Another Word for Magic

by Mackey Chandler

  ‘We’re still isolated here with no transportation anywhere,” Abel said. “That isn’t any made-up issue.”

  “She offers transport for the whole hab,” Tod pointed out. “If this mob can agree on where to go. I can see from your face that worries you about as much as it does me. If Mars isn’t ideal, at least we know something about it to deal with it. I wouldn’t want to put a vote about moving to the assembly yet. Especially not until she makes good on the promise to individually repatriate those who want to go elsewhere. That would change the demographics of it so much there’s no telling where they would pick. We could end up at some distant star with all our basic assumptions about which businesses are viable and valuable scrambled. Lots of us might have to start over from scratch.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact we wouldn’t have local transportation wherever we end up. We’ll need surface shuttles or longer-range orbit to orbit transport anywhere we move,” Abel insisted.

  “Then perhaps you should buy some transport,” Tod suggested. “There are still shipbuilding facilities in Earth orbit. If you buy something from the French perhaps you can get one of those improved drives that will do a constant boost for interplanetary trips. The time to do that might be now, before the mob decides to be taken to some far star system. After that, you may have to beg the Moon Queen for delivery. I assume you can’t afford a starship?”

  “You’re right, I’m rich but not that rich. I’m not sure if anybody is even offering to build starships to a standard design yet. That’s not a half-bad idea to get a deep-space vessel while we’re still in the neighborhood,” Franklin Abel acknowledged.

  Chapter 4

  “I thought Mexico had seceded from North America in everything but making a formal declaration,” Heather said. “Why are the shuttle tire factory and these composites shops on the targeting list for North America but located in Mexico?”

  “They may be quasi-independent but they aren’t stupid,” Dakota said. “They have this nice shop, building stuff the North Americans want. Why wouldn’t they keep selling tires and bucky tubes to their northern neighbor? There’s a lot of trade still going on and all sorts of games to get around the currency exchange problems. The Texans facilitate goods flowing across their territory and have been very reasonable about not price gouging. The funny thing is that the goods flow cheaper and easier now that there aren’t all the official inspections and delays at the border since it is all technically illicit and uncontrolled.”

  “I’m hesitant to destroy those facilities,” Heather worried. “I’m going to remove so many other space suppliers that they won’t have anything left on which to mount the tires. I’d rather not turn anyone against us I don’t have to. Keep them off the list for now. I wish Chen and Jan hadn’t got caught up in the Home move. I’d trust them to have back channels to explain what I’m going to do to the Mexicans. I will take those facilities out if it is a future problem.”

  “If I can contact somebody at the executive level or in their sales, I could politely tell them they are about to lose their USNA market, and they might consider diversifying to other buyers,” Dakota suggested. “I can hint that the continued existence of the facility is not a problem because we intend to remove the industry it supports. They can infer the corollary, that if North America manages to lift any new manned spaceships with their tires, it will be a problem.”

  “Do that, if it isn’t too hard to find somebody who will take your call. I don’t think they can assemble anything manned capable to orbit in secret, but they might very well try.”

  “You aren’t going to try to keep them from keeping utility satellites?” Dakota asked.

  “No, the civilian population depends on them too much now to deny that to them. You might as well bomb their electric grid or water purification plants. Satellite communications, weather reporting, and crop surveillance are just basic services now. They get warnings for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions from satellites. Even the poorest nations with no lift capacity have to buy those things now from others. North America can do the same now. They can afford it better than most of the other countries. Maybe it will impart a little humility to ask India or Australia to position their satellites for them.” Heather said.

  “You could say the same for them,” Dakota suggested. “They could buy those services from others who have satellites if you leave them no other choice.”

  “I’m not quite ready to punish the general population that severely,” Heather said. “Let’s see how they respond. If they find some inventive way to be stupid, I’ll consider doing that.”

  “Maybe you should go straight for the leadership,” Dakota said.

  “Do you think their replacements would be any better?” Heather asked. “I’ve made that point before as Jeff has. I don’t think anything has changed.”

  “Point,” Dakota admitted. “You’d have to go through quite a few layers, wouldn’t you?”

  Heather just nodded.

  * * *

  “I’m going to walk you out to your pickup point,” Garrett insisted.

  “Lovely, it’s a beautiful day. If we run into any wildlife or assassins, I’ll give you first shot at dealing with them,” Lee promised.

  Garrett looked at her neutrally for a long pause, expecting an objection or at the least a further snide remark about how unnecessary it was to guard them. When it didn’t materialize, all the replies he’d prepared to argue with her were suddenly useless. He finally managed to give an awkward nod and a belated thank you.

  Lee set the pace at a brisk walk. All of the Humans were enhanced so it was easy for them. Garrett could keep up with that easily. At a running pace, he’d never have the endurance to reach the mailbox, but it would be mean to demonstrate that.

  Jeff in particular was intrigued by their closer look at the fortress on the hill when they passed closely crossing the saddle next to it. Lee promised they’d find a day to explore it before they left Derfhome.

