The Star Whorl (The Totality Cycles Book 1) (20 page)

     Other times they played
glyph-games, trying to come up with the most bizarre idea they could think of,
then generate the glyph for it. Pa-Kreceno’Tiv, prohibited from participating,
was the officiating judge, either endorsing or panning the glyph-creation. None
of them attempted to Nil-ize the glyphs they conjured, out of deference to him.

     All the while, the problem
of the OSI preyed on the back-end of his thoughts, and while his friends indeed
diverted him when they were there, in his alone time he had nothing to do but
think and worry in the darkness of his suite and his own mind.

    
The end of this
punishment can’t come fast enough,
he thought, dourly, for he could not get
to his data-skimming on the interlinks, where he was sure that those denizens
he had reached with his discussion posts felt he had abandoned them. He still
had not thought up any kind of solution, but at least he could let them know
that he was still there, and was still concerned over those had been and those
who would be affected by the OSI.

    
And – I hate being idle,
he admitted to himself.

Whorl Sixty Three

     Pavtala Ralili’Bax took a
seat next to him in their new lecture, flashing him a smile as the Proctor
walked in. They were finally back at Secondus, and he was able to use his
Nil’Gu’ua for limited things. Pavtala Ralili’Bax would also be coming over to
his domicive after each turn at Secondus, to study with him, so he could keep
his mind off of his tribulations.

     “This is intermediate
World-Tree lecture,” the Proctor said, “and I am Ropalir Fer’Tus. One of the
most important features of our ecology, of course, is the World-Tree.” Proctor
Ropalir Fer’Tus showed an image of the World-Tree in which they currently
resided. “It is at the crux of our own development, as a species as well as a
society. Some believe that without the World-Tree, we would never have risen to
sentience. These images, if you are interested in knowing, were provided by the
Ministry of Preservation.

     “Though not unique in the
Totality, the World-Trees, and their analogs on other worlds, are ecological
rarities. There are not many ecosystems that can sustain even one organism as
large as one World-Tree, much less six. No one knows why Gu’Anin, and our first
colony world, Gu’Ushad, are able to support World-Trees, though there are
theories. We will discuss those theories at a later time. Right now, we will
talk about the major levels of our current World-Tree, Anin’Ma. Anin’Ma is
believed to be the oldest of the World-Trees, the first. Its age is thought to
be approximately six hundred million orbises. We will be studying the levels in
detail, from the Crown to the Roots, and following an imaging tour of all the
structures in between.”

     Pavtala Ralili’Bax threw him
a knowing, glinting, smiling glance, and he flicked a vuu’erio tennae at her in
amusement.    

Whorl Sixty Four

     Pavtala Ralili’Bax reclined
on his rest-pad, his dataSphere open above her. He worked on the assignment as
she scrolled through the interlinked dataSpheres. She had been studying his
notes from the previous two third-terms, and was taking a break before she
looked at the new assignment herself.

     “People are wondering where
the Alighter has gone,” she said, glancing up at him. He had finally asked her
to do a search for comments on the Alighter, and she had given him an enigmatic
look and then agreed.

     He looked up, feeling a
tightness in his chest.

     “What do they say?” he asked
with trepidation.

     Raising a vuu-brow, she
turned her eyes back to the Sphere of information glyphs moving in complicated
patterns before her. “They are saying that – that the person behind the
Alighter has been taken, that the voice of the Alighter has been vanished,” she
said. “There had been outcry all over the Spheres, calling for investigations
into the disappearance of the Alighter, the Rallier of the Spheres, and many are
speaking of resistance to the Occupation and Service Initiative. They are
saying that anyone who speaks out against the OSI is being silenced, that anyone
who speaks in support of the public’s rights is being taken. They are angry
about the Alighter’s absence.”

     He sat back, stunned. His
absence was stirring up the Spheres? He had been tearing himself up, trying to
figure out how to take action against the OSI, and his non-action was doing
just that?

