Page 9 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Unloading the Warehouse of Nim

zorkite for which the PKU would have bargained, but the Rulers
wanted nothing in return.
The payment for leasing the land on which the PKU training
center sat was made in dried chili peppers, a condiment favored by
the Nworg. The Cultivators had once grown a similar spice on Nim,
but knowledge of its culture had been lost during an outbreak of
plague some years before the PKU’s arrival. A much earlier epidemic
had completely wiped out the Engineers. Only the Rulers were
immune to the virus, and they lacked all skills save that of governing.
The total population had diminished considerably from its original
size.
The survivors, however, enjoyed a surprisingly high level of
physical comfort. Their homes had been constructed with care by the
Engineers, the production of food was more than adequate, and
every house had several Appliances. These were mechanical devices
designed to provide amusement for the Cultivators. Some displayed
patterns of colored light; some had moving parts which spun and
bounced; some reproduced Nworg music; others seemed to perform
simple physiotherapy. Since new Appliances continued to appear in
Nworg dwellings on a regular basis, the first PKU ethnographers had
wondered how they could still be manufactured if the Engineers had
all died out. The Rulers could not or would not say, and the PKU
was not allowed to probe more deeply.
Kaga reviewed these facts in his mind. After learning them, most
of the PKU cadets had little time to research any questions they
might have had about Nim. Their studies kept them busy and close
to the dormitory. All, that is, except Lugo. Both he and Kaga had
already been placed on probation for their antics at the Academy.
The previous year Lugo had released a Vornugian humming-rat in
the library; not long before that, Kaga had been caught off-base after
curfew in a pineal-enhancer club. They had received stern warnings,
and Kaga resolved to get through the rest of his training with a clean
record.
Lugo, however, could not contain himself. The mystery
surrounding the Appliances piqued his curiosity. When it came time
to test their Languexes, most of the young officers-in-training sought
out some minor Ruler and made small talk about the weather. Not
Lugo. He had headed out into the milgum fields surrounding the
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