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Authors: Marilyn Campbell
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the cretins die off."
For that, he gave her a thumbs-up sign. "The representatives are divided about the wisdom of raising the shield to give assistance, regardless of whether it means the survival of the race. At least half of the reps still recall the stories their ancestors told them about the Illusians. The other half feels the time has come to reanalyze the harsh judgment bestowed on them."
"But you said that was four hundred years ago. It's totally unfair to assume the Illusians are still the barbaric animals they were then."
Gallant's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Do you really believe that?"
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it. You're the liar, not me. Anyway, I got a taste of that kind of unwarranted prejudice when I first arrived in Innerworld."
"How can you compare the two? Terrans in Innerworld had been given their freedom long before that."
"Freedom, yes, with limitations. Equality, no. There were plenty of Innerworlders who believed Terrans were an inferior species capable of terrible violence. Aster and Rom's joining helped change some attitudes, but not all. I still run into a diehard bigot once in a while.
"I realize it's not precisely the same and you obviously side with those who assume the Illusians are still dangerous, but don't you see how wrong it is to judge them today based on the crimes of their ancestors? Shouldn't someone try to get more facts before a decision is made?"
Gallant never expected her to sympathize with the Illusians. It would have been much easier to remain indifferent to her if she had despised them. "Uncovering the facts is what my mission is about."
"You said you were employed by the Consociation." Cherry inched forward, anxious to find out what all this background was leading up to. "Are you saying your mission has something to do with the decision about Illusia?"
He nodded, relieved that she was making this so simple for him. "A short time ago, the Weebort trader you saw secretly sold a document to a Con rep. He claimed the document had somehow been smuggled through the Illusian shield and contained information that would help them decide Illusia's fate. The Consociation employed a language and antiquities expert, who confirmed that the document's paper could have come from Illusia and that it was written fairly recently in a known Illusian dialect."
"Then what's the problem?" Cherry was beginning to lose patience with his long narrative and it was making her fidget.
"Unfortunately, the expert had barely begun the translation when he was killed and the document disappeared. Two others who had handled the paper were also murdered. The method was incineration, just like the Weebort's assassination, and Frezlo had been spotted in the vicinity at the time of the crimes.
"I had hoped to get to the Weebort first and find out what he knew but now the only lead I have left is Frezlo. If nothing else, he could tell me who hired him and that could get me a step closer to the truth."
Cherry frowned. "In other words, if I had heard the Weebort better, your mission might already be over. But the one word that the computer translated was counterfeit. Maybe the Weebort was trying to say the document was a fake."
Rubbing his chin, he appeared to be giving her suggestion serious consideration. "That sounds logical, until you consider all the deaths so far. If the document was a fake, it wouldn't matter what it said. No one would have had to steal it or hire an assassin to prevent the Consociation from learning what it said. They could have let it be known that it was worthless much more easily, so I tend to believe the document contained information someone didn't want revealed."
Cherry agreed with his assessment. "Considering their ability to create illusions, is it possible that everything the monitors are picking up is an elaborate hallucination? Maybe counterfeit is a really loose translation."
Gallant's smile was broad enough to show his straight white teeth for the
For that, he gave her a thumbs-up sign. "The representatives are divided about the wisdom of raising the shield to give assistance, regardless of whether it means the survival of the race. At least half of the reps still recall the stories their ancestors told them about the Illusians. The other half feels the time has come to reanalyze the harsh judgment bestowed on them."
"But you said that was four hundred years ago. It's totally unfair to assume the Illusians are still the barbaric animals they were then."
Gallant's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Do you really believe that?"
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it. You're the liar, not me. Anyway, I got a taste of that kind of unwarranted prejudice when I first arrived in Innerworld."
"How can you compare the two? Terrans in Innerworld had been given their freedom long before that."
"Freedom, yes, with limitations. Equality, no. There were plenty of Innerworlders who believed Terrans were an inferior species capable of terrible violence. Aster and Rom's joining helped change some attitudes, but not all. I still run into a diehard bigot once in a while.
"I realize it's not precisely the same and you obviously side with those who assume the Illusians are still dangerous, but don't you see how wrong it is to judge them today based on the crimes of their ancestors? Shouldn't someone try to get more facts before a decision is made?"
Gallant never expected her to sympathize with the Illusians. It would have been much easier to remain indifferent to her if she had despised them. "Uncovering the facts is what my mission is about."
"You said you were employed by the Consociation." Cherry inched forward, anxious to find out what all this background was leading up to. "Are you saying your mission has something to do with the decision about Illusia?"
He nodded, relieved that she was making this so simple for him. "A short time ago, the Weebort trader you saw secretly sold a document to a Con rep. He claimed the document had somehow been smuggled through the Illusian shield and contained information that would help them decide Illusia's fate. The Consociation employed a language and antiquities expert, who confirmed that the document's paper could have come from Illusia and that it was written fairly recently in a known Illusian dialect."
"Then what's the problem?" Cherry was beginning to lose patience with his long narrative and it was making her fidget.
"Unfortunately, the expert had barely begun the translation when he was killed and the document disappeared. Two others who had handled the paper were also murdered. The method was incineration, just like the Weebort's assassination, and Frezlo had been spotted in the vicinity at the time of the crimes.
"I had hoped to get to the Weebort first and find out what he knew but now the only lead I have left is Frezlo. If nothing else, he could tell me who hired him and that could get me a step closer to the truth."
Cherry frowned. "In other words, if I had heard the Weebort better, your mission might already be over. But the one word that the computer translated was counterfeit. Maybe the Weebort was trying to say the document was a fake."
Rubbing his chin, he appeared to be giving her suggestion serious consideration. "That sounds logical, until you consider all the deaths so far. If the document was a fake, it wouldn't matter what it said. No one would have had to steal it or hire an assassin to prevent the Consociation from learning what it said. They could have let it be known that it was worthless much more easily, so I tend to believe the document contained information someone didn't want revealed."
Cherry agreed with his assessment. "Considering their ability to create illusions, is it possible that everything the monitors are picking up is an elaborate hallucination? Maybe counterfeit is a really loose translation."
Gallant's smile was broad enough to show his straight white teeth for the
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