The Blue World (6 page)

The ocean had never
been plumbed. At two hundred feet the maximum depth attempted by
stalk-cutters and pod-gatherers, the sea-plant stems were still a
tangle. One Ben Murmen, Sixth, an Advertiserman, half-daredevil,
half-maniac, had descended to three hundred feet, and in the indigo
gloom noted the stalks merging to disappear into the murk as a single
great trunk. But attempts to sound the bottom, by means of a line
weighted with a bag of bone chippings, were unsuccessful. How, then,
had the seaplants managed to anchor themselves? Some supposed that
the plants were of great antiquity and had developed during a time
when the water was much lower. Others conjectured a sinking of the
ocean bottom; still others were content to ascribe the feat to an
innate tendency of the sea-plants.

Of all the floats, Apprise was the
largest and one of the first to be settled. The central agglomeration
was perhaps nine acres in extent; the lagoon was bounded by thirty or
forty smaller pads. Apprise Float was the traditional site of the
convocations, which occurred at approximately yearly intervals and
which were attended by the active and responsible adults of the
system, who seldom otherwise ventured far from home, since it was
widely believed that King Kragen disapproved of travel. He ignored
the coracles of swindlers, and also the rafts of withe or stalk which
occasionally passed between the floats, but on other occasions he had
demolished floats or coracles that had no ostensible business or
purpose.

Coracles conveying
folk to a convocation had never been molested, however, even though
King Kragen always seemed aware that a convocation was in progress,
and often watched proceedings from a distance of a quarter-mile or
so. How King Kragen gained his knowledge was a matter of great
mystery; some asserted, that on every float lived a man who was a man
in semblance only, who inwardly was a manifestation of King Kragen.
It was through this man, according to the superstition, that King
Kragen knew what transpired on the floats.

For three days
preceding the convocation there was incessant flickering along the
line of the hoodwink towers; the destruction of Tranque Float was
reported in full detail, together with Ixon Myrex’s denunciation of
Sklar Hast and Sklar Hast’s rebuttal. On each of the floats there was
intense discussion and a certain degree of debate. Since, in most
cases, the arbiter and the intercessor of each float inveighed
against Sklar Hast, there was little organized sentiment in his
favor.

On the morning of
the convocation, early, before the morning sky showed blue, coracles
full of folk moved between the floats. The survivors of the Tranque
Float disaster, who for the most part had sought refuge on Thrasneck
and Bickle, were among the first under way, as were the folk from
Almack and Sciona, in the far west.

All morning the
coracles shuttled back and forth between the floats; shortly before
noon the first groups began to arrive on Apprise. Each group wore the
distinctive emblems of its float, and those who felt caste
distinction important likewise wore the traditional hair-stylings,
forehead plaques, and dorsal ribbons; otherwise all dressed in much
the same fashion: shirts and pantalets of coarse linen woven from
sea-plant fiber, sandals of rug fish leather, ceremonial gauntlets
and epaulettes of sequins cut from the kernels of a certain
half-animal, half-vegetable mollusk.

As the folk
arrived, they trooped to the famous old Apprise Inn where they
refreshed themselves at a table on which was set forth a collation of
beer, pod-cakes, pepperfish, and pickled fingerlings, after which the
newcomers separated to various quarters of the float, in accordance
with traditional caste distinctions. In the center of the float was a
rostrum. On surrounding benches the notables took their places:
craft-masters, caste-elders, arbiters and intercessors. The rostrum
was at all times open to any person who wished to speak, so long as
he gained the sponsorship of one of the notables.

The first speakers
at the convocations customarily were elders intent on exhorting the
younger folk to excellence and virtue; so it was today. An hour after
the sun had reached the zenith, the first speaker made his way to the
rostrum—a portly old Incendiary from Maudelinda Float who had
in just such a fashion opened the speaking at the last five
convocations. He sought and was perfunctorily granted sponsorship. By
now his speeches were regarded as a necessary evil. He mounted the
rostrum and began to speak. His voice was rich, throbbing,
voluminous; his periods were long, his sentiments well-used, his
illuminations unremarkable.

