The first Ari had not just tweaked the helm of the ship of colonial ambitions, but rewritten the navigational charts. Gehenna was only a part of it.
And her predecessor had kept that secret to herself, until she passed it to her own image and set her onto a very specific course: to be sure the design didn’t blow up in the second and third generation of newly‑minted CITs…because to tell anyone was risking letting anotherworm loose in the population, one of knowing one’s fate and trying to second‑guess it.
And where wasthe end? What was going to happen to humanity as a whole, when half the human population in the universe was on a different, human‑devised program? Done was done. She had to steer it.
“All right,” she said to this man, her own caretaker. Her protector. The man likely empowered by her predecessor to remove her if she ran amok. And she forgave him his sins of secrecy and surrendered a planet to him, because this man, whose use was his independent thinking, thought it was a necessary move. “All right, Yanni, so I’ll study up on Eversnow. I should have done before now. The damage, you’re right, is already done. The military saw to that. And I’m sure there are benefits I haven’t looked at.”
“I have a paper for you on that matter,” he said. “Whalesong, on Earth.”
“Whalesong,” she said. The whim of a nostalgic preservationist: the oceans of Eversnow. “They sing.”
“I think you’ll find it interesting.”
A bite of fish.
“You give me my city, Yanni, and I’ll give you your planet.”
“Precocious child.”
“On a completely different topic–I’ve almost made up my mind this week. I’m pretty sure we’re going to clone Denys.”
“Are we? Now? Or some time in the next seven years?”
She frowned. That was a question. A big one: how close will we try to stick to program? “Giraud is the one we’re going to trust–a little. Without his brother Denys to protect–how do we make a Giraud? So we clone Denys, for him, so Giraud keeps on track. That’s my total reasoning in deciding. I was all set to tell you that this evening, when you dropped this Eversnow business in my lap. You said you were leaving the decision up to me. And I was thinking about it a lot while you were gone.”
“Denys has no essential value,” Yanni paraphrased her, “except to keep Giraud on track.”
“No. That’s what I changed my mind on. Denys helped create me. And if you have to create me again, you’d probably want a Denys to keep the new me in line, because Giraud is too soft.”
“You don’t think I could fill that position?”
“Uncle Yanni,” she said fondly, “you’re much too easy on me. You let me get away with everything.”
“Hell. Sounds as if you’re already making a lot of minor decisions, especially when I’m out of the house.”
“Except the Eversnow thing. I wouldn’t call that minor.”
“It’ll be your problem, young lady.”
“It’ll be your problem until it’s pretty well underway. You’re staying in office at least two more years. Maybe more.”
“Two more years in purgatory. God, I hate politics.”
“But pleasedon’t fall down the stairs, Uncle Yanni. You have to be Director. My alternative right now is Justin or Jordan.”
It was a joke. Yanni didn’t laugh. “Better to install Grant,” Yanni muttered.
Probably true. Justin Warrick would hate the job more than Yanni did.
Sacrifice was the situation Yanni was enduring. Never mind he was creating a planet–he wantedto be working with azi, which was what he really loved.
“Yanni. Could you do onething more for me?”
“What?” Yanni asked, and an eyebrow lifted. “When you take that tone, I’m on my guard.”
She thought: Ari wanted you to bring me up. She’d agree with me. But she wasn’t supposed to know that, so she said, “Giraud’s going to need a father in a few months. Would you?”
“Good God!”
“You’d be good at it.”
“Like hell. Giraud? Good loving God. He’d turn out a serial killer. I’m not good with kids. Especially that one.”
“You’re good at politics. People promise you things.”
“I’m not sure that compliments my intelligence.”
“So will you do it?”
A sigh. “I’m already loaded down with Council work and Admin. Where do I find the hours?”
“Who else am I going to get? Dr. Edwards? Giraud’s too devious for him.”
“You’re serious.”
“I’m completely serious.”
“Well, it’s myappointment to make,” Yanni said. “Unless you want to take over this week.”
“No.”
“So I’ll think about it.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“So tell me about the rest of the session,” she said. “I’m sure you were brilliant.”
“The rest.” he said, “was absolutely, deadly dull. Well, except the bomb scare. Paxers up to their old tricks. Nobody believed they could have gotten anything into the building, but I went back to the hotel and actually got my correspondence done.”
Dinner wended happily on to dessert, a chocolate mousse, just a little of it, with a lot less tension. She found herself happy–so happy from relief that her hands shook a little; and she was fluxed. She’d just lost a planet, for God’s sake, and she found herself being grateful it wasn’t anything that personally threatened her. As for Yanni, he didn’t look at all guilty of double‑dealing: he looked very tired by then, trying to be sharp, but considering the trip home, the wine, and the rich dessert, he was probably thinking of bed and really hoping she wouldn’t try any Working at the moment.
She didn’t. She had all of her dessert and said she was tired herself, and yawned. That was no pretense and no Working. “You’re the one who’s had the long trip,” she said, “and look. I’m the one yawning.”
“I’m done,” he said. “I’ve got a detailed report for you. I wrote down all the details. Session vids. Dull stuff.” He fished in his pocket and laid a capsule down. “All there.”
“You’re so good,” she said warmly. And meant it, this time in gratitude. Even if she was relatively sure the secret meetings wouldn’t be in there. She pushed back from the table and Yanni got up and moved her chair for her, gentlemanlike. “Uncle Yanni.”
“Don’t call me uncle.”
“Grump.” She’d found that word in a book recently. It fit Yanni. She put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. “Good night. Go get some rest.”
He returned the kiss, casual, but it made a warm feeling. There was no other CIT who had done that, not since Maman had gone away. Uncle Denys certainly hadn’t.
And she had lately to think–did he dare try to manipulate her, sweeten his Eversnow maneuver, which he had come here knowing wouldn’t be totally to her liking?
But she didn’t want to think that. And he hadbrought her a written report, and the session tapes. She just filed the feeling away…let it go for a while. There’d be changes. There’d be her administration, after his, but it didn’t have to be, yet. He was doing all right: she didn’t likethe Eversnow thing, didn’t likethe new labs, either, but he was being careful about it.
She saw him to the door, his companion Frank joining him there, and Catlin showed up, too.
Yanni left. The door closed. Systems went up again.
“I think he’s all right,” she announced to Catlin when that door shut.