the Runner

CHAPTER 2

  In Search of Dolom

  Lori clapped with delight. "That was a wonderful story Kevn," she said. "I can remember my father saying 'Dolom's still angry', each time the mountains glowed. Until now I never understood why he said that." She walked about the room and refilled the chalices with hot brandy.

  Runr, who had been standing by the port looking out at the dark and distant hills for most of the story, now sat crosslegged before Kevn.

  "I saw him." he said quietly, but the others were laughing, sipping brandy and telling tales they had heard of the early days on Home planet. Runr stood up and faced Kevn directly.

  "Master Kevn, I saw him," he said loudly.

  The talking stopped. "Who did you see?" said Kevn.

  "I saw the old man, in the mountains," said the boy.

  "There were many people living there Runr," said Gry. "Remember? Kriss had a small army of criminals and -"

  "No! I saw an old man. He walked with the cats. He had a cane. When he raised his cane the wind blew. I was frightened."

  "The cats?" said Sal.

  Gry answered. "When we escaped from Kriss' camp there were several mountain cats - large mountain cats. We actually escaped during the confusion, when they entered the camp. I told Kevn about the cats; I guess I ... uh, never told you, Sal."

  Kevn leaned forward and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Tell me Runr, did you ever see this old man in the camp, Kriss' camp?" Runr shook his head. "Have you ever seen this old man since your escape?" Runr shook his head. "And you say he made the wind blow, just by raising his cane?" Runr nodded.

  They all looked at each other. Gry walked to the console and punched a comtab.

  YES MASTER GRY?

  "DOC, how old would Dolom be, if he were ... uh, still alive?" said Gry.

  THE METEOROLOGIST DOLOM - OF THE FIRST SETTLERS?

  "Yes. How old?"

  ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY YEARS OLD.

  "Whee! I doubt that the boy saw -" began Sal.

  "Wait," interrupted Kevn. "It's possible. One hundred and seventy ... it's possible. Runr did say that the old man made the wind blow more fiercely. Dolom was doing research in weather control - that fits. We do see the glowing lights from Dolom Mountains from time to time. Maybe -"

  "What about the lightning that destroyed Kriss' ships?" said Gry, getting quite excited. "We never have been able to explain that. Maybe it was the old man of the mountains. The only storms we ever see are when .... uh, the suns start spewing out those flames - from one sun to the other. We never see a storm without that, but we did that day when the ships were destroyed! That was no ordinary bolt of lightning! Am I right?"

  Kevn began to chuckle and they all looked at him. "I have a wonderful idea," he said. "Next week is the anniversary of Gravic's death and there will be several days when the plants will be closed down, foodstuff production and algae cultivation put on hold ... everybody will stay home. That means that we can stay home too ... or, better still ..."

  Sal jumped up. "Kevn, do you mean to head for the Dolom Mountains?"

  "Yes! I have been looking forward to a camping trip. I have to get out of that office. This is a great opportunity - any others want to join me?"

  "Count me in!" shouted Gry. Then he looked at Lori. "... I think?" he added. Lori smiled and Gry grinned, stroking his hair and pulling his rings.

  "May I come?" said Runr, but no one was listening. Runr raised his hands and began to growl. They all stared at him. "May I come?" he repeated.

  "Runr, it could be very dangerous!" cried Lori.

  "Yes, dangerous for us!" said Gry. "You should see the size of those cats! We may need Runr to protect us." They all laughed and Kevn rose from his chair, picked up the boy and gave him a hug. Lori had never seen Kevn show such affection. Gry and Sal smiled. Runr was elated.

  They all agreed to make the trip, leaving in Gry's skooter at the first of the week - even Lori.

  Gry looked at Lori and said, "I don't know if my skooter can hold us all."

  Lori replied, "Then you can stay home!"

  Kevn laughed, Gry pulled a ring or two and they all rose to leave. Gry and Lori walked them to the door.

  No one heard DOC:

  AURIA-5 IS NOT THE ONLY MISSING STAR.

