Donald Moffitt - Genesis 01

plant, but it was inevitable that a few adjustments would have to be made for the comfort of the human and Nar parasites who would inhabit it during its long migration to the next star.
    Yes, Bram thought, it was no wonder that the Juxt One colonists were so keen on exploring the tree. This planetoid-size organism was going to be their life-support system for the next several years, and they had better become familiar with it quickly.
    A tourist party came down the tunnel toward him, chattering and giggling. A barefoot colonist in shorts and a leaf cloak was explaining the sights. As they passed Bram on the opposite side of the passage, the guide called to him, “Don’t get lost! Stick to the marked routes!”
    “I will,” Bram called back.
    Not everybody was taking that advice. From the next side tunnel came a sound of heavy breathing and moans from a couple who hadn’t taken themselves very far out of sight past a bend. Bram discreetly passed the corridor by and determined to have a look in the next promising tunnel.
    He found one going up a slope toward a dim milky light a quarter mile’s distance away. This would be one of the lenticels that Orris had mentioned—a round chamber toward the surface made by a raised pore covered by a translucent blister. The treefitters didn’t even have to seal it off from space; the tree did it for them. On planetary trees, lenticels communicated with the atmosphere and served for gaseous exchange, but the vacuum-grown poplars conserved every precious gas molecule.
    As he climbed toward starlight, Bram saw two dim figures emerge from a branching artery halfway up. A man and a woman. With the light behind them, he couldn’t make out their faces with any clarity, but of course they must have had a better look at him.
    He read a brief instant of confusion in their silhouettes, and then the man darted back down the tunnel he had emerged from. The woman looked as if she were about to follow him, then changed her mind and continued on down toward Bram.
    Bram kept on climbing, and as he drew close, he saw who it was. “Kerthin!” he exclaimed.
    “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “Are you spying on me?”
    He was dumbfounded. “N-no,” he said. “I was looking for you, and then I thought I’d explore some of these branching corridors.”
    “Well, there’s nothing to see up there,” she said. “Just some machinery that they haven’t installed yet and some chambers they’re hollowing out for air locks or something. Come on, let’s go.”
    He took another step upward. “Who was that with you?”
    “What do you mean?” she responded angrily. “I don’t like this!”
    “I don’t mean anything,” he said, more puzzled than ever. “I just asked who it was.”
    He wrinkled his forehead. There had been something about the silhouette—the set of the shoulders, the shape of the beard.
    “Let’s get back to the hall,” she said. She tried to brush by him.
    He grabbed her by the wrist. “It was Pite, wasn’t it?”
    “Let me go. What if it was?”
    “What’s Pite doing here?”
    “He can look at a treeship if he wants to.”
    “No, he can’t. He’s supposed to be under house arrest after that last fracas. How did he get up here?”
    “None of your business. I said let me go.”
    He released her. “He borrowed somebody else’s identity, didn’t he? Like his idol, Penser, does.”
    “What if he did? Pite has lots of friends. It’s their business.”
    “You were one of them, weren’t you?” Bram said. “That’s why you wanted to get to the farewell party— and then hardly bothered to say ten words to Orris and Marg. And that’s why you disappeared at Lowstation. You met somebody there. Why is Pite interested in star trees?”
    “You’re being ridiculous,” she snapped.
    “No, I’m not,” he said. “Pite and his friends are up to something, and you’ve gotten yourself involved in it. Kerthin, I don’t like to see you getting yourself in trouble. I thought you had more sense than that.”
    “All right,” she said. Her demeanor changed abruptly, became affectionate and wheedling. “Pite did use somebody else’s name, and he had the help of a friend aboard the tree in getting an invitation. And I found out about it, and I helped cover it up. What’s so awful about that? It isn’t as if Pite was doing anything wrong. All he wanted to do was explore this tree. Just like you’re doing.”
    “I’m sorry, Kerth, I didn’t mean