The attacks had been utterly undisciplined, characterized only by inventiveness and adaptability. Frequently the attacks had not been pressed home despite initial gains. The Bo Adon Su had apparently lost interest, or maybe proved their point, and taken off in search of fresh glory.
And now they were at the gateway to Earth. The Rainbow had metaphorically thrown up its hands, so the defenses of Earth were as uncoordinated as the Bo Adon Su, who milled around somewhere outside Pluto, filling Space with urgent but incoherent messages to one another.
The situation for Earth was particularly alarming since the Rainbow, by that time, had gained some reputation for foretelling the Ifalong. But if the computer couldn’t even tell Earth how to defend itself, its Ifalong predictions must be meaningless. Some gloomy individuals even took this to mean that the Earth had no future. Then, suddenly, the Rainbow emitted the message:
«Put the matter in the hands of the Whirst Institute.»
The Mordecai N. Whirst Institute for Genetic Research had up to that time been involved in low-key improvements to human stock, adapting humans to alien environments and, most controversial of all, creating new varieties of humans for specific purposes by adding a tiny proportion of appropriate animal genes to their chromosome structure. These were the Specialists, who became the Felinos and the tumpiers, and many others who lived and died outside the scope of our story.
The Whirst Institute rose to the challenge.
Calling upon its most distinguished geneticists including several who had to be summoned from outlying colonies, the Institute commenced Operation Counterthink, a five-year crash program which culminated in the creation of the Us Ursa.
The Us Ursa was a triumph. It was a living, breathing creature which combined the intelligence of a human with the social instinct of an ant, the reactions of a leopard, the intuition of an ultrapigeon, the planning ability of an architect‑mouse of Chega IV and the strength and ferocity of a grizzly bear. In addition, it had an extremely high self-preservation quotient. It was a superb creature, well suited to its task of protecting Earth against the Bo Adon Su.
Unfortunately, by that time the Bo Adon Su had lost interest in Earth and were seeking adventure elsewhere.
Now the Us Ursa’s instinct for self-preservation came into play. Realizing that their existence was now unnecessary they fled into the mountains where, for several thousands of years, they lived in tiny villages, hunting and growing crops and generally maintaining a low profile. In time their file at the Whirst Institute deteriorated and could not be recalled, but they remained in hiding, knowing full well that if the rest of Mankind learned what powerful creatures they were, they would be hunted down and destroyed.
Then the Inner Think came, and the Age of Regression, and Man drifted back into the Domes.
And the Us Ursa came down from the hills.
Captain Tonio received a summons to appear before the Canton Lord.
He trembled. He watched the back of the huge man who had delivered the message, and he resisted the temptation to cry after him:
«Why? Why does he want to see me? What have I done?»
His mind rifled through a casebook of imagined misdemeanors.
«It’s quite an honor,” said Astrud, unsuspecting, brushing his best vicuna jacket.
Raoul watched him thoughtfully, and Tonio wondered what the kid was thinking.
Tonio rode the deck of the Lord’s private sailcar, aware that he hadn’t been invited to use the cabin. The crewmen were reticent, handling the sails with quiet skill, saying little as they concentrated on a difficult, jibing run uphill.
And then, at the Lord’s palace, the guards.
They were giants like the one who had delivered the summons. They carried weapons of unknown workings and like the crewmen, they hardly spoke, escorting Tonio through endless corridors, past exquisite statuary, paintings and tapestry, to a vast anteroom.
«Wait here,” said the guard. He was a head taller than Tonio, immensely broad in the shoulder and thick at waist and hip; bigger than a felino male even, and more powerful. Tonio watched him depart with a heavy, shambling gait quite unlike the graceful walk of El Tigre.
Then Tonio waited. For at least an hour he stood in the anteroom, hesitating to sit, examining the tapestries until he knew every stitch. The books — thousands lined the walls — did not interest him. Like most of his contemporaries, he was unable to read the complex prints of the ancient texts. Forty thousand years later much of the substance of this library would be rediscovered and its contents keyed into the Rainbow to flesh out the history already recorded. By that time, some of the stories would already have found their way into the repertoire of the early minstrels, ultimately to be included in the Song of Earth.
The door opened.
«Enter,” said the Lord.
Tonio knew that nobody had ever seen the Canton Lord — or maybe nobody had lived to tell the tale. It didn’t surprise him when he entered the chamber to find nobody there. There was a chair, however, and the voice said, «Sit.» Tonio sat facing a blank but translucent wall through which a shadowy form could be discerned.
«Speak,” said the Lord.
This confused Tonio, since he was not yet aware of the purpose of the summons.
He said, «I regret to report that the experimental sail‑car Rayo was severely damaged in a trial run. We shall have to develop new techniques for handling such craft. As we gain experience, we will pass on the knowledge to other Canton crews.» Was the Lord going to tell him he was being replaced as captain of Rayo?
«I heard about the crash,” said the Canton Lord.
«Maquinista used a revolutionary design of axle bearing. This, together with the light weight and altered sail-plan of Rayo, resulted in remarkable acceleration.» Who would be given the job, then? Not Herrero!
«I know all about that, too.»
«Well, then.…» Tonio’s voice trailed away.
«There was a spy,” prompted the Lord gently.
«Hardly worth mentioning. A young felina named Karina. I had Cocodrilo lock her away until after the races.»
«Well, not quite, Captain Tonio.»
«I beg your pardon, Lord Benefactor?»
«She escaped, didn’t you know? She arrived back at the felino camp yesterday and had a conversation with her father, the redoubtable El Tigre, no less. He held an emergency meeting. His objective, so it seems, was to whip up dissension on the basis of his daughter’s story and to lead the felinos into some kind of action against the sailways. He failed, due to that lack of cohesiveness so peculiar to the felino character. His daughter was not believed, and is being temporarily sent away from the camp.»
«That’s … that’s good, Lord Benefactor.» “ How much did Karina find out, Tonio?» «Nothing. She couldn’t have. She probably thought Rayo was fast, that’s all. And the felinos already knew that. There have been other spies.»
«That’s all?»
Then it hit Tonio like a kick in the stomach. The tortugas. Maquinista told Cocodrilo to lock Karina away in one of the pens. Maquinista was an engineer. He had no thought for the niceties of religious belief — he’d already proved that. But now Karina probably knew the life cycle of the tortuga. Would she realize the significance — that True Humans were trading in meat? Probably not. Felinos ate meat. If Karina had thought the matter important enough to mention to her father, the Lord would have known, and said so.
Unless the Lord was trying to catch him out. People who defied the Lord came to a bad end. The guards were sent for them, and they were never seen again. Fear of the guards was the whole basis of the Lord’s rule. The guards were incredibly strong and efficient.
In the end, Tonio decided to play innocent.
«I’m sure she didn’t hear our conversation after the accident,” he said evasively. «I criticized Maquinista for using metal in the construction of Rayo .»