The Ringworld Engineers (Ringworld series Book 2) by Niven Larry

Author:Niven, Larry [Niven, Larry]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Spectrum Literary Agency
Published: 2015-04-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

The Floating City

At something over a thousand feet the smell of fresh air became more pronounced, and the floating dry was around him. He circled the blunt tip of an inverted tower: four levels of dark windows, and a garage below that. The big garage door was closed and locked. Louis circled, looking for a broken window. There weren't any.

These windows must have survived for eleven hundred years. Probably he couldn't break one if he tried. He didn't want to enter the city as a burglar anyway.

Instead, he let himself rise along the sewer pipe, hoping to gain privacy that way. There were ramps around him now, but no street lights anywhere. He guided himself to a walkway and settled on it. Now he felt less conspicuous.

There was nobody in sight. The broad ribbon of poured stone curved away among the buildings, left and right, up and down, putting out pseudopods at random. With a thousand feet of empty space below, there were no guardrails. Halrloprillalar's people must be closer to their brachiating past than Earth's people. Louis strolled toward the lights, keeping nervously to the center of the walk.

Where was everybody? The city had an insular look, Louis thought. There was housing in plenty, and ramps between the housing areas, but where were the shopping centers, the playhouses, the bars, the mails, parks, sidewalk cafés? Nothing advertised itself, and everything was behind walls.

Either he should find someone to introduce himself to, or he should be hiding. What about that glass slab with the dark windows? If he entered from above, he could make certain it was deserted.

Someone came down the walk toward him.

Louis called, "Can you understand me?" and heard his words translated into the Machine People tongue.

The stranger answered in the same language. "You should not walk about the city in darkness. You might fall." He was closer now. His eyes were huge; he was not of the City Builder species. He carried a slender staff as long as himself. With the light behind him, Louis could see no more of him. "Show your arm," he said.

Louis bared his left arm. Of course it bore no tattoos. He said what he had planned to say from the beginning. "I can repair your water condensers."

The staff slashed at him.

It rapped his head glancingly as Louis threw himself backward. He rolled and was on his feet, crouching, trained reflexes working fine, with his arms coming up just too late to block the staff. It cracked against his skull. Lights flared behind his eyes and went out.

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