Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
Everything sounds like snakes when you are expecting snakes.
Even the slamming of a car door and a human voice exclaiming 'Arthur!'
It was the door of Dr Yates's Jeep and the voice of Dr Yates.
What are you doing here, Arthur? says Dr Yates. You're going the wrong way.
Arthur looks hard at the zircon. The zircon stares back.
Another proof your powers are ineffectual, says Arthur.
Navigation? That wasn't in my brief, says the zircon.
Do you want a lift? says Dr Yates. I'm in a hurry. I have to head up north. They've found a fossilised skeleton of a giant wombat. A most exciting find! There may be evidence of human interaction.
No thanks, says Arthur. I'm in the middle of hallucinating. I'm fighting Malingees.
That's no hallucination, says Dr Yates. I can see them too. As a rule it's better to avoid them.
See, Arthur! says the zircon. They're real.
YE-HE! says the first Malingee, the simple one.
But not real in the sense of physically existing, says the scientific Malingee. We are evil spirits! We conjure you to go away! BWAAH!
Get in, Arthur, says Dr Yates. We'll put the bicycle in the back.
Alright, says Arthur. Where are the others?
Back at the Gemtree Caravan Park with Ageless, says Dr Yates. We'll pick them up and then go on to Alice Springs.
Arthur gets in.
I see you've still got the zircon, says Dr Yates. Gaius was very knowledgeable about it. Any evidence of its protective powers?
No, says Arthur. But it's already learned to reason, and its vocabulary is growing by the hour.
The zircon glows with secret pride, in Arthur's hand.
They drive off down the road into the darkness.
The Malingees see something shining on the road just where the Jeep had stopped.
They move forward silently. No need to rattle their knees now the humans have gone.
Shit! says the first Malingee.
YE-HE! says the second one.
Their smouldering red eyes look up at Bahloo the moon, and down again at what is on the road.
Three deadly snakes.
Squashed dead.
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