Mirror Space - Marianne de Pierres [29]
The grey eyes hardened. ‘Of course not. But I am watched by both sides. I must consider all aspects and possibilities when I take action.’
‘Are you saying that your only course of action is inaction?’ asked Thales.
‘Not inaction - caution.’
‘They can amount to the same thing,’ Thales challenged him mildly.
‘Ah. You scholars do love to debate—’
‘The answer is obvious to me, Lasper,’ interjected Bethany. ‘And I don’t believe that you can’t see it too.’
Farr raised an eyebrow at his sister, his expression so bland as to be almost obtuse. ‘And what is that, Beth?’
‘Find out who sent the Saqr there. Attack it from that angle.’
‘Well done, little sister. I see you can still think the way I taught you, if only when pushed.’
Bethany’s cheeks coloured, but she didn’t respond.
Lasper went on. ‘And you are correct. I do know who has sent them there. And in that lies another challenge.’
‘It’s the Extras, isn’t it?’ she whispered.
He nodded. ‘And so you can see my problem. One injudicious move in either direction could spark something that cannot be stopped. Even for the life of my niece, I will not risk a war in Orion.’
‘But you promised the Baronessa,’ protested Thales.
‘The Baronessa could well be dead,’ he said matter-of-factly. ‘Although I admit to a certain interest in her abduction. Perhaps the Extros have become wary of her influence.’
‘She is not dead. Josef Rasterovich will find her,’ said Bethany emphatically.
‘The God Discoverer has some clear objectives of his own and they don’t include rescuing eccentric women.’
Bethany tucked her thin hair behind her ears and lifted her chin in a gesture Thales was used to seeing. ‘That is where you have always fallen down, Las. Not seeing the things driven by simple emotions.’
‘While you, my dear, have always given in far too readily to simple primitive urges.’
Beth became very still, as if holding herself in check, while Lasper turned his sharp scrutiny onto Thales. The grey eyes were a weapon, needling at him. Finally, Farr looked back at his sister.
He stood to leave. ‘You’ll have to tell him, Beth,’ he said softly. ‘In the end.’
Later, Thales and Bethany lay in the bed, holding hands. A weight had descended upon them both. Thales knew his own depression to be a mingling of frustration and indecision.
‘What can I do now? Lasper will not be rushed into an intervention when the stakes are so complex,’ whispered Bethany.
Thales squeezed her hand. ‘While the shift station is in the hands of the Extros there is nothing you can do.’
‘But I have to act in some way. You understand that, don’t you?’
He nodded, although they lay in darkness. ‘How can I find out about the DNA?’ he asked her.
‘Other than breaking into Lasper’s labs?’
Thales moved his face closer to her ear. ‘That’s what I meant.’
She stiffened. ‘Thales?’
‘I know all you want to do is help your daughter, Beth. But the fact is that no one can get through to Araldis. The shift station is blocked.’
‘You don’t understand. I abandoned her. She’s down there struggling to survive against the Saqr. I have to do more than sit and wait.’
‘You can’t,’ said Thales flatly. ‘But I can.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘The DNA was meant for illegal purposes on Scolar. If I can bring news of that to the Sophos, then perhaps they will listen to me on other things.’
‘You want to go to Scolar?’
‘I would see Gutnee Paraburd confined.’
‘Is that the only reason you wish to return?’
‘For the most part.’ He told her then about Villon and the malaise that had overtaken his society.
She listened intently until he’d finished, then she rolled towards him, their lips almost touching. ‘Do you think they killed him? The philosopher?’
‘I am sure of it.’ He felt her skin warming where it touched his.
‘How terrible, Thales.’
‘The laboratory creature on Rho Junction told Tekton and me that the DNA targeted the orbitofrontal cortex. You know more of biology than I. Is it possible that such a thing would cause behavioural changes?’
‘I could make some guesses if I knew more about the DNA.