Chapter 7

Sarsh'ta had in fact returned with food. The chunky stew was cold; he felt safer not eating it. He didn't know at what point it would spoil sitting out. There was some bread, however, and he snatched that up.

He took the bread and hobbled out onto his balcony. He leaned on the railing while he ate the bread looking up at the round patch of sky overhead. The stars looked different, of course. He didn't see many patterns in the stars, and wondered if they had named constellations.

He ended up deciding he wanted to see more of their night sky, and worked his way over to the elevator. He cursed at their numbering system while trying to figure out the elevator controls, but he did end up figuring out which button brought him to the roof. He had already noted which level he was on.

The view on the roof was much better. He had the whole dome of night sky now. One moon had only just recently risen, the other was going to be setting before too much longer. The sky was just starting to lighten to the east. There was almost no air car traffic yet. Most Rich'ti were still sleeping.

The inhabited moon was the one to the east. He could see some areas of light on the shaded side of it, but they were dim and he wasn't able to see them long before the lightening sky overpowered it. He sat and watched the alien sun rise on the first day of his life here.

Once the sun had risen enough that the reddish hues had faded to gold and the courtyard had brightened considerably, he went back into the apartment to investigate the facilities. The toilet worked the same as a Human one would, as far as he could tell, although it looked as if the height and size of the seat had been made with a Rich'ti in mind. The shower was a bit of a shock when he turned on the water and it came out icy cold. With a yelp of surprise, he fumbled at the wall and knob, but found no way to make the water a different temperature. He quickly rinsed off and got out, shivering as he grabbed a towel from a nearby drawer and dried off. He made a mental note to mention that to Sarsh'ta as he hopped his way around, picking out clothes to wear that day. He also reminded himself to ask her about his laundry.

He used water from the spigot to brush his teeth and shave before heading out into the hallway to explore a bit on his own. He took the dishes with him, hoping to find the communal kitchen area Sarsh'ta had mentioned to him. He wondered what the proper ettiquette was for cooking food for himself.

The halls were quiet and still only dimly lit this time of day. In their discussions, Sarsh'ta had given him the impression that everything a community needed on a daily basis was contained within the communal living space. He'd gotten the impression that each community within the building had its own level and hoped it meant that each had a kitchen too. He made his way around the circle, dishes in one hand, crutch in the other, wondering if all the areas were hidden behind the doors he saw. To his relief, he finally saw an area that opened up. It looked as if about three-quarters of the circle was apartments like his own and one-quarter was communal living space. The communal area was a big open section, and he saw mats around a large holographic projector in one area. There was also an area of exercise equipment and mats as well as a large section of cooking equipment, much of which he recognized as smaller versions of what he'd seen on the ship.

He found everything he needed to wash the bowl out, so he did that, leaving it in a rack to dry. It felt odd being alone in so much space. He wondered when it was that Rich'ti would start waking up and being out and about for the day. Obviously they tended to sleep in.

It was only a short while later that a pair of females came in. They moved directly to the cooking area. One looked somewhat uncomfortable with his presence. He took the opportunity to introduce himself.

"We know who you are," the uncomfortable one said, "we were told you'd be here."

"Of course," Kevan replied. "As long as I'm the only human on the planet there shouldn't be too much confusion. Still, among my kind it's polite to introduce ourselves."

"I am Rish'tir," the other one said, "and this is Kir'esht. We are often the first ones awake, so we usually prepare the morning meals."

"Can I help?" Kevan asked.

"There isn't so much work to do that we need your help," Kir'esht said flatly.

"--There is always cutting and chopping to do, and cleaning after," Rish'tir said, gesturing to a cutting area on the other side of the work surface. "We don't typically feed the whole community, but we'll prepare for the first thirty or so."

Kevan moved quickly over to the cutting area before Kir'esht could protest. He saw her give him a glare as the two women gathered ingredients from a couple of different drawers in the wall. He saw the knives in slots that recessed into the wall and wondered briefly about the fact that they made so many things set into the walls or ceiling in their building designs. He selected a knife that was closest to fitting his hand properly and noticed Kir'esht giving him a suspicious glare as she set items down on the counter.

For the first few minutes they chopped in silence. Kevan chose up some vegetables he recognized from his time with Rosh'tur on the ship, cutting them similarly to how they had been for the dishesh they had prepared. After she had cut up a couple of specific items, Kir'esht moved over to start cooking them.

"What do you think of the Rich'ti so far, Kevan?" Rish'tir asked him, breaking the silence.

