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her mate had told her was true about gargantuan machines dropping from the sky
and turning themselves into sand dunes, what other possibly useful wonders
might this visitor command? What miraculous devices did it possess? And how
could she, and Ebbanai, possibly profit from them, and from the presence of
their visitor?
It was a tried and trusted tenet that an injured traveler should be given
succor. If they helped this creature, would it not be grateful? It certainly
struck her as completely civilized. Though they knew nothing of its ethics or
those of its kind, its comments were not those of a hostile barbarian. What
did they have to lose by showing a little compassion? If it wanted to harm
them, surely it would have done so by now, out of fear of what they might do
to it. She still could not get over her amazement at its ability to project
and receive emotions in the absence of Sensitives or, for that matter, any
kind of physical contact. Thus far it had projected nothing but calmness and
concern for their reaction.
She came to a decision.
Flinx knew about it before either of the Dwarra could say anything. He felt
the subtle shift in their feelings toward him; from initial fear, to
amazement, and now to concern.
Up, Pip. As the minidrag, on command, took to the sky, Flinx extended an arm
toward the two natives.
After a quick glance at one another, they cautiously approached. Ebbanai
slipped all four forearms underneath the alien s right arm while Storra did
the same on the other side. Together now, he urged the creature. Bracing
himself against the support of the two natives, Flinx clenched his teeth and
pushed himself upward.
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All three of them nearly went down. Though no taller than the locals, Flinx
was considerably heavier.
Furthermore, the disparity in weight reflected more than just a difference in
bodily proportions. Evolved to cope with heavier gravity, his muscles and
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bones were significantly denser than those of the Dwarra.
Freint!
I m sorry. Flinx tried to place more of his weight on his good leg as he
hopped along between them.
My world is different from yours. Higher gravity there means living things
have to develop dense muscles and heavier, thicker bones just to support
themselves.
What s gravity? a curious Ebbanai asked, when no equivalent was forthcoming
from the translator device hanging around the alien s neck.
For the first time, the initial Commonwealth survey s designation of this
world as one supporting no more than Class IVb technology was confirmed in
person. Flinx did his best to explain.
It s a force that one object exerts on another, he told the male Dwarra.
It s what keeps everything fixed to the surface of the world and prevents it
from flying off into space.
Bent under her share of the burden that was their guest, the female made a
gargling noise in her throat.
I won t argue with alien notions of how things work because I m not familiar
with them, but everyone knows that weight is what keeps things fixed to the
ground. When you drop something, weight is what makes it fall.
While the two explanations were not irreconcilable, Flinx decided that now was
not the time to begin lecturing his amiable hosts on the finer points of
elementary physics. He needed to concern himself with more prosaic matters:
such as where they were taking him.
To our home, of course, Ebbanai informed him when he voiced the question.
To a place where you can heal.
Flinx did not counter that better facilities for speeding his recovery were
available on board his ship. He thought it unlikely these remarkable folk
would willingly board his craft. They might be bold, but if confronted by
something as intimidating and alien to them as the
Teacher, their resolve was likely to shrivel. Better to engage them on ground
and terms they found familiar.
As the trio made their way northward through the dunes, with Pip patrolling
lazily overhead, it became clear to him that these creatures were not true
empaths like himself. Whereas he could perceive their emotions effortlessly,
they could not tell what he was feeling unless he worked to project his
emotions directly onto them. Moreover, they could only recognize each other s
feelings when physical contact was made through the cerebral
transmitter/receivers they called Sensitives.
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That aside, with the exception of Pip, with whom he shared a unique mental
connection, they were more like him in their emotionally perceptive abilities
than any species he had ever encountered. The feelings he received from them
were as clear and pure and easy to interpret as words on a screen. He felt an
instant rapport with these simple sentients of a kind he had never experienced
before, not even with another human being. Well, with the exception of perhaps
one or two human beings, he corrected himself. And a certain thranx.
It was as if, after searching for uncomplicated, straightforward empathetic
connections all his life, he had finally stumbled on a situation where they
were not only not special, but a natural component of everyday
person-to-person existence. The realization left him more than a little
overwhelmed.
Careful, he admonished himself. Thus far, he had only met two of the natives.
Their mental condition might be as unique as it was isolated. He knew nothing
of the rest of the population. He needed to reserve judgment concerning the
abilities of the species as a whole until he had experienced a substantially
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