Iain Banks - Against a Dark Background

“Habitats; whole asteroids; mines on Fian and Speyr; island barges on Trontsephori-”

“Geis,” she said, stopping and turning to him, taking his hands in hers for a moment. His thin face shone palely in the deepening red light. “Geis; I can’t.” She forced herself to smile. “You know they’d track me down eventually and you’d only get into trouble for Harbouring. They’ll use the Passports. If they wanted to-if they had the excuse that they thought you were sheltering me they could tear you apart, Geis.”

“I can look after myself.”

“I don’t mean you personally, Geis; I mean this commercial empire you’ve been so busy constructing. I watch the news; the anti-trust people are crawling all over you already.”

Geis waved one hand. “Bureaucrats. I can deal with them.”

“Not if the Huhsz use the Passports to open your data banks and search your files. All these precious companies, all these… interests; you could lose them all.”

Geis stood, staring at her. “I’d risk that,” he said quietly.

She shook her head.

“I would,” he insisted. “For you. If you’d let me, I’d do anything-”

“Geis, please,” she said, turning from him and walking in the other direction, towards the distant shape of the ancient beachcombing machine. Geis paced after her.

“Sharrow, you know how I feel about you; just let-”

“Geis!” she said sharply, barely glancing back at him.

He stopped, looked down at his feet, then walked quickly after her.

“All right,” he said when he was level with her again. “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have said anything. Didn’t mean to embarrass you.” He took a breath. “But I won’t see you hounded like this. I can fight dirty, too. I have people in places you wouldn’t expect; in places nobody expects. I won’t let those religious maniacs get you.”

“I’m not going to let them get me,” she said. “Don’t worry.” He gave a bitter laugh. “How can I not worry?”

She stopped and looked at him. “Just try. And don’t do anything.that’s going to land both of us in even more trouble.” She tipped her head to one side, staring at him.

Eventually he looked away. “All right,” he said.

They resumed their walk.

“So,” he said. “What will you do?”

She shrugged. “Run,” she said. “They’ve only got a year; And-”

“A year and a day if we’re going to be precise about it.”

“Yes. Well, I’ll just have to try and keep a step or two ahead of them for a year… and a day.” She kicked at the glass surface beneath their feet. “And I suppose I have to try and find that last Lazy Gun. The one the Huhsz want. It’s the only other way to end this.”

“Will you get the team back together?” Geis asked, his voice neutral.

“I’ll need them if I’m going to find that damn Gun,” she told him. “And I’ll have to try, anyway. If the Huhsz get hold of one of them… it would make it easier to find me.”

“Ali. Then it really doesn’t wear off?”

“SNB? No, Geis, it doesn’t wear off. Like certain exotic diseases, and unlike love, synchroneurobonding is for life.”

Geis lowered his eyes. “You weren’t always so cynical about love.”

“As they say; ignorance pays.”

Geis looked as though he was about to say something else, but then shook his head. “You’ll need money, then,” he said. “Let me-”

“I’m not destitute, Geis,” she told him. “And who knows, perhaps there are still Antiquities contracts outstanding.” She clasped her hands together, kneading them without realising it. “If the family lore is right, the way to find the Lazy Gun is to find the Universal Principles first.”

“Yes, if the lore is right,” Geis said sceptically. “I’ve tried tracking that rumour down myself and nobody knows how it started.”

“It’s all there is, Geis.”

“Well, if you need any help finding the other people in the team…”

“Last I heard, Miz was being entrepreneurial in the Log-Jam, the Francks were raising sarflet litters in Regioner, and Cenuij had gone to ground somewhere in Caltasp Minor; Udeste, maybe. I’ll find him.”

Geis took a deep breath. “Well, according to my sources, yes, Cenuij Mu is in Caltasp, but it’s a bit further north than Udeste.”

Sharrow cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “Mmhmm?”

Geis smiled sadly. “Looks like Lip City, cuz.”

Sharrow nodded, gritting her teeth as she walked onwards. She looked out to sea, where the last glow of the sun was vanishing fast on the bare curve of the horizon. “Oh, great,” she said.

Geis studied the back of his hands. “I have a security concern with contracts for certain corporate clients’ installations in Lip; it wouldn’t be impossible for Mu to… travel inadvertently to somewhere beyond the city limits…”

“No, Geis,” she told him. “That won’t work; kidnapping would just antagonise him. I’ll find Cenuij. Maybe I can persuade my darling half-sister to help; I think they’re still in touch.”

“Breyguhn?” Geis looked dubious. “She may not want to talk to you.”

“It’s worth a try.” Sharrow looked thoughtful. “She might even have some idea about where the Universal Principles is.”

Geis glanced at Sharrow. “That was what she was looking for in the Sea House, wasn’t it?”

Sharrow nodded. “She sent me a letter last year with some garbled nonsense about finding out how to get to the book.”

Geis looked surprised. “She did?” he said.

Sharrow hoisted one eyebrow. “Yes, and claimed to have discovered the meaning of life as well, if I remember rightly.”

“Ali,” Geis said.

They stopped, not far from the dark bulk of the old beachcomber machine. She breathed deeply, looking around at the faint curve of beach; it was dark enough for the phosphorescence in the waves to show as ghostly green lines rippling on the shore. “So, Geis, any more good news for me, or is that it?”

“Oh, I think that’s enough for now, don’t you?” he said, a small, sad smile on his face.

“Well, I appreciate you telling me, Geis. But I’m going to have to move fairly rapidly from now on; it might be best for you and the rest of the family if you all kept out of my way for the next year. I’ll need room to manoeuvre, know what I mean?”

“If you insist.” He sounded hurt.

“It’ll be all right,” she told him, holding her hand out to his. He looked at her hand, then shook it. “Really, Geis, I’ll be fine. I know what I’m doing. Thanks again.” She leaned forward and quickly kissed his cheek.

She stepped back, releasing his hand. His smile was pale. He nodded, swallowing.

“I am, as ever, your faithful servant, cousin.”

Geis managed to make the stilted statement sound both sad and sincere. He took a step back, closer to the water; a wave washed over one boot and its spur terminal gave a little blue flash of light as it shorted. Geis flinched and stepped smartly away. Sharrow gave a small, involuntary laugh.

Geis smiled ruefully and scratched the side of his head. “Just can’t get my dramatic exits right when you’re around,” he sighed. “Well, if ever you need me; if ever I can do anything… just call me.”

“I shall. Goodbye.”

“Farewell, Sharrow.” He turned abruptly and walked quickly back to the bandamyion.

She watched him go, heading into the dunes. She heard him calling for the animal, and laughed quietly when she saw him chasing the lolloping beast over the summit of a distant dune.

Finally she shook her head and turned away, towards the hydrofoil moored a hundred metres away along the deserted shore.

“Ah, hello there,” said a voice, right behind her.