Terra's World Read online

  The Gfjk-Hhh raised the pulse-orb and shot the Guard Captain square in the back. His shattered body flew across the chamber and slid to a halt between the Forum benches. All laughter ceased, followed by a few horrified gasps, then silence. The Gfjk-Hhh got to his feet.

  - EMPLOYING idiots, now that’s another matter. The Gfjk-Hhh peered at the Captain’s body with distaste. Wffk, get that cleaned up, will you?

  The Gfjk-Hhh turned to the two trembling custodians. - Right, my foolish friends, you’re free to go! Go on, be off with you. He smiled.

  The two custodians managed nervous smiles of terror and gratitude, then turned to go.

  - Ahem . . .

  They paused at the sound of the Gfjk-Hhh’s voice.

  - You’ll have to leave the weapons, obviously.

  The custodians unfastened their holster belts and placed them on the floor. They walked on. The Gfjk-Hhh spoke again. - And the boots.

  The custodians exchanged confused glances, then dutifully removed their boots.

  - And the clothes. All of them.

  As the two custodians struggled out of their garments, the Gfjk-Hhh rose to his full height and announced, - If anyone in the city offers either of these two food, shelter or clothing, they will find themselves in the Gshkth Pit tomorrow. He turned to the two nude Fnrrns. Get out.

  They scampered, grey and naked, out of the Forum.

  The Gfjk-Hhh slumped back into his chair. For a moment he seemed lost in thought. Then he addressed the assembled courtiers.

  - Who’s hungry? he asked. I’m hungry.

  2.11

  We could just go home, thought Billy.

  We’re in a little space-dinghy, high above this loony planet where Terra used to live. But at the end of the day, it’s not OUR planet, and just a short ride away, there’s an enormous comfy starship full of food and sofas which could whisk us away back to Earth in luxury within a couple of days. We could just go home.

  But looking at Terra’s face, he knew he didn’t dare suggest this.

  She WAS home, he thought. That was her home back there and somehow, while she’s been away, it’s become a nightmare, and now there’s no way she’s going back to Earth until she finds a way to fix it, or gets herself killed trying.

  And all I can do is help or stay out of her way, he concluded.

  Terra had decided to take the dinghy straight upwards into orbit, make one circle of the planet (if nothing else this gave them a few hours to collect themselves after the terrifying day they’d spent on Mlml), then redescend to Dskt. That way, if anyone had been tracking their escape from Hrrng, they might assume they’d left the planet. The dinghy was perfectly capable of flying to Dskt aeroplane-style, but Terra was afraid they’d be followed, maybe even shot down.

  They’d deactivated their gravity bubbles and landed in a heap in the park where they’d left the dinghy. No one saw them arrive except a little Fnrrn playing with a bdkt. She’d made an excited squeak when Terra and Billy crashed onto the purple lawn and another when Terra, having opened the invisible ship’s hatch, shot her a friendly wink and then disappeared. The little Fnrrn called excitedly to her mother, who was on the other side of a patch of nx-nx bushes, and had missed everything.

  ‘So where are we going?’ Billy asked.

  ‘Dskt,’ said Terra. ‘Just across the sea from Mlml. Specifically, the ancient walled city of Lsh-Lff.’

  ‘Right . . . Lsh-Lff.’

  ‘One of the oldest cities on Fnrr. It’s right by the coast. I went there on a Lyceum trip once.’

  ‘Okay . . .’

  ‘Dskt was invaded just before Mlml. The G’grk overran the place and used it as a base to attack us from. That was a couple of orbits – I mean years – ago. Should have had time to rebuild itself by now.’

  ‘Uh huh. Terra, can I ask you a question?’ said Billy tentatively.

  ‘Go ahead.’ Terra’s attention was focused on the dinghy’s navigational readouts.

  ‘WHY are we going there?’

  ‘Because that’s where my friends are. They told me in a dream.’

  ‘Of course they did.’ It made about as much sense as anything else Billy had heard in the last few days. He decided not to query it.

