Sliding Scales (16 page)

When the official finally lifted his finger from the hard surface, both Vssey were swaying weakly.

Takuuna affected ignorance. “Oh, I am sso ssorry. Did you find that uncomfortable?” Still recovering from the excruciating aural assault, neither of the sensitive Vssey
responded. The AAnn leaned slightly toward them. “Did it perhapss sserve to clarify your memory?”

Lwo-Dvuum swallowed air. “T-truly,” the educator whispered, utilizing the favored AAnn preamble, “we have no idea what you are referring to, or what you could possibly want from us. That is why I sought clarification. I did not mean to offen'.”

“We don't like you,” a stiffening Bno-Cassaul declared forthrightly. The programmer ignored Lwo-Dvuum's frantic gestures and rambled on. “We don't like having you on our worl'. While doing business here and persisting with cultural exchanges, you seek to infiltrate an' undermine our institutions an' our culture. We will conduct formalities with you, but we will never be part of your Empire.”

Exchanging a glance, inquisitor and recorder exchanged hissing laughter. Neither appeared to take offense at the challenge. “I sseek new information, not what hass been known for ssome time.” Penetrating eyes met BnoCassaul's. “Fortunately, there are a great many Vssey who think and feel differently from you. There are thosse who quite like uss. There are even thosse who cannot wait for Jasst to be formally brought within the Empire. Ssuch ssentimentss are to be encouraged.” He sat back in the chair, his tail switching methodically back and forth behind it.

“While we do not encourage dissenting opinion, we are perfectly willing to tolerate it. After all,” Takuuna added magnanimously, “ssuch open debatess are fully protected by your lawss.”

For how much longer? a still-recovering Lwo-Dvuum could not keep from wondering.

“But,
kssassk
, when opinion turnss to violence, and to murder, then our outlook changess rather sseverely. Your government iss of the ssame mind.”

Lwo-Dvuum was completely at a loss. At such a moment
one wished for the flexibility to convey true inner feelings by flexing one's face. Since the Vssey did not possess faces of the commonly accepted kind, this means of expression was denied to them. All the two Vssey could do was ripple their dozens of short tentacles passionately.

“What violence? What murder? Our circle philosophizes and discusses, nothing more.”

The recorder leaned sideways to whisper something in the AAnn tongue. Takuuna listened gravely, gesturing from time to time, while the mystified Vssey could only wait.

Finally, the administrator straightened in his chair. “It may be that you are telling the truth.” As he spoke, one extended claw hovered above the tabletop, drawing lazy circles above the unyielding surface. Lwo-Dvuum and Bno-Cassaul tracked its movement with a kind of stolid, horrified fascination, as if watching an old-type fuse burn shorter and shorter. They would have sweated, had their systems been equipped for it.

“It may be that you are telling the truth,” Takuuna observed quietly. “If not, then what I am about to ssay will already be known to you. It will not matter. The end will be the ssame.

“Sseveral of your time periodss ago, a violent explossion claimed the livess of many innocent nye at a military and sservices ssupport base located outsside the city of Morotuuver. A ssingle time period passt, a building in the city of Aulauwohly that houssed, among other agenciess, the one ressponssible for much of Imperial-Jasstian trade was desstroyed.”

Bno-Cassaul's eyestalks retracted slightly. “I am familiar with both incidents. The first was cause' by a ba' electrical circuit flashing volatile materials kept in storage, the secon' by faulty maintenance of the building's climate control system.”

Takuuna gestured knowingly. “After conssultation with your government, thosse are the explanationss that were releassed to the media.” The administrator's eyes glittered in the diffuse light. “The reality iss ssomewhat different.”

Bno-Cassaul's tentacles rippled uncertainly. “What possible reason coul' justify prevarication in such a matter?”

The AAnn official was clearly controlling himself with an effort. “I think you both know very well,
tssissk.
” It was immensely frustrating, Takuuna thought, to have to deal with sentients who had no expressions whatsoever and whose posture was virtually impossible to interpret. He would suck the truth out of them in spite of that. But whether they were still insufficiently intimidated or truly ignorant had yet to be determined. What he wanted to do was walk up to the more defiant of the pair and begin ripping its tentacles off, one by one. He restrained himself. Time enough later to engage in time-honored ritual.

