Astounding Science Fiction (British edition) — page 74: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

2 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION ““‘nibbly,” oddly juxtaposed. Chang got the point then; but when she looked down at the expressionless round backs and pointed snouts in front of her she could hardly believe it. It was this: What had gone on in the previous session at the two tables had been so different that the two humans involved could never have told each other what they’d learned. As it happened, they’d hardly begun. _ Realizing this from the humans’ re- sponses, the nibblies had told them! And the nibblies thought it was funny. She had barely absorbed this when her nibblies broke the circle, leaped away, and paraded before her in a neat figure-8, in their awkward up- and-down loping gait, but so fast it was more like a caper. Balch’s voice: “What in fury are they doing?” His group, too, had joined the comical dance. “That’s the way they laugh!” she exclaimed. ‘““The joke’s on us, Tim!” The bewilderment left his face; and then he and Chang had to laugh, too. They sat back in their chairs and laughed till they wept, releasing all the tension of the afternoon’s effort. Chang was brought back to herself by a sentry’s shout: “The nibblies are heading into the forest. Hey, Chang!” “What? Oh. Don’t try to follow them. They’ll have to split up and go several different ways, to pass the word. They’ll be back. And Sumer —you can stop taking movies now.” Because she couldn’t stand it any longer. She ran and threw herself into Balch’s arms. ‘‘Tim, Tim!’’ No wait- ing until they were alone, no sleeping on it before she spoke to him. She had to be close to him, physically close, this close, right now. “Tim, we've talked to them!”’ “That’s an understatement of what we’ve done, little Chang.” He chuckled. “I would say they’ve passed our intelligence: test, even without playing us chess, wouldn’t you? I hope we’ve passed theirs. Imagine what they’ll be able to do when they have some of our technology.” ‘I can’t. I know one thing, though: itll be different from what humans have done. We'll have a lot to learn from the nibblies. There’s one thing I don’t want to pick up from them, though.”’ She pulled his head down and whispered so no one else could hear. “I want to be married human- style, monogamously, to you.” He pressed his cheek against hers. ““You’ve figured that out, have you? That we can get married now?” “Yes, and you have, too. Tim, people will go to new stars, and new galaxies, and you'll help them go. But you won’t be on exploring ships, you'll be here, we’ll be here, on Four. That’s the important work, that’s what we both have to do. “Because when the first ship leaves for the Magellanic Clouds, there won’t be only humans aboard. The nibblies will go, too.” connicloooks. conn