The Lani People Read online

  CHAPTER XIII

  "I was a poor learner of the redes," Copper confessed. "And I'll have toskip the Mysteries. I never even tried to learn them. Somehow I was sureI'd never be a preceptress." She settled herself more comfortably on thetawny grass and watched him as he lay on his back beside her.

  "Eh?" Kennon said, "Preceptress?"

  "The guardians of our traditions. They know the redes and mysteries byheart."

  "And you have kept your religion alive that way all these years?"

  "It isn't exactly religion," Copper said. "It's more like history, welearn it to remember that we were once a great race--and that we maybe again. Someday there will come a male, a leader to bring us out ofbondage, and our race will be free of dependence on men. There willbe pairings again, and freedom to live as we please." She lookedthoughtfully at Kennon. "You might even be the one--even though you arehuman. You're different from the others."

  "You're prejudiced." Kennon smiled. "I'm no different. Well--not verydifferent at any rate."

  "That is not my thought," Copper said. "You are very different indeed.No man has ever resisted a Lani as long as you have."

  Kennon shook his head. "Let's not go into that now. What are theseredes?"

  "I do not remember them all," Copper apologized. "I was--"

  "You've said that before. Tell me what you do know."

  "I remember the beginning fairly well," she said. "It goes back to thetime before Flora when everything was nothing and the Master Himself waslonely."

  Without warning her voice changed to a rhythmic, cadenced chant thatwas almost a song. Her face became rapt and introspective as she rockedslowly from side to side. The rhythm was familiar and then he recognizedit--the unintelligible music he had often heard coming from the barrackslate at night when no men were around--the voiceless humming that theLani sang at work.

  First there was Darkness--starless and sunless

  Void without form--darker than night

  Then did the Master--Lord of Creation

  Wave His right hand, saying, "Let there be light!"

  Verse, Kennon thought. That was logical. People remember poetry betterthan prose. But the form was not what he'd normally expect. It wasadvanced, a style that was past primitive blank verse or heroicpentameter. He listened intently as Copper went on.

  Light filled the heavens, bright golden glowing, Brought to the Void by His wondrous hand; Then did the Master--Lord of Creation-- Nod His great head, saying, "Let there be land!" Air, land, and water formed into being, Born in the sight of His all-seeing eyes; Then did the master--Lord of Creation-- Smile as He murmured, "Let life arise!" All of the life conceived by the Master, Varied in shape as the grasses and birds; Hunters and hunted, moveless and moving, Came into form at the sound of His words.

  "That's a great deal like Genesis," Kennon said with mild astonishment."Where could you have picked that up?"

  "From the beginning of our race," Copper said. "It came to us with Ulfand Lyssa--but what is Genesis?"

  "A part of an ancient religion--one that is still followed on some ofthe Central Worlds. Its followers call themselves Christians. They sayit came from Earth, the mother-world of men."

  "Our faith has no name. We are children of Lyssa, who was a daughter ofthe Master."

  "It is an odd similarity," Kennon said. "But other races have hadstories of the Creation. And possibly there may be another explanation.Your ancestors could have picked this up from Alexander's men. They camefrom Earth originally and some of them could have been Christians."

  "No," Cooper said. "This rede is long before Man Alexander. It isthe origin of our world, even before Ulf and Lyssa. It is the firstBook--the Book of the God-spell. Man Alexander came in the sixthBook--the Book of Roga."

  "There's no point in arguing about it," Kennon said. "Go on--tell me therest."

  "It's going to be a long story," Copper said. "Even though I haveforgotten some of it, I can chant the redes for hours."

  Kennon braced his back against one of the fat tires of the jeep. "I'm agood listener," he said.

  She chuckled. "You asked for this," she said--and took up the verseswhere she had left off. And Kennon learned the Lani version of creation,of the first man and woman, cast out of Heaven for loving each otherdespite the Master's objection, of how they came to Flora and foundedthe race of the Lani. He learned how the Lani grew in numbers and power,how they split into two warring groups over the theological point ofwhether Ulf or Lyssa was the principal deity, how Roga the Foolishopened Lyssa's tower to find out whether the Ulfians or Lyssans wereright, and brought the Black Years to Flora.

  He heard the trial of Roga and the details of his torture by the priestsof Ulf and the priests of Lyssa--united by this greatest sacrilege. Andhe heard the Lani version of the landing of Alexander's ship and man'sconquest of Flora.

