Only Human (Themis Files #3)(29)

I can live with that. I can see myself doing great science all day even if it’s primitive by everyone else’s standard. In many ways, it’s the best kind of science. It’s stimulating yet free of consequence. Nothing I do in that lab will get anyone killed. No one will use what I do to hurt people. I hope we get to stay. I hope Vincent and Eugene change their mind about this world. Fortunately for me, our fate is in the hands of the Council, not mine, and I see nothing wrong with enjoying what this planet has to offer while we wait.





FILE NO. EE108—PERSONAL FILE FROM ESAT EKT


Personal Log—Vincent Couture and Eva Reyes


Location: Assigned residence, Etyakt region


—Can we eat the cake, Dad?

—I was waiting for Eugene.

[He’s not coming. He wasn’t feeling well.]

Again? Well, more cake for us then! Sorry I couldn’t find any candles. Fourteen years old! I just want to say how grateful I am that I got to spend these last four years with you, though I wish we could have spent them on Earth. Watching you grow into a rebellious teen has been … pure torture. I am grateful there aren’t any black clothes anywhere on this planet so you couldn’t go full goth on me. Oh, and one big thank-you to Itit at the market, who finally managed to recharge the batteries for our recorders.

—I’m not rebellious.

—Well, you leave the house on your own, and you talk to people. That’s rebellious enough. Esok said you spend a lot of time with one of the guard trainees. What’s his name?

—Ekim. And we’re just friends!

—Yeah, well, I hope so. He’s like twenty years old.

—They age superslow! He’s younger than me!

—Then he’s too young for you. Wait … That’s not what I meant.

—What did you mean?

—I mean … I mean you should stay here. Never leave the house, or do … anything. And whatever happens, never, ever, show up here with a boyfriend.

[I wanna meet him! Bring him over some time!]

Thank you, Rose … That was sarcasm, by the way. It’s bad enough you talked me into letting her take a job, we’re not doing the boyfriend thing just yet. MR. YOTYOT! OFF THE TABLE!

[She’s helping others, Vincent, feeding people. You should be proud of her.]

—Can you stop talking about me like I’m not here?

—Hey, have you seen Eva? You know, the awkward one?

—Very funny, Dad. And you’re one to talk. I see the way you look at Esok.

—I use my eyes. That’s how I look at Esok. If I didn’t, then I couldn’t see her.

—It’s OK, Dad! She likes you. She and I are friends. It’s perfect.

—Why don’t we talk about something else? Turn on the wall, please. We can’t see a thing in here.

[Did you just say: “Turn on the wall”?]

—He did. He’s been saying it for four years. You never noticed? Dim the wall. Turn off the wall.

—See what I’m up against, Rose. We’re the only people on this entire planet who speak English, and I still don’t sound cool enough for my kid. What do you call the wall thing, Rose?

[Let more light in?]

Oh, you’re so clever. Let’s eat that cake!

[Eva, tell me about the soup kitchen. What do they have you do over there?]

—There’s not much to tell. It’s a soup kitchen. I stir the pots. I hand out bowls of soup.

—How many people do you feed in a day?

—I don’t know. Hundreds. A thousand. A lot.

[How can that be? They’re allowed the same amount of food as everyone else. You’ve seen what they give us. We could eat twice as much and still have leftovers.]

Where have you been for four years, Rose? Half of these people don’t exist. They don’t get anything. Their children don’t get anything. Their grandchildren won’t get anything. It’s only gonna get worse unless they get rid of that stupid Council.

—Eva. Someone could hear you.

—They’re evil, Dad! Everyone here hates them.

—I’m serious, Eva.

—They’re nothing but a bunch of racist assholes.

—They’re the only ones who can help us.

—You said they haven’t ruled yet. They couldn’t come to a decision in four years! They’ll never do anything.

—They will. They’ll send us home. They’re the only ones who can. You wanna go home, don’t you?

— …

—Eva?

—Yeah, I do. But the way they treat everyone, everyone who’s not 100 percent Ekt, it’s wrong. Someone has to stop them.

—I know you don’t like them, Eva. I’m just asking you to watch what you say in public. The last thing we want is to rock the boat any more than we have to. They’re already blaming us for all those protests.

—Did you know that Esok’s people are dying?

—I didn’t know she had any family left.

—She doesn’t. On the planet where she’s from. They’re dying. All of them.

—She was born here.

—Don’t be an ass, Dad. They could cure them, you know? They could. It’s like supereasy, apparently, but the Council won’t do a thing. They’ll let a whole planet die.