Free The Totems of Abydos by John Norman Page A

refer to the second of them, figuring outward from the parent body, in this case Abydos herself, it would have been identified as 17.3.2. Abydos, on the other hand, as we have mentioned, had no satellites. It had once, incidentally, had a satellite but it, a long time ago, had been fragmented and removed from its orbit, in connection with a mining operation conducted by an advanced star world, which had need of its materials. The operation was a legitimate one, unlike certain shadowy operations conducted here and there in the galaxy, having been cleared with, and approved by, appropriate authorities.
    “How glorious are the suns, and worlds!” exclaimed Rodriguez.
    “Yes,” said Brenner.
    There was something awesome, and beautiful, and terrible, about the universe, about space, the stars, the worlds, the grandness of it, the mystery of it.
    In this portion of the galaxy, with the naked eye, from the perspective of the port, one could see several thousand stars.
    The night of space blazed with the light of these myriads of far-flung mornings.
    Some sixty-two percent, or so, statistically, of the visible stars in this portion of the galaxy controlled the orbit of one or more habitable worlds, on most of which, given customary interactions, life had actually developed, expressing itself in one set of forms or another. And Abydos, it might be added, did not lie near the populous center of the galaxy. Its location, rather, was somewhat more toward the periphery.
    “What do you know about the Pons?” asked Rodriguez.
    “Very little is known about them, as far as I have been able to determine,” said Brenner. “They are extremely simple, extremely primitive. They lack even pottery. They are small, timid, furtive, isolated, few in number, and given to secrecy. We may expect, of course, the usual features of a totemic complexus, in particular, the reverencing of the totemic animal and exogamy.”
    “Company records provide further information,” said Rodriguez, “but nothing much of scientific interest. Pons occasionally, individually, or in small delegations, have in the past, at certain intervals, made contact with company employees, usually at Company Station, for purposes of trade, exchanging gathered forest products, commonly pods of various sorts, for diverse manufactured articles, in particular, a small metallic tool manufactured to their specifications, called a scarp, used for a variety of purposes.”
    “They do not have any native metallurgical capability?” asked Brenner.
    “One gathers not,” said Rodriguez.
    “They live near Company Station?” said Brenner.
    “No,” said Rodriguez. “They live somewhere back in the forests.”
    Brenner looked at him, startled.
    Rodriguez nodded, and returned his attention to the stars.
    “You are familiar with the eco-profiles of the forests?” said Brenner.
    “Of course,” said Rodriguez.
    Even surveying crews from Company Station, it seems, had seldom penetrated far into the adjacent forests. To be sure, parts of them had been flown over in various cars, rovers, vans and such. And they had been extensively surveyed from orbit. The probes however had revealed little of mineralogical interest. The temperate latitudes of Abydos, in both hemispheres, were heavily forested, usually with varieties of deeply rooted, seasonally foliaged trees. Brenner’s surprise was occasioned primarily by his recollection of the eco-profiles of the forested areas, which suggested a rich variety of fauna, several of which, given their natural camouflage and predatory habits, might be supposed to be distinctly unpleasant.
    “And,” added Rodriguez, “the Pons eschew weapons.”
    “I find that hard to believe,” said Brenner.
    “You will like them,” said Rodriguez. “They are your sort of people. They are amongst the most innocent, kindly, humble, harmless, and inoffensive creatures in the galaxy.”
    “How do they live in the forest?” asked Brenner.
    “They have apparently