"The sooner the better. I'll send a limo."
"Now? But-"
"Thank you, Mr. Avery. I'll see you in a short while."
"Don't you love not having to make up your own mind?" Rana asked, grinning. Gale Chassik had the heavy look of someone who had done considerable physical labor during his life, which was incongruous in his case as he was a Solarian. Spacers did not get unnecessarily physical; they left that to their robots.
"I apologize for the circumstances, Mr. Avery," he said, pouring two glasses of amber fluid. He set one on the table beside Derec and took his own to the chair opposite. "Unfortunate times."
"How can I help you, Ambassador?" Derec asked, ignoring the glass. He folded his hands in his lap and waited.
"I wanted to have a talk with you about the Union Station RI."
"In what respect?"
"Your analysis of its condition. What you think happened."
"I have no idea what happened. "
"It's been two days-"
"Nearly three, Ambassador, and Phylaxis was removed from any involvement with it at the end of the first day."
Chassik frowned. His forehead seemed to contract. "Removed. But I understood-"
"Normally, Phylaxis Group would be doing the forensics, but Special Service assumed full control of the investigation and barred us from all the relevant material. Surely you knew."
"Your people have been working with us on decommissioning the mobile units. I assumed…"
Derec nodded. "To answer your question, sir, I have no idea what happened to the RI. The unit is a Solarian brain, isn't it? The company that did the original installation is removing it. Didn't they tell you any of this?"
Chassik snorted. "Terran regulations. They aren't allowed to discuss it with anyone, including me, until such as time as, et cetera. I'm sure you've heard the same excuses." He narrowed his eyes at Derec. "You aren't even doing oversight on its removal?"
"No, sir."
"Hmm. Odd."
"I can't disagree. "
"Well. Do you have any theories, Mr. Avery?"
"No, not even a hypothesis. At best I would be making a wild guess."
"Please."
"Somehow, coding was introduced into the RI that effectively distracted it from its primary responsibilities and redirected it. When the assault occurred, the RI was playing. It never saw what was happening."
"That's not possible."
"Again, I can't disagree. Without access to the unit, though, I can't begin to tell you why or how."
Chassik sipped his drink thoughtfully for a few moments. "Mr. Avery, I don't think I need tell you what sort of consequences we're looking at. I don't believe it's unlikely that relations with Earth could be severed."
Derec wanted to argue, but in truth what Chassik said seemed all too likely. One of the core issues of the conference, surrounded by all the trade talk and good will hype, was an agreement to allow robotic inspection of all Earth-Spacer shipping, in both directions. That meant allowing robots onto Terran vessels, a condition too few on Earth approved. It only seemed possible because of Eliton's efforts and the general esteem which Ambassador Humadros commanded and the fact that a great deal of money was involved. The Union Station RI and its satellite systems had been intended to showcase positronics on Earth, to "educate" Terrans and ease some of the prejudice. Now that it had failed so dramatically and catastrophically…
"I'm not sure what I could do to help, Ambassador," Derec said finally.
"Solaria stands to lose a great deal over this incident. Our reputation is at stake, here and at home. So you will understand my desire to know as much as possible about what happened. Would you be willing to do an analysis of the RI after it's been removed from Union Station? Off the record?"
"Off… I'm not sure I understand."
"On the quiet. I'm afraid it would not be authorized by anyone other than me. I could… 'borrow' the unit before it gets shipped back to Solaria."
"What good would that do? If I found something"
"Then it becomes my affair and I could do something with it. But without any knowledge of what happened, I'm helpless."
"It would have been better had the unit not been removed."
Chassik shrugged. "I can't stop it."
"Let me think about it, Ambassador," Derec said. "I'm not sure such an analysis would give you anything worth using. Off-site like that, without any kind of witness to the process, it could be claimed that anything I find is manufactured."
"Would it be?"
"What?"
"Claimed. You know these Terrans a little better than I, perhaps. You've been here longer."
"Think about it, Ambassador. Under similar circumstances, what would you claim? They aren't really that much different."
Chassik's eyebrows raised fractionally, but he nodded and smiled. "Don't take too long to give me your answer, Mr. Avery. There's a window of opportunity here."
"I understand, Ambassador."
Chassik pointed at the glass beside Derec. "You didn't touch your drink."
"It's a little early for me."
"Too bad. Something called Beam's Choice. I must confess, I don't find much about Earth superior, but they make fine whiskey." He finished his own glass. "A present from one of their industrialists. They like giving tokens here."
"When they can."
Chassik nodded and stood. "It was pleasant talking to you, Mr. Avery. And do let me know soonest on your decision."
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
Derec followed the waist-high mobile unit down the corridors to the elevator, trying to work loose the tightness between his shoulders. Nothing just said made any difference to anything; the entire meeting could have been done by comlink with the exception of the illicit offer to allow. Phylaxis access to the RI after its removal from Union Station. So that, Derec decided, had been the true purpose of the meeting.
Which made no sense if Special Service had impounded the RI. If they had not, then what was the purpose of assuming complete jurisdiction of the investigation? And if they had, how would Chassik get his hands on it? True, it belonged technically to Solaria and would eventually be shipped back, but not before Terran analysts ripped it apart. By then, any analysis Derec might perform would be useless. Nothing would be left to analyze.
Derec rode the elevator down to the garage, his unease increasing. Chassik had to have known Phylaxis was barred from the investigation. Well, there was truth to the implication of bureaucratic territoriality-it was possible no one from Special Service, the Station, or his own people had told him anything-but surely Ariel would have said something, being the liaison from the Calvin Institute.
Too many things made less and less sense.
"Where would you like me to drop you, sir?" the limo asked him.
Derec hesitated. "What time is it?"
"Nine-ten, sir."
Two hours at least before his meeting with Ariel, all the way north of the Capitol Mall to Franklin Park. That was a good thirty-minute drive…
"Ford Theater, please."
"Yes, sir."
The limo started up and headed for the exit.
Eighteen
Ariel waited nervously at a small table by a massive pillar and watched the throngs enter and leave the sprawling kitchen. It had been years since her last visit to one of these huge communal dining areas; the place triggered memories-some pleasant, others unwelcome and long neglected.
Derec wandered in with a crowd of school kids who were all dressed in bright blue-and-yellow jumpers and wearing their ID badges prominently around their necks. He got in the queue, picked up a tray, and went through the line.
He drifted by her table, then looked again. He made an exaggerated grin and ambled over, everything about him suddenly announcing salacious intent.
"Excuse me, but I couldn't help notice," he said, just a bit too loudly. A few people turned to look, then as quickly turned away. "You look lonely. Mind if I join you?"