Wyst: Alastor 1716 Read Online Free PDF Page A

boat the sounds ceased. And the
meaning, no matter how intently one listened, always just evaded
intelligibility. The sea voices had always haunted Jantiff. Once, he had recorded
the sounds, but when he played them back, the sense was even more remote.
Secret meanings, mused Jantiff… He strained to listen. If he could comprehend,
only a word so as to pick up the gist, then he might understand
everything. As if becoming aware of the eavesdropper, the voices fell silent,
and night darkened the sea.
    Jantiff went Into the cabin. He dined on, bread, meat and
beer, then returned to the deck. Stars blazed across the sky; Jantiff sat
watching, his mind adrift among the far places, naming those stars he
recognized, speculating about others. [7]
    So much existed: so much to be felt and seen and known! A single
life was not enough… Across the water drifted a murmur of voices, and
Jantiff imagined pale shapes floating in the dark, watching the stars… The
voices dwindled and faded. Silence. Once more Jantiff retreated into the cabin,
where he boiled, up another pot of tea ..
    Someone had left a copy of the Transvoyer on the
table. Leafing through the pages Jantiff’s attention was caught by a heading:
    THE ARRABIN CENTENARY:
A
Remarkable
Era of Social Innovation on
the
Planet Wyst: Alastor 1716
    Your Transvoyer correspondent visits Uncibal, the mighty city
beside the sea. Here he discovers a dynamic society, propelled by novel
philosophical energies. The Arrabin goal is human fulfillment, in, a condition
of leisure and amplitude. How has this miracle been accomplished? By a
drastic revision of traditional priorities. To pretend that racks and stress do
not exist would cheapen the Arrabin achievement, which shows no signs of flagging.
The Arrabins are about to celebrate their first century. Our correspondent
supplies the fascinating details.
    Jantiff read the article with more than casual interest;
Wyst rejoiced in the remarkable light of the sun Dwan, where—how did the phrase
go?—“every surface quivers with its true and just color.” He put the magazine
aside, and went once more out upon the deck. The stars had moved somewhat
across the sky; that constellation known locally as the “Shamizade” had risen
in the east and was reflected on the sea. Jantiff inspected the heavens, wondering
which star was Dwan. Stepping back into the cabin, he consulted the local
edition of the Alastor Almanac, where Dwan was identified as a dim white star
in the Turtle constellation, along the edge of the carapace. [8]
    Jantiff climbed to the top deck of the houseboat and scanned
the sky. There, to the north, under the Stator hung the Turtle, and there shone
the pale flicker of Dwan. Perhaps imagination played Jantiff tricks, but the
star indeed seemed charged with color.
    The information regarding Wyst might have been only of idle
interest, had not Jantiff on the very next day noticed an advertisement
sponsored by Central Space Transport Systems, announcing a promotional
competition. For that depiction best illustrating the scenic charm of Zeck,
the System would provide transportation to and from any world of the Cluster,
with an additional three hundred ozols spending money. Jantiff instantly
assembled panel and pigments and from memory rendered the shallows of the Shard
Sea, with the houseboat at anchor among the reeds. Time was short; he worked in
a fury of concentrated energy, and submitted the composition to the agency only
minutes before the deadline.
    Three days later he was notified, not altogether to hi, surprise,
that he had won the grand prize.
    Jantiff waited until evening to break the news to his family.
They were astounded both that Jantiff’s daubings could command value and that
he yearned for far strange worlds. Jantiff tried earnestly to explain his
motives. “Naturally I’m not unhappy at home; how could I be? I’m just at loose
ends. I can’t settle myself. I have the feeling that just out of sight, just
past the