Chess With a Dragon (4 page)

“Those of you who are currently involved in other negotiations, we're going to want to review each and every one of those to see if there are any other hidden agendas that we don't know about. We may find that we've stepped in a whole minefield here.”

The Ambassador paused to rub his nose thoughtfully between his long bony fingers, then continued softly, “A key question is just how frankly we can discuss this situation with any of our contacts. I won't call them allies. But uh . . . let's see what we can find out about indenture contracts. What kind of terms are usually offered to a client, how long does a species have to pay, what are the penalties for default, that kind of thing. Oh, yes—” He turned to a sad-looking man three seats away. “Ted, I know this is an unpleasant possibility, but you might as well begin looking at ways to sell it to the home office, if we have to—”

The dinner had been excellent and K!rikkl was feeling gaudy and sated. The young Ki! clacked its mandibles in loud appreciation and recited a verbose poem of praise for the culinary masterpieces of Hnaxx's. G!ligglix's flesh had
indeed
proven juicy and sweet—and, if that were not enough blessing for one evening, K!rikkl was already looking forward to the mating with Rrr later this evening. That too would be all the sweeter since K!rikkl's discovery that Rrr was a favored child of the prestigious and powerful Trrrl-t Nest.

K!rikkl felt very very satisfied. So satisfied, in fact, that it had already decided that should tonight's mating prove successful then the specially trained grub which had made the whole thing possible should receive the honor of hosting the larvae. It would not only be the politic thing to do; it would also be the safest.

Besides, it was always best to destroy the evidence.

And . . . should it ever prove necessary, K!rikkl could always begin training a new grub after the Fn-rr awakened in the spring. During the three days of restoration festivals, when the dream-refreshed Fn-rr reclaimed their pavilions from the Ki! caretakers, there were always opportunities for personal expansion—and a young Ki! without the resources and backing of a major nest to draw upon had to be constantly available to the beneficence of fate. Of course, should the mating with Rrr prove fruitful, that state of affairs was likely to change for much the better, and quite rapidly too. The Trrrl-t Nest was rumored to have many fine plantations in need of proper care and guidance. This Ki! felt like just the one for the job.

Yes, K!rikkl was satisfied. It reached out and stroked one of Rrr's foreclaws affectionately. The younger Ki! seemed deliciously limber; an additional benefit; it would be an enjoyable mating as well as profitable. K!rikkl rasped its hind legs together in a quick rattle of anticipation. Rrr bowed its head in acquiescence.

“Don't be so impatient, K!rikkl—” Hnaxx said casually, “There is plenty of time for you and Rrr to retire to the mating pavilion, but there is only a short time left for us to pick the bones of sweet G!ligglix. Your playing of the game was beyond superb. Please remain a little longer and enlighten us with more of your delicious observations on Nestling strategy.”

K!rikkl withdrew its claw politely from Rrr's forelimb and said quietly, “Yes, of course, dear Hnaxx. How could I be less than generous in repaying your own beneficence? I am at your service. What is it you wish to know?” K!rikkl lowered its head in acquiescence.

“A simple thing, really.” Hnaxx made a gesture that signified minimal importance, a squeezing motion with its foreclaws. “Tell me—how did you discover that a host-grub could be trained to help you cheat at Nestlings?”

“I beg your pardon?” K!rikkl swiveled its head in Hnaxx's direction. It actually
hadn't
understood the question—and then the meaning of the words did sink in and K!rikkl was sorry it had responded at all.

“Ah,” chirruped Hnaxx. “Perhaps you didn't notice the small black ornaments hanging from the rafters—”

K!rikkl jerked its triangular head up and around, blinking in confusion. There were several shining metal objects hung at intervals around the ceiling. K!rikkl had assumed that those were simply baubles, expensive offworld ornaments. The Fn-rr were fond of such. K!rikkl looked back to Hnaxx, keeping its face carefully impassive.

“But surely, you have heard of these devices, K!rikkl,” said Hnaxx. “They are called cameras. They are the eyes and the ears of those who have lost their trust.”

K!rikkl considered its responses carefully before responding. At last, it blinked slowly and rasped, “Perhaps
I
should be offended that you do not trust me—that you hang alien devices in a sacred pavilion.”

