Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail (39 page)

“Do
you
understand it?”

“Sometimes I think I do, but I cannot really say so truthfully. I know what they are doing, and why they are doing it, but that is not the same thing as understanding it. I think it is time we both turn in, Mr. Carroll. Tomorrow, we settle it, and, in a sense, I fear that the hopes of Kreegan and, in fact, myself, will be dashed. I know those people too well, those high and mighty Confederacy leaders. You see Talant Ypsir and see a monster. I look at the Council and the Congress and the planetary leaders and I see a great gathering of Talant Ypsirs, and would-be Talant Ypsirs if they thought they could get away with it. That is the true reason they established the Warden Diamond; you have only to recognize it yourself. They wanted a place of security, refuge, and escape in case
they
were caught. The Four Lords of the Diamond are not truly any different from the Nine Hundred Lords of the Confederacy, who are merely greater hypocrites.” He turned to go, and the agent reached out and softly took hold of his arm for a moment.

“Morah—I have to know. Just whose side are you on?

“What is your ultimate game? You hate the Confederacy, but you have the same contempt for the Four Lords and the Diamond systems. You hoped that Kreegan could save humanity, yet you work for the aliens. What is your game?” The chief of security sighed. “Once I had a game, Mr. Carroll. I don’t any longer. I am trapped in a near-endless madhouse of a universe I did not make and cannot control or truly influence. From our viewpoint the Altavar are incredibly wise and totally insane, but insanity itself is a matter of degree. I am certainly insane by the standards of the Confederacy. Think of me as you would yourself. Neither of us asked to be here, nor did we fight for the responsibility that has been dropped upon us. Both of us do what we must because we are here, not because we are even the best people to be here. And, being totally insane ourselves, while we do not wish the ruin, carnage, and senseless violence that impends, we will both, wearily and without joy, work like hell to pick up the pieces.” 

“That’s a pretty shitty universe you live in.” Morah grinned. “I wouldn’t bring this up tomorrow, but, for the record, the Altavar have three sexes. One contributes sperm, one egg, into a third who bears the young. And given a near-perfect medical knowledge, they live about three times as long as we do.” And with that, Yatek Morah went off to bed.

6

The conference was an awkward affair, but it was the best that could be done on short notice. He wondered from the start why such a minor moon, ill-suited for this sort of thing, should have been chosen, but suspected it might have been to accommodate the Altavar.

The technicians had rigged a screen at each end of the “conference room” and a similar setup, but not two-way, for the aides and assistants and others in the dorm next door. Inside the room sat the four current Lords of the Diamond dressed in their best, or most dramatic, as well as Dumonia and “Mr. Carroll,” the last two facing the rest despite the fact that Laroo was really Dumonia’s surrogate. Morah, it seemed, didn’t fully believe his statements on Dumonia’s power and neither recognized it nor told the others. Dumonia, for his part, was happy to be there as a representative of the Confederacy, although he found that concept highly amusing.

To the Lord’s right, on the screen, was an Altavar, possibly the same one he’d spoken to the night before. To their left the screen showed two men and a woman, all civilized worlders, dressed in formal robes of office. These were the senior ranking members of the Council, the rest of whom watched on a larger screen in an adjoining room back in the Confederacy.

He surveyed the Four Lords and shuffled his note cards nervously. Several times he tried to catch Ypsir’s eye, but while the Medusan kept taking sidelong glances at him he otherwise would not acknowledge the agent’s existence.

When both sides’ comtechs certified all was ready, Morah began the meeting, as he represented not only Charon but also, to some extent, the Altavar themselves.

