With a sense of gratitude2, he saw a tall, uniformed figure coming up to him, with a brisk, definite stride. The Terran's face was lined and firm, the kind of face Kirk was familiar with. The man with this face would be a man who stood for no nonsense, a man who was a little tough, but also fair and capable. He recognized him as he came closer.
"Hello, sir. I'm Matt Cortland, your second in command," he said brusquely. "I met you this afternoon, but you met so many people then it must have been just a blur3 of names and faces."
Kirk greeted him, feeling a sense of satisfaction that this man would be his chief assistant. He looked efficient; he should be able to help him learn the ropes and get a program of action started.
"No chairs," Cortland said laconically4, as they walked toward the gathering5. He chose a soft spot of lavender-tinted moss6 near a pile of hot food and sat down, cross-legged. Awkwardly, Kirk sat down beside him, folding his legs under him stiffly. "You can be served in your rooms, of course, if you like," Cortland went on, turning to him. "These people are very obliging. Very obliging." He reached for two of the leaf-wrapped, steaming objects, handing one to Kirk. "But you probably have a better chance of influencing them if you eat among them. If they can be influenced." He opened the leaf and bit into the yellow vegetable inside.
Kirk looked dubiously7 at the object in his hand. He hoped it wouldn't make him sick. Pushing back his sense of disgust, he bit into it carefully. The bland8, sweetish flavor filled him with delightful9 surprise. It was rather like a mixture of sweet potato, carrot, and peach synthetics10—but the texture11 and flavor were new and wonderful. Maybe civilization had lost something good when it gave up natural foods. Though, of course, their preparation was time-wasting and inefficient12, he reminded himself; and swallowing synthetics required only a momentary13 break in your work when you were pressed for time. He looked up and found Cortland watching him.
"Pretty different from the food at home, eh?" He had slipped into the Terran language. "Good food and pretty girls." He gestured toward the graceful14, half-nude women scattered15 along the mossy bank. "Everything for the lotus-eaters."
The phrase meant nothing to Kirk.
One of the girls came over to them with a large gourd16 full of fruit and nuts, and another on which she heaped hot foods from the piles on the ground as she passed. She placed them on the ground beside the two men.
"Yes, everything for the lotus-eaters," Cortland repeated. "Incidentally, I hope you're not under the impression that that girl is naked from the waist up."
Kirk looked at him questioningly.
"Oh, no. She's completely covered. They have taboos18 about naked breasts, just like we do." He laughed at Kirk's look of mystification. "You notice those strands19 of shells or woven reeds they wear around their necks?"
Kirk looked around. They all wore them.
"Well, that signifies they are dressed. If you ever see a native girl without one, she'll be terribly embarrassed." He stuck his hand out toward the bowl of hot food. "After you've been here long enough you'll think they're dressed, too."
He laughed, then looked more serious.
"I've been here a long time, getting nowhere," he said, in a different tone. "There are a lot of things that could be done here. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it. But Jerwyn—" He hesitated. "I hope you intend to make the name of the Galactic union mean something here."
Kirk nodded, and Cortland went on. "Jerwyn tried when he first came. But after awhile he seemed to just give up. I couldn't do anything without him backing me, I don't have enough authority." He looked grim as he spoke20. "And besides that, it takes more than one good man. Oh, the other GU men here are capable enough—" He glanced toward a group of Terrans sitting nearby. "They'll be over in a little while to speak to you, incidentally; I asked them to hold off for a little, while I briefed you a bit—no sense deluging21 you with new people while you're trying to eat."
"But to get back," he went on, "they're capable enough, or they were once, anyway, but none of them has the drive and brains it takes to push through a project to develop this planet. They've pretty well given up. Some of them like it here and some of them don't, but they've all stopped trying." A look of contempt crossed his face. "They go through the motions of doing some work to earn their salaries, knock off at noon, and spend their time lying around on the beaches with Nemarian girls. I've done what I could to keep a semblance22 of discipline, but it's uphill work."
