the expedition Chapter 1 – A Glimpse Into the Primordial Mirror
Shabba Deen (who is some sort of alien with a mane and a long “chinnose” and scientist-in-training) is unexpectantly confronted in the forest by an animal she has never seen before or heard of before. And it looks startling like her own species – only smaller, with no mane, and its eyes are very large with distinct lids. This being wears some scant clothing, but Shabba can tell it is female because its pouch is exposed. She only sees the creature for a few moments before it runs away.
Chapter 2 - The Unwilling
The next chapter switches 8 years later. Shabba (who we find out is a liiten) has just finished a journal entry saying she is going on another expedition to the continent Sribana to study the lemos (that is the species she discovered). She is in a tiny apartment in her crowded, polluted home-city of Ciris in the Wakitian nation of Ludvi. We find out that Shabba has black, straight hair and red scales, as do all the other “Wakitians” on the streets. However, unlike them she has short hair and wears no decorations – only a simple grey outfit, which separates her culturally from the “Traditionalists”. She receives a call from Markis Della Troik. He looks different because he is a Tulubian, opposed to a Wakitian: curly brown hair and tan scales. They are still both liitens, Wakitian and Tulubian being race labels. Markis is also older, thus wrinkled. Shabba is attracted to him which she expresses by emitting a scent which he cannot smell over the communicator. Apparently he is responsible for obtaining “basic rights” for the lemos. After talking to Markis, Shabba goes to visit the Hosner Institute, where she worked with captive lemos studying their intelligence and trying to teach them how to speak. Apparently only about half of the lemos can speak with any proficiency. Shabba arrives, and to her horror, her colleagues are hurriedly testing vaccines on the lemos before the Tulubian authorities come to shut the whole project down and turn the facility into a mental hospital for the nonspeaking lemos. The speaking lemos will be “adopted” by asthetics who live on the Gaishon Islands. In the last part of the scene, Jeb Della Grot, the Tulubian authority, comes and berates the young, Wakitian scientists for their treatment of the lemos. The scientists argue that Wakitians are dying of various plagues caused by overpopulation and that obtaining vaccines for them is more important than lemo rights.
Chapter 3 – The Orphan
Mal Tiviki (a young, Tulubian genetics specialist) is in a varsh tent (made of a material that is transparent from the inside but camouflaged from the outside) He’s shedding and his scales have turned dark from the intense sunlight. He’s observing lemos. Beito Et Kalvec (a student) starts talking to him over a communicator. Beito is nearby in his own varsh tent. Beito is quite melancholy and disillusioned as to why studying the lemos without a clearer purpose is useful. Beito is also depressed because he is already 27 years old (5 years older than Mal) and still is a student because he keeps changing his career choice. Mal is shocked at Beito’s lack of enthusiasm.
Shabba and Markis are listening to Mal and Beito’s conversation (unbeknownst to them) Shabba despairs over Beito’s negative attitude and the other students’ arrogance and selfishness. Markis tells her she should try to be a good mentor. We find out that Markis knows about Shabba’s attraction to him, and it is reciprocated, but he will “take his time”.
The other students: Dona the daughter of Studgeir (a Suth, therefore with straight, limp brown hair and reddish scales, but not as red as Wakitians), Runre Deetch (yet another Tulubian, short and muscular) and Shaloc Mito (another Wakitian, like Shabba, very tall and lanky) are lingering around outside a fire waiting for Mal and Beito to return – they are very late. Dona is worried about their safety but Runre and Shaloc are resentful of being cheated out of a shift. Dona, noting that the three of them represent the 3 liiten races, shares the Suth creation myth (which she believes is literally true.) The myth says that the one true god, Marakaneshek, created 3 brothers. The first Aws, was Suth in appearance, and he was to be the spiritual and political leader. The second, Rek, was Tulubian in appearance, and was to be the engineer. The third, Riki, Wakitian in appearance, was to be the artist. But Rek tried to take over as leader and was banished into the north-east. Then Riki did perverted acts and was banished to the south-east. And the descendents of Aws have been trying to unify the races every since. Runre and Shaloc cruelly mock Dona’s story and beliefs as insulting, prejudice against does (liiten women) and stupid. Then Mal and Beito come out of the forest, tired and hungry. Runre insults Beito by referring to him as “Kalvec” instead of “Et Kalvec”. Mal comes to Beito’s defence, commanding Runre to respect his elders. (Thus we discover that Tulubian middle names signify, roughly, how old they are.)
Shaloc and Dona are out in the field, hoping to see lemos. While they are waiting they share stories about their mothers’ cooking. Up to this point it, “fathers” are never mentioned, pertaining to Wakitians; Only mothers, aunts, uncles and grandmothers. It is not yet revealed why that is. Dona’s family are refugees from the province of Gorbo in the oppressive Suth Empire. Finally, a mother lemo with a bulging pouch emerges and climbs into a fruit tree to gather. Suddenly, a matcha (a fearsome carnivore with a large head and shoulders who walks on two legs.) comes out and rams the tree, knocking the mother lemo to her death. Dona runs out and shoots the beast with her stun gun – knocking him unconscious. They remove the unharmed lemo infant from its mother’s pouch and take it back to the camp.
Shabba scolds Dona for interfering with lemos in the wild and Dona is not permitted to be in the field anymore. After Dona leaves, Markis suggests that they allow her to be the infant’s caretaker.
Chapter 4 – The Scent of Arousal
Shabba has named the lemo baby “Imo” after her favorite scientist, Imo Et Stook, a Tulubian scientist who theorized and then proved that liitens originally evolved on Sribana and then migrated to the continent Ubana. It is unknown why no liitens remained on Sribana. She shares this story with Markis and Dona as baby Imo, with his large eyes and funny little tuft of red hair on the top of his head, squeals and wails and poops. We find out more about their anatomy – males have a “genital sac” in the center of their abdomen, and both urine and feces come out of the anus.
