single life-form whose body wastes smell nice?”
“My furry friend,” the Earth-human said, “I think you may have touched upon one
of the great philosophical truths. And on the subject of inexplicable phenomena,
how could a Melfan Size Three dilator get into their waste-disposal system and
travel through four levels before it gummed up the works down here?”
She could see the Kelgian’s fur rippling under its coveralls as it said, “Do you
think that DCNF is stupid? Is it going to stand there watching us all day? Is it
intending to follow us home?”
“From what I’ve heard about Sommaradvans,” the DBDG replied, still not looking
directly at her, “I’d say it wasn’t so much stupid as a bit slow-witted.”
“Definitely slow-witted,” the Keigian agreed.
But Cha Thrat had already realized that, cloaked though they were by statements
that were derogatory and personally insulting, the overheard conversation had
contained three accurate points of reference which would easily enable her to
establish her position and return to the planned route. She regarded the two
maintenance people for a moment, sorry that she was forbidden to speak to them
as they were to her. Quickly she made the formal sign of thanks between equals,
then turned away to move in the only direction the two beings had nor discussed.
“I think,” the Kelgian said, “it made a rude gesture with its forward medial
limb,”
“In its place,” the Earth-human replied, “I’d have done the same.”
During the remainder of that interminable journey she double-checked every
change of direction and kept watch for any unexpected alterations in color
codings on the way to Level One Twenty, and paused only once to make another
large dent in her food store. When she opened Access Hatch Twelve and climbed
into Corridor Seven, Timmins was already there.
“Well done, Cha Thrat, you made it,” the Earth-human said, showing its teeth.
“Next time I’d better make the trip a little longer, and a lot more complicated.
After that I’ll let you help out with a few simple jobs. You may as well start
earning your keep.”
Feeling pleased and a little confused, she said, “I thought I arrived early.
Have I kept you waiting long?”
Timmins shook its head. “Your distress beacon was for your own personal
reassurance in case yoir felt lost or frightened. It was part of the test. But
we keep permanent tracers on our people at all times, so I was aware of every
move you made. Devious, aren’t I? But you passed very close to a maintenance
team at one stage. I hope you didn’t ask them for directions. You know the
rule.”
Cha Thrat wondered if there was any rule in Sector General so inflexible that it
could not be bent out of shape, and she hoped that the outer signs of her
embarrassment could not be read by a member of another species.
“No,” she replied truthfully, “we didn’t speak to eachother”
Chapter 10
In the event, she was not given a job until Timmins had shown her the full range
and complexity of the work that, one day, she might be capable of taking on. It
was obvious that the Earth-human was quietly but intensely proud of its
Maintenance Department and, with good reason, was showing off while trying to
instill a little of its own pride in her. True, much of the work was servile,
but there were aspects of it that called for the qualities of a warrior or even
a minor ruler. Unlike the rigid stratification of labor practiced on Sommaradva,
however, in the Maintenance Department advancement toward the higher levels was
encouraged.
Timmins was doing an awful lot of encouraging, and seemed to be spending an
unusually large proportion of its time showing her around.
“With respect,” she said after one particularly interesting tour of the
low-temperature methane levels, “your rank and obvious ability suggest that you
have more important uses for your time than spending it with me, your most
recent and, I suspect, most technically ignorant maintenance trainee. Why am I
given this special treatment?”
Timmins laughed quietly and said, “You mustn’t think that I’m neglecting more
important work to be with you, Cha Thrat. If I’m needed I can be contacted