Analog Science Fiction And Fact - June 2014 by Penny Publications Read Free Book Online Page A

Bukkara (closer to twenty-four by Terran reckoning)— he had learned just enough about Bukkaran psychology to know how little he knew. Their fascination with the transitory, for example. He had an intellectual grasp of it—assuming you
could
get a grasp on an elusive wisp of nothing-much that ceased to be as soon as it came into being—but he didn't feel it in his bones the way Bukkarans did. The most popular art form on Bukkara was the water sculpture. They were everywhere—fountains with randomized sprays that never formed the same pattern twice. Gardens, parks, plazas, arcades, atriums—no open space was complete without a water sculpture. They were deeply, profoundly meaningful to Bukkarans. Baldwin? He just thought they were kind of pretty.
    Escoli rose to her feet. "Here he comes," she said, stating the obvious as if it wasn't.
    A tall Bukkaran was approaching, his walk not so much a sequence of strides as a series of shuffles. Bukkarans didn't ordinarily pick up their feet and set them down—not unless they were running. Then they advanced in a succession of lurching bounds that covered a lot of ground very quickly indeed.
    Switching from Terran Standard to lisping Menduli, Escoli said: "Gregory Baldwin—permit me to make you acquainted with Tumanzu: my rulf hjulke." This identified Tumanzu as Escoli's first cousin: a male of the matrilineal moiety.
    Baldwin acknowledged the introduction and muttered an apology-in-advance for his faulty Menduli. His command of the dialect was actually fluent, but he still made occasional mistakes. He was firmly of the opinion that Menduli-speakers were endowed with an infallible defense against boredom. If nothing else, they could always contemplate the idiosyncrasies of their own irregular verbs.
    Tumanzu took the seat on Baldwin's left, settling into the embrace of the cushions hesitantly, as if testing to make sure that the chair would support his weight. Baldwin cleared his throat and inquired: "Is this your first visit to Izmir?"
    Tumanzu responded with a vacillation of his hand that meant both yes and no. "It might as well be. I have no recollection of being here before."
    "But you were?"
    "Yes. As a cub. My mother brought me with her when she came to Izmir on a business trip. Or so I'm told. I was too young to remember."
    "Let's hope that your stay will be more memorable this time. Escoli seems determined to make it so."
    Tumanzu inclined his head in Escoli's direction. "Yes. She has agreed to be my guide. It's good of her to do me this favor, and good of you to let her... what is the word? Vacation? Take a vacation?"
    "That's right. Think of it as a holiday that doesn't coincide with a holiday."
    "A leave of absence?"
    "Yes. Work is suspended for the person who's on vacation, and the people who aren't on vacation will soon need one because they have to work twice as hard to compensate for the work that isn't being done by the person who's vacationing."
    Escoli rolled her eyes. "Pay no attention to Greg," she smirked. "He's just vexed because he won't have a staff photographer at his beck and call. He doesn't want to admit that he can't get along without me."
    "I'll
have
to get along without you," Baldwin grumbled. "You're deserting your post. You're jumping ship."
    "The
Izmir Herald
isn't a ship, and—if it were—it would be in no danger of sinking." Escoli dispelled nonsense with a sweeping gesture. "Stop complaining. Paying workers not to work isn't one of
our
customs. A policy that foolish could only have originated on Terra. Don't blame me for taking advantage of it."
    Tumanzu had been listening to this exchange with mounting concern. "I don't want to be the cause of trouble," he said.
    Baldwin made calming motions with flattened palms. "You aren't. Escoli is quite right. As an employee of a Terran newspaper, she's entitled to a paid vacation." He shrugged. "Her absence will be a minor inconvenience—to me and to the other two reporters who gather news for