of the bubble. "It would seem, Captain," he reported, "that they do not wish me present at this time. I would guess that the same applies to Napoleon."

"Why not?" Bandicut said sharply.

"Unknown, Captain."

Bandicut thought a moment. "All right, you stay here. And watch my backpack, okay? But if anything happens, I want you to give a yell--a loud one. Napoleon, you think you could jump up through that opening if you had to?"

Napoleon flexed his knees slightly. "I think so."

"Okay. I hope you'll be all right here." Bandicut touched a hand to each robot. Then he grabbed the rope and rose, spiraling slowly.FIRST NTACT BANDICUT FELT A collar of water swirling around him--not quite touching him, because of the protective field of the I.

translator-stone. Then his head popped out of the water, and he found himself floating in a circular basin in an air-filled chamber. Ik reached out to help him climb onto the dry floor.

He gasped, as water rolled off the forcefield in rivulets; then he felt the forcefield disappear as he stood, chilly but dry, to one side of the entryway.

He blinked, looking around. To his surprise, he had not stepped out of a well, with sides, as he would have expected in an underwater habitat, but rather out of a round grey patch in the middle of a smooth floor. Aside from the floor, the chamber appeared spheroidal, flattened a bit in the vertical dimension, with faintly glowing walls. The air was moist and cool, and it bore the tang of salt and seaweed, and it was perfectly breathable--except that he was quite suddenly holding his breath. He and his friends were surrounded by half a dozen crouching black sea monsters--not quite as large as he was, but with oversized eyes in their glistening, vaguely newt-like heads. Some of their hands and feet seemed webbed, and others didn't. They all wore simple harnesses, with knives and other tools attached. Bandicut tried not to stare. He extended an open palm. "Uh--h.e.l.lo," he croaked.

A murmur rippled through the a.s.sembly of sea creatures, and they seemed to draw closer together.

Bandicut pulled his hand back. Ik muttered, just audibly, "They may have taken that gesture as a threat."

"They're definitely afraid of us," murmured Antares. "That's why24 * .

they sent Copernicus back. I think they were afraid he was a weapon."

Bandicut grunted. /Now what?/he wondered.

"/Go slow,"/ suggested Charlie.

/That much I knew./ The sea creatures were hissing among themselves now, and one of them suddenly moved forward, past Bandicut, and jumped into the entryway. The creature sank through the floor and vanished into the water. The others stared at the visitors, without speaking.

Bandicut wondered if they had just sent someone to get a leader.

He raised his eyes to look at the chamber walls. Glowing with a pale greenish light, they looked to be made of some flexible material, plasticlike and yet organic--like some tough, translucent seaweed.

Or a material inspired by seaweed. "You guys get the feeling this place is made of plant material?" he murmured. "It almost seems alive."

"Hmm," Ik said softly. "I had a similar impression." As he spoke, the sea creatures stirred, and Ik raised his hands to what looked like a prayerful position, palms together with fingers spread, pointing upward. "We come from a far place," he said slowly. "We mean you no harm. We would like to speak with you." He gradually turned as he spoke, facing first one creature, then the next. It was clear they did not understand a word, but he obviously hoped that his voice-stones would translate.

They might have been trying. Something was happening, because the sea creatures were starting to become agitated. Ik drew himself up taut, then spread his hands, trying to calm the sea people.

"Ik, wait--that's not--" Antares began.

It was too late. Whatever lk and the stones were trying to do, it was backfiring. The creatures moved in sudden concert. Bandicut felt a quick, strong grip on his shoulder, pulling him back onto a kind of bench seat. Before he could even focus on the webbed hand that was gripping him, he felt loops of rope drop around his chest and cinch tight, pinning his arms to his sides. "Uh--" he grunted, and strained futilely at the bonds.

Each of his companions was caught, as well, and bound with what looked like long, tough strands of an undersea vine. Behind Ik, one of the glistening creatures made a reedy squawking sound,THE INFINITE SEA * 25'

which was answered by the others. A chuckling sound rose in Antares' throat, and it was not a sound of pleasure. Li-Jared was tw.a.n.ging ominously.

