Frank Herbert

“ Goré moved behind Francine, passing to the head of the table, but she kept her attention on Zakheim. He was a thick-bodied man, thick without fat, like the heaviness of a wrestler. His wide face and slanting pale blue eyes carried hints of Mongol ancestry. Rusty hair formed an uncombed brush atop his head.
Zakheim brought up his briefcase, flopped it onto the table, rested his hands on the dark leather. They were flat slab hands with thick fingers, pale wisps of hair growing down almost to the nails. ”

“ We have to look back to our childhood because all children are primitives. Every cell of a child knows the language of emotional movements—the clutching reflexes, the wails and contortions, the sensuous twistings, the gentle reassurances."
"And you say these people cannot lie," murmured Ohashi.
Francine felt the upsurge of happiness. It was still tainted by the death around her and the pain she knew was yet to come for her people, but the glow was there expanding. "The body," she said, and shook her head at the scowl of puzzlement on Ohashi's face. "The intellect...." ”

“ Langsmith put a hand on Speidel's arm. "Let Dr. Millar have her say."
"Emotion," muttered Speidel.
"Every spoken language of earth has migrated away from emotion," said Francine.
"Can you write an emotion on paper?" demanded Speidel.
"That does it," she said. "That really tears it! You're blind! You say language has to be written down. That's part of the magic! You're mind is tied in little knots by academic tradition! Language, General, is primarily oral! People like you, though, want to make it into ritual noise!" ”

“ Other experts say with equal emphasis that these gestures are ritual combat! Freud, indeed! They ooze betrayal. This chopping gesture they make with the right hand"—he chopped the air in illustration—"is identical to the karate or judo chop for breaking the human neck!"
Francine shook her head, put a hand to her throat. She was momentarily overcome by a feeling of uncertainty.
Langsmith said: "That outward thrust they make with one hand: that's the motion of a sword being shoved into an opponent! They ooze betrayal all right!"
She looked from Langsmith to Speidel, back to Langsmith. ”

“ I think the Galactics' gestures may be their adjectives and adverbs—the full emotional content of their language."
"Emotion!" snapped Speidel. "Emotion isn't language!"
She repressed a surge of anger, said: "We're dealing with something completely outside our previous experience. We have to discard old ideas. We know that the habits of a native tongue set up a person's speaking responses. In fact, you can define language as the system of habits you reveal when you speak."
Speidel tapped his fingers on the table, stared at the door behind Francine. ”

“ Zakheim's brows drew down into a heavy frown. He fumbled with the clasp of his briefcase. "This is very dangerous," he grunted.
"Oh, Zak, you always say that!" said Francine. "Let's quit playing footsy!"
"I do not enjoy the thought of treason charges," muttered Zakheim.
"We all know our bosses are looking for an advantage," she said. "I'm tired of these sparring matches where we each try to get something from the others without giving anything away!"
"If your Dr. Langsmith or General Speidel found out what you were doing here, it would go hard for you, too," said Zakheim. ”

“ Francine watched in rapt silence. The dancing girl made short staccato hops, the tambourine jerking in front of her.
"It is reminiscent of some of the material on the Norse sagas," said Ohashi. "Battle with swords. Note the thrust and parry."
She nodded. "Yes." The dance stamped onward, then: "Wait! Re-run that last section."
Ohashi obeyed.
It started with a symbolic trek on camel-back: swaying, undulating. The dancing girl expressed longing for her warrior. How suggestive the motions of her hands along her hips, thought Francine. ”

“ Ohashi shook his head and sunlight flashed on his glasses. "I'm trying to understand," he said.
"I know you are," she said. "Hiko, all of our Earth languages have a bias toward insanity because they split off the concept of intellect from the concept of body. That's an over-simplification, but it will do for now. You get fragmentation this way, you see? Schizophrenia. These people now—" She gestured toward the silent Galactics. "—they have reunited body and intellect in their communication. A gestalten thing that requires the total being's participation. ”

“ Francine stared at him. "How do you know?"
Ohashi tapped his briefcase. "I have a device in here that reveals such things."
She swallowed a brief surge of anger. "Well, is it really important, Hiko?"
"Perhaps not." Ohashi took a deep, evenly controlled breath. "I did not tell you one other thing about the Buddhist monk."
"Oh. What did you omit?"
"He predicts that we will fail—that the human race will be destroyed. He is very old and very cynical for a monk. He thinks it is a good thing that all human striving must eventually come to an end." ”

“ Not words to decipher. Only example for recognition, to touch our memories and call them forth. What great teachers! What great masters of being!"
One of the Galactics stepped closer, gestured toward the area behind Francine. His movements and the intent were clear to her, interpreted through her new understanding.
The Galactic's wide lips moved. "You are being recorded," he said. "It would be an opportune moment to begin the education of your people—since all new things must have a point of birth." ”

“ If you see the truth of my message, if you see through to this place that I show you, then you will enter a higher order of existence: happier, sadder. Everything will take on more depth. You will feel more of all the things there are in this universe for us to feel. ”

“ They wanted me to blame the Galactics for Bob's death! They tried to build a lie in my mind until I'd fall in with their plan. It's hard enough to die for an ideal, but to give up your life for a lie....
Anger coursed through her. She stopped on the steps, stood there shivering. A new feeling of futility replaced the anger. Tears blurred her vision. What can one lone woman do against such ruthless schemers?
Through her tears, she saw movement on the concourse: a man in civilian clothes crossing from right to left. Her mind registered the movement with only partial awareness: man stops, points. ”

