Silly things. Never serious. Never about how was doing or anything. But maybe that's what they really said. Maybe they were just intended to needle his captors. He was risking all just to give them a big "screw you". That's what made me laugh, what made me feel better. I don't know why.
And Dr. Karl's hair was real, for the record. I couldn't stop myself from investigating it during my very long-winded chewing out and even longer exam. I didn't complain. I was taking my lumps as Ralph told me to. He first raged with science. The list of possible deaths I could have caused myself with my foolishness seemed endless. Then he raged with common sense. Death aside, the injuries alone should have smartened me up. And then he hit me with the guilt. What would Mother think, all that. What I put them all through. His old heart when he heard. He did spend a long time seeing that I was healthy and well adjusted, after all.
I took it. Then I let him poke and prod and sample and push to his heart's content. It was the most thorough exam I ever had and I shuffled down the hall back to my room feeling naked and empty and exposed.
Christophe was sitting and talking with Ashnahta when I returned. I had convinced her to at least attempt to speak English, but had succeeded only as far as speaking with Christophe went. She firmly believed he was the primary. As such, it was not really beneath her to communicate with him. In fact, I even managed to get her to understand it was her duty, one leader to another. It was a start, anyway.
Our words from her mouth sounded as odd as her words coming out of ours. There's a difference in structure and pronunciation, of course. It's what you'd expect from anyone speaking a language that was not native to them. But with her, there was also a difference in cadence. So much of Qitani language is not actually spoken out loud. It's why direct translation is difficult, why Mother ended up creating phrases for translation instead of grammatical concepts. I had gotten so used to it that I didn't notice until I heard her struggle with Christophe. She could understand what he was meaning. She could read him. He, however, often had to ask me what she meant even though her words were clear enough.
When I walked in, spent from my exam, she was trying to explain the Qitani love of war. It was a concept Christophe simply could not understand. From a human point of view, when lives are so short, it's silly to fight and make them shorter. To the Qitani, that's the best reason for war. Lives are short, there's no room for uprisings, usurpers, or lawbreakers. It was a subject he'd been hung up on since he learned they are a war loving people.
"If you had peace, you could enjoy your lives so much more. You could spend your time devoted to the arts, or to spirituality."
"Goddess war is peace." Those were the words she said. What was meant, and what Christophe could have gotten from it if he could inspeak, was something more along the of: In our culture, goddesses realize that in order to have the time to learn and grow as you are suggesting, the rebels must not be allowed to distract the whole of society. They must be killed to stop their own uprisings, but also to let others know there would be consequences if they tried as well.
I have to give Christophe credit. He did pretty well to follow, even in those early days of his interactions with her when she was still half fighting the use of English and not trying very hard. As I've said before, there seemed to be a level of Christophe that could naturally inspeak. At the very least, he was extremely good at reading people, reading body language or a look or some other subtlety that tells the real meaning behind some words.
Jacob I tire of his condescension.
He's not trying to be condescending. They've always thought that other races would be above violence. It wasn't the first time I'd told her that. She couldn't understand how we could be so foolish. Like Christophe, she had limits to her understanding on some things. Out loud, I said, "Let it go, Christophe. She's not going to see your point of view, you're not going to see hers."
He sighed and gave a nod of concession. "How was the examination?"
I sat down tenderly on the couch. Since Ashnahta was progressing with the conditioning, Christophe decided to make the room more comfortable and less like a hospital. He replaced her hospital bed with a real bed, took out the cart of medical supplies, and added a table and chairs to eat meals at and a little living room area in the corner for relaxing. "Thorough," I said miserably.
Christophe laughed. "You brought it on yourself."
"Do not laugh at discomfort." Ashnahta jumped to my defense and raged in her native tongue. She didn't have to, of course. But she did not understand Christophe's sense of humor.
It's okay, I was quick to let her know. He's right. It's his way of both commiserating and letting me know I'll get no sympathy at the same time. It's his way.
She accepted it. More and more she was allowing me to guide her in dealings with humans. At some point, she made the assessment that I actually knew what I was talking about. Privately I laughed my ass off at that. I, who didn't fit in in either culture, was the liaison to both. It was a great cosmic joke that I was sure no one involved would understand but me and it is still endlessly amusing.
Christophe might not have understood her words, but he did understand that she had felt the need to jump to my defense. He bowed and offered an apology, even though I told him it was unnecessary. Ashnahta sniffed haughtily, her nose in the air with all the regal presence she could muster.
I sighed and pulled her back down. "There. Now everything's fine." I couldn't keep the tired annoyance from my voice. I turned to Christophe. "Did you want to see me?"
He quirked an eyebrow. "Feeling testy, Mr. Cosworth?"
Amusement once again? She knew damn well it was.
"You'd be testy too if a bot got a firsthand look in your..."
He gave a little chuckle. "Do not blame the doctor for following protocol. I would prefer he be a tad overly cautious than miss latent problems." Christophe shifted in his seat. Time for business. "Now. In three days' time a guard unit will arrive to take you to Reginald for your official debriefing."
I had worried about Ralph's reaction, but only a little since I was angry. I hadn't known what to expect with Lynette, and in turn got nothing but confusion. And I had instinctively known that Christophe would side with me. Reginald, he was another matter. He was StarTech. He was the one that made so many of the calls that pissed me off. I should have been glad for the show down. Maybe I would have been if he called me up to his suite of offices as soon as he returned. Or the next day. Or even the next. Those days in between cooled the anger and increased the fear. I always sensed there was another side to Reginald, that there was more than everyone's buddy and the pal of the press and governments alike. There had to be. No one could run an operation as big and as powerful as StarTech and always be the good guy.
Who would I face?
"Yes, he's angry," Christophe said, reading my expression. "With every single right."
"Did...did the council veto..."
Christophe held up a hand. "I have no results, and frankly, I wouldn't share them with you if I did. That's not my place. It's not my entire lifes' work you put in jeopardy."
I slumped back on the couch and felt the throb in my temple. At least Reginald wouldn't see me that night. I could go to bed early.
Will you be executed?
I gave a small laugh. "No."
Christophe made an impatient little tsk noise. "I had believed we discussed the rudeness of..."
I waved a hand. "She wants to know if I'll be executed. I've already told her no, but she does not understand our system of punishments.