“Your name is Ifeoma Diallo. You served as an aide to mobile pilot Shehu Daren Suleiman Sékou Diallo of the Nigerian Armed Forces Mobile Defense Unit. Before that, you lived with the Biafrans in the secessionist republic. And after the ceasefire was broken, you were sent to the Space Colonies, where you were successfully granted asylum.”

Shock paralyzes Ify. “How do you . . .”

“I served in the war with your sister, Onyii. That is all I can say for now. And if you don’t get on this stretcher right this instant and let me get you out of here, the men who came here earlier will return and remove every single memory of Onyii that you possess.”

CHAPTER

28

We are all of us sitting in semicircle while Xifeng is in front of us with large cave wall behind her. There are some of the girls who attacked the police station with us and they are sprinkling themself throughout us so that red-blood and Augment and child of war is all sitting together. And some of the red-blood is drinking palm wine to be staying warm but also because they are thinking it is tasting good. But we are all looking to Xifeng like she is leader of us all. Something inside me is wanting to be calling her Commandant, then I remember that Commandant is making me to be killing and maiming and shooting gun, and Xifeng is making me to be doing none of these thing. I am wanting to be calling her Father, but person I am calling Father is also making me to be killing and maiming and shooting gun. Xifeng is making me to be doing none of these thing. So I am searching in my rememberings and looking for someone who is doing what Xifeng is doing now, which is tell story in soft voice almost like she is singing. It is story of her family, and she is saying it with thing in her voice that I am knowing is love. And I am looking in my remembering for other person who is doing this thing, and people are calling her Mother, so when I am looking to Xifeng, I am calling her Mother too.