Man Who Used the Universe (19 page)

Naras Sharaf made a sound the man could not interpret. Then, "I admire your patience. You have so firmly insinuated yourself into the intelligence network of the Si Family that I suspect they could not do without you. I think the Eight will grant your request. Once you begin, there are many small trading families who will swarm to do business with you."

"Think of the propaganda benefits to be gained by the Families, too," Loo-Macklin hastened to point out. "You'll be able to make a grand pronouncement over UTW channels that after many years the Nuel, as a gesture of friendship between our peoples, are opening up their internal trade to human entrepreneurs."

"Of course, that means only those companies owned or controlled by you," said Naras.

"Of course. But it will look excellent in the human journalistic channels. The Families will gain in ways other than commercially by granting my favor."

"Of myself, would I grant it this moment," said Naras Sharaf, now positively enthusiastic about the idea, "but as mentioned, I have not the authority."

"That's all right." Loo-Macklin dialed himself a nonalcoholic drink from his own dispenser. "I've waited years for this. I can always wait a little while longer . . . ."

There was much debate among the Eight Great Families over Loo-Macklin's extraordinary request. The more insular among the Nuel were opposed. But Loo-Macklin, via Naras Sharaf, assured the heads of the Families that there would be no flood of humans, of potential intelligence agents, traveling among the sixty worlds of the Nuel. There would be only Loo-Macklin's chosen representatives, chosen ones on whom he would keep a close personal watch to make certain no UTW government agents infiltrated their number.

When they asked for reassurances, he informed them that several agents for the Board of Operators' covert activities bureau had already approached him for permission to work with his trading factors on the Nuel worlds. Instead of turning down the request, he'd agreed.

Now he supplied their names and likenesses to representatives of the Si, so that a close watch could be kept upon them. The Si were delighted, pronouncing Lewmaklin almost as devious as themselves, and almost voting to make him an honorary member of the family.

That would have been too much, however. After all, a human.

Loo-Macklin was not troubled by the slight. Honorary family status meant no more to him than the Second Class status he'd achieved among his own kind.

At any rate, the Council of Eight was convinced, and Loo-Macklin was granted his trading privileges.

Within three years, he had thirty different trading establishments on twenty of the major Nuel worlds. As he had predicted, the propaganda victory for the Families was considerable, and they were able to insinuate themselves ever more deeply into human affairs. Profits exceeded the expectations of Loo-Macklin and Nuel trading families alike.

It was when he was making a personal inspection trip to Molraz, one of the largest Nuel worlds, that his guide, Naras Sharaf, drew him away from a just-concluded business meeting and conducted him to a place of privacy.

When he was certain they were alone, the alien turned both vast eyes on the man. "If you are still so inclined, Kee-yes vain Lewmaklin, I have a special treat for you."

"Still inclined? What are you talking about, Naras?"

"Something you mentioned to me a number of years ago. Something which I naturally ignored at the time and never remarked upon again, but which I did not forget. My mental file is almost as large as the one I employ for food." He caressed his protruding abdomen. His skirt almost hid his cilia now, dragging on the floor. A handsome specimen of mature Nuel maleness.

"I wonder if your interest remains." He glanced around the circular room once more. "There are those who would think it heresy and have my skirt for it, but I feel that as friend as well as associate, I owe you this chance."

Loo-Macklin wondered what the alien was being so secretive about. As he watched, the two el spinning their way across Naras Sharaf's upper body switched to silver and gold as they consumed his old attire of black and white polka dots. Naras automatically lifted his left upper tentacle to allow them access to his flank and back.

The el were one bioproduct humanity did not take to. The idea of inch-long bugs constantly crawling over one's flesh was not appealing to the majority of mankind, not even to the more fashion-conscious among them. Besides, the el tickled the more sensitive human skin.

Loo-Macklin found them unirritating and had bought several dozen of the industrious little creatures early on in his trading relationship with the Nuel. The sight of his clothing changing constantly during the day was as fascinating as the material, a fine silk, was comfortable. The special el he wore had been trained and bred by Nuel designers to clothe the human body.

