Page 19 of Phylogenesis

  "I don't give a shit what it is." Cheelo gestured with the pistol. "Don't point it at me." He did not want his picture taken, either.

  "As you wish." Exhilarated by the tension and the un­expectedness of the contact, Desvendapur proceeded to de­liver a stream of clicks, whistles, and sibilant syllables to the scri!ber, together with breathless suggestions for appropriate accompanying gestures. Throughout the euphonious discur­sive, the human continued to gaze down at him from its perch up in the tree. Such a primitive stare! the poet thought. So straightforward and unvarying, heightened by the directness of a single lens. Human eyes were very vulnerable, Desvendapur knew. A thranx could lose part of an eye, dozens of in­dividual lenses, and still be able to see, albeit with a reduced field of vision and focus. Should a human lose its lens, the ocu­lar function of the entire orb would be largely lost. The real­ization transformed part of his discomfiture into sympathy.

  When he was finished he attached the scri!ber to the pouch hanging from his thorax, where it could be accessed quickly. The human responded by lowering the unidentified mecha­nism it had been clutching so tightly in one hand.

  "You still haven't answered my questions. I told you who I am and what I'm doing here. I'm still waiting to hear your story."

  Desvendapur knew he would have to summon all the cre­ative inventiveness at his command. It was vital to prevent the human from notifying the authorities. If that happened, not only would the poet's presence be revealed to the outside world, so would that of the colony. He could hardly explain that he had found his way to the forest preserve from the official, highly restricted contact sites halfway around the planet. Officially, few thranx had even set foot on the human homeworld.

  The biped claimed to be an amateur naturalist. But unless he was concealing his equipment, he appeared to Des to be traveling exceptionally light even for a casually interested nonprofessional. For that matter, why was he even bothering to have this conversation? Any human encountering an un­announced alien could be expected to immediately contact a higher authority. Instead, this Cheelo individual seemed con­tent, at least for the moment, to perform his own interroga­tion. Something was not as it seemed, but Desvendapur knew it was far too early for him to render judgments. He needed more information-a great deal more. After all, what did he know of human scientific procedures? Perhaps this self-proclaimed naturalist's gear was stored or buried nearby.

  Irrespective of the actual explanation, the delay was greatly to the poet's liking. The longer the encounter lasted before it was terminated due to contact with the planetary authorities, the greater the opportunities to set down new and exciting poesy.

  "I am a food preparations specialist." He spoke slowly to make certain he was being understood.

  He was being understood, all right. Utterly ignorant of thranx dining deportment, Cheelo did not much like the sound of "food preparations specialist."

  "Who do you prepare food for?" He looked past the bug, scrutinizing the rain forest from which it had emerged. "Not just yourself, surely? There must be more of you."

  "There are," Desvendapur explained creatively, "but they are, _crrrk,_ carrying out limited studies of their own far, far from here. I am on a solitary expedition of my own."

  "To do what?" Suspicious to a fault, Cheelo kept searching the woods for any hints of closing ambush. "Gather herbs and spices?" He lowered his gaze. "Or maybe you'd like to catch me off guard so you could kill and eat _me?"_

  Utterly unanticipated, the sickening speculative accusation caught Desvendapur completely off guard. He had thought that his surreptitious research and studies adequately prepared him for just this kind of contact, but he was wrong. Unwilled and unbidden, an image formed in his mind: the human, stripped of clothing and nude, its pulpy, fleshy pink form stretched out over a fire; raw animal fat dripping from its scorched limbs, oozing into the flames and sizzling; the smell of carbonizing meat...

  Reeling, he promptly regurgitated the undigested portion of the day's meal that had been quietly fermenting in his upper stomach. He had turned away not out of embarrass­ment but to avoid retching into the space between himself and the human. That would have constituted a serious breach of manners, though without further knowledge of human habits he was unsure how the biped would have reacted to it.

  As it was, the lone male's tone rose in volume. Based on his studies, a retching Desvendapur thought it sounded slightly alarmed.

