"Yes, for me it is. I didn't mean it to end that way-but Ritters.p.a.ch is dead."

She gasped at this, a stranger to violence of any kind, an& he felt her hand withdraw from his.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Sorry that anyone had to die."

"You didn't mean to do it." She said it, but she did not sound convinced.

"No, I didn't mean to. But I would do it all over again if I had to. Exactly the same way. I'm not trying to excuse myself, just e~plain. Re hit you and you dropped, dead for all I knew. They had the clubs, three against one, and I defended myself. It ended like that."

"I do understand, but death by violence, it is... strange to me."

"May it stay that way. I can't force you to understand, or feel the way I do. Do you want me to go?"

"No!" The word burst out of her. "I said that I found it hard to understand. But that doesn't mean that I feel any different about you. I love you, Jan, and I will always love you."

"I hope so. I have acted irrationally, perhaps stupidly. That I did it because I love you is little excuse."

Her hands were cold in his. "I can understand if you blame me for what I did next. Putting you in this train and taking you away. We were talking about it when they attacked me. I never heard your answer.

"Didn't you?" She smiled for the first time. "There can be only one answer. I will obey The Rradil always. But now that she is no longer here to give orders it is not a matter of obeying or disobeying. I can love you as I have always wanted to, be with you always."

"Jan," the voice called from outside, then twice again before he heard it. Re felt he was smiling like a fool and held her gently for a long moment, beyond words, then pulled away and stood up.

"I have to go. I can't tell you how I feel "I know. I'm going to sleep now. I am much better."

"Do you want some food, something to drink?"

"Nothing. Just you. Come back as 5()Ofl as you can.

The co-driver of the tank was leaning out of the hatch. "Jan, got a message," he said. "s.e.m.e.nov wants to know why the stop and when we can go on?"

"Just the man I want to see. Tell him we move on as soon as I join him in his engine. Let's go.

Ivan s.e.m.e.nov was still Trainmaster With the families and all their problems left behind, Jan had relinquished the lead engine to him. Any~problems that came up now would probably be with the Road and he could handle them better from the lead tank. Jan climbed the ladder to the driver's compartment and Ivan started the trains for-ward as 500fl as he had closed the door.

"What is the delay about?" s.e.m.e.nov asked. "Every hour is important now, as you keep saying."

"Come into the engine room and I'll tell you." Jan was silent until the engineer had left and the hatch was shut. "I would like to get married."

"I know, but that is between you and The Rradil. I can speak to her if you like, the law isn't that exact as to which families the girl cannot marry into. A decision could be made. But it is up to The Hradil."

"You misunderstand. You are a Family Read which means you can perform marriages. I'm asking you to do just that. Alzbeta is here, aboard a train:'

"It cannot be!"

"It certainly is. So what are you going to do?"

"The Rradil would never permit it."

"The Hradil is not here to stop it. So think for yourself, just once. Make your own mind up. Once it is dorie there can be no going back. And there is nothing that evil old woman can do to you.

"It is not that. There is the law Jan spat disgustedly on the floor then rubbed the spittle into the steel plating with the sole of his boot.

"That for your law. It is an invention, don't you know that? There are no such things as Families and Family Reads on Earth, or taboos about marriage between chosen groups. Your so-called laws are works for fiction written by hire-ling anthropologists. Societies to order. They scratch around in the textbooks and put together bits and pieces of vanished societies and brew up one that will keep a popu-lation docile and obliging and hardworking-and stupid."

s.e.m.e.nov did not know whether to be shocked or angry; he shook his head unbelievingly, a physicist with the basic laws of energy threatened.

"Why do you say these things? You can't mean them, you've never said anything before."

"Of course not. It would have been suicide. Ritters.p.a.ch was a police spy-among his other endearing traits. He would have reported anything I said when the ships came, and I would be dead as soon as they found out. But with the ships not coming it doesn t matter now. Everything's changed. I can tell you about dear old Earth "I'll hear no more lies."

