Fire with Fire(138)

Alnduul’s gills rippled faintly, once. “I must refuse your request. Even though I am personally inclined to answer.”

“I am perplexed: why withhold this information?”

“All information is intelligence. Once you are a member state, you are entitled to certain limited information on all states: for instance, you must know the location of each member state’s homeworld.”

“Why?”

“Because attacking a member state’s homeworld will trigger a sharp Custodial intervention, as outlined in the Twenty-first Accord. So, if you are to observe such constraints, you must know the worlds to which they apply.”

“So how does our knowing the Dornaani homeworld put anyone else’s at risk?”

“A member state could legitimately—if speciously—contend that by prematurely revealing our astrographic siting to you, we have contributed to your ability to deduce theirs. By process of elimination.”

Downing smiled sardonically. “So by knowing where you are, we know where they are not.”

“Yes.”

Caine felt the break in the pace of Downing’s line of questioning, took back the initiative. “While we are on the topic of astrographic locations, we have a question about the allowed pathways of expansion outlined in the accords. Specifically, do all species receive fifty-eight systems, with the same general mixture of stellar classes and planets?”

“Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to your query. However, I will attempt to furnish you with a crude overview.” The center fingers on each of Alnduul’s hands rose slightly. “We attempt to balance the number of stars available to each race, maintaining proportionality of type and sequence. We make every effort to ensure that there is no astrographic overlap between the current member states and the developmental pathways that are held in trust for possible future member species. This was the case with your developmental pathway; it remained off-limits to other races so that you might have the sole use of it.”

Caine nodded, looked down the list of worlds, then the list of further questions—and then his eyes returned to the list of worlds. They settled on 70 Ophiuchi. He was supposed to ask about that next. But his attention was instinctively drawn to a different planetary name, a name that was dragging him away from the line of safe inquiry toward one that was potentially quite perilous. In the next moment, Caine realized that his instincts were actually pulling in the same direction as his conscience. Alnduul might be conducting a subtle test here, to see if they’d have the nerve—and integrity—to ask about this other system. Caine realized he’d have to take a chance in order to find out, which meant asking—

“What criteria do you use to determine if a primitive protected race needs to have a pathway—or world—set aside for it?”

Caine felt Downing’s fast, reflexive lean toward him: he’d probably have tackled me bodily if this wasn’t first contact. Visser looked up quickly; her mouth had sagged open. Took you a second longer, Fraulein, but you see where I’m going. She winced and put her hand over her ear: even so, Caine could hear Wasserman’s tiny, muted voice shouting: “Oh, Jesus Christ. Riordan—!”

But Alnduul did not seem to intuit or heed the potential discomfiture in the human delegation. “For a species to be given ‘protected race’ status—and therefore, have worlds reserved for its use—it must demonstrate sapience, or the imminence thereof.”

“What would happen if the Custodians—uh—missed detecting a race requiring such protection? What if it was first discovered by another starfaring species, which had already colonized the world in question?” Caine heard chairs squeaking, fingers drumming, and more Lilliputian outcries from Visser’s earpiece: they all knew where he was heading now. But this is the right—and the smart—thing to do—

“It is hard to imagine how such an oversight would occur,” Alnduul answered. “Sapience leaves clear marks of its presence.”

“But if it did occur?”

“We must end this line of inquiry, unless it has immediate pertinence. Tasking the accords to respond to every hypothetical situation can only—”

“I beg your pardon, but my question is not hypothetical.”

Alnduul paused. “Indeed?”

Visser tugged sharply at Caine’s elbow and hissed in his ear: “Don’t you dare tell them about—”

Caine didn’t stop: “I feel it is our responsibility to bring such a possible oversight to your attention.”

Alnduul stared. And repeated: “Indeed?”