Been There, Done That (April Book 10)

by Mackey Chandler

  “That only seems wise and reasonable,” Pierre allowed. “Even among Earth nations it is dangerous to rely on others to heavily. Sometimes one does not have the resources to avoid it. You may lack a mineral or sufficient land to support your population. But it leaves you vulnerable. It’s on a matter of supply my superior wanted to have me talk with you. Or perhaps you’d rather leave business matters for after eating? Is that is your custom?”

  “It won’t bother me if it doesn’t spoil your appetite,” Heather said. She made a dismissive wave. “Talk away.”

  “First of all, Joel shared intelligence assessments with me that you are building another medium sized vessel,” Pierre said. “They came to that conclusion from watching the materials markets. Something on the same order of size or a bit bigger than your lander is his estimate.”

  “That’s an effective way of doing that,” April allowed, noncommittally.

  “The thing is, it is the consensus of our people that you intend to create a vessel of the same drive class as James Weir’s lost ship, but bigger. That is, a star ship that would require a considerable supply of Helium3 to attain the velocities necessary for that sort of ship to function.”

  Jeff smiled slowly. “They’re mistaken,” he assured Pierre.

  This was disturbing to Pierre, not just what he said, but how he said it. Government officials, such as he normally dealt with, just don’t speak so bluntly and in absolutes.

  When Pierre looked disbelieving but refused to outright contradict him, Jeff expanded on that. “We’re aware of the relationship between Weir’s Brazilian partners and France, even if as we suspect, he was not informed fully.”

  Pierre actually gagged on that, choking on his coffee. Jeff had to wonder if perhaps Pierre wasn’t informed any better than Weir had been.

  Jeff continued bluntly. “It’s entirely OK with us that France is behind the collection of Helium3 and has used Marseille to induce Central into aiding the collection of it from regolith. This doesn’t put us in conflict or competition. We’d have contracted with you directly if you’d just asked. We’re also aware there can never be enough harvested from that source to sustain a large star going civilization. Be assured we will continue to meet the obligations to which our sovereign has committed us, and not divert or renege on the agreement in order to supply it to our own uses. Indeed we may be able to make more available if plans go forward as we’d like.”

  Pierre didn’t believe that, and decided to have his say despite being told the whole basis of France’s actions were false. It he returned without making at least the basics of their proposal known, Joel would be furious.

  “Then let me tell you, just as a theoretical matter, to keep in mind for the future, that if you should find you need Helium3 for your own future endeavors, France has a process in development which will supply a large volume of the gas before the natural reserves from the Moon become a bottleneck to expansion.

  “We are quite willing to partner with Central as a choice over other allies in utilizing this process, given certain agreements of mutual cooperation, and granting us a most favored nation status,” Pierre concluded.

  Jeff looked askance at Heather. Had the man listened to him at all?

  “Just, as you say, theoretically… what would the price tag of this special favored status be?” Heather asked.

  “Foremost, is your nondisclosure of the process. You’ve shown an ability to protect trade secrets. We wouldn’t even consider others who haven’t demonstrated that ability as full partners. They might be offered supply but not possession of the system. Also, a waiver to allow our ships exclusive rights to carry weapons past L1 when they are outbound beyond the Solar System.”

  Pierre wished he could add that they wanted the technology for the acceleration cancelling devices he’d witnessed, but it was outside his authority to start altering his instructions.

  “That’s not going to happen,” April spoke tersely for all three of them. One glance around at their hard faces showed there was no dissent. This wasn’t a negotiating ploy – this was a full stop impasse.

  “You could have saved a great deal of time and effort and put the proposal to me on Home,” April told him. “This touches on our basic business plans and agreements at the top level, which is we three alone, no matter with which of our companies or other entities you are trying to deal. So I could have answered you with certainty. This leaves me wondering if your superior knows more and sent you uninformed to hide that, or is himself unaware of our situation. Because bluntly, we are not bluffing. We don’t need the He3.”

  “Then we are mistaken, and you must have other plans for your new vessel,” Pierre concluded. “You may be right, but I won’t know either way, until I return and consult with the President.”

  “Do tell him one other thing,” Jeff requested. “Make sure he knows that Dave’s did not sabotage or deal dishonestly with Weir or his people. It irks me to see news people slandering my friend and business associate who is an honorable man. For that matter I’m offended they slander Weir himself, but I had no business relationship with him. If they came to Home and spoke that way, they would get called out for it.”

  None of the Three felt any need to volunteer their plans for the new vessel. They hadn’t even really verified if it existed or not, of which Pierre was keenly aware. Once again, they seemed an odd mix of naively young and inexplicably mature power to him.

  “I’ll tell the Prime Minister,” Pierre said, and had the sense not to ask proof. He was not dismissed, which confused him, and then he simply realized they were being polite, and allowing everyone to finish up lunch like civilized people. On Earth, not being rude at this point and showing him the door once their business was at an impasse would have been regarded as a sign of weakness.

  “Do you still intend to go on to Marseille?” April asked when everyone was through eating.

  “Yes, I still have business there, and will return to France from there rather than retrace my route,” Pierre said.