Runre, Beito, and Shaloc are in the kitchen cabin eating. Shaloc starts complaining about Tulubian food and eventually makes fun of their philosophies and lifestyle for being overly cautious and stifling the joy of living. Runre challenges him and they get in a big argument. Beito tries to defuse it with dopey humor.
Markis is in he and Shabba’s cabin writing a letter to his wife Vido. Apparently he has a young daughter too. Then Shabba comes in and he asks her if she wants to eat. She says yes, but then he touches her, gazes into her eyes and releases the scent of arousal – thus letting her know he wants her. She responds with her own musky scent and they nuzzle, and well, the reader can assume the rest.
Chapter 5 – That Which Divides
Shabba and Shaloc are eating together – their first time alone. They speak in native Wakitian. Shaloc asks if she does the “dance for Gaish”. She tells him they she doesn’t ascribe to the religion of Holona. He becomes disappointed, then angry – insulting her by calling her a “drone” and “traitor to our people”. She says she doesn’t have to abide by his racist expectations. Then she softens and tries to make peace. He just walks away from her.
Two Tulubian messengers comes with supplies – because the first year’s third of the expedition has passed. Mal notices that Shabba and Markis are affectionate with each other and guesses that they are having an affair. He gets an important letter from the messengers from the Minister of History’s records’ department: he is turning 22 years old soon and will be having his first “Change”. He tells Beito that he has already chosen a new name: (Jop Et Tiviki) and that he’s decided to stick with the expedition. Beito is relieved, since Mal is his only real friend.
Then we have an intimate little scene with Markis and Shabba, naked in bed together. Shabba politely asks about Markis’ wife, and finds out that they’ve been married 10 years, Markis was never married before that, but Vido was once in a group marriage with a buck and another doe. She grew apart from them and divorced, then married Markis and had their daughter. Markis asks Shabba if she’d ever get married and she laughs, saying “Wakitians don’t get married!”
Yet another argument between Runre and Shaloc (this time Mal, Beito and Shabba are also present). Shaloc says that the Tulubian custom of marriage is stupid and hypocritical because the rules of it are constantly changing. He says the Wakitian way (where children are raised by their biological mother and her ciblings) is better because Uncles can be sure the kids are related to them, but fathers can’t be sure. Again, Beito tries to defuse the argument with a little dorky humor, and the conversation ends with Shabba tell Runre and Shaloc that they are being divisive and ruining their careers by insulting the customs of their superiors.
Mal’s Change ceremony – from Dona’s perspective. He appears before the whole team in a white robe with his face painted white. Markis gets his console playing some sad music and removes Mal’s robe, revealing his naked body. Dona covers her eyes – as a Suth she is not allowed to see the naked body of a buck that is not her husband. Then Mal lays down in a long hole in the ground (all of this symbolizing his death) and they say their respects one by one. Dona thinks the whole custom is sort of silly until she smells Beito’s sincere mourning, and is moved. Soon later Mal stands back up, happier music is played, he dresses, washes his face, and embraces Beito.
Chapter 6 – The Ethics of Sex and Love
Opens with Shabba reading on the screen of her console, various different versions of the Tulubian book “The Ethics of Sex and Love” We find out that group marriage, homosexual marriage, serial marriage and discreet extramarital affairs are all accepted. The book simply gives advise on how to deal with situations in a way that will be most ethical – and it is updated every years based on new data from the Ministry of History. All references to having children mention only one child – explaining why the Tulubian territories are not overpopulated like the rest of Ubana. The one child rule isn’t forced – it’s just Tulubian custom. Dona comes in, reads some of the text and is horrified, calling the customs deviant. Then Shabba tells Dona that once the expedition is over Imo will go into the care of her and Markis. Dona accepts this, expressing how homesick she is for her family. Dona also shows that Imo can now walk a little bit. Markis comes in and Imo takes a couple steps for them.
Shabba is in the kitchen cabin alone, eating. Beito comes in and they have a friendly discussion about work and the future of Sribana. He mentions that he thinks that the liitens will eventually colonize Sribana and that if that happens the lemos will eventually perish since they are outnumbered and cannot interbreed with liitens. Shabba is disturbed greatly by this prospect. As she leaves she thinks she smells a little bit of the scent of arousal coming from Beito, but it is subtle (meaning that he’s probably suppressing it) so she politely ignores it and feels flattered.
Jop and Beito are in their cabin talking. Jop says he’s going to try to get stationed on the Tripitus Space Station and eventually become a colonist on the Gray Jewel (a neighboring planet that is being terraformed) Beito says he just wants a position in the Ministry of Science and Technology and to live in the comforts of the Tulubian city of Telmon.
Shabba is engages in a vocabulary lesson with Imo. She has started saying one and two word sentences. Beito comes in to hang out with her out of boredom. At some point Shabba touches his and the musky scent of arousal it too obvious to ignore. Beito is highly embarrassed and hurriedly excuses himself.
Shabba is alone in her cabin. She is pregnant by Markis. They had always agreed that she would do an auto-abortion (liiten does can naturally abort early pregnancies at will) but since the expedition is almost over and she’s considering keeping it. Markis comes in and she tells him. He doesn’t seem to care much until she tells him she’d like to keep it. He gets extremely angry and tells her that would be both selfish and irrational. They get into an argument and she finally tells him to leave so she can “do what I must do”. She goes through some mood swings, anger, then sadness, then feels foolish and thinks Markis is right. She performs the auto-abortion.
