Final Inquiries (6 page)

But on even the most powerful human-built ships, or for that matter, on any xeno-built ship Jamie had ever heard of, it took days, or at least hours, to generate enough velocity for the effect to be noticeable, let alone significant. The transition happened too slowly for the eye to notice. For any ship, to say nothing of a ship of this size, to accelerate from effectively motionless to a velocity this close to light-speed in a matter of a few seconds would require unspeakable amounts of power, power that they were expending in order to get James Mendez and Hannah Wolfson somewhere in one hell of a hurry.

What had happened? Why were they so short of time?

Time.
Suddenly it struck him. Blueshifting wasn't the only effect of moving at near light-speed. "Time dilation," he said to Hannah. "A lot of it."

"Quite right," said Brox. "To an outside observer, measuring in human units, our whole journey will appear to take about seven hours. But so far as we are concerned, we'll be there in something like four hours."

Brox sat down on the deckplates, calmly folding his legs under himself and wrapping his tail around his body as if he were some giant, self-satisfied cat. "So," he said, "We are flying in a vehicle as massive as a small moon, we are shielded from all detectors by the full mass of the vehicle itself, as well as by the primary drive radiation--which is so intense the command sphere has shifted to the forward end to get as far from it as possible--and by the fact that we have just accelerated, in a matter of seconds, to roughly eight-ninths of the speed of light. I would expect there are all sorts of jamming and silencing systems running as well.

"However, as noted, our Vixa friends feel we are not yet
quite
secure enough for me to brief you on the specific situation. But perhaps you can suggest something else for us to talk about in the meanwhile, so as to pass the time away.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

THREE

THE PLANETS ON THE TABLE

Hannah smiled, shook her head, and sat down tailor fashion on the deck facing Brox. Jamie did the same. "I can't think of a single thing we need to talk about," said Hannah. "Maybe we should just stare at each other until we get there."

"It would be an unsuitable use of the time to stare at each other," SubPilot Greveltra announced. "Inquirist Brox must perform a briefing."

"It would appear that SubPilot Greveltra
can
acknowledge your existence," said Brox, "and also that he lacks a sense of irony. But before you warn
me
about insulting our powerful host, I would assure you he takes that last statement as a strong compliment." Brox paused thoughtfully for a moment. "If anything, he is unhappy about my
first
statement, that he can acknowledge you--but since it is self-evident that he did respond to your statement, even if he did not address you directly, and it is therefore a matter of fact, he is, by his own lights, forced to accept it. So he
can't
be insulted."

"I can think of plenty of humans who wouldn't be stopped by a little thing like that," said Hannah. "Anyway, the SubPilot does have a point, if not a sense of humor. You can at least brief us on the
general
situation now."

"And so I shall. But the
first
thing I will tell you is that you must not believe a single word I say. You will have the chance to get everything confirmed--or debunked--by your own people, and your own senses, your own efforts. Do so. Get all the facts--and all the versions of the facts--you can. The second thing I will tell you is that you might as well pay very strict attention to me, because I am certain that your own people will debrief you as carefully as they can, in an effort to squeeze out every drop of the information I am about to give you.
My
people will be doing more or less the same with me, concerning you two, Commander Kelly, and the other humans I've dealt with since the--event."

"In other words," said Hannah, "look forward to this being treated as a major situation. We'd gotten that impression already."

"So get on with it," said Jamie. "Start at the beginning, and let's go."

"Not the beginning," said Brox. "That might be a few million, even hundred million years ago. Back to when even the Elder Races weren't all that old. Leaving out a great deal of history, a star system, the Pentam System, has gone vacant. It is unusual for having not one, but two habitable planets, along with a number of other very attractive features. There have been meetings and negotiations going on since well before your race or mine came to the attention of the Elder Races, all revolving around who would be awarded the Pentam System--and who wouldn't. I won't propose going into the politics of the situation. To sum up, there were three or four shifting alliances, each made up of two or three Elder Races, each of which was mainly interested in making sure one or more of the other groups
didn't
get Pentam."

