‘Would you even think about it?’
‘I think of everything,’ the ship replied tartly. ‘But no, I don’t think I’d do it, even as a last resort.’
A whole bunch of us had watched King Kong and now we were sitting by the ship’s pool, snacking on kazu and sampling some French wines (all ship-grown, but statistically more authentic than the real thing, it assured usNo, me neither).I’d been thinking about Linter, and asked a remote drone what contingency plans had been made if it came to the worst. [*10*]
‘What is the last resort?’
‘I don’t know; trail him perhaps, watch for a situation where the locals are about to find out he’s not one of them – in a hospital, say – then micronuke the place.’
‘ What ?’
‘It’d make a great Mystery Explosion story.’
‘Be serious.’
‘I’m being serious.What’s one more meaningless act of violence on that zoo of a planet?It would be appropriate.When in Rome; burn it.’
‘You’re not really being serious, are you?’
‘Sma!Of course not!Are you on something, or what?Good grief, damn the morality of the thing: it would just be so inelegant. What do you take me for?Really!’ The drone left.
I dangled my feet in the pool.The ship was playing us thirties jazz, in untidied-up form; crackles and hisses left in.It had gone on to that and Gregorian chants after a period – when I’d been to Berlin – of trying to make everybody listen to Stockhausen.I wasn’t sorry I’d missed that stage in the ship’s constantly altering musical taste.
Also while I’d been away, the ship had sent a request on a postcard to the BBC’s World Service, asking for ‘Mr David Bowie’s Space Oddity for the good ship Arbitrary and all who sail in her.’ (This from a machine that could have swamped Earth’s entire electro-magnetic spectrum with whatever the hell it wanted from somewhere beyond Betelgeuse.) It didn’t get the request played.The ship thought this was hilarious.
‘Here’s Dizzy; she’ll know.’
I turned round to see Roghres and Djibard Alsahil approaching.They sat down at my side.Djibard had been friendly with Linter in the year between leaving the Bad For Business and finding Earth.
‘Hello,’ I said. ‘Know what?’
‘What’s happened to Dervley Linter?’ Roghres said, trailing one hand in the pool. ‘Djib’s just back from Tokyo and wanted to see him, but the ship’s being awkward; won’t say where he is.’
I looked at Djibard, who was sitting cross-legged, looking like a little gnome.She was smiling broadly; she looked stoned.
‘What makes you think I know anything?’ I said to Roghres.
‘I heard a rumour you’d seen him in Paris.’
‘Hmm. Well, yes, I did.’ I watched the pretty light patterns the ship was making on the far wall; they were slowly appearing brighter as the main lights went rosy with the ship’s evening (which it had gradually brought down to a 24-hour cycle).
‘So why hasn’t he come back to the ship?’ Roghres said. ‘He went to Paris right at the start.How come he’s still there?Isn’t going native is he?’
‘I only saw him for a day; less, in fact.I wouldn’t like to comment on his mental state he seemed happy enough.’
‘Don’t answer then,’ Djibard said, a little slurred.
I looked at Djibard for a moment; she was still smiling.I turned back to Roghres. ‘Why not contact him yourselves?’
‘Tried that,’ Roghres said.She nodded at the other woman. ‘Djibard tried on- and off-planet.No reply.’
Djibard’s eyes were closed now.I looked at Roghres. ‘Then he probably doesn’t want to talk.’
‘You know,’ Djibard said, eyes still closed, ‘I think it’s because we don’t mature the way they do.I mean the females have periods, and the men have this machismo thing because they’ve got to do all the things they’re supposed to do and so we don’t; I mean we don’t have things they do what I mean is that there are all sorts of things that do things to them, and we don’t have that.Them.We don’t have them and so we don’t get ground down the way they do.I think that’s the secret.Pressures and knocks and disappointments.I think that’s what somebody said to me.But I mean it’s so unfair but I don’t know who for yet; I haven’t worked that out, you know?’
I looked at Roghres and she looked at me.Some drugs do turn you into a blabbering moron for the duration.
