Anne McCaffrey - Tower & Hive 3 - Damias Children

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Damia's Children

Anne McCaffrey

Damia and Afra-Raven-Lyon had reared their children in a brilliant

and unorthodox way.All their young had been'paired'when six months

old with the furry,one-eyed Mrdinis,the only other sentient beings

in the Alliance,who could communicate with humans by their

'dream messages'. Together,man and Mrdini worked to create prosperous

worlds and guard against the terrible threat of the annihilating

Hivers.

And now,in the deeps of Space,Mrdini scouts had crossed the path

of three Hive ships-ships that were giant hulks of cell units,

bearing the queens and workers out into space,to breed and

multiply and destroy wherever they found a viable planet.

It was the four elder children of Damia-Laria,Thian,Rojer and

Zara-all uniquely talented in their various ways,who were to

play their part,helped by their long-time Dini friends,in the

conquering and investigation of the Alien threat of the Hivers.

One of the world's leading science fiction writers,

Anne McCaffrey has won the Hugo and Nebula

awards for science fiction. Brought up in the U.S.

and now living in Ireland, she is the creator and

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bestselling author of the unique Dragon series.

Also by Anne Mccaffrey

DRAGONFLIGHT

DRAGON QUEST

DRAGONSONG

DRAGONSINGER: HARPER OF PERN

THE WHITE DRAGON

DRAGONDRUMS

MOItrA: DRAGONLADY OF PERN

NERIlcA'S STORY and THE COELURA

DRAGONS DAWN

THE RENEGADES OF PERN

ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN

RESTOREE

THE SHIP WHO SANG

DECISION AT DOONA

GET OFF THE UNICORN

THE CRYSTaL SINGER

KILLASHANDRA

CRYSTAL LINE

PEGASUS IN FLIGHT

THE ROWAN

DAMIA

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CORGI BOOKS

DAMIA'S CHILDREN

A CORGI BOOK : 0 552 13912 2

Originally published in Great Britain by Bantam Press,

a division of Transworld Publishers Ltd

The right of Anne McCaffrey to be identified as the author of this

work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the

All of the characters in this book are fictitious

and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,

is purely coincidental.

Reverently dedicated to

Richard Woods, O.P.

aka Pendragon, Fullfret Faxdragon,

Cap tooth Fangbite the Whistler

Hurry fast R ushdrake

Sir Walter McDragon

Slipknife Ouchblend the Reckless

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Shortblast Spleen fume the Apoplectic

Dragon rabbit Eggsnitcher the Wily

Thick head Diddlewit the Forgetful

Snatch fin ger Jewelheist the Avancious

Snapdragon Fastsnatch

Harpmaker, Storyteller, GOOD Friend

Set in 1 1/12'pt Linotype Sabon by

Chippendale Type Ltd, Otley, West Yorkshire.

Corgi Books are published by Transworld Publishers Ltd,

by Transworld Publishers (Australia)

15-25 Helles Avenue, Moorebank, NSW 2170,

and in New Zealand by Transworld Publishers (NZ) Ltd,

3 William Pickering Drive, Albany, Auckland.

Reproduced, printed and bound in Great Britain by

Cox & Wyman Ltd, Readin Berks.

Laria reined Saki in at the curve, to let Tip and Hgf catch up.

She deliberately kept her eyes forward, curbing Saki's intention

to gallop up the last hill to home, because she knew the `dinis would

have dropped to four legs to make the steep climb. Tip and Hgf were

awfully sensitive about being caught on all fours. Like humans, the

Mrdinis assumed bipedal stance as soon as their back muscles were well

enough developed to support the long trunk.

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Her father said that he thought the `dinis had been much relieved

to learn that human children also had to learn how to walk upright.

When Saki's twitching ears and a waft of a musky leathery scent on

the breeze announced their arrival, she acknowledged them with a

whistle/click.

She couldn't quite make the sound as well as her brothers Thian

and Rojer, but she did better than Zara who hadn't the hang of it at

all yet. Kaltia wasn't even trying though she signed well enough to be

understood by the `dinis as Morag did. Her youngest siblings, Ewain

and Petra, were too young to have more than the most rudimentary

contact with their pairs.

