`Primes are people, too — – dr . .. Gravy,’ he said, annoyed that he was stuttering. There was something wrong and he didn’t know what it was.
His mind seemed gluey.
WE MAY GO NOW, Mur said at its firmest and folded its digits about Thian’s hand. COME DPL.
Gravy looked down at them with the sweetest smile on her face.
`They are the darlingest creatures. I’m so glad Mur recovered.’ He gulped. `where are the two from the other ship?’ She smiled again.
She seemed to have quite a vocabulary of smiles. This one was slightly condescending, as if he should have known. `They’re asleep.
They were tireless in their care of Mur.
And they speak very good Basic. They will contact you when they have refreshed themselves – their words – and are ready to return.
`Oh, good. Yes, that’s fine.’ Thian was excessively relieved that he didn’t have to `port anyone anyplace tonight.
Dip was swaying.
`Ah … urn, Gravy, how do I get back to my cabin? Eight Deck, cabin C8ON?’ `Very simple,’ and it was, when he took the directions from her mind and paid no attention to what she said, for she had a habit of using her right hand when she said `port’, and her left hand when she meant him to turn to `starboard’ That they got back to his cabin at all was due to Mur’s attention.
WINE, TH? Mur asked once on their way.
WINE, MRG, Thian admitted. NO GREAT QUANTITY INGESTED. FATIGUE ASSISTS EFFECTS.
TH WORKED HARD THIS DAY. REST COMES.
DREAMS, TOO, GOOD DREAMS WITh MRG RECOVERED. And Thian was overwhelmingly grateful that this was so, and hugged the silky body to his side.
He helped the `Dinis into their hammocks and then stretched out, once more, on his own bunk.
And there were dreams, but not `Dini inspired.
Gravy seemed to be flowing all over him while something black hissed out of the walls of his cabin which compressed and expanded with no warning.
Over the next few weeks, Thian was so tightly scheduled that mental exhaustion made him sleep deeply and dreamlessly. Gradually, as he became accustomed to the new routines, he did enjoy dreamtime, with his `Dinis and with the other new `Dini personalities he met, either physically, as he `ported them to the Va dim or took Captain Ashiant and other officers to the KLTL and the KLTS, or by communications.
These dreamers were different to any he had previously encountered: older and considerably more active so their dreams were projected on many levels: some which he couldn’t understand.
Mur and Dip, as juvenile in experience as himself, were unable to give him any help; as much because they were more in awe of these contacts than anything else.
His classes were surprisingly crowded. In the first morning slot, which held the most officers, was Malice and Thian began to narrow down the possibilities: Tikele was one, though that surprised Thian; Ailsah Vandermeer was the second; the weapons officer, Far Ah Mina Terran ectomorph with black hair, a sallow skin and high cheekbones, was the third, and the fourth was one of the surgeons, Lacee Mban, a round-faced man, pale haired and eyed, with the smallest hands Thian had ever seen on an adult. Lieutenant Sedallia had initially been a strong contender for the honour but he worked so hard at learning `Dini that Thian scratched him off the list. Innocently Thian was hoping that this antagonist would lose the edge of his distaste for Talents when Thian proved himself on this level but the malice hovered expectantly: but expecting what, Thian didn’t know. Still, it kept him constantly on the alert, hoping to penetrate the identity or reduce the resentment.
He had three hours of classes in the morning.
Mur and Dip acted as his assistants which speeded instruction considerably for they could conduct pronunciation lessons with those struggling with crucial words and phrases while he explained grammar and syntax and increased vocabulary, written and spoken. These were techniques which his sister had found useful teaching `Dinis and which he could adopt for human students. The adults of both species had trouble getting their tongues to accept such contortions. Only now could Thian appreciate the manner of his own learning from childhood onward. None of the humans would know how often Mur and Dip were convulsed in `Dini laughter and sometimes he too found it difficult not to joIn In: `Dini laughter being infectious – for him, at least.