Chapter 32

"Look up and tell the immeasurable height

Between the vault of the world and your dear head;

That's death, my little sister, and the night

Which was our Mother beckons us to bed,

Where large oblivion in her house is laid

For us tired children, now our games are played.

-Hillaire Belloc, "Sonnet"

"It's Laufa," she said.

"Laufa?" said Dresle, and her face drained of colour.

"Yes. What is he doing here?"

"I have no idea. Is there anyone else with him?"

"I can't tell," she peered through the hole again.

Dresle looked truly frightened now. "Are you okay?" asked Elizabeth. But there was another sharp rap on the door.

"He knows we're in here. He probably heard us talking through the door. I'll have to let him in."

"Yes…" said Dresle. "Yes, you'd better let him in."

Elizabeth unlocked and opened the door. To her surprise, it was not only Laufa there, but all six of the other Vellorians were with him.

"Good evening, Dr. Bennet," said Laufa politely.

"Hi," she said.

"How are you doing tonight?"

"Fine, thanks," said Elizabeth. "What are you all doing here?"

"We were just looking for Dresle. Do you mind if we come in?"

She had no choice. She opened the door in silence and they all filed in.

Dresle was still seated at the table, looking pale. "What are you all doing here?" she asked. "Laufa, I thought you were in Denmark working with Dr. Jørgenson; and Esma, didn't you just come back from Mars?"

"We need to have a talk, Dresle," said Laufa smoothly. "Dr. Bennet, I hope you won't mind our interrupting your evening."

"I do, actually," said Elizabeth, painfully conscious of Dresle's discomfort. "Can't this wait until another time?"

"I'm afraid not," said Laufa. "It's an emergency."

"What is it?" asked Dresle in a steady voice.

"First, Dr. Bennet, will you have a seat? Just in this chair here?"

"No, I will not." She picked up her phone and was about to call Will when Laufa said, "I'm afraid we can't let you do that. Please have a seat." In a moment her phone had been taken from her and Darius and Arjen were forcing her into a chair. She tried to yell, but Darius' hand went over her mouth. She became conscious that he was holding a sweet-smelling cloth in his hand, and then everything became hazy, and faded from her sight.

When next she was aware, she found herself tied, securely but not tightly, to a chair. She tried to speak, but there was a gag in her mouth. She became aware of voices nearby speaking in a strange language. It took her a minute to realize that language was Ashtauz. She looked over toward the kitchen. All eight Vellorians were grouped around the table, Dresle seated and the rest either sitting or standing around her. Her mind cleared from its fog and she found she could understand what they were saying. Svaltu was apparently mid-rant.

"I've been patient with you; we all have. We've let you have your fun; it was harmless enough while you followed the plan. But you've gone so far as to lie to us, to share our secrets with degenerates, and even taught them our language. You are a disgrace to our people."

"You're not my people," said Dresle, and there was no fear in her voice now, only certainty. "I would scorn to claim you as my people. These are my people now."

Svaltu gave an incredulous laugh. "Don't be ridiculous," she said. "Our protection is the only thing that has prevented you from becoming a laboratory experiment. You have put all of our lives in danger."

"Elizabeth won't tell anyone," said Dresle. "She understands –"

"Oh, she does, does she?" said Laufa. "You know one of her regular correspondents is the U.F.S. Secretary of Defense?"

"Yes, I know that. They're friends. But –"

"You can't trust these people," said Darius. "Look at what happened with my linguist. I should never have told him anything."

"Elizabeth's not like that. She's –"

"And what about that friend of hers? Will Darcy? You think she hasn't told him anything?" said Laufa.

Dresle didn't answer.

"Not only have you shared our secrets, but you've even gone so far as to teach her our language – a deed which is unforgivable. Do you realize that she's been decoding our captain's log, with the help of the knowledge you have given her?"

"No, she can't have," gasped Dresle. "I refused to teach it to her."

"Well, she's figured it out on her own then, or with the help of others."

"Impossible."

"It's all in her computer," said Marco. "I checked. She's already started translating it."

Christoph had noticed Elizabeth and was now tapping Laufa's arm. "She's awake," he said.

Laufa seemed uninterested. "Just leave her there."

"But – she can understand everything we're saying," said Arjen.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it before we leave. She'll never tell anyone what she heard here tonight."

"Don't hurt her, please!" cried Dresle. "It's not her fault – she didn't do anything. It was mine."

"You've got to accept the consequences of your actions," said Esma. "After all the work we've done to make sure of our position here – I had to go to Mars, for god's sake! – you throw it all away!"

"I tell you, you're all safe," said Dresle.

"We damn well aren't," said Arjen. "We all vowed, in those three days after we landed, to keep the secret of our origins, for the greater good of all of us. Who do you think you are to decide what's best for all of us? They all believe now what we've been saying, and you're putting it all at risk. You had to be stopped."

"But we're not really even sure ourselves of our history. Isn't that important to find out?" asked Dresle.

"We know all of our history that we need to," said Laufa. "Vellorum has changed greatly, but we still know where we came from."

"But it's all only guesses. I'm telling you, the answer is in their Bible. It tells the story of the Creation – which we'd heard before, on Vellorum – and it even explains a Flood that washed away everything we knew."

