Hal Clement - Cycle of Fire

“What are these ‘books’ you were carrying and about which you seem so anxious?” This question snapped Kruger’s wandering attention back to the present. He had been wanting to ask the same thing for some time.

“They are the records of what our people have learned and done during their lives. The records which came down to us from those who went before were returned to safety at the Ramparts long ago, after we had learned what they contained, but it is the law that each people shall make its own books, as well, which must then be saved as those made before have been.”

“I see. An interesting idea; we shall have to consider it further. Now, another matter: you have given some of our people the impression that you consider it unlawful to have dealings with fire. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Our Teachers have told us, and our books from times past have said the same.”

“Did they say it would kill you?”

“There was that, but it was something more. Being killed is one thing — we all die when the time comes, anyway — but this seemed to be something worse. I guess you’re deader when you die from heat, or something. Neither the Teachers nor the books ever made it very clear.”

“Yet you accompany this being who makes fires whenever he wishes.”

“It worried me at first, but I decided that since he is not a real person he must have a different set of laws. I felt that bringing information about him back to my people at the Ice Ramparts would outweigh any violations I might commit in other directions. Besides, I kept as far as possible from the fires he made.”

There was another fairly lengthy silence before the Teacher spoke again. When he did, his tone and words were quite encouraging at first.

“You have been informative, cooperative, and helpful — both of you,” the hidden being said. “We appreciate it; therefore we thank you.

“You will remain with our people for the time being. They will see that you are comfortable and fed; I fear we can do nothing now about the coolness the alien wants, but even that may be arranged in time.

“Place the books and the fire-lighting machine on the stone, and let everyone depart.”

A PERIOD of alternating rain and sunshine and the brief return and departure of Theer left the two travelers with the impression that the “Teachers” of the tribe which had captured them might be well disposed but were rather opinionated beings. When they said anything it was so. Unfortunately they had said that Nils Kruger and Dar Lang Ahn should remain available for talk, and the village of creatures who obeyed them implicitly were quite able to make it so.

Actually they were not completely prisoners. They could wander where they pleased within the village and its immediate environs, except into the hut where villagers went to talk to the Teachers. Also, when the unseen beings learned about Kruger’s watch, which was during the second interview, they quite obligingly agreed that the two need not even remain nearby, provided that they appear at certain regular intervals which were determined by mutual agreement on the spot. There was, Kruger realized, some pretty good psychology at work; at the same time this freedom was granted, a half-promise was made to Dar that his books would be returned before too long — the time was left vague. “Just now they were being examined with great interest.” Kruger noted that no request was made for Dar to give lessons in his written language, but the important fact was that Dar was chained to the neighborhood by that promise as securely as though metallic shackles had been used. He refused to consider for a moment any suggestion which involved deserting his precious books.

More as an experiment than anything else, Kruger asked on one occasion whether the law of the village forbidding entrance to the city applied to the captives. He expected a curt refusal and was pleasantly surprised when they were allowed to go there, on condition that nothing was removed or injured. He said nothing about the knife that Dar had appropriated and cheerfully made the required promise.

Dar was afraid that the villagers would resent this; it did seem a little odd, permitting the captives to do something that was illegal for the captors. However, no sign of such a feeling appeared and they finally concluded that the word of the Teachers must be the absolutely final authority for these people.

They took advantage of their permission several times, but found nothing more surprising than the things that had turned up during their first inspection. Kruger made a careful and well-planned search for the generating station that supplied power to the city wiring, but failed to find it. He was disappointed; he would have liked very much to know what the source of power of the city builders might have been.

The Teachers never asked how closely their condition was being followed, though one day the two had a bad scare during one of the conversations.

“Dar,” the speaker had asked, “what is the substance of which those harness buckles of yours are made?” The pilot appeared not to be bothered by the question, but Kruger suddenly realized what might lie behind it and answered hastily, “He had them before we came; they did not come from the city.”

“We realize that,” came the answer, “but that is not what we wanted to know. Dar?”

“They are of iron,” the pilot replied, truthfully.

“So we thought. Would you mind explaining how a person who is forbidden to have anything to do with fire, and whose people all live under the same law, came by such articles?”

“I can tell, but not explain,” Dar answered precisely. “I found them. A great deal of such material was found near and in the city when we first lived. We took what we wanted of it, since there was no law forbidding it. I did not know that iron had any connection with fire.” He looked uneasily down at the buckles.

This conversation ended there; as a matter of fact it was violently interrupted. One of the geysers a scant thirty yards from where the prisoners sat chose this moment to release some of its energy, and large quantities of boiling water began to appear. Dar and Kruger did not wait to say any farewells, they went, straight away from the disturbance and as rapidly as the clouds of vapor permitted.

Twice Kruger tripped over irregularities in the rock; both times he struggled back to his feet with scalding water almost on him. For what seemed to them both like hours, but which probably was rather less than a minute, no thought entered either of their minds except that of self-preservation; then they were safely beyond the reach of the disturbance.

Immediately, the instant they were sure of this, the two stopped; they both had the same thought, but it no longer dealt with their own safety. For a full hour, until long after the vapor had cleared away, they waited and watched, hoping to get a glimpse of the Teachers who would presumably have been driven out in the same way as their captives. Nothing moved in all that time, however, and when the clearing of the air was complete they could see the dome of rock sitting apparently unchanged with no sign that anyone or anything had moved in its vicinity. They went back and circled the pool beside which it lay, so as to see it from every side, for now if ever the entrance would be visible, but they found nothing…

Both were a trifle surprised when, on their return after the usual interval, discussion went on as though nothing had happened. Kruger wished he dared ask how the Teachers had escaped, but somehow failed to bring himself to the point of actually raising the question.

By this time he had told a good deal about his people. Dar had done the same. Kruger’s facility with the language had grown far more rapidly than in any similar period of his companionship with Dar alone.