Garia's busy day continues with the inaugural meeting of the Inner Council and concludes with a night visit to the palace's highest tower. There she sees the city for only the second time, learns more about the palace's origins and introduces Gerdas to telescopes. The evening ends with a final surprise.

Somewhere Else Entirely

by Penny Lane

13 - The Die is Cast

Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2011-2016 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

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After the meal had finished that evening and the various pleasantries concluded afterwards, a select group found their way to a meeting room deep in the palace. There were too many of them to fit into the King's parlor, his preferred venue, so they had to use one of the larger, more formal rooms which Keren explained to Garia were generally only used when the Dukes who ran much of Palarand came to call.

Joining Robanar, Terys, Keren and Garia were Captains Bleskin and Merek of the Palace Guard, the Royal Astronomer Gerdas in his capacity as temporary head of the Society of Questors of Palarand and Master Trader Tanon. All the maids and other servants had been dismissed and guardsmen stationed at every door and the ends of the corridor to ensure their privacy. They were all seated around a huge oval table which could comfortably have seated five times their number.

There was an additional person present, a youngish man whom Garia estimated would have been in his mid-twenties on Earth. His dress did not suggest that he was either a Questor or a Guardsman.

"This is Journeyman Scribe Pitchell," Robanar introduced him. "At the suggestion of my son I have asked him here to record our deliberations. He is a Quick Scribe, which means that he uses a special notation to write which is almost as fast as we can speak." As most of his audience were familiar with such people the King turned towards Garia. "He will convert his notes into proper script at a later date, Mistress."

Robanar now spoke to the scribe. "Master Pitchell, because of the nature of our deliberations, it would be seemly for you to be of a more appropriate status, and therefore I am raising you today to the degree of Master. I have spoken to your superior, and he agrees that you would be due the honor shortly were the circumstances any different." Pitchell gave a low bow towards his King. "You may find the task ahead of you a heavy one. I expect that another one or two scribes may be later appointed to take up the load. For now we will manage with your efforts alone."

Pitchell bowed again. "Thank you, Sire. You may rely on me, Sire."

"Then make ready, if you please, Master Scribe." Pitchell sat and picked up what looked like a pencil, ready to write upon a pile of parchment that was in front of him.

"Let us make a start, then." Robanar's attention encompassed all of them. "We have no established plan for how this is going to work, we'll have to make up some kind of procedure as we go along. Mistress, do you have any particular place you wish to start?"

Garia stood. "Sire, Ma'am, Your Highness, Masters. I have only had a short time to think about this, so you'll have to excuse me if I forget something. I think that what I will be able to tell you falls into one or more of three kinds of information. Firstly, Sire, you wished to learn more about the world that I come from. That's what I would call the modern world. I'm quite happy to tell you about the Earth I left, but I don't really know much about most of it except what I've read about or seen on the... um, learned by other means. The problem is that none of you will be able to understand most of what I can tell you to start with, because you have no background.

"Next, I can also tell you the background, that is to say I can give you our history. Some of it, at least. We're talking about a whole load of history here, probably three hundred years worth, and I don't know a lot of that either except what happened in the area I was brought up in. You do need to hear about the Industrial Revolution at least because that's what's going to affect Palarand in the next few years if you accept my help.

"Lastly, you all want to hear about the ideas and machines that make up my world, and how you can use them yourselves. Would you all agree with that?"

"Very well put, Mistress," Gerdas said. "You used a strange phrase there, 'Industrial Revolution'. Can you tell us what that means?"

"I'm not sure, Master Gerdas. It means..." Garia frowned in thought. The phrase had been used for centuries and everyone knew what it meant, but how could she explain it to people who didn't get what a revolution was? Okay, step back a bit.

"A revolution," she said, "as understood on Earth for these purposes, I guess means a complete upheaval in a society's normal functions. Some of our revolutions have been to overthrow kings and dictators." She caught the King's eye. "Sire, I suggest a separate session when I tell you about all those. You may find unsettling what I have to tell you. To answer Master Gerdas, the Industrial Revolution was basically the process where our society changed from a mainly agricultural one to one where most people live in cities and work in factories or offices. Um, put simply, I think it's when we started making heavy use of machinery to make our lives easier."

"I see," Robanar said. "And we must make this revolution, as you call it? We cannot just use the knowledge you bring to improve the society we have now?"

"Sire, the Industrial Revolution wasn't a thing planned by anyone beforehand. It's just the name given afterwards to what took place. It took a long time, as well, in fact, in some respects it is still happening back home. There are other things I can tell you about which don't involve heavy industry but even if I don't say anything the revolution will happen here eventually."

