The One-Eyed Man

by Modesitt,, L. E. Jr.

  “Now what?”

  “You walk me to my quarters, and we say goodnight.”

  “They’re close enough?”

  She actually grinned. “They’re in the other wing of the guest quarters. That’s where those of us who are single and executive status are billeted.”

  Billeted? And fraternization earlier? “You’re military…” I murmured. “Detached duty.”

  “That’s not widely known, but it’s no secret. The multis like Tepperan military culture. And women officers are less directly confrontational. The Council likes the multi templates and information. Mutually beneficial.”

  “And you all return with more information than that.”

  “Naturally.”

  “And what about the Space Service?”

  “They hate us. Always have.”

  We walked quietly, neither dawdling nor hurrying, and she took my arm, as before.

  At her door, she turned, leaned toward me … and actually kissed me, if on the cheek, her hands running down my arms for a moment before she stepped back. “I did enjoy and appreciate it, Paulo. I know you’ll have a safe trip back. After that … do take care.”

  Then she slipped inside, and the door closed.

  I walked back to my quarters, trying to figure out exactly what to make of the evening. Was it all to find out something? I couldn’t even determine what she sought. Was it a personal way of guarding me? From Edo or Ermitag … or RDAEX … or keeping me safe from others while under RDAEX’s care? But her last words suggested that I didn’t have that much to fear from RDAEX … at least while I was actually in Rikova.

  I did open my door and enter my quarters warily, but they were empty.

  As I began to take off the singlesuit, I discovered a card in my side pocket. I removed the card and studied it. It was one of Kali’s cards, but it felt much stiffer, less flexible. Then I swallowed. I would have bet that it was an infocard disguised as a business card. But why?

  I had a strong feeling that, when I found out, back in Passova, since I had no way of reading it at RDAEX without the contents being known immediately, I wasn’t going to like what was contained in the information.

  Just what sort of environmental disaster was RDAEX committing, or about to commit? And why would Kali want to give me that information? Did it contain something else entirely? Or was the card some sort of Trojan that would allow RDAEX access to Survey Service files if I used a Survey console to read it? That problem, at least, I could get around.

  The others, including those I doubted I even knew about, I was sure wouldn’t be that easy.

  28

  I didn’t sleep all that late on fourday morning, but I was tired when I woke in the RDAEX guest quarters, and I spent a good half stan just watching what passed for a local newscast. Most of it was just the usual, but there was one section that definitely concerned me.

  “Apparently, the Ministry of Environment on Bachman is less than pleased with the performance of the Systems Survey Service here on Stittara. At least, that’s the word in the back halls of the Planetary Council. The office of Executive Director Zeglar has denied that anything unusual is going on, other than a routine environmental survey, which occurs on a time to time basis on all inhabited Unity planets.”

  That was it, but it meant political gaming was well under way.

  Since there was little I could do about that, except be aware, I took a walk and tunneltram ride around Rikova. That only confirmed my feeling that there really wasn’t that much apparent difference between RDAEX/Rikova and Passova, except in the size and scope of the structure created under the apparent surface of the planet. I met Fabio at half past ten, and he had me to the magfield shuttle hangar in less than fifteen minutes.

  There were already five others on the shuttle when I arrived, two women and three men, none of whom I knew, not surprisingly. I took one of the cradles in the rear and tried to listen, but no one was talking, at least not in a voice loud enough for me to hear. I did get the impression that the five were not going as a unified group since a man and a woman had taken the first two cradles, and the next three were seated in the third and fourth row. I was in the last seat, on the side away from the younger man who’d accompanied a hard-faced woman and a man who acted like her subordinate.

  There were two vans waiting in the near darkness just after dawn and well before sunrise when the shuttle landed at Passova, one the Survey Service van driven by Dermotte and the other a dark gray van into which all the RDAEX people slipped.

  “I don’t think I met your cousin,” I told Dermotte as we loaded the case and my kit bag into the rear of the van.

  “He doesn’t meet many folks. How was your trip, ser?”

  “Everyone was very friendly, and they seem to be meeting all the environmental standards.” Those that apply to them, anyway.

  “Jermodie says that they’re very strict … always follow procedures to the letter.”

  Dermotte closed the rear of the van, and we both climbed in. The dark gray van was already leaving the dropport.

  “They must be meeting with someone at the Planetary Council,” Dermotte said. “That’s a Council van. They’re fancy inside.”

  “This isn’t a bad-looking van.”

  “It’s not, but I do my best to keep them all in shape.”

  “How many things are you responsible for keeping going?”

  “The vehicles and the office equipment, mostly, and anything else Director Raasn wants me to do. That’s if I have time.”

  “As well as driving people here and there.”

  “I like that.”

  “You like the outside?” From what I’d heard and seen, most Stittarans—those who lived in the underground cities and towns—didn’t.

  “I do, ser. Might be because my father was from out-system. Or so my mother said. I never knew him.”

  “He left Stittara?”

  “No. He went somewhere on Contrio. One of the outie places that no one even knows where they are.”