“These proceedings are open at ten hundred Base Mean Time. I am Yatek Morah, acting Lord of Charon. To my right is Talant Ypsir, Lord of Medusa, then Wagant Laroo, Lord of Cerberus, and, finally, Duke Hamano Kobe’, Lord of Lilith. We speak with full authority for the populations of the Warden Diamond. Across from me sit Mr. Lewis Carroll, authorized agent of the Confederacy, and Antonini Dumonia, the Confederacy’s resident agent on the Warden Diamond.” Morah kept a straight face but Dumonia almost broke up. “Representing the Party Council are Senators Klon Luge, Morakar O’Higgins, and Surenda Quapiere. Representing the Altavar Managerial Project staff and with full authority to represent all Altavar involved in this spa-cial sector is Hadakim Soog. The name is an attempt to represent the actual name in our speech, and is used simply because the Altavar translating devices will recognize those syllables and transliterate them into Altavar and vice versa. There being no neutral parties present, I will assume the chairmanship for the time being, if there is no objection.”

Nobody spoke or moved.

“Very well, then,” Morah continued, “we will proceed. Mr. Carroll, will you please state your position?”

He smiled and nodded. “There is no use going into all the circumstances that brought us to this point. If we didn’t all know them, and if it wasn’t now a matter of record at all governments concerned, we wouldn’t be here. It is the Confederacy’s position that there is nothing here to fight about, put as simply and bluntly as possible. As far as we can determine, the interest of the Altavar is entirely in the Warden system, as are the interests of the Four Lords of the Diamond. The Confederacy is a very large group not in conflict with the Altavar or any other territory, and, therefore, believes that this matter may be settled simply. We are prepared to cede and concede to the Altavar sovereignty of the Warden solar system for a distance of twenty light-years from its sun, and we are further prepared to guarantee that no people or vessels not now belonging to those in residence in the system will encroach upon this zone, nor will Altavar access or egress from the system be in any way impeded even if it cuts through regions under Confederacy sovereignty. The four worlds known as the Warden Diamond, and their possses-sions and colonies, will be given free, unconditional, unilateral independence and may work out whatever arrangement they like with the Altavar. If the Altavar are sincere in stating that they have no interest in Confederacy space beyond the Warden system, this should be sufficient. Any violations, of course, would constitute an immediate act of war, but the vastness of the surrounding zone would provide ample warning.”

He looked around to see how this was being taken—he had hashed it out on the security band well into the night with the Council and Krega—but saw no emotion whatever on the intent listeners. Well, not quite all—Ypsir was cleaning his nails with a small pen knife.

“In exchange for this,” he continued, “the Confederacy expects an immediate and total cessation of hostilities now underway against it by the Four Lords of the Diamond with the acquiescence of the Altavar, withdrawal of all such agents to the Warden Diamond, and a formal agreement that any future territorial or interest conflicts between the Confederation and the Altavar be settled by arbitration with both sides renouncing the use of force against the other. We feel this is more than fair.”

Morah waited a moment to see if he was finished, then saw his nod that he was. “Very well, then,” the Charonese said, “do you have anything to add, Doctor?”

Dumonia shook his head negatively.

“All right. I sense some objections among the Four Lords, but I will defer them at this time, and ask the Council to confirm this offer.”

“We do,” Luge’s voice came to them after a momentary delay caused not by interstellar communications but by the lag from the subspace relay they were using on the picket ship. “In fact, the offer was approved twenty-one to four by the full Council and thus is binding upon us if accepted.”

Morah nodded and turned to the impassive Altavar. “Manager Soog, are you prepared at this time to answer the offer?”

“We are,” the eerie synthesized voice responded. “We would very much like to accept the offer, which answers our basic needs and our objections to the current arrangement. However, we feel we cannot do so. The history of the human race argues against you, Confederacy. It is a most consistent record, no matter the technological or social levels. From the very beginnings of your history you have shown yourselves to be totally intolerant of those who are different. The record is a clear record of repression. Treaties are signed and sworn to and systematically violated at the first opportunity. You persecuted your own for a mild difference in skin color or bone structure, or because some worshiped a different god, or even the same god by different names. Treaties between nations held only so long as both nations felt so strong that they could destroy the other. Not once do we see social or political agreements made and held by mutual respect, only by mutual fear—and then with all the efforts of both sides devoted to destroying even that balance.