  ______________________________________________________

  On the first day of the following week, at the first sign of daylight, Gry waited with Lori and Runr just inside the exitport which faced the Dolom Mountains. Soon after, Kevn and Sal came trotting down the ramp with their packs. DOC opened the door and Kevn continued to run down the ramp, out onto the plains. He stopped abruptly and inhaled deeply.

  "Dolom! Here we come!" he shouted in the direction of the distant hills. Sal grinned and trotted down the ramp. Gry grunted and drove the skooter down the ramp and stopped beside them. Sal and Kevn squeezed in and the tightly packed skooter headed out over the plains toward the distant, hazy mountains.

  The skooter had been fitted with lightbeams so it could continue throughout the night. Kevn and Sal insisted that they share the driving, but Gry refused their offer. While most of them slept, Gry hunched over the steering column gazing out over the narrow shaft of light which illuminated the plains ahead. Lori kept up a constant chatter, watching for signs of sleep, but Gry continued until the suns had risen behind them, above the distant Dome. He stopped by a pile of rocks and jumped out to relieve himself. They all got out, stretched and took turns in vanishing behind the rocks.

  "Why do they go behind a rock?" asked Runr.

  "Good question," said Lori with a smile. "I never could figure it out myself."

  When they were ready to begin again, Gry was sound asleep in the skooter. Lori gave him a hug and they all laughed. Gry awoke, embarrassed, stroking his hair and pulling his rings. Soon they were again speeding across the dusty plains.

  ______________________________________________________

  By the time the suns had vanished and the night sky was filled with stars they had set up camp and were sitting around a blazing fire. Lori had prepared several packages of food and they munched contentedly.

  "Well, we made it to the jungle," said Sal. "Where do we go from here?"

  "I, for one, am in no hurry to get back to the office," said Kevn, leaning against his pack.

  Lori looked at the boy who was staring past the fire into the jungle.

  "What are you thinking Runr?" she asked.

  "Yes, Runr, where did you see the old man?" said Sal.

  The boy looked about at the faces shining bright in the flickering light.

  "I saw him near the black mountain," said Runr, turning again to gaze into the jungle.

  Gry was almost asleep but the sound of Runr's voice made him sit upright.

  "Runr, I meant to ... uh, ask you about the cats - those giant cats. Had you seen them before? They seemed to know you. I mean, one of them came running to us when we were held prisoner by Kriss and I thought that was the end for us, but ... uh, it seemed to know you."

  "Yes, I had a friend while I was on the mountain. It was a big cat. He scared away the guards. We were becoming good friends - like the beast."

  Gry looked at Kevn then back to the boy who was now staring pensively into the fire.

  "The beast on C-phon3?" asked Gry. "Was he your friend? That's another thing I always meant to ask you. How did you get on C-phon3? How did you ... uh, get to be friends with such an ugly creature?"

  The boy stood up before the fire, his black skin gleaming silver in the light, his eyes flashing green.

  "He was not an ugly creature. He was my best friend."

  "Yes, of course he was," said Lori.

  "Sorry Runr," said Gry. "I ... uh, only meant ...well - "

  "Runr," said Kevn, "how did you get onto C-phon3? We visited that planet several times and never saw any other signs of human life. Were there others like you?"

  "No, I was the only one
," said Runr, sitting again by the fire. He paused for several minutes. It seemed clear that he was about to continue and everyone was silent, waiting. "I don't know how I got on that planet. I was always there ... for as long as I remember. The beast was always there too ... for as long as I remember."

  "And you always remember talking to the crystals?" said Kevn.

  "Yes ... to the rocks and the ground. The planet was, somehow, alive. It was sick, I know that now. I guess it was dying." The boy looked up at Kevn. "Why would the planet die after all those years?"

  Kevn looked into the fire, avoiding the boy's gaze. "I'm not sure Runr. If it was phonarite decay then it might have been caused by radiation. But I should think that the decay would have started a long time ago - that you would have noticed it much earlier -"

  "Not necessarily Kevn," said Sal. "The primary radiation on Home planet is a consequence of the exchange of mass between Sol-1 and Sol-2. Maybe C-phon3 didn't have significant levels of radiation. The decay would be very slow ... and of course the amount of phonarite was decreasing because you were -"

  "Yes, yes ... I know," said Kevn, "we were scraping the planet clean of the crystals. I'm sorry Runr. We didn't know that the planet was ... alive."

