Only Human (Themis Files, #3)(41)

—I…I was told to meet you here. They drove me. I assumed you’re the one who wanted to see me.

—I never asked them to…It doesn’t matter…SO. What would you like to see?

—Have I done something wrong?

—Why do you ask?

—You seemed…hostile, just now. Is it something I did in the past? I’m sorry if— —No, we’ve never met. Would you like a tour?

—I…Yes. I would like a tour if it’s not too much trouble. I don’t want to take a lot of your time, you must be busy.

—I am.

—Is there anything I can do to help? Now that I’m here. They said they would pick me up at four. That’s…six hours from now. I can walk around the city, but if I can be of use— —Ha!

—Have I said something funny?

—Yes, you did. I should be the one asking you.

—I don’t understand.

—Obviously. How do I put this? I like my job, Dr. Franklin. I really do. I can make a difference here. I have a good team of people working for me. I chose every single one of them. They’re loyal, competent. We’ve made so much progress the last few years.

—That’s…That’s great. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. I really don’t. Maybe it seems obvious to you, but it’s not to me. When I asked you if I could help, I meant just that. I’ve been gone for a while, but I still think I can contribute. I know Themis better than anyone. I know these robots. Maybe not as much as you do, but enough to be useful, I’m sure of that.

—Dr. Franklin, you’re…They’re going to ask you to take my place.

—Me? I…I don’t even know what you’ve been doing. You said it yourself, you’ve made a lot of progress. You got that robot working again. Why would they replace you?

—You really don’t know anything, do you?

—That’s what I’ve been trying to say for the last five minutes.

—No one will care if you’re up to speed or not. You know enough. They’ll trust you more than they trust me.

—Why? I’ve been gone nine years. I was in Russia with—you just called him a traitor.

—It won’t matter. You’re a pureblood. You’re white.

—I’m white? Surely that can’t—

—I’m an A1. That’s about as good as it gets, because purebloods are so rare. None of them are scientists. Well, you are, but there are only a handful. I’m an A1, but my grandfather was from Tunisia.

—What difference does that make? I’m sorry, I just— —Muslims don’t get government jobs. They get put in camps. I’m an atheist, but hey, you can never be really sure, can you?

—That’s insane. I understand that a lot of people died just before we left. I understand that people are scared. But this A1, A2 system, it’s crazy. Recombination is completely random, you know that. My parents could have had more alien DNA than you have. Your children could be just like me.

—It doesn’t matter. People don’t know what science was made by “real” humans and what wasn’t. They don’t trust anything anymore.

—This feels like a bad dream.

—It’s the world, Dr. Franklin. You’d better get used to it.

—And Muslims? What could that possibly have to do with anything?

—The first A4s we found were from the Middle East. Most of them are.

—That’s not…If the story we’ve been told is true, the first aliens to come here lived in what is now Turkey. It would make sense for more of their descendants to be from— —Now you’re getting it.

—No! I’m not! They came for them! A lot of us died, but the ones that did it came here specifically to kill those people.

—We don’t know if that’s true! We don’t know if they’ll come back for them. We don’t know anything. We know they’re closer to the aliens than the rest of us.

—Who is? The descendants of the aliens are more alien, yes. People in the Middle East aren’t. They’re also not all Muslims. Even if they were, it doesn’t make any sense…Muslims?! Most Muslims are Asians, for crying out loud!

—Asian Muslims don’t count.

—I don’t even know what that means. You’re talking about a religion. There’s nothing biological about that. What about Muslims here?

—There might be a connection.

—How? Muslims were victims too. The aliens destroyed Riyadh. Kuala Lumpur.

—Those were large cities with lots of foreigners. Both al-Qaeda and Daesh said Saudi Arabia was an infidel country. Look, I don’t have all the answers, but why take the chance?

—You mean you agree with that craziness?

—I mean I can’t rule it out.

—Then you’re not a very good scientist.

—…

—I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know you. I don’t know what you’ve been through.

—It’s OK. They said you would have a hard time adjusting. Just give it time.

—I just don’t understand. That’s all. Borders are closed. People are suspicious of everyone. I understand why people are scared, but wouldn’t we be safer, stronger, if we all worked together?