F. Wilson: Wheels Within Wheels

He looked up and saw Jo and Old Pete approaching. With a smile, he rose and greeted them.

Introductions were made all around and the four of them seated themselves around the table. After a bit of polite conversation, Easly’s assistant, Deggs, excused himself to make a call.

“What’s the news, Larry?” Jo asked. “We’ll discuss that first and then I’ll give you a rematch at pokochess … and I hope you do better this time.”

Easly nodded. “O.K. First off, I found out a good deal about this Denver Haas you’re interested in.

He’s a physical engineer who has recently developed something he calls a ‘warp gate’ and he’s ready to go into production.”

Noting the questioning stares, he explained. “It seems that Haas has eliminated the necessity for an individual warp unit on every interstellar ship. He’s also found a way to make trips of almost any distance in one jump. All you have to do is set up two gates-one at each end-and go through one and come out the other.”

“Teleportation!” Old Pete exclaimed.

“Not at all,” Easly said. “The ship in question travels in warp just like ships do now, but the advantage lies in the fact that the ship merely follows a beam between the gates in a single hop. It’s quicker and you can send ships through one after the other and the ships need be equipped only with tube drive. Do you realize what this will do for interstellar trade?”

Pete frowned. “I know what it can do … but I also see some problems.”

“I see them, too,” Jo said.

Easly was puzzled. “What do you mean?” he asked, looking to Jo.

“I’m talking about getting the product off the ground.” Old Pete nodded in agreement with Jo. She continued. “The device is a definite fortune-maker, but it will take a while before it starts to pay off. You see, every single ship in every merchant fleet is equipped with its own warper, so a warp gate is of no value to those fleets, at least not yet. They won’t start buying warp gates until they start replacing some of their ships.”

Old Pete summed it up. “In other words, the warp gates will be phased in only as fast as the individual warpers can be phased out.”

“And that may not be fast enough for Mr. Haas’s little company,” Jo added.

“And what does that mean?” Easly asked.

“Star Ways,” was the extent of Jo’s reply but Easly understood.

“But what’s the connection between Haas and deBloise?” Pete asked.

“Money,” Easly said. “DeBloise is financing Haas but for some reason he wants his name kept out of it; he’s gone to an awful lot of trouble to cover any connection between Haas and himself. The same goes for the others who are in on the deal.”

“Who are they?” Paxton asked. “The list reads like a who’s who of the Restructurist movement. The cover job has been excellent, by the way. I couldn’t prove to any court that deBloise is behind Haas. My informants have assured me that they’ll deny every word they’ve said if they’re brought into court.”

“Well, at least we know he’s behind it,” Jo mused. She turned to Old Pete. “What do you think? I’d be tempted to forget the whole thing except for the cover-up; that makes me suspicious.”

Paxton shook his head. “I really don’t know what to do next. Maybe Mr. Easly could send one of his men to Jebinose to just sort of sniff around and-”

“Jebinose!” Jo exclaimed. “What’s Jebinose got to do with this?”

“Didn’t you know?” Old Pete said with surprise. “That’s deBloise’s home planet.”

Jo was shocked. “I knew he represented that sector, but I never dreamed he was from Jebinose itself.”

“Yes, he was born there. As a matter of fact, he was principal sponsor of the Integration Bill when your father was there. As another matter of fact, he pleaded for the bill’s passage with the cry that Junior Finch must not have died in vain!”

Jo shook her head. “I never realized …” Her face suddenly hardened, “Larry, I want you to go to Jebinose personally and look into deBloise and see what you can find, if anything. And you might check out a town named Danzer while you’re at it.”

“I thought you didn’t want to get IBA involved in any political matters,” Old Pete remarked in a slightly bantering tone.

“This political matter just might become a personal matter,” Jo replied.

Old Pete leaned back in his chair and tried unsuccessfully to prevent a very satisfied smile from creasing his face.

Jo decided to pay Denver Haas a personal visit. The man had ignored all the literature forwarded to him and had refused to see any IBA representatives. Jo hated interstellar travel, hated that wave of nausea that occurs each time the ship comes in and out of warp, but Haas was located on Dil and that was only two jumps away. That wasn’t too bad and maybe a personal visit from IBA’s number-one officer would have some effect on the man. She hoped it would be worth it. He had promised to see her when she arrived.

Haas lived and worked in a converted warehouse not too far from the spaceport. The most vital and innovative aspects of his warp gate were now covered by Federation patents and so security was no longer of great importance. Still, Jo had to be cleared twice before she was allowed to enter the building.

Haas was obviously not out to impress anybody. The inside of the building was as dingy as the outside and a lone, harried receptionist-secretary occupied the single desk in the cluttered foyer.

Jo presented the girl with her clearance sheet. “Josephine Finch to see Mr. Haas,” she said.

The girl took the sheet without looking up, checked the appointment book and nodded. She pressed a button and said: “Miss Finch is here.”

“Send her in,” replied a gruff voice.

The girl pointed to a nondescript door with a simple “Haas” printed on it. Jo knocked and entered.

The office was an unbelievable clutter of filing cabinets, diagrams, blueprints and miscellaneous notes and drawings on scraps of paper. Denver Haas, a feverish little man, was bent over his desk, reading and making notes, looking like a gnome king ensconced among his treasures. He looked up as he heard the door, close.

“Ah, Miss Finch,” he said, smiling tightly. “You’ve come. This is quite an honor even if it is a waste of time for both of us. He rose, gathered some papers off a chair and threw them on the floor. Pushing the chair around to the front of the desk, he said, “Please sit down.”

Jo did so and waited for the little man to regain his seat. He was older than she had imagined with an unruly shock of graying hair and, of all things, a beard. With all the permanent depilation techniques available, facial hair was an unusual sight.

“Well, what is it you wanted to see me about?” he demanded.

“Your new product,” Jo said simply. “I think it has good potential and I’m here to convince you that IBA can help you get the most out of it.”

He smiled with what he thought was slyness. “And what makes you think I need any help from IBA at all?”

“The very nature of the warp gate,” she stated. “It’s major advantage is the simple fact that once you have a pair of them set up, shipping over any distance will become quicker, easier and dirt cheap. That’s fine for the major companies along the major trade routes, but that won’t sell too many gates for you. I don’t know what it will cost to purchase one, but I’m sure they won’t be cheap.”

Haas nodded in agreement and Jo continued.

“And don’t forget that all the freighters currently in use are equipped with individual warpers. It would be of little use for a company to send these ships through a gate when they can go by themselves. And what about the smaller companies that may have trouble meeting your price-”