‘The mythical element?’
‘Obviously not a myth.’
‘Where are you from?’ Karel looked aghast as realization dawned. ‘You’re from the Top of the World!’
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do
They glided on in silence, gazing from the windows. The vast patches of churned brown earth had given way to something even more disturbing.
‘Warrior, I have never left the Silent City before. Surely these plants are not natural?’
‘They are not,’ replied Wa-Ka-Mo-Do. ‘Not natural to Pen-rose, anyway.’
The plants were tall as robots, straight green stalks swelling to a cylindrical bulge at the top. They were planted in staggered rows that allowed long views along the green lines as the train rolled past. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do had never seen anything so alien.
‘Do you think that the Emperor is aware of what the animals are doing in his kingdom?’ murmured Jai-Lyn in a voice that hummed with static.
‘Be quiet, Jai-Lyn,’ warned Wa-Ka-Mo-Do, glancing around the otherwise empty compartment. ‘I am sure the Emperor is aware of all that happens in Yukawa.’
‘Then how could he permit this? Those plants should not be here! They look so wrong!’
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do gazed again at the long rows of green stalks. Some of the bulging tops had peeled back to reveal the yellow segmented fruit that lay inside.
‘The rumours are true…’ said Jai-Lyn, softly.
‘What rumours?’ asked Wa-Ka-Mo-Do.
Jai-Lyn lowered her eyes, well aware she had said too much.
‘Jai-Lyn. What are the rumours?’
‘Oh my master! I should not have spoken.’
‘But you have. Tell me, Jai-Lyn, what have you heard?’
Green speckled with yellow flickered by the window. Jai-Lyn stared at his feet as she spoke.
‘Oh my master, back in the Silent City, some of the women would service the Emperor’s messengers. Robots who had been the length and breadth of the Empire. They would remove their plating for polishing, they would dip their electromuscle in fine oil and reweave it, they would listen for the singing of the current in the wire, all to ensure the smooth running of the messengers. And sometimes, as they did this, the messengers would speak of what they had seen on their travels.’
‘What did they say?’
‘What we have seen, warrior. The messengers who had been to the south spoke of whole swathes of land given over to the animals that they might grow crops for themselves.’
‘Well, it is true. We can see that for ourselves!’
Jai-Lyn wore only cheap metal, and yet she moved with an elegant grace. Even looking at the floor, her hands pressed together so nervously, she looked so pretty.
‘There was worse, my master,’ continued Jai-Lyn, miserably. ‘For what is land to a robot but a luxury? Crops and cattle help one to live a more comfortable life, but they are not essential.’ She looked around again, to see if anyone was listening. ‘I…’
‘Go on, Jai-Lyn,’ urged Wa-Ka-Mo-Do.
‘I… Oh, my master, it cannot be true, but I also heard it rumoured that the animals were to be given mining rights. That the Emperor had granted them leave to take coal and ore from his mines. Oh, I am sorry.’
She lowered her head now so that it touched her chest. Silence descended, underscored by the sound of the wheels on the track.
‘Be very careful that you do not speak these words outside this carriage, Jai-Lyn,’ warned Wa-Ka-Mo-Do. ‘They are highest treason. The Emperor would never allow what you say to be.’
‘I know it is true, but that is what I heard, warrior. And it troubled me, for I also heard that the animals had no use for the robots who worked in the mines.’
‘No use for them?’ said Wa-Ka-Mo-Do. But he knew what she meant. He had seen the silver machines in the fields. If the animals could make a machine that would plant and tend crops, then surely they could make one that would mine for ore.
‘No use, my master. The robots of the mines were cast out to walk the land, with access to neither fire nor forge until their bodies fell apart and they were left broken and unmoving.’
‘Be silent, Jai-Lyn!’ He hadn’t meant to shout, but he was rattled by her words. He already nursed doubts about this command; this news only unsettled him further.
Jai-Lyn had fallen to her hands and knees, her face close to the floor.
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do centred himself. ‘Be silent,’ he repeated, though more softly. ‘Such things cannot be true. The Emperor is just and wise. He would never countenance such actions.’
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do had met the Emperor, and had seen him to be neither wise nor just. Surely, though, he would not contemplate this? To give metal to animals?
‘Warrior?’ said Jai-Lyn, face still turned to the ground. ‘I’m sorry.’
Look at me, thought Wa-Ka-Mo-Do. One of the Eleven, taking out his anger on a young unarmed woman. What would those robots of the Imperial Guard think if they were to see me now? They were right. I am uncultured.
‘Jai-Lyn. Please get up. I’m sorry I shouted. Here.’
He bent down and held out his hand, helped her to her feet. He smiled in apology.
‘Jai-Lyn, will you forgive me?’
‘I have nothing to forgive you for, warrior. I shouldn’t have spoken as I did.’
‘No. The fault is mine. I commanded you to speak. Please, forgive me.’
She looked at him hesitantly; more than ever she reminded him of La-Cor, his sister.
‘I forgive you,’ she said. ‘Warrior, may I ask you a question?’
‘Of course you may.’
‘Warrior. You are to command the warriors of Sangrel, are you not?’
‘I am.’
And that feeling of unease returned to Wa-Ka-Mo-Do. Just why was he being sent to command the city?
‘Warrior, if you saw injustice in Sangrel, you would address it, would you not?’
‘Of course I would,’ answered Wa-Ka-Mo-Do. He felt more confident now. This he was sure of.
‘Then I am pleased,’ replied Jai-Lyn. ‘For I know that I can trust you. Look, we are approaching Sangrel…’
She pointed out of the window. Over the high heads of the crops, Wa-Ka-Mo-Do saw the hilltop town of Sangrel. Old stone and iron buildings clustered within walls that gathered the town to safety at the top of the steep slopes and cliffs of Sangrel Mound. The town commanded a view for miles around, and in turn it commanded respect of those who looked up at it.
‘It has been a pleasure to travel with you, warrior.’
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do looked down at the young robot, at her cheap but beautiful body, and worried at how she would fare in the city of Ka with its predominantly male population. All those whalers with their thick metal bodies, all that current surging within them, looking for release…
‘It has been a pleasure to travel with you too, Jai-Lyn,’ he said, and he took her hand. ‘Remember, you have a friend in Sangrel. If you ever find yourself in need whilst in Ka, just mention that you know the commander of Sangrel.’ He gripped her hand all the tighter as he spoke.
‘No one would ever believe me,’ laughed Jai-Lyn, gently disengaging her hand. ‘And besides, your duty will lie elsewhere.’
‘Perhaps,’ said Wa-Ka-Mo-Do. ‘But, for friendship’s sake, if nothing else, if there is ever a need, you will promise to send me a message?’
He felt the surge of electricity in her hand.
‘Friendship? Oh my master, thank you!’
‘Then you promise?’
‘I promise.’
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do felt a little happier.
‘Then I vow that I will do what I can to aid you.’
‘Don’t make such a vow, warrior!’
‘It is done.’
She gazed at him, golden eyes shining.
‘Thank you,’ said Jai-Lyn. ‘Thank you, my master.’
The note of the engine changed. The train was decelerating, magnetic motors slowing it rapidly to a halt.
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do was approaching his command.
Karel
Morphobia Alligator might have been smiling at Karel, but Karel couldn’t tell. If Morphobia Alligator did have a mouth, it was hidden behind the long tapering point that extended down from his head like an elongated chin.