  “That must have been hard on you.”

  Dermotte shook his head. “Can’t be hard if you never knew what you missed. I don’t even remember him. Mother’s always been there.”

  There wasn’t much I could say to that, and I didn’t.

  Once we returned to the Survey vehicle pool, Dermotte took my equipment case. “I’ll leave it in your office, ser.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be there in a bit.” Not that I had to hurry. It was still only a few minutes past seven.

  Once in my quarters, I did wash up, then looked out into the early morning to see if Ilsabet was outside, but she wasn’t, most likely because it was much earlier than the other times I’d seen her. Then I headed for the Survey spaces. Some people were already there, early risers, I supposed, but the lights were on in the corridor leading to my office, as were those inside, and my equipment case was sitting beside my console.

  It took me almost fifteen minutes to re-create from imperfect memory the steps necessary to do a direct transfer to my link’s private storage that bypassed all recording and system storage. After that, it was less than a minute to scan Kali’s card and get the information into the privacy partitioned memory of my link. What was there read like a consultant’s report.

  The deep penetration project [RDAEX Stittara R-3, mod alpha] has been represented as a means of subjecting microorganics to conditions of intense pressure and heat to determine their biological survival properties. Such tests have been conducted at every depth achieved by the high-energy, self-sealing aspects of targeted photonics …

  Targeted photonics? What in the frig is targeted photonics? Why not just high-energy laser probes? I vaguely recalled something about pumped photonics and the quantum implications or defects, but I had the impression that there were definite limitations to laser amplification through photonic pumping. Then again, RDAEX was a very accomplished research outfit.

  … such tests have never before been conducted in penetrating the man
tle of a planet with a core, particularly an outer core, that comprises such a high percentage of the planetary mass …

  All that was merely another affirmation of why Stittara had such a strong magnetic field.

  … Recent data suggests an anomalous discontinuity between the inner mantle and the outer core, and more research and probes have been developed to investigate the possible reasons for that discontinuity. Special expertise has also been obtained …

  Rikard Spek … perhaps?

  I went back to reading … except there wasn’t any more to read. That was it. It broke off in the middle of a sentence.

  What exactly did Kali want me to know? Or was it a red herring or a false lead?

  I wasn’t sure whether to sigh or throw up my hands in frustration … or start looking for some sort of weapon. That wouldn’t have helped much. I’d learned Juchai years ago, and even placed in a few tournaments, but that had been mainly to impress Chelesina, and I hadn’t practiced Juchai with anyone in so long I couldn’t remember when.

  Still … the snippet of information that Kali had put on the card disturbed me, especially knowing that Rikard Spek had been hired by RDAEX—and that a new employee for the Ministry of Technology and Transport had also been sent from Bachman. That seemed unlike coincidence. Was there any more information on Spek? A biography or publication of some sort?

  I began to search—and found two mentions—recently entered into the planetary links, doubtless from information carried on the Persephonya. Both were abstracts, followed by longer articles. The abstracts were abstruse enough, but if I understood them correctly, dealt with circumventing the quantum defects in high-energy lasers used in cutting adiamantine materials or materials hardened by extreme pressure.

  That certainly fit in with the RDAEX drilling project and the material Kali had provided. What it didn’t tell me was why RDAEX was both sampling microorganics that were viable effectively in space and drilling deep into Stittara.

  I went back to the console and searched for Torgan Brad, but all that I found on him was the announcement of his entry to Stittara and his name and position at the Unity’s Ministry of Technology and Transport on Stittara. He was listed as a special assistant, and the listing didn’t place him in a specific office or branch.

  There wasn’t much more I could do there, and I went to work on comparing the measurements I’d taken at RDAEX to those submitted by the facility over the past several years. Two stans later, I was still comparing, when the screen flashed an alert. “Planetary Council Staff Assistant Melarez.”

  “Accept.” I watched as an image filled the left half of the screen. Melarez was female, with short hair almost dark enough to be black, an oval face, and hazel eyes. She was old enough not to be recently out of school or training, but probably young enough not to be that close to my age.

  “Dr. Verano?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m Paem Melarez, staff assistant to Councilor Morghan … of the Stittaran Planetary Council. The councilor understands that you’ve been sent to Stittara to conduct an ecological survey of matters here. Is that correct?”

  “Yes.” It was correct, if somewhat oversimplified, but I wasn’t about to get into that, not on a console where Aloris, Zerlyna, and who knew who else had access to what I said.

  “We’d very much appreciate it if you would come and brief us on the scope of your study. The councilor has always been interested in ecological issues, and she is particularly concerned about potential changes in Unity law and policy and how they might impact Stittara.”

  “I’d be more than happy to brief you. I must caution you, though, that I know of no pending or even anticipated changes in Unity environmental policies or laws, either connected to my study or in other areas not at all connected.”

  “Nonetheless, Doctor, the councilor would greatly appreciate your briefing. Tomorrow, perhaps?”

