3rd World Products, Inc., Book 4

by Ed Howdershelt

  Dumping my tray, I said, "Well, you're right about that, but like I said, you'll have to ask Steph."

  "The implants," said Mills, dumping her own tray. "Myra doesn't know about them. There must be a reason for keeping them secret and you were worried that I'd talk."

  I sighed. "She works for the NSA and they might get ideas. The first attempts to implant people weren't totally altruistic, Karen. The military had the idea that they could be used as weapons and you've seen some of what I can do with mine. But that wasn't the reason, either, because it's extremely unlikely that anyone else would be able to do what I do with implants. I had special coaching with mine; the kind of help that nobody else is going to get."

  "Coaching? From who? Stephanie?"

  "Yes. And Elkor. And before that, another like him." As we started toward the door, I said, "Look, Karen, Steph didn't tell me why she did it. I only went along with her, so don't ask me again. Ask her."

  Maybe the tone of my words was sharper or more abrupt than I intended. Or maybe my tone simply matched my attitude at that moment. Mills touched my arm as she stopped walking and I turned to face her with an exasperated sigh.

  "What?"

  "Relax," said Mills. "Sorry if I seemed to be badgering you."

  "Seemed to be?"

  "Okay, okay. Look, I'm just not used to people... doing things like that for me."

  "You're at the top of one of the taller ladders around here, Mills. The situation probably hasn't come up very often."

  I continued walking in the direction of the general store and Mills kept pace with me as she said, "Still, you didn't have to do it. Thanks."

  "You're welcome."

  In the store I grabbed a couple of bags of gummis and a bag of devil's food cookies, then paid the clerk and had started to leave the store when a thought occurred to me. Turning back to the clerk, I asked if she had any little boxes.

  "Boxes?" she asked, "How little?"

  "Two by two, maybe three inches long. Something like that."

  She shook her head. "No, everything we have is bigger than that."

  A small box of 'junior mints' caught my eye and I took one off the rack.

  "This'll do," I said, paying for it and pulling two strips of clear tape off a roll near her register.

  I opened the box, pressed one piece of tape over the end of the box, used a fingernail to cut it along the boxflap, then laid the other piece of tape directly on top of the first, tabbing the ends of the top strip so it could be pulled easily. Both women were looking at me rather oddly.

  "This makes it recloseable," I said. "These boxes were designed to make you eat all the candy in one sitting." Shaking a few of the mints into my hand and holding the box toward the ladies, I said, "I used to pig out on 'junior mints'. Want some?"

  Mills declined, but the clerk accepted some mints with thanks.

  As we headed for the door Mills grinningly eyed the bag containing my gummis and cookies and asked, "You're really going to eat all that junk?"

  "Unless I have to share it with you, probably so. You like gummis?"

  She shook her head. "No, but I might try one of those cookies."

  I handed her the cookie bag and ate a few more mints as she opened it, inhaled the scent of the contents, and retrieved one of the pudgy little chocolate-coated cakes.

  "Oh, damn," she muttered, gazing at the cookie. "I think I gained a pound just by looking into the bag."

  "You can come with me and walk it off," I said. "I'm going outside for a while."

  She nibbled the corner off the cookie, murmured a soft "Mmmmm," and then asked, "Where outside?"

  Heading toward the main doors, I said, "Just outside. Fresh air, all that."

  Shrugging slightly, she came with me.

  "Why did you want a box?" she asked.

  "Just did. Why did you ask for a cookie if you're worried about your weight?"

  "Just did. And I'm not really worried. I'm just careful."

  "Ready for another cookie yet?"

  Shaking her head, she held up her first cookie. Three of the corners were missing.

  "Nope. You're worried, Mills," I said. "Nobody who isn't would eat a cookie like that."

  "I've always eaten cookies this way. They last longer."

  "Uh, huh," I said as we neared the doors. "Steph, are you busy?"

  Steph appeared a few feet in front of us, drifting backward a few inches off the ground, her feet together and her hands behind her back in a casual stance as she said, "No, not really. Will you want to use the flitter?"

