O Pioneer! by Frederik Pohl Page B

to do that before," Giyt remarked suspiciously.
    "No, of course not. Usually Hoak does it for you, but this time he's got the energy lady to take care of. And listen"—smirking again, in the way Giyt had learned to hate—"you be sure to give my regards to that really good-looking lady of yours."
    By the time Hoak Hagbarth had shepherded his VIP guest's luggage past the inspection—with much argument and raising of voices over the scientific instruments she'd brought with her—he escorted her to the waiting cart, pausing to introduce her to Giyt. "Dr. Emilia Patroosh, Mayor Evesham Giyt. Listen, Giyt, you'll have to take the new people to my place so Olse can—"
    "I know," Giyt said, politely shaking the hand of the energy expert.
    "Fine." Hagbarth started to get into the cart with his VIP visitor, then paused. "Hey, listen. I've got an idea. You were wondering about the power situation? Why don't you go along with Dr. Patroosh to take a look at Energy Island tomorrow? I'll have a chopper ready for you in the morning. Take your wife; it'll give the two of you a chance to see the sharks."
    "Sharks?" But Hagbarth only shook his head, grinning, as the cart sped away.

IX
     
     
    The geological and paleontological history of the planet Tupelo is not well understood, due to the paucity of land areas available for digging. No fossils have ever been discovered. However, it is generally believed that sometime in the relatively recent past, perhaps circa 2 to 4 million years BP, the planet underwent an extinction event similar to the ones which on Earth ended the Cretaceous and other ages. The causative event — whether a bolide impact, an episode of very large-scale vulcanism, or something unique to Tupelo—is not known. However, the result is clear. Whatever large land animals existed on Tupelo disappeared at that time. Life in the ocean, however, is quite another matter.
    — BRITANNICA ONLINE , " TUPELO ."
     
    It was a sparkly dawn day, with dew beaded on the "grass," the sun still hidden behind the great mountains to the east, the air cool but comfortable. Altogether it was just the right kind of day for a chopper trip to Energy Island . . . except that there was no chopper. Hoak Hagbarth apologized profusely to the VIP woman from Earth. The gyrocopter, unfortunately, was in the shop. So if Dr. Patroosh didn't mind, they would have to take a Delt skimmer to the island. Either Dr. Patroosh really didn't mind or she was being a good sport about it. "Let's just do it, all right?" she said.
    When they reached the lakeshore the Delt skimmer turned out to be a much larger ground-effect vehicle than the one that had taken Giyt to see the polar rocket land. Giyt's first look at it made his eyes pop. Startlingly, the thing was gleaming in metallic gold and ten or twelve meters long. It came complete with a Delt pilot sitting on the rail impatiently tapping his long fingers on his knee. When Rina politely thanked him for agreeing to transport them, the Delt turned one wandering eye on her, the other wavering between Giyt and Dr. Patroosh, and gargled something that the translator turned into, "Imposition no greater than expected, happening at all times without considerateness. Board now. Sit. Strap in for bumps."
    There weren't any bumps, though, at least not at first. The skimmer lifted on its air cushion and slid out onto the surface of the lake, heading swiftly for the hills at the far side. Giyt was glad for the moving air, which diluted that Delt aroma from the driver. Rina didn't seem to mind the smell. She was squeezing Giyt's hand in excitement, staring around at everything—back at the low buildings of the town; at the approaching hills; at the barely visible rim of the old Slug dam that long ago had created Crystal Lake for their own first colonists; at the fittings of the Delt skimmer. Those were pure nonhuman technology, all right: corrugated seats that pressed cruelly into human buttocks, double view screens for the