By Deborah
Walker
Tazim shoved her way past the secretary who was
trying to bar the door.
Arabesque Fintrar, the vanguard master, continued
to write as Tazim stormed into the room, as if her
entry was of no large consequence.
"What were you thinking?" Tazim slammed a
pamphlet onto his desk. The secretary, who'd
followed her into the room, tugged at her arm. But
Tazim, fresh from six months of agoge training,
couldn't be moved.
Fintrar took a few more moments to finish
writing. He rolled the paper into a tube, placed
it in a cylinder and added it to the pneumatic
comm tube attached to his desk. He looked up. He
smiled. "Ah, Driver Hari. I didn't realise you had
an appointment." He picked up the pamphlet. "News
travels fast in the Five Cities. Faster than the
official channels, I see."
"I'm sorry sir," said the secretary. "Shall I
call for security?"
Fintrar shook his head. "No. Thank you, Cyrus. I
think I can handle this."
Tazim reached for a chair. She took a seat. She
glared at Fintrar.
"You were to get the official assignment this
afternoon," he said. Behind Fintrar wooden shelves
displayed obscure antiques, mechanical artefacts
from centuries of human culture, their purpose
long forgotten. It was a display meant to impress,
to remind the visitor of Fintrar's importance.
Tazim was not impressed. "What were you
thinking?"
"I was thinking that you're the best driver I
have, Hari. I was thinking that you'd be honoured
to be amongst the ten per cent of your graduating
class who was assigned active duty."
"On the Lady Bug? I don't think so. You need to
reassign me."
"You, Hari," said Fintrar, punctuating his words
with a jab of his long index finger, "are in no
position to demand anything. You will serve the
vanguards as I see fit. You are young," he said.
"You are attractive."
Tazim laughed. "Who told you that?" Fintrar was
well known for his disdain of sex. Mocking songs
were sung about him in the recreation hangars of
the Five Cities. It was said that his years
exploring the valley wall had sucked all passion
out of him.
"I'll ignore that, Hari. But that's the last
piece of insubordination I'll tolerate."
"I am not a joke."
"The crew of the Lady Bug aren't a joke. I find
it insulting to their service that you suggest
such a thing. The Lady Bug is one of the seven
land ironclads patrolling the valleys. I've
studied history, Hari. Currently, we are a
democratic society. It's inconvenient, but it is a
workable system - if you know how to appeal to the
popular vote. There are factions within the Five
Cities who would reduce the vanguard's budget. You
know that. The isolationists. People are weary
after the long descent down the West Valley. They
say we're safe here. And perhaps we are, for now.
But I take the long view in such matters. The Lady
Bug with its all-female crew may be a novelty, but
it does important work. And it has the popular
vote behind it. You will go where you're needed.
This is an honour for you."
"It doesn't feel like an honour."
"Yet, you will accept the position. There's no
other for you."
"I will not."
"What do you think your father would want you to
do?"
"I wouldn't know, sir. He died on vanguard duty
when I was a small child, following your orders."
"He did his duty, Hari. I suggest that you do the
same."
*****************
Tazim's room in Thalathah City was small, but she
paid a premium for the view of the final pylon,
the monument to the long descent, an obelisk
against the copper bowl of the sky.
Jakes was waiting for her.
"They're sending me to the Ascomycotan Fields.
I'm going to be a mushroom gatherer in the east,"
she told him.
Jakes traced a lazy hand along her arm. "The
photo reels say that we need to look for more
food, if we're going to expand the Five Cities."
"That's true." Tazim didn't tell him that the
agro-scientists were worried about failing crops.
Some things were not for civilian consumption.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're going somewhere safe,"
he said.
"Safe? Do you think I want to be safe?" She
pushed his hand away.
"I bet your mother's pleased. I'll keep my eye on
her if you want. I heard she was a little . . ."
"Don't bother. She's living in a Heliomancer
cooperative. They look after her." Tazim thought
of her last visit to Khamshah City: the chanting,
the tattoos, the low red circles of fire, the
worshiping of a long dying sun, the atmosphere of
complacency.
"You should go and see her before you go," said
Jakes. "Family is important."
"Yeh." Jakes lived with his four unmarried
sisters. He was devoted to them. But Tazim's
relationship with her mother had always been . . .
complicated.
"So, if you didn't want to be assigned to the
Lady Bug, what did you want?"
"I wanted to be assigned to the Cicada." The
Cicada was the oldest iron clad, the most heavily
armed.
"Where's that?" asked Jakes. Jakes was blonde,
beautiful, easy-going and only tangentially
interested in the exploration of the valleys.