Ik, on the other hand, was silent--and nearly motionless. He appeared to be testing the vines for strength. Bandicut wondered what he was thinking. Ik had probably the calmest disposition of anyone in the company, and if Ik got upset you knew it was time for action.

But the best course of action right now was undoubtedly to remain calm.

"/Agreed.

What else can you do, anyway?"/ /I don't know, but if the translator-stones have any ideas, I would appreciate hearing them./Bandicut blinked sweat from his eyes. Strange to be sweating in this chilly air. He studied his captors, and found them studying him. /I seem to remember those stones putting on a pretty good display of power once, when I needed it./It seemed a long time ago, but wasn't really, since he had fled Triton and Neptune--and ultimately the solar system--in a stolen s.p.a.cecraft. The black stone in his left wrist had used holograms or forcefields or some G.o.dd.a.m.n thing to make him look like a terrifying alien, terrifying enough to scare the captain of Neptune Explorer off her ship. He wondered if they might want to do something like that now.

"/Where would you go, if you got away?"/ asked the quarx.

"/What would you do?"/ Bandicut was silent a moment./Yeah,/he said.

One of the sea creatures was circling behind the members of the company now, examining each one of them. Bandicut took a good look at the creature in return. It was more humanoid than he had realized at first. Its oversized eyes and the general newtlike appearance of its head had distracted him from the rest of its body.

But it had a mouth about where he might have expected, and it had nostrils, plus an array of what looked like gills on its neck. It was obvious that the things were amphibious. This bothered him, for reasons he couldn't identify. Did he have some deep-seated aversion to frogs? Or was it the quarx's response, leaking through into his own emotions? Charlie-One had had quite a xenophobic streak..."26 * .

"/And you're so d.a.m.n perfect-- ?"/ Before Bandicut could respond, there was a ripple in the center of the floor, and the head of another of the sea beings popped up out of the water. The creature climbed with quick grace into the chamber, and spoke with short mutters and hisses to the others of its kind, while inspecting the captives. It wore a somewhat more elaborate-looking harness than the others.

A leader? Bandicut wondered. He exchanged cautious glances with his friends. Ik was calm, but Ik was always calm. Li-Jared, on the other hand, was barely able to contain his frustration and rage. The new arrival seemed to sense that; its gaze lingered a little longer on the Karellian. Antares' eyes flickered, watching Li-Jared, then meeting Bandicut's gaze. She made a small gesture wtih her closed right hand, which he did not know how to interpret.

The apparent leader saw the gesture, as well. He raised a half-webbed hand, and pointed at Antares, then Li-Jared. "Sequee-awwww/" he called, in a shrill bark. Three of the other creatures responded at once, and moved to separate Antares and Li-Jared from their friends.

"Wait!" Bandicut protested. "We didn't mean anything. What are you doing?"

"Skaaawwwww/" cried the creature.

Bandicut felt a sudden backward jerk as the creature behind him yanked on the rope. He had to fight for a moment to keep his balance on the bench. The creature behind him made a warbling sound, probably of anger. Had they interpreted Antares' gesture as a threatening move?

"John Bandicut, I recommend silence, for the moment," Ik said.

"Until we can--"

Ik's words were cut off by a yank on the rope binding him.

Bandicut scowled, but did not move, as Li-Jared and Antares were pushed toward the exit spot. Through the translucent floor of the habitat, he could see the faint shadow of the star-spanner bubble being moved to one side. He tensed, thinking about Napoleon and Copernicus.

Bwong. "What are these devils doing?" muttered Li-Jared. He was bending as far forward as the sea creature holding him would allow, peering down through the exit spot.

To Bandicut, what it looked like they were doing was prepar-*

THE INFINITE SEA * 27.

lng to push Li-Jared and Antares out of the habitat. He flashed on images of terrorists summarily killing hostages, and he strained involuntarily at the ropes./If they start to push them out of the habitat, I want those stones ready to move fast. Can they make me look intimidating again?/ "/I have no idea.

Hey, wait a minute--look."/ Bandicut squinted. Another shadow was moving into place under the habitat. There was a low rumble, a thump, and a soft hiss.

