Chapter 31
Aria: “the wisdom we have lost in knowledge”
Miss Gerloch clucked her tongue. “If you insist on being late for your lessons, it would be better if the reason was that you lost track of time studying.” She moved to a different part of the map on the wall. “What do you know of this region?”
“Europe,” said Aria. “The western part of the Continent of Eurasia. The early flounders of this continent came from there, from old countries known as Spain, France, and England.”
“All of them?” Miss Gerloch regarded her, watching for the first hint of hesitation.
Aria sighed. “No, not all of them. When the first settlers came across the ocean there were people here already, the Amerinds. They were mistakenly called Indians because Columbus had intended to discover a shorter route to the spices of India.”
“And how did they get here?”
“Some may have floated across Pacific ocean currents, but most came across a land bridge that existed during the last Ice Age. They came over from north eastern Asia, to Alaska, then down the western coast of America.”
“You will no doubt be prepared to tell me that most of them were killed by the expansion of the colonists from the East, from Europe,” said Miss Gerloch. “Why?”
“Because the colonists wanted the land,” she answered. “The farmers cut down the forests for farmland, and then as the expansion continued westward, the ranchers displaced the Amerinds and took their land for fields to graze their cattle, and because of the valuable minerals like gold, copper, and oil under the land.”
No,” said Miss Gerloch. “That's not what I meant by 'why'. Why were the colonists from Europe able to do this? How is it they were able to wrest the land away from the indigenous peoples who knew it better, who had occupied it for at least a thousand years?”
“Then maybe you should have asked 'how',” said Aria. “The answer is technology. The locals had low tech based on bone, skins, leather and wood. They used weapons like bows and arrows and spears tipped with chipped points of stone. The invading settlers came from a higher level of technology that was already using iron and other metals, with steel knives, plows, and explosive-driven projectile weapons. The outcome was inevitable. Those Amerinds that were not absorbed by intermarriage were massacred by superior weapons.”
“Can you guess why I am asking you these things?” said Miss Gerloch.
“I have no idea,” said Aria. “This is all ancient history. You might as well be asking me about the Trojan War. I see no relevance at all.”
“When the Tourists came, they also had superior technology,” said Miss Gerloch. “So tell me, why didn't history repeat itself? Why didn't they take our planet? Why are we still here?”
Aria shrugged. “The situations were not the same,” she said.
Miss Gerloch locked eyes with her. “Why not? This time, we were the primitives.”
“Because they didn't want our planet. All they wanted was information, the total genetic catalog of our planet. They didn't need metals or land, because they were a space-inhabiting species. They could get all the metals and volatiles like water and oxygen from asteroids and ice moons. The one unique resource our planet has is its genetic database. And they could probably have gotten most of it without our help, but it was more efficient for them to trade with us for the genetic sequences.”
“Tell me something,” her tutor asked suddenly. “How do we know they ever left?”
Aria gaped at her. “I...I don't know,” she admitted. “It seems logical, since they stopped contacting us and left orbit.”
“Oh, come now,” Miss Gerloch countered. “You just told me they could get everything they needed in the Asteroid belt. So why wouldn't they just stay there instead of leaving our solar system?”
“They could have left some colonies behind. But the prevailing view is that they would have left to seek other planets full of genetic sequences to add to their collection.”
“Correct,” said Miss Gerloch. “That is the view that prevailed. But do we have any actual evidence that any of them really left the solar system? We do not. Have you ever considered that they could be lurking out there in our own asteroid belt, developing viruses and other bioweapons specifically engineered to exploit weaknesses in our own genomes?”
“That sounds pretty paranoid, given that they don't want our planet.”
“As far as we know. But maybe they just didn't want to fight us for it. Maybe they were willing to wait until they developed more efficient ways of removing us that would avoid risking their own population.”
Aria pondered that, and was about to answer when the door to the Map Room opened and her mother entered. “Take a break, Miss Gerloch. I need to speak with my daughter.”
“Of course.” The tutor picked up her copy of The Tourists and glided out into the corridor.
She faced her mother. “Well this is a surprise. What's up?”
“I'm told you went to the wizard's quarters this morning,” said the Governor. “Apparently my guards were under the impression that I sent you. We both know that isn't the case, so why did you really go?”
Eek! If she admitted it had to do with the prisoners, her mother would want to know how she even knew about them. “I heard we captured some Texans,” she said. “The building is buzzing with it. They say the Texans massacred some farmer and his family.”
Her mother frowned. “That's true, but the men were under orders not to gossip about it. The last thing we need right now is a lynch mob howling for summary executions instead of an orderly trial. Who did you hear this from?”
“It's not important,” Aria said quickly. “The reason I went to see Xander was to ask if he had a magic for telling truth from lies. I worried that with the threat of war looming, your staff might try to talk you into using torture to get at the truth quickly, and I wanted to offer you another option.”
“I'm the first person you should have come to,” the Governor said. “If you had, I could have assured you that we don't use torture in Rado. It doesn't ensure the truth of anything, often quite the opposite. A man in pain is liable to agree with whatever you suggest, or to make up something if you avoid leading questions. No one's getting tortured while I'm in charge.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. “What did he tell you?”
“Nothing. He wasn't there. But his apprentice Lester was, and he's learned to make himself invisible. So I snuck him into the outer room of the holding cell before my lesson with Miss Gerloch. We managed to get him in before your men brought the prisoners, so he might hear something useful when they talk among themselves.”
“I see,” said the Governor. “I also see that you and I are going to have a talk about proper procedures after this is over. Did he learn anything useful?”
“I don't know. He's probably still there, unable to open the door to leave without letting them know they're being spied on.” Aria took a breath. “It's been a while. Would you like me to go get him? I could pretend I walked in by mistake, and leave the door ajar so he can follow me out.”
Her mother considered it. “You shouldn't have done this without consulting me, but now that you have, yes, go and fetch him, and bring him here without talking to anyone else. No stopping to gossip. Is that clear?”
“Of course. I'll be back in a few minutes,” she said, and fled, counting herself lucky that had gone better than she had expected.
Pathspace Page 31