Robanar nodded. "I think I understand. What you are telling us is that this process is going to happen on Anmar whether you are involved or not. If you are not involved it will just take much longer."

"That's exactly it, Sire. Only, if it happens at its own pace then you'll probably make all the same mistakes we made."

"Ah! Yes, I see what you are suggesting, now, Mistress. If you tell us what happened on your own world then we can benefit from hindsight, as it were."

"Better than that, Sire. You may benefit by skipping years of experimentation and false leads."

The King nodded again. "I see that we are making the right decision by asking you to disclose your knowledge Mistress. I must ask, in front of us all, if you are content to give it of your own free will?"

"I am, Sire. But, as we discussed before, some of what I shall tell you must not go further than this chamber and those of us now here."

"I anticipated that we would need to do this," Robanar replied. "In order for this council to function properly and safely I must therefore ask you all to swear an oath of secrecy. I will swear this oath myself. If any person here does not wish to swear, they may depart now with no stain attached to their name."

There were general nods all round. No-one appeared ready to leave their seat. Robanar bent down and lifted from beneath the table an ornate cube-shaped wooden box, richly decorated with inlays. There was an intake of breath from Terys. Robanar lowered the sides of the box to show, nestling safely inside, a jewel-encrusted golden crown. He rested his hand on the top of the crown and spoke.

"I name this assembly the Council of the Two Worlds. Those here seated around it are the founding members of the Council. It is likely that there will be further members appointed, all will be asked to take an oath as we will now do.

"I swear, before all those here assembled, and on the Crown of Palarand, to keep the deliberations and decisions of this council secret, not to speak of them or otherwise disclose them by any means to any person not of this council. I swear to hold the things said here in silence in peril of my own life. So have I sworn."

"Heard and witnessed."

Everyone except Garia repeated the last phrase. It was apparently a standard response by those attending an oath-taking. She thought about the matter and decided that it could do no harm. As Robanar moved the box round the table in front of each person, they placed a hand on the crown and repeated the oath and Garia joined in the response. By circumstance she was the last person the King came to.

"Mistress, this council meets because of you," Robanar said. "I know that you do not, technically, need to join the council. We will hear whatever it is that you decide to tell us. I will not insist that you take the oath if you do not wish to do so."

"Sire, I am already bound by a promise. You asked anyone to leave who did not wish to take an oath. I am still here. I will take the oath."

Garia repeated the oath and everyone else responded. She noticed a look of satisfaction on the Queen's face, and wondered whether she had just passed a test. Or just fallen in a trap? What did I just do?

"Sire," she said as Robanar moved towards the box, "I feel I must give another oath, one I gave when I was questioned by Master Morlan. It is not an oath that anyone else need take."

"Mistress?"

Garia took a deep breath and put her hand back on the crown. "I swear to tell this council the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God." The last phrase came out before she could even think about it.

Robanar thought about what she had just said. "Mistress, I am surprised but perhaps I shouldn't be. Your oath will satisfy us that you are not simply telling us tales. I have a question, who is God?"

"I'm guessing that He is what you call the Maker," she said. "There is much, much more to it than that of course. Religion can be a difficult subject on Earth. I would like to leave that for a different session, Sire."

"Very well, Mistress." Robanar closed the box and removed it from the table. "Let us begin, but have you given thought to where you would like to begin?"

"Yes, I do, Sire," Garia said, surprising herself. "It seems that I'm going to be spending the next few months, possibly years, talking to you all. I want to start by making Master Pitchell's job easier. He's going to be writing a significant amount during that time, and parchment can't be cheap, can it?" She saw Tanon shake his head and continued, "Then let me tell you about an alternative that has been in use on Earth for thousands of years. It's called paper. Once we get that technology fully understood and in production, we can more easily think about other things you might find worth while."

"What exactly is paper, Mistress?" Tanon asked. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Keren smiling. He had been there when she had tried to explain paper to Morlan and she was certain he understood the implications.

It isn't possible to grow up over a bookshop and not understand at least the basics of paper-making. So Garia knew just sufficient to be able to describe the process, not as the ancient Egyptians had used it, nor as the Chinese had used it, but as medieval Europe had developed the art. Yes, it appeared that any amount of sawdust was to be had, cheaply, mostly the stuff was currently burnt on site or plowed back into the soil. Yes, Master Tanon knew of a smooth-surfaced cloth which could be used to cover frames to hold the pulp. Yes, there were presses used to take juice from fruit to make wines which could be adapted for the purpose. Yes, Master Gerdas would see to the commissioning of a prototype the following morning.

