about it, and I guess he was right.”
“Tell me if this affected your decision to accompany him,” said Gishora.
The human was silent for a moment. “Maybe a little,” he said. “I mean, that’s how Henri got the suit and that’s how come we both figured we wouldn’t get into any big trouble. But it wasn’t like he tried to bribe me or anything.” The human looked around the room, then back at Gishora. “I went along because I thought it was a cool project. Nobody made me go.”
“You said everyone could have access to your findings. Tell me if that includes military planners and government leaders.”
“Well, yeah, I guess. They can go to Henri’s site or watch his videos like everyone else. And all our data is technically property of UNICA or whoever, so I guess the Pentagon or the PLA could see whatever they want. Henri was French, so he was plugged into the whole Euro bureaucratic- corporate-intellectual network.”
It surprised Tizhos when Gishora asked about military planners. The question seemed obviously pointless. She spoke quickly to get in a question before Gishora could continue. “Tell me what you did to prevent contact with the native beings.”
“Well, like I said, we had the stealth suit and the camouflaged drones. I just had a regular suit, so I stayed way back with the impellers and watched Henri on video through a laser link. It would have worked, too—he got right up to them without being noticed. I guess he just got cocky and waded right into a group.”
Tizhos wanted to ask about the behavior of the Ilmatarans, but Gishora cut her off. “This suit,” he asked. “I would like you to tell us more about it.”
“I don’t know a whole lot. It was Russian navy surplus, I think. Henri said his pals back in Paris got it for him and shipped it out with the last supply payload. I don’t know if they bought it right from the Russians or whether it fell off the back of a truck.”
“Confirm for me that the word ’navy’ means a military organization,”saidGishora.
“Yeah. They sail around in ships and stuff. You know, on the ocean.”
“I do not understand why you ask these things,” Tizhos said to Gishora in their own language.
“Irona would ask them. A military force specialized for ocean warfare gave them this device, and major economic organizations stood to profit. We should not ignore this.”
“I lack your certainty. You may see connections where none exist.”
“If I fail to ask about such things, Irona’s faction will demand to know why not.”
“IT sucked. Big time.” Rob flopped down on his bed. Alicia began to massage his shoulders. “You are very tense.”
“That’s no surprise. I just spent four hours getting grilled by those two, and we’re not even finished yet. They want me back tomorrow. When am I supposed to sleep?”
“The Sholen don’t sleep, why should you?”
“They don’t? Bastards.” He tugged off his shirt so that she could get at the stiff muscles better.
“What did they ask you?”
“Jesus. Everything. I told them all about what happened with me and Henri, and then they started in like a couple of six-legged lawyers drinking espresso. One of them—the boss guy—was getting totally paranoid. All kinds of insinuating little questions, like the whole thing was part of some huge conspiracy.”
“Perhaps it is just the language barrier. They don’t know how to say things politely.”
“Maybe. But I swear it sounded like they were trying to pin something on me. Like they had an agenda. ”
“Robert”—she stopped kneading his neck—“I just had a horrible thought. What if you are right?”
“First time for everything.”
“No, I mean what if they have a—a mission to discredit the work we are doing here? The Sholen have always opposed our presence on Ilmatar.”
“Do a little media hit job on us? I can believe it. Dr. Sen’s been afraid of that all along, I think. Hey, you’re naked! I hadn’t
“Tell me if this affected your decision to accompany him,” said Gishora.
The human was silent for a moment. “Maybe a little,” he said. “I mean, that’s how Henri got the suit and that’s how come we both figured we wouldn’t get into any big trouble. But it wasn’t like he tried to bribe me or anything.” The human looked around the room, then back at Gishora. “I went along because I thought it was a cool project. Nobody made me go.”
“You said everyone could have access to your findings. Tell me if that includes military planners and government leaders.”
“Well, yeah, I guess. They can go to Henri’s site or watch his videos like everyone else. And all our data is technically property of UNICA or whoever, so I guess the Pentagon or the PLA could see whatever they want. Henri was French, so he was plugged into the whole Euro bureaucratic- corporate-intellectual network.”
It surprised Tizhos when Gishora asked about military planners. The question seemed obviously pointless. She spoke quickly to get in a question before Gishora could continue. “Tell me what you did to prevent contact with the native beings.”
“Well, like I said, we had the stealth suit and the camouflaged drones. I just had a regular suit, so I stayed way back with the impellers and watched Henri on video through a laser link. It would have worked, too—he got right up to them without being noticed. I guess he just got cocky and waded right into a group.”
Tizhos wanted to ask about the behavior of the Ilmatarans, but Gishora cut her off. “This suit,” he asked. “I would like you to tell us more about it.”
“I don’t know a whole lot. It was Russian navy surplus, I think. Henri said his pals back in Paris got it for him and shipped it out with the last supply payload. I don’t know if they bought it right from the Russians or whether it fell off the back of a truck.”
“Confirm for me that the word ’navy’ means a military organization,”saidGishora.
“Yeah. They sail around in ships and stuff. You know, on the ocean.”
“I do not understand why you ask these things,” Tizhos said to Gishora in their own language.
“Irona would ask them. A military force specialized for ocean warfare gave them this device, and major economic organizations stood to profit. We should not ignore this.”
“I lack your certainty. You may see connections where none exist.”
“If I fail to ask about such things, Irona’s faction will demand to know why not.”
“IT sucked. Big time.” Rob flopped down on his bed. Alicia began to massage his shoulders. “You are very tense.”
“That’s no surprise. I just spent four hours getting grilled by those two, and we’re not even finished yet. They want me back tomorrow. When am I supposed to sleep?”
“The Sholen don’t sleep, why should you?”
“They don’t? Bastards.” He tugged off his shirt so that she could get at the stiff muscles better.
“What did they ask you?”
“Jesus. Everything. I told them all about what happened with me and Henri, and then they started in like a couple of six-legged lawyers drinking espresso. One of them—the boss guy—was getting totally paranoid. All kinds of insinuating little questions, like the whole thing was part of some huge conspiracy.”
“Perhaps it is just the language barrier. They don’t know how to say things politely.”
“Maybe. But I swear it sounded like they were trying to pin something on me. Like they had an agenda. ”
“Robert”—she stopped kneading his neck—“I just had a horrible thought. What if you are right?”
“First time for everything.”
“No, I mean what if they have a—a mission to discredit the work we are doing here? The Sholen have always opposed our presence on Ilmatar.”
“Do a little media hit job on us? I can believe it. Dr. Sen’s been afraid of that all along, I think. Hey, you’re naked! I hadn’t
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