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minutes." On a rising whine, the sturdy craft rose a meter into the air and
backed out of the shed.
"The locals like to see me arrive by skimmer. They already know how to walk."
"How do they react?" he asked. "Are they awed, curious, indifferent, what?"
"Straightforwardly accepting, mostly. It didn't take them long to get used to
it. They call it the boat that flies on air, which is pretty direct. I think
the absence of outriggers surprises them more than anything else."
He settled himself back into the seat. "I'm looking forward to meeting the
local chief, this being the dominant island in the archipelago." He smiled.
"I'm sure the AAnn weren't happy about the
Commonwealth setting up a station here first."
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She shrugged. "They seem to be perfectly happy on Mallatyah. That's the
second-largest inhabited island in the group. They're doing a good job of
extending their influence from there."
Pulickel was mildly alarmed. "I've been wondering what kind of progress
they've been making. How are you doing with the Torrelauans?"
"As well, or as bad. It's hard to tell. As you know from your preparations,
the Parramati aren't like any other society on Senisran." The skimmer crossed
the beach and entered the bay. "They're special. Special unique or special
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frustrating, take your pick."
Wind began to ruffle his hair. "I'm sure as soon as I get to know the chief,
we'll make some serious headway."
She adjusted several controls, preferring manual to vorec operation. The
engine whined responsively and the skimmer accelerated. He frowned at her.
"What're you laughing at?"
She stopped chuckling. "If you wanted to speak to the chief on any other
island group, there wouldn't be a problem. But you can't do that on Parramat."
"Why not?"
"Because the Parramati are different. As you'll find out. It's why I've stayed
here, by myself.
See, there care things that interest me besides lounging around, cultivating
native flowers, and sampling the local foodstuffs."
"I didn't mean to imply otherwise," he muttered.
"Of course. Nobody ever means to." She boosted the skimmer another meter above
the water.
Well out on the bay, the wind was now howling around them. He really would
have preferred an enclosed, climatecontrolled cockpit, but decided to hold off
making the suggestion. Instead, he studied his surroundings intently. How the
wind blew her burnished gold hair out behind her, how the sculpted profile of
her face stood out pale against the green walls of the fjord-not forgetting to
make mental notes on the surrounding terrain as well, of course.
"What's so special about the Parramati, besides their reluctance to formalize
relationships with outsiders?"
Reaching the end of the bay, she turned west, following the coast. Beneath the
skimmer's thrusters, the smooth waters of the encircling lagoon flashed by.
Silicaceous pseudocorals shoved bumps and blades and nodules toward the
surface.
"Everything. Their society is unique on Senisran. They're friendly, polite,
but defiant."
"What are they defying? Everything is subject to negotiation. It's not like
we're trying to impose our will on them."
"But we are. However benignly, we're imposing contemporary culture on them, be
it in the form of a formal treaty of mutual cooperation, track goods, weapons,
politics, even comments and suggestions about art. The AAnn are doing the
same. The Parramati reject nearly all of it. It's not part of their kusum, you
see."
Pulickel blinked as the skimmer rocked slightly. "Their what?"
"The term is a phonetic coincidence, though it means much more than just
custom. It signifies a way of life that goes beyond the superficial. It's a
way of looking at the entire cosmos. They're afraid that if they ally
themselves formally with either us or the AAnn, it will go against kusum and
they'll lose their way."
"For a supposedly primitive people, that's a relatively enlightened outlook."
He smiled thinly.
"Of course, it never works. You can't reject and ignore advanced technology
once it's been offered to you. If not the elders, then the youth of primitive
species who are less steeped in tradition are always willing to try exciting
new things. Historical xenology proves it over and over. Any group that
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