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Updated: May 19, 2025
"The proof is here," Kennon said, "and the supporting evidence is conclusive." "Which makes me what? A murderer? A slaver? A tyrant?" Alexander clutched his head with lean-fingered hands. "What am I?" "An innocent victim of circumstances," Kennon said. "You didn't know. None of us knew. And we still wouldn't know if the Lani weren't of Betan extraction." He grimaced painfully.
Fifteen thousand a year was top pay even on Beta, and an offer like this for a new graduate was unheard of unless Kardon was in the middle of an inflation. But Kardon wasn't. The planet's financial status was A-1. He knew. He'd checked that immediately after landing. Whatever might be wrong with Kardon, it wasn't her currency. The rate of exchange was 1.2-1 Betan.
The baby could be anything from normal to a monstrosity. "Perfectly normal," Brainard said. "A true Betan type even down to the vestigial tail. We amputated that, of course." "Thank Ochsner!" Kennon breathed. "I was afraid." "Of course you were," Brainard said. "Do you want to see them now? When I left, Copper was asking for you." Kennon sighed.
Not too many generations hence a Betan outside his home system would be a rarity, and in a few millennia the Betan system itself would be a closed enclave peopled by humans who had deviated too far from the basic stock to mingle with it in safety. Of course, the Brotherhood itself might be changed by that time, but there was no assurance that this would happen.
"I've been away. I forgot." "You shouldn't have done that. You're a Betan, aren't you?" Kennon nodded. They drove to the Port Office, where Kennon expected and got a bad time from the port officials.
Although throughout most of the Brotherhood miscegenation was an unknown word, and even bestiality had become a loose definition on many worlds with humanoid populations, the words had definite meaning and moral force to a Betan. And God help him he was a Betan.
"Business, Dr. Kennon, is not the sole property of age." "Nor is a veterinary degree," Kennon replied. "True. But one thinks of a Betan as someone ancient and sedate." "Ours is an old planet but we still have new generations." "A fact most of us outsiders find hard to believe," Alexander said.
"She's an interesting case. I've never seen space shock before. And the patient herself one would hardly believe she was a Betan." "She isn't," Kennon said. "So?" Blond eyebrows rose in inverted U's of surprise. "But that's hardly possible. Our tests indicate-" "Don't you think that this is a matter for Dr. Brainard?" Kennon said icily. "Protocol " "Of course.
"I'll pick the time," Kennon said and added to himself, "If ever." Despite her wealth Eloise was no different from the port-of-call girls. If anything, she was worse since she had enough money to implement her desires. They were merely in the trade for business reasons. No Eloise would be something to steer clear of. Alexander was right. She was a mantrap. He stood up and bowed Betan fashion.
It would be better to accept his present situation and live with it rather than trying to impose his Betan conception of morality upon Lani that neither understood nor appreciated it. His business was to treat and prevent animal disease. What happened to the animals before infection or after recovery was none of his affair. That was a matter between Alexander and his conscience.
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