Code Of The Lifemaker

by Hogan, James

  words?" Thirg shrugged and took a short draught from another cord to be

  sociable. "But we would never permit such a form of argument in our more mundane

  world of everyday affairs. For example, if I decided to invent an Unknowable

  Windowmaker, I could hardly claim that because windows exist the Windowmaker

  must have made them, could I? It is known that windows grow from cultures that

  are engineered by builders. Like the first, the argument is circular: It begins

  by assuming that which it sets out to prove."

  Groork, who had raised his hands in an attempt to block his ears, lowered them

  again with an anguished moan. "Blasphemy!" he exclaimed. "What false creed of

  faith is this?"

  "It's not a creed of faith at all, but a process by which truths can be shown to

  follow necessarily from simple observations," Thirg told him. "My task has been

  the reduction of this process to a series of rules which can be written down in

  a form of language and used by anyone. Truly the results astonish me. Shall I

  demonstrate some examples?"

  Groork looked aghast. "Do you presume to impose rules upon the Lifemaker

  Himself? You would dare constrain how He might choose to manifest His design?

  You would confine His works to the understanding of mere mortals? What arrogance

  has taken possession of thee? What manner of—"

  "Oh, shut up," Thirg said wearily. "I impose no rules of my own invention on

  anyone. I merely observe the world as it is, and attempt to understand the rules

  that are written into it already. It seems to me that if the Lifemaker saw fit

  to endow us with intelligence at all, He would have meant us to use it. Well,

  what use would be better fitting than discovering reliable methods of acquiring

  knowledge?"

  "Know ye of the things that the wise shall not seek after, and the mysteries

  that the holy shall not question," Groork recited shrilly. "There are some

  things that we were not meant to know, Thirg."

  "Oh, and how do you know?"

  "It is written in the Scribings."

  "Who wrote them, and how did they know?"

  "Those who were inspired to know. Truth cannot be found by following false

  paths. All of the true knowledge that was meant to be divulged is divulged in

  the Scribings."

  "And who says that?" Thirg challenged. "The Scribings. Again we see an argument

  that leads itself into a circle."

  Groork looked away despairingly and his eyes came to rest on an orb covered with

  unfamiliar markings and notations, standing at one end of Thirg's worktable.

  "Thou art bewitched by circles," he said. "The same madness that has damned

  Lofbayel is afflicting thee. I have heard of the insanity that deranges his mind

  with belief the world is round."

  "I have studied his evidence closely, and it is persuasive," Thirg replied.

  "Since his trial before the Council, he has entrusted his charts and his records

  to me for safekeeping." He gestured toward a large map hanging on the wall above

  the worktable—a map unlike any that Groork had seen before. "Behold, the world

  upon which you walk. Much remains to be filled in, as you can see, but Lofbayel

  has convinced me that in its main features it is reasonably accurate. See how

  tiny the whole of Kroaxia is upon it."

  "It has straight edges," Groork objected after staring in mute protest for a

  while. "It is taught that the world is as a platter, bounded by the unscalable

  Peripheral Barrier of mountains that support the sky. You talk of rules of

  reason, but no fool in his wildest ravings would conceive of reason such as

  this."

  "The edges of the sheet upon which the map is drawn can no more influence what

  the map represents than the edge of a portrait can cause its subject to be

  beheaded," Thirg pointed out.

  "And so the world is beheaded on all four sides," Groork replied. "The Barrier

  does not appear anywhere. Thus this map cannot represent the entire world. Your

  words are belied."

  "In all his searchings Lofbayel was unable to find a single authenticated

  account of anyone ever finding the Barrier," Thirg said. "High mountains, yes;

  immense chains whose very passes are higher than the highest peaks in all

  Kroaxia, yes; mountains whose summits are sometimes lost from sight in vapors no

  more substantial than the mists that rise from the stream outside at early

  bright, yes. But mountains upon which there rests a solid roof of sky? Never.

  Always there is another side beyond the mountains, and always another shore

  beyond the ocean."

  "Now you would presume to dictate limits to the Lifemaker again," Groork

  accused. "This time you tell him how large He is permitted to make His world.

  The distance to the Barrier is not written. It is unknown and therefore

  unknowable."

  "Another reason for its being unwritten and unknown might be that it doesn't

  exist," Thirg commented.

  "It is written that it exists!"

  "How could it be written about if no one's ever seen it?"

  "How could it not exist? The world must be bounded."

  "Because your imagination is bounded and unable to conceive of any alternative?"

  Thirg asked. "Now who is imposing his limits upon the Lifemaker? But this map

  covers the whole world, and no Barrier appears on it. Where, then, is the

  Barrier if it exists?"

  "The map cannot cover the whole world," Groork answered.

