The Human Division #9: The Observers Read Free

diplomatically.
    “That’s one way of putting it, yes,” Wilson said.
    “So what happened back there?” Lowen said.
    “You mean, why did a routine trade agreement fly off the rails, embarrassing the Colonial Union in front of the observers whom it wanted to impress with its diplomatic acumen?” Wilson said. He noted Liu’s expression to his summation of the day’s events, discreet though it was.
    “Yes, that would be the event to which I was referring,” Lowen said.
    “The answer is implicit in the question,” Wilson said. “You were there. The Burfinor know something of the Colonial Union’s predicament with Earth. I suppose they figured that we would be motivated to make a deal of any sort in order not to embarrass ourselves in front of you.”
    “It didn’t work,” Lowen said.
    “Yes, well,” Wilson said. “The Burfinor don’t know Ambassador Abumwe very well. She’s persistent, and she doesn’t like surprises.”
    “What will happen now?” Liu asked.
    “I expect that Ambassador Abumwe will go back tomorrow, inform Doodoodo that any new terms are entirely unacceptable and as politely as possible threaten to walk out of the negotiations,” Wilson said. “At which point our Burfinor friend is likely to walk back the request for new terms, because while it would be nice for the Colonial Union to get our hands on some sweet new biomedical scanners, the Burfinor have a low-grade border war simmering with the Eroj and are running low on ships. So they need this trade agreement more than we do, and if it fails, they lose more.”
    “Interesting,” Liu said again.
    “We didn’t want you to be bored,” Wilson said.
    “You also didn’t want us to see a diplomatic negotiation where the Colonial Union would be at an actual disadvantage,” Lowen said, looking directly at Wilson.
    “And you’re surprised by this?” Wilson asked, looking at both Liu and Lowen equally.
    “No,” Liu said. “Although I’ll admit to being mildly surprised that you admit it.”
    Wilson shrugged. “I’m a glorified tech support, not a trained diplomat,” he said. “I’m allowed to say obvious things.”
    “Your boss might not be happy with you saying ‘obvious things’ to us,” Lowen noted.
    Liu opened his mouth before Wilson did. “On the contrary, I think Ambassador Abumwe knew exactly what she was doing when she assigned Lieutenant Wilson as our liaison,” he said.
    “She’s the opposite of stupid,” Wilson agreed.
    “So I am learning,” Liu said, and then yawned. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Space travel is still new to me and I’ve discovered that it wears me out. I believe I will get some rest.”
    “How are you finding your quarters?” Wilson asked.
    “They’re cozy,” Liu said.
    “What a diplomatic way of putting that,” Wilson said.
    Liu laughed. “Yes, well. That’s my job,” he said. He excused himself and exited.
    “Nice fellow,” Wilson said, as he left.
    “An excellent fellow,” Lowen said. “One of the best diplomats in the world, and one of the nicest people you’d want to meet. He even gave up his private berth for Franz to use and roomed with Thierry. Franz got a bit claustrophobic. Said he’d seen prison cells that were larger.”
    “It’s probably true,” Wilson said.
    “The irony is that the person who is going to suffer most for it is Thierry,” Lowen said. “Liu is brilliant and wonderful, but he also snores like a freight train. Thierry’s got to suffer through that now. Don’t be surprised if for the next few days you see him look very, very tired.”
    “You could prescribe him something to get to sleep,” Wilson said. “You’re a doctor, after all.”
    “I don’t think my scripting privileges extend past Neptune,” Lowen said. “And anyway, Franz travels with a white noise generator to help him get to sleep. He’s already given it to Thierry for the duration. He should be fine. Should be.”
    “Good,” Wilson said. “And you? How are