“As for your suggestion, it’s a good one. I’ll propose it to the Core Council. If they approve, then you know what kind of approach we’ll be trying.” He smiled fondly. “If you hear from me afterward, you’ll know it went well. If you don’t—” He shrugged again. “We can’t foresee everything.”
“I want to be there.”
He blinked, turning away from the landscaped woodland and back to the elegant, fragile form seated by the side of the pond. “What do you mean, ‘be there’? Levaughn’s on Daccar. That’s a Human world. More unsettling for a Wais than a mixed-species battlefield.”
“Given my experience in these matters, you still presume to dictate limitations to me? The exercises and medications I originally developed to enable me to cope with combat have been refined. I would regard such a journey as merely an adjunct to my research.”
“Every time I see you I think I know you, and every time you manage to astonish me.” He rose, towering over her, and she fought back the natural impulse to sidle away from his overbearing, threatening bulk. “If you’d been Human …”
“Please, old friend, my insides are unsettled enough by the prospect before me. Do not contribute to the disturbance.” She rose alongside him, disdaining his profferred hand. Turquoise eyes considered his from beneath lashes that today were tinted iridescent green. “If we are for purposes of amusement to speculate on might-have-beens, far better to imagine that you had been Wais.”
“No thanks.” He tried but failed to repress a smile. “Feathers make me sneeze. Why do you think I’m always wrinkling up my nose in your presence?”
Her beak clicked softly. “All these years I wondered about that and never thought to ask. Drawing upon my knowledge of Human expression I believed it to be a reflection of your distaste for my kind, which I politely ignored.”
“No,” he murmured. “Not distaste. At our first meetings, perhaps. But since that time, I’ve had nothing but admiration for you, Honored Scholar Lalelelang.”
“That is kind to hear, however much it is delayed. Please start toward the building. Being confronted with both water and a Human is making me uneasy.”
He hurried to make way for her, believing her implicitly. Not knowing it was an excuse she was using to avoid other thoughts, and other emotions.
XX
Six months passed before the communication arrived that caused her to take ship.
The ever disputatious government of Daccar was headed not by a single individual but by a duopoly consisting of a president and a premier. Such cross-checks extended throughout the body of the Daccaran government. While serving to prevent abuse, the system also unfortunately tended to foment constant disagreement and legislative stagnation.
For nine years the president, a tough but popular woman named Hachida, had dominated the Daccaran Executive. For seven of those years the premier, Daniel Cosgrave, had sought and failed to gain ascendance. Always he was a few votes shy of overriding her legislation, a trend or two behind her proclamations. At first it merely galled him. Then it began to fester. All of this was very much in keeping with Daccaran political tradition.
Levaughn and his clandestine intentions were not.
First there were calls offering support. These were followed by offers of credit, then several casual meetings, none of which attracted particular scrutiny from the popular media. Hachida and many other leading politicians had their own personal advisors. It was expected that Cosgrave would also.
The meetings were held in private, and only the two men knew what was discussed. The two men, and one that was something else.
Having been initially recommended by the lieutenant and subsequently made a member of Levaughn’s inner circle, Straat-ien quietly kept the senior representatives of the Core advised of developments. Events did not bode well. With the help of General Levaughn and “unnamed” secondary parties, it appeared that Cosgrave was now finally poised to take control of the Daccaran government. If successful in his maneuvers, he would naturally be deeply indebted to his strongest supporters. Worse, he appeared to have fallen completely under Levaughn’s sway. This was not a matter for concern as much as was the advice of Levaughn’s own “advisors.”
Contentious Daccar was particularly susceptible to reactionary philosophies. An influential world, it had made the standard attempts in the past to extend its influence beyond its orbit. If Cosgrave assumed control, it was probable that, like his voluble, volatile predecessors, he would try to promulgate his own philosophy elsewhere. The members of the Core had become greatly concerned with the direction events were taking.
At Straat-ien’s suggestion Levaughn agreed that Lalelelang should be allowed to attend one of the political caucuses as an observer. The colonel’s rationale was that her presence could do no harm and might generate some good publicity for the movement. Her reputation as one of the foremost Wais students of Human behavior duly impressed the general, and over the previous months he had come to value the bemedaled Colonel Straat-ien’s advice. Furthermore, Straat-ien assured his superior that he would take personal responsibility for seeing to it that their visitor saw nothing she wasn’t supposed to see.
Once Levaughn agreed to the proposal, he promptly put it out of his thoughts, which were presently inundated with events of far greater import.
The actual caucus was scheduled for the wealthy Cos-grave’s private forest retreat, a sprawling complex of single-and two-story structures built on the side of a mountain high up in the great northern range. While Straat-ien found the setting attractive and invigorating, it made Lalelelang uneasy. Despite their avian ancestry the Wais did not care for high, steep places.
A fast-flowing river cascaded symphonically through the steep-sided gorge below the grounds, which had been creatively sited among the existing Daccaran evergreens. Higher peaks towered in the distance. Individual apartments were located in a pair of long, narrow buildings set apart from the main complex. One was assigned to Lalelelang. The appointments were recently modified and versatile, having been redesigned with the comfort of non-Humans in mind.
