{"id":880,"date":"2020-03-21T23:50:01","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T23:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jefferson-sciencefictionandfantasy\/?post_type=chapter&p=880"},"modified":"2020-03-21T23:50:01","modified_gmt":"2020-03-21T23:50:01","slug":"frank-herbert-missing-link","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jefferson-sciencefictionandfantasy\/chapter\/frank-herbert-missing-link\/","title":{"raw":"Frank Herbert, Missing Link","rendered":"Frank Herbert, Missing Link"},"content":{"raw":"
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MISSING LINK<\/h1>\r\n

BY FRANK HERBERT<\/p>\r\nThe Romantics used to say that the eyes were the windows of the Soul. A good Alien Xenologist might not put it quite so poetically ... but he can, if he\u2019s sharp, read a lot in the look of an eye!<\/i>\r\n

Illustrated by van Dongen<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\"W\"<\/div>\r\n

<\/a>[101]<\/span>e ought<\/span> to scrape this planet clean of every living thing on it,\u201d muttered Umbo Stetson, section chief of Investigation & Adjustment.<\/p>\r\nStetson paced the landing control bridge of his scout cruiser. His footsteps grated on a floor that was the rear wall of the bridge during flight. But now the ship rested on its tail fins\u2014all four hundred glistening red and black meters of it. The open ports of the bridge looked out on the jungle roof of Gienah III some one hundred fifty meters below. A butter yellow sun hung above the horizon, perhaps an hour from setting.\r\n\r\n\u201cClean as an egg!\u201d he barked. He paused in his round of the bridge, glared out the starboard port, spat into the fire-blackened circle that the cruiser\u2019s jets had burned from the jungle.\r\n\r\nThe I-A section chief was dark-haired, gangling, with large head and big features. He stood in his customary slouch, a stance not improved by sacklike patched blue fatigues. Although on this present operation he rated the flag of a division admiral, his fatigues carried no insignia. There was a general unkempt, straggling look about him.\r\n\r\nLewis Orne, junior I-A field man with a maiden diploma, stood at the opposite port, studying the jungle horizon. Now and then he glanced at the bridge control console, the chronometer above it, the big translite map of their position tilted from<\/a>[102]<\/span> the opposite bulkhead. A heavy planet native, he felt vaguely uneasy on this Gienah III with its gravity of only seven-eighths Terran Standard. The surgical scars on his neck where the micro-communications equipment had been inserted itched maddeningly. He scratched.\r\n\r\n\u201cHah!\u201d said Stetson. \u201cPoliticians!\u201d\r\n\r\nA thin black insect with shell-like wings flew in Orne\u2019s port, settled in his close-cropped red hair. Orne pulled the insect gently from his hair, released it. Again it tried to land in his hair. He ducked. It flew across the bridge, out the port beside Stetson.\r\n\r\nThere was a thick-muscled, no-fat look to Orne, but something about his blocky, off-center features suggested a clown.\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019m getting tired of waiting,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou\u2019re<\/i> tired! Hah!\u201d\r\n\r\nA breeze rippled the tops of the green ocean below them. Here and there, red and purple flowers jutted from the verdure, bending and nodding like an attentive audience.\r\n\r\n\u201cJust look at that blasted jungle!\u201d barked Stetson. \u201cThem and their stupid orders!\u201d\r\n\r\nA call bell tinkled on the bridge control console. The red light above the speaker grid began blinking. Stetson shot an angry glance at it. \u201cYeah, Hal?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cO.K., Stet. Orders just came through. We use Plan C. ComGO says to brief the field man, and jet out of here.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cDid you ask them about using another field man?\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne looked up attentively.\r\n\r\nThe speaker said: \u201cYes. They said we have to use Orne because of the records on the Delphinus<\/i>.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWell then, will they give us more time to brief him?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cNegative. It\u2019s crash priority. ComGO expects to blast the planet anyway.\u201d\r\n\r\nStetson glared at the grid. \u201cThose fat-headed, lard-bottomed, pig-brained ... POLITICIANS!\u201d He took two deep breaths, subsided. \u201cO.K. Tell them we\u2019ll comply.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cOne more thing, Stet.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat now?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019ve got a confirmed contact.\u201d\r\n\r\nInstantly, Stetson was poised on the balls of his feet, alert. \u201cWhere?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAbout ten kilometers out. Section AAB-6.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cHow many?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cA mob. You want I should count them?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cNo. What\u2019re they doing?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cMaking a beeline for us. You better get a move on.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cO.K. Keep us posted.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cRight.\u201d\r\n

Stetson looked across at his junior field man. \u201cOrne, if you decide you want out of this assignment, you just say the word. I\u2019ll back you to the hilt.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\u201cWhy should I want out of my first field assignment?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cListen, and find out.\u201d Stetson crossed to a tilt-locker behind the big translite map, hauled out a white<\/a>[103]<\/span> coverall uniform with gold insignia, tossed it to Orne. \u201cGet into these while I brief you on the map.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cBut this is an R&R uni\u2014\u201d began Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cGet that uniform on your ugly frame!\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYes, sir, Admiral Stetson, sir. Right away, sir. But I thought I was through with old Rediscovery & Reeducation when you drafted me off of Hamal into the I-A ... sir.\u201d He began changing from the I-A blue to the R&R white. Almost as an afterthought, he said: \u201c...\u00a0Sir.\u201d\r\n\r\nA wolfish grin cracked Stetson\u2019s big features. \u201cI\u2019m soooooo happy you have the proper attitude of subservience toward authority.\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne zipped up the coverall uniform. \u201cOh, yes, sir ... sir.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cO.K., Orne, pay attention.\u201d Stetson gestured at the map with its green superimposed grid squares. \u201cHere we are. Here\u2019s that city we flew over on our way down. You\u2019ll head for it as soon as we drop you. The place is big enough that if you hold a course roughly northeast you can\u2019t miss it. We\u2019re\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\nAgain the call bell rang.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat is it this time, Hal?\u201d barked Stetson.\r\n\r\n\u201cThey\u2019ve changed to Plan H, Stet. New orders cut.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cFive days?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s all they can give us. ComGO says he can\u2019t keep the information out of High Commissioner Bullone\u2019s hands any longer than that.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s five days for sure then.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cIs this the usual R&R foul-up?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\nStetson nodded. \u201cThanks to Bullone and company! We\u2019re just one jump ahead of catastrophe, but they still pump the bushwah into the Rah & Rah boys back at dear old Uni-Galacta!\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYou\u2019re making light of my revered alma mater,\u201d said Orne. He struck a pose. \u201cWe must reunite the lost planets with our centers of culture and industry, and take up the glor<\/i>-ious onward march of mankind that was so bru<\/i>-tally\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cCan it!\u201d snapped Stetson. \u201cWe both know we\u2019re going to rediscover one planet too many some day. Rim War all over again. But this is a different breed of fish. It\u2019s not, repeat, not<\/i> a re<\/i>-discovery.\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne sobered. \u201cAlien?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYes. A-L-I-E-N! A never-before-contacted culture. That language you were force fed on the way over, that\u2019s an alien language. It\u2019s not complete ... all we have off the minis<\/i>. And we excluded data on the natives because we\u2019ve been hoping to dump this project and nobody the wiser.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cHoly mazoo!\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cTwenty-six days ago an I-A search ship came through here, had a routine mini-sneaker look at the place. When he combed in his net of sneakers to check the tapes and films, lo and behold, he had a little stranger.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cOne of theirs<\/i>?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cNo. It was a mini<\/i> off the Delphinus Rediscovery<\/i>. The Delphinus<\/i> has<\/a>[104]<\/span> been unreported for eighteen standard months!\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cDid it crack up here?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know. If it did, we haven\u2019t been able to spot it. She was supposed to be way off in the Balandine System by now. But we\u2019ve something else on our minds. It\u2019s the one item that makes me want to blot out this place, and run home with my tail between my legs. We\u2019ve a\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\nAgain the call bell chimed.\r\n\r\n\u201cNOW WHAT?\u201d roared Stetson into the speaker.\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019ve got a mini<\/i> over that mob, Stet. They\u2019re talking about us. It\u2019s a definite raiding party.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat armament?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cToo gloomy in that jungle to be sure. The infra beam\u2019s out on this mini<\/i>. Looks like hard pellet rifles of some kind. Might even be off the Delphinus<\/i>.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cCan\u2019t you get closer?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWouldn\u2019t do any good. No light down there, and they\u2019re moving up fast.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cKeep an eye on them, but don\u2019t ignore the other sectors,\u201d said Stetson.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou think I was born yesterday?\u201d barked the voice from the grid. The contact broke off with an angry sound.\r\n

