Season of Passage, The (21 page)

'I didn't say that,' Lauren said.

'Did you have a good night's sleep?'

'No. Why do you ask? Did you?'

T slept horribly,' Jim said.

Lauren shook her head. 'I can't place you, Jim. You weren't excited about the footprints. You don't think a monster snapped the antenna. Yet you're

worried about being watched. Or you're worried that I feel like I'm being watched. Now tel me, yes or no, do you think this planet's dead?'

Jim grabbed a handful of dust that had settled atop the Rover's temperature sensor and squeezed it in his gloved hand. 'Yes. I've never been in a

place that felt so dead. We'l continue our exploration and our experiments, but there's no life here.'

'Then what are you getting at?'

Jim tossed the dust in the air. Rather than fal ing straight down, it trailed slightly to the west. 'I'm anxious to visit the spot where the Russians landed.

We might find some answers there. But you see this dust? It's scattering. The wind is coming up. We should be careful about the wind.' He pul ed

once more on the broken antenna arm, and it dropped to the ground. 'Even a dead planet could kil us.'

Later, they drove back to the Hawk in silence.

That night, Lauren helped Jessica with experiments on the soil. They were performing three types. The first was designed to test for both plant and

animal life. It relied on the fact that if you gave an animal or plant something to eat, it sooner or later gave off gas. Here they were talking about

microscopic plants and animals hidden in the dirt. They fed the dirt a special broth, and were at first excited when it gave off substantial amounts of

carbon dioxide. Unfortunately the amount quickly diminished, and then disappeared altogether, which shouldn't have happened if there was life in

the soil; it should have been busy reproducing.

The second experiment also gave confusing results. It was designed specifical y to test for plant life. On Earth, al plants took in sunlight and carbon

dioxide. Would the soil sample absorb carbon dioxide when exposed to it? The answer was yes, and for a while they were excited again. But then

soil continued to absorb carbon dioxide even when it had been baked to such a high temperature that al plant life should have been destroyed.

Their third experiment was the simplest, of al , and gave them perhaps the most information. They baked lumps of Martian soil and analyzed what

gases were given off. Al organic material gave off an aroma when it was heated. Yet the Martian soil didn't smel at al . It was dead. It was

beginning to look more and more as though Jim was right, as were most scientists on Earth who had never seen the Rover's pictures.

It made sense to Lauren. Mars had no ozone layer to protect it from the sun's ultraviolet. Consequently, the soil should be sterile. However, Jessica

seemed uncertain that ultraviolet bombardment alone could account for the experimental results. Jessica said there were stil plenty of

signs that there had been life on Mars long ago. There just weren't any bodies left behind.

Lauren removed her hands from the gloves attached to the inside of the Hawk's incubator and washed up while Jessica entered the bathroom to

take a shower. Lauren was on the verge of leaving the basement when she became aware of the dust blasting the Hawk's hul . It sounded eerie in a

world where nothing was supposed to have changed much in a mil ion years.

It sounds like an invisible monster.

Lauren climbed the ladder out of the basement.

Gary was alone in the living area, sprawled on the couch with a book in his hands, the science fiction classic Dune.

'What happened to Bradbury's Martian Chronicles?' she asked.

'I put it away,' Gary said.

'Why?'

'At the beginning of the book they talk about the first few expeditions to Mars. It was depressing me.'

'Why? I mean, what happened to them?'

'In which expedition?' Gary asked.

'Oh. The first one?'

Gary rested Dune on his chest and looked at her with tired eyes. She couldn't remember him having smiled al day. 'A Martian murdered them when

they landed,' he said.

'I see.' It was only a story. 'How about the second expedition?'

'The same. But first the humans were mistaken by a Martian for insane Martians. Eventual y they were al kil ed, though.'

'What about the third expedition?'

Gary reached for his book and continued reading. 'You don't want to hear about it.

'Was it bad?' Lauren asked.

'Yes.'

'Like the first two?'

'Worse.'

'I never knew it was a gloomy book,' Lauren said.

'Dune's not much better. They have sandstorms in Dune. Storms like we're having now.'

Lauren wanted to change the subject. 'Where's Jim? Has he gone to bed?'

