The City and the Stars

by Arthur Charles Clarke

  «You are right,» said Hilvar. «It was hungry. But it wash an animal: it would be more accurate to call it a plant. had exhausted the soil inside its pen, and had to find fry food elsewhere. It probably moved quite slowly; perhaps took years to break down those posts.»

  Alvin’s imagination swiftly filled in the details he could never know with certainty. He did not doubt that Hilvars analysis was basically correct, and that some botanical monster, perhaps moving too slowly for the eye to see, had foul a sluggish but relentless battle against the barriers that hemmed it in.

  It might still be alive, even after all these ages, rovin will over the face of this planet. To look for it, now, would be a hopeless task, since it would mean quartering the surface of an entire globe. They made a desultory search in the few square miles around the gap, and located one great circular patch of pockmarks almost five hundred feet across. where the creature had obviously stopped to feed one could apply that word to an organism that somehow drew its nourishment from solid rock.

  As they lifted once more into space, Alvin felt a strange weariness come over him. He had seen so much, yet learned so little. There were many wonders on all these planets, but what he sought had fled them long ago. It would be useless, he knew, to visit the other worlds of the Seven Suns. Even if there was still intelligence in the Universe, where could he seek it now? He looked at the stars scattered like dust across the vision screen, and knew that what was left of time was not enough to explore them all.

  A feeling of loneliness and oppression such as he had never before experienced seemed to overwhelm him. He could understand now the fear of Diaspar for the great spaces of the Universe, the terror that had made his people gather in the little microcosm of their city. It was hard to believe that, after all, they had been right.

  He turned to Hilvar for support. But Hilvar was standing, fists tightly clenched and with a glazed look in his eyes. His head was tilted on one side; he seemed to be listening, straining every sense into the emptiness around them.

  «What is it?» said Alvin urgently. He had to repeat the question before Hilvar showed any sign of hearing it. He was still staring into nothingness when he finally replied.

  «There’s something coming,» he said slowly. «Something that I don’t understand.»

  It seemed to Alvin that the cabin had suddenly become very cold, and the racial nightmare of the Invaders reared up to confront him in all its terror. With an effort of will that sapped his strength, he forced his mind away from panic.

  «Is it friendly?» he asked. «Shall I run for Earth?»

  Hilvar did not answer the first question-only the second. His voice was very faint, but showed no sign of alarm or fear. It held rather a vast astonishment and curiosity, as if he had encountered something so surprising that he could not be bothered to deal with Alvin’s anxious query.

  «You’re too late,» he said. «It’s already here.»

  The Galaxy had turned many times on its axis since consciousnness first came to Vanamonde. He could recall little of those first aeons and the creatures who had tended him then-but he could remember still his desolation when they had gone and left him alone among the stars. Down the ages since, he had wandered from sun to sun, slowly evolving and increasing Iiis Powers. Once he had dreamed of finding again those who had attended his birth, and though the dream had faded it had never wholly died.

  On countless worlds he had found the wreckage that it had left behind, but intelligence he had discovered only once -and from the Black Sun he had fled in terror. Yet the Universe was very large, and the search had scarcely begun.

  Far away though it was in space and time, the great burst of power from the heart of the Galaxy beckoned to Vas monde across the light-years. It was utterly unlike the radiation of the stars, and it had appeared in his field of a consciousness as suddenly as a meteor trail across a cloudy sky. He moved through space and time toward it, to the lab moment of its existence, sloughing from him in the way he knew the dead, unchanging pattern of the past.

  The long metal shape, with its infinite complexities structure, he could not understand, for it was as strap to him as almost all the things of the physical world. Arou it still clung the aura of power that had drawn him acct the Universe, but that was of no interest to him now. Cap fully, with the delicate nervousness of a wild beast half poi for flight, he reached out toward the two minds he had, covered. And then he knew that his long search was ended.

