Ammonite Stars (Omnibus): Ammonite Galaxy #4-5

by Gillian Andrews

  The discussion of the subject between those attending took over an hour. This one measure was one of the pivotal points of the Second Valhai Votation, for it was the one which would allow Sell citizens to open their minds to other cultures. It was one of the ones which most worried the 50th generation voters, who were very much aware that previous generations were completely against it. The parents of some of them were so shocked by the mere suggestion that Sellites might contract life partnerships with other species, that they had refused even to contemplate the possibility. Great arguments had raged inside the skyrises, until some of the 50’s had been obliged to place their parents’ biosigns on the non-grata list, effectively prohibiting access. Several points were brought up during discussion, and Grace was impressed at the way they were dealt with deftly and intelligently by Mandalon. He had clearly considered all of the drawbacks, and had a coherent answer for each of them. Finally, the time had come. Mandalon 50 pressed a button on the console in front of him.

  “Voting will now commence,” said a metallic voice. “50th generation Sellites, please cast your votes on my mark. First point: Lifting the ban on any foreigner speaking or learning the Sell language. Mark!” There was a slight pause, and then, “Passed. Second point: lifting the ban on foreigners living and working on Valhai as equals. Mark! Passed. Third point: lifting the ban that foreigners may integrate with and form life partnerships with Sellites. Mark! Passed. Fourth point: lifting the ban that Sellites may not speak or teach the Sellite language to foreigners. Mark! Passed. All side points of this motion have been passed by the Second Valhai Votation. The motion is declared valid law until the Third Valhai Votation.” The metallic voice cut off, and there was a general murmur in the room.

  Six woke up. “What?” He turned around hastily. “What happened? What have I missed?”

  Grace took pity on him, although his own wife was ignoring him. “They just voted that you can learn to speak Sell, and you can live and work here.”

  “I can’t see the point of that. I mean, who would want to speak Sellite, for Lumina’s sake? And I already lived here for years, didn’t I?”

  Grace shook her head. “The orthogel bubbles don’t count.”

  “Strikes me they make up the rules as they go along. Well, if that is all they are jabbering on about, I am going back to sleep.” He shifted his weight rather gingerly from one side to the other, gave a sigh, and closed his eyes again.

  There had been a small spattering of polite applause at the approbation of the last law, but now there was a rustle of anticipation. Mandalon had stood up again. Grace felt a curious thrill spread out through her body – the next point was one that seemed to her to be of prime importance to the future of the Sellite race. He began to speak.

  “The motion before you now is that Sellites should no longer be genetically engineered for the houses they hold, and for the positions they will take.”

  Discussion went on for even longer, and it was clear that this suggestion was even more radical than the previous one had been. Several of the generation were arguing against it, some of them very convincingly. It was, they held, the difference which permitted the Sellites to maintain their technological edge over other races, and they were loath to part with it.

  Even Arcan darkened at the way things were going. He had promised Grace not to intervene in the ceremony, but he broke into the discussion at one point.

  “Don’t you realize that by using genetic manipulation you are condemning your society to stultification?” he boomed inside their heads. Several of the younger 50’s put their hands over their ears, not realizing the futility of that.

  Those present looked horrified that the alien entity had spoken. Even Mandalon seemed taken aback. He gave a bow in Arcan’s direction, who shimmered darkly, and then the Sellite boy went on to explain some of the advantages in allowing natural selection to occur, and the dangers of predetermining the outcome of evolution.

  But, even so, the 50th generation were unwilling to lose their privileges. When the impassionate metallic voice asked for a vote on the motion the result was, to Grace’s great disappointment, very clear. “Denied.”

  Even Mandalon seemed surprised that the motion had not been passed, but he rallied quickly, and managed to propose the next motion to be discussed and voted upon.

  Six woke up again. “Anything important?”

  “Yes,” hissed Diva. “They are not going to withdraw genetic manipulation!”

