The Lani People Page 5

  CHAPTER IV

  Douglas Alexander was a puffy-faced youngster with small intoleranteyes set in folds of fat above a button nose and a loose-lipped sensualmouth. There was an odd expression of defiance overlaid with fear on hispudgy features. Looking at him, Kennon was reminded of a frightened dog,ready either to bite or cower.

  But it wasn't Douglas who held his eye. It was the two Lani who followedhim into the room. Every line of their bodies was perfection that spokevolumes about generations of breeding for physical elegance. They movedwith a co-ordinated grace that made Douglas look even more clumsy bycontrast. And they were identical, twin cream-and-gold works of art.They were completely nude--and Kennon for the first time in his lifefully appreciated the beauty of an unclad female. To cover them wouldbe sacrilege, and ornaments would only detract from their exquisiteperfection.

  Kennon knew that he was staring like an idiot. Alexander's amused smiletold him that much. With an effort he composed his startled features.

  The pair looked at him with soft violet eyes--and it was as though somepsychic bathhouse attendant had poured ice water down his spine. For hehad seen that look before, that liquid introspective look in the velveteyes of cattle. He shivered. For a moment he had been thinking of themas human. And somehow the lack of that indefinable some thing calledhumanity robbed them of much of their glamour. They were stillbeautiful, but their beauty had become impersonal.

  "Don't take these as representative of the Lani," Alexander saidsuddenly. "They're a special case, a very special case." He glared athis cousin. "Damn your impudence," he said without beat. "I sent foryou--not your toys. Send them away."

  Douglas sulkily thrust out his lower lip. "You can't talk to me likethat, Cousin Alex," he began. "I'm just a--"

  "You heard me, Douglas. Out!" Alexander's voice didn't rise but it cutlike a whip.

  "Oh, very well," Douglas said. "I can't fight you--yet." He turned tothe humanoids. "You heard the Boss-man. Go home."

  The two nodded in unison and departed quickly. Somehow Kennon got theimpression that they were happy to leave.

  "Just wait," Douglas said. "You can't boss me forever. Just wait. I'llreach my majority in five years. I can vote my shares then--and thenI'll fix you. You won't be so high and mighty then, Mr. Big. I'll throwin with the rest of the Family. They don't like you too much."

  "Don't hold your breath waiting for the Family to help you," Alexandersaid. "They wouldn't have anyone else but me handle the finances. Theylove money too much. And until you get your inheritance remember onething--I'm master here."

  "I know it," Douglas said, and then curiously--"Who's the oddball?" Hegestured at Kennon with a pudgy thumb.

  "Our new veterinarian, Dr. Kennon."

  "Oh--great! Now you tell me!"

  "There's nothing like making a good first impression," Alexander saidwith ironic emphasis. "I hope he cuts you off from the Lani. He'll havethe authority to do it, since he's taking Old Doc's place."

  "He can't. I'm an owner. I own-"

  "You own nothing. You're a minor. And under the terms of Grandfather'swill, you'll own nothing except an allowance until you reach legal age.And that brings me to the reason I brought you here. Just when did yougain the right to reorganize the household staff? Just when did you getthe power to interfere with the experimental program?"

  Douglas flushed dull red and bit his lip. "Do we have to go into this infront of strangers?"

  "Kennon's my agent," Alexander said coldly, "and he might as well learnabout you and the others from the start."

  "Well--what do you want him to do--watch me crawl?" Douglas askedbitterly. "You'll make me do it. You always do. Do you want me to beg,to say I was wrong, to promise I won't do it again?"

  "You've done that already," Alexander said. "Several times. You need alesson. I won't have you meddling with valuable animals."

  "And what are you going to do about it?"

  "Put you where you can do no more damage. As of tomorrow you'll go toOtpen One."

  Douglas paled. His lips quivered, and his eyes flicked uneasily ashe watched Alexander's granite face. "You don't mean that," he saidfinally. "You're joking."

  "I never joke about business."

  "But you can't do that! I'll tell the Family. They won't let you."

