The Lonely Whelk (12 page)

She gazed up through the windows into the
vast darkness of nothing that surrounded them, in which massive
world-eating and world-birthing stars were merely pinpricks in the
distance, and sighed. Then, slowly, she opened the last video. It
was the one marked personal. It was Hawkings.

He glanced over his shoulder as he leaned
into the camera, and in a hushed voice began.

“
Holland,” he said, “we
have received word from Sagitta. Johann has died.”

Holland hit pause and gasped, a deep gasp of
air wrenching through her lungs and throat like a knife. A tear
squeezed from her eye, despite her desperate effort to keep her
emotions from completely incapacitating her. Johann – dead. Of
course, it was bound to happen. How many centuries had gone by
during the time that she was traveling near to the speed of light?
What kind of life had he had? Had he been married, had other
children, lived fully? She had known when they split up that this
would happen; she hadn’t realized it would hurt so much. She took
another rasping breath and hit play.

“
He died from old age,”
Hawkings continued. “He worked as a philanthropist from the money
you sent him, and because he had no other children when he died, he
donated everything that was left to an orphanage in the name of you
and your son. And of course, you’re going to ask – why an
orphanage, and not a research facility? It was because he met a
young man at one of the orphanages who reminded him strongly of
your son, and he felt the money could be spent supporting children
just as well one way or another.

“
I’m sorry you’ll be
getting bad news when you wake up, but I knew you would want to
know. They sent his digital possessions, photographs, letters,
etc., in a massive file which I’ve downloaded under your name, and
protected with your access code since he had no other living
relatives.”

He paused for a minute, glanced behind him
again, and leaned even closer to the screen. “Sis, I know it’s
going to be rough, getting all those people down onto the planet
and settled and organizing a governmental system, not to mention
surviving in general, but if anyone can do it, it’s you. You’re
like a slither-horse in a saltwater stream – you can take any
problem the universe decides to throw at you. I love you.”

The video ended.

Holland dropped her head into her hands. It
was too much. She had barely started and she was ready to quit.

But he thought she could do it.

Hawkings was dead. Lord and Lady Mastin were
dead. Her own husband was dead. Twenty-eight thousand good people
dead. She had so much grieving to do, and not enough time to do
it.

Holland took a deep breath and pushed her
pain, her tears, and her emotions as far into the back of her mind
as possible.

“
Computer,” she stated
clearly. “Begin the waking process for all medical
personnel.”

“
Waking process initiated,”
the computer replied.

“
Don’t begin any other
processes until I give the word,” she ordered. She hoped the
computer wouldn’t just start doing things, but Lady Mastin’s voice
made her a little nervous.

“
Acknowledged.”

Her job – she would focus on her job, and
worry about being sad later.

Maxwell strolled slowly from the house to
the Globe – he had the rest of the day to complete his assignment,
after all, and it was only lunchtime. He linked arms with Maddy and
smiled as he enjoyed the pleasant weather.

“
I think it’s a hot dog
day,” he said to Maddy. She agreed, of course. She always did. It
was like she could read his mind.

He headed to Dalmatian Park, where the hot
dog man sold hot dogs to people and dogs alike. It was always
bustling, and he felt home in a crowd of people that didn’t know
him. He felt special, knowing that he carried secrets untold to any
man (Maddy didn’t count, as she was a woman).

“
Hello,” the hot dog man
greeted him. “Beautiful day!”

Maxwell smiled and nodded.

“
What can I get
you?”

“
Two hot dogs, ketchup,
relish, no mustard.”

“
Two hot dogs, coming right
up!” The hot dog man began to prepare the lunch. “And how is Maddy
today?”

A giant grin split Maxwell’s face. He hated
it when people ignored her. “She’s great, aren’t you, Maddy?” He
looked at her, in her blue circle skirt, red belt, and red pillbox
hat and veil, and wondered how anyone could ignore her. She was
perfect.

He paid for the two hot dogs, turned away
from the stand, and offered one to Maddy. She loved hot dogs.

