美铁之战系列 第三卷 铁领主 第1部分

TheAmtrakWars-Book3-IronMaster

By:PatrickTilley

Synopsis:

Theyear:2990AD.Thecenturiesoldconflictbetweenthehi-tech

undergroundworldoftheTrackersandtheprimitive,surface-dwelling

Mutescontinueswithunabatedferocity.SteveBrickman,aTracker

wingmanwhoseheartandmindistornbetweenthetwocultures,embarks

uponhismostdangerousmissionyet:therescueofCadillacand

Clearwater,twogiftedPlainfolkMutesheldcaptivebythemysterious

IronMasters.Itisanightmarejourneyintotheunknownbut,once

again,ashadowypresenceguidesSteve'sfootstepsandendowshimwith

superhumanspeedandstrengthinmomentsofmortaldanger...

AlsobyPatrickTilley."

PATRICKTILLEYMISSIONTHEAMTRAKWARSBOOK1:CLOUDWARRIORTHE

AMTRAKWARSBOOK2:FIRSTFAMILYTHEAMTRAKWARSBOOK4:BLOODRIVER

THEAMTRAKWARSBOOK:5:DEATH-BRINGERTHEAMTRAKWARSBOOK6:

EARTH-THUNDERAMTRAKWARS:ILLUSTRATEDGUIDEFADEOUT

STARWARTZ

TheAmtrakWarsBook3."IronMaster

ForSophie,MikeandAdrienne

AnOrbigBookFirstpublishedinGreatBritainbySphereBooksLtd

1987

Reprinted1987,1988,1989,1990,1991

ReprintedbyWarnerBooks1993

Reprinted1993,1995

ReprintedbyOrbit1998

Copyright()1987byPatrickTilleyWordsquotedfromthesong'South

oftheBorder'onp.293

)PeterMauriceMusicCo.Ltd

ReprintedbypermissionofEMlPublishingLtd,Londonwe2HOLDAll

rightsreserved.

Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrieval

system,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withouttheprior

permissioninwritingofthepublisher,norbeotherwisecirculatedin

anyformofbindingorcoverotherthanthatinwhichitispublished

andwithoutasimilarconditionincludingthisconditionbeingimposed

onthesubsequentpurchaser.

ISBNI87235371

PrintedinEnglandbyClaysLtd.StIvesplc

Orbit

ADivisionofLittle,BrownandCompany(ilK)BrcttenhamHouse

LancasterPlace

Londonwe2E7ENThefollowinglistisaguidetothenamesgivenby

majortownsandlocationsinBook3.

AribaniAlbany.NYKeipakodaAridinaReading.PaKoneitika

ArigeniAlleghenyRiverManatanaArisabaHarrisburg,PnMnh-ina

ArongirenLongIsland.NYMarnbaraAtirantikkasitaAtlanticCity,

NJMasachusaAwashitanaWashington,DCMeisuriAwirikasabaWilkes

Bane,PennMidiritanaAwirimasaporoWilliamsport.PennMirawoki

AwoseisaWorcester,MassMi-shigaBarukarinaBrooklyn,NY

NofoskoshaBaritimoroBaltimore.MdNyagaraBasatanaBoston.Mass

NyojasaiBei-sitaBayCity,MiNyoporoBu-faroBuffalo.NY

NyoyokoDu-arutaDuluth.MinnOrienitaEn-sirenEllisIsland

OhiyoFinPhiladelphia.PennPorofidanisaFyahjinaVirginia

Pi-sabaGofo-nasaGovernor's1.NYRodirenHui-nisoWindsor,

OntarioSa-piryolriLakeErieSarakusalyunisteisaUnitedStates

Skaratana(ofAmerica)StatanaKarn-liCarlisle.PennTaro-ya

KarifaranCleveland,OhioUdasonaKarorinaCarolinaUti-kntheIron

Mastersto

Cape-Cod.MassConnecticuttRiverManhattanI.NYMaineMarlboro.

MassMassachusettsMissouriRiverMiddletown.PennMilwaukee.Minn

LakeMichiganNovaScotiaNiagarnFallsNewJerseyNewport,RINewYork

City.NYOrientPt.LIOhioRiverProvidence.RIPittsburgh.Penn

RhodeIslandLakeSuperiorSyracuse.NYScranton.PennStaten1.NY

Troy,NYHudsonRiverUtica.NYTHESEVENTEENDOMAINSOFNE-ISSAN

2990

AD

$HITA

'MA

]"OH--TA

ThefollowingextractisdrawnfromtheFirstFamily'sprivate

archivesstoredwithinCOLUMBUS,theguidingintelligenceofthe

Federation.

