The Gripping Hand

The elevator opened onto a corridor lined with display cases. Je

At the far end was a conference room with refreshments, a large table, and a hologram wall.

"We've got specimens from four hundred Imperial worlds and thirty Outie planets," Je

"Ready," the ceiling said.

"My sequence one, please."

"Certainly."

A series of holograms formed at the far end of the room.

"These are from water worlds," Je

Another series of holograms formed. "Then there are forms evolved from planets without much water. Theory says they crawled out earlier. Six: and eight-limbed forms. The Tabletop Crazylegs with eighteen. But again all symmetric."

"You have holograms of-how many do you have?" Bury asked.

"Excellency, we try to be complete."

"Do you have the Levantine Honeypot?"

"Mmm? Wanora! Levantine Honeypot."

The holograph display showed what looked like a grossly misshapen barrel, with bright flowers at its top. Small birdlike creatures fluttered around it. Abruptly, slender tendrils shot up from the edge of the barrel to entangle one of the fliers and drag it out of sight.

"What is that?" Ruth Cohen asked.

"I confess it's new to me," Je

"The Honeypot is one of the largest known animal life-forms to display radial but not bilateral symmetry. Its biochemistry was thought to be unique until 3030 when Ricardo haLevy described the life cycle of the Tabletop Ground Hag, whose larval form uses similar enzyme processes."

"Ugly thing," Re

"They're not very common," Bury said. "Never more than one in an oasis. Usually none at all. They can't move fast, and dogs like to eat them." He read quickly. "Interesting. When I was in school, the Honeypot was used as an example of why panspermia wasn't true. Totally unique and all that. I hadn't heard there was anything like it. I take it that the Elaine Institute accepts the panspermia theory?"

"Most of us, Excellency," Je

Bury chuckled at the note of surprise. "Traders do not spend all their time reading commodity price reports."

"Clearly."

"Panspermia?" Ruth Cohen said.

"An old theory, from before CoDominium times," Je

"Omnia cellula e cellula," Re

Ruth frowned at him.

"Sorry. A phrase they taught in school, All cells come from cells. No spontaneous generation of life. It was an early experiment in scientific discovery."

"Right," Je

"You don't believe that, do you?" Ruth asked.

Je

Bury looked at her critically. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Oh. Sorry. I've been trying to think like a Motie so long sometimes I forget. I mean, I think the Moties will believe it."

The holograms continued. A score of worlds had jet black plants. "It's based on selenium and it's a lot more complicated than chlorophyll," Je

"Dry worlds are different. More limbs, usually. But still symmetry," Je

Re

"Yes, they believe that, too. But of course they don't remember."

Bury looked at her quickly, but she had turned back to the holographic displays.

3 Jock

When We said to the angels:

"Bow before Adam in adoration,"

they all bowed but Iblis.

He was one of the dji

against his Lord's command.

And yet you take him and his offspring

us your friends.

Al-Qur'an

"This way," Je

"Quite a view," Ruth Cohen said.

Kevin Re

"McQuorquodale. Philosophic Journal, about six months ago," someone said. "Studies of a humming dragon in motion."

"But it's not my field."

"It'll still be on the test. Depend on it."

Je

"Acrophobia?"

"Maybe a little." She sat at a table near the wall, and after a moment Bury wheeled his travel chair to join her. Re

A female voice waxed eloquent about the importance of parasites in ecologies, while her male companion pretended interest. Re

Two students at the next table sipped tea. "I still say it isn't fair. I'm in political science, for God's sake. I'll never need to know anything about organic chemistry that I can't find on the computer."

"That's what you get to prove next week," another said. He chuckled. "I offered to help, Miriam A

Re

Je

"This is Blaine Institute, the primary center for the study of Moties. Here are two people who've been on Mote Prime. And no one's interested in us."

"Polite," Je

"Ah." It was the explanation Re

"We've all studied your flick, Sir Kevin. And every Imperial Autonetics report that mentions the Mote."

"Commendable," Bury said. "And of course you had the Moties to study. I presume holograms were made of everything they said."