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the ooloi seemed to be the head of the house. Everyone deferred to it.
It was almost exactly Lilith's size-slightly larger than Jdahya and
considerably smaller than the female Tediin. And it had four arms. Or
two arms and two arm-sized tentacles. The big tentacles, gray and
rough, reminded her of elephants' trunks-except that she could not
recall ever being disgusted by the trunk of an elephant. At least the
child did not have them yet-though Jdahya had assured her that it was
an ooloi child. Looking at Kahguyaht, she took pleasure in the
knowledge that the Oankali themselves used the neuter pronoun in
referring to the ooloi. Some things deserved to be called "it."
She turned her attention back to the food. "How can you eat all this?"
she asked. "I couldn't eat your foods, could I?"
"What do you think you've eaten each time we've Awakened you?" the
ooloi asked.
"I don't know," she said coldly. "No one would tell me what it was."
Kahguyaht missed or ignored the anger in her voice. "It was one of
our foods-slightly altered to meet your special needs," it said.
Thought of her "special needs" made her realize that this might be
Jdahya's "relative" who had cured her cancer. She had somehow not
thought of this until now. She got up and filled one of her small bowls
with nuts-roasted, but not salted-and wondered wearily whether she
had to be grateful to Kahguyaht. Automatically she filled with the
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same nuts, the bowl Tediin had thrust forward at her.
"Is any of our food poison to you?" she asked flatly.
"No," Kahguyaht answered. "We have adjusted to the foods of your
world."
"Are any of yours poison to me?"
"Yes. A great deal of it. You shouldn't eat anything unfamiliar that you
find here."
"That doesn't make sense. Why should you be able to come from so
far away-another world, another star system- and eat our food?"
"Haven't we had time to learn to eat your food?" the ooloi asked.
"What?''
It did not repeat the question.
"Look," she said, "how can you learn to eat something that's poison to
you?"
"By studying teachers to whom it isn't poison. By studying your
people, Lilith. Your bodies."
"I don't understand."
"Then accept the evidence of your eyes. We can eat anything you can.
It's enough for you to understand that."
Patronizing bastard, she thought. But she said only, "Does that mean
that you can learn to eat anything at all? That you can't be poisoned?"
"No. I didn't mean that."
She waited, chewing nuts, thinking. When the ooloi did not continue,
she looked at it.
It was focused on her, head tentacles pointing. "The very old can be
poisoned," it said. "Their reactions are slowed. They might not be able
to recognize an unexpected deadly substance and remember how to
neutralize it in time. The seriously injured can be poisoned. Their
bodies are distracted, busy with self-repair. And the children can be
poisoned if they have not yet learned to protect themselves."
"You mean. . . just about anything might poison you if you weren't
somehow prepared for it, ready to protect yourselves against it?"
"Not just anything. Very few things, really. Things we were especially
vulnerable to before we left our original homeworld."
"Like what?"
"Why do you ask, Lilith? What would you do if I told you? Poison a
child?"
She chewed and swallowed several peanuts, all the while staring at
the ooloi, making no effort to conceal her dislike. "You invited me to
ask," she said.
"No. That isn't what I was doing."
"Do you really imagine I'd hurt a child?"
"No. You just haven't learned yet not to ask dangerous questions."
"Why did you tell me as much as you did?"
The ooloi relaxed its tentacles "Because we know you, Lilith. And,
within reason, we want you to know us."
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Click here to buy
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2
The ooloi took her to see Sharad. She would have preferred to have
Jdahya take her, but when Kahguyaht volunteered, Jdahya leaned
toward her and asked very softly, "Shall I go?"
She did not imagine that she was intended to miss the unspoken
message of the gesture-that Jdahya was indulging a child. Lilith was
tempted to accept the child's role and ask him to come along. But he
deserved a vacation from her-and she from him. Maybe he wanted to
spend some time with the big, silent Tediin. How, she wondered, did
these people manage their sex lives, anyway? How did the ooloi fit in?
Were its two arm-sized tentacles sexual organs? Kahguyaht had not
used them in eating-had kept them either coiled against its body,
under its true arms or draped over its shoulders.
She was not afraid of it, ugly as it was. So far it had inspired only
disgust, anger, and dislike in her. How had Jdahya connected himself
with such a creature?
Kahguyaht led her through three walls, opening all of them by
touching them with one of its large tentacles. Finally they emerged
into a wide, downward-sloping, well-lighted corridor. Large numbers
of Oankali walked or rode flat, slow, wheel-less conveyances that [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
the ooloi seemed to be the head of the house. Everyone deferred to it.
