Read The Disestablishment of Paradise Online
Authors: Phillip Mann
Some ten minutes later, Mack paused. ‘Getting near now. Get that wine open?’
‘It’s already breathing,’ she called.
‘So am I, and thirsty.’ He started again. After some four cuts, he stopped. ‘Come round the front and watch. This is it. This is what we call the butcher’s cut. The axe
will find its own way out.’ He positioned himself carefully, legs spread, shoulders relaxed, and raised the axe. He brought it down fiercely, not cutting sideways but straight. There was a
cracking sound and Mack hopped onto one side of the arch and held on to the trunk. The cracking grew stronger until, with a
bang
, the entire joint tore apart. Slowly and gracefully, the
two sides of the arch that had been joined for so long straightened and found a new balance. As they did so, the trees shook and the Venus tears rang out.
Hera clapped her hands. And although she and Mack couldn’t have heard them, all the people at the space platform Alpha-over-Paradise, riding high above the planet, cheered too, for the
scene was being projected in the dining room. And further afield, far, far, far away, in the crowded main debating chamber of the Space Council, representatives who a short time ago had voted to
terminate the ORBE project now put on a brave face as the people about them went wild with jubilation. Was Theo Vollens somewhere there? I feel certain he was: if not in person, then sipping
champagne in spirit.
Estimates vary as to how many other people were watching from the inhabited worlds that day. I know I was – in this very studio where I am now sitting writing – along with many, many
millions of others, at a conservative estimate.
And there was Dr Tania Kowalski, keeping her excitement in check, saying, ‘Of course, it is early days yet and the severance is just complete. But all seems to have gone well. Both the new
Dendron-to-be seem stable, the trunks have a balanced curve and they are well bedded.’ And then she added, ‘The Space Council is to be complimented for its foresight and wisdom in
allowing Dr Hera Melhuish and her research assistant to complete this important project. We hope to speak to representatives of the Space Council shortly,’
Mack and Hera knew none of this. Mack climbed down and Hera met him with a glass of wine. But before he could have that she kissed him and that was the first kiss they had enjoyed in and of and
for itself. Simple pleasure.
It was much later. Evening sunshine still filled the small valley, but clouds were gathering in the hills, and Alan was predicting rain.
During the afternoon Mack had taken the SAS up and dragged the remains of the Dendron’s body across the clearing to where the trees started. On the way he had crushed a few Tattersall
weeds, in true Dendron fashion. Now the Dendron’s remains could liquefy in peace. Hera had hosed down the stool to get rid of any soft matter. The stump, where the Dendron’s
‘brain’ had been hidden, now contained a small pool of clear water. The stream was running clean too. Mack had steeped himself for an hour in its cool water and his cuts were dressed.
And Hera and Mack were now sitting at their table and feeling proud of themselves.
Hera, after a long struggle with her conscience, was about to confess to Mack that the scenes shot by the camera had had a wider audience than just Dickinson and Tania. In fact Dickinson and
Tania and the whole demolition team were standing by to talk to Mack in case he was upset. The space-wide broadcast was over, though the camera was still turned on and recording. Dickinson was
hoping to be able to set up a reverse link so that Hera and Mack would be able to see the people on the shuttle.
Hera had just filled Mack’s glass and uttered the time-honoured phrase ‘There’s something I want to tell you’ when they heard a scrabbling sound. It came from a stand of
Tattersall weeds which they had flown over when they first saw the Dendron. Mack stood up guessing it might be a weed on the move.
There was more noise, and then a thick hairy limb, bigger than anything they could have expected, came probing out from the trees. It had thorns like claws and the thorns dug into the ground.
Another limb followed it and it too dug in. Both contracted, scratching the earth, and the uprooted body of a giant Tattersall weed dragged into view. It was the one they had seen at the mouth of
the valley three days earlier. The similarity to a giant spider was undeniable.
