Writers of the Future, Volume 28 (51 page)

Liyang straightened her back and started to respond, but Adam placed a hand on her arm.

“I know that some have doubts.” The woman raised a hand as if reprimanding the non-Chinese who faced her, “but you will see. Put feet on solid sand instead of plastic that shreds your skin. I ask you to consider how different life will be on Kamwome. You will see I am right.” She nodded and squinted at the assemblage.

Crab looked up and blinked. “Each of us is free to act upon his or her own conscience. We are not a force to be marshaled like an army. I am reminded of the lessons of Lord Krishna as he spoke to Arjuna before the battle of Kurukshetra. He said . . .”

Crab quoted from the
Bhagavad Gita.
Liyang knew it from a class at the university. As his response droned on, she fell asleep in her sitting position.

T
he trail they followed took a steep decline into a narrow valley. Enough white was contained in the plastic to reflect the light off the walls, and Liyang saw the necessity of Adam’s goggles. But the faded particles also contained many other colors, giving an overall mottled appearance. Some of the individual particles were recognizable: the arm of a doll, the handle of a soap dispenser. The trail and the floor of the little valleys through which they passed were brown and dark, as if dirt had washed in and settled in the low places.

“I have to get those chips back.”

“You didn’t seem terribly anxious, falling asleep and all.” Adam’s lips turned up ever so slightly. Liyang imagined his eyes twinkling behind the goggles.

“The
Bhagavad Gita
is boring.”

“How discerning of you. Your education does seem a bit beyond that of our ordinary inhabitants.

“Accounting at Hong Kong University. The tong needed a high-powered accountant to deal with the government.”

“They teach Hindu mythology in Accounting 101 these days
?
”

“Those were electives. I took many, many electives. But right now, I need to know what happened back there. Will I get my chips back
?
”

“Crab is always fair.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“To be frank, he’s never confiscated something like that. Usually he divides things up or assigns them according to need. Just how valuable are they
?
”

“Very.”

Something moved on the mound next to Liyang, causing her to jerk away.

“Crabs. Real crabs,” said Adam. “An amazing number of things manage to eke out a living on the plastic.” When Liyang did not respond, he continued. “That meeting was strange in several ways. You missed the second glass of wine. Crab is usually quite stingy with it. He must have thought that we needed a balm after Madam Woo’s declaration of war on the Marshall Islands.”

“I sensed that people were shocked, especially the people on our side of the room.”

“That’s the first time anyone has ever gone against Crab, and the first time anyone has ever admitted trips to the mainland.”

“Who are all those people
?
”

“To wax poetic,” he said, “you could call them the flotsam and jetsam of the world. Appropriate, don’t you think
?
”

“You mean, like the scum of the earth
?
”

“Ah, I see that poetry doesn’t appeal to you.”

“Actually, it does, and that’s an apt metaphor.”

Adam bowed.

“But I need to know what’s going on.”

“We’re a diverse group, actually, but we do share the common trait of having, shall we say, failed at our last venture.”

“But what are they all doing here
?
”

“The same thing you are.”

She thought it best not to respond to that. “I take it we’re not trapped
?
That woman talked about a boat making a run to Hong Kong.”

“Various opportunities arise for departure,” Adam said, “but few of us take advantage of them although there are some, I believe, waiting for the gyre to bring us close to Hawaii. We were near Indonesia for months which accounts for the Indonesian contingent. All of us, I believe, are hiding, some from justice—some from injustice.”

Liyang wanted to know more about the rotation of the gyre, but she felt it best not to show interest at this point. “Are you hiding
?
”

“Of course.”

“But why
?
”

“My dear, in Poly Island Society that question is considered very impolite. It’s obvious enough that we are here. Do you imagine that anyone of sane mind would remain in such a hostile environment of their own volition
?
Besides, that wasn’t exactly a vacation cruise that brought you to our sterile shores.”

