The Mote In God's Eye

"Are you mules?" Sally blurted.

There was silence. Hardy's eyes narrowed slightly; otherwise he didn't react. Re

"You mean Mediators," Jock said carefully. "Yes. Of course."

There was more silence. "All of you?" Re

"Certainly. We are hybrid forms. None of you seem to like that answer. Sally, what is troubling you? Mediators were a late evolutionary development, and evolution is by groups and tribes as often as by individuals-that's true for humans too, isn't it?"

Hardy nodded. "Not only us. Most alien life forms we've found, too."

"Thank you. We assume that tribes with Mediators survived better than those without. We have never seen a fertile Mediator, but if ever there were one, she must have acted in her children's interests rather than the - tribe's." The Mode shrugged. "That's all speculation, of course. Our history doesn't go back that far. As for me, I would like to have children, but I have always known I would not-" The Mode shrugged- again. "Still, it is a pity. The sex act is the ultimate in enjoyment We know this We empathize all too well with Masters"

There was more silence. Hardy cleared, hit throat but said nothing.

"Sally, while we are speaking of Motie problems, there is something else you must know about us."

"You could cut the gloom in here with a knife, Rod thought. Now just why is it so depressing that...

"Compared with your species, ours is short-lived. We three were chosen for our experience and intelligence, not our youth. We have considerably fewer than ten years to live."

"But- No!" Sally was visibly shaken. "All of you?"

"Yes. I would not raise such a painful topic, but we all think it wise to tell you. Your parades, these formal receptions, all of this baffles us most pleasantly. We anticipate great pleasure in solving the mystery of why you do these things. But we also must establish trade and diplomatic relations with you, and there is a definite time limit-"

"Yes," said- Sally "Yes, of course. Not even ten years!"

Jock shrugged. "Mediators live a total of twenty-five. Win a few, lose a few. You presumably have your own problems," The alien voice took on a note of grim amusement. "Such as the wars you suffer through lack of Mediators!"

The Mode looked around the conference mom. There ‘was more silence, and blank stares. "I've distressed you all, I am sorry, but it had to be said- Let us resume tomorrow, when you've had time to think about this." She uttered a high, sweet note, and Charlie and Ivan followed her through a paneled -doorway into the Mode private quarters. The door closed gently behind them.

As they walked to Ivan's room Charlie twittered to the Master. They entered and closed the door; and although they were certain the room had no spy or listening devices, they spoke in a high grammar rich with poetic allusions. The humans could never decipher it.

The Master's posture was a demand for explanation.

"There was not time to consult," Jock cried. "I had to speak at once before they placed too much importance on the question."

"You told them yes," Ivan said. "You might have said no. Or maybe. Or some are, and some not. .

Charlie said, "You might have told them we don't discuss such things. You know humans do not like to speak openly of sexual matters." -

"They can when they want to," Jock protested. "And their next request would have been that we submit to examination by their xenologists. We have already submitted to their physicians-how could we refuse now?"

Ivan: -"Their xenologists would find nothing. A male would show zero sperm count, but you are female."

Charlie pantomimed ritual sorrow: Circumstances force me to disagree with you; Master. "Their original examinations were directionless. Can you say they would be less thorough now? That they would not find that all three of us suffer from hormone imbalances?" Charlie's arms moved, so, to indicate apology for reminding the Master of his sterility; moved again to indicate pressing importance. "The same imbalance that they detected in the Brown miner. Imbalances that were not present when they found the miner, but which developed before she died aboard MacArthur."

The others were suddenly quiet. Charlie continued inexorably. "They are not stupid. They may well have co

"Curse!" Ivan assumed a pose of thought. "Would they cage the Watchmakers separately?"

Both Mediators gestured lack of knowledge. "Jock was right to answer as she did," Charlie said. "They have the body that was aboard the Crazy Eddie probe. There must have been one, and it must have been a Mediator, a young one with a long life so that he could negotiate with whomever the probe might find here."

"But our records show that Mediator would be dead," Jock said. "He must have been; the humans learned nothing from him. Curse! If only the records were complete-"

"If only the records were complete. If only we had a Brown. If only the humans would tell us what they have done with the probe. If only the humans would tell us why they destroyed MacArthur. You will cease these meaningless phrases. You must have learned them from humans." Ivan commanded with finality. "Speak of what the humans have learned from the pilot of the probe."

Charlie: "They would dissect the pilot. Their biological sciences are as advanced as ours. More advanced. They speak of genetic engineering techniques not recorded in any museum, and certainly not discovered in this Cycle. Thus we must assume their xenobiologists could learn that the pilot was sterile. Re

"Crazy Eddie. Even then," Ivan said. "Now she argues incessantly with her Master." He paused, thinking, his arms waving for silence. "You have done well," he told Jock. "They would learn you are sterile in any case. It is crucial that they do not learn how important that is. Does this tell humans that Fyunch(click)s can and do lie to humans?" -

Silence. Finally Jock spoke. "We do not know. Sally's Fyunch(click) spoke to her of sex, but the conversation was aboard the human ship. We have no record, only what was reported to us."

"Reported by a Crazy Eddie," Ivan said.

Jock said, "I did my utmost to distract them."

"But did you succeed?"

"Yes. It was evident in their faces."

Ivan could not read a human face, but he understood the concept: there were muscles around human eyes and mouth used for signaling emotions, like Motie gestures. Mediators could read them. "Go on."

"Direct reference to the sex act to slow their minds. Then the fact of our life spans, delivered as one might admit to having a terminal disease. Now these long-lived creatures will mourn for us."

"Well they might," said Charlie.

"They will pity us for our handicaps. They might even attempt to remedy them."

Ivan turned quickly to Jock. "Do you believe they can do so?"

"Master, no! Am I Crazy Eddie?"

Ivan relaxed. "You will consider this matter carefully. You will discuss the evidence the humans have, and what they may deduce from it. Were there not two Engineers as well as your Master aboard the embassy ship that met MacArthur?"

Jock: "Affirm."

"Curse. And how many Mediator pups when they returned?"

"I had four sisters."

"Curse!" Ivan wanted to say more; but to state the obvious would have lost Jock's loyalty forever; it might even have shocked Charlie into abnormalities. Curse! Mediators identified with Masters. They held the usual Master- emotions about children.

Though sterile from an early age, Ivan was not immune to those emotions; but he knew. The children should have been spaced.