Juanita laughed. “It’s known me a lot longer than it’s known you.”
“Hello, Juanita,” said Neuter Kimball. “I’m glad you are with us.”
“Shortly after I began my work here,” Juanita said, “it was the first solcetacean I observed personally. It went by the human name Pemberly back then.”
“Another swale had transmitted Pride and Prejudice to me, and I decided to seek out humans to see what they were like,” Neuter Kimball said. “You are a fascinating race.”
The thought came to me that maybe there had been some pride and prejudice between me and Juanita—possibly because she was annoyed that a swale she particularly liked had become a Mormon. But maybe we could work out our differences and—I shoved that thought away. “Swales are also fascinating. I hope to understand you as well someday as you understand us.”
“Kimball, our shuttle is on a course to take us to Leviathan, so you can just follow us,” said Juanita. “But stay at least fifty meters away from us.”
“I will keep my distance,” said Neuter Kimball.
I must have shown my puzzlement because Juanita pressed a button to mute the call and said, “Solcetaceans and energy shields don’t play well together. A few years back, a Class 1—about Kimball’s size—was showing off for a couple of observers, and glanced off a shuttle’s energy shield. It tore a big chunk off the solcetacean that took months to heal.”
“What about the shuttle? And the people inside?” Sometimes I got the feeling she cared more about swales than about people.
After a moment, Juanita said, “This shuttle was the replacement.”
“What happened?”
“The shield did not collapse, but part of the solcetacean made it through—probably because the shield works similarly to how solcetaceans hold their bodies together, so the shield sort of merged with the solcetacean’s skin. When they recovered the shuttle, they found that the plasma had vaporized part of it, including the crew compartment.”
“I guess it’s good I didn’t hear about this before coming on this trip,” I said.
“Don’t worry—this shuttle was built with an ablative shell specifically to withstand that sort of accident,” she said. “So I’m really more concerned with what would happen to Kimball if it bumped into us.”
“Or Leviathan?”
“Leviathan’s so big, she might not even notice.”
I spent most of the sixteen-hour trip polishing and improving what I would say to Leviathan to convince her to outlaw coerced sexual activity. I had been a debater in high school and college, so I felt I knew how to construct a convincing argument. But eventually I reached the point where I felt I was making my prepared speech worse, not better.
“Approaching destination,” the computer said.
I blinked a few times to clear my eyes, straightened up in my seat, and began looking around. Neuter Kimball’s orange and red form moved silently beside us. I scanned the holographic image for more orange and red, but didn’t see any.
“There,” said Juanita, pointing ahead of us. She pressed a button, and dark green letters sprang up: Leviathan (Class 10, Female).
Staring harder, I noticed a bright spot above the letters. As we drew closer, I could distinguish white, violet, and blue swirling together. “She’s not orange or red.”
“It’s all false color, anyway,” Juanita said, “but this imaging system uses color to indicate energy levels. Leviathan is actually hotter than the surrounding solar plasma. We think she carries out fusion inside herself.”
Leviathan grew in our view, stretching out to fill most of the holographic screen in front of us. The intricate dance of violet and blue amid the white was mesmerizing. Eventually she shone so brightly that I had to squint to reduce the glare. “Aren’t we getting too close?” I asked.
“We’re still three kilometers away,” Juanita said. But she added, “Computer, hold position relative to Leviathan.”
“Neuter Kimball, are you ready?” I asked.
“I feel a bit like Abinidi going before King Noah,” it said.
I kind of agreed, but I said, “Try to think of it as Ammon going before King Lamoni instead.”
“That would be better,” said Neuter Kimball. “But I am ready in any case.”
Juanita hit the mute. “What was that about?”
“References to the Book of Mormon. Abinidi was burned at the stake after preaching to King Noah, but King Lamoni was converted by Ammon’s preaching.”
She just shook her head, muttering something about fairy tales, then said, “Computer, set up an open channel to Leviathan.”
“Channel open,” the computer replied.
“Leviathan, this is President Malan,” I said. “I have come with my church member, Neuter Kimball, as you requested. We petition you to tell your people—”
“Silence, human,” boomed the voice from the speaker. “It is not yet time for you to speak.”
I shut up.
“You will come with me,” Leviathan said. Her form brightened. There was a blinding flash, then the holographic system compensated and lowered its brightness.
It took several seconds before the afterimage cleared enough for me to make out shapes. Leviathan still loomed in front, and Neuter Kimball remained beside us.
“Uh-oh,” said Juanita.
“What?” I blinked hard, trying to clear my vision. The Sun’s background seemed blue instead of yellow.
“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” Juanita tapped at her keyboard. “Leviathan ported us to another star—one with a core much hotter than the Sun. Looks like the shield is holding, for now.” She took the Lord’s name in vain—or possibly it was a heartfelt prayer for help—and added, “We’re stuck here unless she takes us back.”
“What about Neuter Kimball?” I asked.
“Only a Class 6 or larger can open a portal on its own.”
Green letters began popping up on the screen. Unknown (Class 10, Male).Unknown (Class 9, Female). Unknown (Class 10, Neuter).Unknown (Class 8, Male). My eyes adjusted enough that I could see their forms. Dozens of swales surrounded us, all of them tagged Class 8 or higher.
“What have you gotten us into?” Juanita said.
I said a silent prayer and hoped for the best. “It’s a great opportunity for both of us. Think of what you’re going to discover.”
She took a deep breath. “You’re right. It’s just that I was prepared to study Leviathan, not sixty Class 8 and up. No one’s ever seen more than three or four giant ones together.”
“Is Leviathan the biggest one here?”
After checking a readout, Juanita said, “Yes, but not by much.” She pointed at a swale off to the left. “That male is only about 2 percent smaller.”
“So it looks like she wasn’t lying about that.”
She nodded her agreement, then said, “Why did you say it’s a great opportunity for you?”
I swept my arm across the view. “These must be the most prestigious swales, the leaders. If I can talk to them, convince them to make a law against sexual assault, then the smaller swales will accept it. That has to be why Leviathan brought me and Neuter Kimball here.”
“You are wrong,” said Neuter Kimball. Juanita must have taken the mute off at some point.
“Why do you say that?”
“This is a deathwatch council,” said Neuter Kimball. “They are here to watch me die so they can tell all swales that my death was deserved.”
“What?” I said. “What have you done?”
“I’m sure Leviathan will—”
Leviathan’s voice cut Neuter Kimball’s off. “This little one has abandoned me in favor of a human god. Such error I could forgive. But on its behalf, the tiny human seeks to impose its moral code on us. The human’s mind is infinitesimal compared to ours. The human’s life is short; the history of its race is short. It is the least of us, and yet it seeks power over us.”