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perfectly groomed from the waist up; only his bare feet and damp, rolled-up
pants legs spoiled the effect.
He said, "Zref, this is a rum-tasting party sponsored by the Horthane
embassy. They want to cut off the illegal rum smuggling by making all their
exports legal. Ireda Maytom is one of the statisticians working on the new law
because she used to work for the LEAHPs department that goes after smugglers.
She'salways in need of an escort."
That was the beginning of Zref's acquaintance with Eiltherm society. He met
people who were interested in both Lantern and LEAHPs operations, and he
learned quickly that 'Ossminid' was not a name that could be men-tioned in
social contexts without causing a nervous change of the subject.
He began to realize just how much real pressure the government was under from
the public and how irrational some of that pressure was. He gained invitations
to other functions on his own after that, and from time to time when something
exclusive and interesting came up, Khelin and Ley would get him an invitation.
Some time after he'd met his brothers, he found himself at a huge Nipshelanti
holiday celebration. It was held at the Nipshelanti's main residence complex
built out under the sea on a continental shelf. Sparse sunlight filtered down,
augmented by lights that radiated across the spec-trum of the various guest
species.
Undersea gardens had been built much on the order of those Zref was used to
on land: something from every-where, and as much mixing as environments
allowed. Guests who were of aquatic species had access to the color-ful
gardens where an exterior party area had been set up. Semiaquatic guests such
as the Ciitheen and the kren mingled within the dome with the air breathers.
Some humans, Brenilak, and even Sirwini donned aqua-lungs and took short
swims. The water here was warm, and Zref and Ley had a good time swimming with
Khelin. But it was so deep that it was soon exhausting. They dressed and
reentered the party dome, where latecomers
had gathered, talking, playing scobit, or eating from the lavish buffet.
After their swim, they were hungry, and so Ley led them up to a balcony where
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he had found a table laden with some of their favorite delicacies. Zref
glanced about, won-dering who among this crowd would be worth meeting. From
the comnet entries his interface network had discov-ered, Zref was sure that
the expedition he had been trac-ing was being marshaled on the Explorer Corps
Reserve. Too much gear suitable for archeological research had been
disappearing through those gates. The activity had started, it seemed, when
the Search Bill extension had been voted down.
Now Zref saw the Low Rep of the Explorer Corps, Bala-chandran, standing near
the stairs that wound down to the main floor. With him was a human, not much
older than Zref, and a kren woman, saltwater spawn. Her skin tones were
enhanced by the underwater lighting, and Zref could see that she was quite
attractive in her exotic way, the sort Sudeen would have gone for.Ah, Sudeen!
The day he'd first met Zaviv, there'd been just such a pair standing on the
shuttleport steps, and Sudeen had been attracted. Zref had been sharply
disturbed by her, but now there was nothing. An Interface never had flashes.I
had no gift worth training.
"Long before your work at Mautri fitted you to become a human Interface, you
knew the artisan who made this sphere."Iebe Arai Then's words came back to him
un-bidden. For the first time, he wondered whether he'd been rejected at
Mautri because he had no gift worth training or because it had already been
thoroughly trained.IfArai was correct, I may have lost a great deal in
becoming an Interface.
"Zref? Zref! What are you doing?" Ley's voice sounded choked with concern.
Zref shook himself out of the train of thought. "I was just wondering who
those bhirhirn are." He gestured vaguely.
"Don't wonder too hard in public." Khelin said, glanc-ing at them. "That
woman is Arshel Lakely. You may have heard of her. She hates Interfaces."
Ley added, "Saltwater spawn. I wouldn't risk her ven-om."
"Watch them carefully," said Khelin. "That's Dennis Lakely. I'm sure your
parents knew his parents. But this boy is not of the same cloth."
Zref watched as the three seemed to be having an argu-ment. The female
gestured at the swimmer's lock, while her bhirhir stood stiffly beside her,
and Balachandran seemed to oppose her suggestion. She started off on her own,
but it was the Rep who put his hand on her arm to restrain her, taking the
part of the bhirhir while her own bhirhir stood mute. Then the tension among
them broke as Dennis Lakely cut between the two and directed their attention
toward some new arrivals.
Khelin said, "I wouldn't bet Ley's life on Dennis's ability to control her.
But it wasn't always that way between them." "You've known them before?"
"Remember the baby Ley and I had in the nursery when you were convalescing
that winter? Skanqwin. She gave him to us."
Now Zref could make out the MorZdersh'n bracelet on the kren's arm. "Oh."And
she hates Interfaces. Yet those two were the hottest thing going in
archeological research, which supported his theory about the clandestine
expedition and pointed toward Balachandran's being involved with 'Ossminid'
somehow. "Well," said Zref, "sheis a green priest. I'm going over there and
see if Balachandran has any openings for a security guard."
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But before he could cover the distance, the three had been surrounded by a
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