They saw the tree draw itself together. When it released, more branches were thrown forward, three or four this time, all in a powerful but uncontrolled way, like puppet arms. Any other plants
in their path were simply knocked down. They dug in and dragged, and even before this movement was complete, more of the limbs of the plant were coming at them, creeping forward and plunging their
thorns into the ground. Ungainly and uncoordinated though this movement was, it nevertheless had urgency. Two more casts and it would be upon them.
On the top of the SAS the camera swivelled and focused. Moments later, one of the limbs flung forward and crashed down in front of it.
Mack grabbed Hera and together they ran to higher ground, to the place where they had slept. When they turned, they saw one of the heavy arms strike the SAS, buckling its roof and the rotor
blades and cracking the windows of the control cabin. The tri-vid camera was sent spinning over the ground and ended up in the stream. Then the body of the tree, with its giant ball of root matter,
was dragged right over the SAS flyer, which rolled, crushing its rotor blades and solar panels, to end up on its back, its tail in the stream and its siren howling mournfully.
The giant Tattersall weed moved on for two more casts. Then it righted itself and settled some twenty metres from the two new trees. It prepared to set down its root.
They saw the squirming white root emerge and enter the earth. The ball of side roots settled over it. On either side the long heavy branches rested on the ground, steadying it. ‘Like an
old man squatting on a pot’ was Mack’s description. Finally, its bright blue flowers came out and they could smell its fragrance.
We are at another turning point, and our story becomes, for a while, internal.
Unlike the Dendron, where one became two, with Hera and Mack two are becoming one.
But, as with Romeo and Juliet, we see that the best laid plans can be overturned. The Michelangelo-Reaper, which we have only encountered once so far, will shortly move from the shadows and
become important.
Hera and Mack looked down from their small exposed campsite. They watched the Tattersall weed as it se led near the twin trees. It trembled once as its roots dug deep, and then
it became still. Mack picked up a stone and, with the unerring eye of a demolition worker, threw it high and hard so that it bounced off the branches of the Tattersall and then tore one of its
flowers.
‘What’s that in aid of?’ asked Hera. ‘Are you trying to provoke it?’
‘Just wanted to see if it had any more kick in it. It’s done enough damage already.’
‘I don’t think that old man’s going anywhere fast. That climb completely knocked the stuffing out of it. I think that Tattersall weed’s settling down for a long, long
rest. They’re not really equipped to go charging about.’
‘Well, I don’t trust them.’
At that moment there was a rumble of thunder. Looking across the valley they could see that rain was already falling. They also noticed that more Tattersall weeds were on the move, dragging
themselves down to where the twin trunks swayed in the gathering breeze. Already there was quite a congregation of Tattersalls, and Hera, remembering what she had seen at the umbrella tree
plantation, was under no doubt that they would be offering the trees whatever help they needed, whether sap or physical support.
Olivia
You must have been terrified.
Hera
I think we were more shocked than terrified. But with the rain coming we had to move quickly. We crept down the hill to the SAS. If we met a Tattersall on
the move, we simply dodged round it, but they were not bothered with us.
Olivia
Was there anything left to salvage? I thought the SAS was crushed.
Hera
It was. The craft was completely ruined. The fluid drive mechanism had fractured and the roof had been torn open when the rotor blades were ripped off.
The cabin was half in the stream, but we could still climb aboard. All the electric circuits were dead, except for the siren, which had its own small battery and which Mack silenced with a
fist.
We salvaged what we could: backpacks, clothes, a tent, food. The distinction between needs and wants became critical. But we were more fortunate than many. The SAS was a survival craft,
remember, and the problem was not what we needed, but what we could carry. Mack found the small fixed-band radio, which seemed none the worse for being soaked, but its batteries were almost
flat. I located a solar charger and a small stove. We carried everything back to our camp.
The first thing we did was erect the tent. The clouds were coming down from the hills and then the rain arrived. We simply threw everything into the tent. Then we sat in the tent, huddled
together, and watched as the light fell and the mist gathered about us.
