We went up quietly, quickly, eating the most nutritious things we could find along the way. When we reached the terraces, we stopped and ate our fill. We would have to be at our best.
On a broad ledge near the top, we found a stone cabin. Higher up was a cistern and a few more terraces. Inside the cabin, two people slept. Where was the third? We didn?t dare go in until we knew where everyone was.
I linked with Aaor and signaled silently. ?Have you spotted the third??
?Above,? it said. ?There is another cabin?or at least another living place. You go up to that one. I want these two.? It was utterly focused on the Human pair.
?Aaor??
It focused on me with a startlingly quick movement. It was as tight as a fist inside.
?Aaor, there are hundreds of other Humans down there. You?ll have a life. Be careful who you give it to. I was very lucky with Jesusa and TomAs.?
?Go up and keep the third Human from bothering me.?
I detached from it and went to find the second cabin. Aaor would not hear anything I had to say now, just as I would not have heard anyone who told me to beware of Jesusa and TomAs. And if the Humans were young enough, they could probably mate successfully with any healthy ooloi. If only Aaor were healthy. It wasn?t. It and the Humans it chose would have to heal each other. If they didn?t, perhaps none of them would survive.
I found not a cabin higher up on the mountain, but a very small cave near the top. Humans had built a rock wall, enclosing part of it. There were signs that they had enlarged the cave on one side. Finally heavy wooden posts had been set against the stone and from these a wooden door had been hung. The door seemed more a barrier against the weather than against people. Tonight the weather was dry and warm and the door was not secured at all. It swung open when I touched it.
The man inside awakened as I stumbled down into his tiny cave. His body heat made him a blaze of infrared in the darkness. It was easy for me to reach him and stop his hands from finding whatever they were grasping for.
Holding his hands, I lay down alongside him on his short, narrow bed and wedged him against the stone wall. I examined him with several sensory tentacles, studying him, but not controlling him. I stopped his hoarse shouting by looping one sensory arm around his neck, then moving the coil up to cover his mouth. He bit me, but his blunt Human teeth couldn?t do any serious harm. My sensory arms existed to protect the sensitive reproductive organs inside. The flesh that covered them was the toughest flesh to be found on my body.
The male I held must have been more at home in his tiny cave than most people would have been. He was tiny himself? half the size of most Human males. Also, he had some skin disease that had made a ruin of his face, his hands, and much of the rest of his body. He was hairless. His skin was as scaly as those of some fish I?d seen. His nose was distorted?flattened from having been broken several times?and that enhanced his fishlike appearance. Strangely he was free of the genetic disorder that Jesusa, TomAs, and so many of the other people of the village had. He was grotesque without it.
I examined him thoroughly, enjoying the newness of him. By the time I had finished, he had stopped struggling and lay quietly in my arms. I took my sensory arm from his mouth, and he did not shout.
?Do you live here because of the way you look?? I asked him.
He cursed me at great length. In spite of his size, he had a deep, hoarse, grating voice.
I said nothing. We had all night.
After a very long time, he said, ?All right. Yes, I?m here because of the way I look. Got any more stupid questions??
?I don?t have time to help you grow. But if you like, I can heal your skin condition.?
Silence.
?My god,? he whispered finally.
?It won?t hurt,? I said. ?And it can be done by morning. If you?re afraid to stay here after you?re healed, you can come with us when we leave. Then I?ll have time to help you grow. If you want to grow.?
?People my age don?t grow,? he said.
I brushed bits of scaly, dead skin from his face. ?Oh, yes,? I said. ?We can help people your age to grow.?
After another long pause, he said, ?Is the town all right??
?Yes.?
?What will happen to it??
?Eventually my people will come to it and tell your people they don?t have to live in distorted bodies or in isolation or in fear. Your people have been cut off for a long time. They don?t realize there?s another, larger colony of healthy, fertile Humans living and growing without Oankali.?
?I don?t believe you!?
?I know. It?s true, though. Shall I heal you??
?Can I
see you??
?At sunrise.?
?I could make a fire.?
?No.?
He shook his head against me. ?I should be more afraid than this. My god, I should be pissing on myself. Exactly
