The Price of Wisdom

by Shannah Jay

  A holocube image formed upon the ground in front of the transcap. A man was seated in what was obviously the command room of a Confex space vessel.

  'My name is Geeling Nathran, Commander of the rescue vessel,' he said formally.

  'I'm Davred Hollunby, once of the Confex satellite team, now a senior member of the Kindred of the God on this planet.' Davred's voice was equally formal.

  'You admit, then, that you've defected, as Robler claimed?' Geeling's tone was severe.

  'I don't know what Robler claimed, but I've achieved my potential as a Cathartic Agent, and that meant coming down to the planet. I have never, in any way, been disloyal to Confex, though I’ve had serious problems dealing with Robler, who was supposed to represent Confex.'

  That caused a wary look to come into Geeling's eyes. 'Robler is dead, I'm afraid. He was killed while trying to take over this vessel.'

  'May he find a better path in the next life!' Davred said, using one of the Sisterhood sayings without realising it. 'And my wife, Katia? I can sense that she's there on the satellite. May I speak to her?'

  Geeling gestured and the image changed to show Katia lying in the medi-centre. 'Your wife was instrumental, though we don't quite understand how, in defeating Robler. The diagnosis-system assures me that she’s not ill, just utterly exhausted, and that her body is repairing itself for the second time since our arrival here.'

  'Brother, I thank you!' Davred murmured, bowing his head for a moment.

  Geeling coughed to get Davred's attention and the image changed to show his face again. 'Er - who is this Brother to whom you and your wife keep referring?'

  'It's the name we use for the God of the Kindred. But you may find it easier to regard it as a collective consciousness, a focus for and of goodness.'

  There was a silence, then, 'That's a very advanced concept for a planet at this stage of development,'

  Geeling commented, sounding disapproving. 'Are you sure you're not assigning your own values and feelings to these people?'

  Davred chuckled softly. 'No. I'm merely quoting the words of the greatest Elder Sister who ever lived on this planet, Herra of Tenebrak, the leader who has just died.' He paused for a moment to contain the anguish that welled up in him. 'She was killed this morning in the battle. She was, by the way, nearly two hundred and sixty years old.'

  'What!'

  JAY The Price of Wisdom231

  'Some of the people on this planet live much longer than has ever been known in the Confederation.' And, Davred thought, her body has just been buried with great honour, laid to rest in Therak Bowl, which will henceforth be a place of pilgrimage for us. And we shall turn it into a place of beauty, as well.

  'These people must have far more advanced medical skills than we do, then,' Geeling admitted, not sounding pleased about it. 'The diagnosis-system recommended a close study of your wife. It said it had never encountered a human in such peak condition, for all her exhaustion.'

  'Yes. That's something the Sisterhood can share with us. I think you'll find that my body is also in excellent condition, better than it ever was before. I'll submit to examination by the diagnosis-system later, after we've sorted a few important things out.'

  Davred straightened up and before Geeling could ask anything else, he said in the most formal tone of voice, 'I hereby apply for Independent Status on behalf of the people of the Twelve Claims on the planet Sunrise. In my capacity as xeno-anthropologist and as Cathartic Agent, I do solemnly swear that these people have an advanced civilisation, capable of self-government and with clear needs to limit and control contact with the Confederation, if their culture and inborn Gifts are to be preserved and fostered.'

  Geeling had stared in astonishment as Davred began to speak, but he could only acknowledge this claim. He had no power to make such major decisions. 'So noted. Shall you come up to the ship to discuss this?'

  'If I have your word that I may return here freely afterwards.'

  'Why should you need to ask that?'

  'Robler tried to stop me from coming down to Sunrise. And when I fled here, he tried to drag me back by force. And yet, I had lodged a Commitment to this planet years ago, before the sector wars cut us off from Confex. So I have, in the absence of approval and guidance, continued to follow the needs of that Commitment.'

  He gestured around him. 'Presumably you're scanning this area, and you can see that we've just fought and won a battle against what we call discord madness. I believe this is the same force which has disrupted the Confederation, the same force as turned Robler insane.'