  Alvin grasped Hilvar by the shoulders and shook him violently, trying to drag him back to a greater awareness reality. «Tell me what’s happening!» he begged. «What do you want me to do?»

  The remote, abstracted look slowly faded from Hilvars eyes.

  «I still don’t understand,» he said, «but there’s no need to be frightened-I’m sure of that. Whatever it is, it wok harm us. It seems simply-interested.»

  Alvin was about to reply when he was suddenly overwhelmed by a sensation unlike any he had ever known fore. A warm, tingling glow seemed to spread through body; it lasted only a few seconds, but when it was gone was no longer merely Alvin. Something was sharing his brain, overlapping it as one circle may partly cover another. He was conscious, also, of Hilvar’s mind close at hand, equally entangled in whatever creature had descended upon th The sensation was strange rather than unpleasant, and it Alvin his first glimpse of true telepathy-the power which his people had so degenerated that it could now be used to control machines.

  Alvin had rebelled at once when Seranis had tried dominate his mind, but he did not struggle against this trusion. It would have been useless, and he knew that creature, whatever it might be, was not unfriendly. He let himself relax, accepting without resistance the fact that infinitely greater intelligence than his own was exploring his mind. But in that belief, he was not wholly right.

  One of these minds, Vanamonde saw at once, was more apathetic and accessible than the other. He could tell that both were filled with wonder at his presence, and that surprised him greatly. It was hard to believe tat they could have forgotten; forgetfulness like mortality, was beyond the comprehension of Vanamonde.

  Communication was very difficult; many of the thoughtimages in their minds were so strange that he could hardly recognize them. He was puzzled and a little frightened by the recurrent fear pattern of the Invaders; it reminded him of his own emotions when the Black Sun first came into his field of knowledge.

  But they knew nothing of the Black Sun, and now their own questions were beginning to form in his mind.

  «What are you?»

  He gave the only reply he could.

  «I am Vanamonde.»

  There came a pause (how long the pattern of their thoughts took to form!) and then the question was repeated. They had not understood; that was strange, for surely their kind had given him his name for it to be among the memories of his birth. Those memories were very few, and they began strangely at a single point in time, but they were crystal clear.

  Again their tiny thoughts struggled up into his consciousness.

  «Where are the people who built the Seven Suns? What happened to them?»

  He did not know; they could scarcely believe him, and their disappointment came sharp and clear across the abyss separating their minds from his. But they were patient and be was glad to help them, for their quest was the same as his and they gave him the first companionship be had ever known.

  As long as he lived, Alvin did not believe he would ever again undergo so strange an experience as this soundless conversation. It was hard to believe that he could be little more than a spectator, for he did not care to admit, even to himself, that Hilvar’s mind was in some ways so much more capable than his own. He could only wait and wonder, half dazed by the torrent of thought just beyond the limits of his understanding.

  Presently Hilvar, rather pale and strained, broke off the contact and turned to his friend.

  «Alvin,» he said, his voice very tired. «There’s something strange here. I don’t under
stand it at all.»

  The news did a little to restore Alvin’s self-esteem and his face must have shown his feelings, for Hilvar gave a sudden, sympathetic smile. I can’t discover what this-Vanamonde-is,» he continued. «It’s a creature of tremendous knowledge, but it seems to have very little intelligence. Of course,» he added, «its mind may be of such a different order that we can’t understand it-yet somehow I don’t believe that is the right explanation.»

  «Well, what have you learned?» asked Alvin with some impatience. «Does it know anything about the Seven Suns?»

  Hilvar’s mind still seemed very far away.

  «They were built by many races, including our own,» he said absently. «It can give me facts like that, but it doesn’t seem to understand their meaning. I believe it’s conscious of the past, without being able to interpret it. Everything that’s ever happened seems jumbled together in its mind.»

  He paused thoughtfully for a moment; then his face lightened.

  «There’s only one thing to do; somehow or other, we must get Vanamonde to Earth so that our philosophers can study him.»

