“What happened to them?”
“In three of the cases, the Naukra ruled against the kroudh—although, in two of those, they still implemented what the kroudh had demanded. But all three of them offered up their life, when the Naukra convened, and the offer was accepted. They died.”
Stockwell took another deep breath. “The fourth case?”
“That’s the most famous of the cases. Another Pluthrak, as it happens, a female by the name of Fouri. In her case, the Naukra ruled in her favor, and her demands were accepted.”
“And what happened to her? Did she die, too?”
“No.” Kinsey gazed at him solemnly. “But her kroudh status was not lifted. Pluthrak attempted to get it revoked, but the Naukra refused. Apparently at Narvo and Dano’s insistence.”
Caitlin felt her face grow pale. “Oh, Lord.”
Her father gave her a sharp glance. “I don’t think I quite understand.”
“No, you don’t, Dad. For a Jao, being a kroudh means . . . oh, what would be a human equivalent? Like being an Amish, shunned—except there’s no outside world to go to. As if all humans were Amish. You will have no social interaction beyond what Jao consider casual ones. Most of all, you will never have the hope of returning to your kochan in order to join a marriage group. You will be lonely and celibate the rest of your life.”
“Celibate, at least.” Kinsey unclasped his hands and waved one of them. “Fouri krinnu ava Pluthrak was not lonely. Her entire service chose to declare themselves kroudh also, after the Naukra’s refusal to lift her status, and spent the rest of their lives in her company. From what I can tell, although there’s some misgivings about Fouri’s behavior, there’s none at all about her service. They are revered in Jao memory—the Great Service, they’re usually called—much like the Japanese revere the so-called forty-seven loyal ronin.”
“Why celibate, then? I would think that among her service . . .”
Kinsey shook his head. “The thing that’s still the most mysterious about the Jao—to us, anyway—is their sexual habits. They obviously don’t mate the way humans do, but the difference is deeper than simply a cultural one. That’s clear to me. I have no idea exactly how it works, biologically, but the Jao simply don’t get sexually aroused except in the context of a marriage-group, and marriage-groups are ultimately what the kochan do. It’s not something that can be jury-rigged, so to speak. No kochan—or taif, at least—and there’s no marriage-group. Don’t ask me how it works, because I don’t know. Somehow or other—the way their pheromones operate, who knows?—they just don’t get sexually active except in a proper social context. Extramarital fornication and adultery are simply unknown among the Jao.”
Stockwell gave Caitlin another sharp glance. “And what happened to the service of the other three? The ones who died?”
Kinsey’s lips quirked. “Relax, Mr. President. The Jao do not have the custom of burying retainers with the dead emperor—nor the equivalent of suttee, where the widow is expected to hurl herself onto her husband’s funeral pyre.” He shrugged. “As near as I can determine, in fact, most of the services became highly prized individuals after the death of their patrons. The Jao place tremendous stock on loyalty, which they’d certainly demonstrated. In not one of the four instances, did any member of the personal services abandon their patron.”
The relief in Ben Stockwell’s slumping shoulders was obvious. Caitlin’s too, truth be told.
“Enough of that,” she said, a bit sharply. “If Dr. Kinsey’s right—and everything I can sense tells me he is—your course is obvious. Uh, Dad.”
Stockwell managed a grin of sorts. “Don’t teach your grandmother—or your wily old father—how to suck eggs, youngster. Yeah, I’d say it was blindingly obvious. First, make sure there’s no Black Hole of Calcutta. Second, do everything possible to insure that whenever the dust finally settles—assuming we survive the Ekhat—that Terra is a nice and peaceful and very well-run little planet. So that when the Naukra scrutinize us, Narvo can’t claim that Pluthrak opened Pandora’s box.”
“Exactly,” said Kinsey. “What we want is an Indian Mutiny that’s really more along the lines of well-organized nonviolent resistance. Call it a sit-in on a planetary scale.”