Dimak woke him by speaking to him over the intercom.
"Mr. Raymond, are you there?"
It took Peter a split second to remember that he was supposed to be Dick Raymond. "Yes. Unless you want my father."
"Already spoke to him," said Dimak. "I've keyed the guidebars to lead you to the security department."
It was on the top level, with the lowest gravity--which made sense, because if security action were required, officers dispersing from the main office would have a downhill trip to wherever they were going.
When they stepped inside the office, Major Uphanad was there to greet them. He offered his hand to all of them.
"Are you from India?" asked Mother, "or Pakistan?"
"India," said Uphanad, not breaking his smile at all.
"I'm so sorry for your country," said Mother.
"I haven't been back there since--in a long time."
"I hope your family is faring well under the Chinese occupation."
"Thank you for your concern," said Uphanad, in a tone of voice that made it clear this topic was finished.
He offered them chairs and sat down himself--behind his desk, taking full advantage of his official position. Peter resented it a little, since he had spent a good while now as the man who was always in the dominant place. He might not have had much actual power, as Hegemon, but protocol always gave him the highest place.
But he was not supposed to be known here. So he could hardly be treated differently from any civilian visitor.
"I know that you are particular guests of the Minister," said Uphanad, "and that you wish your privacy to be undisturbed. What we need to discuss is the boundary of your privacy. Are your faces likely to be recognized?"
"Possibly," said Peter. "Especially his." He pointed to his father. This was a lie, of course, and probably futile, but...
"Ah," said Uphanad. "And I assume your real names would be recognized."
"Likely," said Father.
"Certainly," said Mother, as if she were proud of the fact and rather miffed that he had cast any doubt on it at all.
"So...should meals be brought to you? Do we need to clear the corridors when you go to the bathroom?"
Sounded like a nightmare to Peter.
"Major Uphanad, we don't want to advertise our presence here, but I'm sure your staff can be trusted to be discreet."
"On the contrary," said Uphanad. "Discreet people make it a point not to take the staff's loyalty for granted."
"Including yours?" asked Mother sweetly.
"Since you have already lied to me repeatedly," said Uphanad, "I think it safe to say that you are taking no one's loyalty for granted."
"Nevertheless," said Peter, "I'm not going to stay cooped up in that tube. I'd like to be able to use your library--I'm assuming you have one--and we can take our meals in the mess hall and use the toilet without inconveniencing others."
"There, you see?" said Uphanad. "You are simply not security minded."
"We can't live here as prisoners," said Peter.
"He didn't mean that," said Father. "He was talking about the way you simply announced the decision for the three of us. So much for me being the one most likely to be recognized."
Uphanad smiled. "The recognition problem is a real one," he said. "I knew you at once, from the vids, Mr. Hegemon."