The Prometheus Project Part 12

Of course, I had no illusions that they'd stay nonplussed. They'd deduce which band we were on, using whatever it was they were using to track us, and get on it themselves. So they'd be ready when we started to cross the low-speed bands to get off. We needed to get off before they could do that . . . which meant immediately.

I led Chloe across the walkway to the opposite side, and we darted away toward a narrow side street. At least I darted; she did more of a fast hobble, favoring her right leg as she'd been doing ever since we'd landed so ungracefully. I had no idea where I was going. I just pressed ahead, telling myself that we'd eventually be able to find one of the kiosks and ask the way back to the central plaza. At random, I picked another corner to turn. It was a quiet street of relatively small establishments, with a kind of down-at-heels look about it that made it less intimidating than most of this city . . . not that I noticed any of that at first.

"Face-to-face" is the wrong term, for the long, pensive-seeming face atop the centauroid body was too

high for that. But the being stood directly in front of us, clearly waiting."You!" I blurted. Even with my limited familiarity with the Ekhemasu, I was somehow certain which individual this was. When he spoke, the voice in my earpiece confirmed it, for the tiny brain a.s.signed individual voices. And this was the voice I'd heard at the Akavahn's reception.

"Come with me," said Khorat.We goggled at him. "You've got to be kidding!" Chloe blurted."Yeah," I chimed in. "Why should we follow you when we just got through shaking your Agardir friends?"

"They are hardly my friends. A little thought will cause you to realize that there are any number of reasons why they are not . . . only one of which is that my species is purely herbivorous, and we therefore tend to feel somewhat ill at ease around carnivores. And you should come with me because

that is the only way to get all the questions in your minds answered." Without further ado, Khorat turned and walked away with a horselike motion that might have been amusing in other circ.u.mstances.

Chloe and I exchanged a look. She said nothing, but I could tell she was as mystified as I. Wordlessly, we set out after Khorat.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

As Khorat led the way along the street, the leisurely pace he was setting began to worry me.

"Hey, Khorat," I called out, "I know we've only got two legs apiece, but we can move faster than this!

And I somehow doubt if those Agardir have given up."

"You need not concern yourselves with them," the Ekhemasu replied over his shoulder. "You did a quite

effective job of losing them. My compliments."

"Thanks. But they shouldn't have much trouble picking up the trail again, with these little 'gifts' of yours.

Of course, I suppose we could throw them away-"

Khorat stopped abruptly and turned to face us. "Oh, don't worry about that. The Agardir have no idea

that those devices exist. They have been following you by conventional means, as well as unconventional ones of their own, involving olfactory sensors. They're quite good at tracking, you know.

Being descended from predators, their heritage predisposes them to it." The translator software faithfully reproduced the shuddering distaste he couldn't keep out of his voice. "And they were awaiting your arrival there in the plaza. They've been doing so for some time, in shifts, on orders from their Tonkuztra employers."

"Tonkuztra?" Chloe exclaimed, bewildered.I shared her bewilderment. In fact, I excelled it. Unlike her, I was used to thinking in terms of multilayered intrigue . . . and Khorat had just added a whole new layer. "Are you saying the Tonkuztra and the Agardir-?"

"Not 'the Agardir' in any collective sense. These individuals are . . . 'renegades' is too strong a word. Say,

rather, 'freelancers.' But everything will be explained in good time. For now, come with me. The Agardir might reacquire your scent by a stroke of luck." With the first motion I'd ever seen him make that suggested impatience, Khorat turned and continued down the street. There seemed no viable alternative to following him.

The street opened abruptly onto an open square . . . except that it was more like a single building enclosing a square, for the s.p.a.ce was too vast to be thought of as a "courtyard." Khorat struck out across the expanse without hesitation, heading toward the building that closed off the square's far end.

That building, though long and low compared to this culture's soaring norm, was far taller than those that enclosed the square's other sides. It rose in tier upon tier of terraces and loggias, with the combination of ma.s.siveness and airiness that galactic materials technology permitted. We pa.s.sed through the hangarwide portal into a s.p.a.ce that architectural artifice caused to seem even vaster than it was-rather like St. Peter's in Rome, although there was absolutely no resemblance beyond that. All around were the indoor faces of the tiered exterior, with lift tubes based on an application of artificial gravity rising through many levels of galleries. Everything was proportioned on a larger scale than the Delkasu needed, in a way that reminded me of the Akavahn's establishment.

