The Vagrant and the City. Peter Newman

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СКАЧАТЬ ‘Well. I’m pregnant. Very pregnant, actually. I’m due in about twelve days.’

      ‘Congratulations,’ says Harm. ‘Is it a live father?’

      ‘I’m the father!’ exclaims Jem, unaware of amber eyes boring into the back of his skull.

      Vesper reaches up and takes his hand. ‘Jem’s the father,’ she confirms.

      ‘We’re happy for you,’ says Harm, giving Vesper’s father a nudge. ‘Both of us. And we’re shocked. Why all this secrecy?’

      Jem looks away. Vesper watches the steam waft from her cup. ‘I was going to tell you. I was. And I asked Jem to wait so I could be there when you found out. It just never seemed like the right time, and then things at the Shining City needed my attention and before I knew it …’ she looks down at her belly. ‘Boom! And here we are.’

      Vesper’s father shakes his head.

      ‘It’s not all my fault,’ she retorts. ‘If you’d been at the Shining City like you were supposed to be instead of hiding here, you’d have known months ago.’ Anger builds in her voice as she continues, ‘You said you were going to help me. You promised. But when I looked for you, you weren’t there.’

      Now it is her father’s turn to look away.

      ‘I’ve managed to persuade Obeisance that I can have the baby here and believe me that was difficult. It was bad enough explaining that I didn’t want it grown in a tube. But that means I’m going to be out of action longer, and there are things that can’t wait. Things that –’ she clenches a fist ‘– I’d happily deal with myself if my body wasn’t doing –’ the fist opens again to wave, vague and frustrated, ‘– what it’s doing. So I’m going to hold you to that promise.’

      There is a moment of silence, awkward, broken by Jem.

      ‘It’s so unfair! I’m trapped here, Harm’s trapped here. But you can go anywhere you like.’ Jem raises a finger. ‘I’d give anything to be with Vesper and you can’t even be bothered—’

      Amber eyes snap up, silencing. With another shake of his head, Vesper’s father turns away, striding towards the front door.

      Jem glares after him. ‘Oh yes,’ he hisses when he considers the distance safe. ‘Walk away. You’re good at abandoning people, aren’t you?’

      From further away the man hears Vesper calling for him to come back, then Harm’s voice, trying to soothe the situation. ‘Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. I’ll talk to him …’

      All the words reach his ears, stinging in different ways, but he does not stop, his legs having a momentum of their own. Through the hallway to the front door he goes, then out into a hot afternoon.

      A young male goat is waiting outside the door, peering in for signs of Vesper, hopeful. When, instead, it finds her father bearing down, it retreats with a scream, bounding quickly out of sight.

      The man barely notices, his attention focused inward as he descends the hill.

      Though forgotten, the sky-ship and its passengers are still there, and Genner steps out of formation to block the man’s path.

      ‘Champion,’ he says, saluting. ‘I had a feeling I’d be seeing you before the end of the day.’

      The man stops, blinks.

      ‘I assume the Bearer has told you about our needs.’

      The man nods.

      ‘Good. The sooner we can leave, and I can give you a full briefing, the better.’ Genner is about to turn away when a thought occurs. ‘Apologies. I’ve been waiting to act on this for a while now. There’s time for you to say goodbye, if you want.’

      The man looks back up the hill, scowls, then shakes his head.

      ‘In that case, Champion,’ says Genner, pointing to the open hatch, ‘please follow me.’

      *

      The journey to the Shining City is brief, a matter of minutes, but during this time the man’s scowl weakens. He moves from looking angry, to looking at his hands. He tuts at himself, then raises a fist, knocking three times, firmly, on his forehead.

      Hills become fields flying by beneath the sky-ship, a blur of brilliant green, and then the great platinum pillars come into view. Each one a landing pad decorated with vertical gardens. The sky-ship comes to a stop directly above one, wings turning, engines lowering it gently into place.

      The hatch opens and Genner sighs as he unstraps himself. ‘That’s a relief. Between us, Champion, I’ve grown to hate flying. Of course,’ he adds, ‘it’s not quite over yet.’

      They climb through the hatch to arrive on top of the pillar, where wind punches at them, playful. Within the circular platform six smaller circles are etched with precision, and within each circle stands a bullet-shaped capsule seven feet tall and three across. Static electricity charges the air, prickling skin and further animating Genner’s windswept hair.

      Doors swing open on each of the capsules, revealing a narrow, padded space. There are capsules for the squires, for Genner, and one for the man. ‘The pilot will have to wait for the next wave,’ says Genner. ‘In you go –’ gesturing towards the open door of one of the narrow chambers.

      The man climbs inside and doors swing closed at his back, eager, shutting out the light. With a hiss, the padding expands, pressing arms against sides, pressing legs together, hugging tight.

      Trapped in the dark, there is nothing for the passenger to do but wait. The charge in the air builds, and then there is a lurching sensation, his stomach detecting movement other senses cannot.

      As if by magic, each capsule lifts into the air, sailing on invisible currents, arcing down towards a similar set of circles set into a metal disc at the pillar’s base.

      The landing is abrupt, though the capsule’s inner padding removes the sting before shrinking away, allowing doors to open.

      Genner is already at the base of the pillar, watching the man limp out into the light. ‘I wish I could say that’s the last time we’ll be using those for a while, but I’d be lying.’

      Seen from the air, the Shining City appears nothing more than a vast circle of pillars around the Sanctum of The Seven, a huge cube of silver, rotating and ponderous, suspended in the sky. However, the bulk of the city exists underground. Hollow hills scatter between and around the pillars in neat rows; housing hidden under grass, dirt and plastic. Tunnels thread them all together, and lead deep beneath the earth, to laboratories, training facilities, factories and vast storehouses, dug out by immense machines from a bygone age.

      Genner guides the man to an entrance concealed in the side of a hill. The two of them enter, following metal corridors lit by sunslight bouncing from mirrored tubes. Muffled sounds reach them, the singing of children, deferent, and the soft steps of purposeful feet. The very air hums with work being done. Everyone in the Shining City has designated duties, their time measured carefully and portioned out to maximize efficiency.

      ‘How’s your leg doing?’ Genner asks. ‘I noticed it giving you trouble earlier.’

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