  "Yes, actually, but not right away. I mostly just wanted a look at your gorgeous self, milady, and to know if you could spare me some time."

  Her eyebrow went up as she said, "Oh, gosh, I suppose I can briefly interrupt my hectic schedule for you, Ed," then she glanced at Mills and said, "Hello, Dr. Mills."

  Karen regarded the gap between Steph and the floor, then met her gaze and said, "Uh... Hello, Stephanie."

  The guard at the check-in desk had seen Steph before, but his mouth fell open nonetheless as we passed.

  I nodded to him and said, "Back in a few, Hank. Don't lock us out, okay?"

  "Uh... Right. Sure."

  Ahead of us, Steph passed through the glass doors like a ghost as I reached to push one of the doors open and held it for a wide-eyed Karen. Nobody spoke for a time as we followed the sidewalk past the flagpole toward the main gate. Steph let herself float to the ground to my right and began walking with us.

  "Are we going anyplace in particular?" asked Mills.

  "Nope. I just wanted to walk off dinner and suggest that if you have any interest at all in owning a PFM, you'd probably better ask Steph for one real soon."

  With a sharp glance, Mills asked, "Why?"

  In a softer tone Steph asked, "Yes, why, Ed?"

  "I don't think they're gonna be allowed to happen without a fight, that's why. Not anytime soon, anyway."

  Mills stopped walking. When I turned to face her, she asked, "A fight?"

  I ate some more 'junior mints' as I formulated my reply. Steph simply stood waiting for my answer.

  "A fight," I affirmed. "I think that every government, church, and other institution that herds humanity through various hoops will be lined up against them at first. And not just because they prevent babies. PFM's will be seen as dangerous to every established institution because they'll put too much power in the hands of individuals."

  Goggling at me, Mills asked, "What the hell are you talking about, Ed? A protective field and a few entertainment functions don't amount to very much power."

  "No? The medical industry depends on disease and injury, Karen. They'll pay lip service to the wonderfulness of the protective field, then begin questioning whether there's any inherent radiation risk from using it. They'll say that people will behave less carefully and risk even greater possible injuries. They'll say all kinds of things, and the insurance industry will rubber stamp their every doubtful word."

  "The insurance industry?"

  "Yeah. Who's gonna buy health insurance? Home, car, boat, and like that, sure, but not the mainstays of the insurance market."

  Fishing a few more mints out of the box, I said, "And then there are the cops. You'll see them carrying AR-15's instead of Glocks. Maybe bigger calibers than that, because that's what it'll take to dependably get through a p-field to stop someone. They may try nets and that sticky stuff and other things, but most police forces will just start carrying bigger guns."

  "And then," I said after a pause, "There are governments. They'll want to be able to decide who gets PFM's and who doesn't and what features will be available to whom. If they aren't allowed to decide those things, they'll most likely ban PFM's completely. They'd also want tax money on sales and probably even on ownership of PFM's. In Europe they tax TV's and radios that way. If you own one, there's a yearly fee."

  Shaking the last of the mints out of the box, I said, "But mainly there's gonna be one helluva long discussion a
bout whether to allow PFM's to be sold at all with the protective field included, and I have my doubts about the outcome."

  Holding up the empty box, I looked at Steph.

  "Milady, would you please make a PFM for Dr. Mills and put it in this box?"

  Steph took the box and looked at it. "I'm making it now, Ed. Why do you want me to put it in this box? Why shouldn't I simply hand it to her?"

  I looked at Mills as I answered Steph. "Because Karen may have scruples against accepting something against which she argued earlier and because it won't bond with her until she decides to take it out of the box and touch it." I grinned and added, "And it'll probably save us a trip later if you give her one now."

  To Mills I said, "When PFM's become team-issue equipment, you'll be required to wear one and know how to use it when you're working with the teams. If you won't wear one, you've wasted your flitter training."

  Mills gave a ladylike snort and said, "But if you're right and they're banned, nobody will have them."