  Lori was looking from Kevn to Runr and back. She raised her hand and they all stopped talking and looked at her. "I know very little about computers. Well, I guess I know nothing about computers - but, are you saying that the planet, Runr's planet, that it was a giant computer?"

  Sal looked at Kevn. "Well, I guess you could say that," he said.

  "Well, our computers can tell you anything you want to know - or so it seems," said Lori. "DOC seems to know everything. Why can't the planet, Runr's planet, tell you everything that's happened on it? I mean, why can't the planet tell you where Runr came from, how he came to be on the planet, how he met the beast -"

  Gry leaned over and gave Lori a squeeze. "Ain't she a genius?" he said.

  Kevn jumped to his feet. "Lori, you are a genius! And you've given me a great idea!"

  "Oh no!" cried Sal with a grin. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

  "I want to go too!" said Gry. Runr was already on his feet, jumping up and down.

  Lori stood up to join the others. "Wait a minute," she said. "Go where?"

  They all looked at Lori. The fire crackled and flames leapt into the air. The light breeze had died suddenly and everyone was quiet. There was a smile on every face.

  "They are going to the boy's planet," said a voice from the darkness.

  They all jumped. Lori grabbed Runr and Gry crouched in the direction of the dark jungle where the voice had come. They all stared as the tall thin figure emerged from the darkness into the light of the fire.

  "But you won't find any other Afrians there," said the man, his white hair flowing about his shoulders and his staff rising straight by his side. "The boy is the last survivor of that race."

  "Who ... uh, are you?" asked Gry.

  "Dolom!" said Kevn with a smile. "Right?"

  "Quite right, First Citizen," said Dolom.

  "Please join us," said Lori. "Can I offer you some food? It's a simple meal but you will find it nourishing."

  "Reconstituted algae I presume," said Dolom. "No thank you my dear lady. I am accustomed to taking nourishment from the jungle." The old man approached the boy and put his withered hand upon Runr's shoulder. "So, young man, they took you back to the Dome did they? I assumed as much when I saw that you were no longer living in the cave. Your cat misses you very much, you know. He didn't eat for several days after you left. You have a certain way with animals - like all Afrians. And can you talk to automatons too?"

  Runr smiled broadly. "Yes sir."

  "Did you ... uh, did you free us from Kriss?" said Gry.

  "I sent in my cats. They freed you. I did, however, destroy their village of huts. They were a miserable lot, fouling the jungle and killing indiscriminately. I was glad to see them leave."

  "The Battle of the Dome," said Sal. "Did you destroy the ships?"

  The old man looked at Sal. "I don't know you, young man. Who am I speaking to?"

  Sal stepped toward the old man and put out his hand. "My name is Sal. I am very pleased to meet you ... Dolom. You are quite famous you know. I understand that you are a meteorologist - that you can control the weather. Is that true?"

  "I can only control the power of the black mountain. The weather can be modified, to some extent, by focussing that energy. Yes, to answer your question, I did destroy the ships of the band of criminals who lived in this jungle."

  Dolom had not taken Sal's hand, but Kevn put out his hand anyway. It was similarly ignored.

  "Dolom," said Kevn. "You say that Runr is an Afrian? I've never heard of them. What do you know about that race? How could the boy find himself on C-phon3? How could -"

  The old man raised his hand and Kevn stopped talking. "I am very tired. It is a long walk from the black mountain. I am in need of drink. I will drink from the infamous waters of the underground lake if you have any to spare."

  Lori jumped forward with a bottle. Gry put up his hand. "Master Dolom," he said. "I have some brandy if you would prefer -"

  The old man turned abruptly and stared at Gry, frowning. They all watched his face as the frown changed slowly into a wide grin. "Brandy you say? What would be the source of that incomparable brew? Algae?"

  "No, no!" cried Gry. "It's genuine Extron brandy!"

