Free Scaevola's Triumph (Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy Book 3) by Ian Miller Page B

received is several hundred years old when it arrives, the need for speedy decision is not that apparent."
    "But . . . but . . ." Gaius spluttered, "you could be attacked!"
    "In which case the decision is already taken," Klendor assured him. "There is a standing rule that if attacked, the military must mount an immediate defence, under the direct control of whoever is appointed commander in chief at the time."
    "Well, that's assuring," Gaius muttered.
    "So, in the meantime, we wait up here until they decide."
    "Marvellous!" Lucilla shook her head.
    "It's worse for me," Klendor explained, with what they were beginning to recognize as an Ulsian grin. "I have an automatic right to go home, but I can't because you lot are keeping me up here."
    "And there's someone waiting for you?" Vipsania asked sympathetically.
    "Oh no," Klendor said. "Anyone I knew on Ulse would be dead for several hundred years, unless they also went off on space voyages." He paused, and nodded towards Lucilla, then said, "It is true. It is impossible for you to go back to your husband."
    Lucilla nodded glumly. She had more or less accepted her loss, but acceptance did not mean that her burden was lifted.
    There was a silence, then Klendor noted that Gaius was staring at him. "Now what?" he said.
    "You've learned Latin?" Gaius exclaimed.
    "You've noticed?" Klendor taunted with a strange cackle that Gaius was later to realize was a laugh.
    "I'm surprised," Gaius shrugged. "I couldn't learn a language that fast."
    "Don't feel inferior," the Tin Man interposed. "If you had access to his equipment, you could too, and if he didn't have such access, he would be as slow as you, if not slower."
    "And here was I relishing the thoughts of demonstrating my superiority," Klendor cackled.
    "And I'm not going to get access to this equipment," Gaius challenged, "which is how you will maintain your superiority?"
    "You can't use it," Klendor said, and stepped back a little. He suddenly realized he had said something he should not have said.
    "That is true," the Tin Man said, "at least for the time being."
    "And what's that supposed to mean?"
    "You learn, and think, through your brain. Do you accept that?"
    "I really don't know," Gaius started, then realized that he was going to have to accept a lot very quickly, so he looked at the Tin Man and said, "If you assure me it is true, of course I accept it."
    "It is true," the Tin Man said. "Now, Ulsians who have demonstrated the ability to learn have a device implanted in their heads, a small machine if you like, in fact you can think of it as something akin to me, which helps the brain interface with external machines. So Ulsians can learn very fast, although nowhere nearly as fast as I can, of course."
    "Of course," Gaius said sarcastically.
    "As yet, this cannot be done for you," the Tin man continued, seemingly having failed to notice the sarcasm, "and it is not because Ulsians don't want to, but because no such device has ever been designed for your sort of brain."
    "So we're going to be the only ones on Ulse without one of these . . ."
    "Yes."
    "I see," Gaius muttered.
    "You were always going to be different from everyone else," the Tin Man said in a flat tone, "and while the absence of this device will be a significant disadvantage, we can't do anything about it right now."
    Gaius felt a little angry, but he realized that anger would be self-defeating. He needed these two to help him when he got down there.
    "The presence or absence won't make that much difference to the way you live," Klendor offered. "You can't use the language teachers, and you can't use some other teachers or other certain devices, but you may find slower learning an advantage. It'll give you something to do."
    'Oh yes,' Gaius thought, but he kept that to himself.
    "I discussed this with Timothy before he died," the Tin Man added. "Accordingly, after he died I extracted his brain and I have preserved it. It may be possible, one day, to have such a device