“
So here is the plan,” he
began. “We have until the end of the day to find Boris, but I
thought maybe we could go outside and wait for him right around
now. Maybe we can get him during the lunch hour! Then if we don’t,
we can try again when he gets out of work. What do you
think?”

“
It sounds like a great
plan,” Maddy replied. “Maybe we can go sit out on the benches in
front of the Globe. But what about that security guard who found us
last time?”

“
Oh, that was just because
we were in the gardens,” Maxwell reassured her. “If we stay in the
public areas, we should be fine.”

Taking deep breaths of fresh morning air,
Maxwell and Maddy walked towards the Globe.

“
If this plan works,”
Maxwell said, “then once and for all I will have proved that not
only am I smarter than... than...
him
,” he said the word
with a sneer, “but that all of his success was pure
chance!”

“
You don’t need to prove
anything, dear,” Maddy said. “You are smarter than him, and more
successful than him, and way better than him overall. After all,
you’ve got me!” she giggled.

Maxwell grinned. “Of course. But this...
this will solve everything.”

The Globe building rose up in front of them,
beautiful and imposing. The glass sphere shone in the light, and
Maxwell stared at it, willing himself to see the place where the
secret lay.

“
In there, somewhere in
there, lies the answer to my dilemma,” he whispered to
Maddy.

“
We’ll find it,” she said.
“And I will do everything within my power to make sure you
succeed!”

“
Maddy,” Maxwell said,
turning to look at her, “you are, by far, the most amazing woman I
have ever met.” And he leaned forward and kissed her on the
forehead.

They sat down on a bench in front of the
Globe. People were walking in and out; some wore lab coats, others
had suits and ties. One man tightly clutched a cooler with an
access code lock on the outside. Two women in matching red dresses
practically skipped up to the building.

“
People-watching is so
interesting,” Maddy said. “I bet that man over there, the one in
the large coat, has a ferret hidden in a pocket.”

Maxwell laughed. “And the lady over there,
in the orange high heels – she probably works with training
chimpanzees.”

“
Do you think they have a
zoo in there?” Maddy asked.

“
I bet they have everything
in there,” Maxwell replied. “They probably have a whole zoo with
animals from all over the universe, and I bet everyone in there has
their own pet. I bet they have a super-secret technology room where
they can watch everyone all over the world through secret cameras
hidden in forks and rugs and normal stuff that you wouldn’t
expect.”

“
They probably have a
swimming pool, too!” Maddy was getting excited.

“
Uncle Max,” interrupted a
voice from behind them. “What are you doing here?”

Maxwell turned to see Boris heading towards
them.

“
I’m not your uncle,” he
replied. “I’m your first cousin once removed.”

Boris rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Uncle Max.
So, why are you here?”

“
I’m looking for you,” he
said. “I need a favor.”

Crossing his arms, Boris raised an eyebrow.
“What kind of a favor?”

Maxwell looked around to make sure no one
was close enough to hear them, and then he leaned in close. “Your
Aunt Perla and I are up to something.”

“
I could have guessed that.
What do you need from me? And is it going to get me in
trouble?”

“
I need to steal your
access key,” Maxwell said. “To the Globe.”

“
Next thing you are going
to say is that you need a diversion, too.” Boris scowled. “Do you
know how much trouble I could get into?”

“
They’ll never know! You
just have to say I stole it!” Maxwell protested. “And I didn’t ask
you for a diversion. But if you could... right around 4:30 would be
great.”

“
Why should I help you?”
Boris asked. “You’re just my crazy old uncle or cousin or
something, and I could lose my job for doing something like
that!”

“
Because,” said another
voice from behind them. “There’s $50,000 in it for you.”

Boris’ jaw dropped. Maxwell turned to see
Perla behind him.

“
I was doing it just fine!”
Maxwell complained. “Why did you have to butt in?”

Maddy crossed her arms and scowled at Perla,
in mimicry of Maxwell’s position.

