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cultural convention even deeper than religion, Brother language used two
personal pronouns, the first referring to an individual braid or a group of
braids, the second to the braid's or the group's component cords.
I
we, we we
. Possessives became more confused:
we mine
, with cords first, individual's possessive second; we our or we ours for
group possessives. Other complications
this we, I we myself, we our ourselves
crept in on an unpredictable basis.
Interestingly, references to humans always relied on single pronouns. Martin
hoped this did not reveal prejudice on the part of the Brothers.
"I we myself will pass on to you some of we our lives," Stonemaker said. "When
we we work together, to kill those who killed we our past " smell of something
like turpentine " we will find common thought, strength.
"We we believe we our worlds were much like your Earth and Mars."
Inside the star sphere, images of two planets, the first a rich and almost
uniform green, the second half as large and yellow ochre and brown in color.
"We our kind grew young first on the world you can call Leafmaker. We our time
past was long, hundreds of thousands of times year."
Smell of dust and warm sunlight on soil. "Your time past shorter than we ours.
But we we able to travel between worlds often, as you did not. We we made
young on second other planet, Drysand
I we will name it. Ten thousand times years we we lived there, not making
weapons, having no enemies.
"Killers come to we us as friends, smelling we our innocent radiation. Killers
come as long friends made of jointed parts."
Stonemaker projected an image of a collection of shining spheres beaded
together, a giant chromium caterpillar. Martin was instantly reminded of the
Australian robots, shmoos they had been named; these might have been
variations on the same form. "Long friends like machines for you, but living,
alive within. They tell of wide places beyond, full of interest, that we we
are invited to join, to learn, and then we we smell we our world is sick with
weapons, it is dying. We we make power-filled ships, leave our kind to die. We
we can't travel between suns, but leave anyway, and watch we our worlds be
eaten, made into millions of killer machines. Then come the ones you name
Benefactors, and there is a war. We our worlds are gone, only a few alive, but
we we are taken in by Benefactors, and removed from the war, to seek Killers.
This is short version;
long when library smells good to you.
"We our weakness comes when we find suns and worlds infested by Killers, too
late to save, hundreds of times year past. We we are caught in this tide,
Journey House
, and many die, Journey House is damaged. Hundreds of times year past. We we
flee." Smell of turpentine.
Martin saw tears on the cheeks of both Wendys and Lost Boys.
"We we hear there is another Lawship." Smell of lilac and baking bread. "Hear
we we will join and work with others not smelling of our own, singles not
manyness. We we are fearful, for singleness is strange, manyness is accepted.
I we am proud both can grow together, fight together. We we are all manyness,
all aggregate, group brave, group strong."
Stonemaker, Martin thought, had the makings of a good politician.
"We our Lawship is watched over by machines. They are long and flexible like
ourselves, but
I we mink they are the same as your machines. Ships' libraries will join and
we will teach each other to smell, to read, to see.
"Our ships will be one ship, manyness made one, group strong, group brave."
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Smell of cooked cabbage, not burnt. "We all selves will wait in one space
while ships aggregate, " Stone-maker concluded.
The human crew rustled uneasily. Martin heard whispers of assurance from the
familiarized, and saw nudges of encouragement.
Not so bad. Wait and see
.
Rosa stepped forward and raised her arms. Martin wanted to turn away,
embarrassed for her, for all of them.
"They are truly our brothers," Rosa said. "Together, we'll be doubly strong."
Hans put his arm around Rosa, smiled, and said, "We're grouping here in the
schoolroom. It's big enough to hold us all. The
Dawn Treader can make food for the Brothers. We'll stay here, all of us, and
all of the Brothers, until the ships have joined."
No grumbling from the crew. Martin sensed an electric anticipation that had
only the slightest tinge of fear.
Joe stood by Martin as they awaited the arrival of the full complement of
Brothers. "We keep using the masculine pronoun for them," he observed. "Is
that justified?"
"No," Martin said. "But they are Brothers, aren't they?"
Joe gave him a quizzical look, one eye squeezed shut. "Martin, you're getting
a bit& " He waggled his hand. "Cynical. Am I wrong?"
Martin zipped his lips with a finger.
"The comment Hans made about Rosa& "
Martin looked meaningfully at the crew a few paces away.
Though he had spoken in an undertone, Joe sighed and said no more.
Fifty Brothers, seventy-five Lost Boys and Wendys, for the time being
separated, with a star sphere in the middle of the schoolroom, showing the
ships already joined bow to stern, like mating insects:
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