Frank Schätzing - Limit

‘I’m busy. Honestly.’

Tu gave him a disapproving look over the rim of his glasses. The bridge looked as if it was about to snap in two over his nose.

‘You have friends to cultivate,’ he chided him. ‘What about this evening? A bunch of us are going out to eat. And drink, more importantly.’

‘Who’s we?’

‘Everyone you can think of. Yoyo too, once she’s stopped crying. She’s been sobbing away constantly, I’m thinking of installing a dam in the guest room. Terrible. Nothing but tears. A great big crybaby.’

‘And Hongbing?’

‘He’s crying too. They’re closer than they’ve ever been.’

‘Sounds good.’

‘Yeah, great,’ growled Tu. ‘You just don’t have to put up with it. What about tonight?’

‘Fine.’

‘Good. I wouldn’t have let you get away with anything else, xiongdi! ’

Jericho sat there for a while.

Then he went across to the kitchen area to magic a cappuccino from the coffee machine. His journey took him past the ensemble that he had now got used to calling ‘the odd couple’, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau embodied by a standard lamp and a carpet, which failed, failed, failed to accomplish the ideal of Confucian harmony, in any imaginable arrangement.

He studied them for a moment.

Then he moved them aside, put them in the cellar and looked at the corner. And finally, flooded only by light, clear and tidy, he liked it.

That had been important!

Anand, AshwiniStaff member at the Gaia moon hotel, responsible for accommodation, technology and logistics.

Black, PeterTour guide at the Gaia moon hotel, pilot of the moon shuttle Charon. Knows all the moon craters by name.

Borelius, EvaScientist and CEO of the German research company Borelius Pharmaceuticals. Northern German, dry character. Likes classical music, horses and chess. Married to the surgeon Karla Kramp. Member of the moon tour group.

Bruford, SidFormer oil worker at EMCO Imperial Oil, Canada, unemployed. Dreams of a career as an actor.

Chambers, EvelynMost prominent and influential talk-show host in the USA, presenter of the show Chambers . Latina, whose bisexuality has turned her into a hate figure. Brilliant analyst, perceptive and curious. Member of the moon tour group.

Chen HongbingCar salesman, Yoyo’s father. Polite, but reserved, with a murky past. Commissions Owen Jericho to find his missing daughter.

Chen ‘Yoyo’ YuyunStudent, daughter of Chen Hongbing, founder of the internet dissident group ‘the Guardians’, member of the motorcycle club City Demons. Sings in a neo-prog band, loves parties and the excessive lifestyle. Beautiful and quite exhausting.

Crippen, JanTechnical director of the American Peary Base, lunar North Pole.

‘Daxiong’ Guan GuoFounder member and vice head of the internet dissident group ‘the Guardians’, head of the motorcycle club City Demons and owner of the Demon Point motorbike workshop. Giant with bear-like strength and French-style spleen.

DeLucas, MinnieDoctor and specialist in life-support systems at the American Peary Base, lunar North Pole. Investigating the possibility of raising livestock on the Moon.

DianeOwen Jericho’s computer.

Donner, AndreOwner of the Muntu African restaurant in Berlin. Murky past in Equatorial Guinea.

Donner, NyelaWest African, co-owner of the Muntu African restaurant in Berlin, Andre Donner’s wife.

Donoghue, AileenCEO and artistic manager of the Xanadu hotel and casino company. Wife of Chuck Donoghue. Dominant-mother type. Member of the moon tour group.

Donoghue, ChuckHotel mogul, founder and CEO of the Xanadu hotel and casino company. Amateur boxer and hard-line Republican. Loud and jovial. Cheerfully tells the world’s worst jokes. Member of the moon tour group.

Edwards, MarcFounder and CEO of the microchip company Quantime Inc., extreme sports fanatic and diver, creationist view of the world. Husband of Mimi Parker. Member of the moon tour group.

Funaki, MichioSous-chef and barman in the Gaia moon hotel, sushi specialist.

Gore, KyraShuttle pilot at the American Peary Base, lunar North Pole.

Gudmundsson, LarsBodyguard, employed with his team by the Eagle Eye security company to protect the oil manager Gerald Palstein.

Hanna, CarlCanadian large-scale investor, main area alternative energies. Solitary type, macho, but likeable. Always has his guitar in his luggage. Member of the moon tour group.

Haskin, EdChief technician, Orley Space Station (OSS).

Hedegaard, NinaTour guide at the Gaia moon hotel, moon shuttle pilot. Capable and romantic. Involved in relationship with Julian Orley.

Ho, PatriceSenior Shanghai police officer and careerist, friend of Owen Jericho. Jericho has supported Ho in several investigations and is therefore owed a favour.

Hoff, EddaProject manager, central security division, Orley Enterprises. Pale, expressionless and extremely reliable.

Holland, SidPolitical history editor at environmental broadcaster Greenwatch. Likes driving his friends and colleagues around in his old Thunderbird.

Hsu, RebeccaFounder and CEO of the Taiwanese luxury company Rebecca Hsu, workaholic, incapable of being on her own. Fights a hopeless war with her obesity. Member of the moon tour group.

Hudsucker, SusanDirector of the environmental broadcaster Greenwatch and immediate superior of Loreena Keowa. Prudent, sometimes hesitant.

Hui Xiao-TongMember of the City Demons motorcycle club.

InternColleague of Loreena Keowa at environmental broadcaster Greenwatch. Glutton and tireless researcher.

ISLAND-IIPsychotherapeutic aid program.

Jagellovsk, AnnieAstronomer and pilot at the American Peary Base, lunar North Pole.

Jericho, OwenCyber-detective from Great Britain, brought to Shanghai by an unhappy love affair. Outstanding investigator, lone wolf and linguistic genius. Suffers from loneliness and nightmares. Hired by his friend Tu Tian to find Yoyo.

Jia KeqiangCommander of the Chinese helium-3 mining station, Sinus Iridum, Moon. Both a patriot and a supporter of international understanding.

Jin Jia WeiStudent, member of the internet dissident group ‘the Guardians’ and of the City Demons motorcycle club.

Keowa, LoreenaReporter for the environmental broadcaster Greenwatch, native American of the Tlingit tribe. Green views, elegant appearance. Determined to solve the assassination attempt on Gerald Palstein.

Kokoschka, AxelHead chef, Gaia moon hotel. Genius at the stove, in the company of others shy, uncommunicative and awkward.

Kramp, KarlaGerman surgeon, critical and analytic. Asks tough questions. Wife of Eva Borelius, member of moon tour group..

Laurie, Jean-JacquesGeologist at the American Peary Base, lunar North Pole.

Lau YeDaxiong’s right-hand man, mechanic at Demon Point motorbike workshop and member of City Demons motorcycle club. Small, slight, but intrepid and loyal.

Lawrence, DanaManager and head of security, Gaia moon hotel. Cool, unapproachable and thorough.

Lee, Bernard, ‘C’Head of MI6, London.