"I have been finding the experience most pleasant," Kevan replied, giving a small smile-like nod. "I am glad to have this opportunity."

Some of the adults started coming in, mostly singly and in pairs. Food was prepared for about the first twenty or so. They left more set out on the counter before Rish'tir handed him a bowl. "That's enough from us," she said. "Sit and eat."

She led him to a small group, and introduced him to some of the other community elders. More moved to join them, and it was all he could do to try to eat small mouthfuls between their questions.

There were predictable questions about his clothes. Some said that they'd heard he had done something heroic at the site of the crashed ship. No one asked him what had happened to him, or how badly hurt he was. Several expressed reassurances that he'd heal quickly enough. On the other hand, none of them extended any offers of help that would be the norm back home.

There were a lot of questions about ethics and morality and behavior. It felt to Kevan a little bit like they were grilling him or interviewing him. Not all of the elders present showed an interest in him, but the male elders seemed better behaved to Kevan than the males aboard the ship had.

Children showed up, and some of the adults herded them away from him. He heard them explaining to the children that they had to wait their turn, and that they could talk to the human after the elders had finished.

The children had to prepare their own food, and then did all the cleaning. They finished that before the elders had run out of questions for him. The children sat in a circle around the gathered elders. He was impressed at how they sat quietly and patiently. He couldn't really gauge how old they were, but they seemed well behaved. One or two he though he recognized from when he arrived.

"What is it you think your people will want from us?" one elder asked. Kevan thought he recognized the voice and looked over to see that Rendat had joined the group and was picking through a bowl of food as if he was unconcerned on what the answer would be.

"Trade, for one," he replied. "Both goods and information. Technology as well, if possible. I am sure they will want to persue an alliance too, which would mean that we would each send forces to assist in fighting against the Brey-hahd and any other common enemies. During peacetime, it also usually means that we have access to each other's space to reach further out areas of the universe for exploration."

"What if we don't want Human ships in our space?" Rendat asked, giving Kevan a calculated look. If it hadn't been for the Rich'ti's light tone of voice, Kevan would have been sure he was being challenged. As it was, he tried to choose his words carefully.

"We would respect your decision, although it is likely we would then expect the same consideration of your ships. Personally, however, I wouldn't expect an alliance like that to last very long. We cannot expect to enter into an alliance until some measure of trust has been established."

"Trust must be earned," Rendat stated.

"You know," Kevan said, "we have that very saying amongst my kind. But we've also come to see that trust must be given. The offer of trust is just as important as keeping it. Is love earned? Is love some calculated decision? No. It shouldn't be entirely different with trust."

"You have an interesting way of looking at things."

"We try to look at things from more than one perspective. We've found there are few absolutes in life. In between black and white are many shades of gray."

He pulled out his palmpad and set it, screen side down, on his knee. "Seen from only one perspective, this is just a block, maybe good for setting things on. From this side--a block. Rotated, a block. Rotated some more, a block." He turned it over and tapped the ON button. "But when I turn it over you see that there is a screen, and I can enter and display data on it. From this side, from this perspective, it is an object with purpose."

One of the females laughed. "You speak like an elder, like one who teaches others."

"Among humans, education continues well past childhood," he explained. "I have had a little more than the average amount of it."

"For us there is general education for the young, and then they are taught a set of skills to use as adults. Then we enter the world, perform the roles that are needed, and learn by doing."

"But a younger engineer will work with an older, more experienced one for a while, right? One continues training the other. The same thing applies whether it's one student and one teacher repairing an engine, or cooking, as does with one teacher and a group of students in a room being taught. Your elders teach your young. It's all about valuing wisdom, isn't it?"

"We attempt to share our wisdom with the young, but often the young are not ready to see it," one of the elders answered. "We teach them values and give them the fundamentals to build upon so they may choose their career path. As elders, we have a lifetime of experiences to draw upon. If I am correct in understanding, you are still in the first half of your life."

"That would depend on how long I live," Kevan replied. "I'm sure you have plenty of Rich'ti that do not live long enough to retire and become elders. That doesn't mean they did not learn values and have some wisdom of their own to impart."

"True," the elder conceded, "but that does not mean they were ready to share that wisdom with children. They might be ready to share the knowledge from their career with another entering into the same career, but they have not lived a long enough life to have discovered all the wisdom that elders hold."

"You may speak like an elder," another one of them said, "but do not think that it makes you one."

"I would not even begin to think that," Kevan said quickly. "Even amongst my kind it is expected for us to respect our elders. We may not have the same approach to teaching our young, but that does not mean we are unaware of the amount of wisdom one can gain over the course of a lifetime." He used one of the more respectful nods that Sarsh'ta had taught him, trying to take all of the elders in while he did it.

