Chapter 47

Igwanda was irritated to see Chavez step out onto the ramp, fully armed and helmeted and blaster held at ready, when the airlock cycled.

"At ease, Sergeant," he called ironically. "There is nothing to fire at but us." Still the soldier continued to scan the clearing as Igwanda and Meiersdottir climbed the ramp, backing into the airlock only when necessary to avoid blocking them.

"Cycle," snapped the colonel, noting with still further irritation that the inner entry was sealed notwithstanding the proven breathable air outside. "Sergeant, in future I would prefer that you await orders or actual cause before taking protective stance," he said.

"Yes, sir," said Chavez woodenly. "Just being cautious. As you know it takes half an hour from ship to surface, and a lot can happen in half an hour."

"It is unlikely that what could have happened at any time over the past three days would happen just then," Igwanda said. "And it is of little help to our relations for the natives, who are surely observing our departure, to see you emerge with weapons deployed."

"He insisted, Colonel," said Shaw, who had heard the last as the inner portal opened. "Said it couldn't hurt to have extra security."

"Well," said Igwanda. "We appreciate the thought."

The return trip passed largely in silence. Shaw held his questions with what Igwanda thought was admirable self-control, Chavez appeared to be sulking over the rebuke, giving his attention to Shaw's easy piloting of the ship, and Meiersdottir and Igwanda were conserving their energies for the ship's meeting that would shortly follow.

But there was anything but silence in the lander port. It seemed as though most of the ship's complement had managed to squeeze itself into the tight space, and a clamor of cheering burst out as Meiersdottir emerged, followed closely by Igwanda. Hands reached out to shake or clap them on their backs—"Watch it, buddy!" said Meiersdottir jokingly as one handclap fell a bit low—and voices offered enthusiastic greetings.

Meiersdottir pushed slowly through and finally out the port entry. Igwanda lagged slightly, turning to Chavez. "Sergeant, please assemble the troops; I want all in attendance at the meeting." As the soldier in turn pushed through the entry, he touched Shaw on the arm. "A word, please, Bernard," he said quietly. They spoke briefly, and then Igwanda followed out of the now-deserted port.

The meeting chamber was in tumult when Igwanda reached it. Most of the attention was still focused on Meiersdottir, but he received almost equally enthusiastic greetings as he entered. Feeling somewhat awkward, he responded with smiles and handshakes as he pushed forward to join Meiersdottir in the front. Captain Ziang was also there to preside, and began banging a gavel. The crowd quieted remarkably quickly; it was evident that all present were eager to begin.

"Amanda, Carlos, I know you're anxious to get started, and we're anxious to hear you," Ziang began. "But before you go ahead, John Toshimura has asked for a moment. John?"

Toshimura rose. "I asked to speak first because what I have to say may affect the way this goes forward," he said. "Colonel—Carlos—yesterday morning you posed some serious questions. You asked basically whether we think it's even possible to pursue a long-term relationship with the Edenites, whether such a relationship is worth pursuing from a human standpoint and, if so, why.

"Many of us spent a good part of the day and some of the night debating those questions, and we have your answers. To your first question we think the answer is yes, and that's unanimous; in fact, they're all unanimous. We think from the progress you and Amanda have made that they're really interested in long-term relations and genuinely want to adapt to what they call being 'single' in our midst.

"To your second question the answer is not only yes but hell, yes; we'd be nuts not to want that relationship. As for the 'why, ' all of us think they probably have as much to teach us as we have to teach them. And that's not just academics, it's real-world. Think about the potential revolution in computerization if we can learn how they do their think-together thing! I mean, this collective mind of theirs is coordinating thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, of units in perfect symmetry and still has time for the dramatic amount of information processing they've shown. We had a little weather clearing this morning, and the rest of them are going smoothly about their appointed tasks without the slightest pause even while they're focusing as much attention on you as they are. And there are so many other areas—their biology, their manipulation of genetics ... Well, no need to go on."

Heisinger rose. "John, may I?"

"Sure, Gustav, I'm done."

"Carlos, I'm an old man; I need my rest, and so I didn't participate in much of that discussion but instead spent my time in much-needed sleep. As you may have detected yesterday, I become irascible when sleep-deprived," he added ironically, garnering a laugh across the room in which Igwanda and Meiersdottir joined freely.