"Margaret," said Rajiv primly from his chair, "what you are not doing is thinking clearly. I cannot believe we know a thousandth part of the extent and sophistication of Chapalii technology. I will present you with an analogy. Take one of these jaran. Take a curious, intelligent one, such as the woman Nadine Orzhekov. What she knows and imagines of our life and technology is likely closer to the truth than what we know and imagine of Chapalii technology."
"Furthermore," said David, shaking a finger in front of his own lips, "it's the only reasonable window of opportunity for the human migration that was needed to populate this planet. If the Tai-en Mushai moved an entire Homo sapiens population here to work as his-slaves? for his amusement? for who the hell knows what reason? — then that time frame would be reasonable. Hasn't Tess found some correspondence between Rhuian languages and Earth languages?"
"I don't know why the Mushai brought humans here," said Charles quietly, "but I do know from the evidence in that cylinder that he was using this as a base to foment rebellion against the emperor. If that was fifteen thousand years ago… have things really changed that much in the Empire? Have they changed so little?"
Rajiv tapped his fingers lightly on the hard surface of his slate. "We will not know how much additional information was hidden within the interstices of that cylinder unless we can install it on the original equipment it came from, the equipment here. The Keinaba house consoles could only access the top layer of information, and there was clearly more coded in underneath."
"So." Charles said the word and then said nothing for a long moment. Through the small window set high up in the wall, David saw stars and the thick leafy crowns of trees. "This we know. I think we have no choice but to call down an expert from Keinaba house."
"Call down a Chapalii?" Maggie asked. "On planet? That would be breaking your own interdiction.''
Charles snorted. "I'm already breaking my own interdiction. And they've seen Chapalii here before. Any other objections?''
Rajiv bent his head. "You know my feelings."
"What are your feelings?" Maggie demanded.
Rajiv glanced up at her, his dark eyes glinting. "I suggested it. There is one technician I have worked with. She is one of these ke, one of the nameless ones of their lowest caste, but she is an artist with this machinery. I cannot forgive a society that condemns such intelligence and promise to that kind of subjugation for no better reason than that her parents were born of parents who were born of parents… and so on." His eyes flashed with anger. His dark brows were drawn down, and a pulse beat in his jaw.
"A Chapalii female!" Maggie exclaimed. "I've never met a Chapalii female. I thought they were all in purdah or something. Restricted. Secluded."
"It is true," said Charles slowly, "that they are rarely together with Chapalii males. Beyond that, I have formed no sense of what their status is. But the Tai-en Naroshi offered me the services of his sister to design a mausoleum for Tess."
"How morbid. At least you didn't take him up on it."
"But I did." Charles smiled, not with amusement precisely but at some ironic joke. "They work at a slower pace than we do, though. Cara believes they're quite long-lived." He brushed his hands together briskly and stood up with decision. "Then if there is no more discussion, I'll send for a deputation from Keinaba."
"But Charles," said David, "can you trust them? Surely asking them to uncover this information-the Tai-en Mushai is almost a Lucifer kind of figure in their history, as far as I can tell. Or at least, that's how Tess described him to me once. Will the Keinaba family agree to help you uncover his past? To start in motion what may prove to be another rebellion against their own emperor? ''
"I think that they'll do anything I tell them to do. This is one way to test that.''
David just shook his head. "You're damned cool."
"Don't forget that I saved their house from extinction by my intervention. They owe me everything. They are bound to me like-" He shrugged. "Well, aren't there any historians here who can provide me with a good analogy?"
David had known Charles for forty-five years now. He and Charles and the other Charles-who was now Marco-had gone to university together. David's path had parted for a time from that of Charles after university, but in the end he had come back to him, to the cause, to the rebellion, to the endless struggle for freedom. David felt more and more that he knew Charles less well the longer they were together. As if the closer David got, the more Charles receded, or at least that the force repelling David grew stronger the longer he was exposed to it. Not that Charles was in any way cold to him, that he didn't trust him, listen to him, even joke with him now and again in the way he used to when they were young, but that Charles himself was retreating far down into the depths of the Tai-en, the duke, the only human who had any true power within the Chapalii hierarchy. David loved Charles. He respected the duke, but he wasn't sure that he liked him much.
"Where is Marco, anyway?" he asked, thinking of old times. "I haven't seen him all day."
"Out scouting for a landing site, in the event we were forced to this decision. But I expect him-"
Someone came running down the hall. A moment later the door burst open and Marco plunged into the room, pulling up short. "Just got a frantic message in from Tess. Christ in Heaven. She and Cara-" He swore fluidly and imaginatively in Ophiuchi-Sei. "She talked Cara into slipping Bakhtiian some damned serum or other to try for a temporary halt to his aging."
"What!" That was Jo. "But the physiological discrepancies could be lethal!"
"Exactly. That's what the message was about. Here, I'll play it back for you." He unhooked his slate from his belt and laid it on the table. With a pass of his hand over the shining surface, and a single spoken word, an image appeared above the slate, Tess's image. Her message was garbled and almost incoherent, but one fact came through clearly: Bakhtiian had slipped into a coma and Cara didn't know the likelihood of his ever coming out of it.
"Goddess above," swore Maggie. "Talk about breaking the interdiction."
"Well?" asked Marco after Tess's image froze and he keyed it to vanish.
"Did you find a good landing site?" Charles asked.
There was silence, while everyone else sorted out the sudden change of subject.
Marco blinked. He ran his left hand back through the thick shock of his hair. "Yes, in fact, I did. But what about-?"
"If Cara is there, then there is nothing further I can do. Now. I'll need a scrambled message, Rajiv, to be sent to Odys through Jeds and thence on to Keinaba. I want them to arrive as soon as possible. Marco, when is the new moon? I think we'll have the best chance of getting them in unseen then."
"But Charles-" David burst out. "What about Nadine? Surely she deserves to know. We don't even know what kind of rules for succession they have. Won't she want to ride back?"
Rajiv had already opened up a branching pathway over his slate, encoding a signal and encryption into it. Marco had a strange, almost disturbing expression on his face as he watched Charles.
"David," said Charles, "I would dearly love to tell Nadine Orzhekov about her uncle's illness. How am I to explain how we got the news so quickly?"
"You're right," muttered David.
"It would be damned convenient for you if he died," added Marco in a low voice.
"It might be," said Charles. "In fact, it would be, and it's damned inconvenient for me that I find myself standing here hoping that he doesn't die. Because I rather like him."
"The Tempest," said Maggie suddenly. "That's the right analogy. Doesn't the magician Prospero save everyone's life? Aren't they all bound to him, the humans and spirits both?"
"What are you talking about?" David demanded.