The Star Whorl (The Totality Cycles Book 1) (12 page)

     She gestured assent, and
kissed him one last time, then stepped back.

     The OSI. Something had to be
done about it. It had undone just about all of the progress made in doing away
with the system of castes, making those of lower ability fear for their freedom
and security. It had both females and males looking for havens in the families
of higher Nil’Gu’ua ability. For as surely as he had found out the standing in
the Tiers of the Gotra Dun, others in Secondus were looking at their lecture-mates’
famiya’s eminence the same way, and trying to make connections the same way
that Polista Zyledi’Kil had.

    
And if I ever get the
chance, I’ll do something about it,
he vowed as he walked out of the
domicive and applied Nil’Gu’vua to his transport glyph. The desire to destroy
the OSI was so strong, it was almost a glyph he could apply Nil’Gu’vua to. It
drove the despair away, and gave his life a definite purpose. And having a
purpose, his own, definite purpose, felt angrily good.

Whorl Thirty Four

     Kreceno’Tiv was not looking
forward to facing his friends at Secondus, but there was little choice. All of
them would know something had happened, something bad, or at least,
disappointing. His parents did not say anything, though he got the feeling that
they had been relieved to see him unmarked when he had returned home that
dark-turn. Now, squaring his shoulders, he went to the transport embarkment
point, where his friends were already gathered.

     “You’re not wearing
Zyledi’Kil’s colors,” Ro-Becilo’Ran commented, eying him up and down, as they
waited for the Secondus transport to come.

     “No,” he answered. There
were other querulous looks, but he ignored them, his vuu’erio tucked away. He
could not sense the despair this turn, for his anger and hatred for the OSI burned
within him with a fierceness that was undiminished, even two turns later, that
he had to work to hide.

     “Things not work out?” There
was sympathy there, among the teasing.

     “Not precisely,” he said
flatly. He did not feel like discussing it, nor did he particularly want to
interact with Polista Zyledi’Kil, though it would be difficult to avoid her. Regret
was a bitter, caustic taste at the back of his tongue – he had really liked
Polista Zyledi’Kil. But having her throw herself at him, against her nature,
had killed much of his attraction to her. He felt sorry for her, that she had
felt compelled to do it, and he had begun to truly hate not just the Initiative
but the progenitors of the OSI as well. It had destroyed any chance of honest
interaction between persons of different ability levels.

     “Hmph. Pelani’Dun?” Ro-Becilo’Ran
asked, shrewdly.

     “Among other reasons,” he
confirmed, not elaborating. Would he have to look for someone with a
commensurate level of Nil’Gu’ua, just so that he would be reasonably confident
that her attraction was not fueled by anything other than attraction?

    
I don’t want to have to
think that way!
he wanted to rage, but kept his demeanor closed.
The
Unification was supposed to make us all equal! And asking someone their Nil’Gu’ua
level is rude! No one has had to do that since the Unification!

     “Well, you won’t want for
attention,” his friend said, gesturing wry humor. “If she doesn’t interest you,
there are many others who...” he stopped, and Kreceno’Tiv assumed that his
expression said enough. “So, it’s that. So, just what is your Nil’Gu’ua
ability?” He kept his voice down, but his vuu’erio tennae were pressed forward
in avid interest. It was a very personal question, the height of rudeness,
really, but Ro-Becilo’Ran was like a brother, and could get that personal, if
he wished.

     Kreceno’Tiv laughed
bitterly. “Don’t you remember? Same as yours.”

     Ro-Becilo’Ran nudged his
arm. “That’s when we were younglings,” he said, alluding to their friendly
boasting of being the highest levels. Of being able to see Nil’Gu’vua itself.

     “We haven’t been fully
evaluated, yet, so we can’t know for certain,” Kreceno’Tiv said shortly,
shrugging. That was not precisely true – everyone had sneaked into the famiya
Nil’aris, and tried to find the upper limit of their Nil’Gu’ua, at one time or
another. Kreceno’Tiv had done so – and had not found a limit, before he felt he
had to leave before he was discovered.

    
Not that that means
anything,
he thought, wanting to gesture denial.
I only tested myself up
to level Nanes’Nil’Gu, level eight. But – I
can
see Nil’Gu’vua.
He
kept the thought from his glyph, from projecting out beyond his own mind.

