Chung Kuo - The Marriage Of The Living Dark Part 68

Now there only remained the one.

THE MARRIAGE OF THE LIVING DARK.

"When he is gone the breach will be healed, the universe made whole." Kim, standing beside him, looked out at the scene before the ancient temple as they brought Eberf s body from the craft and laid it in the sunlight He watched them gather about the bier and saw the sadness in their faces, and wondered, not for the first time, what was the purpose of it all. "One must not think in terms of purpose," Tuan said, as if he read Kim's thoughts. "One must learn to live for the day." "Would it were that easy," Kim said. "Or do you forget I am dead?"

"In this world, yes. But in the world to come ...?"

Kim looked to him, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Wait and see, Kim Ward. Wait and see."

Jelka turned as the three men stepped from the air. This time she was ready for it This time she steeled herself not to show the turmoil within her. Even so, it was a shock to see that Kim was smiling.

"Prepare yourselves," he said, K. echoing the words alongside him. "If s time." Behind him, Tuan Ti Fo turned and, stepping within the no-s.p.a.ce, walked over to where his twin crouched, suspended in his natural shape. For a moment he seemed to hunch, as if in prayer, and then, from within his cloak, he withdrew a long, thin blade that seemed to flicker with a strange light Stepping forward, he plunged the blade deep into the creature's abdomen, embracing it, merging with it even as they watched. There was a cry of intense, almost unbearable pain, and then the air about the two creatures s.h.i.+mmered Buildings wavered and vanished. The two gate-craft flickered and were gone. In an instant all was changed, transformed.

A ripple, and then stillness.

A bird called, high and clear.

Jelka blinked. Where Kim had been, Joseph now stood. But not just Joseph, for in his eyes she saw both Kim and K., the three in one.And flowers! Everywhere one looked, flowers!

Jelka laughed, astonished, then turned. All about her, her friends were looking down and staring at themselves, as if they had been bom anew. As indeed they had!

Even Ebert, who had died, now stood among them, his blue eyes staring about him in amazement Karr laughed and held up his right arm. It flared a brilliant gold in the sunlight "Look!" he called, amazed. "I've got a metal arm!" Jelka stared, reminded terribly of her father at that moment, then turned back, facing Joseph. Facing the stranger who was now her man, throughout all time and all realities.

"If s done," he said, coming over and embracing her. "This is all there is now.

The rest..."

He touched his head gingerly, then laughed.

"What is it?" she asked, concerned.

His eyes met hers, sparkling eyes that seemed more alive than she had ever seen them. "If s just that I've forgotten."

"Forgotten? But you never forget"

"The equations. I know there were some, but..." She put a finger to his lips. "Let them go, my love. Let them go ..." Then, savouring the moment, finding it strange that she did not have to bend to kiss him, she put her mouth to his and closed her eyes.

EPILOGUE - WINTER 2250.

last quarters Yellow dust and dear water beneath the Fairy Mountains Change places once in a thousand years which pa.s.s like galloping horses. When you peer at far-off China, nine puffs of smoke: And the single pool of the ocean has drained into a cup.

Li Ho, A Dream of Heaven, 9th Century ad last quarters Eridani burned golden in the morning sky. Orbiting it, ninety-five million miles distant, its fourth planet was a green, earth-like planet; a lush, unspoiled world.

A world without predators.

It had taken them three years to catch up with the New Hope and another two to finish their voyage between the stars. For three years now they had lived on the surface of this new world, acclimatising, living in airtight domes as they slowly a.s.similated the bacteria of this agreeable yet wholly alien environment. Bacteria which, had they not taken care, would have killed them as effectively as any gun or bomb.

There was sickness and death, but things quickly improved. Thanks to Joseph and his skills, the next generation would be natives of this world and live outside beneath its pleasant, yellow sun.

, In the last day of Autumn, Joseph stood in a patch of sunlight, one hand resting lightly against the curve of the dome's gla.s.s, looking out into the world they had inherited. Behind him, in the garden he had made for Jelka, his four-year old grandchild, Sampsa's daughter, ran along the maze of paths, singing to herself as she went For a moment longer he looked out at that overwhelming tide of green, then he turned, watching the child, a broad smile on his face. Earlier he had shown her how the spider wove its web and had told her the story of the Edderiminaru and how the universe had once been split And she, crouched beside the glistening web, had listened awe-struck to the tale."Is that true, grandfather?" she had asked when he had finished. "Is it really true?" He laughed and straightened up. "So they tell me," he had answered with a wink. Now, looking across the interior of the dome, he shared something of her disbelief.

