Read Online The Clones of Mawcett by Thomas DePrima - Free Book Online
Authors: Thomas DePrima
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ptuil stnibtes ki Dakis.” (I've been studying Dakis.)
“Whutuks e kithwras hasque?” (You speak our language?)
“Iho. Ystaklis ah wriblats quespti geptfuma qee.” (Yes. Enough to get by I believe.)
“This is marvelous, My Lady! Your Dakis is excellent. You even have the slight accent noticeable in the speech of our nobles and scholars.”
“I've been studying conversational Dakis for the past four months. I imagine the translation materials were prepared by scholars in both languages so I must have adopted their pronunciations.”
“This is going to make things so much easier. I should have anticipated your preparedness, My Lady. I admit that I feared that we would not be able to teach you enough of our language in time for all the ceremonies. They are highly ritualized and will require much verbal participation on your part.”
“So there's no need for me to stay at the palace,” Jenetta said tentatively. “If you'll just give me what books you have, I can prepare for the ceremony from here.”
“My Lady, there is much too much to pick up on your own in so short a time. That's why Space Command Headquarters approved our request that you live in the palace. Your hand maidens will help you prepare for the trip.”
“Uh— hand maidens?” Jenetta asked, uncertain if she heard correctly.
“Yes, the three young women who accompanied the delegation. They're standing just over there,” he said, pointing.
Still holding the suitcases and garment bags, the girls that Jenetta had observed earlier were now standing unobtrusively against the wall inside the entrance to the conference room,. Intently watching Jenetta for any sign that she required them to attend her, they lowered their heads briefly as she turned in their direction.
“They are awaiting your pleasure, My Lady. They have brought suitable attire for you and will help you change prior to our trip.”
“Suitable attire? What's wrong with my uniform?”
“My Lady, females are not permitted to wear trousers on Nordakia. Your handmaidens have brought several gowns from which you can choose. Would it perhaps be possible for them to wait for you somewhere else? I'm sure that they are most uncomfortable standing here.”
'They aren't the only ones that are uncomfortable,' Jenetta thought to herself as she touched her left forefinger to the face of the Space Command ring on her right hand and said, “Security, this is Commander Carver, please send someone to 12-136-4-Quebec to escort several guests to my quarters. Carver out.” In her left ear she heard a soft chime and then a message that a security person was being dispatched to her location.
Normally referred to as a CT, a miniscule cranial transducer is subcutaneously implanted against the skull just behind the left ear of every cadet when they enter the Academy. Powered by a minute electrical charge produced by the host body, the CT lacks sufficient power to transmit, so messages can only be conveyed or received while aboard ship or on a base properly equipped to handle the communications. When the face of the officer's Space Command ring is depressed by a thumb or forefinger of the owner, the central computer generates a carrier wave to pick up whatever vibrations the vocal cords generate in the skull. Since every officer is assigned a unique frequency, no one else in the room can hear a received message, but it sounds to the officer as if someone is whispering directly into their ear. To insure that the person receiving the message knows that it's not a vocalization by someone standing behind them, a brief electronic tone precedes the message. The carrier is discontinued when the officer speaks their last name and immediately follows it with the word 'out.'
The CT also functions as a transponder, and the security office can immediately locate an officer if he or she is within range by sending a special signal and using ship sensors to listen for echoes on the right frequency. Since the frequency used
“Whutuks e kithwras hasque?” (You speak our language?)
“Iho. Ystaklis ah wriblats quespti geptfuma qee.” (Yes. Enough to get by I believe.)
“This is marvelous, My Lady! Your Dakis is excellent. You even have the slight accent noticeable in the speech of our nobles and scholars.”
“I've been studying conversational Dakis for the past four months. I imagine the translation materials were prepared by scholars in both languages so I must have adopted their pronunciations.”
“This is going to make things so much easier. I should have anticipated your preparedness, My Lady. I admit that I feared that we would not be able to teach you enough of our language in time for all the ceremonies. They are highly ritualized and will require much verbal participation on your part.”
“So there's no need for me to stay at the palace,” Jenetta said tentatively. “If you'll just give me what books you have, I can prepare for the ceremony from here.”
“My Lady, there is much too much to pick up on your own in so short a time. That's why Space Command Headquarters approved our request that you live in the palace. Your hand maidens will help you prepare for the trip.”
“Uh— hand maidens?” Jenetta asked, uncertain if she heard correctly.
“Yes, the three young women who accompanied the delegation. They're standing just over there,” he said, pointing.
Still holding the suitcases and garment bags, the girls that Jenetta had observed earlier were now standing unobtrusively against the wall inside the entrance to the conference room,. Intently watching Jenetta for any sign that she required them to attend her, they lowered their heads briefly as she turned in their direction.
“They are awaiting your pleasure, My Lady. They have brought suitable attire for you and will help you change prior to our trip.”
“Suitable attire? What's wrong with my uniform?”
“My Lady, females are not permitted to wear trousers on Nordakia. Your handmaidens have brought several gowns from which you can choose. Would it perhaps be possible for them to wait for you somewhere else? I'm sure that they are most uncomfortable standing here.”
'They aren't the only ones that are uncomfortable,' Jenetta thought to herself as she touched her left forefinger to the face of the Space Command ring on her right hand and said, “Security, this is Commander Carver, please send someone to 12-136-4-Quebec to escort several guests to my quarters. Carver out.” In her left ear she heard a soft chime and then a message that a security person was being dispatched to her location.
Normally referred to as a CT, a miniscule cranial transducer is subcutaneously implanted against the skull just behind the left ear of every cadet when they enter the Academy. Powered by a minute electrical charge produced by the host body, the CT lacks sufficient power to transmit, so messages can only be conveyed or received while aboard ship or on a base properly equipped to handle the communications. When the face of the officer's Space Command ring is depressed by a thumb or forefinger of the owner, the central computer generates a carrier wave to pick up whatever vibrations the vocal cords generate in the skull. Since every officer is assigned a unique frequency, no one else in the room can hear a received message, but it sounds to the officer as if someone is whispering directly into their ear. To insure that the person receiving the message knows that it's not a vocalization by someone standing behind them, a brief electronic tone precedes the message. The carrier is discontinued when the officer speaks their last name and immediately follows it with the word 'out.'
The CT also functions as a transponder, and the security office can immediately locate an officer if he or she is within range by sending a special signal and using ship sensors to listen for echoes on the right frequency. Since the frequency used
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