Free Universal Language by Robert T. Jeschonek

been scanning it into a Voicebox, using the Voicebox to translate, then translating our own speech into their written language. We cobbled together a projector using gear from the barque, then hardwired a Voicebox into it so we could put the text on the wall for them to read."
    "You make it sound easy," said Jalila.
    al-Aziz winked one piercing green eye. "Sure it was."
    Jalila typed on her Voicebox. "Where do we stand?"
    "Let's just say you couldn't have come at a better time." al-Aziz bowed and gestured for her to come with him. "We need airtight evidence of what really happened here. Absolute truth."
    "I'll do my best," said Jalila.
    al-Aziz walked her to the middle of the room. "Fellow beings!" He put a hand on her shoulder. "Allow me to introduce Corporal Jalila bint Farooq bin Abdul Al-Fulani. She is a bringer of truth."
    Ieria did not look happy to see Jalila. As for the Mazeesh, Jalila still found them unreadable.
    One swooped down to hover in front of her. At first, she could see no eyes on it, just a snout consisting of a comb of tightly packed fibers between two horn-like knobs. Then, the creature reared up.
    From a few centimeters below the snout, two tiny obsidian eyes stared back at Jalila. Twin arcs of what looked like breathing holes were arranged below them like halves of a necklace. Two spindly limbs flexed from the creature's belly, ending in fragile-looking three-fingered hands.
    As Jalila watched, dark threads flowed over the creamy surface of the creature's underside, mixing and fluxing and separating...resolving into patterns. Among the patterns, Jalila saw discrete groupings of symbols that might be words; in some places, the text seemed hopelessly jumbled, but in others, she could make out what she thought were divisions of lines and breaks in phrasing.
    She thought it was completely amazing.
    Farouk, who was standing nearby, scanned the symbols on the Mazeesh's wings with the Voicebox, which produced an audio translation. " What truth does she bring? "
    "The truth about what happened during your first visit," said al-Aziz, "and which of your peoples has the right to rule this world."
    Â 
    *****

    Chapter 17

    The patterns on the wings of the Mazeesh shifted. Farouk continued to scan and translate the creature's words with the Voicebox. " As we have said , o ur people came here long ago in peace. The savages of this world hunted, killed, and devoured them. "
    " And as we have said ," said Ieria, speaking through al-Aziz's Voicebox, " these monsters murdered us! They cracked open our skulls and ate our brains! They named us mazeesh-- filth, excrement, lowest of the low! "
    al-Aziz gave Jalila a sideways look. "We seem to have reached an impasse."
    " We have returned to eradicate this menace forever ," said the Mazeesh.
    " We will fight to the last Vox to destroy you! " said Ieria. " Better to die with the truth in our hearts than live with a lie on our tongues! "
    al-Aziz squeezed Jalila's shoulder. "So now you know where we stand. No video or audio recordings exist of the events in question. Since the Vox don't have a written language, they have no hard-copy historical records. Which is where you come in."
    Jalila nodded and typed on the Voicebox. "I understand."
    "Are you ready for this?" said al-Aziz.
    "Yes," said Jalila.
    al-Aziz smiled. He radiated confidence, not doubt, as he met her gaze. "I know you are." al-Aziz turned to the Vox. "Guess what?" He spoke into his Voicebox, and his words came out in Vox multi-language. "Your people have historical records after all."
    " I don't know what you're talking about ," said Ieria.
    "Your records are kept in the form of scent signals in a secret garden," said al-Aziz. "A garden tended by Lexicons ."
    " I've never heard of it ," said Ieria.
    "It exists, all right," said al-Aziz. "For centuries, the Lexicons have stored your history there...and now Jalila has tapped into it." He glanced at Jalila, and she gave him a quick nod of confirmation. "She has