To The Stars

They ran at top speed and made the journey without a stop. Jan was asleep when they came to the volcanic area, and Otakar, who was co-driving the lead tank with him, came down to shake him awake.

“Big drifts across the road, but otherwise it doesn’t look bad.”

“I’ll come right up.”

They left the other tanks with dozer blades to clear the Road, then ground ahead over the mountainous drifts. The air was clear and the volcano itself soon came into sight, silent at last, with just a plume of smoke drifting from its conical summit.

That’s a relief,” Otakar said.

“I couldn’t agree more.”

They went on until the tank was stopped by an immense drift of dust and rock that completely blocked the Road. All they could do was back to one side and wait for the tanks with blades. They caught up quickly because all they were doing on the first pass was making a cut big enough to let them through. They would return and widen it for the trains.

The driver of the dozer tank waved as he tackled the mountainous mass, and was soon out of sight behind it. “It’s getting shallow again,” he reported by radio. “Not deep at all on this side…” His voice ended in a gasp.

“What is it?” Jan asked. “Come in. Can you hear me?”

“Better see for yourself,” the driver reported. “But come through slowly.”

Jan ground his tank forward through the gap, saw the tread marks of the other tank, saw that it had backed to one side so he could see the Road ahead.

It was clear now why the driver had gasped. There was no Road ahead. It ended at the brink of a fissure, a small valley that must have been a kilometer wide at least.

The ground had opened up and swallowed the Road, leaving an unspannable chasm in its place.

Sixteen

“It’s gone — the Road’s gone,” Otakar said, gasping out the words.

“Nonsense!” Jan was angry. He was not going to be stopped. “This fissure can’t go on forever. We’ll follow it away from the volcano, away from the area of seismic activity.”

“I only hope that you’re right.”

“Well we don’t have much choice, do we?” There was no warmth at all in the smile that went with the words.

It was slow and dangerous work once they were away from the hard surface of the Road. The burnt jungle was a barrier of stumps, with ash and dust filled pits between that could trap a tank. They were caught this way time and again, one tank after another. Each time it happened a weary driver would go out in a coldsuit to attach cables to drag the trapped vehicle clear. The dust and ash clung to their suits and was carried back into the tanks, until everything was coated and filthy. After relentless hours of labor the men were close to exhaustion. Jan realized this and called a halt.

“We’ll take a break. Clean up a bit, get something to eat and drink.”

“I have a feeling I’ll never be clean again,” Otakar said, grimacing as the grit in the food ground between his teeth. The radio light signaled for attention and Jan flicked it on.

“Semenov here. How is it coming?”

“Slowly. I’m taking a wide swing in the hope we will be able to bypass the fissure. I don’t want to have to make a second cut. Is the loading done?”

“Last train filled and sealed. I’ve pulled the trains two kilometers down the Road. The spilled corn is beginning to catch fire, and I wanted us clear of any danger.”

“Yes, keep them well away. The silos will go next — will probably explode from the internal pressure. I’ll keep you informed of our progress.”

They went through two more sleep periods, locked in. the filthy tanks, before they reached the volcanic fissure again. Jan saw it appear suddenly as the burnt tree he was pushing aside disappeared over the edge. He jammed on both brakes, then wiped the inside of the front port as the clouds of ash settled outside.

“It’s still there,” Otakar said, unable to keep the despair from his voice.

“Yes — but it’s no more than a hundred meters wide. If it’s no deeper, we’ll just start filling it and we won’t have to go any further.”

It was just possible. As the tanks widened and leveled the new track they had cut, the debris was pushed over the edge. Fusion guns burned and compacted it while more and more rubble was added to the growing mound. Eventually it reached the top and the first tank clanked gingerly forward onto the new surface. It held.

“I want more fill in there,” Jan ordered. “Keep the fusion guns on it too. Those engines and trains are a lot heavier than these tanks. We’ll split into two groups. One to compact the fill, the other to cut a track back to the Road on the other side. I’ll get the trains up behind us, ready to cross as soon as we’re done.”

It was a rough and ready job, the best they could do. They labored for more than a hundred hours before Jan was satisfied with the result.

“I’m going to bring the first train over. The rest of you stand by.”