‘It wasn’t a paradise back in 2250,’ said Fian. ‘They had some huge environmental problems to …’
He broke off as a block of concraz suddenly tumbled from one of the buildings and crashed to the ground, underlining the reason for the red danger lines. Raven frowned at it for a second before continuing the conversation.
‘Their technology wasn’t as advanced as ours in some areas. They could portal around Earth, but not to other worlds.’
‘Some of us still can’t,’ I snapped. ‘Back in 2250, no one would have sneered at me for being Handicapped. They didn’t even know the Handicap existed.’
‘Sorry,’ said Raven. ‘I was tactless.’
There was an uncomfortable silence for a couple of minutes, while I indulged myself with bitter thoughts about selfishly smug people who weren’t just born norms, but rich Alphan aristocrats as well. Then I calmed down and felt guilty.
‘Sorry, Raven. I’m frustrated and angry at fate for trapping me on Earth, and at the bigots on Joint Sector High Congress Committee for ordering me and Fian out of the Alien Contact programme, but it isn’t fair to take that anger out on you.’
‘If it’s any consolation, Jarra, I think most of the committee members regret that decision,’ said Raven. ‘They were heavily criticized for it, especially after the skunk juice attack. Some people said they were partly to blame for that, because they sent you away from the safety of Zulu base.’
I pulled a face. ‘The committee members obviously don’t regret it that much, because they haven’t ordered us back.’
Raven shrugged. ‘They’ve already backed down once, issuing that clarified order about your removal only being temporary. They’d have to be desperate to totally reverse their decision.’
‘I’ve been as bad tempered as Jarra,’ said Fian. ‘It’s not just the frustration of having to wait to rejoin the Alien Contact programme, but the strain of having someone following us round all day and sleeping outside our door at night. I know you’re doing it to protect us, Raven, but it sometimes feels like I’m Threeing instead of Twoing.’
I frowned. ‘Raven, if you’re sleeping in the corridor, aren’t the autovacs a problem?’
‘They were annoying the first night, trying to sweep me up, but they’ve classified me as a permanent obstacle now,’ said Raven.
I pictured Raven stubbornly holding his ground in the corridor against the autovacs. It was funny, but it also emphasized how hard and how patiently this Alphan aristocrat was working to keep Fian and me safe. Fian was obviously thinking the same thing, because he groaned.
‘I surrender. I’ll try to stop complaining about privacy, but remember I draw the line at a triad marriage.’
I giggled. ‘Since I’m Betan, I suppose I …’
Fian waved a finger at me. ‘No, Jarra! No triad marriage!’
We’d reached the edge of the island now. Ahead of us, we could see two other islands of the Land Raft, each supported on massive legs that went down, and down, and … The sleds stopped and everyone got off and slowly walked towards the low wall that guarded the sheer drop.
‘Don’t get too close to the edge,’ said Playdon, ‘that wall’s badly cracked.’
We stopped at a safe distance from the edge, and stood there in awed silence for a few minutes. The view was stunning but also terrifying. It wasn’t just the height; the two nearest islands looked like giant alien spiders, and beyond them were dozens, hundreds more, set out in neat lines. It gave me the unnerving impression I was watching an invading force marching across the ground to conquer Earth.
With an alien sphere up in orbit, and the Military busily searching for the alien home world, I daren’t say that aloud. ‘Amaz,’ I said instead. ‘We must be as high up as the top of one of the old skyscrapers on New York Main Dig Site.’
‘I don’t believe it.’ Raven’s voice cracked with emotion. ‘I really don’t believe it. This can’t be real.’
I heard harsh birdcalls, and turned to see a flock of what looked like crows swooping over a nearby building. A much larger bird launched itself from the top of the building, and soared out over the edge of the Land Raft. Wings spread wide and rigidly unmoving except for the feathers at its wingtips, it circled to ride a thermal upwards. A second huge bird appeared through a jagged hole that must have once been a window, and followed it. I tipped my head back to watch them flying, and saw other birds circling even higher in the sky.
I pointed up at them. ‘Look!’
‘A variety of birds, particularly birds of prey, use the Land Raft as a nesting site,’ said Playdon. ‘They treat the islands as their private artificial mountain tops, and will fly out for large distances to hunt prey on the ground below. If they start swooping at you, get your suit hoods up and sealed quickly to protect your faces.’
‘Is that likely to happen?’ asked Amalie.
‘Only if you disturb a nest,’ said Playdon. ‘Another day, we’ll portal down to explore the California Rift area at ground level. We’ll see the Land Raft from below, visit the wreckage of one of the toppled islands, and take a look at the earthquake fault line itself.’
Raven shook his head. ‘I’m being seriously unprofessional here. I should be watching for trouble, not staring at impressive views.’
Fian glanced across at where Krath was standing with Amalie, and then leaned towards Raven and whispered. ‘Raven, could you give me some combat lessons?’
Raven looked startled. ‘I could, but why? It’s my job to do any fighting.’
‘After the attack on Jarra … Well, I’d feel happier knowing I could deal with a situation like that without Lolmack’s help. We’ll have to find somewhere quiet in the park to practise though, because I don’t want Krath watching and making fun of me.’
Raven opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, frowning at something. I saw Petra was walking towards me. She stopped when she was still a few paces away.
‘What does she want?’ asked Fian.
‘No idea,’ I said. ‘It’s probably best if I talk to her alone.’
I went forward to meet Petra. She looked round warily at the watching class and Playdon, before speaking in a low voice intended only for me.
‘So you want a fresh start? Well I don’t. Even when I thought you were human, I didn’t like the way you constantly showed off. Once I found out you were really a lying, throwback ape …’
I’d been angry at her insults before, but I wasn’t this time. Petra had been through a nightmare of questioning by Military Security, but she was still forcing herself to defy me so she could hang on to some shreds of her pride. I respected that.
I suddenly realized the two of us were very alike. Looking at Petra now was like seeing my own mirror image. If she hated all Handicapped, I’d had an equally indiscriminate hatred of norms before I joined this class. If she used words like ape, I’d used the word exo often enough in the past.
‘I think you began with an unfair prejudice against the Handicapped in general,’ I said, ‘but I agree you’ve got perfectly valid reasons to dislike me now. The lies I told. The way I used my knowledge of Earth and the dig sites to try and prove I was better than the rest of you. It was Steen that accused you, got you arrested for something you hadn’t done, but it certainly wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t in the class, so …’
Petra gave me a puzzled frown, hesitated, and then spoke in a rush of words. ‘I wasn’t involved in the skunk juice attack, but I did send a message