    
It can’t be,
he
marveled, wanting to take the view-glyphographic from her, but resisting.
Have
I done enough? I can’t believe that.
But he could do nothing, either way,
and he let his mind rest on the issue.

     Pavtala Ralili’Bax smiled
and shut down the view-glyphographic, stretching. His attention, beyond his
will to control, swiveled to her lithe form, taking in the graceful movements.

     She turned onto her stomach and
laid her head on his rest cushion, looking at him enigmatically. Her wing-nets,
emergent since the break between third-terms, showed for a tantalizing moment.
He got up and went to her, knelt by the rest-pad. She turned again, so that she
could slide her arms around his neck when he embraced her. She pressed up into
his kiss, cleaving to him longingly, and he got the impression that she wanted to
deepen their pre-mating to something more, something permanent. But it was just
an impression – she did not put out the actually mating-glome, that would
deepen his compatibility for her.

     “By the Hives, I wish I
could make you mine,” she breathed, licking her lips, which shone from their
kisses.

     “If you want me to be yours,
I will be,” he murmured, shivering with contained desire, contravening all his
self-protestations of not being ready to fully mate. He did not know what had
changed, but something had. Maybe it was because she really appreciated him for
more than his looks and his famiya’s prestige. Maybe it was because she had
been a real friend when he had needed one, without putting pressure on him to
pre-mate, and that had happened naturally. Maybe it was because she had spent
so much time with him, especially since his restrictions, and that she had done
so much to keep him from succumbing to the despair. Maybe it was just because
she was lovable, and he was falling deeply in love with her. “I want to be.
Make me yours.”

     She looked up into his eyes,
and her eyes changed color, darkening for an instant, then cooling again.
Something held her back, and he wondered, feeling a little frustration, whether
it really was because she would not be going to Tertius, or if there was
something more, something she was not telling him. But he could not force a
mating, if she were not willing. Or he could, he could consciously make himself
match her, though it would be very difficult, and he could mate with her, but
it would not be enjoyable for either of them.

     Regret splashed across her
face, and she sat up and held him, as if she were on the verge of tears.

     “Let us see what the end of
the term brings,” he said, stroking her hair. She gestured assent, but there
was no conviction in it. With a feeling of requited but unfulfilled longing, he
got up and got back to their assignment, though he no longer had the mood to do
it.

Whorl Sixty Five

     “I don’t – I just can’t
remember!” Ro-Becilo’Ran groused, dropping his view-glyphographic in
frustration. “I mean, in truth, seven hundred worlds in the Orm Arm of our Star
Whorl? Who can remember that many?”

     Pa-Kreceno’Tiv sighed. It
had always been thus with Ro-Becilo’Ran, more complaining than actual studying.
He had tried to share his way of remembering lists of things with Ro-Becilo’Ran,
but his friend remained recalcitrant, preferring bemoaning the assignment to
actually trying to learn the material.

     “Becil, just use the way
that Kreceno’Tiv gave you, and try!” Ropali Galici’Bel ordered sternly,
exasperated.

     “My brain just doesn’t work
that way,” he grumped. “Why can’t I just do it my way?”

     “Because your way isn’t
working,” Pa-Kreceno’Tiv pointed out, yet again.

     “It’s an idiotic
assignment!” he expulsed, “and I don’t see why we have to do it! We’ll always
have access to the Spheres, so why waste time learning all these worlds by
memory?”

     “Well, we’ve got them
memorized,” Pavtala Ralili’Bax said in a matter-of-fact tone. She lay on
Pa-Kreceno’Tiv’s rest-pad again, and was using his dataSphere. “We will get our
passing marks, right Krece? What’s the next subject?”

     “No, don’t go to the next
thing without me!” he said, sitting down and looking at the long list of
worlds. He began mumbling to himself, forcing his recalcitrant brain to absorb
the knowledge.

     “Oh ha,” Pavtala Ralili’Bax
said, sitting up. “They are going to institute the OSI here in An’Siija,
starting in two turns!”

