companion of his}
'Okay, Rory,' he said, getting to his feet. 'I have to get along. You be on your way to the Pushkinskog daughter-forest - I've already told Listener Gansua to expect you.'
Rory stood, scratching his sandy hair. 'Whit d'ye think these FDF guys'll do there? - graffiti a tree?'
'God knows. For all we know they may not be willing to involve the Uvovo, but given their lack of respect for certain landmarks I wouldn't bet on it.'
Rory paused, a half-smile on his lips. 'I guess you'll have been asking about the ither colonyships, Major, aye? I heard that they've still no' been found.'
'Still missing, Rory, still a mystery.'
'Right, aye, but it makes ye wonder, ye know . . I mean, there's the old Hyperion just up the road,' he said. 'What if the other ship AIs cracked up too, like a design flaw, maybe?'
Theo shrugged. 'I've heard that theory before, and if it is true then perhaps we are the lucky ones to have survived.'
'Call this luck, Major?'
Exchanging waves, they went their separate ways, Theo's smile fading a little, his thoughts growing sombre as he crossed the bridge that led to the outskirts of Membrance Vale.
11
GREG
The reporter Lee Shan scanned the ruins of the site through an opaque oval eyepiece attached to a sleek white headset, its flattened band encircling his bald head and anchored to a second around his neck. An equipment pannier floated quietly nearby on suspensors.
'Very nice, Doctor Cameron, very atmospheric, so what we would like to do is take lots of shots of the ruins - and some of you at work, obviously, especially at the sacrificial altar, then we embed simz of those Uvolos, but that'll be done Earthside, before tiercast...'
Greg stared at the reporter, Lee Shan, with a mixture of annoyance and intent curiosity, wondering who was speaking, the man or the AI implant. He then pointed to the grey stone bowl to which the reporter had been drawn.
'They're called the Uvovo, and that is not a sacrificial altar—'
'I see, I see, so do you know what it is, Doctor?'
'Mr Lee,' he said carefully, 'the Uvovo abandoned these ruins thousands of years ago, after which this entire promontory was covered with jungle. Where we are standing was the roof and this bowl was most probably used for ritual fires, perhaps even cooking.'
'So you're not completely certain what it is?'
'The Uvovo have affirmed that blood sacrifice never played any part in their culture.'
'A useful testimony, I am sure, Doctor, but after several millennia how can they be sure?'
Lee Shan smiled. In the background his aircams darted around just above head height, scanning everything in sight and unintentionally providing great amusement for the Uvovo scholars. The reporter's small, neat smile, however, served only to aggravate Greg beyond the already strained limits of his courtesy. He knew that he should ignore the man's arrogance, but the situation was like a door through which he could not help but walk.
He matched the reporter's smile with one of his own.
'You know, Mr Lee, perhaps you've got a point. Perhaps we're not being imaginative enough in our hypotheses. How about this - we could suggest that the ancient Uvovo sacrificed criminals and prisoners to, let's say, giant alligator creatures from the sea, and that these blood-soaked ceremonies took place at night because the alligator-things only came up to the beach after dark. It may be that those sea-borne predators who failed to consume any of the sacrificial carrion were themselves killed and eaten by the Uvovo ancestors ...'
'Doctor, do you have any proof for any of this?'
'Not a scrap but it's such fun, don't you think? And and to demonstrate these hypotheses I might be able to persuade our Uvovo scholars to dress up in furs and ritual paint then hold a re-enactment for you and the cameras after nightfall, complete with torches, drums and barefoot dancing. Perhaps some of my Norj and Dansk colleagues might come in horned helmets and I'll wear my
'Okay, Rory,' he said, getting to his feet. 'I have to get along. You be on your way to the Pushkinskog daughter-forest - I've already told Listener Gansua to expect you.'
Rory stood, scratching his sandy hair. 'Whit d'ye think these FDF guys'll do there? - graffiti a tree?'
'God knows. For all we know they may not be willing to involve the Uvovo, but given their lack of respect for certain landmarks I wouldn't bet on it.'
Rory paused, a half-smile on his lips. 'I guess you'll have been asking about the ither colonyships, Major, aye? I heard that they've still no' been found.'
'Still missing, Rory, still a mystery.'
'Right, aye, but it makes ye wonder, ye know . . I mean, there's the old Hyperion just up the road,' he said. 'What if the other ship AIs cracked up too, like a design flaw, maybe?'
Theo shrugged. 'I've heard that theory before, and if it is true then perhaps we are the lucky ones to have survived.'
'Call this luck, Major?'
Exchanging waves, they went their separate ways, Theo's smile fading a little, his thoughts growing sombre as he crossed the bridge that led to the outskirts of Membrance Vale.
11
GREG
The reporter Lee Shan scanned the ruins of the site through an opaque oval eyepiece attached to a sleek white headset, its flattened band encircling his bald head and anchored to a second around his neck. An equipment pannier floated quietly nearby on suspensors.
'Very nice, Doctor Cameron, very atmospheric, so what we would like to do is take lots of shots of the ruins - and some of you at work, obviously, especially at the sacrificial altar, then we embed simz of those Uvolos, but that'll be done Earthside, before tiercast...'
Greg stared at the reporter, Lee Shan, with a mixture of annoyance and intent curiosity, wondering who was speaking, the man or the AI implant. He then pointed to the grey stone bowl to which the reporter had been drawn.
'They're called the Uvovo, and that is not a sacrificial altar—'
'I see, I see, so do you know what it is, Doctor?'
'Mr Lee,' he said carefully, 'the Uvovo abandoned these ruins thousands of years ago, after which this entire promontory was covered with jungle. Where we are standing was the roof and this bowl was most probably used for ritual fires, perhaps even cooking.'
'So you're not completely certain what it is?'
'The Uvovo have affirmed that blood sacrifice never played any part in their culture.'
'A useful testimony, I am sure, Doctor, but after several millennia how can they be sure?'
Lee Shan smiled. In the background his aircams darted around just above head height, scanning everything in sight and unintentionally providing great amusement for the Uvovo scholars. The reporter's small, neat smile, however, served only to aggravate Greg beyond the already strained limits of his courtesy. He knew that he should ignore the man's arrogance, but the situation was like a door through which he could not help but walk.
He matched the reporter's smile with one of his own.
'You know, Mr Lee, perhaps you've got a point. Perhaps we're not being imaginative enough in our hypotheses. How about this - we could suggest that the ancient Uvovo sacrificed criminals and prisoners to, let's say, giant alligator creatures from the sea, and that these blood-soaked ceremonies took place at night because the alligator-things only came up to the beach after dark. It may be that those sea-borne predators who failed to consume any of the sacrificial carrion were themselves killed and eaten by the Uvovo ancestors ...'
'Doctor, do you have any proof for any of this?'
'Not a scrap but it's such fun, don't you think? And and to demonstrate these hypotheses I might be able to persuade our Uvovo scholars to dress up in furs and ritual paint then hold a re-enactment for you and the cameras after nightfall, complete with torches, drums and barefoot dancing. Perhaps some of my Norj and Dansk colleagues might come in horned helmets and I'll wear my
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