Departures
Authors: Harry Turtledove
HARRY TURTLEDOVE
The Guns of the South
“An entertaining and intelligent ride back to a past that never was.”
—
The Washington Times
“An expert exercise in speculative history, one that helps the reader understand what really happened.”
—
Chicago Sun-Times
“As a Civil War historian, I literally could not put
The Guns of the South
down. It is absolutely unique—without question the most fascinating Civil War novel I have ever read … Harry Turtledove knows his Civil War. And best of all,
The Guns of the South
is not simply great entertainment; it is also a serious and successful effort to come to grips with the central issues of the war. It is must reading for every Civil War student.”
—P
ROFESSOR
J
AMES
M. M
C
P
HERSON
Edwards Professor of American History
Princeton University;
Author of Pulitzer Prize-winning
Battle Cry of Freedom
How Few Remain
“Compelling … His most gripping novel since
The Guns of the South.
”
—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
“Highly recommended … Turtledove is an accomplished professional … and has given us an entertainment that makes us think somewhat about why we are the way we are.”
—
Library Journal
“Harry Turtledove has established himself as the grand master of the Alternate History form.…
How Few Remain
is perhaps his best so far.”
—P
OUL
A
NDERSON
“
How Few Remain
proves once again that Harry Turtledove is, quite simply, the best … and that he is getting better. It has gripping action and real people in a history not our own; Turtledove brings off a tour de
force … How Few Remain
combines the compulsive readability of a thriller with the long-term pleasures of a skillfully crafted novel; its readers will return to it again and again. I certainly did.”
—S. M. S
TIRLING
Author of Drakon
Worldwar: In the Balance
“A fast-paced, suspenseful work.”
—
Chicago Tribune
Worldwar: Tilting the Balance
“An irresistibly readable book.”
—
Booklist
Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance
“Rip-roaring sci-fi.”
—
Sci-Fi Universe
Worldwar: Striking the Balance
“Brings the series to [a] highly successful conclusion.”
—G
AHAN
W
ILSON
Realms of Fantasy
The Guns of the South
THE WORLDWAR SAGA
Worldwar: In the Balance
Worldwar: Tilting the Balance
Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance
Worldwar: Striking the Balance
COLONIZATION
Colonization: Second Contact
Colonization: Down to Earth
Colonization: Aftershocks
THE VIDESSOS CYCLE
The Misplaced Legion
An Emperor for the Legion
The Legion of Videssos
Swords of the Legion
THE TALE OF KRISPOS
Krispos Rising
Krispos of Videssos
Krispos the Emperor
THE TIME OF TROUBLES SERIES
The Stolen Throne
Hammer and Anvil
The Thousand Cities
Videssos Besieged
Noninterference
Kaleidoscope
A World of Difference
Earthgrip
Departures
How Few Remain
THE GREAT WAR
The Great War: American Front
The Great War: Walk in Hell
The Great War: Breakthroughs
American Empire: Blood and Iron
American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold
A Del Rey® Book
Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group
Copyright © 1993 by Harry Turtledove
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by The Ballantine Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
1. “Counting Potsherds” first appeared in
Amazing Stories
, March 1989. Copyright © 1989 by TSR, Inc.
2. “Death in Vesunna” first appeared in
Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
, January 1981. Copyright © 1981 by Davis Publications, Inc.
3. “Departures” first appeared in
Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
, January 1989. Copyright © 1989 by Davis Publications, Inc.
4. “Islands in the Sea” first appeared in
Alternities
(Baen Books, 1989). Copyright © 1989 by Robert Adams and Pamela Crippen Adams.
5. “Not All Wolves” first appeared in
Werewolves
(HarperCollins, 1988). Copyright © 1988 by Harry Turtledove.
6. “Clash of Arms” first appeared in
New Destinies IV
, summer 1988 (Baen Books). Copyright © 1988 by Baen Publishing Enterprises.
7. “Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire” first appeared in
Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
, mid-December 1989. Copyright © 1989 by Davis Publications, Inc.
8. “Report of the Special Committee on the Quality of Life” first appeared in
Universe 10
(Doubleday, 1980) (slightly different version appears in
What Might Have Been 4
[ed. Gregory Benford and Martin H. Greenberg, 1992]). Copyright © 1980 by Terry Carr.
