Winter in Eden

destruction of the sammads.
    Armun looked at him and his thoughts were clear to her, for while he thought the murgu words his body writhed their echo, his face worked and grew grim.
    They would be going back.
    But to what?
    CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
    ambesetepsa ugunenapsossi, nefatep lemefenatep. epsatsast efentopeneh. deesetefen eedeninef.
    Yilanè apothegm
    Ugunenapsa taught that since we know death we know the limits of life, and that is the strength of the Daughters of Life who live when others die.
    When the uruketo left the harbor of Yebèisk, Ambalasi ordered that it swim west, directly into the open sea. This was the quickest way for them to get out of sight of land—and would give no clue to the watchers on shore as to their possible future course. Elem clambered up to the top of the fin and found the scientist already there, staring out at the dark forms of the enteesenat swimming beside them. Elem made a courteous sound of speaking-attention desired.
    "I have never commanded an uruketo, but have only served aboard. There are problems…"
    "Solve them," Ambalasi said firmly with modifiers end-of-participation, query-next. "Who is on steering duty?"
    "Omal, a Yilanè of calm intelligence who learned quickly."
    "I said you could command. Now we will examine the charts."
    As they left the bottom of the fin they passed Omal who stood with her hands close to the nodules of the nerve endings that guided the uruketo, peering out through the transparent disc at the sea. On the ledge Winter in Eden - Harry Harrison
    before her perched a gray and pink bird which was looking in the same direction. Ambalasi stopped and ran her thumbs along the creature's feathers; it cooed in response.
    "A new compass," Elem explained, "far more useful than the old ones."
    "Of course—my design. Accurate, reliable—and provides companionship on long voyages. Once it has been aligned in the right direction it will point that way until it dies."
    "I have never understood…"
    "I have. Magnetized particles in the forebrain. Where are the charts?"
    "In here."
    Although the alcove was barely illuminated, when the first chart was unrolled it glowed brightly under the dim purple patch on the wall of flesh above it.
    "This is designed to the largest scale," Elem said. "As well as being the latest. Here is Entoban* and across the wide ocean is Gendasi."
    "And these swirls of color?"
    "These, of the cooler colors, are the winds of the sky that sweep like great rivers through the atmosphere.
    They rise here in the tropics where the sun heats the air, then move north and south affected by the rotation of this planet. These are of utmost importance to me in my studies, but for practical navigation these warm oranges and reds that mark the ocean currents, these are what guide us."
    "Explanation-in-detail."
    "Pleasure-in-expatiation. We are here now, in the ocean west of Yebèisk. At your instructions we continue to swim west until dark in case others follow. We will then be about here, in this red stream, a south-flowing current. We will drift with it during the night; then at dawn, after a position check, we will begin the voyage to our destination. Accuracy-of-swimming, desire-for-knowledge of our destination?"
    "Uncertainty-now. Show me what you would do if our destination were Gendasi."
    "Eagerness-in-enumerating. For Gendasi we must follow this current as it sweeps south and west to midocean. This is a most interesting area, quite abundant with life. When we reach it we will choose the correct current for our destination. This is the one we seek, which sweeps here past Alakas-aksehent to the green land beyond."
    Winter in Eden - Harry Harrison
    Ambalasi studied the chart closely, staring at Yebèisk, then allowing her left eye to move across the ocean to Gendasi.
    "A question. We swim in a great arc southwest to midocean, then another arc northwest to our destination. Think how much faster it would be if we simply cut straight across the ocean like this." She ran the edge of her thumb across the chart in a swift motion. Elem stepped back and gasped, her crest flaring red.
    "Impossible!" Modifiers of despair and fear. "What you suggest is… unnatural. For short periods, yes, as we do now, or crossing from one island to another, then it is in order. But nothing moves in a straight line. The sea creatures follow the currents of the sea, the birds the invisible currents of the air. Such a course that you suggest, why—it goes against nature. The