Quest

by Shannah Jay

  Davred's voice was quiet and his expression betrayed his hurt as he looked at her. 'You should know me better than that, Lenlin. And however much you mock, you'l admit that Herra did describe other worlds and space travel, concepts she should know nothing about.'

  Lenlin shrugged. 'A vivid imagination. Even savages have that.'

  'Will you stop using that term! That attitude towards the objects of our survey goes right against the ethos of Confederation exploration. And besides, the people of Sunrise are not savages, least of all, the Sisters.'

  Mak intervened. He disliked quarrels as much as Lenlin seemed to enjoy provoking them lately. On his world they were unknown, as was the display of strong emotions. 'Are you absolutely sure you didn't reveal something to them inadvertently, Davred? You're responsible for all the direct communication with the Sisterhood now, and you certainly speak to them often enough.'

  'I've told them nothing I shouldn't have.' Davred repeated. 'Do you think I don't understand my own role? I’m a fully-trained xeno-anthropologist!'

  'Then how do you explain what happened just now?' Robler snapped. 'I still think you were premature in making contact. It would have been better to plan for an initial trading link and pretend we came from somewhere else on the planet. As I suggested in my report to Confex. Those wood carvings from the Twelve Claims would fetch a huge price anywhere in the Confederation, and as for the filigree work and woven hangings, well, they're priceless.’

  But he didn’t intend to raise that issue again. Davred had sent in a contradictory cultural analysis on Sunrise which had been accepted by Central, and that still rankled with Robler. 'You do still remember that it's forbidden to tell inhabitants of primitive planets about the Galactic Confederation, don’t you?'

  'I haven't told them anything I shouldn't,' Davred reiterated wearily. 'How many times do I have to say that? And I had to do a full probability analysis before I was given permission to make contact, because it's such an unusual step to take. I wouldn't have done it if you and Lenlin hadn't been pushing so hard for a trade link. Trade would have raped the Twelve Claims of their treasures. It always does.'

  'Let's not go over that again,' said Mak.

  Davred held back his anger. 'Look, The people of Sunrise only see me as the Manifestation of their God, not as an off-worlder. Every young culture has its gods, and here, where the religion is so very special, it's the perfect ploy for initial contact. It'll save us years of observation.'

  Lenlin snorted. 'Well, I still say they're primitive savages.Virtually no machinery, not nearly approaching the industrial phase, and given to loathsome behaviour in those shrines of theirs. Perhaps they're basically vicious, as well as stupid.'

  'Those of the Serpent are a temporary aberration, that's all.' Davred's whole body was taut with suppressed anger.

  'They're not representative of Sunrise as a whole.'

  'Huh! Even I can see how much ground they've gained in the past year or two. If you had to run that analysis for Confex now, Davred, your contact plan wouldn't be accepted. Those precious Sisters of yours are on the way out QUEST Shannah Jay 17

  and as for this prophecy, it’s just a load of rubbish.'

  Davred prayed for patience. 'Herra's an extremely wise person by any standards, Lenlin. This isn't the first time she's shown flashes of - of - Oh, call it foresight or prescience or ESP, whatever you like. I've reported the occurrences to Confex, but they said the incidence was not statistically significant until we had further data. Which I intend to get.'

  'Well, Confex ought to know just a little about such things, after all the centuries they've been in charge of space exploration,' Robler said sarcastically, 'Even you will have to grant them that.'

  'I don't have to agree with their conclusions about this planet.' Davred was determined not to give an inch against what he saw as an unjustified attack. 'Herra's predecessor was just the same as she is, according to what they've told me. She, too, made several accurate prophecies and each was noted down in their Archives. That ought to have given the recent prophecy more significance.' Except that Confex had refused to consider what it called hearsay evidence.

  Why was Confex so convinced that ESP was impossible? Why did Central automatically assume that the Sisters were deluding themselves and their followers?

