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The woman stuck her head back into the room. Apparently she had only gone to the kitchen. "He does, fluently," said the woman.
The man looked back at John Paul, and the disdainful look was gone. "So what game are you playing?"
In Polish, John Paul said, "The only reason we're poor is because the Hegemon punishes Catholics for obeying God."
"In Common, please," said the man.
"The language is called English," said John Paul in Polish, "and why should I talk to you at all?"
The man sighed. "Sorry to waste your time." He got up.
The woman came back into the room. They thought they were whispering soft enough, but like most adults, they thought that children didn't understand adult conversations so they weren't all that careful about being quiet.
"He's defying you," said the woman.
"Yes, I guessed that," said the man testily.
"So if you go, he wins."
Good one, thought John Paul. This woman wasn't stupid. She knew what to say to make this man do what she wanted.
"Or somebody does."
She walked over to John Paul. "Colonel Sillain thinks I was lying when I said you did so well on the tests."
In Common, John Paul said, "How well did I do?"
The woman only got a little smile on her face and glanced back at Col. Sillain.
Sillain sat back down. "All right then. Are you ready?"
In Polish, John Paul said, "I'm ready if you speak Polish."
Impatiently, Sillain turned back to the woman. "What does he want?"
In Common, John Paul said to the woman, "Tell him I don't want to be tested by a man who thinks my family is scum."
"In the first place," said the man, "I don't think that."
"Liar," said John Paul in Polish.
He turned to the woman. She shrugged helplessly. "I don't speak Polish either."
John Paul said to her, in Common, "You rule over us but you don't bother to learn our language. Instead we have to learn yours."
She laughed. "It's not my language. Or his. Common is just a universalized dialect of English, and I'm German." She pointed at Sillain. "He's Finnish. Nobody speaks his language anymore. Not even the Finns."
"Listen," said Sillain, turning to John Paul. "I'm not going to play around anymore. You speak Common, and I don't speak Polish, so answer my questions in Common."
"What are you going to do?" asked John Paul in Polish, "put me in jail?"
It was fun watching Sillain turn redder and redder, but then Father came into the room, looking very weary. "John Paul," he said. "Do what the man asks."
"They want to take me away from you," said John Paul in Common.
"Nothing of the kind," said the man.
"He's lying," said John Paul.