After greeting the newly arrived Lalelelang, Straat-ien remarked somberly that there appeared to be as many civilians present as active military. It was a bad sign, suggesting that Cosgrave and Levaughn continued to extend their personal influence among the Daccaran elite.
“Levaughn’s very persuasive.” Straat-ien spoke as they strolled along a winding cliffside path. Far below, the river ran its frothing, complaining way toward the distant sea. “And Cosgrave’s vain and ambitious. Bad combination.”
“Then it has begun.” Lalelelang was wrapped in thin but warm multiple layers of clothing. Straat-ien found the alpine climate bracingly cool, but to Lalelelang it bordered on the frigid. “I had hoped circumstances would disprove my theories.”
“They may yet.” His expression was pensive and uninformative.
She stopped, keeping well back from the thin plastic guardrail. A waterfall thundered at the head of the gorge. “Do you recall the last time the two of us stood together at the edge of a precipice?”
He looked puzzled. Then recognition hit home and he turned away from her, letting his gaze drift out across the canyon. “It was a different time. I wasn’t sure of you. There were a lot of things I wasn’t sure about.” He was silent for a moment before looking back to her. “You remember that?”
“Natural enough to recall the moment when someone you consider a friend was wrestling with the issue of whether or not to murder you. I am glad you made the choice you did.”
Certain he was missing something, he found himself wishing he were more conversant with the elaborate Wais language of gestures and movements. “You’re prejudiced in the matter.”
“As the Hivistahm would say, truly.” She turned serious again. “How dangerous is this man Cosgrave?”
“By himself not at all. Levaughn’s still the one we have to watch out for. He needs a wider political base before he can make any overt military moves.
If Cosgrave can wrest legislative control of the planetary government from the president, he’ll have that. Daccar will become the springboard for Amplitur-inspired subversion of all the Human worlds.”
She stepped farther away from the railing. “They’re here, of course.”
“Yes. At least, one of them is. Reported to have just arrived. I haven’t seen it yet, but I think it’s the same one Levaughn introduced to his original inner circle: Cast-creative-Seeking.”
“That would follow. The Amplitur, too, understand the meaning of specialization.” Her voice fell to an introspective murmur. “An Amplitur specialist in Human behavior. It would be interesting to exchange views with my mind-swaying counterpart. Our theses would be similar but not our objectives.”
“How are you holding up surrounded by so many Humans?” he inquired solicitously.
“It is not so bad. There are additionally present a few Hivistahm on the engineering staff of this large facility. We have conversed. There are also several Lepar. We of course do not converse, but it is nonetheless refreshing to see still another non-Human face. I believe I have noticed a single Bir’rimor as well. So I do not feel completely isolated.”
Straat-ien nodded. “Daccar’s a pretty cosmopolitan world. Weave species mix freely here even though the population is predominantly Human.”
“You breed so prolifically.” Her comment was utterly nonjudgmental. “Do you know where the Amplitur is staying?”
“I have an idea. Premier Cosgrave apparently felt it necessary to install facilities suitable for other species.”
“I know. My rooms are comfortable.”
He encompassed the grounds with a wave of his hand. “You probably find all this chaotic compared to home. The Wais prefer to organize nature.”
“We do not organize,” she insisted. “Our aesthetics require that we aid nature in occupying the most amenable channels.”
“Isn’t that what the Amplitur Purpose wants to do with all intelligence?”
“It is all a question of perspective. Certainly the Human Levaughn has in mind rigid organizing as opposed to fluid channeling.”
He looked meditative. “Now it’s up to me to try and ‘organize’ one Amplitur.”
As they walked along in silence something barked high up in a tree. A seedpod bounced at their feet. It was fist-sized, tapered to a point, and reminded Straat-ien of a beige turnip. He did not bother to try and locate the native animal that was responsible for its descent.
“When are you going to make the attempt?” she finally asked him.
“I’m not sure yet. If I try it while part of a group, I’ll have some cover. The Amplitur may not be able to readily pick me out of a crowd. On the other hand, if I can arrange a private confrontation and the procedure fails and I’m discovered, I can still preserve the secret of my talent and of the Core’s existence by killing it.”
Unprepared, she quavered at the vision he’d conjured up. Having witnessed as much combat as she had, she was angry with her reaction. “You may yourself in turn be slain, and the Amplitur will only send another to take the place of the first. Your loss would deprive your colleagues of your valuable position here, and the information it provides. Having thus discovered one traitor to his cause, Levaughn will be thrice cautious about admitting newcomers to his circle.”
“Then I’d better not get myself discovered.” They turned up a side path, away from the canyon and back toward what passed locally for civilization.
It seemed entirely too nice a morning for so momentous an enterprise. Without telling him, Lalelelang had quietly determined to help extricate Straat-ien in the event his attempt failed. How she might accomplish this once the alarm had been raised she had no idea. As a senior Wais academic, violent intrigues were entirely foreign to her. By the same token and for the same reason she knew that she would never be suspected of involvement.