  «Would that be safe?» asked Alvin.

  «Yes,» answered Hilvar, thinking how uncharacteristic his friend’s remark was. «Vanamonde is friendly. More than that, in fact, he seems almost affectionate.»

  And quite suddenly the thought that all the while had been hovering at the edge of Alvin’s consciousness came clearly into view. He remembered Krif and all the small animals that were constantly escaping, to the annoyance or alarm of Hilvar’s friends. And he recalled-how long ago that seemed!-the zoological purpose behind their expedition to Shalmirane. Hilvar had found a new pet.

  Twenty-two

  How completely unthinkable, Jeserac mused, this conference would have seemed only a few short days ago. The six visitors from Lys sat facing the Council, along a table placed across the open end of the horseshoe. It was ironic to remember that not long ago Alvin had stood at the same spot and heard the Council rule that Diaspar must be closed again from the world. Now the world had broken in upon it with, a vengeance and not only the world, but the Universe.

  The Council itself had already changed. No less than five of its members were missing. They had been unable to face the responsibilities and problems now confronting them, and had followed the path that Khedron had already taken. It was, thought Jeserac , proof that Diaspar had failed if so many of its citizens were unable to face their first real challenge in millions of years. Many thousands of them had already fled into the brief oblivion of the Memory Banks, hoping that when they awoke the crisis would be past and Diaspar would be its familiar self again. They would be disappointed.

  Jeserac had been co-opted to fill one of the vacant places on the Council. Though he was under something of a cloud, owing to his position as Alvin’s tutor, his presence was so obviously essential that no one had suggested excluding him.

  He sat at one end of the horseshoe-shaped table-a position which gave him several advantages. Not only could he study the profiles of his visitors but he could also see the faces of his fellow Councilors-and their expressions were sufficiently instructive.

  There was no doubt that Alvin had been right, and the Council was slowly realizing the unpalatable truth. The delegates from Lys could think far more swiftly than the finest minds in Diaspar. Nor was that their only advantage, for they also showed an extraordinary degree of co-ordination which Jeserac guessed must be due to their telepathic powers. He wondered if they were reading the Councilors’ thoughts, but decided that they would not have broken the solemn assurance without which this meeting would have been impossible.

  Jeserac did not think that much progress had been made; for that matter, he did not see how it could have been made. The Council, which had barely accepted the existence of Lys, still seemed incapable of realizing what had happened. But it was clearly frightened-and so, he guessed, were the visitors, though they managed to conceal the fact better.

  Jeserac himself was not as terrified as he had expected; his fears were still there, but he had faced them at last. Something of Alvin’s own recklessness-or was it courage?-had begun to change his outlook and give him new horizons. He did not believe he would ever be able to set foot beyond the walls of Diaspar, but now he understood the impulse that had driven Alvin to do so.

  The President’s question caught him unawares, but he recovered himself quickly.

  «I think,» he said, «that it was sheer chance that this situation never arose before. We know that there were fourteen earlier Uniques, and there must have been some definite plan behind their creation. That plan, I believe, was to insure that Lys and Diaspar would not remain apart forever. Alvin had seen to that, but he has also done something which I do not imagine was ever in the original scheme. Could the Central Computer confirm that?»

  The impersonal voice replied at once.

  «The Councillor knows that I cannot comment on the instructions given to me by my designers»

  Jeserac accepted the mild reproof.

  «Whatever the cause, we cannot dispute the facts. Alvin has gone out into space. When he returns, you may prevent him leaving again-though I doubt if you will succeed, for he may have learned a great deal by then. And if what you fear has happened, there is nothing any of us can do about it Earth is utterly helpless-as she has been for millions of centuries.»

  Jeserac paused and glanced along the tables. His words had pleased no one, nor had he expected them to do so.

