Webdancers (19 page)

Chapter Forty-One

There are uncounted secrets in this universe.

The vast majority of them will never be revealed.

—Parvii Inspiration

Webdancer
floated in the midst of other sentient vessels, all with their space anchors activated. Inside the warmth of the podship’s sectoid chamber, Tesh lay supine on the deck, staring up at the iridescent green ceiling.

The Parvii woman knew that in the officers’ conference room on the deck below her, Doge Anton, his officers, and a number of Tulyans were discussing web conditions in the Canopa region. After the big upheaval in the Valley of the Princes, the timehole near the planet seemed to have settled down, but everyone knew it could flare up at any moment, without warning. Now a Tulyan repair team was high above the planet, working to keep that from happening.

Anton had just begun a meeting, after concluding an even more important session with Hari’Adab, who had just returned with his fleet after the loss of Dij. From listening in on part of the earlier meeting, Tesh knew that the news from the Emir had not been all bad, because he had also brought back a sizable additional force of Mutati warships, soldiers, and military supplies, which he had retrieved from hiding places around the huge sector that had formerly been the dominion of the Mutatis.

With so many important events occurring that required Tesh’s attention, she really saw no good time to do anything as personal as she was about to do now, and she felt some guilt about even thinking about such a matter. But she needed to do this anyway, had to move forward so that her mind could be clear for other things. Helping her a bit, Doge Anton was occupied and didn’t need her for awhile, so barring any new catastrophe Tesh might have enough time to do what she had in mind. She only needed a few moments of intense concentration.

In her natural minuscule form, the sectoid chamber seemed quite large, the relative size of a typical passenger compartment to a normal Human, perhaps. When she first took control of the vessel, this core chamber had been substantially smaller. But gradually, as the war progressed and as
Webdancer
became more important to the Liberator fleet, the ship had grown bigger, of its own volition. Now it was at least twice the size of any other podship in the fleet.

Though Tesh never conversed with
Webdancer
in words, because they utilized different forms of language, she still thought she understood some of the motivations of the great ship. The two of them had a wordless connection, on a higher level than the superficiality of any spoken tongue.

Tesh was more than seven hundred years old—a mere youngster by galactic standards, and she realized that she still had a great deal to learn. Even so, beyond her knowledge of the Aopoddae, she knew other significant things that were perhaps even more arcane.

In her comparative youth six centuries ago, Tesh had befriended a retired breeding specialist at the Parvii Fold, a slender old woman who took her into her confidence. Old Astar had wanted the younger Parvii to become a breeding specialist like herself, a rare opportunity presented to a “commonblood” such as Tesh. At the time, the profession was dying out, she said, not considered necessary anymore. Astar was the only remaining one, and she had not practiced her craft for almost two millennia.

She explained that in the Parvii race, there used to be more than one way to pursue some of the most important professions. In the case of breeding specialists, most came from particular genetic lines, but historically there had been exceptions, notable commonbloods who displayed special talents that enabled them to join the elite group. Tesh had been one of those extraordinary people who had been noticed.

For Astar, it had been unusual for her to open up to anyone, for she had always been known as an insular person, filled with secret knowledge. From the beginning of their relationship, Tesh had told her that she didn’t want to become a breeding specialist, because that was not the direction in which her heart pointed her. Besides, there would be extreme political difficulties if she were to make the attempt. Instead, the young woman had always wanted to pilot podships across vast expanses of space. It had felt like her calling, a glamorous career that consumed much of her imagination. Astar had been disappointed, but had said she accepted the decision. Even so, it took a long time before she gave up trying to get Tesh to change her mind.

One day, when it was clear that Tesh would not accept the calling, and that the old woman did not have long to live, a highly unusual event occurred. In the years since then, Tesh had thought of it often.

