Shadow World (11 page)

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Mark stopped. "You talk like there are dead bodies lying around everywhere on your world." He could not keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Have
you
experienced death personally? Lost someone you love? Believe me, I have."

"Hin has seen death," replied the Elpind calmly. "One of hin's siblings died in infancy, when the gland that produces the juvenile hormone began to function. It is a risky time. Another died during the Change, which is not uncommon. And hin's parents died, of course."

Mark stared at the alien. "What do you mean, of course?"

Eerin regarded him incredulously. "Hin
told
Mark the adult Elspind die within six years of the Change. Thus, after the parents bear the young, it falls to the oldest siblings to raise the younger, until all are through the Change. Every family goes through two stages, a parent-family, or 'pinlaa,' and a sibling-family, which is called a 'pinsa.' A pinlaa prepares for as much as two years for the coming deaths of the han and the heen so that all is done with dignity."

"I'm sorry," Mark muttered. "I should have realized."

The Elpind regarded him sympathetically, evidently realizing his distress.

"Mark has watched a family member embrace death?"

Mark nodded numbly. "First my father. I was very young; I hardly remember.

But"--tears welled up despite his efforts to control them--"just a few months ago, my mother ..." He trailed off, unable to finish.

Eerin's voice was kind. "Did Mark make a fine farewell ceremony? Mark said humans have death rituals."

The young man shook his head. "I wasn't there," he said in an agonized whisper. "I wasn't with her ..."

Eerin reached out and awkwardly patted the human's arm. The golden eyes were troubled. "Hin will speak no more of death. It is time to go for lessons."

Mark blinked rapidly and took several deep, steadying breaths.
Dammit,
Kenner, get hold of yourself! This is no way to relate to a nonhuman culture,
by creating taboo subjects!

"No, it's all right," he said as soon as he could trust his voice, "I should have realized about your parents when you told me about your lifecycle the other night. And anytime you want to talk about the Mortenwol, or the Elseewas, or anything

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else in your culture, you go right ahead. We've got to learn about each other, that's what you're here for, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, your ways are what work for you, and if every Elpind knows hin's going to see hin's parents die ... well, if dancing helps you prepare for that, then dancing is the thing to do. If I could have prepared for my mother's death"--Mark's voice trembled--"it would have helped me, I know."

Animation came back into Eerin's eyes. "Mark Kenner will be a great interrelator," hin announced firmly.

The Elpind turned away and headed down the corridor with hin's customary skips and hops without seeing Mark shake his head soberly. The human followed, wondering whether he should tell Eerin of his plan to leave StarBridge once this project was over.

It would be too hard to explain, Mark decided. And it really didn't matter anyway. Negatives, Mark was discovering, had little claim on Eerin.

Three days later, once again in the observation dome and once again after the Mortenwol, the subject of life and death on Elseemar resurfaced ... but this time it was Cara Hendricks asking the questions, during her formal interview with the Elpind.

She's really good,
Mark thought, watching her work. Overhead the stars provided a stunning backdrop, and since the transparent plas-steel dome went all the way to ground level, he could look out across the asteroid's rock-strewn, desolate surface, lit only by the starlight. He turned away from the disturbingly close horizon, bounded by the mountain peaks of the Lamont Cliffs, to look down at his friends as they sat together on the floor, cross-legged.

Cara's camera hovered over her shoulder, but she seemed oblivious to it; her whole attention was focused on Eerin. As a result, the Elpind had also forgotten the camera.
Cara is the most fascinated listener hin has
encountered here,
the young man realized, amused.
And Eerin is loving it!

Mark was relieved to find himself more relaxed than he'd thought he might be. He'd dreaded the idea of losing his composure again, especially in front of Cara, when the inevitable

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discussion of Elspind and their death rituals surfaced. At first he'd planned to absent himself.

But his interest in alien cultures that had given him the dream of being an interrelator in the first place had won out over his unease, and now Mark was glad. It helped to be nothing more than an observer--it wasn't the same as discussing the painful topic firsthand. He was learning a lot about the Elspind that he hadn't known.