     Pa-Kreceno’Tiv jumped up and
went over to her, began digging into the dataSpheres, flouting his punishment
and not caring, for the moment. He had not been able to contribute to the
discussions for nearly a quarter of the term. There had been questions as to
whether he had vanished, along with others who had not communicated because of the
depredations of the OSI. He had decided to let it rest, hoping that the action
he had instigated had been enough. But now...!

    
:Too Much!

     :They are coming HERE?
They are coming to try to take us away from our homes?! Who are they, that they
think they can do this? Who are we, that we are to be told what to do and when,
and we just do it? They are not Malkia, and we are not mfanya, we are free
citizens of Gu’Anin, with rights and Nil’Gu’ua and the will to dictate our own
fates! We have strength, and numbers, let us use it! We chose the members of
the Gu’Anin Magistrate Council by consensus, let us UN-chose them, and put
Counselors in place who will not go against our will and wishes!

Another.

    
:Where is the Voice?

     :The Alighter has
vanished! I once spoke out against the Alighter, thinking him or her a Dabbler,
a Sifter. But the Alighter was one of the few to openly challenge the OSI, and I
scoffed, I turned away to my Burrowing in the Spheres.

     :But... I was wrong! All
of those who have spoken out about the OSI, all who have dared raise a voice
are gone, vanished! Does the Gu’Anin Magistrate Council think that we would not
notice? Do they think that we will turn a blitzed-vuu to the vanishing of those
who disagree with their latest attempt to regain control over us? They were
right, we would have, if not for the Alighter! I would not have taken notice,
if not for the Alighter! We do not use names, in the Spheres, we use aliases,
but while they usually protect us, now they just help to hide the actions and predations
of the Gu’Anin Magistrate Council! So, I am Gotra Silani’Vel, and if you do not
hear from me next turn, it is because the numb-paces of the Gu’Anin Magistrate
Council have come for me, so come and find me!

And another.

    
:Unite!

     :They can’t do this to
us! This is OUR world, this is our home! They have not given reason, they have
not asked permission, they can’t do this! Only the Alighter saw this coming,
and tried to warn us, and we did nothing! Let us band together, and find the
Alighter! Let us bring her home!

    
I need to do something,
he
thought, though the notion of further contravening his parents’ dictates filled
him with dread. But as he read on, it was clear that his absence continued to
spark more conversation and questions and enmity for the OSI than had his
continued presence. And the sudden announcement that the Initiative would be
put into effect in the Capital Mji’Hive had fomented that enmity into real,
unifying protest, though just in the Spheres.

     But, despite that, despite
the obvious, public outcry on the interlinks, the Gu’Anin Magistrate Council
had gone ahead with implementing the OSI. But would that protest go from
virtual to actual? There was a big air-gulf of difference between angry words
in the Spheres, and action in the real world.

     “Krece?” Pavtala Ralili’Bax
looked askance at him. He knew his expression was forbidding, but he just
pressed his lips together and sat back down. There was little more that he
could do, and reappearing on the discussion forums would just undermine what
his absence had sparked.

     His two friends and his
pre-mate were looking at him with a mixture of surprise and concern. He
gestured a negative, not explaining – how to explain outrage at action that he
had done his best to stymie, when he had not shared his opinion with them? He
picked up his view-glyphographic. His temper simmered, but he did not give vent
to it. Not being in a position to effect definite change gnawed at him, preyed
upon his mind.

     I’ll have to be patient
until I can get to one of the Ministries,
he thought, looking back at them
and raising a vuu-brow.
I’ll find which division of which Ministry is
responsible, and I
will
get this vuu-blitzed Initiative revoked!

     “It’s nothing,” he said,
nonchalantly.
I will get better at containing my expression and glyph-projection.
I have to, to get anything done in the Ministries.

Whorl Sixty Six

     The Occupation and Service
Initiative had been put into effect on the Bolsho Undum landform without so
much as a single objection from the masses in the outer sub-Hives of An’Siija,
at first. That bothered him more than if there had been an outcry and uprising,
for it spoke not only of purposelessness, but spiritlessness.