The Farpool (75 page)

Most Seomish words are grouped according to
several characteristics: (1) Who is speaking (the personal); (2)
who is being spoken to (the indicative); (3) state of mind of the
speaker (the conditional); (4) the kel-standing of the conversants
(the intimant).

Each classification has a set of
characteristic pre-consonants, to indicate the nature of the coming
words, etc. Thus:

1. k’, kee, t’
   

2. tch, g, j, oot
   

3. m’, p’, puh’ (both anger, dislike, distaste,
   etc), sh, sz (both joyful)
   

4. each kel identifies itself with a unique set
   of capitalized consonants, like a vocal coat of arms. Example:
   t’milee, or CHE’oray…Seomish versus Timily or
   Chory…English.
   

The World

Seome is a planet somewhat smaller than
Earth, 98% covered in water. There are approximately 30 islands
that comprise the total land mass of the planet. Most of them are
only a few kilometers wide but about ten exceed 50 square
kilometers in size. Most of the islands are clustered near the
equator, or branch out in chains or arcs from the cluster, often
following the submerged ocean ridges that trisect the waters.

Seome is one of four planets, two large gas
giants and two smaller terrestrial rock-core worlds, orbiting the
star-sun Sigma Albeth B. The other planets are uninhabited.

Neither small planet has any natural
satellite but both gas giants have literally scores of satellites
in orbit about them.

Seome is about 11,500 kilometers in diameter
and its gravity is slightly less than Earth’s. Of particular note
is the planet’s perpetual cloud cover, permanent except for one
location: the summit peak of the island of Ordeld in the
northeastern sea, at certain times of the year.

Seome has two seasons: high storm and low
storm, roughly corresponding to periods of greater and lesser storm
activity. The planet rotates nearly twice as fast as Earth, so the
“day” is only half as long. However, the low light level doesn’t
really reflect the speed of rotation. It is uniformly low.

The planet has a magnetic field and an iron
core. Earthquakes are common, often creating tsunamis that dwarf
anything seen on Earth.

The period of solar revolution is about
18 Earth months, 50% longer. In other words, one Earth year is 2/3
a Seome year. A Seome year is called a
mah
and it corresponds to one complete
north-south-north migration cycle of the planktonic
mah’jeet
organisms.

Seomish Physiology

Although the Seomish resemble dolphins and
porpoises externally, they are not mammals. They are fish, true
marine creatures. They average about 3 meters in length and possess
two forearms that have evolved from pectoral fins into prehensile
limbs approximately ½ to ¾ meter in length, with five fingers and
one opposing thumb at the end of each arm.

The Seomish breathe through gills, extracting
oxygen from the water that is strained through gill slits on either
side of the head, which is really only an extension of the main
body trunk. The body is streamlined for speed (up to 20 km/hr for
healthy males at maturity) which is generated by lateral
undulations of the caudal, or tail fin. The peduncle is the muscle
that moves this fin.

The Seomish have two dorsal fins, one over
the midsection and one just forward of the peduncle. Along with a
pair of anal fins (beneath the second dorsal), a small pair of
vestigial pectoral fins attached to the forearms (above the wrist)
provides anti-roll stability. The arms and the tail give
maneuvering and braking power and the arms are tucked against the
sides for speed.

The Seomish have evolved an internal gas
bladder, dorsally located, to help them maintain buoyancy. The
presence of this organ limits the depth and vertical range of their
natural movement but technological developments can overcome these
obstacles.

The Seomish have relatively poor eyesight,
good vision not being essential in the often dark, murky waters of
Seome. They have no tear ducts or eyelids.

The Seomish senses of smell and hearing
are keen, however. A great deal of the standard Seomish language is
concerned with scent information and is unconveyable by sight or
sound. There is an olfactory vocabulary of chemical odors that are
often captured and stored in scentbulbs, called
ot’lum
, in the spoken vernacular.

