The Integral Trees

He was sweating. He watched the elevator climb the tree to its housing. A Navy man and two copsiks emerged. None were jungle giants; he had never seen a first-generation copsik at the Citadel, barring himself. They entered the Scientist's laboratory complex and presently left carrying the dishes from brunch.

Lawri called from the carm. "The tank's full."

The Grad moved with a briskness he didn't feel, unfastening the belt, jerking the hose free of the pond. There were lineholds, wooden hoops, set in the bark to crisscross the citadel region. The Grad used them to make his way toward the carm, calling ahead of him, "Can I help?"

"Just coil the hose," Lawri answered.

She hadn't yet let him into the carm during this operation. The hose must lead, somehow, into a water tank in the carm. They filled it repeatedly, and a couple of days later they would fill it again.

The Grad coiled the hose as he moved toward the carm. He heard cursing from within. Then Lawri called, "I can't move this damn fitting."

The Grad joined her at the doors. "Show me." That easy?

She showed him. The hose attached to a thing on the back wall, with a collar. "It has to be turned. That way." She rotated her hands.

He set his feet, grasped the metal thing, put his back into it. The collar lurched. Again. He turned it until it was loose in his hands, and kept turning. The hose came loose. A mouthful of water spilled out. Lawri nodded and turned away.

"Scientist's Apprentice? Where does the water go?"

"It's taken apart," she said. "The skin of the carm picks up sunlight and pumps the energy into the water. The water cOmes apart. Oxygen goes in one tank and hydrogen goes in the other. When they come together in the motors, the energy comes back and you get a flame."

He was trying to imagine water coming apart, when Lawri asked,

"Why did you want to know?"

"I was a Scientist. Why did you tell me?"

She sent herself skimming across the seats and settled herself at the controls. The Grad moored the coiled hose to fixtures in the cargo area.

The tank must be behind the wall. The carm had been nearly out of fuel…which came in two "flavors"? There must be fuel by now; the artificial pond was visibly shrunken.

Lawri tapped the blue button as he came up behind hen. The display she'd been studying disappeared before he could see it. The Grad had half forgotten his question when she turned to him and said, "The Scientist quizzes me like that. Since I was ten. If I can't answer I get some dirty job. But I don't like having my buttons pushed, Jeffer, and that information is classified!"

"Scientist's Apprentice, who is it that calls you Lawri?"

"Not you, copsik."

"I know that."

"The Scientist. My parents."

"I don't know anything about marriage customs here." "Copsiks don't get married."

"You're not a copsik. Would your husband call you Lawri?"

The airlock thumped, and Lawri turned in some relief. "Kiance?" "Yes. Put that display on again, will you, Lawri?"

She looked at the Grad, then back at Klance.

"Now," said the Scientist. Lawri obeyed. She'd made her point: she'd show scientific secrets to a copsik, but only under protest. Dominance games again. If she really cared, she would have removed the hose herself.

Theblueightsandnumbershadtodowithwhatmovedthecarm, as green governed the carm's sensing instruments and yellow moved the doors and white read the cassettes…and more. He was sure that they all did more than he knew. And red? He'd never seen red.

Every time he saw this display, certain numbers were larger. Now they read 02: 1,664. H2: 3,181. Klance was nodding in approval. "Ready to go any time. Still, I think we'll feed in the rest of the reservoir. Jeffer, come here." He cut the blue display and activated the yellow. "This number tells you if there's a storm coming, if you watch it."

"What is it?"

"It's the external air pressure."

"Can't you see a storm coming?"

"Coming, yes. Forming, no. If the pressure goes up or down fast, over a day or so, there's a storm forming. Lets you impress hell out of the citizens. This is classified, of course."

The Grad asked, "Where does the tree go from here?"

"Out of this rain. Then on to Brighton Tree; they haven't seen us in a while. Grad, you'll get a good chance to look the bud colonies over and pick and choose among them."

"For what, Kiance?"

"For your children, of course."

The Grad laughed. "Klance, how am I going to have children if I spend my life at the Citadel?"

"Don't you know about the Holidays?"

"I never heard of them."

"Well, every year's-end, when Voy crosses in front of the sun, the copsiks all get together at the treemouth. It's holiday for six days while the copsiks mate and gossip and play games. Even the food comes from the out tuft. The Holidays start in thirty-five days."

"No exceptions? Not even for a Scientist's Apprentice?"

"Don't worry, you'll go," Klance chuckled.

Lawri had turned away, showing her bowed back, the wealth of blonde hair floating around her. He wondered then: How would Lawri have children? The Scientist didn't seem to be her lover; the Grad knew that he imported copsik women from the in tuft. If she never left the Citadel-How would Lawri ever find a man?

Me?

A copsik could have children, but Lawri could not. It couldn't be helped. He dared not think of Lawri as other than an enemy.

There was flesh against her as she woke. It happened often. Minya shifted position and refrained from wrapping her arms around the citizen who slept beside her. She might hurt him.

Her motion wakened him. He turned carefully-his arm was bound with cloth against his torso-and said, "Good morning."

"Good morning. How's your arm?" She searched her memory for his name.

"You did a good job on it, but it'll heal."

"I wondered why you came looking for me, given that I broke it."

He scowled. "You stuck in my head. While Lawri was setting the bone I kept seeing your face, two ce'meters away with your teeth bared like you were going for my throat next…yeah. So I'm here." The scowl relaxed. "Under, eh, different circumstances."

"Better now?"

"Yes."

His name surfaced. "Karal. I don't remember a Lawri."

"Lawri's not a copsik. She's the Scientist's Apprentice-one of his apprentices, now-and she treats Navy men if we get hurt."

One of his apprentices? Minya gambled. "I hear the new one is a copsik."

"Yes. I saw him from a distance, and he's not a jungle giant. One of yours?"

"Maybe." She stood, do

He hesitated—"Maybe" — and added, "The Holidays are eight sleeps away."

She let her smile show through. Gavving: "How long do they last?"

"Six days. And all work stops."

"Well, I have to get to work now."

Karal disappeared into the foliage while Minya strolled into the Commons She missed Dalton-Qui

A dozen copsiks were up and stirring. Minya looked for Ji

The schedules were loose. If you arrived late, you would work late.

Beyond that, the supervisors didn't care much…but Minya cared!

She would do nothing badly. She would be an exemplary copsik, until the time came to be something else.

She tried to remember nuances of Karal's speech. A citizen's accent was odd, and she had been practicing it.