The Disestablishment of Paradise (38 page)

Why had the crest been chopped off first? He’d assumed that it was to do with disarming the Dendron, but there must be more to it. And why did the Dendron doing the cutting pay such a lot
of attention to the big cut down to the codds, when it would have been simpler and safer and faster to cut away the main body closer to the front legs? So why . . .?

‘I don’t know,’ said Hera, for the hundredth time. ‘You’ve got your blessed pendulum. Why don’t you ask that?’ She stood up and crossed to the window of
the SAS and looked out at the Dendron, which had still not moved except that its crest had lifted slowly to full and now stood stiff and erect.

‘I will when I need to.’

Hera was impatient to get started. She felt the seconds ticking away. She dreaded the moment when the Dendron would scream again – for that was how she now saw it – and she wanted
Mack up there, on its back, axe in hand and chopping or whatever demolition men did, so that it would know that relief was at hand.
But Mack was so slow! So slow and plodding
.

Had she been able to read his mind, she would have seen that Mack was not being slow and he was certainly not plodding. As the problem of how to take down the Dendron became more real to him, so
he was becoming professional and objective. He was actually coming to grips with the problem in a deep way, and this, to those who knew him, was manifesting as a change in his manner, a
deliberateness. This she misunderstood. Mack was thinking about all sides of the problem, sounding out the logic, and not least among his worries was whether he could manage on his own.
Hera’s quickness of temper was irritating him, because it wasted energy and might lead to mistakes. His feelings for Hera were not involved in this. His love was a constant flame, but he
seriously wondered if she was capable of helping, because she didn’t seem to understand what was involved. She seemed to think he just had to wave a magic axe or something and it would all
happen – well, there was no magic in demolition, just ruthless logic, some luck and the careful application of controlled and unremitting strength.

‘Can we just get a move on, Mack? Make a start. Marie Newton says the first thing to be cut is the crest.’

‘You know the real problem, Hera? We don’t know where we are in the Dendron’s cycle. If I went in there and started chopping away at the crest, we could trigger disaster. That
Mayday woman didn’t understand what she was seeing. There’s more to it. And we have to work that out. What stage is our Dendron at right now, if we compare it with the story? Has our
Dendron just come out of the sea? No, we know it is more settled. But by this stage did the Dendron in the story, the one she calls Mustard, know that help was there? Yes, it did. Does our Dendron
know we are here and want to help it? We don’t know. It might, it might not. So how do we trigger that understanding? It is all in the first approach. Marie Newton says, if you are
remembering it correctly, that the crest on the one that was going to be carved—’

‘Mustard.’

‘Yes, Mustard, did not go down until Mustard had been touched by the other Dendron. That’s what is important. Only when it knew the other Dendron was on hand and ready to do business
did it give up its pressure. That’s what we have to do first. Right now it’s under full tension. I know about it putting down roots – you’ve already told me that a hundred
times. I know it has farted and voided! But that was just a burp. Look at the bloody crest, woman. What’s holding that up? Wishful thinking? No, it’s pressure. The Dendron’s
confused. All it knows is that it needs to be split open. Right? So what we have to do is to relax it. Let it know that help is here. Then it’ll relax, and then the crest’ll come down.
Then, and only then, can we start cutting. So how do we convince it to give up its pressure? How do we get to that?’

‘You’re the demolition expert.’

‘Right. I am. So listen. From what you told me, something happened after the Dendron put its horns between the horns of Mustard. They touched cherries or something, and I think that is
what our gal down there is waiting for. Are you with me?’ Hera nodded. ‘OK. Now there is one other thing, and I want to get it cleared up now so we don’t have any misunderstanding
later on. Who is in charge? Who’s the boss up front?’

‘Mack, I just want to get moving. I don’t want to waste time having a stop-work meeting in a logging camp. You can be boss man if you like. I just want us to
do
something.’

‘You don’t understand.’