The Seomish can smell the difference not only
in body odors but in various kinds of water, according to its salt,
dirt, or nutrient content. They have words for all these. Because
olfactory impressions tend to disperse slowly, the Seomish do not
separate the past from the present as readily as humans. Instead,
they view the past as living in the present, as a shadow or ghost
or alternate spirit of the present.

The Seomish sense of hearing is acute
and far-ranging. Just below the mouth, at the rear of the throat
and forward of the gill cavity, is a small bag-like organ, called a
soundsac, or
shkelt
. It is an
echo-location system that emits low-frequency waves that can carry
for upwards of thirty to fifty kilometers, depending on the
location of the deep-level sound channel (the
ootkeeor
, or “discovering water”). Much of the
Seomish language consists of grunts, whistles and clicks, all
sounds that travel well in water.

The Seomish also possess a pressure-sensitive
lateral line organ. The organ functions as a true sixth sense and
is sensitive to low-frequency vibrations. It is used for
short-range guidance, collision avoidance and for determining the
present state of the ambient water as well as local currents.

Seomish are heterosexual and reproduce
by copulation, the female bearing live young after a gestation
period of about one and a half
mah
.

Seomish males usually live to an
average age of 150
mah
(see
Seomish time-keeping) and females somewhat longer, 160
mah
.

The Seomish have silvery-gray skin, smooth,
non-scaly at maturity. They are born pinkish-white and aging
gradually darkens the skin.

Average weight for a mature Seomish male is
230 kilograms. Females weigh somewhat less.

The Flora and Fauna of Seome: Some
Examples

Mah’jeet
: a
microscopic, plankton-like creature, shaped like filaments or
sickles, that emit a toxic substance poisonous to most Seomish.
Small concentrations of the toxin aren’t fatal but the creature
tends to horde and this increases the danger. The toxin is
neurological in nature, causing convulsions, respiratory
difficulties, heart attacks and finally death. So prevalent are the
mah’jeet and so precise are their seasonal migrations that the
Seomish regulate their calendar by them. Concentrated in a horde,
they cause the water to take on a deep purple stain.

Tillet:
a pack
animal, used mainly for transporting cargo. About ten to fifteen
meters in length, black on top, white on the bottom, the tillet is
a fairly docile beast, though occasionally cantankerous.
Generations of genetic engineering have created a close, almost
psychic relationship between the Seomish and the tillet. Some are
so highly trained that they can travel thousands of kilometers
completely untended, usually in herds of from thirty to fifty. The
tillet is so valuable that all kels have mutually agreed to a ban
on hunting them. They can carry upwards of 200 kilograms of cargo
in three specially bred belly pouches, which open underneath broad
pectoral fins (the Seomish are now working on a cybernetic tillet,
a genetically engineered design with a computer-assisted
brain).

Stek’loo:
a
true, hybrid life form, the stek’loo is the result of generations
of research and development in electronics, cybernetics, and
genetics. It is a thinking fish, a living computer, whose nervous
system is composed of logic elements and switching circuits and who
feeds on electric current. The results of its internal computations
are displayed on the swollen flanks of its side in bioluminescent
numerals and light patterns. The stek’loo resembles a flounder in
shape and size, flat and rounded. Information and program
instructions may be entered through a power rod attached to its
mouth, by feeding the stek’loo sequential electrical impulses. The
handle of this rod is a binary key for controlling the impulses.
The stek’loo is physically sluggish and is often kept in a
transparent bowl.

K’orpuh:
a
deadly, eel-like snake found mainly in polar waters (and bred
commercially by the Eepkostic). K’orpuh sometimes grow to 20 meters
in length and are easily mistaken for plants and weeds. They carry
an electric charge of up to a thousand volts, which is fatal to
Seomish. In addition, the k’orpuh are able to lay down a sticky,
web-like filament by quickly encircling their prey, enmeshing it in
a cocoon and making escape impossible. The pelt, skin and oils of
the k’orpuh are valuable commodities, but the Eepkostic have a
monopoly on this trade, as well as on the training of the snake for
military and sport purposes.

