The Archer's Paradox - The Travis Fletcher Chronicles Read online

  K'an Aayin stood and addressed the room. “We should conclude our deliberations over The Original, Travis Fletcher, at a later time. We have more pressing matters to attend.” he cast round the room again to ensure everyone was in agreement. In contravention to protocol he suggested that mental shields be in place for the next encounter. Again the Council reluctantly agreed. It seemed that the other members were as wary of their next visitors as he was.

  **********

  Wingu Kanzu led Travis Fletcher from the Council Chamber to the outer anteroom where the waiting Aantah had the promised information about where The Original would be quartered. The tower was not far from the Council Pyramid. It seemed to Wingu Kanzu that the Council wanted to keep The Original close by. They could walk there comfortably, but he had business that needed to be attended to without delay after what the shuttle pilot had told him, so they made their way back to the vehicle he had requisitioned at the shuttle port.

  Both men seemed locked in their own thoughts as they descended from the top of the great pyramid and Travis was craning his neck to take in the view of the City as the steps conveyed them downwards. It was not until they were back in the gardens that surrounded the great pyramid and he was sure that they could not be overheard that Wingu Kanzu broke the silence.

  “You have a talent for angering almost everyone you meet.” he snarled through gritted teeth, referring to the recent incident with the Council Leader. “Did I not warn you to treat The Council with reverence?” he admonished Travis.

  Travis stopped and stared down the dark alien before replying. “You told me to treat them with the same reverence as I would hold my own leaders in, or something like that.” he replied through clenched teeth. “I am fed up with being shuffled around like an undelivered parcel so I kicked back, alright?” he snapped. “I wasn’t expecting a civic reception or anything like that, but a little respect doesn’t hurt.” he finished haughtily before turning on his heel and stalking off in the general direction of the vehicle. Wingu Kanzu looked thoughtful for a moment before setting off after him, his long loping strides soon bringing him level with the little alien once more.

  “K'an Aayin could have killed you.” he observed.

  “But he didn’t, did he?” Travis snapped back. “I may be just a piece of meat to you lot but I’m useless to you dead, or so that old doctor told me. Something about what that bitch did to me here,” he tapped the side of his head, “when she shot me.”

  “You should be wary of who you anger,” Wingu Kanzu warned, “your usefulness may come to an end someday.” he finished with a sinister edge to his voice.

  Travis was not to be deflected. “But not today.” Although he might owe his life to these people, he was damned if he was going to live it on bended knee to them.

  They reached the car and finished the short trip to the tower in silence; Wingu Kanzu parked in the underground car park before they took a bounce tube up to Travis’s floor which was about three quarters of the way up the translucent blue structure, over half a mile above the City’s streets.

  The rooms were substantially larger than his cabin on the ship and all the furniture was permanent. The door opened to large living area with comfortable sofas and chairs, and what looked like a work area to the right side. Ahead, the living area opened on to a large balcony with enough room for about twenty people to stand and not be crowded, and which had a spectacular view over the city and the central pyramid. It took Travis a moment to work out why there were no doors to the balcony; the City was under a dome so there was no weather, and presumably no change in temperature. Next to the work area was an arch through to dining and food preparation area. To the right, a bedroom and bathing facilities. Only the bathroom floor was made of the same substance as the ship’s floor so the toilet worked in the same fashion. The rest of the apartment was constructed from the same silky smooth blue glass as the rest of the building. Travis wondered idly what would happen if he hammered a nail in to hang a picture. Wingu Kanzu showed Travis how to operate the door and the lights before turning to leave.

  “Just one question.” Travis forestalled Wingu Kanzu’s exit. Actually, he had a whole raft of questions, but he sensed that his guide wanted to be somewhere else. In fact he got the distinct impression that Wingu Kanzu was getting more and more impatient by the minute, as if he had discharged his duty and wanted to be rid of him as soon as possible,

  “You have been assigned a guardian who will be with you shortly.” With that he turned and left.

