The Emperor of Everything

She went to the lock and signaled to Fensh to bring the repair mech from the survey sled. She ordered the Moc to remove Kroel’s remains. As the great insectoid carried the body out, she shook her head violently. “He’s done me a great harm financially. Now the phoenix troupe is broken, and who knows if the boat is repairable.”

“On the other hand,” Marmo said, “you were going to smash the boat into the cliff, until he prevented you.”

She looked at Marmo thoughtfully, eyes cold. “Good of you to remind me, Marmo. I’m certainly glad I scraped you off the veldt, so that you could assist me in this manner.”

“Sorry,” he said in a subdued voice.

She nodded. “I’m going to give Fensh an hour to make an assessment. If he can repair the boat, I’ll leave him here with his brother. He can bring the boat when it’s ready; we may need the armament.”

“All Ruiz Aw has is the splinter gun and a few pigstickers.”

“Nevertheless. Now, since he may have contrived booby traps, you will explore the remainder of the boat. When it’s safe, call me.”

By the time they’d eaten their fill, the light was strong, and it had become apparent that the forest was changing. They saw occasional brushy clearings, and the trees were of more recent growth, as though the forest had been logged in the last hundred years or so.

“Look,” said Nisa. “Is it a road?”

“So it seems.” Ruiz studied the opening in the trees as it passed. A small landing abutted the canal. It lacked the ornamental features of the landing from which they had boarded the barge, but it was built of the same shiny pink granite. “Perhaps we should think about leaving — the road looks recently used. Maybe we’re near some town where we can get better transport.”

“Maybe not,” said Molnekh, rubbing his belly. “And I have no objection to the accommodations.”

“Oh?” Ruiz lifted his eyebrow. “Did you know that it’s the custom on many worlds to provide a condemned criminal with a fine meal just before his execution?”

“It goes differently on Pharaoh,” Molnekh said, but he looked shaken.

“Besides,” Ruiz continued. “Corean will understand that we have embarked on this voyage. She’ll catch up with us soon; before noon, if she’s clever enough to overfly the canal before she sets her sniffers on us.”

“She is not stupid,” said Dolmaero glumly.

“No.”

Ruiz considered that it might be time to see if disembarkation was possible. He rose, leaned over the rail, and looked ahead, hoping to see a fairly clear area for his experiment.

He was startled to see another landing drawing near, and even more startled to see a large group of people standing on the quayside. He pulled his head back, turned to tell the others, and felt the barge slow.

“What is it?” asked Dolmaero.

“I don’t know.” Ruiz had no idea what to do. Until they were threatened, it might be a bad idea to show hostility. “We’ll have to wait and see. I suppose.”

By now the others had seen the landing, and there were no more questions.

They slowed to a drift. The barge drew even with the landing and they looked down at the crowd. It seemed to be divided between a large number of old people shrouded in what appeared to be black mourning cloaks, and a smaller group of almost-naked youngsters wearing colorful wisps of silk. The old folks wore grim faces; the young ones seemed to be celebrating some happy event — but no one looked up at Ruiz.

The focus of the sorrow or felicitations appeared to be a young couple who stood together on the bank. They were beautiful, in an unformed youthful way; they were obviously the handsomest couple in the festive portion of the gathering. They wore identical expressions of resolute anticipation — though Ruiz thought he detected a good deal of anxiety beneath that surface. Otherwise, they were naked, except for beauty paint and hair ribbons.

The barge bearing Ruiz and his people slid past; then all the barges stopped. The boy and girl stepped aboard, and, holding hands, turned and waved to the crowd. The old folks watched them stonily; the others clapped and cheered.

The young couple disappeared behind the statue’s vast breasts.

The barges began moving again with a slight jerk, and the landing receded. Just before it disappeared behind them, Ruiz saw the old people begin to file away, and the young ones lie down on the grass in twos and threes.

Nisa colored and turned away. “How strange,” she said. “Why would they wish to do that so publicly?”

Ruiz shrugged. “Another mystery.” The whole spectacle had made him even more uneasy about their benefactors — it had the flavor of a decadent religious rite. Unsettling thoughts circulated through his mind. Were they captives of one of the numerous outlawed cults that infested Sook? Some of those practiced extremely unpleasant sacraments. It was, he thought, time to see if they could leave the barge.

He turned to the others. “If we can, we should try to leave. I’m going to see if I can jump off. If I succeed, follow.”

Molnekh frowned. “I’m not sure Flomel is that strong yet.”