Free Poseidon's Wake by Alastair Reynolds Page A

calling to tell me there’s a vote to have me removed as ambassador. There’s no reason for it not to go through. When it does, they’ll ship me back to Earth.’
    ‘This is official?’
    ‘As good as. Korsakov wouldn’t have called unless he was certain of the outcome.’
    ‘But your own government will defend you!’
    ‘Until it becomes politically expedient to switch me out for someone with a harder attitude to your kind.’
    Between them was the table and Dalal’s book. Kanu felt a swell of sadness rise up in him like a tide. They had disagreed on many things, but he felt sure that Dalal would have spoken up for him.
    ‘We placed you in this unfortunate position, Kanu.’
    ‘It’s not your fault. And this isn’t about you – it’s about ignorance and fear.’
    ‘Will returning to Earth be so bad? There must be a great many people there who would value your diplomatic experience.’
    ‘I think I might return Garudi’s book to her family. Beyond that, it depends on how “tainted” I’m perceived to be.’
    Swift looked down. ‘Oh dear.’
    ‘You needn’t worry. I’m adaptable. I’ll find something to occupy myself with.’
    The robot nodded solemnly. ‘Of that I have no doubt whatsoever.’

 
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
    Goma was suffering another medical examination by the expedition’s physician, Dr Saturnin Nhamedjo, when the call came in from Ru. She was to leave Guochang and return with all haste to the sanctuary. Goma made her apologies to the gentle, accommodating Nhamedjo and was soon on her way back to the elephants. A year ago she would have taken the aeroplane, but her role in the expedition brought a number of new perks, chief among which was the ability to hire a government flier at short notice. She took the little beetle-shaped machine from Guochang, vectoring around Mandala to avoid a bad weather system. When Goma arrived at the facility, Tomas explained that Ru was already out with the Alpha herd.
    ‘That bad?’ she asked.
    ‘Worse, I think. You’d better not hang around. Take the buggy – it’s already loaded up for the day.’
    Goma raced back out into the heat and humidity. She gunned the electric vehicle hard, nearly tipping it over on the bends, dust pluming up from its wheels as she sped away from the compound. It only took her twenty minutes to reach Alpha herd. She slowed and then stopped, taking in the scene from a slight elevation. From the disposition of the elephants, it was obvious that something was wrong. They were turned inwards, an audience facing some central spectacle. Goma left her buggy and walked the remaining distance, passing Ru’s vehicle on the way. They were so deeply preoccupied that she was nearly with them before any of the elephants deigned to acknowledge her presence.
    Goma paused to allow the young mothers and calves to accept her arrival. A calf brushed against her with boisterous disregard, but the older elephants shared none of its exuberance. They were making low, agitated rumbles, with much mutual trunk-touching taking place, as if the herd members sought constant reassurance.
    Goma scanned the familiar forms, noting body size, tusk disfigurement, ear shape.
    She moved carefully between the adults, conscious of their size and heightened mood. She had rarely been the target of elephant aggression. In their present state, though, it would not take much provocation to draw a bad-tempered response. She was small and they were large, and nothing in the universe would change that basic asymmetry in their relationship. They could crush her between breaths.
    At the focus of the gathering lay a dying elephant. Goma recognised her immediately: the elderly Agrippa, the herd leader. Even as she moved through the standing elephants, Goma had been aware of Agrippa’s absence among their ranks, so unlike this dutiful matriarch.
    ‘You’re in time,’ Ru said.
    Agrippa lay on her side, her breathing laboured. Ru knelt at her head, one hand on Agrippa’s