Arthur Clarke - Richter 10

Talib looked at the tabletop, then cleared his throat. “With all due respect and humility,” he said, voice choked, “I would like to ask your permission for your sister’s hand in marriage.”

“An alliance,” Ishmael said. “You don’t want Crane’s woman any longer?”

“I was a fool,” Talib said.

“Yes, you were,” Brother Ishmael responded. He stood and walked around to Talib. “But you are a fool no longer.” Talib got up; the two men embraced. “Welcome to our family. We will be real brothers now.” He kissed Talib on each cheek. Smiling, he said, “Let me go to find Khadijah and bring her to you. We must celebrate.”

In truth, Mohammed Ishmael could have sent someone to fetch his sister, but he needed time alone. He knew that Talib was a good man who was becoming a good Muslim, but the convert hadn’t yet begun to grasp the proper attitude when dealing with the Infidel. Ishmael knew he’d have to watch his new brother carefully—especially since Crane was drawing Talib and him into the web that would ensnare the three of them and shape their fate. Ishmael could feel it drawing around him now. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Like Moses, he’d see the promised land, but not live long enough to enter it.

Out in the hallway, facing the wall so none could see, he cried for himself, then cursed his weakness. Only the words of the Prophet brought him any solace. “Be in the world like a traveler, or like a passerby and reckon yourself as of the dead.”

So be it.

Sumi Chan watched her security monitor as Kate Masters’ helo glided gently onto the pad, disgorging the woman and an older man carrying a medical case. Lights around the pad blazed, catching the sequins of Masters’ bright red body suit, lighting her up like the Chinese opera on festival nights.

Sumi saw the figures approach the house elevator. She felt great trepidation, for she’d never trusted anyone with her secrets, not even Crane, and now she’d see what price she would pay for indulging in trusting Kate Masters.

The visitors disappeared from the screen and she switched to a shot inside the elevator. The doors opened and Masters and the doctor stepped in. Finding the camera immediately, Kate used its lens as a mirror and fixed her hair. “Hope these pictures look good in the archives,” she said, pulling her low neckline down a touch and winking.

The Vice President’s quarters were located in Silver Spring, Maryland, minutes from the Capital. The entire house was underground and electronically secured, leaving her protected without the expense of bodyguards. Sumi already had figured out a dozen ways in which the security could be breached here, but it didn’t matter. No one in the history of the United States had ever gone after a Vice President. They were too powerless and easy to replace.

Sumi hit the door activation button and hurried through the small but elegant traditional Chinese house whose windows looked out at holo projections of the Henan Province where she’d grown up—rolling farmland, workers tilling the fields, the Huang He River flowing gently from west to east in the distance. Over the course of a year, she’d watched the planting, growing, and harvesting of two crops, complete with typhoons in the spring and killing frost in the winter.

The elevator doors opened into her living room. Masters bounced into the room and gave Sumi a hug. “All this secrecy is very exciting.”

“I’m getting cold feet,” Sumi whispered into Masters’ ear. “This doctor, how do you know we can trust him?”

Masters smiled and straightened. “Vice President Chan, I’d like you to meet my father, Dr. Ben Masters.”

“Pleased to know you,” the man said, shaking a relieved Sumi’s hand. She should have known Masters would handle things impeccably. “Katie tells me you’ve got yourself something of a gender problem here.”

Sumi nodded. “I don’t want them to know I’m a woman,” she said and the words sounded odd coming out of her mouth.

“I’ll just give my report on your health,” the man returned, his wrinkled face relaxed. “I’m not a census taker. How long since you’ve had a physical?”

“Not since I left China ten years ago.”

“Okay, then,” the doctor returned. “Where can I set up?”

“There’s a guest room at the end of the hallway,” Sumi replied. “Will that do?”

“Fine. Give me a few minutes to prepare.” The man walked off, Sumi turning to Masters.

Reaching out, Kate tousled Sumi’s severely combed back hair, bringing it down on the sides and making bangs. She smiled with satisfaction when she was done as if, only now, could she truly accept Sumi as a woman.

“I’m ready back here!” Masters called from the guest room.

“Coming!” Sumi said.

Kate stopped her. “Sit for a second. I want to ask you something personal.”

“About sex, right?” Sumi said, feeling herself tighten up involuntarily. “I’ll tell you what I told Mr. Li. I have had to suppress those urges in order to maintain my charade.”

“Are you asexual?”

“No.”

“Do you like girls or boys?”

“I’m not attracted to women. Why are you asking me these things?”

“Okay. What kind of man do you find attractive?”

“Kate,” Sumi said, nervous, “what are you getting at here?”

“Just answer my question. What kind of man attracts you—young stud? Muscleman?”

“No.” Chan laughed. “This is silly. A game.”

“Play. What kind of man?”

“I don’t know … intelligent. Someone who’ll give me a mental challenge. Middle-aged … past all that young man’s nonsense. Strong but vulnerable. Sure of himself but open to interpretation…”

“You’re describing Crane.”

“What?”

“This is Crane you’re talking about.”

Sumi flinched, a hand coming to her mouth.

“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

Sumi gasped and turned away. Now Masters knew all her secrets. The woman hugged her from behind, resting her head on Sumi’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, honey,” she said, then gently turned Sumi to face her.

“I’ve got something for you,” Kate said and held up a small metal slot with double sets of three-inch-long sensors sticking out the end.

“A chip port?”

“My Dad can have one of these in your skull in five minutes. Trust me. It will help you with your sexual problems.”

“Who said I had a problem?” Sumi asked sharply. “I’m not a chippie, Kate.”

“Neither am I.” Kate flipped up her red hair directly above her left ear, revealing her own port. “I’m a simple gal. If it’s bad, I do it. If it’s fun, I do it. Usually they’re the same thing. Trust me, honey. I can fix you up so that you can lead a full sexual life without ever knowing a man. Five minutes of your time. Under the hair, where no one will see it unless you want them to.”

Sumi Chan stared at her with wide eyes.

The holorain fell hard on Henan through Sumi’s bedroom window, a cool, damp, fragrant breeze blowing in with it. Her lights were turned out. Occasional flashes of lightning brightened the room.

A slight ache in her head reminded her of the chip sitting in its little case beside her on the night table. The checkup had gone well and the surgery had, indeed, taken only five minutes, most of that spent shaving the inch-long spot on her head where the port was to be buried. An anesthetic had been administered, then a small incision made, the sensors put right into the cut. The sensors were very sharp. Ben Masters used a small hammer to tap them through muscles and bone. Once he was through the skull, one shove jammed the sensors deeply into her brain.