"Can you tell us if there's anything in the files that you think would damage the reputation of your predecessor?"
"I can tell you this, because if anything happened to me it's terribly important people should know if. Gehenna has to stay quarantined. My predecessor was under Defense Bureau orders, but it scared her; and that was why she left things sealed for me. —Ser Hannah."
Chaos broke out. Everyone was shouting.
"Wasn't that irresponsible of your predecessor—if it was that important?
Why did she keep it secret?"
"It was a Defense secret and it wasquarantined. She didtell some people. But a lot of them are dead, and some of them probably don't understand what she did. Idon't know it all yet. That's the bad thing: you have to be as smart as she was before you can work with the problem. She's dead and nobody else understands what she understood. That's why they made me. I'm nota Bok-clone situation. I am a Special, and someday I'm going to be able to understand what happened there. Right now nobody does. But she did leave instructions, and I'm not giving them to anybody until Council asks me under oath, because I'm not going to muddy up the waters by talking until I canswear to what I'm saying and the whole universe knows I'm an adult and I'm not lying. If I did it any other way, people could question whether I was telling the truth or whether I knew what I was doing."
They shouted and pushed and shoved each other. She felt Florian and Catlin move up on either side, anxious.
But she Had them. She was sure of it. She had gotten out exactly what she wanted to say.
ii
"Release the damn broadcast!" Corain yelled into the securitied phone, at Khalid's chief of staff, who swore Khalid was not available. "God! I don't care if he's in hell,get hold of him and get that release, you damn fool, it's gotten to my office, and thirty-five top reporters sent it downline—what do you mean security hold?"
"This is Khalid," the Councillor cut in, displacing the aide. "Councillor Corain, in light of the content of the interview we've requested a security delay of thirty minutes for the child's own protection. We seem to have a major problem."
"We havea major problem. The longer that hold stays on, the more that holdis going to become news, Councillor, and the longer it stays, the more they're going to ask why. We can'tstop that broadcast."
"Assuredly we can't. There were too many news-feeds. I told you not to allow the interview. A minor child is making irresponsible charges on extremely sensitive matters, with international implications. I suggest we answer this with a categorical denial."
"It would have been foolhardy notto allow it. You can't keep the newsservices away from the kid, and you saw what she can do with innuendo."
"She's obviously well-instructed."
"Instructed, hell,Khalid. Take that damned hold off!"
There was long silence on the other end. "The hold will go off in fifteen minutes. I strongly suggest you use the time to prepare an official statement."
"On what?We have nothing to do with these charges."
Again a silence. "Neither have we, Councillor. I think this will require investigation."
It was a securitied line. Anycommunication could be penetrated if one could get access to the installers; or to the other end of the transmission.
"I think it will, Admiral. There will be a Centrist caucus in one hour. I hope you will be prepared to explain your position."
"It's completely without substantiation," Khalid said to the cameras, on the office vid, while Corain rested his chin on his hand, glancing between the image on the screen and the news-feed that an aide slipped under his view: NP: DEFENSE BUREAU SPOKESMAN DECLINES COMMENT ON ACTIONand CP: KHALID CALLS CHARGES FABRICATION.
"... nothing in those files to substantiate any continued quarantine order. It's exactly what I say: Giraud Nye has come up with a piece of fiction, an absolute piece of fiction, and tape-fed it to a minor child who is in no wise fit or competent to understand the potential international repercussions. This is a reprehensible tactic which seeks to use the free press to its own advantage—utterly, utterly fabricated. I ask you, consider whether we will eversee documentation of the child's representations—files which a fifteen-year-old girl maintainsshe alone has seen, which she cannot—I say cannotproduce—unless others produce these putative files forher—files which an impressionable fifteen-year-old child maintains were left for her by her predecessor. I will tell you, seri, I have grave suspicions that no such secret files everwere made by Ariane Emory, that no such programwas ever created by Ariane Emory to give ghostly guidance to her successor. I suspect that any such programwas written much closer to hand, that the child has been programmed,indeed, programmed—a process in which Reseune is absolutely expert, and in which Councillor Nye himself is an acknowledged authority—in fact a Special who gained his status as a result of his expertise in that very field. The child is a pawn created by Reseune to place legal and emotional obstacles in the way of matters of paramount national interest, and callously used and manipulated to maintain the privilege of a moneyed few whose machiavellian tactics now bid fair to jeopardize the peace. ..."
Reporters were waiting at the hotel. "Are you aware," someone shouted, "of Khalid's accusations, Councillor Nye?"
"We heard them on the way over," uncle Giraud said, while Security maintained them a little clear space in the foyer, while cameramen jostled each other.
" Ihave an answer," Ari said, ignoring Florian's arm as he tried, with other Security, to get her and uncle Giraud on through the doors. "I wantto answer him, can we set up in a conference room?"
"... Thank you," the girl said, made a very young-girl move with both hands getting her hair back behind her shoulders, and then grimaced and shaded her eyes as a light hit her face. "Ow. Could you shine that down? Please?" Then she leaned forward with her arms on the conference table, suddenly businesslike and so like Emory senior that Corain's gut tightened. "What's your question?"
"What do you think about Khalid's allegations?" some reporter yelled out over the others.
Chaos. Absolute chaos. The light swung back into the girl's face and she winced. "Cut it off," someone yelled, "we don't need it."
"Thanks." As the light went off. "You want me to tell what I think about what the admiral says? I think he knows better. He used to be head of Intelligence. He sure oughtto. It's not real smart either, to say I'm programmed. I can write psych designs. He'strying to run a psych on everybody, and I can tell you where, do you want me to count it off for you?"