\u201cOne thing I like about the I-A,\u201d said Stetson. \u201cIt collects such even-tempered types.\u201d He looked at the white uniform on Orne, wiped a hand across his mouth as though he\u2019d tasted something dirty.<\/p>\r\n\u201cWhy am<\/i> I wearing this thing?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cDisguise.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cBut there\u2019s no mustache!\u201d\r\n\r\nStetson smiled without humor. \u201cThat\u2019s one of I-A\u2019s answers to those fat-keistered politicians. We\u2019re setting up our own search system to find the planets before they<\/i> do. We\u2019ve managed to put spies in key places at R&R. Any touchy planets our spies report, we divert the files.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThen what?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThen we look into them with bright boys like you\u2014disguised as R&R field men.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cGoody, goody. And what happens if R&R stumbles onto me while I\u2019m down there playing patty cake?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe disown you.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cBut you said an I-A ship found this joint.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cIt did. And then one of our spies in R&R intercepted a routine<\/i> request for an agent-instructor to be assigned here with full equipment. Request signed by a First-Contact officer name of Diston ... of the Delphinus<\/i>!\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cBut the Del\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYeah. Missing. The request was a forgery. Now you see why I\u2019m mostly for rubbing out this place. Who\u2019d dare forge such a thing unless he knew for sure that the original FC officer was missing ... or dead?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat the jumped up mazoo are we doing here, Stet?\u201d asked Orne. \u201cAlien calls for a full contact team with all of the\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n<\/a>[105]<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cIt calls for one planet-buster bomb ... buster\u2014in five days. Unless you give them a white bill in the meantime. High Commissioner Bullone will have word of this planet by then. If Gienah III still exists in five days, can\u2019t you imagine the fun the politicians\u2019ll have with it? Mama mia! We want this planet cleared for contact or dead before then.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI don\u2019t like this, Stet.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYOU don\u2019t like it!\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cLook,\u201d said Orne. \u201cThere must be another way. Why ... when we teamed up with the Alerinoids we gained five hundred years in the physical sciences alone, not to mention the\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThe Alerinoids didn\u2019t knock over one of our survey ships first.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat if the Delphinus<\/i> just crashed here ... and the locals picked up the pieces?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s what you\u2019re going in to find out, Orne. But answer me this: If they do<\/i> have the Delphinus<\/i>, how long before a tool-using race could be a threat to the galaxy?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI saw that city they built, Stet. They could be dug in within six months, and there\u2019d be no\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYeah.\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne shook his head. \u201cBut think of it: Two civilizations that matured along different lines! Think of all the different ways we\u2019d approach the same problems ... the lever that\u2019d give us for\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYou sound like a Uni-Galacta lecture! Are you through marching arm in arm into the misty future?\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne took a deep breath. \u201cWhy\u2019s a freshman like me being tossed into this dish?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYou\u2019d still be on the Delphinus<\/i> master lists as an R&R field man. That\u2019s important if you\u2019re masquerading.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAm I the only one? I know I\u2019m a recent convert<\/i>, but\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYou want out?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI didn\u2019t say that. I just want to know why I\u2019m\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cBecause the bigdomes fed a set of requirements into one of their iron monsters. Your card popped out. They were looking for somebody capable, dependable ... and ... expendable<\/i>!\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cHey!\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m down here briefing you instead of sitting back on a flagship. I<\/i> got you into the I-A. Now, you listen carefully: If you push the panic button on this one without cause, I will personally flay you alive. We both know the advantages of an alien contact. But if you get into a hot spot, and call for help, I\u2019ll dive this cruiser into that city to get you out!\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne swallowed. \u201cThanks, Stet. I\u2019m\u2014\u201d\r\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to take up a tight orbit. Out beyond us will be five transports full of I-A marines and a Class IX Monitor with one planet-buster. You\u2019re calling the shots, God help you! First, we want to know if they have the Delphinus<\/i> ... and if so, where it is. Next, we want to know just how warlike these goons<\/a>[106]<\/span> are. Can we control them if they\u2019re bloodthirsty. What\u2019s their potential?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\u201cIn five days?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cNot a second more.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat do we know about them?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cNot much. They look something like an ancient Terran chimpanzee ... only with blue fur. Face is hairless, pink-skinned.\u201d Stetson snapped a switch. The translite map became a screen with a figure frozen on it. \u201cLike that. This is life size.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cLooks like the missing link they\u2019re always hunting for,\u201d said Orne. \u201cYeah, but you\u2019ve got a different kind of a missing link.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cVertical-slit pupils in their eyes,\u201d said Orne. He studied the figure. It had been caught from the front by a mini-sneaker camera. About five feet tall. The stance was slightly bent forward, long arms. Two vertical nose slits. A flat, lipless mouth. Receding chin. Four-fingered hands. It wore a wide belt from which dangled neat pouches and what looked like tools, although their use was obscure. There appeared to be the tip of a tail protruding from behind one of the squat legs. Behind the creature towered the faery spires of the city they\u2019d observed from the air.\r\n\r\n\u201cTails?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cYeah. They\u2019re arboreal. Not a road on the whole planet that we can find. But there are lots of vine lanes through the jungles.\u201d Stetson\u2019s face hardened. \u201cMatch that<\/i> with a city as advanced as that one.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cSlave culture?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cProbably.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cHow many cities have they?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve found two. This one and another on the other side of the planet. But the other one\u2019s a ruin.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cA ruin? Why?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYou tell us. Lots of mysteries here.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the planet like?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cMostly jungle. There are polar oceans, lakes and rivers. One low mountain chain follows the equatorial belt about two thirds around the planet.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cBut only two cities. Are you sure?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cReasonably so. It\u2019d be pretty hard to miss something the size of that thing we flew over. It must be fifty kilometers long and at least ten wide. Swarming with these creatures, too. We\u2019ve got a zone-count estimate that places the city\u2019s population at over thirty million.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhee-ew! Those are tall buildings, too.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know much about this place, Orne. And unless you bring them into the fold, there\u2019ll be nothing but ashes for our archaeologists to pick over.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cSeems a dirty shame.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI agree, but\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\nThe call bell jangled.\r\n

Stetson\u2019s voice sounded tired: \u201cYeah, Hal?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\u201cThat mob\u2019s only about five kilometers out, Stet. We\u2019ve got Orne\u2019s gear outside in the disguised air sled.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ll be right down.\u201d\r\n\r\n<\/a>[107]<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cWhy a disguised sled?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cIf they think it\u2019s a ground buggy, they might get careless when you most need an advantage. We could always scoop you out of the air, you know.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat\u2019re my chances on this one, Stet?\u201d\r\n\r\nStetson shrugged. \u201cI\u2019m afraid they\u2019re slim. These goons probably have the Delphinus<\/i>, and they want you just long enough to get your equipment and everything you know.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cRough as that, eh?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAccording to our best guess. If you\u2019re not out in five days, we blast.\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne cleared his throat.\r\n\r\n\u201cWant out?\u201d asked Stetson.\r\n\r\n\u201cNo.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cUse the back-door<\/i> rule, son. Always leave yourself a way out. Now ... let\u2019s check that equipment the surgeons put in your neck.\u201d Stetson put a hand to his throat. His mouth remained closed, but there was a surf-hissing voice in Orne\u2019s ears: \u201cYou read me?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cSure. I can\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cNo!\u201d hissed the voice. \u201cTouch the mike contact. Keep your mouth closed. Just use your speaking muscles without speaking.\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne obeyed.\r\n\r\n\u201cO.K.,\u201d said Stetson. \u201cYou come in loud and clear.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI ought to. I\u2019m right on top of you!\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThere\u2019ll be a relay ship over you all the time,\u201d said Stetson. \u201cNow ... when you\u2019re not touching that mike contact this rig\u2019ll still feed us what you say ... and everything that goes on around you, too. We\u2019ll monitor everything. Got that?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYes.\u201d\r\n\r\nStetson held out his right hand. \u201cGood luck. I meant that about diving in for you. Just say the word.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI know the word, too,\u201d said Orne. \u201cHELP!\u201d\r\n

