Decision at Doona

by Anne McCaffrey

  “It's all right, Dad. It's all right,” Todd screamed. “They've got the grid with them. See. Lots and lots of grid!”

  Chapter XXVI. TUMULT AND SHOUTING

  WHEN THEY TRIED to recapture the events of Decision Day, none of the participants had any coherent recollection. However, as the proceedings were fully taped by both Hrrubans and Terrans, the sequence was not distorted. And everyone had curious fragments that remained personally vivid.

  Ken remembered receiving innumerable cups of coffee and being unable to drink one. He remembered finding and losing Todd a dozen times, exhausting all patience but managing somehow to produce Todd as needed. For the boy had to do a great deal of interpreting at first.

  Pat recalled being yanked out of bed by her exultant husband, the only detail she grasped from his garbled phrases being that the Hrrubans were back and it looked as if they'd stay. The next thing she remembered was Mrrva arriving, almost unrecognizable in filmy jewel-dusted robes, a retinue of purring Hrruban women in her wake. She had acquired a startling fluency in Terran overnight – at least that's what it seemed like to Pat – as she outlined the day's incredible schedule and asked Pat's assistance.

  “Then I cooked for fourteen solid hours,” Pat would sum up the remainder of her day. Ken would grin indulgently.

  If Todd were in the room, he would wrinkle his nose at her and twitch his ears – a habit which was beginning to pall on his parents – and remark with utter disgust, «I didn't get to play all day long! I had to talk!»

  Hrriss would counter, “Well, I had to stand without talking.”

  “As for myself, I was glad to be silent for I had talked myself hoarse the night before,” Hrrula said, grinning at Ken.

  “All in a good cause,” his friend would agree.

  Even as the Hrruban technicians crossed the bridge with the grid panels; Ken had sent Todd to blow the air whistle. As the Hrrubans passed him, they peered at Ken with a mixture of curiosity and interest but there was no doubt of their underlying excitement. Their leader was a tall dark-maned female who told Ken in faltering Terran that her name was Mrrim. She immediately lapsed into middle Hrruban.

  Mrrim offered him a tape, printed on the watery blue plastic film which Ken later realized was used for all governmental declarations, sealed with many odd designs which were the official signatures of the various participating or endorsing Speakers. Mrrim spoke Hrruban slowly, her eyes on his, and Ken understood that the Hrrubans wished to set up a grid installation on the Common near the mess hall for a meeting to be held several hours hence – after (and Todd arrived in time to translate) very important details had been satisfactorily completed. As soon as the grid was in place, other officials and dignitaries would arrive to direct preparations. Therefore, would the noble Rrev assist her, Mrrim, to complete her assigned task speedily?

  Now Hu Shih came running across the Common, followed by Ben and Lee. The air whistle's shattering summons had also roused the three ships and a land vehicle raced up from the field, necessitating more explanations and delays while Mrrim waited with growing impatience. In the back of his mind, Ken swore that whatever government existed on Rrala, it would stay small enough to be manageable. However, while Ken was trying to explain matters to the Alreldep messenger, Lee and Mrrim locked glances. With a jerk of his head, Lee indicated that Mrrim should follow him. By the time the Alreldep messenger had returned with the clearance for the installation, it was already completed and misty with the first scheduled transmission.

  From then on, Hrrubans poured into the Common: soldiers first, carrying supplies and flags and bales, their side arms secured at the back of their belts. Shih adroitly ordered all Terran marines to do likewise.

  Hrrula arrived with the first contingent and quickly separated Ken and Shih for a hurried conference. Ken noticed that Hrrula's eyes were enlarged and that he had difficulty controlling his tail. He didn't know then that Hrrula had been up all night organizing this meeting.

  "The popular vote favored the resumption of the Rralan project – for the time being and subject to review," Hrrula told them, purring as he talked. He kept lapsing into Hrruban but Ken and Shih were able to follow him. "Oh, that Zodd!" he exclaimed fervently. "He did the trick with that rope tail. No one could fail to see the compliment of imitation. And his manners were perfect. "Just like a well-brought up cub," and Hrrula mimicked some high quavering voice, his eyes gleaming wickedly. "You can just imagine the panic when the rest of the Speakers realized where First had gone with Zodd. Ha! Well, Third did exactly as First hoped he would when he threw the circuits wide open on Rrala and pre-empted all communication channels.

