Hidden Empire - Kevin J. Anderson [89]
Margaret turned to look at the compy, rubbing her stiff neck. "It's never a good time to stop, DD, but we won't get any more finished today. Go rouse Louis. He's probably got his head in an alien generator." She pointed down a corridor, and the Friendly compy hurried off, calling Louis's name.
Together, the three climbed down the long set of metal stairs. DD led, holding a glowpanel and walking backward to illuminate their way. The compy didn't miss a step, but he frequently warned them of bumps in the path and rough edges to the scaffolding. "Careful. Careful." Soon he would probably remind them that he had access to a first-aid data module that they could upload into his limited memory if they required his services as an emergency surgeon.
After she reached the base of the cliff, Margaret's legs ached from the long descent. Louis put an arm around her shoulder. "Would you like me to help you, dear?"
"You're just as frail as I am, old man," she said. "But I'm sure we'll be much revitalized after we eat the gourmet meal DD has prepared for us."
"I hope it's not 'camp-food tartare' again," Louis said.
"I will file your culinary preferences, Louis."
As they walked down the rocky canyon that had been scoured clean by forgotten flash floods, Margaret turned back to look up at the high cliffs, the cities so high and out of reach. "I wonder if the Klikiss ever got arthritis?" she asked aloud. "And if so, how did they ever get back home? I certainly wouldn't want to climb stairs like that every day."
"Especially if they had multiple legs, which seems likely," Louis said. "Maybe once they got up to the cities, they just stayed inside."
Margaret stared up as the canyon shadows deepened, considering the inconvenient placement of the city. "It seems to be typical, though. Remember the tall turrets on Llaro?"
The structures on that dry and grassy planet had been like high termite castles, extruded pillars made of the same mud-and-silica composite, built with interconnected tunnels inside them that did not look like main thoroughfares. Some tunnels led to ground level, but these didn't look any wider than the higher passages, thus suggesting no greater traffic density. The turret windows had been wide and dangerously open to the long drop.
Suddenly, Margaret began to laugh.
Louis looked at her. DD, following his Friendly programming, understood that it was polite to laugh along with his human masters, so he simulated a chuckle, though he had no idea what the joke was.
"It's so simple, old man," Margaret said. "And obvious. Why didn't we see it before?"
He smiled at his wife. When she claimed a breakthrough realization, she was almost always right. "Well, dear, are you going to tell me or let me die of suspense...or old age?"
Margaret gestured up to the cliff face and indicated the sheer rock, the inaccessible climb, and the broad overhang wide open to the air. "They could fly, of course." She grinned at him, knowing this realization would make them reassess their basic comprehension of the alien biology. "The Klikiss could fly!"
41 SAREIN
Before she went off to Earth, Sarein made plans for how she could become the perfect Theron ambassador, fulfilling all the political needs and becoming a well-mannered hostess. Her work would be for the good of the forest world, as well as for the Hansa. Basil Wenceslas had shown her how both peoples shared common needs and goals, deep at the core.
Yes, Sarein had her differences with conservative old Otema, who had unreasonably kept her people from advancing into Hansa society. Still, the ancient woman was Sarein's predecessor and well-revered on Theroc. It would help Sarein if she could get the withered green priest's blessing.
Inside her personal chamber, Sarein brewed a pot of potent clee.