Inside the large barbican structure was a corridor that branched right and left, leading to peripheral rooms behind the massive curtain-wall. The guide led Bryan up an open stairway to the second level. Here the corridors were whitewashed and there were handsome brass sconces with containers of oil ready to be lighted at nightfall. Deeply bayed windows giving onto the inner court let daylight into the hall.
“We got a small reception room for each of you,” the guardian said. “Sit down and rest and have some tucker if you like.” He threw open a heavy wooden door and trod the way into a chamber that measured about four by four. It was carpeted with a thick wool rug in shades of brown and gray and furnished with surprisingly well crafted chairs and benches of turned wood. Some had corded seats and backs, while others were padded with black woolen cushions. On a low table were ceramic pitchers containing hot and cold liquids, drinking tumblers, a bowl of purple plums and small cherries, and a plateful of seedcakes.
The guide helped Bryan unfasten his backpack. “There’s faculties through that curtained door. Some new arrivals feel the need. A chap from the interview committee will come to you in about ten minutes. Meanwhile, just live it cool.”
He went out and closed the door.
Bryan walked to an embrasured window in the exterior wall and gazed at the landscape through an ornamental brass grating. He could see amphicyons prowling in the narrow space below. Beyond the outer wall was the pathway and the rock outcropping with its four cornerstones that marked the position of the time-portal. Shading his eyes against the rising sun, he saw the savanna undulating gently toward the Rhône Valley. A small herd of four-footed animals grazed in the far distance. A bird sang an intricate song. Somewhere in the castle, the sound of human laughter echoed briefly.
Bryan Grenfell sighed. So this was the Pliocene!
He began examining his surroundings, his mind automatically filing away the homely details that could tell an anthropologist so much about the culture of a new world. Walls of mortared stone, whitewashed (casein?), with stained oak framing around the doorways and shutters for the glasslesswindow. The convenience had a smaller louvered slit in the wall for ventilation. Its toilet was a simple hole in the masonry reminiscent of the medieval garderobes to be found in English castles. It sported a wooden seat and a nicely carved lid, and had a box of green leaves mounted on the wall beside it. For wash-up there was a ceramic basin and laver (thrown stoneware, slip-decorated, salt-glazed). The soap was fine-grained, properly aged, and scented with some herb. The hand towel resembled coarse linen.
He strolled back to the reception room. The food laid out on the table added its data to the mass. Bryan ate a cherry, putting the large pit neatly into an empty dish and noting that the flesh was meager but sweet. Probably the original European bird cherry or some close relative, the tiny plums also seemed to be wild. If any time-travelers had brought budwood from improved stonefruits, the resulting trees might have been too susceptible to Pliocene insects and diseases to survive without chemical protection. He wondered about wine grapes and strawberries but seemed to recall that both were rather resistant, and so there was a fair chance that Richard would have his wine and Mercy her strawberries and cream…
The cold drink tasted of citrus, and the steaming pitcher turned out to contain hot coffee. Agnostic though he was, Bryan sent up a prayer of thanks for the latter. The seedcakes had a firm texture and a faint aroma of honey. They had been baked properly and decorated with hazelnuts on top. The cookie plate was incised with a simple motif and had a handsome sang de boeuf glaze.
There was a light tapping on the door. The brass latch lifted to admit a mild-looking older man with a neatly trimmed mustache and imperial. He smiled tentatively and sidled in when Bryan gave him a friendly murmur. He wore a blue tunic with a white cord about the waist and had the same necklet of dark metal as the guardians had worn. He seemed ill at ease and perched on the very edge of a bench.
“My name is Tully. I’m a member of the interview committee. If you wouldn’t mind, I mean, we can probably help you find your way about and all if you’d tell us just a little about yourself and your plans. Not to pry, you understand! But if we could know just a little of your background and about the trade you’ve learned, it would help ever so much. I mean, we could tell you which places have need of your, uh, talents if you’re interested in settling down. And if you don’t want to settle down, perhaps you have questions you’d like to ask me. I’m here to help you, do you see?”
He’s afraid of me, Bryan realized in amazement. And then he thought of the kind of persons who might come through the gate, persons such as Stein and Felice, for example, who might react to the initial disorientation and culture-shock with violence, and decided that Tully had every reason to be cautious in his initial encounter with new arrivals. He probably rated combat pay. To soothe the man, Bryan leaned back in one of the chairs and munched on a seedcake.
“These are very good. Made with oats, are they? and sesame? It’s reassuring to be greeted with civilized food. An excellent psychological maneuver on your part.”
Tully gave a delighted little laugh. “Oh, do you think so? We’ve tried hard to make Castle Gateway a welcoming environment, but some of the arrivals are deeply stressed and we sometimes have difficulty calming them.”
“I felt a bit wonky at first, but I’m fine now. Don’t look so anxious, man! I’m harmless. And I’ll answer any reasonable questions.”
“Splendid!” The interviewer smiled his relief. He took out a small sheet of writing material (paper? vellum?) from a belt pouch, together with an ordinary twenty-second-century pen. “Your name and former occupation?”
“Bryan Grenfell. I was a cultural anthropologist specializing in the analysis of certain kinds of social conflict. I’m most interested in studying your society here, even though I’m not too sanguine about the possibility of publishing my work.”
Tully chuckled in appreciation. “Fascinating, Bryan! You know, there have been very few members of your profession to come through the gate. You’ll certainly want to go on to the capital and talk to the people there. They’d be most interested in you. You could provide unique insights!”
Bryan looked surprised. “I’m equipped to earn my living as a fisherman or coastal trader. I never thought my academic credentials would be appreciated in the Pliocene.”
“But we aren’t savages!” Tully protested. “Your scientific talents will very likely prove invaluable to, um, administrative persons, who’ll welcome your advice.”
“So you do have a structured society.”
“Very simple, very simple,” the man said hurriedly. “But I’m sure you’ll find it worthy of careful study.”
“I’ve already begun on that, you know.” Bryan watched Tully’s meticulously barbered face. “This building, for instance, has been well designed for security. I’m most interested in knowing what you secure against.”
“Oh, there are several kinds of animals that are quite dangerous. The giant hyenas, the machairodus sabercats…”
“But this castle seems more suited to defense against human aggression.”
The interviewer fingered his neck-ring. His eyes darted here and there and finally fixed Bryan with a sincere expression. “Well, of course there are unstable personalities coming through the portal, and even though we try very hard to assimilate everyone, we have an inevitable problem with the really serious misfits. But you need have no fear, Bryan, because you and the rest of your party are quite safe here with us. Actually, the, um, disturbed element tends to hide away in the mountains and in other remote places. Please don’t worry. You’ll find that the high-culture persons have complete ascendancy here in Exile. Everyday life is as tranquil as it can be in a, um, aboriginal environment.”