Changelings
- Автор: Маккефри Энн, Скарборо Элизабет
- Серия: The Twins of Petaybee #1
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «Changelings». Краткое содержание книги:
CHANGELINGS
They are Ronan Born for Water Shongili and Murel Monster Slayer Shongili. Twin brother and sister. Children of Yana and Sean. Children of Petaybee. As such, theirs is a destiny deeply intertwined with the sentient planet that is their home. For Ronan and Murel are more than human. Like their father, each can transform into a seal and converse telepathically with the planet’s creatures–such as the friendly otter whose life they save one day from a pack of ravenous wolves.
But the twins’ bravery has unforeseen results when a visiting scientist witnesses their startling metamorphosis and becomes obsessed with their capture. To protect their children, Sean and Yana send them to stay with a powerful family friend on an orbiting space station. But no one realizes that Ronan and Murel hunger to discover the origins of their shape-shifting talent–and that their search for knowledge will place them squarely in the path of peril.
Meanwhile, Petaybee is changing–and much faster than an ordinary planet’s natural evolution. It appears that portions of the sea are heating up and a landmass is suddenly rising from the depths. To investigate the startling occurrence, Sean heads out to the open water in his seal form. But the newly unstable region holds untold mysteries–and the potential for disaster.
"That would be beneficial, yes," Yana said, "if our children and their children were ever able to enjoy it."
"Oh well, perhaps I should have said descendants," Iggierock conceded. "These things do take time, even for a brilliant sentient world like Petaybee. It will be centuries-millennia, actually- before the new landmass extruding from the sea will be stable enough and cool enough for people to live on it."
Dr. Whittaker Fiske cleared his throat. "That is not exactly true in Petaybee's case, Sister," he corrected her. "The process that accelerates Petaybee's development also accelerates the maturation process. Once the volcanic mass surfaces, it will begin to stabilize. It will probably be ready for habitation within the next twenty years at the latest. Of course, with Petaybee it is always difficult to say. For a couple of generations, we've believed that the terraforming process was completed and that two large polar landmasses would be the extent of the planet's habitable area, and that was stretching the definition of habitable. However, from what I've learned of Petaybee, you are all being more accurate than whimsical to imply that the planet is choosing to present an island, at the very least, at this time. As all of you know, our usual instrumentation is impeded by the electromagnetic fields emanating from Petaybee, from the sunspots currently mucking up our communications equipment, and from the extremes of temperature it is subjected to on this planet. Although we know that at least one volcanic mass is arising from the sea near the equator, we have little idea of its ultimate extent or what we may expect in the way of seismic activity."
"That's why I'm going to explore underwater," Sean said. "It's easier for me than for divers, and besides, all that equipment would need to be imported, as well as the personnel. We haven't trained a lot of human divers here for obvious reasons. And if you all could see the stacks and lists of individuals and groups and whole displaced populations applying for immigration to Petaybee, you'd understand why we wish to know the potential of the new landmass ourselves before letting outsiders have a look at it."
He began his journey the next morning, leaving poor Yana with the paperwork and such electronic communiques as were able to reach them these days. They didn't mind so much being cut off from the more sophisticated offworld amenities such as direct audiovisual contact between callers from space to ground or from planet to planet, but they sorely missed being able to talk to the kids. When sending the twins to Marmie's space station, they had not anticipated being unable to have face-to-face, voice-to-voice contact with their children on a weekly if not daily basis, no matter the cost. Marmie had generously agreed to foot most of the bill. Secondhand messages and written notes were simply not the same. Yana was not the type to pine over anything, but she missed the children so badly that her appetite was off, despite all of Clodagh's remedies.
Sean felt as if part of himself was missing, floating off somewhere inaccessible. His thoughts did not all want to stay in his head-they kept wandering off in search of the twins' thoughts, but those were no longer there. No smooth rounded baby arms to hug him, or flippers either for that matter. But with them wanting to swim freely so much that they ran into constant danger, he and Yana simply couldn't risk having them near. They were too precious, too important. He would have to free the planet of all of those outside dangers like the one the otters had faced. He'd have to look into this new development at sea and figure out what to do with those who wanted to exploit it. Best keep the kids clear of that one too. But he missed them.
Well, the sooner started, the sooner finished. He dove into the running river, free of ice but still chilling and powder-gray with glacial runoff.
Of course, he could have easily ridden a curly coat to the coast, but actually, in seal form, he swam faster than a curly coat could navigate the spongy tundra or the swampy banks where the channels branched and rebraided themselves before reaching the sea. Besides, this mission was a confidential one, and the fewer people-even their people-involved, the better.
When he paused for air, he enjoyed the wild lupine and fireweed turning the riverbanks purple and magenta against the background of a thousand greens. The river teemed with fish, so he could have gorged himself if he'd wanted to, but he preferred to take only what he needed to maintain his energy and not get loggy trying to digest too much food.
When he first pulled out of the water to sleep he was grateful for the suit Marmie provided for him. He had small caches of clothing along the riverbank, but this way he could stop where he needed to without worrying about that. Once he was dressed in the suit, he located his clothing downstream from it and wore that until he was ready to dive back into the water. He wanted to look as normal as possible to any people he might meet, and a shiny silver suit didn't help him blend.
On the second day, he pulled himself out of the water and onto land that was part riverbank and part seashore. A small island lay offshore, perhaps two hundred meters away, but otherwise the horizon was coral-red with the setting sun, the water beneath the color of salmon meat.
Tonight he would rest well, because tomorrow's swim would take him too far from shore to sleep.
He found a dry sandy place and curled up to sleep, but as he began nodding off he heard, Hah! Father River Seal, why are you here? Have you come to tell otters that your children are coming home?
He opened his eyes and looked into a round brown furry face with bright black eyes and breath that smelled, pleasantly to Sean, like fish.
What is a river otter doing so close to the sea? he asked the otter.
My question first! I asked first! Are the river seal children coming home? Is that why you're here- oh, no, I suppose not since you did not expect to see otters here. You could not be bringing otters a message if you did not know otters would be here to receive it. So why are you here? Not that you are not very welcome. We have told our sea otter cousins all about our brave river seal friends who are the protectors of otters, and they will welcome you also.
But why?
I'm exploring, Sean told the otter.
Otters.
At least a dozen more otters had joined the kids' friend, boldly standing right next to his prone body. Another half-dozen pairs of bright eyes focused on him from the water.
He doesn't look so big now, the river seal man, one said.
No, but he is very fierce. You saw him carry away the humans with cages, he and his family.
He must like otters very much to have followed us all the way here.
Are you hungry, seal man?
Do you want to play, seal man? There is a nice mud slide just over there.
Their voices chittered and chattered in his head so busily he had trouble focusing.
I came exploring, he said to the colony at large. I want to bring my children home but I have to make sure conditions here won't bring more dangerous people to harm them and, er, otters too.
He barely had the thought out, however, before they had plucked an image from his mind.
One forgot to guard against that sort of thing when surrounded by otters.
You're going to the New Home! He's going to the New Home! Where the sea otter cousins go.
It's very far and rather deep for a river seal.
I should think it would be out of bounds for river otters, Sean replied.
Hah! It is much too far through that salty liquid for river otters. We are not going there. We are staying right here.