  «Yet I don’t see why we should be alarmed. Earth is in no greater danger now than she has always been. Why should two men in a single small ship bring the wrath of the Invaders down upon us again? If we’ll be honest with ourselves, we must admit that the Invaders could have destroyed our world ages ago.»

  There was a disapproving silence. This was heresy-and once Jeserac himself would have condemned it as such.

  The President interrupted, frowning heavily.

  «Is there not a legend that the Invaders spared Earth itself only on condition that Man never went into space again? And have we not now broken those conditions?»

  «A legend, yes,» said Jeserac. «We accept many things without question, and this is one of them. However, there is no proof of it. I find it bard to believe that anything of such importance would not be recorded in the memories of the Central Computer, yet it knows nothing of this pact. I have asked it, though only through the information machines. The Council may care to ask the question directly.»

  Jeserac saw no reason why he should risk a second admonishment by trespassing on forbidden territory, and waited for the President’s reply. It never came, for in that moment the visitors from Lys suddenly started in their seats, while their faces froze in simultaneous expressions of incredulity and alarm. They seemed to be listening while some faraway voice poured its message into their ears.

  The Councilors waited, their own apprehension growing minute by minute as the soundless conversation proceede.

  Then the leader of the delegation shook himself free from his trance, and turned apologetically to the President.

  «We have just had some very strange and disturbing news from Lys,» he said.

  «Has Alvin returned to Earth?» asked the President.

  «No-not Alvin. Something else.»

  As he brought his faithful ship down in the glade of Airlee, Alvin wondered if ever in human history any ship had brought such a cargo to Earth-if, indeed, Vanamonde was located in the physical space of the machine. There had been no sign of him on the voyage; Hilvar believed, and his knowledge was more direct, that only Vanamode’s sphere of attention could be said to have any position in space. Vanamonde himself was not located anywhere-perhaps not even anywhen.

  Seranis and five Senators were waiting for them as they emerged from the ship. One of the Senators Alvin had already met on his last visit; the other two from that previous meeting were, he gathered, now in Diaspar. He wondered how the delegation was faring, and how the city had react
ed to the presence of the first intruders from outside in so many millions of years.

  «It seems, Alvin,» said Seranis drily, after she had greeted her son, «that you have a genius for discovering remarkable entities. Still, I think it will be some time before you can surpass your present achievement.»

  For once, it was Alvin’s turn to be surprised.

  «Then Vanamonde’s arrived?»

  «Yes, hours ago. Somehow he managed to trace the path your ship made on its outward journey-a staggering feat in itself, and one which raises interesting philosophical problems. There is some evidence that he reached Lys at the moment you discovered him, so that he is capable of infinite speeds. And that is not all. In the last few hours he has taught us more of history than we thought existed.»

  Alvin looked at her in amazement. Then he understood; it was not hard to imagine what the impact of Vanamonde must have been upon this people, with their keen perceptions and their wonderfully interlocking minds. They had reacted with surprising speed, and he had a sudden incongruous picture of Vanamonde, perhaps a little frightened, surrounded by the eager intellects of Lys.

  «Have you discovered what he is?» Alvin asked.

  «Yes. That was simple, though we still don’t know his origin. He’s a pure mentality and his knowledge seems to be unlimited. But he’s childish, and I mean that quite literally.»

  «Of course!» cried Hilvar. «I should have guessedl»

  Alvin looked puzzled, and Seranis took pity on him.

  «I mean that although Vanamonde has a colossal, perhaps an infinite mind, he’s immature and undeveloped. His actual intelligence is less than that of a human being»-she smiled a little wrylyr-»though his thought processes are much faster and he learns very quickly. He also has some powers we do not yet understand. The whole of the past seems open to his mind, in a way that’s difficult to describe. He may have used that ability to follow your path back to Earth.»

  Alvin stood in silence, for once somewhat overcome. He realized how right Hilvar had been to bring Vanamonde to Lys. And he knew how lucky he had been ever to outwit Seranis; that was not something he would do twice in a lifetime.