     Several girls were looking
at him, he noted. And they also noticed that he was not wearing Polista Zyledi’Kil’s
colors.

     “Fine, don’t tell me, your
closest friend,” Ro-Becilo’Ran grumped.

     “Not as close as Ropali Galici’Bel,
I think,” he rejoined, picking up his carry-pack as the transport came to a
stop before them. Ro-Becilo’Ran laughed.

Whorl Thirty Five

     Over the next five-turn
before the first term-break, Kreceno’Tiv felt that he had become something of a
challenge for the girls around him, a prize to be won. Some glomed him, and one
or two made a passing, flirtatious comment. He did not object, though he did
not want to play the rounds, pre-mating girl after girl, or take advantage of
the fascination in any other way, as some other males would have. And since it
was impolite to ask one’s level of Nil’Gu’ua, close friends like Ro-Becilo’Ran
notwithstanding, he had no way of knowing who was desperate for a way around
the OSI, and who might be genuinely interested, and who was just eager to stake
a conquest.

    
Well, I won’t get deeply
involved with anyone,
he decided, with a pang.
I’ll concentrate on
convincing Mother and Father to send me to Tertius.
At least there, the
young women would be more serious, more focused on studies and deeper matters.
And hopefully, they would not be so concerned with his lineage. And, he did not
allow himself to think, their Nil’Gu’ua ability was high enough to protect them
from the OSI.

     He saw Polista Zyledi’Kil
now and then outside of their shared lecture, and she smiled whenever she saw
him, but did not try to engage him. Then he saw Gotra Pelani’Dun, but she was
walking and laughing with her hulkling, Go-Hytiro’Vel, and he wore her colors.

     Kreceno’Tiv wanted to
gesture relief. As long as his former pre-mate had the stone-head wrapped
around her, she would not be pursuing him.

     He sat in his usual seat for
this lecture, activating his view-glyphographic. Gotra Pelani’Dun came in,
laughing, and she threw one fulminating look at him before completely turning
her back. The look puzzled him, but he put it out of his mind – she was
pre-mated to the stone-head. Why still be angry at him? He brooded over it,
before turning his mind to other things.

     “Oh ha, Kreceno’Tiv,” a
voice said. He looked to his other side, and a girl, who had never talked to
him before, though she had been sitting right beside him all term, smiled.

     “Oh ha, Pavtala Ralili’Bax,”
he smiled back, raising a vuu-brow. “Your name
is
Pavtala Ralili’Bax,
correct?”

     “Yes, that’s correct. You’ve
become very popular, of late,” she said, gesturing amusement. “Seems everyone
is agog about your famiya’s status. Tiring, isn’t it?”

     He raised the other brow.
“Some might enjoy that kind of attention and desirability.”

     She laughed. “You’re not
that kind. Otherwise, you’d still be with Pelani’Dun, or you’d have the
markings of a different girl every turn.”

     He gestured, noncommittal. She
was right.

     “Let’s go have some fun this
dark-turn,” she said, flicking a vuu’erio at him. “No obligation to become
pre-mated. Don’t worry, my place is assured, I’m not afraid and trying to fix
your interest because of the OSI. Eh?”

     He thought for a moment, as
the Proctor came in. Then he gestured assent. “Let’s.”

Whorl Thirty Six

     Once he was done with his
lessons, he skimmed the Spheres. Things had not changed, nor could he think of
anything to say that might change things. Plus he was distracted with his own
personal drama. The OSI had not yet reached An’Siija, and those who had been
affected by it were silent, as the others who had been victimized by it had
gone silent. Disturbed, and feeling again that helplessness to act directly, he
shut down his study-station and pulled on his deshik, which had been cleaned
and nourished in the refresher.

     “I’m going out to meet
Ro-Becilo’Ran!” he called as he dashed out, scooping up the platter in the
food-prep area that seemed to be waiting for him. He finished the food before
he reached the front entrance, and placed the platter on a small ledge in the
vestibule.

     “Don’t stay out too late!”
his father called back. “This isn’t an end-turn!” He sent back an acknowledging
glyph as he hurried down to where Ro-Becilo’Ran was waiting for him. They
Nil-ized their combined transports and traveled together in silence.