  'Confex is right,’ Robler said firmly. ‘Those Sisters can claim anything they like. We can't possibly know whether they're telling the truth or not about what happened in the past. The proof for ESP must be incontrovertible - as you're well aware, Davred - and it's not been proven anywhere in the Confederation so far.’ He lost his temper suddenly. 'Why will you persist with this stubbornness, you young fool? You know the requirements for observation missions like ours as well as I do!'

  What the Sisters write is the truth! Davred didn’t even bother to say that aloud. Turning away from Robler, he stared hungrily at the image. 'I'd give my pay for this whole tour of duty for the chance to go down to Temple Tenebrak and read their Archives myself. The few extracts they've shown me have been tantalising. But even for me, whom they believe to be the Manifestation of their God, they won't bring the whole manuscript up to be holographed in the Chamber of the God. They just show me a few extracts here and there, whenever the mood takes them.'

  Why, he wondered yet again, were the Sisters so obedient to his wishes in some things, and so intransigent in others? He still wasn’t sure he understood what they meant by a Manifestation of the God. Something less than the God himself, that was certain. There were times when Herra seemed to be humouring him, as if he were a child or a novice, and others when she treated him with extreme deference.

  'Well, go down and live with them, then! That's the logical thing for you to do.' Lenlin's voice was bitter, but her eyes were bright with unshed tears. ‘Your obsession with the Sisterhood is making you spend less and less time with

  - with your friends.

  Davred didn’t even notice her sarcasm. 'I wish I could. But it'll be years before we know enough of their culture to risk a visit.'

  'In the meantime, they certainly bear watching,' said Soo.

  'Don't they just!' Davred's was almost vibrating with excitement as he looked at the scene in the temple. How lucky thatHerra had agreed to wear a tracer herself and to install another, with a broader radius, at the foot of the statue of the God! How infuriating that she had refused to let him view the statue itself! The tracer should have picked it up anyway, since it was set to give a 360 degree scan, but it didn’t. Perhaps it was just too dark in that corner of the temple, or perhaps the tracer was malfunctioning.

  In the cube-shaped three-dimensional image of the temple, the flickering lamps shone upon the finely-crafted gold and silver ornaments on the walls, and the tiny figures moved gracefully about their business.

  In contrast, the satellite was ugly and its occupants clumsy. Davred glanced around with distaste at the omnipresent brightness and the metal walls. Service pipes and air conduits ran along the corridors for ease of access.

  Metal bulged to accommodate machinery without any consideration for the aesthetic consequences. He understood that space was in short supply on a satellite, but still, why did things have to be so very ugly? Thank goodness he was allowed to arrange his personal quarters as he chose.

  He glanced down in disgust at his jumpsuit, made in a brilliant colour that could be seen easily both in space and QUEST Shannah Jay 18

  on the ground. Lately its garishness had started to annoy him. He looked around. All the members of the exploration team wore similar garments. He wondered what Lenlin would look like in a Sister's soft flowing robe, but couldn’t quite imagine her dressed like that. Soo would look good in a robe, though. He could see her in one quite easily.

  With her ancestry - what the history books called Oriental - she'd look marvellous in bright embroidered silks that contrasted with her sleek dark hair and pale ivory skin, silks such as the rich wore in Tenebrak.

  Davred's eyes returned to th
e three-dimensional image. He couldn’t keep his attention away from it for long and had spent many more hours in the com-room than his duty watches required, observing the Sisterhood and their planet. Herra claimed that Temple Tenebrak had been founded over twenty thousand years previously - their longer planetary years, not standard years. The buildings were still being added to and improved in minor ways. Many of the stones on the massive walls was carved in bas-reliefs of flowers and foliage; all the temple's necessary functions were concealed or beautified. Each bench, each hanging lamp, each statue was a work of art, and in his opinion, the skill of their makers was unparalleled in all the worlds of the Galactic Confederation.

  Even Robler had admitted as much, though the Exec only seemed to consider the beautifully crafted objects to be suitable for trade. Perhaps, Davred mused, that was why he found Robler so irritating, so ponderous and unleavened in his nature. Lenlin could be irritating too, at times, for she had a similar mercenary bias, though she could be fun to be with. And she was very beautiful, of course, with her fine blonde hair and elegant curves. He loved to watch her eyes sparkle with pleasure when she was in a good mood.

