Austin thought about his conversation with Fred Miller at Garber, particularly the mention of early stealth aircraft technology. “My guess is that your father was training for a secret mission in the north.”
“That was fifty years ago. Why still keep it secret?”
“Secrets have a way of justifying themselves beyond the point of necessity.”
Miller looked out over the shady yard. “The worst thing is knowing that my father could have been alive all those years.” He turned back to Austin. “Maybe he’s still alive. He’d be in his eighties.”
“It’s possible. It also means that there might be someone out there who knows the real story.”
“I’d like the truth to come out, Mr. Austin. Can you help me?”
“I’ll do what I can.”
They talked further. Before parting they exchanged phone numbers. Austin vowed he would call if he learned anything. He started back for Washington. Like any good detective he had knocked on doors and used up some shoe leather, but this puzzle was too old, too complex for ordinary methods. It was time to see NUMA’s computer whiz, Hiram Yaeger.
19
THE INDIAN VILLAGE was a marvel of city planning. Strolling along the network of hard-packed earthen paths that connected the thatched huts, the Trouts could almost forget that their entourage included a mysterious and beautiful white goddess in a jaguar-skin bikini and a silent escort of six armed Chulo Indians painted the color of an executive jet.
Francesca led the procession. The warriors, three on either side, kept pace a respectable spear’s length away. Francesca stopped near the big well in the village center. Indian women were filling pots with water while gangs of naked children happily chased each other around their mothers’ legs. Francesca beamed with obvious pride.
“Every improvement you see here is part of an integrated scheme,” she said with a sweep of her hands. “I planned the project as if I were building a new infrastructure for São Paulo. I worked for months before one spadeful of earth was turned, putting everything in place, right down to the allocation of capital, sources of supply, and labor. I had to establish a subsidiary to manufacture the specialized tools that would be needed to produce wooden pipe, valves, and fittings. At the same time it was necessary to keep the village functioning without interrupting hunting and harvesting.”
“Remarkable,” Gamay said, looking around at the neatly ordered huts. She couldn’t help comparing the village with the squalor of Dieter’s empire or the relatively civilized settlement where Dr. Ramirez had his house. “Absolutely remarkable,” Gamay repeated.
“Thank you, but once I had the preparations in place it wasn’t as difficult as it looks. The key was water flow. It’s just as essential to life and living here as it is back in the so-called civilized world. I assigned digging crews to divert the river. We had the same problems as any project. The shovel makers complained that we were pushing them too hard and that quality was suffering.” She laughed. “It was exhilarating. We made a canal to open a tributary from the lake. Once we established the water supply, it was a simple matter to divert it to the public wells. The gristmill was basic time-proven technology.”
“The water wheel is as good as anything I’ve seen in the old industrial towns in New England,” Paul said, stopping in front of a hut no bigger than a one-car garage. “But I am really impressed with the plumbing in these public commodes. Back where I come from they used outhouses right into the twentieth century.”
“I’m particularly proud of the public water closets,” she said as they continued their tour. “When I finally admitted to myself that my desalination process would never see the light of day, I turned my efforts to improving the life of these wretched savages. They lived at a Stone Age level. Their hygiene was pitiful. Mothers routinely died in childbirth. The infant mortality rate was incredible. The adults were the targets of every parasite that grows in the rain forest. Their traditional medicinal plants were simply overwhelmed. Diet was of little nutrition. Producing a clean and reliable water flow not only protected the people from their usual ailments, but it allowed them to grow the crops that would keep them healthy.”
“We were wondering whether your talents extended to surgery,” Gamay said. “Tessa’s brother had a peculiar scar on his body.”
She clapped her hands like a delighted child. “Oh, the appendectomy! He would have died if I hadn’t acted. My training was limited to first aid. I had the Chulo pharmacology to thank. They dip their blowgun darts in the sap from a plant. They use it to paralyze game, but even a small amount can incapacitate a human. I smeared it on a large leaf and placed it on the skin. It functioned as a local anesthetic. The stitches used to close the wound were made with fibers from another plant that seems to resist infection. The knife had an obsidian point, sharper than a scalpel. Nothing high-tech, I’m afraid.”
“I wish I could say the same for those weapons your guards are carrying,” Paul said, eyeing the steel tips of the short throwing spears their guards carried. Each man also carried a bow and a quiver of long-shafted arrows.
“Those bows and spear tips were made with aluminum from the plane. The shortened bow is easier to carry through the forest, and the design makes the arrow fly farther.”
“If Arnaud and his men were still alive they could vouch for their effectiveness,” Paul said.
“I’m truly sorry about those men, but they brought their fate upon themselves. The Chulo are a comparatively small tribe, and they’ve always preferred flight to fight. Oh, they’ll shrink a head or eat an enemy, but they rarely go out and catch someone in a raid. They just want to be left alone. The white man drove them further into the forest. They thought they were safe once they went beyond the Great Falls, but white exploiters continued to press them. They would have been destroyed if I hadn’t helped them improve their defenses.”
“I’ve been noticing the arrangement of the village,” Gamay said. “The layout reminds me of the architecture I’ve seen in old walled cities.”
