The Ships of Earth: Homecoming: Volume 3 (47 page)

She closed the door behind her.

Elemak could hardly control himself. He longed to leap after her, hit her again and again, beat the unbearable condescension out of her. But that would be a show of weakness; to maintain control of these others, he had to make it clear that he was unaffected by such nonsense. So he smiled wanly at them. “You see how they want to make us stupid by making us angry,” said Elemak.

“Don’t tell me you’re
not
angry,” said Meb.

“Of course I am,” said Elemak. “But I refuse to let my anger make me stupid. And she also gave us some valuable information. Apparently Nafai’s going to be coming back with some kind of magic cloak or something. Maybe it’s nothing more than an illusion, like those masks that
Gaballufix dredged up to have his soldiers wear back in Basilica, so they all looked alike. Or maybe there’s some real power in it. But far from making us back down, that will simply force us to act all the more quickly and cleanly—and permanently.”

“Meaning?” asked Vas.

“Meaning that we will
not
permit
anyone
to leave here and go join Nafai, wherever he is. We will make him come to us. And when he does, unless he immediately backs down and accepts our decisions, we’ll eliminate his ability to make further problems.”

“Meaning?” insisted Vas.

“Meaning kill him, you dolt,” said Obring. “How stupid do you have to be?”

“I knew he meant that,” said Vas quietly. “I just wanted to hear him say it with his own mouth, so that he can’t claim later that he never meant any such thing.”

“Oh, I see,” said Elemak. “You’re worried about responsibility.” Elemak couldn’t help but compare Vas with Nafai—for all his other faults, Nyef had never shrunk from his responsibility for the death of Gaballufix. “Well, the responsibility is mine. Mine alone, if you insist on it. But that also means that after we’ve won, the authority is mine.”

“I’m with you,” said Meb. “To the hilt. Does that mean that when it’s done, I share authority with you?”

“Yes, it does,” said Elemak. If you even know what authority is, you poor simpering baboon. “It’s as simple as that. But if you haven’t got the heart to put in the knife along with us, that doesn’t mean you’re our enemy. Only keep silence about our plan, join with us in preventing others from joining Nafai, and stay out of the way when we kill him—if it comes to that.”

“I’ll agree to that,” said Obring.

Vas also nodded.

“Then it’s done.”

Nafai awoke on the floor of the room. Above him hung the block of water. He didn’t feel any different.

That is, until he started trying to think of things. like when he tried to feel, from the inside, whether anything was different about his own body. All of a sudden a great gush of information flowed into his mind. He was conscious for a moment of all his bodily functions, and had a detailed status report on all of them. The output of his glands; his heartrate; the amount of fecal matter built up in his rectum; the current deficiency of fuel for his body’s cells, and how his fat cells were being accessed to make up the shortfall. Also, the rate of healing of all his bruises and scrapes had been accelerated, and he felt much better.

Is this what the Oversoul has always known about me?

At once the answer came, and now it truly was a clear voice—even clearer than when the Oversoul spoke through the Index.
〈I
never knew this much about you before. The cloak has connected with every nerve in your body, and reports on your condition continuously. It also samples your blood in various places and interprets and acts to enhance your condition many times a second.〉

Cloak?

At once an image flashed into his mind. He could see himself from the outside, as the Oversoul no doubt saw him through its sensors. He could see his body as he rolled out from under the block and rose to his feet. His skin sparkled with light. He realized that most of the light in the room came from him. He saw himself ran his hands over his own skin, trying to feel the cloak. But he felt nothing at all that was different from his normal skin.

He wondered if he would always shine like this—if his house would always light up like this whenever he was inside.

The thought had no sooner come to him than the Oversoul’s voice responded. 〈The cloak responds to your will. If you wish it to go dark, it will. If you wish it to build up a powerful electrical charge, it will—and you can point your finger and send an arc of energy in whatever direction you choose. Nothing can harm you while you wear this, and you can be deeply dangerous to others—yet if you have no wish to harm someone, the cloak will be passive.
Your children can sleep in the dark, and you can hold your wife as you always have. Indeed, the more physical contact you have with others, the more your cloak will extend to include them, and even respond, in a small way, to your will.〉

So Luet will also wear this cloak?