The thing that they found most difficult to deal with was the sheer scale of the things she talked about. Most of them found difficulty in comprehending the huge numbers of books and other paper products that her world produced. Her description of newspapers blew them away completely. The thought of a number of large sheets of paper folded together, with writing on both sides, delivered to many thousands of dwelling-places daily was overwhelming. That brought her to a second important topic.

"Sire, Ma'am, Your Highness, Masters," she began. "One thing that really stands out in modern Earth society is the large quantities involved. You must make yourselves think of huge amounts of just about everything. What's the phrase I'm trying to think of? Ah, yes, 'economies of scale'. Don't think in terms of ten times what you have now, think a hundred, a thousand, a million times. For example, we routinely produce millions of tons of steel every year. We use it for almost everything. We make buildings, vehicles, ships out of it. You won't be doing that any time soon, but remember, the more you can make of anything, the cheaper it gets. The more you make of anything, the more uses you find for it, so the more you want to make of it."

"A ton, Mistress?" Tanon asked. "I assume that is a measure of weight?"

"Yes, Master Tanon. Let me think." I don't want to spend the best part of a day juggling weights, so let's try this the metric way. "Uh, imagine a cube of rainwater, a Stride on a side. Not the tank you'd have to make to put the water in, just the water. That would be a weight of a ton."

"That sounds like the way that they calculate the weight of ships," Tanon mused, proving that around the Valley at least someone had come to the same conclusions that Archimedes had. "A cube of a Stride is a ton, eh? Aye, that will work quite well, Mistress. Why rainwater, if I may ask?"

"It's the purest form of water around here, I suppose. Anything that comes out of the ground or from a river almost certainly has other things like minerals in it. The sea is salty, of course." A thought jolted her. "The sea is salty, isn't it?"

"Aye, Mistress," Keren replied. "Unpleasant tasting, as well. You're saying that if things are dissolved in the water then the weight will change?"

"That's right, Highness. Is it not true that ships in the open sea float higher than they would in the river? That's due to the salt changing the density of the water."

"Aye, of course!" Tanon exclaimed. "Of course, that's why that happens. Mistress, you are improving my education all the time. Millions of tons," he mused, "I begin to understand my part in this enterprise now."

"That would be millions of tons per year on Earth," Garia corrected. "Of course, we have a much larger population than you have here, your needs will be considerably less to start with."

A restless Bleskin began to speak. "Sire -"

"Captain," Robanar interrupted him. "I have not forgotten this evening's adventure. Perhaps we should stop here and make ourselves ready for the tower."

He was about to rise but Garia stopped him.

"Sire, perhaps we could take a few moments before we rise to tell Captain Merek what Captain Bleskin proposes for tonight."

"Aye, Mistress, a good idea. Bleskin, have you mentioned anything to Merek at all?"

"Briefly, Sire," Bleskin replied. He turned to his subordinate and described the activities that he had originally proposed to Gerdas. Merek was unhappy about the use of telescopes, and Robanar mentioned the discussion earlier that afternoon regarding the need to keep things secret or not.

"I thought the same as you, Merek, when the subject was raised but Mistress Garia has made an interesting case and I am inclined to agree with it. Perhaps that should be the first subject of our next meeting."

"As you wish, Sire."

"Master Pitchell, are you content with this evening's meeting?"

"Aye, Sire. I shall begin transcribing what has already been said and done tonight. I must confess, Sire, that the idea of this paper substance intrigues me."

"As it does myself, Master Pitchell. Mistress Garia, how long do you expect this paper-making process to take?"

"I have no idea, Sire. It has never been done here before. It may take a week, it may take longer."

"Very well. When shall we next meet?"

A meeting was provisionally fixed for three days time. The members of the newly-formed council left the chamber to return to their respective rooms and change. When Garia and Jenet reached their suite they found that Mistress Yolda had left their outfits for them, Garia's was in her dressing room and Jenet's was piled neatly on her chest of drawers. They helped each other out of their evening gowns and into the heavy cleaning dresses, tights and boots. After a week of wearing next to nothing on her lower half the tights felt peculiar on her legs but she expected that to disappear as time went on. The dress was too warm, at least within her suite, and she hoped for a cooling breeze when they got wherever they were going. The boots appeared to be the wrong ones but they eventually worked out that whoever had delivered them had switched over the two pairs. Finally Jenet showed Garia how to link the clasps at the neck of the dark cloaks they both wore and the two set off.