"And how long do humans live?" one of them asked.

"Well, our days are shorter than yours, and our year is longer, so eighty of our years is something like ...one hundred ten of yours or so." He needed his palmpad to translate numbers above one hundred, since they didn't have a base-ten numbering system.

"And eighty of your years is typical?"

"As an average, probably. The oldest run about a hundred and twenty, which is about... one hundred and fifty or sixty?"

"Your average is slightly higher, then," one of them said, "but our eldest are older than your eldest."

"In the end it's probably comparable, though," Kevan suggested. There was a moment's pause before he got several nods of agreement.

"Ah, there you are, Kevan," Sarsh'ta said when she came in. She strode forward and a couple of the children rose to greet her. "I wonder who is lecturing whom," she said, clearly joking.

"I think it has been an interesting discussion for both sides," Rendat said, seeming amused. "Perhaps we have taken up enough of Kevan's time for the moment, however."

As if on cue, all of the elders were nodding and and standing up. The children stood up too, the smallest ones bouncing hopefully around Kevan. Sarsh'ta came over, laughing.

"I think, perhaps, they want your attention next," she said indicating the small crowd of Rich'ti children gathering around him. "I just came in for some breakfast and then I need to leave. I'll see you later at the meeting. The driver will find you. Also, Kreckan has informed me that he is certain he can make your computer connect to our networks so that you could access information directly through it. There is some information that will still be restricted from you, as you will be able to save things directly to your computer and transmit it back to your government. But he felt you would be more comfortable with your own controls. He has been working with one of our linguists on translating your alphabet and computer commands so that they work correctly for our system. I was given the impression his program will be ready sometime today. He will be contacting you to arrange a time to come and make some hardware adjustments and upload the program."

"Alright," he said, with some surprise. "That would be wonderful. I hadn't expected to be able to do that. Certainly not so soon after my arrival."

"Kreckan is excited to tinker with different technology," she told him as she headed towards the kitchen area. "I often wonder if he ever sleeps."

While Kevan wanted to follow her and ask some questions, he found his potential progress hampered by the children, some of whom were all but tugging on his clothes with impatience. He laughed and directed them over to one side where he settled in on one of the mats to let them ask more questions.

Some of the more skeptical elders stayed around, listening to his answers. There were some of the expected questions about his clothes. Some of the children who'd been around for the unpacking knew some of the answers and answered for him.

"Are you a warrior for your people?" one little Rich'ti asked.

"Hardly," he answered with a laugh. "No, not all humans are warriors. In fact, most aren't. Most humans try to avoid it. Those who are warriors get a lot of special training. They do it so we don't all have to. The rest of us can make things, or do whatever we're going to do."

"What do you do?"

"Well, I do a lot of things. Mostly I help people who can't agree on something find an answer that makes both of them happy. That's part of why I'm here, because Humans and Rich'ti are very different, and we--humans--want to learn more about you and your culture. We hope that both sides will gain from it.

"Often we've learned that one race might already know a cure to a disease that another race needs help with, or maybe we have technology that help your ships go faster, or make them safer. We might have ways of responding to emergencies that you can use, or we might know ways to make buildings stronger. In exchange I know there are a lot of things you can teach us."

"Like what?" another of the smaller ones asked. One of the elders stepped forward at that point and interrupted. "That's enough for now, young ones. I'm sure out human friend has things he needs to do. He's meeting with the Takor and his council later today. You will have the chance to talk to him more another time.

The children looked disappointed, but not a single one of them complained. They stood and gave assorted waves and good-byes, and thanked him for answering their questions. Another elder herded them together, "Come young ones, I'll take you to the park and we'll learn about the animals there."

Kevan found himself standing alone in the lounge area for a moment, after all the elders and children left the room. A few people were standing in the kitchen area, cooking and eating food while they talked, but Kevan had the impression he would be intruding if he tried to join them. He quietly headed back to his room, wondering how much time it would be until he'd be going to the meeting.

As he made his way down the hall, he was startled by hearing his name. He turned and saw Pergute coming after him at a slight jog to catch up. He stopped and leaned on his crutch a little as Pergute caught his breath. Kevan suddenly had the realization that Pergute had likely stepped down for Sarsh'ta more due to his physical stature than anything else. He had yet to meet any other Rich'ti who he'd qualify as overweight. It was clear to Kevan that if a challenge involving Pergute were to become physical, the scholar would likely lose.

