Fossil Hunter qa-2 Page 10

  Although it was not as ornate, Toroca was more impressed by the bronze plaque placed next to the door. It said, "In this cabin, 150 kilodays after Larsk made his first voyage to gaze upon the Face of God, Sal-Afsan, the astrologer who discovered the true nature of the Face, began his pilgrimage. It was in this room that he first realized that our world is a moon revolving around a giant planet."

  The plaque wasn’t entirely accurate. Afsan hadn’t yet taken his praenomen syllable at the time he first sailed aboard the Dasheter, and he’d never held the position of astrologer, although he had been an apprentice in that profession back then.

  Toroca wondered if his father knew of this plaque, and, if so, what he felt about it. Afsan had always struck Toroca as modest.

  He pushed the door open and entered. The room was hot, its last occupant having left the leather curtain drawn back from the single porthole, letting the afternoon sun beat in. The floor, although sanded periodically, showed myriad claw tickmarks. As he settled in for the long voyage, Toroca wondered if any of them were Afsan’s own.

  On dry land, almost all adults slept on odd-nights. Toroca had often wondered about that: it seemed to make sense that one should sleep every night, not every other night. After all, flowers open and close each day, and small animals certainly slept every night (or every day, if they were nocturnal). But Quintaglios and many large animals did indeed sleep only on alternate nights. Actually, they would go to sleep at sunset on an odd-day, but usually not wake up until close to noon the following even-day, meaning each Quintaglio spent about a third of his adult life asleep.

  Toroca sometimes speculated about why God had designed it this way. It occurred to him, although, of course, he never spoke such thoughts aloud, that it might have been more efficient to make the day longer, dispensing with the need for some to be called "even-days" and others to be called "odd-days." If the day was twice its current length, and the night correspondingly longer, one could easily fall into the habit of simply always sleeping when it was dark and always being awake when it was light. Far be it from Toroca to criticize God, but that might have eliminated "liar’s night," the term sometimes used for even-night, when most Quintaglios were awake but it was still dark, and therefore the color of one’s muzzle could not be easily seen. A different length of day would make a lot of sense…

  But aboard a ship, such as the Dasheter, the normal practice of everyone sleeping on odd-nights had to be modified anyway. Only half of the passengers and crew were to sleep on that night. Those in the other half were asked to readjust their rhythms and sleep instead on even-night. The point, of course, was to minimize the number of awake Quintaglios milling about, and thereby take the edge off the collective sense of territoriality.

  Keenir couldn’t gather everyone together to announce who should sleep when, since bringing all those aboard out onto deck simultaneously would have fanned the flames of the very problem he was trying to avoid. Instead, a list was posted on the base of the leading foremast.

  Toroca waited patiently for the others to look at it, then he ambled over. He’d had no concerns about which group he might end up in. Indeed, part of him hoped he’d be assigned to the group that would have to change its habits. His father, Afsan, had been notorious for being awake when everyone else was asleep, and Toroca had often wondered what it would be like to alter one’s sleeping schedule.

  The list was written on leather in Keenir’s own bold style of glyphs and protected from the wind and rain by a thin sheet of glass. Standing at the base of the mast, the flapping of the great red sail above him was deafening. Toroca knew that when Afsan had taken his first voyage aboard the Dasheter, each of the sails had sported an emblem of Larsk, but this one now had a more politically neutral design: the cartouche of Vek-Inlee, famed explorer of the past.

  Toroca was listed as one of those who would sleep, as usual, on odd-night. Oh, well. But then his heart sank: Babnol had been put in the even-night column…

  His immediate thought was to object, to rush to Keenir and have him change the designation, but… but… but…

  But how could he? On what grounds?

  Toroca felt himself trembling slightly. Embarrassment?

  Why did he care when Babnol slept?

  Does she care when I sleep?

  No. Madness.

  But he enjoyed spending time with her.

  Enjoyed it.

  And more. More?

  Yes, there was more. He enjoyed it, he looked forward to it. He wanted to do it as much as possible.

