the Runner

CHAPTER 1

  Black Outsider

  Gry slid his chair from the table and burped.

  "Lori, sweets, that was the greatest greenstew I ever tasted."

  Lori blushed and continued to clean the utensils in the small kitchen. She was slim with short blond hair which clung to her head in a tight mass of curls. Gry rose, walked to the double cot in the corner and collapsed, holding his stomach and smiling. The floor, once strewn with his discarded clothing, was clean. The kitchen, once piled with his soiled utensils, was neat. The rows of cans had gone. Lori never used canned goods but cooked from the basic foodstuffs available in the Dome market. Gry had little to do at home. Lori looked after everything. She cooked, washed, looked after the family finances and provided him with companionship he had never known before. Marriage certainly agreed with him.

  He gazed about the room. The walls were covered in pictures which portrayed mountains with bubbling streams and dark green trees, turquoise seas which crashed in rolling waves upon a bright yellow ochre shore, birds which wheeled in a clear blue sky flecked with wisps of burnt sienna clouds.

  "Lori, where did you get that picture of the mountain - the one next to you, there," said Gry, lying flat on his back and pointing to the wall next to Lori.

  "My father painted it."

  "Did he ... uh, actually see a place like that?"

  "I think his grandfather described the scene - from the old Earth," said Lori.

  "Aah ... old Earth," sighed Gry. "That must have been something. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that picture, on any of the planets I've visited. One day I'd like to visit Earth."

  "Well, you'd be disappointed I think. I understand it's nothing like it was."

  "Yeah, I know. Now it's a swamp, polluted and dirty and full of -"

  There was a sound at the door and Gry jumped off the cot.

  "Gry, don't you dare scold that boy," said Lori firmly. "He's been having a hard time at school lately."

  "But this is the second time this week he's been late."

  They stopped talking and watched Runr enter, then collapse by the door. Lori ran and sat beside the boy, pushing him to a sitting position, holding him gently and whispering in his ear. Gry stood there, helplessly. The boy was bleeding from the side of his face and blood stains were evident on his tunic.

  "I'll bet it's those damn kids at school," Gry said, angrily.

  "I don't think it is the boys at school - at least not all of them," said Lori. "I think the two brothers in the next complex give Runr a hard time; they call him black bones and other names I wouldn't care to mention."

  Runr opened his eyes and moaned softly.

  "Lori," he said, "I did not want to fight them. I did as you told me ... I walked in the other direction - but - but -"

  "Yes, dear," cooed Lori. "Just be quiet now. I'll make you a nice bowl of hot greenstew. You'll feel much better then."

  Gry paced the room as Runr ate, furious, but knowing that Lori would be upset if he didn't remain calm ... and fatherly, as she put it. So far, he could manage being a husband, but being a father was something else again.

  He sat on the cot and put his chin in his hands, watching Lori and the boy. It hadn't occurred to him, or to Lori, that the boy's shiny black skin would pose a problem at school. Discrimination was unknown among the citizens of the Dome. But then again, thought Gry, if there was nothing against which to discriminate, there could hardly be any discrimination. The boy was the only black citizen in the community. Most residents had never seen a human with black skin and, although that difference made Runr special, it also made him a threat - for no reason except that he was black, hence different. For adults, anything unusual was threatening. To the children of the Dome however, Runr was simply a curiosity to laugh at, to make fun of, to taunt.

  The boy finished his greenstew in silence and was tucked into the single cot in the opposite corner. He promptly fell asleep. Gry and Lori talked quietly for hours about the boy's plight. He had been unhappy for some time. He had no friends and did poorly at school. His talents clearly lay in other directions.

  Gry often recalled how Runr had learned English overnight. Perhaps they should have provided him with access to a comptutor, but they had earlier made a conscious decision to integrate the boy into the ways of the Dome community so he could lead a normal life, like the other children. Gry grunted. Now he was not sure that the other children were normal.

