[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

nerving all the same to walk among them. Their size suited their world,
which was a good twelve thousand miles in diameter. Surprisingly, it was
not very dense, a fact nobody had been able to explain, since it was
obviously an Earthlike planet; hence there was no gravitational impediment
to growing its natives very large, and grow large they did. He would have
to do much of his doctoring here on a stepladder, apparently.
The charg6 d'affaires at the embassy, like those of us on ship, did his
best to dissuade Naysmith.
"I don't say that you can't do something about the situation here," he
said. "Very likely you can. But you'll be meddling with their social
structure. Public health here is politics, and vice vcrsa. The Heart
stars-"
"Bother the Heart stars," Naysmith said, thereby giving the charg6
d'affaires the worst fright he had had in years. "If it can be done, it
ought to be done. And the best way to do it,is to go right to the worst
trouble spot."
"That would be Iridu, down the river some fifteen miles," the charg6
d'affaires said. "Dying out very rapidly. But it's proscribed, as all those
places are."
"Criminal. What about language?"
"Oh, same as here. It's one of three cities that spoke the same tongue. The
third one is dead."
102
A Dusk of Idols
:'Where do I go to see the head man?"
'To the sewer. He'll be there."
Naysmith stared.
"Well, I'm sorry, but that's the way things are. When you came through the
main plaza here, did you see two tall totem poles?"
:iyes.99
'The city totems always mark the local entrance to the Grand Sewer of
Chandala, and the big stone building behind them is always where the
priest-chief lives. And I'm warning you, Dr. Naysmith, he won't give you
the time of day."
Naysmith did not bother to argue any more. It seemed to him that no matter
how thoroughly a chieftain may subscribe to a political system, he becomes
a rebel when it is turned against him-especially if as a consequence he
sees his people dying all around him. He left, and went downriver, on a
vessel rather like a felucca.
He had enough acumen to realize very early that he was being trailed. One
of the two Chandalese following him looked very like a man who had been on
duty at the embassy. He did not let it bother him, and in any event, they
did not seem to follow him past the gates of Iridu.
He found the central plaza easily enough-that is to say, he was never lost;
the physical act of getting through the streets was anything but easy,
though he was towing his gear on an antigrav unit. They were heaped with
refuse and bodies. Those who still lived made no attempt to clear away the
dead or help the dying, but simply sat in the doorways and moaned. The
composite sound thrummed through the whole city. Now and then he saw small
groups scavenging for food amid all the garbage; and quite frequently he
saw individuals drinking from puddles. This last fact perplexed him
particularly, for the charg6 d'affaires had told him plainly that Chandala
boasted excellent water-supply systems.
103
A Dusk of Idols
The reception of the priest-chief was hostile enough, more so than Naysmith
had hoped, yet less than the charg6 d'affaires had predicted-at least at
first. He was obviously sick himself, and seemingly had not bathed in a
long time, nor had any of his attendants; but as long as all Naysmith
wanted was information, he was grudgingly willing to give it.
"What you observe are the Articles of the Law and their consequences," he
said. "Because of high failures before the gods, Iridu and all its people
have been abased to the lowest caste; and since it is not meet that people
of this caste speak the same tongue as the Exalted, the city is
proscribed."
"I can understand that," Naysmith said, guardedly. "But why should that
prevent you from taking any care of yourselves? Drinking from puddles--"
"These are the rules for our caste," the priest-chief said. "Not to wash;
not to eat aught less than three days old; not to aid the sick or bury the
dead. Drinking from puddles is graciously allowed us."
There was no apparent ironic intention in the last sentence. Naysmith said,
"Graciously?"
"The water in the city's plumbing now comes directly from the Grand Sewer.
The only other alternative is the urine of the anah,but that is for holy
men doing penance for the people."
This was a setback. Without decent water he would be sadly handicapped, and
obviously what came out of the faucets was not under the control of the
doomed city.
"Well, we'll manage somehow. Rain barrels should serve for the time being;
I can chlorinate them for you. But it's urgent to start cleaning things up;
otherwise, I'll never be able to keep up with all the new cases. Will you
help me?"
The priest-chief looked blank. "We can help no one any more, little one."
"You could be a big help. I can probably stop this plague for you, with a
few willing hands."
104,
A Dusk of Idols
The priest-chief stood up, shakily, but part of his shakiness was black
rage. "To break the rules of caste is the highest of failures before the
gods," he said. "We are damned to listen to such counsels! Kill him!"
Naysmith was fool enough to pause to protest. Only the fact that most of
the gigantic soldiers in the chamber were clumsy with disease, and unused
to dealing with so small an object as he, got him out of the building
alive. He was pursued tothe farther gate of Iridu by a shambling and
horrible mob, all the more frightening because there was hardly a healthy
creature in its ranks.
Outside, he was confronted by a seemingly trackless jungle. He plunged in
at -hazard, and kept going blindly until he could no longer hear the noise
of the pack; evidently they had stopped at the gate. He could thank the
proscription of the city-nation for that.
On the other hand, he was lost.
Of course, he had his compass, which might help a little. He did not want
to go westward, which would take him back to the river, but also into the
vicinity of Iridu again. Besides, his two trackers from Gandu might stiff
be lurking at the west gate, and this time their hostility might be a ,good
deal more active. Striking north-northwest towards Gandu itself was open to
the same objection. There seemed to be nothing for it but to go
north-northeast, in the hope of arriving at the field of fumaroles and hot
springs where his ship was, there to take thought.
He was still utterly determined to try again; shaken though he was, he was
convinced that this first failure was only a matter of tactics. But he did
have to get back to the ship.
He pushed forward through the wiry tangle. It made it impossible for him to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]