Toth

by James C. Glass

  “When we first arrived I thought we would soon perish. There was nothing here but trees and rocks, but the island is rich in natural resources, and we quickly discovered the shellfish that cover the rocks in shallow water along every shore. I will show you if you have the time.”

  “We have to reach Toth’s island as quickly as possible. One of our people is there, and perhaps your own son,” said Michael.

  “Yes, of course, but if you simply rush in on the huge rock that is his sanctuary you will be obliterated in the water. In fear of our own safety we have watched the comings and goings of his people for many years and we know of an entrance. I can show you the location and give you routes that avoid the meanderings of the barrier. There’s a narrow channel that guides a transponder signal to either calm or enrage the Charni. It is an adaptation of the transmitter used in a counselor’s staff, like this.”

  Derald picked up a metal box smaller than his fist, and opened it. He showed Michael the small stack of circuit boards and chips. “It’s a simple transmitter, highly amplified, with a single loop antenna in the tip of the staff. It resonates with a receiver placed in all of Toth’s baptized near birth.”

  “At the base of the neck,” said Michael. “I’ve seen a biochip used for the baptisms.”

  “It attaches itself to the spine in hours,” said Derald, “even minutes, for a newly-born child. There are two frequencies, one for pleasure, and one for pain. We have forbidden both practices here by our own baptism of those baptized in Toth.”

  “How?”

  “The chip itself is not deep, though the conducting tendrils that attach to the spine must never be disturbed. We expose the chip itself, and destroy it by the application of a single burning ember from a wood fire. It is quite vulnerable to such heat. The operation itself is quite simple, and was our first symbolic act of separation from Toth.”

  “He must know you’ve survived,” said Michael. “Why hasn’t he occupied this island?”

  “We were no threat to him. Why bother? Now, I’m not so sure. His boats appear regularly. They’re watching us.”

  “I have special glasses that can see heat. There is a great plume of heat over this island and it can be seen from the mainland. Toth must also be able to see this, and it’s a signature one expects to see when heavy industry is present. If I were Toth, I would want to see what you’re up to.”

  “I will show you,” said Derald. “There is industry here, but most of what he sees is geological in origin. There is great power beneath this island, Major Queal, and we have taken advantage of it. Please, let me show you, and then we will talk about a plan for you to reach Toth. His island is only a few sailing hours east of here.”

  “We could use the time, Major,” said Osen. “Remember that Nik thought he heard something from Belsus. We might get a flyer down here yet.”

  “Okay,” said Michael, “we’ll take a quick tour, but I want Krisha to have her people on full alert.”

  “On it, sir,” said Osen, and he left the room before Michael could reply.

  Derald showed him the designs and models representing only a part of his forty-year life on the island. There was the little glass diving boat used to harvest the Lonia, and a large boat with multiple glass cabins that would take them far out to sea. Michael picked up the models, fingered the metal parts. “Is this steel?”

  “Iron,” said Derald. “There is rich ore on the southern slopes, but the mining has been by hand, and our production is limited. There’s much coal here near the summits, and pure veins of it set afire by natural causes in ancient times. These have aided us in our smelting operations, and also in the manufacture of glass. I can show you some of this today if we leave now.”

  Derald led him up a steep, narrow trail along the edge of the canyon. Below them a wider path was laced with parallel logs and periodic wooden structures housing heavy block and tackle for moving heavy loads down to the settlement. Whiffs of sulfur came to them and as the wind shifted Michael could feel blasts of hot air coming down from the mountains. Derald climbed slowly, but steadily, Michael huffing and puffing to keep up with him until they suddenly stopped. “Listen,” said Derald. “You can hear the fires.”