‘I just—’

‘Will you just listen, for God’s sake? If this were a job on a demolition site, I wouldn’t have someone like you near me. I’d kick you off the fucking team so fast your
arse would reach the moon before you did. And the reason I’d do that is because I can’t rely on you. You’re too used to having your own way. You’re a bully when it comes to
decisions. And you’ll do the wrong thing in a crisis. You’ll think clever, or you’ll argue the toss, or you’ll get stirred up and shitty. You’ll take more time being
looked after than you’re worth. You’ve never worked in the real world. I have, and I can take orders better than you. I’m talking about survival. If you’re the boss and you
say stop, even if I’m in the middle of a chop, I’ll do my best to stop, because otherwise it might be my last. But we’ve got to know that we can trust one another. I’m not
talking about master and slave; I’m talking about knowing where we stand. And I’m putting you in charge. I’ll take my orders from you. Your call.’

‘Mack I . . . This is silly.’

‘I’ve given you a starting point.’

‘Mack, why are you doing this? You’re manipulating the situation.’

He turned away in anger and then turned back. ‘Clever people! For an intelligent woman you’re pretty bloody stupid sometimes. You’ll argue about who carries the bucket while
the house burns down. You’re in charge. Make a decision.’

‘I don’t want to be in charge. I want us to work together.’

‘Oh, we can work together. But when the ship is sinking, who says jump?’

‘OK. OK. I understand, Mack. I don’t want to be in charge. You know about all of this better than me. You are in charge. You’re the b— Sorry. You’re in charge. You
give the orders. There.’

He looked at her and she could not read his expression. She did not know, but in those moments Mack was deciding whether to go ahead and try to do this job on their own, or whether to contact
the platform, explain the situation and have Abhuradin send his team down. He’d have Hera locked up if need be, to stop her getting in the way. Hera did not know until later how close she
came to losing that battle. But perhaps something guided her for she said, finally, ‘Mack, I do understand. I’ve been on dives in the dark with just a line to communicate. And you are
right. It’s in the crisis when it counts, isn’t it? I won’t let you down. I’ll jump when you say. And I’ll try to shut up too.’

He grinned. ‘Fat chance of that.’ But there was no smile when he said, ‘A deal?’

Hera nodded. ‘A deal.’

‘Well, if I’m an honorary research assistant, I’m going to make you an honorary demolition worker. Do this.’ He spat in the palm of his hand, and held it out. She looked
at him and saw he was serious. She spat in the palm of her hand, and they closed hands. ‘See you on the other side,’ said Mack.

‘See you the other side, Mack.’ They released. ‘Other side of what?’

‘What do you think?’ And then she understood and was grateful to be trusted with someone’s life.

‘So what do we do now, boss?’

‘I’m going to chop down one of those tall trees over there and trim it. I want you to take the SAS up and fly round the Dendron, but I want you to land every few metres or so with a
thump. Pretend you’re a Dendron, right. Get a good rhythm. Shake the earth a bit. Let it know in its roots that you are here and stamping round. But don’t get too enthusiastic and break
the bloody SAS cos we’re going to need it to get out of here. Then we’re going to drop the log down between its horns, rock it about in a friendly way and pull it out and see what
happens. See if she gets the message.’

‘What about the cherries?’

‘I’m working on that.’

And so they did.

Hera woke Alan and explained what she wanted. ‘Practice landings in a difficult terrain. Show me what you can do. Let me feel us shake the ground.’ Minutes later the SAS lifted and
flew round the Dendron, maintaining a radius of about a hundred metres, giving the earth good periodic
thumps
using its heavy-duty skids rather than the wheels.

The other rhythmic sound in the valley came from Mack. The tree was quickly felled and he soon was trimming it with the axe, giving his muscles a warning of things to come. He left a few small
branches sticking out about two thirds of the way up its trunk. For better or for worse, these would serve as the cherries. While chopping he had had a clever idea.

Mack was developing a theory about the Dendron, but he could not have explained it to Hera. He imagined the flow of fluids through the codds and round the giant body, and this suggested a
generator. He guessed that the Dendron might carry a high electrical charge. Two Dendron touching might share their potential, and this could have all manner of effects from setting things on fire
to raising consciousness. At the very least the Dendron in the river would know that something was happening. And if he triggered the release . . . well, then he could move on to stage two.

Satisfied with the trimming, Mack ran an extension cord he had found in the SAS tool cabinet up the length of the trunk and tied it in place near the small branches. Then he cut off the plug,
bared the ends of the wires and nailed them into the branches. He was going to give the Dendron a different kind of shunt to the one described by young Sasha.

