Lisa’s Path

By Robert Collins

Lisa Herbert wants to bring back the life that people had before the "Savage Rain" closed the hyperspace gates and isolated colony worlds. She uses trade, compassion, and her wits to bring worlds together and resolve their problems.

This ebook combines the individual novels and short stories that make up the “Lisa Herbert” series into a single digital compilation. This includes putting the short stories between the first, second, and third novels in the series, and for the first time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Collins
• Release date: Apr 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370492237

Robert Collins

Two people with different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities met at a European and Balkan music and dance ensemble named Koroyar and their lives became intertwined, combining their gifts to continue exploring life as an avenue of creative expression. Robert Collins has a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, and has been an educator in the Los Angeles area for thirty years. He studied writing with Joan Oppenheimer in San Diego, with Cork Millner privately, and also in the Santa Barbara Writer's Conferences. Elizabeth Herrera Sabido, at the age of sixteen years, began working as a secretary at the Secretaria de Industria y Comercio in Mexico City where she was born, then she was an educator for twenty-six years, and a teacher of international dance for The Los Angeles Unified School District. She has also studied Traditional Chinese Medicine, and is a Reiki Master Teacher. Attracted by the Unknown, the Forces of the Universe, and the human psyche, during their lives they have studied several different philosophies. Elizabeth has been involved with various religions, Asian studies, and Gnosticism with SamaelAun Weor, and Robert has explored spiritual healing practices in Mexico, and studied with Carlos Castaneda's Cleargreen and Tensegrity. Elizabeth and Robert start their day at four-thirty in the morning. They enjoy playing volleyball and tennis, and in the afternoons play music, alternating between seven different instruments each. Their philosophy of Personal Evolution has led them to explore over 110 countries between the two of them such as Japan, Nepal, Egypt, Bosnia- Herzegovina, the Philippines, Turkey,Russia, etc.

Book preview

LISA’S WAY

CHAPTER 1

There you are. Got your nose in another book. Lisa Herbert wished she could ignore her sister and make her go away, but ignoring had stopped working a while back. Short answers and quips seemed more effective, therefore Lisa replied with a simple Yeah, so?

Why are you in here?

I’m reading.

Why?

Why read? Lisa looked up and smiled. Leslie, if you don’t know why we read, there isn’t any hope for you.

Leslie smiled stiffly. Keep that up, and I won’t be helping you meet any boys.

I don’t need your help.

Oh, yeah, like boys are just lining up to meet you.

Lisa let out an exasperated sigh. I don’t think life has to be about meeting boys and getting married. I want something better than that!

Like what? Teaching? Tending this little library?

Leslie, did you come here to annoy me, or did you have something you needed to tell me?

I came here to tell you that Dan has promised me a fun afternoon.

Oh, I’m sure.

Cathie and Zack are going with us. I could go find Pete, and you could join us. Forget about this old stuff. Have some fun.

I’ll think about it, Lisa lied.

Great. Leslie turned, and jogged out of the library.

Lisa forgot about Leslie’s offer almost as fast as it had taken Leslie to leave the library. Something she said, however, stuck with her: Lisa’s own statement of wanting something better. She put away the book she struggled with, and searched for another that she’d noticed days ago. It struck her then as an odd title for a book. Now, that title sparked her curiosity.

There. Portals to Job Security: New (and Old) Career Opportunities. She removed the book from its place, returned to the desk, sat down, and began to read. She soon became absorbed with the slender volume. She discovered that the book contained ideas for jobs in an inter-planetary economy tied through the H-portal. Many of the ideas required travel between worlds. Others seemed temporary but related to each other. Lisa paused to consider the ideas presented. It took time for her to realize that the author suggested that a person wouldn’t spend a lifetime at one job, but could have several jobs throughout their life. The book didn’t suggest that certain jobs were restricted to men or women. Lisa knew she would need some time to ponder what she read.

Leslie returned before Lisa had even one moment to think. You ready?

For what?

Dan’s going to show us the ruins.

Ruins?

Centropolis.

Leslie! If Father finds out...

You won’t say anything. You’re coming with us.

The Hell I will! Lisa stood up. She walked with firm strides to where her sister stood, just inside the doorway. You want to risk your life to spend some time with Dan, fine. I don’t care if you’re going out there to fool around with him, but don’t try to drag me along.

You have something better to do?

Lisa smiled. What do you care? You’re popular, and I’m the red-haired freak. You don’t need me.

What are you up to?

Go on, go on. She grinned wickedly. I thought you didn’t like to keep Dan waiting.

"At least he’s waiting for me. Leslie stuck out her tongue. She turned, then turned back to Lisa. If you say one word to Father, your hair won’t be the only part of you that’s red." She turned again and left the library.

Lisa returned to the book. She reread the passages about jobs. She wanted to be certain that the text made sense, that its claims sounded true. Satisfied that book’s opportunities were indeed absent of limits to women, she began to consider the implications of that insight.

I suppose that fits with what I know about the Savage Rain, she thought. After all, if there wasn’t a society to be knocked down, the gangs ranging through the portals wouldn’t have knocked it down in the first place. I guess I never really thought about it that way. Since that’s true, there had to be something better before the Rain. So, I guess that also means that things could get better again.

But, how? Maybe I ought to find out what it was like before the Rain. Maybe that will point me in the right direction.

Lisa went back to the shelves. She tried to remember the title of another book, one that she had wanted to read for some time. She remembered the book was kept on the higher shelves, something being said about it being too fragile for too many people to look at. It took long, slow minutes of searching, but she found the precious volume: The Mountain View Scrapbook.

She discovered that it wasn’t a conventional book. There were pieces of paper cut out from some other place and stuck onto over-sized pages, like the scrapbook name implied. Some of the pieces had a title, Fairfield Daily Gazette. Unlike other books, this one told the story of Mountain View.

