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those waters carried a ben-ison of coolness and, even this far up, a salty tang. The bay itself lay broad
and quiet from Pelican Point to the settlement at its south end: this great tower for homes and offices, the
lesser auxiliary structures softly pastel-hued in their parkscape. Pleasure boats danced like drag-onflies.
Two large freighters rested at the docks, robots attending to their cargoes. Grass, trees, flowers reached
inland beyond sight, metamorphic conquerors of ancient desert. The nerves that radiated from here
across half a continent were invisible, impalpable communication lines, data exchanges, a subset of the
global network, of the cybercosm.
Fenn's gaze was elsewhere, either on the man with whom he was talking or on the spectacle before
them. Here atop the tower, he and Maherero sat beneath an awning, a table and refreshments between
them, ten me-ters of open duramoss in front. Beyond that space, drums thuttered and whistles keened.
Lithe black bodies, gor-geously plumed and skirted and bejeweled, sweat-gleaming as if polished,
danced measures now stately and intricate, now swift and feral. Birds bred for it flew among them, over
them, a whirl of colors, scarlet and yellow finches, lightning-blue kingfishers.
The show had started when the two men arrived and went tirelessly on. It did not interfere with their
confer-ence, but enhanced it. Fenn, guessed that the leader had directional sonic plugs in his ears,
followed the discus-sion keenly, and signaled his troupe accordingly. When conversation grew intent,
sound died down to a whisper and the dancers barely swayed; when it turned light or .cheerful, tempo
picked up; when it fell into silence, fu-riousness exploded, as if to engulf it in life.
To this folk, entertainment for honored guests was a custom as strong as law. Ranking Lahui who
had been here earlier, one at a time, had described it to Fenn, add-ing that no vivifer could convey the
real experience. He was delighted when an invitation came also to him, and promptly took flight for
Africa. What he was witnessing did not disappoint.
Of course, most of his attention stayed with Maherero. Slender, his face looking almost youthful
despite the woolly gray above, casually dressed in a loose robe and sandals, this high councillor of the
Southern Coagency had received him like an equal and discoursed easily, affably. Nevertheless,
Maherero spoke for the allied com-merce of a dozen polities, whose interests spread around Earth and
out to Luna.
After the polite sociabilities, he had gotten to the subject.of Mars and what Fenn had learned there.
He seemed to care less about the specifics, which he could take from the databases, than about personal
events and impressions tiny, jagged Deimos; Mars huge in its sky; silence, stars, a meteoroid strike; the
companionship only of machines; towns, fields, wildernesses on the planet; people.
"And the growing factionalism, possible civil strife, how do you think it may affect your undertaking?"
he asked.
"I've reported my knowledge and my opinions about the engineering," said Fenn. "I'm no
socioanalyst." A translator on the table converted the language of either speaker to that which the other
had chosen. However well synthesized, its voice sounded flat to him above the rich-ness of Maherero's
tones.
"I did not request a logico-mathematical abstraction, but a human judgment."
Fenn smiled. More than ever, he liked this man. After a sip of gin and tonic, he replied, "Well, then,
I'd say ignore the whole Threedom problem."
"Even if it becomes a crisis?"
"Balloon-puff word, 'crisis.' Look, the Deimos oper-ation will start small, and remain small for years.
A single base on Mars, which can be at the antipodes of Tharsis if we want. A few scattered mines and
processing plants, but mostly the established Martian industries would love to contract for the jobs we
need done, the stuff we need built. So who cares if there's a spat of fighting some-where else? How can
it touch us? By the time we're .ready to commence on the moon, everything will be long since settled and
half forgotten."
"Hm." Maherero stroked his chin. "I had the emo-tional factor more in mind. Your Lahui will be
working in dangerous environments totally strange to them. Rage, grief, pity are apt to cloud reason and
drag down alert-ness. How stressful will they find it to be on a world where organized violence is taking
place? Yes, none will happen in their vicinity, but it will be on the news and in every consciousness."
"The Lahui aren't tender-gutted. Oh, sure, nobody will enjoy the situation, if it hasn't been resolved
well before they get there. But they're fishers and herders; they live close to nature, where everything
feeds on something else. And those who go will be picked for ability to con-centrate on their work,
among other traits. Likewise the Martians they'll be dealing with."
"But what if events spill out beyond the volcano land, perhaps into space itself? Suppose, for
example, those mysterious Proserpinans decide to take a strong hand?"
"Suppose they don't. They're few, and a long ways away, and have plenty to keep them busy closer
to home. Anyhow, you people won't have to cope with it. You'll be here on Earth, developing your
seas." That was the bargain for which the Lahui Kuikawa leaders hoped, their expertise and guidance in
oceanic enterprises as the con-dition of Coagency support for their Mars endeavor.
"We have to be reasonably careful," Maherero said. The mildness of his words did not deceive Fenn.
The dance leader understood too, and the drumbeats slowed to a surflike growl. "The investment you
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