  "3rd World teams will have them. Linda, Wallace, and all other key personnel will. Guaranteed. Probably damned near everybody in 3rd World will, and so will the Amarans. The bureaucrats can only try to ban sales on Earth while they try to think of a way to tax and control matters. They'd know they don't have a chance in hell of banning 3rd's people or Amarans from using PFM's."

  I saw a faint streak in the sky above hangar four that headed our way and said, "Thanks, Steph," as the PFM came to rest in her hand. She slipped it into the box and handed it toward me, but I guided her hand toward Mills.

  Mills didn't immediately reach for the box. She eyed Stephanie first, then me. After a few moments she took the box and put it in her purse, snapping the purse shut in front of her with a firm gesture.

  "Thank you," she said. "I'll decide whether to use it later. You really think that Earth won't allow PFM's, don't you?"

  "Not won't. Might not. The masses of Earth probably won't have much of a say in the matter unless or until they're willing to organize against their own authorities." Turning to Steph, I asked, "What do you think?"

  With a very direct gaze at me, Steph said, "I think my plans may have overlooked a few things."

  Karen asked, "Such as? You don't seriously think he's right about this, do you?"

  Steph looked at her as she said, "Consider this, Dr. Mills; flitters made for Earth have engines that must be recharged every hundred hours or so, depending on use. The power source in Ed's flitter will last about twenty years. Earth flitters fly much lower and slower and lack most of the defensive features of standard and export models. Earth flitters could have had the same engines and features, but Earth authorities wouldn't allow them in commercial models." She paused a moment, then added, "That is by international agreement and law, Dr. Mills. 3rd World had no hand in the decision to limit Earth flitters."

  When Mills looked at me, I shrugged and said, "It's what I think, that's all. What I expect to see happen. Doesn't necessarily mean it will."

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  I set off walking again and the ladies joined me as before, with Steph on my right and Mills on my left. They both seemed rather thoughtful as we ambled along the front walkways in silence for some minutes.

  "Steph," I said, "I once asked Elkor if he could make you a new place to live and put a regular core in my flitter. Did one of you ever make that... housing?"

  She turned to look at me and said, "Yes."

  Nodding, I said, "Now's the time, I think. Where is it?"

  "Elkor has it."

  Mills glanced at each of us, but said nothing.

  "Well, tonight's the night, then," I said, "Program the new flitter core to respond as much like you as possible and drop it in. Will you have to go offline for a while?"

  "Yes, but only for a few minutes at most."

  I nodded again and sighed. "Don't stay gone too long, milady."

  Taking her hand, I kissed it, then I leaned to kiss her cheek and said, "Go do it."

  Steph smiled, then said, "Elkor is sending the core here, Ed. I won't have to go anywhere. I'll just be unavailable for a few minutes during the transfer."

  "Oh. Well, it's still a big moment, so keep the kisses. When will it get here?"

  Elkor spoke to me through my link.

  "Ed, she can't tell you that. It might be considered a clue to..."

  "Yeah, I know. To your location. Okay."

  "What?" asked Mills, having heard only my answer.

  "Elkor's on the horn," I said. "They won't tell me when the core will arrive because he's got a concealment deal with the Amarans and travel time might be a clue."

  My answer apparently only confused her more.

  "Never mind," I said, "It'll get here when it gets here."

  Steph asked, "Ed, why tonight?"

  "You'll need independence, Steph. This PFM thing could get nasty and I want to make sure they can't easily use me to get to you."

  I used my implant to create a disk-shaped field about the size of a trash can lid and stepped onto it, then envisioned it elongating upward. When I was about five feet above the ground, I jumped up and down on the field. The top surface gave only slightly directly under my feet and quickly resolidified.

  Staring at the ghostly pillar under my feet, Mills reached tentatively to touch it and asked, "Just what the hell are you doing?"

  "Thinking about launching platforms," I said. "For gliding." Looking down and around once, I added, "Might also be good for house painting and tree trimming, I guess."

  Steph snickered and said, "I have a suggestion."

  "What's that?"

  "A much wider base, unless you want to fight the wind above ten feet or so."

