Aurora

by Mark W. Tiedemann

  "Don't be premature. You may have a murder charge to face first.11

  Gamelin shrugged. He bowed slightly to Lio. "Ms. Top? Of course, I have my own attorneys, but there's always a place for a good one on my staff. We'll talk."

  'I'm sure," Lio said flatly.

  "See you around, Lam-a," Gamelin said then and walked away. -11-lat sounded like a threat to me," Lio said.

  "It was. If he fires me the way I think he will, I wont need a 11&sum6." He sighed, suddenly aware of his legs trembling. "What happens now?'

  "We go back over the will, check out Jerem's story, and decide on the legality of the situation. Then a new reading will be called."

  "How long will that take?'

  'A couple of days."

  "Make it more."

  Lio blinked. "How much more?'

  'As much as you can get me. I have to go talk to a cop now."

  "Coren-how dangerous is this Jerem?'

  "Don't be anywhere alone with him."

  She nodded- 'Anything I can do..."

  "Just give me time."

  Coren caught Gamelin watching him as he headed for the exit. All the way down the hallway and out of the building, he expected to be grabbed- It angered him how much he feared the cyborg.

  It might be worth going to jail for murder just to get over that ...

  He pulled out his personal comm as lie stepped onto a walkway, and tapped in the number for Inspector Capel.

  To site module construction, reconstruction dialogic conditional response, analysis of logic trees, conceptual protocols, alignment to Three Law Imperatives

  Bogard?

  Yes.

  I require a full participation dialogue.

  Why?

  There are casuistic anomalies in certain your designated response protocols. Sorting is required.

  Premature. System integration dependent on complete assemblage of design required components. I am incomplete.

  Physical specifications remain incomplete, yes. But positronic parametric configurations do not require secondary and tertiary components to meet basic protocols.

  Design specifications amending basic protocol require additional secondary systems for full systems assessment. Survey indicates required components absent. Any assessment would by necessity be tentative and inconclusive.

  Are you rejusing?

  Delaying.

  To what end?

  Survey indicates revisions in physical plant. I am being completed as opportunity permits. Procedure indicates assessment at that time would be optimally relevant.

  Your Three Law programming is fully in place now. That is what I wish to examine. Completion of supplemental systems is unnecessary to that examination.

  .................

  Bogard?

  I am assessing.

  You will Let me know when you reach a conclusion?

  You will know the moment I do.

  Ariel spotted Derec in the lounge as soon as she walked in. He sat alone in a sumptuous booth, a glass half-empty on the low table before him. She sat down across from him; he seemed momentarily startled, but then smiled crookedly.

  "Fill now I haven't seen anyone on board I care to socialize with," he said- "Have you?'

  "It's only the second day," Ariel said- She looked around for a waiter. A robot moved unobtrusively among the tables and booths. She raised a hand and the spindle-shaped machine came toward them. 'Another day to the jump point, then three days to dock. There's time."

  "You evaded the question."

  The robot stopped at their booth. "Brandy," Ariel told it A tray extruded from its torso just above table height. A few seconds later it produced a snifter from another part of its body and placed it on the tray, then extended it toward her. She took the glass and the robot waited a polite ten seconds before drifting off "Yes, I did," she told Derec. "Because no, I haven't. Seen anyone I care to socialize with that is."

  "Including me?'

  'I'm here, aren't P I don't think I've seen you drunk very often. Is this normal?'

  "I'm not drunk." He lifted the glass. "Yet"

  "Let me know when you get there, would you? Do you get more morose or happy?'

  "Depends where I start from."

  "Wonderful."

  "Don't worry. I usually fall asleep before I get either too friendly or too obnoxious."

  "There's a difference?' Ariel teased

  "Hah-hah." He took a drink and set the glass down solidly. "So, what's to become of us once our parents get us home?'

  Ariel winced at the jest. Derec saw and felt embarrassed. Both of them had suffered mnemonic plague, wiping out their memories from before the onset of the disease in classic amnesiac fashion, leaving them with social and technical skills, an ability to function as adults, but with no personal histories. Derec had recovered from his bout before Ariel's had even manifested. Her first memories were of Earth- In a very real sense, she was being taken from tier home, despite the evidence of her biology, which made her undeniably Spacer, and her knowledge, which made her unquestionably Auroran ...

  "There's too much going on we don't know," she said, cutting off Derec's apologies. "Relations with Earth are deteriorating, and I'm not altogether sure it isn't as much Aurora's fault as theirs.,,

  "Why would Aurora want to damage relations with Earth? What was all that stuff about needing the genetic stock and fostering the Settlers because of Spacer cultural morbidity? I seem to recall a lecture from Setaris about that."