Each cut-out contained a separate story about something that happened in the village. She read about the founding of the town, the first birth, the first death, harvests, elections, and more. There were a few short notices on visits from a family not living in Fairfield. Two of them struck Lisa: the first one said a visit was approaching; the second, that the visit had been cancelled because the family couldn’t get travel passes to go through one world.

Now, that’s odd, she thought. They couldn’t get from their world to Fairfield because some world in-between wouldn’t let them pass through? Why would anyone do that? If it happened during the Rain, I could see that. But...Wait. How did the Rain start? Yeah. A gang fled from one world to another, and once they got there, they couldn’t leave. The first world attacked the second, because of simple hatred.

If people on one world didn’t like people on the next, they wouldn’t let outsiders cross between them out of fear of being attacked. That being the case, it was only a matter of time before the Savage Rain happened.

Lisa glanced at the Scrapbook, and she flipped through some more pages. The more short pieces she read, the more she became convinced that her speculation was true. A third of the way through the book were the first reports of the Savage Rain, then it stopped. The rest of the pages were blank. Lisa picked up that book, along with the one on jobs, and put both back in their places on the shelves.

Well, now I know. There was a time when life was better, when there could be more to a woman’s life than getting married and having babies. Wishing for those times to return won’t help me. If things were good once, why can’t they be again? What could anyone do? What could I do to help make it happen?

I think now’s the time I should ask Father for that notebook he’s been promising me. I need to write some of this down. I’ll need to focus on the possibilities.

She walked out of the library, and as she turned towards her home, she saw Pete riding into the village on a lathered horse. She dashed to him. What are you doing here? Where’s...?

They got ’em pinned in the ruins! he huffed.

Who does? What’s going on?

Pete slipped off his mount. Wild men, in the ruins. They attacked us, got us hemmed in so the rest couldn’t get away. Zack and Dan covered me, so I could get back to get help.

Are they all right?

When I left them, they were pinned down. Don’t know how long they can hold, or if they can get away.

Lisa paused for a moment, thinking. It’ll take time for Father to gather the men and ride out. Leslie and the others might not have that much time. I may not be able to save them, but I could stall until Father arrives!

Pete, catch your breath, then find my father. Tell him what you told me. Do you know where they are?

He nodded. They’re in a big white building, the one with ’hotel’ on the front.

OK. She turned towards the village stable.

Where are you going?

To buy them some time.

CHAPTER 2

Lisa wondered more than once life why the founders of her town named it Mountain View. As she urged her horse up the modest slope leading away from the town, she was very glad it wasn’t accurately named.

As she rode up the hill she told herself, Only a few more miles. Hold out ’til then. Please, just hold on!

Her horse picked up some speed after making it out of the little valley. There was no way for her to know how many opponents she’d face when she got to the ruins. She recalled everything she’d heard about the wild people roaming the ruins. Recent accounts suggested there were more than a handful of scavengers left in ragged clothes, usually in hiding. The stories also suggested that the scavengers were men.

Most likely outcasts from other villages, her father had once said when the issue came up, punished from some crime or another. That suggested to her that the men attacking Leslie and her friends probably weren’t well-armed. Although, if they did have crossbows or knives, they could rob a trader on the road.

Doesn’t mean they won’t be trouble. But as long as they aren’t organized, I’ve got a chance.

At long last the city of ruins came into her view. She’d seen it a few times before, but from the newer road between Lucas and Mountain View. She’d never been closer than a couple of miles away. Now, here she was, riding right into Centropolis.

Of course, the old city hadn’t changed since she saw it last. No one had tried to reclaim it, and with only a handful of scavengers left, none of the buildings had been further damaged. It was still an odd assortment of red, gray, white, and brown structures clustered together. A patchwork of now-demolished homes surrounded the taller central buildings. Nothing was more than three stories tall, a story taller than Mountain View’s community building.

Lisa halted her horse. She looked over the city, trying to find the building that Pete had mentioned. There appeared to be three possible structures. Fortunately, they all looked pretty close to each other.

Okay, assume that one of those is where they are holed up. How do I come up from behind and help them?

She observed that two of the buildings were on her right and one was on her left. She edged her horse left, hoping to see a sign. She couldn’t see anything clearly, so she had the horse move right. The effort proved futile.

She listened for a second. Far in the distance, almost too faint to hear, was the sound of rocks hitting something solid. The sound seemed to be coming from the right, but she couldn’t be certain. She decided it would be best to head in that direction.

She urged the horse forward, this time at a much slower pace. She paid close attention to the air, listening for more helpful sounds. She watched the road ahead of her. It wasn’t too long before she saw what she thought was a motion. She turned the horse off the road, and guided it into the maze of dilapidated structures.

The sounds grew louder as she came closer to the center of the city. Within moments she could hear yells and screams, mainly male voices. She dismounted, and jogged through the debris. She held her crossbow tight to keep it from clattering and giving her approach away.

Almost within sight of the commotion, Lisa found an intact baseball bat lying in the street. She was unnerved when she saw the bones of a hand clutching one end. The hand was, at least, connected to a full skeleton. Not wanting to pass opportunity by, and wanting to get over any nervousness she felt, she picked up the bat.

Finally she was close to the scene. She came in from behind and to the left. She snuck into a brown building diagonal from what she guessed was the hotel. She wound her way through a short tangle of rooms to get a clear view of the struggle.

She saw a group of six men dressed in rags. One struggled to load a single crossbow, while others threw rocks across the street. Opposite them was the old hotel building, with much of its ground floor exposed to the elements. A few pieces of furniture with bolts stuck into them were clearly visible. Somewhat less clear were the vague outlines of her sister and her friends behind the furniture.

