*"Wind," Erika answers.

Megan asks with a smile and a playful tug at the auburn locks that flutter around Erika's face, "Like this breeze, Erika?"

Erika answers somberly, "All evidence points to wind, Megan, including surface configuration, it's less severe here, more erratic, because this continent lies close to the equator. But the winds do blow herea"in patterns we must study for our own safety."

Megan nods and takes the shaft of gra.s.s from Miri, whips it in a snapping motion to test the tensile strength, then lifts it to her mouth.

Venus seizes Megan's wrists in a grip of such strength that her fingers turn white. "Did you not listen to my instructions before we left Amelia?" Her voice is flat with anger.

"I was only testing its properties, Venus. I didn't intend to ingest it." .

"That doesn't matter. You must not touch anything to your mouth. You're our leader, you have a duty to us not to be foolish. The immunization shots protect only against bacteria, nota""

"I apologize." Megan is looking down at the hands that slowly release her wrists. "Thank you, Venus."

"The gra.s.s is strong enough for many uses," Miri says in the silence. "To create fabric, for one thinga""

Miri has placed the gra.s.s in her a.n.a.lysis unit, and we turn our attention to insect life. "Coleoptera," Miri says. "Many of these species are strange to me, but there are many beetles in just this area. If there is any kind of life so perfectly constructed and adaptable, that permeates the universe and will probably inherit it somedaya""

"Mother!" someone shrieks. "Something's attacked Mother!"

We run pell meil through the gra.s.s . . .

A tiny furry creature is sitting on Mother's arm, feet curied around it, looking up into her face. "Phosh, control yourself Astra," Mother says.

"Mother, stand perfectly still." Kendra walks carefully toward her. Megan approaches cautiously from the side.

But Mother shoos them off with an impatient wave. "This dear creature won't hurt anyone, I can tell by looking at him. If it is a him." She grasps the creature, which makes a sound of whoof, and turns it over.

"And a.s.suming," she says, looking down, "that the same rules apply here, then yes indeed, it is a him."

As Mother turns it right side up the creature whoofs again as if in total agreement. , *"Mother, it could bite." Megan is smiling in spite of obvious effort to appear stern and concerned.

Augusta is laughing, "Mother's right. A tiny thing like that would never attack anything larger, and he leaped right into her arms. He's just curious, that's all."

"He's much too cute to bite," Mother states.

Perhaps a foot in height, the creature has soft dark fur, four long clumsy-iooking limbs, and huge dark eyes that gaze limpidly at me as it c.o.c.ks its head and whoofs again. It is, indeed, adorable.

Kendra walks to Mother and stands towering over her, hands on hips, grinning down at the tiny creature.

"What is it, Augusta?"

"A primate type, probably with a great many brothers and sisters of similar genus, none very large. His chest-beating descendants will come along eons from now, I would guess. And his sabre-rattling descendants eons after that."

Whoofing, the creature plucks at Mother's sleeve as if puzzled; gently Mother touches, then strokes its soft fur. It utters more whoofs, gazing at Mother with its huge dark eyes, and curls up against her.

"This Eocene period that all of you continually refer to, that this planet supposedly is in now," Mother says, stroking the creature, "how long did it last?"

Erika answers, "About twenty million years."

"Excellent," Mother says, beaming. "Simply excellent."

Venus shrieks, "Vesta! No!"

I no sooner see that Vesta has lifted to her mouth a berry she has found on a low fruit-covered bush than Carina has launched herself in a flying tackle and brings Vesta to the ground, then picks her up by the feet, in spite of my fear for Vesta, it is a hilarious sight, Carina shaking the upside down and thoroughly outraged Vesta until the berry pops from her mouth.

"Down, down, put me down," sputters Vesta.

Venus is already kneeling beside the bush, she has opened her kit and is dropping berry samples into tubes of testing fluid. Carina stands with an arm trembling around Vesta's shoulders, watching intently.

"They're harmless," Vesta protests, "I know. I can tell by the smella""

"It appears so." Venus sighs with relief as none of the fluids change color.

"I've been cooking for half a century," Vesta says indignantly, "and my nose is better than any of your test *tubes."

"You won't do that again." Carina now trembles visibly. "Promise me, Vesta."

"I promise." Vesta looks at her with adoration and holds out a hand. "Dearest love," she says.

Vesta and Carina walk a short distance to deeper gra.s.s, and embrace.

Mother grumbles, "Here we are on a new world. Sometimes I wonder about my girls and their prioritiesa""

"It's been a long hard trip, Mother," Venus says, gazing atMiri.

"Shall we go to the ocean now?" joian asks. "I long to see it."

"As do we all, Jolan," Megan replies quietly.

