The Stone God Awakens by Farmer Philip José

Author:Farmer, Philip José [Farmer, Philip José]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy, Classics
ISBN: 9780441786527
Amazon: 0441786529
Goodreads: 1526312
Publisher: Vintage/Ace Books
Published: 1970-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Awina stood beside him, close enough so that her furred hip rubbed against him. Her long black tail moved back and forth, its tip sometimes tickling the back of his legs.

“Wurutana has spared us,” she said. “I do not know why. But he has his reasons.”

Ulysses was angered. He said, “Why can’t you think of our success as being due to my powers as a god?”

Awina started and looked up at him sidewise. Her eyes were enormous, as always, but the pupils had become slits.

“Your pardon, Lord,” she said. “We owe you much. Without you, of course, we would have perished. Still, you are a small god compared with Wurutana.”

“Size does not necessarily mean superiority,” he said.

He was angry, he thought, not because she denied or depreciated his godhood. He certainly was not that insane. It was just that he wanted to get the proper credit for bringing them through. Credit as a human being, even if he was forced to speak in terms of his godhood.

He wanted Awina, more than anybody, to give him credit. Now, why should he wish that? Why should this beautiful but weird creature, this sentient but nonhuman being, be so important to him?

On the other hand, he thought, why shouldn’t she? She had been his mainstay from the first day here, she had taught him his first language (in a manner of speaking), she had served him in many capacities, not the least of which was that of morale upholder. And she was very attractive, in a physical sense. It had been so long since he had seen a human being, he had become accustomed to the nonhuman. Awina was a very beautiful female (he almost thought woman).

Yet, though he was often very fond of her, he sometimes felt repulsed by her. This occurred when she got too close physically. He moved away, and she looked at him with an unfathomable expression. Did she know what he was thinking? Did she correctly interpret his moving away?

He hoped not. Because if she did, she was intelligent and sensitive enough to know that the avoidance of physical contact was a defense on his part. And she would know, as he knew, why he had to defend himself.

He shouted at Wulka and the other chiefs. “Let’s go! Follow me down off The Tree! We’ll be on good solid dry ground soon!”

The descent went well enough, though he had to resist a tendency to hurry. The vast black-gray bulk of The Tree seemed to be even more threatening, now that he was about free of it, than when he had been inside it. But nothing happened; no Wuggrud or Khrauszmiddum boiled out of The Tree to make a final attack.

However, once they were out on the plain, they would be easily detected by the winged men. It would be best to stay inside the shade of The Tree until nightfall and then move out.

Fortunately, the ground at the base of the great Tree here was not so swamp-like. Once they had moved away from the branch down which the riverlet had run, they found dry ground.

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