“We first met at the ssalssit essendi between our Houses,” Agnosk replied. “Like yours, his people found a way to make the ritual egg exchange possible in order to cement the alliance.”
“So, the Stragori are not an enemy that Trokerk and Daisy Hub have in common,” Drew reasoned. “Instead, Trokerk is an ally that Daisy Hub and the Stragori have in common.”
Agnosk bowed slightly from the shoulders. “You understand. And, with respect, Hak’kor, I am needed on my ship.”
Of course. And Townsend was needed up on A Deck, where there was still the leave-taking ceremony to go through before DeVries could move the Krronn and the Nannssi outside the range of the sensor field and send them on their way. But Drew had many questions, to which he was now certain Karlov had the answers. At the earliest opportunity, he decided, they would have to have a very long and thorough conversation.
— «» —
Once again, the separation and reconnection went without a hiccup. When the Nandrian ships had departed, most of the senior staff accompanied DeVries to the caf for a well-earned reward from Jensen’s private distillery. Hagman and Deniro excused themselves to finally get some sleep. The Doc checked O’Malley over and declared him fit to return to restricted duty. After that, Holchuk escorted Karlov up to AdComm to answer some questions, with Lydia at her console and the Doc hovering nearby serving as additional witnesses to the discussion.
Karlov’s recuperative powers were astonishing. Watching him step out of the tube car and stride to the guest chair waiting for him in front of Drew’s desk, no one would ever suspect that not too many hours earlier, this man’s body had been flooded with the strongest sedative in the Doc’s pharmacy.
“Ssalssit essendi,” Townsend repeated, staring thoughtfully at him. “So, there’s a formal alliance between Trokerk and the Stragori.”
“Has been for some time,” Karlov replied, then returned in the same conversational tone, “And you’re a Hak’kor. So, Daisy Hub has declared itself a House and is also allied with the Nandrians. Does your friend on Earth know about this?”
Instead of answering, Drew countered, “Does he know what you really are? What your actual mission is aboard Daisy Hub? Remember, I cautioned you earlier about the consequences of withholding information.”
A smile tugged at the corners of Karlov’s mouth. “Yes, you did. Perhaps I should have issued the same warning to you.”
Perhaps he should have, Townsend privately conceded. Not that it would have made a difference, since Agnosk’s endorsement was the only reason either of them had to trust the other right now, and it was a shaky sort of trust at best.
“I knew you weren’t capable of uploading a living consciousness into a machine,” Karlov continued. “Still, it was an impressive show.”
“And you demonstrated your appreciation by murdering the avatar of the crew member who shared the program with you,” Townsend informed him sternly. “Burned him alive.”
“Ah! That explains the restraints. My sincerest apologies. Unfortunately, I had no way of knowing that I wasn’t alone in there.” He turned to address the Doc. “Is he going to be all right?”
Absently massaging her wrist, she replied with a scowl, “Eventually.”
He dipped his head, visibly relieved. “I’m curious, Mr. Townsend. If you’re a Hak’kor, then you’ve been through ssalssit essendi. Given the rather primitive level of your scientific technology compared to ours, how did you manage to fulfil the egg exchange requirement?”
“How did you do it?”
“Our scientists blended the two genomes, creating identical twins with the physical characteristics of both species. We kept one child and gave Trokerk the other. Your turn.”
“Our scientific technology isn’t as primitive as you think. We’re exchanging clones of our respective tseritsas.”
Suddenly attentive, Karlov demanded, “You have a tseritsa?”
Drew leaned forward. “It’s not a living staff. It’s a rat.” In a low, intense voice, he added, “The one you came to steal.”
Karlov’s eyebrows shot up. “The rat is your tseritsa? But it would have to be—”
“Immortal,” supplied the Doc with a faint smile. The smile broadened, becoming positively smug, as a shocked expression swept across his features.