  The dinghy had begun its descent, bumping through Fnrr’s atmosphere. Lsh-Lff made sense as a hiding place, thought Terra. The eras-old city walls (Lsh-Lff had been founded before Dskt was unified as a nation; its walls were a souvenir from the days when it had consisted of many individual city-states) would make for a good defence if the Gfjk-Hhh were foolish enough to attack. As mad and evil as her brief experience of him led her to believe he was, Terra didn’t imagine the Gfjk-Hhh would be so crazed as to try to invade Dsktn territory. Would he?

  The dinghy’s retro-gravs kicked in and it slowed into its final approach. Terra noticed that there was a lot of low cloud over Lsh-Lff; she wasn’t sure if the city even had artificial climate control like Hrrng, but if so, it didn’t appear to be working today. Maybe it had been damaged during the G’grk invasion?

  The dinghy bumped downwards through grey cloud. Billy looked for some means of strapping himself in but saw none; he clung to the edges of his seat and smiled nervously at Terra. Terra returned the smile, then turned back to the ship’s readouts.

  Her face fell. She went pale. ‘No! NO!’ she wailed. Billy let go of his seat and rushed to her side.

  The readout had switched to a front visual display; it showed Lsh-Lff ahead of them. Or rather, it showed what was left of Lsh-Lff.

  The walls still stood, but that was about it.

  As the dinghy circled the city, Terra rushed to the large side porthole and gazed out desperately. She saw blackened, burned-out buildings, shattered towers, fallen spires, deserted streets, ash, dust, debris. No signs of life anywhere.

  ‘We’re too late,’ she said quietly. ‘We’re too late.’ She clutched Billy and wept into his shoulder. He stared at the devastation. There was nothing he could do but hold her.

  The dinghy completed its automatic descent and set down in front of Lsh-Lff ’s coastward gates.

  ‘Come on,’ said Billy.

  ‘No,’ said Terra quietly.

  ‘They might be hiding in there,’ said Billy. ‘There might be a message, or—’

  ‘They’re dead,’ said Terra, her voice emptied of emotion. ‘There’s nothing here.’

  ‘Wait, wait,’ said Billy. ‘This message, the one you dreamed – it was last night, wasn’t it? Look at those ruins. No smoke, no embers – everything’s cold. Whatever happened here, it happened WEEKS ago at least.’

  ‘So?’ asked Terra tearfully.

  ‘If your friends were alive last night, then they’re still alive today! They didn’t die when the city was destroyed because it was destroyed ages ago! Either they’re hiding out in there somewhere, or they’re somewhere else entirely, or . . .’ Billy decided against finishing the thought.

  ‘Or what. . . ?’ probed Terra.

  ‘Or . . . it really was a dream.’ Billy shrugged.

  Terra leapt to her feet. ‘Right,’ she said. ‘Come on,’ and she stomped towards the hatch.

  That’s more like it, thought Billy, and followed her.

  By the time Billy descended the ladder, Terra was standing in front of the coastward gates. They were shattered and scorched, hanging off their huge metal hinges. There was no sound but the lapping of waves against the shore, a few hundred metres behind them.

  Billy stood beside Terra and took her hand. ‘Shall we?’ he said. She looked at him with friendship, gratitude and the last traces of tearfulness. They marched through the gates.

  And everything changed.

  2.12

  Terra and Billy stood, amazed, on a busy city street.

  Fnrrns, dressed in typical Dsktn smock-like garments, walked to and fro. Above
them, others went about their business borne aloft by gravity bubbles. In front of them, a line of stores and kiosks.

  They exchanged astonished glances, and then Terra’s face lit up with understanding.

  ‘They hid it. They hid the whole thing. Incredible.’

  ‘Who hid what?’ asked Billy.

  ‘They hid the whole city,’ said Terra. ‘The people of Lsh-Lff, they threw up a massive camouflage field around THE WHOLE CITY. I’ve never heard of anything like it.’

  Billy didn’t think it was worth pointing out that he hadn’t either. So he confined himself to asking, ‘Why?’

  Terra shrugged. ‘I don’t know, to fool the G’grk, maybe? The country was being invaded – if you convince a marauding army that your city’s already a burned-out ruin, they might just assume they’d been beaten to it and keep moving.’

  Billy whistled. ‘Ingenious.’

