‘But does the existence of the plans require their fulfilment? And let’s remember how hugely the Navy itself will benefit. As the lead agency, a war would clearly support the Navy’s long-term political goals.’

Kard glared. ‘We all have something to gain. Xera, you Commissaries are responsible for maintaining the unity of mankind; the common principles, common purpose, the belief that has driven the Expansion so far. But isn’t it obvious that you are failing? Look at this place.’ He waved a Virtual hand through Doel’s hair; the woman flinched, and the hand broke up into drifting pixels. ‘This woman is a mother, apparently some kind of matriarch to her extended family.’ He pronounced those words with loathing. ‘They don’t even live in their Coalition-provided Conurbation domes. It’s as if Hama Druz never existed!

‘And if the Druz Doctrines were to collapse, the Commission would have no purpose. Think of the good you do, for you know so much better than the mass of mankind how they should think, feel, live and die. Your project is actually humanitarian! It has to continue. But if it is to prevail mankind needs purification. An ideological cleansing. And that’s what the bright fire of war will give us.’

I could see that his arguments, aimed at the Commissary’s vanity and self-interest, were leaving a mark. I got a sense of the great agencies of the Coalition as shadowy independent empires, engaging in obscure and shifting alliances. And now each agency would contemplate the possibility of a war as an opportunity to gain political capital. It was queasy listening. But there’s a lot I didn’t want to know about how the Coalition is run. Still don’t, in fact.

They had forgotten the Academician. But Tilo was still trying to speak. He showed me more bits of evidence he had assembled on his data desk - me, because I was the only one still listening. ‘But I think I know now why the volcanism started here, Lieutenant. Forget the star: this planet has an unusually high dark-matter concentration in its core. Under such densities the dark matter annihilates with ordinary matter and creates heat.’

I listened absently. ‘Which creates the geological upheaval.’

He closed his eyes, thinking. ‘Here’s a scenario. The Xeelee have been driving dark-matter creatures out of the frozen star - and, fleeing, they have lodged here - and that’s what set off the volcanism. It was all inadvertent. The Xeelee are trying to save stars, not harm planets. They probably don’t even know humans are here . . . The damage to the planet is entirely coincidental.’

But nobody paid any attention to that. For, I realised, we had already reached a point where evidence didn’t matter.