Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [135]
“We will survive,” Designate Avi’h said, thrilled by the light. “Follow me, and I will lead us to our salvation.” He strutted forward, exerting a semblance of authority, then hesitated as if expecting someone else to tell him which direction to go. Without his bureaucrat companion to attend to the details, his confidence came only in short bursts.
Anton knew that Ildirans needed dozens of their people together to keep themselves sane, to reinforce their mental needs, to feel the necessary thism connection. Now only four of them remained, plus himself, and he began to see the frayed edges of disoriented irrationality and unpredictable desperation. They would not recover unless they got back among others, and soon.
When the small group hiked into the brightening illumination, they spread their arms and turned their faces to the sunlight, as if drinking in nourishment. The landscape was flat and featureless, broken by cracked canyons turned into lines of deep shadow by the angled sunlight. They walked on and on.
Eventually, a sparkle shone on the horizon, a glitter of domes that caused engineer Nur’of and the burly digger Vik’k to cheer in unison. Designate Avi’h proclaimed, “Onward to Maratha Secda! We are no longer alone—the Klikiss robots will help us there.”
Rememberer Vao’sh stopped next to Anton as they looked toward the far-off domes. “Previously we visited Secda only in darkness. Now I have never been so glad to see it.”
“It’s still many kilometers away, Vao’sh,” Anton cautioned.
“Nevertheless, it is within sight. The end of our ordeal is at hand.”
But Anton’s true uneasiness stemmed from doubts about what they would find in the empty city. While ancient tales about the Shana Rei might have had some basis in fact, the true culprits were likely much more tangible. He recalled the labyrinth of tunnels Nur’of had discovered deep in the crust. In his mind, the Klikiss robots themselves were most probably the saboteurs, despite the fact that Ildirans had coexisted with them for many centuries. Who else was there?
Though he couldn’t shake his feeling of foreboding, they had no other choice. Secda was their only hope. They needed food, supplies, and a way off the planet.
“Hurry!” Designate Avi’h lurched ahead, somehow finding more strength. “We will be safe once we reach the city.”
Sensing Anton’s concerns, Vao’sh cautiously shook his head and kept his voice low. “Do not speak of it. We must not steal their hope. Now that we have escaped from the darkness, their worries about the Shana Rei have gone. Let them heal before you suggest other terrors.”
Anton nodded reluctantly, though he decided to keep his eyes open.
As they approached the secondary city, the Ildirans went almost mad with relief. “We are free of the darkness!” The Designate’s steps became lighter. He rushed forward, accompanied by Nur’of and the digger Vik’k. Only the old rememberer hung back with wary Anton. They all crossed the rolling ground, climbing a low rise to reach the edge of the city’s construction perimeter.
With Vik’k and Nur’of beside him, the Designate stopped and stared. Anton helped Rememberer Vao’sh reach the vantage point; together, they all looked ahead to the domed city.
Formerly, the site had held only a handful of Klikiss robots working together. But now, Maratha Secda was swarming with the beetlelike machines. Thousands of them milled about like an army of ants.
“I did not think there were so many Klikiss robots in all of the Spiral Arm,” Vao’sh said.
Throughout Maratha’s night season, the enigmatic robots had worked in the dark, building structures, digging tunnels. Anton could see open pits and dark round openings into the crust—just like the tunnels Nur’of had discovered beneath Maratha Prime.
“They’ve certainly been very busy,” Anton said, swallowing hard.