Barrington Bayley - The Great Hydration

And so, once Shelley had drawn up the final contract, Castaneda found himself lofting Enterprise -ward in the lighter, in company with the lawyer and a high-ranking Tlixix, filling the cabin with the tang of seaweed.

No description by Karvass could have prepared Hrityu for the underground camp of the Artaxa.

They had travelled far from the World Market. Continuing to follow the Artaxa, whose prowed craft ploughed its way endlessly through the shifting sand, Hrityu had been almost disappointed not to encounter more Gaminte patrols—or even better, Crome warbands. He would have liked the chance to try out the weapon given him by the mysterious moss-headed stranger.

At length, a cluster of hills appeared in close formation, the sand having been blown off their peaks to reveal multi-hued ochre rock. Karvass steered his sand-boat on a winding course among them, losing himself to Hrityu’s view several times, until entering a box canyon. Hrityu was puzzled that he should make for so obvious a dead end; until he noticed, at the far end, a shadow cast by a broad overhanging shelf of rock.

Straight into that shadow plunged the sand-boat. More cautiously, Hrityu followed, coming to a halt on finding himself at the top of a wide bank which sloped dawn into underground darkness.

Karvass’s craft was already out of sight. Hrityu motivated his outer wheels again, setting off down the slope.

Soon he was in pitch blackness, carefully holding back his vehicle as it slid and slithered on loose shale. He did not know how far underground he was when a greenish glow appeared below him, slowly swelling into a steady, soft light. And then he was nearly at the bottom of the incline, looking down into a huge cavern.

And what a cavern! In the light streaming from radium lamps placed all round the curving walls, the roof was a great vault of massed down-jutting crystals of enormous size, many of them phosphorescing in response to the radiation and adding brilliant colours to the general illumination: purple, orange and ghostly yellow. On the floor of the cavern was as large a camp as any Hrityu had seen. Artaxa were present in large numbers, swirling in the ritual dances of their tribe, working at countless tasks, hammering at pieces of metal which, presumably, had been forged and smelted elsewhere, or shaping naturally occurring glass and crystal. Visible here and there were also the white sinuous forms of Sawune lizards. This was an odd sight. Hrityu had never witnessed close cooperation between humanoids and lizards before, leaving aside trade relations at the World Market.

That was not all. Also present were a number of black humanoids, lacking head crests. Toureen. Nussmussa must already have brought in his tribe as allies. Presumably they had brought the secret of eruptionite with them. Provided its ingredients were available close at hand, stocks of the violent mixture were no doubt already being built up.

Neither would it take Hrityu long to impart the secret of the long distance radiators. Essentially the device was simple; one need only understand the principle of its working, and what kind of resonating crystals to use. There was no time now, of course, to arrange negotiations with the elders of the Analane. For all he knew the Crome might at this very moment be launching their final attack on his home territory! It was urgent that he persuade the Artaxa to mount an expeditionary force almost immediately.

As he took in the incredible sight he saw that the giant cavity was in fact only the first of a series. On either side were arched openings leading to similar caverns. A shiver went through him. This was as impressive as the World Market, if not more so! Almost as impressive as the giant hydroriums in which the Tlixix lived! (Though he had never seen these and knew them only by repute; Gaminte patrols kept all other dehydrate tribes well away.)

He could truly believe in what the Artaxa proposed. The days of the Tlixix were numbered!

True, the thought cost him unwelcome feelings. He had been raised to revere the Tlixix. They were part of the world, like the deserts and the hills. To betray them, even not to obey them, were unthinkable concepts.

Until, that was, the Tlixix themselves betrayed the Analane!

He descended to the floor of the cavern and climbed out of his vehicle. Karvass approached accompanied by an elderly, venerable-looking Artaxa. Hrityu went through the name-exchanging ceremony. Then, at Karvass’s behest, pulled the cover off the pair of radiators.

Hrityu and Karvass spent some time trying to explain what the radiator could do. Finally, inspecting it at length with puzzled interest, the elder gestured his understanding.

“A remarkable invention, but where is its advantage to us?”

“It is not a weapon in itself,” Karvass admitted. “But it will be invaluable for coordinating strategy.”

The elder turned to Hrityu. “What is your price for the secret of this invention?”

“Assistance for my tribe, and immediately!” Hrityu said eagerly. “The Tlixix have given our enemies the Crome permission to effect our extermination, and this may in fact already be in process of commission!”

“Extermination?” the Artaxa repeated thoughtfully. “That is not a common policy, even for the Tlixix.”

“It may be that the Tlixix are recruiting the Crome for the same role as the Gamintes,” Karvass put in. “We were attacked by a mixed force on our way here.”

“All who join with the Tlixix are our enemies, all who join with us against the Tlixix are our friends,” the Artaxan elder exclaimed. He then said to Hrityu, “Do you pledge your tribe in alliance with us?”

“Even though I am not an elder, I believe I can promise that every Analane will be with you,” Hrityu said fervently. “If any survive!”

“Then our help is also pledged. How long will it take you to instruct our artisans in the manufacture and use of your device?”

“Not long—it must be done quickly, for I am determined to accompany your force and take part in the battle—with this!”

Hrityu pulled the beamer given him by ‘Roncie’ from his weapons belt, where it kept company with his three knives.

The elder stared at it with incomprehension.

Karvass spoke. He described the attack in the desert, and how a humanoid of an unknown type had come to their rescue, killing several of the attackers with the weapon Hrityu now possessed. He described, too, the tiny pavilion, and how uncomfortable they had been inside it, ‘like being in the Pavilion of Audience.’

“I wish to see this for myself,” the Artaxan elder pronounced. “Come with me.”

They followed him through the throng to the side of the cavern. Guards standing at the entrance of a narrow passage stood aside, then trooped after them as they entered it and emerged into a chamber which, like the passage itself, had obviously been carved from the rock by hand.

Here was yet another strange sight. Gamintes, stripped of weapons, were chained to the walls. Their glowing red eyes turned to the newcomers. The radium lamp fitted in the roof gave their silvery hair a greenish glow.

To see the favoured police force of the Tlixix in such a situation was a shock in itself. The Gamintes’ faces, too, showed their outrage that such a thing could happen to them, as well as their trepidation as to what their fate was to be. They were half starved, their bodies thin and wasted. That meant that they had been here for quite a long time. Energy-economical dehydrate bodies needed food only at infrequent intervals. Hrityu himself had eaten only once since leaving his home camp, although his wheeled vehicle carried plentiful supplies.

The elder issued clipped orders. The shackles were thrown off one of the Gamintes, who was pushed roughly into the centre of the chamber.