The Smoke Ring

There were parts of a broadcast from Discipline to Earth: it had been decided that they would settle the Smoke Ring environment.

There was a message from Earth: Retrieve your crew.

“And that’s it. Kendy got conflicting orders,” Jeffer said. “It tangles his mind. He can’t go for new orders because Earth is too far away, and he can’t make up his own mind because he’s a machine, and he can’t talk about it because it drives him nuts. If that’s all true, he must be close to crazy all the time. The question is, what do we do now?”

Lawri said, “We can play it through the silver suit. Play it for the whole tribe. Tell everyone.”

“It’ll start some fights.”

“Feed the—”

He rode her down. “There’s a Navy ship coming. The fights’ll have to be over when it gets here. A hundred days.”

“Stet. Play it at di

“…Stet.”

The situation was ideal in its way. They were together, but they couldn’t talk. There were only the two of them to run the lift. It took all their breath. Jill scrambled over the rungs, keeping up with him. Her tuftberry-red tunic was dark with sweat at chest and armpits. Her hair was a golden halo, as interesting and as beautiful as Sectry’s scarlet.

After the cages passed each other, they let the treadmill carry them round and round. Then it was time to throw their weight on the brake. The lower cage settled. Rather and Jill dropped into soft foliage and panted.

Rather found his breath…and found Jill watching him solemnly.

He said briskly (he hoped), “Mark says you own me. This is a thought that never crossed my mind.”

“He says that?”

“Yes. He says I own you too. What do you think?”

“I think Mark doesn’t have the right to say it.”

He was an arm’s length away. He couldn’t read her expression. He said, “It’s not just Mark. My parents — all four, or all three and a half, and everyone else too, including you, Jill. You all seem to know just where I fit and what I’m supposed to do for the rest of my life.”

“Well, you don’t take orders worth treefodder.” He was not sure that was a smile. “What’s bothering you, Rather? You came home on purpose. You’re on the cookpot because you volunteered to cook the earthlife. You’re the Teller because you’ve got stories and you like telling them. It gets you offtreemouth duty.”

“I like all of that. But I’m told where to sleep and I’m told who to marry, and everyone looked at me fu

“Okay. Talk.”

“Rather doesn’t take orders worth treefodder. You talk. Are you unsatisfied with me?”

“You went into the sky and left me behind.”

“I did.”

“Is that over now? Are you back for keeps?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Rather sighed. “I like coming home. I like seeing new things too. Some of us will have to go back to the Admiralty anyway, Jill. Ryllin wants to join Booce. Then there’s a whole sky out there! Lawri says our gene pool is too little. Fine. We’ll go find some other trees and get mates there.”

“Should I do that?”

Ru

She flared. “You’d be making babies with every woman who talks fu

That was manifestly unfair. Rather let it pass. “Or you could come with me.”

“Stet.”

“That quick? Are you sure?”

“Sure.”

This was working out better than he’d hoped. “Did you work on that new rocket?”

“No. Why?”

He hadn’t thought it all the way through after all.

“We’ve got time. In a couple of years a dozen kids will be ready to find mates. That’s when we’ll start visiting other trees—”

“I see it. I’d have to know the rocket inside out, how to steer it, how to fix anything that goes wrong, because I’m the oldest.”

“You and the rest of the crew too. Can you fly?”

“Sure. Oh, all right, I don’t do much flying. Rather?”

“Here.”

“You seem to have a very good idea of where I fit and what I’m supposed to do.”

It was a smile. “Sorry.”

“Maybe this is what being married is like. Anyway… I’ll go on the next trip. That’ll tell us everything we need to know. Whether I can stand it. Whether citizens can stand my company aboard a rocket. Whether I’m any good. Whether I want a mate from somewhere else. Whether you do.”

“Next trip will be the Admiralty.”

“Stet,” said Jill. She stood up. “Let’s go flying.”

“There’s nobody to run the lift for us.”

“Off the branch,” said Jill. “Fly to the midpoint. Surprise Lawri.”

It would do that! Rather began to understand that Jill would go where he would, and try to beat him there too.

“We’ll have to fly more than thirty klomters out. Can you handle it?”

“Sure. We’ll go off the branch and put wings on afterward. Otherwise someone’ll stop us. Come on.”

Kendy had assembled the HISTORY file with some care.

It was unaltered records, but it gave the distinct impression that Discipline’s crew had themselves decided to settle the Smoke Ring.

The population of the Smoke Ring was between two and three thousand (Kendy included children). By his original orders, Kendy must consider that they might now be the entire human race. The temptation to meddle was very strong.

He would not shape them. They were shaping themselves, and they were doing it well. For agonizing moments he had even considered severing communications entirely.

But he had things to teach them!

The Library was off when he passed the Admiralty. It wouldn’t stay that way, though. Day 2791 was the midpoint of the crossyear, three hundred and fifty-odd days away. If Kendy knew his citizens, they would celebrate, and the Library would be involved. Perhaps he can reach Wayne Mickl. Kendy had a handle of sorts on Captain-Guardian.

Meanwhile a Navy ship was moving on Citizens Tree.

He’d see what terms he could arrange.

Plenty of time. Kendy waited.