“We meet
again. I am pleased to see so many of the faces which over the years
have become familiar and well-beloved, and alas there are certain
faces no more to he seen, those who have slipped away to the Bourne,
many untimely, as those who suffered punishment only these few days
past before the wrath of King Kragen, of whom we all stand in awe. A
dreadful circumstance thus to provoke the majesty of this Elemental
Reality; it should never have occurred; it would never have occurred
if all abided by the ancient disciplines. Why must we scorn the
wisdom of our ancestors? Those noble and most heroic of men who dared
revolt against the tyranny of the mindless helots, to seize the Ship
of Space which was taking them to brutal confinement, and to seek a
haven here on this blessed world! Our ancestors knew the benefits of
order and rigor; they designated the castes and set them to tasks for
which they presumably had received training on the Home World. In
such a fashion the Swindlers were assigned the task of swindling
fish; the Hoodwinks were set to winking hoods; the Incendiaries,
among whom I am proud to number myself, wove ropes; while the
Bezzlers gave us many of the intercessors who have procured the favor
and benevolent guardianship of King Kragen.

“Like begets
like; characteristics persist and distill. Why, then, are the castes
crumbling and giving way to helter-skelter disorder? I appeal to the
youth of today: read the Analects; study the artifacts in the Museum;
renew your dedication to the system formulated by our forefathers.
You have no heritage more precious than your caste identity!”

The old Incendiary
spoke on in such a vein for several minutes further and was succeeded
by another old man, a former Hoodwink of good reputation, who worked
until films upon his eyes gave one configuration much the look of
another. Like the old Incendiary, he, too, urged a more fervent
dedication, to the old-time values.

“I deplore the
sloth of today’s youth! We are becoming a race of sluggards! It is
sheer good fortune that King Kragen protects us from the gluttony of
the lesser kragen. And what if the tyrants of out-space discovered
our haven and sought once more to enslave us? How would we defend
ourselves? By hurling fish-heads? By diving under the floats in the
hope that our adversaries would follow and drown themselves? I
propose that each float form a militia, well-trained and equipped
with darts and spears, fashioned from the hardest and most durable
stalk obtainable!”

The old Hoodwink
was followed by the Sumber Float Intercessor, who courteously
suggested that should the out-space tyrants appear, King Kragen would
be sure to visit upon them the most poignant punishments, the most
absolute of rebuffs, so that the tyrants would flee in terror, never
to return. “King Kragen is mighty, King Kragen is wise and
benevolent, unless his dignity is impugned, as in the detestable
incident at Tranque Float, where the willfulness of a bigoted
freethinker caused agony to many.” Now he modestly turned down
his head. “It. is neither my place nor my privilege to propose a
punishment suitable to so heinous an offense as the one under
discussion. But I would go beyond this particular crime to dwell upon
the underlying causes; namely the bravado of certain folk, who ordain
themselves equal or superior to the accepted ways of life which have
served us so well so long … “

Presently he
descended to the float. His place was taken by a somber man of
stalwart physique, wearing the plainest of garments. “My name is
Sklar Hast,” he said. “I am that so-called bigoted
freethinker just referred to. I have much to say, but I hardly know
how to say it. I will be blunt. King Kragen is not the wise,
beneficent guardian the intercessors like to pretend. King Kragen is
a gluttonous beast who every year becomes more enormous and more
gluttonous. I sought to kill a lesser

kragen which I found destroying my
arbors; by some means King Kragen learned of this attempt and reacted
with insane malice.”

“Hist! Hist!”
cried the intercessors from below. “Shame! Outrage!”

“Why does King
Kragen resent my effort? After all, he kills any lesser kragen he
discovers in the vicinity. It is simple and self-evident. King Kragen
does not want men to think about killing kragen for fear they will
attempt to kill him. I propose that this is what we do. Let us put
aside this ignoble servility, this groveling to a sea-beast, let us
turn our best efforts to the destruction of King Kragen.

“Irresponsible
maniac!” “Fool!” “Vile-minded ingrate!”
called the intercessors.

