She stood listening to the patter of their applause, of palms against the table surface, absorbing their reception while she compared it mentally to the one she had been anticipating until yesterday. Most of the civil officials assigned here on Tiamat were from the same part of Newhaven, like most of the police; the Hegemony felt that cultural homogeneity made for more efficiency. And today, at least, the fact that she was one of their own being honored in the presence of Kharemoughis seemed to outweigh the fact that she was only a female. She bowed with dignity, acknowledging their tribute, and took a seat in the mismatched chair at the near end of the tabl
“As I’m sure you all have heard by now,” the Chief Justice stood at his own place, “Commander PalaThion uncovered, and at virtually the last moment thwarted, an attempt by Tiamat’s Snow Quee to retain her power…”
Jerusha listened covetously to the report, savoring every flattering adjective like the scent of rare herbs. Gods, I could get used to this. Even though Hovanesse was a Kharemoughi himself, he was aware that as Chief Justice he reflected her glory today, and he was laying it on thick. He sipped frequently from a translucent cup; she wondered whether it was really water, or something to numb the pain of paying her compliments. “…Even though, as most of us here are aware, there was a certain amount of — controversy about appointin a woman Commander of Police, I think she has proved that she is capable of rising to a challenge. I doubt if our original choice for the post, Chief Inspector Mantagnes, could have handled the situation any better if their positions had been reversed.”
That’s for damn sure. Jerusha glanced down in false modesty, hiding the glass fragments in her smile. “I was just doing my job, your honor; as I’ve tried to do it all along.” With no help from you, I could add. She bit her tongue.
“Nevertheless, Commander,” one of the Assembly members stood up expansively, “you’ll finish your service here with a commendation on your record. You’re a credit to your world and your gender.” One or two Newhavenese coughed at that. “It just goes to show that no one world, or race, or sex, has a complete monopoly on intelligence; all can and shall contribute to the greater good of the Hegemony, if not equally, at least according to their individual abilities…”
“Who writes the graffiti inside his braincase?” the Director of Public Health muttered sourly.
“I don’t know,” behind her hand, “but he’s living proof that living for centuries doesn’t have to teach you anything.” She saw his mouth twitch and his eyes roll in a fleeting moment of comradely aggravation.
“Would you care to say a few words, Commander?”
Jerusha flinched, until she realized the assemblyman hadn’t even been aware of anyone speaking besides himself. Don’t let me choke, gods. “Uh, thank you, sir. I didn’t really come here planning to make a speech, and I really don’t have the time.” But wait a minute — “But since I’ve got you all here listening to me, maybe there is a matter important enough to spend our time on.” She stood up, leaning forward on the slightly uneven tabletop. “A few weeks ago I had a very disturbing question put to me: a question about the mers — the Tiamatan creatures we get the water of life from,” for the benefit of any assemblyman who was or pretended to be ignorant of it. “I was told that the Old Empire created the mers to be creatures with human-level intelligence. The man who told me this had the information directly from a sibyl Transfer.”
She watched their reactions spread like ripple rings colliding on a water surface; tried to guess whether it was genuine — whether the Assembly knew, whether the civil officials did, whether she was the only human being in this room who had been blind to the truth… But if any of them were faking their amazement, they were good at it. The murmurs of protest rose along the table.
“Are you trying to tell us,” Hovanesse said, “that someone claims we’ve been exterminating an intelligent race?”
She nodded, her eyes downcast as she spoke, treading lightly. “Not knowingly, of course.” In her mind she saw the bodies on the beach: but kit ting them just the same. “I’m sure no one in this room, no member of the Hegemonic Assembly, would let anything like that go on.” She glanced deliberately at the oldest Wearer of the Badge among them, a man in his sixties who just might be left over from long enough ago. “But someone knew once, because we know about the water of Life.” If he did know, he wasn’t letting her see it on his face; she wondered suddenly why she wanted to.
“So you are suggesting,” one of the other Kharemoughis demanded, “that our ancestors consciously buried the truth, in order to get the water of life for themselves?”
She heard the extra grimness that weighed down ancestors, and realized that she had made a misstep. Criticizing a Kharemoughi’s ancestors was like accusing one of her own people of incest.
But she nodded, firmly, stubbornly, “Someone’s did, yes, sir.”
Hovanesse took a sip from his glass, said heavily, “Those are exceptionally ugly and unpleasant charges to bring up at a time like this, Commander PalaThion.”
She nodded again. “I know, Your Honor. But I can’t think of a more appropriate audience for them. If this is true—”
“Who made the accusation? What’s his proof?”
“An off worlder named Ngenet; he has a land-grant plantation here on Tiamat.”
“Ngenet?” The Director of Communications touched his ear in derision. “That renegade? He’d claim anything to make the Hegemony look bad. Everyone in the government knows that. The only attention he deserves from you, Commander, is a jail cell.”
Jerusha smiled briefly. “I once considered it. But he claims this information was given to him by a sibyl; it would be easy enough to I corroborate by asking another one.”
“I wouldn’t degrade the honor of my ancestors by such an insulting act!” one of the assemblymen murmured.
“It seems to me,” Jerusha leaned forward again, “that the future of this world’s people, human and nonhuman, ought to be a lot more important than the reputation of Kharemoughis who were dust a millennium ago. If a wrong’s being done, let’s admit it and correct it. If we wink at mass murder here we’re as bad as the Snow Queen herself. Worse — splattered with the blood of innocent beings by the slaves and lackeys who only obey our demands, while we punish them for our guilt by keeping them in the Fke Age!” Stunned by the words she heard come out of her own mouth, she remembered abruptly who had put them into her mind.
The silence of the grave met her on every side, and bore her back down into her seat. She sat still, very aware of her own breathing, and of then — goodwill draining away, emptying out of this husk of a room. “Sorry, gentlemen. I guess I — spoke out of turn. I know this is a hard accusation to face; that’s why I’ve had so damn much trouble knowing what to do about it myself, whether to file a report—”
“Don’t file a report,” Hovanesse said.
She looked up at him, questioning; back along the table’s length at the brittle anger of the Kharemoughis, and the resentful anger of the Newhavenese. You damn fool! What made you think they’d want to look Truth straight in the face, any more than you did?
“The Assembly will take up the matter after we leave Tiamat. When we’ve made our decision, the Hegemonic Coordinating Center on Kharemough will be notified of any policy change that needs to be made.”