It was almost exactly Lilith's size-slightly larger than Jdahya and
considerably smaller than the female Tediin. And it had four arms. Or
two arms and two arm-sized tentacles. The big tentacles, gray and
rough, reminded her of elephants' trunks-except that she could not
recall ever being disgusted by the trunk of an elephant. At least the
child did not have them yet-though Jdahya had assured her that it was
an ooloi child. Looking at Kahguyaht, she took pleasure in the
knowledge that the Oankali themselves used the neuter pronoun in
referring to the ooloi. Some things deserved to be called "it."
She turned her attention back to the food. "How can you eat all this?"
she asked. "I couldn't eat your foods, could I?"
"What do you think you've eaten each time we've Awakened you?" the
ooloi asked.
"I don't know," she said coldly. "No one would tell me what it was."
Kahguyaht missed or ignored the anger in her voice. "It was one of
our foods-slightly altered to meet your special needs," it said.
Thought of her "special needs" made her realize that this might be
Jdahya's "relative" who had cured her cancer. She had somehow not
thought of this until now. She got up and filled one of her small bowls
with nuts-roasted, but not salted-and wondered wearily whether she
had to be grateful to Kahguyaht. Automatically she filled with the
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
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r r
same nuts, the bowl Tediin had thrust forward at her.
"Is any of our food poison to you?" she asked flatly.
"No," Kahguyaht answered. "We have adjusted to the foods of your
world."
"Are any of yours poison to me?"
"Yes. A great deal of it. You shouldn't eat anything unfamiliar that you
find here."
"That doesn't make sense. Why should you be able to come from so
far away-another world, another star system- and eat our food?"
"Haven't we had time to learn to eat your food?" the ooloi asked.
"What?''
It did not repeat the question.
"Look," she said, "how can you learn to eat something that's poison to
you?"
"By studying teachers to whom it isn't poison. By studying your
people, Lilith. Your bodies."
"I don't understand."
"Then accept the evidence of your eyes. We can eat anything you can.
It's enough for you to understand that."
Patronizing bastard, she thought. But she said only, "Does that mean
that you can learn to eat anything at all? That you can't be poisoned?"
"No. I didn't mean that."
She waited, chewing nuts, thinking. When the ooloi did not continue,
she looked at it.
It was focused on her, head tentacles pointing. "The very old can be
poisoned," it said. "Their reactions are slowed. They might not be able
to recognize an unexpected deadly substance and remember how to
neutralize it in time. The seriously injured can be poisoned. Their
bodies are distracted, busy with self-repair. And the children can be
poisoned if they have not yet learned to protect themselves."
"You mean. . . just about anything might poison you if you weren't
somehow prepared for it, ready to protect yourselves against it?"
"Not just anything. Very few things, really. Things we were especially
vulnerable to before we left our original homeworld."
"Like what?"
"Why do you ask, Lilith? What would you do if I told you? Poison a
child?"
She chewed and swallowed several peanuts, all the while staring at
the ooloi, making no effort to conceal her dislike. "You invited me to
ask," she said.
"No. That isn't what I was doing."
"Do you really imagine I'd hurt a child?"
"No. You just haven't learned yet not to ask dangerous questions."
"Why did you tell me as much as you did?"
The ooloi relaxed its tentacles "Because we know you, Lilith. And,
within reason, we want you to know us."
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
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r r
2
The ooloi took her to see Sharad. She would have preferred to have
Jdahya take her, but when Kahguyaht volunteered, Jdahya leaned
toward her and asked very softly, "Shall I go?"
She did not imagine that she was intended to miss the unspoken
message of the gesture-that Jdahya was indulging a child. Lilith was
tempted to accept the child's role and ask him to come along. But he
deserved a vacation from her-and she from him. Maybe he wanted to
spend some time with the big, silent Tediin. How, she wondered, did
these people manage their sex lives, anyway? How did the ooloi fit in?
Were its two arm-sized tentacles sexual organs? Kahguyaht had not
used them in eating-had kept them either coiled against its body,
under its true arms or draped over its shoulders.
She was not afraid of it, ugly as it was. So far it had inspired only
disgust, anger, and dislike in her. How had Jdahya connected himself
with such a creature?
Kahguyaht led her through three walls, opening all of them by
touching them with one of its large tentacles. Finally they emerged
into a wide, downward-sloping, well-lighted corridor. Large numbers
of Oankali walked or rode flat, slow, wheel-less conveyances that [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]