Silent Dances (56 page)

something, and the old man laughed. Then he signed to Thorn in his rough

Grus, "Before I leave here I'll teach you how to make
a really
good cup of coffee!"

Thorn just grinned.

Tesa looked over at the dead tree on the cliff edge. Rain and Thunder

perched there, watching the newcomers apprehensively. The very sight of

the Mizari was usually enough to set the older avian screaming. Tesa would

be busy negotiating tenuous compromises between Taller and Rain for a

long time to come. The two species would have to work hard to strengthen

their new, uneasy peace. The young woman glanced up at the suns. It was

definitely time to get started!

Tesa felt as though she'd been dancing for hours ... but her body seemed

ready to dance for days. The Grus had watched her human family present

some of their finest traditional dances, and Tesa had rejoiced to feel the

pounding drumbeat through her feet again. When it was the Grus' turn, Taller

and Weaver had danced of their courtship. Taller had danced of his first

meeting with Scott. The entire family had danced the story of the attempted

coup. Flies-Too-Fast had danced the story of Shimmering's life.

Now Tesa and Lightning were going to dance the story of their flyaway. Tesa

started alone, her eagle feathers in hand,

273

the feathers of Water D
an
cer
'
s wings st
re
tched out along her arms
.

When Mahree left T
ri
nity, she
'
d promised to take the feather shi
rt an
d
the other remn
an
ts of Water D
an
cer's skin with her
.
That
an
d all the
other Grus skins would be placed in a
ro
bot probe
an
d
re
leased on a
course that would b
ri
ng them into the yellow sun's gravitational pull. In

a year they'd be swallowed by the Father Sun,
an
d finally
,
the spi
ri
ts
of their owners would have arrived to live with the Sun Family.

But for now,
Water D
an
cer was still with her
.
Imitating
an
eagle
,
Tesa
beg
an
her Eagle Dance
.
Soon the shadow of Thunder's wings c
ri
ssc
ro
ssed her own
, as
the huge raptor flew over the d
an
cing wom
an
.

Then Lightning joined her, too,
an
d as she felt the silent hea
rt
beat of T

ri
ni
ty
thrumming through her, she th
re
w herself into the dance
,
into
the sto
ry
of the flyaway.

She glan
ced up
an
d saw Szu
-yi. The
doctor w
as
staying on T
ri
nity
,
she'd told Tesa. No big expl
an
ation. Just that she was staying
.
But
she
'
d told Tesa of her decision in Grus sign l
an
guage-Closing her

eyes
,
Tesa
re
membered the cr
as
h of the limb,
re
membe
re
d their
flight to the volc
an
o
.
She tried to match Lightning
'
s leaps
,
his spins
,
but following him exactly w
as
n't import
an
t-they were telling different
sides of the same sto
ry
.

Tesa saw the people watching an
d joining in the d
an
ce-all the people
-

hum
an
, Grus
,
Aquila
-an
d felt her spi
ri
t soaring up and up
, ri
ght into
the suns.

274

Afterword

A b
ri
ef note about how this novel came to be w
ritt
en:

Astute readers of my books will have noticed that one name crops up re

peatedly in the acknowledgments
--
Kathleen O'Malley
.
Kathy has been

my litera
ry
conscience since mid1977, when I blushingly
an
d

hesitantly confessed to her that I had w
ritt
en the f
irst draft
of
a Star Trek
novel. "
Really?" she
re
sponded casually
. "
I w
ri
te
,
too. Mostly a
rt
icles
,
so far, but some fiction
,
too. I enjoy
re
ading other people
'
s
stuff. Maybe you could
show
me your book
sometime."

I smiled evilly
,
cleared my throat modestly,
re
ached into my b
ri
efcase
an
d hefted several pounds of manusc
ri
pt into her lap. "It's so kind of
you to offer! I just happen to have a copy with me...."

Thus began an
association that has proved mutually beneficial ... a kind

of symbiosis
,
I suppose
.
Kathy
'
s review of
Yesterday
'
s Son
demonstrated that she's a dynamite editor and cri
tic
.
When she takes her

red pen to one of my m
an
usc
ri
pts, the sto
ry
always emerges far
better for her (far f
ro
m gentle) ministrations
.
When Kathy produces
her own fiction, I retu
rn
the favor
.
Through the years, we've both

improved as w
ri
ters.