  “Never thought they would.” He stretched. “I’m hungry. Is this nearly over yet?”

  “I shall still be the only Sellite not to be genetically modified,” said Grace sadly.

  “The whole lot of them will disappear. I give them a couple of hundred years. The Sellite race is inbred, anyway.”

  Grace found her hackles rising, and she was about to hotly deny this, when she realized that it was probably true. “But if they can marry foreigners?”

  He shrugged. “Come on, Grace! How many of them are going to marry foreigners if they are still genetically manipulated? It is a false victory. Never going to happen. No, Sell will be lightly progressive while Mandalon 50 is in power, and then will revert to its old ways.”

  “That is horrid!” But his words had a nasty ring of truth.

  “You know I am right, Grace. Just remember what sort of characters have come out of the great Sellite gene manipulation pool! Xenon, Atheron, Gorgamon, Volgorion, Zorion, Amanita ... and the list doesn’t stop there.”

  Grace looked over at Mandalon, who had sat back down in the meantime. He looked slightly queasy. She wondered if he was in agreement with Six. Then she saw how pale the young leader had gone, and realized that he did. She felt very sorry for him. It was going to be a long, long wait until his 51st generation could take over from him.

  Grace felt a wave of exhilaration at that moment, and realized how lucky she was. She had escaped the domination of her mind by genetic engineering, and now she was free. Free of them all: Xenon, Atheron, Amanita, and all the other Sellites with their petty rules and conditions. She grabbed Ledin’s hand, and squeezed it so tight that he looked surprised.

  “Can we go to Xiantha when we get back from Enara?” she whispered fiercely. “I don’t want to live on Valhai any longer. I want to live by the Emerald Lake, with you.”

  Ledin grinned. “You won’t find any argument from me. In any case – I was going to tell you, but there simply hasn’t been time. Arcan has come up with the idea that the planets should set up diplomatic relations, and I have been offered the position of New Kwaidian Ambassador to whichever of the planets I choose. I am not quite sure whether it would be a good idea or not. I was waiting to see what you thought, and I want to mull it over for a while. I thought you might choose Valhai – after all, this is where Arcan is.”

  She shook her head so definitely that several people nearby turned to stare at her. “Let’s make our home on Xiantha,” she said in an undertone. “I can come over to Valhai to help Arcan with the foundation for a few days each week, but Aracely is doing a great job, and he doesn’t need me to be here full time.” They found themselves smiling at each other. Grace hadn’t thought it possible to feel so happy. Her mind went back to the uncertain girl she used to be; the realization of everything that had happened since made her dizzy.

  Then she turned her attention back to the events going on in the Valhai Voting Dome. The next vote passed the motion to convert the 256th house to Exterior relations, which made her pleased for her niece and nephew. Xenon 50 would have the chance to resurrect the fallen house, and create something better for his children. It was a relief to know that her actions had not completely ended a house with over a thousand years of history.

  It was the last motion which most surprised all of them. As the motion was read, Diva prodded Six so fiercely in the back that he gave a jump and a sort of half-snort, which made them laugh. He glared around at her, his eyes demanding to know why she had disturbed his sleep. She pointed to the centra
l plinth, where Mandalon was still explaining the last motion.

  “... Because of this, the head of Sell needs an independent body of guards. The proposal is that the Namuri tribe of Coriolis become the bodyguards of the leader of Sell. Their characteristics make them incomparable for the position, and – as has been proved only recently – their oath of allegiance requires them to die for their emptors.” There was a long pause, and Mandalon looked in Tallen’s direction, slightly inclining his head in recognition of Petra’s sacrifice. The Namuri, whose eyes had widened at the proposal, gave a slight nod himself, but his face didn’t smile. He was uncomfortable in the company of so many of what he regarded as the enemy.

  He realized that Mandalon must have spoken to the leader of the clan after the funeral, and that the motion would be important for the Namuri clan if it were passed. But the whole thing felt as if it were happening to somebody else. From the black despair and emptiness in his heart, it was hard to be pleased. All he could think of was the crushed and lifeless body of his sister.

