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A sudden thought struck Orne. He said: "You spoke of trust. Has this conspiracy involved the I-A?" "We think so," said Stetson. "About a year ago, an R&R archeological team was nosing around some ruins on Dabih. The place was all but vitrified in the Rim War, but a whole bank of records from a Nathian outpost escaped." He glanced sidelong at Orne.
"This was a routing station for key Nathian families," he said. "Trained refugees. An old dodge ... been used as long as there've been " "But five hundred years, Stet!" "I don't care if it was five thousand years!" barked Stetson. "We've intercepted some scraps since then that were written in the same code. The bland confidence of that! Wouldn't that gall you?" He shook his head.
"One of the Bullones' seven daughters is currently at home," he said. "Name's Diana. A field leader in the I-A women. One of the Nathian code messages we intercepted had her name as addressee." "Who sent the message?" asked Orne. "What was it all about?" Stetson coughed. "You know, Lew, we cross-check everything.
"But what if your Nathian underground is composed entirely of women bred the same way? What if the Heleb women were just a bunch who got out of hand because they'd lost contact with the main element?" "Holy Moley!" blurted Stetson. "Do you have evidence " "Nothing but a hunch," said Orne. "Do you have a list of the guests who'll be here for the election party tomorrow?" "We can get it. Why?"
"My guess," said Orne, "is that about thirty or forty years ago, the conspirators first began breeding a few males, grooming them for really choice top positions. Other Nathian males the accidents where sex-control failed they never learned about the conspiracy. These new ones were full-fledged members. That's what I'd have been if I'd panned out as expected."
Find out if Heleb was one of the planets they seeded." "Right. Hang on." There was a long silence, then: "Lew, this is Stet. How come the question about Heleb?" "Was it on that Nathian list?" "Negative. Why'd you ask?" "Are you sure, Stet? It'd explain a lot of things." "It's not on the lists, but ... wait a minute." Silence.
Dig into political background. We'll miss damn few!" Polly just stared at him, mouth open. Spencer said: "Things are moving too fast for me. I know just one thing: I'm dedicated to preventing another Rim War. If I have to jail every last one of " "An hour after this conspiracy became known, you wouldn't be in a position to jail anyone," said Orne. "The husband of a Nathian!
"What a dope I am!" snarled Orne. "I just realized that I have to be a Nathian, too." "You just realized?" She stared at him. There was a hissing gasp in Orne's transceiver. "The identical patterns in our families," he said. "Even to the houses. And there's the real key. What a dope!" He snapped his fingers. "The head! Polly! Your mother's the grand boss woman, isn't she?"
After all, he is supposed to be here for a rest." Her answer was lost as Orne entered the hall, closed the door. In the privacy of his room, Orne pressed the transceiver stud at his neck, said: "Stet?" A voice hissed in his ears: "This is Mr. Stetson's relief. Orne, isn't it?" "Yes. I want a check right away on those Nathian records the archaeologists found.
Men on the outside, women on the inside. Look for inner courtyard construction. It's instinctive with Nathian blood. Add to that, an inclination for odd musical instruments the kaithra, the tambour, the oboe all nomad instruments. Add to that, female dominance of the family an odd twist on the nomad heritage, but not completely unique. Check for predominance of female offspring.
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