Only Human (Themis Files, #3)(56)

—Tell the truth, Dr. Franklin.

—All right. This isn’t exactly how I imagined this conversation going, but here it is. I think you lack empathy, completely. You’re egocentric, unable to question your motives, to feel, or at least show remorse. I think you’re cold, calculating, that you conceive of right and wrong in almost mathematical terms. I think you’re dangerous.

—Thank you for being honest, Dr. Franklin. Now if I may do the same. I think you’re na?ve beyond belief. I think your empathy—and you have a lot of it—is a weakness. It blinds you to the g…greater picture. You let emotions get in the way of rational judgment, and that is the worst thing a scientist can do. You might be a better human being than I am by anyone’s standard, but it is people like you who will bring our world to its end. I think you’re dangerous.

—I wasn’t finished. I don’t think you’re a psychopath. A sociopath, maybe, but you do have a conscience. However uncaring it may be, I think you are guided by a sense of right and wrong. You are egocentric, but I know you wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice yourself if you thought it served your definition of a greater good. You’re not a psychopath. You’re…a utilitarian, in your own heartless way.

—That almost felt like a c…compliment.

—It wasn’t. I don’t want to be your friend, Alyssa. I want you to help me get Mr. Burns out of here.

—What? Why would I do that?

—Because he wants to get out of here. Also, because it’s the right thing to do, even for you.

—Is it? You called me cold and calculating, so let’s ca…calculate. Your friend is an inv…invaluable asset. He knows more about alien t…technology than any of us. We wouldn’t have a functional robot without him.

—That’s all true.

—He is only helping us because he has no choice.

—Are you sure about that?

—They—I mean US Intelligence—haven’t exactly been ge…ge…gentle with him. They had to exert some pppressure to make him talk.

—How much pressure? I’m willing to bet it didn’t take much.

—Some people can handle more pain than others.

—Alyssa, trust me when I say that if he helped you make that robot functional, it’s because he wanted you to have a functional robot. With Themis gone, he probably thought that was a good idea. Has he done anything for you since then?

—No.

—And I assume they’ve kept “exerting pressure”?

—Yes.

—Can I ask you a personal question? Do you like what’s happening in the world? Do you like things here in the United States?

—You want me to say I’m against people being imprisoned for no reason, is that it? I am. Nothing good can come of it. It’s stupid, baseless. It is not my fault if people are stupid. The real thr…threat is not down here, it’s up there.

—You might want to rethink that, Alyssa. Now that the Russians have their own robot, they’re going to make some bold moves of their own. You know how this could end.

—Yes. But there is nothing I can do to change that. All I can do is continue my work here.

—There’s nothing you can do to prevent anything. I was there, Alyssa. If the Ekt come here wanting to hurt us, they will. You can’t help. I can’t either. I wouldn’t have been able to help the last time without Mr. Burns. I can’t promise you they’ll never be a threat, but the Ekt are not coming here anytime soon. They’re not the problem. Thermonuclear war, on the other hand…We need to fix things down here, Alyssa. This world, the way things are now. Is it even worth protecting?

—Do you have any reason to believe this Mr. Burns can do that? Can he stop a war?

—I have no idea, Alyssa. None. I know I can’t. I don’t think you can either. He knows a lot of people. He has friends. Somehow, he’s been able to communicate with them, but I’m sure he can do more out there than he can do in here. I just don’t see any upside to keeping him. I don’t think you do either.

—And if he can’t do anything?

—Then we’re no worse off than we are now. There’s nothing to lose. Just trust him. Trust me. Can you do that, Alyssa? Trust someone?

—…

—Will you help me?

—Hello, get me Security—

—What are you doing?

—This is Dr. Alyssa Papantoniou. I need Dr. Franklin escorted out. I want her access to this ff…facility revoked, immediately.

—Alyssa!

—Goodbye, Dr. Franklin.





FILE NO. EE380—PERSONAL FILE FROM ESAT EKT


    Interview between Dr. Rose Franklin and Vincent Couture


   Location: Assigned residence, Etyakt region


—Vincent, what are you doing here?

—I’m looking for Eva. She didn’t come home last night.

—I haven’t seen her. I’m sorry.

—It’s not your fault if you haven’t seen her, Rose. Sorry I woke you up. Go back to bed.

—I’m sure she’s fine.

—She was pretty upset when she left. I’m just…

—What happened?

—Same thing that always happens. She…There’s a big protest scheduled for today. She wanted to go. I said no.