  “Voting will now commence,” said a metallic voice. “50th generation Sellites, please cast your votes on my mark. First point: Appointing the Namuri clan from Coriolis as bodyguards to the leader of the 1st house. Mark!” There was a slight pause, and then, “Passed.”

  Even Six was pleased to hear that. It might enable the Namuri to progress from their desperately hard lives living on the marshes near Mesteta, although he suspected they would rather stay where they were than live in the opulence of Sell. He examined Tallen out of the corner of his eye. The boy was standing as straight as a die, but he didn’t look particularly happy at the votation. He looked as if he despised the congregated Sellites, and would have liked to set a match to the whole lot of them. Six sympathized. Even after all this time, and even when the Sellites present were young, he still couldn’t forget the years he had passed as a donor apprentice. And now, now that they had refused to pass the one reform which would enable them to move forwards, he felt as if the loose ties he still had with the planet had been cut. He had a feeling that he wouldn’t be spending much more of his time here. He had been approached to set up the first university on Xiantha. He would like to think that some of their children would be able to study there. It was time to move on.

  Diva was also looking sideways at Tallen. On the spot, she made up her mind to travel to see the Namuri tribe next time she went to Coriolis. She couldn’t get the picture of that ancient old woman out of her mind. She could still see her, doing homage to the body of the girl in the Namuri way, by forcing her gnarled and stiff fingers to support the corpse’s weight. She had been impressed by the simple significance of the ceremony, and had realized that she would, in fact, much rather have been born to the Namuri than to the meritocrats. She wanted to find out more about them; she wanted to sit down and talk to that old woman. She felt she would come to some sort of closure if she did.

  Mandalon 50 concluded the session with the pomp and ceremony due to such a solemn event, and then sighed. He had hoped to achieve more. They had only voted down five of his many proposals, but some of those five had been very dear to his own heart. He wondered if the Namuri girl had died in vain. Her life had been exacted so that these new laws might go through. It now seemed that there had not been enough of them.

  As he thought of her, he seemed to feel a sudden shaft of vivid blue light traverse the dome. He blinked, but he could still see it. It was the exact colour of the namura stones. Mandalon looked quickly in Tallen’s direction, and saw that the Namuri had stiffened to attention, and was staring in exactly the place where Mandalon could see the ray.

  Both the Namuri and the Sellite took one involuntary step forwards, to where the shaft of brilliant blue kissed the magmite floor of the dome. They stood silently for a moment, as the light dimpled and then faded. As it vanished again, it momentarily took with it Tallen’s misery, and all of Mandalon’s lack of hope lifted. They stared at each other, and then around at the watching crowd. Nobody else had moved. They both stepped back again.

  Mandalon cleared his throat. “There is just one more thing. As a codicil to the votation on genetic manipulation, I would like to propose a further motion that such manipulation should, over the next thousand years, be of a voluntary nature, and that in the future nobody should be questioned as to whether they have or have not been genetically modified.”

  There was some debate as to the validity of an additional votation at this late time, but it was generally agreed that addenda to proposals must be accepted. By the time this had been approved, a further half hour had passed, and all of the participants were becoming very hungry.

  The metallic voice cut in. “Voting will now commence, 50th generation Sellites, please cast your votes on my mark. First point: Making genetic manipulation voluntary and confidential. Mark!” There was a slight pause, and then, “Passed.”

  Mandalon’s face cleared. It was not what he had wanted for his planet, but it did allow him some room to manoeuvre. He smiled at Tallen, who was still standing in front of him, and lifted his hands in the binary system salute.

  “I heard your sister’s voice,” he said, as their fingers touched.

  Tallen nodded slowly. “So did I. She told me to move forwards, to follow the stone. She said I should forget her.” Then his eyes clouded over. “But I never shall!”