  Of the other observers on the satellite, only Soo shared his love of art, and the two of them had become good friends, though nothing more. Strange, how he had never been attracted to Soo as a woman. Maybe it was because she didn’t encourage that sort of attention. She’d had a short liaison with Robler when she first arrived, very short.

  After that she’d steered clear of any relationships, although they were encouraged among long-term personnel on satellites and her total abstinence was highly unusual. He exchanged rueful smiles with her across the com-room, then turned to study the image again.

  On no planet that he'd ever heard of, Davred thought, was there so much beauty, both natural and created by humans. If there had not been the problem of outbreaks of violence in this sector, Confex would have done something about Sunrise before now, sent a bigger cultural expedition, an ambassador, perhaps. Beauty like that was a precious commodity everywhere.

  When the planet was eventually opened up to trade, art dealers and collectors would swarm in to rape it of its wares - and in the process would ruin its culture, as they had so many others, for all the so-called fair trading safeguards. As a xeno-anthropologist, Davred intended to fight that. There were a lot of things about the way Confex was run that he would like to change.

  'I think we of the Confederation could learn a lot from the Sisterhood,' he said, speaking his thoughts aloud. 'One day, somehow, I shall get permission to go down and attend a Gathering, really attend, not just watch it second-hand. What do you suppose they feel? What happens to them when they ?'

  'Why did you pronounce that word so strangely?' asked Mak, always a stickler for correct details.

  Davred blinked in surprise. 'Because - well, because that's how it should be pronounced. Can't you hear the difference?'

  'Not really. But about this gathering business,' Mak tried to imitate Davred's pronunciation, but failed to get the correct tone, 'I, too, would like to know what they feel. The act resembles meditation, but it's clearly more than that.

  There's something I've never seen before in their expressions. It would merit investigation, I think.' Mak had medical training, among his other skills.

  'What I'm wondering is why Herra chose to prophesy now.' Soo spoke quickly, before Lenlin, who was still looking sharp and unhappy, could say something else provocative. 'Why at this particular time? What sparked it off, do you think, Davred? And did you notice that Herra linked the prophecy openly to the two babies they'd saved?

  Why did you arrange to save them, anyway? Even in your role as Manifestation of the God, should you be interfering that much in minor local politics?'

  'He enjoys playing God to the savages,' sneered Lenlin. 'He can't resist tampering.'

  QUEST Shannah Jay 19

  Davred ignored her jibe. 'I don't know, Soo. It just seemed, well, the right thing to do.' He couldn’t explain his actions, even to himself, though he’d have to find reasons to justify them later in his report. It had seemed at the time as though something was urging him to intervene, something too important to ignore. It had felt right. He sighed. The more he studied Sunrise and the Sisterhood of the God, the less he felt he knew about anything.

  'What babies are you talking about?' asked Robler. He was more interested in the mineral analysis of the planet and its moons than in the ways of its inhabitants.

  Davred explained. 'It was Herra who arranged the rescue, really. She doesn't like using the com-units, but she has a remarkable grasp of the capabilities of machinery for one from a non-industrialised culture. The Sisters set a lot of store upon the family bloodlines of those matings, so it was extremely important to them to save the babies.'

  'Well, the infants certainly looked healthy.' Lenlin's anger was dying down a little. 'I worked in a crèche once, you know, when I was a student out on life experience. I like babies.' Her tone was yearning.

  Soo sighed with relief. Lenlin's recent moodiness seemed to have communicated itself to everyone on the satellite, and they'd all been a bit on edge - everyone except Davred. Davred was as immune to Lenlin's moods as he was to her love for him, though he was kind to her in his own way - when he remembered. But when he became engrossed in a project, he hardly noticed what was going on around him, let alone Lenlin's hunger for his company as her shorter tour of duty drew to a close.

