The priest raised his hand. “Bendecidos, hijos mios,” he greeted.
“I, uh, pardon me—no hablo,” Kenmuir faltered. Not for present purposes.
Fernando smiled. “We do deal with the outside world, Captain.” His Anglo was only slightly accented. He gestured. “Pray be seated.”
They lowered themselves to a pad, across the table from him. Kenmuir wondered if Aleka’s garb counted as immodest here. But these folk didn’t live in isolation, they watched their public multi and received occasional outsiders. “I hope you are well rested,” Fernando said to him.
He shrugged, “Enough, /hope.” That drew a chuckle. “Thank you.”
A carafe and tumblers stood on the table. “We have a custom of welcome,” Fernando said. He poured water and offered it. Remembering the documentary, Kenmuir sipped in respectful silence with the others.
“And now,” Fernando laughed when they were done, “I imagine what you truly want is coffee.” He beckoned. The boy carried over a tray with pot and cups, knelt to put them down, and retired.
Kenmuir barely restrained his eagerness.
“Padre,” Aleka began after a minute, “I explained—”Fernando nodded. “Your time is short, if you are to call the Moon directly this day.”
“You have the equipment.”
Kenmuir’s heart knocked.
“We do,” Fernando said. “Not that transmission takes much wattage. It is our quantum-coding capability that you ask for.”
What did these simple wanderers want with eavesdropper-proof communications? wondered Ken-muir. He thought back to Iscah and Spraya. Evidently the Legionaries weren’t that simple either. Intertribal messages—maybe ritual and knowledge reserved for church initiates, maybe coordination of plans to cope with the commerce and politics of a globe largely indifferent to a few eccentrics, or maybe just precaution left over from the times of active hostility— and the high-bandwidth channels available for this sort of thing were limited, so their license must go far back …
Fernando continued, gravely: “The question is whether we should grant it. Forgive me. I neither accuse nor insinuate. But poor ones like us dare not get embroiled in quarrels.”
“Nobody has to know,” said Aleka brashly.
Fernando frowned. “They could learn.” Indeed they could, Kenmuir reflected, if he or she was captured. Or would the hunters actually resort to brainphasing? He didn’t want to believe that.
Nor did he want to sit passive. “Aleka,” he inquired, “what have you told our … our host?”
“Not everything by a long haul,” she admitted. “Nor should you. As you say, Padre, your people ought not to be put at risk. All we want is to make a confidential call in a, uh, a cause worthy of your help.” Mostly to Kenmuin “I’ve explained that we’re working on behalf of a certain Lunarian association.” Well, Lilisaire had her henchmen. She might also have a coequal ally or two on the Moon. “We’re trying to find out about a matter involving the Habitat project, which everybody knows they oppose. The information appears to have been concealed without any justification being publicly given, as the Covenant requires. We need to call for further instructions, while not being noticed by whoever is responsible.”
“If anyone is,” Kenmuir said. “It could be a misunderstanding.”
“Or it could be too bloody right,” Aleka snarled. “Maybe the sophotects are all morally perfect, but humans average as corrupt and greedy and power-hungry as always.”
Fernando stroked his chin. “There is considerably more than that to your story,” he said shrewdly. “Don’t fear, I will not interrogate you. Let us relax and talk of pleasant things.”
The boy served a” vegetarian meal. After a brief blessing, Kenmuir discovered most of the food was new to him, and exotically seasoned. A decent white wine accompanied it.
Meanwhile, with intelligent questions and remarks, Fernando encouraged him to tell about his life. He in his turn learned more about the Drylanders than he had known there was. No doubt Aleka had, earlier, similarly described her own background. Kenmuir much wanted to hear that himself.
At the end, Fernando said quite matter-of-factly, “Yes, you may make your call. Let me conduct you.” Kenmuir realized with a slight shock that in this past hour the priest had been sizing his visitors up till he decided they were genuine.
They walked together through the camp. People crossed arms on breasts at sight of Fernando, and he signed benediction. Otherwise he commented along the way. “—desert rats are becoming an ecological problem, but a new disease of the protein tubers poses the immediate threat. Life simply will not stop mutating and evolving for our convenience, will it? Bioservice has developed a counteragent but naturally wants to study possible side effects before releasing it to us … Our solstice festival … Younger people moving out, more and more. I wonder how many wewould keep in this hard life if everybody had an alternative—”