  It was a story of savagery and superstition, of blood and intolerance,of bravery and cowardice, of love and beauty. Yet through it all, eventhrough the redes that described the Conquest, there was a curiousremoteness, a lack of emotion that made the verses more terrible as theyflowed in passionless rhythm from Copper's lips.

  "That's enough!" Kennon said.

  "I told you you wouldn't like it."

  "It's horrible. How can you remember such things?"

  "We begin to learn them as soon as we can talk. We know the redes almostour entire lives." Copper was silent for a moment. "There's lots more,"she said, "but it's all about our lives since the Man Alexander--the oldone--took possession of us. And most of the newer redes are pretty dull.Our life hasn't changed much since the men came. The Book of Man isboring." Copper sighed. "I have dared a great deal by telling you thesethings. If the others knew, they would kill both of us."

  "Then why tell me?" he asked.

  "I love you," she said simply. "You wanted to know--and I can deny younothing."

  A wave of tenderness swept over him. She would give her life forhim--and what would he give? Nothing. Not even his prejudices. His facetwisted. If she was only human, If she wasn't just an animal. Ifhe wasn't a Betan. If, if, if. Resentment gorged his throat. It wasunfair--so damned unfair. He had no business coming here. He should havestayed on Beta or at least on a human world where he would never havemet Copper. He loved her, but he couldn't have her. It was Tantalus andSisyphus rolled into one unsightly package and fastened to hissoul. With a muttered curse he rose to his feet, and as he did hestopped--frozen--staring at Copper as though he had never seen herbefore.

  "How did you say that Roga was judged responsible for Alexander cominghere?" he demanded.

  "He went into Lyssa's tower--where Ulf and Lyssa tried to callHeaven--and with his foolish meddling set the tower alight with a glowthat all could see. Less than a week later the Man Alexander came."

  "Where was this tower?"

  "Where Alexandria now stands. Man Alexander destroyed it and built hishouse upon its ruins."

  "And what was that place of the Pit?"

  "The Shrine of Ulf--where the God-Egg struck Flora. It is buried in thepit, but the Silent Death has protected it from blasphemy--and besidesMan Alexander never learned about it. We feared that he would destroy itas he did Lyssa's tower."

  A wild hope stirred in Kennon. "We're going home," he announced.

  "Good."

  "And we're going to get a pair of radiation suits--and then we're comingback. We'll have a good look at that Pit, and if what's in there is whatI think it is"--his face was a mixture of grimness and eagerness--"we'llblow this whole operation off this planet!"

  Copper blanched. "It is death to meddle with the God-Egg," she said.

  "Superstition!" Kennon scoffed. "If that Egg is what I think, it wasmade by men, and you are their descendant."

  "Perhaps you're right, but I can't help thinking you are wrong," shesaid soberly. "Look at the trouble that came with Roga's meddling. Becareful that you do not bring us a worse fate."

  "I'll
be very careful. We'll take every precaution."

  "We?"

  "You're coming, of course. I can't imagine you staying away."

  Copper nodded.

  "You shouldn't worry so much," Kennon teased. "You know we men liveforever."

  "That is true."

  "And if I'm right you're just as human as I. And you're capable ofliving as long as I do."

  "Yes, sir," Copper said. Her voice was unconvinced, her expressionnoncommittal.

  "You females," Kennon said in quick exasperation. "You drive a mancrazy. Get an idea in your head and it takes triatomate to blast it out.Now let's go."

  Two hours brought them back to the volcanic area, and knowing what tolook for, Kennon located the pockmarked mountain valley. From the air itlooked completely ordinary. Kennon was amazed at the perfection of thenatural camouflage. The Pit was merely another crater in the pittedground. He dropped to a lower altitude, barely a hundred feet above thesputter cones. "Look!" he said.

  Below them was the crater of the Pit and in its center a smoothbluish-black hemisphere protruded from the crater floor. It would havepassed unnoticed by the casual eye--nearly concealed by two giganticblocks of pumice.

  "The God-Egg!" Copper exclaimed.

  "Egg--ha! that's a spacer! I thought it would be. I'd recognize duriliumanywhere. Let's go down and look this over, but first we want a coupleof pictures." He pointed a camera at the crater and snapped the shutter."There--now let's have a closer look at our baby."

  "Do you expect me to get into that thing?" Copper said distastefully asshe prodded the shapeless green coveralls with a bare toe. She eyed thehelmet, gloves and boots with equal distaste. "I'd suffocate."

