From what I'd read, the Falki females were closer to neutral on the subject, but I didn't say anything.
Eldjarn went on. "It's only the neuters out in the hills and woodlands who are trying to kick up a guerrilla war."
"Yes, sir, but has anyone tried talking with them?" Saiko persisted. "There may be no need to fight."
In the silence that followed, someone snickered, and I could see both disgust and amusement flicker across the Enforcers' faces. Eldjarn kept his own expression neutral. "We're Enforcers; we fight. Talking is for the feeble and the diplomats. Any other questions, Corporal?"
"No, sir." Saiko's face didn't change, but I felt a stab of pain for him. Enforcers were not noted for sensitivity or compassion, and I knew Saiko would be the butt of some very low humor all the way to Falkwade.
"All right, then," Eldjarn said. "Eighteenth Enforcers: prepare to board."
I wasn't wrong. Before we were even off the ground, Saiko had been given his first Enforcer nickname: Love-and-kisses.
Enforcers, the elite policemen of the Starguard, like to keep in fighting trim, and our transport had been furnished with this in mind. One of the cargo holds was equipped as a gym/combat room; another boasted a simuholographic shooting range where one could hone one's marksmanship without putting needle dents in any bulkheads. Other training and practice equipment was distributed around the passenger areas.
None of this was of any personal interest to me. So I stayed pretty much in my quarters, reading and working from the mountain of material I'd brought with me. It wasn't until the fourth day of the trip that I had my first visitor.
It was Saiko. "Excuse me, Lieutenant Hillery," he said, standing at the door. "I wonder if I might talk to you for a moment."
"Sure, Saiko, come on in," I waited until he was seated before continuing. "How are you doing?"
"Fine, sir. I wanted to ask you a few questions about the Falkren, if I may."
I covered my surprise; I'd expected him to want help on personal problems. "Sure. What do you want to know?"
"Well, sir, I've read the material we were provided, and it seems to have some inconsistencies in it. Are there three Falki sexes or just two?"
"Well, sir, I've read the material we were provided, and it seems to have some inconsistencies in it. Are there three Falki sexes or just two?"
"I see," Saiko said slowly, "I think. But the reports said the males lived in the villages with the females.
They only dislike humans in their neuter state?"
"How the males feel about us is really irrelevant because they're completely under the control of the females, who are tolerating us at the moment."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"Okay." I hunched forward slightly in my chair, feeling my professorial side taking over. "Here's the Falki setup. The females all live in the villages that are scattered over the major land masses. With them live the males, who handle all the heavy work-building, hauling, some farming-while the females have babies, do lighter work, and give all the orders. The males are completely subservient-as long as they're male. The minute they change to neuter-and the change apparently only takes minutes-they can't be ordered around any more by the females. They immediately leave the village and join up with the neuters who live in the surrounding area. We don't know the social structure of that group yet, but it's clear that they have one, because things get done. The neuters do all the hunting, fishing, lumbering-anything that needs to be done outside the village proper, delivering the goods to males at a rendezvous point near the village border and getting grain and clothing in return. If the village needs to move, the neuters blaze the trail and act as a moving screen while the males and females travel. And, of course, they do any fighting that needs to be done."
"And when they go back to being male?"
"They return to the village."
Saiko stroked his lip thoughtfully. "Interesting. It makes sense to protect those who are breeding, both female and male, as much as possible. A most unusual expression of oneness, with this periodic changing of roles."
"You mean the way the females dominate the males but not the neuters? I suppose that does make for a certain symmetry."
He fixed me suddenly with a curious gaze. "Why do you insist on seeing it in terms of domination and submission? Couldn't it simply be that the Falkren recognize their interdependence and take the roles which allow their survival and growth?"
I floundered for a good five seconds on that one. "I suppose I'm anthropomorphizing," I said at last.
"Most human societies run along power/authority lines. So I guess we have an automatic tendency to assume aliens behave that way, too."
"I see." There was an odd note of disappointment in Saiko's tone.
"You disagree?" I probed.
He hesitated, unblinking eyes gauging my reaction. I knew that look and the thoughts behind it; my own rather nonmilitary personality had made me an oddball of sorts even among other Starguard scientists.
The search for a kindred spirit could be a long and painful one. "Go ahead," I encouraged him.
"If I think in terms of dominance and submission, then I must consider myself as separate from the rest of the universe," Saiko said. "In other words, if I consider you to be outside of me, then I can try to dominate you. This sets up conflict between us.
"If instead I consider you to be actually another part of me, then I won't fight you, because we don't fight ourselves. I'll try to help you, try to let you have your way as much as possible. You see? The conflict is now gone."
"Yes," I said carefully. I'd heard of that philosophy before. Oriental in origin, it was largely in the clutches of various mystical cults these days, at least out in the Colonies. "It's an interesting concept, but I think it's a bit risky. Humanity has certainly had more wars than we've needed, but it may be better sometimes to err on that side than to be too pacifist and get trampled. You see, with your philosophy there's very little you can do in the way of self-defense."
Saiko shrugged. "I could point out that an overly aggressive policy also has its dangers. What if you run into a powerful force which you provoke to an unnecessary conflict, for example?"
"True," I admitted. "But at least you're ready for the war when it comes. If you're unable or unwilling to hit back, you won't survive." I could hardly believe I had wound up on this side of the argument. Saiko must be even less a swashbuckler than I was, I decided.
"There are ways to defend yourself without injuring your opponent," Saiko said, smiling faintly.
"Sure-force fields. If you ever invent one let me know. Incidentally, if you don't approve of combat, what are you doing in an Enforcer Brigade?"
"The Eighteenth needed another ordnance tech and I was available. On the other hand, where better to speak against conflict than where the conflict already exists?" His smile vanished and he grew serious.
"Tell me, sir, have negotiations been tried with the Falkren?"
I waved at my computer terminal and the pile of hard-copy records beside it. "All the information I've got says we've tried talking with all three sexes. The males don't seem to count at all. The females are willing for the mineral exploration teams to poke around in exchange for the gifts we give them, but they have no authority outside the villages. The neuters have flatly refused to let us on their turf, and when armed teams go out anyway, they shoot crossbow bolts at them. Even using their best ambush and guerilla tactics, the casualties are running about twenty to one against them, but they still refuse to even discuss the issue.