undoubtedly find a way to put a stop to it. So when Diva came through her curvilinear bubble door into the commontime chamber he was ready. Nothing could be said openly about it.
“Diva,” he touched his fingers to hers, in the Almagest way of greeting that had long ago been adopted on the Sacras planets, too. But instead of merely touching the fingers, he exerted a pressure as he slowly said her name. The third finger of the left hand, once. The second finger of the left hand, three times. The second finger of the right hand, once. The little finger of the left hand, once. And the little finger of the right hand pressed hers, once, to signify the end of the word. “Diva,” he repeated slowly, following the same sequence again.
“Six,” she said then, and Six pressed the first finger of the right hand, four times. And the little finger of the right hand once, for the end of the word. She repeated his name, and he repeated the pressure. It was a simple code. He was sure she would have picked it up.
They withdrew their fingers. Any longer would have seemed suspicious if Atheron was watching them.
“So, Kwaidian, made friends with Atheron yet?”
“He reminds me of an Elder I know, back on Kwaide. He has exactly the same effect on me.”
“I’m sure Atheron would be flattered!”
“Yes.” Six appeared to be dwelling on some sort of mental vision which pleased him. “I hope one day I will be able to pay him back suitably.”
“I am sure some time in the future you will be able to show exactly how much you appreciate him.”
A slow smile lit up Six’s face. “I hope to, one day,” he said, making it sound like a promise. There was a moment’s silence, and then he asked Diva, “And you? Missing all that Mesteta wine?”
Diva looked sideways at him. “I didn’t drink Mesteta wine, boy!”
“I’d have thought they’d have added it to their babies’ bottles!”
“Only the lower classes and foreigners drink it, ignoramus!”
“Excuse me, your huffiness, so what do the upper classes do with it?”
She glared at him. “We bathe in it.”
Six began to laugh. “You bathe in it?” He was incredulous. “You pour good wine into your bath water? What a waste of alcohol! You wouldn’t catch a Kwaidian doing something as dumb as that.”
“Do you even know what baths are on Kwaide?” she asked sweetly.
“We are not primitives, you know.”
“No, your manners are exquisite, aren’t they? Oh sorry, that’s right: you don’t have any manners.”
“If I didn’t have any manners you wouldn’t still be standing up,” Six said mildly.
“Like you could take me on, Kwaidian! I am trained in full body attack!”
“And?”
“And you are an untrained untouchable! It would be no contest whatsoever.”
“I know,” Six gave the same slow smile he had before, “but I would be lenient on you.”
“Tsk!”
“Oh tskk, tskk!” he hissed back, circling around the Coriolan girl with his hands outspread. “Ooh! You terrify me!”
She put her nose up. “You’re lucky I don’t feel like fighting now,” she said with a sniff.
“Why not,” he taunted. “Time for your Mesteta bath, is it? Time to give your cutis a thrill?”
“You are a very silly boy!” Her eyes glittered.
He shook his head. “At least I know better than to sit in perfectly good wine.”
“No doubt you would get intoxicated with it, like all the lower classes do!”
“Chance would be a fine thing!” he agreed. “Thank Sacras I wasn’t born into the upper classes.” He shook his head in disgust. “What a waste! It’s enough to put a man off his food. I don’t know how you stand it!”
“And what sort of alcoholic drinks do you have on Kwaide?” she asked.
“We drink water,” he said flatly.
“Only water? Don’t you have anything else to drink? Only water from the tap?”
He shook his head again, “Only the biggest cities have tap water. We drink out of streams and rivers.”
“What! No coffee
“Diva,” he touched his fingers to hers, in the Almagest way of greeting that had long ago been adopted on the Sacras planets, too. But instead of merely touching the fingers, he exerted a pressure as he slowly said her name. The third finger of the left hand, once. The second finger of the left hand, three times. The second finger of the right hand, once. The little finger of the left hand, once. And the little finger of the right hand pressed hers, once, to signify the end of the word. “Diva,” he repeated slowly, following the same sequence again.
“Six,” she said then, and Six pressed the first finger of the right hand, four times. And the little finger of the right hand once, for the end of the word. She repeated his name, and he repeated the pressure. It was a simple code. He was sure she would have picked it up.
They withdrew their fingers. Any longer would have seemed suspicious if Atheron was watching them.
“So, Kwaidian, made friends with Atheron yet?”
“He reminds me of an Elder I know, back on Kwaide. He has exactly the same effect on me.”
“I’m sure Atheron would be flattered!”
“Yes.” Six appeared to be dwelling on some sort of mental vision which pleased him. “I hope one day I will be able to pay him back suitably.”
“I am sure some time in the future you will be able to show exactly how much you appreciate him.”
A slow smile lit up Six’s face. “I hope to, one day,” he said, making it sound like a promise. There was a moment’s silence, and then he asked Diva, “And you? Missing all that Mesteta wine?”
Diva looked sideways at him. “I didn’t drink Mesteta wine, boy!”
“I’d have thought they’d have added it to their babies’ bottles!”
“Only the lower classes and foreigners drink it, ignoramus!”
“Excuse me, your huffiness, so what do the upper classes do with it?”
She glared at him. “We bathe in it.”
Six began to laugh. “You bathe in it?” He was incredulous. “You pour good wine into your bath water? What a waste of alcohol! You wouldn’t catch a Kwaidian doing something as dumb as that.”
“Do you even know what baths are on Kwaide?” she asked sweetly.
“We are not primitives, you know.”
“No, your manners are exquisite, aren’t they? Oh sorry, that’s right: you don’t have any manners.”
“If I didn’t have any manners you wouldn’t still be standing up,” Six said mildly.
“Like you could take me on, Kwaidian! I am trained in full body attack!”
“And?”
“And you are an untrained untouchable! It would be no contest whatsoever.”
“I know,” Six gave the same slow smile he had before, “but I would be lenient on you.”
“Tsk!”
“Oh tskk, tskk!” he hissed back, circling around the Coriolan girl with his hands outspread. “Ooh! You terrify me!”
She put her nose up. “You’re lucky I don’t feel like fighting now,” she said with a sniff.
“Why not,” he taunted. “Time for your Mesteta bath, is it? Time to give your cutis a thrill?”
“You are a very silly boy!” Her eyes glittered.
He shook his head. “At least I know better than to sit in perfectly good wine.”
“No doubt you would get intoxicated with it, like all the lower classes do!”
“Chance would be a fine thing!” he agreed. “Thank Sacras I wasn’t born into the upper classes.” He shook his head in disgust. “What a waste! It’s enough to put a man off his food. I don’t know how you stand it!”
“And what sort of alcoholic drinks do you have on Kwaide?” she asked.
“We drink water,” he said flatly.
“Only water? Don’t you have anything else to drink? Only water from the tap?”
He shook his head again, “Only the biggest cities have tap water. We drink out of streams and rivers.”
“What! No coffee
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