"I'm sorry, Bill, I know you put a lot of work into this place. But when they come to get us, I want to be working as hard as I can toward getting ourselves out," Cirocco said.
"I agree with you, basically. What's your idea?"
She explained her thinking about the hub, the fact that if there was a central technological control for this vast construct, it would be up there.
"I don't know what we'd find. Maybe nothing but cobwebs and dust, and everything down here is still going by sheer inertia. Or maybe the Captain and a crew waiting to blow us to pieces for invading their ship. But we have to look."
"How do you propose to get up there? "
"I don't know for sure. I'm assuming the blimps can't do it or they would know more about this goddess they talk about. There may not even be any air in the spokes."
"That would make it a bit tough,"Gaby pointed out.
"We won't know until we look. The way to get up the spokes is the support cables. They should go all the way up the insides, right to the top."
"My God," Gaby muttered. "Even the slanted ones are a hundred kilometers high. And that just brings you to the roof. From there it's another 500 kilometers to the hub."
"My aching back," Bill groaned. "What's the matter with-you?" Cirocco demanded. "I didn't say weld climb them. We'll decide that when we get a good look. What I'm trying to tell you is that we're ignorant of this place. For all I know, there's an express elevator sitting in the swamp that would take us all the way to the top. Or a little man selling helicopter tickets, or magic carpets. We'll never know unless we start looking around."
"Don't get excited," Bill said. "I'm with you." "Mat about you, Gaby? "
"I go where you ga," she said, matter-of-factly. "You know that."
"All right. Here's my thinking. There's a slanted cable to the west, toward Occanus. But the river flows the other way, and we could use that for transportation. We might even get to the next row of cables faster that way than beating through the ~Ie. I think we should head cast, toward Rhea."
"Calvin said we should stay out of Rhea," Bill reminded. "I didn't say weld go into it. if there's anything that would be harder to take than this perpetual afternoon, it would have to he perpetual night, so I'm not anxious to go there anyway. But there's a lot of country between here and there. We could take a look at it."
"Admit it, Rocky. You're a tourist at heart." She had to smile. "Guilty. I thought a while ago, here we axe in this incredible place. We know there are a dozen intelligent races in here. What do we do? Sit around and flsh. Well, not me. I feel like nosing around. It's what they were paying us for, and bell, it's what I like. Maybe I want some adventure."
"My god," Gaby said again, with a hint of chuckle. "What more could you ask? Elasn't enough happened?"
"Adventures have a way of t~ around and biting you," Bill said.
"Don't I know it. But we're heading down that river, anyway. I'd like to get going after the next sleep period. I feel like I've been drugged."
Bill considered that for a moment. "Do you think that's possible? Something in one of the fruits?"
"Huh? You've been reading too much sci-fi, Bill.,,
"Listen, you don't knock my reading habits and I won't knock your old black and white flat films. "
"But that's art. Never mind. I guess it's possible we've eaten something that tranquilizes but I really think it's just old-fashioned laziness."
Bill stood and reached for his non-existent pipe. He looked annoyed to have forgotten yet again, then dusted off his hands.
"It'll take a while to knock a raft together," he said.
"My a raft? What about those big seed pods we've seen float- ing down the river? They're big enough to hold us."
Bill frowned. "Yes, I guess they are, but do you think they'll handle well in rough water? I'd like to get a look at the bottoms before----"
"Handle? You think a raft would be better?" He looked startled, then chagrined.
"You know, maybe I am getting slow. Lead on, Commander."
CHAPTER TEN
The seeds grew from the tops of the tallest trees in the forest. Each tree produced only one seed at a time, and when it reached maturity it exploded like a cannon shot. They had heard them going off at long intervals. What was left after the explosion was something like a walnut shell, evenly and smoothly divided.
When they saw a large one float by, they swam out and pulled it to shore. it rode high in the water when empty. Loaded, it still had plenty of freeboard.
They took two days outfitting it and trying to rig a rudder. They fashioned a long pole with a broad blade on the end, and hoped that would be enough. There was a primitive oar for each of them in case they ran into rough water.
Gaby cast off the line. Cirocco put her back into poring them out to the middle of the river, then took her post at the stem, one hand lightly on the tiller. A breeze came up, and she wished once again for her hair. What a fine thing, to have hair whipping in the wind. It's the simple things we miss, she thought.
Gaby and Bill were excited, forgetting their animosity for the time being as they sat on opposite sides of the boat, watching the river ahead and calling out hazards to Cirocco.
"Sing us a sea chantey, Captain!" Gaby yelled back. "You've got it mixed UP, Stupid," Cirocco laughed. "It's you low-life types in the fo'c'sle who pump the bilge and sing the songs. Haven't you ever seen The Sea Witch?"
"I don't know. Has it been on the treedie? "
"It's a flat movie starring good ol'John Wayne. The Sea Witch was his ship."
"I thought it might be the Captain. You've just picked yourself a nickname."
"You watch yourself, or I'll see if I can rig up a plank for you to walk."
"What about a name for this boat, Rocky?" Bill asked.
"Hey, it should have a name, shouldn't it? I was so busy trying to scrounge up champagne for the launching I forgot all about it. "
"Don't mention champagne to me," Gaby groaned.
"Any suggestions? Here's your chance for a promotion."
"I know what Calvin would have named it," Bill said, suddenly .
'Don't talk to me about Calvin."
"Nevertheless, we've committed ourselves to Greek mythology. This ship should be named the Argo. "
Cirocco looked doubtful. "Wasn't that tied up with the search for the golden fleece? oh, yeah, I remember the movie now."
"We're not searching for anything," Gaby pointed out. "We know where we want to go."
"Then how about ... " Bill paused, then looked thoughtful. "I'm thinking of Odysseus. Did his ship have a name?"
"I don't know. We lost our mythologist to that overgrown tire advertisement. But even if it did, I wouldn't want to use it. Odysseus had nothing but trouble."
Bill grinned. "Superstitious, Captain? I never would have believed it."
"It's the sea, lad. It does strange things to a body."
'Don't give me your late-show dialogue. I vote to call the boat Titanic. There was a ship for you."
"A bucket of rust. Don't tempt the fates, matey."
"I like Titanic, too," Gaby laughed. "Who'd believe it, on a boat made out of a glorified peanut?"
Cirocco looked up, thoughtfully. "Let it be on your heads, then. Titanic it is. Long may she sail. You may whoop, and otherwise make merry."
The crew cheered three times, and Cirocco grinned and took a bow.
"Long live the Captain," Gaby shouted.
"Say," Cirocco said. "Shouldn't we be painting the name an the fender, or whatever the hell it is?"
"On the what?" Gaby looked horrified.