I finally realized where we were. Delkasu cities were dotted with such establishments-a recognized munic.i.p.al utility, provided by the government, providing s.p.a.ce for a wide variety of functions, both commercial and civic. This one was unique because its interior s.p.a.ces were adaptable to any of the races that frequented this cosmopolitan city. Anybody could rent premises there, and the building-a near-

sentient ent.i.ty in itself-would provide environmental conditions to the tenant's specifications.

I'd wanted to see the place ever since I'd heard about it. Now, as Khorat led us to one of the lift

tubes-freight-sized, on Delkasu standards-I realized I was going to get a more in-depth look than tourists normally got.

We drifted upward-a sensation I'd never gotten used to, and still haven't-to an upper level which

afforded a dizzying view of the hall or concourse or whatever. But Khorat was disinclined to let us rubberneck. He led us on, along the galleries with their storefrontlike facades behind which were suites of rooms. Each was identified by a set of the universal Delkasu ideographs floating immaterially in midair before the entrance. He reached one such portal, which slid open in obedience to a tiny remote- control device he carried.

Inside was a featureless chamber that could probably have held three Ekhemasu, and so was ample for us. Khorat turned to us, and my earpiece conveyed an apologetic tone. "There will be environmental differences."

I came to the realization that what we were inside was an air lock. "Uh, how p.r.o.nounced are these

differences?"

"Enough to be noticeable. Possibly even a trifle uncomfortable at first. But not hazardous to your species, I a.s.sure you."

"Well . . . let's go."

Khorat used his remote, and led us forward. The comfortably Earthlike atmosphere of Antyova II moved forward with us, expanding through the second portal to dissipate into the thin dry air beyond.

I wasn't altogether unfamiliar with transitions like that. I had spent most of my youth at low alt.i.tudes,

and then lived for a while in Denver. At first, I'd found myself getting winded easily, as well as experiencing dry sinuses and excruciatingly chapped lips, but I'd adjusted. So this wasn't alarming. To tell the truth, it was barely noticeable compared to the abrupt transition from weighing a hair over one eighty to weighing a little less than one twenty-three. I learned that figure later. At the time, it seemed less than that.

I shot Chloe a glance. She looked less disconcerted than I felt, being more accustomed to the profoundly unnatural sensation of stepping into or out of an artificial gravity field. And Khorat was positively prancing. We'd previously seen him in the gravity field of Antyova II, only fractionally different from Earth's and almost half again as strong as that of his homeworld. Now his walk, while still vaguely equine to our eyes, differed from what we'd seen before as much as the gliding gait of a Tennessee walking horse differed from the trudging of a plow horse pulling too heavy a load. I now understood why his pace had seemed so unhurried. In fact, he'd been hurrying as much as possible.

He turned back to face us. "I apologize for any discomfort. But this is the one place I am certain we can talk without fear of eavesdropping." He spoke a few words in what must have been his own language, for my Delkasu translator remained silent. "I have instructed the environmental controls to add to the humidity. And would you prefer that the view be turned off?"

"Oh, no, that's all right," Chloe a.s.sured him hastily. I nodded in agreement, forgetting that the gesture probably didn't mean the same thing in Khorat's culture. Like Chloe, I was taking in my first view of the world of Khemava.

At least I a.s.sumed that was what we were seeing, by grace of holographic projections that made the room seem a colonnaded portico open on three sides to the landscape. Overhead, the sky was a deeper

blue than Earth's, shading almost to royal blue, although judging from the position of the sun it was midmorning or afternoon. (Afternoon, I was certain, without knowing why.) That sun loomed larger in the sky than Earth's did and had an orange tint, suggesting a star dimmer and less ma.s.sive than Antyova, let alone Sol. A shallow ramp-the Khemasu didn't use stairs, I was later to learn, although they'd learned to get up and down them in the course of dealing with their bipedal Delkasu rulers-led down to a wide ca.n.a.l. It ran arrow-straight to a horizon that seemed a trifle closer than Earth's, although that was probably just my imagination. (Dr. Fehrenbach had told us not to expect noticeable differences in this on any planet in the habitable size range.) That horizon was flat and uncluttered where the ca.n.a.l vanished into it. But around us, all was monumental artificiality, a cityscape that seemed to blend into the desert beyond it in a reddish-tawny continuum, with bluffs and cliffs of architecture rising above the ca.n.a.l, all in an austere style shared by the phantom building behind us, in whose wall the air lock door appeared to be set.

