academic of course, he
is our alien expert after all. In their usual matter of fact way
they said they saw no problem at all.’
Denton, his mind now straining at every
neuron. ‘So, what next?’
‘They would have to find somebody equal to
themselves to enter a lasting relationship, they particularly liked
men with your physique Dents!’
‘ Really, if
only I’d known…before last night,’ Denton stated
seriously.
‘ But there
would have been an intelligence issue, they’d only adopt you as a
pet.’
‘Thanks Tubs.’ The tone of Denton’s words
revealed his deflation.
‘ But if you
responded well to training, they’d call you Toby in memory of your
favourite dog!’
‘Very funny Tubs.’
PREDATOR AND
PREY
‘There it is,’ proclaimed the Professor, ‘the
roofs have been singed but no real damage, the usual split, James
and his crew go hunting, the rest of us do the real work. This time
we can land in the main clearing.’
‘No sign of furious natives down there,’
added Denton, looking up from the sensor.
The
Prospector under Tubary’s control sunk into the greenery. Down the
ramp and into the sticky heat the search party trod, sweating into
their working clothes of khaki and green. Spreading out across the
clearing, which had been cleared of bodies by Bronski’s men, they
made their way through each building. For the first time they were
able to marvel at the latest scientific instruments, the budget for
which appeared to have been limitless. They were now drawn to the
battle scene where a few spears lay flat, laid down by the troopers
as a mark of respect for those who’d died. The Professor felt he
needed to say something to the now solemn group, he spoke slowly,
‘Humans Boss, whilst at their clearing we laughed, joked and ate
together, shortly afterwards they marched to kill us! Imagine how
they treated the Cyanese natives, they brought this on
themselves!’
The Professor
soaked in the silence for a while.
‘ Now, let’s
find Boss’s renegades,’ he continued.
The warriors
spoke for only seconds before Boss offered their hypothesis. ‘They
have evolved in the jungle, they would not live permanently in
towns and cities unless they had been mutated to do so. The gods
would not have been so unkind. They would hide amongst the native
Cyanese and find it easy to use them, as they do
humans.’
The
Prospector made its second landing,
gently touching down on the outskirts of one of the wooden
villages, which drew the natives from the shade of their homes and
into the hot sun. They recognized the leader as he elbowed his way
through the crowd, he seemed to draw them down the ramp towards
him. After they had all waded into the throng, a dozen or so
natives were offered fruit juice in exchange for some of their
time. The others ambled away, light hearted in the knowledge that
they’d been spared any more assaults on their bodies or genes.
There was the occasional look and pointing to the humans between
sips of juice from those who’d stayed and did the talking. They too
eventually wandered off to their homes.
‘Good and bad,’ said Mick, ‘they know of
strangers who have the warriors body shape, they look like Alan,
his body being nearly athletic enough to qualify as a warrior.’
There were
forced wry grins to mask their concern for their warrior
friends.
‘ What
clinches it , is that they had six human
scientists with them. That’s not all, the natives referred to
themselves as slimmer versions of James.’
‘Every species is slimmer than Tubs,’ Denton
said, trying to raise spirits.
‘ I mention
body shapes because these strangers are accepted as natives, who
just happen to be less well fed!’ Denton and Tubary couldn’t quite
grin at each other.
‘What’s the bad?’ interrupted the
Professor.
‘ The bad is,
even if we could find them amongst the natives, they’re accepted
not only by them but also by human Cyanese society, who allow them
to have
is our alien expert after all. In their usual matter of fact way
they said they saw no problem at all.’
Denton, his mind now straining at every
neuron. ‘So, what next?’
‘They would have to find somebody equal to
themselves to enter a lasting relationship, they particularly liked
men with your physique Dents!’
‘ Really, if
only I’d known…before last night,’ Denton stated
seriously.
‘ But there
would have been an intelligence issue, they’d only adopt you as a
pet.’
‘Thanks Tubs.’ The tone of Denton’s words
revealed his deflation.
‘ But if you
responded well to training, they’d call you Toby in memory of your
favourite dog!’
‘Very funny Tubs.’
PREDATOR AND
PREY
‘There it is,’ proclaimed the Professor, ‘the
roofs have been singed but no real damage, the usual split, James
and his crew go hunting, the rest of us do the real work. This time
we can land in the main clearing.’
‘No sign of furious natives down there,’
added Denton, looking up from the sensor.
The
Prospector under Tubary’s control sunk into the greenery. Down the
ramp and into the sticky heat the search party trod, sweating into
their working clothes of khaki and green. Spreading out across the
clearing, which had been cleared of bodies by Bronski’s men, they
made their way through each building. For the first time they were
able to marvel at the latest scientific instruments, the budget for
which appeared to have been limitless. They were now drawn to the
battle scene where a few spears lay flat, laid down by the troopers
as a mark of respect for those who’d died. The Professor felt he
needed to say something to the now solemn group, he spoke slowly,
‘Humans Boss, whilst at their clearing we laughed, joked and ate
together, shortly afterwards they marched to kill us! Imagine how
they treated the Cyanese natives, they brought this on
themselves!’
The Professor
soaked in the silence for a while.
‘ Now, let’s
find Boss’s renegades,’ he continued.
The warriors
spoke for only seconds before Boss offered their hypothesis. ‘They
have evolved in the jungle, they would not live permanently in
towns and cities unless they had been mutated to do so. The gods
would not have been so unkind. They would hide amongst the native
Cyanese and find it easy to use them, as they do
humans.’
The
Prospector made its second landing,
gently touching down on the outskirts of one of the wooden
villages, which drew the natives from the shade of their homes and
into the hot sun. They recognized the leader as he elbowed his way
through the crowd, he seemed to draw them down the ramp towards
him. After they had all waded into the throng, a dozen or so
natives were offered fruit juice in exchange for some of their
time. The others ambled away, light hearted in the knowledge that
they’d been spared any more assaults on their bodies or genes.
There was the occasional look and pointing to the humans between
sips of juice from those who’d stayed and did the talking. They too
eventually wandered off to their homes.
‘Good and bad,’ said Mick, ‘they know of
strangers who have the warriors body shape, they look like Alan,
his body being nearly athletic enough to qualify as a warrior.’
There were
forced wry grins to mask their concern for their warrior
friends.
‘ What
clinches it , is that they had six human
scientists with them. That’s not all, the natives referred to
themselves as slimmer versions of James.’
‘Every species is slimmer than Tubs,’ Denton
said, trying to raise spirits.
‘ I mention
body shapes because these strangers are accepted as natives, who
just happen to be less well fed!’ Denton and Tubary couldn’t quite
grin at each other.
‘What’s the bad?’ interrupted the
Professor.
‘ The bad is,
even if we could find them amongst the natives, they’re accepted
not only by them but also by human Cyanese society, who allow them
to have
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