The older of the two came around the table to greet him.
"I'm glad you could come," he said, smiling broadly. "My name is Charles Lever."
"I know," Kim said simply, returning his smile. <*
Old Man Lever; he was Head of the biggest pharmaceuticals company in North America, possibly in the whole of Chung Kuo. The other man, his personal assistant, was his son, Michael. Kim shook Lever's hand and looked past him at his son, noting how alike they were.
They sat, the old man leaning toward him across the table. "Do you mind if I order for you, Kim? I know the specialties of this place."
Kim nodded and looked around, noting the occupants of the next table down. His eyes widened in surprise. Turning, he saw it was the same at the next table up. A group of aristocrats now sat at each table. They had not been there before, so they must have slipped into their places after the Levers had arrived. There was nothing especially different about the way they dressed, yet they were immediately noticeable. They were bald. The absence of hair drew the eye first, but then another detail held the attention: a cross-hatching of scars, fine patterns like a wiring grid in an ancient circuit. These stood out, blue against the whiteness of each scalp, like some alien code.
Kim studied them a moment, fascinated, not certain what they were; he looked back to find Old Man Lever watching him, a faint smile of amusement on his lips. "I see you've noticed my friends."
Lever rose and went from table to table, making a show of introducing them. Kim watched, abstracted from the reality of what was happening, conscious only of how uniform they seemed despite a wide variation of features, of how this one thing erased all individuality in their faces, making things of them.
"What you see gathered here, Kim, is the first stage of a grand experiment. One I'd like you to help me in." The old man stood there, his arms folded against his broad chest, relaxed in his own power and knowledge, confident of Kim's attention. "These people are the first to benefit from a breakthrough in ImmVac's research program. Trailblazers, you might call them. Pioneers of a new way of living."
Kim nodded, but he was thinking how odd it was that Lever should do this all so publicly, should choose this way of presenting things.
"These," Lever paused and smiled broadly, as if the joke was all too much for him. "These are the first immortals, Kim. The very first."
Kim pursed his lips, considering, trying to anticipate the older man. He was surprised. He hadn't thought anyone was close enough yet. But if it were so, then what did it mean? Why did Lever want to involve him? What was the flaw that needed ironing out?
"Immortals," the old man repeated, his eyes afire with the word. "What Mankind has always dreamed of. The defeat of death itself."
There were whispers from the nearby tables, like the rustle of paper-thin metal streamers in a wind. At Kim's back the coiled and spiraling threads of light pulsed and shimmered, while waiters floated between the levels. The air was rich with distracting scents. It all seemed dreamlike, almost absurd. /
"Congratulations," he said. "I assume . . ."
He paused, holding the old man's eyes. What did he assume? That it worked? That Lever knew he was flouting the Edict? That it was "what Mankind had always dreamed of"? All of these, perhaps, but he finished otherwise. "1 assume you'll pay me well for my help, Shih Lever."
The son turned his head sharply and looked at Kim, surprised. His father considered a moment, then laughed heartily and took his seat again.
"Why, of course you'll be paid well, Shih Ward. Very well indeed. If you can help us."
The waiters arrived, bringing food and wine. For a moment all speech was suspended as the meal was laid out. When it was done Kim poured himself a glass of water from the jug, ignoring the wine. He sipped the ice-cold liquid, then looked across at Old Man Lever again.
"But why all this? Why raise the matter here, in such a public place?"
Lever smiled again and began eating his appetizer. He chewed for a while, then set his fork down. "You aren't used to our ways yet, are you? All this"— he gestured with his knife— "It's a marketplace. And these"— he indicated his "friends"— "these are my product." He grinned and pointed at Kim with his knife. "You, so I'm told on good authority, come with a reputation second to none. Forget connections." There was a brief flicker in the comer of one eye. "By meeting you here, like this, I signal my intention to work with you. The best with the best." He took a second forkful, chewed, and swallowed. Beside him his son watched, not eating.
"So it's all publicity?"
"Of a kind." The son spoke for the father. "It does our shares no harm. Good rumor feeds a healthy company."
Old Man Lever nodded. "Indeed. So it is, Kim. And it won't harm your own career one jot to be seen in harness with ImmVac."
Yes, thought Kim, unless the Seven start objecting to what you're doing and close you doitm. Aloud he said, "You know I have other plans."
The old man nodded. "I know everything about you, Kim."
It sounded ominous and Kim looked up from his plate, momentarily alarmed, but it was only a form of words. Not everything, he thought.
"It would be ... theoretical work," continued Lever. "The sort of thing I understand you're rather good at. Synthesizing-."
Kim tilted his head, feeling uneasy, but not knowing quite why he had the feeling. Perhaps the words had simply thrown him. He didn't like to be known so readily.
"We have a drug that works. A stabilizer. Something that in itself prevents the error catastrophe that creates aging in human beings. But we don't want to stop there. Longevity shouldn't just be for the young, eh, Kim?" There was a slight nervousness in his laughter that escaped no one at the table. The son looked disconcerted by it, embarrassed. To Kim, however, it was the most significant thing Lever had said. He knew now what it was that drove him.
You want it for yourself. And the drug you have won't give it to you. It doesn't reverse the process, it only holds it in check. You want to be young again. You want to live forever. And right now you can't have either.
"And your terms?" .
Again Lever laughed, as if Kim were suddenly talking his own language. "Terms we'll discuss when we meet. For now just enjoy this marvelous food. Dig in, Kim. Dig in. You've never tasted anything like this fish, I guarantee."
Kim took a bite and nodded. "It's good. What is it?"
There was laughter at the surrounding tables. Lever raised a hand to silence it, then leaned across the table toward the boy. "They only serve one kind offish here. Shark."
Kim looked across at the watchful faces of the new immortals, then back at the Levers, father and son, seeing how much they enjoyed this little joke.
"Like Time," he said.
"How's that?" asked the old man, sitting back in his chair, one arm curled about the eagle's wing.
"Time," said Kim, slowly cutting a second mouthful from the fish steak in front of him. "It's like a shark in a bloodied sea."
He saw their amusement fade, the biter bit, a flicker in the corner of the old man's eye. And something else. Respect. He saw how Lever looked at him, measuring him anew. "Yes," he said, after a moment. "So it is, boy. So it is."
TOLONEN climbed the twist of stairs easily, two at a time, like a man half his age. As he turned to say something to the leader of the honor guard, he realized he was alone. The stairs behind were empty, the door at their foot closed. Up ahead the corridor was silent, dimly lit, doors set off on either side. At the far end a doorway led through to the central control room.