Pal’penk:
a
herd animal, huge and bloated, somewhat resembling a Terran
sunfish. Growing to average lengths of ten meters and weights of a
thousand kilograms, the ‘penk is a staple food raised in vast
grazing herds, desired mainly for its naturally spicy flesh. It is
raised in temperate waters, largely by the Likti (an Omtorish
ethnic group) and grazes on planktonic nutrients and spider-weed,
called
mahp’te
, among other
things. A genetic variant of the ‘penk =, somewhat smaller and able
to graze in colder waters, is the pal’pod.

Puk’lek
:
sometimes called the seamother, the Kelm’opuh (Destroyer of
Nations) and mythologically, Keeshoovikt (The One Who Swims Against
the Current or goes against God), the puk’lek is the most fearsome
beast in the waters of Seome. The mythology of the race speaks
eloquently of the mixture of fear, veneration and fascination the
serpent holds. Occasionally reaching a hundred meters in length,
with a powerful horned and spiked tail and a reptilian head with a
broad veined crest, the puk’lek roams the seas of Seome unmolested,
usually alone. It is carnivorous and easily provoked, usually
preferring to feed off teng (a shark-like fish but longer) and
various scapet (a tunnel-shaped fish with a colorful head stripe
and water-jet escape mechanism. Puk’lek are known to prefer the
continental slopes as feeding and spawning grounds and they
occasionally leave the water altogether for several hours at a
time. What happens to them on land is not known and has been the
subject of mythology and speculation for ages. One theory has it
that the puk’lek are not true sea-dwellers at all but some kind of
hybrid land-sea dweller, and that they were punished by God long
ago for the transgression of leaving the water by having to endure
both environments in order to survive (in other words,
amphibious.). There are myths that say the puk’lek fathered a new
race of beings on the land and must leave the sea periodically to
care for them. But there is no proof of this. From a distance, the
puk’lek resembles a fat, scaly k’orpuh, but the puk’lek is silvery
white and gray whereas the k’orpuh is very dark and mottled like
seaweed.

Tchin’ting:
a
long, stringy weed (like kelp) grown for food, mainly in temperate
waters (tropical strains are oily-tasting). Tchin’ting is harvested
after a growth period of one full
mah
, when it is uprooted and processed into a
meal that forms a staple of the Seomish diet. Tchin’ meal is a
waxy, pasty substance rich in protein and suitable for mixing in as
a filler or extender with other foods, particularly flesh
foods.

Ter’poh:
a
planktonic creature unicellular algal in nature, that drifts in the
upper reaches of the water by the uncountable trillion. Usually
processed into meal paste.

Tong’pod:
a
bottom-dwelling, shelled creature, similar to a clam, growly wildly
in abundance only in tropical waters west of the Serpentines and
nurtured artificially elsewhere. Sweet-tasting and slightly
narcotic.

Potah:
an
oyster-like creature that manufactures a small pearl, called
a
potu,
used as
currency.

Eelot:
a
deep-dwelling fish of dazzling radiance and delectable fin
flesh.

Ertleg:
a
crustacean, common to Omtorish waters, especially south of the
Serpentines. Rare and considered a delicacy by the
Omtorish.

A Note on
Cooking
: Cooking with fire is, of course, unknown on
Seome. Many foods are processed into pastes however and used to
garnish meats. Most plants are eaten raw or with very little
preparation. The structure of the tong’pod has influenced the
gastronomic arts on Seome by providing an easily obtainable (easily
imitatable) container for mixed, semi-solid foods. Indeed, the
empty tong’pod shell was the preferred means of holding and
consuming most non-whole foods right into contemporary times. About
a thousand
mah
ago, an
artificial shell was developed, completely edible and often
seasoned. It is known as an
om’pod
, a “spicy shell” and is now the most
popular way of holding and consuming meals. The most recent models
of the om’pod even heat their contents biochemically.