"It explores the north. They've seen a lot of
action." Tazim rubbed her face. "I shouldn't
really complain. Not everyone gets assigned active
duty," she said. "Anyway, don't say anything to
your sisters." Jake's sisters were notorious
gossips.
"I won't. I'm just glad you're going someone
safe." Jakes rubbed her shoulder. "You leave
tomorrow for six months. Six months," he said with
a grin. "No men, for six months."
"Don't you think you're being a little
insensitive?"
"Six months, Tazim." His hand moved lower,
tugging at the fastenings of her tunic.
Tazim smiled. She reached out to stroke Jake's
face, his throat, feeling the rough texture of his
skin. Six months was a long time.
*****************
Tazim took the magnetic shuttle to Khamshah City.
Each of the five cities had developed its own
flavour. Khamshah City was a temple for the
faithful. The dome was etched with a mirror symbol
reflecting the static red sun. The homes and
building in Khamshah City were decorated with red,
amber, copper silks. The residents wore their
faith inscribed in scarlet ink upon their skin.
The air was full of smoke from burning wheels of
incense wood and full of the low droning songs to
praise the oldest god at eventide.
Mother's eyes were fever bright. "Augurs were in
my dreams, Tazim. But when I woke, I couldn't
remember them."
Tazim bit back her response. Mother's augurs, her
sibyl-shadows of the future, had haunted her
childhood. It was best to smile and say very
little.
"So, I read your future in the ash." Mother led
Tazim to the tephromancy globe. With a touch of a
button the bronze cover retracted, revealing the
cold ash on the mirrored surface. Tazim stared at
the ash, pushed into ridges by Mother's fingers.
She saw the burnt fragment of a five thousand city
note, the charred remains of an old school essay,
written by Tazim years ago.
"See the patterns, Tazim?" said Mother, pointing
with a trembling finger. "You'll try to be a hero,
just like your poor father. But you'll fail.
You'll walk low the red sky all alone. You should
not venture into the valley, Tazim. You should
stay here, within the boundaries of light Helio
has marked for us."
"The Earth is tidally locked to Sol," said Tazim.
"There's no meaning in that." Just as there was no
meaning in the tephromancy that Mother so
passionately believed in.
Mother's eyes unfocused. She looked beyond into
something her daughter could never see. Her
fingers trailed lightly through the prophetic ash,
forming new patterns. "Helio's red light bathes
you, Tazim. Do not venture far from it."
*****************
The Lady Bug took its own sweet time as it
maneuvered into the hanger of Wahid City. The
engine fumes were strong in the enclosed space.
All the bugs were powered by biofuel-electric
engines. Fractionally distilling the bio-soy fuel
to a high cetane quality was a complicated
process. The restricted supplies of fuel kept the
fleet number limited to seven massive,
power-hungry vehicles. Everyone in the vanguard
service hoped that the newly discovered source of
energy, the Earth Current, could be developed to
power the iron clads.
Master Fintrar stood in the hangar ready to
welcome the Lady Bug's commander back into the
city. A cadre of vanguard cadets stood in rapt
attention as an honour guard. A batch of
white-haired children stood rather less quietly to
welcome the Lady Bug home.
The Lady Bug, like all the iron clads, was
massive, a long and narrow fortress, a segmented
vehicle with heavily weaponized head and tail
segments and a variable number of cargo units and
living quarters. In extremis, the head module
could disengage and use all six distillate engines
to accelerate away from danger. Today the Lady bug
had five ten-metre long modules hooked between the
head and the tail segments. Each segment ran on
six pedrail wheels, adaptable to the irregular
landscape of the valley floor. Each sturdy wheel
bore a dozen rubber-shod pod feet which could
negotiate even the steep decline of the valley
wall. They traversed the uneven valley terrain
with ease. The feet of each wheel was covered in
dirt. They thumped onto the hangar floor leaving a
pattern of muddy track marks.
The large calibre electrochemical fragmentation
gun, the multi-purpose subsidiary guns and the
flame throwers were retracted into the rotating
turrets of the bug's head and tail. The Lady Bug
was a death machine designed to explore the
hostile territory of the valley. She was
streamlined, sleek, covered in iron armour, but
painted red. The red paint was a defilement, a
mask to hide the bug's true nature, to make her
appealing to the public.
The bug maneuvered into position, the pedrail
wheels clanked to a halt, as the final foot pods
fell into position.
