So that was why he was still free. He had convinced his people that we had arrived after he left. That story might protect him and enable him to help the others. His body expressed his discomfort with the lie, but he told it well.
?Will you keep Aaor here, too?? I asked.
?Yes. It won?t be hurt unless it tries to escape. Neither will you. Our people feel that having you here will assure their safety when your people arrive.?
I nodded. ?Was this your idea??
The elder with the limp spoke up. ?It doesn?t matter to you whose idea it was! You?ll stay here. And if your people don?t come
perhaps we?ll be able to think of something to do with you.?
I turned to face him. ?Use me to heal your leg,? I said softly. ?It must pain you.?
?You?ll never get your poisonous hands on me.?
I would. Of course I would. If they kept Aaor and me here, nothing would stop them for using us to rid them of their many physical problems.
?This wasn?t my idea,? Francisco said. ?My only idea was that you shouldn?t be shot. A great many people here would like to shoot you, you know.?
?That would be a serious mistake.?
?I know.? He paused. ?Santos was the one who suggested keeping you here.?
I did not shout with laughter. Laughter would have made the elders even more intensely suspicious than they were. But within myself, I howled. Santos was making up for his error. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew his people would use Aaor?s and my healing ability and breathe our scents, and finally, when our people arrived, his would meet them without hostility. In that way, I would, as Francisco had said, assure the mountain people?s safety. People who did not fight would be in no danger at all, would not even be gassed once the shuttle caught Aaor?s and my scents.
?Bring Aaor,? I said.
?Aaor is coming.? Francisco paused. ?If you try anything, if you frighten these people in any way at all, they will shoot you. And they won?t stop shooting until there?s nothing living left of you.?
I nodded. There would be a great deal that was living left of me, but it would certainly not survive as me. And it might do harm here?as a disease. It was best for us to die on a ship or in one of our towns. Our substance would be safely absorbed into the larger organism. If it were not absorbed, the Oankali organelles in it would find things to do on their own.
Aaor was brought in by young guards. I looked at its legs for traces of a bullet wound, but could see none. The Humans had let it heal itself completely before they brought it in.
It walked over and sat down beside me on the stone floor. It did not touch me.
?They want us to stay here,? it said in Spanish.
?I know.?
?Shall we??
?Yes, of course.?
It nodded. ?I thought so, too.? It pulled its mouth into something less than a smile. ?You were right about being shot. I don?t want to go through it again.?
?Where are your mates??
?At their home not far from here?under guard.?
I faced Francisco again. ?We agree to stay here until our people come, but Aaor should live with its mates. And I should live with mine.?
?You?ll be imprisoned here in this tower!? one of the gaunt old elders said. ?Both of you! You?ll stay here under guard. And you?ll have no mates!?
?We?ll live in houses as people should,? I said softly.
Someone spat the words ?Four-arms!? and someone else muttered, ?Animals!?
?We?ll live with the people you know to be our mates,? I continued. ?If we don?t, we?ll become
very dangerous to ourselves and to you.?
Silence.
My scent and Aaor?s probably could not convert these people quickly without direct contact, but our scents could make everyone more likely to believe what we said. We could persuade them to do what they knew they really should do.
?You?ll live with your mates,? Francisco said above much muttering. ?Most of us accept that. But wherever you live, you will be guarded. You must be.?
I glanced at Aaor. ?All right,? I said. ?Guard us. There?s no need for it, but if it comforts you, we?ll put up with it.?
?Guards to keep people from accepting your poison!? muttered the lame elder.
?Give me my mates now,? I said very softly. People leaned forward to hear. ?I need them and they need me. We keep one another healthy.?