  "But it leaves no direction open for any more of the world to exist in." Thirg

  picked up the sphere and showed it. "There is the world, Groork! For just one

  minute forget your dusty texts, written long ago by clerks in their dungeons,

  who never saw an ocean, let alone crossed one, and who never looked beyond any

  mountain. This form, and only this form, is consistent with all the facts that

  have been recorded; no form of platter can be contrived of which the same can be

  said. Which form, therefore, should we accept as representing more closely the

  reality that exists?"

  Groork unplugged himself from the transformer unit and shook his head in

  protest. "Your facts are in error, for did you not claim they were amassed from

  travelers who have seen the farthest limits of north, south, east, and west? But

  it is obvious that no traveler could venture beyond a small region at the top of

  that. . ." He pointed at the globe. "Otherwise they would fall off, as indeed

  would the methanes of the oceans. But the oceans persist. There is a fact,

  Brother Thirg, which you would appear to have chosen conveniently to ignore."

  "That was a source of vexation to me too for a while," Thirg admitted. "But a

  possible answer suggested itself to me one bright when I was strolling in the

  forest. I stopped to rest for a while by a glade where spectrometers are

  assembled, and picked a magnet from one of the storage bins to savor its scent.

  The iron grains that it attracted from the debris around where I was sitting

  prompted me to wonder if perhaps the world-sphere might draw all things to

  itself in the same way that a magnet draws iron grains to itself—from any

  direction. Just as every line toward the magnet is uniformly 'down' for the

  grain, so 'down' at every place on the world-sphere would be toward the grou
nd.

  The methanes of the oceans would thus seek a level nearest to the center and

  remain in the lowest regions, which is as we know to be true. Hence, you see,

  the fact is explained."

  Thirg paused, but Groork made no response. Thirg held up the sphere to study it

  for a moment or two, and then continued in a more distant voice, "The fact that

  nobody has ever found a Barrier holding up a solid sky leads me to wonder if the

  sky is really solid at all. Could it be nothing more than vapors? And if so, how

  far do they extend? Forever? If not, what lies beyond them? Could there be other

  worlds? The question intrigues me. Ever since it occurred to me after I began

  familiarizing myself with Lofbayel's work, I have been studying the cycles of

  full-brights and half-brights as they follow one another across the world. On

  the basis that the world is indeed a sphere and the sky nothing more than

  vapors, the bright and half-bright periods could be accounted for by two

  brilliant objects moving beyond the sky in a complicated but repeating motion.

  Where would you look in your Scribings for the knowledge to answer questions

  like these, Groork?"

  Groork stood up suddenly and dismissed the whole matter with a gesture. "I did

  not come here to listen to you compounding your folly by adding more heresies to

  those you are guilty of already," he said. "The High Council will not look

  leniently upon you one more time. Their patience is exhausted. May the Lifemaker

  forgive me for my weakness, but I cannot abandon my brother though the madness

  boils within him. Collect together the possessions you would carry with you,

  Thirg, and for this bright we can travel together. But on the far side of the

  mountains I must lead a lone path to the destiny that has been written but which

  is yet to be revealed. Hurry. There may be little time."

  Thirg stared back sadly. "I doubt if you could ever understand, Groork, even if

  I had all the rest of time to try and explain it. Your beliefs are taught

  without a question's being tolerated, while mine are learned only after posing

  every question. What does it say for the worth of beliefs if they cannot survive

  critical scrutiny and dare not permit a word of dissent to be voiced? Would

  truth or untruth be the first to tremble in the presence of the other? It

  seems—"

  At that moment the sound of Rex's agitation again came from outside. Groork

  rushed to the doorway. "Too late!" he moaned, turning a fearful face as Thirg

  strode across the living area after him. "They're here. The King's soldiers have

  arrived." Thirg reached the door and looked out past Groork. Mounted figures in

  single file were approaching on the trail leading to the clearing.

  12

  THIRG STARED FOR SOME SECONDS, AND THEN THE LOUVER VANES covering his

  ventilation inlets bristled into a puzzled frown. "Those are not soldiers," he

  said to Groork as the new arrivals emerged from the trail and came fully into

  view. He went out and stood before the door; Groork followed warily.

  Although the riders carried weapons, they were clad in rough mountain garb, with

  heavy cloaks of flexible laminate mail, body armor of acid-resistant and

  heat-absorbing organics, and knee-length boots of heavy polymer. The one who

  appeared to be the leader, a large, broad-shouldered robeing with rugged,

  weather-worn features and a heavy black beard of accumulated carbon-impregnated

  plating about his lower face, crossed the clearing and brought his

  exhaust-snorting steellion to a halt before Thirg and Groork. The others fanned

  out into a semicircle behind.

  "Outlaws, unless I am much mistaken," Thirg muttered to Groork. He raised his

  head to look up at the leader and asked in a louder voice, "Am I honored with

  guests, or merely treated to the rare pleasure of welcoming passersby?"

  "Oh, you are indeed honored," the leader replied. His voice was deep and firm,

  but his tone more jovial than harsh. "I take it you are Thirg, who asks

  forbidden questions. And do you find many answers?"

