The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord Read Free Book Online Page A

for you,” he replied firmly though not unkindly. “Now, let us go over
     the Acora, Sibon, and Candirú briefs again. I would like us to be fully prepared when
     we meet our new colleagues.”

A MEANS TO OTHER ENDS
    “ W e
have
a doctor on this team,” I said through gritted teeth.
    Dllenahkh raised his head for a momentary glance. “We have a Commissioner who is an
     anthropologist and a geneticist. Such expertise is not necessary for trivial injuries.”
    The only expertise Dr. Daniyel had that I wanted was the skill of understanding my
     need to howl shamelessly while having centimeter-long spines picked out of my palm.
     I hissed and twitched as Dllenahkh’s tweezers probed too deeply. He gave me a tired
     look, firmly positioned my wrist between his knees, and gripped. Then he held the
     tips of my fingers and applied the tweezers with a will. I twisted in my chair, turned
     my head into the crook of the elbow of my uninjured arm, and kept it there.
    “You may cry out if it makes you more comfortable,” he said kindly. “It was only the
     movement that was problematic.”
    “I’m good,” I whimpered.
    After a few more minutes of torture, the barbaric antique tweezers were laid aside
     and a modern medical scanner was passed over my hand. Having satisfied himself that
     the wounds were indeed clear of debris, Dllenahkh picked up another instrumentand began to seal the punctures and lacerations. I emerged from hiding, sighing with
     the bliss of the absence of pain, and slowly flexed my hand.
    “I would recommend that you stay away from that particular plant in future.”
    “No disagreement here,” I said firmly.
    “She only did it to get out of her turn at poling the punt,” Lian said to Joral with
     a laugh. They were at the back of the shuttle, unloading the last set of supplies
     from storage.
    “Mm-hm. That elegant trip and fall was all part of my cunning plan,” I said with distracted
     cheerfulness as I cautiously ran exploring fingers over my healed skin.
    Lian and Joral went out, carrying a box between them. In a few minutes, having reassembled
     and put away the medkit, Dllenahkh also left. I gave my hand one final pat and was
     about to join them when Joral came back into the shuttle, a slightly furtive expression
     on his face. He slid into the chair beside me and placed his hands flat on his knees
     with an air of resolve.
    “First Officer Delarua, is Lian male or female?”
    I looked at Joral in utter shock. “That is not a question you should ask anyone but
     Lian. In fact, I don’t even think you should ask Lian that. Why do you even need to
     know?”
    “Lian is highly intelligent and has features that are visually pleasing, but I do
     not know whether it would be appropriate to—”
    “Joral, should you
really
be assessing the wife potential of every female you meet?”
    He looked slightly abashed. “Such matters would have been arranged for me before,
     but now, with things as they are, it makes sense for me to review all possible options.”
     He began to tap his fingers on his knee, counting. “Nasiha is already bonded, you
     are too old—at least too old for me—Dr. Daniyel is
definitely
tooold, and that leaves Lian by a simple process of elimination—
if
, of course, Lian is female.”
    “Joral,” I said quietly. “A word to the wise. First, it is best to steer clear of
     any assessment or discussion that uses the phrase ‘too old’ to describe a woman. Second,
     fraternizing with members of the mission team is not recommended. We will have to
     live as close as family while maintaining a high standard of professionalism. Complications
     would not be helpful.”
    Joral looked at me apprehensively. He had already learned that it was not a good sign
     when I spoke slowly and quietly. “I will take your advice, First Officer Delarua.”
    “Good. Now, Lian is … Lian. Lian has chosen to live without reference to gender. This
     may or may not mean that Lian is