by Brian Aldiss
At the main wharf, the Ice Captain transferred Billy onto the fine oceangoing Lordryardry Queen, the pride of his fleet. The ship was capable of transporting 200 tons of finest block ice. Now, on its homeward journey, it carried cargoes of timber and grain. Together with an excited Billy and a sullen Div.
A favouring breeze filled the sails until the cordage strained and sang. The prow swung southwards like the needle of a magnet, pointing to distant Hespagorat.
The shores of Hespagorat, together with the doleful animals which inhabited them, were familiar sights to everyone aboard the Earth Observation Station. They were watched with extra attention as the fragile wooden ship bearing Billy Xiao Pin approached them.
Drama was not a feature of life aboard Avernus. It was avoided. Emotion: superfluous, as ‘On the Prolongation of One Helliconian Season Beyond the Human Life-span’ had it. Yet dramatic tension was evident, especially among the youth of the six great families. Everyone was forced into the situation of disagreeing or agreeing with Billy’s actions.
Many said that Billy was ineffectual. It was more difficult to admit that he showed courage and considerable ability to adapt to different conditions. Under the arguments that raged was a wistful hope that Billy might somehow convince people on Helliconia that they, the Avernians, existed.
True, Billy appeared to have persuaded Muntras. But Muntras was not considered to be important. And there were indications that Billy, having convinced Muntras, would take no further steps in that direction, but merely, selfishly, enjoy his remaining days before the helico virus attacked him.
The great disappointment was that Billy had failed where JandolAnganol and SartoriIrvrash were concerned. It had to be admitted that they had on their minds matters of more immediate concern.
The question that few people on the Avernus asked was, What, effectively, could the king and his councillor have done had they taken the trouble to understand Billy and come to believe in the existence of his ‘other world’? For that question led to the reflection that Avernus was far less important to Helliconia than Helliconia was to Avernus.
Billy’s successes and failures were compared with those of previous Helliconia Holiday winners. Few winners had done much better than Billy, if truth were told. Some had been killed as soon as they arrived on the planet. Women had fared worse than men: the noncompetitive atmosphere on the Avernus favoured equality of the sexes; on the ground, matters were conducted differently, and most women winners ended their lives in slavery. One or two strong personalities had had their stories believed, and in one case a religious cult had grown round this Saviour from the Skies (to quote one of his titles). The cult had died when a force of Takers eradicated the villages where the believers lived.
The strongest personalities to descend had concealed their origins entirely and lived by their wits.
One characteristic all winners shared. Despite often severe warnings from their Advisors, all had enjoyed or at least attempted sexual intercourse with the Helliconians. The moths always headed for the brightest flame.
Billy’s treatment merely strengthened a general aversion among the families to the religions of Helliconia. The consensus was that those religions got in the way of sensible, rational living. The inhabitants – believers and unbelievers alike – were seen as struggling in the toils of falsehood. Nowhere was there an attempt to be placid and view one’s life as an art form.
On distant Earth, conclusions would be different. The chapter in the long cavalcade of history which concerned JandolAnganol, SartoriIrvrash, and Billy Xiao Pin would be watched with a grief superior to any on the Avernus, a grief in which detachment and empathy were nicely balanced. The peoples of Earth, for the most part, had developed beyond that stage where religious belief is suppressed, or supplanted by ideology, or translated into fashionable cults, or atrophied into a source of references for art and literature. The peoples of Earth could understand how religion allowed even the labouring peasants their glimpse of eternity. They understood that those with least power have most need of gods. They understood that even Akhanaba paved the way for a religious sense of life which needed no God.
But what they most thoroughly understood was that the reason why the ancipital race was untroubled by the perturbations of religion was that their eotemporal minds would not rise to such disquiet. The phagors could never aspire to a moral altitude where they would abase themselves before false gods.
The materialists of the Avernus, a thousand light-years from such thinking, admired the phagors. They saw how Billy had been better received below than in Matrassyl Palace. Some wondered aloud whether the next winner of a Helliconia Holiday should not throw in his lot with the ancipitals and hope to lead them to overthrow mankind’s idols.
