Free Under the Canopy by Serg Sorokin

thieves won't come until then.' Seeing the expression on my face, she added, 'Of course, we will accommodate you.'
    'And our sectors will remain open until then?'
    Edlon nudged me in the ribs. 'Come on, one day means nothing here. In addition to that, we want them to come.'
    I looked at Edlon's confident face and decided not to argue. After all, I was still new here.
    Morkan clapped her hands. 'Swell, we are set.'
     
    I was sitting in the recreation area for the sawmill personnel. It was a big room with a retractable ceiling. It was open now and nothing but a reinforced wire netting stood between the sky and the human dwelling. The area had several tables with chairs, benches, vending machines and TVs mounted in the walls. All in all, it didn't differ much from a recreation area the inmates have in prisons. The only significant difference was that there were no guards around and no shanking, though I wasn't so sure about that.
    Edlon sat opposite me and had a can of beer in his hand. He was sipping from it from time to time. I had refused alcohol in favor of soda.
    'Won't it diminish your ability to aim?' I asked Edlon about the beverage.
    'Nah,' Edlon shook his head. 'A little buzz won't interfere with my senses. I'm too good at it.'
    'As you say,' I said and stuck to my soda.
    Heap was also present. He sat on the floor, near the vending machine, head down. He seemed to be drowsing. As if understanding his place in the sawmill hierarchy too well, the alien had moved as far away from the workers as he could.
    'So,' Edlon said, wiping his mouth. 'How do you find the job here after these months?'
    'Not bad. I wish I had moved here earlier.' I was watching Heap. He looked sad. I felt a mix of pity and contempt towards the alien. 'It reminds me of my tour on Clomt. Generally the same stuff, but livelier here.'
    'Yep,' Edlon said. He also looked at Heap. 'Forest isn't a desert. Some shit is always going down. Sometimes, literally.'
    As Edlon laughed at his own joke, a group of workers approached the vending machine and ordered beverages. The cans clinked, falling down the chute. One man took them out and handed to his pals. The workers opened them.
    There was a distinctive click of warping plastic, and white foam hissed out, bubbling on top. Hearing that, Heap perked up, as if he was hit by electricity. The native turned, getting on his knees, and looked at the workers peeking over the machine's corner.
    They noticed him. A few glances passed between them, and then one said, 'Hey, Heap, want some?' He showed the alien his can and shook it in the air. Some foam fell on the floor.
    Heap frantically nodded.
    'Then dance for us.'
    Heap pulled himself to his feet, crawling up along the vending machine. He looked furtively at the workers before him and then started to stomp on the spot. It looked like, and probably was, a tribal dance. He hopped from one foot to the other, waved his hands in the air and made bangs with the head. Heap didn't take his eyes off the can the whole time.
    I looked away in disgust, repulsed by every participant of that farce. 'Why do they do that to him?'
    Edlon looked at me, serious. 'Here's a better question — does he deserve to be treated like that?'
    I couldn't give a straight answer to that. The old alien seemed to be here of his own accord. If he really wanted to escape, he could have done it at any moment. I had a strong suspicion that Heap wouldn't be welcomed if he tried to return to his people.
    'I can give you an answer,' Edlon said, his voice dropping lower. 'They are animals. They pretend to be civilized, to have culture, but deep inside they are the same beasts we all were once.' He sipped his beer. 'Dumb and vicious. You know, they remind me of tigers in a circus.' Heap accelerated the tempo. 'The beasts wear fancy dresses in public, hop through burning hoops and even let you put your head in their maws.' Heap was now jumping on the spot. 'They pretend to be your friends. The ringmaster gets