  “I’m afraid not. I already have appointments all day tomorrow, and since they required advance notice and travel…” I didn’t finish that sentence on purpose. After a moment I smiled and said cheerfully, “I could do any time sixday, sevenday, or oneday … or later next week.”

  Melarez didn’t look pleased, but she nodded. “Eight on oneday morning, perhaps?”

  “I’d be happy to do that. Where, might I ask?”

  For a moment she appeared surprised, as if I should have known. Then she smiled. “I forgot. You wouldn’t know. In the Planetary Council complex, level three, room 471.”

  “Level three, room 471,” I repeated. “I’ll be there.”

  “We’ll be looking forward to it. Until then, Doctor.” With her last word, her image vanished.

  That explained, or at least had something to do with, the news rumor I’d heard that morning, and it also meant I needed to pass that along. While I could have used the console to tell Aloris, I preferred to tell her in person. I was much better at reading reactions face-to-face. So I got up and headed down the corridor to her spaces.

  She was at her console, and she didn’t look surprised to see me.

  “I thought you’d like to know,” I began, before you’ve had a chance to review the conversations and messages that have crossed my screen, “that I just had a request from the Planetary Council. A staff assistant named Melarez requested I give a briefing on the scope of my study. She wanted it tomorrow. I declined because I’ve already scheduled matters for then, and we agreed on oneday.”

  “She’s the one who handles environmental and energy matters for Councilor Morghan.” Aloris offered a tight smile.

  “From your expression, I take it that either the councilor or her assistant, if not both, are not terribly esteemed by the Survey Service here?”

  “No. They’re not. Morghan feels that on a world as lightly developed as Stittara, one of the greatest pitfalls is what she terms excessive environmental regulation—provided the basic environmental structure is maintained. At the moment, she and Councilor Dulac are in the minority, but that will likely change after the next election.”

  “There are seven councilors, though.”

  “That’s true, but Councilor Steenden is retiring, and Councilor Diforio is likely to be defeated. The Progressives are likely to fill both positions. Don’t let the party name deceive you. Progressive stands for progress in development,” Aloris concluded wryly.

  I nodded. “So whatever I say will be used and reported as an indication that the SoMods in Smithsen wish to stifle development and keep Stittara grossly underdeveloped and poor?”

  “That’s almost a certainty.”

  “And if I avoid that?”

  “Then Morghan will say something along the lines of your presence should be a reminder that, without councilors committed to the best future for Stittara, the planet is only one ley-liner away from another excessive environmental mandate from the Unity, and that the Unity doesn’t want Stittara strong and independent.”

  “And the Unity understands nothing about the difficulties and realities facing the people of Stittara.”

  “You could obviously write his speech.”

  “I’ve heard most of the rhetoric on both sides,” I said dryly.

  “I’m sure you have. How was your trip to Rikova?”

  “Interesting, since I’ve never flown a magfield shuttle before, but rather routine besides that. I haven’t finished analyzing and comparing the measurements I took with the reports submitted to the Survey Service, but it appears, so far, that there’s been no misreporting and no change.”

  “You didn’t expect any, did you?”

  “No, but you never know.”

  “What will you do after you’ve confirmed the accuracy of all the multi reports?”

  “Go on from there. Exactly where … well … I might have a much better idea after meeting with Morghan and her staff.”

  “That is possible.”

  I nodded. “Anyway, I just thought you’d like to know.”

  “Thank you.”

 
After I returned to my office, I went back to work finishing the comparisons between my measurements and those submitted by RDAEX. Even before I finished, it was clear that there were no discrepancies, or even variations anywhere near being statistically significant.

  29

  The man and the woman sat at a café table along the arcade. She could see people entering Invireo. He sipped a wine of so dark a shade of red that it was almost black.

  “Did he do anything different after he returned?” asked Raasn, his fingers still loosely holding the stem of the wineglass.

  “He set up a routine on the console to bypass all the recording and memory, even the keystroke and projection manipulation tracking.”

  “I told you he was anything but simple,” replied Raasn.

  “What do you think he discovered at RDAEX?”

  “I have the feeling it might not have anything at all to do with his assignment. His official assignment, anyway.”

  “You’re saying he’s also—”

  “He’s either freelancing on the side or he’s got another assignment as well. Why else would he be here? The permanent union breakup was real, I’m sure. But why take an assignment with such a loss of time … unless it paid a lot more … or there were two contracts?”

  “We may never know that. What else did he do?”

  “Researched two names. Both arrived on the Persephonya with him. Rikard Spek was the first. Scientist and engineer specializing in high-energy photonics. The other is a special assistant at the Ministry of Technology.”

  “Did Vergenya mention either one?”

  “No … not even indirectly.”

  Raasn frowned. “RDAEX didn’t make a special return trip for Verano. They had five people who went to meet with Dulac and her people.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. Cloras doesn’t care about research. All she cares about is whom she can tax more.”

  “She’d care if RDAEX suggested they might close their facility.”

  “Why would RDAEX do that?” asked Aloris. “Besides, it would take them years.”