now.”
Thornberry glanced down; Jordan concluded he was workinghis console screen.
“Well I’ll be dipped in sheep droppings,” he muttered. “They’re both humming as if they’d never been off.”
“It’s been a pleasure to meet all of you,” Adri said, in his gentle, genial tone. Then he slipped out of the seat to stand beside Jordan. “Now, if you’re willing, I would like to show you our community.” Pointing deeper into the forest, Adri said, “It’s only a few kilometers,in that direction.”
“Why don’t you sit up front, with Brandon,” said Jordan.
“Oh, that’s not necessary. I can sit behind you.”
“No, no. I insist. You know the way. You can be Bran’s navigator.”
Adri seemed to think it over briefly, then made a polite little bow. “Thank you.”
He climbed into the right-hand seat. Jordan stashed his rifle, then sat with Meek in the second row while de Fallaclimbed into the rearmost row, empty since the robots were still with the reactivated rovers.
As the buggy started up, Jordan marveled at how fantastic this all was. It’s impossible, he told himself. I must be dreaming.
Yet he opened the neck seal of his biosuit and pulled the deflated plastic helmet down off his head.
THE CITY
Brandon drove a good deal faster than de Falla had, pushing through the forest at Adri’s direction along what appeared to be a fairly well-defined track that wound among the trees. Jordan leaned between them and asked for a report from Longyear on the quality of the air.
The biologist’s lean, somber face appeared on the comm screen. “The bio program’s still analyzing the samplingdata you’ve beamed up. Nothing toxic, apparently. But the analysis isn’t finished yet.”
Jordan nodded. “Brandon and I have removed our suit helmets.”
Longyear’s dark eyes widened. “That’s premature, Jordan. There could be—”
“We’ve volunteered to be experimental subjects. So far, so good.”
Looking unhappy, the biologist muttered, “What’s done is done.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Jordan said,feeling somehow cheerful, buoyant.
They rode on for another few minutes, and then Jordan saw stone buildings standing among the trees. Large buildings, several stories high, with flat roofs green with lush gardens. A small crowd of people was clustered in front of the nearest building.
“It’s a regular city!” Brandon cried out.
And indeed it was. Adri directed them down a central street, flankedon either side by handsome stone buildings. Brandon drove slowly now, gaping at the buildings and people they were passing. There were animals among the people, too: four-footed creatures that looked vaguely like miniature horses, about the size of a Shetland pony. Apparently they were used as beasts of burden. He could see no vehicles of any sort, not even a bicycle. Most of the ponies werea plain dun color, although a few of them were deeper shades of brown.
At the end of the street, Jordan saw, stood an imposing multistoried structure with a long stone stairway leading to a veranda that seemed to run completely around the building.
How could our sensors have missed all this? Jordan asked himself. All right, the roofs might appear to be natural greenery and the stone is probablylocal material, so the cameras and multispectral sensors might have concluded it’s all natural formations. But the straight streets? That should have been an immediate tipoff that this is artificial. Straight lines don’t appear in nature. Not gridworks of city streets.
As if he was reading Jordan’s thoughts, Adri turned slightly in his seat and said, “I’m afraid we disguised our little communityfrom your orbiting cameras.”
“How could you do that?” Jordan asked. “And why?”
“We were very fearful of shocking you, you must realize. We wanted our first contact to be as gentle as possible. As nonthreatening as possible.”
“Nonthreatening,” Jordan echoed.
“Despite the guns you were
Thornberry glanced down; Jordan concluded he was workinghis console screen.
“Well I’ll be dipped in sheep droppings,” he muttered. “They’re both humming as if they’d never been off.”
“It’s been a pleasure to meet all of you,” Adri said, in his gentle, genial tone. Then he slipped out of the seat to stand beside Jordan. “Now, if you’re willing, I would like to show you our community.” Pointing deeper into the forest, Adri said, “It’s only a few kilometers,in that direction.”
“Why don’t you sit up front, with Brandon,” said Jordan.
“Oh, that’s not necessary. I can sit behind you.”
“No, no. I insist. You know the way. You can be Bran’s navigator.”
Adri seemed to think it over briefly, then made a polite little bow. “Thank you.”
He climbed into the right-hand seat. Jordan stashed his rifle, then sat with Meek in the second row while de Fallaclimbed into the rearmost row, empty since the robots were still with the reactivated rovers.
As the buggy started up, Jordan marveled at how fantastic this all was. It’s impossible, he told himself. I must be dreaming.
Yet he opened the neck seal of his biosuit and pulled the deflated plastic helmet down off his head.
THE CITY
Brandon drove a good deal faster than de Falla had, pushing through the forest at Adri’s direction along what appeared to be a fairly well-defined track that wound among the trees. Jordan leaned between them and asked for a report from Longyear on the quality of the air.
The biologist’s lean, somber face appeared on the comm screen. “The bio program’s still analyzing the samplingdata you’ve beamed up. Nothing toxic, apparently. But the analysis isn’t finished yet.”
Jordan nodded. “Brandon and I have removed our suit helmets.”
Longyear’s dark eyes widened. “That’s premature, Jordan. There could be—”
“We’ve volunteered to be experimental subjects. So far, so good.”
Looking unhappy, the biologist muttered, “What’s done is done.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Jordan said,feeling somehow cheerful, buoyant.
They rode on for another few minutes, and then Jordan saw stone buildings standing among the trees. Large buildings, several stories high, with flat roofs green with lush gardens. A small crowd of people was clustered in front of the nearest building.
“It’s a regular city!” Brandon cried out.
And indeed it was. Adri directed them down a central street, flankedon either side by handsome stone buildings. Brandon drove slowly now, gaping at the buildings and people they were passing. There were animals among the people, too: four-footed creatures that looked vaguely like miniature horses, about the size of a Shetland pony. Apparently they were used as beasts of burden. He could see no vehicles of any sort, not even a bicycle. Most of the ponies werea plain dun color, although a few of them were deeper shades of brown.
At the end of the street, Jordan saw, stood an imposing multistoried structure with a long stone stairway leading to a veranda that seemed to run completely around the building.
How could our sensors have missed all this? Jordan asked himself. All right, the roofs might appear to be natural greenery and the stone is probablylocal material, so the cameras and multispectral sensors might have concluded it’s all natural formations. But the straight streets? That should have been an immediate tipoff that this is artificial. Straight lines don’t appear in nature. Not gridworks of city streets.
As if he was reading Jordan’s thoughts, Adri turned slightly in his seat and said, “I’m afraid we disguised our little communityfrom your orbiting cameras.”
“How could you do that?” Jordan asked. “And why?”
“We were very fearful of shocking you, you must realize. We wanted our first contact to be as gentle as possible. As nonthreatening as possible.”
“Nonthreatening,” Jordan echoed.
“Despite the guns you were
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