Free the Dark Light Years by Brian W. Aldiss Page A

characteristic noises. All these noises appear to contribute to their language, or we assume they do, just as we assume they have a language.
    "First, they have in one of their heads a mouth, to which is linked a scent organ. Although this mouth is used for breathing, its main function is feeding and making what we term the oral sounds.
    "Secondly, our friends have six breathing vents, three on either side of their body, and situated above their six limbs. At present we refer to these as the nostrils. They are labiate apertures and although unconnected to any vocal chords - as is the mouth - these nostrils produce a wide range of sounds.
    "Thirdly, our friends also produce a variety of con-trolled sound through the rectum situated in their second head.
    "Their form of speech consists of sound transmitted through all these apertures, either in turn, or any two together, or all three classes together, or all eight apertures together. You will see then that the few sounds I am now going to give you as examples are limited to the less complex ones. Tape recordings of the whole range are of course available, but are not in a very manageable form as yet. "The first word is nnnnorrrr- INK .”
    To pronounce this word, Wilfred Brebner ran a light snore over the front of his throat and chased it with the little squeak represented here as "ink". (All printed forms of the alien language used throughout this book are similarly to be treated as mere approximations.) Brebner continued with his exposition.
    "Nnnnorrrr- INK is the word we have obtained several times in various contexts. Dr. Bodley Temple recorded it first last Saturday, when he brought our friends a fresh cabbage. We obtained it a second time on Saturday when I took out a packet of chewing plastic and gave pieces to Dr. Temple and to Mike. We did not hear it again till Tuesday afternoon, when it was pronounced in a situation when food was not present. Chief Keeper Ross had entered the cage where we were to see if we needed any-thing, and both creatures made the sound at the same time. We then noted that the word might have a negative con-notation, since they had refused the cabbage, and had not been offered the chew - which they would presume to be food - and might be supposed not to like Ross, who disturbs them when he cleans out their cage. Yesterday, how-ever, Ross brought them a bucket of river mud. which they like, and then we recorded nnnnorrrr- INK again, several times in five minutes. So we think at present that it refers to some variety of human activity: appearing bearing something, shall we say. The meaning will be fined down considerably as we go along. From this example you can see the process of elimination we go through with every sound.
    "The bucket of river mud also brought forth another word we can recognize. This sounds like WHIP -bwut-bwip (a small whistle followed by two pouting labials). We have also heard it when grapefruit has been accepted, when porridge with sliced banana in - a dish over which they show some enthusiasm - has been accepted, and when Mike and I have been leaving in the evening. We take it therefore to be a sign of approval.
    "We also think we have a sign of disapproval, although we have only heard it twice. Once it was accompanied by a gesture of disapproval, when an under-keeper caught one of our friends on the snout with a jet of water from a hose. On the other occasion, we had offered them fish, some cooked, some raw. As you are aware, they seem to be vegetarians. The sound was -”
    Brebner glanced apologetically at Mrs. Warhoon as he blew a series of damp farts with his mouth, culminating with an open-mouthed groan.
    "Bbbp-bbbp-bbbp-bbbp-aaaah.”
    "It certainly sounds like disapproval," Temple said.
    Before the ripple of amusement died, one of the reporters said, "Dr. Temple, is this all you have to offer in the way of progress?”
    "You have been given a rough guide to what we are doing.”
    "But you don't seem to have a single