uplift4.brightnessreef-第72部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


　　This　might　even　be　the　moment　foretold　long　ago　by　the　final　glaver　sage；　before　humans　came　to　Jijo。　A　time　when　restored　innocence　would　shrivel　their　race；　peel　away　their　sins；　and　offer　them　a　precious　second　chance。　A　new　beginning。
　　If　so；　they　deserve　better　than　to　be　adopted　by　a　pack　of　thieves。
　　〃Suppose　they　prove　perfect　in　every　way。　Will　you　take　them　with　you　when　you　go？〃
　　〃Probably。　A　breeding　group　of　a　hundred　or　so。〃
　　Peripherally；　he　glimpsed　the　small　man　replacing　the　cover　of　the　camera　lens。　With　a　satisfied　smile；　Bloor　the　Portraitist　casually　lifted　the　box；　carrying　it　outside　through　the　back　tent　flap。　Lark　felt　a　knot　of　tension　release。　Ling's　face　might　be　a　bit　blurry　in　the　photo；　but　her　clothes　and　body　stood　a　good　chance　of　ing　through；　despite　the　long　exposure　time。　By　good　fortune；　Besh；　the　glaver；　a　robot；　and　a　sleeping　rock…staller　had　remained　still　the　entire　time。　The　mountain　range；　seen　through　the　open　entrance；　would　pin　down　location　and　season　of　the　year。
　　〃And　what　of　the　rest？〃　he　asked；　relieved　to　have　just　one　matter　on　his　mind　now。
　　〃What　do　you　mean？〃
　　〃I　mean　what　will　happen　to　all　the　glavers　you　leave　behind？〃
　　Her　dark　eyes　narrowed。　〃Why　should　anything　happen　to　them？〃
　　〃Why　indeed？〃　Lark　shifted　unfortably。　The　sages　wanted　to　maintain　the　atmosphere　of　tense　ambiguity　for　a　while　longer　rather　than　confront　the　aliens　directly　over　their　plans。　But　he　had　already　done　the　sages'　bidding　by　helping　Bloor。　Meanwhile；　Harullen　and　the　other　heretics　were　pressuring　Lark　for　answers。　They　must　decide　soon　whether　to　throw　their　lot　in　with　the　zealots'　mysterious　scheme。
　　〃Then。。。　there　is　the　matter　of　the　rest　of　us。〃
　　〃The　rest　of　you？〃　Ling　arched　an　eyebrow。
　　〃We　Six。　When　you　find　what　you　seek；　and　depart…what　happens　to　us？〃
　　She　groaned。　〃I　can't　count　the　number　of　times　I've　been　asked　about　this！〃
　　Lark　stared。　〃Who…？〃
　　〃Who　hasn't？〃　She　blew　an　exasperated　sigh。　〃At　least　a　third　of　the　patients　we　treat　on　clinic　day　sidle　up　afterward　to　pump　us　about　how　we'll　do　it。　What　means　do　we　plan　to　use　when　we　finally　get　around　to　killing　every　sentient　being　on　the　planet！　Will　we　be　gentle？　Or　will　it　e　as　firebolts　from　heaven；　on　the　day　we　depart？　It　gets　so　repetitious；　sometimes　I　want　to…agh！〃　She　clenched　her　fist；　frustration　apparent　on　her　normally　posed　features。
　　Lark　blinked。　He　had　planned　edging　up　to　the　very　same　questions。
　　〃Folks　are　frightened；〃　he　began。　〃The　logic　of　the　situation…〃
　　〃Yes；　yes。　I　know；〃　Ling　interrupted　impatiently。　〃If　we　came　to　steal　presapient　life…forms　from　Jijo；　we　can't　afford　to　leave　any　witnesses。　And　especially；　we　can't　leave　any　native　stock　of　the　species　we　stole！　Honestly；　where　do　you　people　get　such　ideas？〃
　　From　books；　Lark　almost　answered。　From　the　warnings　of　our　ancestors。
　　But；　indeed；　how　well　could　those　accounts　be　trusted？　The　most　detailed　had　been　lost　to　fire　soon　after　humans　arrived。　Anyway；　weren't　humans　naive　newers　on　the　Galactic　scene　back　in　those　days；　worried　to　the　point　of　paranoia？　And　wasn't　it　the　most　paranoid　who　had　boarded　the　Tabernacle；　smuggling　themselves　to　a　far；　forbidden　world　to　hide？
　　Might　the　danger　be　exaggerated？
　　〃Seriously；　Lark；　why　should　we　fear　anything　a　bunch　of　sooners　might　say　about　us？　The　odds　of　another　Institute　inspection　team　arriving　at　Jijo　in　under　a　hundred　thousand　years　are　very　small。　By　the　time　one　does；　if　any　of　you　are　still　around；　our　visit　will　surely　have　dissolved　into　vague　legends。　We　have　no　need　to　mit　genocide…as　if　we　could　ever　bring　ourselves　to　do　such　a　horrid　thing；　however　strong　the　reason！〃
　　For　the　first　time；　Lark　saw　beyond　Ling's　normal　mask　of　wry　sardonicism。　Either　she　deeply　believed　what　she　was　saying；　or　she　was　a　very　skilled　actress。
　　〃Well　then；　how　do　you　plan　to　adopt　any　presentient　species　you　find　here？　Surely　you　can't　admit　you　picked　them　up　on　a　restricted　world。〃