“It’s not a trick,” Drew assured him. “Yoko has already lived eight times longer than any rat normally would. She’s the result of years of scientific experimentation by one of the most brilliant Human minds of this century.”
“And that explains a great deal,” said Karlov thoughtfully.
Standing behind him, Holchuk clapped a hand on the other man’s shoulder, then put his lips close to Karlov’s ear and inquired, “Are you saying you didn’t know why you’d been sent to Daisy Hub to steal her?”
“No, I always knew why the Directorate wanted me to collect her — and, believe me, if they’d known she was your tseritsa that order would never have been given. But now that you’ve explained her true nature, I understand why the radical faction would be so interested in her.”
Townsend and the Doc traded confused looks. “You’d better explain that,” Drew told him.
“On Earth, you have the Relocation Authority,” said Karlov. “It’s a group of individuals who decide for the entire population where you will live, where you will work, whether you will travel, and how well and easily you will live. And many Humans wish it didn’t exist.”
It wasn’t a question. In the stunned silence that followed his words, he continued, “We have much the same situation on Stragon, with the Directorate. Most of our people feel that it no longer serves a useful purpose, but there is disagreement over what action to take. The radical faction wants to eliminate the Directorate altogether, simply pull the plug. The moderate faction, the one I belong to, is pushing instead for controls to be put in place that would limit its power over our lives. Lately, support for the radical faction has been growing.”
“And why should the politics on Stragon be any of our concern?” said Drew.
“Because the battle between the two factions has spilled over onto your home world as well. Human and Stragori society have a great deal in common.”
The Doc cleared her throat loudly and said, “Yes, we do. And you know the reason for that, don’t you, Mr. Karlov?” To Drew, she continued, “I took a closer look at Akiko, the black and white rat that he brought to the Hub. She was carrying an encrypted message in the form of a retrovirus, which Lydia was able to partially decode.”
Lydia had quietly crossed the deck and slipped unnoticed around the end of the filing cabinet partition. Now, as all eyes turned toward her, she approached Townsend’s desk and dropped a printout in front of him. “I’m sorry, Drew,” she said. “We should have told you earlier, but there was so much going on—”
Waving her silent, he quickly read through the text. He read it a second time to be sure he understood it. Then, deliberately replacing the page on his desktop, he took a calming breath, noting distractedly that everyone else in the room appeared to be holding theirs. Once he knew he could trust his voice, he asked, “Do we know where this message came from, and who the intended recipient is?”
“The method of encryption is one that Nayo Naguchi was working on before he died,” replied the Doc. “He would only have shared it with someone he trusted. As for the recipient, I’m not convinced there is one. The information was most likely sent here for safekeeping only, in which case we were never meant to decipher it at all.”
She gave herself too little credit. Or perhaps she was just being careful about what she revealed around Karlov. Well, thought Drew, for good or ill, this particular cat had crawled too far out of its bag for any of them to be worrying about what a Stragori agent did or didn’t overhear.
“But you did decode it, Doctor,” he pointed out, “and now I have even more questi
ons for the man who has been so zealously protective of the animal that carried it here.” Getting to his feet, Townsend leaned over his desk, glared at his guest, and demanded in a voice that felt and sounded as though something punishing was being pulled through his throat, “Which are we, Karlov? Is Humanity the control group, or are we the ones who were left behind to be experimented on?”
For a long, tense moment, they watched Karlov debate with himself whether to answer. Finally, he said, “We were the control group. And to answer your next question, we know this because the word stragori means ‘control group’ in the language of the race that conducted the experiments.”
“So I was right,” murmured the Doc. “Genetically, the Stragori are Human.”
“But only genetically,” Karlov informed her stiffly. “In all other respects, we are alien to each other, and the Directorate—” He fell silent.
“The Directorate wants to keep it that way. Am I right?” Lydia sank slowly onto the chair beside him. “But you don’t agree. You’ve been dropping hints about who you really are — who the Stragori really are — ever since you arrived. You knew what that document said. You wanted us to make the connection with ancient Earth. That’s why you baked those cookies.”