RELEASELEVEL:it-1thru5ONLY

IRONMASTER/S(genericnounofMuteorigin)Araceofclear-skinned

hairlessanthropoidsinhabitingtheeasterncoastalstripofAmerica

fromMainetoNorthCarolina.Theovergroundareaundertheircontrol

(knownasNe-Issan)includesthewesternflankoftheAppalachian

mountainrangeandextendsacrosstheOhiostatelineasfaras

CleveAand,anavrefpointontheshoresofLakeErie.

IronMastershavetheirrootsinillegalimmigrantcommunitiesof

variousasiaticsub-typesthatmanagedtoinfiltratethemajor

north-easternurbancentresduringthepre-Holocaustera.BetweenAD

2300and2400,therewasasmallbutsignificantinfluxof

'boat-people';asiaticswhospokealanguageknownas'Japanese'.

Allyingthemselveswiththeresidentgroupsofsimilarorigin,the

boat-peoplerapidlyseizedpowerandhaveremainedthedominantracial

groupeversince.

Ontheevolutionaryscale,IronMastersarepositionedhalfwaybetween

theTrackersandtheMutes,whoareinferiortoboth.Officially

categorisedasasubhumanspecies,IronMastersare,nevertheless,

literate,numerateindividualswithahighdegreeofmanipulative

skills,proficientinagriculture,fishing,wood-andmetal-working

(esp:weapons),weavingandbuildingwithdressedstone.

Throughaprocessofgeneticmutationcommontoallsub-humanspecies

andtheloweranimalorders,IronMastershavebecomeimmuneto

atmosphericradiationbut,onceagain,acquisitionofimmunityhashad

anegativeimpactonothervitalfunctions.InthecaseoftheIron

Masters,themostobviousside-effectsaretheirdiminutivestature,

yellow-tintedskin,andtotallackofbodyhair,butthegreatest

damagehasbeentothecirculatorysystem.Thismanifestsitselfina

highincidenceofhaemophilia,andweak-walledbloodvesselswhichcan

ruptureunderstress,bringingaboutafatalhaemorrhage.

Throughbushido(seefollowingreference)theseinherentdefectshave

acquiredpositivevalues,engenderingacalm,disciplinedapproachto

lifeandanunquestioningacceptanceofdeath.

IronMastersocietyisapyramidalclassstructurebasedona

17th-centurymodelruledbywarriors(samurai).Belowthem,in

descendingorder,are-administratorsandscribes,craftmasters,

merchants,farmers.Thebaseofthispyramidisunderpinnedbyalarge

reservoirofslavelabour;Mutesobtainedthroughbarterdeals.Atall

levelsofsociety,womenareallocatedasecondary,subservientroleas

consorts,housekeepersandchild-bearers.

Supremepowerisvestedintheshogun,headoftheleadingsamurai

familyandtitularheadofthegovernment(bakufu).Theshogunis,in

theory,supportedbytheheadsoftheothersamuraifamilieswhohold

thetitleofdomain-lords.

Astheirtitlesuggests,theseindividualsderivetheirpowerand

wealthfromtheirterritorialpossessionsandthepopulationunder

theirdirectcontrol.Theyalsoleadandmaintainprivatearmies

pledged(againintheory)totheserviceoftheshogunandthe

maintenanceoflawandorder.

Asexpected,themainfeaturesofsuchasocietyare(a)itsmartial

characterand(b)itsrespectforauthorityandtradition.Overthe

years,theseattitudeshavebeencodifiedintoabelief-system

(bushido)whichlaysgreatemphasisonduty/obligationtoone's

superiors(giro,towhichanyhumanfeeling(ninjo)takessecond

place.

Theresultisunquestioningobedienceandloyalty,firsttoone'sown

domain-lordandthroughhimtotheshogun.

Successionisthroughthemaleline,andsomeshogunatesholdswayfor

severalgenerationsbeforebeingdisplacedbyastrongerrival.Asthe

leadershipoftheFirstFamilyisunchallengedandinviolate,the

systematisedimpermanencerequiresclarification.ForIronMasters,

theshogunisregardedas'firstamongequals';adomain-lordwhose

familyhaswonpre-eminencebytheconsentofhispeersorbyforceof

arms.Asaresult,thepoweroftheshogunateultimatelydependson,

andismaintainedby,allianceswithotherdomain-lordswhoseloyalty

isspicedwithalargemeasureofself-interest-apernicious

by-productofall'open'systems.

