to recognize the particular Rotorian we bring back. Koropatsky hinted heavily that we do this. He pointed out that Columbus, returning from his first voyage, brought Native Americans with him.
'Of course' - and Wendel sighed heavily as she went on - 'there is a limit to how much we can bring back, animate or inanimate. Someday we may have starships as large as Settlements, but our first one is going to be a small and, by later standards, a primitive thing, I'm sure. We might be able to bring back one Rotorian; more than one would be more than we could handle, so we'll have to pick the right one.'
'My daughter, Marlene,' said Fisher.
'She might not want to come. We can only take someone who's willing to return. There's bound to be one among the thousands, perhaps even a large number, but if she doesn't want to come-'
'Marlene will be willing to come. You let me talk to her. Somehow I'll win her over.'
'Her mother might not wish it.'
'Somehow I'll talk her into it,' said Fisher stubbornly. 'Somehow I'll manage.'
Wendel sighed again. 'I can't let you live with that thought, Crile. Don't you see that we can't take your daughter back, even if she is willing to come?'
'Why not? Why not?'
'She was one year old when she left. She has no memories of the Solar System. No-one in the Solar System could identify her. There are very unlikely to have been any records that could be checked independently elsewhere in the system. No, we would have to have some middle-aged person at the least, and one who has visited other Settlements or, better yet, Earth.'
She paused and then said tightly, 'Your wife might be suitable. Didn't you once tell me that she took part of her education on Earth? There would be records and she would be identifiable. Though, to be honest, I would much rather take someone else.'
Fisher was silent.
Wendel said, almost timidly, 'I'm sorry, Crile. It's not as I would wish it.'
And Fisher said bitterly, 'Just let my Marlene be alive. We'll see what can be done.'
Chapter 21. Brain Scan
45
'I'm sorry,' said Siever Genarr, looking down his long nose at mother and daughter with an expression that seemed to beg their pardon even without his words. 'I had told Marlene that this job was not a very busy one and then almost immediately thereafter we had a kind of minicrisis with our power supply and I found I had to delay this conference of ours. The crisis is over, however, and wasn't much to begin with, now that we can view it in hindsight. Am I forgiven?'
'Of course, Siever,' said Eugenia Insigna. She was clearly restless. 'I won't say it's been an easy three days, though. I feel that every hour we stay here increases Marlene's danger.'
Marlene said, 'I don't fear Erythro at all, Uncle Siever.'
Insigna said, 'And I don't think Pitt can do anything against us on Rotor. He knows that, or he wouldn't have sent us here.'
Genarr said, 'And I will try to play the honest broker and satisfy you both. Whatever Pitt can or cannot do openly, there is a great deal he can do indirectly, so it's dangerous, Eugenia, for you to let your fear of Erythro lead you to underestimate Pitt's resolve and ingenuity. To begin with, if you return to Rotor, you will be doing so against his emergency ruling and he can imprison you or send you into exile on New Rotor or even send you back here.
'As for Erythro, we don't dare underestimate the danger of the Plague either, even though it seems to have died out in its virulent early form. I am as reluctant to risk Marlene as you are, Eugenia.'
And Marlene whispered in exasperation, 'There's no risk.'
Insigna said, 'Siever, I don't think we should carry on this discussion of Marlene in her presence.'
'You're wrong. I want to do it in her presence. I suspect that she knows better than either of us what she ought to do. She is the caretaker of that mind of hers and it is our job to interfere with her as little as possible.'
Insigna made an inarticulate sound in her throat, but Genarr went on, a quality of remorselessness entering his voice: 'I want her in this discussion because I want her input. I want her opinion.'
Insigna said, 'But you know her opinion. She wants to go out there, and you're saying that we must let her do what she wants to