“Your hands,” said Umbo. “You have the jewels.”
“Come on,” said Rigg. “We’re in this together. Please.”
Umbo laughed. “Lighten up, Rigg. What else have we got to pass the time, if not taking down all the Walls in the world?”
“And finding out what they’re not telling us,” said Param. “Count on it, they’re still lying to us. You notice he’s not even denying it.”
The expendable regarded her calmly. “I’m not agreeing, either.”
“Which is just another form of lying,” said Param.
“You cannot lie,” said the expendable, “if you do not know the truth. You can only be wrong, or silent. I prefer silence to error, and since I do not know when I am in error, silence is the best choice unless I am forced to speak.”
“Not just a liar,” said Param, “but a philosopher.”
“Tell us the truth when we ask you questions,” said Rigg, “or whatever you believe to be the truth based on current information. And answer everybody’s questions, not just mine.”
“
All right,” said the expendable.
“What is your name?” Rigg asked the expendable.
“I don’t have a name,” said the expendable.
“But I need a name for you. And a name for the one I called Father.”
“The active expendable is referred to by the name of the wallfold in which he serves,” said the expendable.
“So what is the name of that wallfold? The one we were born in? The one we just left?”
“We call it Ramfold,” said the expendable. “So we call your active expendable ‘Ram.’”
“And this wallfold?” asked Umbo. “And your name?”
“Vadesh,” said the expendable. “This is Vadeshfold, and I am called Vadesh.”
“Did you notice that he actually answered somebody who wasn’t me?” said Rigg. “That’s progress.”
“Is there fresh water around here?” asked Loaf. “Drinkable water? Clean water? Safe water? In quantities we can use to refill our water bags—do I need to be more specific?”
“I’ll lead you to water,” said Vadesh. “But I can’t make you drink.”
Rigg looked at the others, puzzled, then turned back to Vadesh. “Why would you say that? Why would you need to make us drink?”
“It’s an old saying,” said Vadesh. “On Earth, the world where the human race was born. In one of the languages of Earth. It is twelve thousand years old. ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.’”
“Thank you for the history lesson,” said Olivenko.
“And the lesson in equine behavior,” said Param.
Rigg chuckled at their ironic humor as Vadesh led them away from the Wall, toward a not-so-distant line of trees. But he noticed that Vadesh made no comment on their jests, and a thought occurred to him. “Vadesh,” he said, “your references to the world where humans came from, and teaching us a saying from twelve thousand years ago. Is there some reason why we might need to know about Earth?”
“Yes,” said Vadesh.
“And what is that reason?” asked Rigg.
Vadesh said nothing.