〈Through you, yes. It will protect her; it will give her better access to my memory. But why do you ask me these things? Instead of thinking of questions, why not simply cast your mind back and try to remember, as if you had always known about the cloak. The memories will come to your mind easily and clearly, then. You’ll know all there is to know.〉

Nafai tried it, and suddenly he had no more questions about the cloak. He understood what it meant to be shipmaster. He even understood exactly what the Oversoul needed him to do to prepare a starship for departure.

“We don’t have enough lifetimes among us, including our children, to do all of this,” said Nafai.

〈I told you that I’d give you the tools to work with. Some aspects of the robots are unsalvageable now, but other parts can be used. The machines themselves are perfectly workable—it’s only my program to control them that is defective. Parts of it can be reactivated, and then you and the others can set the robots to doing the meaningless tasks under your direction. You’ll see.〉

And now Nafai “remembered” exactly what the Oversoul had determined was possible. It would take some serious work for several hours to get the robots working, but he could do it—he remembered how. “I’ll get started at once,” he said. “Is there anything to eat here?”

No sooner had he asked than he remembered that of course there was no food here. It made him impatient to think of having to leave this place and go hunt for food. “Can’t you bring the others here? Have them bring food, and … I don’t see why we should have to take a day’s journey every time someone comes here. We can rebuild our village here—there’s plenty of water in the hills to the south, and plenty of lumber. We can spend a week doing
that and save ourselves many days of travel each year until the ships are done.”

〈I’ll pass the word. Or you can tell them yourself.〉

“Tell them myself?” And then he remembered: Since the Oversoul’s memory was now “his” memory, he could speak to the others through the Index. So he did.

“You’re not going,” said Elemak.

Zdorab and Volemak stood before him in bafflement. “What do you mean?” said Volemak. “Nafai needs food, and we need to mark out the new village. I assumed you’d want to come along.”

“And I say you’re not going. Nobody’s going. We’re not moving the village, and nobody is moving from here to go join Nafai. His attempt at seizing power here has failed. Give it up, Father. When Nyef gets hungry enough, he’ll come home.”

‘I’m your father, Elya, not your child. You can decide not to go yourself, but you have no authority to stop
me.
”

Elemak tapped his finger on the table.

“Unless you’re threatening to use violence against your father,” said Volemak.

“I have told you the law of this place,” said Elemak. “Nobody leaves this town without my permission. And you don’t have my permission.”

“And if I disobey your presumptuous, illegal command?” said Volemak.

“Then you’re no longer part of Dostatok,” said Elemak. “If you’re caught skulking around here, you’ll be treated as a thief.”

“Do you think the others will consent to this?” asked Volemak. “If you raise a hand against me, you’ll earn only the disgust of the others.”

“I’ll earn their obedience,” said Elemak. “I advise you .. . don’t force the issue. No one takes food to Nafai. He comes home, and the charade about starships ends.”

Volemak stood in silence, Zdorab beside him. Their faces were inscrutable.

“All right,” said Volemak.

Elemak was surprised—could Father be giving in so easily?

“Nafai says he’ll come home now. He has the first robots recommissioned and working. He’ll be home in an hour.”

“In an hour!” said Meb, who was standing nearby. “Well there it is. This Vusadka place was supposed to be a whole day’s journey away.”

“Nafai only just got the paritkas working. If they function well enough, we won’t have to move the village.”

“What’s a paritka?” asked Meb.

Don’t ask, you fool, Elemak said silently. It just plays into Father’s hands.

“A flying wagon,” said Volemak.

“And I suppose you’re talking to Nafai right now?”

“When we don’t have the Index with us,” said Volemak, “his voice is as hard to distinguish from our normal thoughts as the Oversoul’s voice normally is. But he’s talking to us, yes. You could hear him yourself, if you only listened.”

Elemak couldn’t help laughing. “Oh, yes, I’m sure that I’m going to sit here and listen for the voice of my faraway brother, talking in my mind.”

“Why not?” asked Zdorab. “He already sees everything that the Oversoul sees. Including what’s going on in your mind. For instance, he knows that you and Meb plan to kill him as soon as he gets back here.”

