Quozl (36 page)

He thought about asking Runs or Talks-through-Glass about a particularly gruesome bas-relief, had to remind himself he wasn't on a sight-seeing trip. For their part Quozl glanced in the direction of the visitors, did a number of stunned double takes, and quickly looked away lest they be considered impolite. A few so lost their composure they didn't care. They just stared.

What really shook them was when Chad put both forearms alongside his head and imitated admonishing Quozl ear gestures with his hands.

They were interviewed many times. The number of Quozl who had mastered English surprised not only Chad and Mindy but Runs-red-Talking as well. The linguists translated for the administrators and for those scientists for whom language was not a preeminent concern. None of the Burrow Masters spoke the tongues of Shiraz.

The senior linguists spoke better English than Chad, complete to relevant colloquialisms and slang. They sometimes drifted over into French, which they had learned from watching Canadian satellite transmissions.

Their room was small and cramped, though spacious by colony standards. While they were not watched it was made clear that they could not be allowed the run of the Burrows. Confusion and consternation among the general populace would be the result. Their brief appearance had caused enough of an uproar, which the authorities were having difficulty dealing with.

The measure of Mindy's contrition was that she did not once pull out her pad to sketch or make notes.

By the third day it was apparent to Chad that certain conclusions had been reached. Oddly enough, he wasn't worried about himself at all. For the benefit of the two humans the discussion was conducted in English as much as possible.

“Two solitary infants accidentally encounter one another.” Short-key-Leaps was speaking authoritatively. “The course of two civilizations is altered as a result. One can plan forever, but individuals make fools of us all.” His ears bent out at right angles as he resumed his seat.

“Once a heavy object begins to roll downhill it grows progressively more difficult to stop,” said another member of the surface studies team. “If not slowed it acquires a momentum and purpose all its own.” His gaze darted at Mindy for the barest instant. “I believe the correct English term is ‘avalanche.'”

“This is what we are faced with.” Short-key-Leaps rose again. Chad admired the ritualized choreography even as he listened intently to every word.

There was a brief pause as younger members of the surface study team translated for the five Burrow Masters present. Only when they had concluded did Short resume speaking.

“This is a thing grown too large to stop. If we could not halt it with logic in the past when it was of smaller dimensions, we surely cannot stop it now.” Both ears bent forward and down to momentarily cover his eyes.

“The colony is invisible to sight but not to instruments sensitive to certain levels of the electromagnetic spectrum. We can put on an electronic mask with no guarantee it will not be seen through. In recent years the Shirazians have developed the ability to measure extremely low level radiation. A casual searcher will not find us. A determined one eventually will. We cannot measure the degree of this renegade human's determination, nor can we gamble our entire future on it.” He turned to face Chad and Mindy.

“It is generally agreed that knowledge of our existence here on Shiraz should have been kept from you for a minimum of another hundred cycles. That may no longer be possible.”

He resumed his seat. There followed a period for meditation, in which Chad and his sister did their best to participate. At its conclusion one of the younger members of the surface study team rose. His English was not as good as that of Short-key-Leaps, but his tone was equally forceful.

“Been decided it has been. We cannot allow first-time widespread contact/knowledge of our existence here prematurely to be disclosed by this Arlo human whom we know not knows us not at all. Must therefore with great reluctance and/or sadness take the initiative somehow and make the contact ourselves before he can reveal/disclose us. In vanishment of time we seek leverage.”

Tries-simple-Glow took his place. Chad was a bit surprised to see her. He'd imagined her to be a mere technician. Perhaps circumstances had raised her status.

She stared at him, whether out of curiosity or deliberate reproachfulness he had no way of determining. Age was revered among the Quozl and Mindy was older, but Mindy was the one guilty of betrayal. It greatly diminished her position among the Quozl.

Or maybe it was just, he thought with a start, that Tries-simple-Glow felt sorry for him.

It never, ever occurred to him that she might like him.

“What do you think, human Chad? Do we grab the horny bull?”

