The First Protector

CHAPTER TWENTY

Ma'el Report. Day 112,887…

I decided to omit the visit to Athens and have proceeded without delay to Alexandria for two reasons. One is that in Greece my work among the young women would be hampered as it was in Rome, while in Egypt 1 would have more freedom of action due to the respect gained during a previous visit of three centuries ago when my physical similarity to one of their deities was used to good effect. The second is that I am increasingly troubled by a sense of personal urgency, the cause of which I am no longer able to foresee and cannot, with the information available to me at the present time, explain.

"For a Taelon who is virtually indestructible on this world and with half of a very long lifetime stretching ahead, I should not be subject to a feeling of urgency about anything. I can only conclude that my diminishing precognitive faculty is the reason and that my psychological difficulties shall remain until I again find a means of seeing into the future, even if it has to be through the sensorium of an Earth person that I trust.

"But the young woman Sinead still shows no indications of acquiring the timesight faculty. The possibility exists that she is genetically as well as emotionally flawed.

"Brian ordered Captain Nolan to take us to Alexandria because, he openly admits, he still wishes to acquire my magical knowledge. If I was to give it to him, fully and with complete truth, it would frighten his primitive Earthly mind into complete dysfunction. Instead I asked him to arrange and supervise the outfitting of Sinead and Declan with garments and equipment suitable for our onward journey into India and Cathay because, unlike the Taelon, this species has no natural environmental protection other than a few wisps of body hair. But the purse I offered Brian to defray the cost was graciously refused with a hint that he would prefer to have my knowledge rather than my gold. He is a most persistent man.

"With covert assistance from my Taelon technology, the voyage to Alexandria was made without interference from marauding sea raiders. On the way to our berth in the west quay, the ship passed under the famed lighthouse on the island of Pharos, a structure that is generally acclaimed to be one of the seven wonders of this world, except by the native Alexandrians who scarcely look at it…"

–

It was a city of great interest and beauty in spite of being a bustling seaport and with an atmosphere entirely different from Rome because, Brian told them as he sniffed the air delicately, of the preponderance of camels that were being used as beasts of burden. He pointed out the Temples of Serapis and Poseidon and the Soma, the mausoleum that contained the remains of the great Alexander who had given his name to the city, as well as the museums that he would visit later because they were said to contain a few of the half million books, some of them scrolls measuring thirty paces in length, that had been rescued from the great Alexandria Library before it had burned down.

Whenever they came to a street of merchants containing displays of goods such as brightly woven carpets, costly and exotic viands or, on one occasion, a platform and enclosure for the sale of slaves that was attracting a large crowd of onlookers, he warned them to keep a tight hold on their valuables. The pickpockets here were reputed to be among the most light-fingered in the world because those who proved themselves inept suffered the summary amputation of a hand.

At all times Brian was entertaining and gracious, particularly to Sinead, and he treated them as equals rather than servants, but in a roundabout fashion he was always asking questions about Ma'el. The only information they could give him was that their master planned to continue the journey by land as soon as possible, but it was plain that that knowledge disappointed him.

"This is a good place," Brian said suddenly. "I remember it from my last visit."

He had stopped them at the entrance to a merchant's establishment that was flanked by displays of clothing and attractively displayed materials, and looked so familiar to Declan that he half expected Padraig of Cashel to emerge smiling with his measuring cords. Without realizing it he must have been thinking aloud.

"In Cashel old Padraig asks a fair price," said Brian, laughing, "and he is such a gentle old man that you would feel ashamed if you paid him less. Here it is a little different. Let me warn you

…" his voice became apologetic, "… that you are about to see the nasty side of my nature…"

The clothing they needed was produced and fitted quickly inside curtained alcoves by smiling slaves, servants, or perhaps they were members of the proprietor's family. By the time Declan's long woolen cloak and warm undergarments worn during the voyage and in colder Rome had been stowed in his pack with the new purchases Ma'el had suggested, they had been replaced by an equally long but much less warm white cloak that concealed his sword and axe, a large, matching square of cotton worn under his helmet to protect his neck and ears from the sun, and open sandals for use for walking rather than riding. Apart from the weapons, Sinead was similarly dressed. The fact that one of the foreigners was a young female who wanted to dress as a boy aroused no comment because foreigners were wont to do strange things and foreign gold was as good as any other kind.

But it seemed that the actual amount of gold that was expected to change hands was a matter for serious dispute which, while it stopped short of physical violence, involved the exchange of a great many insults concerning the persons and ancestors of both the proprietor and Brian as well as their improper sexual behavior with various beasts. Incredibly, the dispute ended amicably with bows and smiles and urgings for Brian to patronize the establishment again when next he visited the city.

