By the Time I Get to Pellax Read online

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  Venner stumbled, looking down at his feet in brown felt boots in the grass. There were also the trousers of a grey flannel suit. The jacket had big pockets and was as long as a frock coat. Around his shoulders was a bandolier with cartridges, and on the grass in front of him was a rifle, which he had evidently dropped. He adjusted the broad-brimmed hat he was wearing. Beside him was Helen, wearing a bonnet and a long dress with a woollen shawl. Who had turned the heat up so high? 'Can't we find some shade?' he said. The girl was looking around, as lost and bewildered as he was. Then he saw a wagon pulled by four oxen. Beside it was a little yellow man, perhaps a Hottentot, in a felt hat and cast-off European clothes, holding a whip. 'Baas!' shouted the man, waving his arm. 'This way! We must get back to the caravan! Ya ya!' he cried, cracking his whip at the oxen and making them surge forward. Picking up his rifle, Venner indicated to Helen that they should join the Hottentot. 'We've got to play this out. It's some stupid trick of Drax's. You wait till I get my hands on him!' He looked all around, half expecting to recognise among a stand of trees a crowd of delighted revellers from the Dorms enjoying their confusion. 'What's wrong? Why do we have to get back to the caravan?' he asked the Hottentot, who had jumped up onto the board and was getting ready to start thrashing the team. 'I think we offended someone, Baas,' he replied, nodding towards a hill to Venner's right. Venner could see shapes moving down the slope. There must have been twenty or thirty men chasing them, and bright glints came from the tips of the assegais they were waving. 'Whatever the game is, there must be some way to stop the program,' said Helen. 'You've been in the Holosuite before, haven't you?' Yes! That was the first thing he should have thought of! 'Freeze program!' said Venner. Nothing froze. He looked back at the figures on the hill. They were getting closer. 'Computer, freeze program!' he ordered. Nothing. 'Arch!' he said, and quickly tried again and again, with different intonations. Nothing. 'Come on!' he said to Helen. The two of them ran forward and got into the wagon. A whip cracked and the thing leapt forward. From under the canvas roof they looked out the back. Several shots rang out. Their pursuers had rifles as well as spears. 'They can't shoot like you, Baas,' shouted the Hottentot over his shoulder. I might as well play the game, thought Venner. He checked his rifle. It was a single-shot, and loaded. He went down on one knee, and when the wagon went over a smooth piece of ground he squeezed the trigger. There was a boom and a great cloud filled the wagon. When it cleared he saw that all of the runners had fallen. Venner chuckled to himself. This was a piece of cake! Then they all stood up again, had a brief conversation, and came on faster than before. He joined the driver, adding his own shouts of encouragement to the Hottentot's cries and whip cracks. 'What's your name?' he shouted. 'Julian, Baas.' 'Julian! All right, Julian, keep lashing those brutes as hard as you can. Helen, lie down on the floor of the wagon. I'll run alongside and take a pot shot or two.' He jumped out and trotted alongside the wagon, loading his piece then whirling round to snap off his shots. In no time the tall warriors with spears and shields, and wearing plumes of feathers, were almost on top of them. Venner's slugs had accounted for one or two but they still came hurtling along, shrieking to encourage each other. If this was a game it was realistic, as Venner found out when, climbing back into the fleeing wagon, he got a crack over the back of the head from a club with a knot of wood at the end. Another guy put a razor the size of the size of a trowel through his jacket and shirt. It grazed his side and he felt the blood oozing down. Then he heard the rattle of horses' hooves, guttural shouts, and echoing gunshots. Puffs of smoke billowed all around them. Bearded white men on ponies had appeared and they were firing at the blacks and driving them off. Julian halted the wagon. Helen leapt down while the Hottentot went to talk to the oxen. He kissed them and patted them, muttering in his own language. 'What gallant rescuers you blokes are. I don't know how we can thank you for your help,' said Venner. 'Are you Kleissenberg?' asked the tall man, a Boer evidently. 'Uh, yes I am.' 'Your friends in Hilldorp thought you might be able to use some help so they asked us to ride out on commando.' 