  A low, steady roar came down from the rocky peaks above and west of them, like the sound of a gas furnace. The air was now foul with the smell of sulfur, and something sharper. They moved on, around a cornice, and ahead the trail steepened. A slope there sparkled in sunlight, green, red and yellow, two thick iron cables appearing from a black maw in rock and descending towards the southern shore of the island. One cable moved, vibrated, and a wooden crate appeared, attached to the cable, rising to the maw where two men now stood. They grabbed the crate, slid it into darkness and a moment later another crate appeared, moving downwards on the second cable. “We use sand from the northern beaches because it is purer there, and finer. Our artisans have become quite particular about this. Would you like to rest here? The last climb is steep.”

  “I can use a break,” said Michael, gasping. The old man wasn’t even breathing hard. He must be ninety and I can’t keep up with him. How am I going to fight a war? They rested a moment near the summits, and to the south Michael could see the edge of the ocean separating the island from the great southern continent a thousand miles away. He pointed and said; “There’s a huge body of land far out to sea. We saw it from our ship.”

  “Someday we’ll go there,” said Derald. “We have only begun to settle this planet, Major Queal, but we will do it in time if all constraints are removed from us. If Toth moves on this island, it will have to be sooner. That model I showed you, the big boat? It is no longer a model; the full-scale version is nearly completed and is hidden in a bay a little west of us on the southern shore. It will carry forty people, and the supplies they need for a long crossing.”

  “You would take that chance?”

  “If we must. We will never again live under Toth’s rule, that much is certain. We will die first. Are you rested now?”

  “Yes.” Michael smiled wanly and they made a final climb up a scree-covered trail to the opening in the rock from which hot air was streaming. Michael coughed at the smell of it. “It will be better inside. The tunnel here acts as a vent for the fumes,” said Derald.

  The roar was loud and steady, the tunnel dimly lit by an intense light ahead. A crate passed them, heading down the mountain, followed by two sweating men with shovels. They nodded to Derald, looked curiously at Michael and went their way.

  When they came out of the tunnel it was as if they had entered a blast furnace. Swirling heat rushed towards them from a terraced pit, five levels carved from rock, and on the bottom of the pit lay a treasure of glass in neat stacks. Carts were being filled, and moved into three tunnels heading north and south, slabs of every color, globes, drinking glasses, huge torpedo shapes of blown, clear material, dinnerware of all kinds. On the second level a stone slab was pushed aside, fierce light spilling from a fiery interior from which workers using long tongs withdrew iron drawers filled with molten material, and poured it into molds. Others with long tubes withdrew smaller samples. The men blew into the tubes, and before Michael’s eyes globes and finely shaped goblets of colorful glass were born.

  “These are the burning coal veins,” said Derald. We’ve closed them off except for three places on each level, and added drafts from the outside so we can control the heat. There is more, two other caverns such as this, but further west. It is there we process our metal ores, mostly iron, but some lead and even copper, which appears in pure form here. The copper has been most difficult for us to process. There is also some fine quartz west of here, large crystals that I have been experimenting with. They produce small amounts of electricity when put under pressure, but so far I’ve found no practical use for them.”

  Michael was clearly awed. “You dug this out by hand?”

  “It was a natural cavern, but we removed a lot of rock and dirt to make room for temporary storage, and then there we
re the tunnels to dig. It was a labor of twelve years.”

  “This glass you make here would be priceless on many planets, even Arkon, the federation capital.”

  “We make what we need,” said Derald, “but there is a surplus growing and our artisans in recent years have been producing some wonderful things you might find interesting. Their shop is back in the canyon, near mine. We passed it on the way up. You are our first contact with other worlds, Major Queal. I would be glad to show you what they’re doing.”

  “Yes, of course. The products I see here would be valuable trade goods for other planets if we could arrange it.”

  Derald laughed. “We have been on this planet three centuries and you are the first to visit us. I think such trade would be a very slow process, even if Toth would allow it, which he won’t. He has attacked your ship and he will attack any other that comes here.”

  “I intend to deal with that,” said Michael, “and once his dictatorship is ended we can arrange regular arrival of merchant ships within a few years. They follow our survey ships wherever they go and there is certainly one not far from here now. It is only one jump between here and Brown’s Planet and once the flow starts, say in five years, the trade can be regular. Anything you want, Derald: produce, high technology—”

  “—Heavy machinery and electrical generators?” said Derald.