Gray mud floor and gloomy aisles between monstrous bluish tree trunks\u2014that was the jungle. Only the barest weak glimmering of sunlight penetrated to the mud. The disguised sled\u2014its para-grav units turned off\u2014lurched and skidded around buttress roots. Its headlights swung in wild arcs across the trunks and down to the mud. Aerial creepers\u2014great looping vines of them\u2014swung down from the towering forest ceiling. A steady drip of condensation spattered the windshield, forcing Orne to use the wipers.<\/p>\r\nIn the bucket seat of the sled\u2019s cab, Orne fought the controls. He was plagued by the vague slow-motion-floating sensation that a heavy planet native always feels in lighter gravity. It gave him an unhappy stomach.\r\n\r\nThings skipped through the air around the lurching vehicle: flitting and darting things. Insects came in twin cones, siphoned toward the headlights. There was an endless chittering whistling tok-tok-toking in the gloom beyond the lights.\r\n\r\nStetson\u2019s voice hissed suddenly<\/a>[108]<\/span> through the surgically implanted speaker: \u201cHow\u2019s it look?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAlien.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAny sign of that mob?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cNegative.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cO.K. We\u2019re taking off.\u201d\r\n\r\nBehind Orne, there came a deep rumbling roar that receded as the scout cruiser climbed its jets. All other sounds hung suspended in after-silence, then resumed: the strongest first and then the weakest.\r\n\r\nA heavy object suddenly arced through the headlights, swinging on a vine. It disappeared behind a tree. Another. Another. Ghostly shadows with vine pendulums on both sides. Something banged down heavily onto the hood of the sled.\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"\"<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"\"<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nOrne braked to a creaking stop that shifted the load behind him, found himself staring through the windshield at a native of Gienah III. The native crouched on the hood, a Mark XX exploding-pellet rifle in his right hand directed at Orne\u2019s head. In the abrupt shock of meeting, Orne recognized the weapon: standard issue to the marine guards on all R&R survey ships.\r\n\r\nThe native appeared the twin of the one Orne had seen on the translite screen. The four-fingered hand looked extremely capable around the stock of the Mark XX.\r\n\r\nSlowly, Orne put a hand to his throat, pressed the contact button. He moved his speaking muscles: \u201cJust made contact with the mob. One on the hood now has one of our Mark XX rifles aimed at my head.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\nThe surf-hissing of Stetson\u2019s voice came through the hidden speaker: \u201cWant us to come back?\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cNegative. Stand by. He looks cautious rather than hostile.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\nOrne held up his right hand, palm out. He had a second thought: held up his left hand, too. Universal symbol of peaceful intentions: empty hands. The gun muzzle lowered slightly. Orne called into his mind the language that had been hypnoforced into him. Ocheero? No. That means \u2018The People.\u2019 Ah\u00a0...<\/i> And he had the heavy fricative greeting sound.\r\n\r\n\u201cFfroiragrazzi,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\nThe native shifted to the left, answered in pure, unaccented High Galactese: \u201cWho are you?\u201d\r\n\r\n<\/a>[109]<\/span>\r\n\r\nOrne fought down a sudden panic. The lipless mouth had looked so odd forming the familiar words.\r\n\r\nStetson\u2019s voice hissed: \u201cIs that the native speaking Galactese?\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\nOrne touched his throat. \u201cYou heard him.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\nHe dropped his hand, said: \u201cI am Lewis Orne of Rediscovery and Reeducation. I was sent here at the request of the First-Contact officer on the Delphinus Rediscovery<\/i>.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhere is your ship?\u201d demanded the Gienahn.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt put me down and left.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhy?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cIt was behind schedule for another appointment.\u201d\r\n

Out of the corners of his eyes, Orne saw more shadows dropping to the mud around him. The sled shifted as someone climbed onto the load behind the cab. The someone scuttled agilely for a moment.<\/p>\r\nThe native climbed down to the cab\u2019s side step, opened the door. The rifle was held at the ready. Again, the lipless mouth formed Galactese words: \u201cWhat do you carry in this ... vehicle?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThe equipment every R&R field man uses to help the people of a rediscovered planet improve themselves.\u201d Orne nodded at the rifle. \u201cWould you mind pointing that weapon some other direction? It makes me nervous.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe gun muzzle remained unwaveringly on Orne\u2019s middle. The<\/a>[110]<\/span> native\u2019s mouth opened, revealing long canines. \u201cDo we not look strange to you?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI take it there\u2019s been a heavy mutational variation in the humanoid norm on this planet,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWhat is it? Hard radiation?\u201d\r\n\r\nNo answer.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really make any difference, of course,\u201d said Orne. \u201cI\u2019m here to help you.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI am Tanub, High Path Chief of the Grazzi,\u201d said the native. \u201cI decide who is to help.\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne swallowed.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhere do you go?\u201d demanded Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cI was hoping to go to your city. Is it permitted?\u201d\r\n\r\nA long pause while the vertical-slit pupils of Tanub\u2019s eyes expanded and contracted. \u201cIt is permitted.\u201d\r\n\r\nStetson\u2019s voice came through the hidden speaker: \u201cAll bets off. We\u2019re coming in after you. That Mark XX is the final straw. It means they have the<\/i> Delphinus for sure!\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\nOrne touched his throat. \u201cNo! Give me a little more time!\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cI have a hunch about these creatures.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cNo time now. Trust me.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\nAnother long pause in which Orne and Tanub continued to study each other. Presently, Stetson said: \u201cO.K. Go ahead as planned. But find out where the<\/i> Delphinus is! If we get that back we pull their teeth.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cWhy do you keep touching your throat?\u201d demanded Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019m nervous,\u201d said Orne. \u201cGuns always make me nervous.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe muzzle lowered slightly.\r\n\r\n\u201cShall we continue on to your city?\u201d asked Orne. He wet his lips with his tongue. The cab light on Tanub\u2019s face was giving the Gienahn an eerie sinister look.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe can go soon,\u201d said Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cWill you join me inside here?\u201d asked Orne. \u201cThere\u2019s a passenger seat right behind me.\u201d\r\n\r\nTanub\u2019s eyes moved catlike: right, left. \u201cYes.\u201d He turned, barked an order into the jungle gloom, then climbed in behind Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen do we go?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe great sun will be down soon,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cWe can continue as soon as Chiranachuruso rises.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cChiranachuruso?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cOur satellite ... our moon,\u201d said Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful word,\u201d said Orne. \u201cChiranachuruso.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cIn our tongue it means: The Limb of Victory,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cBy its light we will continue.\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne turned, looked back at Tanub. \u201cDo you mean to tell me that you can see by what light gets down here through those trees?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cCan you not see?\u201d asked Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cNot without the headlights.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cOur eyes differ,\u201d said Tanub. He bent toward Orne, peered. The vertical slit pupils of his eyes expanded, contracted. \u201cYou are the same as the ... others.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cOh, on the Delphinus<\/i>?\u201d\r\n\r\nPause. \u201cYes.\u201d\r\n\r\n<\/a>[111]<\/span>\r\n\r\nPresently, a greater gloom came over the jungle, bringing a sudden stillness to the wild life. There was a chittering commotion from the natives in the trees around the sled. Tanub shifted behind Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe may go now,\u201d he said. \u201cSlowly ... to stay behind my ... scouts.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cRight.\u201d Orne eased the sled forward around an obstructing root.\r\n

Silence while they crawled ahead. Around them shapes flung themselves from vine to vine.<\/p>\r\n\u201cI admired your city from the air,\u201d said Orne. \u201cIt is very beautiful.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cWhy did you land so far from it?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to come down where we might destroy anything.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThere is nothing to destroy in the jungle,\u201d said Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhy do you have such a big city?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\nSilence.\r\n\r\n\u201cI said: Why do you\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYou are ignorant of our ways,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cTherefore, I forgive you. The city is for our race. We must breed and be born in sunlight. Once\u2014long ago\u2014we used crude platforms on the tops of the trees. Now ... only the ... wild ones do this.\u201d\r\n\r\nStetson\u2019s voice hissed in Orne\u2019s ears: \u201cEasy on the sex line, boy. That\u2019s always touchy. These creatures are oviparous. Sex glands are apparently hidden in that long fur behind where their chins ought to be.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cWho controls the breeding sites controls our world,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cOnce there was another city. We destroyed it.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAre there many ... wild ones?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cFewer each year,\u201d said Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere\u2019s how they get their slaves,\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou speak excellent Galactese,\u201d said Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe High Path Chief commanded the best teacher,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cDo you, too, know many things, Orne?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s why I was sent here,\u201d said Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cAre there many planets to teach?\u201d asked Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cVery many,\u201d said Orne. \u201cYour city\u2014I saw very tall buildings. Of what do you build them?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cIn your tongue\u2014glass,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cThe engineers of the Delphinus<\/i> said it was impossible. As you saw\u2014they are wrong.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cA glass-blowing culture,\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson. \u201cThat\u2019d explain a lot of things.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\nSlowly, the disguised sled crept through the jungle. Once, a scout swooped down into the headlights, waved. Orne stopped on Tanub\u2019s order, and they waited almost ten minutes before proceeding.\r\n\r\n\u201cWild ones?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cPerhaps,\u201d said Tanub.\r\n\r\nA glowing of many lights grew visible through the giant tree trunks. It grew brighter as the sled crept<\/a>[112]<\/span> through the last of the jungle, emerged in cleared land at the edge of the city.\r\n\r\nOrne stared upward in awe. The city fluted and spiraled into the moonlit sky. It was a fragile appearing lacery of bridges, winking dots of light. The bridges wove back and forth from building to building until the entire visible network appeared one gigantic dew-glittering web.\r\n\r\n\u201cAll that with glass,\u201d murmured Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat\u2019s happening?\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson.\r\n\r\nOrne touched his throat contact. \u201cWe\u2019re just into the city clearing, proceeding toward the nearest building.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cThis is far enough,\u201d said Tanub.\r\n

