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The Children of the Sky

VernorVinge




  In a lab at the edge of the galaxy, in search of an ancient archive, scientists unwittingly unleash the Blight: this vast, destructive entity rampages through the Zones of Thought, subverting digital intelligence and devastating countless worlds and races throughout the Beyond. One ship, carrying the children of the scientists, seeks haven on an obscure world in the Slow Zone, only to find medieval kingdoms of group-animals—the Tines—at war with one another. Another ship, itself fleeing the Blight, follows their ship’s distress signal to Tines World and helps end the war, saving most of the Children.

  Ten years later, Ravna Bergsndot, the lone surviving human adult living among the Tines, has revived most of the hundred and fifty Children who remain in coldsleep. Under her protection, the Children have grown to adulthood and established a society with the Tines. Now, Tinish packs and human beings live together in peace in the Domain, one of the few remaining outposts of humans in the galaxy, while Ravna keeps watch against the approach of the Blight.

  Other than Ravna, only Johanna and Jefri Olsndot, whose parents piloted the desperate flight to Tines World, have direct knowledge of the events that brought them there, and Jefri was too young to truly understand. The other Children have memories only of life before the Blight. Now, old enough to shape their own future, they question Ravna’s guidance, and seek to chart a new course…heedless of the potential for disaster amid the Machiavellian politics of Tines World.

  As some in the Domain plot and scheme, far beyond their society’s borders the legendary pack Tycoon is shaping the world’s first industrial civilization. With dark alliances swirling in both human and Tinish circles, the survival of Tines World depends on Ravna. And Ravna has enemies, unseen…awaiting their moment.

  A science fiction epic with all the excitement and sense of wonder that made A Fire Upon the Deep a landmark in the field, The Children of the Sky is a worthy sequel and a singular achievement in its own right.

  BOOKS BY VERNOR VINGE

  ZONES OF THOUGHT SERIES

  A Fire Upon the Deep*

  A Deepness in the Sky*

  The Children of the Sky*

  Tatja Grimm’s World*

  The Witling*

  The Peace War*

  Marooned in Realtime*

  True Names…and Other Dangers (collection)

  Threats…and Other Promises (collection)

  Across Realtime

  comprising:

  The Peace War

  “The Ungoverned”

  Marooned in Realtime

  True Names and the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier*

  The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge*

  Rainbows End*

  *Available from Tor Books

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THE CHILDREN OF THE SKY

  Copyright © 2011 by Vernor Vinge

  All rights reserved.

  Edited by James Frenkel

  Map by Ellisa Mitchell

  A Tor Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Vinge, Vernor.

  The children of the sky/Vernor Vinge.—1st ed.

  p. cm.

  “A Tom Doherty Associates book.”

  ISBN 978-0-312-87562-6 (hardback)

  l. Life on other planets—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3572.I534C47 2011

  813'54—dc22

  2011024210

  First Edition: October 2011

  Printed in the United States of America

  0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  To Carol D. Ward and Joan D. Vinge

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I am grateful for the advice and help of:

  David Brin, John Carroll, Cyndi Chie, Howard L. Davidson, Robert Fleming, Mike Gannis, Cherie Kushner, Keith Mayers, Sara Baase Mayers, Tom Munnecke, Diana Osborn, and Mary Q. Smith.

  I am very grateful to my editor, James Frenkel, for all the time he has put into this book. Jim and Tor Books have been very patient with me in the long process of creating The Children of the Sky. (I know I said that about my last novel—but this one was about four times as much work.)

  CONTENTS

  Two years after the

  Battle on Starship Hill

  Chapter 00

  Chapter 01

  Chapter 02

  Chapter 03

  Three years after the

  Battle on Starship Hill

  Chapter 04

  Ten years after the

  Battle on Starship Hill

  Chapter 05

  Chapter 06

  Chapter 07

  Chapter 08

  Chapter 09

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Two years after the

  Battle on Starship Hill

  CHAPTER 00

  How do you get the attention of the richest businessperson in the world?

  Vendacious had spent all his well-remembered life sucking up to royalty. He had never dreamed he would fall so low as to need a common merchant, but here he was with his only remaining servant, trying to find a street address in East Home’s factory district.

  This latest street was even narrower than the one they had left. Surely the world’s richest would never come here!

  The alley had heavy doors set on either side. At the moment, all were closed, but the place must be a crowded madness at shift change. There were posters every few feet, but these were not the advertisements they had seen elsewhere. These were demands and announcements: WASH ALL PAWS BEFORE WORK, NO ADVANCE WAGES, EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS AHEAD. This last sign pointed toward a wide pair of doors at the end of the alley. It was all marvelously pompous and silly. And yet…as he walked along, Vendacious took a long look at the crenellations above him. Surely that was plaster over wood. But if it was real stone, then this was a fortified castle hidden right in the middle of East Home commercialism.