"I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you, if you have some time? I know you have that meeting today, but your transport won't be here for at least an hour yet..." he looked at Kevan so hopefully that he almost wanted to laugh.

"Of course, please," Kevan replied, gesturing towards the door to his room. "I'd be happy to answer any questions you have."

"Wonderful!" Pergute seemed to bob excitedly up and down as they made their way into the room. Kevan set the crutch off to the side as he took a seat on his bed. Pergute settled in on the other mat facing Kevan.

Pergute put one hand under his arm and held it there for a second. He pulled out a small device on an elastic cord around his arm. The long fur had concealed it. There was a small blinking light on it.

"This device interferes with the recording devices in your room. There are several. You must not let on that you know about them, or they will only put in new ones that will be harder to interfere with. We can only block them for a short time before it appears suspicious. Their signals are not hard to block, and are blocked by natural events now and then.

"You must know that there is a movement here trying to prevent any relations with your kind. We do not know just how far they will go. Gertat is not as popular a ruler as he might seem. Sarsh'ta does now know of my involvement with a secret group working for Gertat's government. I will tell you more tonight, but for now I needed to make you aware of it. You may be in danger here. I'm sorry there is not time for questions."

Pergute concealed the device in his arm fur again, smoothing it all out. He removed his hand, holding it up in a questioning gesture.

"Really?" Pergute said as if continuing a natural conversation. "Is it true that your prisoners are sometimes made to do dangerous labor?"

Kevan blinked, adjusting to the change in topic. His mind raced with questions he suddenly couldn't ask. "It depends on what the crime was, really."

He repeated the question to himself quickly in his mind, trying to focus on one topic at a time before continuing.

"It also depends on the colony," he said. "Each colony has it's own legal system. There are only certain laws that apply to all the colonies. Most are relating to trade between them and where one colony's territory begins and ends. Murder, however, is a crime in all colonies. The punishment varies though."

"I have often wondered how you can be a united people when you are also divided into so many groups," Pergute mused. "But back to the point, I understand you do not allow slavery as some races do, yet you can put your convicted criminals to work instead?"

"In all cases they are compensated for their labors," Kevan replied. "We have an organization that works to make sure that what we consider to be basic human rights aren't violated. Some colonies put their criminals to work, often those in harsher environments, heavier gravity, or newer settlements. In those cases, the criminals are paid for their efforts. Sometimes it's on a volunteer basis as well. I understand there are criminals who volunteer in order to help the families they are no longer able to be with. Others do it in order to afford a better legal representative."

"Your legal system has always baffled me," Pergute admitted. "Especially as there are so many levels within it."

"Do you not have different laws for some of your colonies? Even a different climate or gravity can cause a need for different rules."

"Each Takor is charged with the leadership of the colony," Pergute explained. "They make the decisions for the colony, keeping within as many traditional Rich'ti ways as possible. And each Eldest leads his community in the same manner. Anyone in a leadership position has advisors in one way or another. The Elders advise the Eldest, the Proonk advise the Takor. A wise leader will hear what they have to say and base his decision upon it. An unwise leader will soon be replaced. We have very little need for written laws here. A few have been put down, but most are passed from one generation to another and have slowly adapted over time to suit our needs as we have evolved."

"We've had written laws about as long as we've had civilization," Kevan told him. "In fact, the first written laws was one of the marker points in history for when civilization really started. Now, many times in history laws have been changed.

"But we've also found that having pre-defined and recorded laws and their corresponding punishments makes them both easier to follow and to enforce. Everyone knows what's expected of them."

"We still have our rules," Pergute said, "and we're taught the basics while we are young. Most have been handed down for generations, but not having them 'written laws' gives each leader to interpret and judge as fits circumstances."

"Fair enough," Kevan conceded. "So, as a visitor here, how am I to know how to behave? If an alliance goes forward, we would give you a copy of our laws so that Rich'ti in human space would know what's expected of them. My people would want to know what was expected of them here. Now, I understand you might not want humans in your space at all, and we'll respect that. But even so, with an alliance is going to come a certain level of interaction. Maybe it's in human space, maybe it's at some neutral trading center. At the least I'll have to prepare a report explaining your customs."

"Gertat has authority through all our space," Pergute said. "He would be the one to discuss that with. Perhaps his advisors. Understanding how they would rule will give you insight into how he will rule, because on many matters he will consult with them."

The door chimed, interrupting the conversation. He grabbed up his crutch and went to answer it, checking the time as he did. A male Rich'ti stood waiting outside.

"Yes?" he asked, not recognizing the Rich'ti.