"Enough toying about, Naras Sharaf," he said, more curious than impatient. "What desire have I forgotten that you have not?"

"Your wish to observe a Birthing," Naras Sharaf told him in a low voice.

Loo-Macklin felt a rising surge of excitement, rare these days. Any hint of something new and special was an event.

"Very much would I like this. Are you truly serious?"

"Truly much so," said the alien. "But there are complications."

"I am not surprised. What kind of complications?"

"To the best of my knowledge," said Naras, hesitating to answer, "no alien, human or otherwise, has ever witnessed a Birthing in person."

Loo-Macklin saw no reason to argue with that. A Birthing was an event of importance and privacy.

"But you," Naras continued, "have become such a vital part of our efforts to infiltrate and control the UTW, and have proven your loyalty on so many occasions these past years, that you have made many friends among the families. So I have been able to secure permission from one such for you to observe one of their Birthings." He hesitated.

"But there is a condition. A strong condition."

"Name it."

"Restrain your compliance 'til you have heard." Loo-Macklin hadn't seen Naras Sharaf this serious in some time. He listened carefully.

"The observer psychologist in charge, with whom I had contact, was most reluctant, but he agreed to pass favorably on the request if you would accede to one condition. His superiors agreed and think it a valuable idea even if no Birthing view was involved.

"Recall you that a number of years ago I mentioned to you the possibility of your taking on an implant?"

Loo-Macklin's memory sought. "Vaguely, yes. You never told me what kind of implant."

"It was first proposed by the Si. You are a remarkable human, Kee-yes vain Lewmaklin, but I do not know if you are remarkable enough to agree to this.

"There is a very small, empathetically sensitive creature we have bred. A symbiotic nonmotile insect about the size of the claw in your smallest digit."

Loo-Macklin looked thoughtfully at the nail adorning his little finger.

"Somewhat smaller than that, actually," said the uncomfortable Naras. "There is a technique by which it can be sensitized to a particular thought. It is then implanted behind the cerebral cortex of any oxygen breather. An Orischian, for example, or myself, or a . . ."

"Or a human," Loo-Macklin finished for him. "Myself, for example."

"Truly, for example," Naras admitted, watching him carefully for reaction. As usual, there was nothing. Naras had grown adept at recognizing the meaning of human gestures and expressions. Loo-Macklin was neutral as ever.

"You would be asked to think a certain thought at the moment of sensitization. There are ways of checking on such things. We have equivalents of your truth machines. The sensitization process, by the way, is a chemical one and utterly painless."

"What kind of thought?"

"That you would agree never to do anything that would be contrary to the best interests of the Nuel. The actual insertion is performed under local anesthetic. You would never feel or be aware of the presence of the lehl in your skull."

Loo-Macklin reached back and rubbed his neck. "How long does this little visitor stay with you?"

"For the life of the implantee or until it is removed by Nuel surgeons. I assure you that only my own people are capable of making such an implant work. If anyone else, human doctors for example, were to attempt to remove the lehl, the process would affect the creature's emotional stability and it would react by defending itself."

"And how would it do that?"

"By hiding in the only place it knows. By leaving its assigned position and burrowing as deeply as necessary into its host's brain."

"Then I'll make sure I don't sign up for any surprise operations." Loo-Macklin smiled slightly.

"Then you consent?" Naras Sharaf was startled in spite of himself.

"Why not?"

Naras performed several elaborate gestures and eye movements indicative of astonishment mixed with delight.

"That is wonderful to hear and a great relief to me personally. I can tell you now that for over a year there has been much talk of testing your loyalty by asking you to undergo such an implanting. The Si were against it, not wanting to risk losing your aid should you decline. They will be most pleased and your decision will strengthen their position within the Eight.