  'You'll have to keep an eye on what happens to the babies and the prophecies, Davred,' Lenlin went on. 'You'll be here to play God to them for a few years yet. I'm glad I'll be leaving soon. I can't get to grips with the people of this planet. I'd never sign up for a long tour here. I think you three are stupid, extending your contracts.'

  Soo shrugged. Mak ignored the jibe and Davred said nothing. Lenlin added loudly, 'In fact, I don't know why the Galactic Confederation decided on Minor Intervention and Wardship instead of opening the planet up for trade, and I'll tell them so in my final report. Two-thirds of the land surface isn't even inhabited yet. We could have settled that part of the planet ourselves and used it as an R and R base. The natives wouldn't even have known. They're nowhere near developing air travel yet.'

  'These worlds are not ours to rape!' snapped Davred. 'We have a duty to protect them.'

  'What's so special about this backward mudball that it must be protected? I've seen a dozen primitive planets that are more interesting than Sunrise!' She flung the last remark at Davred, and stood with her hands on her hips, trying to goad him into a response. Anything to get that dreamy look out of his eyes.

  'It's got outstanding beauty.' He frowned at her. 'And it's very unusual to have three moons circling so close to a planet without disturbing the ecological balance. They're in a fortuitous meshing of orbits, well worth observing.'

  'It's not the only planet with three moons, and though I will admit that some of the flowers are spectacular,' she said grudgingly, 'you can't say that's of vital importance to anyone. I mean, there are flowers everywhere in the Confederation, after all. And if we wanted to, we could breed flowers just as beautiful as those on Sunrise, even up here on the satellite.'

  'We never have, though, have we? We don't have their hunger for beauty. And besides, Sunrise has the Sisterhood.' Davred nodded in the direction of the image, as if this clinched the argument.

  Robler rolled his eyes. Davred was still incredibly naive for a man of his age. He didn’t interrupt, though, because he was finding it interesting to study Davred's responses to Lenlin's baiting.

  She groaned aloud. 'These primitive planets have all got Sisterhoods or Brotherhoods, Davred, or some other sort of religious clan. There's nothing unusual about that. Besides, Sunrise has the Serpent cult as well. That religion will take over eventually, the way it's spreading, so you should be dealing with them, not the Sisterhood.'

  She had his full attention now. 'Deal with Those of the Serpent! Never! They sicken me. Have you seen what they
get up to in those shrines?'

  She shrugged. 'Sex.'

  'And sadism.'

  QUEST Shannah Jay 20

  'They don't seem to mind, so why should you?'

  'I wouldn't deal with Those of the Serpent,' he stated. 'I'd quit my contract first. Besides, the Sisterhood is special.

  None of the other inhabited planets we've found, not a single one, has a religion that's lasted for more than a few thousand standard years. I've checked it with Central Records. The Sisterhood's Archives go back for twenty thousand years, at least. Their longer years, not ours.'

  'So they say.'

  'I think they're telling the truth about that. And Those of the Serpent have only been in existence for about four hundred of their years. I'd stake my life on it that they'll go the way of all the other cults which have opposed the Sisterhood.'

  'Not without causing a lot of trouble for your precious Sisters in the process,' she jeered.

  'No. That's becoming obvious. I must see how I can help them. We are allowed Minor Interventions now, after all, if we can prove need.' Davred frowned, forgot about Lenlin and stood up abruptly. 'Which reminds me, there's something I want to check out. Excuse me, everyone.'

  Lenlin watched him go, her eyes full of unhappiness and her mouth drooping. 'He'll make a Commitment at this rate, and spend the rest of his life down there with that bunch of religious freaks. He'll probably be the first man to join the Sisterhood!'

  'Commitment isn't a thing to mock.' said Soo. 'Some very noble things have been done on Commitment.'

  'There've been some very noble wastes, you mean! What about that woman on Hapsell II, who died in the Shreel Wars? She was one of the greatest musicians the Confederation had ever produced and she just threw it all away.'

  'She saved a whole culture from annihilation.'

  'Another bunch of primitives! And she was both stupid and irresponsible to play the game on their terms. The Confederation lost fifty years or more of her work. Have you ever taken part in one of her sensoral symphonies?