"No," Cortin said promptly. "We'll be just as necessary, though not always in the same way, I'm sure." She grinned. "Not everyone's going to be willing to give up even the little free will we did, either to be sure of Heaven or to avoid Hell. Criminals still won't give up their information without a fight, and they'll still need mortal punishment; there'll definitely be a place for Inquisitors!" "That is good to know. Ah . . . let me see. I do not remember that we ever went into your pre-Academy background, with the exception of your family being a farming one; if the subject would not be too painful, that might be a possible area of evidence." "My adoptive family," Cortin corrected him. "But I can't say my childhood was any more painful than average, so go ahead." "Do you remember your biological parents at all?" "No. As far as I know, I never saw either of them; I was the classic orphan left in a basket on someone's front porch." "What about siblings?" "One, an older brother. Though Mother and Father would have dearly loved more; I remember regular Masses for that intention." "And how did they feel when you went into Enforcement?" "As surprised as I was, and I think a little disappointed, though they tried not to show it. We . . . lost touch . . . not long after I went to the Academy." "Not a close family, then." "Not particularly," Cortin agreed. "When I gave up farming, we had no interests in common any longer, so I suppose it was natural to lose contact. It was my fault as much as theirs; I got so absorbed in my studies that I took longer and longer answering letters, and when I did, it was about the Academy and my classmates. Also . . . I didn't mention it, but I'm sure they knew I was using our dispensation, and they didn't approve." "Fortunate for us, though not for them." That seemed to close that subject; Illyanov sought for another. "Ah . . . assuming the Protector defeats Shayan and we are able to expand beyond the Systems' present limits, do you believe we will be able to avoid contact with the Empire?" "I think so, for another couple of centuries at least." Illyanov quirked an eyebrow. "And that, beloved, is true only as a hope, not a conviction. So we have proven two things." "That at least under test circumstances lying isn't sinful," Cortin agreed, "and that you--by extension, Dave and Brad too--have a reliable truthsense." "And we will find out more as we go." Illyanov studied her for a moment. "What do you truly believe about the Empire, beloved?" Cortin rubbed the back of her neck in a gesture she'd picked up from Odeon. "I'm afraid of them," she admitted slowly. "I can't say it's a totally justified fear--there's been no contact since the Flight, after all, and all the comm intercepts I've heard confirm their non-interference claims. But that's hard to believe of any government."