  "If you want to come with me, you'll wear it," Kennon said. "Otherwiseyou won't come near that pit. Try it and I'll chain you to the jeep."

  "You wouldn't!"

  "Just try me."

  "Oh--all right. I'll wear the thing--but I won't be comfortable."

  "Who cares about that? You'll be protected."

  "All right--show me how to put it on. I'd rather be with you than worryabout what you are doing."

  The suit was several sizes too large but it covered her adequately.Too adequately, Kennon decided. She looked like a pile of wrinkles withlegs. He chuckled.

  She glared. "So I'm funny," she said. "Let me tell you something elsethat's funny. I'm hot. I'm sweating. I itch. Now--laugh!"

  "I don't feel like laughing," Kennon said. "I feel the same way."

  They approached the edge of the Pit carefully. Kennon kept checkingthe radiation counter. The needle slowly rose and steadied at one-halfroentgen per hour as he thrust the probe over the rim of the depression."It's fine, so far," he said encouragingly. "We could take this muchfor quite a while even without suits." He lowered himself over the edge,sliding down the gentle slope.

  "How is it down there?" Copper called. The intercom crackled in his ear.

  "Fine--barely over one roentgen per hour. With these suits we couldstay here indefinitely." The sigh of relief was music in her ears. "Thisplace is barely lukewarm."

  "That's what you think," Copper said.

  "I mean radiation warm," Kennon said. "Stay up there and watch me. I mayneed some things."

  "All right." Copper squirmed inside the hot suit. The thing was an oven.She hoped that Kennon didn't plan to work in the daytime. It would beimpossible.

  Kennon gingerly approached the ship. It was half buried in the loosedebris and ash that had fallen or blown into the pit during thecenturies it had rested there. It was old--incredibly old. The hulldesign was ancient--riveted sheets of millimeter-thick durilium. Shipshadn't been built like that in over two thousand years. And the ovoidshape was reminiscent of the even more ancient spindizzy design. Ahyperspace converter like that couldn't be less than four millenniaold. It was a museum piece, but the blue-black hull was as smooth andunblemished as the day it had left fabrication.

  Space travel would have gotten nowhere without durilium, Kennonreflected. For five thousand years men had used the incredibly toughsynthetic to build their spacecraft. It had given man his empire. Kennongave the hull one quick glance. That part of the ship didn't worry him.It was what he would find inside that bothered him. How much damage hadoccurred from two thousand or more years of disuse? How much had theoriginal travelers cannibalized? How much could be salvaged? What sortof records remained? There were a thousand questions that the interiorof that enigmatic hull might answer.

  The upper segment of the airlock was visible. It was closed, which was agood sign. A few hours' work with a digger should expose it enough to beopened.

  "Copper," he said, "we're going to have to dig this out. There's a smallexcavator in the cargo bed of the jeep. Do you think you can bring itdown here?"

  "I think so."

  "Good girl!" Kennon turned back to the ship. He was eager to enter it.There might be things inside that would settle the question of the Lani.The original crew had probably recognized the value of the hull asa repository as well as he did. But in the meantime there would bework--lots of it. And every step must be recorded.

  It was the rest of the day's work to expose the emergency airlock. Thelittle excavator toiled over the loose ash for hours before it displacedenough to make the port visible, and the ash was not yet cleared awaysufficiently to open the portal when darkness brought a halt to thework.

  It would be impossible to unearth the spaceship with their low-capacitydigger, Kennon decided. It would be difficult enough to clear theemergency airlock in the nose. But if the tubes and drive were stillall right, by careful handling it should be possible to use the drive toblast out the loose ash and cinders which surrounded the hull.

  Kennon reluctantly gave up the idea of entering the spaceship. Thatwould have to wait until tomorrow. Now they would have to conceal thework and call it a day. A few branches and the big blocks of pumicewould suffice for temporary camouflage. Later they could make somethingbetter. Anything in the jeep which might be useful was cached along withthe radiation suits in the passageway through the lava wall--and in asurprisingly short time they were heading homeward.

  Kennon was not too displeased. Tomorrow they would be able to enterthe ship. Tomorrow they would probably have some of the answers to hisquestions. He looked ahead into the gathering night. The gray mass ofthe abandoned Olympus Station slipped below them as he lined the jeepalong the path indicated by the luminous arrow atop the main building,set the controls on automatic, and locked the craft on the guide beaconin Alexandria's tower. In a little less than an hour they would be home.