Lee looked at him sharply. There was a pause. Then Lee said, almost in a whisper, “Stay away from them… if you want to live.”
“They live somewhere in these parts, don’t they?”
“Yes—down the valley. You can see them from here.”
“I’d be interested to take a look at them. You know, somebody warned me to beware of those who have only two, of those who become three—”
“Of that which becomes many,” Lee finished for him. “Well, I’ve warned you again to beware of those who become three. Heed me. They are much more dangerous than those who have only two—and you’ve just learned by experience to beware of them.”
“The Creedos? What do they have only two of?”
“They have only two dimensions, so the barbarians assume. Strictly speaking, that’s not quite so. They have three dimensions. But their thickness is almost non-existent. When they present themselves edge on—and they always try to—in a poorish light you just can’t see them. But they can see you. They have hundreds of microscopic eyes all over their body—some along the edges. Hundreds of mouths, too—far larger mouths. Greedy, ever-hungry mouths. They live mostly on the juices of vegetation, but they especially relish a drop of animal blood, if they can find it, which isn’t often.”
Sherret licked his lips, which had become dry.
“I presume their feeding technique is to slice through you, sucking in blood as they pass?”
“That’s it—just as they absorb the sap in trees or the juice in roots. They spend most of their time browsing on roots just below ground. But sometimes they surface in patches of rich vegetation, particularly forests—for a change of diet.”
“But, damn it, Lee, surely their internal organs must be too narrow to allow moisture to flow?”
“Why so? How thick is the average tree-leaf? And they’re not even as complicated as a leaf. They’re not thinking animals; they’re as simple as a sponge. The difference is that by a quirk of nature the organic matter of their bodies has been compressed much as the inorganic matter of this shield has been compressed. That doesn’t lessen their mass, and it increases their rigidity. It makes them one enormous, terribly sharp cutting edge. Of course, their flanks are vulnerable, to modern weapons. But they won’t let you get at their flanks; they swing around, like lightning, keeping themselves edge on.”
“How do they do that? How do they move at all? They don’t seem to have legs.”
“Frankly, Earthman, I don’t know. As a boy, I assumed it was some inborn faculty of balance. It is, I suppose, but it also makes use of the lines of force in the gravitational field of the Three Suns. Now that
“I guess they’re quite a doodle. Not quite up to the Melas tree standard, though.”
“Ah—that which becomes many. So you’ve encountered the Melas tree, Earthman?”
“Yes. We’ve met. I’ve yet to make the acquaintance of those who become three. Have you met any Three-people yet?”
It was a leading question, and Sherret tried to make it sound casual. Lee made no answer. He brooded. Presently, he said, “Maybe I should never have met
“Why? Merely because I ask awkward questions?”
Lee regarded him thoughtfully. “You’ve come from the south. Meet anyone on the way?”
“One or two crazy birds, a few crazy creatures. I’m on my way to Na-Abiza.”
“You know whom I mean.”
“Yes, Lee, I met Rosala. She, too, saved my life. I make a habit of going around getting my life saved. Only now I’m beginning to wonder whether it’s worth saving. But I was grateful at the time. I lived with her for a spell. Then I left her. I know why you came here. I guess I came for a pretty similar reason. But there’s another reason, too—I wanted to tell you to go back to Rosala. She still loves you, and she needs you desperately.”
“What about you, Earthman? Do you still love her?”
