chapter 1

John Ward¹, God Helper, hung in his chair like a damp, empty uniform. An open, four-foot port showed a circle of blazing blue sky and a regular glimpse of a high, curving topsail. The humid, hot salty flavor of a strange sea blanketed the cabin, and sparked a sudden thought:
"What the hell am I doing here?"
There was no prompt answer. The wind rushed and moaned. The roiling² water crashed and hissed³ under the stern. The following ship heaved its topsail into sight again, and withdrew it. A lilting chant drifted like smoke on the wind.
We ride the wind down like sleek⁴, skimming birds.
The seething⁵ foam⁶ furrows⁷ follow true.
The sky is clouded with our singing sails.
We ride the wind down, down the wind.
He was Comet Colonel John Ward, Terran Confederation, Earth; he was certain of that. Age? Forty-two, more or less. Specialty⁸? Historical Naval⁹ Tactician¹⁰. If you had to call it something you might as well call it that. Hobby? Sailing. But, God, Snipes and Lightnings aren't ships-of-the-line! Reading? Well ... lyric¹² poetry and ancient history, if you must know. Present Occupation? God Helper. No, call that Commander Advisor¹³ to the Kali, Aqua. Future? Oh, hell-yes; right up the....
Wide shouldered, wave exploding, trim twin-hulled we come.
First, the sky tall, fine first-liners.
Then the seconds, flanking fast.
Lean and level slide the frigates¹⁴.
All around us flash the corvettes.
Ride the wind down, Kali seamen¹⁵, down the wind to Ande-Ke.
Six months ago he had a future all outlined, but six months ago he was a shining God Helper, come in glory. Now he was simply a God Helper, and sometimes not even that.
We are the Kali. The fortunate ones. Yes!
Heirs to our wind and water world.
Like our ships we are tall and proud.
Like our wind we are wild and restless.
Like our sea we are strong and savage¹⁶.
This is our world, wide and lonely.
Ride the wind down. Kali brothers, down the wind to Anda-Ke.

Six months on this barely discovered, one per cent land area, behind-the-galaxy planet, with piercing Confederation insight: Aqua. Where the land was scattered¹⁷ about like pepper on an egg, and even the wind tried to run backwards¹⁸.
Down the wind at Anda-Ke—there is trouble.
There we meet the stupid Grimnal.
There the challenging, groveling Grimnal.
He will plead for his wives and children.
And, as proper Kali seamen.
We will keep them soft and happy.
After, we send their men away,
Under the hungry gray-green water:
Under the wind as we ride the wind down, down the wind to victory.
And here he still was, trying to show some life-loving, song-singing, battle-mad, contrary-thinking, conceived of leather and salt spray, five-foot humanoids how to fight a sea war.
And that was really quite a joke. The Kali and the Grimnal had been at this for a hundred years, and doing quite well. They were in no danger of getting overpopulated for one thing, and had evolved a dual¹⁹ power political system over the entire planet before the invention of an explosive. But now, being newly discovered by bigger and better dual powers, they were being shown how to fight in a bigger and better way. Only the Grimnal seemed to be learning, however. Oh, the Kali listened, and even followed directions, but they seemed incapable²⁰ of understanding that slamming two corvettes upwind into the guns of eight first-liners was simply not good military tactics.
They had a game. Something like Tag in reverse. One man was It, and everyone on ship tried to catch him. He could go anywhere, do anything, even cut the rigging as long as it didn't endanger the ship. The more daring he was, the better. Ward had watched one make a hundred and fifty foot dive from a skysail yard with the ship making about twenty knots in a heavy sea. How do you go about explaining caution to a people like that?

But he had to. Somehow. Since the big boys had taken sides the Kali had been losing. Or, more accurately²¹, Ward had been losing.
All the Gods are busy Beings.
We know.
But even They have noticed now,
Ward's wandering mind snapped back. This was a new verse.
And sent a sky man down to help us;
Sent a Helper down to lead us.
But the ways of Gods are strange.
The Grimnal leaps from isle²² to island,
While the Kali stand and watch him.
While the Gods and Helpers falter²³.
Ride the wind down, Kali brothers. At Anda-Ke we stand the test.
A polite cough from behind reminded him that Captain Tahn was still in the cabin. The Kali coughed to express anything from rage to sheer joy, and this one probably meant that Ward's hearing the last verse was an accident. Ward swung around and glanced at him, but the Kali deliberately²⁴ kept his slitted eyes on the chart before him. Ward was reminded again of the Kali likeness²⁵ to the long vanished American Indian: black, straight hair; narrowed, snapping black eyes; high, angular cheek bones. But not much beyond that. If you took a fine featured Sioux of long ago ... shortened him about a foot, thinned him down—bones and all, raised his shoulders to a perpetual shrug²⁶, stretched his arms so that they still reached his hips¹¹, then starved him for a month ... you might be close. But if you took a picture of him then, and looked at it slightly sideways, you would almost have it. An extremely thin, short, shrugging strip of muscled rawhide²⁷.
Tahn coughed again; the your-attention-please cough. He swung a chart around for Ward to see. It was a rough drawing of Anda-Ke, the largest of the Grimnal Group, and more or less the home island. It looked somewhat like a startled elephant: mouth open, trunk arced out at an angle. The mouth was Anda Bay, and was guarded by Anda Passage where the lower lip came within two miles of the upper. The trunk was Pelo Head, and was broken about halfway²⁸ down by Pelo Break. The area between the drooping²⁹ trunk and the neck was the Grimnal Sea. It was into this that the Kali fleet was charging like a peanut sailing for the mouth.
Tahn tapped a pencil-like finger at the rearmost reach of Anda Bay.

