The Islanders (28 page)

The trucks that once had taken construction workers to the mountains now came down from the heights, heavily loaded with crate after crate of attractively bottled water, bearing labels in foreign languages. The trucks went down to the port, where water-company ships bore the crates away. In the quayside bars and restaurants, in the local shops, in the homes and most of all in the bodies and minds of the Mesters, the water was no more.

Slowly the Mesters came to realize what they had lost. In parallel with that, and consequent upon it, the soothing, relaxing, cheering effect of the water wore off.

It coincided with one of the return visits of Kal and Sebenn Kapes. He, not feeling the familiar growth in him, the happy emergence into the higher state, was quickly apprised of the change that had taken place. Poets are not legislators, nor are they warriors or agitators, but they can be good with words. Kapes made a speech one day in the centre of Mester Town, a passionate speech well equipped with excellent turns of phrase, and what followed was unprecedented, unexpected, inevitable and noisy.

The ruins of the bottling plant are open today as a visitor attraction and access is free all year round. The summer palace to which the Seignior of the day retired can also be visited, on the small adjacent island of Topecik, but a boat ride is of course necessary. Parents with small children are reminded that parts of Mesterline are now historical or heritage sites where large explosions occurred in the past, and care should therefore be exercised. Although the direct action took place nearly a century ago there are still in theory legal proceedings being taken against the estate of Kal Kapes and certain members of the Seigniory families.

The remains of the undersea pipeline are normally closed to the public, but access to the remains of the pumping station is possible, and there is also a heritage section of the pipeline. It is possible to explore this if permission is obtained in advance.

Samples of Mester water may be taken freely from the source, and more supplies may be ordered from any of the shops in town. Visitors are reminded, though, that there is a strict upper limit on the quantity of water that may be taken from the island, and that what is permissible should be only for personal use.

Currency: Archipelagian simoleon; Muriseayan thaler.

Muriseay

RED JUNGLE / THRESHOLD OF LOVE / BIG ISLAND / YARD OF BONES

M
URISEAY
is many things, and there are many things it is not.

Although it is by far the largest island in the Dream Archipelago and is the most populous, it has the most powerful economy, the highest mountains, the densest forest, the hottest summer temperatures, has more lakes and rivers than any other island, has the greatest number of airfields, ports, railroads, businesses, criminals, TV channels, film studios, museums, and many other superlatives, Muriseay is not the ‘capital’ island of the Archipelago.

It does not have a seat of government for anything except its own administration, plus three regional assemblies in semi-devolved areas. Although Muriseayan banks are found all over the Archipelago, and its currency is accepted in most of the biggest islands, it does not control the economy of other islands, nor does it seek to do so. The same is true of language, cultural influence, policy towards the Covenant, and much more. Like most of the islands, Muriseay is run as a benign seignioral feudal state, inward-looking and socially conservative, but with a positive interest in market forces, and the freedom and human rights of the individual.

Although Muriseay has a civilian policier force and coastline guards it has no army, no air force and the only navy is a small fleet of fishery protection vessels. The civilian populace is banned from holding concealable weapons, and strict licensing arrangements cover sport and hunting uses. There are two military airfields, but each of those is used exclusively by one or other of the combatant allied powers. In this, Muriseay is in contrast with the smaller islands, some of which do maintain a standing militia or defence corps. Muriseay is constitutionally neutral even within the Covenant.

Muriseay’s wealth attracts many more immigrants than does any other island – it has full shelterate and havenic laws – so that while being the wealthiest place in the Archipelago, Muriseay also has a higher incidence of poverty than anywhere else. The apartments and houses of the major cities, including Muriseay Town itself, are crowded and in many places in poor physical condition. Some of the streets are all but impassable with traffic, mopeds, roadside enterprises and pedestrians – in other parts, especially in the Colonial Quarter, there are many fine buildings and open squares, and a network of old streets where restaurants, cinemas, houses and small privately owned shops are found. Many of the streets are lined with jacarandas and eucalypts. Air pollution is serious, especially in Muriseay Town. Crime is rife, particularly amongst ethnically varied immigrants. Huge shanty towns surround the outer city. There are numerous deeply entrenched social problems related to overcrowding, drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution, racial prejudice, child neglect and cruelty, homelessness, violent crime, and much more.

However, the most disruptive influence on Muriseayan life is the island’s ambivalent relationship with the combatant powers. Both of these have immense military bases on Muriseay, established illegally and by force and occupied in resistance to all political attempts to have them removed. The large, heavily fortified camps are used for training, planning, interrogation and R&R. Because the camps are situated at opposite ends of the island they rarely come into contact or conflict with each other. Both bases employ local people, so their presence has a positive influence on the economy of the island. As well as having the military camps in place, Muriseay is also an invariable port of call for the many troopships passing through the Midway Sea, heading to or from the battle zones of Sudmaieure. These frequent visits have a disruptive effect on lives in the ports, adding to the social problems already in existence, but also bringing a source of income to many inhabitants.

However, for all the industrial and social complexities Muriseay is one of the most physically beautiful islands of all. The central massif has snow-capped mountains for most of the year, and its deep gorges, rivers, rock-faces and alpine pastures are a source of pleasure for inhabitants and visitors alike. Because of the island’s proximity to the equator, and its adjacency to the strongest tidal flow in the Midway Sea, Muriseay has many beaches that are an irresistible attraction for pleasure-seekers, from quiet beaches suitable for young families, to the famous Wookat Beach, where the extreme sport of rock-surfing is carried out all year round.