Gary nodded. 'He told me he was exhausted.'

Lauren made a mental note to examine him in the morning. 'Keep an eye on him, Gary. Make sure he doesn't overwork himself. Everything we do

revolves around him.'

'Sure.'

Lauren yawned. 'I'm tired myself. I think I'l hit the sack. Is Bil talking to Houston?'

'Yeah,' Gary mumbled, preoccupied. The United States had spent bil ions for them to come to this forsaken place, and he spent his time reading

fiction.

'I kind of wanted to talk to Jim before I went to bed,' she said, mostly to herself. 'Gary? Did he say what the wind was up to before he lay down?'

'Seventy-nine miles an hour.'

'Is that dangerous?'

'If it gets any higher, yes.'

'What would we do then?'

'Leave,' Gary said.

The word had a nice ring to it. 'I have to admit I kind of miss old Earth already.'

Gary turned a page in his book. 'If we leave here, we just go to where the Russians landed. We just go there.'

'Oh. Yeah. I hadn't forgotten.'

Strong hands gripped her neck, choking off her air. She

needed to scream but she couldn't breathe. They were smothering her!

'Don't touch me!' she final y managed to cry, bolting upright in bed. The relief was instantaneous. She had been asleep. Now she was awake. She

was safe. Gary was sitting on her bed. Jim stood at his back.

'What is it?' she asked, dazed.

'I didn't mean to wake you so roughly,' Gary said.

Lauren noticed it was stil dark. They had not turned on the light. Jessica was no longer in her bed. 'Why are you two up?'

'Listen,' Jim said.

Lauren couldn't believe she hadn't noticed the sound at first. Whatever she had been dreaming about had muddled her whole brain. It sounded as if

the Hawk was getting sandblasted in preparation for a new coat of paint.

'How bad is it?' she asked.

'The sand has stripped away our exterior paint,' Jim said. 'Our communications are fil ed with static. I can't even measure the speed of the wind. We

have to get out of here.'

'Can you do it, Gary?' she asked.

Gary stood, and paced uneasily in the cramped quarters. 'Not if it gets any worse. I would prefer to wait until it dies down, but Bil is worried that dust

may filter into our engines. I see his point. If that happens, we'l never get out of here.'

'But can we blast off in this wind?' she asked. 'Won't we wobble?'

'Wobble?' Gary said. 'We'l have our guts twisted inside out.' He stepped to the door. 'I've got to start my checks.' He left.

Wearing only her underwear and her oversized Houston Oiler jersey, Lauren got up and fol owed Jim to the porthole. 'Where's Jessie?' she asked.

'Upstairs with Bil . He's trying to consult with Houston. He's not having much luck.' Jim checked his watch. 'Two hours before sunrise. Are you ful y

awake, Lauren? Gary had to shake you hard before you opened your eyes.'

'We Wagners are funny sleepers,' Lauren said, thinking of Jennifer. She pointed out the porthole. 'What about our equipment?'

'We have the jeep and Hummingbird aboard. The rest wil have to fend for itself.' Jim shook his head. 'It's incredible, this storm. The Rover didn't

detect winds one-fifth this magnitude.'

'How wil the Tharsis region be?' Lauren asked.

'It's mountainous, it should be fairly wel -sheltered. Of course, we won't know how extensive the storm is until we're in space and looking down.' Jim

pressed his face against the porthole. 'It's gone.'

'What?' Lauren asked.

'Our flag. Mars buried it.'

'Maybe the planet's trying to give us a hint to get out of here while the going's good.'

'Maybe,' Jim said softly. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. 'Or maybe it's trying to trick us into going somewhere else.'

BOOKTHREE The Fire

SIXTEEN

Excerpts from Jennifer Wagner's Story

The Sastra were losing. Six days they had battled the Asurians on the open desert, and already half their people were dead. Now the enemy was

pushing into the mountains, from where they would be in position to sweep into the Garden and destroy them al . The Sastra were being

overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and by a numbing poison the Asurians inflicted through rains of piercing darts. Of the children that stil survived,

many had been wounded, and carried back to the Garden, where Chaneen tended them with the powers of her mysterious touch. Dread weighed

heavily upon her heart. She knew it would not be much longer before Kratine himself came forth and led his army to final victory.