For the sake of the official record that would be viewed by his superiors, among others, he proceeded to elucidate.

“It hass been determined, with only the sslightesst probability of erroneousness, that both incidentss were the ressult of deliberate hosstilitiess on the part of as yet unknown perpetratorss. You are both known to be active memberss of a circle that iss vociferoussly oppossed to the Imperial pressence on Jasst. Do you wissh now to deny thiss?”

Lwo-Dvuum did not even glance in the direction of the silent AAnn operating the formal recording device. Much as the educator would have preferred to reply in the negative, there was not much point in denying what the AAnn obviously already knew.

“As my frien' has already state', we don't like you. To be fair, there are many Vssey who fin' your presence here not only acceptable but welcome. It happens that the
members of our particular circle do not.” A dozen tentacles gestured in unison in an attempt to encompass all of their immediate surroundings. “I fail to see how that justifies an arrest that borders on near abduction, or this style of questioning, or your attempts to intimidate us.”

With difficulty, Takuuna continued to restrain himself. “Leaving asside for the moment the matter of the damage to relationss between your government and mine, the cassualtiess among my kind from both incidentss total in the hundredss. Among my people, that jusstifiess a reaction far sstronger than anything you have thuss far experienced, either individually or collectively. I ssuggesst that you take a moment to reflect on the fact that I and my kind have thuss far sshown conssiderable resstraint.” It was the closest to an outright threat the administrator had issued since the uninformative pair of Vssey had been brought before him.

It did not appear to rattle the two detainees any more than they already were. Either they were dedicated fanatics, as Takuuna half hoped, or else they were secure in their ignorance.

“Furthermore,” he continued when no response was forthcoming from the pair, “it iss ssusspected that the wider organization to which your circle iss believed to belong wass receiving advice and possibly material assisstance of an as yet unknown nature from a recently deceassed vissiting human sspy.”

This last accusation was a wild shot in the dark. Ever suspicious, he had always wondered about the real reason behind the dead human's presence on Jast. By throwing it into the interrogation he might perhaps, like the prowling sand skimmer of Old, sink his claws into something as tasty as it was unexpected.

The allegation certainly took the prisoners aback, but not for the reason the watchful Takuuna hoped.

What, a now doubly bewildered Lwo-Dvuum wondered dazedly, was a human? Rotating one eye leftward, the perplexed educator saw that poor Bno-Cassaul was equally baffled. Straining his memory, he vaguely recalled an image and description of a tall bipedal creature not unlike the AAnn, only devoid of scales and with a pulpy physical texture completely alien to his own kind as well. In concert with another, more appropriately hard-skinned species called the thranx, these humans dominated the vast interstellar political entity known as the Commonwealth that was permanently at odds with the Empire of the AAnn.

He had never seen a human, of course. Only a very few had ever visited Jast, and he had never encountered one. There were only the few isolated mentions in the official media. And now this relentless AAnn official was claiming that he and Bno-Cassaul and the other members of their circle had not only had concourse with such a creature, but had actively engaged in antisocial activities with its aid. It would all have been hysterically amusing— under different circumstances. A glance was enough to show that the AAnn administrator was not laughing in the manner of his kind, or in any other manner. He was quite serious.

At such times, Lwo-Dvuum reflected, it must be interesting to be gender differentiated, if only to be able to view an identical situation through a different mental prism. Being essentially sexless, the Vssey could only ponder such possibilities from a purely philosophical point of view.

Irregardless of gender, the characteristically impatient AAnn was visibly awaiting a response.

“We know nothing of this human of whom you speak, or of any representative of its kind. To the best of my personal knowledge, neither I nor any member of our circle
has ever encountere' such a creature. I am compelle' to reiterate that the objections we have raise' to the Imperial presence on our worl' have taken the form of civil discourse only.” Tentacles fluttered in a steady, rippling motion, creating a continuous cilia-like wave around the upper portion of the speaker's body. “I am an educator. Bno-Cassaul is a programmer. Even if we wishe' to carry out the kinds of actions to which you refer, neither we nor any of the members of our circle have the requisite technical expertise to do so.”