  The old man raised both arms and looked up, the wind whistled and a light flashed briefly in the dark sky, then he lowered his arms and held out a thin hand, still looking upward. Gry placed the small jug into his hand. The wind died abruptly. The old man raised the jug to his lips and paused. Everyone was silent, staring. Only the fire crackled. The old man took a sip and then sniffed the jug. He smiled and held out the jug to Gry.

  "No, please ... uh, take it all. We have more. You can have more. Great Mother Earth! You have saved our lives - it's small reward for your help in ... uh, destroying Kriss and his gang of thugs."

  The old man sniffed again and took a long drink, eyes closed, white hair swirling about his head in the light breeze. When he lowered the jug it was empty. Lori clapped and giggled.

  "How lovely," she said. "I wish my father were alive to see this. He blamed you - uh, I mean he always said you were angry when the weather was bad - uh, I mean, when the storm -"

  "Lori, master Dolom doesn't want to hear about your father," said Gry.

  "On the contrary I am very interested in the Dome and all its inhabitants - or citizens, as you call yourselves. I did gain something from the hoodlums who lived in the village. They would talk incessantly about life in the Dome ... and I listened, unseen, with great interest. I was once a member of the Dome community you know. I left to live in this jungle and on that mountain. Life in the sterile environment of the Dome was not to my liking." Runr jumped with glee. "Yes my boy," said the old man, smiling at the youngster. "You are also not meant for such an environment. No Afrian is."

  "Please, master Dolom," said Lori. "Please sit down. You must be tired. Please warm yourself by the fire." They all looked at the dying fire and all jumped up simultaneously to replenish the wood. The old man walked to a smooth rock and sat down, wearily. After a minute he looked at Kevn.

  "First Citizen," he said, "what happened to Gravic?"

  "He was killed in the Dome battle. He was a great citizen -"

  "He was a fool," said the old man. "A very gentle man, but a fool."

  "Because he elected to build in the Barrens rather than by the mountains?" asked Kevn.

  "No ... he was quite right about the location of the Dome. He was usually right about most things. There is little water here ... insufficient for the Dome community but certainly enough for the few individuals who live -" The old man stopped and rose, looking into the jungle. "I have almost forgotten. I am not alone."

  He waved his hands
and a dark shadow moved out of the jungle into the light of the fire. Gry quickly held Lori who grabbed Runr but the boy struggled from her grasp and ran to the huge cat. Runr growled and the cat rolled over and accepted the vigorous rub. They all stared in awe, except the old man; he smiled and leaned heavily, wearily on his staff.

  "Why do you keep the boy imprisoned - in the Dome?" he asked.

  Gry looked at Lori. She was watching the boy and the great cat.

  ______________________________________________________

  "Dolom," said Kevn, "tell us about the Afrians. Where is their home planet? How did you learn about them? Do they all have Runr's powers?"

  The old man looked very weary. He leaned on his staff and spoke slowly and softly. Kevn leaned forward to hear every word.

  "Before the expedition to this planet I had travelled widely, studying weather patterns on many of the planets reachable by transworld vessels. The officials on Earth sponsored this research in the hope that I would be able to improve the conditions on that miserable planet. During one of my trips I landed on Afria, in the Krono-sector. It was known to have severe storms and the inhabitants were also known to be technologically advanced. I hoped that they had discovered some means of weather control and was eager to talk to them."

  The old man paused, rose and rubbed his side. Lori quickly placed a folded blanket on the rock. The old man smiled and sat again. "When I arrived I found that they did not control the weather but that their planet did ... and they were able to communicate with that planet."

  "You mean - " said Gry.

  "Please do not interrupt," said the old man. "I will finish shortly." There was silence. The old man breathed heavily then continued. "The planet behaved like a gigantic automaton and the Afrians could communicate and request certain weather conditions. The planet would comply - usually - if the Afrians were careful in their treatment of the environment. Although I was fascinated I could not duplicate the conditions on Afria. I wrote a paper on Afria after I returned to earth but there was little interest; Earth was not an automaton."

  "But the boy, how -" said Gry.

  "Please ... I will finish soon." Gry sat back and pulled his rings. They all watched the old man in silence. He continued.

