Empire I've come back to. Clones, espers, Hadenmen, Wampyr. Toys that think and care. It's hard to be sure what's really human anymore. Among so many strange forms of life, how easy it would be to lose our Humanity forever.'
'We haven't lost anything,' said Julian. 'Except possibly our limitations. You have strange abilities yourself, Deathstalker. Does that make you any less human?'
'I don't know,' said Giles. 'I don't know.'
They set off early the next day. The sound of warfare in the distance was louder, more distinct, more threatening. The smiley face on the sun seemed openly mocking. The humans and the toys kept a careful watch. The trees on the River-banks were growing thicker, darker. Anything could be hiding in them, or behind them. There was a constant feeling of being watched by unseen eyes. The only sound apart from the distant thunder was the steady quiet chugging of the Merry Mrs. Trusspot. She still hadn't spoken, but somewhen during the night, two huge watchful eyes had opened on either side of her bow.
Julian stayed in his cabin. His various pains had grown worse during the night, beyond anything the autodoc's limited drugs could deal with. Toby overrode the doc's safety limits, to allow for larger doses, but it didn't help much. Julian ended up curled up on the floor in a corner of his cabin, because the swaying of the hammock hurt him too much. Sometimes, when the pain grew so bad it reduced him to helpless tears, he would call out for Finlay, and he would go and sit with Julian for a while. Afterward, he'd emerge from the cabin with frustrated tears in his eyes, and his hands clenched into fists, furious at his inability to help. He'd rescued Julian from the Empire's interrogators, but he couldn't rescue the young esper from this. He tried picking fights with the Deathstalker, over what he'd done to Julian, but the old man refused to be drawn. He couldn't repeat his jump-start; the strain would probably kill the weakened esper. He'd done all he could, and that was an end to it as far as he was concerned. Evangeline went in to Julian a few times, but he didn't want her. Poogie went in then, and cuddled the human in his soft arms. It helped, sometimes.
The atmosphere on the deck grew strained. Everyone felt angry, for conflicting reasons. Julian was distracting them, at a time when they needed most to concentrate on their mission. Instead of the support he'd promised, the esper was becoming a liability. But no one wanted to say that out loud. Conversations became short and sharp. Bruin Bear tried to be cheerful and optimistic, until even the Sea Goat told him to shut the hell up. They were all coming to the same, unspoken, thought. That the man who had already saved them twice was probably dying, and there was nothing they could do. Except hope he died soon, for his sake and theirs. So they leaned on the guardrails, looking out at the River and the passing trees, and tried not to hear the sounds coming from the esper's cabin.
The toys were the most distressed. Another human was dying, because of toys. Even Anything became quieter and less argumentative. Bruin Bear and the Sea Goat and Halloweenie began taking turns sitting outside the door to Julian's cabin, so they'd be there if he called for anything. As though daring Death to get past them.
About midmorning, they rounded another long curve in the River, and found the trees falling suddenly away on one side to reveal a modern city. Or, at least, a replica of a city. There were great towers and buildings rearing up into the sky, but all of them were one-dimensional wooden flats. Brightly colored, incredibly detailed fakes. It looked fairly convincing, until you got up close. And it was only then that the humans saw what a wreck the place was. Jagged holes appeared in most of the walls, as though something heavy had smashed through them. There were cracks and gaping rents everywhere, and some traces of what looked like fire damage. The fake city was about fifty blocks square, shining brightly in the sun. There was no sign of life anywhere. The Merry Mrs. Trusspot slowed her approach, and everyone crowded to one side of the boat for a better look.
'What is this place?' said Finlay. 'Who lives here?'
'No one lives here,' said Bruin Bear. 'It's just another playground.'
'Looks like they play rough,' said Giles.
'Oh, they do,' said the Sea Goat. 'The bastards. This is the stamping ground of the superpeople. Superheroes and supervillains, fighting their eternal battles. Tends to be rather hard on the surroundings, so they were designed to be easily and quickly replaced, in time for the next fight. They used to put on a show for the human patrons; displays of strength and speed and flight, every hour, regular as clockwork. See the heroes beat the villains all about the town; see the buildings crumble and the walls come tumbling down. It was very popular. Until the superpeople became intelligent and aware. And realized they'd spent their entire existence jumping through hoops for Humanity's entertainment. They were the most human of the toys here, so perhaps they took it the hardest. Down-River, we were fishing bits of bodies out of the waters for weeks afterward.'
