Planet Of No Return

12: Discovery!

Brion had an almost overwhelming desire to shake Lea awake, to force her to give some explanation of just what she had been talking about. He resisted. It had been a long and exhausting day for her; she must have kept going on nerve alone. When he went to put the bottle of vodka away he saw that she had drunk only a small amount. It was fatigue, not drink, that had dropped her in her tracks. Although the night was warm, as always, he spread the sleeping bag over her to guard against any chill.

What could she have meant — the place where the machines come from? She must have been referring to war machines; they had certainly hadn’t seen any peaceful machinery since they had arrived on this planet. But how could there possibly be a single place where all the military hardware originated? Not one source for both sides. No, the idea was impossible. If a place where machines originated really existed, it would have to be for one side or another. And even that sounded crazy. Could all the war machines on side or the other issue from a single location? This might be possible if they were coming out of underground factories. That certainly gave credence to the theory of an underground civilization.

Perhaps there were not just one, but two armed groups, both of them — staying securely below ground. While they sent their armies out to engage in battle on the surface. But what possible explanation could there be for actions of this kind? He shook his head. He was tired and could think of no solutions to any of this at the moment. Yet there had to be an answer, the machines and the warfare were certainly real enough.

Brion stood and looked around the crude encampment. All activity has ceased with sunset. The women were inside the cave and the Hunters were settling down to sleep in their accustomed places before the cave mouth. He looked for Ravn and found him sitting apart from the others, turning the necklace of finger bones over and over in his hands. This might be a good time to question him. Lea could be watched at the same time to make sure that she was undisturbed. Ravn would surely know something about this mysterious place of the machines.

An emotion of contentment and sleep pulsed over the settlement; anyone who threatened Lea would radiate fear, hatred, and would be instantly detected. Brion checked her again, she was still deeply asleep, then made his way through the recumbent figures to the Ravn.

“We will talk,” he said. Ravn looked up, startled, clutching the necklace to him. The quick spurt of surprise was instantly replaced by cold hatred. This one would have to be watched. Always.

“It is late. The Ravn is tired. In the morning…“

“Now.” There was no warmth in Brion’s voice; he reached out and took hold the necklace for a moment, instantly aware of the man’s spurt of fear. “You will do as I say. I will be obeyed at all times.” He released the necklace and sat down. Ravn instantly pulled it over his head with shaking hands.

“Who am I?” Brion said. Ravn turned away, looking behind him, around, anywhere except at Brion.

“Look at me, piece of dirt. Who am I? Give me my name.”

The words emerged with utmost reluctance, dripping with venom. “You are … Ravn Above Ravn.”

“That is true. Now you will answer my questions in the same true way. You have seen machines?” A reluctant nod of the head. “Good. What kind of machines have you seen?”

“It is forbidden to talk of machines.”

“It is not forbidden to talk of them to the Ravn Above Ravn. Have you seen machines that flew in the air? Good, you have. What did these machines do?”

“What machines always do. With loud noises they killed other machines, then they were killed in turn. It is always that way. That is what they do.”

“Have you ever seen a machine that did not kill other machines?”

“Machines kill machines, that is what they do.” The question was an impossible one to answer. It was obvious from his expression that he thought Brion was a fool for even asking it.

“All machines kill machines,” Brion echoed the other’s words. Then went on in the same quiet voice. “Now you will tell me — where do the machines come from?”

The words had an instant and dramatic affect on Ravn. He shuddered all over and fear replaced all his other emotions on the instant.

“You will tell me,” Brion said, leaning forward and clashing his two great fists together; they impacted with a solid thud. “Tell me now!”

There was no escape. At this moment Ravn was more afraid of those fists than he was of the taboo of speaking. He pointed over his shoulder, but this did not satisfy Brion. In the end Ravn had to speak, stammering the words in a hoarse whisper.

“It is that way. Many days walking. It is there. The Place with No Name.”

“You have been there?”