  Vendacious held back, waved at his servant to proceed. Chitiratifor advanced along the alley, singing praise for his dear master. He had not quite reached the wide doors when they swung open and a hugely numerous pack emerged. It was nine or ten and it spread across their way like a sentry line. Vendacious suppressed the urge to look up at the battlements for signs of archers.

  The huge pack looked at them stupidly for a moment, then spoke in loud and officious chords. “Employment work you want? Can you read?”

  Chitiratifor stopped singing introductory flourishes, and replied, “Of course we can read, but we’re not h
ere for—”

  The gatekeeper pack spoke right over Chitiratifor’s words: “No matter. I have application forms here.” Two of it trotted down the steps with scraps of paper held in their jaws. “I will explain it all to you and then you sign. Tycoon pay good. Give good housing. And one day off every tenday.”

  Chitiratifor bristled. “See here, my good pack. We are not seeking employment. My lord”—he gestured respectfully at Vendacious—“has come to tell the Great Tycoon of new products and opportunities.”

  “Paw prints to suffice if you cannot write—” The other interrupted its own speech as Chitiratifor’s words finally penetrated. “Not wanting to apply for work?” It looked at them for moment, took in Chitiratifor’s flashy outfit. “Yes, you are not dressed for this doorway. I should have noticed.” It thought for a second. “You are in wrong place. Business visitors must visit to the Business Center. You go back five blocks and then onto the Concourse of the Great Tycoon. Wait. I get you a map.” The creature didn’t move, but Vendacious realized the pack was even more numerous than he had thought, extending back out of sight into the building; these Easterners tolerated the most grotesque perversions.

  Chitiratifor shuffled back in Vendacious’ direction, and the nearest of him hissed, “That’s a two-mile walk just to get to the other side of this frigging building!”

  Vendacious nodded and walked around his servant, confronting the gatekeeper directly. “We’ve come all the way from the West Coast to help Tycoon. We demand a courteous response, not petty delays!”

  The nearest members of the gatekeeper stepped back timidly. Up close, Vendacious could hear that this was no military pack. Except at dinner parties, it probably never had killed a single living thing. In fact, the creature was so naive that it didn’t really recognize the deadly anger confronting it. After a moment, it reformed its line, and said “Nevertheless, sir, I must follow my orders. Business visitors use the business entrance.”

  Chitiratifor was hissing murder; Vendacious waved him quiet. But Vendacious really didn’t want to walk around to the official entrance—and that wasn’t just a matter of convenience. He now realized that finding this entrance was a lucky accident. Woodcarver’s spies were unlikely this far from home, but the fewer people who could draw a connection between Tycoon and Vendacious, the better.

  He backed off courteously, out of the gatekeeper’s space. This entrance would be fine if he could just talk to someone with a mind. “Perhaps your orders do not apply to me.”

  The gatekeeper pondered the possibility for almost five seconds. “But I think they do apply,” it finally said.

  “Well then, while we wait for the map, perhaps you could pass on an enquiry to someone who deals with difficult problems.” There were several lures Vendacious could dangle: “Tell your supervisor that his visitors bear news about the invasion from outer space.”

  “The what from where?”

  “We have eyewitness information about the humans—” that provoked more blank looks. “Damn it, fellow, this is about the mantis monsters!”

  —————

  Mention of the mantis monsters did not produce the gatekeeper’s supervisor; the fivesome who came out to see them was far higher in the chain of command than that! “Remasritlfeer” asked a few sharp questions and then waved for them to follow him. In a matter of minutes, they were past the gatekeeper and walking down carpeted corridors. Looking around, Vendacious had to hide his smiles. The interior design was a perfection of bad taste and mismatched wealth, proof of the foolishness of the newly rich. Their guide was a very different matter. Remasritlfeer was mostly slender, but there were scars on his snouts and flanks, and you could see the lines of hard muscle beneath his fur. His eyes were mostly pale yellow and not especially friendly.

  It was a long walk, but their guide had very little to say. Finally, the corridor ended at a member-wide door, more like the entrance to an animal den than the office of the world’s richest commoner.

  Remasritlfeer opened the door and stuck a head in. “I have the outlanders, your eminence,” he said.

  A voice came from within: “That should be ‘my lord’. Today, I think ‘my lord’ sounds better.”

  “Yes, my lord.” But the four of Remasritlfeer who were still in the corridor rolled their heads in exasperation.

  “Well then, let’s not waste my time. Have them all come in. There’s plenty of room.”

  As Vendacious filed through the narrow doorway, he was looking in all directions without appearing to be especially interested. Gas mantle lamps were ranked near the ceiling. Vendacious thought he saw parts of a bodyguard on perches above that. Yes, the room was large, but it was crowded with—what? not the bejeweled knickknacks of the hallway. Here there were gears and gadgets and large tilted easels covered with half-finished drawings. The walls were bookcases rising so high that perches on ropes and pulleys were needed to reach the top shelves. One of Vendacious stood less than a yard from the nearest books. No great literature here. Most of the books were accounting ledgers. The ones further up looked like bound volumes of legal statutes.