Hnaxx declined the opportunity to apologize. “Perhaps
we
should be offended that
you
are not trustworthy. The devices were purchased from the same off-world creatures who negotiated our colonization here. They are very clever constructions. They look and they listen; when they are through looking and listening they show exactly what they have seen and heard. They neither add nor subtract their own interpretations or opinions on the matter, so they are very useful for circumstances such as this, dear K!rikkl. The devices clearly show that your grub opened and examined the contents of every pouch on the table. But come—” Hnaxx dropped a blue silk cloth on the table and said, “—Let us not let the old rituals stand in the way of the success of our movements. The game was played and the conclusion has been celebrated. The claw of contention is not how you won, dear K!rikkl. Indeed, we can express only our admiration for your cleverness. We have been watching your career for some time and with much awe and wonderment; we simply had not suspected such an ingenious device. Please tell us, how did you train it?”

“Train . . . it?” K!rikkl paused to consider its remaining options. They were all unpleasant.

Of course, there was always the truth. . . .

“Come, come, K!rikkl—you are letting your fear do your thinking. Let me reassure you that you are in no danger at all here; you are among colleagues. You are in a position to do yourself, and many others as well, a great deal of good.”

K!rikkl pounced upon the thought. That could be its single advantage here. The Ki! arched its head coyly sideways. “May I ask how?”

Hnaxx rasped its hind claws in annoyance. It looked up at the alien devices and then back to K!rikkl. It sighed. “This grows tiresome. Perhaps we need to take a walk in the moonlight to clear our heads. Will you join me?”

K!rikkl seized upon the idea eagerly, “It would be an honor, dear Hnaxx,” and followed the older, larger Ki! toward the darkness beyond the pavilion.

They high-stepped in silence through the tufted loin-grass, across the barren meadow and down toward the gnarled wall-forest. Hnaxx deliberately steered K!rikkl away from the Fn-rr groves. “Do not think me rude, but sometimes I find the scent of the Fn-rr blossoms to be so sweet that it is almost overpowering. Sometimes I need to stand at a distance to admire them more appropriately.”

“You need not apologize to me, great Hnaxx. I understand completely. The Fn-rr are such a grand race that I am occasionally inspired to—you must forgive me even for expressing such an indelicacy—but I do admit to an occasional twinge of . . . resentment.”

“Resentment?”

“Perhaps that is too strong a word; but I am young and impetuous. It is difficult to speak of indenture without chafing.”

“Yes, it is.” Hnaxx did not speak again until they were safely within the broad bandwork of roots and traveling vines of the wall forest. “I can only admire your caution, dear K!rikkl; that speaks well of your mind. It shall be of great service, if it is applied wisely.”

K!rikkl nodded its thanks, but said nothing.

Hnaxx continued quietly, “Let me explain something to you. Tonight's game was not simply a game of Nestlings. It was a carefully constructed pouch. We wanted to see who would grab it.”

“You are saying that the game was . . . contrived?”

Hnaxx clacked its mandibles in annoyance. “That would be an unforgivable rudeness to the guests. Even to suggest it is an offensive act.”

“I would abase myself publicly before committing such a terrible rudeness,” K!rikkl responded quickly. “Nonetheless, what else am I to surmise from your assertion?”

“Ah,” said Hnaxx. “Let me suggest this—that there was no way that you could have won any of tonight's cycles based on what was knowable to you. The only way to win this pouch was to know what was hidden in it and play accordingly. Whoever won this game tonight could only have done so by performing some maneuver not commonly accepted in the game of Nestlings. I shall be unconscionably direct—and please forgive my rudeness in being so, dear K!rikkl.”

K!rikkl waved away the apology. “We are colleagues.” K!rikkl knew that was a presumption, but maybe a life-saving one.

“That you cheated,” continued Hnaxx, “demonstrated to all of us that you are a Ki! well worthy of marrying into the Trrrl-t nest. The cameras were hung not to determine
if
you cheated, only
how
. Had you not cheated, you would have been a tender feast, young Ki!.”

K!rikkl shuddered.

