“Never mind,” shrugged H’lim. “There’s something so hauntingly familiar about this genetic algorithm, or maybe its just some random association it keeps triggering off when I try to translate human/Earth luren gene structure into other notation systems. I know I’ve never seen anything like this before, and yet. . Well, perhaps it’s a word you gave me that I don’t have a concept for, or some Earth-evolved redefinition of one of your luren words.” He paced away.
“None of that matters, Titus. One thing is straightforward.” From the refrigerator he extracted a flask of clear purple fluid labeled only with a strange luren symbol. “Finally, it’s ready for testing! Considering what I’ve just learned about your biochemistry, it ought to work on the humans and you, maybe on Abbot, too, if he’ll try it.”
Inea cried, “We’ve made it! We’ve won!”
In her jubilation she spun Titus around in a low-grav dance. Titus stopped her. “H’lim, your message didn’t go out as Abbot planned. I’ve destroyed the transmitter he embedded in the Eighth.”
“Because of what I told Inea to do for you?”
“No. Before that.” He eyed the purple fluid. “You don’t owe me any more help.”
H’lim leaned against the refrigerator as if he needed the support. He swirled the flask thoughtfully. “I didn’t make this to bribe you into betraying your oath and your conscience. I knew you opposed Abbot, and I didn’t expect you to change your mind. I just hoped he might win-not an absurd hope since he’s your First Father, but by no means a certainty. My filial duty does not derive from my chance of getting home, but only from the renewal of my life.”
The ache of dashed hopes was plain enough as H’lim added, “I’m ready to test this whenever you are. I need a volunteer, but we must go carefully. I don’t want a repeat of the orl blood disaster if I’ve missed something else.”
“I volunteer,” said Inea. When Titus strangled on his objection, she added, “Titus, he’s already tested it on human ”one marrow the surgeons supplied and it increased blood Production. It’d be a big to-do to get bone marrow from you or Abbot without anyone knowing, so test it on me first!“
“It doesn’t make sense to risk the life of someone whose life isn’t at risk to begin with,” argued Titus. “If you had a bad reaction, how could we explain it to Biomed? Abbot’s a genius at covering for us, but they’re getting awfully close.” Abbot’s method of coping with the new anti-hypnotic conditioning had been pure desperation and Titus knew it.
Abruptly, H’lim shoved the flask into the refrigerator. Titus didn’t like the thoughtful frown that flickered across Inea’s features. He’d seen that look before and it made him very nervous. But before he could say anything, H’lim announced, “Someone’s coming.” He turned on the recorders just as Colby arrived at the head of an entourage.
As she introduced the engineers and physicists who hadn’t met H’lim before, Inea left the luren in Titus’s care saying, “I have to log some gym time or Biomed will be all over me. I skipped yesterday, and skimped the day before.”
Titus had no chance to reply because everyone was talking to him, as if he had to translate to make H’lim understand what they wanted of him. He held up his hands for silence, then said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present Dr. Sa’ar, H’lim.” Feeling a bit foolish, he turned to H’lim. “I never have discovered which name actually comes first, family or given.”
H’lim laughed, breaking the ice easily. “Actually, neither, but the rest of my designation is irrelevant. My family name is Sa’ar, my given name H’lim, and you may use them as you see fit.”
With that said, they began “Dr. Sa’ar-ing” him from every direction on topics ranging from computer conventions to Kylyd’s drive assembly and power plant.
Colby shouted the babble down. “We came here, H’lim, to take you on your oft requested and oft promised tour of your ship.” With that, someone walked a spacesuit forward that had H. SA’AR stenciled on the helmet.
“Now?!” exclaimed H’lim glancing at Titus in a panic.
Shit! It’s daylight out there!
“I doubt there’s any danger of us being bombed today,” said Colby. “I regret we’ve put it off this long, but your suit has just been finished. The outcome of the war may end our investigations, and though your lab work promises to change minds back on Earth, still we mustn’t overlook the chance that you may know something about the ship that will trigger even more impressive advances.”
“Impressive advances,” repeated H’lim, circling a workbench and nervously repositioning glassware. “Here in this lab, I know what I’m doing. I won’t accidentally provide you with some bit of technology you can’t yet control. But the ship-Dr. Colby, that’s not my field. Some offhand remark could do your civilization a great deal of damage.”
“You won’t come?” asked someone in the back.
“I will go,” answered H’lim gravely. “For my own reasons, I must. I’d prefer to explore Kylyd in solitude, but I understand that is not to be. Therefore, I’ll go.” He tapped a used Petri dish on the bench, frowning at it. Someone had cleaned pizza crumbs off the bench into it.
Titus could almost see the thoughts churning in H’lim’s mind. For the first time, he no longer cherished hope of escape and riches. Titus had won. Abbot’s message had not gone and, with the probe destroyed, neither had the humans“. ”I’ll answer your questions, but only to satisfy your curiosity, without providing any `impressive advances.“ At least I hope I shall not destroy my generous hosts.”
He snapped the dish down onto the hard surface and strode out the door. As they all crowded out of the lab, Colby edged over to Titus who was wrestling with his own whirling emotions. “Have you any idea where Abbot’s gone? He was supposed to meet us here. I’ve left messages for him everywhere, but nobody’s seen him in hours.”
Oh, no, now what? “You tried my lab?”
“Several times.”
“Maybe he’s in Kylyd and plans to meet us there?”
“Maybe, but it’s not like him to just disappear.”
Titus grunted noncommittally. He didn’t even have time to drop Inea a message warning her that Abbot was up to something new. As H’lim’s trusted escort, he had to hurry to catch up. Maybe it’s a false alarm. Maybe Abbot’s sleeping.
On the way to the locker room, Colby walked beside H’lim assuring him of the various protective features Biomed had designed for his suit. When they’d all dressed, she led the way back to Biomed, saying, “Protection or no, we won’t make you face the direct sunlight.”
As soon as they emerged from the airlock into the connection tube to Kylyd, H’lim’s knees sagged, and he eyed the flimsy material around them with distrust. Titus, too, felt the drag of the sun like the impact of the noise of an unshielded jet engine. When they reached Kylyd’s hull, the luren leaned against the bulkhead and closed his eyes, taking attention away from Titus as they both recovered.
Seeing the alien wilt, everyone spoke at once. “Are you all right?” “My God, if we’ve hurt him.” “It can’t be ultraviolet this time.” “He’s sensitive to magnetics, remember?” “Hardly any flux out there.” “Less in here, by Dearman’s measurements.” “What about particles? This hull stops everything-maybe even neutrinos. Has anybody measured. ?” “Quiet!”
That last was Colby’s voice. Titus stiffened his knees and moved up beside H’lim. “Better now?” he asked the luren, only then noticing the single Cognitive representative, who had a camera trained steadily on H’lim.
“I wish I could stay in here.” H’lim’s voice gained strength and he finally stood away from the wall and looked around as if to get his bearings.
This corridor was distorted and crumpled in spots, but had been cleared, leaving gaping holes in the walls. H’lim scanned a wall, muttered something about human lights in the luren tongue, then led off with purposeful strides. Titus, squinting at the spot where the luren had stared, imagined he saw some dim variations in the paint that might have been symbols. There might be spectral studies of the interior on file by now, but Titus hadn’t had time to look them up.