“How could you love him after he had sex with a woman?” Serit asked.

The man looked down at his clasped hands. “I don’t know. But it became obvious to me, after spending time with her, that the girl has the stronger will. I believe she seduced him; and then she entangled him with her plan.”

This did not seem likely. Nam was only eighteen, two years away from adulthood.

Kla looked at the girl and saw her grim, determined, angry face.

“What plan?” asked the grandmother.

“She emptied her computer, so no one would know where she had been and what she photographed; and then she left evidence of her death – the boat, floating in the fjord, empty. Then she went to Perin and insisted on his help. He had no choice. If she told her family – you – what had happened, he would die. Or if not that – his family has influence – he would get a really bad assignment.

“She could not stay here in this town, because her family would discover what she’d done. And she could not travel while pregnant. A woman alone in that condition would arouse too much interest and concern. People would stop her and offer help or ask about her family. Where were they? Why was she alone?”

“You say that you love this man Perin, but now you tell this terrible story,” Kla’s grandmother said.

“There is no good ending,” the spotted soldier replied. “If the girl gave birth, she would do it alone, with no one to help except Perin and me. Hah! That was frightening! If the child lived, what would happen to it? Children don’t appear out of nowhere. They are the result of breeding contracts. They have families. No mother with a child is ever alone.”

“This is true,” Kla’s grandmother said.

“It became apparent to me that the child would die, even if it was healthy. How else could Perin and the girl hide what they had done?” He paused and took a deep breath. “The girl said she would travel to the capital after the child was born. There are people there who live in the shadows and make a living in irregular ways. She planned to become one of those. She never spoke of the child.

“All the time, while this was happening, my love for Perin was wearing away. How could he be so stupid? It was obvious to me that the girl had the stronger will. He was acting the way he did out of weakness and fear of discovery. I would have told your family or my senior officers, except by this time I had gotten myself entangled. I was at fault. I would be told to kill myself, once this was known.”

“True,” said Kla’s grandmother. She looked at Nam. “Well, child, why did you do this?”

“I love him,” Nam said stubbornly, though Kla was not sure the girl meant it. How could love endure this mess?

“How can you?” the old lady asked. “He is male.”

“I cannot change what I feel.”

“Certainly you can.”

“No,” the girl replied.

“Tell them all to kill themselves,” Serit put in. “They are disgusting.”

The old woman looked at Kla. “You have studied human crimes. What is your advice?”

“Two suicides close together would cause talk,” Kla replied. “Though we might say it was some kind of lovers’ quarrel. But why would both commit suicide? No one was stopping their love. It would be a mystery. There would be talk and wondering and possibly an investigation by military. We don’t want that.

“As for the girl, everyone thinks she is dead. But we would have to hide her body, if she killed herself. Otherwise, people would wonder where she had been before her death. And she is pregnant. That’s another problem. If Sharim Wirn is right, the girl planned to kill the child or let it die. We have no reason to believe the child is defective. I am not comfortable doing what the mother planned to do.”

“Yes.” The grandmother leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. “Be quiet, all of you. I need to think.”

They sat, as sunlight moved across the floor and out of the room. Kla needed to pee and would have liked a cup of tea or halin. But she kept still.

At last, the grandmother opened her eyes. “The important thing to keep this story secret. One solution would be for all three of you to die. But as Kla says, that might cause talk and wondering; and there is the problem of the child. So –” She gestured at the two soldiers. “You will volunteer for service in space, far out in the war zone, where you will not meet women. My family has relatives who are important in the military. They will make sure you get the assignments you desire.

“As for you, Nam, you will stay in this house until your child is born. You have a cousin who is pregnant now. We will say that she had twins. I am not comfortable with this, since I will be deceiving the lineage that provided semen for your cousin. But we do what we have to do; and I hope you are ashamed at the lies you are forcing your relatives to tell.”

Kla looked at the girl. She did not show any evidence of shame.

“After the child is born – “ the grandmother said. “I will give you two choices. Either you can stay here and study art on the world information net, or you can leave and go into the shadows. If you stay here, we will watch you for further signs of misbehavior. We cannot trust you, Nam. You have initiative, a strong will, no self-control and no sense of family obligation. This is a dangerous combination.”

“I will go,” Nam said.

The grandmother exhaled. “If you want to live in the shadows in the capital, fine! But don’t tell anyone your family name.”

“I won’t,” the girl said. “I despise all of you and this town.”

“Why?” asked Kla, surprised.

“Look at you,” the girl said. “In your silly cape, pretending to be a human.”

“What harm does it do?” Kla asked.

“And you,” the girl stared at Kla’s grandmother. “Pretending that none of this happened, because you are afraid of gossip.”

“Gossip can cause great harm,” the old lady said.

“The world is changing,” Nam said. “There are aliens in the sky! But your lives remain the same, full of fear and pretense.”

“There are no aliens in the sky,” Kla’s grandmother said firmly. “The humans remain a long distance from our home system.” She paused for a moment. “I hope your child has your gift for art, without your difficult personality. This has been an unpleasant conversation. I’m tired now. I want to take a nap. Everyone go.”

“You stay in the house,” Serit said to Nam. “We don’t want anyone outside the family to know you are alive.”

The girl made the gesture of assent, though she looked sullen.

Kla left the house with the soldiers. “Thank you,” the spotted soldier said before they parted. “You said that our suicides would cause talk. For this reason, Perin and I will remain alive.”

“Behave better in the future,” Kla said.

The man showed his teeth in a brief smile. “We will have no chance to behave badly in a war zone.” He glanced around at the mountains. “I will miss this country. But space may be safer.”

The two men took off, walking rapidly. They kept well apart, as people do who have quarreled.

Kla went back to her apartment. It was late afternoon by now, and the sun was behind the mountains, though the light still touched the high peaks, streaked with a little snow. The fjord was still and gray.

Doctor Mel was in the main room, drinking tea. Kla sat down and told the story. Even though Mel belonged to another lineage, she was a doctor and knew how to keep secrets.

At the end, Mel said, “You have solved your mystery.”

“It’s an ugly story,” Kla said. “I wish I still believed the girl had drowned.”

“That is wrong,” Mel said firmly. “Her life may be hard, but she still has a future. The dead have nothing.” She refilled her cup and poured tea for Kla. “Most likely, she will give up her unnatural interest in men. If she does not – well, there are people in the shadows who know about contraceptives.”