  "I learned from another transworld traveller that the Afrians became more complacent and began to mistreat the planet. They dumped their wastes, untreated, into the rivers. Their factories disgorged raw chemicals onto the ground and into the atmosphere. They ravaged the forests and slaughtered the wild life for sport. That was the most surprising to me because, when I was on Afria, I was amazed to see the animals of the forest walk freely in the streets of the cities. The Afrians had a deep understanding of the animal psyche and held them in high regard. I understand that this became their most effective weapon when they decided to kill the animals for sport."

  The old man turned to Gry, sitting on a log with Lori. "Do you have more brandy?" Gry jumped up so quickly that Lori fell off the log. Gry placed a full jug into the open palm and the old man drank deeply, then continued.

  "As you may have guessed, the planet balked. The storms became severe. Entire cities were destroyed. Most of the Afrians had no means of leaving the planet and were eventually annihilated by the planet itself - often in massive earthquakes, hurricanes, erupting volcanos. Some of the Afrians did, however, manage to leave the planet in space vessels. The hope was to start a new life elsewhere. They would avoid making the same mistakes. They had already identified another sister planet with similar properties; it was another planetary automaton."

  "C-phon3," muttered Gry.

  "Yes, C-phon3," said the old man. They all waited but it looked like the old man had stopped talking.

  "Dolom," said Kevn. "May I ask you a question?"

  "Yes, I have ended my story."

  "Do you know if the Afrians settled on C-phon3? Did they begin a new community?"

  Dolom looked at Runr sitting cross-legged by his feet, gazing intently at the old man.

  "My boy," said the old man, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder, "your ancestors landed on C-phon3 full of hope. Never again would they take their planet for granted. They would begin once more, never repeating the mistakes of the past. But it was to no avail. Their new home would not accept them. The story, as it was told to me, is that C-phon3 destroyed the space vessels almost as soon as they landed. The ground opened up and swallowed them. There were no survivors." He stroked the rusty curls which fell about Runr's shoulders. "Well, I guess there was one survivor."

  "How did the ... uh, how did C-phon3 know -" stuttered Gry.

  "The planets, they could communicate with each other? Is that the case, Dolom?" asked Sal.

  Dolom drank once more from the jug of brandy. He looked very, very tired and did not answer. Lori took the jug from the old man and helped him to his feet. The cat growled and came to his side.

  "I must leave you now," said Dolom. "I am old and tire easily. Before I die, I hope to see the boy once again on the black mountain. I will teach him the ways of the mountain. One day he will be a great ... a great wizard. We will need such a wizard - soon, very soon."

  The old man smiled at Runr. The boy took the old man's hand and held it tightly to his chest.

  "You have green eyes ... how long since I have seen such eyes ... how long since I have seen such glowing ebony skin."

  The old man turned and slowly walked into the dark shadows at the edge of the bush. The cat followed. He turned and said in a low voice:

  "Prepare, for the star-eater comes."

  Then he vanished into the dense growth.

  The others stared after him for several minutes before anyone spoke.

  "Did you hear what he said?" asked Sal.

  "Something about the ... uh, stars," grunted Gry.

  "Well boys, it's time to sleep," said Lori. They agreed.

  ______________________________________________________

  Gry lay on his back, his hands folded behind his head, staring up at the stars. He couldn't sleep. He rolled over and whispered, "Kevn, are you asleep?" Kevn grunted. Gry whispered more loudly and Sal awoke.

  "What's the matter Gry?" he said.

  Gry sat up. "There's something I don't understand." Kevn sat up. "C-phon3, " continued Gry. "That planet didn't swallow us, Kevn and me. It let us scrape crystals and cart them away. If it could destroy the Afrian vessels, why didn't it ... uh, bother us?"

  Kevn shook himself. He was no longer sleepy. "That's an interesting question Gry," he said. "Maybe it didn't find us threatening. Maybe it was weakened by decay."

  "Kevn," said Gry. "Before Dolom showed up tonight we were planning a trip to C-phon3. Is that cancelled now?"

  "I think so. We now have the story of the Afrians from Dolom. We don't have to ask the planet. There seems little reason -"

  "There's a problem there too," said Lori. She waited for them to listen, attentively, then continued. "How old is Dolom?"

  "One hundred and seventy, according to DOC," said Kevn.

