“How long would their heavy-gravity advantage last on a light world?” Triv asked.
“Unless they found some way to simulate heavy-gravity conditions and exercise under them—”
“Well, they would have had to man handle all the stone they build with up to the bluff,” Varian said, “and there were eight large buildings plus six or seven smaller ones, with slate for roofs.”
“That would have helped,” but Lunzie’s tone was hesitant with doubt.
“If they all indulged in ‘chase-the-fang-face-till-it-bled-to-death’,” Varian said with considerable acrimony in her voice, “they didn’t dare get fat.”
“Obviously, their descendants have no such problem, and inherited physiques capable of considerable muscular development,” Lunzie continued. “Since this Aygar depended on physical endurance to out run an enraged predator while it was bleeding to death, and then tried to take you on, Varian, the strength factor is still on their side. I think we’d better attend that meeting in force and in Discipline.
“Right, Kai?”
48
Anne McCaffrey – Dinosaur Planet II – The Survivors
“I’ll be with you, Varian!”
Even as Varian nodded agreement, her eyes flicked to Lunzie’s and registered the denial the medic would not voice.
“We must have communications, though.” Varian glanced toward Portegin, who was looking more alert now.
“I’m sure I can rig something, especially if the sled units are operative. With that many matrices available, I might even fix what Paskutti smashed in the shuttle—at least for planetary use.”
“I wish we had some kind of long-distance defensive tool,” Varian said, scratching her ear.
“There was something in Aygar’s manner that worries me, but I can’t figure what!”
“What sort of weapons did he carry?” asked Portegin.
Varian described the crossbow and Portegin laughed. “We can do better than that if Lunzie has any anesthetic left?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Lunzie said, a trifle surprised. “Not much,” she cautioned, holding up her hand, “but enough to provide for a few medicated bolts.”
“Good, then all I need is some hardwood and I can contrive a dart gun that would immobilize your crossbow user before he could cock it.”
“So long as we get to shoot first,” Varian said.
“You’d better!” Lunzie’s expression was as uncompromising as her tone.
“I don’t want to shoot anyone,” Varian said. “Cold sleep didn’t change my moral values.”
“No, just drastically changed our circumstances. We’re five …” and Lunzie’s finger did an arc including them all, “against I haven’t figured out how many progeny in two generations from six parents. We had few advantages over the heavyworlders to begin with, and have fewer now that they’re completely ensconced in terrain we haven’t seen. They’re very well adapted to the environment.” She nodded at Kai. “You gained an advantage yesterday, Varian. We’ve got to maintain it, such as it is, no matter what we have to do to keep it. We can’t keep in constant Discipline. Above all, we have to protect the sleepers!” Her arm swung back toward the shuttle.
“I’m consoled by the fact that the giffs take that on themselves,” Kai said.
“A point, but only when none of us can assume that responsibility.” Lunzie turned back to Varian. “Aygar gave you no indication how many people are in the new settlement, or why they left the old?”
“He was as wary of me as I was of him … once we agreed not to fight anymore. But there were eight buildings in the camp they had abandoned, and the dome had evidently gone with them, for there was a circle where it had stood in the center of the octagon the other buildings formed. Each house had four rooms. And except for built-in stone shelving, they were empty.”
“Four times eight gives 32 which tells us nothing, really, said Lunzie. Tardma might have been able to produce two, maybe three children; she was the oldest. Berru and Divisti could have born a child a year easily for twenty or so, if they were forced to. I hazard they alternated paternity and kept track of whose was whose, to have as wide a gene pool as possible—”
“They’d still be in trouble by the third or fourth generation when recessive—”
“As I recall their medical records,” Lunzie gently interrupted Kai, “Bakkun, Berru, and Divisti came from different genetic stock than the other three, who were from Modrem in the Cluster.