Aurora

by Mark W. Tiedemann

  'And what can you say to refute their charges?'

  Ariel stared at him, briefly uncertain she had heard him correctly. 'What charges?'

  "That you have been in collusion with these pirates all along and helped Derec Avery and Clar Eliton subvert the entire diplomatic process."

  Ariel laughed- "You're not serious."

  'I told you, scapegoating is the current fad."

  "But---2'

  "Can you refute the charge?'

  'The charge is ridiculous7"

  "Can you refute it?' Penj insisted

  "No! But they can't prove it, either."

  "Perhaps not directly, but through inference and implication?' Penj leaned forward. "Consider. Eliton engineered the assassination in league with various Terran corporate interests, one of which managed to subvert the Resident Intelligence that was supposed to provide security at Earths main spaceport. Derec Avery operated a consulting company that was supposed to oversee maintenance on that very same RI. He did not fulfill his contract. The R1 failed and several Spacers were murdered.

  Derec Avery also provided a unique robot to act as bodyguard to the very politician who, we now know, was involved in arranging that assassination. The robot appeared to have failed, resulting in Eliton's death, which was faked- The robot, being a positronic unit, had to have known what it was doing. It failed intentionally, knowing Eliton was not actually being harmed. That means Avery was in on the conspiracy. As Calvin Institute representative, it was your job to vet any deployment of positronics on Earth There is a long record of smuggling of humaniform robots onto Earth, during your watch, and there is your clear failure to oversee anything that Derec Avery was doing. Unless you were overseeing it, which means you knew what Avery had built and what it was going to do, which means you, too, were in on the conspiracy. The Solarians have asserted that Chassik had found out about the conspiracy and was taking steps toward dealing with it when you arranged, through the recent incidents involving the cyborg to have him recalled to Solaria. En route, his ship is attacked and he is killed, taking with him his knowledge of your collusion."

  Ariel snapped to her feet. 'That's outrageous None of that is true! Derec's license to do what he did came from a Terran government agency with supporting authority directly through Setaris's office. I knew about his contracts to troubleshoot positronics on Earth and the maintenance duties for the RI-which he did not fail to do, so much as they failed to report any think'-but I didn't know about Bogard until it was built, online, and deployed. Eliton had all of us fooled- And Chassik was the one in on the conspiracy7"

  "So why was he killed?'

  'I don't know!"

  ,,sit down, Ariel,', Perij said quietly. "I'm sorry I upset you so much- I'm just trying to show you what's coming. If you can't refute these charges effectively, the rest. . ." He shrugged

  "But it's so circumstantial7

  Penj said nothing, waiting now for Ariel to reach her own conclusions. She worked through the anger, which muddied her thinking. She finished the nava and poured herself more.

  "Derec's RI would know," she said finally. "So would Bogard. He's been rebuilding it. Thales recovered Bogards memories on Earth. Positronic testimony---2'

  Trom a standard, traditional positronic brain, yes, such testimony would be conclusive. The Council is not sanguine about Bogards conformity to acceptable standards. He is being examined even as we speak."

  "Examined. . ."

  'Aurora's RI community. Both Thales and Bogard are being judged- Based on the conclusions of the examination, Bogards testimony will be allowed-or not."

  "I see." She leaned back in her chair and stared out at the garden. "So," she said finally, "who filed that report?'

  "One of the four survivors of the Humadros Legation: Tro Aspil."

  Coren nursed a scotch and stared at the indistinct outlines set in the darkness of the private room next to his office. Shelves, a pair of overstuffed chairs, the low table upon which he now rested his feet, and the ready lights on the subetheric in the far comer, video off while music played softly. He had not returned to his own apartment since Ariel had departed for Aurora.

  "You could come With me .

  Now he let himself admit how tempted he had been. Ariel ... it surprised him even now. After Nyom Looms had broken off their relation ship, Coren had believed himself finished with attachments. He still resisted calling it Love, as if naming it, and naming it so obviously, somehow diminished it. In a sense, that was true----that one word had always felt inadequate to the moil of emotions it pretended to describe. No two occasions were enough the same to allow that word to cover both. Nyom had been a profound acceptance, as if for the first time in his life Coren had been taken for what he was and been found desirable. It had been a level of comfort, of being able to finally feel at home in his own skin, that he had never known before, and had never known had been missing till then. With Ariel ...

  Ariel was all hunger and urgent need and a kind of desperate joining, like an exotic drug.

  Was that love?

  Well, lust failed to describe it. He understood lust very well. Lust ended with consummation. Lust was limited- Lust was selfish

  Love, then.

  He took another sip of scotch. Possible, he thought Moreover ... I miss her ...