The man with the bow aimed and fired. Another man dashed away from the group, passing in front of Lisa. He didn’t see her; he was too busy watching the hotel.

He’s separated, Lisa thought quickly. If I can get him in close, I can even the odds a bit.

She put down her crossbow and the bat. She picked up a piece of debris. She edged sideways towards the entrance. She stuck her head out; the man was still there,waiting.

Okay, I can’t rush him. I’ll have to lure him in. How?

Use your feminine wiles. She glanced down at her chest, and almost snickered. Some wiles. Oh, well, average beats flat.

God, the things I do for my sister.

Lisa took a step back, pulled off her blouse, and stepped forward. She tossed the piece of debris at the waiting scavenger. When he turned, she winked and ran into the building. She grabbed the bat, turned a corner, and waited.

A moment later the man, panting heavily, followed her in. He busied himself, fumbling with the crotch of his tattered pants and smiling broadly. He didn’t see Lisa’s bat until it collided with his face.

Lisa hit him twice more to make certain he would stay down. She jerked her blouse back on, not bothering to tuck it into her dress. She grabbed her crossbow and ran for the entrance. She came out of the building just in time to see the man’s allies running towards her.

Lisa suddenly noticed how close the men were to each other. She dropped the bat and pulled up the crossbow. She aimed at the leg of the man in the lead. She fired, dropped the bow, and snatched up the bat.

The bolt hit its mark. The man fell to the ground, screaming. He fell inelegantly, turning himself into an obstacle. His friends weren’t dexterous enough to avoid the sudden challenge, and went tumbling.

Lisa moved in with her bat. She swung at the one man still on his feet, knocking him back. She hit the others in turn, staying out of their reach. An instant later, Dan and Zack were helping her subdue the attackers. As the battle reached its climax, a group of men on horseback, led by Lisa’s father, arrived on the scene.

Bat still in her hand, Lisa looked up at her father. The plan was just to buy them some time, she said. She smiled. I guess I got carried away.

I guess you did, he replied. Where’s Leslie?

Leslie ran up. Here I am.

Are you all right?

Yes, Father.

You know you aren’t supposed to come here, don’t you?

Leslie averted her eyes. Yes, sir.

We’ll talk about this later. The man turned to one of the other riders. Jim, get those thugs tied up. We’ll take them back to the village. The other man nodded and called to three other men. They dismounted, and set to their task.

As her father was about to speak to Dan, Lisa said, Father, there’s another in that building. She jerked a thumb backward. Should I bring him out?

All right, Lisa, but be careful.

Lisa nodded respectfully. She jogged back into the building. The attacked man she’d lured away still lay sprawled on the floor. He moaned in pain. Lisa was about to prod him with the bat when a thought bolted into her mind.

He’s been living here awhile; he might know where the portal is!

She poked him. I’m going to ask you a question. Tell me the truth, and I’ll see they go easy on you. Lie and whatever nasty thing happens to your friends will happen to you.

She didn’t actually know that anything was going to happen. She knew that her father was not happy with Leslie and her friends. However, they weren’t entirely at fault; they had been attacked. If these outlaws had been surviving by robbing, and they had robbed someone in Mountain View, her father would be under pressure to punish the thieves, and punish them harshly.

Yeah, okay. Clearly the same thing had occurred to him. What you wanna know?

Where’s the portal?

What?

The portal. The hyperspace portal. Where is it?

Uh, I think it’s that blocky building that way. He jerked his head behind him.

You think? You better be sure.

Look, I don’t know. We never got into that building. No door!

Well, she thought, that fits with what I know. I’ll have to come back to make certain.

Fine. Get up.

The man crawled to his feet. Lisa got behind him, and forced him outside. Once he was with the others, they tied him tied up. He and his comrades were lined up behind one of the riders. Having no extra horses, they would have to walk. They were led away as Lisa approached her father.

Father, go easy on that last one.

Why?

Can we talk about that later?

I suppose so.

Lisa’s looked around. Where’s Leslie?

I sent her and her friends back while you were in there.

Oh. Lisa suddenly noticed that there were only four mounted men left.

Where’s your horse?

Oh, a little ways away. She smiled. I’m not dumb enough to ride into the middle of a fight.

That’s a relief. He turned to a rider. Sam, come with me. You others, wait for us to get back, and we’ll all leave together. Keep your eyes open. Those boys might not be the only ones hiding in these ruins.

Lisa led her father and the other man to where she’d left her horse. He was where she’d left him, calmly chewing on grass from a now-wild lawn. She mounted the horse, got between her father and the other man, and they rode back to the battle scene. The six then began the journey home.

She saw the building the outlaw described, just where he said it was. It was a white-gray block about one story high. It appeared wide enough to store five or six wagons. There were no doors or windows on the street side. Glances at the sides didn’t reveal any openings, either. It reminded Lisa of one of the old storage boxes in the attic of the community building, only much bigger.

I’m going to open that box soon, and see if it has anything for me.

CHAPTER 3

The rest of the day and the following night had to pass before Lisa could get a few moments to talk to her father. She wanted to discuss her desire to investigate the portal in Centropolis. First, though, was the punishment of the outlaws; a vote among the townspeople had to be taken. There was Leslie’s punishment, stiff grounding, and Lisa didn’t want to talk with her sister close by. By then it was too late to discuss anything. Fortunately, the morning had little work for her father, and he ordered Leslie to do Lisa’s chores as well her own.

Part-way through breakfast her father said, I don’t think you should go riding off into danger on your own, Lisa.

You’re mad at me?

No, but you could have talked to me before riding off.

I didn’t think there was time.

You were that concerned about Leslie?

Lisa paused for a second. Yeah, I was. She nodded. She is my sister.

He nodded. I’m glad to hear you say that. I can’t quite say that I approve of what you did yesterday, but as long as you were concerned, and you don’t have any regrets about how you handled yourself, then I’m satisfied.

