Dreadnought (38 page)

“Oh,
fine. I’m glad to know that it was all stupid and pointless in the first
place,” Tarrel complained.

“Your
superiors will be pleased to hear that.”

“I
believe that everyone would be much better off if they never knew,” she said,
then hesitated. “There was something that I should tell you. I don’t know if
it’s in the best interests of the Union to do this, but you deserve to know.
The last time I was at Alkayja station, I had a little talk with Fleet
Commander Asandi. He told me that the Republic fears the Starwolves and that it
conspires to keep you from developing your technology or your own social
identity, and that it has kept you fighting the war to give you something to
do.”

Gelrayen
seemed to be hiding a smile. “Valthyrra said that you seemed to be concerned
about us. That was why you conspired to keep us naked. The Republic used to
keep us naked as a sign of our slavery.”

“And
they put you in clothes to encourage you to stop thinking about how your were
different.”

“Captain,
we know exactly what has been going on,” he insisted. “The fact is, we are
satisfied with the way things are for now.”

“You
are?”

“Captain,
with the exception of certain individuals such as yourself, no one has ever
been honestly concerned about our future and what might be best for us. Unfortunately,
we do not yet have a future. When we were designed, the Aldessan of Valtrys
gave us free will. We are not compelled to follow any order that we are given,
and that insures that we can never be used for evil intent.”

“Are
you certain of that?”

“Yes,
very certain. At the same time, the Aldessan made a great mistake in our
design. They gave us an instinct, even to the point of an actual compulsion, to
help anyone that we might find in danger or distress. The Union has been our
enemy for centuries. But when you were in danger, we did not hesitate to help
you. That compulsion to help completely negates our free will and it leaves us
slaves to our own instinct to protect.” “Then you don’t see any hope for
yourselves?” she asked. “Yes, we have one hope,” he said, then paused as the
doors of the lift opened. They stepped outside the lift, then waited a moment
in the corridor outside. “The Kelvessan have been evolving rapidly from the
first. We evolve in stages every few thousand years, very suddenly and quickly.
It might take thousands of years yet, but one day we will have evolved to the
point that we have complete control over our own actions and we will simply
assume our right to govern of our own destiny. Until then, all we can do is
wait.”

“And
you are satisfied with that?” Tarrel demanded. Gelrayen considered that
briefly. “Actually, yes.” Unfortunately, his answer proved that he was probably
right. Perhaps because they were capable of so much already, Captain Tarrel had
wanted the Starwolves to enjoy even more. She realized now that they were
simply very good at being what they were designed to be. For all that she
believed that they deserved the same rights and freedoms that all other races
enjoyed, she could not give it to them, and they did not seem ready to demand
it for themselves. But she felt more sorry for them than ever. To some degree,
they really were machines, compelled to fulfil the function that they had been
designed for until they finally did acquire the ability to desire more.

If
she felt sad and dissatisfied, perhaps it was entirely her own fault for
thinking that anything should have been different because of all that they had
been through together. The truce would end soon enough, and everything would be
exactly the way it had always been. The Union was still the Union, with all its
faults and injustices. The Starwolves were still the Starwolves, endlessly
solving everyone else’s problems over and over. Only she herself had changed,
and somehow she did not feel the better for it.