  "Then we shall be permitted to stay?" Shih asked, adding when Hrrula nodded, "Then our problems are over.

  “Oh, no,” the others disagreed in chorus, “they've just started.” But no one appeared to object to the challenge.

  “Now,” Hrrula began again, briskly, “these are the things which must be accomplished before the meeting can start, and these are the details which must be observed.” He pulled out two tapes. When he had finished them the colonists were apprehensive.

  “Sumitral's not going to like that at all,” Shih remarked slowly.

  “He will have to.” Hrrula replied with a shrug. “True, we never meant for Zodd to be burdened with such responsibility when we taught him high formal Hrruban. And true, it would not take long to instruct Sumitral in the proper usage, but we have no time. We must catch the interest of the people now, with yesterday's scene fresh in their minds, or suffer endless, ridiculous delays. Believe me, never has any major decision been made with such speed before. Middle Hrruban can be used among us,” Hrrula indicated the crowd of Hrrubans busy in the Common, “but not to our highest officials at such an important table. Zodd is the only one who can cope with the necessary language tonalities.”

  “I think Sumitrals reconciled to Todd,” Ken said thoughtfully. “He hasn't got any choice.”

  “No, he hasn't,” Hrrula agreed drily. “I have a child's ceremonial dress for Zodd to wear. It's a shame to take him out of the mda fur and the tail but it is expedient.”

  “If you promise Todd Hrriss, he'll move mountains.”

  “He has. He moved the High Council here. Now, do you men have more formal clothes than these?” Hrrula asked, indicating their utilitarian coveralls.

  “I believe there are sufficient Alreldep uniforms for most of the men;” Sumitral remarked, joining their conference. “Will that suffice?”

  “Red is an excellent choice,” Hrrula said. “Now, to save time, Admiral, may I continue? Someone can bring you up to date on the background. Now these are the things you must not do.” The list was, as Sumitral agreed readily, not inconsonant with the highly circumscribed Hrruban culture.

  “But a damned bore and time-waster,” Ken added with an apologetic nod to Hrrula.

  “We shall dispense with that here on Rrala, but remember, Rrev, there is much time to be passed and accounted for on Hrruba. Ceremony helps.”

  “Coming directly to the nub of the matter, Hrrula,” Sumitral broke in crisply, “just what can we expect as terms of the treaty?”

  Hrrula's face and tail were still. «I do not know. My people need time to think beyond themselves. We considered ourselves to be unique in the galaxy, you realize. Time is needed for them to learn to accept the startling concept of a race their equals – if not their superiors – to grow used to the sight of your bareskins, to understand that their comfortable apathy is not threatened, but enriched.»

  Sumitral gazed thoughtfully around, pursing his lips slightly and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. If he had a tail, Ken thought irrelevantly, it'd be a-twitch.

  “Do not press for any commitment that robs both our races of time to adjust. The rest will follow when the time is ripe for further change.”

  Sumitral nodded slowly.

  “You do realize, Admiral,” Hrrula went on gravely, “that you must speak through Zodd as he is the onl
y one of you who can handle formal Hrruban.”

  Sumitral raised his eyes skyward, shaking his head ruefully.

  “Yes, I got that message loud and clear yesterday, but I somehow feel that that will improve the Treaty rather than hamper it. 'Out of the mouths of babes,' you know! By the way, that's going to be quite a strain on young Todd, Reeve. Is he up to it?”

  “Just threaten him with no Hrriss,” Ken suggested and was suddenly conscious that he hadn't seen Todd lately. “Hrrula, Hrriss hasn't sneaked in, has he?”

  “Probably. Anyone who understands Terran was ordered here.”

