Note78
Remontoire is right, of course, but you’ll note his use of the past tense. Clavain’s great deeds all lie in the past — the distant past. I don’t deny that since his return from deep space he has continued to serve us well. But then so have we all. Clavain has done no more and no less than any senior Conjoiner. But don’t we expect more of him than that?
Note79
His tired devotion to mere soldiery, constantly putting himself at risk.
Note80
Yes. But we have younger, faster and, let us be frank here, more expendable individuals who can do precisely that. We need Clavain’s expertise here, in the Mother Nest, where we can tap it. I don’t believe that he clings to the fringes out of any sense of duty to the Nest. He does it out of pure self-interest. He gets to play at being one of us, being on the winning side, without accepting the full implications of what it means to be Conjoined. It hints at complacency, self-interest — everything that is inimical to our way. It even begins to hint at disloyalty.
Note81
I agree with Remontoire. Clavain doesn’t owe us anything. He’s proven himself a thousand times over. If he wants to stay outside the Council, that’s his right.
Note82
Yes; no one doubts that, but it is equally the case that Clavain has a moral obligation to join us. He cannot continue to waste his talents outside the Council
Note83
I cannot endorse Skade’s inflammatory rhetoric. But there is no escaping the essential truth of what she says. Clavain’s continued refusal to join us is tantamount to disloyalty.
Note84
The insult!
Note85
What do you mean, why now?
Note86
Be very careful, Remontoire.
Note87
Remontoire’s right. Something is happening, and Clavain’s just one part of it. The cessation of the shipbuilding programme, the strange circumstances surrounding Galiana’s return, the new fleet, the disturbing rumours I hear about the hell-class weapons — these things are all connected. The present war is just a distraction, and the Inner Sanctum knows it. Perhaps the true picture is simply too disturbing for we mere Closed Council members to grasp. In which case, like Remontoire, I will indulge in a little speculation and see where it takes me.
Note88
There’s another rumour, Skade, concerning something called Exordium. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that that was the codeword Galiana gave to her final series of experiments on Mars — the ones she swore she would never repeat.
Note89
I don’t know, but I can guess. Galiana never wanted the experiments to be repeated; the results were useful, incredibly useful, but they were also too disturbing. But once Galiana was away from the Mother Nest, off on her interstellar expedition, what was to stop the Inner Sanctum from re-running Exordium? She need never have found out about it.
Note90
Who invited her?
Note91
There’s no need to talk aloud. It takes too long. She can hear our thoughts as well as any of us.
Note92
You have no right to be here.
Note93
Ignore anything she says. She knows nothing about the programme.
Note94
We’re here to discuss Clavain, not this.
Note95
The Inner Sanctum has identified a coming crisis.
Note96
A bad one.
Note97
We need Clavain to help us. The crisis can be… lessened… with Clavain’s assistance.
Note98
A long time ago, we lost some objects of value. Now we know exactly where they are. We want Clavain to help us get them back.
Note99
Skade? I’m afraid there’s been another accident.
Note100
A state-two excursion.
Note101
Only a few milliseconds. It was enough, though.
Note102
Yes.
Note103
There isn’t an awful lot left to see.
Note104
State one, as per instructions. We were exploring some of the nonlinear field geometries.
Note105
No, at least, I don’t think heart failure was the main cause of death. Like I said, there isn’t much left to go on.
Note106
Here we are.
Note107
Yes. The field shear was at its highest here.
Note108
You’re just not looking closely enough.
Note109
I’m afraid it’s exactly what you think it is.
Note110
He was near the field focus. The excursion to state two was only momentary, but it was enough to make a difference. Any movement would have been fatal, even an involuntary twitch. Maybe he was already dead before he hit the wall.
Note111
Kilometres per second, easily.
Note112
