Sanctuary in the Sky

by John Brunner

Genres: Science Fiction; Hard Science Fiction; Space Opera

Synopsis

A cold war among the stars was growing hotter by the minute. As Pag and Cathrodyne struggled for domination, a hot war threatened which would rend and annihilate whole planetary systems. The two master races would have consumed one another long ago, but for one single factor: Waystation. It was a stupendous synthetic world, famed throughout this galaxy. For Waystation was controlled by a neutral people, and until the greater powers could seize this strategic wonder planet and ferret out its secrets, they were doomed to fretful inactivity. But as a Cathrodyne vessel drew near to Waystation, the all-important balance of power stood in sudden peril. The ship in itself was routine. But on board was a stranger, a man of undiscovered race, who spoke too little, and, it appeared, knew too much...

Release date: August 29, 2013

Publisher: Gateway

Print pages: 112

Sample

FLICKING a speck of dust off his immaculate purple uniform with one hand, adjusting the set of his braided cap with the other, Vykor hurried around the corner of the first-class passengers’ corridor and came within inches of knocking Capodistro Ferenc off his feet.

Belatedly, Vykor recognized him; belatedly, he stepped back and crossed his hands in front of his body, bending his head submissively. His mind seethed with indignation, but this was the proper way for a Majko to behave in face of a Cathrodyne—all the more so, since this Cathrodyne was an officer and used to instant obedience from subject races.

“Hah!” said Ferenc, making his dress cane whistle in the air. “And where exactly are you going, clumsy fool?”

“There is violet on the screens, noble sir,” said Vykor. “I have to tell the noble passengers that we are about to break through into real space again.”

“Ah! And you were not expecting this, I suppose?”

Vykor swallowed with an effort, and forced himself to keep his head lowered. He could see only Ferenc’s highly polished boots, the legs of his breeches, and the tip of the dress cane as it tapped at the boots.

“I am stupid, noble sir,” Vykor choked out. “But I was expecting it. I have been a steward on this run for thirty trips already.”

“Then you should by now have contrived to arrange your duties so that you can carry them out at a safe walking pace, not charge around corners as though to save life.” Ferenc put the cane under his arm and walked past abruptly, toward the observation saloon.

Vykor raised his head and stared after the tall Cathrodyne, whose greased hair fell in regular waves from the edge of his cap.

One day …

He calmed himself forcibly, and wiped his face with the back of his long white gloves. It was perhaps just as well that Ferenc had decided against detailed inquiries. Vykor was late, nearly three minutes late, and it would be embarrassing to have to give the reason for this lateness to any Cathrodyne.

He shrugged his jacket more comfortably around his shoulders, and went down the corridor between the cabins. Number one was empty, of course—that was Ferenc’s. He began with number two, on the opposite side.

“Steward, sir! There is violet on the screens. If you wish to witness break-through you should go to the observation saloon.”

Two: that was occupied by Ligmer, the archeologist, a young and argumentative man from Cathrodyne University. The Cathrodynes and their opposite numbers, the Pags, held strongly differing opinions about Waystation, agreeing generally on only one point: Whoever had been responsible for its building, its present occupiers were in power illegally.

Three: a girl’s voice answered hesitantly, thanking him. That was Mrs. Iquida, the Lubarrian woman, on her way to be reunited with her husband at Waystation. Usually, Vykor was obsequiously and obviously polite to Lubarrians on this route, especially when there were Cathrodynes around to see him doing it. But Mrs. Iquida hadn’t given him much chance—she had hidden away in the her cabin most of the time, and when she did appear in the dining saloon she kept her reddened, tear-swollen eyes downcast.

She had come out of the cabin almost before Vykor had moved on, and he gave her an appreciative glance. Evidently the nearness of Waystation had lifted her cloud of misery; her eyes sparkled and there was a graceful lilt in her walk. Vykor was strongly nationalistic in his taste for women as in everything else, but the Lubarrian blond legginess in this case struck a chord.

He rapped at number four, rebuking himself.

There was the expected sharp, shrill, animal yelping, cut short by an order in an accent Vykor had not yet been able to place. That was Lang quieting the small black fluffy pet he took with him everywhere, even to meals, feeding it from his own plate.

Lang was the prize mystery this voyage. He was affable—even, one might say, approachable—for a first-class passenger aboard a Cathrodyne-owned liner. This made it sure that he was not himself Cathrodyne. He wasn’t from the Pag side of Waystation, either; there was no one out there except the Pags themselves, the Alchmids, and of course the Glaithes. There were only four suns in a hundred parsecs in that direction, and the fourth was a pulsating variable and periodically scorched its planets clean.

Therefore he came from in-galaxy of Cathrodyne. And a long way in, too—so far that all Vykor’s carefully placed hints had failed to locate his origin.

And this was positively awe-inspiring. Vykor’s heart had pounded when he realized what it implied, and he had been unable to keep from sharing his discovery with other members of the crew. Of course the news had spread quickly, and now even the officers were deferential to him.

In theory, it was possible by transshipping from line to line to cover most of the known galactic worlds in a few years’ traveling. But it had become accepted that no one ever traveled out of sight of his home sun. It wasn’t a law of nature or anything, just a proven fact—no one felt the inclination to go much further, once he saw his own sun dwindling to a point on the edge of visibility.

This made Lang almost unique. Vykor had established beyond reasonable doubt that he hailed from no system visible from Cathrodyne, Majkosi, Lubarria or Waystation. And to have made such a trip excused even his annoying, yappy little pet.

