Free Terra by Mitch Benn Page A

little louder. These were almost extinct an era ago, you know. It’s so good to see them re-establishing themselves in the wild.
    - Shouldn’t we, er, be keeping quiet? whispered Terra, remembering those teeth.
    - Don’t worry, said Lbbp, their sense of hearing is terrible.
    The znk raised its head and made a sniffing noise. It swung round to look directly at Lbbp and Terra.
    - Their sense of smell, however, is excellent, said Lbbp, who knew he’d forgotten something. Terra, listen to me and do exactly as I say. That flower you were sketching?
    - Yes? whispered Terra, trembling.
    - Look at it. Look directly at it. Whatever you hear, don’t take your eyes off that flower.
    Terra turned her head slowly and fixed her eyes on the flower. It continued to change colour; blue, purple, red, orange, red . . . She could hear sniffing and shuffling, but did not turn her eyes away from the flower . . . orange, red, purple, blue, purple . . .
    - It’s gone, said Lbbp.
    Terra exhaled. - Why did I have to look at the flower?
    - You didn’t. Well, not the flower specifically, anyway. I just needed you to focus your attention on something that wasn’t the znk.
    - Why? asked Terra, as they walked back to the clearing.
    - Well, like a lot of predators, znk are only interested in other animals if they’re a threat, or possible prey. It has just eaten so it’s probably not hungry at the moment, but if it felt threatened by us it would attack to defend itself. That’s why I needed you to keep still and look away. If you’d looked right at it, it would have taken it as a challenge, and if you’d tried to run, its hunting instinct would have taken over and it would have chased you whether it was hungry or not. As it was, it decided you were irrelevant so it left you alone.
    Terra wasn’t sure she liked being referred to as ‘irrelevant’ but she was glad Lbbp knew his animals. Lbbp gave a proud little smile. - And people say scientists are useless in a crisis, he said happily.
    - Is it time to go home? asked Terra, hoping that it was.
    - It is indeed. You’re back at the Lyceum in the morning. Better get an early night. And besides, Lbbp had noticed that something had eaten the slice of configuration 9 he’d left lying around and he wasn’t keen to find out what.
    Lbbp and Terra arrived back at the apartment building just as the sun was setting and the moons were coming out. The main room window shutter slid open; Terra was about to step inside when she was startled by the sight of Bsht sitting on the bench seat. She didn’t look happy at all. - And were have you been all day? This was addressed to Lbbp, who was hovering behind Terra. For a moment Terra thought he was actually hiding behind her.
    - What? Oh, out . . . We’ve been, you know, out, said Lbbp innocently as he floated into the room. I didn’t know you had a key to . . .
    - I’ve been trying to get hold of you since this morning, interrupted Bsht. Your friends at the Life Science Hub said you were working at home.
    - Home? No, no, field trip, that’s . . . that’s what I told them, field trip. They probably weren’t listening. You know what us scientists are like. Can I get you anything? Bowl of gssh?
    Terra listened in silence, trying not to find Lbbp’s discomfort amusing. It wasn’t easy.
    - The sort of field trip where you don’t answer your comm? The sort of field trip where you don’t even take your comm? asked Bsht, noticing Lbbp’s little personal communicator lying on the glass table.
    Lbbp sighed. - What’s the matter, Bsht?
    Bsht couldn’t be bothered interrogating Lbbp about where he’d been all day. It wasn’t important anyway. What was important was what she’d come to tell him.
    - Everybody’s been recalled to the Preceptorate. It’s the FaZoon. The FaZoon are coming back.

2.9
    T he FaZoon are, as far as anyone can tell, the oldest civilisation in existence.
    Their home world is – or rather, was – the legendary planet of