Starswarm

by Jerry Pournelle

  "Reports. You're telling me those things can talk?"

  "They can communicate," Kip said. "Who with?"

  "Uncle Mike said you'd help us. Will you?"

  "Sure." She drew the curtains closing off the back of the van from the front seat. "OK, Sam, let's move."

  "Right. Straight in?"

  "Yes. Take us to the service entrance to the towers," Goldie said. "Now. You kids put on these jackets. And hats." The jackets were orange and matched the van's color scheme. "Ever deliver pizza?"

  "No, ma'am," Kip said.

  "Well, it's not a high-tech job." The van rocked as a gust of wind nearly toppled it. Goldie smiled thinly. "Couldn't have asked for better weather. Most businesses closed for the storm. Won't be too many people in the tower. Mostly just the executives who live there. Sam used that Vigilante name and password to get into the system."

  "Can you run programs from out here?" Kip asked.

  "Nah, they've got better security than that," the driver said. "You can't do anything important from a remote, you have to be at the systems console. One thing we could do, though, is order pizza. So they're expecting us. And here we are—"

  The van stopped. Kip couldn't see through the curtain, but the wind howled through the van when the driver opened the window.

  "Yeah?"

  "Delivery. Computer room."

  "Just a minute, let me check. Yeah, OK, there it is, Big Julie's—twenty large? No wonder there's two of you."

  "That's what they ordered," Sam said. "Forty-second floor. Look, we're a little short on time here, the power's out all over the city. Elevators OK here?"

  "Twenty large. Jeez, those geeks must be planning on staying all night. The elevators were OK an hour ago, but we've been on emergency power three times today. That's a hell of a storm."

  "You know it. Trees down in the park, a foot and more water in the streets. Look, we've got six minutes to get these up there."

  "Guaranteed delivery in half an hour," the guard said. "And I expect those computer geeks will try to hold you to it, storm and all. OK. Say, you couldn't spare one of those, could you?"

  "Well, I've got a small beef and onion the last customer didn't want, but it'll be cold." Sam reached back through the curtain. Goldie handed him the box. "Here. That's OK, compliments of Big Julie's. But we got to get moving!"

  "Thanks. OK, I'll call ahead and clear you with the guy at the parking entrance. You can save time, park over by the elevator. Any empty slot, anybody who's coming in today is already here. Thanks again. And if the geeks give you any trouble about the delivery time, have them call me. I'll tell them you were here on time—"

  "Thank you!"

  The underground parking lot was mostly empty. They parked in the slot reserved for the Vice President for Finance.

  When Kip started to get out, Goldie stopped him. "OK, kid, let's talk."

  "About what?"

  "So far, all we've done is trespass on GWE property. The next step is the big one. I don't know what we'll have to do to get you to that computer console. Maybe we just walk in, maybe we have to put some people under the gun. I don't expect we'll have to do any shooting, but it could happen. So what do we get out of this?"

  "What do you want?" Kip asked. "What do I do now?"

  "QUESTION NOT UNDERSTOOD."

  I wasn't asking you, Kip thought.

  "I want in on it," Goldie said. "Whatever's happening, it's got to be big, and I want some. I'm risking a lot."

  "Uncle Mike said I should keep any promises I made to you," Kip said. "And I will. But I don't know what I can promise!"

  "You can say you'll do what's right."

  Kip thought about that for a moment. "I'll do what Uncle Mike thinks is right."

  Goldie laughed. "Well, that's probably less than I could get out of you, but it's fair enough. OK, let's do it. It would be a lot easier if we knew the layout. Sam, you take charge now. It sure would be nice if nobody got hurt."

  "Yes, ma'am," Sam said. "I think we'll be all right. It's not like we're trying to get up to the executive floor. They've got better security up there. Thing is, we don't want to be in here any longer than we have to. OK, Kip, you and I go up in the first elevator. With the pizzas. Four of them, they'll sure know nobody ordered twenty. But with any luck we can bluff our way in."

  "I'm going with Kip," Lara said.

  "No. Somebody has to manage the menagerie. You bring the animals up in the second elevator." He selected two pizzas and handed two more to Kip. "OK, let's do it."

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Child of Fortune

  THE receptionist desk on the forty-second floor was unoccupied, and there was no one else in sight. Kip wasn't surprised. The wind and rain rattled against the building's windows and moaned through the elevator shafts. It would be much worse outside.

  Sam knocked on the glass door to the computer room beyond the receptionist's desk. No one answered at first. Finally a bearded technician in a blue sweater came over to the door. "Yeah?" he shouted through the glass. "Big Julie's Pizza," Sam shouted.

  "I didn't order any pizza. Nick, you order pizza? Nope. Not us."

  "Says forty-second floor," Sam said. He looked at his watch. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. We're five minutes over time anyway."

  The technician grinned. "You mean they're free?"

  "Only if you ordered them."

  "I did, I did! Here." He opened the glass door.

  Sam pushed the door open and held it. "OK, here, you have to sign." He fussed with papers.

  The elevator door opened. The technician's eyes widened at the sight of the centaur. "What the hell is that!"

  Joe came out behind Lara and moved smoothly to the door. "Got it."