"Where are we going, Jenet?"

"Captain Bleskin said to wait for everyone else at the end of the corridor behind the Receiving Room," she said.

They went downstairs and Jenet led the way through a quiet palace, the corridors lit only by lamps at each intersection. Like most societies before the invention of gas or electric lighting people generally went to bed at sunset and got up around dawn. They passed relatively few others in the corridors but Garia was conscious of their Guard escort following discreetly behind. When they got to the indicated spot Garia beckoned them over with a wave of her arm.

"Do you intend to follow us all night? We are waiting for Captain Bleskin to take us up a tower."

"I didn't know that, Mistress. We wondered why you were both dressed that way."

"I don't know where we're going so I don't know if you would be able to follow us," she said. "But we'll be with Captain Bleskin and Captain Merek, so I'm not sure your services will be needed until we finish."

"Uh, thank you for thinking of us, Mistress. In fact we were soon to finish our watch when we noticed you leaving your suite, I expect others will take the night watch over you."

The corridor they were standing in ended at a blank wall with a single narrow door in it. It seemed to Garia that the wall looked different than the other ornately paneled walls which lined the palace corridors and she finally realized that it was stone rather than wood. After a short wait the door opened and Captain Merek emerged.

"Welcome, Mistress," he greeted them. "The others will arrive shortly, I believe."

He talked to the two guardsmen and dismissed them for the night, then stood with them and waited for the others to arrive. When Bleskin, Keren, Gerdas and finally Robanar appeared one after the other they seemed surprised that Garia had gotten there first but no-one minded much. Merek waved them all through the small door into a large chamber.

"Gosh. I didn't expect this," Garia said.

They were in a huge square room of roughly-cut and heavily-repaired stonework. From the four corners massive vaulting arched to the center to make a domed ceiling. What took Garia's attention were the two huge treadmills which occupied the bulk of the floor space. These were so large that the tallest man in the room would have no difficulty standing on the treadmill without his head touching the immense wooden axle above him. There was space for at least two men to walk side by side inside the rim of each wheel. Between the two wheels was a wood-and-iron mechanism which Garia decided might be some kind of bucket-and-chain pump, the end disappearing into a hole in the floor. A similar mechanism was against the far wall, its base in a tank and the rest going through a hole in the vaulted ceiling.

"We make our criminals earn their keep," Keren spoke softly in her ear. "They do it voluntarily as it means a reduction in time served. The near pump lifts water from the well in the center and runs it into that tank and then the further pump lifts the water up to the main tank above us. Shall we go?"

He gestured with a hand and she saw that the others were passing through a small doorway at the other side of the room. When she reached it she found a spiral staircase going up through the stonework. Garia went first followed by Jenet and Keren brought up the rear.

The room above was another surprise to Garia as it was almost entirely filled with a huge cylindrical vat that went up into the gloom above her. This was made of entire tree trunks cut and shaped like giant barrel staves, the whole thing being bound in numerous iron bands.

"Our main water supply, although we have many others," Keren explained. "The look-out post is on top."

The next stage of the ascent was by means of a steep wooden open-tread stairway which led round at least two sides of the tower before the tank blocked her view. The others were waiting for them to catch up at its bottom.

"Mistress," Robanar said to her, "you will tell us straight away if there is any difficulty, won't you?"

"As you command, Sire," she replied diplomatically. She privately wondered whether the King might have more of a problem climbing the stair than she would.

"There is a problem," he added. "We would prefer you to go first, so that we might assist you if you should slip, but for modesty we would rather not be directly behind you. How should we proceed, Mistress?"

"That stair doesn't look so bad," she said. "Jenet, will you be able to manage that all right?"

"Yes, Mistress, I think so."

"Then I'll go first, Jenet can follow and Prince Keren can come behind us. We'll call when we get to the top, Sire."

She grasped the tread at eye height with her hands and began climbing. This stair is a little steeper than it looks. And the treads are a bit far apart. Silly! It isn't the treads at all, it's the fact that I'm shorter. Each tread had a thin strip of iron nailed to the edge to protect against wear and to provide a little extra grip. There was a little clink as the nails in the soles of her boots hit this strip as she climbed upwards into the gloom.

"Jenet! How are you managing?"

"Right behind you, Mistress."

There was a small landing where the stair turned from one wall to the next and she took a breather while the others joined her. Beside her, the water tank loomed, radiating coldness.

"Any problems, Garia?" Keren asked her quietly.

"Not really. The treads seem far apart but that's because I'm so short. I'll manage."

