In fact, Losham was starting to suspect that they hadn't been born to the harem ladies but to Dormants in the breeding enclosure. No one other than the women in the enclosure would have known that some of the brothers hadn't been brought from the harem as babies. But the women had no contact with anyone on the outside, and they didn't know what happened to the boys once they left the enclosure. They wouldn't have known who hadbeen promoted and who hadn't. Besides, those who might have known anything were probably dead by now.
The more he thought about this, the more sense it made to him. It was definitely something that his father would have done to fortify the line of his so-called sons.
At least Losham knew for sure that he had been born to one of the ladies. He even had a picture of her. He hadn't been born to some commoner in the breeding enclosure. His sense of superiority, which had suffered a blow when he'd realized that he might not be Navuh's son, had just gotten a boost.
"Some of these I have answers for," he told Rami. "Some I don't. I will work through them with the Eight."
Rami knew him well enough to hear in his tone that it was time to drop the subject, and for a long moment he didn't say anything and focused on arranging Losham's paperwork on the desk.
"I have some interesting news from the brothel."
Losham arched a brow. "Do tell."
Naturally, Rami didn't use the brothel's services, but he regularly gathered information for Losham by striking up conversations with people and listening to gossip.
"The Eight requested a woman on Friday."
"That is interesting. They haven't availed themselves of the brothel's services since they escaped the lab. I thought that their sex drive was gone because of the new drug protocol Petrov and Volkov designed for them. I wonder what has changed."
"Indeed. I was told that the woman stayed the night and they'd escorted her back to the brothel in the morning."
There were several possible explanations, and Losham disliked all of them. It was possible that the Eight's drug protocol had lost its efficacy in some dimension they hadn't anticipated, and that suppressed urges were leaking back through. It was also possible that the Eight were experimenting with social or emotional behaviors they'd previously shed, in which case something in their cognitive architecture was changing in unpredictable ways. The other and simpler explanation was that they were trying to project an image of normalcy, but then the question was, why now?
They hadn't made an effort to hide their lack of interest in sex before. They simply didn't seem to care what others thought of them.
He should visit the lab and have a talk with the scientists about the protocol. He also needed to check on their progress on the human-enhancement formulation.
A knock at the door announced the arrival of the Eight, and Rami walked over and opened it for them.
"Good morning," he greeted them. "Please, come in."
The Eight entered in their usual formation, with Number One leading the procession.
"Good morning," Number One said.
"Please, sit down." Losham gestured at the eight chairs, six across the table from him, and one on each side.
There was a fractional pause. They didn't look at each other, but he had the distinct impression that they had just consultedwith each other about the unusual instruction. Normally, only Number One sat at the table, and the others arrayed themselves along the wall.
Number One inclined his head and walked to the chair at the far end of the table, and the other seven followed.
It looked like a war council, and in a way, it was.
"I have several things to discuss with you this morning," Losham said. "And I want to discuss them with all eight of you."
Again, there was a pause, and Losham imagined them talking it over inside their hive mind.
"You are always discussing things with the Eight of us," Number One said. "Even if I'm the only one with you in the room."
Losham smiled. "Intellectually, I know that, but I'm an old immortal who is set in his ways. I prefer to watch the face of everyone I'm talking to."
Number One nodded while the others remained expressionless.
"Let's first talk about the wire," he started. "I'm sure you are anxious to hear how it went."
"We don't get anxious," Number One said. "But we are curious."
"Same thing." Losham waved a dismissive hand.