     The group was at their usual
meeting place, right before the translation-way that would take them up to the
Algna Suprum landform. Pavtala Ralili’Bax was there, also, and he found that he
was glad that she had come. She seemed the opposite of Polista Zyledi’Kil,
unbashful, exuberant, radiant. And best of all, unafraid of the OSI. They were
all seated on ground cushions, obviously waiting for the last members of the
group, himself and Ro-Becilo’Ran.

     “Oh ha, the Lords Tiv and
Ran have arrived!” Thy-Lerefo’Gol said, smiling, his vuu’erio twitching toward
them. “Now we’re all here. Shall we?”

     “Please tell me we aren’t
going to the
Bustani
line,” Pavtala Ralili’Bax said, holding up her
hands as Kreceno’Tiv sat next to her on the cushion she had fashioned that was
meant for two. “I thought you wanted to have fun!”

     “You have something else in
mind?” Thy-Lerefo’Gol eyed her. She gave him a mischievous smile, and gestured
assent.

     “I’m interested in the
natural wonders of Gu’Anin,” she answered. “The
Bustani
is fascinating,
but who can get in? And anyway, how wondrous can all those marvels be if we
don’t know enough about the wonders of our own world to be bored with them?”

     “So what do you do for fun?”
Thynnu Tikati’Pas asked, leaning forward.

     “I explore the world,”
Pavtala Ralili’Bax said, looking around mischievously. “I like to go places,
different places, on Gu’Anin. Sometimes I take others with me.” She raised a
vuu-brow suggestively.

     “So you’re going to take us
somewhere interesting?” Kreceno’Tiv asked, smiling.

     “If you want to go,” she
teased.

     “Like where?” Ro-Becilo’Ran
prodded.

     “Have you – ever been down
to the Roots?” she asked breathlessly, looking around their group.

     Ro-Becilo’Ran gestured an emphatic
negative, laughing. “
No one
has ever been down to the Roots – not only
is it forbidden, it’s dangerous! More dangerous than many of the other worlds
we administer to. Who would be vuu-blitzed enough to try
that?
”

     “I would,” Pavtala
Ralili’Bax breathed, her eyes wide, a credulous smile on her face. “I’ve done
it, once! Only for a very short time, but... oh, the things I saw! I only wish
I could have taken images of them!”

     Kreceno’Tiv felt an
unpleasant tickle in his gut, telling him that the notion was not a good one.

     “But we don’t have to go
there,” she laughed, stretching on her lounge. “There are plenty of other
forbidden places we can explore!”

     “By the Ancient Hives,
she’ll have us Gu’ua-blocked before we’ve had time to split our elytra-paces!”
Ropali Galici’Bel groaned, covering her eyes.

     “Such as?” Thynnu Tikati’Pas
asked, sounding intrigued.

     “The Crown,” she said,
looking credulous again, “or out past the Foliants...?”

     Kreceno’Tiv unconsciously
gestured a negative.

     She laughed, shaking her
head. “No, in actuality, I
have
been to those places, but with my
parents,” she admitted. “As part of the Ministry of Preservation. Mother was
obliged to travel to those places, and she allowed me to go with her. I
do
have images.” She picked up her view-glyphographic and waved it at them. “We
could – take them to an Observis, and let me show you around?”

     There were gestures of
relief all around – and agreement.

     “I
would
like to see
what’s beneath the Ground-Trees,” Thynnu Tikati’Pas said, sounding excited.

     “I also have other images,
like a world-storm out in the Off-Limb ways,” Pavtala Ralili’Bax said, looking
around. “And under-Limb scenes, and the actual Crown of the World-Tree.”

     “Lead on,” Thy-Lerefo’Gol said,
gesturing assent.

     Pavtala Ralili’Bax bounced
up, waving at all of them. Her transport glyph was already sparkling in her
hand, her eyes sparkling just as brightly.

Whorl Thirty Seven

     Groaning dramatically,
Kreceno’Tiv dragged himself up and combined his transport glyph with hers.
Others also stood, adding their glyphs, until a structure much like the glyph
for their transport to Secondus hovered above her hand. But the seats would all
be facing each other, rather than in double rows. She set the destination, and
they followed her to the boulevard so that the glyph could be activated.

     She gave him a glance, and
he applied Nil’Gu’vua to the multi-structure glyph. It blossomed into being,
and they all crowded in, laughing and jostling each other as they took seats.