Janet Kagan Mirabile

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They d tried a dozen new kinds of songbird since I d last checked more than
the names and the viability. Not one of them had survived. Looking over their
records, I
saw the same sort of pattern I d been seeing in my environmental conditions
Mirabile s native life was so hostile to songbirds that even Dragon s Teeth
didn t survive to breed a second generation, not in either EC.
When I said as much out loud, Sabah said, M-hm. Either the eggs get eaten or
the adults do. I think we ll have to put someone on insectivores full-time. I
don t see any other way to solve the problem.
I snorted. Full time.
You know what I mean, Annie. Full-time except for emergencies.
We also need somebody full-time on Mirabilan wildlife. That might give us a
handle of what birds we should be choosing.
If I get you the salaries, can you get me the bodies? I mean it, Annie,
full-time as much as practical.
Makes me nosy when Sabah talks like that. If you ve got the salaries, why
haven t you got the bodies?
Sabah twinkled at me. We re civilized here in RightHere. It s Mama Jason and
her team of Dragon s Tooth hunters that attract the youngsters.
Get stuffed, I told him, with a smile. I ve heard some stories in my time
but that
&
I m serious, Annie. I could name you three kids in town that would kill to
work with you. But not here and not with us. It s a matter of perception.
Send em to me. I ll read em the riot act about a proper apprenticeship with
you.
Sabah put down his glass of tea. You know, that might just work.
If it doesn t, at least wind up with extra hands, I said. And now that
we ve
I
solved that problem, let s see if we can do something about the damned
insectivores.
We didn t solve that one, of course. Not likely we d solve in one afternoon
what hadn t been solved in the three generations we d been on Mirabile. But we
did know a lot of things that wouldn t work by the time we were done.
When we got tired of beating our heads against that particular wall, I checked
my mail. Susan had sent along a preliminary program for backtracking the
source of a
Dragon s Tooth with the note: Marian says it s not elegant but it ought to
hold us while she whips up a better one.
Elegant ? said Sabah.
Hacker-talk, I explained. Means, as far as I can tell, the program s not as
efficient as it might be. Same use of elegant as in mathematics.
There was a gosh-wow from Chris, too. Then I cast about a bit and found the
expected one from Leo. It read: Scared the daylights out of medical. I ll be
at the cathedral. It ended with a whole slew of bare-hug graphics. When I
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turned back to
Sabah, he was grinning like nobody s business.
You didn t tell me you had a new beau, Annie, he said in mock accusation.
You didn t ask, I countered. Knowing what would come next, I held up both
hands to fend him off. I ve been officially proposed to, and I mean to accept
as soon as I can think of an appropriate courting gift. That last is not as
easy as it sounds.
He gave me a kangaroo rex.
Sabah s eyes went wide. I m impressed. That alone makes it sound like a
match.
Who is this wonder?
His name s Leonov Bellmaker Denness used to be Leonov Opener D
Sabah raised hands to cut me off. I know Leo, Annie. He s making the bell for
our cathedral. His raised hands landed on my shoulders. Good combination,
you and Leo! And I don t mean just genetically.
Good. Then maybe you can show me where this cathedral thing is. He s there
delivering your bell now.
With a shout that he was off for the rest of the day, Sabah hustled me to the
door.
Cathedral is guild tongue for a large and very ornate stone building used
for ritual purposes, he explained, as he led the way. (Only a member of a
guild uses the phrase guild tongue without specifying what guild. I wasn t
about to ask. Tends to set them to proselytizing about how much fun you d have
if you joined the Nippon
Guild or the Texas Guild or whatever.) How long has it been since you ve been
to
RightHere?
Years, at least.
Hm, and you don t pay much attention to anything other than Dragon s Teeth.
Except the kids and Leo, I corrected.
Then you re in for a surprise.
Well, I have to admit Sabah was right on that count. I ve never seen a
building that big in my life, except in pictures in ships records. You could
have stuck the entire population of RightHere inside it with room to spare.
And ornate didn t begin to describe it. More than half the damn thing was a
solid mass of vaults and spires and carvings. The rest was still rough
shaped blocks holding up the portico where (I assumed) there d soon be more
figures to match those on the other side of the entrance.
I was so busy gawking that Sabah startled me when he grabbed my arm. Hunh?
I said.
One thing, Annie. When the guild finds out who you are, they re gonna hit you
up for bats. They already did me I told them we didn t have the time for
frivolities but that doesn t stop them from persisting. So feel free to say
no.
Bats, I said, not taking my eyes off the cathedral. Say no. Gotcha. And I
went for a closer look.
The entire history of Mirabile was carved into the walls of the cathedral.
Here was the takeoff from Earth (though some of those plants were Mirabilan,
not
Earth-authentic) to the generations in journey (including a very authentic and
gruesome portrayal of Sanoshan fever) to the landing and the opening. I was
fascinated as all hell to find a much younger Leo among the openers and
Granddaddy Jason locked in ferocious battle with a double helix. Aside from
that first panel, the artist had done a damn realistic job.
Check the caryatids, said Leo, as he came down the wide staircase from the
center doors. I bussed him instead, then I asked him, What the hell s a
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caryatid?
He pointed to the figures holding up the roof. Took me a minute to place their
faces as those of the ships captains. They were right, even down to the
desperation on the face of that last captain of the Sanoshan. Tiny figures at
the feet of each gave further details of shipboard life under each particular
captaincy.
Now look up, Leo said and pointed.
I craned my neck and stepped back. Glaring down at me, mouths gaping, was the
damnedest collection of Dragon s Teeth ever assembled in the history of
Mirabile. I
was standing, I found, directly under a kangaroo rex not a face you d forget
if you d seen it live the way I had. The artist had captured it so well that
it seemed poised to leap on its prey.
I shifted position.
From the side, I could see every last bit of musculature under the hide of the
damn thing. And, yes, it was set to spring on its prey. Every inch of it just
about vibrated, right down to the shadow of stripes across its haunches.
I let out a whistle of pure admiration.
Leo said, You got it right, Bethany. See if you didn t.
Which reminded me Leo was there, not that I ever really forget. I turned to
find him grinning and pushing a pixie in my direction. Bethany, meet Annie
Jason
Masmajean. Annie, this is Bethany Carver Barandemaje.
She was as tiny as Leo is big, but the resemblance was unmistakable. One of
your kids, yes? I stuck out a hand and got a tiny but very wiry and very
callused hand in return.
One of my three favorites, Leo said. He was still grinning shamelessly.
Good thing you ve only got three, Bethany told him, or we d be forced to
take matters in hand.
And I d find myself sandblasted into the shape of a chimera and spending the
rest of my life pouring water down on the world.
I couldn t help myself. Why put Dragon s Teeth even one based on Leo on a
cathedral?
Oh, she said, it s traditional. Only on earth they called them gargoyles. I
thought a Mirabilan cathedral ought to have Mirabilan gargoyles. It s part of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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