Satisfied, she thought, not proud. Still, I’m not the one being punished.

You also spent lots of time in the library yesterday. Any particular reason?

Lisa had wanted to wait until after breakfast to talk to her father about the portal and her future. She decided that, since he wasn’t angry with her, she might as well broach the subject.

Leslie said something to me. It got me thinking.

Really? He mocked surprise. Must have been quite the revelation.

She let out a brief laugh. Actually, it wasn’t, but it did stick.

She put down her fork and stopped eating. She was trying to get me to go with her. I said that I thought life was more than just... boys. I told her I wanted something more, something better.

Her father stopped eating. Like what, Lisa?

Father, you know that before the Rain, women had the same sorts of jobs that men had.

I suppose. They say life was easier back then. But those days, and those jobs, are long since gone.

I know. I was wondering, are those days gone forever?

He sighed. I know that life is hard, and I know how restless you get when you turn seventeen. School’s out, and boys and girls look at each other differently...

"It’s not just that. I mean, what am I supposed to do with my life? You didn’t raise us on a farm. I could teach, but when? Mrs. Ross still has kids in school, she isn’t that old. The only trade is in crops, vegetables, stuff like that. It’s not like we’re hip deep in raiders and need every armed warm body.

You taught me to read, to think for myself. Well, I’ve thought about it. I can’t see any path that lets me use what I know, what I’ve read, what you’ve taught me.

Very well, Lisa. What do you want to do with your life?

She sucked in a breath. I want to see if the portal will work. I want to go to another world, and see if I can make a life, make a difference, somewhere else.

Surprisingly, he let out a small laugh. Folks would be really upset if you got that portal working.

She nodded. I know. It’s a huge risk. But what else can I do?

He let out a long sigh. His gaze grew distant. You sound so much like your mother when she was seventeen. You know, just before she passed, she made me swear to make you the smartest girl around. He looked into Lisa’s eyes. I wonder, if she and Laura had lived, what she would say, right now.

So would I. Wherever she is, I hope she’s proud of me. I hope she stays proud of me. I wish I could have known her.

Do you know where the portal is?

I think so. That one outlaw, the last one? I told him that if he’d tell me, I’d speak up for him.

Do you believe him?

Yeah. Did you see that one building we passed heading out of Centropolis? The one with no doors or windows?

I think so. He sat up a bit straighter. Oh, yes. That would make sense. He frowned. What if there’s a trap, like the old stories say?

I don’t know. She took a moment to think. An idea came to her. All shut up like that, it’s gonna take a strong man with a pick to hack through it. Suppose we make a deal with that outlaw. He makes an opening for me, he gets to go free. If there is a trap, it gets him first.

Slightly cruel, Lisa. But better him than you. He paused for a moment, then nodded. I’ll see to the arrangement.

Thank you. She glanced down, then looked into his eyes. Father, I didn’t think you’d go along with me. I was sure you’d fight me. I had this whole argument lined up.

And you’re disappointed?

Curious.

I see. He edged his chair closer to hers. He took his hands into hers, and held them tight. Lisa, there’s something about your mother and me that I never told you. I never thought I’d have to. I suppose now I do. You know that I’ve never talked about her family? That you’ve never met her parents and siblings?

Yeah.

Well, there’s a reason why you’ve never met them. You see, when we were your age, we fell rather deeply in love.

I know.

"What I never told you was, your mother’s parents wanted her to marry a local boy and stay in Grainfield. They all but demanded she marry him. She loved me. More than that, she hated him. He was some farm kid who could barely read. She thought that he spied on her a few times. She said that he once said that no wife of his was going to waste time reading books. I don’t know if that was true, but I wouldn’t doubt it.

"So when I asked her to marry me, she said yes. Her parents said no. They argued fiercely. Even after I left, they were still yelling. The next day, while my father and I were heading back here, she met up with us on the road. She was carrying this little sack with a few of her things. She told my father that she did want to marry me, that she wouldn’t go home, and that was that. My father wasn’t terribly pleased, but he cared about both of us too much.

From then on, she never saw or sent word to her family. She even forced us to stop taking trade trips up to Grainfield. Not that the folks there would probably deal with the Herberts, but still. She didn’t tell them about Leslie, or about you. And they weren’t there when the end came. He sighed.

"Lisa, that fight hurt your mother. Her folks weren’t bad, but they just didn’t think about what she wanted. She knew they weren’t bad, but she could never come out and say it.

So, if you really believe that you have to restart that portal and go to another world to make your life, then I’ll stand behind you. I don’t quite agree with you, but I don’t want what happened to your mother to happen to you. He clasped her hands tightly. I don’t want you to ever doubt that I love you. We have to be a family, no matter what.

Lisa got up, pulled herself close to him, and kissed his cheek. Thank you, Father.

Sure. He let go of her hands. He took a moment to calm himself. Now, finish eating. There are a few things you’re going to need before you leave, and I have to let you have them.

You?

Yes. They’re things only the Mayor has.

***

The first thing Lisa’s father handed over was one of the precious notebooks and a pencil. They were kept locked up in the library. It was something that the leaders of the town at the time of the Rain had done. Those men and women knew that it would be impossible to obtain paper and pencils once the portal closed. There might still be a use for the items; their hope had been that the use would be to record history. So far, only one of each had been let go, for that very purpose.

Lisa had thought that she’d want them to travel Fairfield and record history outside of Mountain View. As she changed her plans for her future, her need remained. Now, though, she wanted to write down information to take with her, such as solutions to problems and ways to build things. By writing down what she knew and could find out, she wouldn’t have to take one or more of the precious books out of the library.