Predictably, his spine went rigid with denial; but Townsend was skilled at reading tells, and Karlov’s good eye was giving him quite the opposite message.
“So, the Stragori are genetically Human. How long have you known?” Lydia asked gently. “You personally, I mean. When did you find out that Humans and Stragori are the same race? Did you know it when you first arrived on the Hub? Were you aware before you got here that your mission was to steal science from fellow Humans? Was that why you slipped up and said too much every once in a while? Because you wanted us to stop you from carrying out that mission?”
Staring straight ahead, Karlov sat tall and replied firmly, “No. I’m a loyal soldier, and a soldier follows orders without question.”
“Of course, you do,” she soothed, “until you receive one that clearly came from an irrational mind, an order that flies in the face of reality. An order that you can’t carry out without violating everything that makes you who you are. Is that why the Directorate has fallen into disfavor with the Stragori people? Because it has lost touch with reality? Because its orders no longer make sense? Like stealing science from a race that is technologically inferior to your own?”
Now he turned his head and glared directly into her eyes. “The Directorate is not insane. It has a tighter grip on reality than you do. And you have no idea how much you owe it.” Again, he fell silent.
“Then enlighten us,” Townsend commanded, moving to stand in front of his desk and taking over the interrogation once more. “You keep claiming that you’re here to protect, but you refuse to tell us from what. So far, we’ve seen you commit assault and murder, and you’ve admitted to planning a theft. By what twisted definition could that possibly be considered protection?”
Karlov’s cat had all four feet on the ground now, and the expression on his face said he knew it. Exhaling a gusty breath that seemed to force him back against his chair, he told them, “You want the truth? All right. If anyone on Stragon knew I was telling you this, I would be executed without a tribunal. Where do you think the blueprint for the Reorganization came from? Why do you suppose the powers of the Relocation Authority were expanded to permit a rapid colonization program? Pandemics were decimating your population on Earth. Each one diminished your race intellectually and creatively. Humans had to go out into space, as quickly as possible, in order to preserve your future. So, the Directorate placed agents on your world to ensure that it would happen.
“There have been Stragori on Earth for a very long time, Mr. Townsend. As we are now learning, some of them belong to the radical faction. They’re actively working against the Directorate, and they’re looking for Human allies to join their cause.”
“And you said they’re interested in Yoko?” the Doc interjected.
“They’re interested in anything they can use to prove that the Directorate is on the wrong path,” said Karlov. “The radicals obviously know what you have here on Daisy Hub, since they’ve already made one attempt to acquire Yoko.”
“And you were assigned to make a second attempt,” Holchuk pointed out, scowling. “I don’t see much difference.”
“I guess you wouldn’t, not at this end. But there’s a huge difference on Stragon. There are moderates and radicals with competing agendas in every segment of Stragori society, and many have chosen not to advertise which side they’re on. The first agent the Directorate sent here finally revealed himself to be a radical. You know who I’m talking about.”
“Nestor Quan?” Drew replied. “He claimed to be working for a European gene broker. We sent him away empty-handed.”
“With Nandrian assistance,” chimed in Holchuk.
“You’re in a difficult position,” Karlov conceded. “Revealing your alliance with the Nandrians and Yoko’s status as tseritsa would eliminate the threat of any further Stragori incursion; however, it would probably draw a hostile response from your own planetary government, once word got back to Earth.”
“And that’s why the alliance is secret, and will remain that way for as long as possible,” said Drew pleasantly. “Unless you plan to betray us?”
Behind Karlov’s chair, Holchuk had begun mouthing the word airlock.
The alien grinned. “Not at all. You wanted to know by what definition my presence aboard your station constitutes protection. I’m giving you an answer. I’m a moderate, sent by the Directorate as part of a plan to protect Humanity.”
“By taking Yoko?” the Doc reminded them indignantly.
