Lost Era 06_ Catalyst of Sorrows - Margaret Wander Bonanno [82]
“But what if the hilopon doesn’t work?” Thamnos asked.
“Oh, but it will,” Koval assured him. “We’ve already tested it on the Gnawing. We assume you’ve tested it on the R-fever. If it kills both, it will kill the two in combination. We’re certain of it.”
” ‘We’?” Thamnos echoed him.
Koval’s answer was a cryptic smile, and even Thamnos knew enough not to follow that line of questioning further. Then something else occurred to him.
“If word gets out that I’ve got the cure, what’s to stop anyone with a big enough fleet from invading Renaga and stealing all of it?”
“Now, there’s a curious thing,” Koval said. “Hilopon only seems to work on Renaga. We’ve tried taking it offworld, and it’s useless. Our scientists are not certain whether it’s something in the atmosphere, the sun’s radiation, the climate, some interaction with other elements in the soil, or simple magic. We’ll figure it out eventually, but how fortunate for you that we haven’t yet, hm? And because Renaga’s inside the Zone, the machinations necessary for either side to violate treaty, confront the other side’s patrols, invade and conquer, are simply too costly in this day and age. Both sides will have to come to you.”
But Thamnos wasn’t even thinking that far ahead. It never occurred to him to ask why, if Romulan scientists knew all about hilopon, Koval even needed him. All he could think of to ask was “Why me?”
“Because you’re here. Because you were resourceful enough to bring specimens of R-fever with you. And because if a Romulan scientist announced that we’d discovered the curative effects of hilopon, we’d be accused of violating the Neutral Zone, wouldn’t we? Suspicions would be aroused no matter what. Romulans are always blamed when there’s trouble, seldom honored when honor is due. But you’re a Federation expatriate, married to a Renagan female. You’d have immunity. Do you see?”
Thamnos did, but he didn’t. Ultimately, Koval knew, it was all too complicated for him. It never occurred to him to refuse. Maybe it was the echo of the words “the Nobel Prize, the Zee Magnees Prize” that crowded everything else out of his brain. He’d asked Koval what he meant by “immortality,” and now he finally understood it. He thought.
McCoy wished he hadn’t said anything about “house calls” within Uhura’s hearing.
“You are not-repeat not going to Rigel IV to talk to any member of the Thamnos family,” she scolded him, surprised that McCoy, who had previously resisted so much as moving off the porch, was suddenly packing a bag and arranging transport. “Someone from Medical can handle this, or one of my Listeners. There’s no need for you to-“
“This is personal!” McCoy interrupted, his jaw set. “There’s a special circle in hell reserved for doctors who create illness instead of treating it, and I have no doubt whoever did this has a front-row seat, but I’d be happy to hasten his journey. What was it Jim used to say about risk?” he asked rhetorically, stuffing clean socks into a travel bag.
“Leonard, I’m serious. Stop it right now! If you want to talk to Thamnos Senior, rattle his cage, that’s fine. But you do that onscreen, not in person. Neither of us has time to waste on this.”
“Is that the real reason?” McCoy demanded testily. “Or are you just mothering me?”
“It’s not about that. I want a record of the transmission. We can analyze it, determine if he’s telling the truth or not.”
McCoy stood there with the last pair of socks in his hand; he seemed to have forgotten what he intended to do with them. Finally he remembered what he was doing and began unpacking the travel bag.
“Hadn’t thought of that,” he acknowledged. “All right, you win. I’ll try to get him to talk to