The door of the head command unit snapped open. A
metal walkway unfurled. When Commander Zeenat
emerged, the children cheered and the cadets broke
a smart salute. A small boy ran to the commander
and presented her with a bouquet of coloured
grasses. Zeenat smiled and ruffled the boy's hair
with her electronic hand. The boy squeaked. Zeenat
held out her hand for the boy to examine. Such
elaborate prosthesis were rare. The hand was the
Five Cities' gift for Zeenat's many years of
service.
Tazim waited while the commander walked over to
the class and exchanged words with the children
and their teacher. Zeenat then made her way to
Fintrar.
Finally, Commander Zeenat made her way over to
Tazim. "You the new mate?" she asked. The doorways
to the cargo units opened and metal ramps slid
onto the hangar floor.
"Yes, Commander."
"Good. Get your gear stowed. This is a quick
visit to deposit cargo. We leave in three hours."
"Right."
Zeenat moved closer to Tazim and whispered, "You
want to be here, mate? Because I don't want anyone
on my crew with reservations."
"Yes, Commander."
"Good." The Commander nodded and strode out of
the hangar.
Tazim watched as the crew emerged in the
doorways. The Lady Bug had five personnel:
Commander Zeenat, Gunner Sharp, Loader Sharp the
scientist N'rell. Tazim would take on the role of
driver and mechanic.
The Sharp twins guided robotic arms, loading
large boxes onto the ramp rollers. When a couple
of cadets came over to help them, the twins shook
their heads. The twins were the darlings of the
underground pamphlets. It was said that they had
tele-hearing, that they could tell what each other
was thinking.
"Hey! You're Hari, aren't you?" said one of the
twins, shouting over.
"Yes."
"Come and give us a hand. You might as well start
earning your pay."
Tazim stood at the bottom of the ramp guiding the
boxes onto robotic pallets. The boxes were packed
with meaty fungus. The known edible strains would
be consumed. But more important were the new
samples. It was hoped that new strains could be
added to the Five Cities growing fungi-culture
fields.
"So, you glad to be aboard?" asked Mona the
red-headed twin.
"Of course."
Abra grinned. "Only we heard a rumour. We heard
that you ripped Fintrar a new one when you found
out that you were to be assigned to the Lady Bug."
"Oh. You heard about that? I could have been more
discreet," said Tazim.
"Don't worry about it. Virtually every cadet
wants to be assigned to the Cicada. But you're
lucky to be here, you know."
"I know," said Tazim. "I was an idiot." To change
the subject, she asked, "Is that true that you can
tell what each other is thinking?"
"No," said Mona
"Yes," said Abra.
"Only Abra thinks it's true."
*****************
"Take the seat, Driver," said Commander Zeenat.
Tazim nodded, biting back her unease. She thought
that the Commander would have given her a few days
to acclimatise to the Lady Bug. She had hours of
immersive experience, but only a couple of hours
driving the real thing. That had been on the
Weevil two years ago.
"Once we're out, we on our own," said Zeenat.
"The geomagnetic interference will usually prevent
communications with the Five Cities. Occasionally
they'll be soft spots in the field and we might
receive communications from the Cities and the
other bugs. Please follow voice procedure at all
time."
"Yes, Commander."
Tazim slipped into the driver's seat, feeling the
touch of the brakes, the whisper of the gears and
throttle. The Lady Bug was a finely tuned
instrument. She felt different subtly different to
the simulations.
"Setting the heading east," said Zeenat. "There's
a proposed route from the vanguards in the
database."
Tazim pulled up the drive screen. Heading east
past the Jagged Massifs, the Cerulean Labyrinth,
towards Diayta's Ocean, and in sight of the eerie,
seemingly Endless Canyon. The route turned south
to the Ascomycotan Fields. These were the places
she'd studied all her life. Now she would see
them.
"South of the Diayta's Ocean are the Ascomycotan
Fields," said Zeenat. "But the route's up to me.
If I take a diversion," she shrugged, "well, what
of it?"
Mona and Abra entered the drive room.
"I'll rotate the crew, stationing them in the
drive room. It's important that you get to know us
as quickly as possible," said Zeenat. "To be
effective, we must be a family. We need to think
each other's thoughts."
"Yes, Commander."
"And drive slow when you pass the Cerulean
Labyrinth."
"Yes, Commander." The Cerulean Labyrinth was
where they'd lost the last driver to an abhuman
attack.
"I'm hoping to see the clan again. With a little
luck they'll engage us," Zeenat flexed her hand.
"We don't attack unless we've been attacked.
Vanguard protocol. Let's give them plenty of time
to attack."
*****************
Tazim drove away from the Wall of the World, the
snaking pathway that the people had descended over
generations. The road cut through miles of
subsiding rock, canyons, crags, fields of ash.
Sometimes the road diverted to avoid an
un-crossable chasm or a smouldering plain of lava.
