The Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey [246]
“Then all that dark stuff is land?” Lord Oterel had difficulty not being impressed. And discouraged, Lessa thought. Tillek’s Lord Holder must have been hoping to press the extermination of Thread on the Red Star.
“Of that we are not sure,” replied Wansor with no lessening of the authority in his manner. Lessa approved more and more of Wansor. A man ought not be afraid to say he didn’t know. Nor a woman.
The Lord of Tillek did not want to leave the instrument. Almost as if he hoped, Lessa thought, that if he looked long enough, he’d discover a good argument for mounting an expedition.
Tillek finally responded to Nessel of Crom’s acid remarks and stepped aside.
“What do you think is the land, Sangel? Or did you really see anything?”
“Of course I did. Saw the clouds plain as I see you right now.”
Oterel of Tillek snorted contemptuously. “Which doesn’t say much, considering the darkness.”
“I saw as much as you did, Oterel. Gray masses, and black masses and those clouds. A star having clouds! Doesn’t make sense. Pern has clouds!”
Hastily Lessa changed her laugh at the man’s indignation to a cough, but she caught the Harper’s amused look and wondered what his reaction to the Red Star would be. Would he be for, or against this expedition? And which attitude did she want him to express?
“Yes, Pern has clouds,” Oterel was saying, somewhat surprised at that observation. “And if Pern has clouds, and more water surface than land, then so does the Red Star . . .”
“You can’t be sure of that,” Sangel protested.
“And there’ll be a way of distinguishing land from water, too,” Oterel went on, ignoring the Boll Lord. “Let me have another look, there, Nessel,” he said, pushing the Crom Lord out of the way.
“Now, wait a minute there, Tillek.” And Nessel put a proprietary hand on the instrument. As Tillek jostled him, the tripod tottered and the distance-viewer, on its hastily rigged swivel, assumed a new direction.
“Now you’ve done it,” Oterel cried. “I only wanted to see if you could distinguish the land from the water.”
Wansor tried to get between the two Lords so that he could adjust his precious instrument.
“I didn’t get my full turn,” Nessel complained, trying to keep physical possession of the distance-viewer.
“You’ll not see anything, Lord Nessel, if Wansor cannot have a chance to sight back on the Star,” Fandarel said, politely gesturing the Crom Lord out of the way.
“You’re a damned wherry fool, Nessel,” Lord Groghe said, pulling him to one side and waving Wansor in.
“Tillek’s the fool.”
“I saw enough to know there’s not as much dark as there is that gray,” Oterel said, defensively. “Pern’s more water than land. So’s the Red Star.”
“From one look you can tell so much, Oterel?” Meron’s malicious drawl from the shadows distracted everyone.
Lessa moved pointedly aside as he strolled forward, stroking his bronze lizard possessively. It affronted Lessa that the little creature was humming with pleasure.
“It will take many observations, by many eyes,” Fandarel said in his bass rumble, “before we will be able to say what the Red Star looks like with any certitude. One point of similarity is not enough. Not at all.”
“Oh, indeed. Indeed.” Wansor seconded his Craftmaster, his eyes glued to the piece as he slowly swung it across the night sky.
“What’s taking you so long?” Nessel of Crom demanded irritably. “There’s the Star. We can all see it with our naked eyes.”
“And it is so easy to pick out the green pebble you drop on the sands of Igen at high noon?” asked Robinton.
“Ah. I’ve got it,” Wansor cried. Nessel jumped forward, reaching for the tube. He jerked his hand back, remembering what an unwise movement could do. With both hands conspicuously behind him, he looked again at the Red Star.
Nessel, however, did not remain long at the distance-viewer. When Oterel stepped forward, the Masterharper moved quicker.