  “Twat!” Travis spat at the closed door. “Arse hole!”

  Travis investigated his new environment. If this was on Earth, just think of the parties! He smiled, imagining the balcony full of people drinking beer and laughing. He imagined himself showing off to his friends and pointing out points of interest from his balcony. He looked out at the alien city surrounding him and had a sudden pang of homesickness. He made his way back inside. The bedroom was similar to his cabin with the floaty bed, but there was a device on the wall opposite the bed like a smoked glass panel about eight feet high and three across, with symbols etched beneath the surface that he could not decipher. It was the same in the kitchen. There was nothing that looked like cooking apparatus or anywhere to store anything, but there was a similar, but smaller, device built into one wall. The work area in the living room had the same keyboard as his cabin but no-one had ever shown him how to use it. There was nothing that looked like a television or stereo.

  He realised he was hungry. On a whim, he thought of fish and chips, but nothing appeared. So, the city seemed to use a different technology to the ship. He thought about going out to see if he could find a restaurant or shop where he could get something to eat, before he realised that he had no idea where to look, what to look for, what sort of payment he would need, or even if he would understand the menu. His temper was never good without an easily accessible supply of food and was just starting to get irritated when the door chime sounded. He operated the door which slid to one side to reveal a slim person, shorter than the majority of people he had met, with dark hair and dark, opal eyes. For a moment his heart soared, before he realised that this was a male, albeit with the characteristic build and features of Xi Scorpii B, but not his friend from the ship. The newcomer was dressed in black silk trousers, inlaid with silver filigree, soft black boots and a simple white shirt with high collars and no buttons.

  Jagā No Ashi bowed low and introduced himself formally. He had only recently graduated to become Nuuktak and was still coming to terms with the honour that The Council had bestowed on him: his first Paal Kanik was to be The Original, Travis Fletcher.

  “I’m starving, how do I get food?” Travis snapped before remembering his manners. He mentally reprimanded himself before imitating the other’s bow and introducing himself. “I’m sorry, it’s been a long day and I’m hungry; I’m never good when I’m hungry.”

  Jagā No Ashi smiled with good humour. He had assimilated all the reports that The Original’s Ts’ats’aak had submitted along with the young Aantah that had befriended him, and even the ones submitted by the Paal Kanik that was supposed to be his Ka’nsah before she had gone insane, so he was not completely taken aback by The Original’s outburst. He took him through to the dining area and showed him how to use the food preparation unit. The databanks of the Interstellar Explorer that he travelled on had not yet been downloaded into the city’s systems, so he was unable to select dishes from Sol 3, so he asked Jagā No Ashi to choose something close to a mental image he shared; a marine animal, filleted and covered in a white paste then cooked in hot oil and served with the tubers of a root vegetable chopped and cooked in the same oil. It all seemed very unappetising and completely lacking in nutrition but he found something from Hadar 4, a planet that had been visited recently by the second Interstellar Explorer and whose inhabitants enjoyed a diet derived mostly from the sea. It was at least a type of fish, and it was served with root vegetables, although they were also marine base
d.

  Jagā No Ashi could tell that The Original did not really enjoy his meal but tried to hide his thoughts and insisted on finishing every morsel. Travis even thanked him when he had finished and Jagā No Ashi got the impression that he was just glad to have had something to eat. Travis’s second request was easier to fulfil, as just about every inhabited planet produces something similar, so now they were sat on the apartment’s balcony, overlooking the city and drinking ‘beer’. The sun had gone down and the city seemed to have come alive. The surrounding towers glittered and shimmered with multi-coloured lights and in the centre the squat, utilitarian structure of the central pyramid appeared to be wreathed in thousands of gold and silver snakes that glowed and writhed with lives of their own.

  “Tell me about this city.” Travis asked suddenly.

  Jagā No Ashi raised an eyebrow, not knowing how to interpret the request.

