Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (143 page)

"An old
trick!?" one of the robed figures cried. "And we don't do it well?
What are you babbling about?"

"Oh, a piece of
paper soaked in the salts of any number of things and laid out to
dry, wrapped around a dry clean paper, then inside another one
soaked in the salts and dried. You hang that tube inside of a
larger cylinder made in the same fashion and use the wax wheel
energy to send the fire spark energy to the different soaked
papers. Make another the same size exactly and put wax wheel energy
into it in the same manner. Speak against the first one and the
second one will repeat the words and even the tone of the voice
more than a kilometer away. It’s a magician's trick. The only
science part is in making the solution the exact ratio and the
papers the exact sizes in all parts.

"One may use
dry graphite instead of the salts, but one must be very careful to
spread it evenly on the paper. The salts make an even page simply
because the water they were held in spreads them in the same
concentration everywhere."

Tab grinned to
himself. Z was describing a capacitor speaker/microphone. They
would play all kinds of hell making it work in practice, but the
theory was there and solid. It was an old principle they couldn't
prove HADN'T worked. It DID work in those rare cases where
everything was, as Z described, in close concentration and
size.

"A piece of
iron with rust on it and a coil of wire with a crystal in it will
do the same, but it is so faint it's hard to hear," Kit agreed.
"And I'm not even a magician! That thing you put in Larj's cart has
many parts so it can't be very good. I've found the more parts one
has in a device the more things that can go wrong – so the more
things DO go wrong, and with a frustrating frequency."

"We aren't here
to talk about crystals and capacitor ... those other things," one
of the robed figures retorted shortly. He was already angered but
was being careful to control himself.

Interesting.
They did still have some fear of Hisla and Narum. It would have to
be exposed and used.

"I'm called
Root, this is Flale and this is Chart," he went on. "King Narum
says you asked some questions of him he couldn't answer and you
said you have caused other traders to decree that no more pink gold
is to be sent here. We wish to clear these things up."

Maybe that was
it. Their need of the rhodium was critical to their holding of
power. Harming these supposed traders in any way would mean a
complete cut-off of the metal? They had to see that the rhodium,
even in those small amounts, continued to come because there was no
other source within three hundred kilometers?

Thing found
what Z was attempting through its empathy and was sending
everything to Tab and Kit. They would continue to push these
Jornians.

"That was
rude!" Kit said. "This is Kemat, Larj and Zonn. I'm called Lape.
You will note that I don't show the insensitivity and lack of
manners to introduce myself before I introduce others! Persons
raised with culture or refinement follow certain forms in their
interactions with others. You do not follow the polite form, which
says a great deal more about you than you would logically want
said."

"And you
introduce some wild animal before yourself?" Root sneered. "You
seem to have little self-pride!"

"I call it
arrogance that he lacks," Z replied calmly. "I'm a traveler. I've
been to most parts of Savaraj and find it is the custom in every
place to introduce all others before oneself. That is simple
courtesy among civilized people – but then, one can hardly consider
you scientists to be civilized, can one? It seems every action and
word you use shows you to be more and more the barbarians here. No
wonder that you hide your faces. You shouldn't speak of pride while
you are hiding from the gaze of those you would accuse! It makes a
ludicrous display of a ridiculous charge for you to not match your
words to your actions.

"As for the
statements King Narum and Queen Hisla couldn't answer, it was
because there IS no intelligent answer to those things.

"As for the
gold, we were detained and forcibly brought here to be told it was
against the law to bring those substances into Royal City. You are
left with no legitimate complaint when we then make known to others
what YOU have said is the law! There are limits to the idiocy
people will tolerate from even such as you!"

"This is
intolerable!" Flale snapped. "We can have you fried and buried in
one minute! Don't make the mistake of antagonizing us! You don't
know with whom you trifle!"

"And there will
be a march of thousands against this palace if we aren't out of
here and well at a certain time," Tab replied quietly. "Queen Hisla
and King Narum are popular, but you scientists are definitely not!
No one with whom – and we speak WITH others, not TO them – has had
good words to speak in your behalf. I can't help but notice there
are reputed to be four of you, but only three are here. Is your
fear so strong that one of you must always stay in a place where he
can protect you? Is he even this very moment peering from a hole in
the wall at us? Does he have this thing that can fry us for burial
in seconds ready to use against a traveling news crier, little Zonn
and two merchants?"

"Lugac is
working on an experiment," Chart said. "Why do you interfere with
our work here? What do you want?"

"Your work
seems to consist of oppressing people!" Kit snapped. "There's
little food for the people, but you have enough here to feed
several families. It'll be wasted or maybe thrown to the
wallowbeasts.

"You make
weapons and hire soldiers while medical help is forgotten and
disease spreads unchecked. There's enough of almost everything for
you, but there's nothing for the people. What you are is more than
obvious even to those you deliberately keep ignorant of even such
simple things as numbers and writing.

"The people
here may be kept in ignorance, but they are NOT stupid! You'll find
such arrogance is resented. Deeply. It will never be forgotten and
will never be forgiven. When a child or sibling dies of an easily
cured sickness because there wasn't money for the medicine while
this table sits here filled with very expensive food that'll go to
waste the parents and siblings of that child will never forgive.
They'll never forget.

"You are evil.
That is obvious. It takes no great sage to see you are greedy and
lack sensitivity or compassion for any but yourselves. Even the
retarded beggars can understand that your words do not match your
actions and that you threaten guests you have caused Queen Hisla
and King Narum to invite to this, their home.

"King Narum was
asked why there isn't iron for pipes to bring water fit to drink
into the city, to take the filth accumulating in the streets out,
but there's more than enough to make bars for your dungeons!

"Such things
are never forgotten and are never forgiven. Such questions have no
intelligent reply or refutation! You are evil. That's obvious.
That's why you hide from the gaze of decent people."