  'Your claim is noted and the scan will be submitted with it for approval.'

  'I also wish to set on formal record that the knowledge I have gained here, which I shall willingly share with small groups of visiting Confex experts, will be of enormous use to Confex in resolving the ongoing problems that have so long delayed your own arrival.'

  Geeling raised his eyebrows at that. 'An amazing hypothesis.'

  'Which I shall be happy to prove step by step.'

  'Hmm.' Geeling looked thoughtful and said nothing for a minute or two, then changed the subject.

  'And what of the other two continents of this planet? They appear to be uninhabited. Are they? Or are you making this claim on behalf of your continent only.'

  'I make the claim on behalf of the whole planet, so that it may be allowed to develop in its own way.'

  'But you haven't even visited the other continents! And anyway, the scans show them to be uninhabited.'

  'I've visited one of the continents, and it's definitely inhabited. It has a land link with the Twelve Claims which doesn't show from above. It's called Dsheresh, by the way, and is the land of the deleff.'

  He turned to ask Erlic to fetch one of his people, but Erlic had foreseen this, in his usual mysterious way, and was just approaching followed by two very large deleff. They all stopped near Davred and the deleff ranged themselves one on either side of Erlic, then the three of them bowed in unison to the holocube image.

  'What are those?' Geeling gasped.

  'They're called deleff. It's they who inhabit most of Desheresh.'

  'They're sentients? ' Geeling's tone had became very urgent. There were strict regulations regarding how to deal with planets already occupied by sentient aliens.

  'They're extremely intelligent creatures, sentient in the fullest sense of our word, though their ways and understanding of the universe are not ours.'

  Erlic stepped forward. 'In my human form I am known as Erlic. I greet you on behalf of the people of Dsheresh.' He paused and then added quietly, 'I am both deleff and human.' And for all his human-shaped body, his strangeness had never been so apparent. 'I was deliberately created in this form so that I could speak for my people and work with the humans against the evil of the Serpent. We, too, wish to express our support for Davred's claim for Independent Status for this planet.' He bowed again, and the two deleff followed suit.

  'I greet you on behalf of the Galactic Confederation.'

  Davred noted with approval that the image of Geeling bowed solemnly in return.

  'I shall note your request and make a full report on it and on your presence on this planet,' Geeling said after a short hesitation. ‘If the deleff can transform themselves from one species to another, they must be the most advanced species ever encountered. May I ask - are you indeed able to engineer your bodies so that trans-species union is possible?'

  'We don't "engineer" anything, because we don't use machinery,' Erlic told him, 'but yes, we can change ourselves enough to effect trans-species breeding - although the result of that union is sterile and the changes don’t last beyond one shortened lifetime.'

  A pang shot through Davred. He was sure Erlic was speaking about himself. Was that why Erlic and Alaran had been looking so sad all day? 'Would you send for the SS'Habi, please?' Davred asked the deleff quietly, with another bow of courtesy, for the deleff were exquisitely courteous creatures when there was time.

 
He turned back to Geeling. 'There are other sentient races here, too.' Even as he spoke, there was a blue flashing light and a travelling platform came slowly into focus in the space beyond the deleff.

  ' Two alien species, both sentient, on one planet!' Geeling gasped. 'Living in harmony with humans?'

  'Of course we all live in harmony, or we shall be able to now the Serpent is dead. It’s a rather delicate situation, is it not?' A smile twisted the corner of Davred's mouth. 'There are other alien species, too, among them sentient trees and rocks.'

  Geeling couldn’t hide his amazement. 'Sentient plants! That's never been known before! And - you did say sentient rocks? How is sentience even possible for a rock?'

  'You'll have to ask Quequere, who calls himself a crystalline being.'

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  Geeling shook his head, at a loss for words. 'I find this - very difficult to take in. Sunrise is full of surprises.'

  Davred nodded. 'So I found. Which is why I made a Commitment to it.'

