Apex 2017 , an update of her Analog novel,
for a dating service where they got a choice of
An Old-Fashioned Martian Girl . It is a sequel
only f ive girls, I don’t much want to meet
to her novelette, “Mars Is no Place for Chil-
them.” She suddenly shrieked and started run-
dren,” which won the 2000 Nebula. Her
ning down the path, Jerry hot on her heels.
Lovers & Killers won the 2013 Elgin Award.
“Five colors of cars! Clothes that don’t fit! No
She has been a finalist on the British Science
weird flavors of pop or tea or ice cream!”
Fiction, Stoker, Dwarf Stars, and Rhysling
Charlize, who had been wandering around
ballots. Her work has appeared in Analog,
in a funk, met them at the door.
Asimov's, F&SF, Goblin Fruit, Ikarie, Strange
“You’ll never guess what they want me to
Horizons , and other magazines and antholo-
do,” said Lorilee.
gies, and has been translated into French,
“Oh, I can guess. How many beaux did they
Mandarin, Italian, Czech, German, and
offer you? Ten? Seven?”
Russian. Sweet Poison , with Marge Simon,
Lorilee held up five fingers.
won the 2015 Elgin Award. Another collabo-
“Only f ive? Jerry, our old house still hasn’t
ration with Simon, Satan’s Sweethearts , was
sold. I think this one would sell easy.”
published in 2017. Bonsai Babies, a dark SF-
“But they liquidated all our furniture!” Jerry
fantasy short story collection, came out in
moaned. “That weird old hutch decorated
2016. A founding member of the Mars Soci-
with cartoons of historical characters board-
ety, she lives in Berea, Ohio, with her NASA
ing the space shuttle! The chair upholstered
scientist- Analog -author husband, Dr. Geoffrey
with fabric illustrated with Hindu gods! The
Landis. She represented the US in the Veteran
footstool with hand-carved gnomes we found
World Championships in foil fencing in Stral-
in a garage sale in Parma!”
sund, Germany, in in 2016.
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94
MARY A. TURZILLO
Ten and
Ten
Alan Dean Foster
he had named him Vegas, and as they
parrotf ish, jewel-like boxf ish. In color and
studied each other, he lived up to the
shade they outdid the magnif icently painted
name.
corals themselves. The reef was a riot of shat-
S Claire could think of no particular tered rainbow, fragments of living stained reason he suddenly began flashing, replacing
glass in constant motion—Nature’s palette at
the normal russet-orange coloration of his
its most diverse and dramatic.
cylindrical body with streaming bands of elec-
It’s easy to get to Blupblup, she’d told the
tric blue and gold in an effortless dazzling dis-
slack-jawed back home whenever they asked
play that would have put the finest neon sign
where she was working. Go to Karkar and
to shame. He wasn’t trying to hypnotize her
turn left at Bagabag. The population in this
as he would a prospective meal. At f ive feet
part of the north coast of Papua New Guinea
long and twenty-f ive pounds, he was inca-
was small and scattered, and there was no
pable of taking on a fully grown human fe-
commercial fishing. A perfect location for the
male. Nor was she his natural prey.
underwater research station. Support person-
After a minute or so, the chromatophoric
nel excepted (all of whom were contracted
strobing ceased, and he reverted to his much
for long hauls), the majority of the researchers
duller everyday hue. Had he been trying to
came and went for one- or two-month stays.
communicate? She’d spent six months and
Now in her sixth month, she was considered
three university grants trying to answer that
obsessed by her peers. Though she preferred
question. Not for the f irst time, she sighed
“passionate,” she didn’t deny their allegations.
into her facemask.
And to think it had all started with counting
Vegas was a giant Pacif ic cuttlef ish and
fingers.
maddeningly unforthcoming.
She had ten. A cuttlef ish had ten. No one
Below and around them the pristine coral
argued that cuttlef ish, especially the larger
reefs of Blupblup Island carouseled with fish.
species, carried out a form of basic communi-
The majority were common tropicals: purple
cation via color and pattern change in their re-
anthias, striped angelf ish, exquisitely tinted
markable skin. Could these cephalopods,
TEN AND TEN
95
ANALOG
representatives along with squid and octopi
tlef ish was f loating just above the reef edge,
and nautilus, be taught to communicate using
relaxing in the sun. One was pretending to ig-
their flexible limbs? Ten and ten, she had re-
nore a wandering Moorish idol, hoping it
peated to herself hundreds of times as a grad
might swim within grasping range. Suddenly
student at university. A simplicity worth fol-
both cephalopods turned white. White as pa-
lowing up.
per. White as the keys on a new piano.