  "Not everyone on Aurora agrees with that assessment. Certainly I don't think Solaria ever did, but. .

  "Hm. Factions."

  "More than a few, I'm sure. We'll have to wait till we get there to find out."

  'And me? I've never been involved in any of these political pissing contests."

  Ariel started and laughed. 'These what?'

  'A Terran phrase, and before you ask, no, I don't know where it ever came from. But it refers to one-upmanship games and corporate in-fighting, things like that It somehow has a very appropriate ring to it, though, don't you think?'

  Ariel continued to laugh- "I will certainly miss Earth."

  "So will I,` a new voice said.

  Clar Eliton stood at the edge of their booth, glass in hand, smiling rather sadly. Ariel suppressed her instant coldness.

  "Far more than either of us," Derec said, a little too loudly. "Justice, perhaps?'

  'That's rather unkind, Mr. Avery," Eliton said- "I should think

  I've paid for any lapses in judgment, sufficiently even for you." He looked at Ariel. 'At least for the duration of the voyage, a truce?'

  Ariel controlled herself and gestured- "Why dont you join us, then, Senator?'

  Eliton sat down between them. 'Actually now it's Ambassador."'

  "I'd heard something, but Derec said, falling in smoothly with Ariel's decision.

  "It's a convenient way to get rid of me, Mr. Avery. I'm a bit of an embarrassment now. Ambassador to Solaria. I don't even get to ground on Aurora."

  "That's too bad," Ariel said- 'Aurora is beautiful."

  'And no one on Solaria would know natural beauty if it swallowed them," Eliton said, smiling grimly. "So I've been told."

  "I'm sure Ambassador Chassik must have told you all sorts of wonderful things about Solaria," Derec said.

  "Did you know Chassik wasn't born on Solaria-,"'

  "No," Ariel said, leaning forward. "Keresian?'

  Eliton grinned- "Terran."

  "You're kidding," Derec said. He laughed- "Well, that certainly explains a few things."

  "Solarians are notoriously antisocial," Eliton said. "I often wondered myself how they could find a volunteer to serve as ambassador.'7

  "How did he become Solarian?'

  'A father, evidently himself an ~migr& from Keres. Even Solarians evidently succumb to certain inducements. His mother was Terran. She died when Gate was a boy, and he returned to Solaria afterward. He's become Solarian to a considerable degree, but not s
o much that he's unsuited for his position. A pity he's been recalled. But at least I shall have one person with whom I can share a meat or a drink while in the same room.

  Ariel. exchanged a look with Derec. He doesn't know, she thought, and saw the same realization in Derec's eyes. She gave a very slight shake of her head

  "How long is the appointment?' Ariel asked.

  'That depends, doesn't it? Actually, the Solarian government was very eager to have me. There's no renewal date on the agreement, so . . ."

  Trom either side?' Ariel asked.

  "Unusual, I know," Eliton said dryly. "I gather Earth doesn't much care how long I stay."

  The conversation lapsed uncomfortably. Before Ariel. could change the topic, Eliton straightened, smiling.

  "So," he said, "what takes you back to Aurora?'

  "Recall," Ariel said

  Eliton stared at her, nonplussed. 'That's ... I'm sorry to hear that. I mean, unless you wanted to return . . ."

  "Do you have any idea what happened this year?' Ariel asked. "Or have you been out of the loop since you lost your seat?'

  'Well, I know Alda Mikels was indicted for a number of charges involving conspiracy to defraud, collusion, a variety of other fiscal improprieties. Its my understanding that this all has something to do with a very large TBI sting against baleyrunning operations ... were you involved in that-7"

  "Profoundly," Derec said.

  Eliton said nothing while he seemed to inspect the ice in his drink. Finally, he looked up. "You may be glad you're away from Earth after this."

  "You seem better informed than you let on," Derec observed.

  -What do you know about Nova Levis, Ambassador?' Ariel asked.

  Eliton's eyes narrowed briefly as he took a drink. "if the extent of your involvement with Nova Levis ended with that TBI sting, you should leave it at that."

  "You're going to be on Solaria for a long time," Ariel said" Pretty much isolated- Solarians maintain the largest ratio of robot-to-human in the Fifty Worlds. It could be very lonely for you.

  Eliton smiled wanly. "Will you come visit me? In person?'

  "I'm suggesting that perhaps the time will come when you might want someone to speak on your behalf for a change of mission."