Knowing he would ardently disapprove, she said nothing of her intention to Straat-ien. Instead she set vigorously to work making plans without his knowledge. Stealth-steered intelligence would have to suffice since despite her experience she was still, as unremittingly as the most sheltered Wais, quite incapable of wielding a weapon of destruction in her own defense, much less in that of another. Despite what some of her students and colleagues thought, she was not completely deranged. Only slightly.
Straat-ien had told her to wait in her own apartment in the residence wing that had been modified to provide for non-Human guests. The rooms that had been assigned to the visiting Amplitur lay at the far end of the same structure. As soon as it was over, he assured her, he would return to apprise her of how it had gone. If after a certain reasonable time he failed to call on her, she would be free to draw her own conclusions.
While she waited, she strove mightily not to fixate on the chronometer, throwing herself into the prioritization of the inevitable observations she’d been making since her arrival on Daccar. An obscure anthropological point managed to occupy her for nearly an hour.
After that she tried portable amusements, then made attempts to access the compound’s library. She tried everything except leaving the apartment to press an ear opening to the door of the Amplitur’s quarters.
Time passed sluggishly until the commotion in the hall roused her from her self-imposed isolation. Stepping outside, she encountered a single, harried male Hivistahm. He wore a slightly paralyzed expression as well as the accoutrements and insignia of an energy engineer. Though she addressed him in calming tones in his own language, he failed to respond immediately.
“What happened has? What going on is?” she pressed him. A Human, she knew, would have grabbed the engineer and tried to shake him bodily out of his stupor. For a civilized Wais to engage in such an action was unthinkable. Had a Human done it, it would only have deepened the shiny-scaled Hivistahm’s paralysis.
The double lids finally blinked in succession, and the dark slitted eyes turned in her direction. “There has,” he paused, considering his position as well as his words, “an accident been.” He shifted his attention back to the far end of the corridor. At the same time Lalelelang became aware of a distant, consistent whine. It might be some kind of Human alarm.
The passageway was empty now, but she was sure that only a few moments earlier she’d heard the distinctive clump of many Human feet moving fast past her apartment doorway.
“What kind of an accident?”
Unable to decide whether to stand or run, the Hivistahm opted to answer her questions. “There an important visitor staying here is.”
“An Amplitur?” He clicked his teeth in a distinctive way, and she recognized the simple acknowledgment. “What about the Amplitur?”
The Hivistahm carefully mouthed a disbelieving reply. “It dead is. By assassination or combat.”
“Details.” She stepped in front of him so that he couldn’t leave without forcing his way past her. The un-Wais boldness of her move surprised her, but it positively astonished her reluctant informant. “Details give me!”
Either as a consequence of her action or growing awareness of the violence inherent in the incident itself, the Hivistahm’s paralysis continued to deepen. Whether he’d actually witnessed the purported violence or had simply heard about it didn’t matter: the effects on his emotional stability were striking. Something was short-circuiting his ability to cope.
Leaving the engineer weaving slightly on his broad sandaled feet, she hurried down the corridor, feathers fluttering as she ran. She knew where the Amplitur’s quarters were located; Straat-ien had shown her. But she couldn’t get near the entrance. A milling cordon of Humans blocked the approach. Several carried weapons. All looked nervous and edgy.
One briefly noted her arrival and immediately peered past her. He was searching for potential threats, something that a dozen of her kind would not constitute.
Moving as close as she dared, she tried to peer between the milling bipedal masses. Other unarmed Humans were packed around a gaping doub
le doorway. Fetid humid air issued from the exposed environment beyond.
Those blocking the entrance parted to admit a pair of Humans wearing anxious expressions. A single Hivistahm accompanied them, or rather, was swept along in their wake. Lalelelang thought the slit-eyed scaled one wore the uniform of a universal physician, but she couldn’t be certain.
She astonished herself a second time by physically prodding the nearest Human to gain its attention. “What happened?” she asked in fluent, accentless Huma while keeping an instinctive eye on the biped’s activated weapon. “What’s going on?”
The youthful female regarded her indifferently. “I ain’t sure. Some kind of fight or something.” She glanced over her shoulder.
Lalelelang persisted. “You must know something.”
The female soldier seemed to see her for the first time. “You speak awfully good Huma. Even for a Wais.”
“It is my profession.” Lalelelang took her time. “I am a scholar.”
“Yeah, well; nothing here that I can see to interest a scholar. We’ve got some corpses in there. You know? Dead bodies? Slain violently. The sort of thing, if I ain’t mistaken, to make a Wais faint. Better move along and let us deal with it.”
Lalelelang ignored the well-meaning if slightly condescending advice. “What kind of corpses?”
The soldier hesitated. “Listen, I don’t really know who you are. This is a security situation. I ain’t sure how much I can tell you.”
“I have been a guest here for some days.” Lalelelang fought to restrain her impatience. Fortunately the Human was quite incapable of correctly interpreting the subtle flickering of lashes and fluffing of underbody feathers. “I believe the rooms you are guarding were occupied by one of the Amplitur.”
The woman held her weapon tightly. “I can’t comment on that.”
“But you will not deny it?” The soldier’s expression was sufficient confirmation. “Nor that one of the corpses is Amplitur?” A slight but detectable twitching of facial muscles indicated that Lalelelang had again guessed correctly.