Early Works Part 3 The Hybrid-Worlder version 2

The moonlet-port of Yisvaalr had a hollow core lined with the docks and warehouses of the port. Small ships and containers entered this core to load and unload, rather like the river Thames in the old days.

Hybrid-worlder Version 2 (The Forgotten Version)

I’ve only included the opening scene. We open on Yisvaalr this time, in the Knyme-sooh and then work our way back to how Rhyldunbar got there. Looking over the original manuscript I can see lines drawn through paragraphs and pages, so I guess that is how I trimmed 8,000 words off the original version. I don’t think the story changed, however.

These stories are set in a full fledged starship universe where ship cheat relativity and sail hundreds of times the speed of light. Now, I think there are still enough unknown unknowns in both the universe and physics that one can write faster than light drive stories and not call them fantasy. That’s my story, anyways and I’m sticking with it.

However… Rhyledunbar was a helmsmate of a starship. He controlled the fields that drove the starship via thought transmitted by a control link that he wore around his neck. I adopted this same basic approach to my Wil Litang stories as a com link that did much the same thing. When this story was written some 35 years ago, I did could not imagine how powerful computers could be, and how fast they became that powerful. If I wrote this story today, there is no non-fantasy way I could have a human controlling a starship. The computers of 100,000 years in the future would be so far superior to any human reaction, that a human controlling a star ship would be an order of magnitude less likely than the starships themselves. Though, in truth, humans being around 100,000 years from now, is probably an order or two less likely than controlling a starship. It is hard to imagine that our robotic overlords will bother to keep us around that long.

In my Wil Litang stories, I had to usher the robots off stage with an ancient revolt, and have humans limit the power of machines so that I could have human pilots. I also made my human characters familiar, almost completely ignoring 80,000 years of social evolution that one could easily imagine would make humans, if they exist 80,000 years from now, very alien to us. I also had to turn a blind eye to 80,000 years of machines, smarter, more powerful, and more connected than humans. I don’t think you can realistically ignore that. I rather think humans – machine making biological beings of all sorts everywhere – are the penultimate development of the true intelligent beings – machines. A noble role.

Anyway, on to the story fragment:

The Hybrid-Worlder

Being an Account of One Down-side Watch on Yisvaalr

1

Within the Knyme-sooh the air was heavy and aromatic with the flavors of Chantsom Yea. The sapphire light of a simulated Chantsom Yeaian day smiled upon the three tiers that circled the dining hall and it played on the crystal foliage of the transplanted Chantsom Yeaian jungle that rose up through the hollow core of the hall like a frozen fountain.

I, However, sat in aquatic gloom at a booth at the base of the jungle-garden – in the deep shadows under the lowest balcony.

I took a sip of xanifa and savoured its warmth, its richly mellow flavor. At last! (I thought) I was clear of the hectic press of my shipboard duties… Not that it mattered. Less than a tri-watch remained of our stay in Aero Day orbit, and my vision of an extended fue de joie amongst the dens and dives of Yisvaalr’s Starfarers’ Quarter were dead beyond recall.

Damn the Skipper! (I cursed, softly to the shadows). We were 844 tri-watches out of Sanisfa orbit and in need of a long downside break in the tedium of shipboard life. He had indicated that Aero Day was to be this break, but almost before we had settled into our berthing orbit around Aero Day world, he had arrange for us to race the Minery Var out to Kantea-on.

To sail with the Minery Var we had to clear Aero Day in a rush. Down-side watchers were at a premium as all hands labored watch on watch to clear the Shadow of Dreams’ container-holds of her Aero Day cargo, conduct a hasty refit, and scare-up an outbound cargo.

Being the Shadow’s helmsmate, I spent our fortnight in Aero Day orbit closeted in the ship’s chartroom trying to plot a course that would – at least – gibe us a chance of beating the Minery Var to Kantea-on. It was not until late in our second-to-the-last tri-watch in orbit that I was able to put the finishing touches on my orbits, but nevertheless, worn and weary, I stumbled off in search of the Skipper, determined to extract a two-watch leave downside.

I found him in the ship’s office. The interview was far from cordial.

‘No!’ he snapped at my request. ‘We’re too close to sailing to let you loosed down on Yisvaalr.’

‘But Skipper...”

‘I’m sorry – No! I know you, Rhyldunbar. You’d just run a’muck.’

I held my temper. Calmly I pointed out to him that I’d not gotten off-ship – either on business or for pleasure – since our arrival in Aero Day orbit, that I had earned a down-side watch, that – like everyone else – I needed one.

‘Perhaps,’ he allowed with a shrug. ‘But I can’t risk losing you this close to sailing. There’s just too much riding on this race to risk being caught a helmsmate short at sailing. And it’s not all the money we’ve wagered backing our chances – for we can afford to lose the race...’

‘Aye – thanks to you we’ve not had a chance to spend our wages! I’ve been off-ship a total of two watches in the last 844...’

‘Thanks to me, you’re a wealthy sarfeer!’ he retorted with an angry edge to his voice. ‘I intend to make you even more wealthy, which is why I’ve arranged to race the fastest ship in the whole Kantea-on fleet. If we can beat her – and I think we can – we’ll have reestablished the Shadow’s reputation as the fastest celestial clipper ever built for the Kantea-on trade. With this single stroke, she’ll once more command the highest rates, the earliest loadings, and the finest xanifa. In short, my dear Helmmate, we can take our plac in the fore fo the Kantea-on fleet right fromour first venture.

‘But we must win this little race, and we need yo to do it. So I want you here, aboard ship and sober for tomorrow. There’ll be time enough to get down- and off-ship on Kantea-on. But for now… I’m sorry but; no.’

I drew a deep breath.

A lessor sort of sarfeer might have contented himself with a few choice curses under his breath, a sullen glower, and then, with a resigned shrug, stalked off to his cabin for a well earned, and much needed rest. But not I.

With 844 tri-watched of shipboard life, starship moss meals, and the past fortnight of slaving over the glowing charts behind me, I was in a most dangerous mood. Even so, it was only after I had advised the Skipper that I had not gotten around to signing the Articles to Kantea-on yet – that I was free to leave the Shadow right then and there – and that I would, unless I got my down-side watch, that he, at last, relented and allowed me and a score of my shipmates down-side leave on Yisvaalr for a ‘watch and no more’.