Alastair Reynolds - Poseidon's Wake

The recording began to play.

‘May I offer my warmest congratulations on your return to life, Kanu. Given the circumstances, it is remarkable.’

‘Thank you, Yevgeny.’ The playback paused as soon as it detected Kanu’s intention to speak. It would embed his response into the flow of Korsakov’s words exactly as if the two men were speaking normally, without the hindrance of light-minutes of separation and time lag.

‘But I am afraid I must temper my congratulations with news that you may find less than agreeable,’ Korsakov allowed. ‘You know full well that your relationship with Swift had become problematic. It was possible to turn a blind eye to that error of judgement, at least until now. The machines should have handed you over to human medics, but instead they opted to heal you themselves. Worse, they neglected to keep us properly informed of your condition.’

‘I’m sure you were most concerned.’

‘I can only speak for my delegation, Kanu. You are compromised. I have even heard it said that you have been tainted — that your basic loyalty to humanity can no longer be relied upon. I do not believe that myself — of course not — but it is the wider perceptions that count. And because of those perceptions I am sorry to inform you that you must reconsider your position as ambassador. We are seeking a unanimous cross-governmental vote to have you replaced, for the sake of confidence in the embassy. I do not think we will have too much trouble. Even your own government has come to view you as a soft-liner.’

Kanu was not surprised; he had been expecting as much from the moment Korsakov began speaking.

‘I will resign if I am required to do so by the United Aquatic Nations or the intergovernmental panel,’ Kanu stated. ‘Until then, I will continue to fulfil my duties as ambassador.’

While his reply was on its way to Korsakov, Kanu called Swift back into the room.

‘I’m sorry for shutting you out of that.’

‘Forgiven and forgotten. Judging from your demeanour, though, the news wasn’t good?’

‘Not exactly. That was Korsakov calling to tell me there’s a vote to have me removed as ambassador. There’s no reason for it not to go through. When it does, they’ll ship me back to Earth.’

‘This is official?’

‘As good as. Korsakov wouldn’t have called unless he was certain of the outcome.’

‘But your own government will defend you!’

‘Until it becomes politically expedient to switch me out for someone with a harder attitude to your kind.’

Between them was the table and Dalal’s book. Kanu felt a swell of sadness rise up in him like a tide. They had disagreed on many things, but he felt sure that Dalal would have spoken up for him.

‘We placed you in this unfortunate position, Kanu.’

‘It’s not your fault. And this isn’t about you — it’s about ignorance and fear.’

‘Will returning to Earth be so bad? There must be a great many people there who would value your diplomatic experience.’

‘I think I might return Garudi’s book to her family. Beyond that, it depends on how “tainted” I’m perceived to be.’

Swift looked down. ‘Oh dear.’

‘You needn’t worry. I’m adaptable. I’ll find something to occupy myself with.’

The robot nodded solemnly. ‘Of that I have no doubt whatsoever.’

Goma was suffering another medical examination by the expedition’s physician, Dr Saturnin Nhamedjo, when the call came in from Ru. She was to leave Guochang and return with all haste to the sanctuary. Goma made her apologies to the gentle, accommodating Nhamedjo and was soon on her way back to the elephants. A year ago she would have taken the aeroplane, but her role in the expedition brought a number of new perks, chief among which was the ability to hire a government flier at short notice. She took the little beetle-shaped machine from Guochang, vectoring around Mandala to avoid a bad weather system. When Goma arrived at the facility, Tomas explained that Ru was already out with the Alpha herd.

‘That bad?’ she asked.

‘Worse, I think. You’d better not hang around. Take the buggy — it’s already loaded up for the day.’

Goma raced back out into the heat and humidity. She gunned the electric vehicle hard, nearly tipping it over on the bends, dust pluming up from its wheels as she sped away from the compound. It only took her twenty minutes to reach Alpha herd. She slowed and then stopped, taking in the scene from a slight elevation. From the disposition of the elephants, it was obvious that something was wrong. They were turned inwards, an audience facing some central spectacle. Goma left her buggy and walked the remaining distance, passing Ru’s vehicle on the way. They were so deeply preoccupied that she was nearly with them before any of the elephants deigned to acknowledge her presence.

Goma paused to allow the young mothers and calves to accept her arrival. A calf brushed against her with boisterous disregard, but the older elephants shared none of its exuberance. They were making low, agitated rumbles, with much mutual trunk-touching taking place, as if the herd members sought constant reassurance.

Goma scanned the familiar forms, noting body size, tusk disfigurement, ear shape.

She moved carefully between the adults, conscious of their size and heightened mood. She had rarely been the target of elephant aggression. In their present state, though, it would not take much provocation to draw a bad-tempered response. She was small and they were large, and nothing in the universe would change that basic asymmetry in their relationship. They could crush her between breaths.

At the focus of the gathering lay a dying elephant. Goma recognised her immediately: the elderly Agrippa, the herd leader. Even as she moved through the standing elephants, Goma had been aware of Agrippa’s absence among their ranks, so unlike this dutiful matriarch.

‘You’re in time,’ Ru said.

Agrippa lay on her side, her breathing laboured. Ru knelt at her head, one hand on Agrippa’s forehead, the other dabbing a wet sponge around the elephant’s eye. Agrippa’s trunk lay limp as a hose on the ground, only the end twitching up as Goma approached.

She knelt next to Ru. Ru had brought a pail of water and there was another sponge in the pail. Goma wrung most of the water from the sponge and then touched it gently to the end of Agrippa’s trunk.

‘When did this happen?’ she asked, keeping her voice low, as if there was a risk of the elephants understanding.

‘She was on her feet at dusk yesterday. Overnight, this.’

Agrippa had been ailing for many seasons, slowly losing her strength. But she had retained her authority as matriarch, and Goma had allowed herself to think that the elephant would go on until at least after her departure, that her death was a problem she need not face.

‘Thank you for calling me.’

‘I knew you’d want to be here.’ Ru recharged her sponge, the water in the pail already turning dusty. ‘As soon as I saw how bad things were, I called you.’

‘There’s nothing we can do, is there?’

It was a rhetorical question. She knew the answer as well as Ru.

‘Make things as easy as possible. Keep her eyes from drying, keep the sun off her. I should have told Tomas to send some blankets out with you.’

‘I think he did. The buggy was pretty well loaded.’

‘She’s been so strong,’ Ru said, pausing at a catch in her voice. ‘I thought she’d endure longer than this. Even when I knew she was ill, I didn’t think it would be so sudden.’

‘She was putting up a show of strength,’ Goma said. ‘For the sake of the herd.’

‘As always.’