Orne stopped the sled. In the moonlight, he could see armed Gienahns all around. The buttressed pedestal of one of the buildings loomed directly ahead. It looked taller than had the scout cruiser in its jungle landing circle.<\/p>\r\nTanub leaned close to Orne\u2019s shoulder. \u201cWe have not deceived you, have we, Orne?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cHuh? What do you mean?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYou have recognized that we are not mutated members of your race.\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne swallowed. Into his ears came Stetson\u2019s voice: \u201cBetter admit it.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d said Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cI like you, Orne,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cYou shall be one of my slaves. You will teach me many things.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cHow did you capture the Delphinus<\/i>?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou know that, too?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYou have one of their rifles,\u201d said Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cYour race is no match for us, Orne ... in cunning, in strength, in the prowess of the mind. Your ship landed to repair its tubes. Very inferior ceramics in those tubes.\u201d\r\n\r\nOrne turned, looked at Tanub in the dim glow of the cab light. \u201cHave you heard about the I-A, Tanub?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI-A? What is that?\u201d There was a wary tenseness in the Gienahn\u2019s figure. His mouth opened to reveal the long canines.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou took the Delphinus<\/i> by treachery?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cThey were simple fools,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cWe are smaller, thus they thought us weaker.\u201d The Mark XX\u2019s muzzle came around to center on Orne\u2019s stomach. \u201cYou have not answered my question. What is the I-A?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI am of the I-A,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWhere\u2019ve you hidden the Delphinus<\/i>?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cIn the place that suits us best,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cIn all our history there has never been a better place.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat do you plan to do with it?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cWithin a year we will have a copy with our own improvements. After that\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYou intend to start a war?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cIn the jungle the strong slay the weak until only the strong remain,\u201d said Tanub.\r\n\r\n<\/a>[113]<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cAnd then the strong prey upon each other?\u201d asked Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cThat is a quibble for women,\u201d said Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s too bad you feel that way,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWhen two cultures meet like this they tend to help each other. What have you done with the crew of the Delphinus<\/i>?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThey are slaves,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cThose who still live. Some resisted. Others objected to teaching us what we want to know.\u201d He waved the gun muzzle. \u201cYou will not be that foolish, will you, Orne?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cNo need to be,\u201d said Orne. \u201cI\u2019ve another little lesson to teach you: I already know where you\u2019ve hidden the Delphinus<\/i>.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cGo, boy!\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson. \u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cImpossible!\u201d barked Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s on your moon,\u201d said Orne. \u201cDarkside. It\u2019s on a mountain on the darkside of your moon.\u201d\r\n\r\nTanub\u2019s eyes dilated, contracted. \u201cYou read minds?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThe I-A has no need to read minds,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe rely on superior mental prowess.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThe marines are on their way,\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson. \u201cWe\u2019re coming in to get you. I\u2019m going to want to know how you guessed that one.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cYou are a weak fool like the others,\u201d gritted Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s too bad you formed your opinion of us by observing only the low grades of the R&R,\u201d said Orne.\r\n\r\n\u201cEasy, boy,\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson. \u201cDon\u2019t pick a fight with him now. Remember, his race is arboreal. He\u2019s probably as strong as an ape.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cI could kill you where you sit!\u201d grated Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou write finish for your entire planet if you do,\u201d said Orne. \u201cI\u2019m not alone. There are others listening to every word we say. There\u2019s a ship overhead that could split open your planet with one bomb\u2014wash it with molten rock. It\u2019d run like the glass you use for your buildings.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYou are lying!\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ll make you an offer,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe don\u2019t really want to exterminate you. We\u2019ll give you limited membership in the Galactic Federation until you prove you\u2019re no menace to us.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cKeep talking,\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson. \u201cKeep him interested.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cYou dare insult me!\u201d growled Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou had better believe me,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\nStetson\u2019s voice interrupted him: \u201cGot it, Orne! They caught the<\/i> Delphinus on the ground right where you said it\u2019d be! Blew the tubes off it. Marines now mopping up.\u201d<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s like this,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe already have recaptured the Delphinus<\/i>.\u201d Tanub\u2019s eyes went instinctively skyward. \u201cExcept for the captured armament you still hold, you obviously don\u2019t have the weapons to meet us,\u201d continued Orne. \u201cOtherwise, you wouldn\u2019t be carrying that rifle off the Delphinus<\/i>.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cIf you speak the truth, then we shall die bravely,\u201d said Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cNo need for you to die,\u201d said Orne.\r\n\r\n<\/a>[114]<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cBetter to die than be slaves,\u201d said Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe don\u2019t need slaves,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI cannot take the chance that you are lying,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cI must kill you now.\u201d\r\n

Orne\u2019s foot rested on the air sled control pedal. He depressed it. Instantly, the sled shot skyward, heavy G\u2019s pressing them down into the seats. The gun in Tanub\u2019s hands was slammed into his lap. He struggled to raise it. To Orne, the weight was still only about twice that of his home planet of Chargon. He reached over, took the rifle, found safety belts, bound Tanub with them. Then he eased off the acceleration.<\/p>\r\n\u201cWe don\u2019t need slaves,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe have machines to do our work. We\u2019ll send experts in here, teach you people how to exploit your planet, how to build good transportation facilities, show you how to mine your minerals, how to\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAnd what do we do in return?\u201d whispered Tanub.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou could start by teaching us how you make superior glass,\u201d said Orne. \u201cI certainly hope you see things our way. We really don\u2019t want to have to come down there and clean you out. It\u2019d be a shame to have to blast that city into little pieces.\u201d\r\n\r\nTanub wilted. Presently, he said: \u201cSend me back. I will discuss this with ... our council.\u201d He stared at Orne. \u201cYou I-A\u2019s are too strong. We did not know.\u201d\r\n

In the wardroom of Stetson\u2019s scout cruiser, the lights were low, the leather chairs comfortable, the green beige table set with a decanter of Hochar brandy and two glasses.<\/p>\r\nOrne lifted his glass, sipped the liquor, smacked his lips. \u201cFor a while there, I thought I\u2019d never be tasting anything like this again.\u201d\r\n\r\nStetson took his own glass. \u201cComGO heard the whole thing over the general monitor net,\u201d he said. \u201cD\u2019you know you\u2019ve been breveted to senior field man?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAh, they\u2019ve already recognized my sterling worth,\u201d said Orne.\r\n\r\nThe wolfish grin took over Stetson\u2019s big features. \u201cSenior field men last about half as long as the juniors,\u201d he said. \u201cMortality\u2019s terrific?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI might\u2019ve known,\u201d said Orne. He took another sip of the brandy.\r\n\r\nStetson flicked on the switch of a recorder beside him. \u201cO.K. You can go ahead any time.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhere do you want me to start?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cFirst, how\u2019d you spot right away where they\u2019d hidden the Delphinus<\/i>?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cEasy. Tanub\u2019s word for his people was Grazzi<\/i>. Most races call themselves something meaning The People<\/i>. But in his tongue that\u2019s Ocheero<\/i>. Grazzi<\/i> wasn\u2019t on the translated list. I started working on it. The most likely answer was that it had been adopted from another language, and meant enemy<\/i>.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAnd that<\/i> told you where the Delphinus<\/i> was?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cNo. But it fitted my hunch about<\/a>[115]<\/span> these Gienahns. I\u2019d kind of felt from the first minute of meeting them that they had a culture like the Indians of ancient Terra.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhy?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThey came in like a primitive raiding party. The leader dropped right onto the hood of my sled. An act of bravery, no less. Counting coup, you see?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI guess so.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThen he said he was High Path Chief. That wasn\u2019t on the language list, either. But it was easy: Raider Chief.<\/i> There\u2019s a word in almost every language in history that means raider and derives from a word for road, path or highway.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cHighwaymen,\u201d said Stetson.\r\n\r\n\u201cRaid itself,\u201d said Orne. \u201cAn ancient Terran language corruption of road.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cYeah, yeah. But where\u2019d all this translation griff put\u2014\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cDon\u2019t be impatient. Glass-blowing culture meant they were just out of the primitive stage. That, we could control. Next, he said their moon was Chiranachuruso<\/i>, translated as The Limb of Victory<\/i>. After that it just fell into place.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cHow?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThe vertical-slit pupils of their eyes. Doesn\u2019t that mean anything to you?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cMaybe. What\u2019s it mean to you?\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cNight-hunting predator accustomed to dropping upon its victims from above. No other type of creature ever has had the vertical slit. And Tanub said himself that the Delphinus<\/i> was hidden in the best place in all of their history. History? That\u2019d be a high place. Dark, likewise. Ergo: a high place on the darkside of their moon.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019m a pie-eyed greepus,\u201d whispered Stetson.\r\n\r\nOrne grinned, said: \u201cYou probably are ... sir.\u201d\r\n

