Nia made the gesture that indicated lack of knowledge. “We caught onto the boat after it went over. It floated upside down and carried us through the rapids. Aiya! What an experience!”

“I can’t swim,” the oracle said. “But my spirit took care of me, as always. And of Nia, too.”

Nia made the gesture of gratitude. The oracle replied with the gesture of acknowledgment.

I made the gesture that asked for more information.

Nia said, “The boat went downriver. We held on. All day. All night. At last it drifted into shallow water. We were able to stand.”

“Just barely,” the oracle said. “My legs were like string. Aiya!”

Nia glanced at him, frowning a little. “We pulled the boat to shore and rested, then I looked around. We were on an island. It was large and covered with bushes. There was no water—except the water in the river, which tasted muddy to me. And not much food.

“We decided to go farther down the river. I found branches that would serve as paddles. I am going to sit.”

I made the gesture of agreement. The two natives settled themselves on the ground. I followed suit.

“It was not an easy journey,” the oracle said. “The branches were not good paddles.”

“Maybe we should have stayed where we were,” Nia said. “But I thought your friends were going to be at the lake. We could tell them what happened. Maybe they would know how to find you.” She paused and scratched her nose. “We spent three days traveling on the river. The first day we stayed close to the shore. Then—in the late afternoon—we saw a lizard. A big one, lying on the bank. It took no interest in us, but we became frightened. We paddled out into the middle of the river.

“We found an island with trees and made camp. I was pretty sure that the lizards could not climb.

“The next day we went on. In the afternoon we came to the lake. We made camp on the eastern shore. There was something in the water a long way out. It was low and dark. We thought it was an island.

“At night lights shone on it, and there were more lights on the shore. I thought, those are Li-sa’s people. We are going to have to cross the lake.

“The next morning something unexpected happened.” Nia paused.

“Something fell out of the sky,” the oracle said. “There was a lot of noise. We ran and hid. When the noise stopped we came back. There were two islands in the lake.”

“I’ve heard of stones falling out of the sky,” Nia said. “But stones do not float. I thought to myself, this is new. And it is big.”

Nia looked at me. Her gaze was steady. “I did not like it, Li-sa. I began to feel uneasy. I thought, there is something going on that I do not understand, and it is something big.”

The oracle said, “After that, we were careful.”

Nia made the gesture of agreement. “We were at the place where the river entered the lake. We waited till nightfall and paddled across. It wasn’t easy. We were going across the current. But we made it. We hid the boat. Then we traveled through the forest below the river bluff. There was no trail. We had to go up and down over the rocks. We had to push through the vegetation. Aiya!

“We came to the village. The one that belongs to your people. We hid.” She paused for a moment. “This is the hard part of the story.”

“We decided not to go in,” the oracle said. “Not at once. We wanted to be sure that the village really did belong to your people. We stayed in the forest and watched. We saw.” The oracle paused. “There were boats on the lake that moved by themselves. They went back and forth between the islands and the shore. There were other things. Wagons. People rode in them. The wagons moved the way the boats did, with no one doing any work. And the wagons made noises. They roared like killers of the forest. They honked like osubai.We could tell they were made of metal. We knew they were not alive. But how were they moving? And why were they making so much noise?”

“We should have gone into the camp,” Nia said. “We knew these were your kinfolk. They wore clothing like yours, and they had no fur. It was my responsibility to tell them what had happened to you and Deragu.” She straightened her shoulders and looked directly at me. “I could not do it, Li-sa. Even though you might be in trouble. Even though these people might have been able to help you. I was afraid.”

“How long did you watch?” I asked.

“A day,” said the oracle. “And part of another. Then you came with Deraku, riding in one of the boats that moved even though the people on it did nothing. We saw you get off. We saw your relatives greet you.”

“That was a relief,” Nia said.

“This morning we saw you go off on your own. We followed.” He made the gesture that meant “it is over” or “the story is done.”

“I probably would have done the same thing,” I said. “Hidden and watched. I know my people are strange. But there is nothing in the camp to worry about. Are you willing to come with me?”

“Yes,” said the oracle. “I have heard nothing new from my spirit. And this is what I came for. To meet your people who have no hair.”

Nia made the gesture of doubtful agreement.

We turned back toward camp.

“I am worried about Ulzai,” I said.

“He will be all right,” the oracle said. “The umazipromised him that they would kill him, and he has told us that there are no umazihere in the north. Therefore, he is safe.”

Good reasoning, if one believed in messages from spirits.

“Why did the camp frighten you?” I asked. “You weren’t frightened by my box with voices.”

“Your radio,” Nia said, pronouncing the word carefully and almost correctly. “That thing is small. I told you, I am not afraid of new things if they are small. And if there are not too many of them.” She paused for a moment. “And you are a friend of mine. I do not know these people.”

We reached the dock. There was a boat tied up, maybe the one we had come on. A couple of people were standing next to it. They looked at me and the natives, then froze—motionless, watching.

We turned up into the camp.

“Are you hungry?” I asked.

“Yes,” said the oracle.

“I’ll get you some food.” I turned toward the big dome. They followed, keeping close to me.

There was a hillclimber parked by the entrance to the dome. It wasn’t the same one I had seen before. I would have recognized the big dent in the side. How had they managed to do that in only a few days? A man was lifting a box marked “fragile” out of the back. He stopped, the box in midair, and stared, his mouth open.

“Brian!” I said. “How are you?”

“Those are aliens,” he said.

“It’d be more accurate to say that we’re the aliens. These people are native.”

He smiled at Nia.

“This person is showing teeth the way that Deragu always does.”

“It means that he’s friendly.”

“This is a man?” asked Nia.

I made the gesture of affirmation.

“What are the signs? He is no bigger than you are, and I can’t tell if his fur is different from yours. You both have so little.”

“The texture of the fur doesn’t matter. But the location does. Only men have fur on the lower part of the face. But not all men do. His voice is deeper than mine, and his shoulders are wider. Those are signs.”

Nia frowned. “I cannot hear much difference in your voices, and you both look slender to me.” She made the gesture that meant “so be it.” “Tell the man, it is my wish to be friendly.”

“Okay. If Nia could smile, she would,” I said in English. “But among her people, smiling is not an act of friendship. And—as far as I have been able to tell—they don’t have a comparable expression.”

“Shit,” said Brian. “Does that mean I’ve done something wrong?”

“No. She’s been with me and Derek, who—as you may remember—smiles a lot.”

“Yeah. I remember. The famous Sea Warrior shit-eating grin. Tell her I’m glad to meet her. Tell her this is a great day.”