  “There is regular shuttle service,” April told him, “or you still have the suit and are welcome to it. If you call Marseille they very likely will dispatch a hopper to pick you up. It’s an open vehicle without much carrying capacity but private and you don’t have to wait on a commercial schedule.”

  “I’ll do that. Thank you for your care,” Pierre said. It was amazing that they were not trying to hurry him out of their hospitality. He considered making a report to Joel, and decided it would be more secure from Marseille. He couldn’t see there was anything Joel could say that would need to be taken back to these three. It seemed a genuine dead end to him.

  * * *

  “Well, that wasn’t entirely what I was expecting at all,” Jeff said.

  “No. What sort of process could they be talking about to separate He3?” April wondered. You’ve spoken about mining it off gas giants, but they don’t have the transport to make that workable, do they? Or could they get enough from the outer system to make it viable once they had a permanent outpost out there?”

  “Perhaps, but he indicated it was more a process they could share. I tend to think they have a process in the experimental stages to synthesize large volumes,” Jeff said, “likely converting deuterium to He3 by some multi-stage process.”

  “But wouldn’t that involve large inefficiencies?” Heather asked.

  “Yes,” Jeff agreed, “but if you are just looking at the end product energy numbers, and the cost is low enough, it doesn’t really matter. You’re getting the needed energy density and if it doesn’t cost that much to charge up the battery, so to speak, then who cares? There’s basically an unlimited supply of deuterium for our present tech and usage. Maybe in a thousand years things will be different.”

  “In a thousand years it may be as quaint as burning wood,” April said.

  * * *

  “Yeah, I make the bits both banks distribute,” Eric told Diana. “I do other design work for Jeff’s coins too.”r />
  “I see the little sticker that says not to remove it or it voids the bit,” Diana said. “I didn’t feel like ruining one to see how it worked. Could you come by Sylvia’s when you get a chance and explain how that works and how much the system costs in big lots?”

  “Lindsey is still there with you guys, isn’t she?” Eric asked.

  “Yes, Sylvia seems to enjoy working with her and they are collaborating on a piece. She’s a sweet kid. I don’t mind having her around either.”

  “Well ask her to show you how she authenticates her art,” Eric told her. “She took all her stuff there, so she must have a bunch the loose pieces to make them. She issues a card with the same sort of serial number, it’s basically the same system as the bank uses in bits.”

  “Oh, they’ve been talking art nonstop, but I don’t think they ever talked about selling it,” Diana said.

  “Can I come later, after my mom goes to work?” Eric asked. “I’ve been making myself scarce. I can bring some of my security seals and I’ll go take a video of my machine making bits for you.”

  “Come by whenever you want,” Diana said. “We’re not going out anywhere, and Sylvia bought a big tray of lasagna and a humungous apple strudel if you want to eat here.”

  “I’ll do that, but don’t feed Lindsey too much. She’s not gene mod and if you feed her like that every night she’ll get fat,” he warned.

  Chapter 11

  Winter only seemed to last forever. According to the locals it was a relatively mild one. They at least had enough wood this year. Her father impressed her grandfather by making a wood splitting machine that worked far easier and safer than a wedge and sledge hammer. They didn’t have to huddle in the kitchen except for a few of the very coldest days. Eileen put on another spurt of growth, and by the time spring was showing definite signs of coming around she was wearing flood pants, and her blouses were tight in the shoulders, and elsewhere. They badly needed to trade for bigger clothing among other things.

  There had been talk at the fall festival of having a spring or early summer festival. The locals were serious gardeners of necessity, but only a few were what you would really call a farmer. The sort who would be plowing significant acreage and unable to take time away from plowing and planting. If they had a fair before the ground got warm even those folks could come. Trade was of interest to most everyone, and once a year wasn't going to be enough for that, maybe not twice.

  About twenty miles northwest of them a farmer had a private landing strip, and a friend was flying an ancient twin in from Nevada twice a month, weather permitting. He'd pick up prescriptions or glasses for you, take mail or small packages out, and even a maximum of two passengers if you let him know a month ahead, paid in cash or equivalent and would swear to secrecy, so he wasn't accused of running an illegal airline. Neither could your two people and luggage weigh more than a hundred twenty kilograms combined. The farmer set up a little store on his porch and had batteries, salt and pepper, over the counter medicines and a few luxuries like plastic bags. He was still the main source of illicit radios and other high priced items.

  Victor came to visit when the satellite news predicted several days of clear weather, safe for traveling. It was still before the snow really started melting heavily, but a horse could handle it down at their elevation. That didn’t mean the passes were clear yet to the outside world. Not without fuel to run the big trucks with snow throwing machines. He made no pretext of having a mission off beyond them. Just a couple months of growth, over the worst of winter, saw Eileen blossom more than he could ignore with a poker face. He had a sharp intake of breath and blinked rapidly before he regained his composure. Eileen was delighted and smiled nicely for him, nothing shy or coy about her. None of this byplay was lost on her father.

  After lunch she informed Vic in front of everybody that she needed to talk to him privately, while it was fairly warm out, and they had daylight. He just nodded yes, with a deer in the headlights sort of look. They still bundled up. April in the high country was far from warm. There wasn't anywhere else to go that wasn't snow covered so she led the way to the woodlot. Sawed sections of log flipped on end had no snow, and made decent seats.

