Universal Language by Robert T. Jeschonek Read Free Book Online Page A

Vox, it was nowhere near as packed as the streets had been. Jalila's panic faded a little; she was still worried someone would recognize her as the visitor who'd spoken the forbidden slur, but not so worried about being trampled to death.
    " Here we are ." Folcrum swept a clawed hand around to encompass the busy plaza. " Speech Center. Heart of our world ' s languages.
    " All these people are Lexicons ." Folcrum gazed around at the square's population. " Every working L exicon in the world ... plus our retired and revised ones . "
    " You don ' t see this often ," said blonde-furred Giza, on Jalila's other side. " The last was six years ago , but you rarely see a major revision twice in ten years. "
    " Even without the threat of violence ," said Folcrum, " it would be an exciting day. "
    Jalila's group passed a crowd engaged in a discussion of pronunciation so spirited that it seemed on the verge of becoming a fistfight. Further on, a spotted brown Vox howled at passersby from a pulpit, protesting proposed changes to a class of multi-tense verbs. A choir at the center of the plaza sang a thesaurus, with different sections--bass, tenor, alto, soprano--singing different strings of words with related meanings. Everywhere, the crowd communicated excitedly in the three Vox language modes--chattering, gesturing, buzzing, and clicking.
    Under other circumstances, the plaza would have been paradise to Jalila. As a linguist, she would have loved experiencing such a vibrant, language-focused event on an alien world, humming with the exchange of ideas and the on-the-spot evolution of multilingual syntax.
    Unfortunately, she was too preoccupied with life-and-death concerns to enjoy what could have been one of the most exhilarating experiences of her life.
    Angling through the crowd, Oric led her and the others to one of the stairways flanking the plaza. Tightening the cloak around her, Jalila followed the Lexicons up several stairs, where they stopped to survey the area.
    " Look ," said Folcrum after a moment. " That food vendor by the fountain. "
    Peering out from the hood of her cloak, Jalila saw the fountain midway across the plaza. At a cart set up alongside it, two Vox served food to waiting Lexicons. Though they were some distance away, she immediately recognized one of the vendors.
    " Nalo ," said Folcrum. " His people are positioned around that and three other carts. "
    Jalila saw a second cart parked on the far side of the fountain. The other two carts sat at opposite ends of the plaza, near the main entry points.
    Seeing the carts, Jalila understood the Free Speakers' strategy. They had used the carts to transport their arsenal of weapons into Speech Center. Once the shooting started, they would pin the Lexicons between fire from both ends and the middle of the plaza, cutting off their escape.
    It would be a bloodbath.
    " Three of us to each cart ." With a clawed finger, Giza counted off threesomes from the group of twelve and pointed toward each trio's target.
    Jalila was relieved when he selected Folcrum and Yama to accompany her. She knew Folcrum best of any of them and felt a bond with gagged Yama.
    " You know what you have to do ," said Oric. " We must go now. "
    The four teams split up and headed for their targets. As Folcrum led Jalila and Yama through the crowd, Jalila nervously checked the gun in her pocket and the rifle on her back.
    Her team's target was Nalo himself.
    " Lexicons are more than walking dictionaries , Jalila ," Folcrum said as they approached Nalo's cart. " Watch this. "
    Leaning on the cart's boxy storage compartment, Folcrum addressed brown-furred Nalo. " Three fil'chaka," he said pleasantly. " And what do you have to drink? "
    Nalo looked distracted. "Lucat and oob'suela," he said, staring off across the plaza.
    " I would like three chio vishi," said Folcrum.
    " No chio vishi," Nalo said irritably. "Lucat or oob'suela."
    Folcrum nodded. " Would you please excuse me for a moment? "
    With that, Folcrum