instantly through the galaxy. Miaree was confident that within a short time the good news would come winging back, the news of the discovery of a suitable number of good planets. Then, with time to spare, the movement of peoples would begin, the huge ships making trip after trip, shifting populations and their goods. Nothing need be left behind.
She busied herself checking the lists being prepared by her staff, lists of government files and machinery which would be salvaged once the point of destination had been determined. She would move only those records necessary for immediate administration to The World for the brief stay there. Later, the entire bulk of government would be moved, intact, to a new home on a new world.
It was a time-consuming task. Meanwhile, she was kept abreast of evacuation on the planet and was pleased to see that it went smoothly. The efficient Delanians had learned well from the evacuation of Five and Outworld, and a planet was emptied of its original inhabitants within weeks of the beginning of the movement. She herself waited only for the return of Rei, to hear his personal report of the departure of the first Bertt ships to seek new worlds.
From her high rooms, she could look down onto the spaces of the Quad. There was an eerie feeling of strangeness about it, for there were only
Delanians there. Another Artonuee world had been given over, if only temporarily, to the aliens.
Once, while resting, she saw a lone female, wings exposed in the style of the Delanian-mated, being escorted by a tall man. She knew that some alliances had been renewed when the news of Bertt’s miraculous breakthrough was announced, but she noted that where the pair walked, the heads of Delanian women followed them. She shuddered involuntarily, thinking of the violent treatment of Artonuee females on Outworld.
She was isolated in her tower. She had communication with the administration offices on The World, but feeling rather guilty for not being there, she left the settlement of her people on their home world to assistants. She was, she knew, being frightfully self indulgent by staying on New World, but she rationalized her failure to be with her people by telling herself that it was important that the first lady know all details of the explorations. This time of trial and sadness would pass, and on new worlds the Artonuee, the universe opened to them, would rise to a greatness never before dreamed.
It was old Bertt who brought the terrible news. He had been supervising the installation of the last new expanders. He flew into Nirrar in his own vehicle, forced his way through the armed guards at no little cost to his temper and his dignity, and faced her, his male eyes reddened with madness.
'Lady,' he said, his voice strange, 'star ships are being loaded on both Five and Outworld.'
'The explorers,' Miaree said.
'Population,' Bertt said. 'Delanians.'
Her hand at her throat, she felt weakness. 'There must be a reason,' she said.
'Even now the final off-loading of Artonuee is being completed on The World.' Bertt said. 'Do you have explanation for this, Lady?'
Miaree, fighting the dread, punched the communicator. 'Please get me Fleet Overlord Rei, on the planet Five.' she ordered, her voice firm in spite of her fears.
'Sorry, baby,' a male Delanian voice said. 'They’ve taken away all your toys.'
'I beg your pardon?' Miaree said. 'Where is Tanle, my communications officer? I want to speak with her.'
'There is no one here,' the voice said. The communicator fell silent.
Eyes darkened with fear and rage, she ran to the door, into the hallway. Diere’s office was empty. The personal art objects always clearly visible on Diere’s desk were missing. As she ran out of the empty office, she almost screamed with delight, for Rei was coming out of the lift, tall, handsome. Rei would explain. Rei would reprimand the Delanians below who had been discourteous. Rei would assure her that Bertt’s information was not what it seemed. She ran to him, threw herself into his arms. He held her close, and then looked down into her disturbed eyes.
Bertt stood in the doorway of Miaree’s office. Looking over Miaree’s head, Rei saw the grimness of the old male’s face. 'You know, then,' he said softly to Miaree.
The Fires of God would have been more merciful. They, at least, would have been quick and final. In the Fires, she would not have become a walking dead female.
'Why?' she asked simply, not weeping.
'It was not my decision,' he said. 'You must believe that.'
'Please,' she said. 'I want to be with my people, if you don’t mind.'
'No,' he said gently.
She looked into his eyes.
'You may take anything you like, things of a personal nature.' Rei said. 'We will be together.'
'And my people?' she asked.
'You told me once, Miaree, of the extermination of the animals of The World.'
'We are not animals,' she said calmly.
'No, of course you are not. But there was a choice. It was a terrible choice. The decision of our leaders was dictated by the death of twenty-four billion Delanians.'
'But there is time. The new ships—'
'I asked them to give you just one ship,' he said. 'I begged them. I begged for just one ship to allow the race to live.'
'We can find planets. We can shuttle people. There is time.'
He shook his head sadly. 'Our people are filled with fear. The Fires can be seen, as they were seen on the home worlds. We began the loading on Five to prevent the outbreak of a popular uprising.'
'In the name of God,' she said, 'there is room in the universe for all.'
'Once we had gods. There was a god for every purpose. The gods lived up there, in the Fires. When we were a young race and saw the Fires moving gradually, slowly, crawling toward us, our cultists rejoiced and said that the gods were favoring us, moving their dwelling to be nearer our planet. When we went into space on primitive rockets, it was to search for the gods, and we found only cold death and terrible vacuum. By then we understood that there were no gods living in the Fires unless they ate ionized electrons and thrived on hard radiation and swam on the seas of a burning star. There is no God, Miaree, only radiation and cold and fire and death and the accident of life, which is precious only to those who are strong enough to fight for it. We have fought and we have lost. We have paid a terrible price in dead, and we have learned that the universe is basically inhospitable to life and only the strongest will survive.
'The decision to abandon the Artonuee was not coldly selfish. There is real doubt that your race would survive transplanting. Your life chain is fragile, depending on an exact set of conditions, soil, air, sun, which may not be matchable anywhere in the universe. The percentage of rare earths in the soil of The World is a unique situation. Have you never wondered why the juplee forests were confined to The World, why it was necessary to lavish constant care on the trees which were taken, for example, to Outworld, for decorative and spiritual purposes? No. It was decided, by those in command, that moving the Artonuee was a gamble. And we would have been gambling with over a billion more Delanian lives. It is regrettable and tragic, but there is no escape from the basic fact that we Delanians are more suited for the rigors of space and planet change.'
She had ceased to listen. She had pulled away, looking at him in horror. Behind her, Bertt was weeping silently. She turned to him, took his arm.
'I will come for you,' Rei said. 'And for the worthy Bertt, who will rest here with you until it is time.'
She escorted the old male to her chambers, seated him comfortably.
His eyes were wet with his weeping. 'It was I,' he said. 'I made it possible. First I gave them the union of convertor and fusion, then I gave them the power of unopposed electrons. It was I who gave, My Lady.'
'Yes, yes, you meant well, Bertt. You are not to be blamed.'
He dried his eyes, his cheeks. A strength seemed to flow into his old body. There was a look of pride and decision on his face. 'I gave,' he said, 'but I saw the contempt on their faces. Once, while I was Overlord of the Fleet, I heard workers talking. ’All of the bugs,’ they said; they called us bugs, a Delanian word full of derision. ’All of the bugs are going,’ they said. And I recognized then the basis of our relationship, but I would not admit it. I worked with Untell. I shared my bed with Untell and it was good. And I would not open my eyes to see that they were using us, that they were taking the last resources of our worlds, using our worlds as a base for a further leap away from the Fires. There were jokes, even then, about loving the Artonuee out of existence. But I told myself that
