The Tower and the Hive

The Tower and the Hive by Anne McCaffrey Page B

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Authors: Anne McCaffrey
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to her ground vehicle. YOU’VE GOT THE PLANET! she shouted in ’Dini to Fig, Sil, Dig and Nim, who were on yard duty.
    â€™Dinis did exultant cartwheels all across the plascrete. She laughed at such antics as she got into the ground car. Someone had already turned on the air-conditioning full blast—Kincaid, no doubt—getting rid of the trapped heat inside. She took off fast enough to raise a dirt cloud and pebbles that pattered against the undercarriage. She turned out of the Tower compound, heading for the Clarf Administration Building. She drove at daring speed through the afternoon traffic and into the compound where Plrgtgl had its office. Braking in front of the main entrance, she didn’t wait for the air cushion to settle before she flung herself out of the car, through the roasting air, and was in the relatively cool building in four long strides.
    â€œWhat’s the rush, Prime?” one of Plrgtgl’s Human assistants asked, surprised at her appearance.
    â€œYou’ll hear, you’ll hear,” Laria said, brandishing the message tube. “Is Plus here? Oh, do tell me it is.”
    â€œFar’s I know,” was the reply. “Naciana’s at her desk.”
    As Plrgtgl was responsible for managing all the Humans currently employed on Clarf, it employed Human staff assistants too. So Laria courteously knocked on the door before sliding it back.
    Naciana looked up. “Laria?”
    â€œIs Plus in?”
    â€œYes,” Naciana said, waving her to the inner door, but half rising from her seat as she sensed Laria’s excitement, and also saw a tube that must carry important documents if Clarf Prime was hand-carrying it.
    Plrgtgl looked up at her entry, rose to its full height.
    EARTH PRIME HAS REQUIRED ME TO GIVE THIS DIRECTLY TO YOU, HONORABLE PLRGTGL, she said in ’Dini, and with a flourish, handed it the tube.
    Plus lowered its poll to eye her for a long moment.
    IT IS THE NEWS WE WISH FOR, IS IT NOT? Plus said, holding the tube tightly to its chest for a moment. Then, with a flick of its flippers, it opened the container and disks fell onto the desk along with a sheaf of hard copy. NACIANA?
    YES SIR? Naciana had followed Laria to the threshold.
    PUT THIS ON MY SCREEN, Plus said, tossing Naciana one of the disks, which her eager fingers fumbled into the appropriate slot on its desk while Plus was unrolling the hard copy. AHHHHHHHHHH. Plus’s ecstatic warble echoed out of the office and through the door Laria had left open, to startle Humans and ’Dinis alike in the halls. WE HAVE IT! WE HAVE IT! WE HAVE IT!
    Laria, knowing what the ’Dini meant, leaned back against the desk to avoid a collision as it charged past her, waving what looked like a Mercator projection of Talavera. Plus danced up the hall, knocking bodies aside in its exultation. Then, almost ricocheting off across the hall at the end of the main corridor, it returned, giving everyone in its path a glimpse at the map, babbling in a combination of Basic and ’Dini that made no sense to anyone—except Laria, who knew enough to understand its garbled comments.
    The moment Plus reentered its office, it altered completely, becoming dignified and organized. After her first surprise at Plus’s reaction, Naciana, well accustomed to her superior’s volatility, had put the full report up on the screen.
    COPIES, MAKE COPIES, LOTS OF COPIES. Plus said, flipping its free arm at her to show great urgency. Once behind the desk, it smoothed the Mercator projection out, holding the map down with objects on its desk, and then unrolled the rest of the hard copy. CALL THEM ALL. WE MEET AS SOON AS
    THEY GET HERE. OH, THIS IS MARVELOUS. OUR WORLDS WILL ALL REJOICE, Plus said to Laria. Then it scrutinized the documentation with a poll eye that was shining with its inner joy.
    Communications units buzzed from Naciana’s desk. Plus waved her to answer while it picked up its own unit and

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