Visitor: A Foreigner Novel Read Online Free PDF

shows an inclination to talk. That’s what they
seem
to be doing in their approach. I take that as encouraging. I hope for it—since there’sdamn-all we can do if they start shooting. —And that’s about the total of the wisdom I have.”
    Gin just looked at him for a moment, then: “You can do this,” she said quietly. “I have every confidence, Bren. Just trust me for the human situation and don’t worry about it.”
    “I do.”
    “You’re frowning.”
    “God, Gin . . .”
    “Trust me.”
    “Just—I’m sorry for what I’m handing over to you. I had no desire to lay hands on the Reunioner question at all when I came up here. Now I have a tall stack of china, as my atevi associates would say, on a very weak table. And I’m afraid I set it all up for you to sort out, for good or ill, with no great amount of forethought.”
    “I at least recognize the serving pieces,” Gin said. “And you acted when and as you had to act, with nobody getting hurt. Your getting Tillington out of Central and getting Braddock contained solved a huge problem. I’m truly grateful for that little assist. I also have the Central log, and while I’m sure Tillington’s spun the record seven ways from Sunday, he
couldn’t
doctor what happened when he shut the section doors on fifteen minutes’ notice. We had injuries, we had people seriously affected in one way and another, while people with serious and valid fears regarding that incoming ship were locked in place like fish in a net, waiting for slaughter. It’s no wonder there were riots. And thanks to his extremely vocal campaign to settle the Reunioners at Maudit, we have a situation with the Captains’ Council
and
the terms of the atevi treaty that we’re not even going to mention until a proper moment. Overall, it’s not going to look good for Mr. Tillington’s management skills. Whether or not he’s actually done anything illegal is another matter. But the President will have more than enough cause to put him under wraps and keep him there for a long time to come.”
    “I hope so.”
    “I have another question for you.”
    “Ask.”
    “I’m wondering whether to tell the Reunioners about the prospect of landing at this point. I’m hoping you have a better sense of their temperature right now than I do.”
    “Best not to disturb them too much, in my opinion, though you’ll soon be in a better position to judge. They’ve had so much bad they won’t believe good. In their view, they’ve been lied to by just about everyone. Trust, in anyone, in any promises, is nonexistent.”
    “And the section doors? Senior Captain Ogun insists we keep them shut.”
    “Much as I regret what Tillington did, both to feed the resentment and to trigger the explosion, I tend to agree. The Reunioners have been pushed to the limit. Support for Braddock is grounded in their lack of options, not respect. We need to get information flowing—their com’s been shut down even for news—and rumors are our greatest enemy. Let them know what’s actually happening. Open up the private channels, at least a certain number of hours a day. Let them contact their friends and relatives. Assure them those four kids and their families are all right—the kids are available if you need to talk to them. Which leads to another issue of distrust, this one of our own doing. We interrupted all the door locks inside those sections to get in there to get the kids . . . we called it a malfunction. It kept masses of people out of the corridors. Kept people from getting hurt. Injuries were minor. And the system is fixed now. All the locks are back to normal. But the amount of unease it left in people’s minds, even with the malfunction story—I worry about that. A part of me thinks we need to explain it in full. The other part wonders how people will react, knowing they can so easily become prisoners in their own homes.”
    “My problem, Bren. Good to know, but let me deal with it.—What’s the