FALAHA'S JOURNEY: A Spacegirl's Account in Three Movements

Episode #44

People have two voices in them. One is what their mouth speaks, the other is what their mouth skips. Hearing both means knowing them.

Eyuran and I were cleaning my suit when Baro awoke. So I went to get him some water and food, leaving Eyu with repairs.

"How are you feeling, Baro?"

"Better. Better than yesterday," he said, "thanks to rjgnan. Your frie—cousin, your—" the Medan looked at me, "introduced—what is he to you, exactly?" My eyebrow twitched as his eyes focused on my hair—or, rather, the lack of it—with a silent question in them. But he didn't ask.

"My spouse."

"Oh, your—your what?"

"Eyuran is my legitimate spouse, the first of them, at least." Was there even a point in waiting to call him that now? A man can't get more physical with a girl than touching her bare bones, so he qualified for the title. I turned to Eyuran, who was already turning away and didn't see me looking—yet his posture became firmer, making his shoulders appear broader. And he wasn't tiny to begin with...

"You are—" Baro's face fell, "the Head's—" I nodded. He became extremely white all of a sudden, forgetting I was even here, looking away and wandering into his troubled thoughts. "That was the Head of kennar Fargann," he mumbled. Baro definitely knew he was in deep trouble, but was it only now he realized the actual scale of his actions' implications?

But I could see where it was coming from. People with soma have no cognitive limit to the number of people with whom we can maintain stable social relationships, keeping cohesion within the whole population. Generally, we remember who each person we meet or learn about is, and how that person relates to every other person. So it was perfectly normal for a Medan not to know. Besides, even with his status, my father wasn't a public figure, like Orewen's sister was (and Baro was still to find that out!). He's an elusive being of shadows and legends, and most of those not belonging to the Danna community don't even know his name. Our crew lists don't have full personal information; it is only available while the Nodes are connected to the ship's siSystem Terminal and not just there for anyone to see it. My guess was that Baro wasn't able to get access to it. However, he did find the loophole in our subquantum network, even though it was well protected from decoherence and the 'equilibrium noise' trap.

And speaking of spouses, a lot of men from various powerful kennar were going to be presented to me soon after we arrived at Kan Diona, some as young as Eyuran, and some older, even around the age of Orewen and my father. I've already seen the official request letters. Those whom I might take interest in would be introduced to me later on. However, not all of them would eventually enter my Inner Circle as attendant males and, later, spouses.

A Danna woman has always been strong. In ancient times it was crucial for her and her offspring's survival in case males were unable to protect them for some reason. Being nomadic in nature, the Danna had few children in their lifetimes—offspring numbers rarely exceeded the number of spouses a woman had—but everyone made sure kids would survive to become strong and live on. The lands our first ancestors inhabited were harsh, the environment difficult, and the efforts of more than two parents ensured the survival success of the family's children. The woman kept the population from growing too large, thus keeping it mobile, and enough resources were available.

Mutual trust and cooperation were important and the bonds between generations and related kin groups were really strong. The ability to coexist with neighboring groups was important as well. Those men who cooperated well together had a better chance to pass on their genes than those who were competitive and aggressive towards their male peers. A strong team of people looking after each other had a better chance of survival than a loner, especially when he eventually had more than one person to look after and might have died sometime in the future. Women turned away from such men. Hunting, survival in the wilderness, intellect, and physical strength were desirable skills and traits in both genders. The Danna were massive, powerful people, who were known for creating important bonds early in life. Still are. Space is not that welcoming.