275

When I beg
an
envisioning the
StarBridge
seri
es
,
asking
Kathy to collaborate with me on one of the books seemed the most natural

thing in the world.
As soon
as
I told her about the universe I was

creating, her mind was off and running. Tesa and T
ri
nity beg
an
to take
shape
.
Kathy
'
s unique gifts and knowledge
-
her work with end
an
ge
re
d whooping cranes
an
d eagles, her knowledge of ASL
an
d Deaf

culture,
an
d her admiration for Native Ame
ri
c
an
s
an
d their culture
,
wove together like a tapest
ry.
She created a truly unique protagonist
an
d an o
ri
ginal
,
arresting world with multiple cultu
re
s.

Then we worked together to integrate Tesa and Tri
nity into the StarB
ri

dge universe. It was a helluva lot of work
an
d great fun.

Reader reaction to Book One of the seri
es has been most gratifying
.

Many people wrote to say they had enjoyed the first book
an
d were

looking forward to Book Two. For those of you who also enjoyed Tesa

and T
ri
nity
an
d hate to say goodbye, I have some good news
.

Another book about T
ri
nity
,
Silent Song,
is currently in the works.

Until next time ...

A. C. Crispin,
December 1989

276

IObEIT A. HEINLEIN

THE MODERNMASTER OF SCIENCE FICTION

EXPANDED UNIVERSE FARNHAM'S FREEHOLD

-GLORY ROAD

I WILL FEAR NO EVIL _THE MOON IS.A HARSH

MISTRESS ORPHANS OF THE SKY THE PAST THROUGH

TOMORROW

PODKAYNE OF MARS -STARSHIP TROOPERS -STRANGER IN A

STRANGE LAND
TIME
ENOUGH FOR LOVE

_THE CAT WHO WALKS THROUGH WALLS TO SAIL BEYOND THE

SUNSET

0-441-21891-1/55.50 0-441
-
22834-8/$4.50 0-441-29401
4
/
$
3.95

0-441-35917
-
5/54.95 0-441-53699
-
9/53.95

0-441
-6
3913
-
5/
$
3.50 0-441.65304
-
9/55.95

0-441
-67402X/$3.95
0-441
-
78358-9/
$
4.50
0-441-790344M.50

0.441-81076-
0
5.50 0-441-09499
-
6/$4.95 0-441-74860
-
0/$4.95

For Via and MaWCard orde
rs
calk 14004314571

FOR MAIL ORDERS: CHECK BOOK
(
S). FI
LL
OUT COUPON
.
SEND

TO,

BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP 390 Murray Hill
Pkwy.,
Dept. B

East Rutherford,
NJ 07073

POSTAGE AND HAND
LI
NG:

$1.00 for one book, 250 for
each addldonal. Do not exceed $3.50.
BOOK

TOTAL $

POSTAGE & HANDLING

NAME APPLICABLE SALES TAX
ADDRESS
r A NJ NY, PA)

CI TY TOTAL
AMOUNT DUE $

STATE ZIP PAYABLE
IN US FUNDS. PLEASE
ALLOW
6 WEEKS FOR

DELIVERY. (No cash orders accepted.)
PRICES ARE
SUBJECT TO

CHANGE
WITHOUT NOTICE.

255

I smiled evilly
,
cleared my throat modestly,
re
ached into my b
ri
efcase
an
d hefted several pounds of manusc
ri
pt into her lap. "It's so kind of
you to offer! I just happen to have a copy with me...."

Thus began an
association that has proved mutually beneficial ... a kind

of symbiosis
,
I suppose
.
Kathy
'
s review of
Yesterday
'
s Son
demonstrated that she's a dynamite editor and cri
tic
.
When she takes her

red pen to one of my m
an
usc
ri
pts, the sto
ry
always emerges far
better for her (far f
ro
m gentle) ministrations
.
When Kathy produces
her own fiction, I retu
rn
the favor
.
Through the years, we've both

improved as w
ri
ters.

274