"Thank you." He looked at Tabini. "Aiji-ma. I was speaking with a person of middle rank. I asked him to alert his highest authority. He wishes us to be patient; I believe he's gone in search of someone qualified."

There was absolute silence down the table, not the rustle of a paper.

"How do you judge the reply?"

"This is a respectful, proper answer to the proposition of someone of rank. They've every reason to deal sensibly, and to find someone —"

"Mr. Cameron."

A different voice.

"This is Stani Ramirez, senior captain. I understand you're speaking for a native government. Is this correct?"

"For the elected head of the Western Association — which covers more than three-quarters of the world's largest continent, and all industrialized culture whatsoever. I'm speaking from the capital of Shejidan. Please hold." Language switch. For a moment he suffered mental whiteout. "Tabini-ma. This is Stani, house name Ramirez. He is the highest authority over the ship. He's waiting to speak to you."

"Explain the Treaty. Inform him we consider this the appropriate association with humans."

"Yes, aiji-ma." Switch back. "Captain Ramirez. The aiji wishes me to explain that the Western Association considers that relations between all humans and atevi are governed by a Treaty which the aiji accepts as the appropriately safeguarded conditions of human-atevi interaction. I'm prepared to transmit a copy to you at the end of this conversation. The Western Association asks you to follow its terms as the only mutually agreed means of protecting both human and atevi cultures from misunderstandings."

"We'll have to consider this document."

"Yes, sir, but I believe you know that the first atevi-human contact led to war. The issues are biological, not cultural, and all persons experienced in atevi-human contact will advise you these issues are not resolvable. Atevi are not hostile. They wish to communicate directly with the ship, for protection of their own interests, but communication channels have to be confined to persons educated to interpret what's being said: that's the whole gist of the Treaty."

"Tell him," Tabini interrupted him, lifting a hand, "to appoint a mediator like yourself, Bren-paidhi, whom you will instruct. This translator will deal with you and come down to Shejidan in person as soon as possible."

He froze for what felt like a long, stunned moment. There were sinking instants in which he was sureTabini knew more Mosphei' than Tabini ever admitted to, and then he said to himself that Tabini had done nothing more than take a rational decision in advance. An appropriate decision. A Treaty-suggested decision. The committee heads shifted anxiously in their seats at his delay — perhaps at the dismay that might have gotten to his face. It wasn't for the paidhi to rule on the aiji's decisions, no more than he made policy for Mospheira. He translated. He interpreted. That was all he was supposed to do. It was just —

Tabini had injected a completely unplanned, unknowable variable into his calculations, and with the aiji's powers to dictate first and have the legislature review it later, Tabini had done exactly what he'd suggested Tabini do: act.

"Sir," he said to the captain.

" I read you clear."

"In regard to what I was saying, in your reading of the Treaty, you'll find all translation and mediation between atevi and human authority rests in a single appointed translator. Let me explain: it's a difficult, biologically impacted language interface." One couldn't even assume, he thought on the fly, that ship personnel knew anythingabout languages other than their own. One couldn't assume, over elapsed centuries of restricted, probably small population on that ship, that they even retained the concept, let alone the experience, of different language — let alone had persons able to grapple with the facts of a language with almost no word-by-word congruency with Mosphei'. "The language expresses vast differences in psychological concepts, in basic biology, which we've worked out peacefully and reasonably. The leader of the atevi invites you to appoint a candidate to take instruction from me in necessary protocols as well as language. The aiji requires this representative be sent to the capital at Shejidan as soon as possible."

" You're saying, appoint a protocol officer to be in regular contact with you. To land on the planet."

"Sir, yes: send down a person with authority to make agreements which you may ratify. A diplomat."

"What does Mospheira say to this?"

"Mospheira is a member state of the Western Association. The island is a province among other provinces. It does not speak for atevi or for this planet. It's required to abide by the decisions of the Western Association regarding foreign policy and trade. Such things are easy to set up — there are channels, appropriate routes, that kind of thing. There are abundant agreements attached to the Treaty which handle protocols, shipping points — I understand you're looking for some manufacture and supply that lies on the mainland. A protocol officer could facilitate that — but a real aptitude for language is a must. I can provide short cuts, but there has to be a natural ability."

There was a silence. Damned right there should be a moment of silence. Then: " I have my own council to consult. How will we contact you?"

God, it sounded like Mospheira. One thought the captain of a working ship could make a decision. "The ground-station operators will be aware of my whereabouts. We have one gap in the relays which I imagine you will have noticed: the satellite went down a considerable time ago. The operators are aware of that and can work around it."

"Are these native operators?"

"They are atevi, yes, sir. They won't understand your operators, but the Western Association is linguistically homogeneous and I'm well-known. Use my name and they'll have no doubt that you're looking for contact. I suggest another call tomorrow at local midday. Can we expect that?"

"It may take longer to go through this document. What's your sending mode?"

"Standard to the station. Atevi communications are identical systems to the ones you've been reaching on the island." Yes, Captain, we are receiving what you say to Mospheira, but you don't know at what levels and how legitimate or thorough our penetration of ship communications is, do you? "You'll find the document very brief, in the style of atevi legal documents. The details rest in specific subsequent agreements. If you need me at any hour of the day or night, you can reach me simply by calling the earth station. They can patch me right into the local phone system, wherever I am."

" Mr. Cameron, this may be late to bring up— but what assurance do we have that you're authorized, or even a real official?"

It was at least one thing he'd thought of. in advance. "Sir, if you've located the source of transmission —" and I'll bet you're doing that, sir, and trying to figure what it is "— you'll find it a very large, very official installation which regularly monitors the station's telemetry. In point of fact, there are only three or so humans in the world fluent in the atevi language, there're no atevi fluent in the human language, and there's no other channel appointed by the Treaty for contact except me. Call anywhere on the planet you like: you'll get no answers but from me and Mospheira. The big dish at a site called Mogari-nai is the only place besides Mospheira that can put you in touch with anyone who understands your language." He cast a glance at Tabini, who'd been quite patient. "Aiji-ma, jis asdi parei'manima pag' nand' Stani-captain?"