THE END<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/pre>","rendered":"
\n
 \"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
MISSING LINK<\/h1>\n
BY FRANK HERBERT<\/p>\n
The Romantics used to say that the eyes were the windows of the Soul. A good Alien Xenologist might not put it quite so poetically … but he can, if he\u2019s sharp, read a lot in the look of an eye!<\/i><\/p>\n
Illustrated by van Dongen<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\"W\"<\/div>\n
<\/a>[101]<\/span>e ought<\/span> to scrape this planet clean of every living thing on it,\u201d muttered Umbo Stetson, section chief of Investigation & Adjustment.<\/p>\n
Stetson paced the landing control bridge of his scout cruiser. His footsteps grated on a floor that was the rear wall of the bridge during flight. But now the ship rested on its tail fins\u2014all four hundred glistening red and black meters of it. The open ports of the bridge looked out on the jungle roof of Gienah III some one hundred fifty meters below. A butter yellow sun hung above the horizon, perhaps an hour from setting.<\/p>\n
\u201cClean as an egg!\u201d he barked. He paused in his round of the bridge, glared out the starboard port, spat into the fire-blackened circle that the cruiser\u2019s jets had burned from the jungle.<\/p>\n
The I-A section chief was dark-haired, gangling, with large head and big features. He stood in his customary slouch, a stance not improved by sacklike patched blue fatigues. Although on this present operation he rated the flag of a division admiral, his fatigues carried no insignia. There was a general unkempt, straggling look about him.<\/p>\n
Lewis Orne, junior I-A field man with a maiden diploma, stood at the opposite port, studying the jungle horizon. Now and then he glanced at the bridge control console, the chronometer above it, the big translite map of their position tilted from<\/a>[102]<\/span> the opposite bulkhead. A heavy planet native, he felt vaguely uneasy on this Gienah III with its gravity of only seven-eighths Terran Standard. The surgical scars on his neck where the micro-communications equipment had been inserted itched maddeningly. He scratched.<\/p>\n
\u201cHah!\u201d said Stetson. \u201cPoliticians!\u201d<\/p>\n
A thin black insect with shell-like wings flew in Orne\u2019s port, settled in his close-cropped red hair. Orne pulled the insect gently from his hair, released it. Again it tried to land in his hair. He ducked. It flew across the bridge, out the port beside Stetson.<\/p>\n
There was a thick-muscled, no-fat look to Orne, but something about his blocky, off-center features suggested a clown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m getting tired of waiting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re<\/i> tired! Hah!\u201d<\/p>\n
A breeze rippled the tops of the green ocean below them. Here and there, red and purple flowers jutted from the verdure, bending and nodding like an attentive audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust look at that blasted jungle!\u201d barked Stetson. \u201cThem and their stupid orders!\u201d<\/p>\n
A call bell tinkled on the bridge control console. The red light above the speaker grid began blinking. Stetson shot an angry glance at it. \u201cYeah, Hal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cO.K., Stet. Orders just came through. We use Plan C. ComGO says to brief the field man, and jet out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ask them about using another field man?\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne looked up attentively.<\/p>\n
The speaker said: \u201cYes. They said we have to use Orne because of the records on the Delphinus<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell then, will they give us more time to brief him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNegative. It\u2019s crash priority. ComGO expects to blast the planet anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stetson glared at the grid. \u201cThose fat-headed, lard-bottomed, pig-brained … POLITICIANS!\u201d He took two deep breaths, subsided. \u201cO.K. Tell them we\u2019ll comply.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne more thing, Stet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a confirmed contact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instantly, Stetson was poised on the balls of his feet, alert. \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout ten kilometers out. Section AAB-6.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA mob. You want I should count them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. What\u2019re they doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking a beeline for us. You better get a move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cO.K. Keep us posted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stetson looked across at his junior field man. \u201cOrne, if you decide you want out of this assignment, you just say the word. I\u2019ll back you to the hilt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy should I want out of my first field assignment?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, and find out.\u201d Stetson crossed to a tilt-locker behind the big translite map, hauled out a white<\/a>[103]<\/span> coverall uniform with gold insignia, tossed it to Orne. \u201cGet into these while I brief you on the map.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut this is an R&R uni\u2014\u201d began Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet that uniform on your ugly frame!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, sir, Admiral Stetson, sir. Right away, sir. But I thought I was through with old Rediscovery & Reeducation when you drafted me off of Hamal into the I-A … sir.\u201d He began changing from the I-A blue to the R&R white. Almost as an afterthought, he said: \u201c…\u00a0Sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
A wolfish grin cracked Stetson\u2019s big features. \u201cI\u2019m soooooo happy you have the proper attitude of subservience toward authority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne zipped up the coverall uniform. \u201cOh, yes, sir … sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cO.K., Orne, pay attention.\u201d Stetson gestured at the map with its green superimposed grid squares. \u201cHere we are. Here\u2019s that city we flew over on our way down. You\u2019ll head for it as soon as we drop you. The place is big enough that if you hold a course roughly northeast you can\u2019t miss it. We\u2019re\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Again the call bell rang.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it this time, Hal?\u201d barked Stetson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve changed to Plan H, Stet. New orders cut.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFive days?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all they can give us. ComGO says he can\u2019t keep the information out of High Commissioner Bullone\u2019s hands any longer than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s five days for sure then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this the usual R&R foul-up?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
Stetson nodded. \u201cThanks to Bullone and company! We\u2019re just one jump ahead of catastrophe, but they still pump the bushwah into the Rah & Rah boys back at dear old Uni-Galacta!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re making light of my revered alma mater,\u201d said Orne. He struck a pose. \u201cWe must reunite the lost planets with our centers of culture and industry, and take up the glor<\/i>-ious onward march of mankind that was so bru<\/i>-tally\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan it!\u201d snapped Stetson. \u201cWe both know we\u2019re going to rediscover one planet too many some day. Rim War all over again. But this is a different breed of fish. It\u2019s not, repeat, not<\/i> a re<\/i>-discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne sobered. \u201cAlien?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. A-L-I-E-N! A never-before-contacted culture. That language you were force fed on the way over, that\u2019s an alien language. It\u2019s not complete … all we have off the minis<\/i>. And we excluded data on the natives because we\u2019ve been hoping to dump this project and nobody the wiser.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHoly mazoo!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-six days ago an I-A search ship came through here, had a routine mini-sneaker look at the place. When he combed in his net of sneakers to check the tapes and films, lo and behold, he had a little stranger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of theirs<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. It was a mini<\/i> off the Delphinus Rediscovery<\/i>. The Delphinus<\/i> has<\/a>[104]<\/span> been unreported for eighteen standard months!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid it crack up here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know. If it did, we haven\u2019t been able to spot it. She was supposed to be way off in the Balandine System by now. But we\u2019ve something else on our minds. It\u2019s the one item that makes me want to blot out this place, and run home with my tail between my legs. We\u2019ve a\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Again the call bell chimed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNOW WHAT?\u201d roared Stetson into the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a mini<\/i> over that mob, Stet. They\u2019re talking about us. It\u2019s a definite raiding party.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat armament?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToo gloomy in that jungle to be sure. The infra beam\u2019s out on this mini<\/i>. Looks like hard pellet rifles of some kind. Might even be off the Delphinus<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t you get closer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWouldn\u2019t do any good. No light down there, and they\u2019re moving up fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep an eye on them, but don\u2019t ignore the other sectors,\u201d said Stetson.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think I was born yesterday?\u201d barked the voice from the grid. The contact broke off with an angry sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing I like about the I-A,\u201d said Stetson. \u201cIt collects such even-tempered types.\u201d He looked at the white uniform on Orne, wiped a hand across his mouth as though he\u2019d tasted something dirty.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy am<\/i> I wearing this thing?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cDisguise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there\u2019s no mustache!\u201d<\/p>\n
