The Tower and the Hive by MCCAFFREY ANNE

Author:MCCAFFREY, ANNE
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PENGUIN group

Your report and the materials collected on the surface are still being analyzed, Jeff told Thian on the Washington. His mental chuckle echoed in his grandson’s mind. I am reliably led to believe by no less a personage than High Councillor Gktmglnt that the planet you’ve so adroitly investigated is completely atypical of the Hiver colonies and has confounded all the Mrdini experts. Ours as well, despite the fact that we may not have had as much experience with the species as the ’Dinis.

What’s the gist, Grandfather? The xenbees here will want details.

When such are formulated, a copious report will be sent. Right now confusion reigns. One: your Hivers do not appear to have sent out any spheres, since you say there has been little use of the available ore deposits and the sphere they used to arrive there is deteriorating. Two: the queens are a third smaller than our specimen at Heinlein Base. Three: eighty installations on a planet that size are unusually few, since Xh-33 had ten times that many and, to judge by the age of their oldest sphere—fragments have been analyzed—Xh- 33 is a much younger settlement. Four: the inactive workers you found in the stable, holding place, whatever, are also much smaller than usual. Five: according to Mrdinis, Hivers always send off excess queens.

If there are no excess queens?

Aye, there’s the rub, Thian. There should be and there aren ’t. Yet that colony is by far the oldest, judging by the analysis of the sphere fragments—it should have sent off colonies in keeping with the currently understood Hiver patterns.

So, what do you wish us to do now?

Check your findings by infiltrating at least ten of the other queen Hives and get more GC readings. The pheromones you got from the one queen’s quarters are not at all what emanates from the Heinlein queen. Get us more soil samples from as many cultivated fields as possible near existing Hives for cross-checking. And as a treat, snag us samples of the various worker types. If, as you’ve discovered, they’re dormant or resting or whatever it is that keeps them immobile until needed, that shouldn’t be difficult or expose a team to queenly retribution. It would, however, be very interesting if the queens did respond in some fashion to ... ah ... losing some of their working types.

Thian couldn’t help but chuckle at his grandfather’s droll tone.

“Let us in on the joke, will you, Thian?” Admiral Ashiant asked dryly.

When Thian recited exactly what his grandfather had reported, Ashiant guffawed. “Well, frankly, I don’t see that we’d have any trouble absconding with a few specimens.”

The experts want several of each from different installations, Jeff Raven said, having been able to hear the Admiral’s response through the link with his grandson.

“Don’t want much, do they?” Ashiant said with a sniff. “I suppose the experts’ll want some of the queens’ attendants too, for comparison’s sake.”

Yes indeed. But not if it puts teams at risk.

“I shouldn’t indulge myself with whimsical remarks in your presence,” Ashiant said.

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