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"Is?" Mendin repeated. "I thought you said the fire-lizard isn't a threat?"
"We don't know why the fire-lizard or the queen dragon found their way back
to
us," Emorra replied. "They both appear to have come from about the same time,
and there are indications that they had the same human partner."
"And that the partner was a rider at Benden Weyr," M'hall added.
"Somewhere in the future, dragons are dying," L'can marveled mournfully.
"But that's not an issue for us!" Mendin declared. "I'm sorry to hear about
it,
but we have issues we need to deal with today."
"And this is one of them," Emorra declared fiercely. "Twice now we've been
lucky." She nodded toward M'hall and the Weyrleaders. "Every Weyr is now on
guard against any other dragons falling out of the future, but it just takes
one
and the illness could spread here."
"No, it can't," Tieran said to himself. He flushed as the others all looked
at
him. He shrugged. "If the illness spreads here, then there will be no dragons
from the future."
"Could you explain?" M'hall asked, gesturing invitingly.
"If the illness comes back in time," Tieran replied, "there are two
possibilities-either all the dragons will succumb and there will be no more
dragons in the future, or the dragons will get better and pass their immunity
on, so there will be no sick dragons in the future."
"I'm afraid there is a third possibility," Wind Blossom said. Everyone turned
to
her. "It is possible that the queen from the future is a modified
watch-wher."
"What?" Mendin shouted. "A watch-wher?"
"I have only completed some preliminary evaluations," she continued
unperturbedly, "but I have noticed signs of genetic manipulation in the
queen's
genetic code."
"But if our descendants could manipulate genetic material, wouldn't they be
able
to cure this illness in the future?" Mendin asked.
"You are supposing that detailed knowledge of genetics, particularly Pernese
genetics, and the tools to manipulate Pernese genetic code would be available
four centuries from now," Emorra said. She turned to him. "Tell me, Lord
Mendin,
how many base-pairs are there in the Pernese genetic code?"
"Why would I need to know that?" Mendin spluttered indignantly.
"Precisely," Emorra replied. "Why would anyone need to know that four hundred
years in the future?"
Mendin waved a hand to the Weyrleaders. "Perhaps they would know it."
"I don't know it now," M'hall confessed. He glanced at the other Weyrleaders,
who also professed ignorance. "I am more concerned with fighting Thread and
maintaining a Weyr than the genetic code of the dragons." He glanced at
Emorra.
"It would seem that the College would retain this knowledge."
Emorra shook her head. "I doubt it, Weyrleader," she said. "Even now there
are
only three people in this room who can answer my question: myself, my mother,
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and Tieran."
"What about Janir, surely he knows this!" Mendin objected.
Janir shook his head. "I know a little about terrestrial genetics, but I
specialize in human medicine."
"Statistically, if only three people know something now," Emorra said, "then
there is a very high likelihood that that knowledge will not survive into the
next generation, let alone four centuries from now."
"So the dragon from the future can't be genetically modified," Mendin
declared.
He sat back in his chair and looked around at the other Lord Holders
triumphantly.
"That is not necessarily so," Emorra replied.
"How so?" Mendin demanded, sitting upright once more.
"It is possible," Wind Blossom began, then paused, looking at Emorra for her
consent. "It is possible that the genetic modifications were provided by one
of
us and not used until this future time."
M'hall made a thoughtful face. "Are you suggesting that we dragonriders bring
one of you forward in time four centuries?"
"Is that even possible?" Mendin murmured.
"It is possible," Wind Blossom conceded with a nod. Then she turned her gaze
to
M'hall and the Weyrleaders. "I don't think it is advisable."
M'hall gestured for her to enlighten them.
"You have observed that there is a great deal of physical stress associated
with
traveling between, particularly between times. I do not think that I could
handle such a prolonged strain," Wind Blossom said. She glanced
apologetically
at Emorra and Tieran before adding, "And while I don't doubt their efforts, I
believe that neither Tieran nor Emorra would be up to the scientific
challenge."
She paused to give Tieran and Emorra a chance to demur. When they remained
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