Phylogenesis - Alan Dean Foster [56]
He was reasonably certain he had escaped San José unnoticed, was more confident his arrival in Lima would pass unremarked upon, and was sure he had transited Cuzco without being scanned. Let them hunt for him in Golfito, ransack his tiny one-room apartment. Out here, in the depths of the great wild park, there was nothing and no one to take notice of him. Even the rangers who monitored the Reserva were concentrated in the areas of highest tourist density. He had deliberately chosen a section famed for the ferocity of its insect life. In return for physical anonymity he would gladly sacrifice some skin and blood.
Feeling pretty good about himself and his resourcefulness, he rolled over and let the near-silent hum of the boat’s engine lullaby him to sleep.
10
The world outside the port matched precisely the projection Desvendapur and the others had been studying for days: an impressive globe of cloud and earth all but submerged by a disproportionate volume of water. It seemed impossible that intelligent life could have arisen and matured on such a scattering of isolated landmasses, but such was indisputably the case. Then the time for study was over, and a senior official was delivering their last briefing.
“Because of the need for secrecy, transport to the surface must be carried out clandestinely.” The large male gestured for emphasis. “Since we and our human associates established the colony a routine has been devised whereby this can be accomplished with some degree of safety and assurance. That isn’t to say that some risk is not involved.” He eyed each of them in turn. The four new colonists-to-be waved truhands and twitched antennae to indicate that they understood the gravity of the situation.
“If by some chance the drop is intercepted, you four know nothing. You are workers on your way to the official contact site at a place called Lombok.” To Desvendapur it sounded as if the official’s spicules must be underwater and that he was in the first stage of drowning, but in spite of linguistic difficulties he managed to pronounce the human word clearly. “If questioned, you may describe your respective specialties. There is nothing in them to indicate that you are bound for a covert colony as opposed to the officially recognized site.
“Collect your personal gear and report to the disembarkation chamber in two time-parts.” He gestured a mixture of caution and admiration. “You are to be part of a great experiment. In twenty or so years, when it is time to reveal the existence of the colony, it is expected that humans will be sufficiently used to our presence among them so that they will not only accept it but be amused at their own initial uncertainty. It will also show that we are capable of sharing one of their worlds as opposed to one of our own without adversely impacting their society or environment. There are other important social questions that the colony will answer, but it is not necessary to go into the details now. You will be thoroughly briefed about your sojourn among these creatures by those living and working on-site.”
The meteorologist gesticulated a question. “What about you? Have you spent much time among them?”
“Some,” the official admitted.
“How do you find them? Our own contact to this point has so far been limited.”
“Frustrating. Friendly but hesitant. Impulsive to the point of nonsapience. Vastly amusing. Threatening. Liquid of movement, clumsy of hand. You will see for yourselves. They are a bumbling, stumbling, wondrous medley of contradictions. And I am speaking of the best of their kind, those within their government who have helped to establish the colony project by deceiving their own people. The general human population, which