  "Ay-what're you doing? Are you all right?" It looked like the alien was throwing up, but for all Cheelo knew it might have been seeding the ground with its spores, planting more of its kind deep in the rain forest soil. As the creature ex­plained when it finally recovered its equilibrium, Cheelo's initial assumption had been the correct one.

  "I am apologizing." As it spoke, the bug was cleaning its four opposing mandibles with the back of a leaf it plucked from a nearby plant. "Your insinuation conjured up a most unpleasant picture. Thranx do not eat"-his voice quavered- "do not eat... other creatures."

  "Ay-vegetarians, eh?" Cheelo grunted. "Okay, so you're a cook or something. That still doesn't explain what you're doing out here all by your lonesome."

  Desvendapur plunged ahead. He had nothing to lose now, less so by revealing himself to this representative of another species. "I am also an amateur poet. I was transmuting my impressions of my alien surroundings into art."

  "No shit? You don't say?"

  Desvendapur was unsure if he had heard correctly. "Yes I do say," he responded hopefully.

  A poet. That sounded about as unthreatening as anything Cheelo could imagine. "So when you were speaking into that recording device of yours, you were composing poetry?"

  "A portion of it. Much of the artistry lies in the delivery. You humans use gesture as a supplement to language. For thranx, how we move is as important a part of communica­tion as what we say and how we say it."

  Cheelo nodded slowly. "I can see that. If I had four arms, waving them around would probably be twice as important to me, too." While he still did not trust the alien, neither did it appear as threatening as it had at first appearance. Neverthe­less, a giant bug was still a giant bug, even if taxonomically it wasn't a bug at all. He kept the pistol drawn as he rose from his crouch and scrambled down the trunk of the tree.

  Desvendapur watched in awe. While adept at traversing rocky slopes or narrow ledges, a thranx had difficulty with verticalities. A certain sinuosity of self was required that their inflexible exoskeletons did not permit. To thranx eyes, the ac­tions of a climbing human were as fluid as those of a snake.

  Leaping the last meter to the ground, Cheelo found him­self confronting the outlandish visitor. Inclined back on its four hind legs with thorax, neck, and head stretched as high as possible, the creature's face came about to Cheelo's chest. He estimated its weight at fifty kilos or so, perhaps slightly less. When erected, the twin feathery antennae added another thirty centimeters to its height.

  "So," Cheelo continued, "this expedition of yours? It's authorized by the authorities? I thought all aliens were restricted to contact on orbiting stations, with only a few high-ranking diplomatic types allowed to actually set foot on Earth."

  Desvendapur falsified rapidly. "A special waiver was granted to my group. They are being supervised by representatives of your own kind." Years of practice had given him the ability to lie with great facility and skill.

  "Then you'll be rejoining them soon?"

  How best to answer so as neither to make the biped suspi­cious nor activate its defensive instincts? "No. They will be continuing their work for," he fumbled for the appropriate human time referents, "another of your months."

  "Uh-huh." The human's head bobbed up and down several times. From his studies Desvendapur recognized the gesture as a "nod," an indication of general concurrence. It was one the thranx could easily mimic. Though he normally would have used his truhands to suggest agreement, the poet dupli­cated the motion in so natural and relaxed a fashion that the biped
did not think to question its unlikely origin.

  For a self-proclaimed naturalist, Desvendapur reflected, the human's queries seemed to troll far from the realms of science.

  "So this special group of yours is here kind of secretly, so it can do its work without alerting the media or even the locals?"

  For a second time Desvendapur "nodded," finding the move­ment natural if overly simplistic, as were the majority of hu­man gestures.

  Cheelo was more than merely relieved. For a disquieting time he had been forced to deal with the prospect of dozens of reporters swarming the site of the first thranx expedition to pastoral Earth. Wandering media types might well have trailed an adventurer like this Desvendapur, anyway. That was all Cheelo needed-half a dozen tridee pickups shoved in his face as their manipulators asked the rain forest hiker for comments. Following broadcast, one of the automated fugi­tive matchers that monitored the media would set off alarms in half the police centers in this part of the world, and that would be the end of his freedom and anonymity, not to men­tion any chance of delivering his fee to the waiting Ehrenhardt in time to secure the precious franchise.

