"I wonder—" Dorland began. Then something else came through:
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*Eh-hli-seph-eh*
A feeling of belonging came with that.
"•That's her name," Karyn said.
Paul knew instinctively that she was right. How did I /enow? An impression, but solid enough to make him certain. He realized then that what came to his mind was more than sounds.
*Eh-hli-seph-eh*
Paul tried to repeat the word aloud but found that he couldn't get his human tongue around it.
"Elli," Dorland said.
The creature's sensor nubs moved back and
forth. Dorland pointed at the creature. "Elli."
"•Eh-hli*
"Close enough," Dorland said. He hitched himself up onto one of the pedestals. "Let's get to work."
Chapter Fifteen
THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION WASN'T EASY.
At first Elli's thoughts came in fragments that didn't always fit together. Sorting the fragments mentally and fitting them back together sometimes led to a rough understanding of what she was trying to get across. For Paul, the experience was almost like a dream that skipped randomly from scene to scene, and the reward for finally getting it right was always the same: an immediate rush of warmth and affection.
After an hour of trial and error, Elli's thoughts began to come through more clearly, as if she had learned how to focus them more effectively on the humans. By that time she was adding Basic words and phrases to the concepts. Paul wasn't sure whether she had actually learned the language that quickly from speaking with them, or if instead his own mind was somehow dealing with her thought projections by doing its own translation. The mingling of Basic and conceptual thought made under-standing come more easily, but it was not entirely comfortable. It was as if the words reached one part 157
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of Paul's brain and the projected concepts reached another. Pulling the two together required an effort that made his nerves stand on end. In addition to that, the concepts still were not always sequenced or ordered in a way that made sense in human terms.
During that first hour they discovered two fundamental principles of Elli's communicative process. First, they learned that she could understand them only if they spoke aloud. They could not project their thoughts directly to her as she projected to them. Second, they found that Elli's communication reached exactly to the outer ring of pedestals. One step beyond that point and her thoughts were abruptly cut off. There was no way for them to know if that was by design or coincidence. But even though Paul and Dorland learned how to communicate more effectively with Elli, they hadn't made any real progress in getting useful information from her, and after three hours, Paul was beginning to feel the tingle of anxiety. Now Dorland had come back to a subject they had touched on several times. The question he asked was simple enough:
"Where are you?"
Elli's reply was a variation of the one she'd given each time he asked the question:
*Eh-hli (negative)——(?)*
As far as Dorland and Paul had been able to determine, she was simply saying that she didn't understand the question. Paul wasn't even sure if the question was important. They had tested his observation about Lord Tern by placing one of the light globes behind Elli. Paul wasn't surprised to find that the globe was faintly visible through her body. That reinforced his belief that her image was being transmitted from someplace else, but it didn't answer the question of where.
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Dorland asked the question again and got the same vague response. Then he gave up and tried another major question they had tossed back and forth several times:
"Tell us what you know about Lord Tern."
^Recognition) (Nontouch/nonyouth) Eh-hli (unpleasantness)*
Again, a variation of the response she had given each time Lord Tern's name was mentioned. It was clear that Elli knew of him, or of others like him—but she didn't want to talk about him.
"This is important," Paul said, leaning forward closer to Elli. "We have to know about Lord Tern—"
The sensation of an enormous sigh swept out from Elli and over Paul.
*It can——Eh-hli struggles with the limitation of your (speak/think) emotional breath— (Confusion)*
"You can say that again," Paul muttered.
*You know (share) many——in the group
(home)——. Eh-hli (?) young (group/touch)*
"Group/touch," Dorland repeated thoughtfully. She had used the term often, but never in a way that made it clear what she meant.
*"(Group/touch) kra'ith (Youth) Eh-hli (?)*
Kra'ith. It came through as a sound that was clearly the Tal Tahir word for what she was trying to get across. It came to Paul as an unmistakable feeling of warmth and acceptance from a group of friends. More than acceptance—protection, much the way a secure child would feel toward a nurturing parent. Paul felt the entire sensation in the space of an instant, fitted in among the other concepts that were just as clear and as brief.
"Elli is kra'ithT Dorland asked.
*(Confusion) kra'ith (group/touch)*
Suddenly Elli blurred and disappeared, and from the chauka came a crackling sound like the disWilliam Greenleaf 160
charge of electricity. Dorland slipped the disk out of his pocket and touched it to the end of the rod. The device snapped, then began the process of resurrecting Elli. They had gone through this procedure several times before it occurred to Paul to time the length of her stay. The interval was always the same—just over twelve minutes before she would disappear. But the silver disk always brought her back, and she and Dorland continued with their conversation as if there had been no interruption. Paul found himself wondering: Why is she so willing to come every time Dorland calls heri Motives—first Lord Tern's and now Elli's. What were they getting out of this relationship with humans?
He turned and walked among the pedestals to the doorway for some fresh air. The sounds of voices from the roof filtered down the stairway behind him. Karyn had gone up to the roof to join Jacque two hours ago. Paul was sure that she would be pressing to return to the cave before long. She had lost contact with Sabastian and wasn't sure if they had gone outside the range of the fartalker or if something had happened at the camp.
He turned back to the chamber.
*(Youth) Kra'ith*
Paul caught a fleeting impression other meaning. Dorland had felt it, too.
"You want to know about our . . . children?" he asked.
*(!) (Acceptance) (Group/touch)*
"They aren't here," Dorland answered, watching her intently. He waved a hand out toward the village of Fairhope. "There are children out there. None here."
*(?) Kra'ith (Youth, group/touch) (Acceptance)*
"What is the importance of the children?" Dorland asked.
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That didn't get through; the feeling of confusion came back, tickling Paul's mind.
"The youth you speak of," Dorland said patiently. "The children—who are they?"
*(Youth) kra'ith (Group/touch) Eh-hli (confusion)*
Paul shook his head. "We aren't getting anywhere."
"We have to keep trying," Dorland said. "The key is here. The young are special to the Tal Tahir. She keeps coming back to that."
"We already knew the young were important. Even the arkies had learned that much. But how can we use that against Lord Tern and High Elder Brill?"
"I don't know," Dorland admitted.
*Eh-hli (query) why (Dorland/Paul) not feel kra'ith (group) home*
Dorland/Paul. That was another concept Elli had started using, and it was the strangest for Paul. The feeling came through as a brief mental image that clearly encompassed both men. Paul wasn't sure if she was confused about their individuality or if she somehow grouped them together as she became more familiar with them. He was reminded uncomfortably of the way he and Dorland had been joined in the temple.