The floor at the exit point turned to a shadowy circle, and then seemed to open--to reveal nothing much but shadow.

"Skeeekawww. "The leader of the sea creatures spoke, and gestured sharply. Li-Jared was shoved forward; he stepped awkwardly, and as he was about to fall, grabbed the edge of the hole and lowered himself indignantly into the well. Antares was pushed after him.

One of the sea creatures quickly followed.

"Li-Jared! Antares!" Bandicut shouted, heedless of the ropes cutting into his shoulders. "Are you all right?"

He heard some m.u.f.fled cursing--and realized that he had heard no splash of water. Then the Karellian's voice tw.a.n.ged, "There's air here. Not much light. Seems to be some kind of submarine."

Antares called, "We are unhar--"

And the opening vanished, cutting off the sound of her voice.

The floor was solid again, with only a grey patch where the opening had been.

"Hey!" Bandicut protested to the sea creatures. "Why can't you let us talk to them?"

'7tkka whadeddekka." The leader spoke sharply, and Ik and Bandicut were pulled apart from each other, none too gently.

Bandicut glared at the leader. He felt a vibration under his feet, and looked down to see the shadow of the vessel holding Li-Jared and Antares drop away from the habitat, glide forward, and disappear.

He looked back up at Ik, feeling his own mouth tighten with anger. Anger and determination. But what was he determined to do? His friends were gone, and he was trapped at the bottom of an alien sea.

"Be patient," Ik counseled, eyes glittering. "Remember the long view."

The long view, he thought sardonically. Even Ik didn't sound all that convinced this time.28 * .

/What the h.e.l.l are we supposed to do now?/he thought, staring in silence at the sea creatures "/Well, my a.s.sumption would be that these fish-people are as suspicious of you as you are of them."/ /No doubt. So what do we do about it?/ As he spoke to the quarx, he felt a powerful desire to rub his wrists, which was difficult to do with his arms bound to his sides. His translator-stones were itching fiercely, deep in his wrists. Were they working to crack the aliens' language? It seemed an impossible task without meaningful points of reference.

The sea creatures were speaking to each other in soft staccato hisses, their large eyes seeming to revolve like wagon wheels as they peered at Ik and Bandicut--surely an illusion. Four of them remained in the habitat.

Moments later his wrists weren't just itching, but burning. The desire to rub them was almost overpowering. He felt dizzy, his thoughts beginning to blur. If he and Ik could break free, could the two of them overpower their captors? Would they want to? They didn't want to be seen as enemies. They had to let the sea creatures know that.

Ik had been flexing his arms slightly, but gave no indication he intended to do anything. "Ik," Bandicut murmured, "are your stones .. getting any handle on their language?"

Ik spoke with difficulty. "I sense the voice-stones are working hard. I do not know what they are learning."

"Me neither. My stones are--"

His words were interrupted as two of the sea creatures gripped his arms and lifted him abruptly to his feet. He was startled when they loosened the rope around his arms and chest. "Uhh, that's bet--ukkhh--"

He choked as they pulled one of the loops tight again--around his neck. It was tight enough to hurt, and to make the threat clear. He stood stock-still, breathing with a soft rasp, as they lifted his arms and began prodding at his body and pulling on his jump-suit.

"/They're examining you."/ /Yah. These guys'd make great proctologists./ When they finished patting him down, the leader of the sea creatures stood in front of him, peering into his face. Its gaze seemedTHE INFINITE SEA * 29 almost cross-eyed, as though focused on a point in front of Bandi-cut.

It spoke to its companions--or possibly to Bandicut--in a guttural hiss. Bandicut returned its stare, trying to memorize its face so that he could recognize this individual again. He studied the horizontal lines in the surface of its glistening ebony face, running from the mouth and flat nostrils back toward what he a.s.sumed were gill structures on the sides of the neck. If it had ears, he couldn't see them.

It spoke suddenly. "Shwaaa-karee-h-h."

Bandicut felt a sudden shooting pain in his wrists, which the creature was holding in its sharp-fingered hands. For an instant he thought that the creature was causing the pain; then he realized what it was.

