to attend.
“I’m sure I’m a little tainted right now, having worked with Rex too closely,” Hans had said. “You go. Ask some pointed questions.” He had seemed subdued, even sad.
Martin put that from his mind as the snake mother and the mom settled themselves before them. Stonemaker and Eye on Sky sat in formal coils, rustling faintly. They emitted no scents Martin could detect.
“We may begin,” the mom said.
“We have important decisions to make,” Martin began. “But first we have to agree on overall strategies. And I think we have to… clear the air a little.”
He hadn’t meant to bring up the problem of trust; but now there was no way to avoid it.
Stonemaker said, “It is good we all we meet now. But for we us, clear air is ominous. Can you explain?”
“The more we learn about Leviathan, the more confused we become,” Martin said. “It looks like a thriving stellar system.”
“Like a shoreline marketplace,” Paola said by way of enhancement for the Brothers.
“Yes,” Eye on Sky said.
“We haven’t seen visitors come from outside, so perhaps it’s an isolated market,” Martin continued. “But there’s evidence many different races live there. If this isn’t another illusion, or if we can’t penetrate the illusion from this distance, what are we going to do next?”
“Do you ask us?” the mom inquired.
“Not really. I’m just throwing the question open.”
“We we are opposed to passing judgment without conclusive evidence,” Stonemaker said.
“So are we,” Martin said. “But we’re also fairly convinced this is another blind the Killers are hiding behind.”
“We all we must be more than fairly certain to condemn these worlds,” Eye on Sky said.
“I think we’re in agreement,” Martin said.
The mom said, “As many as are required. How many do you contemplate?”
“At least three. Humans have talked about entering the Leviathan system in disguise, as visitors. Could we create a different kind of ship, something that doesn’t look at all like a Ship of the Law?”
“Yes,” the mom said.
“Would it be within the Law for the ships’ minds to help us create such a disguise?”
“An interesting question, I we agree,” Stonemaker said.
“It would be no more inappropriate than providing you with the original Ships of the Law,” the mom said.
“I think we should assume Leviathan is not what it seems,” Martin said.
“A reasonable beginning,” Stonemaker said.
“Just to be cautious,” Martin added.
“Agreed.”
“Acting under such an assumption, we also should assume that the beings behind the disguise are Killers…”
“Agreed,” Stonemaker repeated.
“And the Killers probably have some knowledge, perhaps extensive knowledge, of the civilizations in this vicinity, and what they’re capable of,” Martin said.
“You wish to design a ship that might come from such a civilization,” the mom said.
“Yes. A ship that couldn’t be destroyed without interstellar repercussions,” Martin said.
“You are assuming,” Eye on Sky began, “that this disguise is meant for senses other than we all our own. That the Killers of worlds assume they are under scrutiny from others besides we all ourselves.”
Martin nodded.
“He means yes,” Paola said.
“It is remarkable insight,” Stonemaker said. A faint smell of peppers and baking bread: interest, perhaps pleasure for one or more of the Brothers. “I we see this is related to your literature, as a fiction or strategic lie. Would all this joined Ship of the Law be part of play-act?”
“Hans and I believe the ship should divide into several parts,” Martin said. “One part will enter the system, disguised but essentially unarmed, to investigate; the other two will orbit far outside. If a guilty verdict is reached, weapons can be released by the ships outside. We can try to finish the Job. If the Killers no longer live here—”
“Or if we can’t hurt them without hurting innocents,” Ariel said. Martin cringed inwardly.
“Or if we can’t find them or recognize them,” Martin amended, “then we’ll rejoin and change our plans.”
“That is feasible,” the mom said. “Useful information will be made available. Do you wish to design the vessel that enters the Leviathan system, or do you wish us to design it for you?”
“We can do it, but I think we’ll need assistance,” Martin said. Ariel was about to add something, but he looked at her dourly and she clenched her jaw.
“Your designers should think about these things,” the mom said. “The ship to enter Leviathan’s system must not appear overtly threatening, nor should it appear to come from a weak civilization. It should not, however, appear to have technology equal to that possessed by the Ships of the Law, specifically, the ability to convert matter to anti-matter. Your crew must appear innocent of all knowledge of killer probes.”
Martin agreed.
“When will your groups make their decisions?” the mom asked.
“In a couple of days, maybe sooner,” Martin said.
“Separation and super-deceleration will have to begin within a tenday,” the mom said.
“Is there anything else we’d find useful?” Martin asked.
“There is no possibility that the Killers, if they still exist around Leviathan, have knowledge of humans,” the mom continued. “No killer probes escaped Earth’s system. There is a small possibility they have knowledge of the Brothers. Transmissions by the killer probes from the Brothers’ system were monitored, information content unknown.”
“We we would like to be part of the crew of any entry vessel,” Eye on Sky said. “This might be a difficulty?”
“It might,” the mom concluded.
The snake mother arched and floated a few centimeters above the ground, a purple ladder field faintly visible beneath. In this, too, they differed from the moms; Martin had never seen a mom display its field. Its voice sounded like a low wind interpreted by the string section in an orchestra. “Brothers may play key roles in ships that stay outside the system,” it said.
“Is that something they will vote on?” Paola asked, brow wrinkling.
“It is something to be decided by the Brothers in private,” the snake mother said.
Eye on Sky and Stonemaker produced strong smells of salt sea air. “So is it,” Stonemaker said. “There will be a Triple Merging for objectivity and decisions will be made before next day comes.”
“I have one more question,” Martin said, feeling his chest constrict. “It isn’t an easy one, and I hope for a straightforward answer.”
Silence from the robots. Eye on Sky and Stonemaker rustled faintly.
“Some of us have been given the impression—rather, we’ve observed—that the Brothers’ libraries are much more extensive than our own. Why are they more extensive?”
The mom said, “Each race is given the information necessary to carry out its part of the Law.”
“We feel the ships’ minds may not think humans are as trustworthy as the Brothers,” Martin continued.
“Every race differs in its needs and capacities,” the mom said. “Information differs for that reason.”
“Will we be denied any of the information contained in the Brothers’ libraries?” Martin asked.
“You will be denied nothing you need, as a group, to complete your Job.”
The snake mother said, “Your Ship of the Law is older than the Brothers’ ship. There are design differences.”
“I thought that might explain part of the…” Martin said, trailing off.