Stetson smiled without humor. \u201cThat\u2019s one of I-A\u2019s answers to those fat-keistered politicians. We\u2019re setting up our own search system to find the planets before they<\/i> do. We\u2019ve managed to put spies in key places at R&R. Any touchy planets our spies report, we divert the files.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we look into them with bright boys like you\u2014disguised as R&R field men.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGoody, goody. And what happens if R&R stumbles onto me while I\u2019m down there playing patty cake?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe disown you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you said an I-A ship found this joint.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt did. And then one of our spies in R&R intercepted a routine<\/i> request for an agent-instructor to be assigned here with full equipment. Request signed by a First-Contact officer name of Diston … of the Delphinus<\/i>!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the Del\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. Missing. The request was a forgery. Now you see why I\u2019m mostly for rubbing out this place. Who\u2019d dare forge such a thing unless he knew for sure that the original FC officer was missing … or dead?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the jumped up mazoo are we doing here, Stet?\u201d asked Orne. \u201cAlien calls for a full contact team with all of the\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>[105]<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cIt calls for one planet-buster bomb … buster\u2014in five days. Unless you give them a white bill in the meantime. High Commissioner Bullone will have word of this planet by then. If Gienah III still exists in five days, can\u2019t you imagine the fun the politicians\u2019ll have with it? Mama mia! We want this planet cleared for contact or dead before then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like this, Stet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYOU don\u2019t like it!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook,\u201d said Orne. \u201cThere must be another way. Why … when we teamed up with the Alerinoids we gained five hundred years in the physical sciences alone, not to mention the\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Alerinoids didn\u2019t knock over one of our survey ships first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if the Delphinus<\/i> just crashed here … and the locals picked up the pieces?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what you\u2019re going in to find out, Orne. But answer me this: If they do<\/i> have the Delphinus<\/i>, how long before a tool-using race could be a threat to the galaxy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw that city they built, Stet. They could be dug in within six months, and there\u2019d be no\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne shook his head. \u201cBut think of it: Two civilizations that matured along different lines! Think of all the different ways we\u2019d approach the same problems … the lever that\u2019d give us for\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound like a Uni-Galacta lecture! Are you through marching arm in arm into the misty future?\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne took a deep breath. \u201cWhy\u2019s a freshman like me being tossed into this dish?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019d still be on the Delphinus<\/i> master lists as an R&R field man. That\u2019s important if you\u2019re masquerading.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I the only one? I know I\u2019m a recent convert<\/i>, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say that. I just want to know why I\u2019m\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the bigdomes fed a set of requirements into one of their iron monsters. Your card popped out. They were looking for somebody capable, dependable … and … expendable<\/i>!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHey!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m down here briefing you instead of sitting back on a flagship. I<\/i> got you into the I-A. Now, you listen carefully: If you push the panic button on this one without cause, I will personally flay you alive. We both know the advantages of an alien contact. But if you get into a hot spot, and call for help, I\u2019ll dive this cruiser into that city to get you out!\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne swallowed. \u201cThanks, Stet. I\u2019m\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to take up a tight orbit. Out beyond us will be five transports full of I-A marines and a Class IX Monitor with one planet-buster. You\u2019re calling the shots, God help you! First, we want to know if they have the Delphinus<\/i> … and if so, where it is. Next, we want to know just how warlike these goons<\/a>[106]<\/span> are. Can we control them if they\u2019re bloodthirsty. What\u2019s their potential?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn five days?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot a second more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we know about them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot much. They look something like an ancient Terran chimpanzee … only with blue fur. Face is hairless, pink-skinned.\u201d Stetson snapped a switch. The translite map became a screen with a figure frozen on it. \u201cLike that. This is life size.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLooks like the missing link they\u2019re always hunting for,\u201d said Orne. \u201cYeah, but you\u2019ve got a different kind of a missing link.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVertical-slit pupils in their eyes,\u201d said Orne. He studied the figure. It had been caught from the front by a mini-sneaker camera. About five feet tall. The stance was slightly bent forward, long arms. Two vertical nose slits. A flat, lipless mouth. Receding chin. Four-fingered hands. It wore a wide belt from which dangled neat pouches and what looked like tools, although their use was obscure. There appeared to be the tip of a tail protruding from behind one of the squat legs. Behind the creature towered the faery spires of the city they\u2019d observed from the air.<\/p>\n
\u201cTails?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. They\u2019re arboreal. Not a road on the whole planet that we can find. But there are lots of vine lanes through the jungles.\u201d Stetson\u2019s face hardened. \u201cMatch that<\/i> with a city as advanced as that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSlave culture?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many cities have they?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve found two. This one and another on the other side of the planet. But the other one\u2019s a ruin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA ruin? Why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou tell us. Lots of mysteries here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the planet like?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly jungle. There are polar oceans, lakes and rivers. One low mountain chain follows the equatorial belt about two thirds around the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut only two cities. Are you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReasonably so. It\u2019d be pretty hard to miss something the size of that thing we flew over. It must be fifty kilometers long and at least ten wide. Swarming with these creatures, too. We\u2019ve got a zone-count estimate that places the city\u2019s population at over thirty million.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhee-ew! Those are tall buildings, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know much about this place, Orne. And unless you bring them into the fold, there\u2019ll be nothing but ashes for our archaeologists to pick over.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeems a dirty shame.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
The call bell jangled.<\/p>\n
Stetson\u2019s voice sounded tired: \u201cYeah, Hal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat mob\u2019s only about five kilometers out, Stet. We\u2019ve got Orne\u2019s gear outside in the disguised air sled.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be right down.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>[107]<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cWhy a disguised sled?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they think it\u2019s a ground buggy, they might get careless when you most need an advantage. We could always scoop you out of the air, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019re my chances on this one, Stet?\u201d<\/p>\n
Stetson shrugged. \u201cI\u2019m afraid they\u2019re slim. These goons probably have the Delphinus<\/i>, and they want you just long enough to get your equipment and everything you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRough as that, eh?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to our best guess. If you\u2019re not out in five days, we blast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne cleared his throat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWant out?\u201d asked Stetson.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUse the back-door<\/i> rule, son. Always leave yourself a way out. Now … let\u2019s check that equipment the surgeons put in your neck.\u201d Stetson put a hand to his throat. His mouth remained closed, but there was a surf-hissing voice in Orne\u2019s ears: \u201cYou read me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure. I can\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d hissed the voice. \u201cTouch the mike contact. Keep your mouth closed. Just use your speaking muscles without speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne obeyed.<\/p>\n
\u201cO.K.,\u201d said Stetson. \u201cYou come in loud and clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI ought to. I\u2019m right on top of you!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019ll be a relay ship over you all the time,\u201d said Stetson. \u201cNow … when you\u2019re not touching that mike contact this rig\u2019ll still feed us what you say … and everything that goes on around you, too. We\u2019ll monitor everything. Got that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stetson held out his right hand. \u201cGood luck. I meant that about diving in for you. Just say the word.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the word, too,\u201d said Orne. \u201cHELP!\u201d<\/p>\n
Gray mud floor and gloomy aisles between monstrous bluish tree trunks\u2014that was the jungle. Only the barest weak glimmering of sunlight penetrated to the mud. The disguised sled\u2014its para-grav units turned off\u2014lurched and skidded around buttress roots. Its headlights swung in wild arcs across the trunks and down to the mud. Aerial creepers\u2014great looping vines of them\u2014swung down from the towering forest ceiling. A steady drip of condensation spattered the windshield, forcing Orne to use the wipers.<\/p>\n
In the bucket seat of the sled\u2019s cab, Orne fought the controls. He was plagued by the vague slow-motion-floating sensation that a heavy planet native always feels in lighter gravity. It gave him an unhappy stomach.<\/p>\n
Things skipped through the air around the lurching vehicle: flitting and darting things. Insects came in twin cones, siphoned toward the headlights. There was an endless chittering whistling tok-tok-toking in the gloom beyond the lights.<\/p>\n
Stetson\u2019s voice hissed suddenly<\/a>[108]<\/span> through the surgically implanted speaker: \u201cHow\u2019s it look?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlien.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny sign of that mob?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNegative.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cO.K. We\u2019re taking off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind Orne, there came a deep rumbling roar that receded as the scout cruiser climbed its jets. All other sounds hung suspended in after-silence, then resumed: the strongest first and then the weakest.<\/p>\n