From time to time the road was punctuated by
habitations cut into the rock face to make a
temporary home, for five, or ten or twenty years.
Each resting place was marked with a pylon. But
the road always headed downwards, always led by
the vanguards. And after thirty generations, they
had reached the valley floor and laid the Terminal
Pylon to mark the end of their long descent. And
now they said that the upper lands were unlivable,
blankets of dirty ice and frozen carbon dioxide.
The city domes were covered with solar panels to
grab every photon of the sun. Tall spirals of wind
machines turned in the roiling winds. Tazim drove
past vast fields of rice, the orchards and the
newly made fungi fields where men and women drove
armoured harvesting machines and ploughed the
carbonised soil.
When passed the Terminal Pylon, Tazim sighed.
"It's quite a moment, isn't it?" said Mona.
"It is." Tazim had been outside the Five Cities
on training missions, but she'd never gone beyond
the Terminal Pylon.
"The Wall of the World is like history froze into
stone, isn't it?" said Mona.
"That's exactly what I was thinking."
"There are good things to see beyond the pylon,"
said Mona.
*****************
She'd been born for this. Traversing the land
below the wine dark sea of air, Tazim felt
intoxicated by the landscape, by the sense of
vastness.
The Lady Bug travelled all day and night. The
terrain was uneven, but the Lady Bug handled well.
Each wheel had its own suspension to cushion the
ride as smoothly as if the iron clad was
traversing along its own track. Although the bug
could easily handle slopes, it was often quicker
to divert around obstacles. It was Tazim's
responsibility to negotiate the most efficient
route. The journey would take ten days. The crew
slept in hammocks in a communal room in the living
module. The commander had her own room, which
doubled as her office.
Such a small crew meant that everyone needed to
be skilled in all tasks. Tazim's days were busy.
When she wasn't driving, she worked to enhance her
skills in gun loading, tactics, comm protocols.
Zeenat expected every member of the crew to be
interchangeable.
Additionally the crew were expected to make
detailed observations of the landscape.
"Of course, the Lady Bug has automated sensors,"
explained N'rell, the scientist. "But it's often
our impressions that have been the most valuable.
Only mind can see mind. We can see the strangeness
of the valley and the opportunities. We collect as
much information as possible."
*****************
Past the lower reaches of the jagged Jagged
Massif, in sight of the lights from the Cerulean
Labyrinth, Tazim threaded the Lady Bug through
pillars of land coral. Land coral was a valley
creature, stone convoluted as brain tissue, laced
with blood-red capillaries. The stone pulsed in
the light of the red sun.
N'rell sat next to Tazim discussing the land
coral. "Animal vegetable and mineral," she said.
"You find that a lot in valley creatures. It's as
if traditional distinctions have broken down here
as life seeks to adapt to changed conditions."
N'rell liked to speculate on valley life-forms.
The creatures were of intense interest to her, but
she discussed them in a measured manner, devoid of
emotion. It was an attitude that Tazim had noticed
in other scientists.
Tazim found the pulsing brain coral repellent.
She stared at the landscape, half-listening to
N'rell's discourse. Animal, vegetable and mineral
seemed an unlikely convergence of life forms. It
was as if the creatures of the valley had
transgressed wholesome boundaries into something
dubious and repugnant.
From behind the coral corridors something clearly
animal emerged. "Abhumans!" said N'rell.
Tazim slowed the Lady Bug to a crawl. She
activated the comm bug wide. "Abhumans spotted at
30 degrees."
"Acknowledged," replied the Commander instantly.
The abhumans were naked, small humanoids with
eyes too large for their heads glittering like the
facetted eyes of a dragon-fly.
Zeenat ran into the drive room followed by the
rest of the crew. Zeenat looked through the
telescopic periscope even though the abhumans were
clearly displayed on the drive screen.
"Lock dispersal gun."
"Aye, Commander," said Mona.
The laser finders and low intensity vision
targeted the abhumans, taking into account data
thermocouple, anemometer and wind vane data. The
green outline haloed the abhuman screen images,
projecting the gun's dispersal fragments.
"Dispersal gun locked."
"I think they're going to attack," said Zeenat.
As if they sensed her, the abhumans, of one
accord, retreated, disappearing behind the coral.
"Curse the sun!" muttered Zeenat. "Resume course,
Driver."
"Shall I pursue?" asked Tazim.
"Negative. The bug's too big to negotiate the
coral corridors quickly. They can out pace us,"
said Zeenat.
"Why didn't they attack? I thought they always
attacked," Tazim asked once the Commander had
left.
