Silver Gods From the Sky

by James P. Hogan

  The Princess and the Warrior exchanged words in a tongue that Samir didn't understand. Their tone seemed to convey astonishment, not anger. That was something, anyway. The Warrior moved forward and circled Samir slowly, studying him from all angles. Samir stood, waiting awkwardly, still trying to smile. He was acutely conscious now that in having spoken before being spoken to, he might already have breached propriety to a degree that was inexcusable. Were they merely curious as to this commoner's son, brazen enough to spy on dealings between royalty and the emissaries of gods? Or were they simply considering the most entertaining way to chastise him? Or worse.

  Again the Warrior and the Princess spoke incomprehensibly—in a way that sounded unlike any of the languages that Samir had heard but didn't speak. The Princess lifted her arms, and the Warrior pointed at Samir's. Then he made a motion in the air that seemed to indicate Samir's form generally, gestured at himself, and then again made the same motion in the direction of the Princess. They seemed to see some deep significance in their all having the same shape. Now Samir thought he had the answer. They were travelers from so far away that they were not even sure they were still in lands inhabited by their own kind. Perhaps they were lost, and the Giant Swan had been sent to guide them. But the Swan had died by the river. Samir's spirits rose. In that case, maybe he could be their guide, he thought to himself.

  Now he wished that Xeldro were here. Xeldro knew how to overcome the fears and suspicions of strangers, and was always well received wherever he went. “The first thing, give gifts,” Samir remembered him saying. He felt about his person. He had a knife that he had crafted himself, but it seemed inappropriate for a princess and would surely be an insult to a warrior. In the purse hanging at his waist were a handful of mixed coins and some pieces of jewelry. The jewelry was cheap; he wouldn't risk offering that. He selected two small gold coins and squatted down on his haunches to offer them to the children. They exchanged more words with the Princess and the Warrior. Finally the black-skinned boy approached, took the coin, and examined it curiously. Samir handed the other to the young girl. She hesitated, looked up and said something to the Princess; then, extending her arm uncertainly, she held out the flower that she had been carrying. Samir blinked perplexedly. What kind of trading was this—a gold coin for a crumpled flower? Then more of Xeldro's words came back to him: “No gift that wins friendship is ever a loss. It earns the greatest value that can be possessed.” He took the flower and fastened it carefully to the collar of his tunic. The girl smiled.

  And what for the Princess? Samir was at a loss. He dropped onto one knee, acknowledging her rank, and spread his hand to show that he had nothing that was worthy. The Princess said something to the Warrior. She sounded uncertain, as if she were asking something. The Warrior answered. And then the strangest thing happened that Samir had ever experienced in his life. The Princess dropped down onto one knee too, imitating him.

  For several seconds Samir could do nothing but stare. What could this mean? Were they making a mockery of him? Had they come from a realm so distant that all the customs and ways of every land that Samir had heard tell meant nothing to them? And then he saw that she was smiling in a curiously anxious kind of way, watching his face searchingly....

  She wanted to know if she was doing it correctly!

  And he had been apprehensive. His relief, and a sudden sense of the absurdity of it all, came over him in such a flood that he couldn't help laughing. And the Princess laughed too.

  They straightened up together. Yes, it was all right. Her smile was genuine. He pointed to his chest several times and said, “Samir.” She looked at him questioningly. He repeated the gesture. “Samir."

  “Sa-mir?” she repeated haltingly.

  He nodded, then pointed at her. She looked at the Warrior, as if for confirmation, then back at Samir again. “Taya,” she said.

  “Taya,” Samir said. He liked the name. He pointed to himself. “Me.” Then at her again. “You.... Me, Samir. You, Taya."

  She seemed to ponder this new information. Finally she pointed at herself. “Me?” Samir nodded vigorously. She caught on fast. Encouraged, she pointed at him. “You.” He nodded again. “You ... Samir."

  Samir indicated the Warrior. “Him."