"Your mouths are open," he said, laughing, as they returned to the street, "so allow me to answer your questions before you ask them. This is not Hibernia. Here we must haggle, or rather I will haggle for you until you learn the way of it, over everything you buy. There are two reasons for this. The first and most important one is that not to do so would mark us at once as rich, stupid, and ignorant foreigners, and soon we would be pestered by many unscrupulous people trying to take advantage of our ignorance so as to relieve us of our riches. This is not a reputation that would help you here."

"1 see," said Declan. "And the second reason?"

"It would have been unkind of me to spoil the transaction's entertainment value for the proprietor. But a good argument makes me hungry. Please be my guests. Further down the street there is a place that serves very good food. There you can put down those heavy bags, eat, shelter from the midday heat and, of course, have a pleasant conversation."

About Ma'el, Declan added with silent certainty. At home it was the custom for bards to sing for their supper or, indeed, for any other meal. Not for the first time Brian was expecting them to talk for it.

They were replete with a variety of exotic, highly spiced dishes that criminally assaulted the tongue but still compared favorably with shipboard fare when Brian began to exact payment.

Pleasantly he said, "I suggest we use the Gaelic, an uncommon language here, to foil would-be eavesdroppers. Your master's explanation to Constantine of what he was trying to do for those young women in the catacombs intrigues me, but there is a question at the back of my mind, or perhaps it is an inconsistency, that I cannot tease out into the light As one who took part in many of these initiations, perhaps you could help me to clarify it, my lady."

Giving an impressionable near-child like Sinead such a grown-up title was an unecessary and inaccurate form of respect, Declan thought cynically, but then words were Brian's most potent and subtle weapon. He watched the impatience that had begun to cloud her face clear into a smile at the compliment.

"Of course," she said. "But I have already described the rituals to you many times and told you everything I know about them. My apologies, but I know and can tell you no more."

"Is it possible," said Brian, "that you know or have seen or felt something that you have forgotten or thought too unimportant to be mentioned? Would you indulge me again, my lady, and describe all you saw, heard, felt, or thought about the ritual?"

Sinead nodded, closed her eyes to shut out external distractions and began to speak. She described Ma'el's opening instructions when he had told everyone to keep their eyes on the flame of the candle they each held so that they would see nothing else, and listen to his words and hear nothing else, and feel only the touch of his hands on their heads and any other sensation that might come to them because of his words and touch. His words had been gentle and encouraging and about the gift of future sight that they would pass on to their children and children's children who would pass what they saw or learned back to them, the possessors of the original gift. As women, he had told them, those who survived past the period of birthing carried within themselves an unbroken line of life and a gradually diminishing awareness stretching forward to the ultimate end of their kind. They should concentrate their minds so as to learn and feel and know the truth of what he was saying to them.

"… When he laid his hands on me," she went on with an edge of self-reproach in her voice, "they felt as light and fragile as a bird's wings. Many of the others tried to describe the strange visions that came to them of events and people they knew or did not know and which frightened and confused some of them. If they spoke about them in public I could understand why they were not accepted as soothsayers. I wanted it to happen to me for Ma'el's sake, but I myself did not see or feel anything except for an itching inside my head. I fear that I am a grave disappointment to Ma'el, and to you.

"Perhaps," she added with a laugh that had no humor in it, "the gift is not for a woman who dresses as a man."

Brian hesitated for a moment, and when he spoke his tone was sympathetic and with an apology in it as if for a hurt to come. "I speak truth rather than flattery," he said very seriously. "You are, or are soon to become, a comely young woman, fair of face and lively of wit, and one who in time any man would count himself fortunate indeed to win. But your master has said many times that his gift of future sight comes back to you through your descendants. I am truly sorry, my lady, but the reason you have not received the gift may be that never in your lifetime will you bear children."

"I have no intention of bearing…!" Sinead began angrily, then she moderated her tone and went on, 'There were events, and injuries, in my past that may have rendered me barren. This I have accepted. My anger is not directed at you, Brian, because in your way you are a kindly and thoughtful man. I know that your words can be subtle and deadly weapons, but there are also times, as now, when you try to use them as instruments of healing. I thank you for that, but let us return to a less painful subject."

Brian gave her a sympathetic smile but remained silent. Declan said, "We could talk about you, Brian. Or Ma'el, a man who is…"

There was the sound of dishes and eating utensils rattling as Brian slapped the tabletop. "That," he burst out, "is the inconsistency that has been nibbling at my brain. The ability to see into the future, Ma'el tells us, is the prerogative of a direct succession of women. But he is a man who has, but should not have, the gift.

"Are we sure," he added after a pause, "that he is in fact a man?"