Cortland smiled. "Good." Their eyes met, with understanding.
Cortland gave him a long look. "Maybe you've got what it takes. Maybe you have." He nodded slowly. "I should have told you I don't entirely25 blame the men. This planet's a tough nut to crack." His voice was grim.
Kirk felt a vague uneasiness, but his look stayed determined26. "We'll crack it."
"We've been here forty years, and we haven't made a dent17. They're funny people, these Nemarians. They're really alien. I've been here fifteen years, and I don't understand them any better than when I came."
"That's quite a statement."
"They're very appealing. Naive27. Childlike. The soul of courtesy—on the surface. But it's deceptive28. And you could spend a lifetime trying to find out what's underneath29."
A young boy of about twelve came up as he spoke, setting a large gourd full of steaming liquid down beside them with lithe30 grace, filling smaller cups from it as he did so. Cortland nodded at him, turning again to Kirk as the boy walked away. "Even their children aren't really childlike. Did you see his eyes—makes you damned uncomfortable."
As Kirk started to answer, drum-beats began to fill the air, first softly, then louder. Strange sounds from unfamiliar31 instruments began to mingle32 with them, and a clear, high instrument added a melody. The whole effect had an alien, discordant33 quality for Kirk, but as he listened further he grew intrigued34 and began to enjoy it; a mood—happy and romantic and energetic, all at once—came through to him from the music.
"The dancing's beginning," Cortland informed him.
Kirk saw young men and women rise by ones and two's and begin swaying and turning their bodies to the music. They all seemed to be doing different things, and yet somehow it made an integrated pattern. To his surprise older people and even young children gradually joined in, and managed not to look inappropriate, although the dance movements were rapid and strenuous35.
He noticed a sweet, pungent36 odor filling his nostrils37 and realized it came from the steaming bowl beside them. He picked up one of the filled cups and tried it cautiously. It was delightful. He emptied it and poured another.
He felt Cortland's hand on his arm, and looked up to find him grinning at him. "Hey, take it easy with that stuff. That's fermented38 kara root—the local variety of booze. They can drink quarts of the stuff and be all right; I've never seen one of them really drunk. But you'd better not try it."
Kirk frowned. "Something different in our metabolism39? I thought—"
"No, they're quite human," Cortland broke in. "And it's not a matter of immunity40. I wondered about it for a long time—and got quite disgracefully drunk a couple of times, keeping up with them, before I figured it out." He sipped41 at his own cup. "No, the secret of their success is the dancing."
Kirk looked at the light, whirling figures, puzzled.
Cortland smiled at his bewilderment. "It's the exercise. It burns up the alcohol as fast as they drink it. When they're having a real feast, they dance and drink all night, till they collapse42 from pure exhaustion43. They wake up feeling fine—not a sign of a hangover. Of course, tonight they'll only dance for a little while, so they'll only drink a little...."
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1
jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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2
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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blur
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| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
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laconically
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| adv.简短地，简洁地 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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7
dubiously
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| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
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8
bland
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| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
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9
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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synthetics
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| n.化学合成物 | |
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texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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inefficient
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| adj.效率低的，无效的 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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15
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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gourd
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| n.葫芦 | |
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17
dent
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| n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展 | |
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18
taboos
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| 禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为） | |
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19
strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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20
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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21
deluging
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| v.使淹没( deluge的现在分词 )；淹没；被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没；穷于应付 | |
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22
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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caliber
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| n.能力；水准 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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naive
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| adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的 | |
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deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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32
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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discordant
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| adj.不调和的 | |
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intrigued
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| adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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35
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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36
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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37
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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38
fermented
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| v.（使）发酵( ferment的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰 | |
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39
metabolism
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| n.新陈代谢 | |
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40
immunity
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| n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权 | |
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41
sipped
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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43
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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