Rainbow Mars by Larry Niven

Author:Larry Niven [Niven, Larry]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: sf

Chapter 34

Thaxir had slept floating. This morning she played in the water, getting her exercise without fighting gravity. Svetz sat on the launch platform, watching.

He felt restless. They were wasting time, and there was no need.

How did a Hangtree grow? Could it survive to the present? Would it move on to some other star? What would kill it and what was its life span? The only things left to learn would all be learned using the Fast Forward device. With the FFD they would watch it all happen, wait for present time, and ultimately report it all to the Institute-

Thaxir! A breaking wave had caught her and was washing her toward shore!

A Martian might well find an ocean terrifying, and indeed she seemed paralyzed, borne headfirst toward the beach on her belly plates.

Svetz considered rescue. The tide was in. He could reach shore with a flight stick and risk being seen; or let the waves wash him in ... but then he'd be stuck onshore for hours ... though it might be the only way to help Thaxir.

Waves rolled her up the sand.

Wouldn't it be better to hail her, using the translator, and ask her to wait? Futz no, if the tide went out he'd have to roll her back to the water! But now she was on all sixes, crawling headfirst back into the waves.

And shelled men at the edge of the woods were shouting, gesticulating, then dropping to one knee and aiming their kinetic weapons tubes-

They fired into green water and foam. Thaxir was gone.

Miya and Zeera were both sleeping. Svetz caressed Miya's foot. She snapped alert in an instant.

"Portuguese onshore. I'm going to have to talk to them. Is there anything I'll have to apologize for?"

Behind his shoulder a chilled voice said, "Do not apologize for anything. That's an order, Svetz."

Miya said, "Believe it, Hanny."

"Anything to make them apologize for? No? Great. And what do I tell them about Thaxir? She was onshore. They saw her."

Miya said, "Let me sleep."

In the sshh, hisss of waves there was a music born of madness. Svetz tried to ignore it, but his mind ran away from him, chasing the beat.

The water was withdrawing from the land. Svetz glanced down to be sure, but yes, Thaxir was in the shadow of the Minim, safely hidden in floating weed. She was playing her windstorm-minor harp in time with the waves.

Svetz called a cheery good morning to six Portuguese.

The conversation that followed was all shouting over diminishing distance and hissing waves, but Svetz didn't have to do his own shouting.

The Captain was missing a man. Had Svetz or his wives seen Alfonso Nunes?

Svetz answered, "Well, but men in armor all look alike from a distance. Was there anything distinctive-?"

"Alfonso Nunes is short, Captain, very hairy, and lost his helmet long ago, so his face is dark. "The translator was picking up normal voices again.

Captain Magalhaes shouted, "Six went out to the woods yesterday afternoon. Five returned. There was no blood on the- survivors. They will not speak to any but the priest, and Father I)e Castro will not speak.

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