The two of them had been flying side by side, at a slow speed because of Astar’s declining health. They reached a foldcave that the old woman said would give them complete security from the telepathic probes of the Eye of the Swarm. There, standing in the small natural chamber, illuminated in low gray light, Astar said, “I have thought long and hard on this, and there is something I want to bequeath to you, a special gift that will help you in times of great need. I would be criticized for doing so, but I went through secret channels and consulted a Tulyan timeseer about you.”

For several moments, the airless cave seemed to contain another presence, a thing that the old woman had not yet said. Finally, Astar continued, her voice quavering. “The timeseer told me that a unique future lies in store for you, Tesh, unlike anything that has ever happened to a member of the Parvii race.”

“I only want to be a podship pilot.”

The slender woman placed a wrinkled hand on Tesh’s shoulder. “I know, dear, but something more is available to you, something far greater. Throughout history, there have been occasions when our women and men have fallen in love with members of other races.”

“I have heard this.”

“Then you have also heard that it is impossible for a Parvii to breed with another galactic race. Even though we can engage in sexual acts with them, no children can result.”

“Yes.”

“Well, that is not strictly true. There are certain methods. Offspring have in fact been conceived from such unions. Not many, but it has happened. A few thousand perhaps, over millions of years. Some of the children were hunted down and killed as monstrosities by the Eye of the Swarm, but others escaped and lived out their lives as fugitives. In your case, you are destined to face such a breeding conundrum. And it will be unlike any of the other examples. The alien male you meet will be exceptional, perhaps even godlike.”

“I’m not sure if I like the sound of this.”

“When you encounter this person, you will know. At first, you will have doubts about whether he can possibly be the one who has been foretold, and you may even discount what I am telling you now as nonsense. You will think he is an ordinary alien male, and will discover that sexual acts with him are pleasurable, though perhaps not fantastic. But after you are intimate with him, a certainty will seep into your awareness, and you will know that you must bear his child. Increasingly, this will consume your thoughts.”

“And what will my child be like?” Tesh’s heart had raced as she asked the question.

“Ordinary in appearance, but anything but ordinary inside. The gender has not been revealed to me, nor have specifics about the life your child will lead. Throughout the history of all races there have been special children who have accomplished great things, such as Sanji the Tulyan and Jesus Christ the Human. Your child could very well be on that scale.”

“You have omitted mention of any great or legendary Parvii.”

“And with good reason, Tesh. I hate to say this, but our race has been making terrible mistakes for a long time, grievous errors that have had widespread consequences. I know you want to be a podship pilot—perhaps for the glamour of it—but I have long wondered if that is our true calling as a race. Certainly it is not the honorable pursuit our leaders make it out to be.”

Astar paused. Presently, looking into Tesh’s eyes, the wrinkled breeding specialist said, “I suspect you’re wondering how I can keep such blasphemous thoughts away from the telepathic probes of the Eye of the Swarm. Let me just say that there are ways. And perhaps it is wishful thinking on my part, but I think your child just might be part of the solution, a way for us to alter the course of Parvii destiny. I sense goodness in you, Tesh. Otherwise, I would not be saying such things to you.”

Placing her own hand on the old woman’s face, Tesh said, “I believe you.”

After that, Astar revealed things about the intricacies of the Parvii female body, and described specific methods that could be used to become pregnant with the child of an alien. Then the old woman made Tesh repeat it all back to her, in detail. The younger woman got it right the first time.

“Never forget what I have taught you,” Astar said, in the most solemn and ominous of voices.

“I won’t. I promise.”

“There are so many more things I would like to tell you, Tesh, but I don’t have the energy to do so, and perhaps it would not be right anyway. Know and understand, though, that you will face great, undetermined dangers in taking the path I have outlined. You will be bearing a forbidden child, considered a horror by our people. But our people are
wrong
.”

Weakened by the exertion of the flight and all she had to say, the old woman slumped to the floor of the foldcave. Tesh eased her down, and sat on the hard surface, holding Astar’s head on her own lap.

Looking up into Tesh’s face, the aged woman smiled. Then her facial expression became stony and she said, “There is one more thing I must tell you. I don’t have the specifics, but long ago, in the early days of the galaxy … “ Astar coughed, struggled to speak.

