“There, there,” said Questioner impatiently. “What does it say?”
“It says the crust of the planet is becoming increasingly unstable … “
“How perceptive of them!” cried Ellin.
“ … and may reach, but has not yet reached, the point at which it endangers planetary life,” he concluded, handing the report to Questioner, who scanned it rapidly.
The carriage, which eventually approached, was one that had been adapted to carry Questioner’s massive form. She climbed the two steps without help and sat hugely upon the seat, the two aides across from her, the report open upon her lap.
“When you first went to the Temple,” said Questioner to Ellin, “I recall that D’Jevier remarked about the volcanoes. Did it seem to you she was greatly disturbed?”
Ellin thought back. “Not greatly, no,” she said, grabbing for a handhold as the carriage dropped an inch or two over a recently fallen slab. “Her perturbation seemed more dramatic than real.”
Questioner scanned farther in the report. “Our planetologists tell us that the greatest damage thus far has occurred on the other side of this world, where islands have sunk or are sinking, all of them uninhabited, so far as anyone knows. Our scientists go on to say that what we are experiencing, this local disturbance in the vicinity of the Giles, happens every ten to twenty years in gravitic response to certain lunar configurations. So, if she, the Hag, has seen this happen before, why is she being so dramatic about it now?”
“She is dragging, perhaps, a dead fish along the way, hoping we will go sniffing after that rather than something else?” asked Bao.
“Rather than thinking of indigenes?” Ellin asked.
“Quite possibly,” mused Questioner. “Of course, this latest eruption is exceptionally strong, and dangerous, but do they know that?”
Ellin tittered again, breathlessly. “It would be ironic if we all got swallowed up by some volcano, the indigenes along with the rest of us.”
“Which could happen in time,” said Questioner, dispassionately. “For our planetologists say that if present conditions persist, the settled areas will be endangered. Further, they say they can find no geological reason for this instability except an ‘unforeseen and mysterious change in the movements of the crust itself, though there is no detectable change in its nature.’ I find that very interesting.”
“Interesting.” Ellin gulped. “She finds it interesting.”
Questioner turned toward her. “We all die, Ellin Voy. Even I, in time. I was designed to be interested in all things, including those that repulse mankind, like slime and strange insects, like plague and famine and dying. You may be interested, too, when you have a calm moment to consider it. Now do as I bade Gandro Bao. Breathe, breathe, and calm yourself.”
The rest of the journey was made in nervous silence by the dancers, in apparent serenity by Questioner, and in some apprehension by the horses. The driver was habitually glum, and nothing had changed him. The passengers were met at the foot of the Temple stairs by Onsofruct herself, her face pallid and her hands moist, who conducted them up the stairs and into the forecourt.
“I’m sure you are not female in the sense our worshippers would understand,” said Onsofruct to Questioner. “But in some cases, appearances are all. Shall we go into the Temple?”
They did so, seating themselves on the lowest bench, the one nearest both the lectern and the effigies of the Hagions. There were worshippers scattered about in the Sanctuary, some kneeling, most of them standing quite still or seated upon cushions. Older women, some very old, sat on the high-backed benches around the sides. Though the air was hazed with dust, the Temple seemed undamaged by the recent tremors.
Questioner scanned the interior of the lofty space, comparing it to the account Ellin had recorded. She saw the book on the lectern, rose and went over to it, flipping the pages with one hand, too rapidly for the others to see anything but a blur. When she returned to sit beside them, she had put into memory the total contents of every page, including the chemical traces left on each page by the fingers and breath of those who had taken time to read it. A separate part of her mind went to work analyzing what it had read and cross-referencing persons to pages.