  But if he was reading the situation correctly, then this small group of thranx this Desvendapur was talking about were as anxious to keep their presence hidden from the rest of the world as was he. He and this cook-poet were symbiotes in se­crecy. Unless...

  "Okay, I accept that you are what you claim to be. But what are you doing out here by yourself?" He gestured expan­sively without stopping to wonder if the sweeping movement of his arm would be interpreted correctly, or indeed if it would mean anything at all to the alien. "This is one of the most isolated, primitive places on the planet. There are dan­gerous animals here."

  "I know." With its inflexible face the thranx could not smile, but its upper limbs moved expressively. "I have met several of them. As you can see, I am still unharmed."

  "Defended yourself, huh?" Cheelo squinted as he tried to identify the purpose of the visible bulges in the creature's backpack. Amiably as they were conversing, he still did not trust the alien as far as he could throw it.

  "Not really. Some I avoided, while others proved not as dangerous to me as I believe they are to your kind." With the middle digits of his left truhand Desvendapur tapped the center of his thorax. "Unlike you, my people wear their sup­portive skeletons on the outside. We are more resistant to punctures and cuts. However, because of the nature of our re­spective circulatory systems, if epidermally compromised, we bleed more easily."

  "Then you're not armed?" Cheelo tried to peer deep into the alien's eyes but was unsure where to focus.

  "I did not say that. Should it prove needful, I can protect myself." The biped was being agreeable, but it would not do to let it know how helpless Desvendapur really was. Capa­bilities unrevealed are capabilities held in reserve.

  "Glad to hear it." Cheelo was mildly disappointed. Not that the alien had acted in any way hostile.

  "Actually," it continued in its soft, melodious rendering of Terranglo, "I am lying. I am actually part of a large comple­ment of warriors scouting sites for the invasion."

  Cheelo's expression dropped, and he started to bring up the hand holding the pistol. Then he hesitated. The bug was emitting a vibrant, high-pitched whistle, and the feathers of its antennae were quivering.

  "Chinga-that was a joke, wasn't it? A goddamn up-front right-out-there joke! Bugs with a sense of humor. Who woulda thought it?" Carefully, he bolstered the pistol, though he kept the safety off.

  "You see, despite your unavoidably hideous appearance we have many things in common." The valentine-shaped head inclined slightly to one side, momentarily giving the alien the appearance of a querulous canine. "You will not re­veal my presence here to the local authorities? To do so would be to put an end to my gathering of raw material for my artistry-and to the work of my fellow expedition members as well."

  "Naw, I won't give you away. Tell you what-I won't men­tion your presence here, and you don't mention mine to your coworkers when you rejoin them."

  "I am pleased with the arrangement, but why do you wish your presence here to remain unknown? Surely secrecy is not a necessary component to the work of a naturalist?"

  Cheelo did not think as fast as the poet, but he managed to improvise a reply before Desvendapur could grow uneasy.

  Lowering his voice, he moved a little nearer. As the lanky bipedal form loomed over him, Des took a step backward, then forced himself to halt. Was this not, after all, what he had come for? The decreasing distance that separated them would have been easier to deal with if the human had not smelled so bad. The climate of the humid rain forest served to magnify the pungency of its body odor, which unavoidably reeked of previously ingested flesh.

  "To tell you the truth, I'm sort of here illegally myself. Ac­cess to this part of the Reserva is restricted. Not everyone can get a permit to do work in the Manu. And I needed to be here." Oh, how I needed to be here, he thought. "So I just kind of slipped in, quietly and on my own. It's not hard to do, if you know how to go about it. The Manu is big, and ranger out­posts hereabouts are isolated and lightly staffed." He drew himself up proudly.

  "Not many people would think of exploring this region on their own, much less actually try to do so. You might say that I'm an exceptional person."