'It's wonderful of you,' said Helen. The Boer jumped off his pony, bowing his head, and shook her hand. After jumping down and thanking each of the party of six or seven riders personally, Venner grinned at Julian who was back in position with the reins in his hands. Venner and Helen climbed aboard, and with the Boers riding beside them, pressed on. 'We've got to make the best of this show,' Venner muttered to Helen. 'It's pretty real, it seems to me. It's not some cut-rate induction course put on by an accounting company to promote staff bonding and esprit de corps.' 'Real? It's too real,' said Helen. 'Those Zulu bodies over there are decomposing already.' Gingerly, Venner raised his jacket and shirt to show her his side. 'That will need stitches,' she informed him. 'I'll get one of these fellows' women just to wash it and bandage it. I bet their females are good at that kind of thing. Hold on a second, what is that?' A familiar tune was being whistled by Julian as he guided the oxen: 'Here, There and Everywhere.' 'Julian, what is that song?' 'I don't know, Baas, a pretty tune I heard in some gin house. No, now you ask me, I think I heard you singing it, Baas.' Venner looked at Helen and nodded. 'A pretty cover-up for an anachronism. We'll have to watch for these little cracks in the surface,' he said, looking around him. 'We'll soon detect the glue and the cardboard. This stuff isn't seamless, by any means. We'll find a way out.' 'If the spears of the Zulus or the lead of the Boers don't get us first.' They arrived at the valley containing a group of ragged huts known as Hilldorp. A communal meal was being prepared and that night they ate with the others round an open fire. Earlier Venner had been taken to an old 'vrouw' who was the closest they had to a nurse and she looked at his wound. After washing it with disinfectant she brought the edges together and fastened them with a few catgut stitches. When the old woman was satisfied she wrapped a long bandage around him several times. 'Those kaffirs keep their spears clean, so you should be all right.' That night as they ate, the old vrouw came up to Venner. 'The new young lady who arrived here and sent the commando for you wants a word. Is she your sister?' 'A young lady?' 'Yes, asking about a beardless man, your age, citified like, with a fair-haired girl.' A woman came walking into the firelight. They did not recognise her at first with her long dress and a back shawl over her head, but it was Latonia Fletcher.

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  Helen leapt forward with a cry and hugged her friend. 'How are we going to get out of this?' she said, beginning to cry. 'Did Drax push you into the Go-Through window too?' asked Venner. 'I wasn't pushed, I jumped. I saw what he did.' 'Damn,' said Venner, 'it would have been a better idea if you'd stayed outside and got a technician, or told the Captain.' 'I realize that now. Lonnie was behind me, though. He probably tackled Drax, because he saw what he was at the same as I did.' 'Let's hope he informs the captain about us,' said Venner. 'Drax is probably one of Spurgo's undercover agents, do you realize that?' said Latonia. 'They are going to get quite a bounty if they can hand you over.' 'All because I'm a Kleissenberg?' Latonia hesitated and scratched her neck. 'The best we can do right now is try to remember as much as we can about the Holodream Suite. We've got to manipulate what we can while we've got the chance,' said Venner. 'You've been in it a few times with Lonnie,' said Latonia. 'Did you read the small print first?' 'Of course not. Who does?' Helen went up to Venner and put her hand on his shoulder. Venner was staring dreamily into the fire and, Latonia noticed, did not move away. In fact, he sat closer to her as the whole concourse listened to the strains of one of the big old Boers singing to the accompaniment of a banjo. For the benefit of the three guests, the guy sang in English. Helen and Latonia slept inside the wagon and Venner rolled himself in a blanket underneath it. Where Julian was taking his rest no one knew. As he told Venner, 'Sometimes I sleep in a hollow tree, Baas, sometimes I just crawl into a corner of the wall. If I can find a hook I sometimes string up a hammock, Baas.' They never knew when Julian might disappear, he was like a yellow snake. But the great thing with him was that he turned up
