messages, one telling the
Horza shouted with anger, sending bits of soggy food arcing out to hit the message screen. He turned the wide-band communicator off completely, then went back to the mess.
'When do we reach the Quiet Barrier?'
'A few more hours. Half a day perhaps.'
'Are you nervous?'
'I'm not nervous. I've been there before. How about you?'
'If you say it'll be all right, I believe you.'
'It should be.'
'Will you know any of the people there?'
'I don't know. It's been a few years. They don't rotate personnel often, but people do leave. I don't know. I'll just have to wait and see.'
'You haven't seen any of your own people for a long time, have you?'
'No. Not since I left there.'
'Aren't you looking forward to it?'
'Maybe.'
'Horza… look, I know I told you we didn't ask each other about… about everything before we came aboard the
'But it's the way we've been, isn't it?'
'You mean you don't want to talk about it now?'
'Maybe. I don't know. You want to ask me about-'
'No.' She put her hand to his lips. He felt them there in the darkness. 'No, it's OK. It's all right; never mind.'
He sat in the centre seat. Wubslin was in the engineer's chair to Horza's right, Yalson to his left. The rest had crowded in behind them. He had let Balveda watch; there was little that could happen which she could affect now. The drone floated near the ceiling.
The Quiet Barrier was coming up. It showed as a mirrorfield directly in front of them, about a light-day in diameter. It had suddenly appeared on the screen when they were an hour out from the barrier. Wubslin had worried it was giving their position away, but Horza knew that the mirrorfield existed only in the
Five minutes out, every screen went black. Horza had warned the rest about it, but even he felt anxious and blind when it happened.
'You're sure this is meant to happen?' Aviger said.
'I'd be worried if it didn't,' Horza told him. The old man moved somewhere behind him.
'I think this is incredible,' Dorolow said. 'This creature is virtually a god. I'm sure it can sense our moods and thoughts. I can feel it already.'
'Actually, it's just a collection of self-referencing-'
'Balveda,' Horza said, looking round at the Culture woman. She stopped talking and clapped a hand over her mouth, flashing her eyes. He turned back to the blank screen.
'When's this thing-' Yalson began.
APPROACHING CRAFT, the screen said, in a variety of languages.
'Here we go,' Neisin said. He was shushed by Dorolow.
'I respond,' Horza said, in Marain, into the tight-beam communicator. The other languages disappeared from the screen.
YOU ARE APPROACHING THE PLANET CALLED SCHAR'S WORLD, DRA'AZON PLANET OF THE DEAD. PROGRESS BEYOND THIS POINT IS RESTRICTED.
'I know. My name is Bora Horza Gobuchul. I wish to return to Schar's World for a short while. I ask this with all respect.'
'Smooth talker,' Balveda said. Horza glared briefly at her. The communicator would only transmit what he said, but he didn't want the woman to forget she was a prisoner.
YOU HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE.
Horza couldn't tell if this was a question or not. 'I have been to. Schar's World before,' he confirmed. 'I was one of the Changer sentinels.' There seemed little point in telling the creature when; the Dra'Azon called every time «now» even though their language used tenses. The screen went blank, then repeated:
YOU HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE.
Horza frowned and wondered what to say. Balveda muttered, 'Obviously hopelessly senile.'
'I have been here before,' Horza said. Did the Dra'Azon mean that because he had already been there he could not return?
'I can feel it, I can feel its presence,' Dorolow whispered.
THERE ARE OTHER HUMANS WITH YOU.
'Thanks a lot,' said the drone, Unaha-Closp, from somewhere near the ceiling.
'You see?' Dorolow said, her voice almost whimpering. Horza heard Balveda snort. Dorolow staggered slightly; Aviger and Neisin had to hold onto her to stop her from falling.
'I have not been able to set them down elsewhere,' Horza said. 'I ask your indulgence. If need be, they will stay on board this vessel.'
THEY ARE NOT SENTINELS. THEY ARE OTHER HUMANOID SPECIES.
'I alone need alight on Schar's World.'
ENTRY IS RESTRICTED.
Horza sighed. 'I alone request permission to land.'
WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE?
Horza hesitated. He heard Balveda snort quietly. He said, 'I seek one who is here.'
WHAT DO THE OTHERS SEEK?
'They seek nothing. They are with me.'
THEY ARE HERE.
'They…' Horza licked his lips. All his rehearsing, all his thoughts about what to say at this moment, seemed to be useless. 'They are not all here by choice. But I had no alternative. I had to bring them. If you wish, they will stay on board this craft in orbit around Schar's World, or further away inside the Quiet Barrier. I have a suit, I can-'
THEY ARE HERE AGAINST THEIR WILL.
Horza hadn't known Dra'Azon to interrupt before. He couldn't imagine it was a good sign. 'The… circumstances are… complicated. Certain species in the galaxy are at war. Choices become limited. One does things one would not normally do.'
THERE IS DEATH HERE.
Horza looked at the words written on the screen. He felt transfixed by them. There was silence on the bridge for a moment. Then he heard a couple of people moving awkwardly.
'What does that mean?' the drone Unaha-Closp said.
'There… there is?' Horza said. The words stayed on the screen, written in Marain. Wubslin tapped at a few buttons on his side of the console, buttons which would normally control the display on the screens in front of him, all of which now repeated the words on the main screen. The engineer was sitting in his seat, looking cramped and tense. Horza cleared his throat, then said, 'There was a battle, a conflict near by. Just before we got here. It might still be going on. There may be death.'
THERE IS DEATH HERE.
'Oh…' Dorolow said, and slumped into Neisin and Aviger's arms.