  In the next few minutes, they started to get the hang of it. The Warrior was called Kort. The two children were Cariette and Eltry. Samir was accepted. He had no doubt now that he could become their guide. But to do that, he first had to know where they were going, why, and a lot more about them. He would need to involve wiser heads than his, he realized. The first thing would be to bring them to the village of Therferry and confer with the elders. And Xeldro would be there too. In fact, if they left now and didn't waste time, they could catch Xeldro's caravan at the gorge where the road crossed over a narrow bridge, and ride the rest of the way in one of the wagons.

  Samir pointed back over the rise and made signs to Taya and Kort that they needed to go that way. They seemed to understand, and indicated that they concurred. Samir pointed past them down the slope, to the other figures by the Swan and the river, and beckoned for them to be brought up too. Kort turned his head and looked back, and a surprising thing happened. Nobody uttered a sound that would carry, yet the other Warrior turned, just as if someone had called to him, and stared up in their direction. Seconds later, Samir saw him gesturing to the other figures and pointing up at the rise. They came together from different directions, four of them, Samir could now see—again, from their size, apparently all children—and with the second Warrior leading, began ascending the slope.

  Samir had no idea what strange manner of people he had chosen to become involved with, or what he might be getting himself into now. Maybe, if he served them well, they might even take him back with them to the realm whence they had come. But excitement at the prospect of unknown adventure surged through every nerve. No life of sweating cooped up in a smoky hut in the city could compare to this.

  Behind them, at the bottom of the slope, the steps retracted into the lander, and its hull door closed. In the sky above, the probe moved from its station to follow their progress.

  * * * *

  He was a boy, like Bron or Jasem or Eltry, yet bigger even than Taya. He wore a skirt of some coarse material with an open tunic and loose white shirt that showed muscles around his chest and shoulders that were larger and more solid than hers would surely ever be—although he showed no sign of the swelling at the breasts that Taya had experienced in the last few years, which none of the children showed yet. His skin was darker than Jasem's but not black like Eltry's, and he had long, wavy hair and showed firm white teeth when he smiled. Also, he had a curious pointed tuft of hair growing on his chin, and more in a line below his nose. But, most important, his form was the same as that of Taya and the others, from which Kort had modeled his own. Could it be, then, that these were the Builders of the machines? It seemed to follow from the way the machines had always reasoned; and yet, nothing so far had hinted at the presence of what might properly be called a machine anywhere. But if the first machines had been built even before Merkon existed, surely they would be everywhere on Azure by now. There were a thousand things that Taya wanted to know, but Samir was in so much in haste to get wherever he was taking them that it seemed the questions—and how to express them—would have to wait.

  Taya's legs ached already, and her breath was reduced to short gasps, as happened when she played games with the children and exerted herself too much. Nowhere in Merkon were there floors that sloped upward endlessly like this, with tangles of wire and water-plastic that caught her feet, hard lumps that rolled and shifted under her, or heaps of powder that she slid on or sank into. The wires had hairs and points that scratched her hands, sometimes drawing blood, sprang back across her face, and caught in her clothes. Her eyes were watering, and she was beginning to feel a soreness and rawness all over her face. The children were having the same problems, and had fallen silent except to grumble when one twist
ed a foot, or squeal at a pricked finger. Samir strode ahead effortlessly with laughs and encouraging gestures, seeming, if anything, to find their discomfort amusing. If this was some kind of game, Taya thought it was a mean one. She wasn't so sure, now, that she liked him as much as she'd thought. Kort, of course, was able to keep up with Samir easily, and was making better progress with the Azurean language.

  “Kort, this isn't very nice for us,” Taya said. “Do you know what he's doing?"

  “The probe sees more Azure-life like Samir, and some four-legged forms, in a corridor ahead,” Kort replied. “I think Samir is trying to meet them. It's not far now. Less than the distance we've come already."

  “I don't think we'll ever get anywhere,” Marcala said. “This just goes on for ever and ever and ever."

