Sergei Lukyanenko - The Genome

“So then, you think that a whole world, equal in power to the combined forces of Earth and Edem, should remain isolated for all eternity?” Janet spoke calmly, but dry bitterness broke through now and then in her voice. “Yes! I want it to be liberated! I dream of seeing my first-born again. I would like to go visit the graves of my parents and pay my respects to them, according to our custom. To see my old house… to visit my first teacher… to call on my first lover… You all consider Eben a cesspool of evil, when we’ve been humanity’s shield for hundreds of years! A weapons smithy, a military academy, a factory, and a base… everything the Empire needed. Do you know how beautiful Eben is? At least, those places where nature can still be found… We raped our own home planet, turned ourselves into soldiers… and all that we did for the sake of humanity! Because the Empire needed ships, ships, and more ships! And soldiers, and channel stations, and new kinds of armaments…”

Speshes were not prone to hysterics. But five specializations were probably too much for a human mind. Alex sensed that Janet was ready to burst into sobs.

How weird and absurd that was—here was a woman whose planet was used to scare little kids, whose profession was to torture the Others, and he couldn’t feel the socially prescribed condescending sympathy for her. He couldn’t, because he was ready to sign his name to every single word she had been saying.

Except that if Eben were to be liberated, a pan-galactic war would be unleashed.

“We became what humanity required,” Janet continued. “We were the Empire’s shield and its sword. And when we were no longer needed, they locked us away in a closet. To wait for better times.”

“For worse times.”

“What’s the difference? We were struck from the ranks of humanity. Yes, we had our own independent policies, but that didn’t happen overnight! We… we were betrayed, as soon as the Others raised a howl!”

“Your people refused to change, Janet. When wars became a thing of the past, your people didn’t want to move on.”

“Were we ever offered that option?” The woman tossed the hair off her forehead and looked defiantly at Alex. “Did anyone ever give us even the slightest chance? All we had was an ultimatum, and the united fleet moving towards Eben. That was it. There was no time to look for compromises. And so… forgive me, Alex, but I’m happy we are at war! My home planet will be free.”

Alex was silent for a moment.

“And still—it wasn’t you?”

“It wasn’t me.”

“Then who?”

A shadow of a smile ran through her face.

“I think I know who it was. But I won’t tell, Alex.”

“But you must tell!”

“No. Sharing suspicions isn’t part of my contract. A detective is aboard, let him puzzle it out.”

“You’ve sworn an oath to me,” Alex reminded her.

“I’ve sworn not to kill the Zzygou. I never swore to look for their killer.”

“And if I were to demand another oath…”

“No.”

Alex threw up his hands. Janet’s voice was dangerously high with tension. She was balancing on the edge of hysteria. But he was sure her hysterical fit would not lead to a concession.

“You’re wrong, Janet. Believe me, all this will lead to tragedy for Eben… and for the whole human race.”

“Maybe,” she rejoined immediately. “Nevertheless, it’s a chance.”

“Thank you for telling me the truth about yourself, at least.”

“Did I narrow your circle of suspects?” Janet laughed, calming down. “Alex… don’t attempt your own investigation. You can talk to everyone, and every single person will tell you they didn’t kill the Zzygou…”

“Why?”

“Because.” Janet got up. “I’m going back to my cabin, Captain. You can come visit me, if you want. We can play ‘sweet-sweet sugar and bitter chocolate.’”

Alex didn’t recall any such game. Well, Janet would probably be a great instructor, and the game—a fun way to pass the time.

If only he had the slightest wish to have sex now…

“I’ll think about it,” he said, evasively.

As Sherlock Holmes and his loyal companion moved from cabin to cabin, Alex had visitor after visitor. A psychologist might say that, subconsciously, the crew still perceived Alex as a father figure. A strict and strong one, whose duty was to protect them.

That was reassuring, in a way.

After Janet left, Kim dropped in. The girl was beside herself with rage. She had also been informed that she was the prime suspect. It seemed that what had offended Kim the most was the fact that the hero of her favorite books turned out to be such a distrustful, dry old stick. She cursed—clumsily, but very diligently—telling Alex in minute detail of her conversation with Holmes.

“Can you imagine? He said I was so desperate to get out of flying back to Edem that I whacked the Zzygou! That I was the only one who knew their anatomy well enough and was strong enough to overpower the Other! It’s like using a ray gun to kill flies!”

“I know of a couple of planets where flies actually deserve that kind of treatment,” Alex noted. He pulled the girl onto his lap, and for the next few minutes they caressed each other in silence. Kim snorted, murmured something to the effect that she wasn’t a little kid anymore and didn’t go for such silliness, but she did visibly relax.

“But you didn’t kill the poor Zzygou, right?” Alex said in a half-questioning tone, still caressing Kim.

“Of course not! And if I were to kill her, I wouldn’t do it that way….” Kim winced. “It was probably Janet. She’s an executioner-spesh, and she hates the Others.”

“Janet says otherwise.”

“Then it wasn’t her,” quickly agreed the girl. “She wouldn’t lie.”

“Then who?”

“You’re trying to guess? But that’s the detective’s job!”

“Kim, everything is very, very complicated. If everyone thinks about what has happened, it might save billions of lives.”

“You aren’t a detective. You aren’t designed to investigate!” Kim looked at him in surprise. She took away his hand, which had gotten a bit carried away. “You’re a master-pilot!”

“Yes, I am a pilot. I’m used to operating under a multitude of dynamic factors that influence each other as well as the ship. I have accelerated reactions, enhanced memory, and reinforced logical capacity. And I am, like any pilot, specially adapted for the job of spaceship captain. That includes the basics of psychology, the ability to sense other people’s moods and guide their behavior. Why can’t I try on the role of a detective?”

“Because you aren’t a detective-spesh!”

“Kim…” He lightly kissed her lips. “Not everything can be pre-programmed.”

She was silent, alarmed, looking him straight in the eye.

“Then why am I not trying to investigate the murder?”

“Because you think you’re a fighter-spesh.”

“I’m not a fighter.” The girl pressed her lips together tightly. “I can feel that. I’m not just a fighter!”

“Right.” Alex nodded approvingly. “You’re more than a fighter. You’re a spy. A terrorist. An agent provocateur.”

“How do you know?”

“I just know. Your job is to be involved in the highest circles of society. And, if necessary, to work a miner’s hack in a POW camp, serve in the military, serve at a brothel, do lab experiments. You’re capable of adapting to any situation. You can become almost anybody. Including a detective, I suppose.”

“I don’t want to!”

“Why not, Kim? Your specialization is unique. Model-speshes, singer-speshes, strategist-speshes… anyone you look at—none of them comes close to your specialization!”