Starting an intimate relationship with Hannah was the farthest thing from my mind at the moment. Though now that the offer had been made I needed to deal with it. I would be lying if I said in all our interactions the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. Hannah was one of those rare Little Dragons, who enjoyed studying the darker elements of our nature. Unfortunately, there were times when her fascination with it repulsed even me. Entering a romantic relationship with Hannah would force me to tangle with aspects of the universe that I found no pleasure in facing.
Also her refusal to take responsibility for this tragedy diminished her appreciably in my eyes. True I wasn’t afraid to bend morality at times, but I always had a good ethical reason for it. I was beginning to suspect that Hannah had no true code of her own. Now, wasn’t the time for brutal honesty because she still hadn’t told me who killed Linda Devine. I needed to gently let her down.
“Hannah,” I said moving closer to her. “There has always been an attraction between us, but I can’t let that stop me from tracking down a murderer. If you cared about me, you would tell me the Little Dragon’s name.”
She gave a wistful sigh. “Do you honestly think I don’t know the game you are playing?” she asked. “You are still in love with her.”
“No, I am not,” I refuted angry at her for bringing it up again. “You helped me to burn that bridge.”
“So why won’t you build another one with me?” she asked her voice hurt.
Staring into her eyes I saw she was experiencing more than mere infatuation. She was in love with me. All the time we had been spending together recently, and I hadn’t seen this coming. I became so obsessed with stopping Mediator Kim's Third Way I failed to see what was happening right in front of me. “I am sorry,” I said and meant it. I should have known Hannah's feelings towards me were changing.
Her Rzerth eyes cast downwards for a moment. “Well.. you can’t force yourself to experience something that simply isn’t inside of you,” she said her voice heavy. “Any more than a Little Dragon can pretend that something isn’t there when it is.” Her eyes lifting upwards again to look into my own. “You can deny it all you want Gershom, but you aren’t done with Anne yet.”
“Maybe,” I admitted. Her vulnerability allowing me for now to confront that possibility in myself. “But do you really think I would let anyone be charged for a crime they didn’t commit. What if you were imprisoned instead of Anne?”
Hannah shook her head. “That is where you and I differ Gershom, I work with absolutes. Anne has been charged with the murder, while you and I are free. Until that changes that is my reality, and I am not interested in doing anything to jeopardize it.”
“As you pointed out,” I said my Rzerth eyes looking deeply into her own. “We are different that way. There is a phrase that our human ancestors used for situations like these. It is “to leave no stone unturned” it means I will not rest until I find the murderer, stop him and clear Anne’s name.”
Hannah gave a heavy sigh. “So my choices are to tell you which could get you killed or not tell you and your amateur efforts to discover the name will get you killed,” she then stared at me for a long moment. I could feel her mind working through this situation for another solution. When she gave another long sigh, I knew then she was weakening.
“I still think what you are doing is a mistake but the Little Dragon who contacted you is named Felix of the family Curran,” she said her eyes giving me a long look.
I didn’t know Felix, but Curran was the last name of a very revered elder. In fact one of the elder’s who oversaw Anne’s case had that last name. “Are you saying that Felix is related to elder Keros Curran?”
Hannah gave a grave nod. “His son to be exact, and I have no idea how much influence Felix has over his father. Keros could know nothing about his son’s activities or he could be planning them.”
A feeling of hopelessness briefly took hold. How deep did Res publica’s influence really extend? How could I investigate this without them knowing? Surely Felix would kill me like Linda Devine, if he discovered my involvement.
“Are you still eager to pursue this?” Hannah asked accurately interpreting my feelings at the moment.
“Yes,” I said despite my fears. Hadn’t I pledged myself to doing what was best for the inhabitants of the planet project? Before Linda’s death, I thought that meant discrediting Anne so a social code was never adopted but now I knew Little Dragons couldn’t create a planet until they cleaned up their own messes. “It appears that I have a new mission.”
Hannah gave a slow nod seeing my determination to proceed despite the odds. “I wish you luck,” she said her voice hollow.
My chance of success would increase if she would consent to stay and help me. I had to try and appeal to her better nature. “You and I weren’t afraid to face adversity and make the tough decisions for the new planet’s social code project. Are you sure you can’t join me in saving our civilization?”
Hannah gave an amused but sad chuckle. “That is one of the things I have always admired about you, whatever actions you took you were always convinced it was for the greater good. I on the other hand always focused on practicality.”
“I know,” I said remembering countless times when her clear thinking helped me find my own path. “A quality that helped me on more than one occasion.”
“Although I am tempted,” Hannah admitted. “I am not going to do that this time. We will see about next time.” she said and left me.
That ends Social Conundrums, Part XVIII. Next month is Social Conundrums, Part XIX. Learn more about the Little Dragons by reading the earlier blog post series titled Humanity's Evolution.
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