  Ambassador Ariel Burgess, Auroran, liaison from the renowned Calvin Institute. She preferred it on her side, back to him, his hands on her breasts, sheetless and loud. He preferred

  The comm chimed. Gratefully, he groped for the device on the sofa and thumbed ACCEPT.

  "Lanra.

  "Boss, it's Shola."

  Coren sat up straighter. "Yes."

  "I have the files you told me to get, the ones covering Rega's investments-2'

  "Right Did you go over them?'

  "You told me not to."

  Coren waited.

  At last, Shola sighed. "I did. I'm not sure what it means, though."

  'That's all right. I can explain it. Did you find references to Nova Levis-~`

  "No."

  "Hm. They've been tampered with, then."

  "By who?'

  Coren took a moment to appreciate the level of sincerity Shola managed. What a waste, he thought grimly.

  "Our erstwhile pretender to the family estate," he said

  "Rega's son?'

  "He's no more Rega's son than I'm the king of Solaria."

  "But the DNA matches--!'

  'All that can be faked, you know that. Come on, Shola, use your head. The data that would prove him a fraud was in those missing files."

  ,,oh. . .,,

  When she remained silent for several seconds, Coren cleared his throat. "Not to worry. There are backups."

  "Really?'

  "Rega was more careful than to keep only one copy of something, you know that" He paused. "I should take care of this alone, just for security reasons, but that could compromise the validity of the documents in court

  "Why go alone?'

  'Who do I take? Someone lifted those files. Have any ideas who?'

  "No, but---dammit, boss, I'll go with you."

  "You've been managing security for the company in my absence. You're my best agent."

  Shola made a dismissive noise. "How long could this take?'

  'A day. I need to get into the residence in Kenya District`

  "Where the funeral was?'

  "That's the place."

  "Boss, I'm sure the company wont self-destruct if both of us are absent for a couple of days."

  Coren smiled wryly. "Maybe."

  'I've known you too long, boss. You suspect someone, surely."

  "Who's new? I was out of the loop for a couple of months."

  "Well, about four people," Shola said- Coren doubted anyone else would have heard the note of relief in her voice. "Of those, the only one I could think that might be questionable would be Gansi Tellen."

  "Why questionable?'

  "Previous employer was Imbitek."
<
br />   'And we hired him? Why?'

  "He got cut loose when Mikels went to prison and Towne took over. Not just him, but most of the Imbitek security staff. He looked the safest bet and we needed to replace six people who left right after Rega announced his resignation from the election."

  "Hmm. Okay, you. Tomorrow night, we'll catch the semiballistic and retrieve the files from Rega's private cache."

  'What about Tellen?'

  "Nothing yet. Give him some duty that'll keep him occupied for a week. I'll look into it when were finished with this."

  'All right. Where do you want me to meet?'

  'At the station. I dont want a data trail, so we'll get our tickets at the gate." Coren gnawed his lower lip. "Good work, Shola. Thanks."

  'Anytime, boss. See you tomorrow night."

  "See you then."

  The connection broke and Coren dropped the comm. He rubbed his face. He had really hoped he had been wrong about Shola. He hated it when he proved himself right this way. Cynicism had saved his life on occasion, and had certainly enabled him to do his job effectively, but it was no kind of philosophy for a happy existence.

  He picked up the comm again and tapped in a number.

  "Yes?' a familiar voice answered

  "Its Lam-a. Everything is set, everyone is in motion."

  "Very good," Hofton replied- "I'll inform Ambassador Setaris. Our people will be in place on schedule. Will you be in the clear?'

  'That's my intention. Remember to go masked. We still dont know all Gamelin's capacities."

  'Already anticipated- Tomorrow night, then?'

  "Tomorrow night"

  Coren sat in silence for a time, working on the remainder of his scotch- At length, he went into his office and accessed his desk.

  "Get me the DyNan personnel files for new employee, security section, Gansi Tellen."

  "Working," the desk said- "Displaying file now."

  A screen extruded from the desk and text scrolled onto it.

  "Good," Coren muttered- "Call him at home, please. Secure protocols in force."

  Inspector Capel waited in a booth near the rear of the restaurant He nodded in greeting as Coren approached. Coren slid in across from him. A waiter appeared almost instantly, and Coren ordered a nava.

  Capel made a face. "You don't really like that stuff, do you?'

  'As a matter of fact," Coren said. He fished a hemisphere from his jacket pocket and placed it on the table.

  Capel eyed the object suspiciously. "Those are not exactly legal."

  'Precisely why they're so useful," Coren said- "No one expects upstanding citizens like us to use them."

  "I take it we need the privacy-~`

  "It cant hurt."

  The nava arrived and Coren ordered a sandwich Capel demurred

  'All right," Capel said- "I'm here."