"What is your home like, Eerin?" had been the young journalist's first question.

Eagerly the Elpind had described Lalcipind, "Beautiful Gathering Place of the People" in the foothills of a great mountain range: the simple homes nestled beneath the tall trees on the hillsides, the clear, swift-flowing rivers that ran down into the lush valley below where the crops were grown. Eight walks-under-the-sun-and-under-the-moons away lay the sea. Eerin had made the journey once to gaze upon its endless expanse from the top of a steep cliff that dropped straight down to the rocks and the heaving water.

There were deserts on Elseemar, too, the Elpind told them. These vast stretches formed a wide girdle of hot, arid land that bordered the mountain ranges on the central continents.

"Tell us about your people's First Contact with the CLS" was Cara's next request.

Mark knew the story from the CLS's viewpoint, but was fascinated now to hear it from the Elpind's. "Eight years ago a Heeyoon scout ship suffered life-support failure and made an emergency landing on Elseemar," Eerin said.

"The WirElspind, our governing body, decided to welcome the Heeyoon ...

and in the ensuing years, they and the other CLS representatives have since opened the portals to the universe for hin's people."

Hin is so poised!
Mark thought. The realization brought back to him something he'd almost overlooked in getting to know the Elpind; that Eerin was a visiting head of state, accustomed to sitting on the Council and helping to make decisions affecting an entire planet.

"I know that you weren't born at the time of the first encounter, but can you describe the mood of your people at that time?" Cara asked.

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"Hin has heard the Tellings from that time," Eerin said, then went on to explain that at first the strange beings with their magical-seeming tools had seemed godlike, but that the Heeyoon and subsequent CLS visitors had been careful to dispel any such notions. "It was a shock for us to realize that we were not the only ones," Eerin said. "Hin's people experienced both fear and wonder."

"Some CLS members have criticized the Heeyoon crew for not leaving your world as soon as they realized it was inhabited by intelligent beings, since by their continued presence they ran the risk of bringing unwelcome change--some have gone so far as to call it contamination--to your world.

What is your opinion on that, Eerin?"

"Hin's opinion is one with the WirElspind--the Great Council--in thinking that the CLS contact is a good thing for our people. Someday it may be possible to trade with other worlds. At the moment, Elspind value the cultural interchange between our world and the CLS representatives. We are

learning a great deal." Eerin regarded the journalist unblinkingly. "Hin values the opportunity to learn, Cara."

The journalist nodded. "What about the other Elspind? How do they currently feel about the CLS contact?"

"The Elspind--our name means 'People of Life'--support the government in its decision," Eerin said, obviously choosing hin's words with great care.

"But there was trouble on Elseemar recently," Cara pointed out. 'Trouble from a group of Elspind, correct?"

"Not
correct," Eerin said firmly. "Those who caused the trouble were not the Elspind, but the Wospind--the People of Death. Outwardly they appear like us, but inwardly their minds and hearts are in conflict with the People of Life."

"How do the two groups differ?" Cara asked. She was leaning forward intently, obviously relieved that Eerin was willing to discuss such a potentially touchy subject.

"The Wospind fear that our old ways will be totally destroyed by the contacts with the off-worlders. They do not believe that contact with the CLS can prove beneficial."

"They claimed responsibility for the destruction of one of the main laboratory buildings near your village, didn't they?"

"Yes." Eerin shifted restlessly.

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"Can you explain where they come from, and what their position is to my viewers?"

For the first time, the Elpind seemed reluctant. "The Wospind rose as a separate group only after the CLS representatives came to our world. From the first they argued against off-world contact. The dissenting families began to move away from our villages and towns in large groups, going higher into the mountains or even near the edges of The Long Desert, isolated places.

There they promised they would cling to our traditional life-style. Their protests grew ever louder."

"And what is their goal?"

Eerin hesitated. "Before hin can explain their demands, hin must first give a brief"--the Elpind's mouth turned down as hin considered--"a brief Telling.