“So,” Hnaxx added quietly, “You have no secrets except one—and now that you are about to become a member of the Trrrl-t nest, so must your knowledge also become a part of the commonstore. It is only appropriate.”

K!rikkl acknowledged with a nod. “You are more clever than I suspected, noble Hnaxx. Had I realized—” K!rikkl rasped in annoyance and stopped in mid-phrase. There was really nothing to say.

K!rikkl held up a claw for error-apology, reformulated its thoughts and began again. “My apologies for under-estimating the cleverness of the Trrrl-t nest. I will endeavor to be worthy of the brilliance demonstrated here tonight.”

They paused on a high looping gnarl-branch and looked down at the jeweled pavilion and the vale beyond. The sprawling orchards were bathed in the soft pink glow of the moons. “The Fn-rr blossoms are fragrant tonight,” said Hnaxx. “There will be many fine seedlings soon.”

“And many more families. And many more pavilions.” K!rikkl did not add the obvious. And much more pressure on the Ki! to protect the young. The indenture will be exhausting.

Hnaxx rasped its foreclaws in agreement. “What I am about to tell you has never happened. It is only hypothetical. So it means nothing. But even as a speculation, it is still a secret of the Nest and must be guarded as carefully as an egg pouch. Do you understand?”

“I so acknowledge,” said K!rikkl with ritual deliberation.

“Thank you.” Hnaxx took K!rikkl by the forelimb and led the young Ki! back into the sheltering darkness of the wall-forest. “The Trrrl-t Nest has been studying these grubs for some time. I myself have spent much time examining their dissected brains. We have often suspected that they might be capable of some higher logical behavior than we have ever seen demonstrated. Perhaps they could even be
trained
to eat or not to eat certain foodstuffs. Do you understand? It is something that we would like to experiment with. Your discoveries could be very valuable in ways I need not elucidate here. I'm sure you are smart enough to comprehend what I am saying.”

K!rikkl sighed. This was better than it had hoped. “Yes, my Lord.”

“Ahh, quite. So you can see why we are understandably curious. Where did you find out this knowledge? Who have you told? How have you applied it? Is this the only grub you have ever trained or are there others in the hands of other Ki!? And what, if anything, have they discovered.”

“Let me be quick to reassure you. There are no others who share this knowledge, oh mighty Hnaxx. I myself was taught only by a traveling merchant who died soon after.”

“That is to your benefit, dear K!rikkl. Unfortunate for the merchant, but fortunate for you. It means that there is no one else whose knowledge is as valuable as yours. This has great bearing on a question that the Trrrl-t nest has been considering for some time: what value might these grubs have beyond their obvious uses as food or hosts for our larvae? I need not tell you how much
our
Nest might benefit if we had the answers to such questions.”

K!rikkl nodded its agreement, at the same time trying to hide its glee. The opportunities here could be extraordinary! And dangerous as well! What a very
interesting
dilemma!

Hnaxx paused to rasp its foreclaws in anticipation. “That is why you were invited to play in the game this evening. Your success at the game of Nestlings has improved remarkably since you have begun traveling with a host-grub. We were most curious about this fact, and I tell you truly, we had not expected such an astonishing demonstration. We find it most interesting to see that your grub is capable of such astonishing behavior. It suggests possibilities to us that we had not previously dreamed of. Now do you see why we need to know how this grub was trained?”

K!rikkl's mind was racing with thoughts of unlimited wealth and unnumbered mates. Perhaps even a nest of its own! Was it truly possible to dream this big! K!rikkl bent its forelimbs and lowered its head in acquiescence. “I shall be at the service of your Nest, my Lord. My flesh is yours.”

“Thank you, K!rikkl,” said Hnaxx. “Your service is accepted and welcomed into this Nest. And in return, the Nest stands ready to serve you.”

Into the Southern Hemisphere of a gentle world, comes a night when the blossoms rustle with tomorrow's wind.

The hot breath of unborn days catches the leaves of many orchards, many groves, and all the stands arise to wakefulness in hours, all the stands, all whispering with the troubled murmurings a dream-time less than sweet.

The blossom-scents of many Fn^rrun turn yellow-brown with dreadfulness and uncertainty.

My roots have grown so cold
. . . .