when he was needed, or when square-face gin was being handed out, or tobacco. The next morning after breakfast Latonia asked if Venner had a minute. 'Yeah?' 'They've got hardware shop, if you can call it that. A hut, you might have seen it, it's got these tin baths and stuff hanging up. If I can get my hands on the right materials I may be able to create some gadgets that can hack into the controls of this game of bagatelle.' 'Sounds great.' 'We can leave Helen here,' said Latonia. The younger woman was sitting with the old vrouw who had tended Venner's wounds, and they were chattering contentedly. 'Seems like a real meeting of minds there. I don't really want anyone to know that I'll be working on a machine. They would probably put a stop to it. I don't even know if Helen should be let in on it yet. I'm afraid she might give the game way. Inadvertently, I mean.' Venner shrugged. 'I don't think she would. But if you think it's better to leave her out of it for now, OK.' They walked through the settlement to the hut in question. Like the others, it had a dirt floor. The walls consisted of a cobbled course up to about hip height, then above that it was logs and planking. The slanted roof was woven out of wicker that had long ago turned brown and hardened like a rustic tilework. There were the tin baths hung up and swaying in the breeze, also numerous brooms, shovels, tin cups, and jugs. Looking in through the doorway they could see hurricane lamps, picks, shovels, fuses, and dynamite. They went inside. The place was unique in Hilldorp as it had a tight-fitting door. The place could be locked. Inside it was dim, and smelled of spices, coffee, and paraffin. There was a counter with a Chinese-looking gong on it. Venner went up to the counter and used the wooden hammer provided. BONG! A middle-aged man appeared, dressed in a blue apron. He was medium height with a pleasant face covered with stubble rather than a full beard like most of the Boers. 'Do you have batteries?' asked Latonia. He seemed startled. 'We don't have much call for those, but in the other room, yes, we've got a few.' He pointed to a door, very like the front door. 'What are they, dry cell, Gassner type?' That's right. 'And wire?' 'Oh, plenty of wire. How will you pay?' Venner and Latonia looked at each other. This was a good question. 'Is our credit good?' 'The lady's, I'm afraid not. But Mynheer Kleissenberg, yes, of course' said the merchant. Latonia let out a gasp of exasperation. 'Don't be offended,' whispered Venner. 'Remember, this is all just a crazy illusion.' The shopkeeper was looking at them levelly. He either had not heard this comment, or was not going to admit it. 'I would like to put some of these things together. Do you have a workspace I could use?' said Latonia. 'Sebastian is through there,' said the assistant. 'He'll be able to help you more than I can.' Latonia and Venner approached the other door, turned the handle and pushed it open. Peering through they saw a man bent over a workbench, using a soldering iron to repair the frame of a pair of wire spectacles. 'We do all sorts of odd jobs here,' said the first man. 'Seb, this lady would like to use your bench.' Venner took a back seat while Latonia went around the shop picking out articles of brass, iron, copper, also some bottles of acid. She piled it all on the soldering table. Then she took Venner aside. 'I don't think they will interfere with what I'm doing, but we won't let anyone know I am trying anything beyond the simple handiwork required by the Boers. This hologram may have been programmed to ignore or disable the tweaks I'll be making, and who knows what Drax may have done to the coding, but I'll give it my best. Now let's have a look at this stuff and I'll try to get a disruptor organised.' Venner soon got bored of watching as she screwed and soldered parts together, with help from Sebastian. After a while she had created something that looked as if it had come out of a child's construction kit such as they had back on Pellax. He went back out into the shop. 'Good morning, sir. How may I help you?' asked the assistant, as if he had not seen him before. 'Do you have any computing devices?' asked Venner. I'll see if I can stretch a boundary or two myself, he thought. 'Only these,' said the man, indicating an arrangement of knotted strings in different colours and an abacus or two. There were foodstuffs over in one corner: meats, spices, candy. There was also a selection of books and pamphlets, some in Dutch some in English or French. Suddenly a young boy came bursting through. 'Mynheer Kleissenberg, the young lady is in trouble.' 'What?' said Venner. 'The young lady, Helen. She's hurt. Out here!'