“Fair enough. But what about Crab
?
”

“Crab. Ha! He’s been here the longest, before anyone else. He figured out the P-suit technology that’s kept everyone alive. Prolonged exposure to the plastic wears away the skin. Everyone knows they are dependent on him for survival. He’s probably working on a suit for you right now.”

“He hasn’t got some kind of hold on people
?
”

“There are rumors about a conflict with earlier inhabitants. Every once in a while he shows a kind of scientific side, but then he lapses back into this guru thing. You know, he makes predictions about the bergs based on their sound. During a storm he listens to the creaking of the plastic. That’s what those drawings were about—oh, you were asleep. He’s predicted where the next rupture is going to be.”

“What’s that
?
”

“The islands are a kind of a loose aggregate of plastic bergs. Sometimes they break apart and then rejoin in another couple of months. The worst is when they turn. If one of them turns, and you happen to be on it, then you’ll find yourself in the ocean with a very big chunk of plastic on your back.”

“That sounds scary,” Liyang said, looking around her.

“Come. I can show you where the next partition will be—according to Crab.”

They followed a ridgeline north and then west to a broad hill. The wind smelled of salt, and in the far distance they saw a blue line of ocean and, to her surprise, several patches of green.

“Dune grass
?
”

“Why, yes. Small amounts of soil have blown onto the island. Crab even has a few pots of it. He raises miniature lime trees.

“There.” He pointed to a wide mound north of them. “The next break should be along that line and to the east.”

She looked at him pointedly. “It occurs to me to ask where we are going after this.”

He gave a devilish grin. “Why, to my boat, to see my etchings, of course.”

“Why don’t you all live together
?
This is a dangerous place to be by yourself.”

Adam laughed. “Some of the Chinese do live together. Madam Woo has her enclave on a distant barge.”

“Is she the one who wants my chips
?
”

“Ah, yes. Very enterprising, that one.”

“Who is she
?
”

“As far as we can tell, she was ousted from the Shanghai cartel, a gang or a tong I guess you call it.”

“You don’t get fat on raw fish; she’s got to be getting calories somewhere.”

“Obviously. It’s because of her that I saw your boat.”

“Remind me to thank her.”

“That nav/com unit I showed you was actually from parts Crab gave me. He asked me to keep track of boats that come and go from here. Madam Woo ran a boat until recently. Four of her men are missing, and it’s my guess that they got caught, or perhaps they ran out on her.”

“Got caught doing what
?
”

“Stealing or hijacking. There’s no money here, so her men have to simply take whatever they come across. Anyway, her wings have been clipped, and she’s chafing at the bit.”

“I see you mix your metaphors, too,” said Liyang.

“Only for appreciative audiences.”

It was her turn to bow.

“I must admit that I’m pleased you decided to . . . remain with me, but I fear that you are now on the wrong side of the second most powerful person in the Poly Islands.”

The wind gusted, lifting Liyang’s straight black hair.

Adam raised a finger. “Ah, the wind is up and when that happens the plastic tends to move a bit more. You can hear it creak, and at night, when it moves enough, it produces the most beautiful sight you will ever see: St. Elmo’s fire. Have you heard of it
?
”

“I don’t know much about Christian mythology.”

“St. Erasmus was the protector of sailors, definitely a minor saint. But the phenomenon named after him is truly remarkable. We call it just ‘fire.’ It’s a kind of static electricity that travels along the ridges at night and gathers at the hilltops, creating a spectacular display. On a windy night, it’s an awe-inspiring sight.”

Magic fire. What a strange place she had tumbled into. Perhaps her situation was not as dire as it seemed. Her chips were, for now, safe, the world was magical and her guide was—interesting.

F
or the last two days they had fished at West Cove where the plastic sloped down to the level of the waves. They both had tethered themselves to substantial mounds in case an accident should send one of them falling into the slurry.

It was difficult, close to a “beach,” to tell if a smooth patch of ground were solid or “quicksand,” as they referred to it. Adam’s method was to use these quicksand patches to push a baited hook on the end of a long plastic pipe into the water below the debris. It was like ice fishing, he had said, except one stuck the pole into the water.