  To be with her.

  To be with her.

  Such thoughts. Such strange thoughts for a Quintaglio.

  But not for me.

  He scurried away from the mast. For once, he really did want to be alone.

  *14*

  The Dasheter

  The year was a unit of time little used, although since Afsan’s discovery that the world was the moon of a large planet, the concept at least now had a meaningful definition. A year was the time it took for the Face of God — the planet around which the Quintaglio moon orbited — to complete one of its own orbits about the sun.

  Astrologers had always been vaguely aware of the year, for that was the length of time it took for the pattern of constellations viewed at, say, the seventh daytenth, to cycle through a complete circle. But the year was such an impossibly long span that people paid little attention to it. The average Quintaglio would see only four years completed during his or her lifetime. Still, those who wished to be perceived as fashionable might now say, "It’s been years since I did thus and so," whereas before the Afsanian revolution they would have remarked that it had been kilodays.

  Not that a year and a kiloday were anywhere close to being equal in length. A kiloday was one thousand days, but a year was — opinions varied — somewhere between 18,310 and 18,335 days.

  Still, there were subtle changes besides the constellations during the course of a year. The reproductive cycle of Quintaglios as well as some animals seemed to be tied to it. A female Quintaglio would normally be receptive for the first time eighteen kilodays — one year — after hatching, and become receptive again at an age of thirty-six kilodays and perhaps once more at fifty-four or fifty-five kilodays, producing, therefore, two or three clutches of eggs during her lifetime. A few females were constantly receptive, although, ironically, usually they were also barren. They tended to become hunt leaders.

  Hereditary rulers were always taken from the first clutch of eggs. Dybo had been one of Len-Lends’s first clutch; she had not lived long enough to lay another. Even if she had, the second round of egglings would have been accorded little status. Dybo was male and therefore had some say in when he reproduced. He had been expected to do so when he reached the age of eighteen kilodays, but now, at twenty-eight, had still not called for a mate.

  Even for females, the once-a-year mating cycle was only a loose correlation. They could be moved to estrus at different times, as, for instance, Wab-Novato had been, leading to her union with Afsan and the birth of Toroca and his siblings.

  No one knew for sure how many years the world had left, but it was thought to be no more than ten or twenty. Novato decided therefore that the Geological Survey — which, after all, was only a preliminary stage in the exodus project — must be completed in a single year. That was a substantial amount of time — Toroca would be twenty kilodays old by the time the survey was finished, and Novato would be well into middle age — but the world was a big place, and there really wasn’t much time in that schedule to spare.

  And because of that, Toroca hated how time-consuming this voyage would be. It was now understood that Land was an equatorial body, halfway between the world’s poles. The journey to the south pole, then, would be equivalent to sailing halfway around the world — the length of one leg of a pilgrimage voyage. And yet, to Toroca’s relief, the time passed reasonably quickly, for throughout this voyage, there were wonders to behold.

  "My God!" Toroca exclaimed to
himself one morning, standing on the Dasheter’s foredeck.

  Keenir happened to be passing by. "What?" he said in his gravelly voice.

  "My breath," said Toroca, his eyes wide. "I can see my breath!"

  Keenir clicked his teeth. "You’ve never been on a voyage to southern waters before, eh? Well, look at this." The captain opened his mouth wide, gulped air, then moved his jaws together so that only a thin slit separated them. He exhaled, and a flat disk of whitish fog appeared around his muzzle.

  "That’s incredible." Toroca mimicked Keenir’s trick. He blinked in surprised. "What causes it?"

  "The cold, lad. The air you breathe in is warmed in your lungs, so they tell me, then, when you expel it, it hits the cold air outside and condensation occurs. Just like fogging a piece of glass by breathing on it."

  "It’s amazing."

  Keenir ground his teeth in a chuckle. "You’ll get used to it."

  Toroca puffed air out again, white fog dissipating rapidly.