A heavy object suddenly arced through the headlights, swinging on a vine. It disappeared behind a tree. Another. Another. Ghostly shadows with vine pendulums on both sides. Something banged down heavily onto the hood of the sled.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Orne braked to a creaking stop that shifted the load behind him, found himself staring through the windshield at a native of Gienah III. The native crouched on the hood, a Mark XX exploding-pellet rifle in his right hand directed at Orne\u2019s head. In the abrupt shock of meeting, Orne recognized the weapon: standard issue to the marine guards on all R&R survey ships.<\/p>\n
The native appeared the twin of the one Orne had seen on the translite screen. The four-fingered hand looked extremely capable around the stock of the Mark XX.<\/p>\n
Slowly, Orne put a hand to his throat, pressed the contact button. He moved his speaking muscles: \u201cJust made contact with the mob. One on the hood now has one of our Mark XX rifles aimed at my head.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
The surf-hissing of Stetson\u2019s voice came through the hidden speaker: \u201cWant us to come back?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cNegative. Stand by. He looks cautious rather than hostile.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Orne held up his right hand, palm out. He had a second thought: held up his left hand, too. Universal symbol of peaceful intentions: empty hands. The gun muzzle lowered slightly. Orne called into his mind the language that had been hypnoforced into him. Ocheero? No. That means \u2018The People.\u2019 Ah\u00a0…<\/i> And he had the heavy fricative greeting sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cFfroiragrazzi,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The native shifted to the left, answered in pure, unaccented High Galactese: \u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>[109]<\/span><\/p>\n
Orne fought down a sudden panic. The lipless mouth had looked so odd forming the familiar words.<\/p>\n
Stetson\u2019s voice hissed: \u201cIs that the native speaking Galactese?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Orne touched his throat. \u201cYou heard him.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
He dropped his hand, said: \u201cI am Lewis Orne of Rediscovery and Reeducation. I was sent here at the request of the First-Contact officer on the Delphinus Rediscovery<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is your ship?\u201d demanded the Gienahn.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt put me down and left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was behind schedule for another appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Out of the corners of his eyes, Orne saw more shadows dropping to the mud around him. The sled shifted as someone climbed onto the load behind the cab. The someone scuttled agilely for a moment.<\/p>\n
The native climbed down to the cab\u2019s side step, opened the door. The rifle was held at the ready. Again, the lipless mouth formed Galactese words: \u201cWhat do you carry in this … vehicle?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe equipment every R&R field man uses to help the people of a rediscovered planet improve themselves.\u201d Orne nodded at the rifle. \u201cWould you mind pointing that weapon some other direction? It makes me nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gun muzzle remained unwaveringly on Orne\u2019s middle. The<\/a>[110]<\/span> native\u2019s mouth opened, revealing long canines. \u201cDo we not look strange to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI take it there\u2019s been a heavy mutational variation in the humanoid norm on this planet,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWhat is it? Hard radiation?\u201d<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really make any difference, of course,\u201d said Orne. \u201cI\u2019m here to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am Tanub, High Path Chief of the Grazzi,\u201d said the native. \u201cI decide who is to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere do you go?\u201d demanded Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hoping to go to your city. Is it permitted?\u201d<\/p>\n
A long pause while the vertical-slit pupils of Tanub\u2019s eyes expanded and contracted. \u201cIt is permitted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stetson\u2019s voice came through the hidden speaker: \u201cAll bets off. We\u2019re coming in after you. That Mark XX is the final straw. It means they have the<\/i> Delphinus for sure!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Orne touched his throat. \u201cNo! Give me a little more time!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI have a hunch about these creatures.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cNo time now. Trust me.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Another long pause in which Orne and Tanub continued to study each other. Presently, Stetson said: \u201cO.K. Go ahead as planned. But find out where the<\/i> Delphinus is! If we get that back we pull their teeth.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you keep touching your throat?\u201d demanded Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m nervous,\u201d said Orne. \u201cGuns always make me nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n
The muzzle lowered slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShall we continue on to your city?\u201d asked Orne. He wet his lips with his tongue. The cab light on Tanub\u2019s face was giving the Gienahn an eerie sinister look.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can go soon,\u201d said Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill you join me inside here?\u201d asked Orne. \u201cThere\u2019s a passenger seat right behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tanub\u2019s eyes moved catlike: right, left. \u201cYes.\u201d He turned, barked an order into the jungle gloom, then climbed in behind Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen do we go?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe great sun will be down soon,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cWe can continue as soon as Chiranachuruso rises.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChiranachuruso?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur satellite … our moon,\u201d said Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful word,\u201d said Orne. \u201cChiranachuruso.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our tongue it means: The Limb of Victory,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cBy its light we will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne turned, looked back at Tanub. \u201cDo you mean to tell me that you can see by what light gets down here through those trees?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you not see?\u201d asked Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot without the headlights.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur eyes differ,\u201d said Tanub. He bent toward Orne, peered. The vertical slit pupils of his eyes expanded, contracted. \u201cYou are the same as the … others.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, on the Delphinus<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pause. \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>[111]<\/span><\/p>\n
Presently, a greater gloom came over the jungle, bringing a sudden stillness to the wild life. There was a chittering commotion from the natives in the trees around the sled. Tanub shifted behind Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may go now,\u201d he said. \u201cSlowly … to stay behind my … scouts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d Orne eased the sled forward around an obstructing root.<\/p>\n
Silence while they crawled ahead. Around them shapes flung themselves from vine to vine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI admired your city from the air,\u201d said Orne. \u201cIt is very beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cWhy did you land so far from it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to come down where we might destroy anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is nothing to destroy in the jungle,\u201d said Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you have such a big city?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said: Why do you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are ignorant of our ways,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cTherefore, I forgive you. The city is for our race. We must breed and be born in sunlight. Once\u2014long ago\u2014we used crude platforms on the tops of the trees. Now … only the … wild ones do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stetson\u2019s voice hissed in Orne\u2019s ears: \u201cEasy on the sex line, boy. That\u2019s always touchy. These creatures are oviparous. Sex glands are apparently hidden in that long fur behind where their chins ought to be.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWho controls the breeding sites controls our world,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cOnce there was another city. We destroyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre there many … wild ones?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cFewer each year,\u201d said Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s how they get their slaves,\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou speak excellent Galactese,\u201d said Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe High Path Chief commanded the best teacher,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cDo you, too, know many things, Orne?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I was sent here,\u201d said Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre there many planets to teach?\u201d asked Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery many,\u201d said Orne. \u201cYour city\u2014I saw very tall buildings. Of what do you build them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn your tongue\u2014glass,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cThe engineers of the Delphinus<\/i> said it was impossible. As you saw\u2014they are wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA glass-blowing culture,\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson. \u201cThat\u2019d explain a lot of things.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Slowly, the disguised sled crept through the jungle. Once, a scout swooped down into the headlights, waved. Orne stopped on Tanub\u2019s order, and they waited almost ten minutes before proceeding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWild ones?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps,\u201d said Tanub.<\/p>\n
A glowing of many lights grew visible through the giant tree trunks. It grew brighter as the sled crept<\/a>[112]<\/span> through the last of the jungle, emerged in cleared land at the edge of the city.<\/p>\n
Orne stared upward in awe. The city fluted and spiraled into the moonlit sky. It was a fragile appearing lacery of bridges, winking dots of light. The bridges wove back and forth from building to building until the entire visible network appeared one gigantic dew-glittering web.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll that with glass,\u201d murmured Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s happening?\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson.<\/p>\n
Orne touched his throat contact. \u201cWe\u2019re just into the city clearing, proceeding toward the nearest building.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cThis is far enough,\u201d said Tanub.<\/p>\n
Orne stopped the sled. In the moonlight, he could see armed Gienahns all around. The buttressed pedestal of one of the buildings loomed directly ahead. It looked taller than had the scout cruiser in its jungle landing circle.<\/p>\n
