Reginald rubbed his chin. "No, of course not. You've got all the data..."
"Reggie, I'm not questioning you. I've read it." He turned to me. "The things you've seen, Jake..." he shook his head. He had that look in his eyes, the one that makes me uncomfortable.
"I couldn't help it. I was just a kid..."
"Good god I'm not blaming you! You aren't in any trouble. I'm not even blaming your parents."
"You..aren't?"
"No. Well, yes, I mean. It's illegal and blah blah. But it's done, isn't it? And how would we even start to punish them?" He waved a hand. "Ridiculous. Maybe eighty years ago it mattered. But what matters now is the wealth of information that is you."
I didn't like the sound of that. Once again, I felt like nothing more than an experiment.
"You can make that look all you want, young man. Hell, in your shoes, I'd probably feel the same. But we will ask you questions and we will study your biostats and we will learn from you."
"So I am being punished for the actions of my parents." He fell several notches in my estimation. But that was only temporary. I am what I am and there's no getting around that. I guess I just hated to hear that confirmed.
"It's not punishment. It's your role in the education of society. You are the key to making them unafraid, Jake. However, I can promise the next interview you have with the IOC will be just that...with the IOC. No more of these public hearings of ridiculousness. I'm not one to have the same debacle twice."
"I thought you weren't going to take the arbiter position?" said Reginald with a sly little smile.
"I won't. But I can assure you the person who does will be more willing to listen to sane advice than Lancaster." He glanced at his watch. "Good lord is it late! You must be wiped." He put his hand out and I shook it, then he turned to Reginald. "Come to see me in a couple days and we'll hash out the next step over a whiskey."
"Make it a scotch and it's a deal."
We turned and started the walk down the long hallway to an elevator. Once the doors were closed and we were alone, Reginald quickly grilled me.
"It'll be in all the news," I said. "There had to be a million cameras."
"Right. But we've got an hour long ride to Washington, DC right now and I'd like to be able to tell Chris a thing or two about the day. We need to have a plan."
"But Kudlow said he'd handle things..."
He laughed and shook his head. "You really don't know how things work here, Jake." I didn't take offense. He was right. "Yeah, he's going to do what he can. I think he's dreaming if he thinks it'll take the press a whole day to question other races. You didn't tell them, did you?" He looked very worried.
"All I said was that they exist..."
He swore, then swiped a hand over his face a took a quick breath. "It's not your fault. That sneaky bastard Lancaster had the whole thing planned. I knew it as soon as they changed the venue."
"I thought you changed it?"
He laughed. "You were supposed to think that." It made no sense and I said as much. "I said you don't understand how it works, and you don't. How could you? Most people on this damn planet don't really understand how it works. I'll put it in a little box for you and your mind can unwrap it later, okay?" The elevator door opened and we followed another hallway, walking slow enough for Reginald to say what he had to before we got to the transport.
I have been unwrapping it in my mind, with a little help from Ralph who actually seemed interested in it all. "Just a study in humanity, kiddo. You know how I love that."
Anyway, this is the gist. The IOC was created back in the days when StarTech actually started having some success under the leadership of Reginald's grandfather, John, and Justin Bradley. Once some highly advanced engines were produced which allowed safe, fast, and consistent travel to the Luna base, governments began to get nervous. "Of course. Think of the millions of ways that tech could have been abused," said Ralph. I suppose he's right. So the IOC was formed by people who were afraid of what could happen. Over the years, their minds were put at ease somewhat. People began to accept the advances and changes. Most importantly, they began to see that StarTech wasn't evil. They weren't trying to usurp any government. They weren't creating any weapons, none that could be used on Earth, anyway, and they weren't recruiting people who didn't want to be in their organization.
Then Reginald's father, Peter, took over. He had watched his father jump through hoops and grew up resentful of Earth. He pushed StarTech higher and father, but kept so many secrets that the IOC renewed it's fear. The damage almost lead to a governmental shutdown of all StarTech facilities. As a result, Reginald convinced his father to step down as head. That was fourteen years ago, and Reginald worked his butt off to gain the trust back.
"We're at a precarious point, Jake. They've seen everything my father hid. All of it. Every detail. And even that, even the secrets, were harmless to humanity. It wasn't easy, but it also was undeniable. Most of the IOC wants us to succeed. We're so very, very close." But there are "fundamentalists", he called them. People who still believed in the big, scary space. "And some of them are IOC members." He said there is a dance they have to do.
"There is the public image of StarTech, the public demands on the IOC, and then there's the truth of the matter."
"Can't the IOC just say they support StarTech?"
He laughed. "Of course not! They don't, for one. Oh, they allow us to do more and more. But they really do exist to keep us honest and to question everything, and I can't disagree with that. I saw what my father went through making his own little empire with no one to answer to. It eats a man up. There have to be rules, Jake. And I can't very well make my own, can I?"
It made no sense to me. Ralph got it. "He's afraid he'll become a power hungry tyrant. I can respect that."
"But I thought you want the IOC to let you do what you want," I said to Reginald.
"I want them to approve the good ideas. I also want them to keep shaking their heads at the bad ones. Humanity is not moving as fast as we are. It's frustrating. It's why I'd like to break free, and would if I could. Even then, though, I'd hope that the Utopians decided to form a council. I don't ever want to be the only one making decisions, Jake. I don't oppose democracy. Not at all. I just wish people were more ready than they are."
What I took from that is that to Reginald and StarTech, the IOC is the litmus paper of humanity. They are the test. They are the ones who let us know the speed people are willing to travel, how far they're ready to go.
We boarded the transport. Lynette was sitting alone with her head against the window. Her eyes were closed, but I didn't think she was sleeping. Marlon was sitting further up, bent over a terminal someone let him have. I bet it was Christophe, either as a reward or a distraction. He didn't even glance up when we walked in. Ralph patted my arm on my way past. He didn't have to say it. It was one of those "Good job, kiddo," kind of pats. I gave him a smile. Then I sat next to Lynette and took her hand. She didn't want to talk, but she didn't pull it away, either.
And then I had quiet. The transport pulled out. It was different from the sonic one we rode in on. This one had more luxury than function. We moved quickly, but the ride was far smoother than the other transport. The windows were tinted, but only slightly to take some of the glare off the blur. We could still see the landscape, just not bright enough to make us feel the vertigo we would have on the sonic train we took in. I leaned my head against the seat and let my mind wander over what Reginald said, think of the day, wonder what was coming, or how long I was staying, or...a billion half thoughts that flood in after a very long, very tiring day. Finally my mind gave up trying to think of anything but being hungry and where we were going.