"Those ones are too smart," said N'rell.
"Are they human?"
"An interesting question." N'rell tapped her
teeth. "We descended the Great Wall very slowly,
others did not. The atmosphere of the valley
contained factors encouraging mutation. We had
time to adapt to the changing environment, their
ancestors did not. This is how evolution works,
adapt quickly or die. The abhumans adapted quickly
and they are very different. The Cataclysm is
what's known as an evolutionary significant event.
Unless . . ."
"Unless what?"
"Unless there is another aspect of work, some
factor which encourages mutation and difference."
"So is there a danger that we'll mutate?" asked
Tazim.
"Change is not always for the bad," said N'rell.
"You can't mean that. You saw those things." What
strange vistas did the abhumans see with their
dragonfly eyes?
"Abhumans are perfectly adapted to living in the
valley," said N'rell. "If we're to build homes
here we must adapt, too."
"That's an unorthodox opinion," said Mona.
N'rell laughed. "I like being unorthodox. Just
being here makes me freer. I think different
thoughts outside the Five Cities. Can you
understand that, Tazim?"
"The road led to the West," said Mona.
Tazim was surprised. "The road led to the West
was an isolationist slogan.
"You're scaring the new crew mate,"
"Not at all," said Tazim. "Do really think that
we shouldn't be outside the Five Cities, Mona?"
Mona winked. "I only say it to annoy N'rell. What
do you think, Tazim?"
Joke or not. The road led to the West was a
strange thing for a vanguard to say. Tazim had an
uneasy sense that she was being tested. "Some
should go," she said, "but only those who are
prepared." It's what she'd always been taught.
*****************
There was palpable increase in tension within the
bug as they drove closer to the Cerulean
Labyrinth. Tazim could understand that. They
wanted payback for their lost crew mate. The woman
whose place she had taken.
"Drive carefully," advised N'rell. "The lights
can have a distracting effect."
"I will," replied Tazim. She concentrated on
the terrain, making sure not to venture too close
to the flickering, mile high lights that marked
the boundary of the labyrinth. She knew that the
Cerulean Labyrinth was a dangerous place.
"There!" said Zeenat, who was scanning the
landscape. "At 300 degrees
Tazim had overlooked them. A group of abhumans
stood watching the bug. They stood still as stone,
bathed in blue light shadows. They were a
different group from the abhumans they'd
encountered in the land coral. They were taller
than a normal human, but well-fed without the look
of emaciation. They carried tall spears, crackling
with static electricity
"The same type who attacked us a month ago." The
commander leant forward staring intensely at the
drive screen. "Come on, my beauties. Come on.
Attack us again. You know you want to."
A spear arced through the sky. It clattered
impotently off the iron clad armour.
"Lock the dispersal gun," said the commander.
A few moments later it was over. Shreds of white
flesh lay in the fields.
"Shall I continue?" asked Tazim.
"No. All-stop," said the commander. "Let's root
out the nest of them. Be wary, Tazim. The lights
can have a hallucinatory effect."
They took hand armaments from the locker. They
said little, but Tazim could sense the crew's
eagerness. She shared their excitement. She
stepped out of the bug, for the first time walking
on valley land beyond the Final Pylon.
She'd been well warned. The Cerulean Labyrinth
was disconcerting, the myriad columns of light
overwhelmed her senses. Somehow, Tazim felt as if
the lights were singing, although they made no
noise. They followed the abhuman tracks though the
labyrinth of blue lights. There was no vegetation
here, only overwhelming light and the shadows.
Comms were impossible. The group moved forward,
led by Zeenat's hand signals. Tazim concentrated
on the task, trying to avoid the pathways of light
that opened up before her. Her suit was slick with
perspiration, her mind intensely conscious of the
fact that this was her first opportunity for
face-to-face engagement with the enemy.
A spear landed at Tazim's feet. She span around,
but she could see no attacker. Tazim moved a few
paces forward and stepped into the pathway of a
flashing light. She lost all sense. The light was
singing, singing to her, in some ancient song that
throbbed to the heart-beat, pulse-back of her
blood. Beautiful, alluring, mesmerising. She knew
that it was wrong and somehow she managed to break
the spell. She turned away. How much time had
passed? The crew were gone. Fear flooded her mind,
until she saw a dark shape. Not knowing if it was
human, she ran towards it. It was N'rell, standing
helplessly in front of another hypnotic light.
Tazim reached out her hand. Out of the forest of
lights came a worm, silent, gliding, massive. The
blue lights playing off its velvet skin, off its
massive, misshapen head.
