"And that's the danger in it. Their generations are real short. There's already been a lot of change. Alliance is scared of them because they're afraid there's something on the planet like a secret base, that's the way I understand it; but if there's anything like that, it's not in the notes. Mostly I hear it's the azi that did survive, and there's not much left of CIT culture. That means the program did take.
"There's too many people to mindwipe—thousands and thousands. They'd have to mindwipe them all the way down, and that's a lot of psych work, and they haven't got a Reseune. Councillor Nye can tell you what it would take—"
"It would take a facility the size of Reseune," Giraud said, "doing nothing else, for at least ten years; and the re-integration of that many mindwiped individuals into ordinary society would tax anything anyof us have. We're talking about thirty thousand individuals. Or more. They're still trying to estimate. No one has a place to disperse those people—they'd still cluster. Cluster means community; community means cultural identity. Alliance hasn't got the population base to absorb them. Wedon't. Don't even mention turning them loose on Earth."
"They probably can't find all of them," Ari said. "Anyway. So they can't get them off. They'll always be different; and they'll always be a problem. They're an azi population. They're notlike CITs. They're just going to be crazy according to CIT thinking. Teaching their kids is part of their mindset; and if you bring them into the 25th century that's anotherenvironment that's going to hit that program and proliferate changes. That's Emory's word on it. If it's second generation, you could integrate them back, but there's even fourths now. Once it hits fourth, she said, you're into something real different. And they don't have rejuv. The Olders die off before they're a hundred. I've heard it's more like forty or fifty. That doesn't give them time to live with their kids or teach them much about being grown up. They're already more different from us than we are from Earth. That's Emory talking."
"I'm out of questions," Chavez said.
"We're going to recess for lunch," Harad said. "And take ser Tien's questions after—are you holding up to this, young sera?"
"I'm doing all right," she said. "After lunch is fine. Thank you, ser."
"It vastly disturbs me, sera," Tien said, from the dais where the Nine sat. He spoke very quietly, very politely, which was the way the man talked. "I have to tell you I'm concerned with the security clearance the Science Bureau has given you—not, understand, that I think you're not an exceedingly mature young woman. But we're dealing with things that could mean war or peace, and things that have been thrust on you very prematurely. Do you ever talk to your friends about these things?"
"No, ser, absolutely not." It was a fair question. All along, Tien had been fair.
"Do you understand the importance of not talking to reporters about this?"
"Yes, ser. I do. The only people I've discussed this with are Denys Nye, Giraud Nye, and the Council, exactly; and my azi, but they're not in the room when I work with the System on this either, and they don't know everything. Certainly they don't talk: they're Reseune Security, and their psychset is against discussing anything about me, even little things."
"We understand that. Can you estimate how much of the data you're not telling us?"
Oh. Very good question. "My predecessor had some theories about what would happen on Gehenna." Try to answer without answering. "But they're complicated, and I can't report on those because they're all in design-structure, and they're something that's going to take me a long while to sort through. Science Bureau is going to provide us the Gehenna data as it comes in—"
"To you?"
"Ser, to whoever's working on this project, but likely to me, yes, since I'm the one with my predecessor's notes."
"Time," Harad said. "Adm. Khalid."
"Let's keep to the question of the notes," Khalid said. "And why those notes, if they exist, haven't been turned over to a competent researcher."
"She is technically rated as a Wing supervisor," Giraud said. "And she is competent."
"She has no business with the notes," Khalid said. "Or do we believe that Reseune is being steered by a fifteen-year-old and a dead woman? That raises more questions about the competency of Reseune's administration than it does about hers. I have no quarrel with the child. I do have with Reseune. I find evidence of gross mismanagement. Grossmismanagement. I think we have more than enough evidence to extend this investigation into Reseune's actions in creating this situation."
"You can do that," Giraud said, "but it won't get you those notes."
The gavel came down. Repeatedly.
"Young sera," Khalid said. "You canbe held in contempt of a Council order. So can your Administrator and the other people who are prompting you."
Ari took a drink of water. When it was quiet she said: "You can arrest people, but what you want to know is science and you have to ask scientists, and we're it. Bucherlabs hasn't got anybody who can read it. Neither does Defense. I'm already telling you what's in the notes and what you'll find if you go to all that trouble. If you don't think I'm telling the truth now, are you going to believe me then?"
The gavel banged again. "Councillor. Sera. If you please. Councillor Khalid."
"We're dealing with an immature child," Khalid said, "who's being pushed into this position by Reseune Administration. I repeat, we need to widen this probe until we get at individuals who areresponsible. This is a question of national security. The Military Secrets Act—"
"The Councillor is out of order," Giraud said.
"—requires an investigation of any mishandling of classified information. The mishandling that allowed a fifteen-year-old child to go in front of news cameras to leak information that nevershould have become public—"
Again the gavel. "Councillor, we operate under rules, let me remind you. This is not a debate."
"A diplomatic crisis is at issue. Our enemies have a pretext to break treaties, includingthe arms treaty, which is not to our advantage. They're talking about plots,seri, completely ignorant of what azi are and what they're capable of. This is the result of practicing diplomacy in the press."
"The Councillor is out of order," Giraud said.
"Admiral," Harad said, "your time is running. Have you a question for the witness?"
"I have. Under oath, young sera, and bearing in mind you canbe prosecuted for perjury, how long have you known about these files?"
"About the Gehenna files? They surfaced when I used the keywords."
"When?"
"The day after you won the election."
"Where did you get the keywords?"
"Denys Nye suggested them." That was a bad thing to have to admit. "But—"
"Meaning they didn't exist until then. Thank you, young sera. That explains a great deal."
"That's a psych, ser. It doesn't prove anything. I had to know. My clearance—"
"Thank you, we've hadyour answer."
"No, you've made up one."
"The Council will not take disrespect, sera."
"Yes, ser. But I don't have to take being called a liar. You threatened us; I applied for my majority; that triggered—"
"It's not you who's lying, sweet. You've been deceived right along with the Council. Your uncle made those files. He's made them from the beginning. There's no secret, protected system. There are simply records Reseune doesn't want to release, for very clear reasons, and Reseune created youto stand between the Council and Reseune's mismanagement."