As Planha society expanded, regional meetings like this began to elect delegates to Year-Khruaths, which drew on larger territories. Finally these, in turn, sent their representatives to the High Khruath of the whole planet, which met every six years plus on extraordinary occasions. On each level, a set of presiding officers, the Wyvans, were chosen. These were entrusted with explication of the laws (i.e. customs, precedents, decisions) and with trial of as many suits as possible. It was not quite a soviet organization, because any free adult could attend a Khruath on any level he wished.

The arrangement would not have worked on Terra — where a version of it appeared once, long ago, and failed bloodily. But, Ythrians are less talkative, less busybody, less submissive to bullies, and less chronically crowded than man. Modern communications, computers, information retrieval, and educational techniques helped the system spread planetwlde, ultimately Domain-wide.

Before it reached that scale, it had had to face the problem of administration. Necessary public works must be funded; in theory the choths made free gifts to this end, in practice the cost required allocation. Behavior grossly harmful to the physical or social environment must be enjoined, however much certain choths might profit by it or regard it as being of their special heritage. Yet no machinery existed for compulsion, nor would Ythrians have imagined establishing any — as such.

Instead, it came slowly about that when a noncompliance looked important, the Wyvans of the appropriate Khruath cried Qherran on the offenders. This, carried out after much soul-searching and with the gravest ceremonies, was a summons to everyone in the territory: that for the sake of their own interests and especially their honor, they attack the defiers of the court.

In early times, an Qherran on a whole choth meant the end of it — enslavement of whoever had not been slaughtered, division of holdings among the victors. Later it might amount to as little as the arrest and exile of named leaders. But always it fell under the concept of deathpride. If the call to Qherran was rejected, as had happened when the offense was not deemed sufficient to justify the monstrosity of invasion, then the Wyvans who cried it had no acceptable alternative to suicide.

Given the Ythrian character, Qherran works about as well as police do among men. If your society has not lost morale, human, how often must you call the police?

None who knew Liaw of The Tarns imagined he would untruthfully say that he had threatened to rip Avalon asunder.

Where the mighty Sagittarius flows into the Gulf of Centaurs, Avalon’s second city — the only one besides Gray which rated the name — had arisen as riverport, seaport, spaceport, industrial center, and mart. Thus Centauri was predominantly a human town, akin to many in the Empire, thronged, bustling, noisy, cheerfully, corrupt, occasionally dangerous. When he went there, Arinnian most of the time had to be Christopher Holm, in behavior as well as name.

Defense business now required it. He was not astonished at becoming a top officer of the West Coronan home guard, after that took its loose shape — not in a society where nepotism was the norm. It did surprise him that he seemed to be doing rather well, even enjoying himself in a grim fashion, he who had always scoffed at the “herd man.” In a matter of weeks he got large-scale drills going throughout his district and was well along on the development of doctrine, communications, and supply. (Of course, it helped that most Avalonians were enthusiastic hunters, often in large groups on battues; and that the Troubles had left a military tradition, not difficult to revive; and that old Daniel was on hand to advise.) Similar organizations had sprung up everywhere else. They needed to coordinate their efforts with the measures being taken by the Seamen’s Brotherhood. A conference was called. It worked hard and accomplished as many of its purposes as one could reasonably hope.

Afterward Arinnian said, “Hrill, would you like to go out and celebrate? W-we may not have a lot more chances.” He did not speak on impulse. He had debated it for the past couple of days.

Tabitha Falkayn smiled. “Sure, Chris. Everybody else will be.”

They walked down Livewell Street. Her arm was in his; in the subtropical heat he was aware of how their skins traded sweat. “I… well, why do you generally call me by my human name?” he asked. “And talk Anglic to me?”

“We are humans, you and I. We haven’t the feathers to use Planha as it ought to be used. Why do you mind?”

For a moment he floundered. That personal a question… an insult, except between the closest friends, when it becomes an endearment… I suppose she’s just thinking human again. He halted and swept his free hand around. “Look at that and stop wondering,” he said. Instantly he feared he had been too curt.

But the big blond girl obeyed. This part of the street ran along a canal, which was oily and littered with refuse, burdened with barges, walled in by buildings jammed together, whose dingy facades reared ten or twelve stories into night heaven. Stars, and the white half-disk of Morgana were lost behind, the glare, blink, leap and worm-crawl of raw-colored signs, (GROG HARBOR, DANCE, EAT, GENUINE TERRAN SENSIES, FUN HOUSE, SWITCH TO MARIA JUANAS, GAMBLING, NAKED GIRLS, LOANS, BUY… BUY… BUY… ) Groundbugs filled the roadway, pedestrians the sidewalks, a sailor, a pilot, a raftman, a fisher, a hunter, a farmer, a whore, a secretary, a drunk about to collapse, another drunk getting belligerent at a monitor, a man gaunt and hairy and ragged who stood on a corner and shouted of some obscure salvation, endless human seething, shrilling, chattering, through engine rumble, foot shuffle, raucousness blared out of loudspeakers. The air stank, dirt, smoke, oil, sewage, flesh, a breath from surrounding swamplands which would there have been a clean rotting but here was somehow made nasty.

Tabitha smiled at him anew. “Why, I call this fun, Chris,” she said. “What else’ve we come for?”

“You wouldn’t—” he stammered. “I mean, somebody like you?”

He realized he was gaping at her. Both wore thin short-sleeved blouses, kilts, and sandals; garments clung to wet bodies. But despite the sheen of moisture and the odor of female warmth that he couldn’t help noticing, she stood as a creature of sea and open skies.

“Sure, what’s wrong with once-in-a-while vulgarity?” she said, still amiable. “You’re too puritan Chris.”

“No, no,” he protested, now afraid she would think him naive. “Fastidious, maybe. But I’ve often been here and, uh, enjoyed myself. What I was trying to explain was, uh, I, I’m proud to belong to a choth and not proud that members of my race elect to live in a sty. Don’t you see, this is the old way, that the pioneers wanted to escape.”

Tabitha said a word. He was staggered. Eyath would never have spoken thus. The girl grinned. “Or, if you prefer, ‘nonsense,’ ” she continued. I’ve read Falkayn’s writings. He and his followers wanted not one thing except unmolested elbow room,” Her, touch nudged him along. “How about that dinner we were aimed at?” Numbly, he moved.

He recovered somewhat in the respectable dimness of the Phoenix House. Among other reasons, he admitted to himself, the room was cool and her clothes didn’t emphasize her shape as they did outside.

The place had live service. She ordered a catflower cocktail. He didn’t. “C’mon,” she said: “Unbuckle your shell.”

“No, thanks, really.” He found words. “Why dull my perceptions at a happy moment?”

“Seems I’ve heard that line before. A Stormgate saying?”

“Yes. Though I didn’t think they used drugs much in Highsky either.”

“They don’t. Barring the sacred revels. Most of us keep to the Old Faith, you know.” Tabitha regarded him awhile. “Your trouble, Chris, is you try too hard. Relax. Be more among your own species. How many humans do you have any closeness to? Bloody-gut few, I’ll bet.”