To Conquer Chaos by John Brunner

Author:John Brunner [Brunner, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, General
ISBN: 9780575101296
Google: kiGYYBxuZokC
Amazon: B00FEJ1D1C
Publisher: E-Reads
Published: 2011-09-29T04:00:00+00:00

XIV

“Nestamay! Pay attention, girl!” Grandfather barked, leaving the tip of his pointer-stick on the plan where it was. The plan was unbelievably old—a pattern of faded dark lines on a yellowish, crackling substance which, to stop it breaking into pieces, had been carefully pasted on a well-cured piece of leather from a dead thing. As well as the lines, which were more or less self-explanatory—showing the general features of the Station below the dome—there were all kinds of curious symbols marked; it was these whose significance Grandfather was trying to explain.

“I—I’m sorry, Grandfather,” Nestamay said, pushing back her long hair with a limp hand.

“Sorry!” Grandfather took the pointer-stick in both hands now and looked for a moment as though he would break it. The tone of his voice frightened baby Dan, and he gave a howl.

Grandfather glared at him. The howl stopped magically.

“That’s better,” Grandfather muttered, and turned his attention back to Nestamay, resuming his former fierce tone. “Sorry, you said! A lot of use it is being sorry for not listening—nobody can help it but yourself! Do you think I like giving you these extra lessons after a hard day’s work? Do you think I do it just to annoy you and keep you away from Jasper? I do have a purpose, you know! Our family’s kept more of the old lore and cleared more fresh ground under the dome than any of the families here—you know that as well as I do because I’ve told you till I’m sick of repeating it. What’s going to become of us if we let things slide? Who’s fit to look after the fate of the community who doesn’t possess every ounce and scrap and tittle of information that’s available?”

Abruptly Nestamay put her head forward on her knees and burst into tears.

For a long moment Grandfather was dumbfounded. He looked at the pointer-stick in his hands as though expecting it to turn into a venomous thing; he looked at the plan displayed for Nestamay, but there was no counsel there, either. He looked at the blank irregular wall of the hovel, and when he could not reasonably delay a comment any longer, he set the pointer-stick aside and cleared his throat with a harrumphing noise.

“Come here, child,” he said, putting out his hand. A sort of rusty kindness coloured his voice, creaking like a hinge not used for a generation. “There’s something been preying on your mind lately—I know it. I thought you’d get over it by yourself, but if you can’t, you’d better tell me all about it.”

Nestamay snuffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She said, “It’s—it’s just …” Then she took a deep breath and tried again. “It’s just what you said about my not wanting to listen to you because I’d rather be with Jasper. Grandfather, it’s not true Because”—now the words came in an unstoppable rush—“I hate Jasper! He’s a fool, he’s dangerous, he’s selfish, and I wish a thing would get him!”

Appalled at her own ferocity, she stopped short.

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