  ______________________________________________________

  Several days had passed since the brothers Zed and Wan had beaten him and Runr was determined to avoid this in future, but as he turned the corridor which led down the school ramp he saw both of them waiting, smiling. Then they rushed him. Runr spun on his heel and began to run. He was far faster than anyone in the Dome and had little difficulty in leaving the brothers behind. After running through several corridors and down ramps he found himself in the south mall. He stopped and looked about, crouching, like a hunted animal. Along the side of the mall were many small rooms; they were being prepared for installation of community consoles so any citizen could have direct access to DOC. Most rooms were open, with comlinks only partially established. Runr ran into one of these rooms. The room had been completed earlier the previous day. Runr closed the door and waited in the dark. He heard the brothers shouting in the mall, the shouts getting closer, then just outside the door. Runr slid into a corner and bumped his head on something.

  Then the door opened and he saw the brothers grinning. They tried to enter simultaneously and were jammed in the doorway. Zed, the elder, gave Wan a knock on the side of his head. Runr jumped up and leaned back against the wall. His hands felt the console. He was frightened, not knowing what to do. Blue lights flashed about his hands.

  A booming voice said: WE ARE NOT PLEASED

  The two boys fell back, frightened. They looked at each other for a second then jumped up and rushed again at the doorway, getting stuck a second time. The door began to close. They screamed in agony and when the door opened again they collapsed, quiet, eyes closed, tunics torn. Runr bent down to examine the bodies. There was no sign of life and he whined like an animal, then jumped over the bodies and ran as fast as he could.

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  When the yellow light flashed on the console Kevn was sleeping and didn't see it. After several flashes the phonelink buzzed and he opened his eyes, crawled out of his cot and walked to the console.

  "Yes?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

  "Kevn? This is Gry. You haven't seen Runr have you? He should have been back hours ago. Lori is upset and insisted that I ... uh, call you. Runr has talked many times about visiting you - we thought, maybe ..."

  "No, I haven't seen Runr for weeks. I thought you were sending him to school these days. Did you contact the school?"

  "Yes ... they said that he didn't show up at all today. Sorry for bothering you Kevn. He's probably playing with his friends. Thanks, we'll wait a while longer."

  The phonelink went dead. Kevn went back to his cot and stared at the ceiling. He saw Gry and Lori seldom these days but the last time he was invited for one of Lori's fine dinners they told him the problems Runr was having with some of his classmates.

  Kids are cruel, he thought. Hadn't Runr won almost every sporting event this past year? Hadn't the other boys from his school shouted with pride and joy at these victories?

  He remembered the annual Dome race for youths under twenty years. Lori had tried to dissuade Runr from running; he was only fifteen. Gry had encouraged the boy to enter. "He'll knock the others on their head," he had said with great pride. On the day of the race they had all stood against the rail, on the ramp above the main mall. That was the finish line and Gry was sure that Runr would be the first to cross. Kevn had looked at the clock on the opposite wall. The runners should appear in about five minutes. Then there was a great cry from the crowd and Runr ran down t
he long ramp to the finish line. Gry was jumping up and down. Lori was in tears.

  Why was it that a talented black athlete commanded respect and admiration only when viewed from a distance? Kids ... who could understand them? Adults would certainly not behave that way. When the boy was older the problems would vanish. He would be willingly accepted into the Dome community of adults. It took time.

  He closed his eyes and within a few minutes was sound asleep.

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  Runr sat shivering on the damp floor of the conduit, 30 meters below the south mall. He had been miserable in the Dome ever since he had arrived. It was a mistake to bring him to Home planet. Why did humans collect wild things, try to recast them in a mold more to their liking? Why did Kevn feel that the civilized community in the Dome would improve his lot? Runr had been happy on C-phon3. He had plenty to eat, he had a good and trusted friend in the beast, he could breath the cool night air and run as fast as his legs would carry him - anywhere, everywhere.