  They passed a pool of brownish water with more wire and pointed ribbons standing in it. Bron stopped, pointing at something in the sticky paste stretching along its edge. “Come look at this. It's a walking chip.” The others crowded around to stare. Something black and shiny with moving pins along its sides was scurrying over the globules. Taya couldn't decide if it was a circuit chip with legs or another life form. Samir called back and waved an arm to hurry them along.

  And then, at the bottom of a slope of green carpet, they passed below a wall of tightly packed yellow granules and came out suddenly into the corridor that Kort had described. It was nothing like a corridor in Merkon, of course—but it was long and open, and a lot flatter than the surfaces they had been crossing, though still lumpy compared to a real floor. It had irregular channels carved along it that looked as if they were for carrying water. Antennas and clumps of green bordered one side; the other sloped down steeply to a larger water channel. A short distance away, the corridor passed over the channel via a narrow strip that for once had the look of being “made.” Still grinning, and looking as fresh as if he had just woken up, Samir made signs indicating that they had reached their destination and could rest now. The children flopped down on agglomerate lumps and pieces of carpet, gasping and sighing. Kort and Scientist stood, studying the surroundings. Taya sat on a cylinder lying by the side of the corridor, that looked like a fallen antenna trunk. Its surface was rough, with deep and intricate grooves. The material that it was made of was unfamiliar.

  “I'm thirsty. Can we go and get a drink?” Cariette asked, looking down toward the water.

  “We'd never climb back up that,” Marcala said.

  “I'll fetch some,” Eltry offered. “Have we got anything to carry it in?"

  Samir, watching, unhitched an odd-looking flexible bottle from his belt and offered it to Taya. She frowned at him and shrugged. He unplugged the top, raised it above his face and squeezed it to direct a spurt of water into his mouth, then offered it to her again. She copied him. The water was warm and had a strange, flattish taste, but was refreshing after the effort. Taya drank some more, then passed the bottle round among the others.

  While Taya was doing this, Samir wandered over to some wiry constructions nearby and began picking at them. He came back holding a half dozen or so ovaloid objects, for the most part yellow, but reddish in places. Again he offered one to Taya. She took it and examined it curiously. It was cool and smooth like metal, but softer than metal. She looked up at Samir, smiled to show that she didn't doubt he meant well, and shrugged again. He seemed incredulous, and said something that carried a tone of telling her she couldn't be serious. She shook her head. Samir raised one of the other ovaloids to his mouth, bit a piece out of it, and chewed, making faces to show it was good. Several of the children gasped. Taya slowly imitated Samir's moves, nibbling just a tiny piece. The inside was wetter than she had expected, and sticky liquid trickled down her chin. The taste was sharp and sweet, with other flavors that she had no precedent for—stronger than any food she'd known in Merkon. She chewed warily, letting it touch every part of her tongue. There were sensations that were completely unfamiliar. As a first reaction, she couldn't make her mind up if she liked it or not.

  Scientist took one of the ovaloids and broke it apart in his fingers, studying it intently. “Do you think you could make food like that?” Taya asked after watching him for a while.

  “No, I'm not at all sure that I could,” Scientist replied. He drew out the skin and internal membranes, seemingly perplexed. “But I might be able to grow it—in the same way that I grew you.” He stared at the water-plastic structure that Samir had plucked the ovaloids from, turned his head to look again at the huge antennas, and went into a long, thoughtful silence.

  4

  The soldiers stayed well back, wary and apprehensive. Crelth urged his mount a few paces in front of them, equally reluctant to get too close. Everything about the beast was strange and unworldly. It seemed to emanate menace and evil. He felt himself being watched, as by a snake waiting for its moment to strike.

  Fifty paces from pointed head to flared tail, he judged, bloodless white, the color of death, without feathers or down, the pale, cold skin of a cadaver. It sat as still as death even now, as aloof to the affairs of men as it was foreign to the world they belonged in. Slowly, he rode a wide path around it, his hand tight on the reins, ready to spring his steed away at the first sign of movement. Having inspected it, he would get himself hence, his orders carried out. What else could he be expected to do?