  “Is the same old fellow who was driving the mail route when Gordon first brought me to Red Tree still doing it?” Lee asked. “He is what Humans usually refer to as a character, meaning he’s a bit odd. You usually get if that is good or bad from the inflection.”

  “Of course,” Garrett said. “That is an honored position. He’d never yield it as long as he’s able to do it. You can be sure he has a half dozen relatives all hoping he’ll eventually take one of them as an apprentice when he nears retirement.”

  “Who appoints him?” April asked. “Do the Mothers have to approve who he trains?”

  Garrett looked so surprised that even the new Humans saw that easily.

  “The mailmen predate even the trade towns,” Garrett said. “They started with runners between clans taking messages from Mothers to Mothers. Often, they took a message and then continued on, instead of returning where it originated. I’m not sure who, but in the distant past some clan Mothers declared that by law one must offer a mailman hospitality and protection.

  “It just followed when trade towns were formed, they sent their messages and packages by the folks already under the protection of the law. Very few of them will retire to a town though. The towns are under no obligation to support a retired mailman. They do get all sorts of tips and gifts from the townspeople now but no retirement. The Human delivery services found they had to hire them as agents because nobody else could compete with them. Since they started using vehicles that has all increased too. The nature of the job is slowly changing. Eventually, the towns are going to have to support their mail service more. The Mothers are subsidizing their retirement right now. They can still do that because there are so few of them.

  “The fellow you rode with usually returns to Fast Water clan. He only makes the loop through the village out to Red Tree and some clans off the other way every week or so. The First Mother before you came didn’t care for the outside influence,” Garrett explained. “The mailbox was put out by the road supposedly to save the mailman time
and effort. That’s only been since Humans introduced powered vehicles that he could make his drop-off and return the same day. It was a full hard day trip out to the Keep on foot before.

  “Everybody knows it was to keep work from stopping almost as bad as an aircar landing does now. The mailman brought all sorts of unofficial news and gossip too. Since he could demand hospitality, including overnight lodging, he had lots of time before he left the next day to share it too. It wasn’t always news the Mothers wanted to be shared. The mailman could still stop early and insist on their hospitality, but would you force yourself on them when it’s made plain you aren’t welcome?”

  “And yet, the Mothers haven’t pulled the mailbox in, even though there has been a new First Mother for some time now,” April pointed out.

  Garrett looked at her, but wisely expressed no opinion about that, too cautious to even acknowledge it with a nod. That said as much as any comment he could have made.

  “No wonder the Third Mum didn’t say anything about the idea of a road right in to the Keep,” Lee said.

  “That one is no dummy,” Garrett agreed, “She knows her limits as Third.”

  “It occurred to me you have plenty of flat land near the Keep to put in a short landing strip for cheaper fixed-wing aircraft,” Jeff remarked.

  Garrett couldn’t keep his face straight at that. The idea was so radical he looked at Jeff in amazement. Jeff just smiled at him.

  “Gordon told me that Red Tree never welcomed any Humans but the clan members were all aware from attending festivals that other clans had them visit. They still seem rather isolationist even with the old First Mother gone,” Lee said.

  “Well, you busted that wide open,” Garrett insisted. It seemed to amuse him.

  “The amazing thing to me is this is another one of those things Gordon never told me,” Lee said. “It irritates me how secretive he can be.”

  Garrett shrugged, an acquired Human gesture. “I wouldn’t be too quick to fault him in this particular instance. It’s one of those stories you assume everybody knows.”

  * * *

  “I hear the aircar coming in,” Garrett said.

  “That’s freaky,” Lee said. “We’re still a good kilometer short of the road.”

  “Oh, he’s a couple of kilometers out still. I bet even you can hear him at a kilometer,” Garret said. “I can’t imagine living in a Human city with all sorts of machines like that roaring around all day and all night.”

  “The newer aircars are much quieter,” Jeff said. “Earth Humans are constantly trying to reduce noise. They don’t have sirens on emergency vehicles now, and even tires are regulated on how much noise they can generate. They have gotten very strict about personal noise in the cities. You can get serious fines for disturbing your neighbors. On the habitats, we started with strict noise rules. At Central, with almost everything in tunnels, it hasn’t been an issue. If you read unfiltered Earth news it’s a common topic.”

  “I think I hear it,” Lee said.

  Jeff opened his mouth and panned his head side to side. “If you can, your hearing is much better than mine.”

  “I noticed when it changed pitch,” Lee insisted.

  Garrett nodded. “That was him cutting power back to descend.”

  “OK, I heard him briefly,” April agreed.

  “Yeah, just barely,” Jeff agreed. “But now I don’t.”

  “Because he landed,” Garrett explained. “Should we hurry?”

  “No need. He’ll wait for us,” Lee said. “He’s a good ten minutes early anyway.”

  When they arrived, the aircar was resting on the meadow rather than the dirt track. That was good since it didn’t raise any dust.