  "As to the first, I am. And this is my brother Groork—a hearer. As to the

  second, each new answer comes inseparably joined to a new question of whether or

  not the answer is true. Thus the number of questions to be answered can never

  diminish, however many answers may be found." Thirg cast an eye over the

  company. "But who is it that honors us with his visit, and what would bring such

  as you to the dwelling of a thinker and a seeker-of-truth? If you have come in

  search of plunder or of a body that would command a high ransom, I fear you will

  be disappointed. If, on the other hand, your desire is to rest awhile and

  conjecture upon the riddles of Nature while engaging in philosophical discourse,

  then I have more to offer. But I would not advise it; the King's soldiers have

  departed hither from Pergassos, I am told, and have been riding since early

  bright."

  "We know all about them," the leader said. "The King's generals would better

  spend the royal funds buying intelligence from us than paying their own

  officers. But the soldiers will have found the bridge over the cable-spinning

  ravine blocked, which will slow them down awhile." He paused and looked from one

  to the other of the two figures standing in front of him. "I am Dornvald, called

  by many Freer-of-Bondslaves, by others, Subverter-of-Rebels, depending on

  whether you pay the King's living or he pays yours. We present ourselves here as

  trusty escorts for your journey through the mountains and across the Wilderness

  to the city of Menassim in the country of the Carthogians."

  "What makes you think that I wish to travel to Carthogia?" Thirg asked.

  "I didn't say you did," Dornvald told him. "I just said you were going."

  "To preserve the likes of one such as I from priests?"

  "If you choose not to preserve yourself."

  "Why should that be a matter of concern to outlaws?"

  "It isn't. But we enjoy freedom of passage through the borders of Carthogia and

  other immunities, in return for which we render certain services to Kleippur,

  the ruler of Carthogia. It appears that Kleippur values your casing more highly

  than you do yourself. I do not make it my business to question his reasons, but

  word is that other sorcerers who have fled to his realm have spoken well of your

  magic, Thirg. Thus it is that we have been entrusted for many six-brights now to

  watch over you for danger of the kind that now threatens."

  Thirg rubbed his power inlet housing thoughtfully while he considered the

  situation. Carthogia had once been a part of neighboring Serethgin, a larger

  country than Kroaxia. It was now ruled by a former general called Kleippur, who

  had led a successful uprising against the incumbent Serethginian prince, ousted

  the traditional nobility and clergy, and established an oppressive military

  tyranny. Various alliances between the remainder of Serethgin, Kroaxia, and a

  number of other kingdoms had waged a series of wars to free the hapless people

  of Carthogia from their yoke, but so far they had been unable to prevail against

  the Carthogian army, which though small in numbers fought fanatically because of

  the ruthless discipline imposed upon its soldie
rs, and with the advantage of

  innovative weaponry created by enslaved craftsmen who lived chained to their

  workbenches.

  At least, that was the official story told by the priests and teachers of

  Kroaxia. But Thirg had heard rumors of a different kind—rumors of a Carthogian

  society that tolerated inquirers such as himself and permitted them to ask their

  questions openly; of a slaveless society in which even the serfs were free to

  own property and keep the major portion of the wealth earned by their labors;

  and of an army of free robeings who fought to defend themselves against what

  they saw as a return to the very form of slavery that Kroaxians were conditioned

  to believe was normal and natural—all of which the priests and teachers insisted

  were lies spread by Carthogian agents to undermine the faith and trust of the

  people.

  Thirg had never known what to believe. But he did know that many of his friends

  had departed for Carthogia, and though from time to time he heard scraps of news

  of them, none had returned; on the other hand, he had never met nor heard tell

  of a Carthogian who had fled the other way. Did that mean they had found freedom

  and tolerance as Thirg sometimes suspected? Or had they been kidnapped and

  forced to remain in captivity as the Kroaxian teachers maintained?

  For some reason, running away from the priests of his own volition would have

  been, in his own mind, a betrayal of all that he felt he stood for. But, if

  forced to leave by a band of armed brigands . . . well, that wasn't the same

  thing at all, was it? He looked up again at Dornvald and asked, so as to be able

  to justify everything to himself later, "Have I a choice,

  Kidnapper-of-Thinkers?"

  "Most certainly, for have I not presented myself as an agent of the

  Land-That-Gives-Freedom?" Dornvald answered heartily. "You can mount a steed and

  ride with us freely, or you can be placed on a steed and ride with us bound—a

  perfectly free choice to decide how you get there."

  "In that case I'll come with you," Thirg said.

  "Wisest, without a doubt," Dornvald agreed solemnly.

  Thirg glanced at Groork for a moment, then looked back at Dornvald. "My brother

  is passing by on his way to the Wilderness, where he goes in search of his

  voices," he said. "Our roads will run together for a while. Besides, we could