"N'rell!" Tazim drew her gun. The worm slid
closer to N'rell. The lights were dazzling, yet
Tazim realised the beast was mutated, a horror, a
three headed thing. "N'rell!" In the flashing
light Tazim wasn't sure of the shot. She might hit
N'rell. Tazim half-glimpsed it's central head. Its
maw was a vicious thing, lined with concentric
circles of teeth. Tazim's gun was fully charged.
N'rell wasn't moving. She had to take the shot.
"N'rell," she shouted a third time. The worm
whipped its ancillary heads towards Tazim. She
froze at the sight of the human faces buried in
the flesh of the worm's heads. Human faces moving
their mouths as if in silent supplication.
Abomination. It hypnotised her, but there was no
mind power here, only the fact of it, its
unconscionable existence, that froze Tazim into
immobility.
N'rell screamed.
Zeenat ran towards them. "Kill it, Tazim. For
Road's sake. Kill it."
But Tazim was helpless. Zeenat fired her gun in
an arc of plasma. The smell of ozone and burning
flesh assaulted Tazim. Zeenat moved in for the
kill, severing the worm's three heads.
Tazim had failed. Just as her mother had seen in
the ash. Overwhelmed, Tazim fell into darkness.
*****************
N'rell dissected the worm beast in the small
science room in the Lady Bug. "This is symbiosis,"
she said, "or mutualism of some form."
"Nasty thing," said the commander.
"I'm sorry, N'rell" said Tazim, walking into the
room. "I'm sorry, Commander. I expect that I'll be
replaced when we return to the Five Cites."
The commander laughed. "That was your first
face-to-face encounter with an abhuman, wasn't
it?"
"Yes, Commander."
"Not quite what you expected?"
"No, Commander."
"That's the fear, the feeling that it was wrong
crawling in your skin. You'll get used to it."
"I . . . Yes, Commander."
"Thinking that you don't want to get used to it?
Thinking that if you do get used to it, it might
make you something less than human?"
"Yes, Commander."
"This land will change you, Hari. But
congratulations. You've just lost your cherry."
*****************
"You did okay," said Abra. "Hardly anyone manages
to do anything the first time. I turned tail and
fled."
"You did?"
*****************
At times the movement of the passing landscape
was entrancing. All the strangeness seemed to
blend in a continuous stream viewed through the
safety of the Lady Bug. Onwards and onwards and
onwards. Yet the sight of the impossibly
steep-sided Endless Canyon broke Tazim's reverie.
This was another oddity, another discordance in
the valley, this time rendered in the fabric of
the valley's geography rather than flesh.
"We cannot measure its depth," said N'rell. "And
the strange thing is that our surveys tell us that
this canyon is an older than the Cataclysm. I
think it waiting under the earth, waiting to be
revealed. What lies in its depths, I wonder?"
A grey chill glanced Tazim's spine. She felt
that, too. That something loitered at the bottom
of the canyon, waiting.
"Reports from the Weevil have told of hooded
figures walking this area."
"I think I dreamed of this canyon, when I was a
child," said Mona.
Tazim shuddered. What a nightmare for a child.
"Do you still dream of it?" she asked.
Mona shook her head. "Now I only dream of the
Ascomycotan Fields. Do you dream, Tazim?" she
asked.
"No," said Tazim. Thinking of Mother's countless
dreams. What use were dreams or patterns in the
ash?
"Of course she doesn't," said the Commander.
"Tazim's a soldier, not a dreamer."
"A pity," sighed Mona. "I would have liked
someone to share my dreams with."
*****************
They drove along the shore of the Diayta's Ocean.
This was the beginning of the Ascomycotan Fields.
"The fungal filaments grow for tens of miles,"
explained N'rell. "The main fields lie south of
the Diayta's Ocean."
Tazim had a growing sense of unease. The crew was
quiet, as if inhabited by some malignant silencing
principle. Tazim felt isolated. She wondered if
the crew regretted her assignment. It's early days
yet, she told herself. There's time enough to fit
it. Yet the few days travelling in the bug seemed
a lifetime. She understood what N'rell meant when
she said that Tazim would need to change to be
part of the crew. The crew seemed to work together
so seamlessly, anticipating each other's requests
with never a word spoken.
One more day of travelling took them to south of
Diayta's Ocean and into the fields. The camp was
set up in silence, the habitation unfolding like
origami. At least they would leave the confines of
the Lady Bug, for a time.
*****************
"We're home now," said N'rell. "This is where
we'll be spending most of our time."
"Show Tazim the fields," said the commander
"while we finish up here."
Under the red sky, the ascomycotan fungi thrived.
