The Best of All Possible Worlds Read Online Free PDF

quietly.
    Dllenahkh turned and looked at me in a way that I fancied meant,
When
you
lose your home and all but a remnant of your people, feel free to return and lecture
     me on the ethics of purity
.
    I lowered my eyes. “So the mission is to find Cygnian groups that are more taSadiri
     than the average,” I paraphrased meekly.
    “Your facility for the languages of Cygnus Beta is what led me to recommend you as
     Civil Service liaison. That and your insightfulness.”
    First the stick and then the carrot. He had become quite talentedat manipulating Cygnians with a little flattery, I thought sourly. “And what role
     will you play?”
    “I have been authorized to assess both the settlements and the people we encounter
     in order to determine whether it would be more efficient for us to join those settlements,
     or to encourage potential wives to remove to our settlement here in Tlaxce.” Although
     Dllenahkh would never stoop to smugness, there was an unwarranted certitude in his
     tone that suggested he had already decided what the obvious choice would be.
    He took a last look at the map and returned to sit behind his desk.
    “The First Assistant to the Chief Biotechnician is a year younger than you and is
     likely to serve for at least another five years in her post. The Chief Biotechnician
     will not retire for at least another twelve years. All higher positions in the department
     require greater managerial experience and less technical skill. I estimated there
     was a low probability that your career would be harmed, and … I have noticed that
     you derive a certain amount of enjoyment from our field trips. I hope I did not misinterpret
     the case.” There was the merest hint, the tiniest suggestion of humility and concern
     in his gaze.
    I shrugged. “I’m sorry I swore like that. It was a bit of a shock. I’m sure it will
     all work out.”
    He nodded. “Excellent. Then let us begin our rounds, and I will tell you about the
     other personnel on the mission team.”
    What he did not tell me, what would have been more useful, was the name of the higher-up
     who had managed to deepen the dimples in my boss’s cheeks with the bribe of Freyda
     Mar! Because let me tell you, I want to kiss that person. We were already starstruck
     and willing to welcome the most eccentric, knee-sock-wearing, port-drinking, absentminded
     professor type that ever came out of Tlaxce University. But Freyda Mar dressed normally,drank water, remembered everything, and … okay, she was a
little
eccentric, but in a way that everyone could appreciate.
    She bore a striking resemblance to a tall, middle-aged Wicked Witch of the West except
     not, you know, being actually green. A few days before our first field trip, I looked
     at her long, wavy black hair, and all I said was, “Are you sure?” She took one look
     at my own close-cropped do and said, “You know, you’ve got a point.” Whereupon I step
     out to get us some coffee for the mid-morning break, and when I get back, the scissors
     are out of the drawer and on the desk and the wastepaper basket is bristling with
     a meter-length’s worth of hair. I’m telling you, my mouth fell open, but she just
     laughed at me and took the mugs from my hand before I dropped them.
    In spite of all that, she seemed a little bit nervous about working with Sadiri, so
     I gave her a quick, casual primer while she worriedly tapped notes into her handheld.
     “Trust me, they’ll love you. They don’t do small talk and they have a constant need
     for mind fodder, so feel free to discuss your work in detail. Let them do the heavy
     lifting; they’ve got the high-grav build for it, and they’re happy to show off their
     physical strength. Don’t try to shake hands with them. Don’t touch anyone’s head,
especially
not their hair. That’s a big no-no.”
    “Custom? Or something else?” she asked, stopping in midinput.
    “That’s canny of you,” I said approvingly. “I don’t