“Where is its rider?” M’hall asking, looking around for another burn circle.
“There was no rider,” Tieran told him.
“Could it have been an accident? A queen so young going between?” M’hall asked in vain hope.
Tieran shook his head. “I don’t know,” he answered. “But if it did, then it was sick with what looked to be the same thing this one-” He reached up to stroke Grenn, who had perched again on his shoulder, reassuringly. “-was ill with.
“Thirty generations would be over four hundred years from now,” he added.
M’hall whistled in awe. “You’re saying that this dragon and your fire-lizard come from four hundred years in the future?”
Tieran nodded, opening his hand. “I pulled this off the dragon’s riding harness.”
M’hall gave Tieran a questioning look and, at the young man’s nod, picked up the small object and peered at it intently.
“That’s the Benden Weyr mark,” he said instantly, pointing at a small section on the silver oblong. “Those other marks look like”-he glanced up incredulously at Tieran-“the same ones on your friend’s beadwork! Animal healer.”
“That’s what I thought,” Tieran agreed.
To his surprise, Tieran did not find himself on duty escorting all the various craftmasters, Holders, and Weyrleaders past the newly-raised mound that marked the queen dragon’s final resting place and on into the College’s Dining Room, hastily rearranged as a meeting place. Instead, he found himself bustling back and forth between Wind Blossom, Emorra, and Janir, carrying notes, bearing messages, and generally being run off his feet.
The undercurrents in the room were deep and numerous. Just from his own hearing, he knew that the Lord Holders not only warred with themselves over the disposition of Colony resources but also had numerous issues of trade to resolve. The Weyrleaders seemed united, if somewhat restless, willing to follow M’hall’s direction.
But the real issue was Wind Blossom’s. Those who hadn’t actually seen the dragon’s burnt skeleton were dubious of the claim, although not quite willing to voice out loud their lack of faith in Wind Blossom’s reasoning or abilities.
It promised to be an interesting and perhaps contentious session. Tieran caught a whiff of the snacks Moira and Alandro were baking and was surprised when his stomach gave a disgusted heave. Apparently this interesting session meant more to him than he was willing to admit.
The tables of the Dining Room had been arranged in a large oval. Emorra and the other collegians were gathered at the end nearest the kitchen. Opposite them were the Weyrleaders. In between, on the left and on the right, were the leaders of the Holds.
Tieran was surprised when the first person to speak was Emorra.
“Does everyone have a copy of the agenda?” she asked. Hearing no dissent, she continued. “Very well, I propose we start with the first item: the issue of the queen dragon and Wind Blossom’s findings-”
“It seemed awfully small to be a queen,” Lord Kenner of Telgar noted quaveringly, glancing around the room nervously, his beak-like nose bobbing this way and that.
“That’s because it was an immature dragon,” Tieran responded. “Judging by its teeth, it was under six months old, probably as little as two.”
“And you agree with this assessment?” Mendin asked, looking pointedly at M’hall.
M’hall nodded. “Yes.”
Mendin turned back to Tieran and nodded for him to continue. Tieran looked at Emorra and raised an eyebrow.
Emorra continued. “It is our opinion-”
“Whose?” Mendin demanded challengingly.
“The medical staff and faculty at this College,” she replied testily. “Kindly let me continue uninterrupted.”
Mendin looked ready to argue the point but desisted after catching sight of M’hall’s glare.
“It is our opinion that the queen dragon was a hatchling from somewhere between the thirtieth and fortieth generation,” Emorra said. The Lord Holders gave her blank stares, while the Weyrleaders who hadn’t heard this before all sat bolt upright in their chairs.
“Emorra, could you tell us what dragon generation we are at now?” Malon of Tillek asked courteously.
“The newest generation is the sixth generation,” Emorra answered.
“So the dragon came from the future,” K’nel of Ista said.
“How can dragons travel through time?” Kenner asked.
“It is a property of their ability to teleport,” Wind Blossom replied. “Any movement through space implies a movement through time.”
Kenner looked politely confused.
“Space and time are the same,” M’hall expanded, taking pity on the old Holder. “We’ve done it.”
“You have?” Mendin blurted.
“Yes,” L’can, High Reaches Weyrleader confirmed. “It is quite draining on the rider, though.”
“We estimate that the dragon came from more than four hundred years in the future,” Emorra told the group.
“Well, that’s a relief,” Mendin declared. “We’ve got nothing to worry about, then.” He looked expectantly around the room. “So what’s the next item on the agenda?”
“I don’t think we should move on so quickly,” M’hall replied. He turned to Emorra. “Is there any danger to our dragons?”
“I don’t think so,” she replied. “The young queen was immediately bathed in acid, so all microorganisms should have been destroyed.”
“What about that fire-lizard?” Mendin asked, pointing at the brown fire-lizard curled on Tieran’s shoulder.
“I would not have released the fire-lizard from quarantine had I considered it still a possible source of contagion,” Wind Blossom spoke up from behind her daughter. She met Mendin’s eyes squarely. “The fate of all Pern is at stake.”
“Is?” Mendin repeated. “I thought you said the fire-lizard isn’t a threat?”
“We don’t know why the fire-lizard or the queen dragon found their way back to us,” Emorra replied. “They both appear to have come from about the same time, and there are indications that they had the same human partner.”
“And that the partner was a rider at Benden Weyr,” M’hall added.
“Somewhere in the future, dragons are dying,” L’can marveled mournfully.
“But that’s not an issue for us!” Mendin declared. “I’m sorry to hear about it, but we have issues we need to deal with today.”
“And this is one of them,” Emorra declared fiercely. “Twice now we’ve been lucky.” She nodded toward M’hall and the Weyrleaders. “Every Weyr is now on guard against any other dragons falling out of the future, but it just takes one and the illness could spread here.”
“No, it can’t,” Tieran said to himself. He flushed as the others all looked at him. He shrugged. “If the illness spreads here, then there will be no dragons from the future.”
“Could you explain?” M’hall asked, gesturing invitingly.
“If the illness comes back in time,” Tieran replied, “there are two possibilities-either all the dragons will succumb and there will be no more dragons in the future, or the dragons will get better and pass their immunity on, so there will be no sick dragons in the future.”
“I’m afraid there is a third possibility,” Wind Blossom said. Everyone turned to her. “It is possible that the queen from the future is a modified watch-wher.”
“What?” Mendin shouted. “A watch-wher?”
“I have only completed some preliminary evaluations,” she continued unperturbedly, “but I have noticed signs of genetic manipulation in the queen’s genetic code.”
“But if our descendants could manipulate genetic material, wouldn’t they be able to cure this illness in the future?” Mendin asked.