L Modesitt - Empress of Eternity

Maertyn proffered his hand to the scanner, which announced, "Deputy Assistant Minister Lord Maertyn S?Eidolon, cleared to all levels."

One of the two guards looked intently at Maertyn as the gates opened, but said nothing as he passed them and headed for the ramp up to the second level. Once there, he walked down the corridor some ten yards, where he reached the bottom of the ramp that led to the third level. He again had to have his hand scanned, but there was no announcement as the entry gate to the ramp irised open, and he made his way to the third and top level, and then down the central hallway.

The office of the Minister of Science for the Unity of Caelaarn was at the rear of the building, with a view of a gardens below that amounted to a private park for those who worked at the Ministry headquarters.

Maertyn had no more than stepped into the outer anteroom of the minister?s suite than a muscular young man in a green singlesuit and gray jacket, with a professionally cheerful face that Maertyn didn?t recognize, stepped forward. "Lord Maertyn, the minister hoped you?d be here early. Let me tell him you?ve arrived. If you?d care to take a seat, I?m sure it won?t be long."

Maertyn nodded politely. "Thank you." He didn?t bother to seat himself. Hlaansk didn?t bother with petty gestures like making subordinates wait unnecessarily.

The young functionary had barely entered the minister?s private office when he emerged.

"Lord Maertyn…"

Maertyn walked into the office, noting that the door closed behind him, softly but firmly.

Minister Hlaansk Ovisor was black-haired, perhaps a few centimeters shorter than Maertyn, but slender, with a warm open smile that extended to the corners of his intense blue eyes. He wore the green jacket of the Science Ministry with a gray shirt and trousers and a pale green cravat. "Maertyn…it?s good to see you. You?re looking healthy and more rested than the last time we met." Hlaansk gestured toward the chairs in front of the amberwood desk, a desk that was bare of anything except a single thin file that lay at a slight angle.

"Thank you." Maertyn waited until the minister started to seat himself, then followed.

"You?ve been working at the canal now, what, for not quite a year and a half…?"

Maertyn wasn?t in the slightest deceived by the apparent casual opening, knowing that Hlaansk knew Maertyn?s time at the station down to the nearest hour, if not the exact second.

"Something like that."

"We haven?t seen much in the way of detail in your reports, and when I received your request for equipment, I thought a more detailed presentation to the senior staff here at the Ministry might be useful, especially anything you have discovered about the old quarters there."

"I have reported on the temperature discrepancies and the resultant impact on climate and weather-in some detail, as I recall. As for the quarters…what could I possibly add to years of observation by light-keepers and others?"

"Come now, Maertyn," offered the minister jovially, "the light-keeper?s station has to be more than that. That?s one reason why you were allowed to pursue your research there."

"One reason?" Maertyn?s words were quiet, almost matter-of-fact.

"In terms of your scientific inquiries and your research, as well as the policies you administered while a deputy assistant minister, you?ve always been above reproach."

That wasn?t an answer, true as the words were, and Maertyn waited.

"I?ve read enough reports from scientists to understand one aspect about your proposal about the MCC." Hlaansk leaned back in the over-stuffed swivel chair, offering a broad smile.

"Oh?"

"You know as well as I do, but I?ll spell it out so that you?ll understand where you stand. The compact underlying the Unity is most clear about one aspect of both research and commerce. It?s clear about many, but the one that applies to us is the absolute prohibition on the use of or research into any energy generation or concentration system that creates toxic or nonbiodegradable wastes or that creates or enhances radioactive by-products or end-products. Given the duration of the great canal, its imperviousness to all known energy forms, and its isolation from all forms of energy, it has to embody a higher-level energy usage and generation system. Once upon a time, when Earth had a moon, tidal power was a greater source, but that diminished eons ago. Now, in these times, when we face severe limitations on bio and solar power, discovering a more unique power source could prove critical, especially to the Ministry that rediscovered such a system."

"That?s…rather far-fetched, and a long ways from my initial proposal, sir. Besides, I?m a single scientist. Would not a team prove more likely to discover such a source, rather than a lone researcher?"

"Teams are useful in discovering ways to implement and build upon discoveries, but at times, insight is more important than collaboration…and more practical."

In short, you need the Ministry of Science to make the first breakthrough here. "You?re expecting a great deal, sir."

"You?ve shown that you have a streak of insight and innovation matched by few, Maertyn, and I?m counting on that. So should you."

Maertyn nodded politely. "I will do my best. You know that."

"I know you will." Hlaansk cleared his throat. "I must bring up one distressing aspect of the present situation. The Executive Administrator?s Council has taken note of your reports, although how they obtained them is a matter of some question. It has been suggested that…if you cannot discover the secrets of the canal within your research term, or at least make significant progress, Protective Services will likely turn to more…forceful means."

"Oh?"

"The Gaerda will be allowed to test its new nucleonic weapon there."

"Isn?t that a violation of the energy compact?"

"The nucleonic weapon was not built or created on Earth. The compact does not apply to weapons or energy systems above the outer atmosphere." Hlaansk shrugged. "It doesn?t leave any radioactivity, I?ve been assured, and while it might raise the local temperature for a slight while, that will be considered acceptable, more than acceptable given the continued progress of the northern ice. It will be registered as an off-planet trial of means to arrest glaciation, and no one is likely to object too much to that. The Minister of Environment and the Minister of Protective Services have both suggested that, while pure research is valuable, we also need results in the foreseeable future, and that, at the very least, the reaction of the canal to a nucleonic weapon might reveal what more…prosaic methods cannot."

"That is certainly possible," replied Maertyn calmly. "It is also possible that it would destroy forever anything embedded or concealed there."

"Truly said." Hlaansk shrugged. "But knowledge, if even potentially of great value, that cannot be accessed and applied when it is most needed, such as now, is knowledge of little use."

"You would deny that to future generations?"

"I would deny nothing. The Gaerda has already noted that our various forebears were less than accommodating in that respect."

"The Gaerda does tend to focus on immediate results, with sometimes less than desirable results, although as its ultimate supervisor, the Minister of Protective Services seems often to have to offer his regrets. Too often, some have said."

"He is good with regrets, but regrets can be of little consolation, especially in such small matters as, shall we say, an unregistered cloning…or more precisely a majority cloning registered as a partial regeneration. Not that such is illegal, unless, of course, legal personage is an issue."

Maarlyna…sooner or later…but more than a few senior ministers have "unregistered" clones of some sort… "As you say, Minister, regrets offered after the act are often of little consolation."