Althoughruledbyawarriorcaste,theIronMaster'sprincipalactivity

isinternaltrade.Mineralresources,agriculturalproduceand

manufactureditemsareshippedonasupply-and-demandbasisfromone

areatoanother.

Alldomain-lordsarerequiredtomakeannualsupportpayments(taxes)

totheshogunate.Theamountpaidbyeachrepresentsapercentageof

theassetsoftheirdomain.Sincethevaluationiscarriedoutby

governmentagents,thishas,inthepast,provedtobeapotentsource

ofdisaffection.

Thesepayments,togetherwiththesaleoftradinglicencesand

manufacturingmonopolies,providetherevenueneededbythebakufuto

carryoutthevariousfunctionsofgovernment.

Allsurplusgoodsareboughtandsoldviaapre-Holocaust

mediumofexchangeknownas'money'.Thistakestheformofsmall,

thin,rectangularsheetsofcompressedwoodpulp(dollars)andsmall

metaldiscs(yen),eachrepresentingagivennumberofexchangeunits

(currency)whichconfersanequivalentpurchasingpowerupontheholder

andgivesrisetothecuriousnotionofpersonal'wealth'-anoutmoded

conceptthattheFederationhaswiselydispensedwith.

EXTRACTENDS

Seerelatedentries:CHINKS,DINKS,GOOKS,JAPS,MEATBALLS,NIPS,

SLANTS,V-C,YELLOWPERIL.

PROLOGUE

Cadillachandedhisbathrobetohisservant,steppedintothedeeptub

andsankdownuntilthesteamingwaterlappedhischin.Twomore

femaledead-faces,nakedexceptfortheirwhitecottonheadscarves,

stoodinthewateroneithersideofhim,waitingtocleanseand

massagehisbronzedbody.Hemotionedthemtobegin,thenclosedhis

eyesandreflected,onceagain,onhisgoodfortune.Eventhoughhe

wasabletoreadthefutureintheseeing-stones,theyhadnotrevealed

that,inafewshortmonthsafterleavingthePlainfolk,everythinghe

hadeverwishedforwouldbewithinhisgrasp.Power,responsibility,

ataskworthyofhistalents,and-mostimportantofall-standing.

Hislifehadbeenutterlytransformedand,forthefirsttime,hefelt

trulycontent.Thewarmthofthewaterpervadedhisbody,gently

dissolvingthefleshandbone.

Withhiseyesstillclosedagainsttheflickeringyellowlightofthe

lanternshehadthesensationoffloating,formless,likea

spirit-beingpouredbyMo-Townintothewombofitsearthmother.

Hecasthismindadrift...

ShortlyafterSteveBrickmanhadsoaredintothedawnsky,pursuedby

severalpossesofBears,Cadillacbegantheconstructionofasecond

arrowheadfromthepartswhichtheclanhadkepthiddenfromthecloud

warrior.

ArmedwiththeskillsandtheknowledgehehaddrawnfromSteve'smind,

hefounditprovedarelativelysimpletask.Itwasalsoimmensely

satisfying,forhisarrowheadwassleekerandstrongerthanBluebird,

theramshacklerighehadhelpedStevetobuildandonwhichhehad

beentaughthowtofly.

Cadillacsmiledasherememberedhowcarefulhehadbeennottolearn

tooquickly.Brickmanhadgonebacktothedarkworldofthe

sand-burrowerswithoutrealisinghehadgivenawaythekeytoa

treasurehouseofinformation.UsingthepowergrantedbyTalisman,he

hadmadeamentalcarboncopyofeverythingthecloudwarriorknew;

everyfacthehadacquired,everylearningexperiencesincebirth.The

entirerangeofBrickman'stalents,skillsandknowledgewerenowhis

tocommand.

Yes...thelossofClearwater'ssoulwasasmallpricetopayforsuch

gifts.

Thecraftwaspoweredbyanelectricmotorculledfromoneofthe

Skyhawksthathadfalleninthebattlewiththeironsnake.Itwasthe

samemotorthatBrickmanhadfittedtoBluebirdandthendiscardedjust

beforehisescapebecausehecouldnotmakeitworkproperly.

CadillacdidwhatSteve,inhishaste,couldnotbebotheredtodo;he

tookittopieces,checkedeverypart,rebuiltitwithlovingcare,and

thencontinuedtoworkonituntilitfunctionedperfectly.

NowtheequalofBrickmanintheair,hetookofffromthebluffabove

thesettlement,skimmingwiththesamelackoffearovertheedgeof

thesteepescarpmentintothevoid.Hefeltthewindembracehim,felt

itscoolsweetbreathuponhisface;wasovercomebyarapturoussense