“You took these attitudes with you into space,” the creature went on, “and continued them for a while, until the years and the practicalities of distance and the advance of technology merged you racially and culturally. Still, the fact of this merger only caused redirection of this trait. Fully a dozen nonhuman races were discovered in your outward expansion. None equaled your power or emulated your culture. Five you utterly destroyed simply because you could not understand them. The other seven you conquered ruthlessly, and imposed your culture and your system upon them by force. With two of those you first concluded treaties of peace and friendship and the exchange of ambassadors and technical skills, because they were spacefar-ing races. But as soon as you decided that they could be no threat to you, you ruthlessly rushed in upon them and crushed them, ignoring your treaties. Understand that we do not necessarily condemn this trait, nor condone it, for it is natural to an expanding spacefaring culture and we have seen it before. We were even guilty of it ourselves, once. But you see where this leaves us in the current situation.

“Your treaties are worthless, until you know our strength and power, knowledge those treaties buy you because they buy you whatever time is needed. Sovereignty so easily given away may be more easily taken back. Nor can your military and government leaders rest easy as long as we are hidden behind a shield of their ignorance. Unless we show you all, you will try all the more by any means to learn and thus interfere. If we
did
show you, either you would determine us too weak and thus rush in to crush us, or we would be too strong, in which case you would spare no effort to catch up, then surpass us technologically and militarily. Your proposal, then, simply buys you the time you need to gain advantage, or it puts off the war, allowing you to build up and improve your forces. It offers us nothing of substance, and we must reject it.”

The three Councillors looked extremely distressed and uncomfortable at this assessment, and Dumonia leaned over and whispered to the agent, “Take ‘em off the hook, son. They’re outclassed.”

He nodded. “Then do the Altavar have a counterproposal to avoid war?”

The creature did not hesitate. “We see only one possible guarantee of our own security and safety. The Confederacy will turn over to us control of all spacecraft of whatever size or type capable of interstellar travel, and will build no more. All interstellar travel and communications between human worlds and all forces capable of harming us will be entirely under-our control and supervision for a period of three hundred and fifty years from the date of commencement of the agreement. We will guarantee to maintain all existing passenger and freight routes and establish whatever added schedules are needed for the maintenance of the economy and the well-being of the people. We will not interfere in the internal political affairs of the Confederacy in any way. Expansion or the possession or control of any spacial weapons for the interdicted period will not be permitted.”

The Councillors gasped, and all Four Lords smiled knowingly. “But—that would leave the entire human race totally and completely at the mercy of a race and culture of which we know nothing, having to trust all your promises at face valuel” Senator Luge exclaimed. “Surely you can’t be serious!”

“You proposed to cut loose unilaterally fifty million plus people who are Confederacy citizens under law and put them under these people, you know,” Talant Ypsir snapped. “If it’s good enough for us, it should be good enough for you!”

Morah let the outburst pass, and the Councillors ignored it. “These are negotiations in progress,” he reminded them all. “Let us keep our decorum. Manager Soog?”

“Can the Senator or his advisors suggest any other way we can guarantee our security?” the alien asked.

“Our word is—” the Senator started, but the alien cut him off.

“Your word is valueless. Even you know this. Even as these proceedings begin, a vast and powerful war fleet is within range of the Warden system. On the very eve of negotiations it launched four military probes of advanced design against us. We know what your word is worth, Senator.”

There was consternation and frantic whispering on the Council’s side. Finally Luge seemed to calm everyone down and turned back to the camera. “May we have a recess to discuss a counteroffer?”

Morah looked around. “Is there any objection? No? For how long, then, Senator?”

“One—uh, sorry, two hours.”

“Agents? Manager? Lords? No objection?”

“Let them have their meeting,” Laroo snarled. “It’ll probably be hilarious.”

“Very well, then. This meeting is in recess for two hours and will reconvene at twelve thirty standard.”

Both screens winked out, and everybody seemed to relax. Both Ypsir and Laroo seemed extremely pleased by the way things had gone; Kobe was as impassive as Morah, who looked over at the two opposite him and asked, “Well? Do you think it’s still possible to reach any sort of agreement?”