She called down that she had reached the first landing and then started on the next flight of stairs. There was another landing, the third flight of stairs came and went and she started on the fourth. Behind her she could hear all the others following on the lower flights. The fourth flight was shorter and went straight up through the heavily-timbered wooden ceiling which was above the top of the tank. Garia emerged onto a flat platform which covered the tower. It was almost full dark but still just light enough to make out her surroundings.

A low parapet defined the limits of the platform which was the same size as the tower. Overhead an awning was stretched from iron poles clamped against the walls. Garia supposed that it would shelter the watchers from the fierce summer heat during the day and whenever it rained. She saw that the awning sloped downwards to the center and that a fabric pipe drained any water it caught through a hole in the deck, presumably into the tank below. There were chairs there, a table with a single red-filtered lamp on it, and each side of the tower had a telescope mounted on a tripod facing out. She could see six guardsmen, two seated at the table and the rest standing at the walls gazing out into the night. She walked to one of the walls to get her first proper view of Palarand.

There were few lights, most of the palace and the city beyond was dark. There were some windows which showed glimmers, just as they had the night she had escaped through her bedroom window, but not many. The palace was below her, a jumble of roofs and dark voids it was difficult to make sense of. She sensed Keren join her one side and Jenet the other.

"This is almost the first time that I have seen anything of the outside of the palace," she said to him. "I don't count the other night, of course."

"So it is," he replied quietly. " It's too dark to see much, I'm afraid."

"Do you think Captain Bleskin would let me come up here during the day?"

Keren chuckled. "That might depend on how good your telescopes prove to be," he said. "Get him in a good mood and I think he'll allow it. Here he is."

Keren gave way to the two captains. Bleskin leaned on the parapet, examining the scene below.

"It seems all is quiet tonight, Mistress. It's very dark, none of the moons are up yet but we won't have to wait long. Is this what you expected to see?"

"Not really, Captain. I had expected to be able to make out a little more. I guess my eyes haven't adapted to the dark yet."

"Would you like to look at our telescopes while you wait? You might tell us how they differ from your own."

He led the way to one of the tripods. On top on a swivel joint was a long thin box with an eyepiece at the inside end. Garia found that it was set a little too high to be comfortable for her to view the surrounding buildings but would probably be just right for looking at the sky.

"For similar purposes to this," she told Bleskin, "we would make them out of brass tubes. If you make them with several tubes, each slightly larger than the next, then they can be slid together for easier carrying." She pantomimed with her hands the action which on Earth had also come to be called 'telescoping'. "Makes it easier to focus, too. But I really wanted to get a look at the night sky first, to see if I can find anything familiar."

"Of course, Mistress. Brass tubes, eh?"

Gerdas joined them. "I fear the King is out of condition," he said. They turned to see him sitting on one of the chairs at the table.

Keren's voice was concerned. "Do you think this was a good idea, Gerdas? Should we have recommended him to stay below?"

Gerdas snorted, quietly. "I don't think so, Highness. After all, I'm twenty years older than His Majesty. He's just not used to climbing up and down these distances every night like I am. Give him a moment or two and he'll be all right, I think." He turned to Garia. "So, Mistress, what's first?"

"I was going to look at the sky to start with," she said, "to see if there is anything up there I might recognize."

"An excellent idea, Mistress. I can point out the constellations to you as we go."

They walked round the four walls of the tower, the rest trailing silently behind, as Garia and Gerdas held an animated conversation regarding the contents of the gorgeous sky above them. The atmosphere was entirely free of clouds and dust and they could see everything with great clarity. The only drawback, which was inevitable given Palarand's position in the bottom of a valley, was the fact that the sky was blocked to the north-west and south-east at lower levels by the mountains which defined the great rift. As they reached the fourth side, looking towards the south-west, she saw the Milky Way arching high into the heavens and that triggered off a sudden, horrible thought.

Oh, God, no. Suppose I've got this all wrong! This could still be Earth, couldn't it? Only Earth many thousands of years into the future. Or the past, if it comes to that. How do I tell? The moons prove nothing, do they? The big one could be the Moon I know, the smaller ones could just be asteroids picked up over time.

She had another thought, one she should have had many days previously. The smaller ones need not even be moons, need they! They could be space stations put up many centuries before now. Suppose I'm a time-traveler, not a space-traveler? How the heck do I prove anything like that? Sense reasserted itself. The stars. What about the constellations? Is there anything I recognize? What about the planets? Stars might drift over time, the planets will stay the same, surely?

"Mistress? Something you have noticed?"