And that was frightening, because we could hear sounds down by the river. Scraping sounds. The Tattersall weeds were on the move, but we couldn’t see them. Fear focuses one’s
mind wonderfully. I reasoned that our tent was set well back and close to where the dense trees began, and no Tattersall weed would make its way through them. And I reasoned too that the
Tattersall weeds were not actually aggressive. Blundering, yes. But as long as they did not blunder our way, we were probably safe.
But there was something else. When I looked into myself, I realized that I was not actually afraid of anything. It was not because Mack was there. It was because I was so proud of what we
had done for the Dendron, and I was so pleased with myself, because I knew that I had, for the first time in my life, fallen in love. Fear just did not exist. I felt warm all over. Nothing in
all my reading had ever prepared me for what I was feeling. It was so wonderful. And it was so interesting, I mean what it was doing to me – mentally and physically. I couldn’t say
anything about it to Mack: I just had to sit there. I didn’t dare touch him. I think I was a bit afraid of what I might do.
After about an hour the rain eased and then it stopped completely. Some time later I saw the first stars above the hills. Then more stars came out as the clouds moved away. And the natural
green glow came from the plants. The world became tranquil for me.
Not so Mack. He was not tranquil. He felt the need to work out a plan. I was more content with the
now
of things, and that was a big change in me. But he still needed to organize in
order to feel secure. And he wanted to protect me too, I knew that.
And we had had a plan, a very beautiful plan, before the Tattersall weed destroyed our means of escape. Our plan centred on our caring for the Dendron – the two of them – for a
short time until we knew they were secure, and then caring for ourselves. I say it was beautiful, because our plan gave us space and time and a purpose while we got to know one another properly
and began to make all those adjustments you have to make when you fall in love.
Afterwards? I suppose we would have decided to quit Paradise and face the world. We knew we couldn’t stay. Paradise was becoming too unpredictable and there was no place for us there,
not really. We were not a new Adam and Eve. If anything, we were more like the old Adam and Eve and on our way out. I felt my work was done. My life had clicked round and a new circle was
beginning. I think I was hoping for new challenges – and I knew that loving someone was the biggest challenge I might ever have to face. And Mack? Well, he had made his feelings pretty
clear, and so both our futures were suddenly wide open and full of completely new and exciting possibilities. You have been married, haven’t you Olivia?
Olivia
Three times.
Hera
Then you know what I mean.
Olivia
Divorced three times too. But don’t let that stop you. Go on with the story.
Hera
Well,
we
thought the possibilities were exciting. And then this Tattersall weed had come blundering in like a drunk at a party and had destroyed
our plans just as certainly as it had broken the SAS. We were no longer in charge of what we did. We could not escape. The SAS was kaput. We were again trapped by circumstance. That is what I
think Mack found hardest.
I watched his reactions. He became very practical – well, he always was practical – but very much the man in charge, sorting things out, trying to find order in chaos. This is
what he proposed. First, charge up the radio to make sure it was working. Then get a message up to the platform and arrange a rescue. I was not sure about that. I still felt that any action by
Abhuradin and her forces might trigger some kind of avalanche, but not because the planet was vengeful, you understand. Paradise doesn’t work like that. But because it had evolved in
response to what we had done there and was now poised to reject the alien. Cut the string and the weight falls. Pollute the streams and the fish die. Damage a planet and it returns the
compliment with interest. It is the way. Totally comprehensible, simple and absolute. And it does not need malice or anger.
I felt that we were more or less safe, barring accidents. But the arrival of a rescue party, armed with laser cannon, their minds hardened by the will to save ‘those of their
species’, or some such. Well, that thought might be all it would take to trigger the anti-response. Paradise, remember, was a psychically reactive place. We were safe as long as we did
not provoke change.
Olivia
What do you mean, ‘We were safe as long as we did not provoke change’?
Hera
I was thinking of the Reapers, the Michelangelos. To me, at that time, those were the most dangerous of all the creatures on Paradise – well they
still are, really, because, you see, they are totally unguessable. They seemed both kind and terrifying. With them, I felt none of the warm vital energy I experienced with the Dendron. I only
had to think of a Dendron and I became happy, because of their wild carefree energy. And yes, that energy was sexual, simply because most of our good energy is sexual in some way. Well,
isn’t it?