"
Two
habitable planets in
one
system?" Jamie asked. "And you wouldn't
want
that for your own people?"

Brox shifted, unexpectedly, into his somewhat awkward English. "No. If you be Elder Race, you would not. Because having new worlds is too much trouble. Because things have been way they are long time, and change cause trouble. Because your species already is rich enough, has power enough. Elders say they
mature
enough not to want more just for sake of having." Brox paused briefly, then spoke again. "Kendari ask: What is maturity--What is decadence? Elder Races say things stay the same. Kendari ask--things stay the same or just
seem
the same? Kendari--and humans--say need new things, need challenge, to stay strong, stop decay."

Hannah knew what Brox was talking about. She and Jamie had seen it, and not so very long ago. An Elder Race could seem to have an utterly stable and secure society--and not even be aware of the slow rot setting in. It could be in a state of decline so slow it was undetectable. A species, like an individual being, never really stayed the same. If it did not evolve, it would decline. It had either to grow or contract, renew or decay. There was no middle ground.

A seemingly static society could become so utterly fragile, so unused to change, so incapable of adapting to it, that anything new or different could destroy it. Therefore, change of any sort--such as the arrival on the scene of the Younger Races, the humans and the Kendari--represented a very real threat. No wonder so many Elder Races were hostile to them. Hannah replied in English. "We view things in much the same way. Just bear in mind our hosts can record and translate, even if the SubPilot can't understand us."

Brox gestured dismissively. "I tell no secrets. Elder Races know our opinions and laugh at them. Just not wish needlessly insult SubPilot to his face--if he can be said to have face."

"I thought you said he wouldn't be bothered by any statement that was factual," Jamie objected.

"Vixa find reason for anger if they need it. Be careful," Brox said, before shifting back to Lesser Trade Speech. "To continue, many alliances formed and broke up and shifted and so on. Ironically, they all accomplished their primary goals of preventing their rivals from taking over the Pentam System--but these were not permanent victories. Sooner or later, someone would settle Pentam, and undo the equilibrium. And then the Kendari emerged, followed not long after by the humans. Two small, weak races that posed no threat to anyone."

"Let me guess," said James. "They decided to give it to one of us--and
that
started the debate all over again."

"Exactly. But if any Elder Race that came to be seen as favoring the Kendari over the humans as regarding Pentam, or the humans over the Kendari, the other Elders would regard that as forming an alliance with that species, encouraging other Elder Races to support the other Younger Race, and so the whole weary cycle would begin again."

"My turn to fill in a few blanks," said Hannah. "The maneuvers, the deal-making, even to get things to the point where the various parties could negotiate about negotiating, took years, even decades. Since the ideal situation was for no one to have the Pentam System, there wasn't much incentive to hurry."

"Quite right."

"So the whole process was kept secret from all humans and Kendari until fairly recently, in order to keep the negotiations from becoming even more complex. At some very late, and very recent, point in the process, both Younger Races were informed of what was going on, and were politely told they could either participate under whatever conditions were dictated to them, or else the Pentam System would be awarded to the other race."

"Right again."

"And, finally, my guess would be, the Vixa were chosen to adjudicate the matter, because all sides trusted them and because they were known not to want the Pentam System for themselves."

"Your guesses begin to fail you. Half-correct, incorrect, and incorrect again," said Brox. "The Vixa weren't exactly chosen to decide the matter--they were chosen to preside over the decision and host the meeting. As you have no doubt gathered, we are en route to that meeting, on Tifinda, right now. But the Vixa were chosen for that role precisely because
no one
could trust them, because all sides knew, for certain, that the Vixa
did
want the Pentam System for themselves. You need to try harder to think like a member of an Elder Race."

Jamie laughed. "Which is what
she
tells
me
to do all the time. How does payback feel, Hannah?"