We walk toward the distant sound of surf, Mother's little friend curled up in the bend of her arm. Soon we come upon low dunes spread with moss-like cover, so soft that we reach down to stroke it, Miri pauses, gently tugs, pulls harder, finally wrenches a piece of the moss loose; she frowns at the multi-branched root system, then replaces the moss, tamping it carefully into place. We go on. The moss is softer than velvafleece, so soft that I long to remove my boots and further savor it, but dare not risk Venus's wrath.

Then we all halt as one, as if rooted into the moss. The sky is a swiftly darkening coral as our great double sun fails to the horizon. Billowing c.u.mulous clouds are shot through with swirls and threads of gold and red; and under this magnificent sky huge coral waves crash onto ivory-colored moss . .. huge waves in variegated hues of coral . . .

Without a word, we sit to watch evening come to Maternas.

The rich coral of sky and water deepens and darkens. The air grows sharply cooler, so quickly that our clothing is slow to adjust. Erika enfolds the unprotesting Mother to warm her; Kendra holds Hera, her mother; Miri curis into Venus; Carina cradles Vesta; and dear joian, next to me, holds me, warms me.

Diana, Demetera"others huddle together in cl.u.s.ters nearby. Megan sits alone, apart from us all, gazing off to the horizon, hands clasped around her knees, her white clothing vivid against the gathering night.

And still we remain silent, as unimaginable beauty envelops us. The sky trans.m.u.tes to deepening shades of blue and begins to s.h.i.+mmer with the silver of brilliant star cl.u.s.ters, the eerie radiance of red and blue fluorescence. One huge moon, glowing gold, is soon joined by two others, much smaller, which slowly rise above the horizon, each jagged in shape as if carelessly formed. Night falls suddenly and completely, and we sit together in a glorious royal blue world illuminated with silver.

It is Mother who speaks, softly: "So lovely a world . .. is surely meant for women."

No response is necessary. Or possible. We continue to sit in contemplation of our awesome ocean and sky a"and in the realization that the remainder of our lives will be filled with nights such as these.

*We are stunned by a sudden drenching of sea spraya"yet the translucent silver waves crash some distance from us, several hundred feet. Then a rising scream of wind strikes with such force that the very breath is driven from me.

The creature that clings to Mother leaps from her arms and with a series of whoofs runs nimbly, in no apparent hurry, over the mossy dunes.

"Take cover!" Erika shouts. "The s.h.i.+ps.'"

Megan's voice cuts through the screaming wind. "No! Follow Mother's animal! Run!"

"Kendra!" shouts Hera, "see to Mother!"

Kendra sweeps Mother into her arms and we run, run after the tiny furry creature that scampers toward the gra.s.s, its feet twice lifted from under it by shrieking gusts. I fall, flung to my knees; I choke for breath.

Megan drags me to my feet, pulls me along; I run, stumbling, hand gripped in hers, my eyes burned shut, gouged by the demon wind.

The bent gra.s.s has come fully erect; gra.s.s is a shoulder-high waving wall before us. We burst through it; it seals imperviously behind us, and we collapse in darkness, crouching together in a sudden and incredible world of tranquility.

Erika brings us light as she tosses from her kit several illumination bars; and I see that we have all reached this safe harbor. Kendra, kneeling, gently lowers the most precious one of us all, who frightens us as she lies motionless. Then she opens her remarkable green. eyes and says querulously to Kendra, "You run more roughly than the trogapods on Verna. But thank you, dear one," she adds, patting Kendra's cheek.

We sit, resting, composing ourselves, recovering our wits. Venus tidies her silver hair and that of Diana and Miri; Hera leans against Kendra, but soon sits erect, her dignity returning; Carina fusses with Vesta, brus.h.i.+ng invisible particles from her shoulders.

Megan says to Erika, "You tried to warn me of this."

"I had no idea about this, Megan. I had thought perhaps there was a severe monsoon period or its like. J his presents formidable difficulties to us." Erika's dark eyes are grave. "Perhaps insurmountable. How can we build structures toa""

"Perhaps not insurmountable," Astra interrupts in a soft voice. "This wind is not part of the meteorological pattern mapped thus far. I suspecta"and we'll soon know if my theory is plausiblea"that this is nocturnal wind caused by the drastic drop in air temperature we all felt when our suns set. Sudden cold air combined with still-warm temperatures can produce a convection-like reaction, a violent squall, a bora-type wind like those found on the Euro-continent of Earth. If I'm correct, then this wind should reduce as surface and air temperatures stabilize. But I share Erika's concern about permanent structures withstanding such a battering, even if for a brief period each day."

*"I have an idea about that," Megan says. "But first we must see about your theory, Astra."

Miri reaches up, touches the gra.s.s that forms an undulant coc.o.o.n over our heads and m.u.f.fles the how! of the wind. "Megan, it is simple now to understand the toughness and deep root system of this gra.s.s, the moss that covers the land down to the sh.o.r.eline. It protects the land from what would be disastrous soil erosion, it protects insect and animal life. The ecological adaptation here is truly a marvel."

