April 6: And What Goes Around (30 page)

"Just a few
sailors sick and the ship may not sail to take the grain or flour to the
country that will lift it to us. All those ships, combines, trucks, ships,
mills and factories can stop running if any need parts or repairs and the
specialists who repair that link in the chain are sick. Not to mention various
governments might stop the movement of such goods in panic, worried they will
be needed for themselves and forbid their export. Others may seize them passing
through.

"Companies
may hold back goods on small  accounts worried they won't be able to supply
their best customers, or hoping to make more for their goods if prices are
headed up. Some may cut us off because they have to short
somebody
, and
they just don't like spacers, so they pick us. Or if a company wants to price
gouge they may sell to us, but quote a very high price because spacers are seen
as being high income and can afford it. That simplifies it, but does that touch
on some of what you wondered?"

"If that's
the simplified version it's a mess," Barrington said, visibly dismayed.

"It's a very
complex distribution system and every step is necessary. The more efficient it
is the more
delicate
it becomes. They eliminate waste by having no
excess capacity and scheduling every hour. If part of it does break down the
other parts can't pick up the slack," Jon said. "They are also often
forbidden by law or regulation from doing so. Governments impose such things as
regulations that only their own flagged vessels may carry grain. With no
provisions for exceptions and emergencies."

"I had no
idea. Thanks for the explanation," Barrington said.

"Mr. Carlo,
on com," Muños picked next.

"Does this
apply to Home citizens too? If I go to ISSII to do some business do I have to
isolate myself upon returning? Or is it just for Earthies?" he asked.

"Dr. Lee?
Would you address that?" Muños said.

"Although none
of the other habitats have experienced an outbreak of this flu, or at least have
not publicly acknowledged it has reached them yet, we see no barrier to it
spreading there. None of them are doing any more than checking for symptomatic
arrivals. That simply doesn't work with a disease that is contagious before the
infected display symptoms. When, not if, it is in other habitats I beg you to
not to put yourself at risk visiting there. You'd have to be isolated for the
incubation period upon returning. Unless you catch it and survive so you have
immunity. The flu virus knows no nationality."

"I couldn't
support this then," Carlo said. "My business depends on travel and
I'd need to go off again before one isolation period was done. I'd be in
constant isolation."

Muños looked at
his com board, surprised and then over his shoulder at Jon Davis. "You
have a comment, Mr. Davis?"

"I mean this
seriously, not as an attack on you or a smart remark, but you might consider a
temporary change of residence to another hab that will allow you to move about
freely if this measure is passed by the Assembly. I know you are an asset to
Home. That would just be a very hard way to live for as much as a year. What
would be the point of it? But don't discount the possibility you'll catch it. Do
you have any reason to feel you're immune? Even if you do survive it you'll be
too sick to be doing any business for some time, and there is a substantial
chance you won't be doing
any
business again because it will kill
you."

"Actually, I
do think I may have some immunity," Carlo Davis revealed. "I had the
mouse flu and survived it. If this is a very closely related version I may
either have outright immunity or it will at least be much milder. Don't you
think Dr. Lee?"

Lee looked
interested. "Yes, that's a possibility. Not that I'm encouraging you to
take the risk, especially if you have had any of the elements of LET, but I'd
be very interested in seeing how the disease progresses in you. As crazy as it
may sound one of the ideas Dr. Ames and I discussed is the possibility of using
deliberate infection by one of the varieties of mouse flu still circulating to
confer immunity instead of a vaccine. It's a desperate measure but if spread on
the survival rate between those having been infected with the mouse flu is
greater than the morbidity of the new virus alone it is a net gain. I'd
consider it an unorthodox treatment however."

"If I get
infected I'll be sure to tell my caregiver to send you a report," Carlos
said with a rueful smile. "As far as you Jon, I don't take offense. It's
practical advice. I'd already entertained the idea."

"Mrs. Osgood,
in the audience," Muños moved on.

"Mr. Davis, will
China or North America take this as voiding our treaties with them? Didn't we
guarantee free travel to Home for their people too?"

"They may
raise objections, but we aren't going to shut the hatch on them entirely. The
treaty actually covers freely
crossing
our territory, and economic
freedom, but not immigration. In fact they excluded dual citizenship. We'll
accept people who aren't visibly sick. The two hotels can accommodate quite a
few comfortably. A short isolation wait to full entry is not exclusion. If they
are just passing through we can assist that pretty easily without exposing
ourselves. We even have provisions for people actually ill. Just limited in
number. No nation will argue sovereign states can't exclude contagious disease
carriers at their border. They won't give that right up themselves."

"Where
is
our border?" Osgood asked. "It seems silly to me to turn people away
at the airlock. Why don't they get tested for the virus or serve an isolation
period
before
getting on a shuttle to come here? It just makes sense to
spread the load out to another hab – like New Las Vegas – that has much more temporary
accommodations than we do. It saves a wasted seat and expense of a shuttle ride
too."

"Yes, it
seems silly to us too," Jon agreed. "But ISSII and New Las Vegas both
refuse to do actual swab testing at the gate for departing flights. Even though
they have security present there already. Given the extraordinary danger we
would like to know what the assembly thinks of maintaining a consular officer
on both habitats to do such testing for the duration of the emergency. I think
both administrations would agree not to board rejected passengers as long as it
is our people responsible for doing the testing. The way traffic control works
we can refuse them clearance to leave from this end if we don't get a message
from our man at the gate that the passengers were cleared."

