Wakefield,” he said, reaching out to shake hands. “We’ve all heard so very much about you. . . . Welcome . . . welcome. I’m Stephen Kowalski.”
“And I’m Renee du Pont,” the woman said, advancing and also extending her hand in Nicole’s direction.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Mr. Kowalski asked Max what the three of them were doing. “We’re taking Mrs. Wakefield to lunch,” Max replied simply.
“It’s still common time,” the man said with another big smile. He checked his watch. “Why don’t you wait forty-five minutes more and Renee and I will join you? We’re on the Council, you know, and we would like very much to speak to Mrs. Wakefield about our activities. Certainly the Council will want to hear from her in the very near future.”
‘Thanks for the offer, Stephen,” Max said. “But we’re all hungry. We want to eat now.”
Mr. Kowalski’s brow furrowed. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Max,” he said. “There’s a lot of tension at the moment. After that incident yesterday in the swimming pool, the Council voted unanimously to boycott all collective activities for the next two days. Emily was especially incensed that Big Block put Garland on probation and took no disciplinary action of any kind against the offending octospider. That’s the fourth consecutive time that the blockheads have ruled against us.”
“Come on, Stephen,” Max said. “I heard the story at dinner last night. Garland was still in the pool fifteen minutes after our special time had expired. He grabbed the octo first.”
“It was a deliberate provocation,” Renee du Pont said. ‘There were only three octospiders in the pool. There was no reason for one of them to be in the lane where Garland was swimming laps.”
“Besides,” Stephen said, “as we discussed in the Council last night, the specifics of this particular incident are not our primary concern. It is essential that we send a message to both the blockheads and the octospiders, so that they know we are united as a species. The Council is going to
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meet in special session again tonight to draw up a list of grievances.”
Max was becoming angry. ‘Thank you for keeping us informed, Stephen,” he said brusquely. “Now if you’ll just step aside, we would like to go to lunch.”
“You’re making a mistake,” Mr. Kowalski said. “You will be the only humans in the cafeteria. We will, of course, report this conversation at the meeting of the Council tonight.”
“Go ahead,” said Max.
‘ Max, Eponine, and Nicole walked out into the main corridor that formed an annulus around the central core of the starfish. “What’s the Council?” Nicole asked.
“A group—self-appointed, I might add—that pretends to represent all the humans,” Max replied. “At first they were just a nuisance, but in the last few months they have actually begun to wield some power. They’ve even recruited poor Nai into their ranks by offering to help solve the Galileo problem.”
The big tram stopped about twenty meters to their right and a pair of the iguanas disembarked. Two of the block robots, who had been standing unobtrusively off to the side, walked out into the corridor between the humans and the strange animals with the fearsome teeth. As the iguanas passed around them back along the wall, Nicole recalled the attack on Nikki at the Bounty Day ceremony.
“Why are they here?” Nicole asked Max. “I would have thought that they were too disruptive.”
“Big Block and the Eagle have both explained to full human assemblies, on two separate occasions, that the iguanas are essential for the production of that barrican plant, without which the octo society would be all screwed up. I didn’t follow all the details of the biological explanation, but I do remember that fresh iguana eggs were a vital link in the process. The Eagle stressed repeatedly that only the bare minimum number of iguanas were being maintained here in the Grand Hotel.”
The trio was near the entrance to the cafeteria. “Have the iguanas caused much trouble?” Nicole asked.
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“Not really,” Max said. “They can be dangerous, as you know, but if you cut through all the crap put out by the Council, you conclude that there have only been a few incidents in which the iguanas launched an unprovoked attack. Most of the altercations have been started by humans. Our boy Galileo killed two of them one night in the cafeteria during one of his violent outbursts.”
Max noticed Nicole’s strong reaction to his last comment. “I don’t want to be telling tales out of school,” he said, shaking his head, “but this Galileo business has really torn our little family apart. I promised Eponine I would let you talk to Nai about it first.”
The smaller block robots were constructed in the same general pattern as Big Block. A dozen of them were serving food in the cafeteria, and six or eight others were standing around the eating area. When Nicole and her friends entered, four or five hundred octospiders, including two giant repletes and eighty or so midget morphs eating on the floor in the corner, were sitting in the cafeteria. Many of them turned to watch as Max, Eponine, and Nicole passed through the line. A dozen iguanas, seated not far from the serving line, stopped eating and eyed the humans warily.
Nicole was surprised at the large variety of things to eat. She chose some fish and potatoes, as well as some octospi-der fruit and their orange-tasting honey for her bread.
“Where does all this fresh food come from?” she asked Max as they sat at a long empty table.
Max pointed up. ‘There’s a second level to this starfish. All the food for everybody is raised up there. We eat very well, although the Council has complained about the lack of meat.”
Nicole took a couple of bites of her food. “I think I ought to tell you,” Max said quietly, leaning across the table, “that a pair of octospiders is headed in your direction.”
She turned around. Two octospiders were indeed approaching. Out of the corner of her eye Nicole also gaw Big Block hurrying toward their table. “Hello, Nicole,” the first octospider said in color. “I was one of Dr. Blue’s assistants
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in the Emerald City Hospital. I just wanted to welcome you and thank you again for helping us out.”
Nicole searched vainly for a distinguishing mark on the octospider. “I’m sorry,” she said in a friendly tone, “I can’t place you exactly.”
“You called me Milky,” the octospider said, “because at the time I was recovering from a lens operation and I had excess white fluid . . .”
“Ah, yes,” Nicole said with a smile. “I remember you now, Milky. Didn’t we have a long discussion at lunch one day about old age? As I recall, you had a hard time believing that we humans remained alive, whether we were useful or not, until we died of natural causes.”
‘That’s right,” Milky answered. “Well, I don’t want to disturb your lunch, but my friend very much wanted to meet you.”
“And to thank you also,” said Miiky’s companion, “for being so fair about everything. Dr. Blue says that you have been an example for all of us.”
Other octospiders began to rise from where they were sitting in the cafeteria and to line up behind the first two octos. The colors for “thank you” were visible on most of their heads. Nicole was deeply moved. At Max’s suggestion, she stood up and spoke to the line of octospiders. “Thank you all,” she said, “for your warm welcome. I realiy do appreciate it. 1 hope I have a chance to visit with each of you while we are living here together.”
Nicole’s eyes drifted to the right of the line Of octos and she saw her daughter Ellie with Nikki standing beside her. “I came as soon as I could,” Ellie said, coming over and kissing her mother on the cheek. “I should have known,” she added with a slight smile. She gave Nicole a vigorous hug. “I love you, Mother,” Ellie said. “And I have missed you so very much.”
“I explained to the Council,” Nai said, “that you had just arrived and did not fully understand the significance of the boycott. I believe they were satisfied.”
Nai opened the door and Nicole followed her into the
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laundry area. Using the washers and dryers they had seen in New Eden as a basis, the aliens who had outfitted the Grand Hotel in a hurry had built the free laundry room not far from the cafeteria. Two other women were in the large room. Nai purposely chose to use the machines at the far opposite side, so mat she could have a private conversation with Nicole.
“I asked you to come with me today,” Nai said as she began to sort the clothing, “because I wanted to talk to you about Galileo.” She paused, struggling. “Forgive me, Nicole, my feelings on this subject are so strong. I’m not certain—”