Part 12 (1/2)

”I guess not,” Han said. ”You don't have families that way.

”No, we do not And this idea of cousins being different and same-all Selonians in a den near identical.

Closer genes than in your brother and sister. We are more alike than that. Closer to being hundreds of identical twinses.”

”That much I knew,” Han said. Selonian genes did not randomize as much as human genes did. Each breeder male would father a certain portion of the sterile population, and all those with the same father were said to be in the same ”sept.” All the sterile females in a given sept were, for all intents and purposes, clones, with each individual's genetic structure all but identical to that of every other member.

”By way humans use word,” Dracmus said, ”Selonian not even haw of families. We have dens. In your terms, I have three hundred sisters and half sisters. I may have brothers, but I know not of them. They would have been sent elsewhere to breed. So I have not idea of sister and brother as you do. When we see human parents, see human woman pregnant out in public, we find it odd and some unpleasant. Breeders should be in den. We think, how strange you treat your breedersnd then we remember, all you are breeders. 'Wife, husband, mother, father.” We do not think in such ways.”

Han looked at Dracmus. He had never really stopped to think about it. The Selonians might have breeding pairs, but they did not have husbands, or wives, or marriages. How could they? As with every intelligent species, Selonian culture was driven by Selonian biology, and marriage was not compatible with a species where one breeder queen might have a thousand sterile, as.e.xual daughters. The human way must seem equally strange to Dracmus.

Human marriage was, of course, a.s.sociated with breeding, and to Selonians, that was an extremely distasteful subject. Han knew perfectly well that many Selonians looked down on races where everyone was a breeder. ”You might not think in such ways most of the time, but you're going to have to learn if you're going to deal with humans.”

”A true thing,” Dracmus said. ”Before now, I have not gotten out much. The tasks of dealing with humans fell to my-you would saylder sister, but she died eight days ago in accident. Now I have job.”

”I'm sorry your sister died,” Han said.

”As am, I. My training in human dealing was not yet complete.

Han looked at Dracmus in surprise. How could she say such a callous thing? But then he stopped himself.

Thinking about it, how upset could she afford to get over one sister's death if she had three hundred? It must have been more like the death of a distant aunt to a human. And if the steriles in a given sept were all near clones anyway, how much sense of loss could there be at the death of one sister when she had twenty or fifty more, all virtually identical? ”Well, it seems to me that you're doing fine, even with only partial training.”

”That is most kind, honored Solo, but we are drifting away from point. We must speak of lying. Lying to us is as strange as families.

We Selonians can do lying, but we have no practice at it. We see it is a bad thing. Not a little bad thing, as with you, but a big bad thing, like murder.”

”Lies can be a big bad thing,” Han said, but then thought for a moment about some of the exceedingly tall tales he had told over the years. ”But, ah, mostly they're not.”

”You see? You have skill at lies. You understand them, know big from little. Selonians terrible sabacc players, bad at all games that require concealment of truth. I think lie for human can be small because you are so alone. Lie can touch only one, hurt only one. It can be kept secret. For Selonian, together in den, lie touches all.

All know of it. No secrets, all hurt. Do you follow?”

”Just about,” Han said, trying to pa.r.s.e the slightly scrambled sentences. ”I take it that there are some lies someone told you that you want to ask me about.”

”Yes! Yes! Glad I did not kill you in the fight.”

”The pleasure is all mine,” Han said. ”But what are the lies in question?”

”First, please, can you tell when Thrackan your cousin is lying?”

Dracmus asked.

”Sometimes,” Han answered. ”Last night he thought I knew less than I did. He told me things that were m direct contradiction to what I already knew. He even told me that he was telling liebut he didn't say what they were.”

”But when you aren't sure. Can you tell when all you have is the words of his speaking?”

Han thought for a minute. ”At times. A little. And I can make some guesses about things that might be true inside his lies.”

”Like for what? Tell me some, that I get feel of it.”

”Why is this so important to you?” Han asked. He wondered just how far he could trust Dracmus. So far she had behaved very well indeedut he had not the slightest idea what she was up to, or why she had been thrown in a Human League prison. About all he had to go on was the idea that the enemy of his enemy might well be his friend.

”I will give explain later, if time. But it is important.

Please.” Han considered, and decided the stakes were too high. He needed more than that. ”No. Tell me first. Why did you need to know about human lying?”

Dracmus hesitated. She stood up, walked toward the door of the cell, and then back to her cot, her tail las.h.i.+ng. ”Is a terrible problem.

I need to know much more of human doings than I do. It is a great trouble that my sept sister died.”

”What's the problem?” Han asked.

”I ask you to explain human lying, but if can explain then is because you are skilled at it. I think you a good liar, I am sure, honored Solo.”

”Thanks,” Han said. ”So I've been told.”

”Was a deadly insult, not a compliment,” Dracmus said. ”But you make my point stronger by taking it so. If I tell you more, I tell you things others must not know.

But how can I trust human proud of his good lying?”

She waved her arm about to indicate the whole underground complex.

”This could all be trick to make me say what I am about to say.”

Han smiled. ”I see Selonians are good at paranoia, even if they are not so good at lies.”

”Oh yes. Paranoia, that we are very good at.”

”Then you should be careful of what you say to me in any event.

There could be all kinds of spy eyes and hidden microphones in this cell. They could be recording everything we are saying. Maybe we should switch to Selonian.”

”Pointlessness,” said Dracmus. ”I am sure they are not snooping us, but if they were, they would record all and play back to Selonian speaker.”

”mile enough. But how do you know they are not recording?”

”I must say no more about that” Interesting. Whatever else you could say about Selonians, they were clearly not much good at concealing the presence of a secret. How could a race of inept liars be otherwise?

It was plain that Dracmus knew more about this place than she was supposed to, but at the moment Han figured it was best to play along.

”What can you say more about?” Dracmus stared at him, her eyes piercing and intense, but she said nothing.

Han sighed. ”Would it help if I gave an oath onn the lives of my children-that I will not reveal what you tell me to Thrackan or his people?”

”A strong oath, if you mean it. In the Selonian way of oath taking, mine is the right and duty to hunt your children down and kill them if you transgress.

Han hesitated a moment. Suppose they used torture or mind probes or drugs on him? Would that matter to Dracmus? He doubted it But Thrackan and his goons had shown no signs of wanting to interrogate himand even if he was tortured, and he cracked, and Dracmus decided to hunt down his children, she'd have to find them first-and get past Chewbacca in the process. It was Chewbacca that decided Han. No one got past him.

”I take the oath,” Han said. ”I will not betray you. But what of you?”