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The Grand Examiner kept her amusement hidden, however. “The new arrivals fit all of the criteria for being allowed to participate in this ceremony,” she replied patiently in Galactic Three. “They have caused consternation, of course, and will be much discussed long after this day is done. Still, they are only one of many features of this ceremony which are, well, unconventional.”

The Gubru’s beak opened, then shut. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that this is the most irregular Uplift Ceremony in megayears. I have several times considered canceling it altogether.”

“You dare not! We should appeal, seek redress, seek compensation …”

“Oh, you would love that, wouldn’t you?” The Grand Examiner sighed. “Everyone knows the Gubru are overextended now. But a judgment against one of the Institutes could cover some of your costs, no?”

This time, the Gubru was silent. The Grand Examiner used two feelers to scratch a crease in her carapace. “Several of my associates believe that that was your plan all along. There are so many irregularities in this ceremony you’ve arranged. But on close examination each one seems to stop just short of illegality. You have been clever at finding precedents and loopholes.

“For instance, there is the matter of human approval of a ceremony for their own clients. It is unclear these hostage officials of yours understood what they were agreeing to when they signed the documents you showed me.”

“They were — had been — offered Library access.”

“A skill for which wolflings are not renowned. There is suspicion of coercion.”

“We have a message of acceptance from Earth! From their homeworld! From their nest-mothers!”

“Aye,” the Serentini agreed. “They accepted your offer of peace and a free ceremony. What poor wolfling race in their dire circumstances could turn down such a proposal? But semantic analysis shows that they thought they were only agreeing to discuss the matter further! They obviously did not understand that you had purchased liberation of their old applications, some made more than fifty paktaars ago! This allowed the waiting period to be waived.”

“Their misunderstandings are not pur concern,” clipped the Suzerain of Beam and Talon.

“Indeed. And does the Suzerain of Propriety hold with this view?”

This time there was only silence. Finally, the Grand Examiner lifted both forelegs and crossed them in a formal bow. “Your protest is acknowledged. The ceremony shall continue, under the ancient rules set down by the Progenitors.”

The Gubru commander had no choice. It bowed in return. Then it swiveled and flounced outside, angrily pushing aside a crowd of its guards and aides, leaving them cackling, disturbed, in its wake.

The Examiner turned to a robot assistant. “What were we discussing before the Suzerain arrived?”

“An approaching craft whose occupants claim diplomatic protection and observer status,” the thing replied in Galactic One.

“Ah, yes. Those.”

“They are growing quite perturbed, as Gubru interceptors now seem about to cut them off, and may do them harm.”

The Examiner hesitated only a moment. “Please inform the approaching envoys that we will be only too happy to grant their request. They should come directly to the Mount, under the protection of the Uplift Institute.”

The robot hurried off to pass on the order. Other aides then approached, waving readouts and picting preliminary reports on still more anomalies. One after another of the holo-screens lit up to show the crowd that had arrived at the base of the hill, tumbling out of rusty boats and surging up the unguarded slopes.

“This event grows ever more interesting,” the Grand Examiner sighed reflectively. “I wonder, what will happen next?”

90

Gailet

It was after sunset and Gimelhai had already sunk below a western horizon turbid with dark clouds by the time the worn-down survivors finally passed through the last examination screen to collapse in exhaustion upon a grassy knoll. Six chens and six chimmies lay quietly close to each other for warmth. They were too tired to engage in the grooming all felt they needed.

“Momma, why didn’t they choose dogs to uplift, instead? Or pigs?” One of them moaned.

“Baboons,” another voice suggested, and there was a murmur of agreement. Such creatures deserved this kind of treatment.

“Anybody but us,” a third voice summarized, succinctly.

Ex exaltavit humilis, Gailet thought silently. They have lifted up the humble of origins. The motto of the Terragens Uplift Board had its origins in the Christian Bible. To Gailet it had always carried the unfortunate implication that someone, somewhere, was going to get crucified.

Her eyes closed and she felt a light sleep close in immediately. Just a catnap, she thought. But it did not last long. Gailet felt a sudden return of that dream — the one in which a Gubru stood over her, peering down the barrel of a malevolent machine. She shivered and opened her eyes again.

The last shreds of twilight were fading. Bitterly clear, the stars twinkled as if through something more refracting than mere atmosphere.

She and the others stood up quickly as a brightly lit floater car approached and settled down in front of them. Out stepped three figures, a tall, downy-white Gubru, a spiderlike Galactic, and a pudgy human mel whose official gown hung on him like a potato sack. As she and the other chims bowed, Gailet recognized Cordwainer Appelbe, the head of Garth’s local Uplift Board.

The man looked bewildered. Certainly he must be overawed to be taking part in all this. Still, Gailet also wondered whether Appelbe was drugged.

“Urn, I want to congratulate you all,” he said, stepping just ahead of the other two. “You should know how proud we are of all of you. I’ve been told that, while there are certain test scores that are still in dispute, the overall judgment of the Uplift Institute is that Pan argonostes — the neo-chim-panzees of Earthclan — are, or, well, actually have been ready for stage three for quite some time.”

The arachnoid official stepped forward then. “That is true. In fact, I can promise that the Institute will favorably consider any future applications by Earthclan for further examinations.”

Thank you, Gailet thought as she and the others bowed again. But please, don’t bother picking me for the next one.

Now the Grand Examiner launched into a lengthy speech about the rights and duties of client races. She spoke of the long-departed Progenitors, who began Galactic civilization so long ago, and the procedures they set down for all succeeding generations of intelligent life to follow.

The Examiner used Galactic Seven, which most of the chims could at least follow. Gailet tried to pay attention, but within her troubled thoughts kept turning to what was certainly to come after this.

She was sure she felt underfoot an increase in the faint trembling which had accompanied them all the way up the mountain. It filled the air with a low, barely audible rumbling. Gailet swayed as a wave of unreality seemed to pass through her. She looked up and saw that several of the evening stars appeared to flare suddenly brighter. Others’ fled laterally as an oval distortion inserted itself directly overhead. A blackness began to gather there.

The Examiner’s aeolian speech droned on. Cordwainer Appelbe listened raptly, a bemused expression on his face. But the white-plumed Gubru grew visibly impatient with each passing moment. Gailet could well understand why. Now that the hyperspace shunt was warmed up and ready, every passing minute was costing the invaders. When she realized this, Gailet felt warmer toward the droning Serentini official. She nudged Michaela when her friend seemed about to doze off, and put on an attentive expression.