Urquhart met her when he toured a juvenile incarceration facility. They were already talking about a partial personality reconstruction. He was apparently impressed by something he saw in her, persuaded the authorities he’d take responsibility for her.
And he did. It was a bumpy ride, but he got her through high school. A few years later she completed her degree work, and eventually he got her the appointment to Ko-Li.”
He ran a clip. Maddy on a ship’s bridge being interviewed for a show to be presented at the Berringer Air amp; Space Museum: “I owe everything to him,” she said.
“Had he not come forward, God knows what would have happened to me.”
The Department of Planetary Survey and Astronomical Research was a semiautonomous agency, one-quarter supported by the government and the rest by private donation. In an age when disease was rare, the great majority of kids had two parents, and everybody ate well, there were few charities for those who enjoyed helping out, which seems to be a substantial fraction of the population. Makes me hopeful for the future when I think about it. But the point is that social conditions meant there was lots of money available for kids’ athletic associations and research organizations. Of those, none was quite as visible or romantic as Survey, with its missions into unexplored territory. There are tens of thousands of stars in the Veiled Lady alone, enough to keep us busy well into the future. And, if the history of the last few thousand years is any indication, we’ll probably keep at it indefinitely. It’s always been an effort that engages the imagination, and you never really know what you might find. Maybe even Aurelia, the legendary lost civilization.
Survey was controlled by a board of directors representing the interests of a dozen political committees and the academic community and a few well-heeled contributors. The chairman, like the director, was a political appointee, rotated out every two years. He, or she, had a nominal scientific background but was primarily a political animal.
Survey’s administrative offices occupied six prime acres on the north side of the capital, along the banks of the Narakobo. Its operational center was located halfway across the continent, but it was in administration that policy decisions were made, where the missions were approved, and the choices taken as to where they would go.
It was where technical personnel were recruited to man the starships and researchers came to defend their proposals for missions. There was also a public information branch. The latter was the unit Windy worked for, the people who were running the auction.
Survey had moved its headquarters about three years earlier from a battered stone building in center city to its current exclusive domain. Alex liked to think it had something to do with a resurgence of interest in heritage, sparked by his work on the Christopher Sim discoveries; but the truth was that a different political party had come to power, promises had been made, and real estate is always a good showpiece.
But I’d never tell him that.
As requested, we showed up fifteen minutes early and were conducted into Windy’s office by a human being rather than the avatar that usually got the assignment if you weren’t somebody they especially cared about. Windy was in a white-and-gold evening gown.
I should comment that Alex always knew how to dress for these occasions, and-if I may modestly say-I looked pretty good myself. Black off-the-shoulder silk, stiletto heels, and just enough exposure to excite comment.
I got a knowing smile from Windy, who made a crack about the hunting available that night. Then she was all innocent modesty while Alex fondled her with his eyes and told her how lovely she looked.
The office was illuminated by a single desk lamp. She might have turned up the lights, but she didn’t. Everybody looks more exotic when you can’t see too well.
“Who gets the proceeds?” Alex asked, when we’d settled into chairs. “From the auction?”
“Not us,” she said.
“Why not? Where’s it go?”
“Survey is funded by the Council.”
“I understand that. But the Polaris was Survey’s baby. It’s your equipment. Your mission. Anyhow, the bulk of the funding comes from private sources.”
Windy sent out for a round of drinks. “You know how it is with government,” she said. “In the end, they own everything.”
Alex sighed. “So what’s the occasion for the party? Who’s in town?”
She had a malicious smile for that one. “The Mazha.”
He did a double take.
I probably did, too. “He’s a thug,” I said. That got me a warning glance. Don’t make waves.
The Mazha was the ruler of Korrim Mas, an independent mountain theocracy on the other side of the world. It was one of those places that never changed, that hung on generation after generation no matter what was happening around it, that steadfastly refused to seek admission to the Confederacy, largely because they couldn’t meet the democratic requirements.
They believed that the end of the world was imminent and that the claim that humans had originated elsewhere was a lie. They denied the existence of the Mutes, insisting there were no aliens, and if there were, they wouldn’t be able to read minds.
The population lived reasonably well except that some of them disappeared from time to time, and nobody ever criticized the authorities. It was the oldest continuing government on Rimway. It had always been an autocratic state of one kind or another, its people apparently incapable of governing themselves. Every time they got rid of one dynasty, another bunch of gangsters took over.
“He’s a head of state,” Windy said. She waited for a response, got none, and went on. “He’ll be arriving shortly. When he gets here, they’ll show him to the director’s suite in Proctor Union. We’ll be there, along with the other guests. And, if he’s not averse, we’ll wander over and say hello.”
“Good of him,” I said. “What if I’m averse?”
Alex sent another cease-and-desist signal. “Why are we involved?” he asked. “Is he here to see the artifacts?”
“Yes. And to be seen at a Survey event.”
I commented that I thought he didn’t believe that starships existed.
“You’ll have to ask him about that.” She grinned, refusing to take umbrage. I knew her pretty well, and she would have skipped it herself had she been able. But Windy’s loyal. And she liked her job. “Actually, Alex, he’s heard of you. When the director mentioned you’d be here, he asked explicitly to be introduced.”
The drinks arrived. A sea spray for Alex, red wine for Windy, and dark cargo for me. Windy raised her glass. “To Rainbow Enterprises,” she said, “for its unwavering efforts in the search for truth.”
That was a little bit much, but we played along. I guess we needed a change of subject anyhow. I drank mine down and would have liked a refill, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to slow down my reflexes on a night when I was going to meet the most murderous individual on the planet.
The bureaucratic workings, however, made the decision for me. A second round arrived. And I took the lead this time: “To the passengers and captain of the Polaris, wherever they are.”
Alex drank his down, then stood, examining the glass. “I assume we’ve given up. Is there any kind of effort at all still being made to find out what happened?”
“No.” Windy drew the word out. “Not really. There’s an ad hoc committee. But it’s not going anywhere. They’ll respond if anything turns up. And every once in a while somebody writes a book, or does a show on it. But there’s no concerted effort. I mean, Alex, it’s been a long time.” She put her glass down. “When it happened, they sent the entire fleet out there. To Delta Karpis. They searched everywhere. Checked everything they could think of for light-years in all directions.”
“With no result whatever?”
“Zip.”