"Mileja!" he called, beckoning her to him. "Come! Lef s go see Nanny Jelka!" He scooped her up in one arm and carried her through into the next dome, smiling with pleasure when he saw that they had guests. "Kao Chen! Gregor! Why didn't you tell me you were here?"

Gregor came across and embraced him. A moment later, Chen did the same. "We didn't want to disturb you," Chen said, grinning up at him, then bending down to smile at Mileja, who hid shyly behind her grandfather's leg. "And how are all your grandchildren?" Joseph asked, looking to each of them. "Thriving," Karr answered, then shook his head. "I thought four daughters was a handful. But a dozen grandsons!"

Chen nodded sagely. "It must be the air, Gregor."

"You think so?" Then, seeing that Chen was ribbing him, he grinned. Chen himself had eight grandsons and five granddaughters, and claimed that they would shortly have to build a bigger family dome if this went on. "We called by," Karr said, "because Hannah asked us to." "Ah..." Joseph nodded. "And how is our Hannah? It seems an age since I last saw her."

"Oh, she's been working hard, Joseph. But it seems she's finished."

"Finished?"

"Oh, not completely," Chen interceded, "but enough to give a reading."

Joseph's face lit "A reading? When?"

'Tomorrow evening. In Fermi."

Joseph looked up through the dome at the crescent of Ganymede in the sky overhead. "Then we must be there!"

Karr smiled. "She hoped you would be."

"And Ben? Will Ben be going, too?"

Karr looked to Chen, then smiled. "He too has a new piece of work to display."

"A painting?"

Chen shook his head. "He says ifs something called a symphony. He calls it Song For Eridani."

Joseph nodded thoughtfully. "I didn't know ..." "No," Chen said. "Nor any of us. But he has had some of the youngsters practising it these past few months, though not a word got out about it That alone is a wonder; these youngsters talk so much!" At that moment Jelka came out from the main house, flanked by Marie and w.a.n.g Ti. The three wives looked at their menfolk a moment, then huddled together, giggling.

"More mischief, I'll warrant," Karr said confidingly.

"Do you men want supper?" Jelka asked.

Joseph looked to the others, who shrugged. "All right," he said, "but I'll pour us drinks first We'll be in the moon room."

He looked down to young Mileja. "You want to go and help grandma, peach?"

She nodded and ran across.

Karr watched her, then looked back at Joseph. "To think she won't remember Chung Kuo."

"And maybe thaf s a good thing," Joseph answered, putting out a hand and ushering them through into the small dome -the moon room - at the side of the house. "It was not a great place to live in latter years. Whereas this ..." Chen nodded. "Maybe so. But we should remember Master Tuan's warning. This is no paradise. Not unless we make it so. We must learn from what went before." '1 agree," Joseph said, following the two through the gate and into the dimly-lit interior, "which is why Hannah's work is so important Why, I was telling young Mileja earlier about what happened, and even as I was telling her, I wondered how much was real and how much I had made up, it seemed so dreamlike."

Karr nodded sombrely, then gestured to their surroundings. "All those years ago, when I was a blood beneath the Net, how could I have imagined this? To stand in the light of another star, with Chung Kuo gone, abandoned to a host of plants!" "Intelligent plants," Chen corrected him with a grin. "But come now, first things first. Joseph, have you any of that brandy left?"

The landing pad at Fermi, which normally held few more than three or four craft, was packed tonight. More than forty s.h.i.+ps had come, from Ganymede and the planet below, which, in accordance with Joseph's wish, they had named Last Quarters. As they gathered in the rooms about the hall where the performances would be given, there was a great sense of reunion. It was a busy life, transforming a world, and though they often saw each other on screens to discuss business, these kinds of occasion had been rare of late, so there was an air of genuine celebration.

The Osu were there, and Dcuro Is.h.i.+da and his family - more than sixty in all, now that his nephews had begun to produce their own offspring. Emily, now wheelchair bound, sat amongst them, talking animatedly, while behind her, Daniel, Hannah's husband, stood silently, his intelligent eyes taking in everything.

At Joseph and Jelka's arrival, there was a great hubbub of noise. Friends flocked to greet them and shake their hands or slap their backs, for in Joseph both K. and Kim lived on, looking out through the larger man's eyes, instilling in his spirit the generosity and sympathy those other men had exhibited throughout their lives.

"Is Ben here?" Joseph asked, wanting to see his old friend. "He is rehearsing," Chen answered him, appearing at Joseph's elbow, "can't you hear?"