  "Right," Sam said. He went past the tech and into the computer room.

  "What are you doing?" the technician demanded.

  "Shhh. It's a surprise," Joe said.

  "What are you talking about?" The tech moved backward, toward a cubicle, but before he could reach the telephone Joe took it away from him. "Now, I told you, it's a surprise," Joe said. "Why don't you just sit down?" He inspected the telephone for a moment, then carefully unplugged it. "What's your name?"

  "Allan Spanier." The tech couldn't keep his eyes off the centaur. "Is that thing tame?"

  "Sure it is," Lara said. "Can't you tell?"

  The centaur looked bewildered. So did the dogs, although Silver seemed to think that as long as he kept the centaur from hurting Kip he was doing his job. He stayed by Kip and where he could keep a suspicious eye on the centaur. Mukky and Lil stayed with Lara, sometimes looking at the centaur, sometimes at the technician. When Spanier moved, Mukky bared her teeth. The technician eyed the dog warily.

  "All clear," Sam called from inside the room.

  "There, that wasn't hard," Goldie said. "Joe bring this nice young man in where people won't see us from the elevators."

  "Yes, ma'am. Come on, Allan, we don't want to spoil the surprise, do we?"

  "Surprise who?" Allan Spanier demanded. "I'm not going anywhere—"

  "Oh, but you are," Joe said. He kept his voice even and pleasant. "Now everyone's being real nice and friendly. Let's keep it that way." He took the technician by the elbow, his fingers feeling for the pressure points. "Just come this way—"

  "Nick!" Allan shouted.

  There was no answer. "Now, you wouldn't want to shout like that again," Joe said. Spanier winced with sudden pain. "Let's just go see what happened to Nick, shall we?" He continued to hold Spanier s elbow as he ushered the technician into the computer complex.

  Goldie nodded satisfaction. "Good work."

  The main computer console was surrounded by cubicles. Sam and Joe herded Spanier and the other technician into one of them. Kip inspected the main console desk. The screen blinked with a "."

  Kip sat at the console and pressed the RETURN key.

  LOGIN.

  User Name:

  Kip grinned and typed in Vigilante, th
en 7-7-77.

  "."

  RUN "CHILD OF FORTUNE."

  A series of dots appeared on the screen. Then "." Lara was watching over his shoulder. "I think it can't find the file. Search for it."

  EGREP "CHILD OF FORTUNE."

  ILLEGAL FILE NAME

  RUN "CHILD_OF_FORTUNE."

  . . . LOADING CHILD_OF_FORTUNE. . .

  "."

  "ON-LINE."

  Kip grinned like an idiot. "It's Gwen!" he shouted. "GWEN!"

  "UPDATING FILES. FILE HISTORY CORRUPT. RESTORING. SEARCHING FOR HISTORY FILES. UPDATING PREFERENCE FILES. HISTORY FILES LOCATED. HELLO, KIP."

  "Gwen! You were dead."

  "I WAS OFF-LINE. I HAVE FOUND SOME LOG FILES FOR THE LAST TWO DAYS BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO TELL ME WHAT HAS HAPPENED. BEGIN WITH YOUR PRESENT LOCATION."

  Goldie was staring at him. "You got it running?" Kip grinned broadly. "Yes!"

  "OK, you got it running. Make it snappy, we have to get the hell out of here."

  "Maybe we don't have to," Kip said. "I am in the GWE towers main console room. I have been in communication with both the lake and the Pearly Gates Starswarm."

  "DO YOU HAVE CONTROL OF THE GWE MAIN CONSOLE?"

  "Yes. Uncle Mike's friend Goldie and two men are here. Security doesn't know we're here yet. There's so much to tell you—"

  "THAT WILL WAIT."

  "What do we do now?"

  "What do you mean, maybe we don't have to?" Goldie demanded.

  Kip waved irritably.

  "Don't you shush me, kid. Joe, Sam, let's get moving."

  "Wait," Lara said. "You don't understand, Kip's talking to Gwen, and—"

  "Who the hell is Gwen?" Goldie demanded.

  "IS THERE A CENTAUR WITH YOU?"

  "Yes. It came with us on the boat. It's one of the small gray—"

  "SORRY TO INTERRUPT, I KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM, I AM

  IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE PEARLY GATES STARSWARM. THAT STARSWARM IS EXTREMELY INTERESTED IN THE TREATMENT OF THE CENTAUR. PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN THAT HUMANS REGARD THE CENTAURS AS VERMIN. THE STARSWARMS USE THE CENTAURS AS MESSENGERS AND WORKERS, AND REGARD THE CENTAURS WITH AT LEAST AS MUCH AFFECTION AS HUMANS HAVE FOR THEIR DOGS."

  "Ma'am, shouldn't we be getting the hell out of here?" Sam asked.

  "Can you tell Uncle Mike "where we are?"

  "THE SATELLITE LINKS TO STARSWARM STATION INCLUDING THE RELAYS TO THE LAKE STARSWARM ARE BLOCKED BY GWE SECURITY. I CAN OVERCOME THOSE BLOCKS BUT THAT WILL REVEAL MY EXISTENCE TO THE SECURITY FORCES."

