Flinx Transcendent_ A Pip & Flinx Adventure - Alan Dean Foster [177]
These days none of them, Flinx had to admit, was in a very good mood. The promise that had drawn them here from distant Booster had been lost to weeks of endless ennui interrupted only by the venturing of the occasional bad idea. Now it seemed that the philosoph was about to put forth another one. Among his companions, disinterest was universal.
Until they heard it.
“Nothing of value was learned on this journey, dr!app, until Flinx communicated with the Krang. It occurs to me that we are faced with a similar situation here.”
As Tse-Mallory pushed his chair back from the table he was careful to avoid crushing the large spatulate leaves of the trio of decorative growths behind him. Some of the imported flora that bedecked Flinx's private lounge had done so well that he had transplanted shoots and buds elsewhere within the Teacher. The spread of greenery certainly brightened many purely prosaic corners of the ship.
“If that were the case and there was some sort of similar device adrift here,” the soldier-sociologist conjectured, “wouldn't it have responded to Flinx's presence by now?” Turning from his friend, he looked over at the silent subject of the conversation. “You haven't sensed anything since we've arrived here, have you, Flinx? An alien presence, something akin to the Krang or the wandering weapons platform?”
Flinx shook his head as Clarity passed him a ship-conjured pastry filled with simulated cloudberries. “No, sir, nothing,” he replied as he ate.
“I am thinking,” the philosoph mused aloud, “that perhaps his proximity to the rest of us might somehow mute or dilute his sensitivity. Or conversely, confuse the perceptiveness of that which we are looking for.”
Tse-Mallory was intrigued. “You're saying, in so many words, that the rest of us might be jamming the signals.”
“A crude analogy for what we must presume, if it exists, is an exceptionally advanced interaction, but yes.”
“How do you suggest we overcome this theoretical blockage?”
Both antennae inclined in Flinx's direction as Truzenzuzex regarded their young host. “We should experiment by isolating him from the possible source of disruption, which is us. Flinx, I am of the opinion that you should take an extended walk while the ship moves to another position.”
Flinx paused with the remnants of the pastry halfway to his mouth. Responding to his abrupt emotional reaction, Pip and Scrap looked up sharply from where they had curled up together among the comforting vegetation.
“I've got an idea.” Flinx stared back at the philosoph. “Why don't the rest of you go for a walk and I'll stay with the ship.”
Seated beside him, Clarity jabbed him in the ribs. Perceiving that neither the blow nor its perpetrator were representative of the beginnings of actual conflict, both minidrags went back to sleep. “Me, too, Red?”
“No, of course not you, Clarity.” Caught between a woman and a theory, Flinx sensed that neither was immediately resolvable. Perched on the resultant dilemma, he turned to Tse-Mallory. “Bran, what do you think? Is what Tru suggests a viable proposal?”
The powerfully built sociologist did not hesitate. “Nothing else is working. I don't see what harm could result.” He studied the younger man. “Unless you have a fear of being outside by yourself.”
Flinx shook his head. “I've spent too much time traveling through space to be afraid of it. Respectful, yes. Awed, surely. But it's not something I fear.” He looked back to Truzenzuzex. “When do you want to try this experiment, Tru?”
The philosoph gestured with all four hands. “Yesterday's searching was devoid of discovery. Extrapolating from our previous probing, tomorrow's searching is likely to be devoid of discovery. Let us schedule an exception for today. Of course, if you feel you need time to acclimate yourself to the idea …”
Swallowing the last of the pastry, Flinx rose from his seat. “I'll instruct the Teacher