  "Yes, I can sense that." Were humans, too, vulnerable to praise and flattery? It was another similitude, but this time one that Desvendapur chose not to expound upon. Such knowledge could prove valuable in the days ahead.

  "Well, this has been fascinating, really fascinating, but I have to get on with my work, and I'm sure you feel the same about your own." Demonstrating astonishing balance, the biped pivoted and turned to leave. In so doing, Desvendapur saw the wrenching, intense inspiration he had worked so long and hard to access disappearing with it.

  By taking several steps forward, he induced the human to turn back once again. Rather abruptly, the poet came to a de­cision. "Your pardon." He fought down the churning in his stomachs that was induced by proximity to the creature. "But if you would not object, I would just as soon adapt my route so that it coincides with yours."

  Chapter Fourteen

  Words had never been Cheelo Montoya's forte. Needing some to cope with an unexpected moment deep in the rain forest was no exception. He found himself fumbling for an appropriate response.

  The last thing he wanted was company. The more alone he was, the better his chances of avoiding the attention of local authorities. He saw no advantage to having his tracks shad­owed by a curious artist, be it human or alien.

  Unable to think of an all-inclusive reply, he stalled. "Why would you want to tag along with me?"

  "I am-I have been interested in your kind ever since I learned of the inaugural project that was set up on Willow-Wane to try and facilitate communication and understanding between our species. Long ago I resolved to thrust myself, with only my studies and my wits, into direct confrontation with your kind, seeking in it a source of inspiration as new to me as it was forbidden to my brethren."

  Cheelo could not help but respond with a short, derisive snort. "If it's inspiration you're looking for, you won't find it in my company."

  "Allow me to be the judge of that."

  Formal sort of bug, Cheelo found himself thinking. He wondered if they were all like this. "I travel alone." He indi­cated the surrounding rain forest. "Isn't this enough alien in­spiration for you? A whole new world to explore?"

  "It is wonderful," Desvendapur agreed, "but better I see it through your eyes, peculiar as they are, than only through mine. Don't you see? In your company I experience every­thing twice: as I apperceive it, and as you do."

  "Well, you're going to have to damn well apperceive it by your lonesome. I don't like company." For the second time he turned away.

  "If you do not allow me to travel with you, 1 will expose you to the local human authorities," the poet declared rapidly.

  This time Cheelo
grinned wolfishly. "No you won't. Be­cause you're not supposed to be here, either. Your little re­search expedition is poking its antennae way, way outside established perimeters for alien visitors. Even I know that much. You don't belong here. In fact, I ought to be the one threatening to expose you!"

  Desvendapur deliberated. "Then why don't you?"

  "You already know. Because to do so would mean revealing my own unauthorized presence here. I don't belong, and nei­ther do you. So neither guy can risk exposing the other. But that doesn't mean I have to let you follow me around."

  "I would rather have your cooperation." The thranx's an­tennae were never entirely still, Cheelo noticed. "But if nec­essary, I will follow and observe you and your interactions with the environment at a distance."

  "No you won't." The lanky human patted his holster. "Be­cause if you do, I'll splatter your bug guts all over the forest."

  The valentine-shaped head dipped slightly to allow com­pound eyes to focus on the weapon. "That is a very belli­gerent attitude for a professed naturalist to take."

  "We all have our little character flaws." Cheelo's lips were set in a thin, tight line.

  The human's expression had no effect on the contempla­tive Desvendapur, but his words did. Did he realize how deep the truth of his observation ran? The poet suspected the biped did not.

  "You won't shoot me. If I do not report in according to a prearranged schedule, my hive companions will come look­ing for me. When they see how I died, they will come looking for_ you."_

  "I'll take my chances." Cheelo's fingers twitched in the vicinity of the holster. "If your compadres can identify your remains after the caimans and the piranhas have finished with them, then they're better forensic pathologists than any I've ever heard about."

  Desvendapur did not have to ask for elucidation. From his studies he was familiar with both varieties of local predators. "What makes you think your native carnivores will find my body palatable? They will ignore me. My corpse will drift until it is found. Then those who will come looking for me will react in a relentless and savage fashion."