  By now, their presence had been remarked upon. Some passers-by had spotted them and exchanged concerned mutterings, and soon they were approached by a uniformed officer.

  - Who are you? What are you doing here?

  Terra was about to respond, but Billy put his hand on her arm. ‘Wait, I’ve got this.’ He touched the translation cube in his pocket, and said to the officer:

  - We come in peace. Take us to your leader.

  Terra rolled her eyes.

  2.13

  - You’re wrong, you know. About why I keep you here.

  The Gfjk-Hhh was visiting Lbbp in his cell. He was sitting on one side of the crystal barrier, Lbbp on the other. Lbbp did not look at his captor or answer him. The Gfjk-Hhh went on regardless.

  - You think you’re here because I’m afraid you can expose me. ‘That’s not the Gfjk-Hhh,’ you’d say, ‘he’s a cleaner, that’s all. A cleaner I once told a pointless lie to because I couldn’t be bothered to show a moment’s civility to a stranger, and that’s why you’re all suffering now.’ Wouldn’t you love everyone to hear that?

  Lbbp did not react.

  - Well, you’re wrong, Deceiver. That’s not why you’re here. You’re here because I enjoy reminding you of the fact that this is all your fault. Do you understand?

  No reaction.

  - I have so many toys these days, Deceiver. All the toys I could ever want. And you’re still my favourite. Does that make you feel good?

  Still nothing. The Gfjk-Hhh leapt to his feet.

  - Perhaps I’ll let you tell them. Take you out onto the roof of the Forum, and let you scream it to the whole city. ‘He’s not the Gfjk-Hhh! He made it all up! He’s nobody!’ Because you know what would happen? NOTHING. They didn’t believe me because I had them at the point of a weapon. They CHOSE to believe me. They WANT me to be the Gfjk-Hhh. They LOVE ME.

  The Gfjk-Hhh still addressed the back of Lbbp’s head. He paused a moment, then went on.

  - If I decide you’re no fun any more, you die, you realise that? Think about it.

  The Gfjk-Hhh swept out, slamming the cell door.

  What the Gfjk-Hhh hadn’t been able to see was that Lbbp had been smiling throughout their encounter.

  Not a word about Terra. Not a gloat, not a boast, not so much as a mention.

  Which meant she’d got away.

  Alone in his dungeon, Lbbp’s face was one radiant smile.

  2.14

  Kssh-Thll was not having a good day.

  He’d been Steward Intendent of Lsh-Lff for three orbits, since before the Concealment. He’d had a vote, as one of the Civic Trustees, when the decision was made to hide the city. Not an easy decision; much anguish would be caused in the rest of Dskt when the news of Lsh-Lff ’s ‘destruction’ got out. And within the walls, many who had family in other regions had protested against the necessity of allowing their relatives to believe them lost, to mourn and grieve while all the time their loved ones lived on, hidden beneath the optical shield.

  When the invasion of Mlml had failed, or been repulsed, or whatever it was that had happened across the narrow strip of ocean (no one in Lsh-Lff was entirely sure how the G’grk’s campaign had been stalled; some bizarre rumours flew around involving aliens and strange tonal chanting, but no one believed a word of that) and the G’grk began to withdraw their troops back to the Central Plains, another dilemma had arisen: should the city reveal itself, safe and intact? Was the G’grk retreat a ploy? Would Lsh-Lff, having spent all that time hidden, be overrun as soon as it was exposed?

  Surely, the Trustees thought, if the ceasefire held, if the truce were genuine, help would come. Wouldn’t Dskt’s national government, once reinstalled in the great capital city Hff, send troops and engineers to rebuild the city? They would come, with their tools and machines, ready to demolish the ruins and start again – only to find the city and its people safe and sound! The joy of that reunion! The relief ! The jubilation!

  No help came.

  The G’grk withdrawal MUST have been a ploy. The country was NOT free and safe.

  In fact, the government in Hff had decided not to rebuild Lsh-Lff, but to leave the ruins standing as a permanent, sombre memorial to those who had fallen during the war. Of course, no one told the people of Lsh-Lff about this; as far as anyone knew, there was nobody to tell.

  The city remained hidden. No one was allowed to go beyond the city walls. No transmissions to the lands outside the city walls were allowed. No one had ever found them. No one was ever supposed to find them.

