[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
She was not, she realized, being completely reasonable on that score. But
neither would Marvis be, if their roles were reversed. Had she and Marvis been
devoted sisters, perhaps they would willingly share the only available male of
their species. But they were not. The expediencies of the econo-war could not
be left out of the picture. She and Marvis were competitors, and frontline
competitors at that, which meant they were among the relatively small group of
econo-warriors who might, on occasion, carry the conflict to the point of
shooting at each other.
Sharing the available male would be reasonable. It would be the surest way to
give their new species a toehold on continued existence. But circumstances did
not really allow her to be reasonable . . .
. . . Not even if she wanted to, which she didn't. She grinned. It was such
fun to outdo Marvis of the big bust!
Not that Holm was . . . well, was her ideal.
Page 254
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Gosh, he was close to sixty Standard Years, old enough to be her father! Even
though, by the homo sap norm, he only looked thirty. Of course he doted on
her; he made that all too obvious. Letting her have her way about everything,
instead of forcefully taking charge.
For instance, letting her leave for three years, or maybe even longer, without
the least ruckus, although he plainly hated the idea.
Oh, well. It was too much to expect the one available male would be someone
she could fall madly in love with. At least she found him attractive enough
for all practical purposes. And he would make a terrific father, here on
Arbora. She had sized his woodsmanship up wrong earlier, because he had
trouble teaching it to her. But that was because he hadn't ever bothered to
verbalize a lot of what he knew before.
The things that man could do . . . the success he had had scrounging equipment
for her trek to High
Pines . . . and that bow he had made for her, as good or better than any
wooden bow that could be bought in a Primgran sporting goods shop . . . and
these lovely breakfast eggs she was eating. Despite his instructions, she
hadn't yet been able to find a wild chicken nest, but when Holm went
egg-gathering he always came back with a sack of beauties.
And if he was lacking somewhat in youthfulness and forcefulness, he was
nevertheless plenty masculine.
And with him sex could have a purpose beyond play. She suspected that
difference alone would hereafter make dalliance with homo sap males too
trivial to bother with.
What was that quote she had noticed in that ancient treatise on the
experimental crossing of donkeys and horses to produce mules? Oh, yes:
" . . . it is a curious fact that once a male donkey has served a female
donkey, it is often reluctant to transfer its attentions to a female horse."
A "curious" fact, indeed. Seemingly even donkeys have an intuitive preference
for producing a viable strain of offspring . . .
6
She rose from the table and prepared to leave. That consisted mainly of
removing the warm velveen clothing which would no longer be needed when she
went on power. She walked through the cabin and paused, looking at the bow
Holm had made her. It was a handsome piece of work, and she was tempted to
take it and a few arrows along as mementos.
Well, why not? If Marvis Jans were still around, she wanted to lead her away,
didn't she? The extra mass of the bow ought to slow her just enough to keep
Marvis from growing quickly discouraged. She slung it across her shoulder and
tied the quiver of six arrows to her belt.
Gweanvin stepped outside, took a final glance around, then semi-inerted and
activated her propulsion field. Rapidly she soared up into the clear morning
sky, lifting directly away from the planet, enjoying the physical comfort of
having all her life-support systems going again and the freedom of motion
which could come no other way.
Her detectors showed a spot of activity off to the southeast . . . the
settlement of Lopat, she guessed.
Nothing showed at High Pines; none of the few possessors of life-support
systems there were using them at the moment.
There were no signs of pursuit yet. She had not expected anything this
quickly. Marvis might well have stationed herself near Arbora by this time,
working on the assumption that if Gweanvin were still in the
Independency at all, it was because she was on a planet where a recharge was
hard to find. In short, on
Page 255
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Arbora. But Marvis wouldn't be on the ground. She would be in space, ready to
pounce on Gweanvin when she emerged from the atmosphere.
Gweanvin hoped she would be waiting for her. That would save the trouble of
buzzing every planet in the Independency looking for her.
Soon she had cleared the atmosphere, and immediately went into warp toward an
opening in the gas clouds that led into the Commonality. Within two minutes
she was sure Marvis had not picked her up.
She frowned in thought. Was it really worthwhile to search the Independency
for Marvis, when the
Lontastan agent might even have given up the chase by now and returned home?
Or, if not that, might be waiting in ambush at one of the warpshift points in
the cloud crevice ahead?
It was not, she decided. If Marvis wasn't hanging around Arbora itself, what
chance was there that she would encounter someone who would say, "Hey, I know
a guy with a nose just like yours"? Almost no chance at all.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]