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I noticed that the bu
And then they began to-sing.
It was in eerie sound, but high-pitched and sweet. No two of the little creatures were singing in unison, yet the effect of the whole crowd of them singing all at once was that of a chorus. Their voices blurred in a way that was distinctly otherworldly and oddly pleasant.
I looked to Larson, to Fletcher, and to the others. Their eyes were bright with wonder. They were as enchanted as I was by this little miracle.
"It's just like the herd!" I called.
Fletcher laughed back, "I know-I can feel it!"
Now, the bu
I turned around in the middle of it all, turning to get a sense of the entire group. As I did, I noticed the bu
I noticed the other monkeys, humans, turning too-all smiles and delight. A couple of them were humming lightly.
We turned together. Individual bu
It felt like home.
The bu
They began climbing on the worms and patting them, grooming them, nuzzling them. Even the largest of the worms was covered with little pink shapes, patting and stroking at its dark purple fur. The fur seemed to shimmer with color as I watched; its stripes rippled and flowed along its sides. The movement was clear and distinct.
I realized that the humans were being left alone in the circle. Were the bu
No-one of the bu
I said to the other humans, "I think they want to introduce us to the worms-"
"You go first-" called Barnes. He was gri
I let myself be tugged toward the edge of the circle.
I looked to the worms. Most of them were preoccupied with their attendants. Were the bu
What was happening here? Had the bu
I looked around the circle. Some of the bu
One of the worms was studying me now. It was a medium-sized creature, only three meters long. Its fur was bright red, striped with shades of pink and purple. Its giant black eyes-were focused right on me.
The worm goggled its eyes sideways, the inevitable expression of curiosity. Those eyes must have been a third of a meter across. They were hypnotic.
I took a step toward the worm. And another.
The worm straightened its gaze. It studied me head-on. It shifted its arms.
I took another step toward it, and another. There were less than three meters between us now.
I stood before the worm and looked deeply into its eyes. The creature was fantastic.
For just a moment, I felt as if I could hear its thoughts. It blinked. Sput-phwut.
How odd. I felt perfectly safe looking into its gaze like this. I lifted my arms and spread my hands out before me.
The worm unfolded its arms. They were jointed like wings and attached to the sides of the bony brain case behind the eyes. The arms came over the creature's eyes and then downward. I was reminded of a scorpion's tail.
The worm opened its hands toward me. It was echoing my gesture.
"It's intelligent," I said. "I don't know how I know, but I know. It's intelligent. Too intelligent to be just a domestic creature. . . ." I took a step forward, my hands still out.
The worm hunched toward me.
Our fingers touched. The worm took my hand in its claw and turned my hand this way and that, studying it. It dipped its eyes close, refocusing. It saw me studying the way its eyestalks moved and peered into my face. Then it turned its attention back to my hand.
When it finished, it let go of my hand, but it left its claw in front of me. It was offering itself for mutual inspection. I took the claw in my hands and lifted it up to my face. I turned it over, back and forth, and studied it as the worm had studied mine. There were three digits, all opposed. There were three joints to each digit. I moved the fingers around. The worm could use any of its digits as a thumb opposed to the other two. Convenient.
I let go of the worm's hand. I met its eyes again and said, "Thank you."
The worm dipped its eyes-that gesture, it was an acknowledgment of some kind-and made a burping sound. "Ctrlp?"
"You're welcome."
The worm extended both its hands now and touched my shoulders. I flinched at the contact-but I looked into the creature's eyes again. "It's all right. Go ahead."
The worm began patting me, stroking me, and touching me as the bu
The worm's fingers touched my transceiver curiously. It lifted the chain, then let it drop. It looked at me as if wondering why I was wearing such an obvious piece of technology. It lowered its fingers to my loincloth and tugged at that. I wondered if I should take it off-but the worm was already ahead of me. It snapped the cord with its claw and dropped the loincloth carelessly to the ground. It blinked curiously at my genitals, but made no move to touch me there. It turned me around to examine my back.
Around me, I saw that the other worms were watching us. So were the other humans; they remained scattered across the otherwise empty circle. But the bu
Barnes giggled nervously. "It looks like a meat inspection. My uncle used to be in livestock and-"
Fletcher jabbed him sharply in the ribs. "Don't bring that into this circle."
Abruptly, the worm grabbed one of my feet and yanked, lifting me upside down. I managed to holler, "Hey-!" Then the worm goggled its eyes sideways at me as if to ask, "Yes?" And then it resumed studying my foot with its giant eyes. It poked and stroked, and once even drew one dark finger across the soft flesh of my arch. I couldn't help it, I started giggling.
The worm grabbed one of my hands and lifted it up beside my foot. It was comparing.
"It's intelligent! It has to be!" I was still hanging upside down. "Do you see what it's doing?"
Abruptly, the worm let go of me. I tumbled back to the grass. I climbed back to my feet, gri
It blinked at me.
I said, "I know this doesn't make sense, but I'm actually begi
The worm lifted its arms high then. A stretch? Its mouth opened in front of me. I squatted to my knees and peered in. Huge. Dark. And it smelled awful.