentions to Agent Gu. "This is your first mission beyond the walls of the Eastern Depot, is it not, Gu?"

  Agent Gu bowed, and stammered a reply in the affirmation.

  "Such was my recollection." Fei looked from the old man to Gu, and scowled. "If Ling Xuan attempts to escape, know that you are free to take whatever means are necessary to insure that our temporary resident returns home to the Eastern Depot."

  "Yes, sir, Director," Agent Gu said, punctuated by a further bow.

  With that, Director Fei turned on his heel, and disappeared back into the labyrinth of the Eastern Depot.

  "Let's get on with it," Cao said, impatiently.

  With Cao on one side, and Agent Gu on the other, Ling Xuan passed through the archway and into the concourse beyond, walking out of the Eastern Depot for the first time in more than fifty years.

  They threaded through the boulevards and avenues of the Northern Capital, lined on all sides with the offices of the Six Ministries and countless imperial directorates and bureaus. They came at least to a public square, far from the palace, surrounded by low buildings, inns and residences of the meaner sort. Lamplights glowed warmly from within them, but the sky overhead was dark and moonless, the stars glittering like gems against black silk.

  Ling Xuan paused, and took a deep breath through his nostrils, looking up at the skies with his naked eye. "I have been imprisoned behind four walls for more than half of my life, but I have come to realize that my mind has been imprisoned even longer. The noble truths that Cui taught me through that little vent, while we were guests of the Bureau of Suppression and Soothing, were far grander and broader than anything I'd previously imagined. I have seen more of the world than many, read more than most, and yet even I had only the most tenuous grasp of reality."

  Above them, the stars in the heavens seem to turn while they watched, and Cao found himself becoming dizzy, vertiginous.

  "Do you know why my friend Cui was imprisoned in the Bureau of Suppression and Soothing?" the old man continued, glancing momentarily down from the stars to the two men at this side. "It was widely reported, so he said, that it was because he had provided readings of the heavens which were inauspicious for the regent's reign. In fact, that was not his crime. Cui challenged the accepted wisdom. He devoted his life to studying the heavens, and made a frightening discovery. Our world is not, as we have always believed, the center of the universe, with the sun, moon, and stars twirling around us. Through a careful study of the heavens, Cui came to realize that, in fact, our world was just one of many, all of which circled around the sun. What is more, he claimed that the stars themselves might be other suns, out in the distant heavens. Perhaps a small fraction of those other suns might have worlds of their own, and some small fraction of those might be peopled. We might not be the only beings in creation able to look upon ourselves and wonder." The old man paused, and smiled ruefully. "Of course, this offended the Regent Aobai, who was convinced Cui had concocted his theory only to insult the young Kangxi emperor."

  Agent Gu shook his head in disbelief, when the old man fell silent. "The Earth circle around the sun? You might as well say that the Dragon Throne exists to serve me, and not the other way around."

  "You might indeed." Ling smiled, his eyes twinkling.

  Cao swayed on his feet. He felt unsteady, as though he stood on the edge of a precipice, about to fall into the abyss.

  "Ling Xuan, you promised me one final fact about the Mexica," Cao said, uneasily.

  "So I did," Ling said, nodding. "So I did. And I will tell you. It is this."

  The old man leaned closer to Cao, and spoke softly, like thunder more distant than ever before, as though he were communicating some secret in confidence which he didn't want the stars above to overhear.

  "The Mexica, as clever and bright and ferocious as they may be, are still blinded by their faith. The most learned among them honestly believes that the world is but a few hundred years old, and all evidence to the contrary is merely a test of their faith. We of the Middle Kingdom, I would argue, cling with as much tenacity to beliefs and superstitions no more grounded in reality than that, but with one notable difference. Ours is a culture that can produce a mind like Cui's, a mind which challenges received wisdom, which questions the foundations of knowledge itself. If we manage to produce only one like him in every dozen generations, we will still manage, in the fullness of time, to conquer the universe. Like the fraction of worlds of the fraction of stars in the great immensity of the heavens, that ensure that we are not alone, just one small spark of genius in the vast sea of complacency will mean that history does not stand still."

  Ling Xuan turned, and headed back the way they had come.

  "I am ready to return home to my cell now, thank you," the old man said, calling back to Cao and Gu over his shoulder. "I have seen all I needed to see."

  The next morning, as Cao Wen struggled to work out how to conclude his report, he received a visitor to his cubicle in the Ministry of War. It was Agent Gu, dressed in simple gray robes.

  "Gu? What are you doing here?"

  "At the request of Director Fei, I come to tell you that Ling Xuan, temporary resident of the Outside Depot, died in the night. From all signs, it was not a suicide, nor is there any indication of foul play."

  Cao blinked, a confused expression spread across his face.

  "The old man died?"

  "Yes," Gu replied. "Of extreme old age, or so I am given to understand."

  "And yet he waited long enough to walk once more under the stars as a free man," Cao observed.

  "Perhaps he felt that it was important enough to live for," Gu said, unsure, "and having done so, his work was done."

  Cao sighed, and shrugged his shoulders.

  "Strange timing, and no doubt, but he was old, and the elderly have a habit of dying." Cao regarded Gu's plain gray robes. "But here you are, beyond the walls of the Eastern Depot yourself, and so adorned that you could pass for a simple merchant i
n the streets."

  "Yes," Agent Gu said, with a smile that commingled embarrassment and pride. "It is the opinion of Director Fei that I have completed my training, and will be of better use to the Dragon Throne beyond the walls, rather than within." Gu paused, and shifted uncomfortably. "Cao Wen, I must ask you. What are your thoughts about the things that Ling Xuan said to us in the night, about the sun and the Earth and the stars, about the Middle Kingdom and the Mexica and all?"

  Cao Wen shrugged. "All I can say is that everything Ling reported to me these long weeks has been true, as far as I have been able to determine, the intelligence on the Mexica and the facts the old man learned from Astronomer Cui alike. But who am I to judge?"

  Agent Gu nodded, absently, and with a final bow, departed, leaving Cao with his work.

  There remained only a few more characters to brush onto the final page, and then Cao's detailed report on the astronomer Cui was complete. This appended to his report about the Mexica, Cao rolled up the papers and slid them into a leather tube. Then he rose to his feet, arranged his robes around him, and headed towards the office of the Deputy Minister to hand in his survey.

  Orm the Beautiful

  Elizabeth Bear

  Hot newcomer Elizabeth Bear (www.elizabethbear.com) has made quite an impact on science fiction and fantasy in just a few short years. Her first short fiction appeared in 1996, and was quickly followed by eight novels and nearly fifty short stories. Her "Jenny Casey" trilogy won the Locus Award for Best First Novel, and she won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2005. Her most recent book is collaborative fantasy novel A Companion to Wolves (written with Sarah Monette).

  In the economical contemporary fantasy that follows Bear shows that even the oldest of the genre's icons can be made fresh and new again. Here a great dragon, the last of his kind, manages to surprise us with an act of grace.