“Apparently,” I said. “You want a divorce?”
“Depends,” Beata said, raising her washcloth again. “Think your assistant would be up for a date?”
“In the entire time I’ve known her I haven’t known her to date anyone,” I said.
“So that’s a ‘no,’ ” Beata said.
“It’s a ‘hell if I know,’ ” I said.
“Hmmmm,” Beata said, dropping the cloth back down. “Tempting. But I’ll stay married for now. It irritates Jann. After all the irritation he’s provided me over the years, it’s nice to return the favor.”
“Stormy marriage,” I said.
“Apparently,” Beata said.
“We must refuse,” Hickory said to me. It and Dickory and I were in the Black Box. I figured that when I told the two Obin that they needed to give up their wireless consciousness implants, they should be allowed to be conscious to hear it.
“You’ve never refused an order of mine before,” I said.
“None of your orders has ever violated our treaty,” Hickory said. “Our treaty with the Colonial Union allows the two of us to be with Zo?. It also allows us to record those experiences and share them with other Obin. Ordering us to surrender our consciousness interferes with this. It violates our treaty.”
“You could choose to surrender your implants,” I said. “That would solve the problem.”
“We would not choose to,” Hickory said. “It would be an abdication of our responsibility to the other Obin.”
“I could tell Zo? to tell you to give them up,” I said. “I can’t imagine you’d ignore her order.”
Hickory and Dickory leaned in together for a moment, then leaned out again. “That would be distressful,” Hickory said. I reflected that it was the first time I had ever heard that word provide such apocalyptic gravity.
“You understand I have no desire to do this,” I said. “But our orders from the Colonial Union are clear. We can’t let anything provide easy evidence we’re on this world. The Conclave will exterminate us. All of us, including, you two and Zo?.”
“We have considered the possibility,” Hickory said. “We believe the risk to be negligible.”
“Remind me to show you a little video I have,” I said.
“We have seen it,” Hickory said. “It was provided to our government as well as yours.”
“How can you see that and not see that the Conclave represents a threat to us?” I asked.
“We viewed the video carefully,” Hickory said. “We believe the risk to be negligible.”
“It’s not your decision to make,” I said.
“It is,” Hickory said. “By our treaty.”
“I am the legal authority on this planet,” I said.
“You are,” Hickory said. “But you may not abrogate a treaty for your convenience.”
“Not getting an entire colony slaughtered is not a convenience,” I said.
“Removing all wireless devices to avoid detection is a convenience,” Hickory said.
“Why don’t you ever talk?” I said to Dickory.
“I have yet to disagree with Hickory,” Dickory said.
I stewed.
“We have a problem,” I said. “I can’t force you to surrender your implants, but I can’t let you run around with them, either. Answer me this: Is it a violation of your treaty for me to require you to stay here, in this room, so long as I have Zo? visit you on a regular basis?”
Hickory thought about it. “No,” it said. “It is not what we prefer.”
“It’s not what I prefer, either,” I said. “But I don’t think I have a choice.”
Hickory and Dickory conferred again for several minutes. “This room is covered in wave-masking material,” Hickory said. “Give us some. We can use use it to cover our devices and ourselves.”
“We don’t have any more right now,” I said. “We need to make more. It might take some time.”
“As long as you agree to this solution we will accommodate the production time,” Hickory said. “During that time we will not use our implants outside this room, but you will ask Zo? to visit us here.”
“Fine,” I said. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome,” Hickory said. “Maybe this will be for the best. Since we have been here, we have noticed she has not had as much time for us.”
“She’s being a teenager,” I said. “New friends. New planet. New boyfriend.”
“Yes. Enzo,” Hickory said. “We feel deeply ambivalent about him.”
“Join the club,” I said.
“We can remove him,” Hickory said.
“Really, no,” I said.
“Perhaps later,” Hickory said.
“Rather than killing off Zo?’s potential suitors, I’d prefer the two of you focus on helping Jane find whatever it is that’s out there pawing on our perimeter,” I said. “It’s probably less emotionally satisfying, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s going to be more useful.”