“Rigg Sessamekesh is the commander of all the vessels on the planet Garden, and all the orbiters, and all the expendables.”
“So these jewels cannot be used to take his place.”
“He is not dead,” said Odinex.
A dark thought came into Umbo’s heart. He drove it away. “One of these jewels is the jewel of control for this ship alone, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Can I use it to be certified as the commander of this vessel, as long as I don’t contradict the orders of Rigg Sessamekesh?”
“With his consent, yes.”
“But he is not human,” said Umbo.
“Human status is not required to be in command of the vessel.”
An interesting loophole. But there was another. “I am a descendant of Ram Odin.”
“After generations of intermarriage, everyone now alive in both Ramfold and Odinfold is a descendant of Ram Odin. Everyone is a descendant of all the colonists. After eleven thousand years, it could not be otherwise.”
“Was Ram Odin human?”
“Yes.”
“Were his children human?”
“Yes.”
“What were their names?”
Odinex listed them, and then said, “I see your point.”
“Were their children human?”
“Yes. I see your point.”
&n
bsp; “At which generation did they cease to be human?” asked Umbo.
“I see your point.”
“But do you accept it as a valid definition of humanity? As the primary definition?”
A pause. “I do.”
“So the argument of genetic continuity is superior to the argument of accumulated genetic drift and alteration.”
“It is,” said Odinex.
“May I come aboard?”
“You may.”
Umbo stepped onto the bridge and strode briskly across.
He did not so much hear the expendable come along behind him as feel the wind of his coming. Then he felt Odinex’s hands on his back, picking him up and shoving him toward the edge of the bridge.