The Darkside Of The Sun

Dom glanced up.
    ‘That’s pretty neat. Field transference? Grandmother won’t have it in the house. She says it’s a wicked waste of power.’
    Tarli held up his hand. ‘Inductance surfaces under the skin, yes. It’s a tradition with us. It impresses guests. Here.’
    Dom caught a dragonskin belt and buckled it around a loose-fitting robe intricately worked in yellow and grey silk. The Laothian boy opened an enamelled closet and handed him a smaller version of the sword.
    ‘Hey!’
    ‘It’s only a koto. Purely ceremonial. Please accept it. Apart from anything else, by custom it’s a mortal insult if you don’t. I’d have to fight you again, with swords and without armour. And before that I’d have to teach you to use it.’ He glanced sidelong at Dom’s neck. ‘You’ve been getting a few lessons anyway, I hear.’
    Dom’s hand flew to his neck and he winced, not just from the bruises.
    ‘I thought Laothian girls went in more for flower arranging,’ he muttered.
    Tarli grinned. ‘Oh yes? The nearest flowers to us are on Boon-dock, the next planet out. The biggest ones are motile roses – you have to get the plant in an armlock before you can prune it.’
    ‘I bet she’d be good at it.’
    ‘Pretty good, probably. She’s first on the shamsword lists, that’s out of about five hundred true shamuri. You have to be expert to get on the lists.’
    Dom fingered the blade of the koto and grunted.
    ‘Archery, now, I’m better at that. She hasn’t got the patience. Sharli’s only about thirtieth in the list.’
    ‘Anything she’s not good at?’
    ‘There’s our third national pastime.’
    ‘What’s that? Pig-sticking? Crushing rocks with the fingers?’
    ‘No. Micro-circuitry design. It’s an art, you know. Come on, it’s time for dinner.’
    Dom was surprised as they made their way towards the main hall. He was on Laoth, a world that made the best shipware and Class Five minds that were classed as humans, and he had seen no robots apart from the horse and the mechanisms in the garden. Laothians obviously didn’t like to surround themselves with their creations.
    As they walked through a hall lined with lacquered panels, Tarli said slowly: ‘Father is very annoyed.’
    ‘About me?’
    ‘Indirectly, yes. It wasn’t your coming here – he likes visitors. It’s just that we are getting some uninvited ones. How many days before you discover Jokers World?’
    ‘After tonight, three days.’
    ‘Have you got any ideas?’
    ‘Some,’ said Dom non-committally.
    ‘I hope so,’ said Tarli. ‘There’s fifty ships hanging around our system now, waiting for you to make a move. Some of them are toting weaponry, too. Terra Novae has got a whole fleet. There’s even a class of a hulk from Whole Erse, it’s probably the only one they have got. There’s going to be a real shoot-out when you lead them to Jokers World. And, uh, what’s worrying Father …’
    ‘You can put his mind at rest. I don’t think the Jokers had anything to do with Laoth,’ said Dom quickly.
    Tarli sighed with relief. ‘The trouble they’re putting us to!’ he went on. ‘We have to send out squads every hour to clear up these bugs United Spies are dropping round the palace. They crawl into every crevice – look at that one!’
    A thing like a jewelled praying mantis was creeping along the top of one of the coloured panels. It tried to scurry away as they approached, but Tarli flicked it onto the floor with the end of his sword and crushed it.
    ‘Looks like a standard Earth model,’ he said. ‘See what I mean?’
    ‘The message behind all this is that you’re glad to see me but you’d be even happier to see me go,’ said Dom.
    Tarli said hurriedly: ‘Please don’t take it the wrong way. I’ll tell you one thing, we’ll make sure you go vertically, and protected. Still, you’re not our only worry. Have you heard about the Bank disappearing?’
    Dom shook his head.
    ‘Nothing like it has happened before.’
    The hall doors swung open before them. There were only eight for the meal. The round table had been collapsed back into the memory store, and a plain Laothian dining mat spread in its place. Besides Tarli and Dom there were Joan, Keja, the Emperor, Sharli, Hrsh-Hgn and a small dapper Laothian. The children’s drosk servants stood behind them, and Isaac moved over to place himself behind Dom. He was holding Ig.
    ‘Thanks,’ said Dom, taking the creature. ‘Where has he been? And how about