Swallow the Sky: A Space Opera, page 17
“Thick layers of compressed money”
Juro laughed “Soon you will be able to dine here every night.”
By now they were on their fourth bottle of wine, and Carson decided that the old man was sufficiently unwound to try a little probing.
“I’m concerned that the sudden appearance of an enormous quantity of Old Earth artifacts will depress their price.”
“You are right, my boy. I will release items very slowly, perhaps raising a mere ten billion a year. The market should be able to bear that rate indefinitely, and with just a fraction of the original cargo we will have enough for hundreds of years of sales.”
Carson did the math. “That’s a trillion Ecus a century – you will be the richest man in history.”
Juro waved his hand in ascent.
“We are developing a sales strategy with Hobs Treys, New Earth’s premier auction house. Distinguished scholars such as yourself will publish academic papers on the unprecedented nature of the discoveries; selected media outlets will be given exclusive previews making the sale news in every major system; ultra-wealthy connoisseurs will be invited to private viewing of the artifacts and there will be talk of ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunities for those willing to make bold pre-emptive bids. The first auction will take place immediately before the release of the final episode of Exodus, of which Clan Aniko is a major corporate sponsor. In short, we will create a buying frenzy.”
He finished by draining his wine glass and banging it down on the linen tablecloth.
To Carson this was all bad news. Asima had said that the old man wanted the money to fund some kind of crazy revolution against the Covenant. The idea might be absurd but a trillion Ecus could finance no end of havoc.
Juro was talking again.
“You too will do very well. I shall award you and Kalidas a commission of one percent each. That will give you an income of one hundred million a year for the foreseeable future. Do you have any idea what wealth of such magnitude can bring? Each day, teams of people will meet for the sole purpose of making your life more pleasurable.”
He sat back, eyes half closed.
“You’re confident that Shin will be successful?”
“Completely”
“But this is what I don’t get” Carson persisted “it was only a week ago that we learned that the treasure even existed. It was a good bet that there was a second layer of audio on the Teng cassettes, but it could have contained anything. Yet an expedition has been in preparation for months – you were willing to spend all that on a hunch?”
“Not just the expedition! Tell me, how do you choose star systems for your mail route?”
“I’m not sure why you’re asking – I run an optimum path analysis based on package addresses. Generally, the more mail I have for a system the sooner I am likely to visit it.”
“And do you have any idea how many letters poor Shin had to generate on Procyon c to guide you to Kaimana?”
Carson stared at him. How deep does this thing go?
“That must have cost a fortune! What made you so confident?”
“Isn’t it obvious my boy?”
The sommelier magically reappeared to refill their glasses. Juro paused until he had left.
“When I told you that there are only seventeen Old Earth artifacts in private hands, I was not quite correct.”
Carson thought for a moment.
“Oh my God!” he said
“What is it?” asked Aiyana, who had been listening to the conversation.
“How could I not see it?”
Juro nodded, half smiling, like a schoolteacher encouraging a dim pupil.
“What?” Aiyana said again.
Carson turned to her.
“There’s a third cassette.”
One of his agents had found it in an antiques store on Kaluma b, Juro explained. The dealer had no idea what he was selling, and how it got to the obscure star system was a mystery. Unlike the first two, the cassette contained only a few hours of audio, and that on a single layer. It was probably the last recording Teng ever made. Despite the lack of skilled preservation the tape was in good condition; even so decoding it was major a challenge, one that had brought Kalidas and Juro together for the first time.
“Most of the material was irrelevant” Juro explained “but the first forty minutes was the conclusion of Sakyamuni’s interview. He spoke of the supply dumps but with no reference to their location.”
The old man chuckled.
“You can imagine my frustration.”
“So you had to get the first two cassettes at any cost.”
“Precisely – Kalidas had already concluded that there was a hidden layer on the two Archives cassettes but he was struggling to master the technology to read it. I supplied him with the resources.”
“But you never told him about the Sakyamuni portion of the tape.”
“I felt it best to withhold that information, he was excited enough already. It proved to be of little consequence, for now we have everything: the identity of the star systems and a good idea as to the supplies’ precise whereabouts. In a few months we will have succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.”
“Can I listen to the third tape?”
“I will send you a transcript of the relevant section.”
Finally, after sixteen courses including two more of Adega’s famous spontaneous creations, the dinner was over. As they descended to the reception area Juro announced that he was spending his last night in Cissokho City.
“I will see you again when we reconvene to examine the treasure. Until then I trust you will both behave yourselves.”
“Don’t worry, we will” Carson said.
Juro held his gaze for several seconds then tottered out the door, leaving them to wait for the limousine. As soon as he left Carson realized that the subliminal buzz in his head had gone; the old man must have been carrying a suppressing device.
“Darling” he said trying to gain time “come and look at these wonderful Vanuka paintings.”
As they stood admiring the pictures he opened a private channel, but before he could sub-vocalize a message Aiyana cut in.
“Tomorrow, midnight, be on the beach below the mansion.”