9. “Batboy” first appeared in
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
, December 1988. Copyright © 1988 by Mercury Press, Inc.
10. “The Last Reunion” first appeared in
Amazing Stories
, June 1992. Copyright © 1992 by TSR, Inc.
11. “Designated Hitter” first appeared in
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
, May 1990. Copyright © 1990 by Mercury Press, Inc.
12. “Gladly Wolde He Lerne” first appeared in
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact
, January 1991. Copyright © 1991 by Davis Publications, Inc.
13. “The Barbecue, the Movie, and Other Unfortunately Not So Relevant Material” first appeared in
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact
, March 1986. Copyright © 1986 by Davis Publications, Inc.
14. “In the Presence of Mine Enemies” first appeared in
Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
, January 1992. Copyright © 1992 by Davis Publications, Inc.
15. “The R Strain” first appeared in
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact
, June 1985. Copyright © 1985 by Davis Publications, Inc.
16. “Lure” first appeared in
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact
, May 1988. Copyright © 1988 by Davis Publications, Inc.
17. “Secret Names” first appeared in
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact
, January 1992. Copyright © 1992 by Davis Publications, Inc.
18. “Les Mortes d’Arthur” first appeared in
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact
, August 1985. Copyright © 1985 by Davis Publications, Inc.
19. “Last Favor” first appeared in
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact
, mid-December 1987. Copyright © 1987 by Davis Publications, Inc.
20. “Nasty, Brutish, and …” first appeared in
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact
, April 1989. Copyright © 1989 by Davis Publications, Inc.
Del Rey is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 93-90071
eISBN: 978-0-307-79234-1
v3.1
The stories in this book appear in chronological order, starting in the early second century
B.C
. and ending about a thousand years from now. Rather more are science fiction than fantasy; it’s hard to tell into which genre a couple of them can fall. They are intended to amuse and, with a little luck, to provoke thought. Some of the notes talk about how they came to be written, others about the ideas they examine. One of the things that makes science fiction and fantasy the exciting fields they are is that they let a writer look at ideas from angles impossible to achieve in other genres. I hope you enjoy these unusual angles.
Our own civilization owes Greece in the fifth century
B.C.
so much: democracy, the drama, the liberation both of the examination of the natural world and of historical inquiry from the straitjacket of theology. But before these things could flower, Greece had to succeed in repelling the invasion of the Persian Empire, the mightiest state of the day. This she did, by a narrow margin. But suppose Greece had failed …
THE SHIP CLUNG CLOSE TO LAND, LIKE A ROACH
scuttling along a wall. When at last the coast veered north and west, the ship conformed, steering oars squealing in their sockets and henna-dyed wool sail billowing as it filled with wind to push the vessel onto its new course.
When the ship changed direction, the eunuch Mithredath summoned the captain to the starboard rail with a slight nod. “We draw near, then, Agbaal?” Mithredath asked. His voice, a nameless tone between tenor and contralto, was cool, precise, and intelligent.
The Phoenician captain bowed low. The sun sparked off a silver hoop in his left ear. “My master, we do.” Agbaal pointed to the headland the ship had just rounded. “That is the Cape of Sounion. If the wind holds, we should be in Peiraieus by evening—a day early,” he added slyly.
“You will be rewarded if we are,” Mithredath promised. Agbaal, satisfied, bowed again and, after glancing at his important passenger for permission, went back to overseeing his crew.
Mithredath would have paid gold darics from his own purse to shorten the time he spent away from the royal court, but there was no need for that: he had come to this western backwater at the royal command and so could draw upon the treasury of Khsrish, King of Kings, as he required. Not for the first time, he vowed that he would not stint.
The day was brilliantly clear. Mithredath could see a long way. The only other ships visible were a couple of tiny fishing
boats and a slow, wallowing vessel probably full of wheat from Egypt. Gulls mewed and squawked overhead.
Mithredath tried to imagine what the narrow, island-flecked sea had looked like during those great days four centuries before, when the first Khsrish, the Conqueror, had led his huge fleet to the triumph that had subjected the western Yauna to Persia once and for all. He could not; he was not used enough to ships to picture hordes of them all moving together like so many sheep in a herd on its way to the marketplace of Babylon.