Part 26 (2/2)
That gentleman had a good long look at the wondrous colors and forms that were shortly obscured by the thickening mist, A slight smile curved his finely molded lips, and then he closed his eyes.
Sean and Yana, shoulders and thighs touching, experienced an overwhelming sensation of relief and total relaxation, of rea.s.surance and goodwill: a sense of great achievement, although relief was the dominant feeling.
When the mist dissolved at last, leaving the ambient glow of the rocks in their splendidly delicate coloration's visible, the relief still remained. Then all the partic.i.p.ants turned their attention to Phon Tho Anaciliact.
He rose from his lotus position with the special gracefulness of someone well accustomed to such a maneuver and smiled at them.
”This planet is self-aware in a manner I have never before encountered. It is an ent.i.ty, a being with consciousness, and as such deserves the protection which is my prerogative. While it insists that it is no longer indentured to Intergal, it honors the obligation of life and will redeem itself in due course.” Then he turned to Clodagh. ”You are named as one minister to its needs, and you, Sean Shongili, are another.” Then he looked curiously around, first at Sinead, then Bunny, until his glance settled on Yana. ”Ah yes, it is you, Colonel Yanaba Maddock, whom I take with me to the headquarters of CIS to verify certain particulars in my report. As soon as communications are repaired, I shall give an interim report to my superiors, but in the meantime, I am authorized to evict the inc.u.mbent authority as inimical to the Subject Sentience. You who have lived long on Petaybee are requested to remain. I fear there may be some hards.h.i.+ps yet for you to undergo until a proper authority can be framed to deal with such an unusual Sentience and the needs of its inhabitants.” His lips curved with wry humor. ”But you are welcome, it would seem,” he said, smiling at Clodagh, Sinead, Aisling, Whittaker, Johnny, and Sean, ”For without you, the Sentience would never have become truly aware of its potential.”
”And just what is that potential, Messer Anaciliact?” Marmion asked with one of her more radiant smiles.
He gave a shrug, opening his hands. ”It is-boundless, it is-unchartable, it is-unfathomable, it is-”
Yana's pent-up nerves of the last few weeks released in a short guffaw. ”I think what Messer Anaciliact is trying to say is, 'whatever'!”
The Sentience gave a tremor that might have been a laugh but certainly concluded the current interview.
”What songs we'll make of this, huh, Bunny?” Diego whispered as people turned to file reverently from the cavern. Bunny smiled in agreement, just as a peculiar echo rang through the cavern. It repeated not the last words of Diego's sentence, nor the first word, but the middle ones. As they turned to listen, the cavern played rainbows on its reflective surfaces and the echo sang back to them. in a voice neither Diego's nor Bunny's nor that of any human being they knew, ”Songs we'll make, songs we'll make.”
The End
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