This conclusion was reached after long hours of well-conducted argument. Underlying it was jealousy of the freedom of Helliconian mankind even in its fallen state – a jealousy too destructive to be faced within the confines of the Earth Observation Station.
XIII
A Way to Better Weaponry
The little year advanced, though seasonal effects were virtually obliterated under the great flood of Freyr’s summer. The Church celebrated its special days. Volcanoes erupted. The suns swung over the bent backs of the peasants.
King JandolAnganol grew thin from waiting for his bill of divorcement to arrive. He planned another campaign in the Cosgatt, to defeat Darvlish and regain a measure of popularity. He camouflaged his inner anguish with constant nervous activity. Wherever he went, the phagor runt Yuli followed – together with other shades which vanished as the king turned his eagle gaze towards them.
JandolAnganol prayed, suffered a flagellation at the hands of his vicar, bathed, dressed, and strode out to the courtyard of the palace where the hoxneys were stabled. He wore a rich keedrant with forms of animals embroidered on it, silk trousers, and high leather boots. Over the keedrant he buckled leather armour trimmed with silver embellishments.
His favourite steed, Lapwing, was saddled. He mounted her. Yuli ran up, yipping and calling him Father; JandolAnganol pulled the creature up behind him. They set off at a trot into the hilly parkland behind the palace. Accompanying the king at a respectful distance went a detachment of the First Phagorian Guard – in whom, during these dangerous times, JandolAnganol reposed more trust than ever before.
The warm wind was on his cheek. He breathed deep. Everything about was dusted with grey in honour of distant Rustyjonnik.
‘It’s zzhoodin’ today,’ called Yuli.
‘Yes, shooting.’
In a dell where brassims sent up their leathery branches, a target had been established. Several men in dark clothes were busy making arrangements. They became immobile as the king arrived, testifying to his power to freeze blood by his very majesty. The Phagorian arrived silently and formed a line, blocking the mouth of the dell.
Yuli jumped from Lapwing and scampered about, insensitive to occasion. The king remained in his saddle, brow ominous, as if he had power to freeze himself.
One of the frozen figures moved forward and saluted the king. He was a small thin man of unusual physiognomy, who wore the harsh sacklike garb of his trade.
His name was SlanjivalIptrekira. The name was regarded as rude and funny. Possibly it was this life’s handicap which caused SlanjivalIptrekira in middle age to sport a great amount of gingerish side-whisker, reinforced by a phagor-ear moustache. This lent his otherwise mild aspect a ferocity, as well as creating a countenance with more sideways than vertical dimension.
He licked his lips nervously as he endured the hawkish gaze of the sovereign. His unease was occasioned, not by the innuendo of his name, but by the fact that he was Royal Armourer and Chief Ironmaster of the Ironmakers Corps. And by the fact that six matchlocks built under his direction in imitation of a Sibornalese artillery piece were about to be tested.
This was his second testing. An earlier six prototypes, tested half a tenner previously, had all failed to work. Hen
ce the licking of the lips. Hence a tendency of SlanjivalIptrekira’s knees to concatenate.
The king remained upright in the saddle. He raised a hand in signal. Figures came to life.
Six phagor sergeants were delegated to test the guns one by one. They marched forward, bovine faces expressionless, heavy shoulders set, their great shaggy bulks contrasting with the scraggy anatomies of the armourers.
SlanjivalIptrekira’s new weapon bore the outward appearance of the original. The metal barrel was four feet long. It was bedded into a wooden stock which curved down to a foot a further two feet long. The barrel was bound to the stock with copper bands. The striking mechanism was forged of the best-quality iron that the foundries of the Ironmakers Corps could produce. Silver chasing, decorated with religious symbols, had been added to the stock. As in the original, the weapon was loaded from the muzzle end by means of a ramrod.