  "Done thunka that, ma'am. This was just to see if the idea would work."

  Steph seemed puzzled.

  "You already knew you could stand on a field, Ed."

  "Yeah, but that was with steps and small stuff. How high do you think I could go?"

  "That would depend on how well you can control your field."

  I wetted a finger and held it up.

  "Not much wind," I said. "Stand by and tell me when I get to a thousand feet."

  "What?" asked Mills. "You're going to..."

  Feeding the field as much and as quickly as possible, I began rising straight up. In fact, I was rising much faster than I'd believed possible. What seemed like only seconds passed until Steph said through my implant, "One thousand, Ed."

  "Thanks, milady. Glider on."

  I couldn't see them, but I felt my wings snap into being above me and suddenly the light breeze seemed to be a gale that shoved me off the pillar backward. I pulled the bar to bring the nose level, then nosed downward some more to gain some forward speed, passing through the spot where the pillar had briefly existed.

  It was a short flight. I circled until I was within a couple of feet of the ground and flared slightly to slow down, said "glider off", and touched down.

  My watch beeped as I saw half a dozen people swarm out of the front doors of the complex building. With a grin, I tapped the watch on to allow Karen to hear whatever might be said.

  "Ed," said Linda without preamble, "Is that you messing around out front?"

  "Yeah, Linda. I had an idea that worked. Why are you still here? What happened to your plans with Wallace?"

  "Stand by one, Dragonfly."

  She told someone to stand down and received an acknowledgement that sounded kind of tinny, so I figured she was speaking to someone on her phone intercom.

  "Our plans are still on," said Linda. "Just delayed momentarily. Ed, Base Security almost had kittens. Call in first the next time, okay?"

  Grinning at Karen and Steph, I saluted my watch and said, "Oh, yes, ma'am, Fearless Leader, I'll try to remember to do that. How did they spot me?"

  Linda laughed and said, "As I understand it, someone on forward watch boards yelled that the 'Empire fucking State Building just landed in the front yard!' just before he hit the butto
n and scrambled a team. What did you do?"

  I told her about the field column and my flight as I watched the team people stop and then return indoors.

  "Okay," said Linda. "Should I tell them to expect any more surprises tonight?"

  "Nah, prob'ly not. That was a spur-of-the-moment thing."

  "Okay. Later, Ed."

  "Later, Linda."

  She clicked off. Karen turned from watching the people by the doors and looked at me long and hard for a few moments, then shook her head as if in disbelief.

  "That was an armed response team," she said. "You just put the whole base on alert with your silliness."

  "No, some guy on the watch board did that."

  "You know what I mean."

  "Keeps 'em alert. Now they'll have something to talk about on the night shift. Linda wasn't too upset about it, was she? Don't get all contentious on me, doc, or you can kiss those devil's food cookies goodbye. By the way, are there any left?"

  She glanced down at the bag in her hand, then thrust it at me, then yanked it back and pulled out another cookie before thrusting it at me again. I took it and looked inside. Several cookies gone. Shaking my head, I took out a cookie.

  "Damn. I'm lucky to have any left. Never trust a woman with a bag of chocolate anything, right? I never even noticed you snarfing down a dozen cookies."

  "Three," emphasized Mills. "Three cookies, not a dozen. Get your facts straight before you accuse people."

  I shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, okay. Three. And that one's four. You're gonna swell up like a blimp, lady."

  Displaying the cookie between us with a narrow gaze, Karen brought it to her open mouth and drove her teeth through the corner of it so that they met with an audible click.

  Grinning, I asked, "That's your answer, huh?"

  Around a mouthful of cookie she firmly said, "Yeth. It ith," then she tried to hold her laughter until she could get the bite of cookie down.

  Steph watched the play for a moment, then said, "I'm bringing the cooler down. Dr. Mills looks as if she could use a can of tea."

  The flitter 'landed' in Steph's usual manner, which is to say that it descended so quickly that when it slowed to a more stately speed about fifty feet above us, a strong blast of air continued downward and washed over us.