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cameras had recorded, as the humans headed back to meet Arielle. The listening
crew were appalled at what he had to say, and Cinnamon queried him in
disbelief.
"You mean these gentle creatures, who make such lovely music, who have
been so polite to us, who live in such beauty of their own creation -- they
actually slaughtered each other without mercy?"
"With absolute savagery," answered George somberly. "Without hesitating
a second. There was no thought behind what I saw, it was just butchery."
"I thought this was a real civilization, Cinnamon," Katrina transmitted
sadly. "But I'm afraid I was wrong."
"I was too," admitted George. "I fell into the old anthropomorphism
thing, finding parallels with humankind at every step. That was a mistake.
These creatures have no humanity in them."
"That's right," said Richard definitely. "They are purely and simply --
alien." They had reached the landing site now, and the _Dragonfly_ was
hovering silently.
"_True,_ damn it!"
The barked words sounded like a gun-blast, and the crew spun around to
stare in amazement at Deirdre. She stood apart, angrier than she had ever been
before. Her words were scorching, and no one there had ever imagined the
lilting voice was capable of such venom and fire.
"_Alien_, ye've said it, and _I've_ said it, and it's a fine word that.
An honest word, and it doesn't mean less than human, or more than human, it
means _different_ to human! And ye should thank whatever gods your small minds
pray to that they're _not_ human! Think you it's a thing to be proud of,
indeed? These ignorant creatures know nothing of torture, have you seen that?
They dinna torture, nor enslave, nor harm any living thing, not for reasons of
race, or greed, or lust, nor all the reasons any self-respecting human
dictator can -- _and has_ -- found expedient! They dinna kill nor maim nor
imprison minds or bodies in the blessed name of religion, which _all_ human
religions have found expedient! Nor do they do any of those things for the
foul reason so many humans do -- because their wicked souls _enjoy_ inflicting
pain on other people, on enslaved animals, on small things that have no words!
I have tried, _most_ of you have tried to keep from thinking of the icerugs as
intelligent, unemotional, but funny-looking _people_, and we have all failed!
We are _wrong_! And full well ye know it! They are not, nor shall they _ever_
be human, and may the Universe forgive us for coming here and meddling and
then, _damn_ it to hell! _condemning_ them for their behavior! _Shame_ be on
your human heads!
The fiery green glare suddenly sparkled and softened, as Deirdre's eyes
filled with tears. She pushed through the little crew of stunned people, and
hurried into the airlock. Nobody had anything to say. Richard followed
quickly, removed his suit and headed thoughtfully for the shower. He saw that
Deirdre had the same intention, and was coming towards him wrapped in a towel.
They both stopped, and then Richard stepped back, with a brief nod, and got
out of her way. Deirdre smiled and walked silently into the shower, closing
the door firmly behind her.
--------
*CHAPTER 13 -- DIVING*
As the war continued, the humans stayed aboard _Victoria_.
"I feel strongly that we must not interfere," said George. "And I can't
see us just strolling about, observing and commenting, but taking no part in
the action."
"And you'd be in the way," added Deirdre drily. "Might even be a bit
... painful, perchance." George said nothing. The crew's safety was his prime
responsibility, and he took it seriously. For several days, as they stayed
aboard their two vehicles and studied of the data and samples they had
collected, the crew could hear occasional battle noises, which had now grown
to loud explosions. They never became accustomed to them, and everyone winced
at the sounds. On the fourth day, silence fell, and lasted. Shirley sent a
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query to _Splish_, which had remained immobile on the ice shelf lake front
near the city.
"The icerugs in my field of observation are no longer fighting. They
are moving slowly and are filling up their respective territories. There are
no more loud voices."
"Perhaps this means there is peace now!" said Shirley eagerly.
_Splish_'s mechanical reply was precise. "Peace is not a word the
icerugs have in their dictionary. They have probably annihilated the enemy and
the war is over for that reason."
This came as a shock, even after all they had seen. But all were
anxious to know the condition of the formerly friendly icerugs, and Thomas and
Richard volunteered to investigate. George agreed, but insisted on going
along. For the first time in the long history of their explorations, he also
insisted on supplying each of them with a weapon. It was a recoilless hand
launcher for laser-beam-riding rocket-propelled explosive bullets -- accurate
in any gravity field from zero to five gees.
"Keep it concealed in your chestpack -- unless you need it -- and I'm
pretty sure you won't. But in the aftermath of war, sometimes situations
become ... uncertain."
The three men were dropped off on the lake front ice shelf, Arielle
keeping the _Dragonfly_ aloft above them. They were cheered by the sight of
icerug nodes active again upon their carpets, although there were many empty
areas.
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