Semiosis by Sue Burke

Author:Sue Burke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

NYE

YEAR 106–GENERATION 6

We, the citizens of Pax, covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of all sentient beings and of the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part; justice, equity, and compassion in our relations with one another.…

—from the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pax

It figured. Right outside the city, Marie, Cedar, and Roland started to argue.

“We should have followed the Glassmakers right away,” Marie said, “but Tatiana said no. They could be anywhere now.”

She didn’t mind bad-mouthing the moderator, but only behind her back and two weeks after the decision had been made. Still, Marie wrote and read Glassmade better than anyone and was a total coward, so she was just what we needed for a peacemaking trip, unless she gossiped the Glassmakers to death.

“Not then,” Roland said. “We had too much to do. Jersey was hurt.”

“That whole investigation was a disaster,” Cedar snapped. She couldn’t stand Marie or Tatiana. Maybe it’s a generational thing. “Tatiana should have recruited more help. She didn’t have to do it all by herself.”

“Stevland helped,” Marie said.

“Tatiana wants what’s best for Pax,” Roland said.

“Pity she’s too old for you.” Cedar’s voice didn’t pity him.

Roland just smiled. He always acts like he could have any woman he wants. He has muscles and a really nice beard, but he doesn’t have to flaunt it.

Kung and I didn’t say anything. Kung is a Greenie like Roland and Marie, but his hair is black and won’t hold dye, so he braids green ribbons into his hair. He’s big and dim, but he didn’t have to be very smart to stay out of a stupid argument. Me, I’m just starting to get whiskers, but I was experienced enough to let politicians waste their time and energy, not mine.

All I wanted to do, all I’d ever wanted to do, was meet the Glassmakers. The five of us were the people who most wanted to try to find the Glassmakers, and we weren’t the best work team in history. The Glassmakers wouldn’t bicker like us.

Things got worse when we arrived at the shelter for the first night. The women and Roland debated whether we should have noticed that Jersey was sick. I gathered firewood and salad greens, reheated the turnovers I had carried from the city, played a little tune on my flute to drown out the debate, and went to bed. No one complained about the meal or the music, at least.

The next day the women debated having Stevland be a co-moderator.

“He cares about us,” Marie said. She was a dentist and spent her days poking at diseased teeth. “He gives us everything he can, from painkillers to fluoride.”

“He needs tight limits,” Cedar said. “We need to think about the whole situation, not just medical details, and hold him accountable.” She worked on weather and geography and scribbled up maps for every occasion, so Stevland couldn’t help her much.

They argued for hours over exactly why having co-moderators was a good idea. It was a good idea, period! I tried to enjoy the walk.

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