The human spoke in a half-whisper as they were going through the jungle trying to skirt the edges of a hostile camp. Normally, they'd be 'kick backside and take names' but they were carrying a wounded havenworlder with them and could not risk their friend. Damnit, if only the life pod's transmitters had worked! No use for it, they knew where the rescue ship would be, but the hostiles were not going to make it easy.
Their friend then noticed the voice of their human, they'd heard it before, but hadn't quite believed their hearing. Now in the quiet, with just their human's whisper, they realized it fully. It was not one voice, it was two. One softer, slightly gravelly, one stronger. But also in tone, one higher pitched one lower.
Havenworlder: "How are you doing that?"
Human: "doing what?"
Havenworlder: "Two voices at the same time?"
Human: "Oh that's easy, one side of my voice box is tighter than the other, there's scarring there from when I got sick as a kid. Growing up in the DeRegger worlds was hell. I practiced to control it, it's natural to me now. You should hear it when I make myself sound like two different people all together." -- Anon Guest
[AN: The original Nonny who posted this is apparently capable of this feat and can also self-harmonise. Neat]
Humans talking to themselves was nothing new. Neither was the phenomenon of arguing with themselves. Humans doing voices was nothing new either. Having them sound realistic wasn't entirely novel, either. It was when Human Dors was muttering at opposite ends of vocal plausibility that Companion Grox began having a concern.
One voice was deep and gravelly, the other higher in tone and clearer. Neither were Human Dors' usual speaking voice. Sometimes, they overlapped each other as once voice interrupted the other. It was quite a trick.
Companion Gorx said, "How are you doing that?"
"Hsst," whispered Dors, hunkering down with Gorx in their arms. "There's flakkers in the way between crash and pickup. 'M tryin'a make 'em nervy."
"Ah?" Now it seemed like a mercy that Human Dors had hit her tranq button on the way down. Waking up in the middle of a conversation was not entirely unwelcome, but now there was unnerving news to go with the crash.
"They know they shot us down, the flakkers. They don't know how many were in the lifepod. Good news, the beacon worked. Bad news, it landed on a hillside on the other side of their camp."
"Any deaths?" asked Gorx.
"Zero on either side, far as I know. Our pod's the only one that needed an emergency landing. 'S just you an' me, fluffy. Well. You, me, and the fifty imaginary troopers I've managed to keep straight in my head. I'm being scouts, here. Making them think we're looking for a way around for the others, and the twenty delicious Havenworlders at a base camp some ludicrous number of kliks from here." Human Dors grinned. Pleased with their creativity. "With luck, we'll be picked up and far gone before they realise they've been trolled."
"Ah. That still does not answer my initial question."
"In a couple more kliks. Stay quiet, okay?"
Gorx nodded, doing her best to stay as still and as silent as if she were tranq'd. Listening to the narrative of Dors' two voices and bickering personalities. Staying quiet until Dors was sure they were well away.
By then, they were almost to the place where the beacon, torn away from the lifepod, had crashed. It was there, and close to there, that the rescue vessels would come looking.
"Okay. How I do that," sighed Dors. "I'm a Deregger rescue. You know that. One of the lost souls lucky enough to find a way to get out. What you don't know is... on my Dereg... they had people in the factories as soon as they were old enough to understand instructions. Punished if they didn't fill quota. Usual Deregger dung. That and the alleged air quality..." Dors shook their head and shrugged. Human shorthand for, you're better off not knowing. "I have asymmetrical scars on my vocal chords. I learned how to use two voices at once. Came in useful, once or twice."
"And once again," noted Gorx. "Does it hurt?"
Human Dors weighed their head from side to side as if trying to figure out an answer or measure time. "Eh. I don't really know any different by now, so... Can't really tell you."
Humans. They were walking mysteries.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / tilo]
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