  "You still interested in me?" Eileen asked, very directly.

  "More than ever," Vic said, just as bold. “I’m not interested in a stupid wife or stupid children. You’ve showed you’re a survivor already, and that you’re pretty enough already to make a man’s teeth ache, is just icing on the cake.”

  "I'm a lot younger than you, but yeah, I'm not stupid. I have some goals and I have some requirements. I expect you might too," Eileen allowed.

  "I do. There might be a deal breaker from either one of us, but I'm not going to hide anything and spring it on you later," Vic promised.

  "Are you having sex with anybody?" Eileen asked.

  "Not for almost a year," Vic said.

  "You willing to keep vows if you marry?" she demanded.

  "Yes, or I'd divorce you rather than cheat," Vic said, plainly.

  "I still intend to go out there," Eileen reminded him, tossing her head back and looking up.

  "You mentioned that. It may be tough to do," he warned. "The States don't like folks coming back in from the lawless zones. Texas has annexed most of New Mexico, parts of Oklahoma and some places a hundred kilometers into Mexico. The politics of it may make travel difficult for a long time yet. Folks here won’t even have a current driver’s license, much less a passport.”

  "I figure that their law will come back into full control here before I'd go back east to them," Eileen said.

  "I expect you are right, and that will happen along the coast and flat lands first. So it might be easier to get transportation and do business by going west than east. Maybe even Hawaii, if it isn’t prohibited from either end. When they get up here and get law enforcement set back up and in actual control, there will be mail and banking and taxes again. Things like new driver’s licenses and traffic patrols will come last. There's going to be trouble too because there's a lot of squatting. No telling if they will go with adverse possession and award title, or argue the land reverts to the state if the old owner or heirs are gone.

  "They could take it from most just by demanding the back taxes," Eileen said.

  "I knew you're no dummy," Vic said to acknowledge that.

  "You might not live long enough to raise children," Eileen worried.

  "I'm fifty one. Chances are they'd at least be teenagers, and some help to you, before I'd pass. I don't have a history of early disease in the family, nor any nasty stuff like dementia."

  Eileen nodded to acknowledge that. "Jon thought you were maybe mid to late thirties the first time you came by the cabin," she confided. "You don't have a weathered face like some who work outside. They weren't used to everybody having beards, and yours didn't have any gray in it."

  "I wore a beard before The Day," Vic said, reaching up and stroking it. My people didn't get salt and pepper with age like some. My dad went straight to all white in his late sixties."

  "It helps make the age difference easier for me that you don't look old."

  "I'll tell you something in confidence, if you’ll agree to keep it to yourself even if we don't marry," Vic said.

  That was too intriguing to pass up. "I'll give my word on that," Eileen agreed.

  "I have near eighty acres, hair over seventy eight, because the original survey wasn't as accurate as the recent ones. We wouldn't be poor, because the land is enough to support us, but there's no cash economy to speak of right now. I had two orphans staying with me, but they moved out to work for a family that needed the help.

  “I have a seasonal creek on my land, where I've been panning and sluicing to save a little gold back. Now that the boys are fostered out, and when the weather lets up, I’ll start back up again. It's enough that when things return closer to normal we'd have cash as quick as we can sell it. Enough cash for legal services, for catching up on things like buying a tr
uck when the roads are open again and fuel can be bought. Maybe even a good sized hunk towards a shuttle ticket."

  "You got time to go dig gold?" Eileen asked surprised.

  "Sundays, most folks either go to church or stay home now. I've never made a habit of church unless it's a wedding or a funeral. It's a bit of a hike for me too. I've made a point of never being too social so close by folks think to come over on a Sunday. And a single man, if he's not home when they drop by, they don't ask too closely where he was. If they don't find you home twice in a row most will figure not to waste their time trying again."

  "I could help you of course," Eileen said.

  "It's really just another chore now that I expect to do, like cutting wood or putting food by. I don't buy anything that would point to that, but equipment is easy to make. Of course having help to cook and clean would free me up to do the heavier digging and run a rocker that you'd find too hard.

  "I'd try to accommodate your taste and choices in everyday living. I can't say I'll never raise my voice, but I'll never lay a hand on you, and I expect the same. There can't be two bosses. I expect to discuss things, but I make the decisions how to run the place and would expect your support. I know that isn't the way a lot of folks see it now, but a lot of things have reverted. We don't want to lose all of them, and go all rough edged, but we have to be practical."

  "I'd be your sole heir?" Eileen asked.

  "Yes. I'll have a will drawn, like a pre-nup if you want, before the wedding. I have clear title to my place, and the hard copy documents to prove it, in case there are any accidents of convenience, and the records are 'lost'."

  "What do you think of a wedding at the fall festival?" Eileen asked. "We'd go there separately, and then I'd go home with you."

  "You sure you're going to be ready then?" Vic asked.

  "No, but if we doubt I'm up to bearing children we can put that off," Eileen said, and watched his response closely. Some of the young bucks were vocal about proving themselves. She didn’t think Vic would be like that.