  Travis stroked the wall of the balcony. “This feels like glass.” he prompted.

  “It is glass.” Jagā No Ashi affirmed.

  “The whole city is made of glass?”

  Jagā No Ashi nodded.

  “Wow! But why? And more to the point, how?”

  “Do you know what the main constituent of glass is, Travis Fletcher?” Jagā No Ashi prompted gently, with a smile.

  Travis thought for a moment, wondering if this was a trick question, before answering, “sand?” he responded tentatively. He had quickly built up a rapport with this one, just like the nurse on the ship, and felt quite comfortable.

  “And what do we have an abundance of outside the dome?” Grinning broadly, Jagā No Ashi asked the question with the obvious answer.

  Travis laughed loudly. “Sand!” he proclaimed. Was it coincidence or was it that the oriental looking ones were easier to get on with? “But….”

  “And sand with an abundance of silica, perfect for making glass.” Anticipating his next question, Jagā No Ashi launched into a short explanation. “I am not a construction engineer.” he apologised.

  Travis dismissed the apology as unnecessary.

  Jagā No Ashi smiled in appreciation of Travis’ understanding before continuing. “Other chemicals are mixed in to make the glass stronger, more flexible and lighter, or else the towers would collapse under their own weight.”

  Travis stood and looked out over the city. He pointed to a badly lit area some distance away. “What’s over there?” he asked. “Why is that bit dark?”

  Rather than answer random questions, Jagā No Ashi suggested that Travis acquire two more ‘beers’; partially to give The Original a chance to practice with the food unit and partially to give him a chance to order his thoughts. When Travis returned, he launched into a full account of the city’s history.

  The Survivors of The Fall, with nothing to live in except the ships they arrived in, first built the central pyramid which was based on the architecture of Otoch and housed the first generator for the dome. The dome increased in size as the city grew outwards. The idea was that each culture should retain its identity, but this never happened because suitable materials were not available and there was no way of manufacturing any. The pyramid now forms the administrative centre, with the surrounding towers housing The Council members and supporting staff. The designs that had fascinated Travis so much were actually part of a shield that dampened telepathic abilities so that people outside could not eavesdrop on the workings of the Council and that anyone inside could not send messages out. It was a technology used extensively prior to The Fall, but was difficult to reproduce due to the lack of materials and tools. So, Jagā No Ashi explained, the Code of Honour was tightened up to protect all citizens from unwanted intrusion.

  Around the centre the survivors of each star set up its own community and named the area after their home worlds: Mukhapuṭa, Jitaku, Otoch, Tocha and Nyumbani, with an area reserved for the survivors of Éðel, if they ever returned. Surrounding the residential centres, round the circumference of the city are the industrial centres for power, manufacturing, maintenance, transport and so on.

  Although a number of towers were raised in Éðel, no-one ever came to claim them, so now they remain empty and in almost total darkness. Occasionally young ones would sneak away and spend a night in one of the deserted towers and tell each other stories of monsters and spectres lurking in the shadows but even this practice has dwindled away as the number of children born each year reduces as the creeping malaise of the Xi Scorpii race irrecoverably affects more and more adults.

  “Hang on a minute.” Travis had listened intently, occasionally sipping at his drink, until now. “I thought there were five stars in the…empire, federation, union, whatever, but you mentioned six planets.”

  Jagā No Ashi nodded. “Yes but Xi Scorpii C had two inhabited worlds: Otoch and Tocha, but Tocha was destroyed by the forces of Éðel.”

  Travis was dumbstruck as he contemplated the enormity of the other’s simple statement. “As in blown up, as in no longer exists?”

  Jagā No Ashi nodded sadly. “Billions died that day.”

  “Shit!” he could not even comprehend the scale of the numbers, let alone the power needed to blow up a planet.

  “The combined forces of Otoch and the remnants of Tocha retaliated and destroyed Éðel in revenge.”