“Only a Ravn may visit this place. The Old Ravn showed me when I was young.”

“Then you will show me since I am Ravn Above Ravn. We will go when the sun rises.”

“It is forbidden …”

“It is forbidden to refuse me anything.” He reached out to the cringing man and closed his hands about the scrawny throat. “Will you die now?” Brion forced hatred into his voice. The threat had to be real: only by deadly fear could he control the Ravn. When there was no answer he began to close his fingers with steadily increasing pressure.

Ravn gasped out the reluctant words. “We go … when the sun rises.”

It was enough. Brion released him and returned to Lea’s side without another word. She was still deeply asleep, snoring lightly, and he tried to emulate her example. But he was too aware of the emotional flow of the people around him, their spurts of sharp emotion during dreaming. And the fear and hatred hovering just below the surface at all times. In the end he realized that sleep was going to be impossible. He lay back and looked up at the stars, letting his sense of awareness reach out on all sides.

Lea woke soon after dawn. He gave her some water, then he told her what he had discovered. She nodded in agreement.

“There has to be something in it. The way the women talked, this place seemed to be very real to them, not just another historical myth.”

“We will just have to go there and see for ourselves. There has to be something out there. Ravn was certainly reluctant enough about leading me there. He took a lot of convincing. He was afraid of this place of the machines as he was of me.”

“Do you think he was afraid enough to run away? I don’t see him anywhere.”

Lea was right; Ravn had vanished during the night. When Brion woke the Hunters they seemed to be as puzzled about his disappearance as he was. They searched fitfully, some of them even scouting down the trails leading from the encampment. But in the end they all returned with negative reports. Ravn had vanished without trace.

“Damn!” Brion said. “We’ll never find this place without him. I should have tied him down — he could be miles away by now.”

“I don’t think so,” Lea said. “In fact I have the very strong sensation that he is a lot closer than you imagine.” She looked very smug as she stirred the caffeine extract into her cup of water, then sipped it as it began to steam.

“Would you be so kind as to tell me just what in hell you are talking about!”

“Temper, temper. Shouting will only raise your blood pressure and get you nowhere.” She sipped daintily while he fumed with impatience. “Now that’s better. While you men have been stamping around everywhere I have been watching the women. They are very afraid of something — and they are staying inside the cave, every last one of them.”

“Could he be hiding in there? Isn’t it taboo for men to go inside with the women?”

“Men, yes. The Ravn no. He even has a cache of some kind in the rear. Want me to take a look?”

“No, that’s too dangerous. My new title should get me inside as well.”

The Hunters watched with mild interest as he strode towards the cave entrance — but the women retreated in panic. “I am Ravn Above Ravn!” he shouted as he bent his head to get under the overhanging ledge.

Brion blinked in the semi-darkness inside, waiting while his eyes slowly grew accustomed to it. The cave was really just a fault in the rocks, about sixty feet deep. There were cries of fear and sobbing from the women who were now all huddled together, with the children, to the back of the cave. They wailed and moved aside as he approached them. Without exception they all of them retreated to his left. Interesting. Brion went to the right, towards a stinking heap of uncured lizard skins piled high in a niche. Skins, nothing else. Or had he seen a slight movement in the darkness. He knelt and groped under the fetid mass — then shouted with delight.

Ravn wailed and slobbered as he was pulled out by the ankle, dragged clear of the skins and rolled over on the ground. Brion looked down at him, feeling a slight pity for the grovelling man. But only for an instant, as he became aware of a throb of pain in his hand, where he had knocked the healing stump of his index finger against the rock floor of the cave. All trace of sympathy vanished with this and he nudged Ravn with his toe.

“Stand up, cowardly piece of filth. We start the long walk today.”

Most of the morning had passed before Ravn declared himself ready to leave. There were rituals to be done, a bracelet of bones to be fetched from its hiding place in the cave, food had to be gathered. Urged on by Brion he eventually ran out of excuses and reluctantly started down the path — only to stop suddenly when he saw that Lea was following them. He waved his hands with agitation.

