George R. R. Martin - With Morning Comes Mistfall

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GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

With Morning

Comes Mistfall

if you could go to Loch Ness tomorrow and prove or disprove conclusively the

existence of the monster, would you? Should you? When all the questions are

answered, when all the superstitions are stilled, when science has unraveled

all the mysteries, what will we do? Would you want to live in such a time?

Would we be able to live then?

I was early to breakfast that morning, the first day after landing. But

Sanders was already out on the dining balcony when I got there. He was

standing alone by the edge, looking out over the mountains and the mists.

I walked up behind him and muttered hello. He didn't bother. to reply.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he said, without turning.

And it was.

Only a few feet below balcony level the mists rolled, sending ghostly

breakers to crash against the stones of Sanders's castle. A thick white

blanket extended from horizon to horizon, cloaking everything. We could see

the summit of the Red Ghost, off to the north; a barbed dagger of scarlet rock

jabbing into the sky. But that was all. The other mountains were still below

mist level.

But we were above the mists. Sanders had built his hotel atop the

tallest mountain in the chain. We were floating alone in a swirling white

ocean, on a flying castle amid a sea of clouds.

Castle Cloud, in fact. That was .what Sanders had named the place. It

was easy to see why.

"Is it always like this?" I asked Sanders, after drinking it all in for

a while.

"Every mistfall," he replied, turning toward me with a wistful smile. He

was a fat man, with a jovial red face. Not the sort who should smile

wistfully. But he did.

He gestured toward the east, where Wraithworld's sun rising above the

mists made a crimson and orange spectacle of the dawn sky.

"The sun," he said. "As it rises, the heat drives the mists back into

the valleys, forces them to surrender the mountains they've conquered during

the night. The mists sink, and one by one the peaks come into view. By noon

the whole range is visible for miles and miles. There's nothing like it on

Earth, or anywhere else."

He smiled again, and led me over to one of the tables scattered around

the balcony. "And then, at sunset, it's all reversed. You must watch mist rise

tonight,"

he said. j

We sat down, and a sleek robowaiter came rolling a out to serve us as

the chairs registered our presence. Sanders ignored it. "It's war, you know,"

he continued. "Eternal war between the sun and the mists. And the mists have

the better of it. They have the valleys, and the plains, and the seacoasts.

The sun has only a few mountaintops. And them only by day."

He turned to the robowaiter and ordered coffee for both of us, to keep

us occupied until the others arrived. It would be fresh brewed, of course.

Sanders didn't tolerate instants or synthetics on his planet.

"You like it here," I said, while we waited for the coffee.

Sanders laughed. "What's not to like? Castle Cloud has everything. Good

food, entertainment, gambling, and all the other comforts of home. Plus this

planet. I've got the best of both worlds, don't I?"

"I suppose so. But most people don't think in those terms. Nobody comes

to Wraithworld for the gambling, or the food."

Sanders nodded. "But we do get some hunters. Out after rock cats and

plains devils. And once in a while someone will come to look at the ruins."

"Maybe," I said. "But those are your exceptions. Not your rule. Most of

your guests are here for one reason."

"Sure," he admitted, grinning. "The wraiths."

"The wraiths," I echoed. "You've got beauty here, and hunting and

fishing and mountaineering. But none

of that brings the tourists here. It's the wraiths they came for."

The coffee arrived then, two big steaming mugs accompanied by a pitcher

of thick cream. It was very strong, and very hot, and very good. After weeks

of spaceship synthetic, it was an awakening.

Sanders sipped at his coffee with care, his eyes studying me over the

mug. He set it down thoughtfully. "And it's the wraiths you've come for, too,"

he said.

I shrugged. "Of course. My readers aren't interested in scenery, no

matter how spectacular. Dubowski and his men are here to find wraiths, and I'm

here to cover the search."

Sanders was about to answer, but he never got the chance. A sharp,

precise voice cut in suddenly. "If there are any wraiths to find," the voice

said. We turned to face the balcony entrance. Dr. Charles Dubowski, head of

the Wraithworld Research Team, was standing in the doorway, squinting at the

light. He had managed to shake the gaggle of research assistants who usually

trailed him everywhere.

Dubowski paused for a second, then walked over to our table, pulled out

a chair, and sat down. The robowaiter came rolling out again.

Sanders eyed the thin scientist with unconcealed dis-

taste. "What makes you think the wraiths aren't there,

Doctor?" he asked.

_Dubowski shrugged, and smiled lightly. "I just don't feel there's enough

evidence," he said. "But don't worry. I never let my feelings interfere with

my work. I want the truth as much as anyone. So I'll run an impartial

expedition. If your wraiths are out there, I'll find them."

"Or they'll find you," Sanders said. He looked grave. "And that might

not be too pleasant."

Dubowski laughed. "Oh, come now, Sanders. Just because you live in a

castle doesn't mean you have to be so melodramatic."

"Don't laugh, Doctor. The wraiths have killed people before, you know."

"No proof of that," said Dubowski. "No proof at all. Just as there's no

proof of the wraiths themselves. But that's why we're here. To find proof. Or

disproof. But come, I'm famished." He turned to our robowaiter, who had been

standing by and humming impatiently.

Dubowski and I ordered rockcat steaks, with a basket of hot, freshly

baked biscuits. Sanders took advantage of the Earth supplies our ship had

brought in last night, and got a massive slab of ham with a half dozen eggs.

Rockcat has a flavor that Earth meat hasn't had in centuries. I loved

it, although Dubowski left much of his steak uneaten. He was too busy talking

to eat.

"You shouldn't dismiss the wraiths so lightly," Sanders said after the

robowaiter had stalked off with our orders. "There is evidence. Plenty of it.

Twenty-two deaths since this planet was discovered. And eyewitness accounts of

wraiths by the dozens."

"True," Dubowski said. "But I wouldn't call that real evidence. Deaths?

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