Olivia
No comment.
Hera
But the Michelangelo-Reaper . . . I never knew what to call it. It was like being told a joke that you don’t get, or having a dream that you feel is
important but that just doesn’t make sense, and besides . . . look at the power they had. Read Sasha.
8
Look what they did to me. There was no
doubt in my mind at that time but that they ate humans in some way. Now, of course, after what happened to Mack, I see things differently, but at that time . . . I was a bit concerned too
because I could see that they didn’t frighten Mack in the same way they frightened me, and I didn’t understand that.
Anyway, I let Mack go on with his planning and prepared a simple meal. We were neither of us really hungry but I had saved the wine. That was important. It is amazing how a little luxury
like a bottle of wine does you good when you are in a tricky situation.
So, then, when we had eaten, I made sure he was comfortable, and I said, ‘Mack, I have two things I want to explain.’
He settled back and said something like ‘Fire away, Doc.’
I was feeling guilty, you see, because I had not yet told him about the broadcast and I wanted there to be no secrets between us. ‘The first is that when you were freeing the Dendron,
it was not just Dickinson and Tania who were viewing, it was being broadcast to anyone.’
He looked at me. ‘What do you mean, “anyone”?’
‘Anyone!’ I said. ‘It was live on the Time and Space Network. A fractal transmission that could be picked up by anyone. At the Space Council, or out on Churchill, or down
on Earth, or the Angelique torus, Gerard’s Barn even.’
He nodded, and I didn’t know what he was thinking. And then he said, ‘Well, I hope they enjoyed it. I should have guessed. He’s got a bloody cheek that Dickinson. But no
harm’s done, is there?’
‘No. No harm’s done.’
And then he said to me, ‘I’m glad you didn’t tell me before. I think it would have stopped me working. Thanks for keeping quiet. Now what was the other thing?’
And I had been expecting an outburst! People are very surprising sometimes.
‘The other thing,’ I said, ‘concerns us.’ His face fell and I saw I had used the wrong words, loaded words, and now he feared the worst. Quickly I said,
‘Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad. I just want to put an idea to you.’ And then I told him my fears of what might happen if people came to rescue us, and I added,
‘But that’s not my only reason, Mack. I’d like to spend some time with you alone. Just the two of us. And I don’t want to stay here in this valley. Now the Tattersall
weeds have arrived they can take over. They’ll know what to do better than us. They couldn’t have done what we did to help the Dendron. That was our task, our big circle, and now
it’s done, and a new circle is beginning. And it’s you and me, Mack, and I don’t know where it’s going. So I suggest we walk out of here. I suggest we make our own way
over the planet. I’ll teach you to read and you can tell me your stories. It can be done, Mack. And yes, we’ll stay in contact with the platform, and if things get too hostile or if
we get into real trouble, we’ll call them up and take our chance. Perhaps something small and humble could come and find us. But it might not be necessary, Mack. We both have something of
us lodged in this planet. We know the situation, and if we try, we can “bugger off back to Birmingham” on our own. What do you say, Mack?’
Olivia
And what did he say?
Hera
I can’t remember. I think he was a bit puzzled. You see, he was expecting to be rejected. And then when he finally got the idea he said something
like, ‘You mean you want to trek with me over Paradise?’ And I said, ‘Yes. That’s what I’m talking about.’ And he looked pleased and then doubtful and then
happy and then he said, ‘It’ll be hard, you know.’ And I think it was at that point that I hit him.
Olivia
And then?
Hera
And then we made love. Out there on the grass. It was very different. Abandoned but quite premeditated too, full of talking and sudden kisses. Passionate
but not blindly so, and very, very exciting. I was very surprised at myself, and I think Mack was too . . . I say, Olivia, you’re not going to put this in the book, are you?
Olivia
Of course not.