Cat Karina

Epilogue

There never had been a Lord of Rangua, of course. The Lord had always been whichever Us Ursa chose to sit behind the opalescent screen. They took it in turns. In their grim, thoughtful way it amused them to think that True Humans were, after all, ruled by Specialists.

And the Us Ursa wanted no trouble. Power, yes; that was their birthright. But trouble meant danger, and danger was against their creed.

So, in the name of peace, they shared their power with Karina and Raoul for a while. Meanwhile El Tigre worked hard in Rangua, a deal was concluded with Manoso, the impounded sailcars were released, and trade was resumed with the southern Cantons with every sign of a boom in prospect.

The Johnathan Years, as the subsequent Age was called, marked the beginning of the end of the religious movement inspired by the Kikihuahua Examples. Under the crafty guidance of Manoso, metal artifacts began to come out of the delta and were accepted into general use. More sailcars of the Rayo type were built. Felino objections to these cars were overcome by allowing increased Specialist participation in sailway operations, and in due course the example of Rangua Canton was followed all down the coast.

Another change was triggered by Manoso. He took charge of tortuga production, making no secret of the fact that the creatures were animals, and that True Humans had therefore been eating meat for a long time. And so another Example collapsed, the felinas began to hunt their food again, and the tumps could safely become extinct — which they did, on that happentrack, a thousand years later.

History, as recorded by the Rainbow, does not relate what happened to the Us Ursa. A little-known stanza of the Song of Earth speaks of a small but powerful tribe of huge Specialists who, in later years, inhabited a certain valley of lakes once rumored to be the haunt of a bruja. If this tribe was the Us Ursa, they could be there still. It is equally possible that they discovered the workings of the Rock, and, one day after the Triad had removed the Hate Bombs, took off into the Greataway in search of new worlds.

Early in the following summer Karina went to see her father. By that time the Canton had settled down and he was chief of the Town Elders.

«I’m pregnant,” she told him.

He had aged, this last few months. He walked a little more slowly, stood a little less tall. He spoke more carefully, weighing each word, the memory of the Massacre of Rangua still burning in his mind. Torch now handled a lot of his work — in addition to squiring Teressa and Runa.

«I don’t see how you can be,” said El Tigre, but his eyes told him she was.

She laughed shakily. «Neither do I.…» She glanced down at herself, gulped, then burst into tears. «Father, I’m so scared! What kind of things am I carrying? What ’ s in there?»

He laid a huge arm around her. «It’s not like my girl to be frightened.»

«I never used to be, before,” she sobbed. «Whenever I was frightened or hurt, I used to be able to … kind of concentrate, and I could make it go away. I used to call the things that helped me my Little Friends. I never told anyone about them.»

El Tigre’s eyes were far away, remembering. «Serena … your mother. Nothing could hurt her — until.…» Until a few months before she died.

«Father, my Little Friends have gone, now. I’m scared the things inside me have killed them!»

«Don’t be ridiculous, Karina.» He spoke firmly, masking his love. It was the only way. «They’re just babies, your first. It’s natural for you to be nervous.»

«I’m going away. I want to do this by myself.»

«That’s the usual way.»

«I … I may not come back.»

«I’ll be very sorry if you don’t. And so will Raoul.»

«Raoul?»

«Well, you are.… I mean, I thought.…»

«Only True Humans stick around one another afterwards, father.» Her voice was brittle. «Raoul and I have stayed together for the good of the Canton, but now we do it the felino way. I’d have thought you’d understand that, of all people.»

And El Tigre made his confession.

«I’ve never stopped loving your mother, Karina.»

Karina bore John by the shores of Lake Da Gueria.

It was a difficult birth because he was so big. Karina lay on the pebbles at the water’s edge, mewing with pain. She was alone, apart from a guanaco who watched her with supercilious eyes, chewing. John was born, and Karina bit the cord, and the pain subsided to an ache. There were no others; John was the only baby and Karina inspected him closely for strangenesses, but he seemed normal enough.

Karina rested.

Later that day, feeling better, she bathed John in the warm waters of Lake Da Gueria and wrapped him in a soft blanket, and held him against her. The low sunlight slanted past her, casting long shadows and illuminating the distant sail of a car beating down the coast. She lay back in some contentment, listening to the ripples spending themselves on the lake shore.

John made a sound.

Karina jerked; she’d been dozing. The guanaco had wandered away.

John looked at Karina directly, his eyes focussed in a way that babies’ eyes never do. He smiled.

And something in those eyes said, I ’ m hungry.

«Hello, Little Friends,” said Karina happily, and held John to her breast. He was a fine, strong boy.

She found herself looking forward to showing him to Raoul.