same mind after Withdrawal and Contemplation, we'll be Unified. It wouldn't be right to keep secrets then."
Just when he was at the point of demanding to know what she was driving at, Lorenz walked up with a bow slung over his shoulder.
"Before you leave," he said, "I thought you might give me a few pointers on archery."
Jared accepted the bow and quiver, wondering why Lorenz should suddenly want to improve his marksmanship. "Very well, I don't hear anybody over on the range."
"Oh, but the children will be playing there in a few beats," the Adviser dissented. "Listen at the orchard. Can you hear that tall manna plant right in front of you, about forty paces off?"
"I hear it."
"There's a fruit shell on the highest stalk. It ought to make a good enough target."
Backing well away from the vapors of the nearest boiling pit, Jared rattled a pair of clickstones. "With a stationary target," he explained, "you first have to sound it out clearly. The central caster doesn't give a precise impression."
He strung an arrow. "Then it's important not to move your feet, since you're oriented only in your original position."
Releasing the bowstring, he listened to the arrow pass more than two arm lengths above the shell.
Surprised that he should miss by that much, he sounded the stones again. But from the corner of his hearing he caught Lorenz's reaction. The Adviser's expression was one of nearly irrepressible excitement. Della, too, wore an almost ecstatic tone on her face.
Why should they be overjoyed because he had failed to hit the shell?
Bewildered, he strung another arrow and let it fly.
It went astray by the same distance.
Now the Adviser and the girl sounded even more jubilant. But Lorenz exuded triumph, whereas Della seemed intenseiy gratified.
He missed with two more shots before he wearied of their incomprehensible game. Annoyed, he dropped the bow and quiver and headed for the exit where the escort party awaited. After he had gone several paces he realized why his aim had been off. Standard bowstring tension here was greater than in his world! It was that simple. He even remembered now that the string had felt stiffer.
Then he stopped short. Abruptly he heard everything clearly. He _knew_ why Lorenz had reacted as he had when the arrows missed--even why the archery exhibition had been arranged in the first place.
In order to protect his status as Adviser, Lorenz was intent on disqualifying him from Unification with Della. What better way than to prove him a Zivver?
The Adviser must have known Zivvers couldn't ziv in the heat of an orchard-hot springs area. And, since Jared had consistently missed the target there, Lorenz must now be _certain_ he was a Zivver.
But what was the girl's interest? Evidently she also knew of the Zivvers' limitation. And she had recognized what the test might prove, even though she may not have known it was contrived specifically for that purpose.
But, then, she had actually been _elated_ over his failure to hit the shell. Why?
"Jared!
Jared!"
He listened to Della running forward to overtake him.
She caught his arm. "You don't have to tell me now. I know. Oh, Jared, Jared! I never dreamed anything like this would happen!"
She drew his head down and kissed him.
"You know--what?" he asked, drawing her out.
She went on effusively, "Don't you hear I suspected it all along--from the moment you threw the spears? And when I brought you that tube the monster dropped I all but said I had found it by its heat. I couldn't make the first move, though--not until I was certain you were a Zivver too."
From the depths of his astonishment, he managed to ask, "_Too?_"
"Yes, Jared. I'm a Zivver--just like you."
The Captain of the Official Escort came over from the entrance.
"We're ready whenever you are."
CHAPTER FIVE
Rigid self-discipline was customary in Withdrawal and Contemplation. So crucial a decision called for searching introspection.
For Unification
Just when he was at the point of demanding to know what she was driving at, Lorenz walked up with a bow slung over his shoulder.
"Before you leave," he said, "I thought you might give me a few pointers on archery."
Jared accepted the bow and quiver, wondering why Lorenz should suddenly want to improve his marksmanship. "Very well, I don't hear anybody over on the range."
"Oh, but the children will be playing there in a few beats," the Adviser dissented. "Listen at the orchard. Can you hear that tall manna plant right in front of you, about forty paces off?"
"I hear it."
"There's a fruit shell on the highest stalk. It ought to make a good enough target."
Backing well away from the vapors of the nearest boiling pit, Jared rattled a pair of clickstones. "With a stationary target," he explained, "you first have to sound it out clearly. The central caster doesn't give a precise impression."
He strung an arrow. "Then it's important not to move your feet, since you're oriented only in your original position."
Releasing the bowstring, he listened to the arrow pass more than two arm lengths above the shell.
Surprised that he should miss by that much, he sounded the stones again. But from the corner of his hearing he caught Lorenz's reaction. The Adviser's expression was one of nearly irrepressible excitement. Della, too, wore an almost ecstatic tone on her face.
Why should they be overjoyed because he had failed to hit the shell?
Bewildered, he strung another arrow and let it fly.
It went astray by the same distance.
Now the Adviser and the girl sounded even more jubilant. But Lorenz exuded triumph, whereas Della seemed intenseiy gratified.
He missed with two more shots before he wearied of their incomprehensible game. Annoyed, he dropped the bow and quiver and headed for the exit where the escort party awaited. After he had gone several paces he realized why his aim had been off. Standard bowstring tension here was greater than in his world! It was that simple. He even remembered now that the string had felt stiffer.
Then he stopped short. Abruptly he heard everything clearly. He _knew_ why Lorenz had reacted as he had when the arrows missed--even why the archery exhibition had been arranged in the first place.
In order to protect his status as Adviser, Lorenz was intent on disqualifying him from Unification with Della. What better way than to prove him a Zivver?
The Adviser must have known Zivvers couldn't ziv in the heat of an orchard-hot springs area. And, since Jared had consistently missed the target there, Lorenz must now be _certain_ he was a Zivver.
But what was the girl's interest? Evidently she also knew of the Zivvers' limitation. And she had recognized what the test might prove, even though she may not have known it was contrived specifically for that purpose.
But, then, she had actually been _elated_ over his failure to hit the shell. Why?
"Jared!
Jared!"
He listened to Della running forward to overtake him.
She caught his arm. "You don't have to tell me now. I know. Oh, Jared, Jared! I never dreamed anything like this would happen!"
She drew his head down and kissed him.
"You know--what?" he asked, drawing her out.
She went on effusively, "Don't you hear I suspected it all along--from the moment you threw the spears? And when I brought you that tube the monster dropped I all but said I had found it by its heat. I couldn't make the first move, though--not until I was certain you were a Zivver too."
From the depths of his astonishment, he managed to ask, "_Too?_"
"Yes, Jared. I'm a Zivver--just like you."
The Captain of the Official Escort came over from the entrance.
"We're ready whenever you are."
CHAPTER FIVE
Rigid self-discipline was customary in Withdrawal and Contemplation. So crucial a decision called for searching introspection.
For Unification
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