  'Thank you. I appreciate it. In about three hours, I'm boarding a semi-ballistic to Kenya."

  "Back to Looms' house?'

  "The very place. I've arranged to have a problem taken care of. In order for it to stick, I need something from you."

  'This doesn't have a very nice sound-"

  'The harmony is bad in spots," Coren agreed, "but it resolves well. If the players all stick to the score."

  "I'm listening."

  Coren slid a disk across the table. -That contains files pertaining to a certain lab, and how it relates to Rega Looms and his children."

  "Child, you mean."

  "No. Children. Plural."

  "You mean that ... person ... has a legitimate claim?'

  "Jerem has a claim. Its legitimacy has been compromised. Those documents will explain. What I need from you is follow-up."

  'All those raids a couple of months ago weren't enough?'

  "I don't think so."

  The sandwich arrived. Coren took a bite and chewed thoughtfully.

  'The proverbial shit is about to fly," he said finally. 'Whoever has set Jerem Looms to reclaiming his heritage wants more than trade concessions on Earth. I don't have the resources to investigate the police. Maybe you do. But at this point, I've given up resolving this through legal channels."

  "I should arrest you now, Lanra," Capel said

  "You wont. You understand what I'm telling you. Jerem Looms has enough claim to make it stick and become the head of DyNan Manual Industries. That will bring everything we thought we cleaned up right back into our midst-and more, besides. You know and I know that if this becomes an open investigation and the system is brought to bear, corruption will proliferate and no solution will be found in our lifetime. I can take care of this without compromising any legal authority on Earth. What I need afterward is a thorough investigation of the institutions and people contained in those files. You know perfectly well that this may be our best chance of stopping a disaster before it begins."

  Capel's eyes narrowed- "So I wont ask you?'

  'All you've got right now is hearsay. You know what I intend to do, but that's not proof, and nothing has happened- Besides, it wouldn't do either of us any good in the long run. And that's what I'm talking about. The long -turn."

  "Let's assume you're right. What next?'

  "DyNan is about to undergo a small coup," Coren explained. "My second in the security department is bad- I'm setting things up for her to be replaced. The man stepping into her job-and probably mine--is named Gansi Tellen. He's new to DyNan, but I went over his jacket-he's good, he's clean, and tie's honest. I spoke to him earlier. I'm asking----work with him. Don't make him an enemy."

  "I'll reserve judgment, but I see no problem with that."

  "If something goes wrong," Coren said, tapping the disk between them, "there's sufficient evidence here for you to arrest Shola Rran, my second Do so. At the very least, see that her license is revoked- Also, if something goes wrong, contact a Spacer named Hofton at the Auroran Embassy. He knows as much if not more, about this than I do. Work with him."

  'Aurorans ... Does this have anything to do with the death of that Spacer, Chassik?'

  ,,oh, I wouldn't doubt it at all. And if I were you, I'd reserve judgment about that, as well."

  Capel slipped the disk into his jacket "I don't know what you've gotten into, Lanra, but I do not envy you."

  "You may end up envying me."

  Capel shrugged. "How long do I wait.?'

  "You'll know by tomorrow noon at the latest."

  "I don't like this."

  "You'd like the alternative even less."

  Capel gestured at the hemisphere. "I think were done. That might draw attention if it's on too long."

  Coren switched the device off and put it away. The two men said very little while Coren finished his sandwich. When lie stood, Capel got up and extended a hand- Silently, they shook. Capel looked sad and appreciative and., unexpectedly, respectful. He left the restaurant first.

  Shola waited at the ticket booth at Union Station. Coren greeted her as he always had, slipping easily into the usual banter, and purchased two tickets on the next semiballistic the Kenya District For her par~ Shola kept up the banter just as easily, all the way up to boarding.

  No one spoke during a semiballistic flight, and for that Coren was grateful. He closed his eyes and waited.

  Mia flipped from one passage to the next. She felt trapped between passages, not altogether sure she understood them-how could she really gasp them, they were so far removed from her own time?-but she could not escape the conviction that, after millennia, they spoke to her of things which had yet to change if she could only see their true forms beneath the new clothes of a different era.

  Here disinterest vanishes and a demon becomes manifest-the spirit of each for himself. A sightless monster howls and scrabbles in the darkness. Anarchy lurks in that void.

  Wild figures, half-animal, almost ghosts, prowling in the darkness have no concern with universal progress, neither the thought nor the word is known to them, nothing is know to them but the fulfillment of their individual cravings.
They are scarcely conscious, having within them a terrifying emptiness ...

  She let the pages roll by from beneath her thumb to the next page that had claimed her attention, convinced that they reflected each other, made each other sensible in a way she still could not quite grasp.