  “Anything.”

  “This other planet you say is one ‘jump’ away?”

  Michael smiled. “I’ll explain it later. What is that sharp odor?”

  “The coal,” said Derald. “It has high sulfur content.”

  “It makes me dizzy.”

  “That and the heat. The men work here in three-hour shifts twice a day. It is a hard, but fulfilling life for them. I think a few minutes have been enough for you, Major Queal. Let’s go outside again, and breathe some fresh air.”

  Michael did not object, and they went back through the tunnel as two workmen wrestled still another crate of sand inside. He sucked in cool air near the tunnel entrance, his clothing soaked with perspiration. Below him the cliffs were covered with a rainbow of color, broken slag from the glass works. “We could have ridden a cart down to the village through the north tunnel, but then we would have to climb again. You’ll find it easier going down.”

  Michael laughed. “I think you’re in the same shape I was in when I was a thirty-year-old combat marine, Derald. How old are you?”

  “I am eighty-five,” said Derald, “I’ve made this climb every day for the last thirty years. That is the difference between us. Now, let me show you the artisans’ shop before we talk further about Toth. I think you have good intentions, but you underestimate his power, and what you wish to do can cost your life and the lives of many others unless you plan carefully. Even then, I have doubts about your success, but your thoughts about trade with other worlds are very appealing to me. We will do what we can to help you.”

  “That’s a good start,” said Michael, “and we will do what we can to rid you of Toth.”

  He followed Derald back down the trail. An easy promise to make, but Derald is right. How am I going to go up against laser cannon in a bunch of wooden sailboats? The sun was now low in the west and the cliffs were turning orange. Derald spoke over his shoulder, his feet moving without the guidance of sight over a trail walked for many years. “In four days I could show you the entire island: our potato farms on the eastern point, the magma lake in a high-vaulted cavern in the western mountains. There are hot springs on that end of the island and they feed our Lonia beds to produce some extraordinarily large animals. We cultivate them there.”

  “That’s where we saw the little glass boat?” Michael grimaced. His breath came easy, but now his knees were complaining about the downhill walk.

  “The crawler, yes. It is all-mechanical, peddled from inside, and a hand-driven pump to pressurize the floaters. I’ve designed an alcohol motor, but our metals are too soft, and corrode quickly in the sea air. Good metals are another thing we would be happy to have.”

  He sees the benefits we can provide. He’s thinking about the possibilities.

  “You can trade with the mainlanders too, Derald. They have many foodstuffs you don’t have here.”

  “Not while Toth is around,” said Derald.

  They reached the artisans’ shop in half an hour of painful walking for Michael, and Derald introduced him to Chelli Fyhrie and Ardie Hoal, the two master craftsmen who supervised the several apprentices working there, and did all the designing and composition work. They were cleaning up the shop when Derald and Michael arrived, but were proud to show their wares: multiple-paned windows and table-tops in every color, food containers, glassware, plates that could only be described as exquisite on any planet, even eating implements out of clear, heavy glass. They lectured him on the additives used for each color, techniques learned over two dozen years, and were flattered by the obvious delight he had in seeing everything they showed him. For those few moments, Michael was able to forget the danger he would encounter in the next few days, the possibility of his own death, as he handled the beautiful things they had created.

  It was growing dark in the canyon, and there were no lights in the shop, so their visit was cut short. They walked down to the settlement, where odors of cooking shellfish filled the air. Few people were visible, the amphitheatre empty except for Osen and Krisha, who stood waiting for them. Michael introduced them to Derald, and told about the marvelous things he’d seen. This obviously pleased the old man, but both Osen and Krisha remained stony-faced, and shifted nervously from one foot to another. Finally, Osen said, “Major, can we have a word with you in private?”

