Barry Longyear - Enemy Papers

Vencha laughed. It was not hard to see who Vencha identified with. Tail-End Charlie; the hind teat; the ten percent that never gets the word.

Nicole smiled. Namndas was a creature of the Universe, and it had lots of human company.

Vencha Eban, as Namndas, continued:

"My charges were assigned a place in the darkness next to the Madah wall of the temple, where my own class had begun the year before. On the morning of the first day of their instruction, they sat upon the smooth stone floor and listened as I spoke the rules of the temple.

" I, Namndas, am your charge-of-class. You are the lowest class in the temple, and for this reason, the care and cleaning of the temple is left to you. I tell you now that I will never find as much as a single fleck of dust in the temple while I am your charge-of-class. You will clean the filth from the air before it lands upon these stones; you will wash the dust from the feet of those who enter the temple.

"I pointed toward the soot-blackened ceiling. Every evening it is your responsibility to trim and fuel the temple’s lamps. Through all of this, you will keep clean yourselves.

"Shizumaat stood. It was tall for its age, and there was a strange brightness to its eyes. Namndas, when are we to be given our instruction? When will we learn?

"I felt my face grow hot. Such impudence! You shall be allowed to receive instruction when I inform Servant Ebneh that you are worthy. Sit and be silent! Shizumaat resumed its seat upon the floor, and I issued a glare that encompassed all nine of the students. You will not speak except in answer to a question from me or from one of the servants. You are here to learn, and the first thing you must learn is obedience.

"I narrowed my glare to Shizumaat and saw it carrying an enigmatic expression upon its face. I spoke to Shizumaat. I cannot read your face, new-charge. What does it say?

"Shizumaat remained seated upon the floor, but looked at me as it spoke. Does Aakva, then, judge its servants by how well they imitate the dumb animals and their skill at wielding a scrub rag?

" Your words court disaster.

" Namndas, when you asked your question, did you want from me lies or truth?

" This is a temple of truth. What are you called?

" I am called Shizumaat.

" Then, Shizumaat, I must tell you that I see little hope for your graduation from the Madah wall to the center of the temple.

"Shizumaat nodded and looked toward Uhe’s tomb. I think the truth serves you at last, Namndas- "

Nicole heard Pur Sonaan’s heavy footsteps enter the room, and there followed a delightful, horrified little gasp out of Vencha Eban. No words were exchanged, but Nicole’s skin virtually tingled with what she sensed to be highly meaningful glances between the Jetah and Vencha Eban.

"Do you have cleaning to do?"

"Yes, Jetah. I was just resting for a moment."

"Emmm."

The sounds of vigorous cleaning began.

Nicole spoke to the Jetah. "Is there anything new concerning my eyes?"

The Jetah sighed. "The more we learn, the closer we get; and the closer we get, the more there is to learn. The anatomy of the human eye is considerably different than ours, and human eyes for experimentation are not easy to come by."

She sat up. "What?!"

"No! No! The kovah takes them only from the dead. I assure you. And we have been getting more information from captured medical texts, and from the USEF itself through the provisions of the war accords." The Jetah paused for a moment. "I must tell you that we have an instrument that we can use on Drac patients who have been blinded. Implants are placed into the vision centers of the patient’s brain, and this enables the patient to see using gelatinous receivers that fit over the eyes."

Nicole heard Vencha Eban tum off its equipment and steal quietly out of the room.

"Can you… can you do this for me?"

"As a last resort we might try. The procedure is well-established and quite common. However, we only use it when the sensory nerves leading from the eye have been destroyed. We have no reason to believe that yours have been damaged."

"Pur Sonaan, would making those implants injure my optic nerves?"

"Probably. And the brain scans we have made have shown us that the differences-chemical, electrical, and structural-between human and Drac neural systems are considerable. Not only might not the procedure work with you, it might damage your vision centers beyond any repair. It might even kill you. We are planning nothing at present; I am just keeping you informed."

Time for a new subject. "Pur Sonaan, I heard the word Madah and Mavedah used in that story Vencha Eban was reciting."

"Yes?"

"Both Mavedah and vemadah mean of the Madah. But what is the difference between sticking the of in front or in the middle of the word?"

"It is the difference between modern usage and ancient formal usage. Vencha was reciting the Nuvida. You should begin earlier, with the Koda Sinda, The Myth of Aakva. Go straight to The Talman itself."

Nicole smiled. "How do I do that?"

"Emmmm. I have a player. If I bring you my personal player will you use it quietly? I cannot have the other patients disturbed."

"Yes. Yes, I’ll be very quiet."

Sindie was the world.

And the World was said to be made by Aakva, the God of the Day Light…

…And Aakva was said to make on the world special creatures of yellow skin and hands and feet each of three fingers. And it was said to make the creatures of one kind, that each could bear its young, or the young of another. And it was said to make the creatures stand upright, make thought, and give voice that the creatures could worship the Parent of All.

It took very little time for Nicole to realize that The Talman began with the oldest written document known to the Drac race. The Myth of Aakva and The Story of Uhe both predated the Drac ancestral planet’s year dating system. Sindie was the ancestral planet, and year dates on that planet began with the birth of Shizumaat eleven thousand eight hundred and seventy-two of Sindie’s years ago. When Nicole asked, Mitzak informed her that Shizumaat was born in 9679 BC.

The Myth was a Book of Genesis for hermaphrodites. It described the creation of the race and Aakva’s reason for the creation. In addition, it placed a priesthood firmly in control of everything.

…And the first chief of servants was named Rhada.

Rhada had the servants go among the Sindie and learn all of the signs and visions that were known. And the servants gathered this knowledge and gave it to Rhada.

For twelve days and twelve nights, the chief of the servants studied the signs and visions, and sorted the false from the true, the tribal lays from the true Laws of Aakva.

And on the thirteenth day, Rhada spoke to the servants what it had learned…

And Rhada ordered the servants to go among the Sindie and teach the Laws. And it was promised by Rhada that for just so long as the Sindie listened to Aakva’s servants and followed the laws the God of the Day Light made, there would be peace and plenty.

And the Sindie listened to the servants, learned the laws, and followed the laws. They made sacrifice to Aakva through its servants…

An old political structure: theocratic despotism. Pay your way into Heaven. But there was something about the verb tense used in The Myth of Aakva.

"And the world was said to be made by Aakva…" "It was said that Aakva called its children the Sindie…"

It was not stated as fact; it was stated as theological heresay. It was there to show beginnings. Nicole continued listening. There were many stories within the Myth: Summat, the doubter Daultha, Aakva’s curse of war upon the Sindie, Aakva’s division of the Sindie into the four great tribes.