  "And how old is the Dome? How long have we been living on this planet?"

  "Seventy seven years," said Sal.

  "So Dolom was nearly one hundred years old when he came to Home planet," said Lori.

  "What are you ... uh, driving at Lori," asked Gry.

  "Dolom heard the story of the destruction of the last Afrians from travellers. That was before he came to Home planet." She waited for a response. There was none. "Are any of you mathematically inclined?" she asked.

  "Wait," said Sal. "Lori is right. If the Afrians were destroyed over one hundred years ago - all except for Runr of course - then how old is Runr? He must be over one hundred -"

  "That's preposterous," said Kevn.

  "Then Dolom is lying ... or, uh, senile," said Gry.

  "Yes," said Kevn. "Why would he lie to us?"

  "There is another explanation," said Lori. They all looked eagerly at Lori
, waiting for her explanation. She smiled. "The Afrians did not all die, at least not immediately. They might have established a new society on C-phon3. It may have lasted for a hundred years. Then, somehow, they were destroyed - except for Runr of course."

  "Yes, that's quite reasonable," said Kevn. "Dolom did not have first hand knowledge of the Afrian disasters. He gained that information from travellers. Perhaps the dates, the timing ... maybe -"

  "He is a confused old man," said Lori. "He just doesn't remember, not exactly. It's as simple as that. Besides, he said he was once a citizen of the Dome community, then decided to abandon it for life in these mountains. Yet the story DOC told Kevn was that Dolom never joined the Dome community. See? He's just a little confused."

  "And Afria - where is Afria?" asked Sal. "If C-phon3 could communicate with Afria then they must be close. Do you know of any other planets in the same sector as C-phon3? Something which might be a sentient planet?"

  "Dolom mentioned that Afria was in the Krono-sector," said Kevn.

  "Why can't we try to find Afria?" asked Gry. "Why can't we ... uh, see if we can't find some sign of an early Afrian community ... on C-phon3?"

  "Gry!" cried Lori. "You just don't want to go back to the algae ponds. Any excuse to leave on some trip through space! You told me you were tired of travel from planet to planet, that you were pleased to be at Home with your skooter and -"

  "Kevn ... First Citizen," said Sal, rising to his feet. "I respectfully request permission, as Chief of Research, to visit Afria and C-phon3, to carry out research on the automaton environment, to bring back data which will -"

  "Permission granted," said Kevn with a wide smile.

  "I want to go too!" cried Gry. Runr jumped up and down.

  "Boys! Boys!" shouted Lori. "We've just been through all this! There is no reason to visit these planets, except for Sal ... maybe." She looked at Sal with a squint. "I think you just want to get away from the Dome!"

  Kevn leaned over and gave Lori a kiss on the cheek. "Yes, I think you're right. Life in the Dome is sterile, just as Dolom said. I was happy travelling from planet to planet. Gry complained a lot, but I know he enjoyed the experience too. It was somehow exciting. Everything wasn't programmed. There were some dangers, some fear of the unknown. But in the Dome ... DOC can look after everything here. If I was replaced by an automaton the citizens would never notice my absence. I find it difficult to imagine that my job is a worthy one - it can be done by anyone. There are no real problems to overcome, no challenges to meet."

  "I agree," said Sal. "Now that the decay riddle - uh, the decay problem is solved, the lab is a boring place to be. I suggest that we leave next week. That will give us time to load K-47 with supplies and chart our course."

  They all lay back, too excited to sleep. Runr couldn't stop jumping up and down. Lori was furious.

  Nevertheless, by the third day of the following week K-47 rose noisily from its landing pad. Aboard were Kevn, Sal, Runr, Gry and, of course, Lori. When the huge vessel was several hundred meters above the ground it headed out in the direction of the Dolom Mountains. Runr had asked that they fly over black mountain and they had all concurred. When they reached the mountain the vessel hovered for several minutes. A narrow beam of light rose from the ground and they all cheered. Gry flashed the landing lights and the beam flickered momentarily then went out.

  "Dolom isn't angry any more," said Lori in a whisper.

  Then the vessel rose vertically and was soon lost to sight.