
Besides, it was rationalized, the Iollth did not threaten genocide. They came only to plunder and ravage,
and that only once every hundredth-passing or so. Hardly sufficient reason for distant species with a
surfeit of their own problems to take the time and expense to interfere. Especially when most of Hyff
never even suffered beneath the heavy foot of the visitors, except to witness and weep over their
sporadic depredations via relayed images.
That the fast-moving signatures Ussakk had detected emerging from deepspace belonged to the Iollth
there was no question. The infrequent and uncommon traders or explorers who occasionally found their
way to Hyff always arrived singly. Therewas one atypical report from three hundred-passings ago of two
such vessels arriving simultaneously in orbit around Hyff, but that was only the result of coincidence. They
had not been traveling in tandem, and were as surprised by each other’s appearance in Hyfftian space as
were the Hyfft themselves.
No, without question, a triple signature could signify the imminent arrival of nothing other than the
dreaded Iollth.
As the senior astronomer on duty, he had the obligation to deliver the bad news to the local Overwatch,
who would then pass it along to all the individual elements of the Great Government. Composed of
hundreds of local Overwatches, the Great Government would then dictate an appropriate response. The
best that could be hoped for, Ussakk knew, was that the Iollth would take what they wanted, murder for
entertainment as few citizens as possible, and be on their way after causing a minimal amount of damage
to Hyfftian civilization. It might be, he reflected as he began to make inviolable recordings of the relevant
readouts, that with luck he would not be expected to kill himself.
As soon as the necessary recordings had been prepared, he stored them in his body pouch and
prepared to leave his post. There was no thought of transmitting such sensitive information electronically.
It was his responsibility, his personalcura, to deliver it in person. Coworkers were bemused by his
nonresponsiveness as he departed. Such glumness was not usually associated with the bright and chipper
senior astronomer. But no one pressed the limits of what was culturally acceptable. Though concerned,
they left him to his private dejection. That was just as well, since if they had asked what was troubling
him, he would have been compelled to answer.
Let them dwell in happiness and contentment a little while longer,he decided as he exited the
observatory and ambled toward the nearest conveyor. Horror was now in the neighborhood and would
arrive on their mental doorsteps soon enough.
The Escarpment of Lann dropped away behind him and his speed increased as the terrain leveled out.
Racing toward the city, he was forced to slow repeatedly as his vehicle bunched up behind other
conveyors. Each held, at most, no more than a single family. Hyfft did not travel in groups. On a world as
heavily populated as theirs, even though that population was evenly dispersed, personal privacy was at a
premium. So was courtesy, which was why the anxious Ussakk waited his turn until one by one, those in
front of him reached their exit points and left the main conveyor route. Only then did he accelerate again.
There was no road, the conveyor route being only a line on a map that was duplicated in actuality by
perfectly spaced sensors buried in the ground. The route Ussakk was following ran through fields of
pfale, whose dark green fruit burst from the center of a spray of bright blue-green leaves. Enormous in
extent, this particular field was nearly ready for harvesting. For a moment, the color and anticipation took
his mind off the dreadful news he was about to deliver.Pfale was famed for its piquant taste, and for the
ability of master cooks to turn it into a variety of elegant dishes usually supplemented with a quartet of
semell condiments. Descended from wholly herbivorous ancestors, the Hyfft were masters of vegetarian
cuisine.
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