The Ships of Earth: Homecoming: Volume 3 (28 page)

It wasn’t an easy climb, though the darkness was easing with every moment that passed, for dawn seemed to light the sky from horizon to horizon far more quickly here than it ever had in Basilica. Was it the latitude? The dry desert air? Whatever the cause, he could see, but what he saw was a confusion of cliffs and crags, ledges and outcroppings that would challenge the nimblest of animals. What kind of creature do you hope to find, Vas? What kind of animal could live here?

But these were just Nafai’s normal doubts—fearing the worst even as he knew that there was plenty of vegetation here, and there’d be no difficulty finding game. It would just be hard to get it home. Which was another reason why Elemak had always sent a hunter and tracker together, either Nafai and Vas or, back when there was more than one pulse, Elemak as hunter and Obring as tracker. When they were successful, the team would come home with each man carrying half a beast over his shoulders. It happened more often with Nafai and Vas, however, in part because Nafai was the best shot and in part because Obring
could never really keep his mind on tracking well enough to do a good job, so that Elemak ended up having to divide his concentration to do both jobs.

Vas, though, could concentrate very well, seeing things that no one else had noticed. Vas could follow the same prey relendessly for hours and hours. Like a fighting dog that gripped with its teeth and never let go. It was part of the reason why Nafai succeeded so much more often—because Vas would bring him to the prey. The rest of the success, however, was Nafai’s own. Nobody could approach so near to the prey in silence; nobody’s aim was as steady and true. They were a good team, and yet in all their lives they had never imagined that they’d be good at hunting. It would never have crossed their minds.

Soon enough, Vas found something—a small mark. Nafai had long since given up trying to see all the things that Vas saw—to him it didn’t look like an animal sign, but then it often didn’t. Nafai just followed along, keeping his eyes open for predators that might decide that human beings were either a threat or a meal. The animal’s trail led farther and farther down the slope, so far that by midmorning Nafai could see a clear and easy route that would lead down to the beach. For reasons he wasn’t proud of, he wanted to go down that path and at least put his feet in the water of Dorova Bay. But Vas was not going that way—he was leading them across the face of an increasingly steep and dangerous cliff.

Why would an animal have chosen
this
route? Nafai wondered. What kind of animal is it? But of course he said nothing; it was a point of pride, to maintain perfect silence throughout the hunt.

Just as they reached the most dangerous part of the passage, where they would have to traverse a smooth surface of rock with no ledge at all, only friction to keep them from falling down fifty meters or more, Vas stopped and pointed, indicating that the prey was on the other side of the traverse. That was bad news. It would mean that Nafai would have to make the passage with his pulse out and
ready to fire—that, in fact, he would have to aim and fire from that very slope.

But after all this tracking, they couldn’t give up and start over just because it was momentarily difficult.

Vas pressed himself against the cliff wall, and Nafai passed behind him, then drew the pulse out of the sling he carried it in and moved ahead onto the difficult traverse.

At that moment the thought came into his head: Don’t go on. Vas is planning to kill you.

This is stupid, thought Nafai. It’s one thing to be afraid of the traverse—I’m only human. But if Vas wanted to kill me, he had only to shrug when I was passing behind him on the ledge just now.

Don’t take another step.

And leave the family without meat, because I got a sudden attack of jitters? Not a chance.

Nafai swallowed his fear and moved across the face. He arched his body out a little, so that there would be the greatest possible pressure and therefore the greatest possible friction on the soles of his climbing boots. Even so, he could feel that there was too much give—this was very dangerous indeed, and shooting from this point would be almost impossible.

He reached the point where he could at last see all of the area that had been hidden before, and now he stopped and looked for the animal. He couldn’t see it. This sometimes happened—especially because they hunted in silence. Vas would lead him to an animal with good natural camouflage, and when Nafai got within range, the animal would see or smell him and freeze, becoming almost completely invisible. Sometimes it took a long time before the animal moved and Nafai could see him. This was going to be one of those waiting games. Nafai hated it that he would have to do his waiting on this traverse, but he was perfectly visible now, and if he moved any closer the animal would bolt and they would have to start over.

