Page 365 of Eight of Swords, Part One

Zaitsev scans them, a fast reader. ‘This is accurate.’

‘Human context.’

‘Is that an insult?’

‘No it’s not a fucking insult at all. I just mean please put this into a context I might have some hope of understanding.’

‘Which part?’

‘What’s this?’ he asks, scrolling back up to the compound table. ‘This stuff.’

‘It looks like a scientific experiment.’

Lachlan’s temper frays dangerously. ‘Yes, I know that,’ he says with enforced calm. ‘Could you explain it to me?’

‘Explain what?’

‘What does PN mean? Is that Paranatural?’

‘Yes.’

‘Right. Amazing, great, fantastic. What are these others? RN and FM?’

Zaitsev seems to be weighing his answer. ‘They are… other kinds.’

‘Other kinds of what?’

‘Non-humans.’

Lachlan exhales slowly, seeking calm. ‘Sergei, I appreciate you’re a man of few words, but could you possibly make an exception?’

‘I am not scientist. I do not know…’ Zaitsev says, taking a moment to scan the page, ‘mimetics or enzymes.’

It’s a clever denial.

‘So tell me what you do know.’ Lachlan taps the screen. ‘Like this.’

Zaitsev reads aloud. ‘Horizontal vector transfer achieved through hematologic and seminal bioexchange. Subtype compatibility confirmed. Cross-class uptake consistent. Integration stability maintained. Baseline human rejection immediate.’

‘What does that mean to you?’

‘Tanner, I barely speak English.’

‘I don’t believe you. You know what this means.’

‘Lachlan,’ Danya intones gently. ‘Calm down.’

‘I’m really fucking calm for someone who discovered that there’s a whole bunch of other species on the planet, actually!’

‘You are snippy when mad.’

‘Baseline human rejection immediate. What does that mean?’

‘It means humans cannot catch it,’ Zaitsev says, eyes flashing faintly.

‘Catch what?’

‘Being other.’