Tanub leaned close to Orne\u2019s shoulder. \u201cWe have not deceived you, have we, Orne?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHuh? What do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have recognized that we are not mutated members of your race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne swallowed. Into his ears came Stetson\u2019s voice: \u201cBetter admit it.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d said Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like you, Orne,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cYou shall be one of my slaves. You will teach me many things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you capture the Delphinus<\/i>?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know that, too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have one of their rifles,\u201d said Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour race is no match for us, Orne … in cunning, in strength, in the prowess of the mind. Your ship landed to repair its tubes. Very inferior ceramics in those tubes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne turned, looked at Tanub in the dim glow of the cab light. \u201cHave you heard about the I-A, Tanub?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI-A? What is that?\u201d There was a wary tenseness in the Gienahn\u2019s figure. His mouth opened to reveal the long canines.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou took the Delphinus<\/i> by treachery?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were simple fools,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cWe are smaller, thus they thought us weaker.\u201d The Mark XX\u2019s muzzle came around to center on Orne\u2019s stomach. \u201cYou have not answered my question. What is the I-A?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am of the I-A,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWhere\u2019ve you hidden the Delphinus<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the place that suits us best,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cIn all our history there has never been a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you plan to do with it?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin a year we will have a copy with our own improvements. After that\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou intend to start a war?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the jungle the strong slay the weak until only the strong remain,\u201d said Tanub.<\/p>\n
<\/a>[113]<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then the strong prey upon each other?\u201d asked Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a quibble for women,\u201d said Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s too bad you feel that way,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWhen two cultures meet like this they tend to help each other. What have you done with the crew of the Delphinus<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are slaves,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cThose who still live. Some resisted. Others objected to teaching us what we want to know.\u201d He waved the gun muzzle. \u201cYou will not be that foolish, will you, Orne?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo need to be,\u201d said Orne. \u201cI\u2019ve another little lesson to teach you: I already know where you\u2019ve hidden the Delphinus<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo, boy!\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson. \u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cImpossible!\u201d barked Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s on your moon,\u201d said Orne. \u201cDarkside. It\u2019s on a mountain on the darkside of your moon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tanub\u2019s eyes dilated, contracted. \u201cYou read minds?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe I-A has no need to read minds,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe rely on superior mental prowess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe marines are on their way,\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson. \u201cWe\u2019re coming in to get you. I\u2019m going to want to know how you guessed that one.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cYou are a weak fool like the others,\u201d gritted Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s too bad you formed your opinion of us by observing only the low grades of the R&R,\u201d said Orne.<\/p>\n
\u201cEasy, boy,\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson. \u201cDon\u2019t pick a fight with him now. Remember, his race is arboreal. He\u2019s probably as strong as an ape.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI could kill you where you sit!\u201d grated Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou write finish for your entire planet if you do,\u201d said Orne. \u201cI\u2019m not alone. There are others listening to every word we say. There\u2019s a ship overhead that could split open your planet with one bomb\u2014wash it with molten rock. It\u2019d run like the glass you use for your buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are lying!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll make you an offer,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe don\u2019t really want to exterminate you. We\u2019ll give you limited membership in the Galactic Federation until you prove you\u2019re no menace to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep talking,\u201d<\/i> hissed Stetson. \u201cKeep him interested.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cYou dare insult me!\u201d growled Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had better believe me,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Stetson\u2019s voice interrupted him: \u201cGot it, Orne! They caught the<\/i> Delphinus on the ground right where you said it\u2019d be! Blew the tubes off it. Marines now mopping up.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like this,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe already have recaptured the Delphinus<\/i>.\u201d Tanub\u2019s eyes went instinctively skyward. \u201cExcept for the captured armament you still hold, you obviously don\u2019t have the weapons to meet us,\u201d continued Orne. \u201cOtherwise, you wouldn\u2019t be carrying that rifle off the Delphinus<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you speak the truth, then we shall die bravely,\u201d said Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo need for you to die,\u201d said Orne.<\/p>\n
<\/a>[114]<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cBetter to die than be slaves,\u201d said Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need slaves,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot take the chance that you are lying,\u201d said Tanub. \u201cI must kill you now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orne\u2019s foot rested on the air sled control pedal. He depressed it. Instantly, the sled shot skyward, heavy G\u2019s pressing them down into the seats. The gun in Tanub\u2019s hands was slammed into his lap. He struggled to raise it. To Orne, the weight was still only about twice that of his home planet of Chargon. He reached over, took the rifle, found safety belts, bound Tanub with them. Then he eased off the acceleration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need slaves,\u201d said Orne. \u201cWe have machines to do our work. We\u2019ll send experts in here, teach you people how to exploit your planet, how to build good transportation facilities, show you how to mine your minerals, how to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what do we do in return?\u201d whispered Tanub.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could start by teaching us how you make superior glass,\u201d said Orne. \u201cI certainly hope you see things our way. We really don\u2019t want to have to come down there and clean you out. It\u2019d be a shame to have to blast that city into little pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tanub wilted. Presently, he said: \u201cSend me back. I will discuss this with … our council.\u201d He stared at Orne. \u201cYou I-A\u2019s are too strong. We did not know.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the wardroom of Stetson\u2019s scout cruiser, the lights were low, the leather chairs comfortable, the green beige table set with a decanter of Hochar brandy and two glasses.<\/p>\n
Orne lifted his glass, sipped the liquor, smacked his lips. \u201cFor a while there, I thought I\u2019d never be tasting anything like this again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stetson took his own glass. \u201cComGO heard the whole thing over the general monitor net,\u201d he said. \u201cD\u2019you know you\u2019ve been breveted to senior field man?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, they\u2019ve already recognized my sterling worth,\u201d said Orne.<\/p>\n
The wolfish grin took over Stetson\u2019s big features. \u201cSenior field men last about half as long as the juniors,\u201d he said. \u201cMortality\u2019s terrific?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI might\u2019ve known,\u201d said Orne. He took another sip of the brandy.<\/p>\n
Stetson flicked on the switch of a recorder beside him. \u201cO.K. You can go ahead any time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere do you want me to start?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, how\u2019d you spot right away where they\u2019d hidden the Delphinus<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEasy. Tanub\u2019s word for his people was Grazzi<\/i>. Most races call themselves something meaning The People<\/i>. But in his tongue that\u2019s Ocheero<\/i>. Grazzi<\/i> wasn\u2019t on the translated list. I started working on it. The most likely answer was that it had been adopted from another language, and meant enemy<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that<\/i> told you where the Delphinus<\/i> was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. But it fitted my hunch about<\/a>[115]<\/span> these Gienahns. I\u2019d kind of felt from the first minute of meeting them that they had a culture like the Indians of ancient Terra.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey came in like a primitive raiding party. The leader dropped right onto the hood of my sled. An act of bravery, no less. Counting coup, you see?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he said he was High Path Chief. That wasn\u2019t on the language list, either. But it was easy: Raider Chief.<\/i> There\u2019s a word in almost every language in history that means raider and derives from a word for road, path or highway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHighwaymen,\u201d said Stetson.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaid itself,\u201d said Orne. \u201cAn ancient Terran language corruption of road.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, yeah. But where\u2019d all this translation griff put\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be impatient. Glass-blowing culture meant they were just out of the primitive stage. That, we could control. Next, he said their moon was Chiranachuruso<\/i>, translated as The Limb of Victory<\/i>. After that it just fell into place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vertical-slit pupils of their eyes. Doesn\u2019t that mean anything to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe. What\u2019s it mean to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNight-hunting predator accustomed to dropping upon its victims from above. No other type of creature ever has had the vertical slit. And Tanub said himself that the Delphinus<\/i> was hidden in the best place in all of their history. History? That\u2019d be a high place. Dark, likewise. Ergo: a high place on the darkside of their moon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a pie-eyed greepus,\u201d whispered Stetson.<\/p>\n
Orne grinned, said: \u201cYou probably are … sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE END<\/p>\n
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Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t 
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Public domain content<\/div>