Imagine That: Justice

fragrance into the air. It wasn't poisonous. Ed had checked that.

He came to the side of a vertical drop. Far below, at the bottom of the rocky cliff that rose upward to his feet, he could see a river. Only one curve of it showed, like the coil of a snake, twisting out of the dark bush and back again, under an overhang of grey stone.

He heard a rushing sound, coming from behind him. He turned, defensive. Too late. A solid object struck him on the head and he toppled sideways. For a moment he was caught, defying gravity, then he fell. The wind whistled in his ears. The river sprang towards him. He was going to die.

His left hand rumbled for a switch on his chest. It was a slim hope but he had to try. The wind whipped his arms about. He spun sideways and somersaulted. Any second now. He had it.

With a loud bang the rushing air exploded into the bag and billowed out. A split second later Ed struck the water and submerged with a tremendous splash. When he surfaced again he was alive and dazed, face upwards, spread-eagled on top of the air bag. He lay there for a moment, wondering why the sky was swinging crazily about, then he shook his head and tried to sit up. His head was pounding with pain and his legs were trembling.

The river was totally indifferent to its passenger. It pulled the earthman under the rocky cliff and carried him through a dark canopy of trees. By the time the suns were visible again, Ed was feeling normal enough to kneel, shakily, on the grey plastic bag. He reached over his shoulder and unhooked the steelite rope. With his other hand he prepared the catch on his built-in harness then he clicked the compression gun together and took aim.

With a hiss the steelite snaked upwards and anchored itself to the cliff wall. Ed kicked off and allowed the micropulley to hoist him up to the top.

When he was ready, he lifted his head carefully above the edge of the cliff and looked around. He had a good view of the hillside, but there was nothing in sight. Only the purple flowers. Their smell, and the general warmth of the planet made it difficult for Ed to believe that anything hostile lived here. Had it been his imagination? Had he succumbed to some strange effect, and imagined he had been knocked off the cliff? He pressed his hand to his head and felt the bruise. No, it had been real enough.

Now that he knew he was chasing something intelligent, that is, intelligent enough to lead him into a trap, Ed decided to approach his job with a ton more caution. He