how you live, or have any other bad effects; what it does is give you new opportunities." He grinned. "I'm biased, of course—have been since I first met Sandemans. I've liked you even when I couldn't identify the reasons, and that grew when I could. Your absolute integrity is one, and it's also one of the most valuable things you've brought to our Empire."

"Put that way," Kelly said slowly, "it sounds almost reasonable. But you didn't grow up hating the Shapers and everything about them."

"You can't hate everything about them," Medart pointed out. "They did manage to engineer your race, after all. I personally think they were absolute, unmitigated idiots for thinking they could create and then control a race of the most deadly warriors in the known universes—but from my own experiences with Sandemans, I can't help but be grateful to them at the same time."

"Grateful to whom?" Ryan asked as he entered the room. "The Shapers, if I interpret what I heard correctly."

"You did," Medart told him. "They committed one of the worst crimes in Imperial history, meddling with human genetics just for the fun of it—but the results were so good I can't fault them totally for their arrogance."

Ryan smiled, taking the seat Haley had vacated. "It's good to see you feeling well again, Prince, and able to converse. So we are Terrans, are we?"

Medart nodded, pleased by the clan-chief's calm reaction. "Yes." Then he raised an eyebrow, grinning, and said, "You knew, didn't you? That emphasis on the first 'are' was a giveaway."

"We—the clan-chiefs—have known for centuries." Ryan sobered. "Or strongly suspected, at least; all the evidence pointed in that direction."

"So why in Chaos haven't you done anything about it?" Medart demanded.

Ryan shrugged. "You know we aren't as powerful as your nobles, Prince. We can only lead our people where they want to go—and that hasn't been into the Empire."

"But you could have told them, at least!"

"Not and lived," Ryan retorted. "You, of all people, must know how deeply unacceptable that particular truth is to most of us. Coming from you it's bad enough; coming from us, it would trigger a reaction I prefer not to think about."

Medart nodded, reluctantly. "I think I can understand that. What's going to happen now that I've spilled the beans?"