The Web and the Stars (33 page)

Chapter Seventy

We have discovered six immortals—the Mutati princess, four Humans, and a Salducian diplomat. It is not too early to declare all of them immortal. Their cellular structures have changed dramatically, with the addition of what we are calling ‘warrior antibodies’—proteins in their bodies that annihilate all disease pathogens, both overt and latent. As stipulated in the contracts they have signed, we are now drawing their blood and flash freezing it. This offers the potential that much more of the elixir can be produced, and that we will not need to worry so much about using up the plasma of Noah Watanabe.

—Dr. Hurk Bichette, report to Francella Watanabe

Whenever Lorenzo gambled in his magnificent orbital casino, he did not relax, not even when he was winning, which was virtually all of the time, due to the unregulated programming of the games and machines. He always had a lot on his mind, and as the revenues poured in, he was not much happier than Francella.

One glittering evening he stood in front of his elegantly dressed patrons to promote his newest game, which featured a smiling Mutati simulation. Behind him an oversized mechanical creature changed smoothly into a variety of alien and animal shapes, while the patrons oohed, aahed, and hissed good-naturedly.

“The players sit at those stations,” Lorenzo said, pointing to chairs and screens that ringed the faux Mutati, which continued to metamorphose. “When the bell rings, you have one minute to place your bets and select from the shapes on the screen, as you guess which shape the monster will take when it stops.”

“Like a roulette wheel?” a woman asked.

Lorenzo laughed. “Certainly not. It’s like
a Mutati!
Can’t you see that?”

The crowd laughed, and people moved forward to take seats at the play stations.

At a gesture from Lorenzo, the large mechanical creature stopped metamorphosing, and became what looked like a flesh-fat Mutati, in its hideous natural state.

Leering at the creature, a drunken nobleman asked loudly, “Is that what Princess Meghina looks like when she takes off her makeup?”

Some people laughed nervously, while others gasped in shock, since it was known that Lorenzo had stood steadfastly by his courtesan wife, and had even given her private apartments on the orbiter.

“I shall consider that the liquor talking,” Lorenzo said with a hard stare. “Otherwise, I would have to create a new game just for you, based upon the torture chambers in the Gaol of Brimrock.”

This elicited hearty laughter among the nobles and ladies.

“It’s nice to see all of you enjoying yourselves,” Lorenzo said, “but keep this in mind. My lovely wife will get the last laugh on all of us. She has not only changed her appearance to that of a Human, but she may have become immortal, enabling her to dance on our graves.”

This dampened the amusement somewhat, but Lorenzo knew these foolish people would soon be back at the games, transferring their assets to him. He only had to make their losses amusing, and even verbal jousts served that purpose. The gamblers would keep coming back.

In the midst of the throng, Lorenzo recognized a tall, sharp-featured man and nodded to him. It was Jacopo Nehr’s younger brother, Giovanni. Lorenzo heard he had been traveling, so he must have made it back to Canopa just before the cessation of podship travel.

As the Mutati game got underway, Lorenzo slipped into an office to discuss the events of the day with his attaché, Pimyt. The Doge Emeritus greatly appreciated the loyalty of this aging Hibbil, and had raised his salary to even more than he had earned as a government employee.

“What are you doing with all of your money?” Lorenzo asked. He and his aide sat at a table where cups of steaming mocaba juice had just been set out for them.

“Hiring bounty hunters,” the Hibbil said, as he took a sip of the beverage without waiting for it to cool. High temperatures never seemed to bother him, though this was not reportedly a Hibbil characteristic.

“Eh?”

“To bring Noah in.” Pimyt had wet fur on his upper lip, from the drink.

“Oh, but you don’t have to pay for that personally. Just pay it out of my accounts.”

“I’d like to bring Number One in with my own money. Somehow, it sounds more special.”

“Ah, nice idea. I’ll raise your salary to make up for the payments. Come to think of it, maybe I’ll pay for some bounty hunters myself, making it like one of my gambling ventures. I am a lucky man, you know. Despite my recent political challenges.”

“You are, indeed. Now, onto business. So far, even with the help of our powerful corporate friends on Canopa, we cannot locate Noah’s hidden headquarters. We could use help from the new Doge, but to get to your son we have to go through Francella, and she’s gone into seclusion.”

“So much for her promises of access to Anton. Well, we’ll have to get Noah without him. I want him more than anything.”

“We’ll get him anyway. I have a devious move in mind. Since Anton’s ascension to power, Noah has gone to ground and is no longer attacking government facilities, perhaps under some secret arrangement that we don’t know about. Even so, we can make it look like he’s still operating.”

Pimyt laid out an intriguing plan, causing Lorenzo’s eyes to narrow in concern.

“We can penetrate some of the corporate guard forces on Canopa and destroy assets, making it look like the Guardians did it.”