The first phagor sergeant came up with the first weapon. He held it while an armourer primed it. The sergeant knelt, his lower leg turning forward instead of back, in a posture no human could achieve. At the muzzle end of the piece, a tripod supported part of the weight. The sergeant took aim.
‘Ready, sire,’ said SlanjivalIptrekira, looking anxiously from weapon to majesty. The king gave an almost imperceptible nod.
The striker came down. The powder fizzled. With a mighty explosion, the gun blew to pieces.
The sergeant fell backwards, giving a guttural cry. Yuli ran squealing into the bushes. Lapwing shied. Birds flew screaming from the trees.
JandolAnganol steadied his mare.
‘Try Number Two.’
The sergeant was helped away, his face and chest leaking ichor. He made a small bleating noise. A second sergeant took his place.
The second gun exploded more violently than the first. Splinters of wood struck the king’s chest armour. The sergeant had part of his jaw blown away.
The third gun would not fire. After repeated attempts, the ball rolled from its muzzle to the ground. The Royal Armourer laughed nervously, face ashen. ‘Better luck next time,’ he said.
There was better luck with the fourth gun. It went off as intended, and the ball buried itself near the edge of the target. It was a large target designed for archery and stood only two dozen paces away, but the firing was accounted a success.
The fifth gun cracked dismally along its barrel. The sixth gun fired its ball, although the target was missed.
The amourers stood close together, studying the ground at their feet.
SlanjivalIptrekira came to the king’s horse. He saluted again. His moustache trembled.
‘We make some progress, sire. Our charges are perhaps too strong, sire.’
‘On the contrary, your metals are too weak. Be back here again in a week’s time with six perfect weapons, or I’ll flay every member of your corps, from you downwards, and drive you skinless into the Cosgatt.’
He took one of the ruined guns, whistled up Yuli, and galloped away towards the palace, across the grey sward.
The innermost part of the palace-fortress – its heart, if palace-fortresses have hearts – was stifling. The sky above was overcast, and an echo of it was to be found on the ground, in every corner, on every ledge, cornice, moulding, nook and cranny, where the exhalations of distant Rustyjonnik refused to be swept away. Only when the king had passed through a thick wooden door, and then a second as thick as the first, did he escape the ash.
As the steps wound downwards, dark and cold thickened about him to embrace him like a soaked rug as he entered the subterranean set of chambers reserved for royal guests.
JandolAnganol strode through three interconnecting rooms. The first was the most fearful; it had served as a guard room, a kitchen, a mortuary, and a torture chamber, and still contained equipment relating to those earlier roles. The second was a bedroom, containing merely a bunk, though it too had served as a mortuary, and looked better suited to that purpose. In the end room sat VarpalAnganol.
The old king remained wrapped in a blanket, his feet against a grate in which smouldered a log fire. A high grille in the wall behind him allowed light to filter in and define him as a darkish lump on top of which a wispy skull was perched.
These things JandolAnganol had seen many times. The shape, the blanket, the chair, the grille, the floor, even the log that never burned properly in the dank atmosphere – all these did not alter through the years. It seemed as if only here, throughout his whole kingdom, could he look on enduring things.
Making a noise suggesting that he might need to clear his throat, the old king half-turned in his chair. His expression was half vacant, half crazy.
‘It’s I – Jan.’
‘I thought it was that same path again … where the fish jumped … You …’ He struggled to disentangle himself from his thoughts. ‘That’s you, Jan? Where’s Father? What time is it?’
‘Nearly fourteen, if that’s of any interest to you.’
‘Time’s always of interest.’ VarpalAnganol gave a ghostly chuckle. ‘Isn’t it time that Borlien bumped into Freyr?’
‘That’s an old wives’ tale. I’ve something to show you.’
‘What old wife? Your mother’s dead, lad. I haven’t seen her for … or was she here? I forget. It may warm this palace up a bit … I thought I smelt burning.’
‘It’s a volcano.’
‘I see. A volcano. I thought it might be Freyr. Sometimes my thoughts wander … Do you want to sit down, lad?’ He began struggling to his feet, but JandolAnganol pushed him back into the chair.