So here she was, recipient of a reluctant
Vegas noticed the change immediately, los-
third consecutive grant, trying to teach a giant
ing his usual russet hue as his body similarly
Pacific cuttlefish named Vegas the most basic
blanked. Claire knew that for giant cuttlefish,
gestures of standardized American Sign Lan-
white was a signal for danger. The two Sepia
guage. Who better than she? Who else boast-
above were flashing a warning. A moment lat-
ed a degree in oceanography from Scripps and
er, they vanished across the top of the reef in a
had been stone deaf until the age of twelve,
flurry of latitudinal fins. As they did so, Claire
when technology and surgery had combined
felt a brief, slight pressure against her chest. It
to restore slightly more than half her hearing?
was the sharp pulse from Vegas’s siphon as he
It was more than a little ironic, she knew,
blasted away. She had a last glimpse of him as
that her subject could probably hear better
he disappeared around a corner of the reef.
than she could.
What . . . ?
She counted it a success that Vegas contin-
Out of the right portion of her three-sided
ued to tolerate her, though it hardly constitut-
mask, she saw a pair of f igures swimming
ed any
kind of breakthrough. Cuttlefish were
back toward the complex. They had been
frequently territorial. He might well have con-
spear f ishing, she saw as she turned toward
tinued to hang around this part of the reef no
them. This was permitted: in an area as re-
matter who came to visit. It was difficult not
mote as northern PNG, anything that supple-
to anthropomorphize him. His kind were such
mented a canned diet was welcome. A little
curious creatures. As she maintained her body
f ishing had essentially no impact on the
in horizontal position a yard or so above the
healthy reef population. Speared f ish trailed
reef, it troubled him not at all to hover a few
from each diver’s respective catch lines. Most
feet in front of her mask, gazing back at her
were silver and red, colors that nearly always
out of eyes as beautiful as they were complex.
indicated an absence of toxic ciguatera and
She would waggle her fingers at him, spend-
that the fish in question were safe to eat.
ing weeks striving to get him to recognize and
From the end of one line—eyes fixed, ten-
reproduce the word for “hello.” Just “hello.”
tacles limp—trailed a dead Sepia.
And when her dive computer eventually sig-
Beyond angry, she shot toward them, kick-
naled that it was time to return to the research
ing as hard as she could. Espying her ap-
station, she would give him the sign for
proach, the nearest diver welcomed her with
farewell.
a friendly wave. He backed off in surprise as
Those ten tentacles moved lazily in the wa-
she f lailed both hands at his face, conveying
ter, but they never twisted into any shape re-
her anger without making physical contact.
sembling the two words on which she
Plainly baff led by her reaction, the two men
focused.
exchanged confused glances. Eventually she
Time, she felt. All she needed was time. The
ceased gesturing. Reaching down toward one
grants might stop at any moment, especially if
line, she cupped the body of the dead cuttle-
she couldn’t report real progress. Complicat-
fish in both hands. The sucker-lined tentacles
ing her efforts was that Sepia apama did not
hung loose in the water like drifting seaweed.
live longer than two years. It was immensely
Now stilled, the elegant lateral f ins moved
frustrating. A human child could learn sign
only with the motion of the water. No longer
language. Yet here she was expecting more
pumped by the animal’s three hearts, a small
than that from one of the most bizarre-looking
trickle of green-blue blood leaked from the
creatures in the sea.
holes where the steel spear had pierced the
A glance upward showed the rippling mir-
tough body all the way through. Feeling tears
ror that was the surface. It was growing late,
welling up inside her mask, she held the
and she should be getting back. A pair of cut-
corpse up toward the man who had killed it.
96
ALAN DEAN FOSTER
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
He nodded understandingly and with his
happy idiots were out prowling with their
right hand, made vigorous chopping motions.
spears? What then?”