  "I already have their consent," Alexander said. "I obtained it afteryour last escapade. You'll be happy out there. You can play tin god allyou like. Master of life and death on a two-acre island. No one willmind. You can also go to work. No one will mind that, either. AndMullins won't mind as long as you leave the troops alone. Now get out ofhere and get packed. You're leaving tomorrow morning."

  "But cousin Alex--"

  "Move! I'm tired of the sight of you!" Alexander said.

  Douglas turned and shambled out of the room. His ego was thoroughlydeflated and he seemed more frightened than before. Obviously the Otpensweren't the pleasantest place in this world.

  "They're a military post," Alexander said. "And Commander Mullinsdoesn't like Douglas. Can't say that I blame him. Douglas is athoroughly unpleasant specimen, and incidentally quite typical of therest of the Family." Alexander sighed and spread his hands in a gesturethat combined disgust and resignation. "Sometimes I wonder why I havebeen cursed with my relatives."

  Kennon nodded. The implications behind the empty eyes of Douglas's Lanisickened him. There were several ways to produce that expression, all ofthem unpleasant. Hypnoconditioning, the Quiet Treatment, brainburning,transorbital leukotomy, lobectomy--all of the products of that diseasedperiod of humanity's thinking when men tampered with the brains of othermen in an effort to cure psychic states. Psychiatry had passed thatperiod, at least on the civilized worlds, where even animal experimentswere frowned upon as unnecessary cruelty.

  "You saw those two Lani," Alexander said. "Grandfather had them madethat way as a birthday present for Douglas. He was getting senile. Hedied a year later. You'd think a man would be ashamed to keep thingslike that around--but not Douglas. He likes them." Alexander's voice wastinged with contempt. "He knows they disgust me--so he parades them in.I could strangle that pup sometimes!"

  "I wondered about it. I wouldn't like to work for a man who permittedsuch things."

  "That was done before I took over. For the past three years there havebeen no dockings, no mutilations. I can't see treating a helpless animallike that."

  "I feel better about it," Kennon said. "I didn't think you were thatsort."

  "Understand me," Alexander said. "I'm always opposed to senselesscruelty and waste--particularly when it's dangerous. Docked Lani are theheight of stupidity. Just because someone wants a pet that is an exactduplicate of a human being is no reason to risk a court action. ThoseLani, and a few others whose tails have been docked, could be a legalbombshell if they ever left Flora."

  Kennon was jolted. He had been thinking of mental mutilation andAlexander had been talking physical. Naturally they would be dangerousproperty. Anyone attempting to sell a docked Lani would probably bethrown in Detention and charged with slave trading.

  "Did you ever figure the cost of taking a legal action through our courtsystem?" Alexander asked. "Even the small ones set you back four or fivethousand, and a first-class action like a Humanity Trial could costover a million. Grandfather found that out. Sure, there are differencesbetween Lani and humans, but a smart lawyer can make them seem trivialuntil the final test and that would drag on for nearly two years untilall the requirements were satisfied--and by that time the unfavorablepublicity would drop sales to zero. The Family would be on my neck forlost dividends, and I'd lose much of the control I hold over them.

  "Sure, it's possible that prehensile tails could be produced bymutation, but so far as we know it hasn't happened in human history. Asa result, the tail serves as a trade-mark--something that can be easilyrecognized by anyone. So we sell them intact." Alexander crossed hislegs and settled back in his chair. "Shocks you, doesn't it?"

  Kennon nodded. "Yes," he admitted.
"It does."

  "I know. You can't help it. Most of our new employees think the Lani arehuman--at first. They learn better, but adjustment is always a strain.They keep confusing external appearances with the true article. Butremember this--Lani are not human. They're animals. And on this islandthey're treated as what they are--no more, no less. They are a partof our economics and are bred, fed, and managed according to soundlivestock principles. Despite some of the things you may see here inAlexandria, don't forget that. You are a veterinarian. Your job is tohandle disease problems in animals. Lani are animals. Therefore you willbe doing your job. I was disappointed in your reaction when you firstsaw them, but I suppose it was natural. At any rate this should clearthe air."

  "It does--intellectually," Kennon admitted. "But the physicalresemblance is so close that it is difficult to accept."

  Alexander smiled. "Don't worry. You'll accept it in time. Now I thinkit's time that you met the Family."