The other gift from her father was locked up in the community building. Telling her not to show it to anyone else, he gave her the town’s copy of the Fairfield portal manual. He knew that three other copies still existed, so giving their copy to Lisa wasn’t dangerous. More than that, he wanted Lisa to figure out how the portal worked. He told her that if she had that knowledge, and no one else did, perhaps people would rest easy.

Maybe the problem way back when was that too many people could use the portal, he said. Or maybe too many people controlled them.

Yeah, maybe. Lisa didn’t want to admit that neither idea had occurred to her. Thank you for trusting me with this, she said. She covered the manual with her new notebook. I’ll do my best to protect you. To protect everyone.

He smiled. I know you will. I wouldn’t give it to you if I didn’t trust you completely.

Lisa felt her eyes tearing. She struggled not to speak. She didn’t want to cry. At least, not at that moment.

***

Lisa spent the rest of that day and all of the next taking notes. She wrote down theories on farm irrigation and theories on resolving disputes. She copied plans for windmills and plans for latrines. She also made sure to have as much history in her notebook as she could write in two days. When she was done, the notebook was two-fifths full.

The morning of the third day would be her last on Fairfield, if everything went well. Her father prepared and packed some road food. She ate a large breakfast. She said goodbye to Leslie quietly but firmly, so as not to let her sister know the truth; she feared Leslie’s chatty nature. She bid her father a more emotional farewell. She picked up the outlaw who had told her of the portal’s location, and led him back to Centropolis.

She took a pick from her pack horse and gave it to him. She pointed to the building without openings with her loaded crossbow. Make a hole that I can take my horse through, and you’ll be free to go.

The man looked at the building. That’s gonna take a lotta work.

Then you better get to it, or maybe one of your friends might want this opportunity for freedom.

The man didn’t need any more time to consider his options. He put his back and arms into the effort. Slowly but surely, as the sun rose in the sky, an opening was cut into street side. The more time passed, the more the opening grew. Lisa decided that watching the man work would be like watching wheat come up to make it ripen. She sat down several strides away, and began reading the portal manual.

The manual wasn’t written in the clear, concise style she’d grown accustomed to. The language wasn’t always precise, the style was stiff, and there were plenty of words that didn’t make sense or seem appropriate. She had to read some passages two or three times to understand what the book stated. In time, she became able decipher the manual’s code of obscurity.

When she’d first thought about going through the portal, Lisa had wondered if it still worked. The manual said that it would. The portal could be shut down for an indefinite period of time and turned back on. As long as its underground power source lasted, the portal would work. Barring explosion, earthquake, or some similar violent event, the portal’s power would continue powering for at least two centuries. It did warn that any such occurrence would devastate the area for miles around. That, she understood, was why the portal was still there.

Lisa had also wondered if, when she turned on the portal, someone might come through. The manual wasn’t clear on that point. On the one hand, turning on a portal gave a traveler access to the other portals the first was connected to. Furthermore, only the first portal needed to be powered up. Once the connection was made between it and a second portal, travel could begin. On the other hand, you couldn’t return unless the second portal was also powered up. So, unless the portal on Fairfield connected to a portal that was already powered, no one would come through.

And if that’s so, then why aren’t they here?

Lisa also learned that the Fairfield portal would only be connected to a few others on something called a portal track. This track kept a portal from being connected to all the portals in existence. Something about that bothered Lisa. She wondered why portals should be connected to only certain ones, why a person couldn’t go where they wanted.

She set those questions aside, and hacked through the last pages of the manual. It was on those final pages that she came across the most astounding piece of information. It was contained in two paragraphs under the heading Optional Security Features.

There is a security application program built into the portal’s hard drive, the text said. Upon primary activation, or any activation after a period of down-time greater than ten days, the operating system will ask if the security application should be authorized. Once authorized, the application will not allow the portal’s main operations systems to be initiated without entering a password. The application will ask for such a password to be entered into application memory when first initiated. Afterward, only a dialog box with ’Enter Password’ will appear during any portal operation or procedure.

Hyper-Transportation Industries (the group that apparently built all the portals) cautions against use of this application. It may prove cumbersome to the smooth operation of the portal in question, and to the overall portal transit system. Furthermore, if the security password is not shared, free access to the portal will be jeopardized. It is the recommendation of HTI that this application not be activated unless a planetary emergency requiring some form of quarantine arises. Since such contingencies are possible, HTI does not advise deletion of this application, and will void any agreements with the purchasing organization or entity if the application is found to have been deleted.

My God.

What?

Lisa glanced up. The man had stopped. What are you doing?

Didn’t you say something?

She had to think for a second. Uh, no. She looked at the hole. She could walk though it, but her horse would have trouble. Get back to work. Make it wider, and a little taller.

She was still amazed. There it is, a way to have shut down the Rain before it got out of control. Buried in the back of this barely readable text. I’ll just bet that no one bothered to remember this was sitting there.

The Rain started, what, over a generation after most of the worlds were settled? I’ll bet most of the leaders forgot they had this manual. No wonder they didn’t think of this security thing; they wouldn’t have even known to look for it.

That might mean that there aren’t too many of these manuals left. I might have the power to keep all that from happening again, right here in my hands.

Well, first I gotta figure out how to work this one. Then I can start assuming great powers.

With her visions safely reigned in, Lisa finished the manual. She returned to points that had confused her, and worked to understand them as best as she could. She began to wonder if it might be time for lunch. Then her prisoner asked, Good enough? Can I go?

Lisa surveyed the hole from where she stood. It was indeed wide enough. She considered asking him to smooth out the opening, then thought better of it. Best to let the man disappear, she reasoned, instead of having him see something that he could tell others about.

That’ll do. Put down the pick. He did so, and she approached him. She removed the ankle chains that had kept him from running. You’re free to go. But, if anyone in Mountain View catches you stealing, robbing, or attacking anyone, you’ll hang.

