which one is that?" I asked.
Rodrigo answered that one on his own. "Honesty, of course."
On that afternoon of our third day, we relied solely on Pacal Votan. Our trek back to his
village was spirited. Rodrigo and I bombarded him with questions on every facet of his culture, to
such an extent that he began deflecting them with queries of his own, but he learned considerably
less about us than we did of Apterona.
To me, the most pertinent mystery was the absence of law enforcement. The
assassination attempt on me, Pacal said, "Needed no further intervention, as the status quo was
resolved on its own."
Even forgetting the fact that our party, including Darkly, had killed five men among us,
and the status quo had therefore not been resolved, I found this an abhorrent philosophy.
What was the motive behind the attack? Who had orchestrated it? Was there to be no
investigation?
"The guard of the Kamachej guards only the Kamachej and his family,"
explained Pacal. "If there is a dispute that we cannot resolve among ourselves, Puma Pawq'ar,
son of the Kamachej, makes the decision. Now you can understand why he treated you so
abruptly. There is no more responsible a role than his on Apterona."
"But what if a serious crime is committed? Is there no punishment?"
"Not punishment, no. We humans are not qualified to measure a crime. Who are we to
judge what reprisals fit the flaws of a man? No, in such instances, and those are extremely rare,
that person is allowed to prove his worthiness to remain among us."
"Yes, Baz," agreed the Cuban. "The next time you get an urge to sneak up on the queen,
feel free not to. I intend to stay here longer than suicide attempts like that will permit."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What? You're actually thinking of living with this
rabble?"
Rodrigo nodded.
"My friend, tell me, how many more attacks do you think they'll plan before one of them
does the job properly?" I asked. "You heard Pacal. Their law only wakes up after the fact--which,
by that time, is something we won't be able to do. I'm telling you, these people are the
worst kind of iniquities, just begging for a reason to turn nasty."
Pacal observed me closely as I said this. Nothing in his conduct thus far had given me
cause to suspect him , yet he had not been able to protect me the previous day. I felt far
from safe.
He offered us both a strip of dry meat, which we promptly devoured. It was my first bite
of anything substantial since supper on board the Moncado . I have never tasted a more
succulent slice of beef!
"There's no rush to leave is there, Baz? Pacal says the palisade gates are under constant
supervision. If we arm ourselves and keep a low profile, we can stay as long as we like."
"Just how long are we talking about, Rodrigo? Weeks, months, years? I've a feeling
we've learned all we need to learn already."
"I tell you what, give me the time it takes you to learn the language, OK? That way,
when you return to England you'll have a real souvenir to show off."
"OK, Rodrigo. Just one condition--if anyone even begins to suspect we're from the
future, we hot-foot it immediately. No buts. We've lucked out so far, but if the Kamachej should
ever get wind of the time machine--"
"Absolutely. But there's no way they can find that out unless we let it slip. Plus by the
time you learn their language, we'll be the relics around here."
"Easy up," I replied. "I should tell you--I'm a dab hand at speaking bullshit."
"Brother, you can say that again."
Try as I might, he did not take my warning seriously, and I resigned myself to the fact
that if Rodrigo had no desire to leave just yet, I could not leave him marooned. We had, after all,
traveled through time together as explorers. And a little exploring is all he has in mind, isn't
it?
We set about making this voyage of discovery a fulfilling one. In truth, only a few
incidents during our stay in Yaku, or water village, had any significant bearing on this tale, for
we
Rodrigo answered that one on his own. "Honesty, of course."
On that afternoon of our third day, we relied solely on Pacal Votan. Our trek back to his
village was spirited. Rodrigo and I bombarded him with questions on every facet of his culture, to
such an extent that he began deflecting them with queries of his own, but he learned considerably
less about us than we did of Apterona.
To me, the most pertinent mystery was the absence of law enforcement. The
assassination attempt on me, Pacal said, "Needed no further intervention, as the status quo was
resolved on its own."
Even forgetting the fact that our party, including Darkly, had killed five men among us,
and the status quo had therefore not been resolved, I found this an abhorrent philosophy.
What was the motive behind the attack? Who had orchestrated it? Was there to be no
investigation?
"The guard of the Kamachej guards only the Kamachej and his family,"
explained Pacal. "If there is a dispute that we cannot resolve among ourselves, Puma Pawq'ar,
son of the Kamachej, makes the decision. Now you can understand why he treated you so
abruptly. There is no more responsible a role than his on Apterona."
"But what if a serious crime is committed? Is there no punishment?"
"Not punishment, no. We humans are not qualified to measure a crime. Who are we to
judge what reprisals fit the flaws of a man? No, in such instances, and those are extremely rare,
that person is allowed to prove his worthiness to remain among us."
"Yes, Baz," agreed the Cuban. "The next time you get an urge to sneak up on the queen,
feel free not to. I intend to stay here longer than suicide attempts like that will permit."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What? You're actually thinking of living with this
rabble?"
Rodrigo nodded.
"My friend, tell me, how many more attacks do you think they'll plan before one of them
does the job properly?" I asked. "You heard Pacal. Their law only wakes up after the fact--which,
by that time, is something we won't be able to do. I'm telling you, these people are the
worst kind of iniquities, just begging for a reason to turn nasty."
Pacal observed me closely as I said this. Nothing in his conduct thus far had given me
cause to suspect him , yet he had not been able to protect me the previous day. I felt far
from safe.
He offered us both a strip of dry meat, which we promptly devoured. It was my first bite
of anything substantial since supper on board the Moncado . I have never tasted a more
succulent slice of beef!
"There's no rush to leave is there, Baz? Pacal says the palisade gates are under constant
supervision. If we arm ourselves and keep a low profile, we can stay as long as we like."
"Just how long are we talking about, Rodrigo? Weeks, months, years? I've a feeling
we've learned all we need to learn already."
"I tell you what, give me the time it takes you to learn the language, OK? That way,
when you return to England you'll have a real souvenir to show off."
"OK, Rodrigo. Just one condition--if anyone even begins to suspect we're from the
future, we hot-foot it immediately. No buts. We've lucked out so far, but if the Kamachej should
ever get wind of the time machine--"
"Absolutely. But there's no way they can find that out unless we let it slip. Plus by the
time you learn their language, we'll be the relics around here."
"Easy up," I replied. "I should tell you--I'm a dab hand at speaking bullshit."
"Brother, you can say that again."
Try as I might, he did not take my warning seriously, and I resigned myself to the fact
that if Rodrigo had no desire to leave just yet, I could not leave him marooned. We had, after all,
traveled through time together as explorers. And a little exploring is all he has in mind, isn't
it?
We set about making this voyage of discovery a fulfilling one. In truth, only a few
incidents during our stay in Yaku, or water village, had any significant bearing on this tale, for
we
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