Sir, there are other languages. The language of the eye. It spoke to Rei when Miaree came to him. It spoke in the form of beauty. And it is established that Miaree does not consider Rei ugly, although he is different.
Ah, John, the eye of the artist, eh? Yes, and the language of movement. There are certain signs which would be universal to an intelligent being.
But the wormfly of Omaha III was beautiful before it was exterminated. It had lovely red wings and a soft, furry body and the early settlers considered it harmless, even beneficial, until they learned that in its breeding stage it carefully numbed the skin of its human victims and injected rather nasty little parasites which delighted in feeding on the tissue of the inner eye. And it is said the women of Zede II were beautiful beyond compare. Yet they formed the suicide fleet and almost broke through the blockade into the undefended worlds. Question. Any comment on the manner of Rei's escape from his dying ship? LaConius?
Rather simple, sir. A rocket pack on his space suit. Evidently just enough power to take him to the New World—no, I mean The World, the original planet. I was a bit confused, at first, by the initial sequence, but it became clear when I got the picture of how the Artonuee develop. It is, as I said, very much like the Tigian butterfly, with an initial stage, the egg; a larval stage, the iffling; a stage of chrysalis, the sac which Rei saw hatching a wingling; and a butterfly stage, the winglings, before the final change into the semi-adult Artonuee. I presume the males follow much the same pattern, but since this book was written by an Artonuee female, the males get short shrift.
The room with the steel cabinets, Elana?
It's explained. It was sort of a funeral hall. Or a medical hall where victims of some space accident were brought. Evidently Rei was there at the time and was much impressed, for his dream of death and the room came, I'd guess, from his subconscious while he was trying to fight off the ifflings.
How do you feel about the ifflings? Martha?
Rather crawly. But I was impressed by Miaree’s repugnance toward the so-called animal method of birth. I suppose, to a butterfly, with its clean and non-bloody laying of eggs, live birth would seem as horrible as the concept of giving poor old Beafly, still alive, to the cannibalistic ifflings.
Do the ifflings eat flesh, then? Julius?
No. I don't think so. I got the idea that they were just taking something intangible—the life force, as it were.
Comment, Alfred.
I think they’d have to take the Artonuee equivalent of genes, or at least DNA messengers. Because it is apparent that the activity of the early forms of the Artonuee stems from instinctive knowledge rather than learned knowledge. And I got a hint, in the Rei sequence, that there is some sort of continuous line of awareness running through all of the Artonuee. The ifflings which were fastened to Rei seemed to have some form of thought, at least enough for him to sense that they were female.
A younger one and an older one.
And why were the ifflings female, Cecile?
Coincidence, maybe. Or, perhaps, controlled coincidence, since the female of the species seems to he dominant and more aggressive. It could be concluded from the state of the society that since the adult females are the stronger, the ifflings carrying female genes or whatever would also he stronger, more aggressive, more likely to tackle an unfamiliar form of
life.
Yes, Alaxender.
I think it's interesting to find that the two life forms, Artonuee and Delanian, are so compatible that the ifflings could attack Rei’s life force.
A good point, and one which could have bearing on the relationship between Rei and Miaree. Now, a quick summation. Overall impressions. Leslie.
I think the most important fact which is presented—
Fact, Leslie?
Idea, then. I think it's quite impressive that the Artonuee galaxy should have two intelligent life forms.
But was it the Artonuee galaxy? Could not the Delanians have come from the colliding galaxy?
No, because the pictures showed their planet to be in a constellation long known by the Artonuee.
I am not saying that you are wrong, Leslie. No one can say that you're wrong. It is a question that still interests some of our best minds. It has a bearing on the origin of life throughout the universe. Let me put it this way. A race with the capacity of star travel could have moved into the Artonuee galaxy from the colliding galaxy. There is a theory that some unknown controlling force in each galaxy determines the direction of life.
But, sir, the Dead Worlds—
Ah, yes, Tomax, the Dead Worlds. Definitely non-humanoid. So different, so alien that a thousand studies have produced almost as many possible descriptions of the inhabitants. Actually, I mentioned the one-race theory to test you. We have proof, in our own galaxy, that two very dissimilar races can develop. So, I am not saying that the Artonuee and the Delanians were from different galaxies. I am merely mentioning that it is possible that the Delanians could have moved into the Artonuee galaxy from the rim of the colliding galaxy. But I agree with Leslie that it is a fascinating idea to think that one galaxy could produce two intelligent life forms. And that brings up an interesting question. Why are we so all-fired interested in contacting another intelligent race? Are we, like Artonuee females, still undecided about God? Do we need contact with another race, with a different background, to say, 'Hey, old fellow, about God... '
Tomorrow then, my young friends. I understand that we're having Vegan steak, eh?
Chapter Twelve
She stood with her delicate feet slightly apart, left foot advanced. Her feet were bare. One toe curled nervously. The purple silk gown moved lightly in the onshore wind, caressing her articulated ankles. The gown clung to narrow shoulders, bulged gracefully over folded wings, and the color showed through the thin material, iridescent blues, muted yellows. A pulse beat in her long, slender neck. The gossamer fur of her upper torso, exposed by the cut of the gown, was a lovely mixture of colors. And her eyes. Her eyes were the stars of the night, captured in individual facets in
deep blue. Her face, ovate, delicate, showed that formal little smile. He answered it with a broad grin, showing white teeth.