第45节
The Jeffersons have run things from the very beginning. They were the
beginning. That's why they're called the First Family." The words
tripped off Steve's tongue. 'They gave us the light, and the air we
breathe, they invent things, they design our cities, they can do
anything. They taught Columbus everything it knows.
They are our leaders, our teachers, our counsellors, our guides on the
path to the Blue-Sky World." End of lesson.
'The President-General is their chief elder. The top man."
'The capo th capi,' murmured Mr Snow.
'The what?"
'Capo th capi,' said Mr Snow. 'Chief of the chiefs. The godfather.
The top man. Do you not know all the words from the Old Time."
'Not that one,' said Steve.
Mr Snow smiled. 'Then perhaps you may learn something from us. As we
hope to -' Cadillac, impressed by the catalogue of the Jefferson's
gifts forgot his usual deference and cut in impatiently. 'This great
chief you speak of. You say he is - your father?"
Steve dropped his head back on the furs. 'I already told you. He's
everybody's father."
Cadillac gave Mr Snow a questioning look. Mr Snow raised his
eyebrows.
'Must be a busy man..."
Cadillac looked down at Steve. 'Which of your three names is your Name
of Power?"
'I don't know what you're talking about,' murmured Steve. His eyes
wandered over the roof of the hut. He was finding it increasingly
difficult to answer the pointless questions these two oddballs kept
coming up with.
'You are a cloud warrior,' explained Cadillac. 'Do you not have a name
which gives you the strength to fight?"
'I don't need one,' replied Steve. 'I've been trained to fight. Names
have nothing to do with it."
'But you have just told us of your great chief. Is Jefferson not a
name of power?"
'Not in the way you mean,' replied Steve. 'I could be called Pete,
Dick, Jim, Larry, anything. It's just a handle.
Whatever I was called I'd still be me. And so would the
President-General."
Cadillac was perplexed by Steve's answer/He looked at Mr Snow for
guidance. Mr Snow said nothing. Cadillac looked down at their
prisoner. 'But your name is the essence of your being. A name of
power enables your spirit to draw strength from the earth and sky."
'Maybe for you,' replied Steve amiably. 'We don't need any of that
garbage."
Cadillac raised his eyes to Mr Snow. 'Garbage...?"
'It must be another word from the Old Time,' said his mentor. He
whispered it to himself. 'Garbage...mmm, not bad..." He made a mental
note to ask the cloud warrior to explain its meaning.
Cadillac tried another question. 'Do you not believe that there are
powers in the earth and sky.>' 'There are forces,' admitted Steve.
'Gravitational forces, geomagnetic forces, static electricity, wind and
water power. The way it all works is very simple. We know how the
world functions. But when you talk about "essence, spirit, names of
power", I don't know what words like that mean.
Ideas about there being something else, some invisible power, are a
waste of time. It's all nonsense - like the magic you people are
supposed to have. If you can't see it through a microscope or prove
something works by the laws of physics, or whatever, then it doesn't
exist."
'That's an interesting point of view,' mused Mr Snow.
'It's the only point of view,' muttered Steve. He felt burned out by
the effort needed to maintain a coherent conversation. He gazed up at
the roof of the hut again. His captors squatted silently on either
side of him. Steve got the impression that they were waiting for him
to say something enlightening. He made an effort to focus on their
previous conversation. 'Roosevelt was a very powerful man,' he
ventured helpfully. 'He was President of America. A great warrior who
ruled the blue-sky world for a long time."
'Ahhh,' said Cadillac. 'Now I understand. Roosevelt is your name of
power."
'If you say so,' replied Steve. 'It doesn't make any difference to
me." He raised his head. 'What are you called?"
'My name is Cadillac of the clan M'CalI, First-born of Sky-Walker out
of Black-Win