He made a stifled noise, kept his lips rigorously together lest he expose his teeth and thereby his brutal human nature. Some of the tension went out of him. It had no choice. A sideways glance showed Mindy with head bowed and her hand over her mouth. Evidently the Quozl linguists' mastery of human slang was not quite complete.

“It's a thought. You can't hide here forever. I've always believed that. If not Arlo somebody else would find you, maybe somebody we don't know and can't influence.” He took a deep breath. “Personally I've always thought you were fooling yourselves, thinking you could stay hidden here for hundreds of years. Sure the area is infrequently visited, but wilderness areas everywhere are drawing more and more visitors every year. It's not like you dug in up on the Canadian Shield or under the Greenland icepack or something. Sooner or later one of your survey teams was bound to run into somebody. Or some mining company would've sent prospectors in here illegally just to check the prospects out. There's cobalt and chromium and all sorts of valuable stuff in this part of the country. Runs tells me you've been mining it yourself. A mining team might've found you by accident.” He turned his attention to the senior Burrow Master present. There were a dozen Burrows now, according to Runs. As he spoke he dropped his eyes, deferential as any Quozl. He sensed the gesture was appreciated.

“Arlo's forcing wider contact. It's up to you to preempt him. How do you want to do it? Take out an ad on tv or in
USA Today?
Should we bring reporters here? The big papers and networks wouldn't come but I think we could cajole somebody from a local station into bringing a crew up. As soon as they put out the first pictures you'd have all the attention you never wanted.”

“One avalanche at a time is enough to deal with.” Short-key-Leaps spoke without rising. “So long as the exposure is limited to this Arlo person we are able to proceed at a pace
we
determine.”

Tries-simple-Glow indicated acknowledgment with a dip of her right ear, continued. “We will commence with caution and necessary improvisation. It has been decided that two Quozl will go with you to make known our presence to human society. Your observers will see only two Quozl at first. This we believe, based on what we have studied of your people, will be more reassuring to them. We think it would be unsettling for many of your kind to learn immediately that thousands of Quozl are living among them. We have always believed this.

“The longer we can keep the scale and location of the Burrows a secret, the better it will be. It offers us flexibility in the event your people react violently to the revelation.”

“They won't,” Chad said sharply, immediately regretting his impolite outburst.

Tries-simple-Glow muted her instinctive reaction. “Can you promise us that?”

Chad relented, his reply resigned. “No. I can't.”

“Then we must go cautiously. We can force the issue, but at our own speed. If more humans meet two Quozl, they will be much less interested in talking to this Arlo about other Quozl whose location he knows not and whose numbers he can only guess at.

“We also believe that this meeting should take place in a large metropolitan region far from the Burrows. It will draw all attention from this area, which can only be to the good. If we cannot delay another hundred cycles, perhaps we can delay a few. We can put the time to good use. Not only must humans be properly prepared for contact. So must our own people.”

“Let's do it in Los Angeles,” Chad suggested after waiting a proper interval before speaking. “We live there, we know it, and it's one of the centers of media activity. But how do we get a pair of Quozl from here to there without giving them away?”

“You drive,” said Short-key-Leaps matter-of-factly. “It is vital that those who accompany you have the opportunity to observe.”

“There are no cars here. There are no roads,” Chad pointed out. “That's why we have to fly in and land on the lake each year.”

“We could all walk out, traveling at night as much as possible,” suggested Runs-red-Talking. “With Quozl leading, the darkness wouldn't be a problem.”

Chad eyed his sister, who appeared dazed. Ignoring her, he addressed his thoughts to Runs. “That's something we've discussed before. The folks would understand. We'd tell them we want to see a lot more of the country. We could go into a small town. I could leave Mindy behind with your representatives, hitch to a bigger town, rent a car and come back for all of you, smuggle you into the car at night. Or maybe I could get a van. Yeah, and everybody could hide in the back. That'd work. That'd be perfect!”

“No,” said Short-key-Leaps solemnly. “Another hundred cycles of privacy would be perfect. A hundred years for the anonymity of a van. Fate forces poor trades.” His ears waggled.

