Human Sister

might harm their hostages. When I’ve completed my statement of these facts, you may question Sara as to the genuineness of the facts I relay, and then you may ask her whether there are any other facts that give her concern about android intentions toward humans. My understanding is that her answer will be an honest no, which, of course, you may verify, and that should satisfy all of your concerns regarding this issue.”
    “Thank you, Ms. Copley, for telling me what my job is and how I may perform it. Why don’t we just begin by having you tell us why it is she thinks the androids will harm their hostages, and I’ll take it from there.”
    “I did not say that Sara thinks the androids will harm any humans, Mr. Casey, and I resent your twisting my words. I was led to believe that we were trying to find the truth here tonight. Perhaps I was mistaken, and you have a different agenda.”
    “Just tell me what you have to say.”
    “Very well. At some time or times in the past, Sara was disappointed with what she perceived as the Sentirens’ lack of interest in her and, similarly, with their lack of emotional response to her. Additionally, at some time in the past, she participated in tests with one Sentiren during which one of her fingers was hurt. Sara believes that the Sentiren intentionally hurt her finger as part of the test. We will not answer questions regarding which finger was hurt or the nature of the harm because answers to those questions might lead one to speculate as to the date of the incident. Other than her natural unease resulting from the facts I’ve just told you, Sara has no reason to believe that the androids will harm any human on the moon or elsewhere—except, of course, in self-defense.”
    Casey listened to his earphone. He scowled, seeming to disagree with what he was hearing, then stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
    I checked my teleband. It was already eight minutes past midnight. I worried about Elio and Grandpa and Grandma—especially Grandma. There was nothing hard or machinating about her. She was truly out of her element in the depths of this government fortress. And I worried about Mom and Dad. Were they behind the hijacking and the taking of hostages? Had they created and trained my brothers for this? How could they escape the military might of the United States? And of China, which had tourist resorts and military bases on the moon, too?
    Copley took my hand in hers and smiled encouragingly.
    Casey returned and asked questions to verify what Copley had said. Evidently, he became convinced that I harbored no other concerns about android intentions toward humans, for he moved on to state that there was concern the androids might use biologic agents against their hostages or against anyone attempting to rescue them. He said he had requested a doctor come and take a blood sample and a tissue sample of a lymph gland under my arm.
    Copley asked to see the warrant.
    “Ms. Copley,” he replied, “I’ve already told you we’re concerned about biological weapons. If the androids had plans to use such weapons, they might have secretly induced some protective immunologic response in her.”
    I considered how little I trusted Casey to use samples of my body only for the purposes he stated. But if I objected, Casey and others would want to know why, and I dared not provoke a line of questions related to the taking of tissue samples from me because branching off somewhere along that line of inquiry lay knowledge of the creation of Michael.
    “I have no objection to the taking of samples,” I said. “I understand your concerns, though I believe they are totally unfounded. Please take from me whatever you feel might be helpful in your investigation.”
    The samples were taken, and my interrogation was over, subject, Casey said, to my being recalled following the interrogations of Grandpa, Grandma, and Elio.
    I was taken to a room in which the only window was a small one in the door. I sat alone until nearly 0530 when a guard came and asked me to follow him. He escorted me to an elevator that let us out in a room with clear glass walls at the top of the building. Outside, above the city beginning to brighten to dawn, crouched a slate-black government helicopter on its circular pad.
    Within minutes Grandpa, Grandma, and Elio joined me, and we were ushered onto the helicopter, where, with early morning sun glaring at us through side windows and with unspoken though palpable anxiety