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intelligence to come along. Like me. Ignoring their simmering indignation, he continued to play finger tag
with the agreeable rhizomorphs.
Swallowing his resentment, Jemunu-jah moved to peer over the human s shoulder.  If by some chance
you right and pannula is somehow some kind of sentient, how we make contact? Pannula is fungus. Has
no eyes, no ears, no mouth. Only filaments.
 That might be enough. In ancient times, there used to be humans who couldn t see, hear, or speak. That
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didn t mean they were any less intelligent. They learned to communicate solely via touch. Maybe all this
species can do is respond to my hand and finger movements, but it s a start.
Masurathoo felt that his credulity was on trial.  I beg to point out, Hasa, that such mimicry can be
accomplished by many different species from a number of worlds that are not classified as intelligent.
 I m sure it can be, but how many brainless mimics would rise to the defense of visitors in peril? he
argued.
 I still think coincidence. Jemunu-jah was not swayed.
 Still could be, Hasa admitted. Rising, he brushed debris from his rain cape.  So let s put it to the test.
If the pannula did intentionally save us from the mokusinga, then it has our best interests at heart even
though it doesn t have one itself. If it is intelligent, then our little sojourn here may represent the first
formal contact between it and my species. Whether it wants anything to do with either of your kind
remains to be seen.
 You flatter yourself unreasonably. Masurathoo found himself unable to take the continuing veiled
insults any longer without articulating a response.
 We ll see. Hefting his pack and swinging it up onto his back, Hasa started back the way they had
come.
 That is the wrong direction, Jemunu-jah reminded him.
 I know. Having paused and turned around, Hasa was grinning more broadly than ever.  So I ve been
told.
Jemunu-jah blinked eagle eyes.  Heesa;I just told it to you.
 Not just you. Raising an arm, the human gestured.  Look.
Sakuntala and Deyzara turned. Every one of the black tendrils that had previously been standing erect
and weaving slightly from side to side was now lying flat with its tip pointing due north.
 They have fallen down, Jemunu-jah commented.  It means nothing.
 No? Let s see. Retracing his steps, Hasa halted beside the cluster of prostrate rhizomorphs. In
response to his renewed proximity, they immediately straightened. After playing with the bobbing,
ducking tips for a couple of minutes, he stepped back again. As they began to lie down once more, he
moved forward and deliberately pushed them flat so they faced in a southward direction. Retreating, he
turned once again to retrace his previous course.
Behind him, the rhizomorphs slowly lifted themselves and adjusted their positions until all were once
more facing north.
 What do you think now? he asked triumphantly.
 The alignment could be due to other factors, Jemunu-jah insisted.  Direction rain is coming from,
position of hidden sun, current temperature. Could be many factors involved.
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Hasa nodded.  Or, having our welfare excuse me,my welfare in whatever a pannula uses for a mind,
it could be pointing the way toward the village we ve been trying to reach, assuming that would be the
nearest place of safety for us from marauders like the mokusinga.
Where a human could only cross its arms, Masurathoo was able to entwine his.  I am not going to
proceed through this horror of a landscape on the basis of directions provided by a fungus.
Hasa glanced at the third member of the party.  How about you, fuzz-face?
The Sakuntala wanted to grab the human by the throat and shake him. That, he reflected, would have
been the reaction of an uneducated Hata-nau or perhaps one of Aniolo-jat s rabid followers. He, on the
other hand, was civilized. Though every time he patiently absorbed one of the human s obnoxious jibes
he found himself wishing it were otherwise.
Standing capeless in the rain, he finally thrust both ears forward.  We have been going that direction
anyway.
 No, we haven t, Masurathoo objected immediately.  We have been moving more to the east. A
twin-digited hand indicated the prone tendrils.  Those . . .things . . . are pointing markedly to the north.
If we follow their  direction we could end up entirely missing the village we seek.
 If we haven t missed it already, the Sakuntala murmured.
 We haven t. Hasa spoke confidently.  If it was somewhere behind us, the rhizomorphs would be
pointing back the way we came.
He started forward. Jemunu-jah hesitated only briefly before following. That left Masurathoo, for a
change, to bring up the rear. Despite the rain, his companions did not have to look back to ensure that
the Deyzara was keeping up with the pace. His steady litany of complaint and accusation marked his
location and their progress as surely as any of the global positioning devices contained in their emergency
kits.
16
As they marched on and on through the rain, Jemunu-jah began to wonder if he had finally lost all his
mula . Surely if they were on the proper course they should have made contact with the village by now.
His reservations were dismissed by the human. It seemed like every time the Sakuntala voiced his
uncertainties, they would stumble across another outcrop of pannula. All the same vast organism, Hasa
would insist. Another clump of mindless mushrooms, Masurathoo would counter.
Jemunu-jah was left caught in the middle between his two companions. One insisted that they were being
guided, or at least helped, to safety, while the other swore to anyone and anything that would listen that
they were only wandering aimlessly through the endless Viisiiviisii until exhaustion and death finally [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]