"Truths, s.e.m.e.nov, for the first time in your life. Let me tell about cultures. Mankind created them. They are an artifact, invented the same way the wheel was invented. Many different ones, all working one way or anoth~r if they were to survive. But that is all a matter of history now, with just two cla.s.ses left on Earth-the rulers and the ruled. And quick death for anyone who tries to change things. And this final and monolithic society has even been transported to the stars. To all the fat and wealthy worlds that mankind has discovered. But not to all of the planets-just the comfortable ones. When there is a need to occupy a really uncomfortable planet, like this one, then the tame professors are called in and given their a.s.sign-ment. Supply us with a stable and docile culture, because any problems would slow food production, and plenty of nourishing and cheap food is needed. A nice ignorant culture, because farmers can still be stupid and get their work done. But technical skills will be needed as well, so allowance must be made for that. So a bit here, a bit there, choose and select and balance and stir them all together and you have Beta Aurigae III. This planet. Patient facto-ry farmers, slaving their lives away in dim stupidity-"Stop this, I won't hear any more of your lies." s.e.m.e.nov was shocked, numbed.

"Why should I bother to lie now? If the ships don't come we're all dead in any case. But until they do I intend to live like a man again, not a silent slave like the rest of you. At least you have a good excuse, you're enslaved by stupidity, lack of knowledge. I have been enslaved by fear. My actions are being watched, I'm sure of that. As long as I stay in line, cause no trouble, I'll be all right. I've been all right for years. The watchers like me here. A planet for a prison-and at the same time they can get value out of me from my skills. But they don't need me. If I cause trouble I'm dead. Meanwhile, all of the years and money invested in my education are not going to waste. They sent me here to use those talents. With the strict instructions that I could live here in peace through the days of my years and I would not be bothered. But if I spoke one word about what life is really like off this planet, why then I would be dead.

So I'm dead, s.e.m.e.nov, do you realize that? If the ships don't come, I'm dead. If they come and are manned by the same people, why then you speak a word-and I am just as dead. So I deliver myself into your hands and do it for the oldest reason of all. Love. Marry us, s.e.m.e.nov, that's all you have to do."

s.e.m.e.nov was wringing his hands together, not know-ing what to think. "These are most disturbing things you say, Jan. To myself, when I am alone, I have had certain questions, but there has never been anyone to ask. Though the history books are most explicit "The history books are dull works of fiction."

"Jan," the voice broke from the engine room speaker. "Call for you."

"Patch it through." There was a burst of static then Lee Ciou's voice spoke.

"Jan. A little bit of trouble. One of the tanks threw a tread. They pulled to the edge of the Road and are working on it now. You should be up to it in a few minutes."

"Thanks. I'll take care of it."

s.e.m.e.nov sat in introverted silence when Jan went out, was unaware that he was gone. The engine slowed when the two stopped tanks came into sight. Jan gauged the distance.

"Slow to 10 K's as you pa.s.s, I'll hop off."

He opened the door to a blast of torrid air. Next time out it would probably have to be in a coldsuit. Re swung down to the bottom rung and hung there, then dropped off in a run, waving back at the engine, which picked up speed again. Lee Ciou and two mechnics had the broken tread spread out on the rock surface of the Road and were hammering the retaining pin from the damaged section.

"Cracked link," Lee Ciou said. "No way to repair it. Metal's crystallized, you can see here at the break."

"Wonderful," Jan said, scratching the brittle m~tal with his fingernail. "Put on one of your spares.

"Don't have any. Used them all up. But we can take one from the other tank-"

"No. We won't do that." Re looked up at the sky. It's beginning to happen, he thought. The ships don't come and things wear out and they can't be replaced. This is the way it is going to end. "Leave the tank here and let'sjoin the others."

"But we just can't leave it."

"Why not? If we cannibalize spares now what will we use when the next breakdown happens? We leave it and move on. Lock it up and when the ships come we can put it right."

It took only a few minutes to get out the few personal belongings and to close the hatch. In silence they boarded the other tank and put on speed to catch up with trains that had gone by. It was then that s.e.m.e.nov called on the radio.

"I hu~'e been dunking a lot since we talked."

"I hope you have, Ivan."

"I want to talk t~you know wh~~before I decide. You understand?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Then I want to talk to you-i have some questions. I don't say I agree with you, not about everything.

