Analog Science Fiction And Fact - June 2014 by Penny Publications Page B
Authors: Penny Publications
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to register. "Permit me to propose a compromise," he said. "With your permission, I will instruct the mizuni to uproot the makeeva with which Tajok intended to merge, prepare it for transport, and arrange to have it shipped to Izmir. I will accompany it, and I will take Tajok's mortal remains with me. The house that I shared with Tajok on Izmir has a garden. The makeeva will be transplanted there, Tajok's body will be consigned to it, and he will be united with soil that was, after all, more hospitable to him than the soil of his homeland."
Luhor scanned the faces of the genjuki, attempting to gauge their reactions, but their features remained unreadable. "This—I think—would be acceptable to Tajok himself and inoffensive to his detractors." He bowed with disingenuous obsequiousness. "Thank you for your attention. I await your judgment."
The senior genjuki bestirred himself. "Your suggestion seems very reasonable," he said, "and if you had made it yesterday, I suspect it would have been adopted—probably unanimously. But that was yesterday. Today we have received information that invalidates your argument and compels us to redefine our reason for being here. This was to have been a hearing to determine if makeevasukku would be extended to a war criminal. What it has become is a war criminal's last attempt to exploit the people he betrayed and victimized." He made an abrupt beckoning gesture. Five guards with drawn weapons converged on the witness box. "You are under arrest on a charge of high treason. Other charges will, of course, be forthcoming, but that one will do for the time being." He waved a hand in dismissal. "Take him away," he commanded.
And they did.
15.
"I wish I could say I suspected it all along." Baldwin's shoulders slumped, implying disclaimer. "I suppose I could
say
it," he amended, "but it wouldn't be true. I didn't have an inkling until Usiga killed Tumanzu.
That
got my attention—not only because murder had been done right before my eyes but because it made no sense!" Baldwin emphasized the senselessness of it by smacking his fist into his own palm and wincing at the pain he had senselessly inf licted on himself. "Six days. Only six days had passed since I'd proved to Usiga that his contract was void. What could have happened in the meantime? What could have changed his mind?"
David Collins was seated in the same chair that Tumanzu had occupied on the night when Tumanzu and Baldwin first met. Collins was drumming on the armrest with fidgety fingers. "Usiga is a professional," Collins observed. "If there's no profit in it, he doesn't do it."
"Exactly," Baldwin concurred.
Collins raised his eyebrows in conjecture. "His contract must have been renewed."
"Yes—but who would have a motive for doing that? I asked myself that question and only one candidate occurred to me."
"And that's when you realized the truth?"
"That's when my suspicions were aroused." Baldwin interlocked his fingers, using them like building blocks to erect a more complicated structure. "That's when I started putting the pieces of the puzzle together. I
had
most of the pieces in my possession. If I'd only attempted to assemble them sooner..." His manner was that of a penitent seeking absolution. "But I didn't. I made no effort to solve the puzzle until I recognized that a puzzle existed to be solved."
"And when you did...?"
Baldwin's head rotated like a weathervane seeking the proper orientation. "The war. The Dokharan/Ambulan conflict of twenty years ago. If you take the trouble to unravel this snarl, that's what you find at the center of it. The war—and the role that Tajok played in it." Baldwin paused to marshal his thoughts. Then:
"Tajok's life-extension experiments yielded results that were undeniably beneficial. Tumanzu was proof of that. So was Tajok himself. Ten years of servitude in the shiroz mines failed to kill him. That was an unprecedented feat of endurance. It required augmented strength, extraordinary
Luhor scanned the faces of the genjuki, attempting to gauge their reactions, but their features remained unreadable. "This—I think—would be acceptable to Tajok himself and inoffensive to his detractors." He bowed with disingenuous obsequiousness. "Thank you for your attention. I await your judgment."
The senior genjuki bestirred himself. "Your suggestion seems very reasonable," he said, "and if you had made it yesterday, I suspect it would have been adopted—probably unanimously. But that was yesterday. Today we have received information that invalidates your argument and compels us to redefine our reason for being here. This was to have been a hearing to determine if makeevasukku would be extended to a war criminal. What it has become is a war criminal's last attempt to exploit the people he betrayed and victimized." He made an abrupt beckoning gesture. Five guards with drawn weapons converged on the witness box. "You are under arrest on a charge of high treason. Other charges will, of course, be forthcoming, but that one will do for the time being." He waved a hand in dismissal. "Take him away," he commanded.
And they did.
15.
"I wish I could say I suspected it all along." Baldwin's shoulders slumped, implying disclaimer. "I suppose I could
say
it," he amended, "but it wouldn't be true. I didn't have an inkling until Usiga killed Tumanzu.
That
got my attention—not only because murder had been done right before my eyes but because it made no sense!" Baldwin emphasized the senselessness of it by smacking his fist into his own palm and wincing at the pain he had senselessly inf licted on himself. "Six days. Only six days had passed since I'd proved to Usiga that his contract was void. What could have happened in the meantime? What could have changed his mind?"
David Collins was seated in the same chair that Tumanzu had occupied on the night when Tumanzu and Baldwin first met. Collins was drumming on the armrest with fidgety fingers. "Usiga is a professional," Collins observed. "If there's no profit in it, he doesn't do it."
"Exactly," Baldwin concurred.
Collins raised his eyebrows in conjecture. "His contract must have been renewed."
"Yes—but who would have a motive for doing that? I asked myself that question and only one candidate occurred to me."
"And that's when you realized the truth?"
"That's when my suspicions were aroused." Baldwin interlocked his fingers, using them like building blocks to erect a more complicated structure. "That's when I started putting the pieces of the puzzle together. I
had
most of the pieces in my possession. If I'd only attempted to assemble them sooner..." His manner was that of a penitent seeking absolution. "But I didn't. I made no effort to solve the puzzle until I recognized that a puzzle existed to be solved."
"And when you did...?"
Baldwin's head rotated like a weathervane seeking the proper orientation. "The war. The Dokharan/Ambulan conflict of twenty years ago. If you take the trouble to unravel this snarl, that's what you find at the center of it. The war—and the role that Tajok played in it." Baldwin paused to marshal his thoughts. Then:
"Tajok's life-extension experiments yielded results that were undeniably beneficial. Tumanzu was proof of that. So was Tajok himself. Ten years of servitude in the shiroz mines failed to kill him. That was an unprecedented feat of endurance. It required augmented strength, extraordinary
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