Earrin kicked himself mentally. “Yes,” he admitted, “we did wonder about that. You have a new roof tissue, then? We certainly would be interested — unless — ” he paused again. The other laughed rather bitterly.
“Unless it needs straight oxygen to grow in?”
“That thought did occur.”
“I have to admit I don’t know. It hasn’t been tried under your — uh — rather dull environmental conditions. I could let you have some for testing, with the understanding that you would be in my debt if results were satisfactory.”
“That’s all right. When you have a replacement supply, I’ll bring a sheet or two more glass — ”
“You needn’t wait that long. I’ll give you a sample now, if you’ll help me seed the glass you just brought. I suppose it will shock you as it did your companion, but I’m really not in a state of panic about replacing my roofing. The city, not to mention a good many other air stations, is well within walking distance, you know. I hope you’re not too unsettled by my attitude.”
“Well — I suppose when you live in a city, less closely connected with your air supply than a Nomador a Surplus kid, you’d feel a little different about such things. I admit that taking something so necessary from you when your own supply is so short seems very wrong — but if you really want it that way — I mean — if you’re — ” Earrin ran out of words again. The Hiller laughed, and for a moment even Kahvi, had she seen his face, might not have been afraid of him.
“If I’m not out of my mind, you mean?”
“Well — not exactly — but under the circumstances — ”
“Come on, fellow. Just because I like to breathe natural air that’s worth putting in your lungs, instead of that diluted stuff you put up with, doesn’t mean my brain’s burned out. I suppose that’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”
“Not exactly. There’s nothing natural about this stuff, and right now I’m not quite sure what I’m thinking. I feel a little strange.”
“Well, let’s get it over with. Unpack your glass and I’ll cut up some of the patches. You can help me apply them, and you’ll be outside again in a few minutes. If you’re really uncomfortable, why don’t you put your mask back on?”
“Indoors? But that’s not — I mean — ”
“I know. It’s not right to use an air cartridge when you can breathe without it. Well, if you’re stuck with your own habits, you’re stuck with ‘em. Would you rather we talked outside?”
“Yes.” Earrin answered almost without thought, then flushed. The other began donning his mask without comment, though his face was expressive until the breathing gear hid it, and Fyn waited silently until he had finished. Then the Hiller started down the steps into the air lock.
The Nomad waited until his surprisingly accommodating host had ducked below the surface, then began to follow him into the water.
He got down only three steps. Then, without (garbled text in original scan) m grip on his ankle, and om under him. He fell the edge of one of feel the floor. (end garbled text in original scan)
IV
Unknown, Unless
Bones, almost frantic with excitement, was completely happy. Two areas of Unknown competed for the attention of the strange mind and senses. A human being of the hunting-and-gathering era would have felt much the same if he had been placed in possession of an indefinitely large food supply, with his only choice that of what to eat first. Adolescents from the mechanized Age of Pleasure, much later, had the same difficulty.
Sex was unknown to the Observer, and eating no particular pleasure. The fishlike body did possess a sense of taste, but selecting diet items with its aid was not even a minor intellectual problem-just a matter of being sure to consume equivalent amounts of oxidizing and reducing foods. The only real fun came in learning whether a particular food item was still the same this time as it had been before; the nitrogen real-life duplicated itself rather unreliably, and mutations were the rule rather than the exception.
The present situation, on the other hand, was really enthralling. The human Earrin had gone into the jail where there seemed to be another of his species. Could they really transfer memories only by this crude sound-and-gesture code? Bones wasn’t yet quite sure. He had suspected Earrin and Kahvi of using more natural methods, but they preferred to be alone at such times and details were lacking.
A few hundred meters away on the other side of the hill was the area which had just been burning.
What had started the fire? What had furnished the fuel? Had it stopped merely because there was nothing else to burn, or had more human beings been involved? Bones had seen the region before, but nothing in memory offered answers to these questions. Like the jail; the far side of the hill was a blank on the knowledge map. The only real emotional drive Bones’ species knew was the urge to fill such gaps, though the desire to share the knowledge when it had been acquired could at times rise nearly as high.
How to choose between two Unknowns?The jail, of course, was closer. The fact that Bones had been asked to stay and help Earrin if need arose was not a major consideration; the observer could see no reason why the man should need help.
Hillers did seem to disapprove of Observers for some reason, but the notion that human beings might deliberately injure each other was not to be driven into Bones’ consciousness for some time yet. Even Kahvi’s evident uneasiness about the situation had not impressed the strange mind in that way, though it had partially faced the idea that human beings might be separate individuals rather than a group of Observer units.
The important thing was to find out, and watching Earrin and this other being seemed to offersome chance of accomplishing this end.
The Observer therefore emerged from the water moments after Fyn had gone through the air lock and approached the jail. Keeping mind that being seen by other people would be undesirable, the fishlike being kept on the east side of the building; the most likely direction of approach for other human beings was presumably the west, where the fire had been. Why no one had yet come from that direction was merely part of the other tantalizing blank which the Observer had deliberately scheduled into second priority.
Looking from the east did have a major disadvantage with the sun low in the west, but it was possible to make out the two human figures. They were obviously using the sound code — there were practically no gestures, and only an occasional word could be grasped, so there was no way of telling what thoughts were being exchanged.
Bones considered entering the air lock and observing from just below the surface inside, but this did not really promise an improvement and would prevent the reception of any warning of the approach of others. Kahvi might be persuaded to come and listen; she could translate — no, she had clearly intended to remain with her bud for a time. Bones’ patience was comparable to that of a stable human being, and it was therefore not unlimited. Important as this observation was, the temptation to do something more productive grew stronger by the moment. Both mind and eyes began to wander, and Bones failed to notice when one of the human beings donned outdoor equipment and entered the air lock. It was sound rather than sight which attracted the Observer’s awareness to the pool a couple of meters away.
The sound was an exclamation in a human voice, muffled as usual by a breathing mask. Bones’ nearer eye swivelled down in time to see a head jerk back under the water. The sky was still bright enough for reflection to obscure things below this surface too, and for a moment the streamlined body stood tense with indecision.