“Not so stupid our fine furry friends,” she said, elated and reassured, as she proudly displayed the leaves and fruit to Lunzie and Triv.
“I’ve been on worlds where there were other interpretations to such overtures,” Lunzie replied sardonically.
“Yes, I appreciate that, Lunzie. Propiation of unknown gods, fattening for the kill, ceremonial poisonings …” Varian dismissed such considerations with a wave of her hand. “To an experienced hand like you, I must seem incredibly naive, but then I’ve generally dealt with animals which are pretty straight forward in their reactions. I really feel sorry for you, having to cope with that devious and subtle predator—man.” She spoke in an even tone but she held Lunzie’s gaze in a steady stare. “My experience tells me to trust the giff, for they’ve shown us no harm—”
“Once we emerged from this cave. Actually, I cannot help comparing your fliers with the Ryxi.”
“There’s no comparison—”
“There is if you are trying to suggest the golden fliers remembered man—us,” and Lunzie dug a thumb into her chest bone, “when you don’t even know their life span, and we don’t know how long we were in cold sleep.”
“The giffs did remember: that intruders from the gap were trouble and that those in the cave were to be protected. They do protect the young of their own species. I just count us very lucky indeed that that instinct mapped onto us.”
“I’d hate to think that this was a tradition handed down from elder to hatchling,” Triv remarked.
“What sort of a life span would you project for the giffs, Varian?”
As Varian did not wish to argue with Lunzie, she seized on Triv’s calm question gratefully.
“The Ryxi are the only comparable species of a similar size exhibiting the same intelligence,” she ignored Lunzie’s snort of disgust, “and their life span is tied up with their libido. The males tend to kill their opponents off in mating duels. Ryxi females live six or seven decades. Like the giffs they don’t seem to have any predators. Of course, I don’t know what parasites they might be susceptible to. Then, there’s the leech thing. If the giffs knew what topical treatment to supply for those 30
Anne McCaffrey – Dinosaur Planet II – The Survivors puncture wounds, they must be vulnerable to it. However, let’s give the giffs a life span similar to the Ryxi’s …”
“They don’t like comparisons—” Lunzie remarked. “Say, 60 to 70 years Standard.”
“We could have slept sixty to seventy years, or six hundred. You’d have thought Kai would insist on knowing how long he’d slept.”
“You know that Thek don’t reckon time in our measurements. Even if Kai had asked, would he have received a comprehensible answer.”
Triv regarded Lunzie’s sour expression with a bemused smile on his face. “You do dislike the Thek, don’t you?”
“I would dislike any species that set itself up as an infallible authority on anything and everything.” A sharp gesture of Lunzie’s arm dismissed the noble Thek with no courtesy. “I don’t trust ’em. And this,” her hand lowered toward Kai, feverishly twisting his head and trying to free his arms from the restraint of the sheet, “is one immediate reason why.”
“We’ve been taught to respect and revere them,” Triv began.
Lunzie snorted. “Typical xenob training. You can’t help it, but you can learn from mistakes!”
Kai began to thresh in earnest, loosening the cocoon they had wrapped about him.
“Sap time!” Lunzie said, reaching for the leaves. “This medication is effective for an hour and a half; I wish I knew if there were side effects to prolonged application. I wish I had something to work with …” Lunzie’s tone was fierce but her hands were gentle in their ministrations.
“What do you need?” Varian asked quietly.
“The small microscope plus the metal medicine container that Tanegli made off with!”
“I know the console was blinking its red head off but none of the warning lights was steady,”
Varian said. “I’ll take a look tomorrow. Portegin had enough tools to make that homing beacon, and I’m a fair mechanic when pushed. A few matrices may just have loosened in that hard landing.