When he was ready he signalled to Hera and she brought the SAS over, bounced it once near him for good luck, and then landed so that its skids were astride the log. Mack attached the smaller top
part of the log to the meshlite rope of the hoist. The SAS hammered into the air slowly, lifting the log, dragging it and its electric cables towards the Dendron, which all the time had never moved
or given a sign of life, except for the occasional gulp.

Hera flew between the flags of the Dendron. The wind from the rotor blades made the limp flags flutter. Once past the twin horns she hovered and lowered, at the same time reeling in the meshlite
rope. The front of the log lifted and she was able to drag it up between the twin trunks. She dragged it as far as she could past the cleft between the trunks, but without touching them, and then
she lowered the tapered end of the tree until it was just resting in the cleft between the horns. On the intercom, she heard Mack’s shout of relief when the log was in place.

‘Nice flying. Now hold her steady. Keep the slack out of the cable, but not lifting. And if the Dendron moves. Cut loose and fly straight up. You’re right in the path of the crest if
it takes a swat at you. Understood?’

‘Understood. You be careful too, Mack.’

Mack grunted and set off. He climbed up the sloping log using hands and feet. He too kept a wary eye out in case the Dendron decided to move, though his options were limited if it did. Hera,
watching through the underside viewer, saw Mack as he clambered up and came level with the two soaring trunks. He was high above the ground. He stood up straight and climbed on with his arms spread
like a tight-rope walker. He passed the cleft and came to the place where he had left the short branches sticking out to simulate the cherries. One of the bare copper leads had been twisted back on
itself, and he knelt down and bent it back into shape. Then he shuffled on until he came to the end of the log. Carefully, he sat down, his legs astride the trunk, and undid the shackle, knocking
the heavy bolt into the palm of his hand and guiding the cable free. Just as he began to stand up, the codds heaved and the Dendron shook itself briefly, like a horse after exercise. Mack threw
himself flat, and as he did so he heard the SAS roar and lift, reeling in the cable as it went. There was a slight shift as the log settled, but that was all. The Dendron became still again.
Cautiously Mack stood up. Everything was still in place. Perhaps the Dendron was telling him to get a move on.

His next job was to re-attach the cable to the thick end of the log so that it could be lifted and then rocked between the horns, thereby chafing the cleft and hopefully igniting the Dendron
– so to speak. To re-attach the cable he had to walk back down the log. It was while he was doing this that he missed his footing, tripped and fell. He landed on the wide back of the Dendron.
His uniform protected him from being scraped too badly, but his elbow was jarred. Otherwise he was all right. Thus Mack was the first man for a long time to actually sit on a Dendron, and to his
great surprise he found that its back was quite soft, like the floor of a pine forest. Not so the flame-red cleft, however, which was hard and ungiving. He climbed up carefully and back onto the
log.

‘You having fun?’ It was Hera’s voice in his ear.

‘Yeah. Bloody magic down here. Could you lower the shackle at the blunt end and then land.’

‘On my way.’

Mack shaded his eyes and stared up as the SAS again flew slowly over the flags and then began to reel out the cable.

Moments later Mack jumped to the ground just as the heavy shackle reached him. He passed the cable round the end of the log a couple of times and then bolted the shackle in place. He gave it a
final wrench for good luck. They were ready for the big experiment.

The SAS landed. After one last look round, Mack gathered up the rest of the electric cable and ran over to the SAS, threw the cable aboard and swung up after it, leaving the door open.

‘OK, Doc. Take her up about fifteen feet. Easy there. Take in the slack. Now back up a bit. Gently does it. There, the log’s lifting. Dendron’ll be feeling the full weight now.
Back up until you reach the point of balance. Easy now. Almost there. Easy now. There. Hold there. Stabilize.’

‘Holding.’

‘Now what I want you to do, Doc, is make it rock, OK? A bit up and a bit down. Give your sister a thrill. OK? And if you see a sudden movement from her, hit the release, and get the hell
out because she’ll come for us like we were trying to steal her child. But if we’re lucky and she likes it, we’ll get the silver solas.’