moving across the sky. The sun was setting, but it was vertical. Straight up and down. And the only way you can get that is if the sun is moving. The maths is quite straightforward; it’s a form of simple harmonic motion, like a pendulum. The sun bobs up and down. The mass of the disc—’
‘I think our minds are sufficiently boggled, Mr Singh,’ Captain Anastasia said.
‘So a day here is about thirty hours. And once you know that we’re on a disc with the sun at the centre, you start to notice other things too. The trees, the branches, all lean in the direction of the sun. All the leaves are tilted at the same angle. And I know why we crashed too. It’s because we went from a rotating sphere to a stationary flat disc.’
‘Is there any way this … Alderson disk … could be a natural phenomenon?’ Captain Anastasia interrupted.
‘No way,’ Everett said.
‘I was afraid you’d say that. How would you go about building something like this?’
‘It would take a technology millions of years in advance of ours. Maybe tens of millions of years.’
‘Well, then they should be able to give us a wee helping hand with our terribly old-fashioned, totally bolloxed airship,’ Mchynlyth said.
‘Tens of millions of years,’ Captain Anastasia said. ‘So: not us. Not … humans.’
‘No. Humans haven’t been around long enough,’ Everett said.
‘People – things – that can build something like this,’ Captain Anastasia said, ‘do we really want to meet them?’
A shout from the edge of the clearing: ‘Scarper! Get on your lally-tappers and scarper!’ Sharkey burst from the trees. His guns were slung in their holsters on his back. Draped around his chest was a dead creature, the quarry of his hunt. Everett only got a glimpse of it because Sharkey was running for his life: long, lithe, lizard-like, rainbow-coloured, with small eyes and sharp claws. Behind him, flowing and leaping and bounding over roots and logs and branches, came a living tsunami of creatures identical to the one he wore around his neck. Very, very alive. Very, very angry.
‘Drop-lines!’ Captain Anastasia shouted. ‘Quick’s the word, sharp’s the action!’ Sen and Mchynlyth buckled and in an instant were up into the branches. Everett fumbled with his harness.
‘Mr Sharkey!’ Captain Anastasia bellowed. Both sheand Everett could see on his face that Sharkey knew he would never make it. Get to the empty harness, buckle in: impossible.
‘Sharkey!’ Everett yelled. He extended a hand. Sharkey grabbed his hand, hauled himself forward and seized fistfuls of Everett’s harness. The forest erupted in a stampede of hurtling bodies, long necks, darting heads, iridescent rainbow skins, raking clawed feet. Then Everett hit the button. High above the winch screamed, then jerked him and Sharkey into the air. Captain Anastasia was a split second behind. Lizard-things leaped and snapped at Sharkey’s heels until the drop-line took them up out of range. The herd broke over the impromptu camp, snapping and surging over the impeller.
‘Mah engine!’ Mchynlyth shouted from high above. Captain Anastasia tapped her wrist control. Lizard-things slid from the pod’s slick skin and fell into the swarm of surging bodies as the winches bit and hauled the impeller into the air.
Sharkey clung for life to Everett’s harness. They spun slowly as the winch lifted them higher. Their faces were centimetres apart.
‘Indebted, Mr Singh,’ Sharkey said. Everett grimaced at the dead creature pressed up close against his body. The animal was the length of Everett’s arm, four-legged, long-tailed, with yellow reptile eyes with a vertical slit of a pupil. Lithe as a weasel. Ears were tiny holes far back on the long,curved skull. Pointed teeth were bared. The front paws had five digits, and the pale skin was as smooth and creased as a baby’s hand. The fingers were long. The skin was smooth, but arcs of rainbow colour, like oil on water, ran across
‘I think our minds are sufficiently boggled, Mr Singh,’ Captain Anastasia said.
‘So a day here is about thirty hours. And once you know that we’re on a disc with the sun at the centre, you start to notice other things too. The trees, the branches, all lean in the direction of the sun. All the leaves are tilted at the same angle. And I know why we crashed too. It’s because we went from a rotating sphere to a stationary flat disc.’
‘Is there any way this … Alderson disk … could be a natural phenomenon?’ Captain Anastasia interrupted.
‘No way,’ Everett said.
‘I was afraid you’d say that. How would you go about building something like this?’
‘It would take a technology millions of years in advance of ours. Maybe tens of millions of years.’
‘Well, then they should be able to give us a wee helping hand with our terribly old-fashioned, totally bolloxed airship,’ Mchynlyth said.
‘Tens of millions of years,’ Captain Anastasia said. ‘So: not us. Not … humans.’
‘No. Humans haven’t been around long enough,’ Everett said.
‘People – things – that can build something like this,’ Captain Anastasia said, ‘do we really want to meet them?’
A shout from the edge of the clearing: ‘Scarper! Get on your lally-tappers and scarper!’ Sharkey burst from the trees. His guns were slung in their holsters on his back. Draped around his chest was a dead creature, the quarry of his hunt. Everett only got a glimpse of it because Sharkey was running for his life: long, lithe, lizard-like, rainbow-coloured, with small eyes and sharp claws. Behind him, flowing and leaping and bounding over roots and logs and branches, came a living tsunami of creatures identical to the one he wore around his neck. Very, very alive. Very, very angry.
‘Drop-lines!’ Captain Anastasia shouted. ‘Quick’s the word, sharp’s the action!’ Sen and Mchynlyth buckled and in an instant were up into the branches. Everett fumbled with his harness.
‘Mr Sharkey!’ Captain Anastasia bellowed. Both sheand Everett could see on his face that Sharkey knew he would never make it. Get to the empty harness, buckle in: impossible.
‘Sharkey!’ Everett yelled. He extended a hand. Sharkey grabbed his hand, hauled himself forward and seized fistfuls of Everett’s harness. The forest erupted in a stampede of hurtling bodies, long necks, darting heads, iridescent rainbow skins, raking clawed feet. Then Everett hit the button. High above the winch screamed, then jerked him and Sharkey into the air. Captain Anastasia was a split second behind. Lizard-things leaped and snapped at Sharkey’s heels until the drop-line took them up out of range. The herd broke over the impromptu camp, snapping and surging over the impeller.
‘Mah engine!’ Mchynlyth shouted from high above. Captain Anastasia tapped her wrist control. Lizard-things slid from the pod’s slick skin and fell into the swarm of surging bodies as the winches bit and hauled the impeller into the air.
Sharkey clung for life to Everett’s harness. They spun slowly as the winch lifted them higher. Their faces were centimetres apart.
‘Indebted, Mr Singh,’ Sharkey said. Everett grimaced at the dead creature pressed up close against his body. The animal was the length of Everett’s arm, four-legged, long-tailed, with yellow reptile eyes with a vertical slit of a pupil. Lithe as a weasel. Ears were tiny holes far back on the long,curved skull. Pointed teeth were bared. The front paws had five digits, and the pale skin was as smooth and creased as a baby’s hand. The fingers were long. The skin was smooth, but arcs of rainbow colour, like oil on water, ran across
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