"Great care must be taken about removal of any of this gra.s.s for any purpose," Venus murmurs.

"Great care will be taken about the use of all our world's resources," Megan states.

Diana asks anxiously, "Our EVs, will they withstand this wind?"

"They're fastened with retractor rods," Kendra answers with satisfaction. "A cyclone would not dislodge our craft."

"Whoof." Five or six of Mother's iittle creatures are gathered a short distance from us, apparently attracted by the illumination bars. One approaches Mother.

"Here, come here," Mother coaxes, and it leaps into her arms. "The same one," she says, examining him.

"I can tell by the blond markings on his chest. Augusta dear, what kind of animal did you say he was?"

"Primate. Closely resembling Cebus Capucinus."

"Phosh. Much too complicated," Mother p.r.o.nounces. "I'll just call him a whoofie."

We all laugh, and Mother says to Augusta, "Speaking as the only heteros.e.xual on board Amelia, it would be nice to have a male around. Is there a problem about taking him back with us?"

"I'll consult with Demeter," Augusta replies, smiling. "I see no reason why he shouldn't be able to go safely through decontamination, if Megan agrees."

"As an extra precaution," Megan says with a grin, "we'll quarantine him in your quarters, Mother. For his own safety. I think everyone will love him so much they'll stroke his fur off."

"For his food we'll take berries from that bush he was eating from when he found me," Mother says in a pleased voice.

Around us, the gra.s.s has begun to collapse into its previous bent shape, and we are in our softly lighted, glorious royal blue world. Erika extinguishes the illumination bars. The wind whips in gusts, flinging our hair about our faces, but it has iost its violence.

"Your theory seems correct, Astra," Megan says, touching the homing signal on her bracelet, the order for us to rea.s.semble for the return to Amelia.

*Astra says, "Megan, may I remain here and establish site testing?"

Megan nods. "You and your team. But you must remain together at all times and in direct monitoring contact with Amelia. Make EV-four your quarters, we won't establish base camp until we select our permanent site."

I see Miri and Venus draw Megan aside. Miri murmurs to Megan; Megan repliesa"reluctantly and apologetically, it appears. Venus makes a brief rejoinder; her face, turned toward me, is frozen in fury. I cannot imagine what has transpired.

XV.

Personal Journal of Megan 1.1.2 I had known, expected that Venus would turn her attentions elsewhere, but not that she would impart such anguish ...

And I had not expected such a woman as Miri.

I suppose I had hoped that she would be attracted to another woman of my body type. So that I might have favorably compareda"even felt some small degree of superiority . . .

Miri is smaller than I by a head. Her tawny hair is thick and rich with curl and reaches below her shoulders a"compared with my own brief simple dark crown. Her face is heart-shaped, without the angular planes of my own, her lips fuller than my own. And her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. . . here I compare most grievously. Mine are firm and well-shaped, but compared to the swelling glory of hers. . . And she is delicate . . . And with a pet.i.te grace . . .

I had first noticed her weeks ago when we a.s.sembled the exploratory teams. A woman staring at Venus is not an infrequent occurrence; few women are so arresting as Venus. But Venus met and held Miri's gaze until Miri looked away, her color high. And as our conference progressed, I saw their eyes meet again . . .

and again ...

I saw from Amelia's manifest that they had been a.s.signed living areas far separate, and differing sleep and activity times. But they were a.s.signed together on EV-one. Their specialties are related, and I couid not prevent it . . .

I saw Venus's eyes go immediately to her as we a.s.sembled to board EV-one. And then she sat with Miri.

And after that it was as if tinder had gathered flame from a spark.

*Amid the unfolding wonder of our new planet, they were on the far outer periphery of my awareness. But still I ached with dull unfocused pain.

Then, after our near-deadly encounter with the creature we have named GEM, I turned to see Miri in her arms, and turned my back again, discovering that my tolerance for pain did not extend even partially this far. And because it was my duty, my sacred obligation, I excised them ruthlessly from my consciousness.

With unforseeable danger lying all about us, I could not spare the least part of my concentration.

They did not intrude painfully upon my consciousness again even after we had landed. I worked with them in the examination of the gra.s.s-like growth on the planet's surface, working as if I were anaesthetized.

Then, as I lifted gra.s.s to my mouth to further test its properties, Venus grasped my wrists for my own safety.

It was the first time I had known her touch and the effect upon me was truly extraordinary. Her toucha"the touch I had longed for without controla"had happened. And the occurrence was simply over with.

Dispensed with. Similar, perhaps, to the agency of a lightning rod. A feeling of peace spread through me, and a burgeoning sense of freedom. As I watched her hands release me I felt my yearning for her also release its grip. Memory returned to me of her holding Miri, stroking her haira"memory without pain.

And also the cold knowledge was in me that I could no longer desire a woman who would so casually touch another for pleasure within my sight.