Even in the absence of a kitchen, his intent
Madison rubbed his nose with the back of
was quite clear.
his right hand, lifted it to stroke his shaved
Whirling, she released the body and headed
head, and leaned back in his chair. “You really
for the station. At the bottom of the cylindrical
think you’re going to get another grant, Claire?
access module, she turned upward, kicking un-
You’ve got two more weeks . . . less than two
til she broke the surface inside. The dive tech
weeks . . . and unless your grant is renewed for
who assisted her in removing her gear took
a fourth time, you’re out of here.” He cocked
one look at the expression on her face and
his head slightly to one side and stared at her
chose not to ask her how her dive had gone.
hard. “You’re as dedicated a researcher as any-
After drying off and changing into shorts
one I’ve had at the station, Claire, but insofar
and a fleece shirt, she strode purposefully to
as I’ve heard, you’re not making any serious
the small pneumatically powered elevator.
progress. Hell, unless I’ve missed a report,
The research facility had only five levels, and
you’re not even making slight progress.” His
she could have walked up, but at that moment
gaze didn’t waver. “It’s an interesting premise,
she didn’t want to have to deal with any of her
but it’s a dead end. You need to accept that.”
regular acquaintances.
“It’s a matter of repetition,” she muttered,
The uppermost level, Space Terrestrial, led
turning away from him because she was un-
to the ramp that connected the station to the
able to refute his conclusion. “A breakthrough
nearby island. Space Habitat 2, 3, and 4 de-that will have to come by rote. It will come,
marcated the respective three submerged
some day. I’m convinced of it.” Looking back
working and living levels of the research com-
at him she held up both hands, fingers spread
plex.
wide. “Ten and ten.”
The lowermost level, Space Marine, was
One hand f iddled idly with some papers,
the one through which she had just reentered
making a faux show of rearranging them.
the world of air-breathers.
“Yes, I’ve read your field work. But be honest
Madison was in his office and turned from
with yourself, Claire; you’ve been at this for
the computer attached to the curving wall
nearly six months without any kind of verif i-
when she barged in. He maintained his smile
able steps forward. Your principal subject, this
even after he caught her expression.
Vegas, was a mature male when you started
“Hi Claire. Something the matter?”
working with him, wasn’t he?”
“I’ll say something’s the matter!” Breathing
She nodded, chewing her lower lip, know-
hard, unable to stay still, she strode back and
ing where he was going.
forth in front of him, trying to catch her
“How much longer can you expect him to
breath while assembling her thoughts. “I’ve
live?” Madison was being quite earnest now;
just come back in.”
brutally earnest and completely honest. In oth-
“I know,” he said, trying to calm her. “I can
er words, he was being a scientist. “Do you re-
tell by the rosy salt water glow in your
ally think you can m
ake the first breakthrough
cheeks.”
in interspecies communication with a subject
She halted directly in front of him. They
so different from a human being—so different
were nearly the same size: professional divers
from a vertebrate—that you have to teach
tend to run small. “This isn’t funny, Carl!”
from scratch? One that might have lived only
With a nod she indicated the nearest port, be-
live a few months after you initiated work
yond which a small school of silvery jacks was
with it?”
just passing. “Somebody just killed one of my
“I can’t extend cephalopod life. Maybe
Sepia!”
someday someone will.” Her eyes snapped
He pursed his lips. “One of ‘your’ Sepia,
back to meet his. “They’re so damn smart,
Claire? I wasn’t aware you had placed a claim
Carl. An octopus can learn to open a jar or
on anyone besides your special Vegan.”
climb out of its aquarium to inspect its exter-
“Vegas,” she corrected him angrily. “What if
nal surroundings. Imagine, just imagine, if we
it had been Vegas? What if I hadn’t been out
could somehow tweak their biology so that
working with him when these two trigger-
they lived even ten years! Not to mention
TEN AND TEN
97
ANALOG
what they might accomplish if they were giv-
months of hard work. Six months of sucking
en a human lifespan.”
air through a regulator and staring inter-
He shrugged. “A f ine thought. A noble
minably, pointlessly at a . . . well, at least not at
thought. But one requiring the kind of biolog-
a fish.
ical knowledge and ability to manipulate ge-
One last time she made the farewell sign.
netic material that we just don’t have yet.” He
One f inal time she methodically, patiently,
indicated the port. “Even if it existed, it’s un-
moved her gloved f ingers. Then she turned
likely working with cephalopods would be its
and kicked back in the direction of the station,
first application. As for the two divers you’re
leaving the melted crayon-colored slope of the
so angry at, I think I know who they are. Cou-
reef behind. She would write the paper, any-
ple of turtle specialists just arrived from
way, she told herself. Properly committed,
Cairns. I’ll talk to them, explain your work
conf irmed absence of proof of a hypothesis
here, and see if they can hold off making any
constituted as valid a PhD thesis as one that
Analog Science Fiction and Fact Page 27