"There," he said, in the Kali-Confederation mixture they found to be the shortest distance between two cultures. "Anchored there like marks on a sail. Feeling so safe in their home. Thinking we do not dare come after them. Grimnal rafts just waiting to go to the bottom."
"And the gliders³⁰?" Ward asked. "Are they returned? We have no information but the tales of two natives."
Tahn glanced at a water trickling³¹, time-measuring device hanging from the overhead.
"Soon the gliders return, but...." He shrugged³², somehow.
"And those are not rafts," Ward went on. "The natives said three, two and single gun rows. That means first and second-liners, frigates and probably corvettes. And they said 'many,' which means anywhere from fifty to two hundred."
Tahn coughed his agreement.
"But with Grimnal stupidity," he said, "they can do no more than run around in terror as we shell the city and fire their ships. We have this won."
Ward looked down at his bands, caught a deep breath, and continued.
"I have said before. We are not fighting just the Grimnal. We are fighting God Helpers too. Men like myself have come to help the Grimnal." He caught Tahn's flickering³³ glance and added quickly, "Men who are probably better fighters than I am."
Tahn coughed and leaned his head sideways, fairly equivalent to a casual 'so what?'
"False Gods. False Helpers," he said.
Ward held his breath and swung back to face the port. Great, sizzling Hell! He wondered if his opposite with the Grimnal had such problems. Probably not. Problems weren't allowed in the United Peace Worlds. And with the Grimnal preference for island life over the sea, it apparently³⁴ took little urging to make them want all the islands in the world.
"You realize," Ward said without turning, "that they have probably known of our coming for days."
"Good."
"And what would they still be doing at anchor?"
Cough, cough. Probably meaning how the hell should I know?

1 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

2 roiling   

v.搅混（液体）( roil的现在分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气

参考例句：

• Now, all that could be seen was the roiling, lead--coloured sea, with its thunderously heaving waves. 狂风挟着暴雨如同弥漫大雾，排挞呼号，在海上恣意奔驶。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• Rather, it is a roiling, seething cauldron of evanescent particles. 相反，它是一个不断翻滚、剧烈沸腾的大锅，内有逐渐消失的粒子。 来自互联网

3 hissed   

发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对

参考例句：

• Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过？
• The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。

4 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

5 seething   

沸腾的，火热的

参考例句：

• The stadium was a seething cauldron of emotion. 体育场内群情沸腾。
• The meeting hall was seething at once. 会场上顿时沸腾起来了。

6 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

7 furrows   

n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 )；（脸上的）皱纹v.犁田，开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I could tell from the deep furrows in her forehead that she was very disturbed by the news. 从她额头深深的皱纹上，我可以看出她听了这个消息非常不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dirt bike trails crisscrossed the grassy furrows. 越野摩托车的轮迹纵横交错地布满条条草沟。 来自辞典例句

8 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

9 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

10 tactician   

n. 战术家, 策士

参考例句：

• This was why an airport manager needed to be a tactician as well as versatile administrator. 因此，一个空港经理必须既是一个计谋家，又是一个能应付各种情况的行政管理家。
• The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. 故善用兵者，譬如率然。

11 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 lyric   

n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的

参考例句：

• This is a good example of Shelley's lyric poetry.这首诗是雪莱抒情诗的范例。
• His earlier work announced a lyric talent of the first order.他的早期作品显露了一流的抒情才华。

13 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

14 frigates   

n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Frigates are a vital part of any balanced sea-going fleet. 护卫舰是任何一个配置均衡的远洋舰队所必需的。 来自互联网
• These ships are based on the Chinese Jiangwei II class frigates. 这些战舰是基于中国的江卫II型护卫舰。 来自互联网

15 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

16 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

17 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

18 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

19 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

20 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

21 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

22 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

23 falter   

vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚

参考例句：

• His voice began to falter.他的声音开始发颤。
• As he neared the house his steps faltered.当他走近房子时，脚步迟疑了起来。

24 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

25 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

26 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

27 rawhide   

n.生牛皮

参考例句：

• At his belt he carried a rawhide whip.他腰间别着生牛皮制成的鞭子。
• The drum skin was tightly strapped over the circle rawhide laces.鼓皮的一圈被生牛皮紧紧地勒住了。

28 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

29 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

30 gliders   

n.滑翔机( glider的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The albatross is the king of gliders. 信天翁是滑翔鸟类之王。 来自《用法词典》
• For three summers, may bested and improved their gliders. 他们花了三个夏天不断地测试、改进。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

31 trickling   

n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Tears were trickling down her cheeks. 眼泪顺着她的面颊流了下来。
• The engine was trickling oil. 发动机在滴油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

34 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。