above. Then—nothing. Leviathan waited with the Elders, but the alien did not detach any more of its members.
After a seeming eternity of waiting, the Eldest signaled, It merely separated one member.
And the member did not bud, pictured another of the Elders.
Does it understand that the Symmetry demands that we bud alone, away from the Kin?
And feed the darters, Leviathan thought; but it remained dark.
The alien apparently has some sense of decency, said the newest Elder. At least, the member it detached does. It goes off to bud alone, as is proper.
It fled away from us, flashed the Eldest.
Perhaps, Leviathan signed, it is frightened of us. Perhaps it is not budding. Perhaps it has merely sent one of its members back to its own realm.
For what purpose? asked the Eldest.
Leviathan hesitated before answering, knowing that the Elders would not be pleased at its thought. To tell them about the Kin, it answered at last. To tell its fellow aliens that we exist.
All five of the Elders glared hot white. Yes, Leviathan realized, that frightens them.
“Rest period for Dee and Max,” said Dorn.
Deirdre grimaced inwardly at the thought of feeding herself again through the port in her throat.
Yeager said, “Why don’t we just get the hell out of here? What can we accomplish by stooging around with these critters?”
“We’re talking with them!” Corvus fairly shouted. “We’re learning about them.”
“And getting sicker every minute,” Yeager countered. “I don’t know about you, pal, but my back is killing me. I feel like I’m two hundred years old and I’m carrying a six-hundred-kilo gorilla on my back.”
Hotly, Corvus said, “We came down here to communicate with the leviathans—”
“Which we’ve done. Now let’s haul ass and get back where we belong.”
“We belong here!”
“Even if it kills us?”
“We’re not dead yet, Max. Far from it.”
Dorn interjected, “Our physical condition is deteriorating. At the present rate we will not be able to stay at this depth for the scheduled length of the mission.”
Corvus glared at the cyborg. Deirdre could see anger smoldering in his normally placid eyes. And Yeager was staring defiantly at Corvus. Andy wants to communicate with them so badly, she thought. He’s willing to risk his own life for this. He’s willing to fight Max and even Dorn. I can’t let him carry this to the point where they’ll be enemies.
She reached out and touched Yeager’s shoulder. “Come on, Max. It’s dinnertime.”
Yeager blinked at her, then made a forced little grin. “Yeah. Let’s have the blue plate special.”
Deirdre saw some of the angry tension ease out of Andy’s body. Dorn looked slowly from Corvus to Yeager and then to Deirdre. He dipped his chin a bare centimeter at her and Deirdre understood that Dorn recognized what she had just defused.
The alien is dark, signed the Eldest.
Leviathan signed, It told us that it would dissociate one member only, and that is what it has done.
Now it says nothing.
The newest Elder maintained, If it is intelligent, its intelligence must be of a low order. It has nothing to tell us; we should ignore it.
The Eldest disagreed: Its presence among us is a change in the Symmetry. We must protect ourselves against any disruption.
It seems peaceful enough, Leviathan signed. Even helpful, when it protected us against the darters.
But that is not part of the Symmetry! another of the Elders flashed in urgent blue. We have always faced the darters alone. The alien disrupts the Symmetry.
The alien
All of the Elders went dark, pondering this new thought. Leviathan waited, hoping that the alien would light up again and prove that it was intelligent—and beneficial.
At last the Eldest decided. It signed to Leviathan, You will take the alien to the edge of the Kin and remain there with it. Whatever it tells you, you will report through the Kin to us. Try to learn from it, but do not allow it to interfere with the Kin in any way.
Leviathan realized that the Eldest was choosing the wisest path, and flashed its agreement in muted tones of orange and yellow.
Then Leviathan wondered, How do I tell the alien what it must do?
TROUBLE
Deirdre awoke from her sleep period feeling far from rested. Her entire body felt sluggish, weary. The pain in her chest seemed worse than before, she thought, a hot throbbing that sent waves of agony through her whole body. It’s the pressure, she knew. We’re down deeper than we ever planned to be.
She saw that Max was still asleep, tucked into his cramped shelf like a corpse on a slab. His breathing was a labored gurgle, as if he were half strangling. Should I tell Dorn? Deirdre wondered. Max’s physical condition is displayed on the life-support readouts, she told herself. If he’s in any trouble Dorn would know it right away.
She felt too tired to change into a fresh maillot. We’ll be leaving soon anyway, she thought. She hoped.
The alarm buzzer that signaled the end of their sleep period stirred Max. He banged his head as he forgot where he was and tried to sit up. Muttering curses, he slid out of the bunk, rubbing his forehead.
“Whoever designed this bucket ought to have his head examined,” Yeager said, grinning sheepishly.
“Yes, Max,” said Deirdre. “And you should allow more room for crew comforts on the next model.”
“I’ll make a note of that.”
Deirdre slid back the door to the bridge and gasped. Dorn was floating a meter or so above the deck, Andy fluttering helplessly over him.
“He just passed out,” Corvus said, his voice shaking. “Half a minute ago he was fine, then he just slumped over, unconscious.”
Yeager pushed past Deirdre and rushed to the cyborg’s inert body. Deirdre went to her console, but glanced at the life-support readouts on Dorn’s screens. A row of glaring red lights. Flicking to the readouts for the rest of them, Deirdre saw that several of the curves had crossed their redline limits. We’re dying! she realized. The pressure is killing us.
Yeager glanced at the displays, too. “He’s in trouble.”
Corvus said, “I can see that!”
“We’ve got to figure out what’s wrong with him, and fast.”
Stating the obvious, Corvus said, “We’re just down too damned deep.”
“Helluva time for you to admit that,” Yeager growled.
Deirdre saw in her central screen, “The leviathan is lighting up again.”
She was certain it was the one they had met and attached themselves to. It was hard to tell any differences among the mountain-sized creatures, but Deirdre thought the one they had attached to was slightly smaller and sleeker than the others that had gathered around their vessel.
It was lighting up, flashing a set of images against a background of red and yellow. What does it mean? she