  The unseen speaker continued, “Come forward where I can see you all! Why in hell couldn’t you use the business visitor entrance? I didn’t build that throne room for nothing.” This last was querulous muttering.

  Vendacious percolated through the jumble. Two of him came out from under a large drawing easel. The rest reached the central area a second later. He suffered a moment of confusion as Chitiratifor shuffled himself out of the way, and then he got his first glimpse of the Great Tycoon:

  The pack was an ill-assorted eightsome. Vendacious had to count him twice, since the smaller members were moving around so much. At the core were four middle-aged adults. They had no noble or martial aspect whatsoever. Two of them wore the kind of green-tinted visors affected by accountants everywhere. The other two had been turning the pages of a ledger. Pretty clearly he had been counting his money or cutting expenses, or whatever it was that businesscritters did.

  Tycoon cast irritated looks at Vendacious and Chitiratifor. “You claim to know about the mantis monsters. This better be good. I know lots about the mantises, so I advise against lies.” He pointed a snout at Vendacious, waving him closer.

  Treat him like royalty. Vendacious belly-crawled two of himself closer to Tycoon. Now he had the attention of all Tycoon’s members. The four small ones, puppies under two years old, had stopped their pell-mell orbiting of the accountancy four. Two hung back with the four, while two came within a couple feet of Vendacious. These pups were integrated parts of Tycoon’s personality—just barely, and when they felt like it. Their mindsounds were unseemly loud. Vendacious had to force himself not to shrink back.

  After a moment or two of impolite poking, Tycoon said, “So, how would you know about the mantis monsters?”

  “I witnessed their starship Oobii descend from the sky.” Vendacious used the human name of their ship. The sounds were flat and simple, alien. “I saw its lightning weapon bring down a great empire in a single afternoon.”

  Tycoon was nodding. Most East Coast packs took this version of Woodcarver’s victory to be a fantasy. Evidently, Tycoon was not one of those. “You’re saying nothing new here, fellow—though few packs know the name of the flying ship.”

  “I know far more than that, my lord. I speak the mantis language. I know their secrets and their plans.” And he had one of their datasets in his right third pannier, though he had no intention of revealing that advantage.

  “Oh really?” Tycoon’s smile was sharp and incredulous, even unto his puppies. “Who then are you?”

  An honest answer to that question had to come sooner or later, fatal though it might be. “My lord, my name is Vendacious. I was—”

  Tycoon’s heads jerked up. “Remasritlfeer!”

  “My lord!” The deadly little fivesome was clustered around the only exit.

  “Cancel my appointments. No more visitors today, of any sort. Have Saliminop
hon take care of the shift change.”

  “Yes, my lord!”

  Tycoon’s older four set their ledger aside and all of him looked at Vendacious. “Be assured that this claim will be verified, sir. Discreetly but definitively verified.” But you could see Tycoon’s enthusiasm, the will to believe; for now, the puppies were in control. “You were Woodcarver’s spymaster, convicted of treason.”

  Vendacious raised his heads. “All true, my lord. And I am proud of my ‘treason.’ Woodcarver has allied with the mantis queen and her maggots.”

  “Maggots?” Tycoon’s eyes were wide.

  “Yes, my lord. ‘Mantis’ and ‘maggot’ refer to different aspects of the same creatures, humans as they call themselves. ‘Mantis’ is the appropriate term for the adult. After all, it is a two-legged creature, sneaky and vicious, but also solitary.”

  “Real mantises are insects, only about so tall.” One of the puppies yawned wide, indicating less than two inches.

  “The mantises from the sky can be five feet at the shoulder.”

  “I knew that,” said Tycoon. “But the maggots? They are the younglings of the grown monsters?”

  “Indeed so.” Vendacious moved his two forward members confidingly close to the other pack. “And here is something you may not know. It makes the analogy nigh perfect. The actual invasion from the sky began almost a year before the Battle on Starship Hill.”

  “Before Woodcarver marched north?”

  “Yes. A much smaller craft landed secretly, thirty-five tendays earlier. And do you know what was aboard? My lord, that first lander was filled with maggot eggsacks!”

  “So that will be the real invasion,” said Tycoon. “Just as insect maggots burst from their eggsacks and overrun the neighborhood, these humans will overrun the entire world—”

  Chitiratifor popped in with, “They will devour us all!”

  Vendacious gave his servant a stern look. “Chitiratifor takes the analogy too far. At present, the maggots are young. There is only one adult, the mantis queen, Ravna. But consider, in just the two years since Ravna and Oobii arrived, she has taken control of Woodcarver’s Domain and expanded it across all the realms of the Northwest.”