  “Oh fuck.” he suddenly felt sick as he looked out over the fairy tale city around him. It no longer looked beautiful to him, but ominous and foreboding, like hundreds of dead fingers thrusting out of massive graves and pointing accusingly at the sky.

  “That was the day the war ended.” Jagā No Ashi finished simply.

  “Pity no-one came to their senses earlier.”

  **********

  The doors through to the central chamber opened and an Aantah ushered Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe through. She had changed out of her drab ship suit, thinking that she would be less conspicuous arriving in formal robes. She detected an air of disquiet as she strode to the central dais and bowed low to the assembled members with her mind open. Her mission here was not pleasant and the thought of it left a bad taste in her mouth, but her honour was intact, even though, as Travis Fletcher would say, ‘the ta'kuba was about to hit the fan.’” she had absorbed quite a few of Sol 3’s colourful colloquialisms while she was sorting out the damage Xnuk Ek’’s weapon had done to Travis Fletcher’s brain and she found it amusing to throw them into conversations at opportune moments and this one felt appropriate. She found their effect gave her a momentary advantage in an argument or debate while the meaning was defined.

  The Council members returned her bow but she noticed, with some irritation, that some of them still had their minds shielded, in violation of convention. She turned her gaze to each of the transgressors in turn and let her ire be known until they acquiesced. She was relieved to find that her visit was not the reason for the disquiet or the mind shields being in place, but the fact that something had got the council rattled worried her.

  Finally K'an Aayin spoke. “Welcome Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe. You have requested an urgent and confidential audience with this Council but have refused to state the nature of your visit. This is most unusual.”

  “You are aware that I have returned from the mission to Sol 3 and I have had the honour of being Ts’ats’aak to The Original, Travis Fletcher. I am sure that you have also been made aware that I was present at the incident between Travis Fletcher and Xnuk Ek’, so it does not take much logic to deduce the nature and reason for my visit to these chambers.” she finished with a tinge of sarcasm. She was in no mood to be patronised.

  K'an Aayin bowed in acknowledgement. He had known the old Ts’ats’aak for many years and knew she reserved a very sharp tongue for anyone who tried to be evasive with her.

  “Before I continue, I want this Council’s assurance that anything we discuss here will remain within these walls.” she paused for effect. “If you have any recording equipment it is to be disabled immediately and any record of my arriving and leaving is to be erased.” h
er tone gave no quarter for negotiation.

  “Do you fear that your honour will be called to question later?” Njano Mamba, the lead member from the Xi Scorpii D table, asked dangerously. He considered this old fool to be trying the Council’s patience and honour while they had more pressing matters to discuss.

  “I fear for my life, not my honour!” she shot back bitterly. “And I do not make this claim lightly. Now, do I have your agreement to my terms, or do I leave now and consider this Council ineffectual?” That got their attention and various members stood to loudly decry her accusations.

  After the uproar had calmed down, K'an Aayin nodded at Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe. “You have our word that nothing said here will be attributed to you, but I cannot, with all honour, say that there will be no actions arising from what you reveal.” He cast his mind round each of the members in turn, waiting for each to give their assurance, before indicating that Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe should continue.

  Not one to prevaricate, she jumped straight in with the punch line of her story. “I do not believe the actions of Xnuk Ek’ to be her own when she attempted to kill The Original, Travis Fletcher.” she paused and examined the expression and surface thoughts of each Council member, as much as was permitted, but no one was giving anything away. “Furthermore,” she continued, “Xnuk Ek’’s weapon had been tampered with prior to the incident.”

  “Are you suggesting that Xnuk Ek’ knew the weapon would not kill The Original?” K'an Aayin asked carefully.

  “I suggest nothing.” Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe shot back. “I am stating the facts as I know them and the facts are that Xnuk Ek’’s actions were influenced by another and that her weapon would not kill. But I do believe that she was unaware her weapon would not kill, although I have no proof.” she waited patiently while the Council members debated in hushed whispers between each other.