Swallow the Sky: A Space Opera (5 page)

“I just can’t believe he would do that to me” said
Aiyana.

It was the day after Carson’s encounter with Juro. Aiyana, Carson, Asima, and Zhou were gathered round a console
in the Commissioner’s office. An hour earlier the clandestine recording device
had been removed from the dermal layer behind Carson’s right ear and the four
of them had listened to the previous evening’s conversation.

Even though he had been
careful to say nothing incriminating it was obvious that the clan elder had
masterminded the creation of the Aiyana replicant.

“I’ve been raped by my
own family” she wept. Asima put a arm round her shoulder and led her to a
corner of the room. The Security officer appeared almost as upset as Aiyana. She
was evidently a traditionalist and Juro’s blasphemous rant about the Covenant
had shocked her. The Commissioner and Carson talked quietly.

“There’s no way Juro is
doing all this just to force me to talk to some loopy academic. Hell, he could
have just bribed me.”

“So what then?”

“My guess is that he
wants me to steal whatever it was Kalidas tried to lift. That’s something I’d
never do without a gun to my head.”

Zhou nodded. “Is there
any credibility to his idea – could there be more Books?”

“Until last night I would
have said the whole idea was ridiculous. But here’s a guy with everything to
lose willing to commit murder, so God knows.”

“He may have already lost
everything” said Zhou.

“I’ve been talking to my
boss, the Cabinet Secretary for Internal Affairs. She tells me that old man
Juro has mortgaged his clan up to the hilt for that black hole foundry. Now the
project is three years behind schedule and bleeding funds. He may lose control before
it even goes into production. We think he’s desperate for money.”

“So do you want me to go
along with his plan?”

“I don’t think we have
any other option. We’ve the start of a case against him, but we need a lot more
evidence. Plus of course we know nothing of his conspirators. Who makes you a
replicant?”

“I’m hardly likely to
find that out on New Earth.”

“You won’t need to. We
just need to build a strong case against Juro: conspiracy to murder, conspiracy
to steal ancient artifacts, duplicating a human being and God knows what else. Then
with all that hanging over his head we sit down with his lawyers and make a
deal. If he were convicted on any of those charges he’d face total personality
reconstruction. We’re convinced he’ll cooperate rather than risk a guilty
verdict. Then we’ll get everyone.”

“Frankly” she added
“we’ve been trying to get Juro for a very long time – he’s been mixed up in
countless questionable ventures. You represent our best chance in years. Go to
New Earth and cooperate as fully as you can on his madcap search, even if it
means doing something illegal. We’ll be there to straighten things out with the
authorities. The more you get involved the more we’ll learn about his
machinations.”

The next day was a busy
one for Carson. He had brought with him a small selection of antiques to whet
the appetites of potential customers but now they were burdensome luggage. Consequently
he decided to unload the lot with a local dealer. The prices would not be good
but he was about to need a great deal of cash. He did manage to raise the total
by throwing in the dream machine although somehow he overlooked explaining how
it worked.

Polite conversation,
bargaining, and discussions about future (though completely fictitious) trades
took him all morning and it was nearly noon but the time he emerged blinking
into the pseudo-sunlight. As he headed to lunch a call came through from Aiyana.

“Hi Carson! How are you
today?” she said, sounding infinitely more friendly than she had the day
before.

“I’m doing okay” he
replied cautiously.

“Hey, I know I gave you a
hard time yesterday but you must understand why. Let’s start again. Can we meet
this afternoon?”

He was having a difficult
time believing her but on the other hand he had nothing to lose – his relationship with Aiyana was already at rock bottom – and he was intrigued to discover her real
motivation.

“Fine, where would you
like to meet?”

She shot him a location and signed off with more friendly chatter.

Two hours later they rendezvoused
outside a large store that customized homes with the latest in entertainment
technology.

“Hey, let’s go in” Aiyana
suggested.

For the next twenty
minutes Carson listened as Aiyana and a saleswoman discussed immersion
experiences that transformed an entire household into a viewing theatre, rather
like the shuttle on its descent to Kaimana.

“In addition, honored
customer, if you get the Dyna-Personality upgrade the system will be able to
sense which characters and dialog most appeal to you. This will allow
DP-enabled entertainments to seamlessly re-configure their narrative to reflect
your preferences.”

Finally, Aiyana changed
subjects.

“I believe, honored salesperson,
that you also market privacy rooms. Do have a demonstration?”

Carson immediately
understood Aiyana’s choice of meeting place and waited until the saleswoman
closed the door of the privacy room behind her. Silence enveloped them as they
were cut off from the electronic hubbub of the outside world. Hopefully, the
inane sales conversation had dulled Security’s senses but it was still wise to
assume they only had a few minutes.

“What’s on your mind?” he
asked.

“Are you going through
with this? Going to New Earth with Juro’s people?” she said, suddenly all
business.

He spent precious seconds
thinking hard. Even though the whole plot was Juro’s monstrous conception he
knew he carried his own portion of responsibility. If he wasn’t so predictable
when confronted with an attractive woman Aiyana would still be happily working
in the asteroid belt. At least he owed her the truth.

“Hell no, the moment I’m
no longer useful to him Juro would eliminate me exactly the same way he tried
with you. The man’s psychotic. I’m getting off-planet my own way tonight.”

“Won’t that wreck your
career? Turn you into a fugitive?”