The grin broadened. “By keeping her out of radical hands in whatever way turns out to be the best. As long as the Directorate stands, your future remains assured.”
So, not only was Yoko a living staff, she had also become a political football. Wasn’t that just wonderful, thought Townsend darkly.
“One more question,” Lydia said. “If the Nandrians are your allies, why have you been so keen to practice killing them?”
The grin spread to Karlov’s good eye. “It’s simple. In thousands of years, no non-Nandrian has ever scored a point in tekl’hananni. I plan to be the first.”
— «» —
Anyone who thought the worst was over was kidding himself. As the others would soon find out, the hard work had just begun.
Lydia and the ratkeeper were waiting for Townsend in the caf as ordered, sipping from huge mugs of Jensen’s most potent brew. As he joined them at the table farthest from the door, Lydia pushed a third java, already poured, in front of him. He lifted it and took a slow swallow, studying O’Malley’s expression over the rim of his cup. The kid had aged. Not physically, with gray hair and wrinkles, but it seemed to Drew as though the blaze that had consumed the ratkeeper’s avatar had also burned away most of his youthful cockiness. It was a saddening thought.
“How are you feeling, O’Malley? Are you ready to work?”
He shrugged. “I’m a little numb and tingly here and there, but the Doc says it will pass.”
“Good. I’ve got three jobs for you, and one of them’s a con.”
That reignited the spark in his eyes. “The same mark?”
“I figured you’d appreciate another crack at him. First of all, though, you need to restore U-Town to the way you found it, or Teri is liable to put you right back in the Trauma room. She’s in full-blown withdrawal right now and giving everyone grief.”
O’Malley chuckled. “Sure thing. And the second job, boss?”
“Were you serious when you told me you’d hacked the Galactic database and begun copying records to our system?”
“Absolutely. We’re up to nearly thirty percent.”
“I want you to find out all you can about the Stragor
i home world, Stragon. I want everything Karlov told us today checked and double-checked, and I want you to let me know immediately if there’s any kind of discrepancy.”
Lydia’s eyes widened briefly. “You don’t trust him. Even after Agnosk said—”
“Agnosk was talking about honor. Karlov just came right out and told us where his loyalty lies, and it’s not with Earth or Daisy Hub. I think we can be fairly certain that he still hasn’t told us the whole truth, about anything. That’s where the con comes in.”
“What’s my part?” said O’Malley.
“Essentially the same as it was before, but minus the SPA room and the arson. By now he knows that you’re the one he set on fire in U-Town. He’ll be expecting hostility from you, maybe even revenge, so his guard will be up. You’ll need to give an award-winning performance in order to get past those watchdogs. Convince him that you’re not carrying a grudge, that you realize he’s part of the team now. After all, Daisy Hub is a small place and you’ll probably end up working together at some point, so the best thing to do is let bygones be bygones. Once you’re past his defenses, keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t be too friendly or ask too many questions — that’s how you got in trouble before. Karlov relaxes and lets information slip out from time to time. Just be easy to get along with and listen carefully to everything he says.”
“And double-check it before reporting anything to you. Got it.”
As they watched O’Malley leave the caf, Lydia murmured to Drew, “Karlov isn’t the only mark this time, is he?”
Townsend feigned horrified indignation. “Why, Ms. Garfield! I’m shocked that you would even suggest — whatever it is you’re suggesting!”
Arching a knowing eyebrow, she took another swallow of her java.
“Now let’s talk about you,” he said.
She arranged her features into an expression of puzzlement. “What about me?”
“You’re a trained interrogator, Ms. Garfield.” When she didn’t respond, he continued, “In my years as a field investigator, I questioned hundreds of suspects. I had one of the highest confession rates in the precinct, so I was obviously good at it. But the way you softened Karlov up earlier today was impressive. You slipped into that conversation as cold and smooth as ice and took his legs out from under him, and you did it without once raising your voice or even moving a muscle.”
The Relativity Bomb Page 26