  The brothers Zed and Wan were dead and he was - somehow - responsible. He couldn't go back to Gry and Lori. He must leave the Dome and head for the Dolom Mountains. He would live there as he had on C-phon3.

  Although the conduit was dark, he could see quite clearly. The ceiling was covered in cables and a levitator was at the far end. There was a cool breeze coming from the ducts beside the levitator. He rose, walked to the grillwork and pushed. It gave a little, then sprung back. He tugged and it squeaked slightly, but held. He wasn't particularly strong so he abandoned the idea of tearing the grillwork from the wall. He walked back to the small console - it had been replaced quite recently in the overhaul of the Dome automatons - and placed his hands firmly on the smooth surface. Blue lights danced about his hands. DOC spoke:

  WE ARE AT YOUR SERVICE

  "Can I get out of this place, DOC?" asked the boy.

  WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO?

  "I would like to leave the Dome. Will the - the thing beside the levitator take me out?"

  THE THING AS YOU CALL IT IS ONE OF MANY DUCTS WHOSE FUNCTION IT IS TO REPLACE THE AIR IN THE DOME EVERY TWENTY SEVEN HOURS.

  IT EXITS TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE DOME.

  "Can you open it for me?"

  There was a long pause. Runr was sure that DOC would not open the duct - except perhaps for techcrews when they came to replace worn parts or check it for proper function or -

  Runr heard the squeaking and ran to the levitator just in time to see the grillwork swing to one side revealing a dark tunnel.

  "Thank you DOC!" shouted Runr as he climbed nimbly into the tunnel and began the long crawl to the exit. By the time he reached a second grillwork at the exit, his knees were scuffed and his hands covered in dirt. Runr looked through and saw the dancing spirals of dust which covered the Barrens. In the distance he could see the mountains. His heart leapt as he pushed on the grillwork. It didn't move. He sat back and stared out.

  ARE YOU CERTAIN THAT YOU WISH TO LEAVE THE DOME?

  "Yes - oh yes! Please DOC, can you open this thing ?"

  The grillwork swung open. Runr hesitated only a moment then jumped out. He fell about three meters, landed on his feet and immediately began to run as fast as he could. The grillwork closed with a squeak.

  Runr didn't hear DOC wish him GOOD LUCK.

  ______________________________________________________

  The android stood by the console, frowning. The star, Auria-5 in the Phrinene sector, seemed to be missing. Although the most obvious, it was not the only deletion from the star maps. Yet there seemed to be no pattern to the locus of missing stars. He had tried in vain to explain the discrepancies in the maps. Stars did not just vanish.

  TOM turned slowly and walked to a port of the huge mining vessel parked on the spaceport landing pad. He saw the small figure running across the plains, walked to the console and punched several comtabs.

  "Why do you wish to view the Barrens, TOM?" asked the shipcomp. "It has not changed for thousands of years, and you have seen it a thousand times."

  "LIZ, put the scene on the televiewer, please," asked TOM.

  The screen glowed and the picture clarified.

  "Magnification 100, please LIZ."

  TOM saw the black youth running across the plains.

  "LIZ, would you say that the boy on the screen is Runr?" asked TOM.

  "Yes, it is Runr. Why does he run so?" asked LIZ.

  "Why indeed; he seems to be heading for the Dolom Mountains. That is a very odd destination and a very dangerous place."

  "Is it TOM? Why is that so?"

  "The most severe punishment in the Dome, for the most hardened criminals, is banishment to the Barrens. There is no vegetation on the plains - the criminals eventually die or make their way to the mountains. Runr will not be in good company there."

  "Then you must tell Gry," said LIZ.

  The android paused for a moment. "No, I will wait. There may be a simple explanation for the boy's excursion. He did, after all, once live as a quite wild animal on C-phon3. Perhaps he has been given permission to run freely on the Barrens. I am certain he will return soon."