But I think I will be willing to do what you ask."

The tank driver jumped, his hands twitching on the speed controls, so that the tank lurched abruptly at Jan's loud cry of victory.

Fifteen.

The engineers who had built the Road must have exacted great pleasure from conquering ~ature in the most dra-matic manner possible. This great range of mountains, labeled simply Range 32-BL on the Road map, could have been penetrated in a number of ways. A simple long tunnel could have done it, slicing through to the lower coastal ranges, where the Road would have been easy to construct. The designers had taken no such simple solu-tion. Instead the Road rose up through long and easy loops almost to the summit of the range; in fact it did cross the leveled peaks of some of the lesser mountains.

And here it stayed, piercing peak after high peak with straight-bored tunnels. The rubble from the tunnels had been used as fill to bridge the valleys between, then compacted again to solid rock with molten lava.

The energy used to do this had been prodigal but not wasteful. The Road was there, a monument to their skill and craft.

At the entrance to the tunnel that pierced the largest mountain, there "'as an immense leveled area. The build-ers had undoubtedly used this as a park for their great machines. Some idea of their size could be gained by the fact that all of the trains, every engine and car, could be pulled up here at the same time. It was a favorite stopping place for the families, where repairs or servicing of the trains could be made, offering a chance to socialize after endless days in the same cars.

A big advantage was the height-and the fact that Flat Spot was on the shadow side of the mountain. This made the temperature, while still hot, bearable enough to go about without coldsuits. The men walked slowly, stretching and laughing, glad of the break from routine, though they did not know the reason.

Meeting, 2130 hours, by the lead engine. It made a pleasant change.

Ivan s.e.m.e.nov waited until they were all a.s.sembled, then climbed up on the makeshift platform of lubrication drums supporting a thick sheet of plastic. Re spoke into the microphone and his amplified voice rolled over them, calling to them for silence.

"I have come to consult with you," he said, and there was a quickly hushed murmur from the men before him. Family Reads never consulted, they issued orders. "That may sound unusual to you but we are now living in unusual times. The pattern to our life and existence has been broken and, perhaps, may never be mended. The ships did not come when they should-and they may never come. If that happens we are dead, and no more need be said. Because they did not come we have brought the corn, all that we could, to Southland and are now returning to get as much more as we can. To accomplish this, the rule of the Family Reads was defied by you men. Don't deny it-face the truth. You defied us and won. If you care to know, I was the only one of the Reads who agreed with you. Perhaps because, like you, I work with machines and am different. I do not know. But I do know that change has begun and cannot be halted. Therefore I am going to tell you about another change. You have all heard the rumors, so I will now tell you the fact. This is not an all-male expedition. We have a woman with us.

This time the buzz of voices drowned him out, and the men moved about trying to get a better view of the platform to see who was there. The silence returned, gradually, when s.e.m.e.nov raised his hands.

"She is Alzbeta Mahrova, whom you all know. She is here by her own choice. Rer other choice is that she wishes to marry Jan Kulozik, and he does choose to marry her as well."

After this he had to shout to be heard, begging for silence, turning up the volume until his voice boomed and echoed from the rock wall behind him. When he could at last be heard he went on.

"Quiet, please, hear me out. I said I have come to consult you and I am. As a Family Head I have power vested in me to marry this couple. But the Head of Alzbeta's family has forbidden the union. I feel I know what I should do, but what do you men think the dedsion should be~ There was never any doubt. The roar of approval shook the rock with greater sound than the amplifiers had used. If there were any dissenting voices, they were drowned in the sound of the vast majority.

When Jan and Alzbeta appeared from the train, they shouted even louder, pick-ing him up and carrying him laughing on their shoulders, yet still too bound by the laws they were breaking to touch her.

The ceremony was brief but affectionate, different from any other they had witnessed because of the all-male audience. The questions were asked and the answers giv-en, their hands joined together, their lives joined as well when the rings were brought forward. A toast was drunk by all present and the deed was done. But it was a single toast since time was pressing. Their honeymoon would be on the rolling trains.