Muriseay Town itself is in the south-western corner of the island, situated in a broad bay which is the outlet for two of the island’s largest rivers. It is surrounded by tropical forest, of such complexity and denseness that beyond the limits of urbanization much of it remains unexplored, even in the present day. It is known or thought that the Muriseayan rainforest was the cradle of life for many hundreds of different species now found dispersed throughout the islands. No thryme colonies have ever been found on Muriseay. Parts of the forest are open to visitors in a range of sensitively designed and managed visitor and camping complexes, while the wilder and more remote regions are accessible to hardy bush-walkers. The forest extends over most of the southern half of the island and remains undamaged for most of its extent. There are rumours of ‘lost tribes’ still eking out a primeval existence somewhere in the deepest parts of the forest, but all evidence for this is anecdotal and scientific surveys have so far discovered nothing. The Muriseayan Council has for many years resisted attempts to commercialize the forest or to exploit areas of it for timber.

The forest is ringed, but not traversed, by modern highways and railroads.

Perhaps the greatest influence Muriseay has on the rest of the Archipelago is its heritage of arts. Almost every great composer, artist, writer or actor in the world was either born on Muriseay or studied there at some time, or at least has reflected Muriseayan influence in his or her work. Much of the island’s great wealth has been poured into support of the arts – every Muriseayan city has a major opera house or concert hall, while Muriseay Town has two of each, endlessly in competition with each other. Galleries, theatres, museums, workshops, studios, libraries abound. Large artistic communities continue to thrive in all parts of Muriseay – there is an unusual arrangement in that no recognized artist resident on Muriseay is expected to pay tax, but contributes to the economy on a tithe basis, enriching galleries and public buildings with an ever-expanding variety of books, paintings, sculptures and musical compositions.

Of course, artists being of essence temperamental, there are those who have rebelled against the Muriseayan artistic hegemony, or were never accepted into it.

Of the writers, perhaps the must notable and luminous exile was the great Piqayean novelist Chaster Kammeston. He not only never visited Muriseay but actively disdained its influence, would not allow Muriseayan artwork anywhere near his house and never received nor of course ever applied for any Muriseayan grant aid. When awarded the highest literary accolade in the world, the Inclair Laureateship for Literature, Kammeston accepted, but on discovering that the ceremony was traditionally held on Muriseay he belatedly attempted to decline the prize. Such was his standing that the Laureateship Committee decided exceptionally to make the award on the author’s home island. The entire committee plus an attendant horde of publishing and media people travelled at their own great inconvenience to Piqay. Kammeston did then rise magnanimously to the occasion, accepted the Laureateship humbly and thankfully, and made a gracious acceptance speech in which he praised a number of his fellow authors.

The mime artist, Commis, refused for years to take his performance to the island. He never gave any reason. It is thought that his short Muriseayan season of live performances was booked either in error or against his wishes by his agent. The agent died in mysterious circumstances shortly afterwards, and Commis himself was murdered before he could reach Muriseay to fulfil the contract. Because of the unusual nature of his murder, it was cynically rumoured at the time that he had staged or falsified his own death to break the contract, but this is an outrageous suggestion. It remains none the less that his work is unknown on the major island except, ironically, by word of mouth.

Rascar Acizzone, the tactilist master, was a native of Muriseay, but he was sent into permanent exile after a period of imprisonment. Although his work is still officially disapproved, the museums and galleries in Muriseay Town do have examples of his extraordinary paintings in closed case, for examination solely by academics, historians and genuine students.

A similar exception to the rule was the landscape painter and portraitist Dryd Bathurst. He was permanently barred from entering Muriseay after some incident during a visit in his youth. It appears that there was a policier or probation element to this ban, not an artistic one, because his work hangs prominently in several galleries on the island. And Jordenn Yo, the earthmoving installation artist, tried several times to enter Muriseay but was refused entry every time.

However, these people are the exceptions and the Muriseayan artistic influence remains the most important in the world. Visitors intending to take advantage of this immense heritage should plan an extended stay on the island, or make repeated visits so they might fully appreciate the huge range of material the island has to show.

Currency: all accepted in Muriseay Town; elsewhere the Archipelagian simoleon, Muriseayan thaler and Aubracian talent may be used at commercial rates. Forces’ paper money is also accepted in the port areas of the big coastal cities.

Nelquay

SLOW TIDE

A small, obscure and largely unvisited island, N
ELQUAY
is situated in the cool northern latitudes, part of the Torqui chain of islands. The economy is agrarian peasant, although a speculative construction project is under way to build a marina, hotel and casino complex.

This controversial and ambitious development attracted scores of migrant workers from neighbouring islands – notably from the adjacent Hetta Group – many of whom remained on Nelquay when the construction work went into abeyance. The financial backers of the project were not known, and the marina became subject to scrutiny by Covenant administrators. It would have involved the building of a new harbour immediately adjacent to one of the military shipping lanes. As that put the island potentially in breach of the Covenant, the entire project has been put on hold until more is known about who is behind the project and what their intentions are.

After the murder of the mime artiste Commis, the search for the killers soon focused on Nelquay. This was because there is a direct ferry route between Nelquay and the town of Omhuuv, where Commis was killed. A group of itinerant workers who were known to have been on Nelquay for the marina construction were seen in the vicinity of the killing at the time. They left Omhuuv just after the murder and there were witness accounts of them boarding the ferry to Nelquay.

Officers of the Policier Seignioral from the Hetta Group visited Nelquay Town and raided the address where these men were known to have been lodging. None of the men was present – to date they remain fugitives – but a great deal of incriminating material was discovered in an outhouse at the back of the property. A lot of construction equipment and materials had been concealed there, and this included a sheet of plate glass, similar, according to policier forensic scientists, to the sheet that was used to murder Commis.