Snook had a dream that he was with Prudence Devonald, and that they were shopping for coffee and cheese in a small-town store. Beyond the gold-lettered store windows was a busy high street, with red buses, a church spire and leaves scattering in an October breeze. The gem-like clarity of the dream made it very real, the simple happiness he felt was very real, and when it began to slip away he fought to hold on, because the tiny part of him which was not deceived told him the awakening would be bad.
It was.
He sat on the edge of the couch, with head lowered, then the mental habits of a lifetime began to reassert themselves. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, he thought. Boy has to find out if there’s any plumbing in this place.
He stood up, looked around the bare room and picked up his watch, which told him it was past noon. The increased brightness from the single window confirmed what he already knew, that Avernian time kept pace with that of Earth. He went to the door and tried to slide the two leaves apart, but they refused to move, and the central crack was too narrow to give his fingers any purchase. The idea that he had been locked in did not cross his mind—he was certain the door could be opened easily by anyone who knew what to do, and therefore he was reluctant to call for help. He tried moving around on the floor near the threshold, testing for pressure switches, then a tentative solution occurred to him. Blanking everything else from his thoughts, he walked steadily and confidently towards the door, expecting it to open.
The leaves parted at once and, before he had time to think about what was happening, he was outside in the corridor. He looked back at the opening in appreciative wonderment, revising his ideas about Avernian technology. Remarks passed by Ambrose had told him that Felleth and his co-workers were ahead of Earth in their understanding of nuclear physics, but Snook had formed an opinion that on Avernus advanced knowledge was stored rather than applied. His one view of the island he was on had reinforced his notion of a non-technical culture, but his judgements as a newcomer obviously were not valid, his eyes not adequate. Perhaps a patch of colour on a wall could be the equivalent of a heating system; perhaps a wall stone that was rounded instead of squared was a power receiver and distributor.
Snook walked to the end of the corridor and went down a short flight of stairs which had awkward proportions and sloping treads which gave him the feeling he was going to pitch forward. At the bottom was a much larger room than any he had been in, though—like the one in which he had slept—it was devoid of furnishings. The windows along two walls were of obscured glass, but the movement of shrub-like vegetation beyond them told him he was at ground level. There were patches of lighter colour on the greenish stone floor which suggested that objects had recently been removed and he recalled Felleth’s statement that the building was not a dwelling. Questions began to well up in Snook’s mind. Was it a store? A library? What had the Avernian upstairs thought when he had first seen Snook appear in the little room a week earlier?
A door opened in one of the end walls and Felleth entered the room, his large pale eyes fixed on Snook. For an instant, superimposed on his normal vision, Snook seemed to glimpse the rise and sparkling fall of a translucent green wave, and -without speaking—he tried to coax the image into sharp focus, thinking of the ocean as a symbol of tranquillity and endless power.
“I believe you will learn to hear and speak,” Felleth said in, his laboured whisper.
“Thank you.” Snook felt gratified, then realised his acceptance of his new situation must be growing if he could respond with positive emotion towards a vaguely saurian biped in classical Mediterranean dress.
“Toilet facilities have been prepared for you.” Felleth indicated a second door with a gesture of a webbed hand. “They are self-enclosed…and therefore not of the highest standard…but it is only for a short period.”
Snook was baffled for a moment, then understanding came. “Of course,” he said, “I’m in quarantine.”
“Only for a short period.”
It dawned on Snook that, in his urgent need to get out of Barandi alive, he had unthinkingly accepted a great many things about conditions on Avernus. The atmosphere, for instance, could have been of a mix which was totally unacceptable for human beings, and its micro-organisms could already be setting up deadly colonies in his lungs. Presumably, he could represent a medical risk to the Avernians, which might explain why the building he was in had a scoured-out feel to it.
“I would not have brought you here…if I had not been satisfied you would live,” Felleth responded to his thought. “In any case, I could have provided…breathing gases and a mask.”
“You think of everything.” Snook was reminded of the fact that Felleth was the Avernian equivalent of a leading philosopher/scientist.
“Not everything. There are important matters we must discuss…while you are eating.”
After Snook had made use of the receptacles and water supply provided for him within a polished metal cubicle, he joined Felleth in another room containing a table and a simple stool which seemed to have been newly made from close-grained wood. On the table were ceramic platters of vegetables, cereals and fruit, plus a flask of water. Snook sat down at once, suddenly conscious that he had not eaten for a long time, and tried the food. The flavours were strange, though not unpleasant, his main criticism being that everything -even the fruit and green vegetables—had a tang of iodine and salt.
“I have to advise you, Equal Gil,” Felleth began, “that in bringing you here I miscalculated in certain matters . . , and failed to consider others at all.”
“That doesn’t sound like you, Felleth.” Snook had considered simply thinking his replies to the Avernian’s remarks, but he found that speaking aloud called for less mental effort.
“At present I am not in good standing…with my fellow Responders…nor with the People…because I gave them advice in an important matter…without investigating all the evidence available to me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“For example…I accepted, uncritically, everything I learned about astronomy…from your mind.”
Snook looked up at the enigmatic, robed figure. “That doesn’t seem like a blunder to me. After all, you’d only just heard of the subject, and on Earth they’ve had astronomy for thousands of years.”
“On Earth—that is precisely the point…your astronomers study a different universe.”
“I still don’t get it.” Snook pushed his food aside, sensing that something important was coming.
“The picture they presented of my universe…contained only those elements of which they had become aware…a sun, this world…and the rogue world you call Thornton’s Planet.”
“So?”
“The orbit they calculated for Thornton’s Planet…was based on this simplistic universe-picture.”
“I’m sorry, Felleth—I’m not an astronomer and I still don’t see what you are getting at.”
Felleth came closer to the table. “You are not an astronomer…but you understand that all bodies in a planetary system…are influenced in their movements…by all other bodies in that system.”
“That’s elementary,” Snook said. “But if there aren’t any other bodies in the…” He stopped speaking as the full implications of Felleth’s words dawned on him. “Have they begun to look?”
“A radio telescope has been designed…and at least twenty will be built.”
“But this is good.” Snook stood up to face Felleth. “This gives you hope, doesn’t it? I mean, if you can find just one other planet prowling around out there, it could pull Thornton’s Planet off the collision course…”