Winter in Eden

could have asked for nothing else.
    So great was her attention to this inner voice that she was not aware when Efen and Satsat came from the forest and crossed the clearing before her. Only when they stood close and their bodies came between Enge and the bright sky did awareness penetrate.
    "You are here," she said, signing welcome with her thumbs.
    "We bring you fresh meat, Enge," Satsat said. "That beside you has gone rotten from the heat."
    Enge moved one eye downward. "So it has. I did not notice."
    "You did not notice, nor did you eat any part of it. Your flesh is going—and from your arms down to your legs I can see each bone of your ribcage clearly. To eat is to live."
    "I have been eating the words of Ugunenapsa so living a life of endless splendor. But you are right, the flesh needs life as well. Tell me of the city." She listened attentively as she ate the cool, limp flesh.
    "As you have told us we mingled with the fargi and have gone through the city and have seen the life of Yebèisk. There is a stream that flows through the ambesed, crossed by many golden bridges, and fargi Winter in Eden - Harry Harrison
    crowd into the ambesed in large numbers. The fields are rich, the animals are beyond counting, the harbor busy with uruketo, the sun warm, a city of delights."
    "What of the Daughters of Life? Are there any in the city?"
    Efen sat back on her tail with motions of unease and unhappiness, as did Satsat. "I spoke of the day things first in order to bring light to events of the night. The Daughters are here, we have seen them but cannot talk to them. They work in the orchards, are imprisoned there as well, behind a tall wall of poison thorns.
    Each day they bring fruit for the beasts to the exit, but may not leave. The fruit is taken away and meat put in its place. There are many guards there. We asked and were told only that inside were the Daughters of Death, no further questions permitted, prompt orders to leave. When Omal heard this she touched our thumbs and told us to bring this message to you. Those within must not be kept from the truth of Ugunenapsa and the truths of her teaching that we have received. She said that you would understand.
    She went forward then and spoke with the guards who struck her to the ground and then locked her in with the others."
    Enge recoiled at the thought of the violence done in the name of Life, but made motions of appreciation at the same time. "Omal is the strongest of us and she has done what I would have done myself had I her strength."
    "Yours is the strength that carries us all, Enge. She knows your will, knew you would go. So she went in your place so you would not be the one who was trapped. You must be free to teach the words of Ugunenapsa."
    "And I shall—and Omal will be freed. Tell me of the eistaa."
    "She is much liked and respected," Satsat said. "All may approach her in the ambesed if there is need."
    "There is need," Enge said, rising and brushing bits of meat from around her mouth. "In the days of peace here I have thought of Ugunenapsa's words and how their clarity can be applied to our lives. I have considered how best to bring her teachings to all and the answer when it came was simplicity itself. I ask the question—why are we hated and feared? I answer the question—because our beliefs are seen by the misinformed as a threat to the rule of the eistaa and the succession of power that descends from her to the city. She commands the power of life and death, and when the power of death is taken from her she feels that power is diminished. So here is what I must do. I must talk to the eistaa and reveal the truth of Ugunenapsa's words. When she understands she will be a Daughter of Life and will find that her rule is not diminished but enhanced. This is what I have to do."
    "Don't!" Efen's voice was a wail of pain; Satsat echoed her movements as her own limbs twitched in expressions of despair. "We are too few and they are too many. You will be taken to the orchards and all will end there."
    Winter in Eden - Harry Harrison
    Enge made calming motions of trust. "This is imminent-pain-of-departure speaking, not strong Efen.
    Each of us is unimportant; speaking of Ugunenapsa's words is all. I do what must be done. Follow me to the ambesed but do not reveal yourselves. Wait and watch and learn. If I fail here you may succeed here or in the next city. Now—let us go."
    They went along the shore because this was the easiest way to enter the city. And