The fields were abundant, lush with life. Some
specimens grew three fathoms or more above the
ground. A monstrous forest of flesh, layered with
the lace of white hyphal threads. Many fungal
trees were heavy with solitary or clustered
fruits: cup-shaped, club-shaped, spongy,
seed-like, oozing, coral-fronded, feathered,
plated, a myriad of variety. Red, orange, yellow,
brown, black, the Ascomycotan Fields mirrored the
colours of the sky.
Scorpions, land crabs, centipedes, clasp worms,
ants, lobopods, moss piglets crawled on the floor
and over the fungus. A beetle covered in red
fungus seemed particularly prevalent.
"A mushroom beetle," said N'rell. "It has a
symbiotic relationship with the fungus. Glorious
isn't it?" she said. N'rell's hand swept to
encompass the vast fungal fields.
Glorious wasn't the word Tazim would have used.
N'rell looked like a wraith moving through the
pale forest of trees. "The ascomycotans are the
dominant species. They've adapted well to the
limited sunlight. In time, this fungus will feed
the Five Cities."
"They look unappetizing," said Tazim. She touched
a leathery fruit. To her disgust it split at her
light touch to reveal a gelatinous inner flesh. .
"Be careful what you touch," said N'rell. "Some
of the fungi secrete power enzymes. Touch this one
and it will dissolve your skin-suit. It's likely
that many of these fungi have medical
properties.They give us penicillin and all its
derivatives, immuno-suppresors. We grow insulin,
human growth hormone, and Tpa in fungal cells."
"What's that awful smell," asked Tazim.
N'rell pushed back a curtain of mycelium. "It’s a
great slow river."
The festering stench was overpowering. "What is
it?"
"The mushrooms are voracious. They can feed on
almost anything organic by secreting powerful
digestive enzymes. This river runs through the
fields. It's the partially digested bodies of dead
mushrooms and all the animals that feed on them."
"It's disgusting," said Tazim.
"To the mushrooms it's a river of ambrosia," said
N'rell.
*****************
They took it in turns to work the fields. N'rell
showed Tazim how to harvest the fungal spores.
Other times, Tazim spent in the bug, working on
maintenance, especially in cleaning the fuel
system where degradation sludge from the bio-fuel
tended to accumulate. All the new samples of fungi
needed to be indexed. The worst times for Tazim
were spent in the silent company of the twins and
the commander.
At least N'rell liked to talk. She spoke
endlessly about the adaptability of the fungus.
The relationships it grew between animal and plant
life. "These are the fungal gardens of leafcutter
ants. These are the bark beetles carrying the
fungal spores in tucks in their skin. The beetle
larvae feed on the fungus. These sheets are
lichens, a relationship between the fungus and
algae or cyanobacteria. Lichens are an ancient
symbiotic relationship. They can grow in the most
extreme environments. For all we know, the world
above the valley is awash with lichen fields."
"I've always been taught that there is nothing
above, everything is cold and dead. That's why we
descended."
"Maybe, said N'rell. "But life is tenacious."
N'rell delighted in the vitality of the mushroom
fields. She seemed keen to share her finds with
Tazim. She had a kinship with the land, which
Tazim did not share. But Tazim was grateful for
the sound of N'rell's voice.
The days seemed endless under the red ascomycotan
sky. Tazim did her duties well, but she felt
alone. Conversations died when she came into the
room. She felt she had been judged and found
unworthy. Was this mother's prophecy: she was
alone and isolated under the red sky.
*****************
Tazim was cleaning the bug's recuperator filters
when the voice broke into the silence like a
ghost.
"Distress. Unknown attack. Co-ordinates. @alpha z,
56. Point 7. Grey Attack."
Tazim grabbed the radio. "This is Hari of the Lady
Bug, come in. We are eight hours away, come in. We
will . . ." The message repeated itself and only
then did Tazim realise that the distress signal
was on an automated loop. She commed the commander
and quickly appraised her of the situation. The
commander lost no time in gathering the crew. "The
Cicada has been attacked." The commander checked
the logs. "We're closest. Suit up. Driver, set
course to the co-ordinates" "Yes, Commander." This
was what she was here for, not for gathering
mushrooms, but to fight. They would rescue the
crew of the Cicada. She felt it, like a
precognition, although she had never had anything
but the weakest of night hearing. Tazim knew that
the next few hours would define her career.
*****************
It was a long journey. Five hours south at
maximum speed, with Tazim concentrating furiously
trying to calculate the most efficient route
amongst the fungus covered crags.
They found the Cicada immobilised in a field of
black shoots. It was covered in fungus.
"A fungus has attacked them," said Tazim.