  Some of Keenir’s crew had been with the Dasheter long enough to remember when the captain had been obsessed with having the lookout’s bucket, high atop the foremast, constantly occupied. He’d been mad to find Kal-ta-goot, the giant water reptile that had torn off his tail and scarred his face. But after Kal had been slain, Keenir had become less rigorous about having someone scanning the horizons. Now, though, with the Dasheter journeying ever southward, he insisted that the bucket always have an occupant.

  His prudence paid off. Shortly after they passed the two-thirds mark in their voyage, a shout went up from old Mar-Biltog, the officer doing the watch.

  Another officer scurried off to alert Keenir, running down the ramp that led to the lower decks. A moment later the captain thundered up onto the damp wooden planks. He glanced up at the lookout’s bucket to see which direction Biltog was indicating, then moved to the railing around the port leading edge of the ship’s fore hull. Keenir had his far-seer in hand, and he brought the brass tube to his eye.

  "That’s a huge one," said Keenir softly. Then, shouting: "It’ll be breaking up, this far north. Watch for fragments!"

  Toroca, now wearing a light cloak — such a strange feeling for a nonpriest to have clothes on! — had come up on deck to see what all the shouting was about. He moved as close to Keenir as protocol would allow and looked out in the direction Keenir’s far-seer was pointed. There was indeed something there, brilliant in the sunlight, completely white. An island, perhaps? That would be fascinating! No islands were known this far from the mainland. "What is it?" Toroca asked.

  Keenir stepped close enough to Toroca to hand him the far-seer, then moved back to a more appropriate separation. "Have a look. It’s called an iceberg."

  "An iceberg!" Toroca rotated the tube, bringing the object into focus for his younger eyes. "I’ve heard of them. Frozen water, right?"

  "Right."

  "I never knew they could be so huge."

  "That’s a small one, actually."

  "It’s white," said Toroca. "Water is clear."

  "Not when frozen. And not when there’s that much of it. It’s white, or bluish-white."

  "An iceberg. I’ve always wanted to see one of those. Captain, we must go closer!"

  "No. It’s a hazard to navigation. The part you’re seeing above the waves is only a tenth of the whole thing; most of it is submerged. These icebergs drift north and melt. And they don’t just grow smaller and smaller until they disappear. Hunks drop off. If we hit one, it could rip our hull open. We’ll give it wide clearance; treat it as if it were a member of The Family — just get out of its way."

  "But I’d love to see so much ice up close."

  "You will. You’ll see more ice than you can possibly imagine. You’ll grow sick of it, I promise you." Keenir lifted his head and shouted to his crew, "Hard to starboard!"

  The night sky danced.

  A curtain of diaphanous green fluttered across the firmament, now rippling, now waving. Its reflection could be seen on the water. Moments later, streamers of yellow grew upward from the horizon, twisting and intertwining as they did so, growing taller with each passing moment. Vertical bands of deeper green, pulsating as if alive, appeared across the sky, counterpointing the yellow.

  Toroca thought he could hear, just below the threshold of certainty, a hissing sound, punctuated by occasional crackles, like a fire spitting its last.

  The display was awe-inspiring, gorgeous…

  …and fleeting. Already, it had started to fade.

  Toroca shook his head in wonderment. He’d thought, perhaps, that his father had unraveled all the secrets of the skies, but it was clear that they still contained many new mysteries.

  *15*

  Capital City: Dybo’s palace

  The old imperial palace had been destroyed in the great landquake that occurred shortly after Dybo and Afsan had returned from their pilgrimage voyage to gaze upon the Face of God. The new palace, built not far from the ruins of the old, was less ornate, more modern in design, simpler and cleaner. After all, it would not do for resources to be lavished on the Emperor’s home when all on Land were being asked to make sacrifices to speed the exodus project.

  Rodlox was brought by imperial guards to the palace’s ruling room. He wasn’t wearing his gubernatorial sash, perhaps a sign that he no longer considered that office a sufficient honor. No, the sash he wore, crossing from his left shoulder to his right hip, tapering as it did so, sported no decorations at all. But it was red, the color traditionally reserved for members of The Family. He was making clear to all that he claimed his place amongst the ruling dynasty.