“Very perceptive. Anyone who got past the stockade fence would be in a most uncomfortable position. The village is full of cul-de-sacs and blind alleys that offer prime opportunities for ambush.”
“What if the intruders were coming to rescue you?” Paul said. “Wouldn’t these preparations be self-defeating?”
“I gave up hope of rescue a long time ago. My father would have made sure search parties scoured the forest. He must have become convinced that I was dead, which is just as well. Three men died in the plane crash, and the tribal chief was killed because of me. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for additional deaths.”
“It’s ironic,” Gamay mused. “The more you do for these people, the less likely they are to release you.”
“True, but they would have kept me captive even if I just sat around making goddess sounds and getting fat. As long as I had to be here, it would have been sinful not to use my talents to improve their lot. When white men finally come, I hope the Chulo will use their knowledge rather than their arms to deal with civilization’s impact. Unfortunately in the meantime I have little control of the tribe’s more murderous instincts. Once Arnaud and his friends showed hostile intent they were doomed. There was no way I could save them. In your case it was easier. You were so helpless in the forest, they never saw you as a threat until now.”
Gamay’s ears perked up. “A threat?”
“Try not to look alarmed,” Francesca said. A smile played on her lips, but her eyes were deadly serious. “They don’t understand what we’re saying, but they sense things.” She stopped to demonstrate a water pipe that served as a fire hydrant, then resumed her casual walk. “They’re worried. They think you are flawed gods.”
“If we’re so insignificant, why are they concerned?” Gamay said.
“They’re afraid you’re here to take me back into the sky where I came from.”
“They told you that?”
“They don’t have to. I know these people in
timately. In addition, Tessa’s been picking up whisperings. They’re talking about burning you. The smoke from your bodies will take you back into the sky. Problem solved.”
Paul ventured a sidelong glance at the guards, but he failed to detect any change in their stony expressions.
“I can’t argue with their logic, but that solves the problem for them, not for us,” he said.
“I agree. It makes it all the more urgent that we escape as soon as possible. Come with me. We’ll be able to talk about a plan without the palace guard peering over our shoulders.”
They had arrived at the white stone walkway that led through the forest to the shrine. With the Trouts following, Francesca walked to the circular clearing with the plane at its center and sat down on a polished wooden bench facing the nose of the Learjet. The Trouts sat cross-legged on the tiled ground.
“I come here to be alone. Only the priests are allowed at the shrine otherwise. The warriors will be in the forest watching our every move, but we’ll be able to talk about our escape plans.”
Gamay glanced toward the jungle where the warriors had melted out of sight.
“I hope you’ve got something up your sleeve, because we don’t,” she said.
“Your original instincts were on the mark. Our only way out is by water. Up the tributary and canal to the lake, then follow the main river. We would never make it through the forest. They would catch us in an instant, or we’d become lost.”
“I’ve seen your boys handle a canoe,” Paul said. “We’d need a substantial jump on them.”
“We would have a few hours. But they are skilled and strong paddlers. They would be getting their strength just as we were tiring.”
“What would they do if they caught us?” Paul asked. “Theoretically speaking.”
“No theory about it,” Francesca said. “They would kill us.”
“Even you, their goddess?”
She nodded. “Leaving them would constitute a demotion in my status, I’m afraid. My head would be up there on the stockade fence along with yours.”
Paul involuntarily rubbed his neck.
All at once they were no longer alone. An Indian had stepped into the clearing followed by eight armed warriors. He was taller than the other Chulo by a few inches, and unlike the flat facial features typical in the tribe, his profile was almost Roman. His muscular body was painted red rather than blue and white. He stepped over to Francesca and spoke, gesturing from time to time at the Trouts. Francesca stood like a rearing cobra and cut him short with a dagger-sharp reply. He glared at her, then bowed his head slightly. His companions followed suit. They backed up several steps, turned, and quickly strode away from the shrine. Francesca watched them go, her eyes blazing with heat.
“This is not good,” she said.
“Who were those people?” Gamay said.
“The tall man is the son of the chief I killed in the plane crash. I have named him Alaric after the Visigoth king. He’s quite intelligent and a natural leader, but he tends to be a bully. He would like to depose me and has gathered a group of young Turks around him. The fact that he set foot on the forbidden shrine shows that he has become bolder. He is obviously exploiting the questions raised by your arrival. We must get back to the palace.”
As they left the shrine the guards materialized from the forest and took their places alongside. Francesca walked briskly, and they were back at the compound within minutes. Something was different inside the stockade fence. Knots of Indian men stood around. They averted their eyes when the procession passed. There were no friendly smiles as on the way out.
About twenty armed warriors were gathered in front of the palace with Alaric at their center. They parted with sullen looks at a wave of Francesca’s hand, but Gamay noticed that they took their time doing it. Tessa greeted them inside the door. Her eyes were wide with fright. She and Francesca talked in their language for a minute, then the white goddess translated for the Trouts.
“The priests have made a decision. You’re to be killed in the morning. They’ll spend the night getting their courage up and building the pyres to burn you.”