“But –”
He got no further – their communications were cut off the moment Tabarak walked in to see where they were. There was nothing to do but follow him out to the waiting vehicle.
Carson and Aiyana were both satiated with the luxurious food and as soon as they got to the Aniko mansion they headed for bed. To Carson’s surprise Aiyana told the bedroom to turn off the lights before she got undressed. As they got under the covers he discovered that she was wearing some kind of harness.
“Kinky!”
She put her fingers to his lips before he could say more.
“L-i-f-t b-e-l-t” she spelt out on his chest
“?”
“A-e-t-h-e-r”
There followed a pantomime of fingertip messages interspersed with simulated groans of ecstasy to explain their strange gyrations beneath the bedclothes. Finally, Aiyana’s escape was planned: the following night she would don the harness beneath her stealth suit and descend to the beach where Carson would be waiting with transportation. Her biometrics would vanish the moment she put the suit, which would rouse Tabarak, but he would first search the house and the grounds. With luck, by the time the hunt widened they would be gone.
Aiyana eased her way out of the harness and surreptitiously slid it under the bed. There was nothing left but to try to get some sleep.
The following morning Carson was allowed to leave the mansion. He and Aiyana acted out a tearful farewell for Tabarak’s benefit.
“Be here this time next week” the big man told him. They had agreed to weekly face-to-face meetings to ensure Carson really was still on New Earth.
The taxi headed skyward; Aiyana waved until it disappeared then headed to her suite. For the rest of the day she played the model employee and researched the Clan’s economic activities in the Huan Federation. That evening a member of the staff brought her an evening meal, and then she was left alone.
It was much quieter with Juro and Shin gone and by midnight the mansion was silent. Aiyana sat in front of a dresser wearing the lift belt. She was reasonably certain that she was not being visually monitored and even if she were, she hoped that the belt’s function was not obvious. The camouflaged stealth suite was laid out on the bed. Now it was a question of dressing as fast as possible and immediately leaping off the balcony.
As she was about to get up she let out a small gasp – the surface of the dresser was crawling with insects. What was wrong with this place? Then, peering closely, she saw that each of them wore a tiny communications pack. It had to be Tallis, or at least a dozen of her soldiers. Carson had told her that members of the nest could operate remotely by augmenting their organic radios.
Four of the soldiers were carrying a miniscule black module. What was that? The ants placed the module down and to her astonishment grouped together in the shape of a letter B. The next moment they regrouped to form an I.
BIOMETRIC SIMULATOR they spelt out
DRESS STEALTH LEAVE
Aiyana hurried to put on the disguised stealth suit. The moment she pulled brim of the hat down over her face a pinpoint green light appeared on the simulator. It was broadcasting a copy of her biometrics – Tabarak would not even realize that she had gone. Aiyana delicately picked the module and placed it on the bed, arranging pillows under the covers to mimic the shape of her sleeping body.
Meantime, at the dresser the ants were spelling out another message.
GO NOW they said, adding LEAVE US
“Like hell” Aiyana muttered.
She knew an individual ant was no more to Tallis than one of her own fingernails, but this group must have scaled the cliff for hours carrying the simulator. It was like a team of human climbers hauling a shuttle up a mountain. She was damned if she would abandon them.
Aiyana pulled out a small jewelry box from the dresser draw and dumped its contents. Then, as gently as she could, she brushed the ants into the box and closed the lid. She tucked it into her suit and stepped out onto the balcony. Everything appeared quiet, only the sound of the surf drifted up through the cool night air. She leant over and peered down at the shoreline but could see nothing but shadows. Taking a deep breath, she gripped the railing and leapt.
Crouched at the base of the cliff, Carson watched Aiyana look over the balcony. He was wearing his black stealth suit which effectively rendered him invisible while she shone like a beacon. Why the hell had he chosen pink? So much for the clever disguise.
He stopped breathing as Aiyana braced herself and jumped. She plummeted for two seconds before a muffled yelp announced the end of her fall forty meters above his head. Moments later she floated down to the sand.
“That was amazing!” he whispered running up to her.
“Oh my God that was scary. What a gravity gradient! I never realized I’d accelerate that fast.”
“Tallis delivered the simulator?”
“She did – does that mean the alarm hasn’t been sounded?”
“That’s the idea, come on”
They ran through the darkness, hugging the cliff face. Four hundred meters down the shore they came to where Carson had left a small scooter. They scrambled aboard and flew along the beach for two kilometers before ascending.
Twenty minutes later they landed in a parking lot next to the largest personal transport Aiyana had seen since arriving on New Earth. Most of its bulk was taken up by the propulsion system – it had to be built for interplanetary travel. Carson slapped his hand on the hatch and they climbed in.
“This is the fastest thing I could rent – Quad Huan Qi push drives” he said “too big to risk bringing to the beach.”
As they took off Aiyana ignored the inertial dampening and rushed over to hug him.
“We did it!” she said kissing him “My God, this is our second getaway, you wild mailman you!”
“Not really – this time it’s legitimate. This vehicle is certified for interstellar connections.”