The late afternoon stillness inside Adam’s boat was a welcome relief from the blustering wind that had raked West Cove. Roomier than Liyang had expected, the interior space had been enlarged by removing the walls so that one large room stretched from port to starboard. She had anticipated small staterooms of the sort that triggered her claustrophobia. However, like Crab’s boat, Adam’s small trawler was completely trapped in plastic. The keel no longer even touched water, he said.

Much floor space was taken up with Adam’s collections, bits and pieces he had found in the plastic. His biggest collection was heads: dolls’ heads, dummies’ heads, even a large plastic face of an Egyptian Pharaoh. These he mounted on the wall. With a tube of Super Glue he managed to cover most of a bulkhead. The faces, protruding from the walls in the dim light of the oil lamp, made Liyang feel queasy.

“You might as well talk, my dear.” Adam’s face reflected the golden light of the lamp as it flickered on a low table between them. “You are looking decidedly contemplative, and there’s nothing else to do. My library is quite limited, and I’m afraid the bookmobile hasn’t been by for years.”

Liyang looked puzzled. “A truck that carries books
?
”

“A library on wheels,” he answered.

Her bed was across the room from his. He had made it clear that she was quite safe. “I would like us to get along,” was the only thing he had offered in the way of explanation.

She had been relieved that she was not expected to enter into a relationship. But now . . . “My head’s a jumble.” She folded the pillow behind her and leaned back.

“What was your plan, arriving here in a cabin cruiser
?
Surely not poaching salmon,” he said with a chuckle.”

“You said, yourself, such questions are impolite on Poly Island.”

“Ah, but not between intimates.”

“We are not intimate, and why should I trust you
?
” She immediately regretted the words. Her voice sounded harsh, and she wondered if Adam would take offense.

“Because, Liyang, I can help you.”

It was the first time he had addressed her by her name, and she found that it pleased her. “I’d planned to hide among the mountains of plastic I’d heard about, and then, when they quit looking for me, to continue across the Pacific to the Baja Peninsula, south of California.”

“I’m afraid there aren’t many marinas between here and southern California. Even with an alpha engine, it’s unlikely you could have carried enough fuel.”

“I brought a sail and some rigging.”

Adam laughed, though good-naturedly. “It’s hard for even real sailboats to do what you were planning. Probably a good thing that you ended up here.”

“I didn’t have a lot of time to plan. It was . . . urgent that I get out of Hong Kong.”

“That wasn’t the harbor patrol pursuing you. I assume one of the cartels
?
”

“The old Buddha tongs.”

He nodded his head. “I don’t think we have any representatives from that group.”

“I don’t know what to do now.” She meant to sound objective, detached, but she heard the edge of fear that crept into her voice.

“I believe your best choice is to stay here.”

“I thought you said you’d help me.”

“I meant only for now. You see, the Poly Islands are moving in the Pacific gyre. In a month or two, we’ll be near Japan, and after that, Hawaii, and after that, at least closer to Baja. If you could manage to scare up a boat in those intervening months . . .”

“I see what you mean.”

“Did you steal the chips
?
”

The directness of the question caught her off guard. “No. Yes. I mean, they aren’t the reason I was running.”

“What did you do
?
”

“I was just a bookkeeper,” she said with bitterness that surprised her. “I grew up in the Buddha neighborhood in Hong Kong. I never did anything important. It didn’t even feel like I was working drugs. But one day I came across a large payment that wasn’t accounted for.”

“Aha, are you rich, now
?
”

“That’s the stupid part. I gave most of it away, assigned it to an untraceable account. There was a woman I was very close to, an older woman, a prostitute. She wasn’t able to work much longer, and there is a place in Hong Kong, a rather nice place, actually, that takes care of older women—of her sort.”

“But they’ll trace the transfer.”

“No. That’s why they spent such effort looking for me. Not only my life, but hers, would be forfeit if they caught me.”