“Conestoga offered other Sol governments an exile destination for undesirables,” Yuri said. “Everyone agreed on an improved standard for the survival packages, and
“Hoo-bloody-rah,” Callum said. “Do the satellites tell you how many people died in the process?”
“If it bothers you, offer them a new terraformed world. Or maybe open up one of your precious Utopial planets to the poor misunderstood princesses. No? There’s a surprise.”
Callum stood up. “Zagreus is not the way we should judge civilized progress. It’s a bloody disgraceful throwback. Education and a dignified standard of living is the true solution to elevate the poor and disenfranchised. Utopial society produces so few of what you class as exile-level criminals we don’t even exile them. They are removed from the general population, given a comfortable residence, and supported. That is our society’s triumph.” His glance swept around the Trail Ranger. “I don’t know what time zone you’re all from, but I’m off to bed.”
Yuri waited until he’d disappeared into the rear compartment. “Our judges don’t have to hand out so many exile sentences because the threat of Zagreus keeps people in line. Actually!”
Loi nodded, making sure his boss saw his approval.
“No, actually, it’s despicable,” Eldlund said, and sie stalked off back into the rear compartment. I wondered how sie was going to fit into a sleeping pod. They were all standard size, so…Slight oversight on our part there. Maybe sie’d stick hir legs out into the aisle for the night, and no doubt complain about bias and anti-omnia discrimination tomorrow.
“I think that’s it for me, too,” Kandara said.
“Not a bad idea,” Yuri conceded.
The others all made their way back to the sleeping pods. Sandjay connected me to the drivers. Bee Jain assured me we were making good time, and the Trail Ranger was running smoothly toward the alien ship. With that, I went to bed.
—
Loi, Eldlund, and Jessika were all awake and sharing a table for breakfast when I got up. At least they seemed to be bridging the deep ideological chasm between Yuri and Callum, but that’s youth for you.
Alik came in, his hair still damp from the shower. He sat down opposite me. “No gym,” he complained.
“Yeah. Really sorry about that.”
He laughed and ordered coffee and toast from the steward. “Quite a showdown your boss had last night. I felt like I had a front-row seat into some real history.”
“I knew the basic facts, but, yeah, some of the details they spilled were something else.”
“Surprised they’re both on this trip.”
“It’s important.”
“Sure, I get that. But do they maybe have a little extra data to go on?”
I raised an eyebrow, scanning that handsome face with its immobile flesh. Alik Monday would make the perfect poker player; he lacked the ability to produce a single tell. The voice, though—that could convey a lot of emotion. I’m guessing he must practice that. “Connexion didn’t play favorites here, Alik,” I chided. “The Utopials were extremely keen for representation on the assessment team.”
“And Callum is their prime troubleshooter.”
“He’s a grade-two citizen.”
“If you think he’s here to produce a technical assessment, you’re fooling yourself. He might have been technical back in the day, but he’s got his young acolytes for that now.” His hand waved discreetly at Eldlund and Jessika.
“What are you saying?”
“He reports directly to the Utopial Senior Council, and maybe not even that. I expect it’s going to be Jaru and Emilja themselves who’ll have first access to his opinion. And that opinion will be entirely political.”
“I concur,” I told him. “As does Ainsley. That’s one of the reasons he had me include representatives for all the truly important interested parties.”
“Really?” It came out a challenge—old interrogation technique.
“There’s an interesting parallel in history,” I explained.
“Go on.”
“When the original Space Age was underway back in the 1950s and ’60s, part of the ideological struggle was the hypothesis surrounding first contact. The Soviet Union postulated that any civilization advanced enough to travel between the stars would logically be socialist, and would therefore choose to deal only with Moscow. The battle for ideological supremacy would be over, the world would undergo conversion to enlightenment, and the age of capitalism would be at an end.”
“Aliens are all communists? Bunch of bull. The Olyix are savvy traders.”