They walked in silence. Well, Judit walked in silence. Rama was humming some nyaff little tune, up and down, under his breath. When they got back to her room, he stopped on the threshold.

"I bet you're exhausted. You must have had a long day." He caught her eye and his look was warm, suffused with real concern.

"Yeah," Judit admitted. It was less important to keep her sharp Lox-act going when she was only in front of him. "Look, can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he said. "Anything. Fire away. Do you want me to come in?"

She nodded and they moved into the bedroom, where she sat on the bed, and he took the desk chair.

"Dr. Pessorinsuss..."

"Pesorus?"

"Yeah. Dr. Pesorus said when I came that it might be a mistake. Like, I shouldn't be here. And I was thinking what if she's right? I mean, I think if it might be a mistake, which it probably is, then maybe I can just go? Go home."

Rama exhaled. "No, it's not a mistake. You're very much wanted here. Dr. Pesorus isn't an expert on this project, just an administrator. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Oh," Judit said, the sound long and barely audible.

Rama leaned forward, looking serious. "Judit, what do you know about your provenance?"

"Provenance?"

"Yes. Your ancestry."

"Not much." Judit hesitated. "My mum's Exotic. She came over to Albia when she was a kid. My dad was Generic. He's dead." The last statement was abrupt, like a full stop.

"Yes. Well, you're also part Native. Did you know that?"

"No," Judit said. "On my dad's side?"

"On both sides." Rama was smiling and nodding, like this news pleased him greatly.

"I can't be." Judit shook her head. "I told you, my mum's Exotic. She didn't even come here till she was like seven or something."

"Yes. I've seen. She was an illegal, yes? She shows up first on the public records when she registers your sister's birth. Sa..."

"Sannah," Judit confirmed.

"Yes. Well, despite this, our genetic tests show that at least two of your maternal great-grandparents were Native. Which is just... I mean, as an academic, as an Anthrologist, is absolutely astounding. It flies in the face of all the conventional literature on the Native diaspora. Which is, well, that there was none."

He laughed like he'd made a joke. Judit remained silent. She didn't know what he was talking about.

"For the project too, it's a godsend. Just something we never expected. I suppose you're aware that the reservation Natives are, in the main, direct descendants of the Hirta sub-population?"

Judit shook her head. She still had no idea what he was talking about. Instead, the fact that he knew something about their mother, something about their mother's past, filled her mind like a big, white ball.

"No? Didn't you read any of the pre-induction literature?"

Judit didn't respond.

"Anyway, to cut a long story short, most of the Albian Natives were wiped out by the Generic settlers in approximately 100 years during and directly following the Great Conquest, which I'm sure you know about."

"Yeah," Judit said. They'd done it in history. A bit, anyway.

"Except those on the remote island of Hirta, which wasn't discovered until approximately 350 years after the Conquest," he said. "By this time, the Generic Administration was a bit more, um, let's say, civilised." He raised his brows and rolled his eyes slightly. "So the Natives, when the island was discovered, were moved to a reservation. Rather than slaughtered."

He paused a second, as if to atone for the slaughter of all the other Natives.

"It's the descendants of those Hirtan Natives that make up the bulk of participants in this project," he went on. "However, the isolation of the island, combined with the tendency of reservation Natives not to... to mingle too much with others, has left us with a somewhat limited gene pool at the outset. It's all a bit... consanguineous, if you will."

He took in Judit's blank face.

"A lot of these kids are cousins," he translated. "Or at best, not-so-distantly related. Which doesn't bode too well for a healthy genetic stock."

He was sitting upright in his chair now, his hands clasped between his thighs.

"So to find an entire new strain of Native DNA—perhaps from the Eastern Seaboard Tribes, I mean, really, who knows, this is unprecedented, scientifically speaking—is just fantastic for the health of the programme, for improving our sustainability into the future."

Judit sat silently. She'd understood only some of what he'd said, the important part being that it was unlikely she was going home.

"So this is about my family history and stuff?" she finally posited, doubtfully. "Genetics?"

"Yes." Rama nodded.

"So what about my sister? Why not her?"

Rama nodded again, as if he approved of the question.

"Yes. Well, MC1R is a recessive gene. You obviously received the allele from both your parents, but your sister didn't. I actually petitioned very strongly to the project leaders that we test her, as she may well be a carrier, and really considering the Hirtan situation, the more genetic diversity the better..." he tailed off, "but they thought that, considering her physiognomy and hue, the directives of the programme, looking at it purely from an aesthetic point of view, which I said was a mistake, would be compromised."

Judit sat for a moment, trying to take in what he'd just said. "So she was too Exotic looking?" She finally replied.

"Yes," he said, apologetically. "If there was the same chance of a recessive gene from a Generic background, I think they would have pursued it. We have three other participants that way. Two of Hirtan origin, another with a unique strain - Lowlands, we think." He paused. "That's Jadrun," he added, as an afterthought. Fat Jaddy. Judit remembered Merle pointing him out.

It was all too much to take in. Judit dropped her forehead into her hand and rubbed her eyes.

"Well," Rama said, standing up. "I'm sorry about that, I never meant to turn this into a mini-lecture. Although a lot of that should have been in the preparatory literature. Anyway, I'm sure you're exhausted after your travelling today. I'll give you some space and we'll see you in the morning. Your alarm will go off at seven, and we tend to meet in the social room for breakfast at coming up to eight. I'll be there, so I can answer any more questions you have then."

He stood up, shaking his head slightly to move his golden-blonde hair away from his eyes. He paused by the door before he left, turning to face Judit, who sat unmoving on the bed.

"I'm really looking forward to working with you, Judit. I fought very hard to make sure that you were included in this project, that I was assigned to mentor you. I've been waiting so keenly for you to arrive. I can't tell you what it means to have you here in front of me at last."

Judit nodded, but didn't look up. Skit off, Rama, she thought. She waited until the door was closed before she started to cry.