Chess With a Dragon by David Gerrold Read Free Book Online Page B

hasn’t the InterChange foreclosed on them? What service do the Rh/attes provide that justifies their current status?”
    â€œYou have some idea?” the Old Man asked.
    Larson shrugged. “I’m not sure that this is a useful avenue of exploration, but if we knew how they had lasted five hundred years, it might shed some light on the details of their offer to us.” She sighed tiredly. “I’m sorry, sir, but knowing that the Rh/attes are mammalian, I’d distrust them more than all the others put together. I know how nasty and greedy mammals can be.
    â€œUnfortunately, I’m inclined to agree with you,” the Ambassador said. He looked to Kasahara. “Is that it?”
    â€œI’m afraid so, sir.”
    â€œAll right—” The Old Man did not look beaten. “Let’s do it this way. We’ll break the offers down into four categories—” He began to tick them off on his fingers. “Totally Unacceptable, Not Bloody Likely, Need More Information, and Let’s Talk. We’ll break into committees; each committee will evaluate three proposals and then validate the work of two other committees—”

A Quiet Objection
    â€œExcuse me, sir!”
    â€œEh?” The Ambassador looked down the table. “Is there an objection?”
    â€œYes sir, there is.” Madja Poparov stood up. “I object to this whole proceeding. We are talking about the future of the human species.”
    â€œYes, Ms. Poparov, we are. What is your point?”
    â€œThat is my point. Are we qualified to do this job—to make these decisions?”
    The Ambassador nodded politely while he considered her question. At last he looked across the table at her and responded in a quiet tone of voice.
    â€œWhether we’re qualified or not is irrelevant. The responsibility is still ours. I grant you that none of us here sought out or even desired this responsibility; most of us thought we were merely signing on for diplomatic research; but the circumstances have changed dramatically in the past few days. So have our jobs. Now, we have only one decision to make. Are we going to accept the responsibility that’s been thrust upon us or shirk it? If we choose not to accept the responsibility, we must still accept the consequences of that choice.”
    â€œI do not dispute that,” said Madja. “Idiot I am not. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics does not send fools to the front. I know that the choice must be made here, if for no other reason that there simply is not time to send back home for a decision. The issue I am raising, Mr. Ambassador is this one: how can we justify this discussion at all? How can we give any seriousness to these proposals? They are all unacceptable because of the context that acceptance of any of them would create.”
    She paused, as if waiting for applause.
    There was none.
    Madja Poparov brushed her hair back off her forehead and continued. “The trouble with you capitalists is that you are too damned pragmatic. We are sitting here and calmly discussing a set of possibilities that reduce human beings to the status of draft animals—or worse!
    â€œWe are talking about selling our brothers and sisters— Our comrades in the human adventure! —into slavery as food or guinea pigs or hosts for parasitical life forms! And zoo animals, no less!
    â€œThe best of these offers that Mr. Kasahara has read to us is the one that at least gives us the dignity of a common farm laborer—and even that one is unacceptable because it says that human beings have not the wit to do anything more than follow someone else’s instructions. I say that we cannot consider seriously any course of action that would establish that human beings are anything less than a noble species. This is the real issue. We must let them know that we deserve nothing less than the highest respect! Or—” Madja looked grim and