"You liked it?" I asked.
"Liked it? _Liked_ it? I loved it! Didn't you?"
"I think so," I said truthfully.
"I'm going across the meadow again," Ven said as she turned her mammal
around.
"No," I said. "We have use for these two and we have no knowledge of
how much they can stand. There's no sense damaging them." I frowned as
I noticed the bloody scratches on the legs and body of her mammal.
Ven noted the direction of my gaze. "They're not as tough as I
thought," she said with sudden contrition. "But they're not too badly
damaged, are they?"
"No." I said.
I ordered the mammal to set me down. Dawn was breaking and I could
see better what we had captured. They were a male and a female.
On the whole, except for their mammalian ancestry, they conformed
to dominant-race criteria, being erect, bipedal, predatory types
with binocular vision. Their upper extremities were evolved into
manipulative organs similar to our primary digits.
The most outstanding difference was the extreme sex dimorphism,
which was obviously apparent in the brightening light. The physical
differences were carried to such lengths that it was hard to believe
that they were members of the same species.
* * * * *
They weren't exactly ugly, yet there was something disturbing about
them. Perhaps it was the rank halogen odor of their skin glands that
were still secreting despite the coolness of the air. Or perhaps it was
merely that they were intelligent mammals. It was as though Authority
had, in a moment of cosmic humor, drawn oversized caricatures of
Thalassans and endowed them with life. I felt a subtle insult in their
presence. I suppose it showed in my aura because Ven came quickly to my
side.
"I told you they were disturbing," she said as we looked up at their
monstrous forms towering over us.
"I'm glad they're not uncontrolled," I answered, shivering a little as
I looked at them. "I suppose it's just species antipathy, but they make
me uncomfortable."
"Mammals were exterminated on Thalassa long ago, weren't they?"
"Yes," I said. "They ate our eggs."
Ven walked forward and ran her primary digits over the female's legs.
"They're quite well evolved," she said. "The skin hasn't a vestige of
scales."
"Neither does yours except at the tip of your tail," I said tartly.
"Don't get the idea that they're a primitive life form. Actually
they are a _later_ evolutionary type than we! If our ancestors had
not developed intelligence enough to realize their peril we would be
extinct--and something like them would rule Thalassa today."