  The pilot was the same one that dropped them off. He was out of the aircar standing knee-deep in flowers. By all appearances enjoying the view and in no hurry for them to load up and leave. The serenity ended when he turned and saw Garrett.

  “I hope he isn’t a passenger. Even if we could jam him in across three seats, I’d be pushing into emergency power to get this rig off the ground at this altitude. It’s not safe. She’d handle like a pig and suck fuel like crazy.”

  “No worries. He just accompanied us as security and will walk back,” Lee assured him.

  The pilot got an odd quizzical expression and turned looking all around. There were no buildings or people in sight. The dirt road that was barely more than ruts was the only sign it wasn’t straight-up wilderness. He was too polite to ask what hazard they imagined.

  * * *

  The aircar returned the trio of Humans to Fishtown with time to find lunch before they caught the return flight to Derfhome City. They picked a restaurant based on proximity to the airport rather than any special recommendation about its worth. They all agreed they would go further afield next time. The proprietor was flustered to accommodate Humans and they were fortunate to be carrying their own utensils.

  Lee got a text from Musical and Born asking her to meet with them when she had time. When she asked if she should bring Jeff along, they demurred, asking it just be her this time. April and Jeff must know from her being quiet while she was communicating with her spex, but didn’t pry. They each had private business interests after all.

  “What are you going to do to get ready for Home making orbit?” Lee asked.

  “Brainstorming with the Foys,” April said. “We will try to anticipate what services Homies will ask of the Central embassy. There are a small number of people with dual citizenship, and others who will come to us as the only visible Human authority on the planet. There isn’t any official Fargone presence, is there?”

  “No,” Lee said, “though they have intervened by sending warships to counter the presence of North American ships. The Mothers never asked them to do that, so it was an informal arrangement. Red Tree has no formal treaty or binding relationship with Fargone. To have asked would have implied a dependency and loss of their sovereignty to the Mothers. They left once Red Tree had two capable warships in the system again.”

  “But the Fargoers sent one of their warships back out with your fleet again on their latest voyage, right?” April asked.

  “Yes, but Gordon and I requested that of the Fargone admiralty. We have a good working relationship with Admiral Serendipity Hawking. He was happy to be able to send a delegation with our first voyage to show there are other Human interests besides the Little Fleet itself. The Mothers sent their junior member too so the Derf were represented.”

  April and Jeff looked at each other with the same droll unbelieving expression.

  “What? I’m not trying to mislead you,” Lee objected.

  “Perhaps you are misleading yourself,” April said.

  “Kindly put,” Jeff agreed, “better than I could have said it.”

  “I’m misleading myself so well I have no clue what you mean,” Lee said.

  “The way you described it is entirely believable, for when the Little Fleet departed on their first voyage,” April agreed. “It doesn’t represent the reality today. You are a sovereign entity by every measure that matters. You are a primary signatory on treaties spanning star systems. You dictated to the Earthies that you rejected their Claims Commission and were establishing your own. Or would you claim that action based upon the authority of the Mothers?” April asked pointedly.

  “No, I did it for the Little Fleet, and to keep our word to the aliens,” Lee admitted.

  “Whose word?” Jeff asked sharply.

  “I believe Gordon was the one who made promises to them,” Lee deflected, but she’d hesitated long enough to show it was a discomforting question.

  “So, the commodore of your fleet, issuing promises based on your policy,” April said.

  “How can I be a sovereign with no territory?” Lee asked.

  Jeff made a rude noise. “No territory except claims on a dozen rich systems with more resources than Humans have possessed since before they built pyramids until now. You ceded sufficient territory to t
he Red Tree Mothers to establish a colony comparable to what they hold on Derfhome while still holding plenty for yourself. If you asked them if you are sovereign, they’d look surprised and say of course! You even laid limits on that gift, reserving rights to reside there autonomously. None of the Mother’s subjects could do that. The Homies will have very little trouble understanding you or dealing with you because they are a voluntary association of sovereigns. They bind themselves to pay taxes and accept the vote of their peers making law. But people who are subjects like the Earthies, and even Heather’s sworn people, should not be misled as to your nature. It may cause needless conflict and confusion if you act as a sovereign and continue to deny it.”

  “I don’t feel sovereign,” Lee objected. “I’m neither Mother nor subject in Red Tree. I don’t make law. I can’t command the Little Fleet or make war on anyone.”

  “You are neither subject nor Mother in the clan. That’s obvious,” Jeff agreed. “For all your talk about reforming the Derf clan system, it escapes you that you’ve already done that by being something new in the system. Now that you have a special third status it opens the door to others, Human or Derf, doing the same.”

  Lee’s face changed, lips clamped thin and eyebrows furrowed. “Gordon knew what he was doing from the very start, clear back when he sat me on his knee and shoved me in the face of the old First Mother,” Lee decided.

  “Well yeah. You broke their system from day one,” April agreed. “Look at my shocked face that Gordon the renowned military strategist is a long-range political schemer. But everything you’ve told us says you agree with opening them up. Why be upset with Gordon?”