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he boomed. "If I may meet the appropriate persons and make use of the appropriate materials "
"You shall, you shall," Kukulkan promised. "But first we must get you settled into your quarters, and let
you rest after your journey."
The flight had been neither long nor taxing. Nevertheless Diana confessed a degree of weariness to
herself. So incredibly much excitement!
Kukulkan escorted her into the terminal. A wall displayed a mural which puzzled her. It depicted a
male and female human, nude, of the variant she had heard called "Mongoloid," emerging from clouds
wherein drifted hints of stars, like a galaxy a-borning. "An ancestral creation myth," the man told her. "To
us it symbolizes Ah, but here is the greeting committee."
Almost the only folk present at this hour, they were four and, like the pilot, not as precisely similar in
appearance as Kukulkan and Pele were, to that pair or to one another. While the gene pool in the
population was fixed, homozygosity for every desired trait including some that were not
sex-linked had proven to be a biological impossibility. Discrete combinations appeared in each
generation; if you counted the slightest of the changes that were rung, they were manyfold. Yet the
"family" resemblance overrode any minor variations in height, coloring, cast of features. Sex and age and
the marks left by life were the principal differences between Zacharians. These were all older than the
new arrivals, and, over and above the basic pridefulness of their breed, bore an air of distinction.
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Their garb was what Diana would learn was formal: sandals on the feet, wreaths on the brows, the two
men in tunics and the two women in flowing but constraining wraparound gowns, white with colored
borders. Their names were foreign to her, Vishnu and Heimdal male, Kwan Yin and Isis female. The
latter woman took the word, her gaze on Axor: "Welcome. It is an honor and will be a pleasure to
receive an outstanding scholar. I shall be your introducer to the Apollonium, since I am the one among us
most familiar with the subject in which we hear you are interested. But my colleagues in general anticipate
learning much from you."
"Ochla, I came to, to beg knowledge of you," the Wodenite faltered. "Although no, I will not discuss
religion more than is necessary, unless you desire, but the exchange of & ideas, information; " An
earthquake quiver of avidity went through him from snout to tailtip. His dorsal plates moved like a saw,
the light rippled off his scales.
Heimdal said to Targovi, on a note of polite skepticism: "Being in offplanet trade, I am willing to discuss
possibilities with you. I cannot encourage optimism. The local market for Imhotepan curiosities was
saturated long ago."
"We can at least talk," the Tigery replied, "and then mayhap I can, by your leave, look about this
neighborhood. Something may occur to me, whereby we can both profit." Diana could sense the
watchfulness beneath his affability.
"Come," Kukulkan murmured in her ear. "If you have no set purpose of your own among us, I'll be
delighted to be your dragoman provided I can fend off my envious brethren."
"Don't you have work to do?" she asked, anxious not to overreach her self.
He shrugged and smiled. "My work is somewhat special, and at present I am, shall we say, on
standby."
They went from the terminal. After the heat and damp of the valley, sea breezes were a benediction. A
flatbed vehicle waited for Axor, in which Isis joined him; the rest got into a ground limo. Diana was
aware of a boulevard flanked by trees and abstract sculpture, of windows aglow, of other cars but not
many, of pedestrians and occasional horseback riders handsome, physically perfect, eerily alike The
ride ended at a house which stood on what appeared to be a campus, to gauge by lawns, trees, and
larger neighbor buildings.
The muted sunlight of night showed that the portico columns were fluted, their capitals running out in
pleasing geometrical shapes. A frieze overhead depicted individuals of assorted sophont species, coming
from right and left to a Zacharian who sat enthroned at the center. Diana couldn't make out whether the
Zacharian was man or woman. Within, a mosaic anteroom gave on a spacious chamber with comfortable
furniture, luxurious drapes, well-chosen pictures, laden bookshelves, archaic fireplace, everything meant
for conversation.
"This is a hospice for visiting scholars," Kwan Yin explained. "Ordinarily they come from elsewhere on
the island or the cays, to confer in person or to use specialized equipment. But we have lodged
outsiders." Her courtesy remained intact as she added, "You will understand that it is beneath our dignity
to be servants. Besides, we assume you will prefer some privacy. Therefore, this house is yours for the
duration of your stay. We will conduct you through it and demonstrate the appliances. They are
completely robotic, no menial work required. A selection of meals that we hope you will enjoy, when you
are not dining with colleagues, is ready for heating. Supplements needed for Wodenite and Starkadian
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health are included. Should anything be lacking, you have only to call the service department of the
Apollonium. Additional communicator codes are in the directory program. Please feel free to ask any
questions and make any requests at any time."
A saying of her mother's, that Maria had said she got from Dominic Flandry, who had gotten it from
somebody else, came back to Diana. "This is Liberty Hall. You can spit on the mat and call the cat a
bastard." She felt guilty, ungrateful, about the irreverence.
"We have modified two rooms as best we could for our xenosophont guests," Vishnu added. "I trust
they will prove satisfactory."
The four finally left Diana alone in the boudoir assigned her. It was pleasant. The pictures on the walls
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