Buccari's head jerked upward at the unintended confession. "You mean your race does not travel outside of your own—er, to other stars?"
Kateos looked confused. "Ah, no.. I should-ah not talk about it-ah. It-ah is great mystery with my people. Kon has been attack-ah from space. My government-ah feels threat-ah by attacks from space. We want-ah to know how you fly between stars. We be asking you about—"
"We did not attack you," Buccari said, her mind racing—the kones were not the Killers of Shaula. "You attacked us. We came in peace."
"We not-ah know that-ah. Kon has been attacked before," Kateos rumbled, looking about nervously. "Many kones killed. We assume you come to attack us again and you tricking us."
"We have never been here," Buccari said. "My race did not attack yours. Who attacked you? When?"
"It was m-many years ago," Kateos stuttered. "P-perhaps your generals keep it-ah hidden, for their own benefit."
"How many years, Kateos?"
"Over four hundred-ah years. Kone years."
Five hundred Earth years! Five hundred years ago earthlings had not even reached Mars, the hyperlight anomaly still a century from being discovered.
"Kateos, how long have kones been traveling to Genellan?"
"Many years, perhaps nine hundred," Kateos replied.
Buccari gulped. Kones had been flying in space for over twice the time humans had, but they had failed to break the hyperlight barrier. She was beginning to understand the game. She changed the subject.
"Why do you call yourselves evil? Your race has accomplished much," Buccari said. "Your system works well. You are intelligent. I perceive you to be gentle and good. An evil system would be incapable of producing such beings."
Kateos thought for several seconds. "In many ways our culture, our system, works well. Very well," she remarked. "You have met-ah only scientists and technicians. Most science is the artah and, uh…uh, application of gentle logic. Our social system controls personality. It controls our, uh…dispositions and our intellects. We are b-bred-ah to the task. If we gentle and good, it is b-because it makes us better at our jobs. We are b-bred-ah for job, with traits that-ah you describe."
"Bred to be scientists! How?"
Kateos sat back on her haunches and pondered an answer.
"It is old-ah system," she began. "Many generations have been…trained—yes? Of course, it begins with childs. All childs of common parent taken—sometime by force—at birth. Mothers and fathers never see childs. Only nobility allow the raising of childs."
"How can that be? Where do your childs, er—children go?"
"Ah, yes, it is children. First-ah go to government nurseries and then to schools. The schools—'training centers' is better translation—where they are sorted and trained and—if they, uh…genetically correct—molded into skill units. Skill units become scientists, technicians, officer, administrators, artisans, or farmers. The rest—most kones—are assigned to unskilled labor—trods. Trods sorted by size and emotion and assigned—when very young—to become soldier, worker, field hand, or common laborer. Trods not gentle—they not raised to be gentle—although most trods be good-ah and well meaning."
"Everywhere? On your whole planet?" Buccari asked.
"Oh, yes! It-ah be for whole planet. The system work-ah too well. No one think of changing it-ah. Our farmers good farmers, our workers good workers, our universities…filled with hard working students. Our soldiers be brave and aggressive—if not smart-ah. Unfortunately. uh, ambition and power be usual traits of our leaders, and strength be first important than smartness."
"It sounds orderly," Buccari said, amazed.
Kateos shook her head slowly. "Orderly? Yes." She dropped her eyes. "Sad! It-ah is a sad life. I had not thought of rreason before, but seeing your babies makes it-ah clear to me. We sad because there are no childs—children…no families."
"Why? Why no families?" Buccari asked.
"Konish solution to population problem. Long ago there many, many kones on planet. Too many. Not enough food." "Your governments restricted breeding?"
"Only by requiring marrying. Only able to marry one time. Itah crime to have children, if not-ah married. Only married couples permit-ah to have children and must-ah be qualified by government-ah. That-ah how they control population. I lucky be married to Scientist Dowornobb. He intelligent and kind, and he make happy to me. We sure to have license to make children, especially since so many kones die in this war."
"I am glad for you, Kateos," Buccari said, noting the konish female's sudden radiance. The radiance turned subtly to determination.
"I hold my baby someday," Kateos rumbled. "That-ah would make happy to me."
Buccari looked up to see Et Silmarn and two of the konish scientists crawling their way. Kateos straightened, standing tall while remaining on all fours.
"Sharl, I introduce Scientist H'Aare and Scientist Mirrtis to you," Kateos said. "They experts in space drives."
Buccari's internal alarms went off; the kones did not have the secrets of hyperlight. She guessed what was coming.
"We would-ah like to know how your ships travel between stars," Kateos continued. "We would also be able to fly between stars. We hope you help us."
The scientists began asking questions for Kateos to translate. "Scientist H'Aare wants to know if your propulsion—" Kateos started.
"Kateos, Et Silmarn! These are difficult questions," Buccari begged.
"Yes, Sharl, but scientists will work-ah with you for as long as it-ah takes. Perhaps you come with us to Ocean Station where—"
"Please, Mistress Kateos," Buccari said slowly, carefully. "Your interest is understandable, and when it is appropriate to do so, we will discuss these matters. Please understand that none of us is expert in the fields you are inquiring about." She realized that if it came down to negotiating permission to remain on this planet, anyinformation provided freely would be unavailable as a future bargaining chip. Perhaps, just perhaps, the hyperlight theories would be their passport. Buccari was not proud of her disingenuous replies; both she and Hudson were extremely knowledgeable of hyperlight theories and applied algorithms, but information represented power, and they needed to marshal what little power was available to them.
Kateos spoke softly to Et Silmarn. The noblekone nodded.
"Sharl," he roared. "We thang you for what you have done. If you can help-ah us more, we thang you more.. er, we help-ah you more."
"I understand," Buccari said.
Three days later Et Silmarn banked the aircraft on course and returned his view forward. Hudson was in the back with Scientists H'Aare and Mirrtis. Dowornobb and Kateos crowded into the cockpit, the connecting hatch secured.
"The female Gol'berg-ah gave you this information?" the noblekone asked.
"Yes. It was technical. I understood little," Kateos remarked sadly. "The female claims to know about interstellar drives. She is a technician of propulsion."
"They allow females to do technical functions?" the copilot asked.
"Yes!" Kateos answered too loudly. The males on the crowded flight deck turned to stare at her. Involuntarily, she dropped her eyes.
"Sharl is lying?" Dowornobb asked. "I thought we could trust her."
"Sharl is smart," Et Silmarn answered. "She is protecting what she has. After what she has done for us, I do not hold it against her. I still trust her."
"What about Gol'berg-ah?" Kateos asked. "Her information is valuable, though I do not respect her. She tells us these things because she is spiteful and full of hate for Sharl. I do not understand why she is disloyal."