Mutant Star (26 page)

Hawkins smiled. “Yes, I felt the same thing. But it’s even more splendid. Like a woman after you come to know her intimately.”

“That’s more sentimental than I’d expect from a hardened space pilot.”

“I prefer the term romantic.”

She gave him a kittenish look. “Did you invite me here for romantic reasons?”

“Partially. And practical ones as well,” Hawkins said. “I know that your program at Berkeley is severely compromised—”

“In other words, finished.”

Hawkins nodded. “And I’m sure that you would prefer to get back to work as soon as possible.”

Her green eyes sparkled. “You understand me better than I’d realized.”

“I hope so. Eva, I’m going to make you an offer I rarely make to anyone.” Hawkins’s right hand was trembling a bit, whether from excitement or a strange nervous tension, he couldn’t tell. “I’d like to build a lab for you here. To provide you with facilities to continue your investigation into flare phenomena. Or anything else that interests you.”

She looked at him with surprise. “What? I’m not sure I understand you.”

“You can have your lab back, Eva. Here. Now.”

“And in return?”

“Nothing.”

“Hard to believe.”

“Then perhaps I understand you better than you do me,” he said. “I’m not above demanding business favors in return for my patronage. But they are business favors. Not personal.”

“I see.” Eva’s cheeks reddened. “Sorry.”

“You’d be on Aria Corp.’s payroll. Ostensibly, I’d be your boss.”

“And in reality?”

“You’d be a free agent. I won’t muck around with your research. If you go over budget, we might have to talk. But I assume we’d agree upon baseline funding that would more than provide for what you need.”

She leaned toward him. “And what about what you need, Ethan?”

“Is that a personal or professional query?”

“Both.”

He reached out and traced the line of her jaw with a gentle finger. She shivered but did not pull back.

“I thought you didn’t demand personal favors,” she said. Her voice was almost a whisper.

“I’m hardly demanding. As I said, you’re a free agent, Eva. And the last thing I want from you is a favor.”

The impulse to caress her further was strong. He fought it and pulled his hand away. She moved quickly, suddenly reaching out to place her hand over his. Her look was direct, almost unnerving. “Did I tell you I wanted you to stop?”

“No.”

Her lips curved in a tiny smile. “Then don’t, until I do.”

***

The shuttle docked smoothly at Hawkins’s Pavilion. As Julian came through the orange airlock he saw Rick, wearing a blue Aria Corp. stretch suit, waiting by the door. His brother looked well rested and content. Perhaps his fears for him had been phantoms after all.

They hugged briefly.

“That old twinsense,” Julian said. “I should have known you’d be waiting.”

Rick grinned. “Yeah. The hair on my neck stood up and I just had a feeling that you were on that shuttle. Although I’ve got to admit I’m surprised to see you. What brings you to space?”

“You.”

“Oh. I see.” Rick’s glance turned inward. He nodded shrewdly. “I guess it’s nice to be missed.”

There was a strange remote tone to his voice that rattled Julian. He grabbed Rick’s arm. Look at me, he thought. Don’t go away like that. “Oh, you’re missed all right,” he said, keeping his own voice light. “By Mom. And a few other people I won’t name. But I didn’t come to keep tabs. We’ve got to talk, Rick.”

His brother gestured broadly. “The floor is yours.”

“No. Not here.”

“Ah, you want privacy. Then step into my office.” Smiling oddly, Rick led Julian along the corridor, into the tube and up several levels, out onto another floor, and into a suite of rooms furnished with sturdy green wallcushions, low tables, and a brown jell sofa. They settled onto the sofa.

“Want a drink?” Rick said.

“Sure.”

Rick smiled his strange smile again and looked over at the mech unit by the wall. A door opened and an amber hypo levitated, drifted lazily like a floating jewel through the air, and came to rest nestled in Rick’s outstretched palm.

Julian stared from the hypo to his brother’s face. “So it’s true. You really have turned multi.”

“But it’s still a little surprising to see, isn’t it?” Rick’s expression was amused and sympathetic. “Congratulate me, Julian. I’m a new kind of mutant: Brand X. No powers for the first twenty-five years, but after that, watch out.”

“I don’t believe it.” Julian pressed the hypo against his arm and felt his muscles unkink as the alcohol moved through his bloodstream.

“Oh, believe it,” Rick said cheerfully.

“How do you feel?”

“Great.”

“No problem adjusting?”

Rick shrugged. “Not after the first shock wore off.”

“Everything is so strange,” Julian said. “So changed. Maybe it’s the effect of the earthquake. But even before that. In the lab I’ve been seeing the weirdest images lately while riding the flares. Nightmare scenes filled with people.”

“What’s strange about that? Isn’t that just the kind of thing you’ve been looking for?”

Julian turned to face him. “But I know these people, Rick.”

“Who are they?”

“You. Alanna. Skerry.”

“It’s a coincidence,” Rick said. “Or else your subconscious is playing tricks on you.”

“Rick, I’ve got the feeling something terrible is going to happen.”

“Worse than an earthquake?” His voice had a sharp edge to it. “Like what?”

“I don’t know,” Julian said. “I wish I did. What if these mental flares are the key to prophecy? I don’t know what to think. Why do I see the people I love, over and over again?”

“Good question,” Rick said. “Maybe something is going to happen.”

“Or maybe it already has.”

Rick looked at him in surprise. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know who our biological father is.”

“You do?”

“Yes. And you’re not going to like it.”

“But the records were lost, I always thought.” Rick frowned. “How did you manage to find anything out?”

“It’s a long story,” Julian said. “Let it pass for now. Does his name interest you or doesn’t it?”

“I guess. Old bio-dad? Better late than never. Who is he?”