"/Whoa--hold tight""

He winced at a flash of light on each wrist, and a flaring that was not a pain exactly but more like an explosion waiting to hap- pen--a powerful sneeze--an e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n- *Replication complete.*

And with that report from the translator-stones, a fiery spark blazed up out of each wrist. Bandicut felt a strange sense of relief, and of time being distorted and twisted. The sparks ballooned to the size of soccer b.a.l.l.s--and floated, pulsing with light, one diamond and one dark smoky red, through the air toward the sea creature. It seemed to take seconds, but must have happened in an eyeblink. The b.a.l.l.s of light rippled around the creature's head, then shrank back to sparks and vanished into each side of its head. The timefiow distortion vanished, too--as the creature squawked in alarm, dropped Bandicut's wrists, and clapped its webbed hands to its head. A moment later, the creature collapsed to the floor, quivering.

Bandicut was stunned. Before he could react, the noose around his neck was yanked tight and he was pulled over backward.

"Stop!" he choked. "Sro-o-o-p!" He clawed at the rope. "It's--" His voice cut off with a wheeze. /Charlie--can't the stones do something--?/ "/That took everything they had.

They're still recovering--"/ "Rakhh!" Ik was suddenly towering above him, ropes stretching around his arms. The sea creature behind Ik was struggling to pull the Hraachee'an back.30 * .

"Shakka/" cried the leader, rolling into a crouch on the floor. "Shakka/" It had stopped shaking and was blinking its enormous eyes. "You must.., stop/Let.., him go/"

Bandicut heard a hiss, which matched his own astonishment.

The rope around his neck loosened, and he drew in a ragged breath. He pulled the rope away from his windpipe, and got back to his feet and crouched down in front of the sea creatures' leader.

"You--understand now--?" he gasped.

The being rubbed the sides of his head, where the two tiny sparks were just visible, glittering beneath the skin. "Under ...

stand?" he hissed--and Bandicut somehow sensed, through his translators, that the being was indeed a he. "No--understand, no."

He rose, together with Bandicut, each of them peering into the other's eyes. "But--your words, yes. I--what has happened? How do I--?"

Bandicut swallowed. "I--it's hard to explain, I--didn't do it myself, really." And he closed his eyes, thinking. /What did happen?

Did the stones reproduce? I still have my own, right?/He realized he was rubbing his wrists, and now he looked down and saw that yes, indeed, he still had his own stones.

"/They reproduced, yes.

R took quite a bit out of&em, too."/ "What ... have you done to me?" the sea creature repeated, more forcefully. "Who are you?"

Bandicut struggled to answer. How could he possibly explain the translator-stones? How could he explain that a mechanism from beyond the stars was enabling each of them to hear the other's words in his own language?

"John Bandicut!" Ik cried, interrupting. "Are you all right?" Ik was looking from Bandicut to the sea creature in astonishment.

"Yah," Bandicut said. "And yes--you just saw my stones dividing.''

He took a breath and shook his head, then spoke to the sea being. "I am ... we have ... come here from another world." He gestured helplessly toward the ceiling of the habitat. "You can hear my words ... because of the translator-stones." He touched the spots on his wrists where his stones glimmered, then gestured to the being. "I hope they have not hurt you."

The creature rubbed the side of his head with hands that looked as if they were made of black rubber. "I do not.., know. I do not think so." Pausing, he looked at his fingertips, as if he might have some trace to inspect. Suddenly his gaze turned inward, as if heTHE INFINITE SEA * 31'

were listening to something inside his head. Two of his companions started to move toward him; he raised a hand to stop them.

His eyes focused again on Bandicut. "Stones of thought ... and word. They are speaking to me! What are they going to do to me?

What is their purpose?"

Bandicut swallowed, remembering clearly how he had felt when the quarx had first appeared, projecting its words silently into his mind. It had been a bewildering and terrifying experience. "Their purpose," he said, "is to a.s.sist you. Not to harm you; they will not harm you. They are not.., well, I do not know what they are, exactly.