myself, he realized. Now Nillian has his adventure, and I’m hanging here in orbit, dying of boredom.
It took a distressingly long time for Nillian to make contact again.
“I just had my first contact with a local inhabitant. An older man. The communication went quite well, better than I expected. But I probably confused him a bit with my talk. I had thought there were no people hereabouts, but from what he said, there must be some sort of gemstones in these caves, and sometimes people come here looking for them. He was quite chatty; we had a good conversation. Interestingly, here, they still consider the Emperor to be the immortal, godlike lord, even if they don’t know very much else about the Empire. When I told him about the Rebellion, he wouldn’t believe a word of it.”
Nargant could still remember well the time in his life when the Emperor had also been the center of the universe for him. Even now, after twenty years of difficult, bloody secularization, he still felt pain in that place where this faith used to be, a pain that was tied to shame, to a sense of having failed—and also to a feeling of loss.
The young rebel had it good. Back then, he was still just a child, and in his education he was never subjected to the all-stifling religious machinery of the priestly caste. He surely couldn’t even imagine the burden of anguish someone like Nargant would carry around with him for the rest of his life.
“It’s fortunate I landed the airboat in a spot where it can’t easily be seen. I don’t think he saw it. But still, I’ll look for a different place to bed down for the night.”
The rest of the day passed quietly. Nillian flew to various places and took pictures, which he transferred up to the ship. Nargant was able to look at the photographs on the monitor: shots of broad, desolate landscapes, of crooked, old huts in need of repair, and of hardly recognizable footpaths winding endlessly through rocky ravines.
The next morning, Nillian gave up on his original idea of simply walking into the city and looking around. Instead, he spent the entire day locating individual wanderers who were either under way on foot or were mounted on riding animals. He landed at a safe distance, walked up to them, and asked them questions. In one of these contacts he bought himself a complete outfit of local clothing in exchange for his immensely valuable wristband. This willingness on Nillian’s part to make sacrifices instinctively impressed Nargant, and he had to admit to himself that his fears were eased by the caution with which the rebel was proceeding.
Around noon on the following day, Nillian discovered a man who had apparently lost his way in the desert. “I’ve been observing him for a while. It puzzles me why a man would be under way here on foot. He can only have come from the city, so he must have been walking for at least an entire day. Down here, the heat is merciless and there’s no water anywhere. He seems to keep falling down.” He was silent for a while. “Now, he’s not getting up any more. He’s probably lost consciousness. Well, now I can at least spare him the sight of the airboat. I’m going to land.”
“Give him a tranquilizer shot,” Nargant advised. “Otherwise he’ll wake up on board your airboat, and you have no idea how he’ll react.”
“Good idea. Which vial is that? The yellow one?”
“Yes. Just administer half the dosage; his circulation system is probably significantly weakened.”
“Okay.”
By listening to the sounds from the loudspeaker, Nargant followed as Nillian picked up the unconscious man and transported him to a cool, shady place. There he hydrated him with one and a half bottles of water. Then he could only wait until the rescued man awoke.
“Nargant, this is Nillian.”
Nargant started. He had dozed off in the pilot’s chair.
“Yes?”
There was a little crackling and popping in the loudspeaker, and then Nillian asked, “Does the concept
It took a distressingly long time for Nillian to make contact again.
“I just had my first contact with a local inhabitant. An older man. The communication went quite well, better than I expected. But I probably confused him a bit with my talk. I had thought there were no people hereabouts, but from what he said, there must be some sort of gemstones in these caves, and sometimes people come here looking for them. He was quite chatty; we had a good conversation. Interestingly, here, they still consider the Emperor to be the immortal, godlike lord, even if they don’t know very much else about the Empire. When I told him about the Rebellion, he wouldn’t believe a word of it.”
Nargant could still remember well the time in his life when the Emperor had also been the center of the universe for him. Even now, after twenty years of difficult, bloody secularization, he still felt pain in that place where this faith used to be, a pain that was tied to shame, to a sense of having failed—and also to a feeling of loss.
The young rebel had it good. Back then, he was still just a child, and in his education he was never subjected to the all-stifling religious machinery of the priestly caste. He surely couldn’t even imagine the burden of anguish someone like Nargant would carry around with him for the rest of his life.
“It’s fortunate I landed the airboat in a spot where it can’t easily be seen. I don’t think he saw it. But still, I’ll look for a different place to bed down for the night.”
The rest of the day passed quietly. Nillian flew to various places and took pictures, which he transferred up to the ship. Nargant was able to look at the photographs on the monitor: shots of broad, desolate landscapes, of crooked, old huts in need of repair, and of hardly recognizable footpaths winding endlessly through rocky ravines.
The next morning, Nillian gave up on his original idea of simply walking into the city and looking around. Instead, he spent the entire day locating individual wanderers who were either under way on foot or were mounted on riding animals. He landed at a safe distance, walked up to them, and asked them questions. In one of these contacts he bought himself a complete outfit of local clothing in exchange for his immensely valuable wristband. This willingness on Nillian’s part to make sacrifices instinctively impressed Nargant, and he had to admit to himself that his fears were eased by the caution with which the rebel was proceeding.
Around noon on the following day, Nillian discovered a man who had apparently lost his way in the desert. “I’ve been observing him for a while. It puzzles me why a man would be under way here on foot. He can only have come from the city, so he must have been walking for at least an entire day. Down here, the heat is merciless and there’s no water anywhere. He seems to keep falling down.” He was silent for a while. “Now, he’s not getting up any more. He’s probably lost consciousness. Well, now I can at least spare him the sight of the airboat. I’m going to land.”
“Give him a tranquilizer shot,” Nargant advised. “Otherwise he’ll wake up on board your airboat, and you have no idea how he’ll react.”
“Good idea. Which vial is that? The yellow one?”
“Yes. Just administer half the dosage; his circulation system is probably significantly weakened.”
“Okay.”
By listening to the sounds from the loudspeaker, Nargant followed as Nillian picked up the unconscious man and transported him to a cool, shady place. There he hydrated him with one and a half bottles of water. Then he could only wait until the rescued man awoke.
“Nargant, this is Nillian.”
Nargant started. He had dozed off in the pilot’s chair.
“Yes?”
There was a little crackling and popping in the loudspeaker, and then Nillian asked, “Does the concept
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