“Not if I handle it
right. I plan to lay a false trail then bust out of here and head straight to
New Earth in my own ship. That way I not only fulfill my mail contact but also
stand a chance of sorting out what’s really going on before Mitan Security and
Juro’s goons catch up with me. If I succeed the authorities will forgive all
and Juro will have a whole new life. If there’s any truth to his crazy theories
I could even get rich.”

“And if you don’t
succeed?”

“Then I guess it’s time
for a new career” he replied “somewhere on the other side of the galaxy”.

“I want to go with you.”

“
What?
”

“Why the hell should I
stay? What’s here for me? I’ve been betrayed by my own clan for God’s sake! Even
if Juro is convicted do you think they’ll welcome my return?

“Anyways” she continued
“look at me – shoving asteroids around for a living. Do you know I’ve never
been outside the Mitan system in my entire life? I should have got out of here
years ago.”

“What about your family?”

“The clan was my family. That
all ended yesterday.”

Her face crumpled and she
turned away from Carson. He desperately wanted to comfort her but now was not
the time. What if he did take her, would it matter? After all, she was the only
real innocent in this mess. Security might charge her with witness evasion but
it was not likely, and perhaps she could help resolve things on New Earth. Even
if they failed the least he could do was get her safely away from Juro.

“Alright, we’ll do it.”

She turned to face him
again.

“You said tonight? How?”

“Meet me tonight in the
grounds of the hotel. There’s an area called Lover’s Nook.”

Aiyana raised an eyebrow.

“Minimal surveillance” he
explained with a grin.

“Be there at eight. Pack
very lightly. Try not to give any hint that we’re fleeing.”

“How will we –” she
stopped “There’s no time, we’d better get out of here.”

Carson opened the door
for her and they stepped out the privacy room.

“Why, what a coincidence!”
he said as they emerged “Here’s officer Sosimo!”

Sosimo glared at them. He
was still breathing heavily from his sprint into the store.

“Do that again and we’ll
hold both of you indefinitely at headquarters.”

“Surely a woman is
entitled to some secrets officer?” Aiyana asked with a smile.

Carson suppressed a
laugh. Sosimo muttered something inaudible as the three of them trooped out
past the perplexed saleswoman.

The security officer used
his official car to take Carson to his hotel.

“I will accompany honored
witness Aiyana to her new accommodation” he said as Carson stepped out. Sosimo’s
tone made it clear that there would be no discussion on this point. Moments
later the vehicle rose into the air and disappeared into the traffic overhead.

He walked into the hotel
lobby asked the counter for the concierge, certain that the luxury
establishment would have a human presence to deal with sophisticated requests.

“How can I help you
honored guest?” the minion asked as they sat down in his office. Judging from
his pleasant manner he had heard nothing about the discovery of Aiyana’s body.

Carson tried to look
sheepish.

“I was hoping to find a,
um, lady to spend the evening with. I wondered if you could recommend…”

The concierge was
unfazed.

“I quite understand. I am
happy to inform you that hiring a person for intimate companionship is perfectly legal on Kaimana. I’m sure your valet will be able to help you.”

“Yes” said Carson staring
down at his feet “but I was hoping to find someone a little more, well,
exciting – local color and all that. I was thinking perhaps of some
off-the-beaten-track establishment.”

“I’m sorry honored guest,
but the Caldera View cannot recommend…”

“But surely” Carson protested

The concierge relented.

“There is a bar called
the Twin Moons that I believe some of our guests have found satisfactory.”

“I’m most grateful” said
Carson and held up his hand. As they touched palms he transferred a hundred
Ecus.

The concierge cheered up
instantly.

“Remember, honored guest,
I made no official recommendation.”

Twenty minutes later Carson walked into the Twin Moons. He had spent his hundred Ecus well; located in a shabby
commercial district, he would never have found the establishment by himself and
his valet would never have dared suggest it. Despite it being early afternoon,
the place was busy. Several women and a couple of men sitting by themselves at
the bar gave him an appraising glance as he sat down and ordered a drink. Sipping
his wine, he stared at a three-dimensional pornographic display in the center
of the room and waited.

Within a few moments a
woman detached herself from her barstool, smiled, and came over to his table. Unlike
the cropped hair sported by most Kaimana women she had a positive mane that
reached halfway down her back. Individual strands glowed red, gold, and silver,
and appeared capable of changing color from moment to moment. As she sat down
he saw a centimeter of black at her scalp; time for a redo.

“Hi, I’m Larissa” she
said, stretching and arching her back. The gesture made her breasts thrust
forward, a ploy as old as time but one that still worked. Her appeal was
further enhanced by her birthday suit, an artful pattern of leopard skin spots
that revealed large areas of bare flesh.

“Miguel” Carson replied
smiling. Neither offered to touch palms.

“I haven’t seen you here
before – would you like some company?”

“Sure, I was hoping to
hire someone to talk to, possibly show me around a little.”

Larissa laughed.

“Your wife doesn’t
understand you Miguel?”

“One thousand for the
afternoon” Carson said. He placed an anonymous credit chip on the table. As
long as humans continued to exist there would always be cash.

She picked up the chip
and squeezed it, smiling as it confirmed its authenticity. He knew he was
overpaying but this was no time to haggle. Besides, Larissa had been the first
off the mark in the bar, which suggested she was no fool – he was going to need
that.

“Okay, where to lover?”

“You tell me. Can we get
a cab? This place is a little too public.”

She shrugged and picked
up her bag. Outside the bar Carson hailed a taxi. They climbed in and he told
it to hover while they talked.

“Larissa” he said, “I
need to get out of Kaimana without anyone knowing. Do you know anyone who can
help with that?”