There was the sound, behind the murmur of the crowd, of strings and woodwind, starting and stopping. A faint, unfamiliar noise. Hearing it, Joseph s.h.i.+vered. It had been so long since he had seen an orchestra play. So long since he had sat and listened to another read aloud. Such civilised pleasures. Nor were they to be considered simply luxuries: these were things that made life more than mere existence. He looked about him, proud to be part of this great experiment, this great family of beings who now carried the story of humankind forward into a new age. It was not often he thought thus, for there was always too much to do day by day on a practical level, but right now it struck him powerfully. They had been given another chance. A chance to get it right; to learn from past mistakes and create the social structures and inst.i.tutions that would enhance their lives, not subjugate them.

If only Master Tuan were here to see this, he thought wistfully. But he knew that that had been the price. Old Tuan had sacrificed himself - and his race - to give them this undeserved opportunity.

He had once said as much to Jelka and she had frowned deeply, asking him just why he felt it "undeserved", and he had referred her to man's long history. But she, in reply, had spoken of their friends, of the good people who now shared this life with him; had argued that all they had ever needed was new air for them to become new creatures.

And so they worked towards that; to make themselves new creatures, adapting themselves to suit this Eden of a planet and not the other way about, for that had always been the mistake mankind had made - to think that all of creation could be adapted for their use.

People before machines. That had become their creed. Machines were necessary, of course, yet they were also secondary. They took care to use machines purely as tools, utilising them in the same way that one might use a knife or a hoe, not letting the machines use them. For that path, too, mankind had erroneously followed in the past; mechanising and desensitising themselves until they were little better than automatons. As for education, their children were taught to care for the world and the creatures that surrounded them and to appreciate the balance of all things. They were taught the ancient Tao, and, through Li Yuan, learned that their natures were a balance of both the animal and the intellectual and that it was their duty to nurture both, yes and treasure them.

Joseph smiled at the thought of what they had accomplished, smiled at the thought that there was so much more to come. As . for himself, he had never been so happy. He had only to look at Jelka, and at Sampsa and young Mileja, to know that he was blessed. And he knew he was not alone in feeling that. There was no discontent here, no, not even in the face of hards.h.i.+p and suffering - and there had been much of that these past years. And why? Because no one here was alone. Because every single person knew that they would rely on someone to help them in their need.

It would not always be so, of course. Individual men and women were often weak. Yet if one built a world in which such weakness could be channelled and not allowed to fester into resentment and bitterness, then maybe this time they would have a chance - a real chance - to build a society free of levels and hierarchies, free of greed and corruption and all the shades of human pettiness that feed upon the soul.

It was not much to ask, and at the same time, a great deal. More than anyone had ever asked before.

"Joseph?"

He turned at Jelka's gentle nudge. "Sorry. I was miles away ..."

She gestured towards the doors at the far end of the room, which were now open.

People were moving slowly into the hall beyond.

"I think it's time."

Joseph smiled and took her arm. "Then let's go."

Sitting right at the front of the hall, directly below the orchestra, Kao Chen reached into his pocket and took out his handkerchief to wipe his eyes. Beside him w.a.n.g Ti had LAST QUARTERS.

tears streaming down her face, and, looking along the line, Chen saw that not a single one of them was unaffected.

He looked again, past Ben's back, at the sea of arms that rose and fell in time with the haunting melody, and felt something in him break, so that he let out a loud sob. But no one seemed to care.

It was beautiful. The most beautiful thing he had ever heard. And it felt... well, as if Ben had somehow caught the very thread, the delicate woven pattern of his feelings, and transcribed that into music somehow, so that as the music played, he too was played, like an instrument All of his hopes and fears, all of the baggage that he had brought here from Chung Kuo - all of that was expressed in the music.

And more. Much more. For he felt at that moment that Ben's music somehow touched him and connected him with everything about him. He felt... absorbed by it And as it finished, he found himself on his feet, part of the great roar that went up from every throat in the hall.

It was thus a highly emotional crowd who sat once more to watch Hannah take her place behind the lectern and hear her read from the first volume of The Book of Earth. And when she closed the book and fell silent there was a hush that, in its way, was as moving and as deep a response as that which had greeted Ben's symphony, before, once again, the crowd rose to its feet and applauded her, a tumultuous wave of applause that went on and on until Hannah had to raise a hand and, laughing, plead for them to stop.

And so the evening ended, with friends embracing and waving goodbye to each other on the pad.

And three days later, when the elected Council met, it was decided that they would finally change the calendar and would call that evening, when Hannah read from the History and Ben first performed the Song For Eridani, the first day of the first year of Eridani.