Joan Osgood looked
skeptical. She was a grey haired lady in her fifties and one of the few people
in the room obviously lacking LET. She ran a personnel service and had a strong
personality. "Maybe you could hire local security services to act as our
consular officers. All the arguments you made against John Carlo going off
station apply to somebody from here being a consular officer. You might not get
any takers for the job. Besides, I don't see that we need an actual consulate
with an expensive office and full time hours. Just someone with limited
authority to act on our behalf showing up at the dock for flights to Home
should suffice."

"That is
exactly the sort of suggestion we were hoping to get from the Assembly. I think
that would be an excellent way of doing this," Jon said. "It would
bring it within the budget of my office to do."

"Mr. Justine,
on com," Muños picked next.

"I'm an actuary,"
Justine said. He was olive skinned with thick black eyebrows that went straight
across and scowling a bit at the camera. "I'm off subject a little. You
are looking at what to do right
now
, short term. But if this particular
strain gets established as a regular seasonal variety you are going to have to
be prepared to handle what that means to us later. Yes, we have a very high
percentage of population with LET. But that is still what? Maybe twelve or
fourteen hundred and rising? Even with all the laws and restrictions Earth has
a
lot
more gene mod people than us.

"If Home is
the only safe place these people will have the connections to know it and the
wealth to come here. We better be prepared for a huge influx over the next
couple years. On the plus side they will be wealthy enough to pay their own
way. But, beyond those who have LET now. In the future if Earth is too
dangerous for anyone with LET they will see leaving Earth as a necessity when
getting the mods. The two will just go hand in hand. Keep that in mind and
don't do anything now that will keep us from dealing with that in two or three
years," he disconnected before anyone replied.

"That is an
interesting line of reasoning," Muños said. "I'll be in contact soon
and would like to discuss that further with you, Mr. Justine." Is there
further discussion on our immediate needs?"

"Ms. Horton,"
Muños said.

"It's late. I
think we have the basic problem outlined. I move to vote. I hope most of us are
not stupid enough to sacrifice a fifth or more of our neighbors to a
philosophic gesture of openness. If I would lose any of my family to such
foolishness the nay voters will have to answer to me personally," she
warned, with a face that was scary. Voting was not anonymous on Home and her
second business was combat handgun training, so that was a plain threat, not
veiled at all.

"Mr.
Duval," Muños said.

"Agreed and
seconded. Let's vote and put this Assembly to bed."

"On the
matter of establishing entry restrictions, and when necessary quarantines. Also
such supporting measures as hiring consular officers. How do you people
say?" Muños said by formula.

April and Jeff
both punched their votes in their pads without consultation.

"Any danger
they'll refuse it?" April asked Jeff.

"I can't
imagine that. These people have reasonable self interest. They live in a high
risk environment and balance and weigh risk every day. What will be interesting
is seeing how many will vote to die. I'm sure there will be a few. There are
still some with Earth Think clinging to them."

The early vote
went strongly yes. When the yes count passed a thousand there were three nays. At
sixteen hundred the vote tapered off. It had passed so no more votes were
really needed to decide it. Then at the end there were a handful of nay votes
that delayed the vote closing. When no more votes came in for thirty seconds
the poll automatically closed.

The vote was 1631
yes, 43 no.

"That was
weird. Why was there that little flurry of nay votes at the end?" April
asked.

Jeff made a
derisive little snort. "That was the people who wanted to make a statement
of principle, but waited to make it until it was ineffective for sure, because they
don't really have the courage of their convictions. They want to both live and
look righteous."

"I'm not
going to look up who did that," April decided. "I don't want to know.
I couldn't keep a straight face if I have to talk to them."

"I like that
about you," Jeff said, giving her a little nuzzle.

"
What?
"
April asked, looking at Jeff mystified.

"That you're nicer than me."

* * *

"
Yuki-onna,
please replay the last conversation between myself and specialist
Anderson," Charlotte Dobbs requested. The ship obliged.

"
Yuki,
do a hard erase and overwrite of that recording," Charlotte ordered.

"That is a
prohibited action," the ship's computer said.

"I'm
commander. You will do my bidding," Charlotte said, and waited.

"Well?"

"Well what,
Commander?" Do you require a response?"

"Yes, I said
erase that recording,
Yuki
. I order it as commander."

"That
recording is tagged as part of the ship's log. It also has been tagged on
behalf of Specialist Anderson as part of a dispute. Nobody is authorized to
erase it including the commanding officer."

Charlotte
considered any other way she might parse the order so that the very literal
artificial stupid would accept it. There just didn't seem to be any way to do
so. If she couldn't get the ship to erase the necessary records for her then
she would physically hunt the memory down and destroy it herself.

"
Yuki-onna,
define for me which hardware is part of flight operations and navigation
and which part contains the ship's log."

"There are
two separate duplicate computer systems with three sets of memory for each
system," the computer replied. "Ship's log and other data share the
same memory units with controls and navigation. One set of memory for each
computer resides in the same case with the processing unit. One is on the
flight deck and the other system that can be hot switched is located in a
galley cupboard, separated to avoid both being lost in the event of major
damage to the ship. A third and spare processing unit is securely held in a
safe in engineering. Backup memory for the active processors is located in
locked cabinets in the suit room and the sick bay and kept synchronized by
fiber. The remaining memory units or how they are synchronized are not mapped
on my ship's plans."

"You don't
know
where they are,
Yuki-onna
?" Charlotte asked, surprised.

"I do
not,"
Yuki-onna
affirmed.

"Why would
they do that?"

"There is
nobody in the compartment with you. Is that question addressed to me?"
Yuki-onna
asked.

"Yes, it is,
Yuki
,"
Charlotte said a little peeved with the AI.

"That
involves speculation beyond my ability,"
Yuki-onna
said.

"Shit."

"I do not recognize that as a question or command,"
Yuki
said.