Julius was frowning. “I don’t see the point.”
“The point, Julius, is that this gukuy religion tells me a great deal about the general state of current gukuy society. Societies, I should say. The Earth’s great religions and philosophies all arose in response to the development of civilization. Animism and tribal pantheons are inadequate to explain a varied and complex world. Intelligent beings inevitably begin to grope for universal truths. And a universal morality.”
“That sounds like good news.”
Indira shrugged. “Yes and no. All of the great religions created a basic code of ethics, which were actually quite similar in their principles. Variations on the Golden Rule, essentially. That represented a gigantic stride forward in human culture, no matter how often those principles were later violated in practice. But the great religions also quickly became a powerful tool for ruling classes to expand and strengthen their domination. Constantine’s conversion to Christianity was accompanied by the Church’s allegiance to the temporal authority of the Roman Empire, to give just one example.”
“There are empires on this planet?”
She nodded. “At least one, that I know of. They call it `Ansha.’ Most of the gukuy in the valley are from there, in fact.”
“Oh, great. Our next door neighbors are imperialist missionaries.”
Indira hesitated, pursing her lips.
“I don’t think so. I won’t be certain until I learn their own language, but I’m pretty sure the gukuy in the big valley are refugees.”
“Refugees? From what?”
“Religious persecution, I imagine. I don’t think their religion is very old, Julius. A generation or two, at the most. The gukuy say the statue in the temple is a representation of someone named Goloku.”
“Their god?”
She shook her head. “That’s not the sense I get. More like a revered sage, or a prophet. The founder of their religion. But the point is that the gukuy talk about Goloku in a familiar sort of way.”
Julius stared.
“Yes, Julius. If I’m right, we’re not dealing with an old and well-established universal church.”
She smiled. “We are there—with the apostles.”
Later, Julius took her to the hut which had been formerly occupied by Hector. Once inside, she saw that the center of the hut’s floor was dominated by a huge pile of clay, oddly shaped.
“What in the world is that for?”
Julius looked apologetic.
“Hey, I only got started. It’s going to be a three-dimensional map of the mountain. I’ve already roughed out the western side.”
Indira saw that the pile of clay was in the general shape of an oval. Julius pointed to one of the long sides of the pile.
“That’s the southern slope,” he explained. “I’ve just started there. That’s going to be a lot of work, with all those canyons. But I’ve got the time, since it’ll be a while before Ludmilla’s expedition finishes exploring the east and north.”
“It seems like a lot of work, Julius. It’s very interesting, I admit, but why—”
She stopped suddenly, seeing the bleak look on her lover’s face.
“It’s a military map.”
Julius nodded. “Yeah. Andrew suggested the idea, and Joseph immediately adopted it. Joseph asked me to start the map just before you left. He wants to have a good picture of possible invasion routes onto the mountain. And I think he’s already thinking in terms of fortifications.”
Indira sighed heavily. “Do you really think this is necessary, Julius?”
The biologist’s voice was harsh. “Yes, I do. But it really doesn’t matter what I think. Or what you think, Indira. Captain Adekunle wants it.”
She stared at him. Julius shrugged. “You can’t have it both ways, Indira. If the man’s in charge, he’s in charge.”
She remembered the authority in Joseph’s gesture when the gukuy were approaching, and nodded. And the fear in her heart suddenly flamed brighter.
Much to Julius’ distress, Indira began making plans for an extended sojourn among the gukuy in the big valley. She would be gone for weeks, if not months, immersing herself in the gukuy culture and language.
But his unhappiness, and her plans, proved unnecessary. Four days after her return, a delegation of gukuy arrived from the big valley. Upon their arrival, they announced that they had come for an extended visit. So that they could learn from the humans.