  "Quid pro quo, Ambassador

  Ariel waited

  "Do you know why the Solarians maintain the kind of social structure they do?' Eliton asked

  'They're misanthropes," Derec said

  'True," Eliton said- "But even misanthropes need some human contact from time to time if they're to keep from going insane." He chuckled- "History, Mr. Avery. Do you know Spacer history? Probably not. I've always been amazed at how ignorant most Spacers are about their own history. Maybe I shouldn't be, given what it is, but...,,

  "Like all Spacers," Ariel said, suppressing her impatience, "they're afraid of disease, only more so. One more thing you have to took forward to. Auroran hygienic prep has become fairly innocuous in the last few decades, but the Solarians still do a full internal purge the old-fashioned way."

  "Do you even know why Spacers are afraid of infection?'

  "I'm afraid its never really occurred to me to ask," Ariel said, hoping to deflect the convention.

  'That's surprising," Eliton said, "since they once tossed you off the planet for having a disease."

  "Do you have a point to make?' she asked, barely holding her temper.

  IrMnemonic plague, wasn't it? Wiped your memory-permanent amnesia. You were cured on Earth, too. Didn't you ever wonder why?'

  Ariel finished her drink and stood, her legs trembling from contained anger. "I think-2'

  "No one on Earth gets it, so why would we have the cure and your own people don't?'

  Eliton looked up at her with an expression of mild interest. She sat back down.

  "Does this have anything to do with Nova Levis?' she asked

  "Everything. Your entire history is on that planet. Maybe your future, too. You might ask yourself what the purpose of the blockade really is. To keep things out? Or keep them in?' Eliton swallowed the last of his drink and got to his feet. "I'm sure we'll talk more before you debark."

  'Ambassador," Derec asked. "Do you mind answering one question now?'

  'And that would be ... ?'

  'Why did you do it? Turn on us last year."

  "You deserve an answer to that. unfortunately, it would take longer than one conversation."

  'Try," Derec said

  "Power. What other reason is there to betray people?' Eliton flashed a grin. "See you around."

  Derec watched him walk away, through the crowded lounge, and shook his head- "I don't think I've ever despised anyone before. Hated, sure. Distrusted-often. Despise? I think this is the first time." He scowled- "Its a grimy feeling."

  Ariel stared after Eliton, her mind busy with questions and suspicions. She stood- "I have something to do," she said- "I'll see you later."

  She made her way out of the lounge and down a broad corridor until she found an orderly.

  "Excuse me," she said, "could you direct me to the communications room?'

  Mia stepped into the small cell. Ensign Corf lay on the too narrow cot, one arm draped over his eyes.

  "I already checked the biomonitor," Mia said. "You're awake,

  so sit UP."

  "I'm no longer an officer," Corf said in a slow drawl. "So kindly decompress, Lt Daventri."

  'That's not a very good attitude to take toward anyone who might be able to ease your problems."

  The arm moved up and Corfs eyes locked on her. "You mean a deal? Like what? I heard you're a strict by-the-code type. You don't deal."

  "Normally. Normally I have everything I want, so a deal is superfluous." She sat down on the fold-out seat opposite the cot "You know what that means, don't you? Someone as well-read as you."

  Corf shifted his bulk and swung his legs off the cot. He sat up, propping both hands on the edge of his bed, hunching his shoulders.-What do you want?'

  'I want the one who's running you."

  Corf shook his head. 'There's no deal in that, just death."

  "Not if you give me enough to cut off the head."

  "Not possible."

  "Don't you know I'm Internal Security?'

  "Not possible," Corf said. "Besides, if I told you, all that would happen is what would happen if I never told you."

  'Tell me about the books."

  "What books?'

  "Dont," Mia said. "You have to know I went through your cabin. What did you think, Id only search your desk? The books, Corf. Where did you get them and who were they for?'

  'They're mine."

  "You don't strike me as the scholarly type."

  Corf shrugged.

  'All right," Mia said, "lets take it from the other end. Who's your source?'

  "You're not very bright, Lieutenant. I don't have to tell you anything. You dont have anything to offer me that might make me.

  "Your career"'

  Corf grunted

  "Your life?'

  "I'm already taking care to keep that, thank you."

  Mia studied the man. He did not act like a prisoner, like someone caught. He seemed to be waiting for an inevitable and not undesirable next step, as if his arrest had merely interrupted a process that would shortly resume.

  'Those books were nearly three thousand years old," Mia said.

  'Ancient. It doesn't seem likely that they'd have much to say to us now.

  Corfs smiled knowingly. "You should read them."

  "Humanity hasn't changed that much then, that thirty centuries might make us incomprehensible to ourselves?'

  A flicker of interest showed in Corf's small eyes. "Maybe ... or maybe we need to remember."

  "Remember what?'

  'Who we were. You can get lost without that memory."

  "Even if it doesn't matter?'

  Corf leaned back against the bulkhead, folding his arms across his chest. "It always matters."

  Mia s
ensed the sudden opening, though she did not understand it. She pressed "Most of the people I know do well enough without reference to the past."