Tesh comforted her, but couldn’t help wanting to know what the old woman had to say.

Finally, Astar said, “What I am about to tell you is all I know about a particular subject, and that is not very much. It is a fact known to all breeding specialists, but it is only a fragment of information. Long ago, so distant in time that it has been all but erased from our memories, the Parvii race had a connection with another galactic race.”

“The Tulyans,” Tesh said. “We defeated them in battle, took the podships away from them.”

“Not that type of connection, child. No, not that at all. Something entirely different and more cooperative in nature.” She sighed. “Oh, if we only knew more than that morsel of information, and more than the name of the race!”

In Tesh’s arms, the old woman trembled, and then said, “I speak of an important connection between Parviis and Adurians. What it is, I do not know, and the races seem so different. But there are similarities that are apparent to one in my profession.”

“Both races have extensive breeding knowledge?”

“Precisely.” The smile returned, though a wary one. “With the specialized knowledge I have imparted, you are now a limited breeding specialist, with just enough information to navigate your own remarkable future. I wish you all of the good things in life, for you and your unusual family.”

“Thank you.”

The old woman closed her eyes, and against Tesh’s fingertips she felt Astar’s pulse slowing. The younger woman turned away, crying.

Nearly an hour passed. Finally, the aged breeding specialist slipped away, into her own eternity.…

* * * * *

Now, in the privacy of the sectoid chamber, Tesh had been using a combination of things she knew about the internal workings of her own body—the things that every Parvii woman knew, along with the secret knowledge that Astar had shared with her. Already, she had used the secret knowledge to protect something precious that Noah had given to her, something she had been concealing within her body for two months.

Reaching under the side of her collar, Tesh touched a place on her skin that she knew was a tiny, dark mark, beneath which lay the implanted med-tech device that operated her body’s magnification system. This time, though, instead of rubbing the spot to activate the magnifier and enlarge the appearance of her body, she held a forefinger there for several moments, until she felt another feature of the med-tech unit click on.

Over Tesh’s head, a hologram appeared, a full-color, life-size videocam of the interior of her body. Using the technology, she conducted her own private medical examination. Along with the projected images in front of her eyes, data flowed into her brain, telling her the exact condition of every organ, every muscle, and every cell—even every atom and subatomic particle, if she chose to analyze them in detail. Barring an accident, she could expect to live for almost fifteen hundred additional years. So far, this was an analysis that any Parvii could accomplish.

But that was not what Tesh was looking for.

Taking a deep breath, she activated one of the hidden features of the system that Astar had revealed to her centuries ago. This went beyond what Tesh had already done to her body as a result, the keeping and preserving of Noah’s gift within her. That only allowed her time to think, to consider possibilities and decide if she wanted to go on to the next stage. Now, she was certain.

Staring into the hologram, Tesh felt a beam of bright light wash over her, causing her to shiver in anticipation. Her vision became foggy and unfocused, and her mind seemed to expand outward, into a luminous green cosmos that stretched into infinity. And far away in that realm of apparent space, in the place that Astar had told her how to reach, Tesh saw an opening, like a tunnel in the universe. But she knew this was inside her own body instead, a special feature of the embedded medical apparatus. She hesitated, felt her metabolism quicken, and then plunged psychically into the tunnel.

In a matter of moments, Tesh emerged on the other side, in a tiny, colorless chamber of her own body. And there she saw what she sought: a sac of the alien cellular material that she had been storing in her body, ever since her sexual encounter with Noah Watanabe.

Again, she hesitated. But she knew the decision no longer hung in the balance. She had gone this far, and had to continue.

Carefully, mentally adjusting the med-tech device in the precise manner that Astar had revealed to her, Tesh opened the sac and let Noah’s sperm flow through her body, bypassing the racial firewalls that had been designed to prevent breeding between Parviis and any other ethnic group.