He gingerly shifted his hands so that all his weight was on his feet and the hand
without
the pulse, then brought the pulse to where he could easily aim at any point on the
face of the mountain before him. Was the animal in those shrubs? Perhaps behind a rock, ready to emerge at any moment?

Holding the same pose in that awkward place was hard. Nafai was strong, and used to holding still for long periods of time—but this posture was one he had never had to hold before. He could feel sweat dripping down his forehead. If it got in his eye it would sting mercilessly, mixed as it was with dust from his face. Yet there was no way he could move to wipe it away without spooking the animal.

An animal I haven’t even seen.

Forget the animal. Just get off the face of this rock.

No, I’m stronger than that. I need to get the food for the family—I won’t go back and say we’ll have no meat today because I was afraid to wait in stillness on a rock.

He could hear Vas moving behind him, traversing the rock. That was stupid—why was Vas doing that?

To kill me.

Why couldn’t he shake that idea? No, Vas was coming because he could tell that Nafai hadn’t seen the animal yet, and he wanted to point it out. But how would he do
that?
Nafai couldn’t turn to look at him, and Vas couldn’t pass him to get into his field of view.

Oh, no. Vas was going to
talk
to him.

“It’s too dangerous,” said Vas. “You’re going to slip.”

And just as he said it, the friction holding Nafai’s right foot in place suddenly gave way. His foot slipped inward and down, and now with the abrupt movement, his left foot couldn’t hold and he began to slide. It must have been very quick but it felt like forever; he tried to dig in with his hand, with the butt of the pulse, but they both just rubbed along the rock, doing almost nothing even to slow his fall. And then the rock grew steeper and he wasn’t sliding, he was falling, falling, and he knew he was going to die.

“Nafai!” screamed Vas. “Nafai!

Luet was at the stream, washing clothes, when suddenly there came a clear thought into her mind: 〈He’s not dead.〉

Not dead? Who’s not dead? Why should he be dead?

〈Nafai is not dead. He’ll come home.〉

She knew at once that it was the Oversoul speaking to her. Reassuring her. But she was not reassured. Or rather, she
was
reassured to know that Nafai was all right. But now she had to know,
demanded
to know what had happened.

〈He fell.〉

How did he fell?

〈His foot slipped on the face of the rock.〉

Nafai is sure-footed.
Why
did his foot slip? What is it that you’re not telling me?

〈I was watching Vas very carefully with Sevet and Obring. Watching all the time. He has murder in his heart.〉

Did Vas have something to do with Nafai’s fell?

〈Not until they were traversing the rock did I see the plan in his mind. He had already destroyed the first three pulses. I knew he meant to destroy the last one but I wasn’t concerned because there are alternatives. I never saw it in his mind, not until the last moment, that the simplest way to destroy the last pulse was to lead Nafai to a dangerous place and then push his foot so he would fall.〉

You never saw a plan like that in his mind?

〈All the way down the mountain he was thinking of a route to the sea. How to get down to the bay so he could walk to Dorova. That’s all that was in his mind as he led Nafai after quarry that didn’t exist. Vas had remarkable powers of concentration. He thought of nothing but the path to the sea, until the very last moment.〉

Didn’t you warn Nafai?

〈He heard me, but he didn’t realize it was my voice he was hearing. He thought it was his own fear, and he fought it down.〉

So Vas is a murderer.

〈Vas is what he is. He will do anything to get his vengeance on Obring and Sevet for their betrayal of him back in Basilica.〉

But he seemed so calm about it.

〈He can be cold.〉

What now? What now, Oversoul?

〈I will watch.〉

That’s what you’ve been doing all along, and yet you never gave any of us a glimpse of what you saw. You knew what Vas was planning. Hushidh even saw those powerful bonds between him and Sevet and Obring and you never told her what they
were
.

