Barry Longyear - Enemy Papers

"The companies provide the incentives for the labor and immigration organizations, Ovjetah. Find the link between the companies."

As Tora Soam worked the console, Jetah Indeva walked to Nicole’s bed-table. Indeva stopped and looked down at her. "Why don’t you simply say what you have to say?"

Nicole smiled thinly, the anesthetic in her shoulder beginning to wear off. "Jetah, Shizumaat did not tell Namndas that Sindie was a sphere; Shizumaat showed Namndas."

"Dah!" Indeva thumped at its chest with the tips of its fingers. "I am not some callow whelp sitting before my master at the kovah, Nicole. I must have answers; not stage productions!"

Tora Soam spoke from its place at the console. "If this is truth you speak, Indeva Bejuda, then you will have no objection to receiving evidence and making your conclusions after the manner of an adult." Before Indeva could answer Tora Soam’s rebuke, the Ovjetah continued. "Nicole, there is no clear pattern. However, almost seventy percent of the capital investment in the colonizations is controlled by a tangle of eleven holding companies. All of these companies are charted out of different planets-none of them members of the Dracon Chamber. We don’t have commercial information on them."

Nicole nodded once. "But all of those planets are members of the Ninth Quadrant Federation."

A pause as the Ovjetah requested and received the information. "You are correct."

Nicole turned toward Ambassador Rafiki. "Will you allow the tie-in?"

Rafiki turned her head toward, the screen. "Nicole, do you have any idea of the size of the horror you are building up to?"

"Then you see it, too, Ambassador?"

Rafiki paused for a moment, then walked across the deck until she stood next to Tora Soam. "Get me the USE mission operator."

After the USE ambassador had authorized the tie-in, Tora Soam worked over the new information. Once the information had been processed, the Ovjetah walked from the console and stood next to Nicole’s bed-table. "Nicole, eighty percent of the capital investment in the USE post-2050 colonizations is divided between fourteen holding companies, none of them chartered out of USE planets."

"But all of them chartered out of Ninth Quadrant planets?"

"Yes."

The direction of Tora Soam’s voice changed. "There is an entity out there… an entity that led the Dracon Chamber into conflict with the United States of Earth?"

"Yes."

"But it would take… quadrillions… an unimaginable command of capital and resource-" Tora Soam turned until its voice was aimed at Ambassador Rafiki. "All this points toward the Ninth Quadrant Federation itself."

Jetah Indeva barked a disgusted curse. "The human mind is haunted by conspiracies, Tora Soam. This is insane! Have this Nicole’s ghosts invaded your skull, as well?" Indeva’s voice aimed at Nicole. "Human, what advantage is there to the members of the federation in having half the quadrant aflame with war?"

"None."

"Exactly! And how could a conspiracy between hundreds of governments-on such a scale-be kept secret for the decades your theory requires?"

"It could not."

Indeva remained silent for a moment. "Then, Nicole… I do not see what you see."

"In formulating the treaty terms, were there suggestions from the Ninth Quadrant observation team?"

"Yes."

Nicole nodded: "And, Jetah Indeva, the suggestions had to do with establishing the policed demilitarized zone on Amadeen?"

Indeva breathed heavily. "That is the core problem of the war. Before anything else, the problem of Amadeen must be put to rest."

"No, Jetah Indeva: You are wrong-twice." Nicole struggled until she sat upright upon the bed-table. "The conspiracy you say that haunts my mind, Jetah, exists. However, it is a conspiracy of fragments-a multitude of smaller plans that together mean our destruction. Earth IMPEX operates by rules. And If IMPEX received what it thought to be reliable inside information that would benefit the company, and if one or more large investors received the same information and urged IMPEX to explore the advantage, would it be difficult to cause IMPEX to explore and then exploit a particular planet?"

You talk of only one planet."

"Yes. But continue to feed out information on other planets, and each time the information proves both reliable and profitable, the ones issuing the information gain considerable credibility-particularly if they also command large amounts of investment capital. The companies that see where Dracon JACHE and Earth IMPEX invest their resources know from experience that their own interests will be served by following suit-" Nicole shook her head. "It was so easy. It was so damned easy to lead the Dracon Chamber and the United States of Earth into war. Our rules were gathered, and then we were led by our noses into mutual destruction. And the manipulator of these things was Hissied 'do Timan, the most influential member of the Ninth Quadrant Assembly."

Rafiki sighed, and then spoke. "Too many things point to the Ninth Quadrant. Hissied 'do Timan even made himself conspicuous by his performance as a member of the federation’s membership invitation committee. If this Timan is so clever, he should have been better at covering his tracks."

"Hissied 'do Timan has gone to a great deal of trouble, Ambassador Rafiki, to make certain that both he and the Ninth Quadrant Federation are identified as the culprits." Nicole turned her head. "Tora Soam, what is Hissied 'do Timan’s goal? What has he been trying to accomplish?"

"The plan is simple. At our present numbers, Hissied 'do Timan would keep us out of the Ninth Quadrant Federation. With our present populations, the USE and the Dracon Chamber have the potential to cast Timan influence in the federation into a shadow. For the Timans to allow us membership, we must, first, reduce our numbers. At our present populations, we represent a considerable voting force." The Ovjetah’s footsteps moved around the compartment. "And there is more. We cannot breathe a word of what we know, If we talk, this war will become known by both humans and Dracs as caused by the Ninth Quadrant. Whether we attack the federation as a result, or not, the result will be the same. Neither power will become members of the Ninth Chamber. Nicole."

"Yes, Ovjetah?"

"This is what Hissied 'do Timan wants; to keep us from membership?"

"Yes. To their minds, we threaten Timan power."

Rafiki sighed. "If this is true, I think I see what you mean by being rulebound, Tora Soam. If the truth is known, the outrage of both Dracs and humans will either cause us to attack the federation, or remain aloof from it."

Tora Soam spoke. "Either one will serve Hissied 'do Timan as well. Even if we joined forces, we could not win a war against the combined forces of the federation. And if we are not members, that is just what the Timan wants."

"But what about the war? We cannot continue with it, yet we cannot stop it, if all that has been said is true. Tora Soam?"

"You state the situation accurately, Ambassador. Do you have a question, Jetah Indeva?"

"Yes." Indeva’s voice aimed at Nicole. "If all this is true, why can we not bring Hissied 'do Timan in front of the federation’s own interplanetary court? Expose him and his vile plan to the scorn of the Universe?"

Nicole smiled. "And announce this to Earth and Draco? You will find no evidence to link Hissied 'do Timan to this plan. I think that an examination of his finances will show him living off of his stipend as a member of the assembly. I doubt if any of the company investments can be traced directly to him. He planted advice and suggestions rather than money. Even when it came to a vote in his committee; Hissied 'do Timan abstained-the very essence of fairness. The Timans are experts at covering real tracks and planting false trails. And covering his trail was not difficult. You see, Hissied 'do Timan was never in this for monetary gain. He was and is in this for what he thinks is his race’s survival. Hissied 'do Timan is a patriot. Ambassador Rafiki?"