The Ask and the Answer

“That don’t sound like no bomb,” Davy says.

The Mayor looks at me. “Viola, is there–”

He stops and then turns his head.

And we all realize–

It’s not coming from the east.

“Over there,” Davy points, raising his hand towards the falls, towards where the sky is bright pink with sunset.

The Mayor looks at me again. “That’s too loud for a simple tracer.” His face tightens. “Have they got missiles?” He takes a step so big he’s almost on top of me. “Have they built missiles?”

“You back off!” Todd yells, trying to get between us again.

“I will know what this is, Viola!” the Mayor says. “You will tell me!”

“I don’t know what it is!” I say.

Todd’s shouting and threatening, “You lay a finger on her’”

“It’s getting louder!” Davy shouts, putting his hands to his ears. We all turn and watch the western horizon, watch as a dot rises, getting lost in the last of the sun before reappearing, growing larger as it comes.

As it comes straight for the city.

“Viola!” the Mayor shouts, through clenched teeth, sending some Noise at me but I don’t feel whatever it is that men feel.

“I DON’T KNOW!” I yell.

And then Davy, who hasn’t stopped watching it, says, “It’s a ship.”

[TODD]

It’s a ship.

It’s a ruddy ship.

“Yer people,” I say to Viola.

But she’s shaking her head, tho not to say no, just staring at it as it rises over the falls.

“Too small for a settler ship,” Davy says.

“And too early,” the Mayor says, aiming his rifle at it as if he could shoot it from this distance. “They’re not due for another two months at least.”

But Viola still ain’t looking like she can hear any of this, hope rising on her face so painful it hurts my heart just to see it. “A scout,” she whispers, so quiet I’m the only one who hears it. “Another scout. Sent to look for me.”

I turn back to the ship.

It clears the crest of the falls, soaring out over the river.

A scout ship, just like the one she crashed in back in the swamp, killing her parents and stranding her here all those months and lifetimes ago. It still looks as big as a house, stubby wings looking too short to keep it in the air, flames coming outta the tail end as it flies flies flies down the river, using it as a road hundreds of metres below.

We watch it come.

“David,” the Mayor says, his eyes still on it. “Get my horse.”

But Davy’s got his face up to the sky, his Noise opening up in wonder and amazement.

And I know exactly how he feels.

Nothing flies on New World except the birds. We got machines that go down the roads, fissionbikes, a few fissioncars, but mainly we just got horses and oxes and carts and our feet.

We don’t got wings.

The ship comes down the river, nearing the cathedral and flying almost right over us, not stopping, so close you can see lights on the underside and the sky above the exhaust shimmering with the heat. It flies right on past, down the river.

Down east towards the Answer.

“David!” the Mayor says sharply.

“Help me up,” Viola whispers. “I have to get to them. I have to go.”

And her eyes are wild and her breath is heavy and she’s staring at me so hard it’s like a solid thing I can feel.

“Oh, he’ll help you up,” the Mayor says, pointing the gun. “Because you’re coming with me.”

“What?” Viola says.

“They’re your people, Viola,” the Mayor says. “They’re going to be wondering where you are. I can either bring you to them right away.” He looks at me. “Or I can sadly inform them that you died in the crash. Which would you prefer?”

“I’m not going with you,” she says. “You’re a liar and a murderer–”

He cuts her off. “David, you’ll remain guard over Todd while I take Viola to her ship.” He looks back at her. “I think you know first-hand my son’s eagerness with a gun if you don’t cooperate.”

Viola looks furiously at Davy. I look at Davy, too, standing there, rifle in hand, looking back and forth twixt me and his pa.

His Noise roiling.

His Noise saying clearly there ain’t no way he’s ever gonna shoot me.

“Pa?” he says.

“Enough of this, David,” the Mayor frowns, trying to catch Davy’s eye–

And catching it.

“You will do what I say,” he says to his son. “You will tie Todd up with the rope he so helpfully brought and you will stand guard over him and when I return with our newly arrived guests, everything will be peaceful and happy. The new world will begin.”

“New world,” Davy mumbles, his eyes glazing over, just like the ginger-haired soldier, askings and doubt being pushed outta his Noise.

As he bends to the will of another.

I get an idea.

Forgive me, Davy.

“You gonna let him talk to you like that, Davy?”

He blinks. “What?”

He looks away from his pa.

“You gonna let him point a gun at me and Viola?”

“Todd,” the Mayor warns.

“All that Noise you say you hear,” I say to the Mayor but I still look at Davy, still hold his eye. “All the way you say you know everything, but you don’t know yer own son very well, now, do ya?”

“David,” the Mayor says.

But I got Davy’s eye now.

“You gonna let him get his way again?” I say to him. “You gonna let him boss you round with no reward?”

Davy watches me nervously, trying to blink away the mess his pa’s put in his head.

“That ship changes everything, Davy,” I say. “A whole new batch of people. A whole city’s worth to try and make this place something better than the stinking boghole it is.”

“David,” the Mayor says. There’s a flash of Noise and Davy flinches.

“Stop it, Pa,” he says.

“Who do you want to get to that ship first, Davy?” I say. “Me and Viola to get some help? Or yer pa so he can rule them, too?”

“Be quiet!” says the Mayor. “Are you forgetting who has the gun?”

“Davy has one, too,” I say.

There’s a bit of a pause as we all see Davy remember he’s holding a rifle.