“What does that mean?”
Carson grinned. “It means we get out of here without stopping, but legally.”
As she lay on an acceleration couch Aiyana felt a lump under her suit. She reached in and pulled out the jewelry box.
“Hey, I brought Tallis’s soldiers” she said waiving the box at Carson “do you think they’ll be alright in here?”
“You are such a softie; I’ve got the perfect thing for them”
He took a small object out of his pocket. It was a tiny vehicle, no bigger than his hand.
“This is how they got to the beach” Carson said. “Tallis asked me to retrieve it. It’s a masterpiece of miniature engineering – far too valuable to leave behind.”
He placed the two objects together on the floor and opened the jewelry box. As soon as the vessel sensed the ants it opened a miniscule hatchway. The soldiers crawled out of the box and into their vehicle, which promptly sealed itself. Carson picked up the transporter and carefully stowed it in his luggage.
“If they had their own craft, why climb the cliff?” Aiyana asked.
“Shin told us that the defenses were set to fry any intruding vessel, and even something this size might have set them off.”
“Hey” he continued “talking about the cliff, how the hell did you steal a lift belt from the Aether?”
“Oh, I ran into a staff member on my way to the bathroom.”
“And?”
“Womanly wiles, darling, woman wiles”
“I don’t even want to think what that means.”
Carson slumped onto his acceleration couch.
“My God I’ve had a crazy day. I checked out of our apartment, sent off my talk to the Antiquities Society, pacified my friends, and most importantly I squared everything away with the Post Office.”
He waved a silvery rectangle “Fresh mail!”
“So where are we going? Are you planning to beat Shin to the Sharez system? He’s got a day’s start.”
“Why should I do that?” Carson said in Ancient English, speaking the words with an oddly familiar accent “Why would I want to go to a dull place like Sharez?”
Aiyana stared at him.
“You did not!”
“I did” said Carson looking supremely smug.
“You faked the tape!”
Tallis did all the work, Carson explained. Fortunately, Juro never truly appreciated her abilities. In addition they had all the technical specifications of the recording mechanism, courtesy of Kalidas
“And, of course, we had one of his phony cassettes. Juro’s techs did such a great job of forgery – even the carbon isotope ratios are right for an eight thousand year-old emulsion – they’ll never be able to tell it’s a fake.”
“But to create an entire tape –”
“Oh no, just the crucial part about the location of the treasure, the rest is real. I’ll play you the authentic portion once we’re out of here.”
More immediate issues intruded. By now they were above New Earth’s atmosphere and accelerating at a ferocious rate; they had to deal with the bureaucracy before the signal time lag made communication impractical. Carson slapped his hand on the vessel’s remote biometric station and summoned immigration control.
“Thank you Carson” it said after processing him, “is your employee with you?”
What? He had completely forgotten the story they concocted when they arrived. Fortunately Aiyana had not; she rushed to the station and put her hand in the green circle.
“I’m here!”
“Thank you honored visitor, I am registering you both as exiting the New Earth system. I trust your academic research was successful.”
“Extremely!”
Earlier, Carson had sent his ship a coded message to prepare for departure and by the time they rendezvoused it was running through its final flight checks. Even through the blur of the orbiting micro black holes Aiyana could see that the vessel had gotten bigger – several new modules were plugged into its chassis.
“Extra supplies” Carson explained “and lots of specialized equipment. Finding this treasure may not be easy.”
“Great to have you back” the ship said as they disembarked “We’re pretty well stocked up but I’m still expecting one final delivery, so pay off that posh taxi and make room for docking.”
“Oh God it feels great to be home” said Carson “and the sooner we get out of here the better”
“Not again!”
“Quit complaining, at least no-one’s shooting at you this time”
Professional curiosity trumped Aiyana’s weariness and she stayed awake to watch the arrival of the last consignment. The delivery vessel’s design was one of the weirdest she had ever seen: it was a huge rectangular lattice loaded with storage modules of every size, like a warehouse with no walls or floors. Ungainly as it seemed, it was fast and highly maneuverable – each corner of the boxy structure sported a push drive.
The transport stopped a kilometer away and two small modules bearing the logo of Formicidae Systems detached themselves from the superstructure. From that point the ship took over guidance and funneled the containers through the opening in the north pole of the shell. Finally, a satisfying clonk echoed through the ship as the new units pushed themselves into the chassis.
“They’re now fully powered and integrated” the ship said.
“Let’s take a look” said Carson and headed off in the general direction of the conservatory.
By the time Aiyana got there he was unbolting the plates that separated the ships interior from the modules. One of the units had a small window; Carson peered into its interior and smiled, then made way for Aiyana. She moved forward then let out a short scream. At the same moment a familiar voice filled the cabin.
“Carson, Aiyana, how good to smell you”
It was Tallis, all one million of her – young new queen, soldiers, workers, grubs, and all. She was doubly motivated to join them Carson explained: she was eager to participate in the hunt for treasure and considered it wise to be absent when Juro finally realized how he had been tricked.