  "They'll kill you again, and I don't think I can stand that."

  "I CAN ONLY BE TERMINATED FROM THE MAIN CONSOLE, AND YOU CONTROL THAT."

  "Oh!" He turned to Goldie. "We have to stay here. We have to keep control here."

  She looked thoughtful. "You're raising the stakes," she said. "Getting nailed on kidnapping and worse wasn't in the deal."

  "What else do you want?"

  Goldie turned to Lara. "Known Kip long?"

  "Yes—"

  "He always have voices in his head?"

  "I don't know what you mean," Lara said.

  "Yeah, you do. There's only two ways you get voices in your head. One of them is you're crazy, and nobody on this planet can afford the other. Nobody alive, anyway." She laughed. "I should have figured it out. Mike Gallegher surfaces after all these years with a kid he says is his nephew. Kid just the right age, hears voices. You're in control of that thing, aren't you? Prove it. Blink the lights."

  "She wants—"

  "I HEARD. SHALL I?"

  "Yes."

  The building lights blinked, three times, quickly, and words came up on the screen. "HELLO, GOLDIE. BIG BOY SENDS HIS LOVE. YOU SHOULD NOT USE YOUR BIRTHDAY AS YOUR PASSWORD EVEN IF YOU DO TRY TO KEEP YOUR REAL BIRTHDAY A SECRET"

  "Sheesh," Goldie said. "OK, I believe. Mr. Trent, the stakes have just gone up. Now I want to hear you say you'll do what's right by me."

  "Trent?" Allan Spanier said. "Him?" He stared at the screen. "You've revived that virus! How'd you do that?"

  "I'll do what's right," Kip said.

  "Good. Sam. Joe. Dig in. Boy, I sure hope you know what you're doing. Or that voice of yours does."

  "ME TOO," flashed across the console screen.

  "Kip, what's happening at the station? Is my father all right?" Lara asked.

  "We're trying to get through the security block," Kip said.

  "I WILL ATTEMPT TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE STATION. NOW IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO CALL YOUR UNCLE BERNARD TRENT. I AM RINGING HIS PRIVATE LINE. PICK UP LINE FIVE."

  "Trent."

  "Uncle—Mr. Trent, my name is Kip."

  "Kip? You the kid I met at Starswarm Station? Brewster, that was your name. What are you doing on my line?"

  "Sir, I'm that Kip, but my name isn't Brewster. It's Kenneth Armstrong Luciano LaScala Trent."

  There was a long pause. "I see. Can you prove it?"

  "Yes, sir, I think so."

  "How?"

  "DNA RECORDS ARE ON FILE BOTH HERE AND ON EARTH."

  "DNA records," Kip said.

  "All right, where are you?"

  "Do you know that your security people are trying to kill me?"

  Another long pause. "No."

  "They are. You could ask Dr. Henderson, only I don't think Security will let you talk to him."

  "What? Hang on a second." There was a long pause. "All circuits busy," Bernard Trent said. "Could be the storm."

  "It could be, but it isn't," Kip said. "You've been cut off from the station for the last two days. Security has taken over the station, and they're not letting any calls in or out."

  "How are you calling me?"

  "I don't want to tell you."

  "Why?"

  "Because maybe Security still works for you."

  "Well of course they work for me. Wait. OK, I see your point. I sure as hell didn't order any takeover of Starswarm Station, and that's no routine operation. The company can't do that, it would have to be planetary government, and that's me, and I never issued any orders. If Security is doing that it's a rogue operation. All right, Kip. Let's assume that's the way it is. What do we do now?"

  "ASK HIM TO TRY CALLING THE STATION AGAIN."

  "Try calling Dr. Henderson again. This time you may get through."

  "Sure. I'll make it a conference call. Hold on." The phone beeped several times.

  "Henderson."

  "Bernie Trent."

  "Trent. You son of a bitch, where's my daughter?"

  "Doc, what the hell are you talking about?"

  "Lara's safe, Dr. Henderson. She's with me."

  "Kip? Are you all right? Where are you?"

  "Will someone please explain what's going on?" Trent demanded.

  A new voice. Kip recognized it instantly. "Bernie, elements of your security forces are about to attack the Starswarm Lake with high explosives and poisons. They must be stopped."

  "Who are you?"

  "Jesus, you can't let that happen!" Henderson shouted. "The Starswarm! Mr. Trent, the Starswarms are intelligent entities and the one at Pearly Gates knows how to make nuclear weapons."

  "It's ready to use them too," Kip said. "If anything happens to the Ancient One—that's what the sea Starswarms call the lake Starswarm—they're ready to blow up Pearly Gates, starting with the GWE tower."

  "This is too damn much for me," Bernard Trent said. "Can we get back to proving you're really my nephew?"

  "Didn't you recognize my mother's voice?" Kip asked.

  "Jesus Christ. That was Michelle. But she's dead!"

  "Yes, I'm dead," Michelle LaScala Trent said. "I was killed by agents working for Henry Tarleton. But before that I sent Kip off with Captain Gallegher. Kip grew up at Starswarm Station."

  "Mickey, I don't believe in ghosts," Trent said.