She explained her misgivings to Gerdas as best as she could and she could just make out his nod of understanding in the gloom.

"An interesting suggestion, Mistress. About the moons, is your society really capable of lifting something as large as that into the sky?"

"Not quite, not at the time I left Earth. But we could construct something up there, yes, we have a space station in the sky already, something that can be seen with the naked eye at dawn or sunset when it reflects the sun's light. With a small telescope it is easy to make out the shape, and even that of the shuttles which fly to it. I have no doubt that in the near future we will build larger structures."

"Construct... you mean, you would take it up there in small pieces and assemble it?"

"That's right, Master. It's difficult to build things up there so it's all worked out on the ground beforehand to prevent problems. I'll tell you all I remember about that another time. When's a moon likely to come up?"

"It is nearly always possible to see Teide each night as it travels around, Mistress. Unlike the other moons it rises in the west and sets in the east." Gerdas looked around at the western sky. "I'm afraid it's not yet risen, Mistress. Perhaps we can look at some planets while we wait? At the moment three of them will be visible to the north-east, and Kalikan will rise from that direction later."

They walked back to the north-east battlement and clustered round the telescope. Gerdas pointed out two of the planets to Garia and she swung the telescope in that direction. There was a crude clamp used to adjust the focus and Garia struggled with it until Captain Merek came forward to assist her. It was almost at the limit of travel before she got a sharp image of one of the planets. Perfect!

"Master Gerdas, take a look at that."

Gerdas took her place at the eyepiece and squinted.

"That's amazing, Mistress! It has an interesting color, too, something I've never noticed before. Oh! There are other small lights! I can count two, no, three, no, there's another one!" He stood and turned to Garia. "Are those moons, Mistress, of Pulaghan, the same way that Kalikan is a moon of Anmar?"

"I don't know, Master Gerdas, but it seems likely. The only way you will be able to tell is to watch them night by night and see if they move away from the planet as time goes by. If they don't they're moons."

Gerdas turned back to the telescope but before he could lower his head to it he realized his position and stood up again, offering Robanar his place at the eyepiece. Once the King had seen what was there to be seen the two Captains each had a turn before Gerdas swung the telescope in search of another target.

"There, I think I've found Gontar. That's odd!" He stood and turned to Garia. "Mistress, from what we discussed previously I understood that all bodies in the sky would be round. It seems that this one is not. Will you take a look, Mistress? I'm not sure I understand what I'm seeing."

Garia put her eye to the eyepiece and saw what she guessed she might see, a ringed planet.

Now, is that Saturn? Hmm. I know some of the others have faint rings as well and things may change over the years. What am I saying? Be realistic here. They change over centuries, millennia.

She explained to the assembled group what a ringed planet was and how the ring was likely formed from a broken-up moon. There were lots of questions and she had to reassure them that Kalikan wasn't about to crumble into gravel anytime soon. She then pointed out that the two planets she had seen so far were probably very much larger than Anmar but were mostly gas, which triggered off more explanations about what exactly gas was.

The third planet also turned out to be ringed. This caused Garia more thought but she quickly dismissed her concerns. If she was many thousands of years in the future, anything could have happened in the heavens since she had previously been on Earth.

The smallest and closest moon, Teide, raced into view from behind a silhouetted mountain to the west and began rising into the heavens. As the watchers tried to focus on it another problem became evident, it was moving too fast to stay in the field of view for very long. They each managed to observe it before it climbed above the level of the awning on the northwest side of the tower, Garia watching it long enough to confirm that it was not, as she had feared, man-made but just a captured asteroid.

One of the guardsmen had brought up a canteen of hot pel insulated by a wool jacket. Merek tried to apologize for not bringing fine goblets or cups for the King and his guests but Robanar would have none of it.

"Nonsense, Captain! I've been accustomed to drinking from issue mugs for many years. Probably, in fact," he eyed the captain, "since before you were born. Mistress! Shall you object to the mugs my guardsmen use?"

"Sire," Garia replied, "if it's hot and wet I shan't notice what I'm drinking out of."

"There you are then, man! Serve it out, by all means."

Robanar, Keren, Garia and Jenet sat at the table with their drinks while the others stood around. Although it was still a fine summer night some of the heat had gone out of the air and the hot drink was most welcome, especially to keep her awake after a long and busy day. The tights kept her legs comfortable in temperature but the heavy dress was a little too stuffy, especially when combined with the cloak. There was no breeze which might have made a difference.

"Mistress, your expedition tonight has been a success," Robanar told her.

