“Excellent,” Soltan said. “Two hours off the schedule already. We may be out of here before lunch. You may sit, Dr. Wangai.” Isabel sat, looking a little numb.
“Now—” Soltan picked up her schedule again. “—Ms. Meyer, I believe it’s time for you to question the experts. Which would you like to question first?” “I believe Dr. Wangai is the first on the schedule,” Meyer said.
“Very well,” Soltan said. “Dr. Wangai, go ahead and sit in the witness stand.” Isabel got up from the table, walked over to the witness stand, and sat down. “Normally I’d place you under oath, but this is an inquiry and thus more informal,” Soltan said. “You are however still required to tell the truth and to answer questions as fully as possible. Do you understand?” “I do,” Isabel said.
“You’re on,” Soltan said to Meyer.
Meyer stood. “Dr. Wangai, please state your full name and occupation.”
“I am Dr. Isabel Njeru Wangai, and I am the Zarathustra Corporation’s chief biologist for Zara Twenty-three,” Isabel said.
“And where did you receive your doctorate, Dr. Wangai?” Meyer asked.
“The University of Oxford,” Isabel said.
“I hear that’s a good school,” Meyer said.
Isabel smiled. “It’s all right,” she said.
“And so you studied xenosapience there,” Meyer said.
“No,” Isabel said. “My research there focused on the sarcomonad Cercozoa.” “You’ve lost me,” Meyer said.
“They’re protists,” Isabel said. “Very small one-celled organisms.”
“What planet are these protists from?” Meyer asked.
“They’re from Earth,” Isabel said.
“So your training in biology, while from a very good school indeed, is grounded in terrestrial biology—creatures from Earth. Is that accurate?” Meyer asked.
“It is,” Isabel said. “But I have been chief biologist here on Zara Twenty-three for close to five years now. I have a substantial amount of practical experience working with and studying extraterrestrial biology.” “Any of it relating specifically to xenosapience?” Meyer asked.
“Not until recently, no,” Isabel said.
“So you’re new to the field,” Meyer said. “Very new.”
“Yes,” Isabel said. “However, the evaluation I performed on the fuzzys was done using criteria well established in the xenosapience field. The criteria are designed to be useful without regard to experience.” “Do you really believe that?” Meyer asked. “As a scientist, do you really believe that people who are not trained in a particular field are as able to make assessments as experts in that field? Especially when all they are armed with is a checklist?” “I am however not anyone,” Isabel said. “I am a trained biologist with years of practical experience in xenobiological study.” “So experience does matter,” Meyer said. “Even so, Dr. Wangai. I don’t doubt your experience and knowledge in your particular field is considerable, but I have to wonder if your assessing these creatures for xenosapience isn’t like a podiatrist advising a patient on whether his liver needs to be replaced.” Holloway shifted in his chair suddenly; he recognized the analogy as his own. When Chad Bourne showed up with Aubrey and the others in tow, Holloway assumed as a matter of course that his conversation with Bourne had been listened in on. Having his own words used to smack Isabel around, however, was a signal to Holloway that this inquiry had been choreographed top to bottom; it was the very essence of a show trial. The only person who didn’t know it was Isabel.
“I don’t think your analogy is as accurate as you think it is,” Isabel said.
Meyer smiled. “Perhaps not,” she said. “Let’s move on from that, then. Dr. Wangai, please tell us how you came to learn of the fuzzys.” “Jack Holloway told me about them and gave me a video recording he’d made of one of them,” Isabel said. “The video was interesting, but it wasn’t secure, so I wanted to be able to see them for myself and to get them on secure video, so there would be no concern of tampering or altering of the data.” “After Mr. Holloway gave you that first recording, how long was it until you went to see the creatures?” Meyer asked.
“Five days in total, I think,” Isabel said.
“You said that when Mr. Holloway gave you the first recording, you had concerns about the data being tampered with or altered,” Meyer said. “Was there a reason you were concerned about that?” “That’s not an accurate representation of my statement,” Isabel said.
“We could have the court reporter play back your statement if you like,” Meyer said.
“That’s not necessary,” Isabel said, the tiniest bit of frustration creeping into her voice. Holloway wondered if anyone but he would notice it there. Sullivan might, he decided. He glanced over to the other man, but his expression was unreadable. “What I meant was that Jack’s video was not recorded on a secure device,” Isabel continued. “Even if it was genuine—which I did not doubt it was—it would not be something I could use as evidence in, for example, an inquiry like this.” “You called Mr. Holloway ‘Jack’ just now,” Meyer said. “Are you familiar with him?” “We’re friends, yes,” Isabel said.
“Have you ever been more than friends?” Meyer asked.
Isabel paused. “I’m not entirely sure that’s relevant,” she said.
“I’m not entirely sure it is, either,” said Soltan.
“I assure you, Your Honor, I’m going somewhere with this,” Meyer said.
Soltan pursed her lips for a second, considering. “Fine,” she said. “But get where you’re going quickly, Ms. Meyer.” Meyer turned back to Isabel. “Dr. Wangai,” she prompted.
Isabel looked at Meyer coolly. “We were in a relationship,” she said. Her words had become decidedly more clipped, as they did when she was exceptionally pissed off.
“But no longer,” Meyer said.
“No,” Isabel said. “We broke it off some time ago.”
“Any particular reason?” Meyer asked.
“We had different memories of a certain event,” Isabel said.
“Would this be a reference to a previous Zarathustra Corporation inquiry, in which you claimed Mr. Holloway had taught his dog to set off explosives, among other things, and Mr. Holloway claimed that you were lying about the account?” Meyer asked.
“Yes,” Isabel said.
“Who was lying during that inquiry, Dr. Wangai?” Meyer asked.
“The inquiry’s ruling regarding the allegations was ‘not proven,’” Isabel said.
“That’s not what I’m asking,” Meyer said. “I know what the ruling was. I’m asking for your opinion here, and for the record, your answer here will in no way have an effect on your current or future employment with ZaraCorp. So, Dr. Wangai, who was lying in that inquiry?” “It wasn’t me,” Isabel said, looking directly at Holloway.
“So, Mr. Holloway lied,” Meyer said.
Isabel looked back over at Meyer. “I believe my answer was sufficiently clear,” she said.
“Yes,” Meyer said. “Yes it was. And it’s also true that as a result of this ruling, you received a note in your employment record, correct?” “You said you were going somewhere with this,” Soltan said, interrupting Meyer.
“I’m there,” Meyer said. “Dr. Wangai is an excellent scientist who has made a major discovery with these fuzzys, as she calls them. There is no doubt either in her competence in her particular field or in the valuable service she’s done for the science of biology in recording and describing these creatures.
“But it’s also true she is not trained in xenosapience,” Meyer continued. She pointed at Holloway. “It’s true that the person from whom she learned about the creatures, Jack Holloway, is a former romantic partner with whom she had a bad breakup. It’s true that she believes that Mr. Holloway has lied about her before, in a situation where there was actual professional damage to her career. And finally it’s true that we know Mr. Holloway is at least alleged to be able to teach animals how to do relatively complex tricks.