They were all suited. Tazim waited for the
command to go outside. "Commander?" she asked.
Zeenat stood gazing at the fields.
"Commander, we should leave," said Tazim.
"Look," said N'rell. "They're beautiful, aren't
they?"
"We need to rescue the crew of the Cicada," said
Tazim.
"They are where they should be," said N'rell
"They are . . . ." said Mona.
"They are . . . . " said Abra.
"Commander?" said Tazim fearfully.
"They are. . . with the all in one," said Zeenat.
Commander Zeenat, N'rell, the twins. "You've been
infected with something." Tazim took her knife
from her belt.
"The mother fungus," whispered N'rell. "We hear
her when we are close. We are . . . gestalt, with
a common purpose, a symbiotic fungal/human mind.
Growing and reforming, endless and splendid, but
not human, more than human. We are the spore to
the new life."
Outside, the door of the Cicada slammed opened. A
dozen men and women emerged, covered in black
fungus. They walked slowly, shambling things.
Their movements choreographed in alignment.
"We must go back to the Five Cities for
treatment."
"Don't fight it," said Zeenat, quietly. "It's
worse if you fight it. I fought it very hard."
"What do you choose, Tazim?" asked N'rell. "Will
you be part of the land are will you fight against
it?"
"What do you choose?" asked the twins. They were
swaying slightly, in one accord.
Tazim raised her knife. "I choose the Five
Cities," she said, ripping her knife like a scream
through the fabric of her wrist.
"She's killing herself," said Zeenat. "We must be
quick."
"Even if she dies, the mother fungus will revive
her," said N'rell.
"No," said Tazim. "It's not my death here. I am
sorry."
Spores clouded the air. A derivative of Ergot
implanted in capsule under the skin of Tazim's
wrist. It caused paralysis and death. For a moment
Tazim feared that the fungal nature of their
infection would give them immunity. But, no.
Zeenat, N'rell, Mona and Abra fell to the floor.
Tazim stood for a long moment over the bodies.
She was immune to the airborne poison, following
months of incremental exposure to the spore.
Fintrar had prepared his agent adequately.
The crew of the Cicada advanced upon the Lady
Bug. Tazim targeted the dispersal gun upon them.
Afterwards she turned the flame throwers upon the
Cicada, upon its dead crew, and upon the mother
fungus. She consigned the bodies of Zeenat, Mona,
Abra and N'rell to the cleansing flame.
*****************
It was fine to ride under the wine dark ocean of
sky. Fine, but not safe. In that matter the
isolationists of the Five Cities were correct. The
valley was a dangerous place.
Tazim drove the Lady Bug back west, searching for
a soft stop in the geomagnetic current so that she
could make her report.
*****************
"The channel is secure," said Fintrar. "You may
speak."
"You were correct, sir. The crew of the Lady Bug
was compromised. Additionally the crew of the
Cicada. I had to take extreme action."
"All dead?"
"Yes, sir."
"I see. What was the nature of the compromise?"
"A fungal infection, a mind-altering parasite."
Briefly Tazim outlined what little she knew.
"So there's a danger that you're infected?"
"That possibility can't be discounted, sir.
Although it may be that physical contact with the
mother fungus is needed for infection."
"You will remain in the valley for six months
under quarantine condition. Then we will examine
you."
"Yes, sir."
"I will destroy the fungus fields in the Five
Cities. I will investigate this mother fungus.
This matter is not to be discussed, Hari. As far
as the public are concerned, the crew of the Lady
Bug and the Cicada died as heroes."
"In my opinion, that interpretation is valid,
sir."
"And they didn't suspect you?"
"No, your plan of making me reluctant to board
the Lady Bug was an effective ruse."
Fintrar smiled. "The reluctant spy. You must have
played your part well."
"What made you suspect them, sir? Close to the
Five Cities they appeared normal. It was only when
they approached the mother fungus that their
behaviour changed."
"I suspect everyone, Hari. That is the burden of
war." He sighed. "But you have done well. A new
driver of the Cicada will be needed. There will be
a position for you."
"Yes, sir."
"You have done well, Hari. You have done your
duty."
"Thank you, sir."
Tazim signed off. She opened the turret hatch and
looked out into the land. The valley was a hard
place, hostile to human life. Any home they found
here would be hard fought.
"I have done my duty," she said quietly, the
words snatched by the relentless wind. She felt
stripped, under the red light of the ascomycotan
sky. Duty had diminished her. And the land had
changed her. She lifted her face to the touch of
the eventide wind. She had done her duty, a
solider alone, low under the red ascomycotan sky.
So be it.
© Deborah
Walker 20 jan 2014
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