  'Are these - er - other sentient beings on the third continent?' Geeling's second-in-command, a scientist, was radiating intense impatience beside him and was clearly bursting to question Davred.

  'No. The sentient trees live between the second continent and this one. There is some sort of land bridge. It's hidden in the thermal zones we call the Fireflats and doesn't show on the aerial scans. And Quequere, the crystalline being, came here from another planet, was shipwrecked, actually.'

  Geeling goggled at this further news.

  'We have no idea what's on the third continent,' Davred admitted, 'but if it's as different to the image you see from above as Dsheresh is, then it, too, may form the basis of a very interesting study one day. We of the Twelve Claims may decide to send an embassy there once we’ve brought our own continent back to order again. But we insist that the third continent be left in peace until then.'

  There was a sound from near the holocube image and Geeling gestured to someone to join him.

  'Katia!' Davred's voice was joyful.

  Katia beamed at the image of her husband. 'My Davred!' Ignoring the people around them, she asked softly, 'Did you feel Herra's farewell.'

  'Yes.'

  'She's moved to the next Level of Life. All honour to her.'

  'May we find a way to follow her one day. One Kindred. One Path. One Quest. '

  They were both silent for a moment or two, and although Geeling stared from Katia to the image of Davred, he said nothing, sensing the deep sadness they were sharing.

  'I'm sorry, Geeling,' Davred said after a moment. 'We've lost a great leader here, one who was to Katia and myself also a mother figure. You’ll be able to read about Herra of Tenebrak in the Archives when we re-open Temple Tenebrak and when our Sister Cheral writes up the tale of this saga. She has the Gift of Recall, and will be able to remember perfectly the years of our quest for peace. And there are many other records in the temple, records that go back for over twenty thousand years.'

  Geeling whistled in surprise. 'I'm finding it hard to take all this in, Davred. If I hadn't seen with my own eyes - well, we can discuss that further when you come up to the satellite. As to the formal claim for independence, I'm not empowered to make a decision about that, as you know, but what we have seen here is - so different and so difficult to explain that I shall place the planet under temporary embargo, pending a decision from Confex Central. This vessel will remain here until a Decision Group can be sent. We shall ensure that no others approach the planet until the decision has been made. And we shall refrain from interfering - though our scientists would, I'm sure, appreciate a chance to visit the planet itself.'

  Davred bowed his head in agreement. This interim decision was exactly what he’d hoped for. When he raised his head, his tone had lost its formality. 'In the meantime, may I ask that you return my wife to me now, Geeling? She needs the help of a Healing Circle after her recent experiences. I can't talk to you about details of what happens without a representative of the people of this planet present at our discussions, so I'll wait until she’s recovered. Tomorrow, perhaps. Or the day after.'

  Geeling nodded reluctantly. 'May we send observers down with her?'

  Davred tried to sense the rightness of this, but it was Erlic who stepped forward. 'Send two observers only. The people called Rivnal and Sibrath.'

  Geeling's face registered astonishment. 'How did you know those names?'

  Erlic just shrugged. 'We can sense them. They would have a suitable attitude. I believe you would call it "open-minded"?'

  Geeling took a deep breath and asked, 'Davred?' in a tone of query.

  'If those are the people whom the deleff have chosen, then they’re the only ones whom we shall accept as observers. Our several species work very closely together.'

  ***

  When Katia stepped out of the lifeship, Davred made no attempt to greet the two people who followed her, but rushed to take her into his arms. As usual when they were together, the world fell into balance around them.

  Only after a moment or two did they turn as one to face Rivnal and Sibrath.

  'Welcome to Sunrise,' they said in unison.

  Soo stepped forward from where she’d been waiting behind Davred. She hugged Katia first, then went on to introduce herself and Mak to the two observers. 'We thought you might like to lodge with us while you're down here.' She smiled. 'We fled down to Sunrise a little later than Davred. It’s a most wonderful planet.'

  The observers bowed stiffly, obviously ill at ease among the colourfully dressed inhabitants.

  Meera, Met and Kerem, who’d been waiting to take the visitors' places in the lifeship and return to the Confex rescue ship, stepped forward.