They were
trying more and more to bait these Jornians into making the wrong
statement, but weren't having any success. The Jornians weren't
going to be drawn into it.

Thing sent the
feeling of fear to Z. That might be used now. They were afraid
instead of merely concerned.

Why? Because
Lugac hadn't returned? Was that why the traders were called here?
So Larj would slip up and confess he'd seen Lugac? So what? Why
were these Jornians in a position of being trapped here without
recourse to use the com satellite? They made that little
transmitter, which could easily reach as far as the relay that had
a permanent scanning feature for exactly those signals so there was
no doubt whatever they were deliberately not seeking help. The pod
would have definitely located that satellite as it came in – BEFORE
the hard landing did it any damage.

Why were they
so hard to bait? It wasn't going to happen here. Z was determined
to find some answers as to what was going on and he was going to
force some kind of slip out of the Jornians – something he could
use against them later. The trouble was that to go much further
with this method would tend to show the aliens he knew much more
than he was admitting about them. The edge was being skirted now.
They had already displayed knowledge the Saj simply didn't have and
couldn't know. Another way would have to be found.

"This is
leading nowhere," Z said suddenly. "We're sniping at each other to
no purpose except to demonstrate that we disagree totally on most
things. You see us as interlopers who are here solely to disrupt
your power. We see you as greedy, power-hungry, uncaring and
actually evil. We see Hisla and Narum trapped in a situation not of
their making. I haven't the least idea of how you see them, though
I imagine you have some fear of what they might do in a critical
situation – with cause.

"I think they
do care. That is what you fear. People who care about others are
and always be a danger to those – such as yourselves – who merely
exploit others to your own purposes.

"There is some
reason you want pink gold. I have no idea what it could be and
don't much care. Kemat can and has stopped any of it coming here.
You're suddenly placed into a position where you must depend on
Kemat to reverse that stoppage so you must endure what must be
terrible indignity to you. Mere PEOPLE not bowing to your power and
glory.

"If you do not
wish for us to view you in this manner, perhaps you could dispense
with the arrogance and phony mysterious airs and try honesty for a
change. We do not and will not submit to your rule. Not directly
and not through Narum and Hisla. THEY are the royal family – not
YOU. YOU are what has become obvious. Our presence here is
accomplishing nothing except to make me more and more angered at
your attitudes. Maybe power and such THINGS are important to you,
but they're disgusting to us. We are much-traveled and have some
small sophistication in the manners and matters of people. You are
hardly more than barbarians in both action and word. You are
savages under those silly robes. You hide from the gaze of honest
people because you can NOT stand against honesty!

"I'll say no
more. I'm getting more and more angered and that is to no purpose.
You disgust decency!"

Hisla showed
some signs of enjoying Z's tirade, Narum seemed a bit fearful and
Root, Flale and Chart were silent and unmoving, though there was no
way to see their reactions through the robes. Kit and Tab stood to
either side and Thing moved onto Kit's shoulder to sit staring back
at Root and Chart, one with each eye – which made most people very
nervous. It definitely affected the Jornians to some extent. Thing
could feel that with its empathic talent so kept one eye directly
on Root and shifted the other back and forth between Flale and
Chart with an occasional glance at Hisla and Narum.

"I see they
have no answer to your words, Larj," Kit said. "King Narum, Queen
Hisla, I can sympathize with your position. It must be a terrible
burden to have to act as you are forced to in this way. I need no
second sight to see you do not wish these things to be as they are
and that you now find yourselves in an impossible position not of
your own making. If YOU need any aid we can offer feel free and
welcome to ask.

"Shall we go,
Larj, Kemat?"

"Wait!" Flale
cried. "We've done a lot for these people! We've given them this
city! We give them work! We're advancing this city to be the most
modern and advanced in all of Savaraj!"

"You do for the
people when you give them work at starvation wages?" Tab asked. "To
build this useless, dirty, diseased place? This is advanced? Crime
rampant on the streets and in peoples' very houses? Crime a way of
conducting business among even such mundane areas as local
restaurants? This gleaming filthy place where even the water is
unsafe to drink? This place where the people are without hope?

"They can do
with less of your gifts!

"You've given
them no medical attention and no food and no drinkable water and no
warm clothing and no housing except for the elite class – that YOU
constructed for YOUR purposes?

"Do them all a
service and give them no more!

"It's
interesting to note you always speak of 'these' and 'those' people
and never of 'your' people or 'my' people! We ARE all Saj – aren't
we?"

Thing flipped a
tentacle to show Z the last question really hit home. There was a
strong psychic reaction in the Jornians.

"You may tell
your fourth member we missed his company," Kit said. "Assuming, as
I'm sure you know, he isn't where he can hear us now. You need not
explain that missing his company is on a par with missing a
toothache when the tooth has been pulled.

"Come, Kemat
and Larj. We won't further overstay our unwelcome here."

"One moment,"
Chart said. "We're making experiments using the pink gold and need
more. We feel it's easier to produce the pink gold from base ores
than it is to produce regular gold. If we can do that you can see
how we can solve all other problems the city faces with the wealth
it will provide."

Z stopped to
stare openmouthed at Chart. "Great gods of the ancients!" he cried.
"I thought making gold from base metals was an idea that was surely
past! Every combination and process we are capable of has been
tried and has failed. To bring up such an old fakery scheme proves
everything we have said of you! Everyone knows that even if one of
you fakers could find a way to change metals from one kind to
another you would hoard what you made. Every thought and action
seen and heard from such as you is of personal greed. Is this the
manner of thing that consumes the labors of an entire city? Is this
what is consuming the funds that should be spent on education and
medicine and food? Is this the foolishness that takes.... You are
far worse even than I had thought!"