Despite saddlebags full of the day's catch, Saki marched

vigorously uphill, careful not to tread on the flipper feet on either

side of her. Tip and Huf - which were Laria's mental tag for her

`dinis had taken holds on Laria's stirrups to assist them up this

steepest part of the climb. Well accustomed to hauling `dinis, Saki

accepted the additional burden.

Dropping the reins now that Saki was behaving, Laria had hands

free to sign to her companions in excitement over their success

hunting. They'd never hear her well enough over the clopping of Saki's

hoofbeats if she spoke aloud. Tip and Hgf clicked and clacked happy

sounds which echoed in their skulls. They could produce any number of

identifiable noises that way, ranging from fear to bravado, agreement,

dislike, curiosity, concern, enjoyment and what passed for `Dini

laughter.

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Neither species could quite manage the varied sounds needed to

reproduce the subtler nuances of the other's speech but human body

language could add emphasis words and so could `Dini body movements.

Their five fingers were as dextrous in reproducing arbitrary

patterns as their oral cavities were in producing understandable,

pitched noises that humans could copy. Both languages, as spoken by

the other species, were refined to somewhat limited vocabularies that

fortunately could be extended into quite a few technical areas: such as

space travel, basic engine design, biological and meteorological

sciences, metallurgy and mining.

Laria's mother and father, Damia and Afra Raven Lyon, had spent

the past fifteen years developing and refining this communications

bridge apart from the Dreamings - with Mrdini colleagues. Laria had

been the earliest human test subject. Constantly surrounded from birth

by adult Mrdinis, and then young Tip and Huf, she had absorbed posture

and sounds just as any child learns another language from early

exposure.

By the time she was six months old, she had had Tip and Hgf as

cribmates and had dreamed the pleasantest dreams in their company at

naptime and at night. All the Raven-Lyon offspring had been similarly

paired when they were six months old with `Dini young.

On Iota Aurigae, such partnering had become normal. Even before

much interspecies communIcation had become viable, miners - who were so

overworked they were glad of any assistance - had taken adult pairs of

`dinis into the pits and shafts when the Mrdinis had `dreamed' their

willingness to do so. The tough and suspicious Aurigaean miners had

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discovered that the `dinis were instinctive colliers, hard workers, and

unusually strong.

`Hey-YO,' cried someone behind her. Turning, Laria saw her

brother Thian, his white lock flopping across his face, on his chunky

black pony, Charger, round the bend, Mrg and Dpl trudging along beside

him.

Not for the first time did Laria regret that the conformation of

the `Dini made it impossible for them, with their stout short legs and

stumpy tail, to straddle the hardy little Denebian hybrid ponies that

humans employed. When they were younger, she'd occasionally put Tip

and Huf up on Saki, Tip in front where she could hold on to it, and Huf

riding pillion behind, its fingers latched tightly to her belt. But it

wasn't the most comfortable way to travel and now her mates were too

heavy to ride Saki with her.

`Good hunting, Thian?' Laria called back.

`Plenty for pot and spit,' her brother yelled, grinning hugely.

`Rojer's right behind us, with their bag.

He must have some secret source of scurriers the amount he's

bringing in.' Hunting was a weekend occupation for the three oldest

Raven-Lyon children who were good archers while the `dinis were clever

with traps. With such a big household to feed, small avian species and

burrowing animals, scurriers and the variety of rabbit that had adapted

well to Aurigae were welcome additions to protein requirements, not

always as well satisfied by the huge gardens.

The Tower could, of course, have brought in any supplies needed

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but it had become a matter of family pride and honour for this

household to supply its own needs - human and Mrdini - either from the

high plateaux and valleys behind Auriga City or from their fields.

Saki was too eager for her warm stable and supper to be held back

to wait for Thian so Laria let her walk out, her tired young `Dini

mates hauled alongside.

As they finally reached the terrace level, lights were already

beginning to augment the dimming day and illuminate the broad

courtyard. Saki's hooves clattered across it, summoning the resident

pets: Coonies, Darbuls and what Laria had termed Slithers, the Mrdini

equivalent of a pet.