  Mandalon looked sadly at the boy in front of him. “Will you be able to forgive me? She died for me.”

  Tallen was suddenly aware of the tremendous pain that the Sellite leader in front of him was feeling because of Petra’s sacrifice. The Namuri eyes looked inwards, and his expression became more thoughtful.

  “She died for you. She made you special. I will never forget that, and neither should you. You are both joined by the bond of the blue stone.”

  Mandalon closed his eyes. “It will be hard to remember. She took the stone with her.”

  Tallen smiled, and shook his head. “No, she didn’t. She kissed the stone when she gave it to you, didn’t she?”

  Mandalon’s eyes widened. “She did. How did you know?”

  “Because she was bringing you into its circle. She brought you inside the power of the namura stone. You will always feel it, at crucial moments in your life.”

  Mandalon sensed his heart lift. “I felt it just now.”

  “Yes. I saw the shaft of blue light. The stone helped you to change a bad decision.”

  “It did.” Mandalon bent his head, amazed.

  “It always will.” Tallen bowed to the Sellite leader. “She will never abandon you now. You are fortunate.” His throat worked for a few moments, and then he stepped away. “But I shall never see her again. I must leave her behind.”

  “Will you not be one of the Namuri bodyguards, here?”

  Tallen shook his head firmly. “I am not sure, yet, but I believe she was telling me to go on, to follow the Valhais. I think my duty is inextricably linked to their future, somehow. I can’t see it clearly yet, but I know that my place is not here.”

  The Namuri stepped back, leaving Mandalon 50 facing the row upon row of 50th generation Sellites, all of whom had risen to their feet, and were applauding him.

  Mandalon smiled back at them, aware that he now had something to work with, that he now had a chance to put in motion the changes his people would need if they were to survive the next millennium. He waved to them, and relaxed. The laws were passed, and he would have Namuri guards at his side. He could feel safe, at last.

  Chapter 25

  TWO DAYS AFTER the Second Valhai Votation they were ready to take the boxes over to the planet which was to be the new home of the Kintaran animas. And for once Arcan was going to be able to travel directly onto the surface of a planet; the morphics had confirmed that there was neither carbon nanographite nor ortholiquid anywhere within the system. The orthogel entity felt an unusual surge in energy as he prepared the transport; finally he would be physically present on the surface of an alien world.

/>   “Stop lighting up like that, Arcan,” said Six, who was the only one of them under the impression he could tell the orthogel entity off. “All that flashing about is hurting my eyes.”

  “They seem very poor eyes if a little light hurts them,” pointed out the orthogel entity, who was still leaking light all over, and so looked as if he were backed by an immense, radiant aura. “I thought eyes were there to capture light, not to shrink from it. They don’t seem to work very well. Or are yours sub-standard?”

  “Sub-standard yourself, you shining lump of jelly!” Six was offended. “You haven’t even got any eyes! You’re a fine one to talk.”

  “I capture all electromagnetic radiation perfectly well without them. And I don’t need those silly shutter things you have which require so much effort all the time.”

  “They are called eyelids!” Six told him.

  “What is the point of them?”

  “They ...” Six stopped. What was the point of eyelids? Now he came to think about it, he wasn’t too sure. “They ... err ... they protect the eyes from too much sunlight and help to keep them moist.”

  Arcan shimmered. “Then, if these shutters that you have are so useful, why are you complaining about the light I am giving out? They can’t be very efficient.”

  “They work perfectly well!”

  “Then why do you need to shade your face with your hand like that?”

  Six looked at the offending hand as if he were meeting it for the first time. “This?” He dropped it hastily to his side. “—That’s not the point. In any case, we need eyelids when we sleep. We have to close our eyes then.”

  “You have to protect them from the darkness, as well as the light? They must be very fragile.”

  “Of course we don’t have to protect them from the darkness. It’s just that we ... well, hang it all, how should I know? You just don’t sleep with your eyes open, now do you?”