Sklar Hast waited,
but the invective increased in volume. Finally Phyral Berwick, the
Apprise Arbiter,

mounted the rostrum
and held up his hands. “Quiet! Let Sklar Hast speak! He stands
on the rostrum; it is his privilege to say what he wishes.”

“Must we
listen to garbage and filth?” called Semm Voiderveg. “This
man has destroyed Tranque Float; now he urges his frantic lunacy upon
everyone else.”

“Let him
urge,” declared Phyral Berwick. “You are under no
obligation to comply.”

Sklar Hast said,
“The intercessors naturally resist these ideas; they are bound
closely to King Kragen and claim to have some means of communicating
with him. Possibly this is so. Why else should King Kragen arrive so
opportunely at Tranque Float? Now here is a very cogent point: if we
can agree to liberate ourselves from King Kragen, we must prevent the
intercessors from making known our plans to him—otherwise we
shall suffer more than necessary. Most of you know in your hearts
that I speak truth. King Kragen is a crafty beast with an insatiable
appetite, and we are his slaves. You know this

truth, but you fear
to acknowledge it. Those who spoke before me have mentioned our
forefathers: the men who captured a ship from the tyrants who sought
to immure them on a penal planet. What would-our forefathers have
done? Would they have submitted to this gluttonous ogre? Of course
not.

“How can we
kill King Kragen? The plans must wait upon agreement, upon the
concerted will to act, and in any event must not be told before the
intercessors. If there are any here who believe as I do, now is the
time for them to make themselves heard.”

He stepped down
from the rostrum. Across the float was silence. Men’s faces were
frozen. Sklar Hast looked to right and to left. No one met his eye.

The portly Semm Voiderveg mounted the
rostrum. “You have listened to the murderer. He knows no shame.
On Tranque Float we condemned him to death for his malevolent acts.
According to custom he demanded the right to speak before a
convocation; now he has done so. Has he confessed his great crime?
Has he wept for the evil he has visited upon Tranque Float? No! He
gibbers his plans for further enormities; he outrages decency by
mentioning our ancestors in the same breath with his foul proposals!
Let the convocation endorse the verdict of Tranque Float; let all
those who respect King Kragen and benefit from his ceaseless
vigilance raise now their hands in the clenched fist of death!”

“Death!”
roared the intercessors and raised their fists. But elsewhere through
the crowd there was hesitation and uneasiness. Eyes shifted backward
and forward; there were furtive glances, out to sea.

Semm Voiderveg
looked back and forth across the crowd in disappointment. “I
well understand your reluctance to visit violence upon a fellowman,
but in this case any squeamishness whatever is misplaced.” He
pointed a long, pale finger at Sklar Hast. “Do you understand
the pure, concentrated villainy embodied in this man? I will
expatiate. Just prior to the offense for which he is on trial, he
committed another, against his benefactor and superior, Master
Hoodwink Zander Rohan. But this furtive act, this attempt to cheat
the Master Hoodwink in a winking contest and thus dislodge the noble
Rohan from his office, was detected by Tranque Arbiter Ixon Myrex and
myself, and so failed to succeed.”

Sklar Hast roared:
“What? Is there no protection from slander here? Must I submit
to venom of this sort?”

Phyral Berwick told
him, “Your recourse is simple. You may let the man speak, then
if you can prove slander, the slanderer must face an appropriate
penalty.”

Semm Voiderveg
spoke with great earnestness. “Mind you, a harsh truth is not
slander. Personal malice must be proved as a motive. And there is no
reason why I should feel malice. To continue—“

But Sklar Hast
appealed to Phyral Berwick. “Before he continues, I feel that
the matter of slander should be clarified. I wish to prove that this
man accuses me from spite.”

“Can you do
so?”

“Yes.”

“Very well.”
Phyral Berwick motioned to Semm Voiderveg. “You must delay the
balance of your remarks until the matter of slander is settled.”

“You need only
request information of Arbiter Myrex,” protested Semm Voiderveg.
“He will assure you that the facts are as I have stated.”

Phyral Berwick
nodded to Sklar Hast. “Proceed: prove slander, if you can.”

Sklar Hast pointed
to Second Assistant Hoodwink Vick Caverbee. “Please stand
forth.”