“Which corporate assets?”

“NehrGem. They have a jewelry-manufacturing operation in the Valley of the Princes.”

“But Jacopo Nehr is one of our friends.”

“And he hasn’t been helping enough, not as much as some of our other friends. I have incontrovertible evidence, if you want to review it.”

“No, that’s your job. I trust you.”

“Thank you. Maybe Jacopo has been distracted by his military duties, but—as you know—we don’t accept excuses.”

Lorenzo nodded.

“We won’t do major damage to his facility,” Pimyt said, “only wrecking a small percentage of it. Just enough to anger Jacopo and get him working harder to find our bad guy. We’ll use some of your backup Red Berets, the ones stationed down on Canopa.”

“Go ahead and set it up.”

The little Hibbil nodded. “One more thing, Your Magnificence. This just came in from the government.” He activated a telebeam unit on the table, causing a black-and-white message to flash on, floating in the air. The words were backwards to Lorenzo, so he touched a pad to spin it around his way.

“Interesting, wouldn’t you say?” Pimyt said.

“To say the least.”

Truly, this was startling news, and Lorenzo was not sure what to make of it. The shutdown of podships had enlarged. No longer confined to Human and Mutati worlds, it now encompassed the entire galaxy … and neither he nor Pimyt could imagine why.

Chapter Seventy-One

Princess Meghina is expressing a desire to come out of seclusion and mingle with the patrons of the orbital casino. Polls show that much of the public is willing to assume the best about her, asserting that she should never have been born a Mutati in the first place.

—Telebeam report to Francella Watanabe, read just before one of her ranting tirades

Ostensibly, the damage to NehrGem’s industrial complex appeared minor, as only a small section of one jewelry-manufacturing building had been destroyed by the remote-guided rocket, and fire suppression systems had prevented further damage. But that section had contained the rarest gemstones in Jacopo Nehr’s collection, garnered from mining operations around the galaxy. If podship travel did not resume, he could not hope to replace these losses. Even some piezoelectric emeralds of the type used in nehrcom transceivers had been destroyed, making it an Alliance security matter and a subject of utmost military importance.

In a matter of hours, forensic evidence revealed that the perpetrators had been Noah Watanabe’s Guardians, based upon tracking records that turned up on fragments of the rocket. And, with a brashness that made Jacopo’s blood boil, Noah even sent a telebeam message to Jacopo’s offices afterward, claiming full responsibility for the attack.

Feverish with anger, Jacopo ordered immediate retaliation, and he began searching for a place to strike. This proved to be a challenge, since the perpetrators could not be located. They were like wisps of wind, gusting up here and there and then disappearing into thin air. As a consequence, the targets were limited … but not non-existent.

Within two days he set his sights on a warehouse and storage yard where the confiscated assets of Noah Watanabe were held under government seal. These were items that had been removed from the Ecological Demonstration Project and from the orbital EcoStation.

Seeking no approval from Doge Anton or the Hall of Princes, Jacopo launched a full-scale bombing attack on the warehouse and storage yard, using one of the merchant prince aerial squadrons. Not surprisingly, since there were no defensive weapons at the facility, he succeeded in completely destroying the target.

That evening, he was confronted at his office by one of Doge Anton’s Red Beret officers, Lieutenant Colonel Erry Pont. Sputtering in protestation while the officer read a list of charges against him, Jacopo summoned his own security personnel to prevent the man from arresting him. Six uniformed NehrCorp guards rushed into the office and surrounded the red-uniformed officer.

“You cannot hope to resist the power of the Doge,” the officer said calmly. Jacopo recognized him as the son of Gilforth Pont, one of the leading noble-born princes. In an obviously intended slight, Lieutenant Colonel Pont had not removed his red cap, and gazed at Jacopo with an arrogant expression.

“Take off your hat in my presence,” Nehr demanded.

The officer glanced around, then did so. But his arrogant expression did not change and he said, “In your vengeful zeal, General Nehr, you overlooked some rather important legal details, which I would be happy to explain while I take you into custody.”

“I will
not
be taken into custody!”

“Even though you are in command of the Merchant Prince Armed Forces,” Pont explained, “you carried out an unauthorized and illegal course of action. Those were no longer Guardian assets you destroyed. They were the assets of the Merchant Prince Alliance, since they had been officially confiscated and placed under seal.”

“Mere technicalities. I’ll explain it all to Doge Anton myself.”

“He has authorized me to tell you that he is not interested in any explanations. He is quite upset.”

“Why? Is he a puppet of Noah Watanabe as rumors suggest, protecting Guardian assets and refusing to bring the little worm to justice?”

“The Doge will not be pleased to hear you said that, General.”

“Or is he a puppet of his mother, who is coddling noble-born brats like you and your father?”

