practically about to feed you lumps of sugar. Have a rest. Try to avoid yawning. Marco?’
Marco hissed. He stepped out of the bushes.
In his grey ship-suit and a cloak hastily made out of a thermoblanket he looked passably human, if emaciated. His eyes were too big andhis nose was too long. His face was grey as the suit.
But he had masses of flame-red hair. It wasn’t really hair but it was red. Perhaps it made up for the eyes.
The men watched him warily, but no one fled this time.
One of them stepped up to Leiv and growled something, drawing a short sword. That led to a moment of confusion that ended with Marco crouched to spring and the man lying on the sand with his sword ten feet away. Then Leiv stopped twisting his arm and took a running kick. The man screamed.
‘Now we launch the boat,’ said Kin firmly.
Silver padded towards the beached vessel and braced herself with a shoulder against the prow. Nothing happened for a moment, and then the boat slid down the beach, only stopping when the stern was moving urgently in the current.
Kin took Leiv’s arm and led him firmly towards it. He was quick on the uptake. Within five minutes the men were on board, the dumbwaiter was humming to itself by the mast, and all eyes were on Silver, hovering out to sea on the end of the cable.
There was an area of dead water where the sea parted round the island before dropping into nothingness. By the time the current tugged feebly at it the boat was flying over the waves.
* * *
Two incidents enlivened the journey. Marco was handed a horn of some sweet substance by a nervous Leiv.
He sniffed it suspiciously and poured some into the ’waiter. ‘It appears to be some kind of glucose drink,’ he said. ‘What do you think, Kin?’
‘Did you try it on the ‘waiter?’
‘It gave a green light. Could it be some form of strengthening potion?’
He drank half the horn, and smacked what passed for lips. Then he laughed vaguely and drank the other half.
Later he programmed the dumbwaiter to duplicate it, and when the men had got over their amazement at the disposable plastic cups they were passed back as fast as they could be filled. Spasmodic singing broke out, and there was an occasional clattering of oars as rowers missed their stroke. Finally Kin, after Leiv’s unspoken plea, switched off the machine.
Later Silver tried her hand at rowing. Sitting amidships and grasping two oars, she followed the stroke easily. One by one the rowers stopped to watch her. The boat didn’t slow until her oars snapped.
Marco found Kin sitting in the skin shelter behind the mast, drinking martinis and thinking.
‘I wish a private word,’ he said.
‘Fine,’ said Kin, patting the rug beside her. ‘How is the head now?’
‘Better. That drink obviously contains dangerous impurities. I don’t think I will try any more for an hour or so.’ He fished in his belt pouch and pulled out a roll of plastic. It opened out into an aerial photograph of the disc.
‘I got the computer to prepare it before we left the ship,’ he said.
‘Why didn’t you show it to me before?’
‘I did not wish to encourage any foolhardy explorations. However, now that we are penetrating the disc … Look at the photo. What is missing?’
Kin took the sheet. ‘A lot,’ she said. ‘You know that. No Valhalla. That’s why Leiv found the waterfall. No Brasil. The Peaceful Ocean is tiny, look, round here on the back of Asia—’
‘Any additions?’
Kin peered at the map. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. Marco used a double-jointed thumb to point to the centre of the disc.
‘The cloud cover makes it a bit indistinct, but
that
shouldn’t be there. That island in the Arabian Sea. You notice it’s perfectly circular? It is the geographical hub of the disc.’
‘What about it?’
‘Don’t you see? It is an anomaly. We’ll find the disc civilization there if anywhere. These people are barbarians. Intelligent, yes – but space-going?’
He
Marco hissed. He stepped out of the bushes.
In his grey ship-suit and a cloak hastily made out of a thermoblanket he looked passably human, if emaciated. His eyes were too big andhis nose was too long. His face was grey as the suit.
But he had masses of flame-red hair. It wasn’t really hair but it was red. Perhaps it made up for the eyes.
The men watched him warily, but no one fled this time.
One of them stepped up to Leiv and growled something, drawing a short sword. That led to a moment of confusion that ended with Marco crouched to spring and the man lying on the sand with his sword ten feet away. Then Leiv stopped twisting his arm and took a running kick. The man screamed.
‘Now we launch the boat,’ said Kin firmly.
Silver padded towards the beached vessel and braced herself with a shoulder against the prow. Nothing happened for a moment, and then the boat slid down the beach, only stopping when the stern was moving urgently in the current.
Kin took Leiv’s arm and led him firmly towards it. He was quick on the uptake. Within five minutes the men were on board, the dumbwaiter was humming to itself by the mast, and all eyes were on Silver, hovering out to sea on the end of the cable.
There was an area of dead water where the sea parted round the island before dropping into nothingness. By the time the current tugged feebly at it the boat was flying over the waves.
* * *
Two incidents enlivened the journey. Marco was handed a horn of some sweet substance by a nervous Leiv.
He sniffed it suspiciously and poured some into the ’waiter. ‘It appears to be some kind of glucose drink,’ he said. ‘What do you think, Kin?’
‘Did you try it on the ‘waiter?’
‘It gave a green light. Could it be some form of strengthening potion?’
He drank half the horn, and smacked what passed for lips. Then he laughed vaguely and drank the other half.
Later he programmed the dumbwaiter to duplicate it, and when the men had got over their amazement at the disposable plastic cups they were passed back as fast as they could be filled. Spasmodic singing broke out, and there was an occasional clattering of oars as rowers missed their stroke. Finally Kin, after Leiv’s unspoken plea, switched off the machine.
Later Silver tried her hand at rowing. Sitting amidships and grasping two oars, she followed the stroke easily. One by one the rowers stopped to watch her. The boat didn’t slow until her oars snapped.
Marco found Kin sitting in the skin shelter behind the mast, drinking martinis and thinking.
‘I wish a private word,’ he said.
‘Fine,’ said Kin, patting the rug beside her. ‘How is the head now?’
‘Better. That drink obviously contains dangerous impurities. I don’t think I will try any more for an hour or so.’ He fished in his belt pouch and pulled out a roll of plastic. It opened out into an aerial photograph of the disc.
‘I got the computer to prepare it before we left the ship,’ he said.
‘Why didn’t you show it to me before?’
‘I did not wish to encourage any foolhardy explorations. However, now that we are penetrating the disc … Look at the photo. What is missing?’
Kin took the sheet. ‘A lot,’ she said. ‘You know that. No Valhalla. That’s why Leiv found the waterfall. No Brasil. The Peaceful Ocean is tiny, look, round here on the back of Asia—’
‘Any additions?’
Kin peered at the map. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. Marco used a double-jointed thumb to point to the centre of the disc.
‘The cloud cover makes it a bit indistinct, but
that
shouldn’t be there. That island in the Arabian Sea. You notice it’s perfectly circular? It is the geographical hub of the disc.’
‘What about it?’
‘Don’t you see? It is an anomaly. We’ll find the disc civilization there if anywhere. These people are barbarians. Intelligent, yes – but space-going?’
He
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