"So we discussed the ultimatum. There really wasn't any question of our crew accepting prisoner status. What choice did we have? Eunice and Lance, they hatched a plan to get you safe. They figured that it was really the two of them that Morhal wanted. And you. The three of you. They for their science and you..." Ralph's face turned red and he looked away. "You were a kid. That's why they wanted you," he said quickly. I didn't believe him. The look on his face said there was more to it, but he rushed on.
"Your folks wanted to get you safe. They love you, Jake. More than you can ever know. You have no idea the torture they put themselves through the first few days after the terms of surrender were presented to them. They were in a full panic at the idea of you being forever a prisoner of Laak'sa. Whatever else you think, you have to know that. Their fear was very real. It's the only thing that could have made them send you away."
I did believe that. In spite of everything else, I believed Ralph on that point.
"The crew, we all backed your folks. Well, everyone but Xavier. We voted to let your folks go ahead with their plan. Your mother convinced Morhal that the fah'ti would need reconditioning to read our data."
I had a hard time believing that, since they were so far ahead of us, and didn't mind telling him. "Please! There's no way Morhal would ever swallow that line. You know how much more advanced they are."
"It wasn't a lie," he insisted. "A good thing, too, since your mother is horrible at lying." I couldn't argue with that. "As to them being more advanced, sure. In some things. But there are gaps. Some pretty boneheaded ones, if you look at it one way. Knowledge is never absolute. And it's not even lateral. Do you know what I mean by that?" No. "Say you have a problem. We'll use a simple one. There is an apple and it needs to be peeled. One person picks it up and uses a knife to remove the rind. But is that the only way? No. Another person could see that same problem, but not have a knife, and decide to smash the apple, pulling the bits away from the peeling as they did so. Or another could break the apple in half and scoop the fruit out because they only had a spoon. Each way completes the task. But each had tremendously different outcomes, and each person learns a unique set of data from their endeavor.
"Now, it's not an apple that needs peeling, it's a galaxy that needs exploring. Or a solar system. Hell, the start of it was the very own planet. Each with an intelligent race, sure, but each race faced with different challenges. The very physicality of the Qitani demonstrates that. Their bones are far more aerated than ours, their muscle mass much lighter with pockets of air between the layers. Why?"
I didn't want a science lesson. "I don't see how that matters."
"Because of their environment," he said in answer to his own question as if I hadn't spoken at all. "It's all marsh. They are surrounded by water. Even their dry land isn't that dry. And while now they've figured out how to travel, how to build, how to successfully live, their bodies, genetics, minds, instincts...they come from a completely different starting point than ours."
"So." I was not in a mood to humor him.
"So, there are gaps. Take sand, for one. That's how we were able to perfect our hover technology. We wanted to cross deserts to attack enemies, but not fly high enough to be caught on radar. Our environment and a need to overcome it lead to the hover tech. On Laak'sa, though, even their most advanced on-land transports needed take-off space. They fly, they don't hover. Why? Because the idea of flight didn't even start until they had solid placed to live established. And once they did, they built up and up, not out into the unconquered marshes. No need. And yet, a hovering craft would make it possible for them to take off and land even in the middle of the swamp, would it not?" He waved a hand. "You get the picture, even if you're giving me that look. The more they found out about us, and what we know, the more they learned what they had overlooked. It went a long way to making them even more leery of us. They're a prideful people, Jake. And it stung when they found out there was a whole universe of thought out there they hadn't mastered.
"Could straight code have been transferred? Maybe. But Eunice quickly determined that the Qitani weren't even sure and she saw our chance. Your mother worked with them, and...not. She did adapt their fah'ti coding to allow for data transfer, like she said. But she also worked on cracking the code that would allow for human matter transfer. It's the only time I have ever known her to deviate from the direct mission she was assigned. I bet she'll never do it again, either. It aged her. But she did what she had to do."
"And they never caught on?"
He shrugged. "I've thought that over the last couple years. There were times when it seemed like they did, where it felt like they were just letting us hang ourselves. Your mother, she was always sure they didn't have any idea. She must have been right. I mean, we're here, aren't we?"
Another clue to the possibility of Mother's inspeaking.
"And they honestly did seem to trust you, even though you came to our ship every night and were human through and through."
"Morhal thought I was stupid." It hurt to think that in light of what I'd learned.
"Mm. Makes sense. Again, look at things in their terms. You were twelve when we landed there. By their lives, you should have been a full adult with a man's knowledge and a man's understanding."
"They knew I was just a kid."
"Knowing and knowing are two different things. It's one thing to read the book. It's another to live the experience. As much as they thought they understood, I'm guessing they didn't." He looked like a mystery was just solved. "The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. They must have thought you were a mental case. Why else would they let you around their princess?"
I grew instantly uncomfortable at the thought of Ashnahta. "She knew I was not an idiot."
"Maybe."
No. He would not take that from me. She was a child, just as I was. Whatever she learned later didn't matter. She was my friend. He wouldn't take that and make it ugly. "She knew."
He studied me for a minute before put his hands up. "If you say so."
"Have you ever inspoken? Obviously not because if you had you'd know that there are things you cannot hide while doing it." I was almost shouting. I didn't care. Wake the whole damn house. What did it matter?
"Okay, Jake. I'll believe you."
I sat back in my seat. I hadn't even noticed I was standing. "Don't you make her part of this plan. I know she had nothing to do with it. Nothing."
"If you're sure."
I had to be sure. Everything else was gone.
"Get back to the story," I snapped. I was being mean. To Ralph. To the one who risked it all to save me. I was lashing out and I couldn't help it. He was the only one to yell at.
"Once Eunice knew she had done all she could to give the fah'ti the best chance of transmitting human matter, it was time. The official imprisonment wouldn't happen until they were satisfied we established communications with this galaxy, with humans. Don't get me wrong, for all intents and purposes we were prisoners as soon as we entered that solar system. But we had a freedom that they don't have anymore. We were allowed to make our own schedules, to freely travel between the Condor and Laak'sa's port. We were also allowed our experiments. You know what? If it could have stayed like that, we wouldn't be here. You and I, we'd probably be there, living the StarTech dream. We'd be reaping information to send back for human analysis and use. We'd be whole. We'd be fulfilled. And we'd be richly rewarded, never really caring that we were, essentially, doomed."