A Leap Across the Abyss. Макс Глебов

were close to being resolved, but as time passed, I felt more and more that they didn’t care for us, although it seemed that contact with the Federation offered them virtually unlimited opportunities…

      I decided to go to negotiations with the Empire on battleship Dragon’s Tail. It was a very impressive ship, and very unusual by human standards. Besides, I felt it necessary to show respect to our allies on this side of the portal, who were the most active in the construction of this ship, and to invite them with me. When Tobolsky read the list of persons I included in our embassy, he shook his head in surprise and looked up at me.

      “Mr Lavroff, don’t you think that’s too much? I can understand why you included Governor-General Lit-ta in your delegation, although I would have thought ten times whether we should involve the lizards in the initial stage of negotiations with the Empire, but why do you want to drag a captive quarg with you?”

      “I believe, Mr President, that the former commander of the Kappa Ceti defense system, and at the same time the first quarg with the correctly removed mental block, can tell our potential allies a lot of interesting things. They’re fighting a war with the toads out there, which we happen to have as well. The Empire certainly does not expect such a turn of events, and Mr Tsché knows a lot about our local «frogs». Besides, he’s almost no longer a prisoner. Almost immediately after the removal of the block, he applied for the Earth Federation citizenship. Given the extraordinary nature of the case, no one has taken a decision on the matter without consulting you. So if you agree, Mr Tsché will be sent to negotiate as a Federation citizen.”

      A deep crease cut through Tobolsky’s forehead. There was something about the idea that he clearly didn’t like.

      “The granting of our citizenship to a quarg will set a precedent whose consequences we will disentangle for many years. I’m not sure it’s right, but rather it’s the other way around,” answered Tobolsky with a doubt in his voice, “I would suggest another option. How many quargs have had their blocks removed?”

      “Several tens of thousands.”

      “Then it would be more appropriate to establish a new independent quarg state under our protectorate in the Kruger 60 system. Let your Mr Tsché be its citizen and perhaps its leader. Well, let him go to the talks as an Allied race representative, if you think that’s helpful.”

      Tobolsky was a far more sophisticated politician than I was, and that was his idea, which he came up with on the fly, which I thought was a good one. Not only did it remove from the agenda a host of questions that might have arisen about the bizarre status of the quargs as citizens of the Federation, it should have been much more comfortable for the quargs themselves. So I just had one more question for Tobolsky.

      “Mr President, may I inform Governor-General Lit-ta of the contact with the Empire and of her invitation to the talks, or is it better that this information passes through diplomatic channels?”

      The question got Tobolsky thinking.

      “Igor Yakovlevich,” said he a few seconds later, “The information will go through the official channels, but you will inform the lizards as my designated head of delegation. You can’t directly address the Senior because it doesn’t fit your status, so Governor General Lit-ta would be the perfect contact.”

* * *

      Lit-ta listened to me without interruption.

      “Igor,” said she after a little pause, “thank you for informing us immediately of your contact with the Empire. I appreciate it, and I’m sure the Senior will appreciate it, too. I once invited you into my system, and you promised to come as soon as you could. It seems to me that now is the time to do that, especially since this visit is not too much of a burden for you, because you have set up a transport ring here.”

      I didn’t think for long. Why not? Lit-ta obviously wanted to discuss something in person, and she promised to show me something interesting…

      “I’m ready. When will you get a chance to spend time with me?”

      “Fly in. I’ll always have time for you.”

      “Then wait for me tomorrow. We shouldn’t delay our visit to the Empire.”

* * *

      Lit-ta didn’t invite me to one of the giant quasi-living cities raised by the lizards on the surface and partly beneath the surface of the planets of Iota Persei. Apparently, she thought the lizards’ habitat might not be entirely comfortable for humans. We met on board Dragon’s Tail. This battleship was originally built for a crew of humans and the lizards, and was therefore well equipped to provide comfort for both races.

      Lit-ta has been aboard my flagship several times and felt quite free on the ship.

      “We have some very serious matters to discuss, Admiral,” after completion of the formalities the lizard moved on to business, “I invited you into my system for a reason – we can talk in peace here. I’d like to show you something, but to do that, we have to fly into the outer belt of asteroids.”

      “That’s great, we’ll have a few hours for a thoughtful conversation.”

      We set up in the study of my Admiral’s cabin, where there was a comfortable chair for me and some very specific furniture for my guest, as soon as a tail, especially as massive as the lizard’s tail, had certain requirements for furniture.

      “Aren’t you afraid, Admiral?” asked Lit-ta suddenly.

      I knew exactly what she was asking about, but I chose to ask her a follow-up question, “Are you afraid to let them in here?”

      “I was with you in the Kappa Ceti system, and I remember perfectly well what protective fields and plasma cannons are. Your ships were somehow able to resist them, though at great cost, and our dreadnoughts were powerless until your guns knocked down the power shields of the enemy cruisers. And there were only two smaller ships facing us. Now imagine letting an entire fleet in here, armed much better than the local toads. They’ll be able to dictate any terms they want to us. Admiral, are you aware of that? The Empire has transport rings, too, and once we let them in, they won’t need us anymore.”

      “They’re humans, like us, Lit-ta, and I’m sure we can make a deal. They’re at war there, and they’re not very successful either, which means we’ll need each other.”

      “You’re humans, and it gives you a chance to come to an agreement, I won’t argue, although there may be options. But why would the Empire want us, Admiral? Now, in our alliance with the Federation, there is a certain balance of power, for which, by the way, we thank you again – hybrid ships with mixed crews have indeed become an excellent unifying factor. But now the balance would be lost. Humans will become much stronger than us, and lizards will cease to be full partners in the new alliance.”

      “I believe it will be different, Lit-ta. Our interests don’t conflict with yours. The galaxy is huge and there’s enough room for us and you. Your biotechnologies far outpaced not only the Federation science, but the Empire science as well, so you’ll have something to offer the new allies.”

      “What makes you think their bioengineering is inferior to ours?”

      “Because they developed along our path, Lit-ta. Let me tell you a little secret. Our analysts believe that if humanity’s progress continues on the same path as it does now, we can reach your level of working with living matter no sooner than 300 years from now, if not more. The thing is, we’re used to solving all problems with the help of machinery, and that’s how it’s going to be. Bioengineering is evolving as a purely complementary activity, so it is not progressing so fast. In the Empire, the situation is exactly the same. Your technology will be a revelation to them, though perhaps less so than to us.

      Think of the same hybrid battleships. If you hadn’t grown armor and engines in space, we would have been working on building each ship for at least six months. And Dragon’s Tail was built in three months, and this is far from the limit. The last battleship of this type was commissioned 48 days after it was laid.

      And the reconnaisance?! Can you imagine the effect of combining Imperial camouflage fields with your engines? Think of Yoon Gao hybrid recon