“General!”

“Tell Anton I refuse to be arrested, and I refuse to listen to any charges!” Nehr thundered. He waved a hand. “Now go, before I place you in one of my brigs!”

“I’m afraid he’s gone too far,” Doge Anton said to Nirella, as they prepared for bed. “I know he’s your father and I respect him, but he can’t go around half-cocked, attacking whatever he wants, using MPA forces.”

“You’re right,” she said, “but your mother is pushing to have him removed since he is not noble-born, and you must be your own man.”

“With you at my side, I will be,” the youthful leader said, with a soft smile. He kissed her and added, “I’m sorry I’m not a better lover, but the stresses of the job are taking their toll.”

“I adore you anyway,” she said.

It saddened him to notice disappointment in her eyes. During the months that they had been married, Anton was growing to love Nirella. Time was healing the wounds he suffered when he lost Tesh, and now he only wanted to please his wife.

“I have to at least fire him,” Anton said, at last. “Our highest military officer is still subject to the laws of the MPA.”

“I know.” She fluffed her pillows and climbed into the large bed they shared.

“What is your rank in the Red Berets?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

“Why, I’m a reserve colonel,” she said.

“I’m giving you a promotion, to Supreme General of the Merchant Prince Armed Forces.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“We’ll put the word out that it’s only an interim appointment, until we decide on a permanent replacement. Don’t worry about making a mistake. The Mutati war is on suspension anyway.”

“But I’ll need to be in touch by nehrcom with our forces all over the galaxy, to make certain everything is in readiness. I’m not sure if I’m qualified for that.”

“You’re as qualified as your father, since you co-manage the galactic operations of Nehrcom Industries with him, and I know you have extensive military knowledge. I’ve seen the holobooks you read. You’re a student of military tactics and strategies.”

“True, but I do not have anywhere near the prestige of my father.”

“I have to admit, Jacopo was doing well as Supreme General until this lapse. Maybe he will recover his senses with rest, and again qualify for the job.” Anton scratched his head. “Mmm. Instead of firing your father or taking him into custody, I’ll put him on a leave of absence for an indeterminate period. That’s the political way to handle it. He still has powerful friends and allies, and I don’t want to lose their support.”

“You’re learning fast,” she said.

The following afternoon, upon learning of the Doge’s decision, Jacopo Nehr took his wife, Lady Amila, and a few men who were loyal to him and joined Lorenzo on the space station. There he conferred with two men whom he thought had remained loyal to him, Lorenzo and Pimyt.

But in this time of galactic chaos and tension, relationships were not always what they appeared to be.

After the six Elixir of Life winners were announced, Princess Meghina began to socialize with the other five, and they formed an exclusive club. Under continuing medical observation, the small group arranged regular get-togethers in Meghina’s royal apartments on Lorenzo’s orbiter. All the while, Francella and her researchers eavesdropped electronically on everything they said.

In the cities and towns of Canopa there were philosophical debates about the elixir, as people considered whether or not they would like to become immortal, if CorpOne ever offered more of the precious substance for sale. They considered it like a lottery.

One evening on board the orbital gambling casino, Lorenzo announced that he would like to become immortal himself so that he could spend the rest of eternity with his pretty wife. The Doge Emeritus revealed that he was at the top of a waiting list for the elixir, and would take it himself as soon as it again became available.

In Noah’s camp there were also debates, with his Guardians lining up on both sides of the issue. The outspoken Acey Zelk, having heard how apparent immortality had changed Master Noah, did not want it for himself.

“What fun would there be if I knew I could not be killed?” the teenager asked one afternoon while taking a break with Dux. “The risk of death makes life worth living.”

“It does give things an edge, doesn’t it?” Dux said. “As for myself, I think I agree with you. Maybe if everyone I cared about, such as yourself, could be made immortal I would accept it for myself, but the odds are slim that the elixir will work on any of us.”

Overhearing this exchange, Noah saw a certain wisdom in their opinions, but for himself he did not entirely agree. He wanted to accomplish so much that he didn’t see how one lifetime could possibly be enough for him. From an early age Noah had always seen broad horizons, had always felt that he could make important contributions. Now, the longer his allotted lifetime, the more he could achieve.

Admittedly Noah had felt trapped at times by his own enhanced existence, as if it were—paradoxically—yet another prison confining him. But if he could ever regain access to Timeweb it might open wondrous possibilities for humankind and new glories for all of the galactic races … if only they could see the wisdom of working together instead of at cross purposes.

Thus far Noah was presuming that he still had his own immortality, since he had been feeling physically strong, without any hint of the aches or pains that his friend Eshaz had complained of … a Tulyan who had lived for nearly a million years.

But Timeweb continued to reject every attempt Noah made to reenter it, and this disappointed him deeply.