'Wait a minute,' said Finlay. 'Didn't any of the heroes fight the villains to protect the humans? I mean, they were heroes, like you and the Bear.'
'They were the superpeople,' said the Sea Goat, his large upper lip curling. 'And they didn't give a damn for mere unpowered humans. After the slaughter was over, they went back to doing the only thing that interested them. Fighting their endless bloody battles, to see who was stronger, faster, or the better flier. They've never taken part in the war. I think they believe it's beneath them. And I'll tell you something else. For as long as Toystown has been a refuge and a sanctuary, we've never had one superperson come to us, seeking redemption or forgiveness for all the blood they spilled. Bastards.'
'Is it dangerous here?' said Evangeline.
'Hell yes,' said Bruin Bear. 'They hate the thought that inferior Humanity created them. The only thing they'd interrupt their contests for is a chance to kill some more humans.'
'Then why are we slowing down?' said Toby.
'Well, sweeties,' said a familiar voice behind them, 'I'm rather afraid we need more fuel. I mean, darlings, you wouldn't believe how much wood it takes to keep our boilers running.' They turned around, and there was the Captain, balancing on his two peg legs and looking decidedly upset. The parrot dozed on his shoulder, muttering obscenities to itself. The Captain tried an ingratiating smile. 'We need more wood, sweeties, and this is our last chance to stock up before we hit the Forest. And believe you me, we don't want to stop in the Forest for more wood. Not if you like your head in the general vicinity of your shoulders.'
'All right,' said the Bear. 'Pull us in to the side, and we'll gather as much as we can. They'll never miss a few flats. But be ready to leave at a moment's notice. This is a bad place, people.'
He strode off with the Sea Goat to organize some axes. The Captain smiled nervously in all directions, then hurried back to his bridge. The humans looked at each other uncertainly.
'I always liked superheroes,' said Finlay. 'I was a big fan, when I was a kid. You could always depend on superheroes to save the day.'
'That was then, this is now,' said Anything. He'd changed into his best fighting shape, with spiked knuckles and elbows and razor-edged hands. 'When they were made intelligent, the superpeople realized that though they looked human, they could never be human. I think it drove a lot of them crazy. Serves them right. Why pine to be human, when you could be more than human, like the Furies? They were the real superpeople.'
'Why are you here, machine?' said Giles. 'You've made it clear enough you don't care for humans.'
'I want an end to the threat of the Red Man and his army,' said Anything. 'And you appear to be the best bet for that. But when it's all over, and you're gone, and the planet is ours again, trust me—I won't shed a single tear to be shot of you all. This is our world now, not yours.'
And he turned and stalked away, the sun gleaming brightly on his silver body.
'I hope it rains, and he rusts,' said Toby.
The Merry Mrs. Trusspot slipped in beside the River-bank, as close to the fake city as she could get, and then shut her engines down to the faintest murmur. No sense in drawing anyone's attention. Anything lowered a gangplank, and the party went ashore, holding their axes more like weapons than cutting tools. At the toys' insistence, they stood and listened for a while. In the distance, there was the sound of something that might have been fighting, but it seemed comfortably far away. Finlay and Giles, Toby and Flynn set about hauling in broken flats and parts of fallen buildings, while the toys labored to cut them into manageable sizes. The sound of steel cutting into wood seemed dangerously loud in the quiet.
It was hard and sweaty work for the humans. The Goat and the Bear labored tirelessly, torn between the need for speed, and their desire not to show the humans up too much. Anything didn't give a damn. He stomped back and forth, carrying the heaviest weights he could find, his servomechanisms barely whining. Poogie's cartoony hands had trouble grasping the axes, so he worked beside the humans, helping them carry awkward shapes and sizes. Halooweenie busied himself carrying cold drinks from the ship to the humans.
