Scott Westerfeld - Goliath

Siberia, Alek said. The word slipped cold and hard from his tongue, as forbidding as the landscape passing below.

We wont be over Siberia till tomorrow. Dylan sat at the table, still attacking his breakfast. And itll take almost a week to cross it. Russia is barking big.

And cold, Newkirk added. He stood next to Alek at the window of the middies mess, both hands wrapped around a cup of tea.

Cold, repeated Bovril. The creature clutched Aleks shoulder a little tighter, and a shiver went through its body.

In early October no snow lay on the ground below. But the sky was an icy, cloudless blue. The window had a lace of frost around its edges, left over from a frigid night.

Another week of flying across this wasteland, Alek thought. Farther from Europe and the war, and from his destiny. The Leviathan was still headed east, probably toward the empire of Japan, though no one would confirm their destination. Even though hed helped the British cause back in Istanbul, the airships officers still saw Alek and his men as little better than prisoners. He was a Clanker prince and they were Darwinists, and the Great War between the two technologies was spreading faster every day.

Itll get much colder as we angle north, Dylan said around a mouthful of his breakfast. You should both finish your potatoes. Theyll keep you warm.

Alek turned. But were already north of Tokyo. Why go out of our way?

Were dead on course, Dylan said. Mr. Rigby made us plot a great circle route last week, and it took us all the way up to Omsk.

A great circle route?

Its a navigators trick, Newkirk explained. He breathed on the window glass before him, then drew an upside-down smile with one fingertip. The earth is round, but paper is flat, right? So a straight course looks curved when you draw it on a map. You always wind up going farther north than youd think.

Except below the equator, Dylan added. Then its the other way round.

Bovril chuckled, as if great circle routes were quite amusing. But Alek hadnt followed a word of itnot that hed expected to.

It was maddening. Two weeks ago hed helped lead a revolution against the Ottoman sultan, ruler of an ancient empire. The rebels had welcomed Aleks counsel, his piloting skills, and his gold. And together theyd won.

But here aboard the Leviathan he was deadweighta waste of hydrogen, as the crew called anything useless. He might spend his days beside Dylan and Newkirk, but he was no midshipman. He couldnt take a sextant reading, tie a decent knot, or estimate the ships altitude.

Worst of all, Alek was no longer needed in the engine pods. In the month hed been plotting revolution in Istanbul, the Darwinist engineers had learned a lot about Clanker mechaniks. Hoffman and Klopp were no longer called up to help with the engines, so there was hardly any need for a translator.

Since the first time hed come aboard, Alek had dreamed of somehow serving on the Leviathan. But everything he could offerwalker piloting, fencing, speaking six languages, and being a grandnephew of an emperorseemed to be worthless on an airship. He was no doubt more valuable as a young prince who had famously switched sides than as an airman.

It was as if everyone were trying to make him a waste of hydrogen.

Then Alek remembered a saying of his fathers: The only way to remedy ignorance is to admit it.

He took a slow breath. Im aware that the earth is round, Mr. Newkirk. But I still dont understand this great circle route business.

Its dead easy to see if youve got a globe in front of you, Dylan said, pushing away his plate. Theres one in the navigation room. Well sneak in sometime when the officers arent there.

That would be most agreeable. Alek turned back to the window and clasped his hands behind his back.

Its nothing to be ashamed of, Prince Aleksandar, Newkirk said. Still takes me ages to plot a proper course. Not like Mr. Sharp here, knowing all about sextants before he even joined the Service.

Not all of us are lucky enough to have an airman for a father, Alek said.

Father? Newkirk turned from the window, frowning. Wasnt that your uncle, Mr. Sharp?

Bovril made a soft noise, sinking its tiny claws into Aleks shoulder. Dylan said nothing, though. He seldom spoke of his father, who had burned to death in front of the boys eyes. The accident still haunted Dylan, and fire was the only thing that frightened him.

Alek cursed himself as a Dummkopf, wondering why hed mentioned the man. Was he angry at Dylan for always being so good at everything?

He was about to apologize when Bovril shifted again, leaning forward to stare out the window.

Beastie, the perspicacious loris said.

A black fleck had glided into view, wheeling across the empty blue sky. It was a huge bird, much bigger than the falcons that had circled the airship in the mountains a few days before. It had the size and claws of a predator, but its shape was unlike any Alek had seen before.

It was headed straight for the ship.

Does that bird look odd to you, Mr. Newkirk?

Newkirk turned back to the window and raised his field glasses, which were still around his neck from the morning watch.

Aye, he said a moment later. I think its an imperial eagle!

There was a hasty scrape of chair legs from behind them. Dylan appeared at the window, shielding his eyes with both hands.

Blisters, youre righttwo heads! But imperials only carry messages from the czar himself.

Alek glanced at Dylan, wondering if hed heard right. Two heads?

The eagle soared closer, flashing past the window in a blur of black feathers, a glint of gold from its harness catching the morning sun. Bovril broke into maniacal laughter at its passage.

Its headed for the bridge, right? Alek asked.

Aye. Newkirk lowered his field glasses. Important messages go straight to the captain.

A bit of hope pried its way into Aleks dark mood. The Russians were allies of the British, fellow Darwinists who fabricated mammothines and giant fighting bears. What if the czar needed help against the Clanker armies and this was a summons to turn the ship around? Even fighting on the icy Russian front would be better than wasting time in this wilderness.

I need to know what that message says.

Newkirk snorted. Why dont you go and ask the captain, then?

Aye, Dylan said. And while youre at it, ask him to give me a warmer cabin.

What can it hurt? Alek said. He hasnt thrown me into the brig yet.

When Alek had returned to the Leviathan two weeks ago, hed half expected to be put in chains for escaping from the ship. But the ships officers had treated him with respect.

Perhaps it wasnt so bad, everyone finally knowing he was the son of the late Archduke Ferdinand, and not just some Austrian noble trying to escape the war.

Whats a good excuse to pay the bridge a visit? he asked.

No need for excuses, Newkirk said. That birds flown all the way from Saint Petersburg. Theyll call us to come and fetch it for a rest and a feeding.