Christopher Nuttall - A Learning Experience

“We could find quite a few uses for antimatter,” Kevin mused. “And it would create some interesting problems for anyone who wanted to attack us.”

“Good,” Steve said, briskly. “How long until we can start mass-production of antigravity units?”

Carolyn considered it. “Give us a few months to produce a finalised design, one attached to a computer specifically designed for monitoring and adjusting the field if necessary,” she said. “And then we can start churning them out on demand.”

“By then,” Kevin put in, “Markus thinks we will have quite a few orbital stations in place to start producing whatever we want.”

He shook his head in awe. He’d never realised just how quickly the high-tech firms would move to capitalise on the promise of space-based industries, now space travel had become almost routine. American, European and Japanese firms were scrambling to win contracts and request factories on the moon, while the rest of the planetary economy was struggling to come to terms with the chances wrought in just a few months. Given time, Kevin suspected, most of the planet’s industry would be in space. That, he hoped, would please the Greens.

And once we start fitting antigravity units to cargo aircraft , he thought, we will soar into outer space .

They wouldn’t be able to control it, he suspected, past a certain point. But they wouldn’t have to.

“Very good,” Steve said. “But how is it compared to Ying?”

Kevin sobered. “Very poor,” he said. “But Ying has been colonised for over a thousand years.”

“By a handful of rogues, criminals and refugees,” Steve said. “And yet they have a much more advanced industrial base than Earth.”

“I know,” Kevin said, flatly. “But we have to start somewhere.”

He watched Steve’s back as he moved from section to section, exchanging words with the researchers and discussing the future with the more personable scientists. If Kevin hadn’t known better — and he wasn’t sure he did know better — he would have said that Steve was depressed. Why would Steve be depressed? He was on the verge of making his dream real!

But he also knows how close he came to damnation , Kevin thought, glumly. That isn’t good for anyone .

They reached the section monitoring the alien POWs, where they were met by a handful of sociologists and psychologists. Steve listened with apparent interest as they told him how some of the POWs had started to show cracks in their mental conditioning, but Kevin knew better. Steve was only pretending to be interested; the rote responses he offered to their words only confirmed it. Kevin was rather more interested in the long-term implications if they did manage to humanise the Hordesmen, but Steve seemed unconcerned.

He needs a holiday , he thought, as they left the section. But where can he go ?

“Steve,” he said, finally. “You’re working too hard.”

Steve gave him the look he’d always given his younger brother, back when Kevin had been old enough to talk, but not old enough to tell the difference between a really good idea and a recipe for disaster.

“I think I have too much to do,” he said, waving a hand around to indicate the lunar colony. “And where would I go, anyway?”

“Find an isolated desert island and go there for a few days with Mariko,” Kevin advised. “I think the Maldives have places for millionaires who want to be completely away from the rest of the world. You could book one, then go there and relax.”

“I could try,” Steve said, “but how could I leave this untended?”

Kevin sighed, inwardly. His brother had never been good at simply abandoning his responsibilities, which was at least partly why he’d had to leave the Marines. He could be stubborn, thick-headed and generally idiotic at times, although he was genuinely devoted to his friends and the ideal of his country. But it also made him unwilling to delegate authority more than he had to.

Or , Kevin thought, to take a holiday he desperately needs .

“You have created a staff,” he said. “Edward will handle mercenary recruitment, Charles will handle all other recruitment, I will handle intelligence, Rochester will handle the colony…”

“You’ve made your point,” Steve snapped.

“If something happens that requires your attention, you will be called back to the ship,” Kevin added. “Until then, you can just relax and take it easy for a few days.”

“I don’t notice you doing that,” Steve muttered. It was the tone he’d used when his brothers were right and he knew it, but he was unwilling to say so out loud. “What about you too?”

“I rested on the flight,” Kevin said. On the starship, he’d been completely isolated from the concerns facing Steve and Mongo. “You, on the other hand, have always been monitoring your work. This is the time to take a rest.”

He said nothing else until they were in one of the offices and sitting down comfortably. “I think we’re going to have to base a permanent team on Ying,” he continued. “Both to hunt for starships we can buy, but also to keep track of galactic affairs. Maybe not an embassy, in the usual sense…”

“A spy mission,” Steve said. “But do you think the Galactics will notice?”

“I don’t think they care,” Kevin said. He shrugged. “Would we be really worried if the Maldives set up an operation in New York?”

Steve paused, clearly consulting his interface. “The Maldives are an Islamic nation,” he said, after a moment. “We might be worried if they opened a consulate.”

“Then use Andorra then,” Kevin said. “Somewhere so minor it barely registers.”

He shrugged. “We’d need a long-term presence there,” he continued. “And probably one in several more nearby star systems. And probably human traders, once we have more starships to use as independent ships.”

“I was daydreaming about becoming one,” Steve mused. “It would be something different… and it would be something away from Sol.”

Kevin nodded. Like it or not, Steve had effectively ruled as a dictator. Either he ran for election, when they finally bothered to hold elections, or he stood aside… but either way, he was going to cast a long shadow over Heinlein Colony and the planned Solar Union. It would be better, far better, if he disappeared from the solar system after the elections, leaving a clear field for the new government. A trading life wouldn’t be quite a return to the ranch, but Kevin had a feeling that was no longer a possibility. Steve wouldn’t be happy on the ranch after seeing the boundless immensity of space.

“It might be a good idea,” he agreed. “But for the moment, you need a break.”

He smiled. “I’ll sic Mariko on you if you don’t agree now,” he threatened. “I’m sure she’ll force you into it.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Steve countered. “I dare you to tell her she needs to take a break.”

Kevin stared at him, puzzled.

“She went back to New York as soon as we got some proper security in place,” Steve explained. “I couldn’t talk her out of it.”

“Oh,” Kevin said. Mariko might be small and slight, but she could be as intimidating as hell when she wanted to be, like pretty much every woman who lived on a ranch. And she was devoted to her medical work. “But…”

Steve smirked at him. “Be brave,” he said. “Don’t worry about a thing. Little boy with big job to do…”

“Oh, shut up,” Kevin said.

Steve sighed. “I’ll convince her to come away with me this weekend, all right?”

“If you’re brave enough to try,” Kevin said. “But really, you need to take a week.”