  By the time Todd and Hrriss were located, in the hayloft of the barn, Ken was ready to threaten Todd with a good deal more than the lack of Hrriss's company. For the Council was all set to convene and here was Todd, filthy with hay dust. He was unceremoniously dumped in the horse trough, roughly washed clean, and jerked into the pale red robes that had been supplied. He was scared and sullen by the time Ken manhandled him to the Common in time to see the Council arrive.

  Soldiers from each race were interspersed at parade rest around the Common, brilliant with flags and banners. On one side the mass of Hrruban workers were now ranged; on the other, the Terrans and the original Hrruban villagers. The day was brilliant and clear, the air heady with the sweet smells of spring and cooking, and electric with excitement. The huge grid was wreathed with the familiar transmission mist. Solid forms coalesced within the mist, which suddenly dissipated. On the rectangle of the grid appeared an assembly as awe-inspiring as the most pagan heart could wish.

  Centered on the rich pale blue rug which covered the metallic mesh was a magnificently carved table of a gleaming silvery wood. In equally ornate chairs sat seven male Hrrubans, dark-furred and heavily maned with age, their face hair grizzled. On their shoulders were clasped jeweled neckpieces holding colored capes in place. From the waist down they were clad in the long kilts of the Stripes, each man wearing a different shade. Regal they were as they appeared enthroned on their side of the gleaming table. Seven empty chairs faced them, each one as beautifully contrived as those occupied.

  “God, you guys set quite a scene,” Ken whispered to Hrrula. “The natives are awed.”

  “Which ones?” retorted Hrrula in a soft purr.

  “Who's Third?” Sumitral whispered as he glanced down the row of Speakers.

  “Second from left, by Hrruna, and he's scared. See his tail?” Hrrula replied.

  Ken grimaced because he couldn't see from where he stood without bending, which he couldn't do. Todd's hand twitched in his and Ken suppressed the inclination to squeeze it admonitorily. The kid would have enough to contend with today.

  At that moment the Hrruban herald called the meeting to order and, as rehearsed, the Terran delegates took their places in front of their chairs: Lawrence, Landreau, Shih, Chaminade, Sumitral, Todd and Ken. Hrrula stood beside Todd, Hrrestan by Shih, for they would act as auxiliary interpreters. Todd, however, was the only one who could address the Hrruban Speakers. He seemed to know the Hrruban directly opposite him at the table, and even to Ken the man looked slightly familiar. Todd tried not to fidget during the long peroration in Hrruban announcing the background and circumstances of this momentous occasion. He squirmed a little during the monotonous recital of the previous day's popular vote. Then everyone was allowed to sit down. Sumitral rose immediately to give a resume of Terran's history on Rrala which he kept to short sentences for easier translation by Todd.

  Ken began to relax a little as he realized Todd was handling the narrative beautifully, including a polite but boyish preface of his own, begging pardon in advance for any mistakes. Several of the Hrruban Speakers smiled at that. The Third Speaker stared expressionlessly ahead of him during both summations.

  Hates the whole bit, Ken thought, and he isn't even listening; afraid he'll hear something good.

  Hrruna then proposed that the meeting consider a joint tenure of Rrala, and the hassling began.

  It went on and on, particularly because the Third Speaker now roused himself to join battle, complaining, protesting, objecting to every constructive thought uttered. Despite his obstructionism, a framework emerged, with Sumitral obviously bearing Hrrula's words in mind, and suggesting waiting periods, tentative arrangements, options on everything except the coexistence of the two races on Rrala. Each time, Sumitral took the sting out of the Third's violent restrictions.

  Time and again it was Todd, growing more and more weary, stumbling occasionally on complicated phrases, who channeled the discussion back to coexistence on Rrala. He was simply unable to translate the subtler tricks of such trained politicians as Sumitral and Third.

  «You aren't saying what you mean, and I wish you would – sir,» Todd said once to Sumitral «We'd get through faster.»

  Although Sumitral's patience was strained as compromise and concession were whittled or discarded, he also realized that Todd was performing the same curious veto with the Hrrabans and that the Third Speaker's designs suffered far more than his. As it became obvious to the other Hrrubans that the Terrans were acting with great candor and understanding compared with the fierce suspicions and covert aggressiveness constantly underlying Third's objections, Third began to lose control of his supporters.

