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Back Beyond the Burn Line Save as PDF
Chapters (66)
  1. Copyright
  2. Contents
  3. Epigraph
  4. Part One
  5. 1.
  6. 2.
  7. 3.
  8. 4.
  9. 5.
  10. 6.
  11. 7.
  12. 8.
  13. 9.
  14. 10.
  15. 11.
  16. 12.
  17. 13.
  18. 14.
  19. 15.
  20. 16.
  21. 17.
  22. 18.
  23. 19.
  24. 20.
  25. 21.
  26. 22.
  27. 23.
  28. 24.
  29. 25.
  30. 26.
  31. 27.
  32. 28.
  33. 29.
  34. 30.
  35. 31.
  36. 32.
  37. Part Two
  38. 1.
  39. 2.
  40. 3.
  41. 4.
  42. 5.
  43. 6.
  44. 7.
  45. 8.
  46. 9.
  47. 10.
  48. 11.
  49. 12.
  50. 13.
  51. 14.
  52. 15.
  53. 16.
  54. 17.
  55. 18.
  56. 19.
  57. 20.
  58. 21.
  59. 22.
  60. 23.
  61. 24.
  62. 25.
  63. 26.
  64. 27.
  65. 28.
  66. By Paul McAuley:

‘Foeless is devoted to fulfilling his mission of spreading enlightenment, but there are some, scholars especially, that refuse to listen to him. Your master’s work might make them take the matter of the visitors more seriously.’

There it was. A chance to beat Mindwell to publication, but only by linking Master Able’s work to the very nonsense it was meant to challenge, and irrevocably damaging his reputation. And Pilgrim’s too, such as it was. It wasn’t much of a choice. In fact, it was no choice at all.

Pilgrim said, ‘I’ll be very happy to share my master’s work with you. But like everyone else you’ll have to wait until it is finished.’

10.

He couldn’t settle after Intrepid Windrush and his companion had left, and saddled his mara and went for a ride around the boundaries of the lodge’s pastures. The animal knew the way, and Pilgrim let it amble along at its own pace while he tried to work things through.

There was no possibility of collaboration with Master Mindwell, an established scholar who would take little notice of the opinions of a lowly secretary. And the Sweetwater Collective’s intervention deepened the resentment and hurt that had stung him when they had refused his request for help, and strengthened his resolve to prove himself capable of completing his master’s work. He told himself that if this was now a race, he had the advantage. The manuscript which had passed into Mindwell’s hands was partial and incomplete, and did not mention every sighting – the ghost lights in the ruined bear city that Pilgrim had visited, for instance, and several others which had not been confirmed when Master Able had died. And because of Able’s scruples about privacy, the sightings described in his manuscript did not mention any witnesses by name, and Pilgrim had taken the precaution of excising their contact details from his master’s notes. So even if Mindwell contrived to get a version of that unfinished manuscript into print, it would not necessarily duplicate everything that Pilgrim hoped to publish, and might even boost interest in it.