  "Yes, you are most certainly correct," said LIZ. "He could not have left the Dome without the assistance of Gry or Kevn."

  "Or DOC," said TOM with a note of disdain.

  Lights flashed sporadically on the console. "You do not like DOC, do you TOM?" asked the shipcomp. TOM did not answer. "I think DOC is very sweet," said LIZ.

  "Hmmph!" grumbled TOM. "He seems to have everyone believing he is very sweet. Now that he can talk, the citizens ask him everything from reporting the winner of the lottery to suggestions on how to turn algae into greenstew. The remarkable thing is that he actually provides answers - of a sort."

  Why TOM," said LIZ with a curious waver in her voice, "I do believe you're jealous of DOC."

  "Nonsense!" shouted the android and sat abruptly on the chair by the console.

  "TOM, you're sitting again," said LIZ.

  TOM ignored the comment.

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  The boy ran for several hours before he collapsed on the dusty ground. Looking back, he saw the Dome, hemispherical, massive, cold. There were four transworld vessels parked on the spacepads located in a circle about the Dome. The suns of Home planet were nearly at their zenith and the warm winds were light - nothing like the searing daytime winds on C-phon3.

  Runr lay back, closed his eyes and smiled. Soon he would be in the mountains; life would be much better. He opened his eyes, leaned forward and gazed intently at the distant hills. They didn't appear any closer than when he had started. He grunted several times, whined then jumped to his feet and began again to run swiftly.

  Although there seemed to be no sign of life on the Barrens, at least when viewed from the Dome, Runr noticed a variety of insects, small rodents, shrubs with shiny green berries and an occasional bird which couldn't fly. Late in the day he saw a hill of rocks and headed in that direction. Just before the white suns slipped beyond the crimson horizon Runr reached the rocks and collapsed wearily on the shady side. His feet were sore. He stared at the polymer shoes which Gry and Lori had given him on his first day of school, then pulled them off and placed them gently on a rock. He stretched his legs, wiggled his toes and tossed his rusty curls, grunted heartily and closed his eyes. Life in the wild would be much better than life in the Dome. No longer would he have to suffer the taunting remarks of his school mates or eat greenstew or wear polymer shoes and a grey tunic. He opened his eyes, gazed down at his tunic then quickly slipped it off and placed it under his head. Soon he was asleep.

  When he awoke it was dark but he could clearly see the striped snake coiled on his stomach, head raised and jaws open. The snake hissed and drew back its bloated head. Runr hissed. The snake raised its head higher and hissed more loudly. Runr opened his eyes wider and hissed m
ore loudly still. The snake slithered off his stomach and disappeared into a rocky crevice. The boy jumped to his feet and started again to run gleefully in the direction of the Dolom Mountains.

  By the next morning the mountains loomed larger on the horizon. Soon he would be there. He stopped and sat on a smooth black rock. He gazed at the shiny rock surface then at his skin, shining in the first rays of the rising suns. The similarity in color made him smile.

  "Do your fellow rocks make fun of you?" he asked with a chuckle. He noticed a fat and hairy caterpillar crawling up the side of the black rock. He scooped it up, sniffed it, took a small bite then popped it into his mouth. He hadn't realized how hungry he was. Lori would be disgusted, he knew. If the caterpillar was much larger and looked like mock-chicken then Lori would have accepted the taste. Perhaps it was just that it was small ... and hairy. He saw several ratlike creatures scurrying over the ground. The ground birds were present in large numbers. He must be much nearer the mountains; small wild creatures were in abundance. He jumped to his feet and ran after a particularly large rodent. After a while he abandoned the chase and headed again for the mountains.

  By the evening of the second day he was able to rest by a clear stream at edge of the woods which ringed the mountains. He drank deeply, several times, then lay under a large and twisted tree. He was naked but the air was warm. He was hungry but his thirst had been quenched. He was very, very tired - so he promptly fell asleep.