Amy Thomson - The Color of Distance

“Very good, Moki,” she drew in Tendu skin speech. “You’re learning a lot.” Her words seemed flat and unemotional on the paper, but he knew by the color of her face that she was pleased. She turned and said something in sound speech and everyone came over to see what he and Marguerite had done. The others, both Tendu and human, were impressed. More paper and pencils were produced. Soon everyone was busy writing back and forth. This was enjoyable, but it wasn’t helping Moki learn what he needed to know. He needed to get out, to see more of the ship.

“Where’s Bruce?” he asked Eerin.

“I don’t know, Moki,” she said. “He wouldn’t be here. He has a different atwa.”

“Can we go find him?”

Eerin looked at the others, who were busy with pencils and paper. Another knot of Tendu and humans were clustered around a computer. “All right, Moki, I don’t think they need me for a while. Let’s go.”

Eerin picked up a pad and pencil, then beckoned to her friend Laurie, and the three of them set off down the hall. They walked past the food place and through a door, and down a long passageway with steps in it. They came out in a noisier, slightly darker passageway. Eerin talked to the first person they saw. He pointed down the hall. Eerin nodded and they set off again. They entered a room full of deathstone pipes, and mysterious, big stone objects. Somewhere there was a deep throbbing noise. It sounded as if they were inside the heart of a giant beast. Eerin spoke to a woman, who nodded and went off.

“She’s going to get Bruce,” Eerin wrote on the pad. “We’ll wait here.”

At last the woman returned with Bruce. He was liberally covered with dirt, and was wiping his hands on a piece of cloth.

He said something to Eerin, then bent and shook Moki’s hand.

“Hello, Moki,” he said in human sound speech.

“Hello, Bruce,” he wrote on the pad, pleased that he could understand the human’s greeting. “It’s good to see you. Will you show me the ship?”

Bruce looked at Eerin; she nodded. He took one of Moki’s hands and Eerin took the other. Laurie followed them. Bruce showed them the machine that circulated the air through the ship, the main computer for the ship in its mesh of cables, and many more rooms full of strange machines and people. Moki paid close attention to where they were going; he didn’t want to get lost the next time he visited the ship.

Then Bruce led them down some stairs and through another hallway, and opened a door into a large room. He led them over to a wide window covered with the same clear stuff that covered the top of the raft. They looked out at a water-filled cave inside the ship. Inside it were many strange human machines. Bruce pointed at one that looked like a giant deathstone insect.

“That’s called a flyer. It flies like a big bird,” Bruce wrote. “We climb inside it, and then it leaves out that big door there. Then we fly north and land at another floating island. We get on a bigger plane, called a shuttle, which takes us to the sky raft.”

Moki looked at the flyer, trying to memorize every detail.

“Could I ride in the flyer?” Moki asked. “Could I see the shuttle place? I would like to see the shuttle climb up to the stars.”

Bruce shook his head. “No,” he said, then used human sound speech Moki didn’t understand yet.

“You need to stay with your people, Moki,” Eerin wrote. “The shuttle place is far away, in the north. It’s too cold for the Tendu there.”

“If you were with me it would be all right.”

“No, Moki, it simply isn’t possible,” she wrote in Tendu skin speech. “I can’t get permission to take you there.”

Moki shrugged, a gesture he had learned from her, and a useful one in this suit.

“We should go back now,” Eerin wrote. “It’s getting late. They may need me, and Bruce has work to do.”

“Goodbye, Bruce,” Moki wrote. “Thank you for showing me the flyer.”

Bruce shook Moki’s hand. “It was fun. I hope I see you again.”

Moki nodded and rippled blue, then turned and took Eerin’s hand. He had learned a lot of important things today. Together with Laurie they headed back upstairs. Moki paid close attention to the way back. It was important. Under his suit, where no one could see his words, he kept repeating, “ I will go with you. I will go with you.”

“Well, Dr. Agelou,” Dr. Bremen said. “What are the results of Dr. Saari’s tests?”

Juna swallowed nervously and looked around the room. Dr. Wu, Dr. Baker, and Captain Edison also waited for the psychologist’s verdict.

“I’m afraid that there were some inexplicable anomalies in her brain scan, and some significant changes in her personality tests as well.”

Captain Edison leaned forward. “What sort of anomalies, Doctor?”

The psychologist glanced at Juna, his fingers plucking nervously at his fussy little goatee.

“Her abilities to smell, taste, hear, and see all appear to have been enhanced. She can see into the ultraviolet, and down into the infrared, and her color discrimination is much more subtle than normal. Her kinesthetic senses are also enhanced. The medical team reported significantly faster reflexes and increased coordination, which was corroborated by my neural and brain scans.”

Juna looked down at the table, tracing the marbling in the plasteel tabletop with one gloved finger. So far he had only pointed out that she could run faster and see better. They already knew that. She wondered what it had to do with her psychological profile.

“Also, Dr. Saari’s brain-wave pattern has altered in some significant and fundamental ways. She has much deeper theta and alpha waves than I have ever seen before, and she possesses a degree of physiological control documented in only a few of the most disciplined yogis and fakirs. In addition she appears able to alter her emotional state almost at will.”

“You mentioned some personality changes, Doctor?” Captain Edison prompted. “Could you please elaborate on that.”

“Chiefly, she exhibits a close bonding with the Tendu, a condition known as xenophilia. Consequently, her loyalties are deeply divided between her own species’ interests and those of the aliens. In addition, her values profile has shifted significantly. Her respect for authority has diminished, and her willingness to identify strongly with a group has shown a remarkable increase.”

Juna looked on, amazed that her fondness for the Tendu could be referred to in such pathological terms. She took a deep breath, suppressing her rising anger. This wasn’t going to be good.

“What is your recommendation?” Dr. Bremen asked.

Dr. Agelou sighed and looked down at the table. “I believe that there are just too many psychological unknowns here. I have discussed these changes with Morale Officer Chang, and we agreed that changing Dr. Saari’s security status poses too great a risk to the health and safety of the crew on this mission.” He turned to Juna but did not quite meet her gaze. “I’m very sorry, Dr. Saari.”

Captain Edison stood. “I think you’re basing your recommendation a little too heavily on psychological testing, Dr. Agelou. Given the circumstances, I think that the changes in Dr. Saari are quite understandable, and even reasonable. I see nothing in your data that would lead me to believe any of these changes make Dr. Saari a security risk. The reports I have received from Ensign Kipp and others on the security detail are quite favorable. I don’t believe she poses a risk to the crew. I recommend that we discontinue the security escort.”

“Thank you, Captain Edison,” Juna said, looking up at her. “I appreciate your trust in me.”