　　〃At　last；　an　intelligent　question。〃　She　seemed　relieved。　〃I　confess；　it　won't　be　easy。　They　must　be　planted　in　another　ecosystem　for　starters；　along　with　any　symbionts　they　need；　and　other　evidence　to　imply　they've　been　there　for　some　time。　Then　we　must　wait　quite　a　while…〃
　　〃A　million　years？〃
　　Ling's　smile　returned；　thinly。　〃Not　quite　so　long。　We　have　a　couple　of　advantages　going　for　us；　you　see。　One　is　the　fact　that　on　most　worlds　the　bio…record　is　a　jumble　of　phylogenic　anomalies。　Despite　rules　to　minimize　harmful　cross…flow；　each　time　a　new　starfaring　clan　wins　tenant　rights　to　a　world；　they　inevitably　bring　in　their　favorite　plants　and　animals；　along　with　a　host　of　parasites　and　other　hangers…on。　Take　glavers；　for　instance。〃　She　nodded　over　at　the　subject。　〃I'm　sure　we'll　find　records　of　places　where　similar　genes　flowed　in　the　past。〃
　　Now　it　was　Lark's　turn　to　smile；　briefly。　You　don't　know　the　half　of　it。
　　〃So　you　see；〃　Ling　went　on。　〃It　won't　matter　much　if　a　residual　population　stays　on　Jijo；　as　long　as　we　have　time　to　modify　the　borrowed　stock；　artificially　enhancing　the　apparent　rate　of　genetic　divergence。　And　that　will　happen　anyway　when　we　begin　the　process　of　uplift。〃
　　So；　Lark　realized；　even　if　the　forayers　eventually　find　glavers　unsuitable；　they　might　still　make　off　with　some　other　promising　species　and　turn　a　nice　profit　from　their　crime。
　　Moreover；　they　appeared　pletely　fortable　seeing　it　as　no　crime　at　all。
　　〃And　your　other　advantage？〃　he　asked。
　　〃Ah；　now　that's　the　real　secret。〃　A　shine　seemed　to　enter　the　woman's　dark　eyes。　〃You　see；　what　it　really　es　down　to　is　a　matter　of　skill。〃
　　〃Skill？〃
　　〃On　the　part　of　our　blessed　patrons。〃　Now　her　words　struck　a　reverent　tone。　〃The　Rothen　are　past　masters　at　this　art；　you　see。　Witness　their　greatest　success　so　far…the　human　race。〃
　　There　it　was　again；　mention　of　the　mysterious　clan　that　had　the　utter　devotion　of　Ling；　Rann；　and　the　others。　The　star…humans　had　started　out　reticent。　Ling　had　even　made　it　clear　that　Rothen　was　not　their　real　name。　But　with　time　she　and　the　others　grew　more　talkative；　as　if　their　pride　could　not　be　contained。
　　Or　else；　because　they　had　no　fear　the　tale　would　spread。
　　〃Imagine。　They　managed　to　uplift　humanity　in　plete　secrecy；　subtly　altering　the　records　of　the　Migration　Institute　so　that　our　homeworld；　Earth；　remained　untouched；　on　fallow　status；　for　an　incredible　half　a　billion　years！　They　even　kept　their　gentle　guidance　unknown　to　our　own　ancestors；　leaving　them　with　the　fantastic　but　useful　illusion　that　they　were　uplifting　themselves！〃
　　〃Amazing；〃　Lark　mented。　He　had　never　seen　Ling　so　animated。　He　wanted　to　ask；　〃How　could　such　feats　be　feasible？〃　But　that　might　imply　he　doubted　her；　and　Lark　wanted　this　openness　to　continue。　〃Of　course；　self…uplift　is　impossible；〃　he　prompted。
　　〃pletely。　It's　been　known　since　the　fabled　days　of　the　Progenitors。　Evolution　can　bring　a　species　all　the　way　up　to　pre…sapience；　but　the　final　leap　needs　help　from　another　race　that's　already　made　it。　This　principle　underlies　the　life…cycle　of　all　oxygen…breathing　races　in　the　Five　Galaxies。〃
　　〃So　why　did　our　ancestors　believe　they　raised　themselves　up？〃
　　〃Oh；　the　most　insightful　always　suspected　we　had　help　from　beyond。　It　explains　the　depth　of　feeling　underlying　most　religions。　But　the　true　source　of　our　gift　of　sapiency　remained　mysterious　for　most　of　the　time　that　hidden　hands　guided　our　path。　Only　the　Danikites…early　precursors　of　our　group…knew　the　secret　all　along。〃
　　〃Even　the　Tergens　Council…〃
　　〃The　Terragens　Council。〃　Her　voice　soured。　〃The　idiots　guiding　Earth　and　her　colonies　during　these　dangerous　times？　Their　obstinacy　hardly　matters。　Even　this　Streaker　business；　sending　half　the　fanatics　in　the　universe　into　a　frenzy；　howling　for　Earthling　blood；　even　this　will　e　out　all　right；　despite　the　Terragens　fools。　The　Rothen　will　see　to　things。　Don't　worry。〃
　　Lark　hadn't　been　worried。　Not　on　the　scale　she　referred　to。　Not　till　that　moment。　Now　he　found　her　words　anything　but　reassuring。
　　From　other　conversations　with　the　Danik　sky…humans；　the　sages　had　alrea