Neither reptile nor bird, neither furred nor feathered, but

loving, affectionate, dependent on assistance to survive anywhere,

Slithers had - to everyone's great astonishment - become accepted by

Coonies, ignored by Darbuls, and endeared themselves to the humans as

useful household creatures. Their existence and nurture by Mrdinis had

been a curiously important factor in the acceptance of the aliens: `Any

critter that cares for a pet - even one as repulsive as that slithery

reptiloid er. -- ah . entity -` the Fleet Commander had remarked,

`can't be all bad.' As Slither diet consisted of Aurigaean insects and

small bugs unappetizing to other life forms, the creatures kept the

large sprawling Raven-Lyon residence and neighbouring fields clear of

pests that often caused humans on Aurigae considerable discomfort or

nuisance when they fed on the crops.

Laria was already giving Saki a rub-down when first Thian and then

Rojer arrived in the stable, to tend their own beasts. While one `Dini

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brought the catch up to the kitchen wing, the other helped with hay and

feed for the horses. That set the already stabled animals to stamping

and snorting.

Have all the ponies been fed? Laria asked, broadcasting her

thought more than directing it to either parent.

Please, darling? Had some late Tower traffic, replied Damia.

What splendid hunting you've all had!

Laria `ported the feeds into the mangers, adding the special

vitamins and salts that two of the newest ponies required until their

digestions altered to Aurigaean grasses. As usual, the four `dinis II

clacked in loud appreciation of her kinetic skill.

WE FEED PONIS, WE MAKE PONIS `APPY, Tip and Huf chanted, although

they themselves had done nothing, but as Tip and Huf were hers, any of

her achievements were also theirs. Laria gave a small, almost

inaudible sigh of resignation: for all their years in a Talented

household, the `dinis were always more charmed by small teleportations

like this than any major workings from the Tower. Cargo and ships just

disappeared from or appeared in cradles whereas now the `dinis could

see the movement from one place to another.

WE FEED PONIS PLUS, Thian's pair, Mur and Dip, added.

WE FEED FIRST, Tip began, turning its poll eye back over itself to

pin Mur with a steely glance.

She signed it quickly not to be so silly and shocked with her

tongue a disapproving note. Tip shrugged that off, swaying its upper

body and head in reaffirmation.

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As her parents had cautioned her as soon as she began to

experiment with her telekinetic abilities, Laria was careful in its

usage. The young Raven Lyons did `path more than most Talented parents

would recommend for family communications but then the circumstances

were unusual. Conversations between humans - when the `dinis could not

follow verbal speech - would be rude so they often `pathed rather than

discourteously `spoke' what their guests could not understand.

The entire Raven-Lyon family, including eight month-old Petra, was

considered by the Governmental Authority to be acting as official

liaison representatives to Mrdini. Telepathy allowed the family the

privacy and ease to discuss intimate matters which might have to

exclude the `dinis.

As soon as Laria, Thian and Rojer had seen to the comfort of their

ponies, they and th other `dinis went up the ramp from the stable

complex to the Hall where most of the combined household's activities

took place. With their `dinis' help, Morag was already plucking,

skinning and eviscerating the catch. Zara, who would not butcher

animals, was washing and preparing vegetables and greens. Afra and Flk

were trussing bird and scurrier beast for the spit while Damia and Trp

were doing multiple tasks with the rest of the meal. The `dinis were

also carrying on a voluble conversation with their returning young.

Despite the differences in shape and origin, there were many

similarities between Mrdini and human in the care, education and

nurture of their progeny.

Laria caught only half of what FIk and Trp were saying to the

younglings but the sounds merrily ranged up and down the pitches

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摘要：

Damia'sChildren by AnneMcCaffrey DamiaandAfra-Raven-Lyonhadrearedtheirchildreninabrilliantandunorthodoxway.Alltheiryounghadbeen'paired'whensixmonthsoldwiththefurry,one-eyedMrdinis,theonlyothersentientbeingsintheAlliance,whocouldcommunicatewithhumansbytheir'dreammessages'. Together,manandMr...

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Anne McCaffrey - Tower & Hive 3 - Damias Children

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