Declan stared at him, feeling his jaw drop in surprise, and Sinead's mouth was open, too. But before either of them could speak, Brian went on, "With respect, my lady, you have already said that Ma'el treated you with kindness, protected you, and did not, well, take advantage of you as some old and dishonorable men would have done. He may be a kindly old man, but his actions where you are concerned, if he is in truth a he, are more befitting those of a kindly woman and mother. Would you agree?"

They both stared at him, too astonished to speak. Brian looked at Sinead and gave an uncomfortable laugh.

"My lady," he said, "I know the idea is completely ridiculous, so let us change to a subject less hurtful to you. How best I can help you spend the rest of this day?"

When Sinead did not reply, Declan said, "We are strangers here to whom everything is new. Go where you will and we will be pleased to follow wherever you lead."

"You speak too hastily, Declan," he replied, but his eyes were looking an apology at Sinead. "My lead would not take you to places of scenic interest or entertainment but to a museum, an establishment filled with scrolls, drawings, and relics of the past that is said to contain material salvaged from the great Alexandria Library before the fire had totally destroyed it. You would not, I think, find my search among the dusty chambers and stacks particularly interesting."

Sinead was making a determined attempt to lighten her mood. She smiled and said, "The degree of interest would depend on the object of your search. What are you searching for?"

Looking relieved and pleased, Brian returned her smile. "Knowledge," he said, "I am a seeker after knowledge but, unlike your master, I have never been averse to making a profit from whatever I learn."

An almost boyish enthusiasm crept into his voice as he went on, 'This time I am searching for the drawings, calculations, and perhaps a model of the device called an aelophile that was invented by Hero of Alexandria, a mathematician of the time of the Sixth Ptolemy. It was said to be comprised of a spherical bronze kettle mounted on and free to rotate horizontally around two metal supports. The kettle was pierced at diametrically opposed sides of its circumference by two small, short lengths of pipe that were angled in opposite directions. When it was partly filled with water and a fire lit under it, steam puffed from the two small, angled pipes and this caused the spherical kettle to spin on its supports, quite rapidly, it was said.

"Hero himself did not think much of his device at first," Brian went on, "which he insisted had been built solely to prove to himself that heat could be converted into rotary movement, but later he suggested that a larger device might be capable of pumping water or perhaps moving the wheels of chariots. When his Pharaoh witnessed a demonstration, his response was that it hissed like a nest of vipers and filled the room with steam, and that slaves and beasts could fetch water and pull vehicles much more cleanly and cheaply and that Hero should forget the idea, which he did.

"Myself I think the idea has possibilities," Brian ended defensively, "which is why I want to find the drawings and make copies of them in case my principals in Hibernia would be interested in trying out the device for use as a…"

Sinead held up a hand and looked at Declan for agreement as she said, "Now that we know what it looks like, we would be pleased to help you find it."

But in the event they did not find it, even though Brian was known to the museum curator and was given every assistance. On the way back to the harbor he seemed much less disappointed than they were, and explained that a search of that kind was time-consuming and could take many weeks or months without any certainty of a successful outcome, and added that they should not concern themselves because he did not expect them to help him search every day.

The sun had set, dusk was falling rapidly and they were about twenty paces from the ship's berth when Sinead broke a long silence. There was not enough light to show her expression clearly, but her voice sounded strangely adult and very serious when she spoke.

"Brian," she said, "I hope you don't think me impertinent or needlessly inquisitive about your personal affairs, but are you a wealthy man? Do you really need to travel the world doing this very dangerous work? Would it not be more sensible and safer for you if you returned to Hibernia and enjoyed your wealth and reputation in comfort instead of continually risking your life?"

"It would indeed be sensible and safer," he replied, his teeth showing dimly in a smile. "But I would soon grow bored with that life and tire of endlessly recounting my adventures, and my friends would soon tire of listening to me. This style of life is unsafe, but interesting, and if…"

He stopped suddenly in his tracks so that Sinead and Declan had to turn back to him. In a troubled voice he said, "Have you found Ma'el gift at last? Can you see into my future, and are you warning me?"

"No. Yes. Perhaps," Sinead replied in confusion. After a moment she went on, "With respect, Brian, I have come to know you as a likable and learned rogue who lives and avoids death by your wits. I do not foresee the time and manner of your death, whether it be due to drowning at sea, the violence of enemies, or a foreign plague, but I strongly advise that when next you return to Hibernia you should stay there.

"It may not be a prediction," she ended in an embarrassed voice, "but a simple feeling of concern for a wayward friend in need of good advice."

"I rarely take good advice," said Brian, sounding relieved. "But for your concern, my lady, I thank you."