Elemak leapt to his feet. “That’s a lie!” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Meb getting a panicked look on his face. Just keep your mouth shut, Meb. Can’t you recognize a wild guess when you hear one? Just don’t do anything to
confirm
their guess. “Now get back to your house, Father. You too, Zdorab. The only way Nafai will be in any danger is if he attacks
us
or tries to mutiny.”

“This isn’t the desert now,” said Volemak. “And you’re not in command.”

“On the contrary,” said Elemak. “Desert law still applies, and I am the leader of this expedition. I have been
all along. I only deferred to you, old man, out of courtesy.”

“Let’s go,” said Zdorab, drawing Volemak out of Elemak’s house.

“And deprive Elemak of the chance of showing exactly how malicious he really is?”

“Not malicious, Father,” said Elemak. “Just fed up. It’s you and Nyef, Rasa and Luet and your group who started this. Nobody asked you to start this stupid business about traveling out among the stars. Everything was going fine—you’re the ones who decided to change all the rules. Well, the rules
have
changed, and for once they don’t favor you. Now take your medicine like a man.”

“I grieve for you,” sai4 Volemak. Then Zdorab had him out the door and they were gone.

“They knew,” said Mebbekew. “They knew what we were planning.”

“Oh, shut up,” said Elemak. “They
guessed,
and you nearly blurted out a confirmation of their guess.”

“I didn’t,” said Meb. “I didn’t say a thing.”

“Get your bow and arrow. You’re a good enough shot for
this.
”

“You mean we aren’t going to wait and talk to him first?”

“I think Nafai will talk more reasonably if he has an arrow in him, don’t you?”

Meb left the house. Elemak rose to his feet and reached for his bow over the fireplace.

“Don’t do it.”

He turned and saw Eiadh standing in the doorway to the bedroom, holding the baby on her hip.

“Did I hear you correctly, Edhya?” asked Elemak. “Are you telling me what to do?”

“You tried to kill him once before,” said Eiadh. “The Oversoul won’t let you. Don’t you realize that? And this time you might get hurt.”

“I appreciate your concern for me, Edhya, but I know what I’m doing.”

“I know what you’re doing, too,” said Eiadh. “I’ve
watched you with Nafai for all these years, and I thought, at last, Elya has learned to give Nafai his proper respect. Elya’s stopped being jealous of his little brother. But now I see that you were just biding your time.”

Elemak would have slapped her face for that, except that the baby’s head was in the way, and he would never harm his own child. “You’ve said enough,” he warned.

“I’d beg you to stop because you love me,” said Eiadh, “but I know that would never work. So I’m begging you to stop for your children’s sake.”

“For their sake? It’s for
their
sake that I’m doing this. I don’t want their lives disrupted for the sake of Rasa’s conspiracies to get control of Dostatok and turn this into a village of women like Basilica.”

“For their sake,” said Eiadh again. “Don’t make them see their father humiliated in front of everyone. Or worse.”

“I can see how much you love me,” said Elemak. “Apparently your bets are on the other side.”

“Don’t shame them by letting them see that you’re a murderer in your heart.”

“Do you think I don’t understand this?” said Elemak. “You’ve had a yen for Nafai ever since Basilica. I thought you’d outgrown it, but I was wrong.”

“Fool,” said Eiadh. “I admired his strength. I admired yours, too. But
his
strength has never wavered, and he’s never used it to bully other people. The way you treated your father was shameful. Your sons were in the other room, listening to how you talked to your father. Don’t you know that someday, when you’re old and frail, you may hear that same kind of disrespect from
them?
Go ahead, hit me. I’ll set down the baby. Let your sons see how strong you are, that you can beat up a woman for no greater crime than telling you the truth.”

Meb burst through the door. He had his bow and arrows. “Well?” he said. “Are you coming or not?”

“I’m coming,” said Elemak. He turned to Eiadh. “I’ll never forgive your for that.”

She smirked at him. “In an hour you’ll be asking for
my
forgiveness.”

Nafai knew as he approached exactly what to expect. He had the memories of the Oversoul. He had heard the conversations between Elemak and his fellow plotters. He had listened as he ordered everyone to keep the children in their houses. He had felt the fear in everyone’s hearts. He knew the damage Elemak was doing to his own family. He knew the fear and rage that filled his heart.