‘Have you found Roba yet? He’s born now, isn’t he?’
‘I don’t know where he is – he’s out of his wits, certainly.’
The old king gave a cackle. ‘Very shrewd. Sanity can drive you mad, you know … You remember how the fish used to jump in that pool? Well, there always was something wild about Roba. Almost a man now, I suppose. If he’s not here, he can’t shut you up, can he? Nor can you marry him off. What’s her name? Cune. She’s gone, too.’
‘She’s in Gravabagalinien.’
‘Good. I hope he doesn’t kill her. Her mother was a fine woman. What about my old friend Rushven? Is Rushven dead? I don’t know what you do up there half the time. If you can halve time.’
‘Rushven’s gone. I told you. My agents report that he has fled to Sibornal, much good that will do him.’
Silence fell between them. JandolAnganol stood with matchlock in hand, reluctant to break into his father’s rambling thoughts. He was getting worse than ever.
‘Perhaps he’ll see the Great Wheel of Kharnabhar. It’s their sacred symbol, you know.’ With a struggle, and only by letting his blanket slip, he managed to screw his stiff old neck round to look at his son. ‘It’s their sacred symbol, I said.’
‘I know it.’
‘Then try and answer when I speak to you … What about that other fellow, the Uskuti, yes, Pasharatid? Did they catch him?’
‘No. His wife left too, a tenner ago.’
The old man sank back into the chair, sighing. His hands twitched nervously at the blanket. ‘Sounds to me as if Matrassyl’s almost empty.’
JandolAnganol turned his face away, towards the grey square of light. ‘Just me and the phagors.’
‘Did I ever tell you what Io Pasharatid used to do, Jan? When he was allowed to come and see me? Curious behaviour for a man of the northern continent. They are very self-controlled – not passionate, like the Borlienese.’
‘Did you scheme with him to overthrow me?’
‘I just sat here while he dragged a table through, a heavy table. He used to put it under that little window. Did you ever hear such a thing?’
JandolAnganol began to pace about the cell, darting his gaze into the corners as if seeking a way of escape.
‘He wanted to admire the view from your luxurious apartment.’
The figure in the chair gave a bleat of laughter. ‘Precisely so. Admiring the view. Well put. A good phrase. And the view was
of … well, if you get the table yourself, lad, you will see. You will see the windows of MyrdemInggala’s apartments, and her verandah …’ He broke off for a dry cough which rattled in his throat. The king paced faster. ‘You get a view of the reservoir where Cune used to swim naked with her ladies-in-waiting. Before you sent her away this was, of course …’
‘What happened, Father?’
‘Well, that’s what happened. I told you but you didn’t listen. The ambassador used to climb on to that table and watch your queen with nothing on, or wearing only a piece of muslin … Very … very unorthodox behaviour for a Sibornalese. A Uskuti. Or for anyone really.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me this at the time?’ He stood confronting the ancient shape of his father.
‘Heh. You would have killed him.’
‘I should have killed him. Yes. No one would have blamed me.’
‘The Sibornalese would have blamed you. Borlien would have been in worse trouble than it is already. You will not learn diplomatic sense. That’s why I didn’t tell you.’
JandolAnganol began to pace. ‘What a calculating old slanje you are! Surely you must have hated what Pasharatid was doing?’
‘No … what are women for? I have no objection to hate. It keeps you alive, keeps you warm of nights. Hate is what brings you down here. You came down here once, I forget what year it was, to talk about love, but I only know about—’
‘Enough!’ cried JandolAnganol, stamping his boot on the flags. ‘I shall never speak of love again, to you or anyone. Why do you never help me? Why didn’t you tell me what Pasharatid was up to? Did he ever meet secretly with Cune?’
‘Why don’t you grow up?’ Spite entered his voice.’ I expect he crept in to her warm nest every night …’
He cringed away, expecting a blow from his son’s raised hand. But JandolAnganol squatted by the chair instead.
‘I want you to look at something. Tell me what you would do.’