Barry Longyear - Enemy Papers

The human wrinkles up his forehead and holds up his hands. "If we don’t know how, what are we supposed to do?"

Ty leans forward in its chair. "Uncle, perhaps you are supposed to figure it out for yourself."

"Damned silly. I mean, if Shiggy knows a way, why doesn’t it just tell me?"

"The Ovjetah," I interrupt, "told me that knowledge of the path might close it."

The human flips through a few pages and shakes his head. "Shiggy always was a little smart aleck." Davidge’s eyes suddenly look up at me. "It was well?"

I fold my arms as I accept two truths: Davidge does not like me and I do not like Davidge. "I am not a healing Jetah. The Ovjetah’s fitness is not within my area of expertise."

The human sits back in his chair, both of his hands resting upon the closed manuscript on his lap. "Did Shigan seem well?"

"I detected no bleeding wounds or consequential diseases, Uncle Willy."

Davidge’s head goes back a degree as he stares at me with very blue eyes. He nods once, opens the manuscript to the first page, and begins reading. As he turns the page he says, "That’s a big stick you have up your ass, Yazi Ro. Try not to scratch the chair."

Ty, its jaw clamped shut against its laughter, stands, grabs its coat, and walks to the entrance, barely nodding at me along the way. Haesni, less successful at suppressing its laughter, makes a snorting sound and hurries to the back of the chamber where the child vanishes into another passage. I feel a cold draft against my legs as Ty opens the door. It stops as the door is closed. I hear muffled laughter coming from outside the cave.

I sit fixed in the chair, glaring at the human, until I think I must look as big a fool as I feel. I stand, close my coat and put up my hood as I storm toward the cave’s opening. When I go through the entrance into the cold, I look at my hand holding the door as a debate rages within me: Should I close it or leave it open?

Leaving it open would be childish. It would, however, feel quite good. Perhaps to end a war I must work with this human, and warring with him over a silly door might close Zenak Abi’s path to peace before it opens. It would, however, feel thoroughly good. Involuntarily I emit a growl and slam the door shut. As I turn away I hear Davidge’s voice call, "Thank you."

In the harsh wind at the top of the cliff, my gaze on the tortured waters below, the questions stand before me. Is this human the great teacher of the Ovjetah of the Talman Kovah? Is this the mentor of the Jeriba line? Is that creature one of the founders of this planet, refuge of 'harmony between the peoples of the quadrant? I see something all too mortal.

I know myself. I am no mountain of wisdom. Now I have seen enough of the human. No matter what Zenak Abi and Jeriba Shigan think they see, we are not the ones who will find peace for Amadeen.

"You are disappointed."

I hear Ty’s voice coming from behind me. Without turning I answer. "I have seen the size of war, Jeriba Ty. I have felt its breath on my face. I know its power, its complexity, its pain, its fear." I turn and face the firstborn of Jeriba Zammis. "In a moment of intense anguish I went to an old fool to find peace. That old fool sent me to another old fool who sent me here to yet another old fool."

"I don’t think you always thought of them as fools."

I look back at the sea. "After I met Zenak Abi, the traitor on Amadeen, I did not believe in its possibilities for peace, It was old, foolish-looking, and ran with a pack of renegade Dracs and humans. I took on its mission because it was my only way off Amadeen."

"You believed the Ovjetah, though," interrupted Ty.

"Yes. I believed Jeriba Shigan. The Ovjetah did not look foolish and it had all of the wisdom of the Jetah Diea honoring it. A part of me believed that the Ovjetah might know a way to peace." I raise my hand and wave it toward the sea with a certain degree of violence. "Yazi Ro, take a copy of the Koda Nusinda to this great teacher, this giant of wisdom, on Fyrine IV. Put this manuscript together with this great mind and that act will take thirty years of blood and horror and bring it to an end." I look back at Jeriba Ty. "I believed that. That’s how big a fool I am."

Ty smiles sympathetically. "Poor Ro. You came to Friendship looking for a god and Willis E. Davidge turns out to be only a man."

"And such an ordinary man," I add. "Is this what the machinations of the Ovjetah’s talma would have me find!"

Ty places its gloved hand on my arm and bursts out with a laugh. "I certainly hope so, my friend. Uncle gave you his very best I’m just plain folks routine." It looks at me, laughs again, and cocks its head toward the estate. "Come along. It’s almost time for the repast. Uncle will be occupied for hours and Haesni will be eating smoked snake in the cave. It will be good to have more company at the house. Falna should be there by now. The ship from Draco eventually came in and Falna was on it."

Falna, the child of Estone Nev’s namechild, is at the table for the repast. It is tall, beautiful, and so brilliant I keep silent for fear of sounding like the fool I feel. Although Falna is so far above my aspirations it might as well be back on Earth, I listen, captivated by its words, its laugh, the devil look to its eyes. Once Falna’s gaze meets mine and I see it smile as I turn away, my face hot with embarrassment. Also at the table are Jeriba Zammis, Ty, and Estone Nev. As the most senior, Nev stands at its place and leads the ceremony of the repasts, something I had not seen since my parent’s death.

"This is the bitter weed we eat to remember the Madah at the first repast. Never shall we return." Estone Nev holds a small sheaf of grain to its lips and replaces it on the table. We all take similar sheaves from our places and touch them to our lips, returning them to the table.

"This is the fruit of the Irrveden, for which the Mavedah fought, that we eat at the second repast." Nev touches a purple-gray fruit to its lips, replaces it on the table, and we do the same.

"For the third repast we eat nothing, for this is the legacy of Mijii who burned its people rather than submit to the rule of the Mavedah." Nev ignites a small brazier filled with aromatic woods. It burns for a moment, touches the air with scent, and dies.

"The night repast celebrates Uhe’s victory and the unification of the Sindie. This is the night repast; let us celebrate."

The servants bring out the foods, and I find a familiar human dish among them: spaghetti. Captured human rations had something similar-looking in an envelope. The difference is that the Jeriba estate’s version is edible. More than that, it is delicious, as are the more traditional foods. Even though I am far from starving, the hungry parentless war thing within moves me to eat more than I need.

After the foods, while I attempt to digest all that I have consumed, Nev, Zammis, Falna, and Ty sip at sweet tea. With transparent pride Nev asks the child of its namechild about its studies. Falna amuses us all with stories of its recent time on Earth, the friends it had made, and the important persons it met. Ty laughs and says, "And Uncle feared that you might never even manage to commit your line to memory."

Falna laughs as well. It notices my confusion and says, "I played a trick on Uncle when I was under his charge at the cave. I pretended to be very slow, clumsy, and unable to learn. Then I stood the rites of adulthood before the Estone archives, recited line and book, all without his knowledge. When he came to my parent to express his concern about my dimness, my parent explained to Uncle that Falna had already stood the rites and had earned its robe. The look on Uncle’s face was worth a thousand academic degrees."

When the laughter dies down, Ty announces to all that Yazi Ro is less than awed after its first meeting with Uncle Willy. Embarrassed by this declaration, I remain silent. There are no frowns or condemnations, though. Instead, Estone Nev smiles and both Zammis and Falna burst out in laughter. Nev puts down its cup and says, "Yazi Ro, you have some idea of the high regard in which we hold Uncle."