done all the negotiating and left me in the dark."
"You said you didn't want to know. You said you couldn't betray what you didn't know."
"I wish I didn't know even as much as I do. So what are we going to do?"
"What can we do? We wait."
"For them to put a noose around our necks and pull the lever that drops the floor from under us?"
"Hopefully not. I'm hoping TGP can't come up with a successful formula."
"You signed an agreement with them hoping they would fail?"
"I've only begun hoping they would fail since I learned Christa knew about the agreement. I thought no one would ever be able to trace the leaked data back to us. I hoped they'd think one of the archeologists on the planet found a buried cache of papers and sold them for a small fortune to a Raider buyer."
"Maybe we should get an assassin to kill Carver."
"That was tried once, remember? She has more lives than a rignoo. Besides, it's obvious that others know now."
"Then why haven't they arrested us?"
"Because we haven't actually committed a crime yet."
"No? What about conspiracy to commit sedition?"
"Since we haven't been accepted yet as a member nation by the GA, we can't be charged with mere conspiracy about anything. We actually have to turn over documents. I checked the law to be sure."
"There has to be something we can do. Let's cancel the agreement."
"I tried. TGP said that if I don't follow through they'll allow the signed document to fall into the hands of the media."
"But you just said the GA can't charge us with conspiracy."
"They can't, but they can make the allegations public. It would ruin our careers overnight. We'd be recalled from office and disgraced. We wouldn't be able to get a job sweeping out the offices."
"That's a sight better than a date with a noose."
"I'm trying to find a way out that lets us miss any appointment with a hangman and gets us the solution to the sterility problem."
"And what have you found so far?"
"Nothing yet, but I'm still working on it. Now get out of here and let me think. Your minute was up five minutes ago."
----
Chapter Seven
~ October 28 th , 2288 ~
"Perfect, Your Grace. You're right on time."
"Did we have an appointment, Mr. Wilkerson?"
"Uh, no. But I'm glad you're here. I've just put the finishing touches on the first experimental collar with the translation circuitry fully incorporated into the collar. It's a bit bulky, but it's the best I'm capable of producing with the equipment I have. I've built a new receiver as well. Cayla and Tayna have been incredible. Thor has helped considerably. And even Nicky has finally begun to participate. I think he might have been a little embarrassed that everyone else was helping while he just sat back and watched."
"Is this the new receiving unit?" Jenetta asked, pointing to a large metal box on the table.
"That? Oh, no. That's a power supply for a micro laser cutting tool. " Wilkerson held out a tiny bit of plastic that had a curved extension attached. "Here's the new receiving unit. It fits over the ear. Try it."
Jenetta placed the unit on her left ear. "Like this?"
"Yes. Now ask Cayla a question."
"Um, Cayla, are you hungry?"
The Jumaka looked at Jenetta and made a noise in her throat. Jenetta heard. "No, Jenta. Ate breakfast already."
Jenetta's face lit up. "It's wonderful, Mr. Wilkerson. Absolutely wonderful."
Wilkerson smiled widely. He had a receiving unit over his ear, so he'd heard the response. "I'll have to tweak the translation circuit a little so your name comes out closer to the real phonetic sounding."
"Based on our previous conversations, I expected the first words to be something like, 'Ate.'"
"It seems that while I've been trying to learn from them, they've been learning from me as well. They never knew how their words would sound to us, but now that they can hear how their speech is converted into Amer, they're actually modifying the way they speak to us. During our lab time, I've had the speakers turned up so they can hear
"You said you didn't want to know. You said you couldn't betray what you didn't know."
"I wish I didn't know even as much as I do. So what are we going to do?"
"What can we do? We wait."
"For them to put a noose around our necks and pull the lever that drops the floor from under us?"
"Hopefully not. I'm hoping TGP can't come up with a successful formula."
"You signed an agreement with them hoping they would fail?"
"I've only begun hoping they would fail since I learned Christa knew about the agreement. I thought no one would ever be able to trace the leaked data back to us. I hoped they'd think one of the archeologists on the planet found a buried cache of papers and sold them for a small fortune to a Raider buyer."
"Maybe we should get an assassin to kill Carver."
"That was tried once, remember? She has more lives than a rignoo. Besides, it's obvious that others know now."
"Then why haven't they arrested us?"
"Because we haven't actually committed a crime yet."
"No? What about conspiracy to commit sedition?"
"Since we haven't been accepted yet as a member nation by the GA, we can't be charged with mere conspiracy about anything. We actually have to turn over documents. I checked the law to be sure."
"There has to be something we can do. Let's cancel the agreement."
"I tried. TGP said that if I don't follow through they'll allow the signed document to fall into the hands of the media."
"But you just said the GA can't charge us with conspiracy."
"They can't, but they can make the allegations public. It would ruin our careers overnight. We'd be recalled from office and disgraced. We wouldn't be able to get a job sweeping out the offices."
"That's a sight better than a date with a noose."
"I'm trying to find a way out that lets us miss any appointment with a hangman and gets us the solution to the sterility problem."
"And what have you found so far?"
"Nothing yet, but I'm still working on it. Now get out of here and let me think. Your minute was up five minutes ago."
----
Chapter Seven
~ October 28 th , 2288 ~
"Perfect, Your Grace. You're right on time."
"Did we have an appointment, Mr. Wilkerson?"
"Uh, no. But I'm glad you're here. I've just put the finishing touches on the first experimental collar with the translation circuitry fully incorporated into the collar. It's a bit bulky, but it's the best I'm capable of producing with the equipment I have. I've built a new receiver as well. Cayla and Tayna have been incredible. Thor has helped considerably. And even Nicky has finally begun to participate. I think he might have been a little embarrassed that everyone else was helping while he just sat back and watched."
"Is this the new receiving unit?" Jenetta asked, pointing to a large metal box on the table.
"That? Oh, no. That's a power supply for a micro laser cutting tool. " Wilkerson held out a tiny bit of plastic that had a curved extension attached. "Here's the new receiving unit. It fits over the ear. Try it."
Jenetta placed the unit on her left ear. "Like this?"
"Yes. Now ask Cayla a question."
"Um, Cayla, are you hungry?"
The Jumaka looked at Jenetta and made a noise in her throat. Jenetta heard. "No, Jenta. Ate breakfast already."
Jenetta's face lit up. "It's wonderful, Mr. Wilkerson. Absolutely wonderful."
Wilkerson smiled widely. He had a receiving unit over his ear, so he'd heard the response. "I'll have to tweak the translation circuit a little so your name comes out closer to the real phonetic sounding."
"Based on our previous conversations, I expected the first words to be something like, 'Ate.'"
"It seems that while I've been trying to learn from them, they've been learning from me as well. They never knew how their words would sound to us, but now that they can hear how their speech is converted into Amer, they're actually modifying the way they speak to us. During our lab time, I've had the speakers turned up so they can hear
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