  'The people here will make you feel very welcome,' Meera said quietly to Sibrath. 'No need to feel nervous.'

  Kerem put his arm around Meera , nodding agreement.

  'But you're returning to Confex?' Sibrath queried. 'Not staying, like Soo and Mak.'

  Met answered. 'No. I think we three are not as - as suited to the life here. And we have things we want to do elsewhere.' He gave a wry grin. 'I miss the machinery.' He turned to Davred and Katia, saying formally, 'Farewell. And thank you for giving us refuge.'

  'We all wish you long and happy lives,' Davred responded, then took Katia away to get the attentions of a Healing Circle. The distress within her, from the danger she’d faced, as well as from the loss of Herra, was more than anyone should have to bear alone.

  ***

  Much later that evening, Jonner managed to get a moment alone with Katia and Davred. 'What have you done about trading rights?' he demanded.

  They both smiled, the first unshadowed smiles they’d given in days. Trust Jonner to bring them back to practicalities.

  'You shall be in the very first trade group to leave the planet,' Davred said solemnly.

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  Jonner jerked backwards. 'Hey! I didn't say I wanted to leave the planet myself. I just - I just wanted a chance to be involved in any trading that occurs.'

  Katia put her hand on his arm. 'He's teasing you, Jonner. Of course you can be involved in any decisions that are made about trade. But we don't really want Confederation culture to impinge on Sunrise, so I think we must restrict trade, especially of machinery. Confederation ways are as different from ours as the Serpent's ways were, though not, if we take care, as harmful. And their technology would distract our people from their own development, make them reliant upon machinery.'

  Davred nodded agreement. 'Those of the Confederation have a great potential to destroy our way of life. You already bear our Brother's Gifts in your line, Jonner. Would you exchange those for a piece of machinery, which anyone could take from you? What do you wish your children to inherit, inborn Gifts or machinery?'

  Jonner felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to his wife. 'Well, I want to have children with our Brother's Gifts - of course I do - we both do. But still - '

  Narla ga
ve him a loving smile. 'Davred and Katia won't forget you when it comes to trading. But isn't it about time you and I spent some normal life together first?' She led him away with a roguish look over her shoulder at Katia.

  Quinna drifted up, followed by Nim. 'The SS'Habi have offered me the chance to return to the Sandrims on one of their sleds, with old Nim here as well. I think I'll take them up on that, if you don't mind. For a while, anyway. You - er - you knew your grandfather had been killed, Katia?'

  Katia felt Davred's arm around her shoulders and he answered for her. 'No. We haven't had much time to talk yet.'

  Katia could feel a lump of anguish in her throat. She’d seen only part of the battle on the holocube image Robler had shown her, and she’d assumed Kensin was all right.

  'He died bravely,' Quinna said. 'Fought well. All honour to him.' She sniffed. 'I'm going to miss old Kensie, though. He was a good partner. And I shouldn't be surprised if he follows Herra to the next level after another life or two. There was something very special about him.'

  'Very special,' Katia agreed, her voice choked with tears.

  Nim butted against Quinna and she patted the cliff cat's head absent-mindedly. 'Nim wants to stay with me, I think. Maybe she can find herself a mate in the Sandrims.'

  Katia reached out to caress the cliff cat's head. 'I hope she can. She, too, has wonderful Gifts to pass to her young.' She pulled herself together. The deaths of so many good people were the price they'd had to pay to defeat the Serpent. Herra had said it was part of the Price of Wisdom. And Katia knew that her grandfather would have paid that price joyfully. She mustn’t let her grief overwhelm her.

  Quinna brought them back to the present. 'So would you mind if I returned to the Sandrims?

  Quedras and Querilla are going, too.'

  'I think it's a good idea,' Katia approved. 'You will assuage your grief more rapidly there.'

  Fiana joined them. 'May I come back to the Sandrims with you?' she asked Quinna. 'Do you think your people would let me live with them?' Her smile was a little crooked. 'I don't think I'd fit into temple life any more.'