  Derald was gracious. “I take my meals in the house with the red windows,” he said, pointing. “When you’re finished, I would be pleased if the three of you would join me there and we will talk about your plans.”

  “Thank you, Derald,” said Michael, and the old man walked away from them.

  “What’s up?”

  “Funny message from Nik, sir. He was on the radio for five seconds and didn’t even wait for a reply. He has to know I’m on the radio all the time.”

  “This seems to be true. What did he say?”

  “Just this, sir: ‘Tell Mike that mother is concerned, and sends her greetings. Listen quietly.’ I started to acknowledge, but he was gone.”

  “Mother? The ship?”

  “Could be, but he doesn’t want us transmitting anything for now.”

  “Okay, but keep the plug in your ear. Krisha, how’re we doing for security?”

  “Everyone’s in place, sir, all along the shore with crossfire over the beach. The rocks give us a lot of good cover. Where is Toth, sir?”

  “To the east of us a few hours, a small island from what I’ve heard. Derald is aware of one entrance to it; these people have been watching the place for years.”

  “Will they help us, sir? We have to get a move on.”

  “They’ll do what they can, Krisha; I haven’t seen anything that will help much, but they know the island and the placement of the barrier, and that’s important to us. We’ll still have to attack the place in boats.”

  “Not good, sir, not with those laser weapons. God, if we just had one flyer to take those things out!”

  “How long can we wait, Major?” said Osen. “If Nik is right, and Belsus is still up there, we could get one or both of the Gulls down here for the attack.”

  “We move within forty eight hours. If Toth discovers we’re here he’ll hit the mainland and isolate us out here. That would be the best time to make our move, when his forces are divided. If he’s using standard optical scanners we might get in close at night, without sails, and jump him before dawn. Derald will give us the details on the island, so let’s have a talk with him. Anything you need, Krisha?”

  Krisha smiled wryly. “I have thirty people in the rocks, our ammo is limited, the laser rifles are maybe half-charged and a third of those people have never fired in
combat. Other than that, sir, everything’s fine.”

  Michael laughed, and slapped her on the shoulder. “I hear you, Captain, now let’s go eat.”

  Derald met them at the doorway and ushered them inside where three coal lamps were burning, and painted the interior in dull red. He introduced them to Adah and Sabine Agbayekhai, perhaps in their seventies, two old friends with whom he took his meals. They had lost a son and daughter in the crossing forty years earlier, he explained, and welcomed those who might rid them of Toth. They remembered Davos as a young man and had had a nice visit with him earlier in the day, but Davos was standing guard with his son and would not be joining them.

  They sat on iron-grill benches around a table with a top of glass in panes of red and green and Sabine served them slabs of Lonia and new potatoes and smaller shellfish that had been steamed to be eaten right out of the shell. This they washed down with highly mineralized water from the springs in the west and tiny glasses of Fiero, a potent brew that Derald explained was nearly pure potato alcohol with a few herb additives. Before the evening was over their heads were buzzing, even though they had sipped slowly.

  When the meal was over Adah and Sabine excused themselves, and Derald brought forth a thin wooden sheet and a crayon cut from coal, saw their curious looks and said; “It is bark from the softwood trees here, boiled and then pressed. Now, let me show you where we are and where you plan to go.”

  He drew a map on the bark: the mainland, the island, a smaller island east like a small mountain rising from the sea, a dark line coming from it to run a meandering course west to just beyond the western tip of the big island. “This is the barrier, a channel perhaps a hundred meters deep. We have seen it from the edge in our crawler. Both the Charni and Yellowfin run deep there for food, but Toth has a device that sends vibrations through the water to calm or excite the fish. When excited, the Yellowfin rise from the deep and the Charni follow. Some even leave the barrier if the water is turbulent, usually during a storm, but not on calm days. You can reach Toth by staying south of the barrier all the way. It is a giant rock and his fortress is inside it. The one entrance we know of is here, on the east side. We have seen his boats enter there, a door that looks like rock but is metal. You must go in there.”