The man nodded once, then disappeared into the wilderness. Lisa was alone in the ruins of Centropolis. She led her horse up to the opening, then entered the building. It was vacant except for the portal, which consisted of the top part of a metal oval, a raised platform, and a ramp leading onto the platform and through the open oval.

Doesn’t look like much.

According to the manual the portal controls were on her right. She walked over, bent down and there they were. As the stories had said, the portal was indeed off. Contrary to them, nothing was visible to prevent her from turning the machine on. She concluded that not all the stories were true.

She touched what the manual said was the On keypad. A small screen right of the keypad lit up. Sure enough, there was the security question. She tapped the Yes part of the screen. She paused a moment to think up a password, then chose Laura.

From there the machine took Lisa to the destination query. The screen displayed a small map. Two destinations, Cimarron and Meade, led to a third, Wright, which in turn led to unnamed others beyond Wright. A third destination, Big Springs, also led to a fourth, White Rocks. But only the fourth led to a destination beyond, Lone Star.

Where to go?

The first two seemed to head towards what might be a center. She recalled that Fairfield was said to have been spared from the worst of the Rain by being farther out. That suggested that Big Springs and White Rocks ought to be safer than Meade and Cimarron. Of the former, the map told her she could get to more worlds from White Rocks than from Big Springs. She wondered if that meant that people on White Rocks might have more knowledge of things.

Well, one way to find out. White Rocks, here I come.

CHAPTER 4

Passing through the hyperspace portal left Lisa disappointed. For such a momentous event, traveling from one world to another, the experience was nothing more than walking through an open door. No odd sensations, no feelings of nausea or ecstasy, nothing to signify the event. Even her horse was startled for only a moment, when the area between the metal opening briefly turned a rainbow of colors. The moment was gone, and the colors replaced with a view of the outdoors, the only sight of note because the Fairfield portal was enclosed.

Lisa led her horse through, and that was that. One step was on Fairfield, the next on White Rocks. After her horse’s tail was past, she stepped off the platform. She checked this portal’s controls to be certain they would work. Satisfied that they would, she watched the view of Fairfield disappear. She had arrived.

She took some time to look at this new world. Now she really did have a view of mountains. On three side of her vantage point were tall, snow-capped peaks. The fourth had high, tree-covered hills. The air felt slightly warmer than it had on Fairfield; perhaps it was later in the spring?

There appeared to be a sharpness to the mountains that she didn’t expect. There also appeared a compelling contrast in the colors: stark white snow; dark green trees; and the clear blue sky. In the distance she could hear water running. It was a sound she’d only heard before when one of Fairfield’s creeks or rivers was high. The air smelled odd, too; she recognized the odors of human activity, but not the natural scents.

She saw that she had arrived among ruins, like the ones she had left, but these ruins were flatter, the destruction more complete. She wondered if the buildings had been leveled instead of left standing. She also wondered, since it did appear so thorough, if the destruction wasn’t more intentional.

To her left and front, however, there were few fallen structures. Sounds of activity could be heard from beyond. Unlike Centropolis, this city hadn’t been completely abandoned. It had been moved from the old center. Maybe that was for safety reasons, or possibly to forget about the terrible past. Knowing that she wasn’t going to learn anything by standing around, she grabbed the reigns of her horse, and walked towards the noise.

She was almost at the edge of the new town when several armed men appeared in front of her, pointing weapons at her. One, the best dressed of the lot, took a step towards her. Stay where you are, he ordered.

Okay, Lisa replied. She wasn’t certain what more she should say.

You came through the portal?

Uh, yes. How did you know that?

What do you want?

Well, my name is Lisa Herbert. I’m from Fairfield. Y’know, the next planet across the portal?

Why are you here?

She hesitated, wondering what to say. She didn’t want to be evasive, because that might get misconstrued. She certainly didn’t want to make demands. After all, she was a stranger. She had to be nice so they would believe she meant them no harm.

She wondered if this man was in some sort of authority. If he was, she knew that it would be better to be honest. Telling the truth might keep him from assuming the worst about her.

She cleared her throat. Well, sir, I thought…well, maybe I could do some good. I mean, things are going pretty well on Fairfield, and...

Come with us.

Why?

Come with us, or leave.

Okay. I’m not here to cause any trouble. Could you at least tell me the name of this town? Please?

Great Junction. Now, move!

***

Lisa tried to relax as she waited for the next person to enter the room. She put her mind to the task at hand. While thinking did keep her alert, it really didn’t relax her much. Still, she reasoned, things could be a lot worse for me.

The room contained three chairs and a table. There was one door in and out, and no windows. Lisa observed that the building clearly was one of the few in this new town that had survived the Rain and was in use. It was a two-story structure. She sat in a second-floor room. She’d passed by offices as they hustled her into the room. The men (and a few women) wearing uniforms suggested that this was some sort of official place, probably the jail and police station.

Lisa took this evidence to mean that Great Junction had some sort of formal government. That could suggest that the Rain hadn’t affected White Rocks too badly. It could also suggest that some crisis had arisen since then, and the locals formed a government to deal with the situation.

Whatever the reason for the government, Lisa didn’t think it had taken too strong a hold. Few of the uniforms she’d seen were clean and neat. Except for those men who brought her here, no one else wore uniforms. The floors were dirty, the interior lighting varied, and no one inside the building appeared to be in much of a hurry.

What’s more, they allowed her to keep her traveling bag. They had looked through it and examined the contents thoroughly. At first they weren’t going to let her keep it with her. When she asked politely to hang onto it, and added please, they gave in. She decided that there wasn’t strict authority on White Rocks, and that they might not view a young woman in a dress much of a threat.

Unnerving, maybe, but not a serious threat.