“Ssay you,” Takuuna shot back. “Next I ssupposse you are going to tell me that newss of the atrocitiess that have been perpetrated againsst my kind did not fill you with glee?”

Lwo-Dvuum was forced to consider his own personal reactions to what the AAnn had so far told him. There was more going on here than what met the eyes. If he and Bno-Cassaul could figure out what was really behind this ill-mannered interrogation, they might be able to turn it to their advantage. But they would have to be careful, a consideration the educator was afraid his friend had not yet taken to account. From what he knew of AAnn gestures, expressions, and postures, Lwo-Dvuum could sense that this Takuuna official was simultaneously angry and nervous: a volatile combination. If they could keep him calm, the two bemused Vssey might well acquire bits and pieces of worthwhile knowledge.

Properly finessed, interrogation could be a two-way street. The AAnn were not the only sentients on Jast who could claim shrewdness as a racial attribute.

If the prickly administrator was to be believed, while Lwo-Dvuum and the members of his circle had spent long timeparts debating the best way to give the unwelcome visitors a jolt, some unknown Vssey had already gone ahead and done so. Rather more serious a jolt, too, than
anything Lwo-Dvuum would have proposed, but one whose efficacy could hardly be denied.
Could
the hostile acts have been perpetrated by members of their circle, unbeknownst to the others? The educator doubted it. They knew one another too well. And none of them, LwoDvuum was convinced, possessed the necessary murderous streak. While the Vssey could fight, and had done so frequently in the past, today they much preferred peace and harmony.

With, if the AAnn official was to be believed, at least a few notable exceptions.

“You have not replied to my quesstion,” Takuuna hissed at the pensive educator.

“If I did feel as you suggest about what you say truly happened, would I admit to it?”

The AAnn made a gesture of third-degree gratification to the recorder. “An honesst ansswer at lasst. Your wordss alsso tell me that you are not sstupid. But that iss to be expected, given your professionss.” A clawed hand made small circles on the table, not scraping this time, stroking sand that wasn't there. “Let uss ssay for the moment that I accept your protesstationss of ignorance and innocence. Will you act as civilized as you profess to be? Will you help uss to find and identify the cowardly assassinss hiding among your own kind?”

Lwo-Dvuum did not hesitate. “It would be the polite thing to do.” Bno-Cassaul looked at him sharply. The educator ignored his companion.

Takuuna hissed an appreciative reply. “I appreciate the cleverness of your ressponsse, but it doess not ansswer my quesstion. Will you, or will you not?”

“We will,” Lwo-Dvuum assured him.

The administrator rose. The insignia on his lightweight jacket shimmered in the dim light. “Then thiss interview iss at an end. I will take you at your word, educator. You
will be provided with a ssufficiency of background material to enable you to assisst, inssofar as you are able, in the ongoing ssearch for the unknown malefactorss. Your own actionss will of coursse be ssimultaneoussly monitored. If it iss felt at any time that you have conssented to assisst in the hopess of ssecretly providing information about the ssearch to the very oness we sseek, I assure you that you will ssuffer a fate as ultimately final as it will be exquissite in the detailss of itss execution.” The recorder shut down his instrumentation and stood as Takuuna prepared to exit the room. Halfway to the door, the administrator paused to look back.

“You truly have had no contact with the human, or with any of hiss kind?”

While both eyes remained focused on the AAnn, LwoDvuum tilted forward the domed upper third of a much relieved body. “Not to my knowledge. My friends and I know so little of the species to which you refer that I am almost too uninforme' to reply knowledgeably on the matter.”

Takuuna's only response was to emit a long, slow hiss as his tongue flicked out absently between the long upper canines at the front end of his jaws. Lwo-Dvuum could not be certain, but it struck him that the negative reply on this particular subject struck the AAnn as particularly disappointing. The educator could not help that. Throughout the course of the interview, only truth had been told.

Except for the part about helping the AAnn locate and identify the insurgents. That had been a bald-faced lie. But it had bought time. It was something that had to be explained to a certain quietly fuming programmer as soon as the two of them were released outside the AAnn administrative complex.