“The two assigned to join you will travel with a small but powerful transmitter so that the Burrows may be kept informed of your progress, both physical and social. It will operate on an undistinguished frequency and will not alarm those humans whose business it is to monitor such things. It can inform, and if necessary give warning.”

“You won't get much reception between here and L.A.,” Mindy warned him.

Ears bobbed humorously. “Each of your relay satellites provides numerous subchannels for audio communication. Most are vacant. We will make use of one. Transmissions will be encoded and broadcast many times real-time speed. They will draw no attention.”

“Have you decided,” Chad inquired hesitantly, “who's going with us?”

The Master of Burrow Six spoke for the first time. Chad and Mindy had to wait for translation from Tries-simple-Glow.

“Against our better judgment but compelled by circumstance, Runs-red-Talking will assume this task.”

Runs stiffened slightly, commented only with his ears. If he'd been expecting the reluctantly bestowed honor he'd hidden his hopes well.

“His personal experience with humans is unexcelled, however unfortunate. We must act for the best interests of the Burrows, not as we personally might wish. His companion will of course be female.”

“Naturally,” Chad murmured to himself. He knew the Quozl well enough to know that Runs or any other Quozl male would literally go insane if deprived of feminine companionship for more than a couple of weeks at a stretch. It was not a question of emotional deprivation. Hormones ruled the Quozl as thoroughly as they did humanity. The difference was that the Quozl had come to terms with the reality of their own physiology.

A young scientist rose. “This is Seams-with-Metal,” said Tries-simple-Glow by way of introduction. “Among the surface studies team she is the agilest of mind if not the most experienced or intelligent. We believe that in this instance a talent for improvisation is more valuable than many other attributes, in which she is not in any event lacking. She knows your language as well as anyone. One area of specialization in which she excels is her knowledge of the methodology of native manipulation called public relations. Is this not appropriate?”

“Most,” said Mindy, startled. She had clearly not expected this degree of sophistication among Quozl students of human behavior.

“Preparations must be made.” Seams-with-Metal possessed a voice that sang like panpipes, Chad thought. Though he restrained himself it was clear Runs-red-Talking was more than pleased with the Council's choice of a colleague.

“We have our own to make. This will take a little time to set up.” He thought rapidly. “We'll convince Mom and Dad we're going to stay out an unspecified number of weeks. They'll just nod. In fact they'll be glad of the time alone. I've thought for a number of years that Mindy and I were cramping their style.”

“Agreed,” said Short-key-Leaps, “save for your use of the plural.”

Chad glanced up in confusion. “What?”

“We have no choice but to believe in you, to believe that you truly want to aid us,” the xenologist quietly explained, “but no matter how powerful our belief in this we still would not refuse reassurance.”

Chad's reply was guarded. “What kind of reassurance?”

“The strongest kind.” An Elder ear gestured in Mindy's direction. She was fully alert now. “Chad, you may leave to acquire such additional supplies as you will need for your extended walk. Meanwhile your sibling will remain here to confide in us.”

“Look, if it's a hostage you want, I'll be glad to …”

“No, Chad.” Mindy's expression was uneasy, but her tone was firm. “If it's me they want to stay, then I'll stay. That's the least I can do. You go tell Mom and Dad. You can carry back more stuff than I anyway.”

“It will give her time to meditate,” said Tries-simple-Glow encouragingly. “The philosophers believe it will do her good.”

“Yeah, you go, little brother.” Mindy favored him with a wan smile, hurriedly quashed it when she saw nearby Quozl turn away in disgust. “I'll stay here and meditate like crazy. Think of the story material.”

“If that's the way you want it.” He agreed reluctantly.

“No, it's not the way I want it. It's the way
they
want it. I'll be okay.” She smiled again, this time with her lips tight. Then she drew him close and to his immense surprise, bussed him affectionately. “Just don't get distracted by a book or something and take your time hoofing it back here, okay? I mean, I know how courteous and polite the Quozl are, but don't forget one thing.