Above the clouds, above the mountains, above the sky ...

By Amnuel, Pavel

Pavel Amnuel was born in 1944 in Baku (ex. USSR). By profession he is astrophysicist, PhD, many years he researched last stages of stellar evolution - neutron stars and black holes. In 1968, in collaboration with O. Guseynov he predicted the existence of X-ray pulsars discovered a few years later in the American satellite UHURU. Composed by Amnuel et al “The Catalog of X-ray sources” (1978) was the most complete in the world. His first science fiction story was published in 1959 in a popular Soviet magazine "Technology – for Youth". The first author's collection of stories came out in Moscow in 1984. In 1990 he repatriated with his family to Israel, where he worked at Tel Aviv University, and later was editor in chief of newspapers and magazines "Time", "Aleph" and others. He is the author of the novels "Men of the Code" (1997), "Three-Universe" (2000), "Revenge in dominoes" (2007), and numerous science fiction and detective novels and short stories. He is winner of the Soviet and Russian awards for science fiction: "The Great Ring" for the greatest popularity among the readers (1982), "The bronze Icarus" (2009), awards of Soviet science fiction writers Ivan Efremov (2009) and Alexander Belyaev (2011, 2013) and Russia's main prize for science fiction "Aelita" (2012) - analogue of the American Prize Hugo.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aegitas
• Release date: Dec 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781772468670

Book preview

Above the clouds,

above the mountains,

above the sky ... 

sketches_sf_vehicles13

by Pavel Amnuel

translated by David Reid

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encoding and publishing house

FLASH1 - копия

Pavel Amnuel was born in 1944 in Baku (ex. USSR). By profession he is astrophysicist, PhD, many years he researched last stages of stellar evolution - neutron stars and black holes. In 1968, in collaboration with O. Guseynov he predicted the existence of X-ray pulsars discovered a few years later in the American satellite UHURU. Composed by Amnuel et al The Catalog of X-ray sources (1978) was the most complete in the world. His first science fiction story was published in 1959 in a popular Soviet magazine Technology – for Youth. The first author's collection of stories came out in Moscow in 1984. In 1990 he repatriated with his family to Israel, where he worked at Tel Aviv University, and later was editor in chief of newspapers and magazines Time, Aleph and others. He is the author of the novels Men of the Code (1997), Three-Universe (2000), Revenge in dominoes (2007), and numerous science fiction and detective novels and short stories. He is winner of the Soviet and Russian awards for science fiction: The Great Ring for the greatest popularity among the readers (1982), The bronze Icarus (2009), awards of Soviet science fiction writers Ivan Efremov (2009) and Alexander Belyaev (2011, 2013) and Russia's main prize for science fiction Aelita (2012) - analogue of the American Prize Hugo.

White curtain was published in 2014 in the American magazine Fantasy & Science Fiction and in the same year is included in the annual almanac The Year's Best Science Fiction.

ISBN  978-965-7546-35-2 

© Pavel Amnuel, 2015

© Osteon-Press. Digitized text, 2015.

[e-mail]

Above the clouds, above the mountains, above the sky ... 

The story I am going to tell you happened a great many years ago, 

but that is all the more reason for telling it, before it is completely forgotten.

   Hans Christian Andersen, The Nightingale, 1843 

The Traveler came to the village in the evening on the Day of the Harvest. He went from house to house, sought refuge and found it by the carpenter Valens. Log learned about The Traveler  when it was already dark and there was nowhere else to go. His mother had sat him down to rock the babies to sleep while she herself was busy in the kitchen. Log was nervous − in his short life of seventeen years he had never spoken with Travelers, those strangers who came smelling of fields and distant wanderings. Log had heard many strange stories, strange as an autumn drought,  from Lepir, who was now old and sick, not wanted by anyone any longer.   Lepir had also once been a Traveler; he had come to the  village long before Log's birth. Log had heard his stories  a hundred times, but these stories  were overgrown with fictional details. Log wanted to know the truth. 

After the babies had gone to sleep, Log lay in his corner and waited for the morning. He knew that he could not sleep. Excitement mounted; he had never been so excited, even after a quarrel with Lena. The Traveler. There's a really brave man. As far as Log could remember, in the village no one had dared leave home without a safety rope, simply putting one foot after the other in the fog,  surrendering to chance. Once, when Log  had been two years old,  his father had left and never returned. Then his mother had taken on her stepfather; babies had been born. His stepfather had been a calm man, not making any move to leave. He had lived for Log's mother, for the children, for the home. But alas, this had been short-lived. Recently, just last  spring, a beam had fallen from the rafters, and his stepfather was no more. 

The Traveler  seemed to Log to be an ideal man. Log had quarreled with Lena over  this. He and Lena usually met at an abandoned house that stood on the outskirts of the village. Nobody lived there; the house had a bad reputation  as a haunted house. Nobody had seen the ghosts, of course, but many had heard them. In the night fog one could hear well.   

Can you imagine,  Log had said that evening,  getting to know new settlements, new people, new fields. New voices, strange and mysterious. And smells. In good weather, you can climb a tree and see the leaves. When I was a child ... 

You still climb trees, Lena had interjected, in a strange voice. I know, and everybody knows, and someday you will be punished. I do not want you to break your neck, okay? 

What are you on about, my dear?  Log had replied, affectionately. I will not fall from the tree, even in the thickest midnight. Go ahead, you can touch my toes… they're prehensile. 

Lena had pushed him and had walked away, instantly disappearing into the fog. Log had heard how she went to her house; he had run after her, stretching out his hands out of habit, so as not to bump into anything. 

Lena, dear, he had pleaded, I'll never climb trees again, do you hear me? 

Lena had stopped and asked Log: And you will not tangle up the rope to confound others when you leave the village? 

Log froze. She knows, he thought. Does she really know? And what shall I do if she tells? 

Lena had gone, and Log had stood there, wondering what to do next. Since that night, they had not seen one another. Whether Lena was angry, or had lost interest in Log? True,  he had not sought out meetings, although at first he had terribly missed them. He was afraid to be found out. No one was supposed to know that  Log, going from village to field, purposely jumbled up his belay rope. He had made sure it was hard to find, so that no one would know