〈This is how I was programmed. To watch. Not to interfere unless and until the danger would damage my purpose. If I stopped every bad person from doing bad things, who would be free? How would humans still be human, then? So I let them plan their plans, and I watch. Often they change their minds, freely, without my interference.〉

Couldn’t you have made Vas stupid and forgetful long enough to stop this?

〈I told you. Vas has a very strong ability to concentrate.〉

What now? What now?

〈I will watch.〉

Have you told Volemak?

〈I told
you
.〉

Should
I
tell anyone?

〈Vas will deny it. Nafai doesn’t even realize that he was the victim of a would-be murderer. I told you because I don’t trust my own ability now to predict what Vas will do.〉

And what can
I
do?

〈You’re the human. You’re the one who’s able to think of things that exceed your programming.〉

No, I don’t believe you. I don’t believe that you don’t have a plan.

〈If I have a plan, it includes you making your own decisions about what to do.〉

Hushidh. I have to tell my sister.

〈If I have a plan, it includes you making your own decisions.〉

Does that mean I
mustn’t
consult with Hushidh, because then my decision wouldn’t be my own? Or does it
mean that consulting with Hushidh is one of the decisions I need to make on my own?

〈If I have a plan, it is for you to make your own decisions about your own decisions about your own decisions.〉

And then she felt that she was alone again; the Oversoul was not talking to her.

The clothes lay in the grass beside the stream, except for the one gown of Chveya’s that she had been washing; that one she still held in the stream, her hands freezing cold now because through all this conversation with the Oversoul she had not moved.

I must talk to Hushidh, and so that’s the first decision I will make. I’ll talk to Hushidh
and
Issib.

But first I’ll finish washing these clothes. That way no one will know anything is wrong. I think that’s the right thing to do, to keep anyone from knowing that something’s wrong, at least for now.

After all, Nafai is all right. Or at least Nafai is not dead. But Vas
is
a murderer in his heart. And Obring and Sevet are in danger from him. Not to mention Nafai, if Vas even suspects that Nafai knows what Vas tried to do to him. Not to mention
me
, if Vas realizes that I also know.

How could the Oversoul have let things get to such a point? Isn’t she responsible for all of this? Doesn’t she know that she has brought terrible people along with us on this journey? How could she make us travel and camp for so many months, for a
year
and more, for many years ahead, with a
murderer?

Because she hoped that he would decide not to murder after all, of course. Because she has to allow humans to be human, even now. Especially now.

But not when it comes to killing my husband. That is going too far, Oversoul. You took too great a chance. If he had died I would never have forgiven you. I would refuse to serve you anymore.

No answer came from the Oversoul. Instead it came from her own heart: An individual’s death can come at any time. It isn’t the task of the Oversoul to prevent it. The Oversoul’s task is to prevent the death of a world.

* * *

Nafai lay stunned in the grass. It was a ledge invisible from above because of the way the cliff bowed out. He had fallen only five or six meters, after sliding down the face of the rock for a while. It was enough to knock the breath out of him; enough that he blacked out. But he was uninjured, except for a sore hip where he landed.

If he had not fetched up on the ledge, he would have plummeted another hundred meters or more and surely died.

I can’t believe I lived through this. I should never have tried to kill the animal from that position. It was stupid. I was right to be afraid. I should have listened to my fears and if we lost that animal, fine, because we can always find another beast to follow and kill. What we can’t find again is another father for Chveya, another husband for Luet, another hunter who isn’t needed for other tasks.

Or another pulse.

He looked around and realized that the pulse wasn’t on the ledge. Wasn’t anywhere that he could see. He must have let go of it as he fell, and it must have bounced. Where was it?

He crept to the lip of the ledge and looked over. Oh, yes, straight down, except for a few small outcroppings—if the pulse struck them, then it would have bounced and kept on falling. There was nowhere that the pulse could have fetched up and stopped except at the bottom of the cliff. If that’s where it was, Nafai couldn’t possibly see it from here—it would be lost in the bushes. Or were those treetops?

“Nafai!” It was Vas, calling for him.

“I’m here!” Nafai cried.