Reclamation(100)

The Voice had, of course, already heard what had passed between Kiv and the Vitae. It was too important a conversation to have gone unmonitored.

Gov extended himself fully. “You will give them your promise to deal with their property as they require.”

Kiv knelt, lowering his torso defiantly to the floor. “There is more here than is immediately obvious, Emissary. What they call an artifact …”

“Is also a parent with living children.” Ere leaned herself over the top of Kiv’s head. “Four of them.”

“To which the Vitae have laid claim,” said Gov. “If they own the children, they own the parent.”

Which answered the question about where Gov came from. The Si-Tuk peninsula had practiced slavery right up to the time the Unity Laws had been laid down. Right up to the time Kiv’s parent had dropped her eggs.

“But how have they laid claim?” asked Kiv. “All they say is that their ancestors came from this place. Well, my ancestors came from the Si-Tuk province.” He stretched all his eyes directly toward Gov. “Yet for three-quarters of a century, the Si-Tuk vigorously contested our enclave’s right to return there, and enslaved those who disagreed with them.”

Gov hissed and Ji retracted himself. “Kivere, now is a very bad time to bring up old wars.” He peeled open three eyes. “The Vitae have always been very precise in their dealings with us. If their representatives say that we will have no more dealings with them, we must accept that at face value. Remember, the humans can afford not to care about us, but we must care about them. There are too many of them. They are everywhere.”

“How much of what you say is influenced by your partnership with Yul Gan Perivar?” asked Shim abruptly.

Ere hissed. Shocked, Kiv squeezed her mouth closed. What’s she thinking? Sneering at the Emissary Voice because of a remark about a human …

No, she is sneering at three strangers because of a remark about Perivar. The realization hit Kiv hard. He was not the only one who knew Perivar better than a cousin.

“A fair question,” he said, more to Ere than to the Voice. “I would say a great deal is influenced by it. I thought that was the point of the Voice and the Enclave licensing my partnership, so that I and my children could be influenced by humans.

“It is worth remembering, Emissary Voice, that humans are not all Vitae,” said Kiv. “Many of them do not even like the Vitae.”

“And many of them do not even like us,” Shim reminded him. “The Vitae, unlike the Unifiers, are at least indifferent to our biology.” He raised himself up until he was the tallest in the room.

Before any of the Voice could speak, Kiv extended his neck. Ere laid all her hands on the top of his head and extended herself as well to add weight to what he said. “Yes, sirs, I agree, we must be careful of the Unifiers. But there are more than those two choices for us. As you said, the humans are everywhere …”

“But not everywhere do they agree, or even speak with each other,” finished Ere.

Ji retracted even farther. “I do not clearly hear what you are saying, Kivere.”

“The Vitae are retreating. We see this everywhere. Even if it is only a partial retreat, a temporary retreat, a weakness will be created when they leave. The humans will be scrambling to rebalance themselves.” He felt Ere’s feet shift and knew she was extending herself to her absolute limits.

“Why should the Shessel not be part of the new balance?” Ere whistled triumphantly. “We have resources, we need business. If we become a prop to the humans, they will fear to lose us as they fear to lose the Vitae.”

Shim retracted his snout thoughtfully several times. The others remained ominously still.

“What is the sudden eloquence that has come upon you, Kivere?” asked Gov.

Kiv extended his arms and Ere swarmed down them so that she was presented to the Voice. “I have staked the lives of all my children on the idea that we will be able to find some way to coexist with the humans that does not compromise the Shessels’ future.”

It was totally unfair and he knew it. Only business operators were allowed to hatch their children offworld. Emissaries had to drop their eggs unfertilized or leave them in stasis. It was as unfair as the Vitae bringing their own offspring into the visitor’s chamber.

Gov retracted his secondary arms. “However intriguing this possibility is, it would call for a change in official policy. Therefore, we cannot act on it.”

“We could if the Emissary’s council changed the policy,” suggested Ji, and Kiv wondered how united the Voice really was.

“We must not overreach ourselves,” said Shim reluctantly. “We are emissaries to the Kethran Diet, not the Vitae.”