Gamay’s mouth hardened. “Sorry we can’t stay for the barbecue,” she said. “If you would point us to the nearest canoe, we’ll be saying good-bye.”
“Impossible! You wouldn’t get ten feet now.”
“Then what do we do?”
Francesca mounted her dais and sat on her throne, her eyes glued to the chamber door. “We wait,” she said.
20
THE ANCIENT SHIP hung in space as if suspended from invisible cables, its multi-decked hull outlined by shimmering spiderweb lines of gossamer blue. The great square sails were bowed full, and ghostly pennants fluttered at the masthead as if tossed by a freshened breeze.
Hiram Yaeger leaned back in his chair and studied the spectral image hovering over a platform in front of his horseshoe-shaped console. “It’s beautiful, Max,” he said, “but the detail needs sharpening.”
A soft and disembodied feminine voice filled the room from a dozen speakers set in the walls. “You only asked for a blueprint, Hiram.” There was the hint of petulance in the tone.
“That’s right, Max,” Yaeger said, “and you’ve gone far beyond that. But now I’d like to see how close we can get to the finished product.”
“Done,” said the voice.
The ship’s hull solidified like a specter materializing from ectoplasm. Its hull blazed with gold that highlighted the elaborate carvings covering the sides from stem to stern. Yaeger’s eyes lingered on the beak head, crowned by a wooden image of King Edgar, the hoofs of his charger trampling the seven fallen monarchs whose shorn beards bordered his mantle. Then he studied the astronomical panels that represented the glories of the Olympic gods, going back to the high stern, embellished with biblical figures. Every detail was perfect.
“Wow!” Yaeger said. “You didn’t tell me you had programmed the full picture. All it needs now is a couple of dolphins.”
Instantly, simulated seas appeared under the ship, and at her bow a pair of dolphins leaped and splashed. The three-dimensional image spun slowly as the whistles and twitters of the dolphins filled the air.
Yaeger clapped his hands and laughed like a child with delight.
“Max, you’re brilliant!”
“I should be,” the voice replied. “You created me.”
Not only had Yaeger created the vast artificial intelligence system, but he had programmed his own voice into the original program. He didn’t like talking to himself, so he modified it into Max’s female tones. The computer system had developed a feminine personality all on its own.
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Yaeger said.
“Thank you. If you’re through I’ll take a break to allow my circuits to cool down. Holograms always exhaust me.”
Yaeger knew Max was prone to exaggerate and that the ship represented only a tiny fraction of the capacity in her circuits. But along with a feminine version of his own voice, he had programmed in some human traits, including the need to be appreciated. He waved his hand. The ship, the roiling seas, the leaping dolphins vanished in a blink of the eye.
Yaeger turned to the sound of applause and saw Austin standing there clapping his hands.
“Hi, Kurt,” he said with a grin. “Have a seat.”
“Quite a show,” Austin said, easing into a chair next to Yaeger. “Right down to the vanishing act. I doubt even David Copperfield could make a full-blown English capital ship disappear.”
Yaeger was truly a magician, but his sleight of hand was performed with computers rather than a top hat and wand. He was an unlikely-looking magus, dressed with a studied scruffiness in Levi’s jeans and denim jacket over a plain white T-shirt. Beat-up cowboy boots adorned his feet. Yet he presided like a master sorcerer over the vast computer network that covered nearly the entire tenth floor of the NUMA building. The National Underwater & Marine Agency oceans center stored and processed the most eno
rmous amount of digital data on oceanography and related sciences ever assembled under one roof.
“That was nothing,” he said with boyish delight. Excitement danced in the gray eyes behind wire-rimmed granny glasses perched on his narrow nose. “Wait until you see the treat Max and I have planned for you.”
“I can hardly wait. That was Sovereign of the Seas?”
“Right. Launched in 1637 at the orders of Charles I. One of the largest seagoing vessels constructed up to that time.”
“Also one of the most top-heavy, as I recall. She had her top deck cut down, which was appropriate, given that Charles lost his head.”
“I’ll add the modifications later. The new program will be available for the nautical archaeology department of any university that wants it. Max has been making a list of hundreds of old vessels. We feed their plans, architect’s renderings, dimensions, history, everything we know about a vessel, into the computers. Max pulls it all together into a holographic reconstruction. She’ll even fill in missing details when information is incomplete. Max, would you mind telling Kurt what you found with the material he gave us?”
The face of a lovely woman appeared on the huge monitor just beyond the platform. Her lips parted in a white smile.
“I’d come off my coffee break any time for Mr. Austin,” the voice said flirtatiously.
The air above the platform shimmered with blue light at the nexus of lasers scattered in the walls. Stud by stud, beam by beam, but with lightning speed, the flashing lasers assembled a long open ship with a single square sail.
“C’mon.” Yaeger got up, and they walked onto the platform. Austin’s vision blurred for a second. When it cleared they were standing on the deck of the vessel looking toward the gracefully upturned bow. Circular wooden shields adorned the sides.
“This is the next evolution in the program. Not only will you be able to see the ships in our inventory, you’ll be able to walk around on the decks. The virtual perspective changes as you move. The simplicity of design made this one fairly easy.”