“
I’m sure you were,” Perla
conceded. “But I’m the one with the money.”

“
I’ll do it!” Boris
exclaimed. “For $50,000, sure! And it’ll also help me get back at
my boss – he’s such an ass. Then if I get fired I’ll have plenty of
time to get a job that’s worthwhile.”

“
Who is your boss?” asked
Perla.

“
A guy named
John.”

Maxwell’s ears perked up at the name. “Don’t
worry,” he said. “We’ve got plans for him, too.”

“
Well,
you
do,”
Perla corrected. “Boris, if you do get fired, come see me before
you get hired somewhere else. Now, how about that key? And I
believe you agreed to a diversion?”

“
Diversion at 4:30,” Boris
agreed, and pulled his keys from his pocket. “This is the key,” he
said, showing Maxwell and Perla a small red key, “and this is the
access card to the inner rooms,” he finished. “But I need those
back when you’re done! Or else I won’t be able to get into my
house.”

“
No problem!” Maxwell
replied.

“
I’ll take those.” Perla
reached out and swiped the keys. “We need someone responsible to
look after them.”

“
I was going to let Maddy
hang onto them!” Maxwell protested. “She’s responsible!”

Perla rolled her eyes. “My point
exactly.”

“
Well, I need to get
going,” Boris said, “before there aren’t enough people for me to
wander back into the building with. Bye, random relatives.” He
turned to go.

“
You forgot something,”
Maxwell said loudly.

Boris sighed. “Bye, Maddy.” Then he hastened
his stride and disappeared into the crowd.

“
Well, you got the key,”
Perla stated. “Meet me back here in a couple of hours. We’ll use
the diversion to sneak in, and then you’re on your own.”

“
Come on, Maddy,” Maxwell
said, irritated. He had gotten those keys and Perla had no right to
take them away. “Let’s get out of here!”

“
Okay, Maxwell,” Maddy
replied. “But don’t fret. This is your day. You’ll win, you’ll
see!”

When he left the Door Room, Clyde wasn’t
sure where to go, so he found his way to the kitchen. There was a
large supply of food available for anyone to take, so he sat down
and ate a bagel and a couple of oranges, and then he headed down to
the first floor to talk to the secretary. It made sense that he
should get to know the person who decided who came into the
building.

“
Hey,” Clyde greeted him.
He was a big man, blue, and drowning in piercings all over his nose
and face. He seemed friendly. “I’m Clyde.”

“
I’ve heard a lot about
you,” the secretary said, smiling. “My name is Bob.”

“
Good to meet you.” Clyde
smiled to himself.
Friendly is as friendly does
, Ivanna the
Bard had said,
but a friendly person can skin the purple out of
a cockatoo
. Everyone argued over the meaning of that one, and
some even ventured to suggest that Ivanna had been drunk when she
wrote it, but Clyde felt the meaning was clear: a friendly person
could find out things that other people couldn’t.

“
How can I help you?” the
secretary asked.

“
I’m looking for Rock,”
Clyde replied.

The secretary nodded. “No problem, buddy.
Rock is on the twenty-third floor, room twenty-one. Well, sometimes
he is, but if you head up that way you should find him eventually.
And make him give you a comm so you can find him more easily from
now on.”

“
I will!” Clyde thanked the
secretary and headed towards the elevator. Elevator music was one
of his favourite genres, so when he stepped in, he was surprised
that there was none at all. Frowning slightly, he shrugged and
waited until he reached the twenty-third floor.

It was dead. The halls were dark, there were
no people wandering about.

Maybe I shouldn’t be here,
he
thought, taking a hesitant step. The elevator door closed behind
him and began to climb towards the top floor. Seeing no immediate
alternative, Clyde began to wander down the hallway in a manner
that he hoped would make him look a little bit lost, in case he
wasn’t supposed to be here. He looked from side to side and kept
checking the hallway behind him. The numbers on the doors were four
digit numbers, but they were slowly rising – 2312, 2314,
2316...