  Rodlox was furious that Dybo was not yet here. A deliberate slight, no doubt, this keeping him waiting. He fought to prevent his anger from showing. He would not let the guards report to Dybo that this insult had been effective.

  At last the Emperor waddled in. His sash — made of perhaps twice as much material as Rodlox’s, to accommodate Dybo’s greater circumference — was also red, a true blood red, a hunter’s color, made with the finest and rarest dyes. In comparison to the royal livery, Rodlox’s looked too light, too pink, quite literally a pale imitation of Dybo’s own. Rodlox clenched his fists.

  Dybo looked Rodlox up and down, an appraisal made clear by the tipping of his muzzle. At last the Emperor said, without preamble or traditional bow, "Why have you challenged me?"

  Rodlox folded his arms across his muscular chest. "You are not rightful Emperor."

  Dybo, in turn, spread his arms. "You cannot be sure of that. Without conclusive evidence, it’s a hollow claim."

  Rodlox’s tone was firm. "I am sure of it, sure in my very bones."

  Dybo stepped up to the marble platform that supported the ruling slab and the katadu benches for imperial advisors. He lowered himself belly-first onto the angled slab and looked down upon Rodlox.

  Rodlox refused to be victim of such a transparent ploy. Rather than look up at the Emperor, he simply turned sideways and gave the appearance of examining the tapestries on the far wall, although in fact his black eyes were locked on his rival. "It’s true," he said. "I know it’s true."

  The ruling slab creaked slightly under Dybo’s weight; that amused Rodlox, but the Emperor went on, oblivious. "Dy-Rodlox, look at me. Look at my muzzle." Rodlox turned to face him. "I tell you, I have no direct reason to believe what you say is true."

  Rodlox shrugged. "That your muzzle hasn’t turned blue doesn’t surprise me. It means only that those who perpetrated this fraud did not confide in you."

  "Are you saying they did confide in you, Dy-Rodlox? Did someone tell you this, someone who would know?"

  "No, but it doesn’t matter. Consider this, brother, not one of the provincial governors has risen up to challenge your authority to rule, authority based solely on the fact that you are a descendant of the now-discredited Larsk. Not one of them. Why is that?"

  "Satisfaction with my administration?" Dybo said innocently.

  "You know full well that many
people object to the exodus project, think it a mad obsession on your part, an obsession driving us to ruin."

  Dybo dipped his muzzle in mild concession. "Some say that, yes."

  "And yet, despite the opposition to the exodus, not one of the other governors has risen against you."

  An insect had somehow made it into the room and was buzzing above Dybo’s back. He flicked his tail, trying to shoo it away. "So you’re saying the reason they haven’t challenged me is that the other governors are also party to this conspiracy."

  "I think they are," said Rodlox, "except for myself."

  "If such a conspiracy involved all governors, why are you exempt?"

  "Both the previous incumbent in your office of Emperor and the previous incumbent in my office of governor of Edz’toolar died prematurely. I know my predecessor told me nothing about this before she died; perhaps Lends had said nothing to you before that roof collapsed on her."

  "I tell you, she did not."

  "I must accept that," said Rodlox, "but I suspect at least some of your advisors know. Mek-Maliden, the imperial bloodpriest, for one. Have you asked him?"

  "No."

  "Why not? If my claim is absurd, he could prove that. Ask him."

  "I cannot."

  "Why not?"

  "He’s gone missing."

  "You’ve had him locked away, I’d warrant."

  "I’ve done no such thing. He’s left town, apparently of his own volition."

  "Regardless," said Rodlox, "his absence bolsters my claim."

  "If this is true, surely Maliden isn’t the only one who knows."

  "That’s right. I’m confident the other provincial governors know. Again, that’s why they continue to support you, despite your delusions. To expose your secret would be to expose their secret: that they were illegally exempted from the culling of the bloodpriest."