Five: the priest, Dardaino—a fat man, not very likable, but probably no better and no worse than others of his kind. He preached the state religion of Cathrodyne, which was no longer alive on its home world, but which had been forcibly planted on Lubarria some centuries back and had its devotees there. Vykor suspected that Mrs. Iquida might be a lapsed follower; he had seen the priest succeed in trapping her into conversation at least once, where everyone else had failed.

And six: the Pag officer returning from the embassy on Cathrodyne, who had insisted on being given a cabin diametrically opposite Ferenc’s. That was it. Vykor spun on his heel and made for the observation saloon by way of the purser’s cabin, where he informed the purser that all the first-class passengers had been warned about break-through. The purser was an old hand; he had done more than a hundred trips, and the sight of violet on the screens provoked him now to nothing more than a sigh of annoyance at having his dice-game with the mates interrupted.

They were all in the saloon by the time he got there—even the Pag officer, who sat by herself in a corner far removed from the viewport, resplendent in a jewel-encrusted tunic and thigh boots. She tapped the golden basket hilt of her ceremonial sword with metallic fingernails.

The priest, Dardaino, had settled himself plumply into a soft armchair, and had tucked his yellow and white robe around him with as much care as though he were packing a valuable relic for shipment to a distant shrine. When he finished this complex task, he looked around at his companions and bestowed a toothy smile on Mrs. Iquida.

She was leaning forward and staring at the blue in the viewport, moving her lips as though willing break-through to be over so that Waystation would appear on the screens and in the port. She wore a plain Lubarrian wrapper of dark red, and sandals.

The only other person who seemed at all excited by the approach of break-through was the archeologist, Ligmer. He was keeping calm with an effort; his slim fingers drummed on the arm of his chair, and his eyes wandered restlessly.

Lang, by contrast, seemed perfectly in command of himself. He mechanically stroked the short fur of his pet as it rested in his lap, but otherwise was completely still and relaxed.

Ferenc’s eyes switched in amusement from Ligmer to Lang. “It’s plain enough which of you two has seen it all before,” he said, and grinned at Lang.

Lang’s luminous gray eyes widened just a little, and he shrugged his loose shirt back from his right arm. “You are mistaken, Officer Ferenc,” he said softly. “I have not seen this Waystation, as it’s called.”

“A figure of speech, sir. We speak of those whom nothing can impress and say, ‘They’ve seen it all before.’ ”

Ligmer, becoming aware a little late that Ferenc’s remark had included him, flushed and gave the officer a glare. “It may be sophisticated to pretend that one is not impressed by Waystation. But close consideration of it, and even a little knowledge of its amazing mysteries, reveals that it is always more, not less, surprising and impressive.”

He crossed his legs, folded his arms, and fixed his gaze on the viewport, which was showing orange now.

“Noble dames and sirs,” said Vykor discreetly, “breakthrough will be complete in a few seconds.”

Ferenc had not previously been aware that Vykor was in the saloon; he recognized the steward’s voice, and turned his head with a lift of one eyebrow to see where it came from. Before he had completed the gesture, Waystation was visible.

Whether Ligmer had meant what he said or had merely been justifying himself, the fact remained—he was right. Vykor had seen this same sight more than thirty times. It still brought a shiver along his spine, and a dryness to his mouth.

Waystation! Who had built it? Ligmer and others of his trade struggled to answer that question, and signally failed. How long ago? Same again. What for? Same again. But quite likely for exactly the same purpose as that which it served today.

Miles in diameter! A vast artificial planetoid, surrounded by freighters and liners and even light cruise-craft—a jewel glowing in the void from a thousand facets, like a well-cut diamond. A prize which many desired, and some had taken.

The ship had come up the arm of stars in which the Cathrodyne Federation held sway. Cathrodyne, Majkosi and Lubarria were its three worlds. Beyond Waystation lay the stars of the Pag Alliance—Pagr and Alchmida. Between the two power groups lay Waystation, and the people of Glai.

The Glaithes had never claimed to have built Waystation. But they had found it first, and they had made very good use of it. Both sides—the Pags and the Cathrodynes—wanted Glai, with its rich textiles, high-yield rare earth deposits and advanced factories. But both sides wanted Waystation more—and the Glaithes had Waystation.

Impasse. Therefore the two great power groups had to bow humiliatingly before the dictates of the Glaithes; therefore the subject races on each side looked to the Glaithes as miracle-workers. And for all these reasons, Waystation was the focus of more potential trouble and violence than any single place in the whole troubled Arm.

Everyone knew that. Now, it was merely a question of time.

THERE WAS a long silence in the observation saloon. It was finally broken by Mrs. Iquida, who sighed, so deeply and so loudly that the sound seemed to echo in the padded room. Ferenc glanced sidelong at her and snorted. It was obvious to Vykor what he was thinking—that it was wrong to go to so much trouble for a mere Lubarrian, a member of a subject race.

But the Glaithes had requested it, and because the Glaithes were the masters of Waystation, it had been done.

Iquida, this woman’s husband, had been among the crew of a Cathrodyne warship that had tangled with a Pag battle-cruiser somewhere out along the galactic arm. He had been fished out of space in a survival suit, by a Glaithe freighter, and was now the subject of a long and complicated wrangle between the Pags—who claimed him as a prisoner of war—and the Cathrodynes—who didn’t really care what happened to one Lubarrian more or less, but who weren’t going to let the Pags get away with any sharp practice. Officially, of course, the Lubarrians—like Vykor’s own people, the Majkos—were under Cathrodyne “protection.”

The vast. . .