It looked like a cross between ancient Egypt and Mars-not the real Mars, of course, but the Mars of Bradbury and Burroughs, before the s.p.a.ce probes ruined the Solar System. There were a few jarring touches, of course, like the streams of aircars that pa.s.sed between the buildings and over the bridges that spanned the ca.n.a.l, and the whip-slender trees. And the lights that crisscrossed the sky overhead were, I was pretty sure, not the hurtling moons of Barsoom but artificial habitats in low orbit.

"I'm glad you don't mind the imagery," said Khorat. "Without it, this room is drearily bare and functional, like all these rooms. Those who make use of them are expected to provide their own familiar environments by means of the holographic projection equipment that is made available." He led us to the center of the "portico," where there were a large pile of cushions and two small benches. He lowered himself onto the cushions with obvious relief. They, at least, were real. "We do not use any equivalent of your chairs. These-" he indicated the benches "-were the best I could find."

We perched on the benches, which were also real-altogether too real, in their hard discomfort.

"So this," Chloe inquired, looking around at the holo show, "is your 'familiar environment' on Khemava?" "To a certain extent. It bears little resemblance to the capital city, or any of the other major centers. They have, by now, been largely made over to suit the needs and tastes of the Delkasu. In fact, certain districts would seem to you indistinguishable from the city around us. No, this is a representation of the areas that have gone relatively unaffected by the changes the Delkasu have brought." Khorat looked around, and with my increasing confidence in my ability to read his expressions I thought to perceive a trace of sadness. "In truth, this is an idealization-or, perhaps, an accentuation-of those areas: the 'Old Khemava' as it once was, or might have been, or should have been." I found myself thinking of Mrs. Miniver versus the real post-Industrial Revolution England.

"So," I queried, "this suite is leased by members of your own species alone, as opposed to the diplomatic mission from the Ekhemasu Empire to which you belong?" "Yes. The local authorities in their munificence provide this facility for the use of non-Delkasu transients, at a nominal fee. Our own Delkasu superiors naturally expect us to provide ourselves with quarters here, to refresh ourselves with a nostalgia-reinforcing simulation." There was a perceptible pause as Khorat brought his already well-controlled emotions under even tighter rein. "But yes, this is a kind of private retreat for those of us who arranged to have ourselves attached to this mission-"

"'Arranged' to have yourselves-" I began.

"-and therefore is a secure locale for us to discuss matters openly," Khorat hurried on smoothly.

"Including any questions you may have."

"Like why you planted these homing devices on us . . . in accordance with your 'old custom' of gifts to new acquaintances."

"Ah, yes. That. Actually, inventing folk customs isn't much of an art. I'm ashamed to admit that we do it

all the time on Khemava, whenever we want to 'put one over' on the Delkasu."

"I don't doubt that for a minute," I said. My mother had been from the South, and I remembered Uncle Remus. (That was before our rulers had declared those tales "demeaning to African-Americans," which would have left the creator of Br'er Rabbit chuckling over yet another confirmation of his estimate of the white man's intelligence.) "But we're not Delkasu. In fact, our race has never even come in contact with yours until the last few days. Which leads to the questions of your motives for wanting to track us-"

"Although," Chloe interjected, "now you seem to be telling us that there's no connection between you giving us the devices and the Agardir following us today-"

"Agardir you say are working for the Tonkuztra," I said, picking up the thread.

Khorat waited patiently, then spoke with equal patience. "Actually, there is a connection between the devices and what happened today . . . but not the one you previously imagined. The opposite of it, in fact. You see, I gave them to you because I was certain the Tonkuztra-using either the Agardir or other hirelings-would be following you the first time you ventured out into the city. When that happened, I wanted to be able to locate you promptly so I could get you out of harm's way and explain certain matters to you. The first turned out to be unnecessary. I am now doing the second."

"But . . ." Chloe was having obvious difficulty in deciding which question to pose first. "But surely you

knew we'd be able to recognize these things for what they are."

"Of course. That was to a.s.sure that you would wear them. My reading of your species suggested that you would be too intrigued concerning my motivations to do otherwise."

My head was whirling so fast I forgot to be irritated by Khorat's accurate-and apparently effortless-prediction of my behavior. "Uh . . . maybe you ought to just begin at the beginning," I said, in a burst of originality.