"I am here to transport you to the capital," the male told him. "Sarsh'ta suggested you might like to arrive early to get your bearings." The Rich'ti rolled his head in a polite smile-like nod. Kevan returned the gesture.

"Of course. Let me just grab a couple of things." Kevan turned back to Pergute. "It appears it is time for me to go, I'm afraid we will have to continue our conversation later."

"Yes, yes," Pergute nodded as he stood up. "I look forward to it."

Kevan grabbed up his palmtop and slipped it into his pocket before turning back to the Rich'ti at the door. Pergute had already made his way out into the hall, and gave the male as if sizing him up before actually leaving. Kevan didn't see anything to suggest the Rich'ti hadn't passed inspection, so he followed him to the elevator and up to the rooftop. They climbed into the aircar and Kevan tried to make it seem as if he hardly needed the crutch. It wasn't too far from the truth, as the ankle and wound were both still mostly numb from medication, only aching a small amount. He found himself again impressed with their medicines as he did not feel hazy from medication in any way either.

He hadn't had time on the planet to have his bearings on which direction they should have gone to reach the capital, so he didn't notice at first that they went the wrong way. It was at about the same time that he realized that they hadn't passed any mountains on the previous trip that the driver used some sort of ejection device. A portion of the front glass slid apart and Kevan watched in horror as the driver suddenly jettisoned away, leaving Kevan there as the aircar headed on a collision course towards the largest of a range of mountains.

The first thing he did--in proper human fashion--was swore. Loudly, and more than once while his mind took in what was happening. The aircar wasn't going terribly fast, it had lost some speed being less aerodynamic open as it was, and time felt like it slowed down on top of that. He stared ahead of him at the spot where one of the front seats had been.

There were a couple of pedals on the floor, and a pair of control levers that he'd seen moved in all directions. Even if he could figure them out in time, using them would be difficult at best without the chair in place.

He looked back and couldn't find the former pilot. The terrain looked to be a mix of forest and jungle. The real escort will figure out I'm missing, and they'll look for me. They can fly around scanning for lifesigns. I'm the only human on the planet, it can't be hard to find me. I just have to survive.

He took a breath and moved to the vacated pilot's position. The mountains were getting close, so there wasn't much time left. The controls did not respond at all. It was then that he saw a panel that was left open. Something had been ripped out. He tried to estimate the speed. He was going slowly for an aircraft, fast for a ground vehicle. With no safety restraint systems, he decided it wasn't going to be a crash to walk away from.

Then bad went to worse as he saw a box on the passenger seat. There was a display on it, and it was a number counting down. The Rich'ti numbers used concentric rings instead of decimal places, and the vanishing rings suddenly seemed more ominous than vanishing digits would have felt.

Without meaning to, he wasted a few precious seconds swearing again. Then he started opening any panel he could find, searching for anything that might be able to help him. He pulled all manner of things that looked like Rich'ti equivallents of first aid kits and radios until he came across a heavy folded bundle of a plastic-like material. He shook it out and saw that it seemed to resemble a tarp, even having some loops along the edges that would serve to have rope tied through to secure it down over something.

He knew he didn't have enough time to come up with other options. With a skeptical look he grabbed two corners of it in each hand and headed to the open area at the front. Wishing he had more time to time it properly, and ignoring the throbbing in his ankle, he gathered the tarp in his arms and took a running leap off the front edge of the aircar.

His heart raced as he felt himself dropping. Trying his best to focus on his own survival he counted to five before letting his arms loose and shaking at the tarp to try and catch the wind in it. His heart sank at first, when it didn't seem to work, but then the tarp ballooned out above him, tugging hard at the loops in his hand. His descent slowed considerably, although the trees below him still seemed to be rising to greet him far too quickly.

A stronger gust of wind caught him for a moment, pulling one of the loops from his grip. He veered sideways, further away from the collision course the aircar was on. He saw what looked like a river below, not far from where he was estimating his landing to be and tried to keep a bearing on it, knowing he might need a water source if they didn't find him quickly. Then he realized that he was going to be ripped apart by the trees if he didn't do something soon. He let go of one of the loops so that he held one in each hand and pulled downward, bringing the tarp down in front of his face and torso. He did his best to lean forward into it to try and encourage it to cover more of him.

Then it seemed as if time caught up with him and suddenly moved too quickly. There was the sounds of wood snapping and the material of the tarp tearing as it snagged on branches. It was accompanied by searing pain and the sound of Kevan's own voice as he screamed. Then he felt the air leave him as he slammed down onto something uneven before the darkness of unconsciousness drew itself over him.