James Hogan - Entoverse

“He thinks she’s what she says: a starry-eyed broad with big ideas about being a book writer,” Scirio said. “They talked politics. He gave her some names to check out that she could have found in the directory.”

“She is registered as an author in the hotel at Geerbaine,” Iduane offered in a tactful attempt to support Scirio. “She’s there independently under her own name, and she traveled on her own from Seattle, USA.”

“I say she’s clean,” Scirio said. “Hell, we’ve got a lot to do.”

Eubeleus remained dubious, but didn’t take the matter further for the moment. Afterward, however, he said to Iduane, “I’m not happy about that woman. Check with our other sources in PAC and see if they have anything on her. Get back to me on it today.”

Hunt made a gesture of appeal across the desk in Garth’s office. Del Cullen, whom Hunt had rounded up and brought with him for moral support, watched from one side. “Look, I know it’s underhanded and not the kind of thing that a Ganymean feels comfortable about, but we have to find out what they’re doing,” Hunt urged. “Hell, the Jevlenese eavesdropped on our whole planet for fifty thousand years! What right do they have to get upset over a few tapped wires around one city?”

“We need better sources,” Cullen agreed. “A break like this isn’t quite an intelligence man’s dream, but you play with what you’ve got.”

Garuth had just heard from Calazar that JPC’s reaction to Eubeleus’s offer to remove to Uttan was favorable. Eubeleus had made the point that if the object was to defuse the tensions on Jevlen, one small demonstration of good faith now would have more effect than a torrent of good intentions and promises of doing things later. To emphasize his own sincerity, he was prepared to move himself away from the scene immediately, with a token advance guard of followers. The Thuriens thought his offer magnanimous and were arranging for a ship to be sent to Jevlen to take them. Privately, Calazar had confessed to Garuth that he wasn’t completely comfortable about it, but it seemed that the farther away from Jevlen Eubeleus was in the immediate future, the less mischief he would be able to do.

Garuth didn’t trust Eubeleus any more than Hunt did, but at least the relocation would remove the man from being Garuth’s responsibility for the foreseeable future, and so Garuth had no reason to object. Meanwhile, he would be able to concentrate on his own problems. All the other lines they had tried had drawn blanks. A clue could only come from out there in the city. Distasteful as he found the suggestion, it was a human problem to do with a human world, and it probably required human methods.

“Very well. Do it,” he instructed ZORAC.

Hunt grinned faintly. But it really wasn’t a lot to go pinning hopes on. All it meant was that Baumer, and maybe another Terran or two out in the city, might say something to a Jevlenese that was useful. The situation was purely passive. Hunt could tell that Cullen found it as unsatisfying as he did. He looked across and pulled a face.

“What else can you do?” Cullen said.

“Oh, I don’t intend just sitting here, waiting for something to come in,” Hunt told him. “We’ve already agreed where the answers are. I think it’s about time that we went out and looked for them. Tomorrow morning, I’m going out to talk to some people I know in the city. We’ll see what I can find out there.”

Late that evening, Eubeleus and Iduane met again. “Yes, she was there,” Iduane said. “The day before she went to see Baumer, she was at PAC. And she returned to PAC afterward. There is a UNSA scientific group there that she met on the Vishnu.”

“Ah. So what kind of a book is she writing, and who for?” Eubeleus asked.

“Maybe what she says. They’d be able to get her some help. She’s a stranger here. Wouldn’t it be natural for her to go to people she knew?”

“Well, I’ve been doing a little checking of my own.” Eubeleus said. “And do you know who this UNSA group are?” The look on Iduane’s face said that he didn’t. Eubeleus nodded. “Then I’ll tell you. Have you ever heard of Dr. Victor Hunt? Or Professor Christian Danchekker? Just scientists, you think? They were the ones who uncovered the Earth surveillance and brought down the Federation. The man they both reported to was a UNSA chief by the name of Caldwell. He was also one of the architects of their strategy in what they call the ‘Pseudowar.’ And do you know who sent them to Jevlen now? The same Caldwell. Now do you think I’m being over cautious? They are dangerous, and so is anyone connected with them.”

Iduane emitted an uneasy breath. “What do you want to do?” he asked.

“Let’s get the woman here and find out for ourselves what she’s up to,” Eubeleus replied.

“Shall I get Scirio to arrange something?”

Eubeleus thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No. We’ll leave him to just run Baumer. If she’s that well in, I’d rather we took care of her ourselves. Perhaps you could handle it personally. Use the German, since she knows him already, but through a different contact. I don’t want Scirio’s people involved.”

“I’ll get working on it right away,” Iduane promised.

The next day, while Hunt was away in the city, Gina and Sandy had lunch together in a drab cafeteria on the level below PAC’s residential sector. The food was plain and monotonous. When anyone complained to the Jevlenese catering staff about it, they were told that the supply system was messed up. It had become usual to attribute every failure and discomfort to JEVEX’s being shut down.

“Squid shit and processed shoebox again,” Sandy said, looking down at what was supposed to be a sandwich. “It’s not really what you’d expect when you come all this way, is it? Our guys did better down the ice hole on Ganymede.”

“How did you ever end up at a place like Ganymede?” Gina asked curiously.

“When you work with people like Chris and Vic, anything’s possible.”

“Yes… I think I can believe it.”

“Well, look at you. You’ve known Vic for a week. Here you are.”

Gina looked around. “You’re right. It’s sure a lot different from the Vishnu, I have to admit.”

“Although I think ZORAC is, somehow… ‘cuter’ than VISAR. It cracks jokes. Did you ever hear of a computer that cracks jokes before?”

“Maybe being stranded in space for twenty-five years affected it,” Gina said. “The Ganymeans would be okay. They could handle it. I’m beginning to get the feeling that a lot of things that would completely screw us up in the head don’t bother them at all.” She inspected a peculiar-looking yellow fruit with orange lobes. “Although we still have the direct link to VISAR here.”

They munched in silence for a while, exchanging grimaces over their respective dishes.

“I haven’t been near VISAR since we arrived,” Sandy said.

She spoke in an odd, pointed tone, as if she were trying to convey something deeper to test Gina’s reaction. It took Gina a few seconds to register the fact. Her expression changed, but before she could say anything, Sandy went on. “How well did you get to know VISAR when we were on the ship? It’s not just ZORAC with a different I/O system, you know. Did you take any time to… experiment with it at all?”

Gina stopped eating and stared across the table, interrogating Sandy’s face silently. “Experiment with it?” she repeated.

“Yes.”

“It depends what you mean.”

Sandy answered in a way that sounded as if she had been wanting to bring the subject up with somebody for a long time. “Do you have any idea of just how weird that thing is, once you get into it? You’re so right: the Thuriens must be a lot different from us up here.” She tapped the side of her head. “People don’t realize how different.”