  A shout from the river's edge turned his head just as he completed his circuit. Thankful for an excuse to put more space between himself and the Winged Death, he walked his steed over to where Udarth and several others had dismounted and were examining the bank. Udarth pointed to the mud. “Footprints. One set large, deeply impressed—a giant's. The rest smaller, maybe children's—two sets at least, could be more."

  “Spread out. I want to know how much more this glade has to tell,” Crelth ordered.

  More small footprints were found in the sand by a stream running down on one side, from where a trail of trodden stems pointed to the overlooking slope. In a soft patch of ground partway up, another giant's print pointed away from the river. “Heading for the ridge,” Udarth observed. “The only place within traveling distance that lies in that direction is Therferry."

  Then that was where he would go, Crelth decided. At least it was a reason to get away from this accursed place and the presence that occupied it. He detached Udarth with five men to stand guard here, instructing him to send word immediately if anything developed. Narzin, who was the boldest and the fiercest, he made sure to keep with his own troop.

  5

  Kort spoke from where he was standing. “The other Azureans are here.” Taya stood up from the trunk to face the direction that Kort was pointing. The children scrambled to their feet to look.

  A line of bio-forms was coming into sight around the bend in the corridor. As they approached, Taya saw that while some were similar to Samir, others were huge—bigger even than mec-bodies. The huge ones all had four legs. Some of them seemed to have two heads, while others, in pairs, pulled enormous boxes that rolled on wheels—similar in form to some of the toys the children had played with when they were younger. Samir moved to the center of the corridor, waving his arms excitedly and calling out a torrent of words. While Taya and the children stood speechless, the procession slowly drew nearer, finally drawing to a halt in front of them. One of the two-headed creatures divided itself into two parts, one of which descended and transformed itself into a two-legged form similar to Samir. The other head, much larger and completely different, remained attached to the part that had the original four legs. Taya was still trying to puzzle this out when another two-legged form climbed down from one of the wheeled boxes and began talking to Samir. He too had hair on his face, a lot more than Samir, crinkly and gray. He was heavier in build and wore more clothes, including a purple hat with a trailing piece that draped over his shoulders.

  A long, animated exchanged ensued between them, with frequent looks and gestures toward Taya, the children, and the two robots. While this was going on, T
aya stared again at the four-legged form that had divided. Looking back at the two-legged part, then at the other forms still standing along the corridor, she began to doubt her first impression. They had never been one. The four-legged had been carrying the two-legged, in the way that Kort had carried her when she was young. She looked at it again, uneasily, taking in its huge head and mouth, swishing tail, and covering of coarse, matted hair. It smelt abominably. She couldn't help worrying about Biologist's speculation that bio-forms might go through all phases serially. If this form carried two-legs, and Kort had carried her, did it mean that she and the children would one day turn into this?

  Finally, Samir turned to Kort and launched into another exchange that involved gestures toward one of the boxes. “They want you and the children to ride,” Kort interpreted. “Apparently there are others farther on that we are to meet, in a place they call ‘village.’ From what the probe sees, my guess is it's a group of Azurean living-cabins farther along the corridor."

  “Farther?” Marcala wailed. “But we'll never, never, ever get back."

  “That's all right,” Kort said. “The machines can always bring the lander to us when we need to be picked up."

  Encouraged by words and gestures from the Azurean two-legs, Taya and the children climbed up into the “cart.” It contained bundles and chests, and also several more Azureans. Two of them were girls like Taya, but with cracked skin and white hair. One had hardly any teeth. They were much older than her, she guessed. Much, much older, yet still the same shape. Taya felt somewhat reassured. Maybe she wouldn't turn into a bad-smelling, four-legged hairy thing after all, she reflected gratefully.

  6

  Crelth was in a sour mood by the time he led his column into the village of Therferry. Now that his tension had eased, he was conscious of maybe having shown unseemly haste in front of the men in wanting to get away. He was angry at himself and spoiling for a fight to reaffirm his prowess.