Uary turned on his heel and hurried back to the lift. Technically, Caril should come out of her quarters first, to see the new essay and know he would be waiting for her in the market, but Uary couldn’t risk Basq finding him there. If Basq knew Uary worked with the Imperialists, Basq would use that fact to get Uary removed from committee work, and then there was no telling who would be the one to examine the male artifact when it was brought in.
The markets opened whenever the ship was near enough to a settled planet for goods to be imported by shuttle from the surface. Temporary storage facilities were set up in the Grand Errand’s fifth level park to dispense the goods and record the sales. Residents who had their names entered on the subscription rosters could select goods from a posted list on their private terminals and have them delivered to their quarters rather than being required to come to the market. Depending on the world, there could be thirty or thirty-five different units that would need replenishing two and three times a day.
Kethran, however, had very little variety to offer the ship. Barely a dozen boxy, silver vendors had been stationed between the park’s stages, easels, and terminals.
Uary strolled through the park. He paid no attention to the holographed dancers, or the green marble statue of a many-branched tree, or the single-phase abstract mosaic on display. He wandered from vendor to vendor, examining the meats and vegetables, and trying to discern how well the Vitae-induced strains were really adapting to Kethran’s environment. He selected several samples to be delivered to the lab so he could go over them in detail. The poultry did not seem to be as robust as it should, but then again, some of the Kethran distributors slighted Vitae procurers….
Caril, ever mindful of her position as dutiful Wife of a promoted Ambassador, breezed into the park with an air of total neutrality that would have done a Witness proud. She wound her way easily between the half a dozen other Wives, male and female, who mulled about the market space. She examined the food offerings with serious attention and a practiced eye before selecting delicacies for breakfast.
Uary sauntered along and waited until Caril was at a stall by herself before he crossed the park and stood beside her.
The parks were not safe, but they were safer than anywhere else on the Grand Errand. Word-of-mouth conversations were not truly safe, either, but, like the parks, they were safer than the alternatives.
“Good morning, Wife,” he said politely as he leaned over to select his own fruit. Whatever Uary thought of Basq, it was a matter of record and repetition he was always polite to Basq’s Wife and Beholden. “Not much of a selection today, I’m afraid.”
“Every little bit is a little bit more.” She sized up the contents of the tray with an appraising sweep of her eyes. “But it’s not adding up to enough, you’re right.” She turned over an apple, checking for onuses. “The war is real and if they’re primitive, they’re effective soldiers apparently, and all choosing up sides. The Unifiers haven’t armed them, but they’re still advising. Jahidh has done his job almost too well,” she said with a touch of irony. “It’s going to be very bloody, Uary, and too many resources are going to be wasted.
The problem is, we don’t know enough to stop it. There is a possibility that genetic relatives of the female artifact will be located, but no word on how soon.”
“Kethran was a total debacle.” Uary rolled an apple between his fingers, feeling the tension of the skin. It was smooth, but perhaps a little too thick. That would make for a tart fruit as opposed to a sweet one. Uary made a mental note to find out if that was a deliberate or accidental variation. “But at least I’ve been assigned to analyze the male artifact.”
“Yes.” Caril prodded several more fruits. “That is an issue.”
Uary ran his fingers over another sample but his mind played her last sentence over again. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve had word about that,” she said, leaning back and surveying the whole tray again. “The only race left that we have a hope of winning is the race for understanding. Anything you learn about the male artifact will pass into the hands of the blind. We can’t let them have it. We need to give the ones already on the ground a chance.”
Uary felt his heart begin to beat heavily as understanding seeped into his veins. “I can’t destroy the only artifact we have.”
Caril touched two apples and the stall’s arms extracted them from the holder to add to the bundle of purchases being assembled for her by the drone systems.
“You have to.”