The word does not translate well. History ... legend ... myth ... all those words combined, and more, that is a Telling."

Cara nodded. "I think I understand. Go on, please."

"Long, long ago, our Tellings say, the people lived much longer than they do now. Long enough so most Elpind parents survived to see their last child weaned and thriving before death ceased their dancing forever." Eerin's speech had fallen into that rhythmic cadence Mark had noted before. "In those days, long ago, the years of an Elpind's life as a hin, a neuter, were twice what they are today ... or so our Tellings record."

"But something changed?"

Eerin nodded. "The Elspind do not know what caused the lifespan to shorten. But over generations, it grew less and less. At the request of the WirElspind, the CLS scientists at the mountain laboratory have been researching the problem, to see if the lifecycle can be restored to its original length."

Mark straightened, listening intently. I
didn't know about this! Eerin never
mentioned any of this!

"If the CLS researchers succeed," Eerin was continuing, "Elspind would be able to look forward to time for many more Tellings, time to learn, time to accomplish more. Time enough so Elpind parents can leave strong, healthy children instead of infants behind."

"And the CLS scientists are close to finding a solution?"

Eerin nodded. "Hin believes so. The scientists have been working with Elpind herbalists and healers. Together they

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created a substance named 'Elhanin,' meaning 'life-more- long.' It would cause the Change to be delayed, thus extending the time we remain hin.

Early small-group testing was promising. Hin's own sibling Lieor volunteered to be among the first large test groups."

Mark felt as if a weight he hadn't even known he'd carried was suddenly lifted. Perhaps Eerin didn't have to die so tragically young. Medical science had failed his mother, but if it could give years more life to an entire planet of people ... well that would be wonderful!

"Is the substance available yet?" he blurted eagerly. "Can
you
get it?"

Cara gave him a reproving glance.

"Sorry," he said, realizing he'd interrupted.

"Hin does not know the answer to Mark's question," the Elpind said. "Hin does not know what will happen to the schedule now, or if, in fact, any of the research projects will continue. There was other research concerned with the lifecycle," Eerin explained. "Postponement of the Change was the first to bring results--because it was the easiest, they said. Elhanin would also lengthen life after the Change. It would slow down the rapid Elpind metabolism," Eerin said, and shot Mark a triumphant glance, obviously pleased at remembering the technical word. "The researchers are also investigating ways to make the Change, Enelwo, safer, so that not so many will die then."

"According to my sources, many of the researchers survived," Cara told the Elpind. "Perhaps they can continue the work."

"That is a choice currently facing the WirElspind ... whether to ask that the research be continued."

"What influence will the Wospind play in that decision?"

"Possibly a great deal," Eerin replied. "The Wospind feel that tampering with the lifecycle nature has given us is wrong." The Elpind sighed, an almost human-sounding sigh. "We of the WirElspind attempted to reassure the dissenters that Elhanin would only be available to those who wished to take it. But they did not believe us. They also feel that no Elpind should have to make that choice."

"How did the Wospind get the name 'People of Death'?"

"One of the members of the WirElspind, First Speaker Al

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anor, began referring to them as Wospind, saying angrily that if they were not in favor of longer life, they must obviously be in favor of death. Use of the name became common ... even the Wospind themselves now sometimes

use it, as a challenge and insult to the Elspind."

"And it was the Wospind who destroyed the lab," Cara said. "To stop the research, right?"

Eerin nodded. "But the destruction of one lab cannot stop the growth of knowledge on Elseemar. Hin hopes the Wospind will come to realize that soon, and cease this recent violence."

"They weren't violent to start with?"

Eerin shook hin's downy head. "At first their protests were peaceful. The Wospind petitioned the WirElspind for a seat on the Great Council, so they could have a voice. But the WirElspind ruled that they were not entitled to representation, since they were a group of believers scattered over many places. Our representatives are appointed by province. The Wospind protested this ruling bitterly, and with growing anger."