Chaneen knelt by the body of a fal en warrior, her sister Janier standing silently at her back. During the first days of battle, they had cared for the

wounded within the palace. But now there were too many. This man had been laid in a nearby meadow. He was unconscious, and his flesh burned

with fever. He had a deep gash in his neck, where the Asurians were known to bite. His hastily wrapped bandage was soaked with blood. Worse,

Chaneen saw that his right arm was dark and swol en. He had been struck by an Asurian dart. At first the name of the poison had eluded Chaneen.

But now she recognized it as nothing more than Asurian water. Water that brought agonizing death to her children. -

Chaneen put her right palm on the warrior's forehead and took his numb arm with her other hand. She closed her eyes, sensing the man's life

ebbing away. Summoning her powers, she began to 'take on' his pain, and bring him back. But as his strength grew, her own weakness increased.

Where he bled, she hurt. Her own right arm turned cold and lifeless. In her thoughts came the horror of the beast that had chewed at the man's neck,

and the memory of how the Asurian, in turn, had perished from an arrow through his chest moments after attacking the man. But it was a scene

Chaneen had suffered through too many times in the last few days, and she began to feel faint. Janier caught her in strong arms as she slipped to

the ground, and removed her hands from the warrior. Chaneen felt momentary relief. Yet she resisted Janier's help.

'Do not stop me, Janier,' she said. 'He is near death. I must hold him, and bring him back to us.'

Her sister gave her no heed and moved her further away. 'You are weary, Chaneen. You must rest. It is too late for this man, anyway. He wil surely

die.'

Chaneen nodded weakly. 'But I must help him, if only to ease his pains.'

'Rest first, for a few moments.'

Chaneen sighed and looked to the west. The sky was fil ed with smoke, the mountain tops invisible behind clouds of ash. The sun could hardly be

found. She had sent instructions to Tier to set fire to the trees, with the hope of gaining them more time. At first, instinctively, the Asurians had

retreated, and the Sastra had been given a day's respite. But seeing that it was only the fire of man, and not the wrath of the Fire Messenger, they

had re-attacked in earnest. At night the mountains burned with red flame, and watching from her palace, Chaneen would be reminded of Kratine's

eyes. And every morning came news that the Asurians were closer.

'Has word come from Tier today?' Chaneen asked.

'No, and I worry for him, 'Janier said. 'It is said that he always fights at the front of the battle.' She knelt by Chaneen's side. 'Would it

not be possible, my Queen, to be by his side?'

Chaneen touched the rings on her hand and wondered at the brightness of Rancar's. She was stil searching for a meaning in his death. She knew

there must be one. 'You wish to fight, Janier?' she asked.

I wish to be by my husband's side when the end comes.'

'But you wish to destroy those who assail us?'

'Yes. 'Janier bowed her head. 'Since seeing Rankar's finger, I have wished for nothing else.'

Chaneen thought of the reasons why she kept Janier close to her side, and then spoke some of them to her sister. 'We are of the same flesh. What

power rests in me may also live in you, should I bring it to life. Stil , our hearts differ. I do not desire the death of anyone, even the death of those who

kil my children. It is the way I am.'

'The Sastra understand, Chaneen. We look for you to heal the scars of the war, not to fight it. None would have you touched by our enemy.'

Long Chaneen had debated al owing her sister to be the arm of the Fire Messenger's flame, recognizing herself as incapable of bringing the fire.

But having only a choice between evils had caused her to hesitate. She would stil be the ultimate cause of the Asurians' deaths.

Suddenly the wounded warrior opened his eyes. Chaneen moved to his side and took his hand. 'Chaneen,' he whispered. 'Help me! It's dark and

cold. I'm so cold.'

'I am here,' she said. 'The cold is going, and the darkness cannot fol ow you. You are one of my children.'

The man gasped. 'Ami to die?'

And she had thought she was past tears. 'Yes.'

A tremor shook his body. 'I am afraid, Chaneen. Wil you stay with me?'