"The problem arose because whether you realize it or not, Kee-yes vain Lewmaklin, you have become so deeply entrenched in not only our intelligence service but also general commerce that your humanness itself became enough to condemn you in certain circles. Many grow nervous to see a human wield such influence. Now that you have agreed to accept an implant, even those voices raised most vitriolic against you must cease their complaining. Your ability to work freely among the families will not be questioned again."

"What happens if someone goes back on their sensitized thought but doesn't try to have the lehl removed?" Loo-Macklin asked curiously.

"The disturbance will register with the creature. The chemosensitive receptors within its body will become irritated and the body will release a nerve poison. The action is instinctive and reflexive. The creature has no more control over it than you do. The host dies quickly. There is no effective antidote. The mind dies first."

"Unpleasant. Yet you regard the lehl as a beneficial creature."

"All creatures, no matter how seemingly insignificant or unimportant, have their uses. That is a lesson your kind has yet to learn.

"As long as you do not try to have it removed and do not retract the sensitized thought, you will not even notice its presence, save for one small side effect."

"Which is what?" Loo-Macklin asked.

"The lehl prefers calm surroundings, as does any sensible creature. It secretes other chemicals to make its 'home' a comfortable place. While it remains with you, you cannot suffer cerebral hemorrhaging. If you receive damage to the skull, the lehl will assist your natural bodily mechanisms in healing any wounds.

"And another headache you will not have for the duration of your life." Naras Sharaf sounded pleased at being able to cite a beneficial effect or two for the implant.

The former sounded good to Loo-Macklin. He did not tell Naras Sharaf that in his long and complex life he had never experienced a headache . . . .

Chapter 10

Sharaf was right. The operation was painless. Loo-Macklin was even able to watch, disdaining general anesthetic, as the incredibly deft Nuel surgeons opened the back of his head and inserted the tiny, dark blue creature. It did not move about, resembling a scrap of blue sponge more than a living animal.

Then they sealed the opening so smoothly that within a couple of hours it was impossible to tell where the initial incisions had been made. A brief session under the programming machinery, during which he dutifully complied with all instructions necessary to sensitize the lehl to the indicated thought, and then he was up and walking about.

He put his hand to the back of his head. Only by pressing very hard could he find even the slightest hint that something other than flesh and bone lay beneath the skin. He hadn't even lost any hair.

For a few days he scratched at the spot, but the itch he rubbed was psychological only. In a week he'd forgotten about it.

Then came the day when Naras spirited him out of the central city in a Nuel ground car. Loo-Macklin had to scrunch down low to avoid bumping the curved, claustrophobically low ceiling.

Compressed air powered the car through a plastic tube, sent it speeding out into the countryside toward a distant range of spectacularly rugged mountains. It was raining outside the tube, most Nuel worlds being subject to periodic deluges. These the Nuel manufactured themselves when they did not occur naturally with sufficient frequency. The Nuel were evolved amphibians. They couldn't breathe water any longer, but they still liked to be wet.

"Where are we going?" the cramped human asked his guide.

"There are certain traditional places," Naras Sharaf explained. "New worlds give rise to new traditions. We go to one such place.

"A pregnant female has her choice of where to give birth. On the original eight worlds of our forefathers there are ancient sites, which have been used for this purpose for thousands of years. Birthing at such places is rumored to endow offspring with such virtues as good luck, fine appearance, thick cilia, sexual potency, and other desirables. Nonsense, of course, but entrenched superstitions die hard."

"We have plenty of our own," Loo-Macklin assured him.

"I am aware of that." He turned great eyes on the tube ahead. "In witnessing of a Birthing you will learn one of the great secrets of the Nuel, learn why such events are so closely guarded from the sight of aliens. You are to be the first, Kee-yes vain Lewmaklin. A great privilege. No one is worried about this. Not now, not since the implanting." One eye continued to study the route before them while the other swiveled independently to stare at Loo-Macklin.

"The implant gives you no trouble?"

"None whatsoever. In fact, I think you must have understated the beneficial side effects the lehl induces. Since the implanting I feel better than I have in years."