"In some part, Your Majesty," she replied. "The telescopes have worked just as well as I thought they would and they have given Master Gerdas much to think about. I'm still no closer to knowing whether or not this is the same world I started from, though. It is possible that I am many thousands of years into the future, but I have no way to confirm that."

"Indeed an interesting question, Mistress, but one that makes little difference to your chances of returning home."

"No, Sire. I have decided in any case to concentrate on what I can do for my new home rather than search for what at best would be a very slim hope of return."

Gerdas came and spoke to them. "Sire, Mistress, I fear there is too much work here for a single person. I am going to need help."

"You want to know if your discoveries can be spread around, Gerdas?" Robanar guessed. "The knowledge, certainly, I can't see much problem with telling your colleagues what you have found out, it's the telescope which is the sticking point. We'll decide at the next council meeting, I think."

"There are other things I can tell Master Gerdas about telescopes specially designed for astronomical use," Garia offered. "For instance, ways of keeping fast-moving moons in focus. Because Anmar is turning all the time that movement is going to affect almost anything you look at in the sky."

"Mistress, I am overwhelmed," Gerdas replied.

Robanar got up and walked off with Gerdas to talk further about the matter. Garia took the opportunity to ask Keren some questions that had been nudging her since coming to the tower.

"I've noticed this tower is made of stone," she said. "I though the whole palace was built of timber."

"This is part of the old fort which stood here originally," Keren told her. "You can't see it at night but the whole rear of the palace is in fact inside the walls of the fort which we think was built by the Chivans many centuries ago. So, all the buildings to the north-east are inside the walls and those to the south-west are outside and mostly built much later. In the daylight you can see from here that some of those buildings are built up against the walls. Do you remember noticing any stonework when you arrived at Palarand with Tanon?"

Garia thought back to her journey into the city. "Possibly. I remember some of the wagons went off just before we went though a big stone arch that Mistress Merina said brought us into Old Palarand."

"That's right. Around the old Chivan fort was the city they built and it had its own walls. Of course, Palarand has expanded well outside those just as the palace has expanded outside the original fort. We used this tower to hold the water tank as it is the only structure strong enough to bear the weight."

"Yes, I understand. I'm assuming that the well between the treadmills is clean water?"

Keren looked surprised. "Shouldn't it be?"

"You're in the middle of a city. I don't know what kind of waste disposal you have here but there must be some risk of contamination, surely."

"No, Mistress, thank goodness. Another thing the Chivans left us was a fine sewer system which we have endeavored to keep clean and fully functional. True, there are some districts which are less than clean but we get fewer problems than some of the other Valley cities which haven't bothered with their sewage systems."

"Oh. One of these days, Highness, you are going to have to tell me all about the Valley and its countries and cities."

"I would be honored to do that, Mistress."

"Will that be before or after teaching me to read and write?"

She could sense his broad grin in the near darkness. "Looks like we've both got a lot to do in the coming days, doesn't it?" He put his mug down on the table. "How are you keeping up, Mistress? You've had quite a busy day today."

"I know. I also know I have to climb back down all those steps before I can get as far as my bed, so I don't plan to leave it too late tonight. Tonight's visit up here has been important, though. Everyone has learned a great deal by doing this. I think I will wait till Kalikan rises and then call it a night."

"That shouldn't be too long now, Mistress."

Bleskin came by and dropped into a chair, puffing. "I'd forgotten what night duty was like," he said. "Like the King, I tend to leave such exploits to the younger generation these days. Remarkable things you have shown us tonight, Mistress."

"Thank you, Captain. I hope there will be further discoveries, but I'm not sure I can come up here every night, my time is filling up rapidly. Master Gerdas will want to return to his own mansion one day soon, in any case. We will soon go down tonight and leave your men in peace. I am only waiting to see Kalikan."

"A glorious sight, Mistress! Especially when the air is so clear as it is tonight."

"Captain," she asked him then, "while you're here, if I may change the subject for a moment."

"Ask away, Mistress."

"I would like to start doing some exercises each day to keep my body in condition. It's something I used to do before I came to Anmar, you understand. In addition I want to discover what weapons and fighting methods your guardsmen use. After the break-in attempt the other night I want to be able to defend myself. We did mention the subject at lunch recently if you recall."

Bleskin shuffled uncomfortably in the darkness. "I'm not sure what you hope to gain, Mistress. After all, it is the function of the Palace Guard to keep safe all who live within."

"I understand that, Captain. I'm not proposing that I relieve you of that responsibility. But, on the other hand, just as there are things I know which have improved Master Gerdas's understanding of the sky above, there may be things I know which can improve the fighting abilities of your guardsmen."