“ Langsmith said: "The Galactics are used to seeing her with that cart. If we change now, they're liable to become suspicious."
"We'll set up some other plan, then," said Speidel. "As far as I'm concerned, we can write off any possibility of further cooperation from her."
"You're little boys playing a game," said Francine. "This isn't an exclusive American problem. This is a human problem that involves every nation on Earth."
"That ship is on United States soil," said Speidel.
"Which happens to be on the only planet controlled by the human species," she said. ”

“ Zakheim's voice was edged with bitter irony.
"We are approaching this the wrong way," said Francine. She felt let down, spoke with a conscious effort. "Our access to these Galactics is limited by the space they've opened to us within their vessel."
"What is in the rest of the ship?" asked Zakheim.
"Rewards, perhaps," said Goré.
"Or weapons to demolish us!" snapped Zakheim.
"The pattern of the sessions is wrong, too," said Francine.
Ohashi nodded. "Twelve hours a day is not enough," he said. "We should have them under constant observation." ”

“ Ohashi gathered up a stack of film cans, left the room. He knocked out his pipe on a "No Smoking" sign beside the door as he left.
"Consonants," whispered Francine. "The ancient alphabets were almost exclusively made up of consonants. Vowels came later. They were the softeners, the swayers." She chewed at her lower lip. "Language constricts the ways you can think." She rubbed at her forehead. "Oh, if I only had Bob's ability with languages!"
She tapped her fingers on the chair arm. "It has something to do with our emphasis on things rather than on people and the things people do. ”

“ They regret their threat. Even their display of power—admittedly awe-inspiring—has the significant characteristic of non-violence. No explosion. They offer rewards for success, and this...."
"Rewards!" snorted Zakheim. "We lead the hog to its slaughter with a promise of food!"
"I suggest that they give evidence of being non-violent," said Ohashi. "Either that, or they have cleverly arranged themselves to present the face of non-violence."
Francine turned, and looked out the hut's end window at the bulk of the spaceship. The low sun cast elongated shadows of the ship across the sand. ”

“ We have been able to make out the landing rockets of more than five hundred space craft!"
"What do you think of that?" asked Langsmith. He nodded behind his smoke screen.
She could only stare at him; her lips ashen.
"These frogs have massed an invasion fleet on the moon!" snapped Speidel. "It's obvious!"
They're lying to me! she thought. Why this elaborate pretense? She shook her head, and something her husband had once said leapt unbidden into her mind: "Language clutches at us with unseen fingers. It conditions us to the way others are thinking. ”

“ The arms were articulated like a human's, but they were more graceful in movement. The skin was pale green, the neck thick and short. The wide mouth was almost lipless, the nose a mere blunt horn. The eyes were large and spaced wide with nictating lids. No hair, but a high crowned ridge from the center of the forehead swept back across the head.
"I knew a Hawaiian distance swimmer once who looked much like these Galactics," said Ohashi. He wet his lips with his tongue. "You know, today we had a Buddhist monk from Java at our meeting with Kobai." ”

“ She blinked back tears. "You're trying to confuse me!" And a favorite saying of her husband's came into her mind: "A conference is a group of people making a difficult job out of what one person could do easily." The room suddenly seemed too close and oppressive.
"Why have I been dragged into this conference?" she demanded. "Why?"
"We were hoping you'd assist us in capturing that space ship," said Langsmith.
"Me? Assist you in...."
"Someone has to get a bomb past the force screens at the door—the ones that keep sand and dirt out of the ship. We've got to have a bomb inside." ”

“ Dr. Langsmith ... a computer's no better than what's put into it. I'm certain that we're stepping out into a region here where we'll have to build up a whole new approach to language."
"Now, don't you worry," said Langsmith. He frowned. "No ... don't worry about this."
"Shall we go ahead with what we're doing then?" she asked. "I mean—do we have permission to?"
"Yes, yes ... of course." Langsmith wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "General Speidel has called a special meeting tomorrow morning. I'd like to have you attend. I'll send somebody to pick you up." ”

“ But oddly enough beating the enemy has frequently been overlooked by commanders who got too involved in complicated maneuvers."
"Are you suggesting that the Galactics are enemies?"
She shook her head indignantly. "I am not! I'm suggesting that language is primarily an instinctive social reflex. The least common denominator of a social problem is a human being. ”

“ Mrs. Francine Millar, clinical psychologist with the Indo-European Germanic-Root team, hurried across the bare patch of trampled sand outside the spaceship's entrance. She bent her head against what was left of the windstorm. Under her left arm she carried her briefcase tucked up like a football. Her other hand carried a rolled-up copy of that afternoon's Oregon Journal. The lead story said that Air Force jets had shot down a small private plane trying to sneak into the restricted area. Three unidentified men killed. ”

“ One of us will be available in each room.
"Your problem: To communicate with us.
"If you succeed, your rewards will be great.
"If you fail, that will result in destruction for all sentient life on your planet.
"We announce this threat with the deepest regret. You are urged to examine Eniwetok atoll for a small display of our power. Your artificial satellites have been removed from the skies.
"You must break away from this limited communication!"
Eniwetok had been cleared off flat as a table at one thousand feet depth ... with no trace of explosion! ”