“No women! Women not allowed. Only Ravn can go. No hunters, no dirt women!”

“This woman comes with us only part of the way so she can carry our food for us. She will not go to the Place With No Name. She will be sent back long before that. Now — lead the way.”

Dragging his feet and proceeding with the greatest reluctance, Ravn started down the hillside again. Brion and Lea followed behind him on the path through the trees, until they were well out of sight of the encampment. Brion stopped then and took the heavy bundle from Lea, slinging it across his own back. She rubbed her sore muscles. “Only dirt woman carry bundle. How come big Hunter carry big bundle? This very bad for taboo.”

“Do you want it back?” _

“Never! But won’t dirty old Ravn protest and make trouble?”

“He couldn’t hate me any more than he does now. And I can take care of any trouble he can possibly dream up. Every time I feel sorry for him my finger stump twinges and I suddenly lose all sympathy. Let me know when you get tired and we’ll take a break.”

“I can walk all day — as long as someone else is carrying the pack.”

Their course first took them to the west, along the edge of the plain. By afternoon the foothills began to curve north along the shore of the Central Lake and they followed this natural direction of the land.

Brion called a halt before dusk, tired by a full day of walking after a sleepless night. As he had done before, he staked Ravn down so he wouldn’t go wandering when they weren’t watching. With the enemy well secured Brion enjoyed a deep and dreamless sleep, waking in the morning well refreshed for the trek.

They proceeded like this for three days, walking through the sparse cover of the foothills with the forest nearby. They only ventured out after dusk to fill their water bottles, if they had not crossed any streams during the day. Ravn only spoke once, shouting a warning when he heard the distant sound of engines. They lay hidden in the undergrowth watching the contrails of invisible aircraft above. The planes drew white lines across the horizon, coming from the north. If this was any indication, the march was certainly going in the right direction. Ravn was terrified of the aircraft, lying shuddering on the ground.

“We are close, too close,” he insisted. “We must go back.” Only with effort did Brion force him to go on. Nor did he go far. Less than an hour later he stopped and sat down under a tree.

“Now what?” Brion asked.

“We must wait until dark and then go down to the lake and pass this place by.” He waved to the ridge ahead.

“We go on now,” Brion ordered. “There is a lot of daylight left.”

“We cannot. Up ahead is a Holy Place. We cannot go there. We must pass it by. Only at night is it safe to go along the lake.”

“A Holy Place? I like the sound of that. We’ll take a look …”

“No! It is forbidden! You cannot!”

Brion was aware of the surge of emotion that seized Ravn, a fear greater than anything he had experienced before — greater even than his fear of Brion. He screeched as he attacked, knife raised. Brion stepped inside the swinging arm, blocking the downward swing with his own arm, and caught Ravn’s wrist. He seized his neck with his other hand, squeezing hard until the writhing body went limp.

“He’ll be unconscious for a long time — but I’ll stake him out just in case we’re delayed.”

“You mean while we’re looking at the Holy Place?”

“No — while I’m looking at it. You’ll stay with him. His fear was real. Whatever is up there is dangerous.”

Lea snorted with disgust. “And just what isn’t dangerous on this planet? We go together. Correct?”

Brion opened his mouth to argue — then closed it and reluctantly nodded. This was one argument that he knew he was lost even before it had begun. “Stay close to me. We have no idea what might be over the ridge.”

They walked slowly upwards through the trees, then stopped at the foot of the grassy slope. It ended at the top of the ridge a few yards further on. Brion leaned close and whispered.

“Please stay here until I see what we are facing. I promise that you will join me as soon as it is safe. All right?” She nodded agreement and sank into the shelter of a large tree.

Brion crept the last few feet — an inch at a time. At the top he paused, then raised his head with infinite caution. Looked, then raised his head even higher to stare down the other side. Then he stood and waved, calling back to Lea.

“Come up here — it’s all right. Just come and see what we have discovered.”