“Hold on to yourself, Rick. It’s Skerry.”

“Skerry? He’s our daddy?” Rick gave a rueful chuckle. “I should have known. Really, I should have seen it.” He took a sip of beer and shook his head.

Julian watched, mouth open in shock. “Don’t you care?”

“Not really. Should I?”

“I don’t believe you, Rick.” Julian sat up, cold sober. “Don’t you understand what this means? What are you going to tell Alanna?”

Rick’s glance hardened. “Tell Alanna? Nothing.”

“But she’s your—our—sister.”

“What difference does that make?” Rick’s tone was icy.

Julian squirmed. Why was his brother being so thick about this? “Well, it’s incest, isn’t it?”

“So what? The chief objection to incest is genetic.”

“Well, there’s cause for that. You don’t want to conserve genetic flaws by inbreeding.”

“Yeah, but what about conserving genetic superiority?” Rick said. “I mean, didn’t the pharaohs of Egypt marry their sisters all the time? And Egypt was the strongest power in the world for thousands of years. Besides, who says Alanna and I are going to have kids?”

“But even if you aren’t,” Julian said. “She’s your sister, Rick. There’s a cultural taboo against incest.”

“The hell she’s my sister. Only technically. We didn’t grow up together. I didn’t see her around the house. I don’t think of her as my sister.”

“She is, though. And she’s here with you, isn’t she? It might make a difference to her.”

“Not to me.”

Julian stood up. “If you don’t tell her, I will.”

“Will you?” Rick’s eyes glittered.

Suddenly Julian was lying on the floor and the weight of a world’s gravity was trying to press his ribs against his spine. Rick loomed above him, gigantic, terrifying. His mindspeech sent thunderous echoes rattling through Julian’s skull.

You won’t tell Alanna anything, Brother. She’s mine. No one will take her away from me. No one. So pack up your cultural taboos and genetic merde and vanish! Stay out of my sight and stay healthy. Understand?

Weakly, Julian nodded.

Good. Thanks for the chat. Give my regards to Mom and Dad and Dad.

The room began to dim out around the edges. Then everything was dark and silent.

***

Julian awoke. He was sitting on a wallcushion near the shuttle lock. His brother was nowhere to be seen.

For a moment he wondered if he had dreamed the entire encounter and was about to go tell Rick the bad news. But no. No, it wasn’t a dream. Rick knew the truth. Julian hadn’t been prepared for his reaction, but his twin had thoroughly demonstrated how he felt about the information. Julian leaned back against the cushion feeling suddenly weary and lonely. Rick was a free agent. If he chose not to tell Alanna, that was his business. But sooner or later, she would learn the truth. She had to. And Julian profoundly hoped that he would be on the other side of the Moon when it happened. He had fulfilled his role as a messenger. It was time to go back to Earth and figure out what he wanted to do next.

“Julian!” a warm female voice cried. “Is that you?”

It was Eva Seguy, hurrying down the hall toward him. She was wearing a yellow Aria Corp. stretch suit.

She gave him a ferocious hug. “What are you doing here?”

“Shouldn’t I ask you that question?” Julian stared at her in amazement. “You didn’t tell me you were going away to Hawkins’s Pavilion.”

“I thought you’d try to stop me.”

“Damn straight. Eva, I thought we had an understanding …”

She put her hand over his mouth playfully. “Let’s talk about that later. Right now, I want to show you something.”

She took him by the arm and tugged him down the corridor, into a tube, and down another hall before stopping in a room filled with holoscreens. Eva pressed a keypad and every screen lit with a three-dimensional image of a schematic room design.

“Voilà.”

Julian peered at blueprints. “It looks like our lab.”

“It is. Or, I should say, it can be.”

“But Dalheim’s reassigned that floor space to Henderson’s program.”

“What?”

“He came in after the quake—after you’d gone—and told me.”

“The bastard,” Eva said. “He never did feel comfortable with this program. And I suppose he just thinks it’s the efficient thing to do. We can’t use the space as things are now and I guess Henderson can. But forget about Berkeley, Julian. Ethan—the colonel—he’s going to build the lab up here. Twice as big. Isn’t it wonderful? We can continue the research.”

Julian looked at her, aghast. “As part of Hawkins’s private little industry? No thanks.”

“But, Julian …”

“I thought you were the one so concerned about being co-opted by private investors. Or did I dream that?”

“I’ve got to be practical, Julian.”

He grabbed her hands. “There are other ways to be practical,” he said sharply. “I’m going to get my doctorate at the end of this year, and—”

“Julian, you know how much I believe in this research. If there’s any way to continue this program, then I’ve just got to do it.”

Julian released her. Something had happened up here. Something he didn’t like. “I don’t believe you.”

“Julian, don’t you see, I’m convinced that this research has enormous implications? For mutants and nonmutants alike. I can’t just stand by and watch somebody else complete what I’ve started. That’s what will happen. If I don’t do this, Hawkins will hire somebody else.”

“Has he said that?”

“No. But I can tell.”

“Eva, I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”

“I guess things change.” Her voice was soft. “I’d hoped you’d join me here, Julian.”

He rounded on her. “As what, Eva? Your lap-dog assistant? Somebody you can pick up and then put down as the whim takes you?”

“You’re getting hysterical.”

“What’s wrong with that? Must I remain well behaved and rational even when the woman I love treats me like skrag?”

She closed her eyes. “I told you I had misgivings about our getting involved.”

So that was it. Julian’s stomach turned to lead. “Yes, and now you don’t want any of the blame to get on you, do you?”

“I’m not the saint you think I am!” Her eyes flashed. “Julian, be realistic. I care about you. Both personally and as a colleague.”

“Are you saying we should resume everything up here?”