Through the mountain range and into the eternal blasting heat of the tropical sun. They made better time than they had on the outward trip, for the Road was clear and they were lightly loaded. The tank crews stayed far ahead and the only difficulty was crossing the drowned section of Road. The empty cars had a tendency to float and had to be brought over one by one with an engine at each end. The only ones who did not mind the delay were Jan and Alzbeta, who were forbidden to help in the operation and were ordered to remain inside their car. It was the only wedding present that the hard-working nien could give them and was appreciated all the more.

Once the water was pa.s.sed the Road was clear again-though never empty of danger. The never-setting sun now had a bra.s.sy color to it and there was an ominous haze in the air.

"What is it?" Alzbeta asked. "What is wrong?"

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it," Jan said.

They were driving again, driver and co-driver of one -of the engines. This way they were together all of the time, work periods and sleep periods. They did not mind; in fact they reveled in the pleasure of their companion-ship. To Alzbeta it was the final satisfaction of her exis-tence as a woman. For Jan, the end of loneliness. But this was not a world to allow unlimited peace and happiness.

"Dust," Jan said, squinting out at the sky. 'And I can think of only one place it could come from. I think, but I can't be sure.

"Where?"

"Volcanic action. When volcanoes erupt they hurl dust high into the atmosphere where the winds bring it right around the planet. I only hope this eruption was nowhere near the Road."

It was closer than they liked. Within twenty hours the tanks sent back word of an active volcano on the horizon. The jungle here was burnt and dead, while the Road was thick with great chunks of scoria and heavy with dust. They were working to clear a way through. The trains soon caught up with them.

"It's... horrible," Alzbeta said, looking out on the blackened landscape and the drifting clouds of smoke and dust.

"If this is the worst we hit, we are all right," Jan told They crawled at minimum speed when they pa.s.sed the volcano, for the Road could not be kept completely clear, and they crept through the constantly falling debris. The volcano was no more than ten kilometers from the Road, still active, wreathed in clouds of smoke and steam which were lit by red flashes and gouts of lava.

"In a way I'm a little surprised that we have not had this kind of trouble before," Jan said. "It must have taken an awful lot of artificial earthquakes to build the Road. That's a matter of record. And the energy it takes to start an eruption is only the tiniest part of the energy that is released. The builders knew their business and did not leave until the seismic processes were reduced. But there can be no guarantee that they are all ended. As we can see out there." Re looked out gloomily at the volcano, now dropping behind them.

"But it's over," she said. "We're through."

Jan did not want to erase her happy smile by reminding her that there would have to be a return trip.

Better the happiness of the hour.

Then they came to the scorched farmlands and the immense silos baking under the relentless sun.

Loading the corn began, a slow process because of the limited number of coldsuits. Nevertheless the work was continu-ous, one man taking over when the other ended his shift, putting a newly-charged powerpack into the coldsuit, care-ful not to touch the burning metal of the external fit-tings. Out into the heat to swing the discharge hose over the opening in a car roof, to fill it to overflowing. The car was moved on, the hole sealed, another appeared below. The Road was knee-deep in corn for they made no at-tempt to be careful; spee& was more important than neatness. More corn would be left to burn than they could carry away. When the last train was being filled, Jan consulted with s.e.m.e.nov.

"I'm taking the tanks out now. But I'm worried about the section of Road that pa.s.ses the volcano."

"You'll clear it easily enough."

"I'm not concerned about that. The volcanic activity seems to have died down. But we did have that big quake some days ago. If we could feel it here, how must it be that much closer? The Road itself may be damaged. I want a good lead time."

s.e.m.e.nov nodded reluctant agreement. "I just hope that you are wrong.

"So do I. I'll report back as soon as I get there."

They ran at top speed and made the journey without a stop. Jan was asleep when they came to the volcanic area, and Otakar, who was co-driving the lead tank with him, came down to shake him awake.

"Big drifts across the road, but otherwise it doesn't look bad."

"I'll come right up."

They left the other tanks with dozer blades to clear the Road, then ground ahead over the mountainous drifts. The air was clear and the volcano itself soon came into sight, silent at last, with just a plume of smoke drifting from its conical summit.