“It may well be so, Rod. The majority of the planet is in its Carboniferous Era, and giant ferns are the dominant plant form.”
“There’s a strip of beach alongside them. What’s that lying on it?”
“A primitive amphibian, Rod.”
“Kind of fits in with the whole ambiance,” Rod said, nodding. “Wonder what’s under the Carboniferous flora?”
“Carboniferous fauna, I would presume.”
“You certainly would. No bogeymen?”
“Human habitation usually occurs in cleared spaces, Rod.”
“You never know; they might have something to hide. But if you’re going to talk about a cleared space, here’s the rest of the bump.” Rod frowned, peering closely. “Looks like there might be some small trees there.”
Fess was silent for a few seconds, then said slowly, “I agree, Rod. Those do appear to be trees. Stunted, but trees nonetheless.”
“Odd-looking for a fern, isn’t it? Where did trees come from, Fess?”
“There can only be one source, Rod—the Terra-formed island of Gramarye.”
“Well, let’s be fair—maybe some of the seed got scattered during the Terra-forming.”
“Quite possible, Rod—but it is the mechanism of scattering that is of importance. There must be some sort of communication between this mainland area and Gramarye.”
“Such as the ocean current I’m looking for? Well, well!” Rod peered closer, delighted. “Let’s see—besides the trees, it’s just a featureless light green. Can you check what makes that color, Fess?”
The picture stayed the same size on the screen, but the robot analyzed the pattern of electrical charges that was the recorded image. “It is grass, Rod.”
Rod nodded. “Again, that couldn’t come from a Carboniferous fern-patch. But it’s such a clean break between the ferns and the grassland! What could make such a clear demarcation, Fess?”
“Exactly what you are no doubt thinking of, Rod—a line of cliffs, the cliffs Toby mentioned.”
“I was kind of thinking along that line, now that you mention it.” Rod looked down at the picture. “So we could be looking at the beastmen’s lair. It does match Toby’s description—except for one little thing.”
“I see no anomaly, Rod.”
“Right. It’s not what is there—it’s what isn’t. No village.”
Fess was silent for a moment. Then he said, “I see your point. There is no sign of human—or subhuman—habitation.”
“No dragon ships drawn up on the beach, anyway.”
“There is only one logical conclusion, Rod.”
“Yeah.” Rod leaned back and took a sip of Scotch. “I know what I think it is—but let’s hear what you’ve got in mind first.”
“Surely, Rod. We recorded these pictures two years ago during our first approach to this planet. Apparently the beastmen were not here then. Therefore, they arrived within the last two years.”
“That’s kinda what I was thinking, too… Say!” Rod leaned forward again. “That reminds me. I’ve been meaning to tell you about something I noticed during the battle.”
“Some historical inaccuracies in the beastmen’s Viking equipage, Rod?”
“Well, an anachronism, anyway. Fess, those beastmen are Neanderthals.”
The little ship was very quiet for a few seconds.
Then Fess said, “That is impossible, Rod.”
Rod answered with a wicked grin. “Why? Just because the last Neanderthal died off at least fifty thousand years before the Norse began to go a-viking?”
“That was rather the general trend of my thoughts, yes.”
“But why should that bother you?” Rod spread his hands. “We found a time machine hidden away in the back hallways of Castle Loguire, didn’t we?”
“Yes, but we disabled it shortly after we defeated Anselm Loguire.”
“Sure—but how did it get there in the first place?”
“Why… a time-traveler must have been sent back to build it.”
“Quick figuring, Reasoning Robot.” Rod pointed a finger at the nearest vision pickup. “And if they could do it once, they could do it again.”
“Why… that is certainly logical…”
“Sure is. ‘Sensible’ is another matter. But that time machine didn’t exactly look as though it had been improvised, you know?”
“Surely you are not implying that they are mass-produced.”
“Well, not mass-produced, really—but I did have in mind a small factory somewhen. Two or three a year, maybe.”
A faint shudder vibrated the little ship. “Rod—do you have any idea how illogical such an event could make human existence?”
Rod looked up in alarm. “Hey, now! Don’t go having any seizures on me!”
“I am not that completely disoriented by the concept, Rod. I may have the robotic equivalent of epilepsy, but it requires an extremely illogical occurrence to trigger a seizure. A time-machine factory may be illogical in its effects, but not in its sheer existence.”
That wasn’t quite the way Fess had reacted to his first discovery of a time machine, but Rod let it pass. “Well, I did have some notion of just how ridiculous widespread time machines could make things, yes. Something like having neanderthals dressed up in Viking gear, showing up on a planet that’s decided to freeze its culture in the Middle Ages. That what you had in mind, Fess?‘’
“That was a beginning, yes,” the robot said weakly. “But are you certain they were Neanderthals, Rod?”
“Well, as sure as I can be.” Rod frowned. “I mean, conditions were a little rushed, you know? I didn’t get a chance to ask one of them if he’d be good enough to take off his helmet so I could measure his skull, if that’s what you mean.”
“No, but several beastmen did meet with fatal accidents during the battle. Perhaps we should send a scribe with a tape measure.”
“Brother Chillde will do; might as well put him to some use. But he’ll just confirm what I’m telling you, Fess: heavy jaw, no chin, brow ridges, sloping forehead—and I mean really sloping; obviously no prefrontal lobes.”
“An occipital lump, Rod?‘’
Rod scowled. “Well now, that I can’t really say. I mean, after all, that’s down at the base of the skull where the helmet would hide it. Check that on one of the, ah, specimens, would you?”
“I shall leave written directions to that effect, Rod—in your name, of course. So, then, you are positing someone removing a tribe of Neanderthals from approximately 50,000 B.C. Terra, and transporting them here?”
“Where else could they dig up Neanderthals?”
“The theory of parallel evolution…”
“Parallel lines don’t converge. Still, you never know; we’ll leave the possibility open.”
“But for the time being, we will assume they were taken from Terra. And whoever brought them here outfitted them with Viking ships, armor, and weaponry. Presumably this unidentified party also taught them navigation. But why would they have attacked you?”
Rod shrugged. “Presumably because the unidentified party told them to—but we’ll leave that one open for the moment.”
“As we must also leave open the question of the unidentified party’s identity.”
“Well, that doesn’t have to be too open.” Rod frowned. “I mean, whoever it is has got to have a time machine—and we already know two organizations so equipped who’re involved in Gramarye.”
“The futurian anarchists, and the futurian totalitarians. Yes.”
“Right. And, with two candidates like that available, I don’t see any need to posit a third.”
“Which of the two would you favor in this case?”
“Oh, I’d say the anarchists probably masterminded it,” Rod reflected. “It strikes me as being their style.”
“In what way?”
Rod shrugged. “Why Viking gear? Presumably for the same reason the Vikings used it—to strike terror into the hearts of their victims. And striking terror like that serves the general purpose of making chaos out of whatever social order is available. Besides, they like to get somebody to front for them—the ‘power behind the throne,’ and all that.”