Where the Ships Die Read Free Page B

medium-sized eruption was likely to spew tons of rock and ash. Thousands might be injured or killed. He gestured his agreement. "An excellent idea... I'll work on transportation while you handle the meeting."
    La-Ma agreed and followed La-To down toward the valley below. The ground shook as something shifted deep beneath their feet. A quake rolled through the Valley of Tranquility. An altar fell.
    Hours had passed while the processional wound its way through the 333 stations of devotion and into the central cavern, a cavern created when molten lava flowed down the mountain's flanks thousands of years before, spreading fingers of red into the valley below. However, in spite of the fact that the rock looked solid, bubbles existed deep inside. They remained undisturbed as subsequent flows chose other less difficult paths.
    A time came when free-roaming outlaws drove a band of peace-loving Traa up off the plains. There the first defensive walls were built, shafts were dug, and a bubble was breached. Soon other caverns were discovered and linked via underground passageways.
    Hundreds of years passed, years in which food, texts, and gunpowder were stored in the caves, new engineering principles were discovered, and powerful machines were invented, all of which enabled the creation of a vast amphitheater with seating for nearly three million Traa. It was into this vast space, equipped with an elaborate multimedia communications system, that La-Ma stared, her heart beating heavily in her chest, the sound of her introduction still reverberating off the walls. This was the first time she had stood on the rotating platform and faced the entire sept. The responsibility weighed heavily on her shoulders. Her message was critically important. What if she failed? The other septs would continue their aggressive actions, the alien races would respond in kind, and a war would be fought. Millions of Traa watched her expectantly. La-Ma opened her mouth. Nothing came out. She tried again.
    "Thank you, La-Si. It's an honor to address this distinguished gathering. The scientists among you are aware that the Mountain of the Moons has awoken from its long slumber. With that in mind I will keep my comments short and ask that you cooperate when we evacuate the temple."
    There it was, the word "evacuate," which conveyed more urgency than "leave." It was already under way. For as La-Ma spoke, certain relics, artworks, and records had already been removed from altars and were being airlifted to safety.
    The audience stirred. Objections were shouted, and some of the more unstable attendees started to panic. The traditionalists, who saw the suggestion as an unseemly departure from past ritual, demanded permission to speak. La-Ma held up her hands. "Yes, there is change, and with change comes danger, but that is the nature of life."
    The saying, attributed to one of the sept's founders, had a calming effect, and La-Ma launched into her carefully prepared text. "Listen, my friends, for I bring news of a danger greater than the magma below, or the eruption it might cause.
    "While other sentients developed civilizations in which people work together, but pursue personal goals, we evolved from three-person hunting triads. We act as a group. A group having familial and reproductive responsibilities. The two-male, single-female configuration ensures that the female has support and protection throughout her yearlong gestation period, and increases the likelihood that the child will survive, even if one of the parents is killed. This was a frequent occurrence hundreds of years ago.
    "The two-female, single-male model confers benefits as well. Cubs born into this situation are almost guaranteed to receive sufficient nurturance, and, in the days prior to public education, often received more instruction than their peers."
    "What is the point?" a voice yelled from the audience. "We know the history of the Traa race as well as you do!"
    Such interruptions were