Trickster (46 page)

 
"Only vaguely," Ben said. "The cryo-unit was something over thirty years old when Mom found it, so that would mean the unit is close to sixty years old now, but that doesn't say anything about the embryos. They could be a lot newer."

 
"Or older." Harenn took a deep breath. "Ben, did you or your mother ever have a comparison done with the monastery's genetic database?"

 
"No. What would be the point?"

 
"Curiosity," Harenn said. "I ran such a check with the database carried on this ship. You should sit down, Ben. You too, Lucia."

 
Nervously, Ben took up a rolling stool. Lucia did as well, a mystified look on her face. Harenn leaned against the counter next to the cryo-unit.

 
"What's this all about, Harenn?" Ben asked. "What did you find?"

 
"I ran the check three times," she said. "Every test came back with the same irrefutable result. Those embryos--and you--are the direct issue of Daniel Vik and Irfan Qasad."

 
Lucia gasped and realization stole over Ben like a cold hand. "What are you saying, Harenn?" he whispered.

 
"I am saying, Ben, that Daniel Vik was your biological father and Irfan Qasad was your biological mother. In every sense of the word, you are a true child of Irfan."