  At that point, Todd helped Sumitral win a very important concession. The admiral particularly wanted a transmitter station from Terra to Rrala to facilitate communications. He had specifically stated the grid need be no larger than would accommodate six men, that it ought to be manned by Hrrubans at all times, and that all transmissions would be cleared through the Hrruban colony chief. Third had ranted on and on about the dangers of such a concession, then glared at Todd to make the translation of ten minutes of rebuttal.

  “Noble gracious sir,” Todd had replied with a deep bow, “I will tell Admiral that you are afraid that we shall send big weapons to Rrala and forbidden things and all that. But it's silly. And I guess you think our scientists are smart enough to look at those grid posts and figure out the whole idea of transmission from them. But that's silly too. I'll just tell him you don't like the idea at all and see what he says.”

  Ken caught the sight of Hrrula s tail standing straight out in shock, but when he was about to reprimand Todd, Hrruma leaned across to Third.

  “Third, the boy is right, you know. It is impossible to extrapolate the mechanics of the matter transmission from grid posts and mesh. A small grid is therefore no danger and certainly an easier way to transport the hrrses and other interesting animals of the Terrans from there to Rrala.”

  Third glared around but he found no support from his previous adherents and had to withdraw his objections.

  By midafternoon the basic points of the Decision had been formulated. The Treaty would remain in effect for no more than fifty Rralan years, no less than twenty-five; during which interval sufficient mutual understanding was to be achieved so that a more lasting agreement could be drawn for matters beyond Rrala.

  Both races agreed to uphold scrupulously the Principle of Non-Cohabitation with an intelligent species on its native planet, while pursuing their independent explorations of space. Both space arms were to be provided with recognition signals and orbiting buoys which were to broadcast warnings of posted systems. There was to be no differentiation between systems posted for inimical life, conditions, or previous and present colonization. In that way, neither race, assuming they abided by the restrictions (and there would be telltales to record violations, the penalty for which would be tantamount to war), could penetrate systems of interest to each other. Or their home systems. Rrala would be the only contact point. No Hrruban was to visit Terra in any circumstances; no Terran could go to Hrruba.

  A large land mass situation in Rrala's southern hemisphere was to be set aside for the neutral control force which would record and broadcast all posted systems. Exploration teams were to file all projected journeys with this central agency to prevent overlapping. A trade organization would be admitted at
a later date once it had been established which commodities might interest the other race, but the Rralan colony was to be separate from the commercial interests even though they contributed Rralan products to it for sale.

  The autonomy of the colony was the hardest problem, but here Sumitral remained adamant: only the colonists directly involved could ascertain what regulations would be required for the smooth functioning of this joint colony. Third insisted the colony must be self-sufficient of either planet. Sumitral agreed wholeheartedly; that had always been a fundamental premise for Terran colonies. Third pounced on that by saying that an agricultural community was always a drain on its home world. Sumitral pointed out that the mineral and metal deposits of Rrala, slight though they were, should be the colonists' to control and that the profits would be more than adequate for their off-world requirements. Third replied that if this world was to be agricultural, there would be no need for sophisticated machinery. Sumitral smiled and permitted Third to limit all heavy machinery, all automated equipment – except medical supplies of any kind – because Third forgot that hand shovels and incentive were used long before mining machines and printed circuits.

  He did not protest when Third insisted that the government of Rrala – whatever government there was Third added sourly – must prove itself by showing a balance of credit and smoothly running departments in all the proper phases of government within five Rralan years, or the project would terminate. All Rralan citizens attaining physical maturity must be permitted to return to the planet of origin on request. Any Rralan found guilty of committing an act of physical violence against any other Rralan within that five-year period would render the Treaty null and void. Sumitral immediately countered with a demand that the government of Rrala could exile any member of either race considered dangerous to the community for any reason; that person to be remanded instantly to the control island in custody of the neutral force.