  Especially not a pair of aliens.

  - I don’t suppose there’s a British consulate, is there? Billy smiled weakly. Terra glowered at him.

  Kssh-Thll rubbed his temples. He had one of those headaches that only Fnrrns get coming on. He looked across his desk at the two bizarre creatures who had been brought to his bureau. Even once he had got used to the garish, ruddy skin colouring and the horrid fibrous excrescences on their heads, there remained the ridiculous attire and the clanging accents (although to be fair, everyone from Mlml sounded like that to Kssh-Thll). He decided to try again.

  - So, you say that you have come here looking for some friends – friends who have fled the tyranny in Mlml. You have walked into a city that the whole of Fnrr thinks is a dead ruin, and you think your friends are here. Why?

  Terra stared at the floor. Billy nudged her. - Tell him, he said.

  - It sounds stupid when you say it out loud, she muttered.

  - Please, young Ymn, said Kssh-Thll, indulge me.

  Terra sighed. - We came here because . . . because . . .

  - Because it came to her in a dream! said a familiar ebullient voice.

  Terra and Billy wheeled round. Terra’s face lit up like a supernova. She didn’t care if she was under arrest – she didn’t even know if she was under arrest – she’d never been so pleased to see anyone in her life.

  - FTHFTH! she shouted, and ran to her friend.

  Terra flung her arms around the young Fnrrn so hard that for a moment she was worried she’d injured her.

  - You look weird, said Fthfth when she’d got her breath back.

  - You look bigger! replied Terra.

  - I AM bigger. And so are you. MUCH bigger.

  - Not THAT much bigger, protested Terra with a smile.

  - Yes, you are. MUCH MUCH bigger. You’re ENORMOUS. What have you been eating?

  - Almost nothing since I got back, said Terra.

  - Erm . . . came a quiet voice, I’m here too you know.

  Terra turned. - PKTK! she said, and gave him almost as fierce a hug as the one she’d given Fthfth. That done, she turned straight back to Fthfth. - How’s Lyceum?

  - If I might beg your pardon, said Kssh-Thll stiffly, suspecting that they’d quite forgotten that he was there, never mind that they were still in his bureau.

  - Oh yes! said Fthfth, who had quite forgotten that Kssh-Thll was still there and that they wer
e still in his bureau. Thank you, Steward Intendent. I have here – she handed him a shard of crystal on which was engraved an insignia – the crest of the ArchRector of Lsh-Lff Polynasium. These Ymns are members of Preceptor Shm’s party and are to be treated as guests of the ArchRector.

  Kssh-Thll studied the shard.

  - I think you’ll find it’s quite in order, said Fthfth.

  Kssh-Thll had no idea if this was indeed the crest of the ArchRector of Lsh-Lff Polynasium, or if crystal shards were considered a proper form of documentation; he wasn’t even entirely sure he’d ever HEARD of Lsh-Lff Polynasium. But it looked like these two Ymn interlopers were about to become officially someone else’s responsibility, and that was good enough for him.

  - Of course it is. Kssh-Thll smiled. Have a pleasant stay. He handed the shard back to Fthfth, sat back at his desk and tried to look busy. As they turned to go, Terra and Fthfth’s conversation resumed without missing a beat.

  - I’m nearly in orbit four now! Actually they said I might skip orbit four altogether and go straight to five. Of course that was before all this Gfjk-Whatsit nonsense started. But never mind that, tell me all about Rrth.

  Billy and Pktk caught each other’s eye.

  - I’m Billy, said Billy. He extended a hand for Pktk to shake.

  Pktk stared at the hand for a moment, then said, - I’m Pktk.

  - Right, said Billy, withdrawing the hand.

  For a moment, they stood wordlessly as their female counterparts chatted excitedly. Then, as Terra and Fthfth trotted away happily, the two young males shared a knowing look and followed them. Interesting, thought Billy, that the ‘let’s leave the girls to get on with it’ face was truly universally understood.

  * * *

  - So why here? Why Lsh-Lff ? asked Terra, as they passed out into the street.

  - Safest place to hide is a place that no one even thinks is a place. Fthfth smiled.