Read Online Chess With a Dragon by David Gerrold - Free Book Online

anything. They taste too gamey to be good food and they are inefficient larval incubators; ittakes too long for one to grow large enough to hold more than a few eggs. They die too easy during implantation and give off fearful stenches when they decompose.”
    â€œYes, that is well known to all of us, dear K!rikkl,” chided Hnaxx. “But you promised to tell us things we did not know.”
    â€œTruly, my Lord. I just wanted to point out what a useless species these grubs may be, even for the most common purposes we use them for. Despite their prevalence on this world, they are really quite an affront to nature as we know it. The skin is too thin, it punctures too easily; the flesh is too warm, and too soft for good eating; they are not much more than warm bags of salt and ichor.” K!rikkl lowered its voice and added, “Indeed, there is even a theory among some breeders that a Ki! hatched in the body of one of these grubs has been insufficiently nourished during its larval stage and may perhaps be mentally deficient.”
    â€œI was hatched in one of these grubs,” remarked Hnaxx dryly.
    â€œAh, well . . . then that theory is clearly disproven. I am truly glad to know that. I will stop the spread of this pernicious rumor wherever I hear it.”
    â€œIt is of no importance,” replied Hnaxx. “It is well known that the Trrrl-t Nest hatches all of its larva in specially selected grubs. That should be proof enough of the falsity of such malicious gossip.”
    K!rikkl hesitated as it considered the portent of Hnaxx’s words. Had it stepped in something sticky here? Probably? Was the situation irreversibly damaged? Possibly. But perhaps not. K!rikkl hoped not. Indeed, K!rikkl could only proceed as if it had not committed an irretrievable offense. It polished its fore claws politely and continued, “The point is, my Lord, that despite all of the many purposes to which we put these animals, these creatures are overrated in their usefulness.”
    Hnaxx nodded its agreement. “This is well known to many Ki! The grubs are vermin. Oh, they are occasionally useful as pack animals and you can see many of them on the road pulling lorries. I must admit that they are at least wonderful for the disposal of garbage, and the youngsters delight in riding them for sport; they are also quite suited for heavy labor and even for the simplest of routine chores—but aside from these few minimal purposes, it would be a blessing for all of us if they were to be exterminated completely. There are far more useful creatures available to us for all of these tasks, and certainly, the Fn-rr would have no objection to the extinction of a life form that has been known to prey on the Drecmers of Winter.”
    â€œCertainly not.”
    â€œWell, there you have it,” said Hnaxx. “That is why it was so clever of you to train one. They are so useless that no one would suspect.”
    K!rikkl nodded in modest acceptance of the compliment. “I did nothing that could not have been done by any careful and persevering Ki!. I must confess though that these creatures can be quite tiresome. Training one is no task for a Ki! with an impatient disposition.”
    â€œI can well imagine, dear K!rikkl—but please elucidate.”
    K!rikkl barked a command to its grub; it came scuttling across the floor and sat up before him. “A simple command, do you see? I make a specific sound and it performs a simple action. It looks too easy, but I tell you that it truly takes a great deal of time and patience to train one, and one cannot depend that the training will take. Beyond a certain size, the males are too hard to control and the females think of nothing but rutting. The creatures have great hormonal difficulties. It is amazing to me that they survive at all. Do you know that the female can only bear one young at a time? It crawls out of the belly completely helpless and must be cared