"Don't be absurd; that's just an old wives' tale," said Svaltu. "And you're trying to change the subject. What other secrets did you share with this – woman? You've already given her our greatest weapon – the secret of our language. That protected us, kept us safe, having that anonymity. That's gone now."

"I'm tell you, she won't use it –"

"Against us?" said Svaltu. "Then why is she so determined to translate our Captain's log? She knows we're not telling something. Did you tell her about the others who died on the journey?"

"Yes," said Dresle. "But there's no way that information can hurt us."

"It shows that we lied. And once they find out we've lied, that puts everything we've said under suspicion. Suddenly they feel we can't be trusted anymore."

"Well, we can't," replied Dresle angrily. "I'm tired of the lying and skulking. We should have just told the truth when we first arrived."

"Idiot!" said Laufa, his fist coming down on the table so that the tea cups clattered. "Our story is the only thing keeping us safe! Don't you realize the hidden menace these people possess? Or have your forgotten our kidnapping by The Rage?"

Dresle didn't answer.

"What do you think would happen if we suddenly revealed the truth?" Laufa continued. "Wait, never mind, let's not even go there; because you obviously didn't think of that at all when you were talking to these degenerates. You know, I even learned that you have contacted this woman's brother on the phone. What did you tell him?"

"Nothing, I swear," pleaded Dresle. "I just called to ask him about the Bible. He's a pastor."

"That might be safe enough," said Christoph to Laufa. "Most of the Christians have been in denial since we got here."

"It doesn't change the fact that she has broken her vow and revealed the things that could most injure us," said Laufa angrily. "It is time to take note of your wrongdoings before we pronounce judgment on you. You have:

Taught the language to one who is not of our race,

Revealed the existence of the seven of us that died on the journey home,

Revealed details of our origins –"

"I didn't –" Dresle interrupted, but Laufa shouted, "Silence!" He was truly terrible in that moment, and Dresle was instantly quiet and looked down.

"You have told the natives that we are unable to get home," he continued, "thereby implying that we are stuck here for good. You have also revealed that no one else is coming. You have shared secrets with the degenerate natives that could destroy us. You have acted selfishly and with no sense of the welfare of your compatriots. You, in short, have driven us to the point where we must defend ourselves from the lowliest of accusers, and left us open to attack from the strongest. Do you deny any of these charges?"

Dresle was silent.

"Then I declare she shall pay the full penalty."

"I don't think that's necessary," said Christoph.

"I was going to say," added Marco, "I vote for lesser penalty. There's no need to –"

"This is not a democracy," said Laufa scornfully.

"No, but I do think we ought to discuss this before we make a final decision," said Christoph. "I still think this can all be smoothed over if we just talk to the linguist and the others."

"You think everything can be solved by words, master puppeteer," mocked Laufa. "But you can't solve this. What are you going to say to her, huh?" He glanced over at Elizabeth. "Look at her. Look at those angry eyes. You going to smooth her over? You going to smooth everyone over?"

Christoph looked angry. "Don't make fun of –"

Svaltu broke in. "Arguing will not help solve the problem. We still have to decide what to do."

"I say we go easy on her," said Marco. "She's still young – she's made mistakes, but she can improve."

"Oh, we know why you're defending her," said Svaltu savagely. "You've always favoured her just because she's aesthetically pleasing. It's disgusting."

"Can I remind you," said Marco, for once in his life serious and even stern, "that I am of the first class, which even you, Svaltu, cannot claim?"

Svaltu was about to answer when Esma broke in, "I'm in the first class too, Marco, in case you forgot; and so is Laufa."

"The classes don't matter anymore, now that we're here," said Christoph. "I think you should first give me a chance to try to fix things before we move to drastic measures."

"Drastic measures are the only solution at this point," said Esma. "This has been going on for over a year and a half – ever since we got here. It has to stop now."

"I won't say anything else to anyone, I swear," said Dresle. "Please, just give me another chance."

"Oh, but you swore before, when we first arrived here, and look at the mess you've made. We can no longer trust your promises," said Laufa. "It is time to come to a decision. Are we all agreed for full penalty?"

"Yes," said Esma and Svaltu, but Christoph and Marco said, "No. There's no reason to take such drastic measures."

"Well, what about you, Darius, Arjen?" asked Laufa.

Arjen would not look at Dresle, but Darius looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry, Dresle. You've forced our hands," and he and Arjen lifted their own. "Full penalty," Darius said.

"No, no, please," said Dresle, now weeping.

"Take her away," said Laufa, and Arjen and Darius each took an arm and escorted her from the table to the door. "Go ahead. I've just got to take care of the woman."

"No! Don't hurt her! Please!" sobbed Dresle. "Do whatever you want to me, but leave her alone!"

"Be quiet, or we'll gag you," said Svaltu savagely.

Laufa, meanwhile, had taken out a large syringe from his bag and was filling it with some colourless liquid. Elizabeth struggled vainly in her bonds; she tried to shout – but all to no avail. Laufa loomed before her, and pushed the needle into her right arm. It seemed to take forever for all the liquid to go in. The last thing she saw was his back retreating toward the door as she fell into oblivion.