The door opened. A middle-aged man in a uniform, and an older man not in uniform, entered and sat down. The man not in uniform said, My name is Edward Coe. I’m the town manager of Great Junction.

Manager? Like mayor?

Yes. This is Captain Redfern. He runs the town police. I was told that your name is Lisa Herbert, and that you came through the portal.

His tone was neutral, so Lisa kept her voice the same. That’s right.

Why, may I ask, have you come here?

Well, Mister Coe, my father raised me to be the smartest girl around. Unfortunately, the only jobs for smart girls are being mothers or teachers. So I left Fairfield, my planet, and decided to see if I could find a place somewhere else. Somewhere where I could fit in, do some good.

Simple as that? Redfern asked.

It didn’t sound to her like he believed her. She mulled over the situation before saying anything more. She wasn’t here to cause trouble. She wasn’t looking for an argument. She had to convince them, politely, that she had the best of intentions.

She glanced at her backpack, then looked at Coe. May I show you some things?

All right.

She slowly reached into her backpack. She took out her notebook and the portal manual. She placed the notebook on the table and opened it to a random page. She showed the open page to the men.

I know that if I’m to fit in, I’ll have to prove my worth. I took notes from the books in our library. I’m hoping that this notebook will help me to solve any problems that might come up. Part of how I’d like to do some good.

Redfern pointed to a spot on the page. I can’t make that out. What does it say?

If I told you, you wouldn’t need me. I may be young, but I’m not a complete fool.

Redfern glared, but Coe said, I suppose you’re as distrustful as we are.

Lisa smiled. Yeah, I guess.

She took back the notebook. She then put the portal manual on the table. As soon as the men saw what it was, their eyes widened. Coe touched the book gingerly. He turned the pages as if they were logs burning in a fireplace. Redfern simply stared.

Lisa made the obvious observation. I guess none of your manuals survived.

No, they didn’t, Coe replied.

Can I show you something?

Yes, please.

She turned to the passage on the security application. I know this is a little hard to understand, but read those two paragraphs. She waited for them to finish. I figured that out just before I turned on the portal on Fairfield. It’s a way to keep people from using the portal, if you don’t want them to, without turning the portal machine off.

Coe was still mesmerized, but Redfern came out of his trance. If that’s so, he asked, how could you come through ours?

Turning on one portal allows you to go through another that’s connected to it, Lisa said. "It works kinda like that door. You open it to get to the hallway. You can’t open it and get to the first floor, or outside. You have to go through other doors.

What’s more, just because I came through Fairfield’s portal to here, that doesn’t mean I can go back whenever I want. I have to turn on your portal to get back to Fairfield. I used that security application thing to keep anyone else from using the Fairfield portal. No one else can come from there to here, unless I activate the portal.

So, Redfern said, we can’t stop anyone from coming here?

No, you can’t. But someone has to turn on their portal to come here. There are three worlds that someone would have to come from, no others. One is Fairfield, where I came from; the other two are Big Springs and Lone Star. If I’m the first person to come through your portal, then no one’s turned on the others.

Makes sense, Coe said to Redfern. My grandfather thought that the last person through the portal came when he was a small boy, and he wasn’t too sure about that.

If they don’t have this, Lisa added, tapping the manual, they can’t turn on the portal. I guess if you can read well enough, you could figure it out. But I’ve read a lot of books, and if I didn’t have that, I don’t think I would have known exactly what I was doing.

The room was quiet for a second or two. Coe looked at Redfern. I don’t think she’s much of a threat, Ben.

Maybe not. Redfern looked back at Lisa. What did your father do? How is it you came to read so many books?

My father is a trader. He finds a surplus of crops, or gets someone to make clothes or something like that. He takes the goods around the villages and finds people who need the goods.

How much does he make? Coe asked.

How much what?

Does he, what’s the term, barter those goods?

Uh-huh. He gets goods in exchange for trading, and for moving the goods around. Don’t you trade your surplus goods?

Bartering doesn’t always work well around here, Coe said. He reached down to his belt, brought up a tiny sack and opened it. Wooden discs spilled out onto the table. We use these trade tokens to help things along. He pointed out a few. Five small ones would get you a sack of grain. A medium buys you two sacks. A large token buys ten sacks.

Okay, I can see that. Works like money did before the Rain.

What? Oh, you mean the Savage Rain. Yeah, right.

Does that work for other things, too? What if I need a hammer, how many tokens does that take?

Coe frowned. That depends. Here in Great Junction, you could get a hammer for two smalls. Down at Red Cloud, it might be four smalls up to a medium and two smalls. Up in Pueblo, who knows? It changes from day to day. And you could have a hundred larges, and you probably couldn’t get a hammer in Highland or Two Forks.

The Merchants’ Councils in the towns can’t always agree on prices, Redfern added.

Merchants’ Council? Lisa asked. Is that who runs your towns?

Coe nodded. Anyone in a trade can select the local Council.

Trade? You mean, like a job? Like farmer, or blacksmith?

That’s right.

How many people are on the Council?

We have seven here, including me. Pueblo and Red Cloud still have five-man Councils.

You think you ought to be telling her so much? Redfern asked.

Look, Ben, unless you’re really afraid of her, she’s going to stay. The more she knows, the less likely she is to get into trouble.

You could let me prove myself, Lisa said.

She hadn’t planned on saying anything like that. She had hoped to leave and explore this world before trying to get involved in anything. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself on her first trip. Nor did she want to disrupt things without learning about the people or their ways.

Something inside her told her to speak up. It urged her to say something to get out of this room. It suggested that unless she made an offer, she was heading back home without even having tried to make a difference. Either volunteer to act, or volunteer to return to Fairfield.