"After this evening's demonstration, Mistress, I cannot disagree with that argument. But, if you watch us train, that may have a distracting influence on my men."

"And if it were not a training session, Captain? Suppose they were asked to defend us in reality. The distraction would be there then, wouldn't it?"

Bleskin sighed. "Mistress, I cannot fault you. Perhaps I'm getting too old for this. You would wish merely to observe a training session, then?"

"To begin with, yes, Captain. I need to understand what your men can do now before I can figure out new things I might be able to teach them. But, I also need to begin training myself as well. That is a separate matter."

Bleskin let out a big breath. "Mistress, it is late for both of us and perhaps we should not deliberate such important matters here and now. I confess I cannot see how you might improve what we already do but I also listened to the other matters you talked about earlier today. Such as paper. I suggest we come to some arrangement after breakfast tomorrow, if that is convenient to you, Mistress."

Garia was about to agree but Keren broke in. "After this late night I expect we'll be taking a late breakfast in our suites, Captain. Perhaps I should bring Mistress Garia to the training ground tomorrow once we are ready for the day."

"Agreed, Highness."

Bleskin stood up as Robanar came to the table. "At ease, Captain, I've only come to bid my son and Mistress Garia good-night. I have several important meetings tomorrow and I should be getting to bed. Merek is seeing me down the ladder."

"Then I'll add my good-night to you, Sire."

After the King left the tower Garia and Keren walked to the south-west side to look at the arch of the Milky Way across the sky.

There's absolutely nothing I've seen tonight which gives me a clue about anything. I haven't seen a single recognizable constellation tonight but that means squat anyway. I've spent enough nights out under the stars but never really bothered learning the stars properly. Okay, the big ones I know, the Big Dipper, Orion, the W of Cassiopeia, Leo. But I'm in the southern hemisphere, don't know how much of those I could see down here. Assuming they still exist and I'm looking in the right direction. I'm still completely in the dark about where - or when - I have ended up.

After admiring the awesome view for a while Gerdas came to join them.

"Highness, Mistress, Kalikan is rising. Will you join us at the other side of the tower?"

In the north-east sky the moon hung huge, emerging from behind the mountains on the south-east side of the Valley. Garia inspected it closely, a difficult thing to do since it was so bright.

Now, how many thousands of times have I looked at the Moon and not really seen it? I guess it's just always been there so I, like most people, have taken it for granted. It's just the Moon, y'know? She stared at the blotched surface. I can't tell if that looks familiar or not. Worse, if I'm in the future, there may have been changes, other collisions, which might have altered its appearance. Huh, I'm south of the Equator, so I'm looking at it upside-down as well. Am I? Oh, God, my brain hurts!

Her eyes began watering from the glare so she blinked the tears away, turning her face so that she could wipe it with a hand. Jenet materialized next to her, holding out a cloth and she took it gratefully.

"It is a bit bright, isn't it, Mistress?"

"It is somewhat, isn't it? I guess it must be full."

"Aye, Mistress," Gerdas said. "It was actually full last night but it's still fully visible tonight as you can see. It seems to be worse when it's near the horizon for some reason. I find it difficult to do much when it's in this state."

"I can imagine."

"Now starts the time of harvest," Keren told her. "Before the next full moon, all the crops must be reaped or picked or dug up or whatever else needs doing. Shortly after the next full moon the rainy season will begin."

Garia had turned back so didn't answer Keren. He though little of it until he realized that she was standing, staring with her mouth wide open. Rising from the mountains behind Kalikan was an awe-inspiring sight. There were filigree tendrils, clouds, swirls, all in different colors, greens, reds, blues, yellows. There were many bright stars embedded in the huge nebula which was rising into the night sky, their multi-colored fire lighting up the clouds of gas which covered a quarter of the horizon. Kalikan paled into insignificance beside the glory coming into view.

"We call that the Veil, Mistress," Keren said matter-of-factly. "What do they call it on your world?"

A stunned Garia could only stare, entranced by the spectacle. The tears streamed down her face as she took her first sight of something no one on Earth had ever seen with the naked eye.

"Mistress?" Jenet held out the cloth, and she took it without moving her head to wipe her face.

Finally she turned to face Keren and Gerdas.

"They don't call it anything," she belatedly answered Keren's question. "That's because there was never anything like that visible from Earth." She shook her head. "That settles that question once and for all, I think. This can't possibly be the Earth I lived on until very recently. No, this is conclusive proof that I'm somewhere else entirely."