"I'll live with the pain, somehow," Hannah said mildly, before turning back to Brox. "
You
go ahead and explain how Elder Race beings think. Why put the Vixa in charge if no one trusted them?"

"Because then everyone else would be on the alert. They'd know to watch the Vixa and to be ready for tricks that would let the Vixa seize Pentam."

"But why would the Vixa accept the job?" Jamie asked. "What do they get out of it?"

"As I understand it, there are two main reasons. First, it is an odd acknowledgment of their power, their prestige, and their skill at political maneuver. They enhanced their prestige merely by accepting the task. Secondly, it's a challenge to them as well. It would be a grand achievement indeed if, in spite of all the distrust and watchfulness, they somehow managed to get the Pentam System in the end."

"And 'the end' might be pretty far off," Hannah said. "An Elder Race can be patient. If they managed to set up a situation that would cause the Pentam System to come under their control a hundred years from now, that would probably suit them just fine."

"It would do more than that--it would enhance their prestige as schemers, plotters, diplomats tremendously," said Brox. "It is what most of the other Elder Races half expect the Vixa to attempt. It is something close to one of your sporting events, with the other Elder Races watching eagerly to see how the game is played and who will win."

"Right now, no one has the Pentam System, right?" Jamie asked.

"Correct."

"What happens if, somehow, the Vixa convinces both our people and yours
not
to take possession?"

"How would they manage that?" Hannah asked.

Jamie shrugged at Hannah. "Maybe with some real subtle politics. Maybe with bribes or threats--or by intimidating both sides by flying around a starship the size of an asteroid." He gestured back toward Brox. "Never mind how," he said. "Just suppose they managed it. What would happen?"

Brox grimaced. "I am, like yourselves, mainly a police officer, an investigator. All of us have had to play other roles as well, at times--including that of diplomat. But that does not make me an expert at such matters. I merely happen to know certain items of information you haven't learned yet. My somewhat-informed guess would be that if, somehow, the Vixa managed to chase both of us away--then, at the very least, they would be in a very strong position to make and enforce their own claim to the Pentam System. Your question was astute, and on point. I am impressed that you thought to ask it."

"I don't get it," said Jamie. "All the Vixa I've ever met before today have been very friendly, outgoing. Quite pleasant. They aren't the sort of schemers you're describing."

"Vixan diplomats are quite a different animal from the Vixa we'll encounter," Brox said. "I speak literally. Vixa are--well, let me just say they are highly variable, and also remind you that you have met three different Vixa--or at least Vixa-related creatures--today, and they are quite different from one another."

"You have said enough!" Greveltra barked suddenly, in a voice loud enough to make them all jump. "You have completed briefing on those matters you are authorized to speak of before jump."

"Perhaps it was unwise to speak so much earlier in a language the SubPilot does not understand," said Brox. "It would appear to have made him suspicious. But, no matter. I have already given the main points. The rest can wait."

"People keep telling us that we can wait for the information in the middle of making us rush like mad," Jamie growled. "I don't suppose there would be any objection if we mere lowly humans discussed matters between ourselves? After all, if one thing is for certain, it's that we don't have any information."

Jamie and Hannah both looked toward Greveltra, but the SubPilot made no response. If anything, he was ignoring them as hard as he could.

"Silence equals consent," said Hannah.

"A dangerous assumption in general," said Brox. "But I think we can take it as such for the moment. Go. Talk. And, once again, my apologies for telling you so little. But I will feel much more comfortable if you arrived at the--ah--place we are going without having formed any preconceived notions."

Hannah and Jamie stood up and moved over to the corridor that led back to the hatch they had come through. They didn't know the half of it, not a quarter of it. Not yet. And the part they
did
know, the parts that they could guess at, were overwhelmingly big. But shaking all that off, pretending it wasn't there, wasn't just the professional way to act. In a situation like this, it was a survival skill. They simply couldn't afford to let their emotions kick in.