Grimm's World by Vernor Vinge

Author:Vernor Vinge [Vinge, Vernor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, cookie429, Kat, Extratorrents
ISBN: 9780765308856
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 1969-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

PART 3

THE FERAL CHILD

THIRTEEN

The astronomer royal was all wet. At Bayfast the Waterfall lasted more than forty days: nearly a fifth of the year. For the last thirty-eight days and nights it had rained without pause. The city’s troughed streets were filled with swiftmoving water. Behind all sounds was the rumbly hum of myriad droplets striking stone and wood and water. After four years, the astronomer royal was still not accustomed to the monsoon climate of the Continent. At the back of his mind was the irrational thought that when the rain stopped, Seraph might be washed from the sky.

Svir Hedrigs considered returning to his carriage. It wasn’t worth it; he was already too wet. By the Bayfast logic, if the rain is warm—why stay dry? With a mixture of irritation and envy, he watched the guardsmen on the pier. They appeared to enjoy being wet to the skin. They wore their black uniforms with a cockiness that said being soaked was the height of fashion.

His carriage was parked on the roadway at the root of the pier. Beyond the roadway were the naval warehouses, constructed of marble bricks and rock paste. The quarries on the inland cliffs seemed inexhaustible, and the Crown’s Men had used them to build one of the most beautiful warehouse districts in the world. Architects claimed that this part of the port could survive artillery attack and was absolutely nonflammable. Svir wasn’t so sure about the first claim, but he was certain that during the Waterfall no fire would start outside the warehouses. The pier had an inch of water on it even though it was more than ten feet above the bay.

Perhaps he should have stayed in the dryrooms of the keep. But as astronomer royal, he felt this was a job which could not be delegated. The fastboat they expected was to bring the latest reports from the Doomsday observatory, four thousand miles upcoast and more than twenty-nine thousand feet above sea level—above the monsoonal precipitation. During the Waterfall, the Doomsdaymen were the most important source of astronomical information the crown possessed. Svir’s job was to arrange such reports for Marget’s consideration. And since Marget really needed no help in the interpretation of astronomical data, the astronomer royal frequently felt superfluous. So it did his ego good to come down to the most restricted area in the naval district and welcome a fastboat that was—incidentally—from a war zone.

In fact, thought Svir as he glanced around, he was the highestranking officer in the area. The only other first-level officer was a vice-admiral from naval intelligence. The broad band on Svir’s sleeve identified him as a high minister. He generally tried to conceal the tiny crown above that. The crown indicated he was an appointee rather than a member of the civil service.

The astronomer royal squished unhappily across the pier, toward the admiral. The navy woman saluted. “Good day, m’lord.”

Svir suppressed some sarcasm as he noticed there was no humor in the admiral’s blue eyes. “I was told the fastboat would arrive by twenty-five hours.

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