“Copper’s child is a boy,” Kennon said mildly. “My son.”
Alexander froze. “You can prove that?” he asked in a half-strangled voice.
Kennon nodded. “You see the extenuating circumstance?” he asked. “Suppression of human slavery!”
Alexander sat down. It was as though some unseen hand had pulled his legs from under him. “You believe it,” he said. “—No—you’ve proved it! Why—why didn’t you tell me? What sort of a man do you think I am?”
“I didn’t know. I couldn’t take the chance until Copper was protected. You see, sir, I love her.”
“That isn’t hard to do with Lani,” Alexander said. He sank back in his chair, his face clouded, his expression troubled. It was obvious that the realization shocked him.
Kennon felt an odd sympathy for the entrepreneur. It wasn’t a nice feeling, he suspected, to have the beliefs of a lifetime ripped apart and sent to the disposal chute.
“So the Lani are a human variant,” Alexander said dully.
“The proof is here,” Kennon said, “and the supporting evidence is conclusive.”
“Which makes me—what? A murderer? A slaver? A tyrant?” Alexander clutched his head with lean-fingered hands. “What am I?”