“You have to go, of course. Don’t use me as an excuse.”
“But what about the child?”
“I’ll be all right,” she said. “What could you do if you were here? Stand around and make everyone nervous? The doctors will look after me. This isn’t the first pregnancy they’ve had to deal with.”
“But… don’t you want me to be there with you?” he said.
She had reached out and taken his hand in hers.
“Of course,” she said. “But remember what you said. The oath isn’t as rigid as you thought. I know you’re going, and when you get back there’ll be no mystery any more. I’ve got plenty to do here, and if what Barter Collings told you about the oath was true, you’ll be able to talk to me about what you see.”
Helward had not been sure what she meant by this. For some time he had been in the habit of confiding in her much of what he saw and did outside the city, and Victoria listened with great interest. He no longer saw the harm in talking to her, though it worried him that she should continue to be so interested, particularly when so much of what he said was confined to what he considered to be routine details.
The result was that on his own personal score he no longer had a motive to try to avoid the journey down past, and indeed the idea excited him. He had heard so much of it, mostly by implication and half-reference, and now the time had come for him to venture that way himself. Jase was down past; perhaps they would meet. He wanted to see Jase again. So much had happened since they last saw each other. Would they even recognize each other?
Victoria did not come to see him leave. She was in the room when he left her, still in bed. During the night they had made love tenderly and gently, making half-hearted jokes about making it “last.” She had clung to him when he kissed her goodbye, and as he closed the door and went into the corridor he thought he heard her sobbing. He paused, debating whether to go back to her, but after a moment’s hesitation he went on his way. He saw no benefit in prolonging the situation.
Clausewitz was waiting for him in the Futures’ room. In one corner a modest pile of equipment had been laid, and spread out on the table-top was a large plan. Clausewitz’s manner was different from that of the previous interview. As soon as Helward let himself into the room, Clausewitz led him to the desk and without preamble explained what he was to do.
“This is a composite plan of the land to the south of the city. It’s based on a linear scale. You know what that means?”
Helward nodded.
“Good. One inch on this is roughly equivalent to one mile… but linearly. For reasons you’ll discover, that won’t help you later. Now, the city is here at the moment, and the settlement you have to find is here.” Clausewitz pointed to a cluster of black spots at the other end of the plan. “As of today that’s exactly forty-two miles from here. Once you leave the city you will find that distances are confusing, and so are directions. In which case the best advice I can give you, as we give all our apprentices, is to follow the tracks of the city. When you go south they are the only contact you will have with the city, and the only way you will find your way back. The pits dug for the sleepers and the foundations should still show. Have you got that?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You are making this journey for one main reason. You must see that the women we entrust to you arrive safely at their village. When that has been done, you return to the city without delay.”
Helward was occupied with mental calculations. He knew how long it took him to walk a mile… just a few minutes. On a full day’s march in hot weather he could hope to cover at least twelve miles; with the women to slow him up, half that. Six miles a day, and that took seven days for the outward trip, three or four days for the return. At best, he could be back at the city within ten days… or one mile, as the city measured elapsed time. Suddenly he wondered why he had been told that he could not be back in time for the birth of his child. What had Clausewitz said the other day? That he would be gone ten or fifteen miles… perhaps even as long as a hundred? It didn’t make sense.
“You’ll need some way of measuring distance, so that you’ll know when you’re in the region of the settlement. Between the city and the settlement there are thirty-four old sites of our stay-emplacements. They’re marked on this plan as straight lines across the tracks. You shouldn’t have much difficulty in locating them; although the tracks are built over the sites after they’ve been used, they leave quite distinct marks in the ground. Keep to the left outer track. That is, as you walk southwards, the one furthest to the right. It is on this side of the track that the settlement is situated.”
“Surely the women will recognize the area where they used to live?” said Helward.
“That’s correct. Now… the equipment you will need. It’s all here, and I suggest you take it all. Don’t think you can dispense with any of it, because we know what we’re doing. Is that clear?”
Once again Helward confirmed that he understood. With Clausewitz he went through the equipment. One pack contained nothing but dehydrated synthetic food and two large canteens of water. The other pack contained a tent and four sleeping-bags. In addition, there was a length of stout rope, grappling irons, a pair of metal-studded boots… and a folded crossbow.
“Are there any questions, Helward?”
“I don’t think so, sir.”
“You’re quite sure?”
Helward looked again at the pile of equipment. It was going to be a devil of a weight to carry, unless he could share some of it with the women, and the sight of all that dried food had set his stomach lurching…
“Could I not live off the land, sir?” he said. “I find the synthetic food rather tasteless.”
“I would advise you to eat nothing that is not in these packs. You can supplement your water-ration if you have to, but make sure the source is running water. If you eat anything that grows locally once you’re out of sight of the city, it will probably make you ill. If you don’t believe me you can try. I did, when I was down past, and I was sick for two days. This isn’t vague theory I’m giving you, it’s advice based on hard experience.”
“But we eat local foods in the city.”
“And the city is near optimum. You’re going a long way south of optimum.”
“That changes the food, sir?”
“Yes. Is there anything else?”
“No, sir.”
“Good. Then there’s someone who would like to see you before you go.”
He gestured towards an inner door, and Helward walked over to it. Beyond it was a smaller room, and here his father was waiting for him.
Helward’s first reaction was surprise, immediately followed by one of incredulity. He had seen his father last not more than ten days ago as the man was riding north; now, in that short period, it seemed to Helward that his father had aged suddenly and horribly. As he walked in his father stood up, balancing himself with an unsteady hand on the seat of his chair. He turned painfully, and faced Helward. His whole manner was marked with advanced age: he stood hunched, his clothes hung on him badly and the hand that came forward was trembling.
“Helward! How are you, son?”
The manner had changed too. There was no trace of the diffidence to which Helward had grown so accustomed.
“Father… how are you?”
“I’m fine, son. I’ve got to be taking it easy now, the doctor says. I’ve been north once too often.” He sat down again, and instinctively Helward stepped forward and helped him into his seat. “They tell me you’re going down past. Is that right?”