‘I think you know something you’re not telling us,’ Roghres said. ‘And I don’t think I’m going to coax it out of you.’ She smiled. ‘I know; if you don’t tell, I’ll say to Li that you told me you’re secretly in love with him and just playing hard to get.How about that?’ ‘I’ll tell my mum, and she’s bigger than yours.’ Roghres laughed.She took Djibard by the hand and they both stood.They moved off, Roghres guiding Djibard, who as she moved away was saying, ‘You know, I think it’s because we don’t mature the way they do.I mean the females -‘
A drone carrying empty glasses passed by and muttered, ‘Gibbering Djibard,’ in English.I smiled, and waggled my feet in the warm water.
4.3:Ablation
I was in Auckland for a couple of weeks, then Edinburgh, then back in the ship again.One or two people asked me about Linter, but obviously word got round that while I probably knew something, I wasn’t going to tell anybody.Still, nobody seemed any less friendly because of that.
Meanwhile Li had embarked upon a campaign to get the ship to let him visit Earth without modification.His plan was to go mountain descending; have himself dropped on a summit and then make his way down.He told the ship that this would be perfectly safe security-wise, in the Himalayas at least, because if he was seen people would assume he was a Yeti.The ship said it would think about it (which meant No).
About the middle of June the ship suddenly asked me to go to Oslo for the day.Linter had asked to see me.
A module dropped me in woods near Sandvika in the bright, early morning.I caught a bus to the centre and walked up to the Frogner park.I found the bridge over the river which Linter wanted to use as a rendezvous, and sat on the parapet.
I didn’t recognize him at first.I usually recognize people from the way they walk, and Linter’s gait had altered.He looked thinner and more pale; not so physically imposing and immediate.Same suit as in Paris, though it looked baggier on him now, and slightly shabby.He stopped a metre away.
‘Hello.’ I held out my hand.He shook it, nodded.
‘It’s good to see you again.How are you keeping?’ His voice was weaker sounding, less sure, somehow.
I shook my head, smiling. ‘Perfectly well, of course.’
‘Oh yes, of course.’ He was avoiding my eyes.
He made me feel a little awkward, just standing there, so I slid down off the parapet and stood in front of him.He seemed to be smaller than I remembered.He was rubbing his hands together as though it was cold, and looking up the broad avenue of bizarre Vigoland sculptures into the northern blue-morning sky. ‘Do you want to walk?’ he asked.
‘Yes, let’s.’ We started across the bridge, towards the first flight of steps on the far side of the obelisk and fountain.
‘Thank you for coming.’ Linter looked at me, then quickly away.
‘That’s all right.Pleasant city.’ I took off my leather jacket and slung it over my shoulder.I was wearing jeans and boots, but it was a blouse and skirt day, really. ‘So, how are you getting on?’
‘I’m still staying, if that’s what you want to know.’ Defensively.
‘I assumed you were.’
He relaxed, coughed.We walked across the broad, empty bridge.It was still too early for most people to be up and about, and we seemed to be alone in the park.The severe, square, stone-plinthed lights of the bridge went slowly by, counterpoints to the curves of the strange statues.
‘I I wanted to give you this.’ Linter stopped, felt inside his jacket and brought out what looked like a gold-plated Parker pen.He twisted the top off; where the nib should have been there was a grey tube covered in tiny coloured symbols which belonged to no language on Earth.A little red tell-tale winked lazily.It looked insignificant, somehow.He put the top back on the terminal. ‘Will you take it?’ he said, blinking.
‘Yes, if you’re sure.’
‘I haven’t used it for weeks.’
‘How did you ask the ship to see me?’
‘It sends down drones to talk to me.I offered the terminal to them, but they wouldn’t take it.The ship won’t take it.I don’t think it wants to be responsible.’
‘You want me to be?’
‘As a friend.I’d like you to; please.Please take it.’
‘Look, why not keep it but don’t use it.In case there’s some emergency -‘
‘No.No; just take it, please.’ Linter looked into my eyes for a moment. ‘It’s just a formality.’