—When? How?
—He had a heart condition I was not aware of. He collapsed during his interrogation and we could not reanimate him.
—His interro … You had him tortured?
—It is, as most things are, a matter of … Yes. I had him tortured.
—Why?
—I thought he might know something. He did not.
—And he died.
—That he did.
—I don’t know how to respond. Do you want me to say it wasn’t your fault?
—No. I bear complete responsibility for his death. I should have obtained his medical records before debriefing him. I was careless.
—What bothers you is not that you tortured a man but that you forgot to ask for his medical records?
—Do not judge me too harshly, Dr. Franklin. Goodwilled, intelligent people just dropped a nuclear bomb on their own people. The United States Government gunned down over six hundred people at the Mexican border less than twelve hours ago. Those were unarmed men, women, and children, families seeking refuge.
—Is that what we’ve become?
—I have asked myself that question many times. The person who offered to meet you—the one who may be of alien descent—mentioned once that if we did not seem responsible enough, the people who built Themis might choose to send us back to the Stone Age and let us mature for a few millennia. I believe those were his exact words. I sometimes wonder if that might be exactly what we need.
—A fresh start.
—A fresh start.
—I should be appalled that you tortured a man. I’m not. I think I’m becoming as cynical as you are.
—I am not cynical, but we are indeed very different creatures.
—We’re not so different.
—Oh, but we are. No matter how much you believe you have changed, we are still very different animals, you and I.
—I think you’re wrong.
—Let me ask you this: Do you believe the American government lied to the people about weapons of mass destruction before invading Iraq?
—What’s this got to do with anything?
—Just answer the question.
—Yes. I do.
—Do you believe that was wrong?
—What do you mean? Of course that was wrong!
—Why?
— …
—Because lying is bad?
—Something like that.
—You see, I believe that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake but for completely different reasons. At the time, the people in power believed—some of them did—that a strong military presence in the Middle East was crucial to the preservation of our way of life. They believed that the very survival of democracy, freedom of speech, everything we hold dear, hinged on our military presence in the Middle East. Imagine for a second that you also believed that to be true. Let us make this easier, imagine that through some unexplained magical phenomenon, you actually knew it to be true. Would you have lied to the American people if it increased your chances of establishing that vital military presence?
—No. I wouldn’t have.
—And therein lies the fundamental difference between us. You would not sacrifice your principles for a greater good. I would not stop to think about it. I am … pragmatic, and you, Dr. Franklin, are an idealist.
—Is that such a bad thing?
—Not at all. What would people like me do without ideals to defend?
—I think you’re having a crisis of conscience because you’ve crossed one line too many and you’re trying to rationalize everything that brought you here. You did what you did because you thought it was right.
—I did what I did because I thought there was a small chance it might save people. I never thought for a second that it was right.
—So what’s next? I take it Mr. Lawson didn’t spill the beans about the great alien master plan.
—He did not. However, I still find it likely that his immunity to the alien gaseous agent was due to genetic traits he inherited from ancient alien visitors, but I can now say with a good measure of certainty that, if Homo sapiens were not the only species in his ancestry, he was completely unaware of it.
—For what it’s worth, I think you’re probably right. It would make sense for them to spare people they feel related to. What does Alyssa have to say?
—She has found nothing conclusive as of yet, but she is working around the clock. I must say, I have rarely seen anyone so enthusiastic, about anything. If she fails, it will certainly not be for lack of trying.
—She is dedicated. I’ll say that about the woman.
— …
—What is it?
—An alien robot materialized at the north end of Central Park.
—Here?
—I am afraid so. Can you turn on the television?
—There. It’s already releasing gas.
—How long before it reaches us?
—What do we do?
—Dr. Franklin, how long?
—At twenty-five miles per hour, I’d say … five minutes, maybe less.
—We need to get Themis to safety. We cannot risk the alien robot destroying her after we evacuate.
—I’ll call Vincent. He’s probably still in the hangar bay.