Neither man replied immediately to Lisa’s statement, so she pressed on. Let me try to solve some problem. Deal with something that’s stumped you. It doesn’t have to be anything huge. Nor does it have to have a life-or-death outcome. Give me a chance. If I get the job done, you let me stay for as long as I want. If I fail, I head back to Fairfield and never come back.

Sounds fair enough. What do you think, Ben?

I could live with it, Mister Coe. Send her up to Pueblo. See if she can get those farms up there to produce something more than mud.

What are you talking about? Lisa asked.

There’s a river that runs past Pueblo, Coe explained. "Comes out of the mountains, jogs north by the town, then turns west. Before the Savage Rain, the town was a vacation spot. Right after the Rain it was abandoned. In my father’s time it sprang back up, once people figured out that the river meant good growing soil.

Some time back they suffered a few summers of drought. They tried an irrigation system. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it floods the fields. Since no one person owns the fields, the farmers can’t agree on how to make the thing work completely right.

And you want me to, what?

Go up there, Coe told Lisa, figure out what the problem is, and get the folks to agree to solve it.

Lisa didn’t need more than a moment to decide. That doesn’t sound too difficult. Okay, Mister Coe, I’ll give it a try.

***

Lisa wasn’t able to dash off to Pueblo to prove herself. For one thing, she wanted to learn more about where she was and where she was going. The history of White Rocks and Pueblo wasn’t interesting, and didn’t seem to yield any hints of how she could approach the problem. The one thing she did find compelling was that back when the planet was being settled, groups of Indians also came here to live. These people didn’t make their homes in the towns, but lived in the wilderness around the settled areas. Aside from finding out that the groups chose this world because it seemed similar to their original lands, Lisa learned very little about them.

Probably for the best. I can learn more once I deal with the problem at hand.

Another reason why she didn’t leave straight away was that Coe wanted to introduce her to the rest of the Merchants’ Council. She knew from the start of the meeting that this would be no mere formality; Coe clearly wanted their backing before he allowed her to travel. She answered more questions, told them what she had told Coe and Redfern, and generally dried out her throat. The effort paid off; he got the full support of the Council.

Even then Lisa couldn’t leave. She’d arrived on White Rocks early in the afternoon. By the time the meeting ended, the sun neared the horizon. Coe told her that travel at night wasn’t advised.

Every so often, bandits rob people on the roads, he said, especially at night, and especially lone travelers. The attacks started up a couple years ago, once trade between towns got going.

Now, people travel in groups? she asked.

That’s right. There might be a group coming down from Pueblo tomorrow. When they head back the next day, you can ride with them.

Why don’t you go after these bandits?

Coe cleared his throat. Let me say this, he said, his voice low. All bandits are robbers, but not all robbers are bandits.

At first Lisa didn’t understand what he meant. Then, the next day, as she wandered around Great Junction to get a feel for this new world, she began to catch on. Almost every action was a negotiation. Exchanges between merchants often escalated to name-calling. She watched a few deals between traders take place, and only once did both sides come out ahead.

Little wonder that the farmers up in Pueblo are having problems, and that travel isn’t entirely safe. The climate of White Rocks discourages compromise. People look for and take every advantage. As long as you get what you want, the effects of your deals don’t matter.

Either someone takes control of this mess, she noted, or these people are going to suffer through another Savage Rain.

***

The Pueblo Merchants’ Council met Lisa when she arrived the following day. A messenger from Great Junction came the day before with an explanation. This time she wasn’t met with suspicion. She was given a tour of the town, introduced to the contesting parties, and had the dispute spelled out in detail. She let two of the farmers show her to the site in question.

She found it surprising at arrangement of the farms that the people had established. Before arriving she had pictured farms as she knew them: large plots of land with a house along a side or in the corner of the farm. In Pueblo, the farms were smaller squares of land along the river, each divided by stakes and a rope fence. The farmers lived in the village, and came out each day to work their section. The arrangement seemed to make sense; no valuable land was occupied by residences, and the smaller plots put more land to use.

Lisa saw what she thought was another reason for these odd farms. Most of the crops in the fields weren’t as healthy as they should for that time of year. The farmers here would need all the land they could get, if that signaled how good a crop they were growing. What’s more, there seemed little variation from field to field.

She needed to take only a few glances near the river to see what that problem was. Folks had put up a dike to hold back a flood, but at its tallest, it was no higher than her knees. Worse, the height and the width varied from field to field.

Satisfied with her inspection, Lisa went to her room at the village inn. There would be a meeting with the farmers that night on their situation. She spent the rest of the daylight hours deciding what to say at the meeting. She had a pretty good idea of the mechanics of solving the physical problems. She consulted her notebook to be certain. Once sure of herself, she turned to the problem of persuading the farmers to work together to implement the solutions. She ran through a few approaches, reread her notebook, then ran through a few more. She wrote out what she thought was best, ate an uneasy dinner, then went to the meeting.

Thanks for coming and hearing what I have to say, she began once the meeting was formally underway. I want you all to remember that I’m making suggestions, not giving orders. I do have some experience with farming. My father traded seeds and crops, and we’ve got plenty of farms on Fairfield. Please don’t dismiss me because I don’t live here.

There were mutters of agreement. Lisa got to the heart of her address. I see two basic problems with your fields. First, the fields aren’t well enough protected from floods. Second, your crops aren’t in the best shape. As it happens, the two are actually related in some ways.

How so? one of the farmers asked.

When a river floods, the water that goes over its banks picks up things. She illustrated her point with gestures. "Soil, for instance. It picks up the soil and carries it downstream. If your soil is good and rich, it won’t all get carried away. If it’s poor, or dry, it can’t help but be carried off.

What’s happening to you is that some of your soil is getting carried away, and some of it is getting pushed into the dike. You need to build your dike higher, say, about waist-high on me, if that’s as high as the water usually gets.

Each man’s responsible for his part, another farmer said. Is someone not carrying his share?