He extended a hand and smiled. The smile seemed to say, "This is my official greeting smile. It's genuine and friendly, but not warm." There doesn't seem to be much warmth in him, she thought as she shook the hand. Not that he was cold, just distant. Here was a man impossible to get to know. Whatever Yu Hwo- shien was made of was sealed behind many layers of professionalism.

55

You could live, work, with such a person, she thought, but you could never be his friend. a.s.sociate, yes; companion, yes; but not his friend. She decided that somehow, somewhere in the past, a part of his humanity had been killed off.

"Welcome to Cachalot." The smile did not change.

His tone was cordial. Just not warm.

"I've already told them about the towns, sir," Mat- aroreva hastened to put in. That eliminated any worry Cora had about whether Sam had said more than he was supposed to. Though why should she care how Hwoshien dealt with their guide? My mind, she told herself angrily, is filling up with extraneous material.

Cotton-candy thoughts. She tried to shove aside all considerations except the reason for their presence here and gave her full attention to Hwoshien. That was easy to do. He still had not unbent, remained perpendicular to the center of the planet.

His smile disappeared, was replaced by a neutral expression that was neither grin nor frown but a care- fully controlled in-between. But at least he unfolded his arms. He locked his fingers together, gestured with the combination as if praying while he talked. He seemed to have trouble deciding what to do with his limbs.

"I have very little to add to what Sam has already told you, save that we recently lost another town and several hundreds of citizens to the same unknown cause, with all the grief that implies. On our side of the ledger we have learned nothing new. Our ignor- ance only justifies my request for outside a.s.sistance.

I am glad you have finally arrived." Just a hint of irritation showed through the mask.

"It was suggested by some of our local specialists, after Warmouth was annihilated, that they would even- tually identify the cause of all the destruction. I gave them one additional day. I was rewarded only with an elaboration of the possibles that I am sure Sam

56 CACHALOT.

has already mentioned to you. Any one of them could be correct, or there might be something we have over- looked. Regardless, at that point I was determined to bring in outside help.

"I do not think," he said casually, indifferent to how his words might affect them personally, "that just because the three of you are new to Cachalot, you are any more intelligent or better versed in such mat- ters than our local experts. Quite the contrary, in fact.

But they have all lived here for many years. As I'm sure you are aware, one's approach to problems, one's way of thinking, is often colored by one's environ- ment. I saw no harm in trying a new approach."

He took a small scent-stick from a pocket, put it between his lips, and ignited it by flicking off the pro- tective tip. It burned cleanly as soon as it came in contact with the air. As he continued speaking he puffed lightly on the stick. Mildly narcotic smoke be- gan to tickle Cora's nose.

"It is my own personal feeling that your off-world approach will be productive within a month or not at all. Either you will hit on a cause within that time or you will not. Four towns, twenty-five hundred citizens.

It's my responsibility to see that no inexplicable fifth disaster occurs. If it must be, I will tolerate a fifth explicable disaster, but a solution must be found-you are all marine biospecialists."

"That's right." Cora became aware that she had listened to him as a student would a professor/ She steadied herself. That was not an accurate reflection of their relationship.

"I'm sure Sam has already mentioned the theory that intelligent forces could be behind all this?"

"The possibility was alluded to," Merced admitted.

"They may be local, they may be off-world," Hwo- shien said. "Sam's people are already working on that."

Behind him, the huge doors to the sea were beginning to slide downward. The jet engines on the suprafoils

57.

were revving up, filling the huge chamber with an ostinato thunder.

"That is not your concern; though of course, if you find anything indicative of such a cause, you will so inform Sam. Your job is to find out if some as yet unidentified variety of local marine life could be re- sponsible.

"Being well aware of what certain claimants to the name 'humanity' are capable of, I suspect that our search will lead us eventually to causes of a two-legged nature. As we presently dwell in ignorance, we can ill afford to neglect any possibility.

"Many of those specialists I mentioned have local tasks they have long neglected to work on this major problem. I cannot insist they continue to do so. Most of them are under contract to the large companies that finance Cachalot's commerce. Those concerns have expressed their wish that their expensive people re- turn to their expensive jobs. I can't require otherwise without declaring martial law." He looked slightly unhappy. "I would rather not do that. The panic that might result could be devastating to business."

"I would think that the destruction of the floating towns would be a d.a.m.nsight more devastating,"

Rachael said indignantly.

"I'm afraid you don't understand the situation-Ms.

Xamantina the younger, isn't it? You see, the floating towns are not owned directly by any of the large com- panies. They are variously leased, sublet, or otherwise rented to the citizens who live and work on them. In return for supplies and salaries, the bulk of their catches is turned over to the large plants here on Mou- 'anui or on the other permanent atoll installations and is credited against a town's general account.

"So if a town is destroyed," he said easily, as if he were talking only about equipment and structures and not about people, "it is the company that bears the financial loss, not the inhabitants."

58 CACHALOT.

"They only lose their lives," Rachael muttered.

But Hwoshien did not hear her, or chose to ignore the comment.

"Without any huge investment in the towns, the citizens are free to pick up and leave if they so desire.

If a major panic arose, the companies would be left with the expensive floating towns, no one to run them, and no raw materials for their equally expensive orbital factories. The repercussions would be felt throughout the Commonwealth. And ordinary citizens would feel the loss of such irreplaceable substances as exene.

We simply cannot afford a panic."

"So you shield the commercial interests involved,"

Cora commented quietly.

"As I said, in addition to other things, yes." The Commissioner seemed not the least perturbed by her veiled accusation.

"Of course," Merced agreed. "Death is a fiscally irresponsible policy."

v

JTJLwoshien looked over at the little scientist, finally replied in a different tone, a touch less formal than the one he had been employing thus far.

"I had friends on those lost towns myself. Kindly keep in mind that I'm in a very difficult personal po- sition here. I do not expect you to sympathize. I do expect you to understand. I am trapped between the average citizen, who cares nothing as long as he or she is protected, and the commercial interests, which don't care what happens as long as the flow of produce is not interrupted. In addition, I am responsible first to a third party, the Commonwealth government itself.

"My sympathies lie with the first group, my thoughts with the second, and my allegiance with the last. This is a problem none of you must face. You will have everything in the way of material a.s.sistance you re- quest, though I would ask you to be circ.u.mspect.

Large, new concentrations of scientific instrumentation could attract the attention of our as yet hypothetical human killers.

"You will have complete working freedom. I sin- cerely hope you won't disappoint me."

Despite his formality, a formality that bordered on hostility, Cora found herself wanting to please Hwo- shien. He inspired in others the desire to please him,

59.

60 .

as one would try to please a distant but concerned

parent.

Could he be a mechanism, a robot? On rare oc- casions the Commonwealth was known to make such subst.i.tutions for organic personnel. No, she decided.

He could not be a machine. A robot a.s.signed to such a position already would have displayed far more warmth and affection. Hwoshien was too mechanical