Yuen-Mong's Revenge (21 page)

 
     
He tried the same on Takash. It too opened, listing personal files. The
third refused to open.

     
Before Atun could say a word, she said: "Try the whole title ‘whispers
in the wind’. He entered all four words with hyphens in between and it
opened, showing two directories, the first entitled ‘instantcom’ with
subdirectories ‘instantcom principles’, ‘instantcom theory’, ‘instantcom
implementation’, ‘work remaining’. The second was labeled ‘HST
research’.

     
"Wow, you were right. He was working on something he called
instant communications. Is it OK if I look at these?"

 
     
"Yes. I would like to do this with you. I want to learn what my father
did."

 
     
He opened the first one. For the next hour they slowly read through
the principles files, discussing things they did not understand on first
reading. She quickly caught on that her father’s invention centered
around the ability of empaths to sense other people’s emotions, done
under hypnoses and combined with technology for translating the
empathic perceptions into two-dimensional screen images and sound —
a sort of technological telepathy with a brain-AI system interface.

     
"From what you told me about current communication technology, I
gather this has not been implemented, or has it?" she said.

     
"No, this is the first time I’ve heard of anything like this. This has
huge implications," replied Atun. "Do you mind if we quickly look at the
‘work remaining’ files, just to see how far your father got?"

 
     
"No. I’m curious too."

 
     
That subdirectory had only four short files: ‘Build prototypes’, ‘Train
matching mediums’, ‘Test runs’, and the last ‘Launch instantcom’ only
contained three question marks.

     
"The work was ready for implementation… Why hasn’t it been
done?" he questioned.

     
"Because he had not yet had the opportunity to convince UniCom. Is
that the reason?"

 
     
"I don’t know… Why only questions marks in ‘Launch instantcom’,
as if he had not yet made up his mind about that?" Atun frowned.

     
"Could he have wanted to do it himself?"

 
     
"You mean create his own company?"

 
     
She nodded.

     
"He couldn’t do that. Any inventions made while he was working for
UniCom would be the property of the company, not his."

 
     
"But didn’t the first file we read say that he discovered the concept
while he was still at the Academy of Science on Palo? … Retrieve that
file again."

 
     
Atun brought it up.

     
"Here it is." She pointed to the second paragraph in the entry. "He
started working on it two years before he joined UniCom. So it could
well be possible that most of the work had been completed before. Would
it then still be the property of UniCom?"

 
     
"Not unless his work contract contained a specific clause along those
lines which I doubt he would have accepted without securing a substantial share in the company … at least equal to the current controlling
shareholders."

 
     
"So it is possible that he intended to do it himself. My father was a
very independent person."

 
     
"And your mother may have been rich enough to finance the whole
venture," remarked Atun. He remained silent for almost a minute,
glancing at her several times. "Yuen-mong, I fear this whole thing could
have much more ominous implications. If UniCom had any inkling that
your father had made this discovery and did not want to give it to them,
I think they could well have sent him to Aros to disappear forever."

 
     
She felt the blood drain from her face. "Why?"

 
     
"Because this technology would have made HST obsolete, wiping in
one blow the huge profits UniCom makes from it. The only way to
prevent that was either to get hold of the invention, or to kill your father
or make him disappear before he could implement it … and they
succeeded."

 
     
"You mean people would kill to suppress new inventions?"

 
     
"It has been done many times."

 
     
It felt like an icy hand were closing around her heart. She staggered
out of her seat, folding her arms tightly over her chest, and closed her
eyes to fight the urge to vomit. He got up too.

     
"Are you sick?"

 
     
She nodded. She needed somebody to hold her, to offer comfort. She
stepped forward, and he folded his arms around her.

     
"Oh, Yuen-mong, I’m so sorry."

 
     
She sensed his sincerity and got strength from his embrace. After a
while she said: "They have not succeeded. I will do it for my father. My
mother and my father will be revenged." Her voice was hard and icy. She
was determined, no matter what the cost. The person or persons
responsible had to belong to those who had controlled UniCom at that
time. If they were still alive, she was going to find them.

     
"Yuen-mong, they’ll kill you too. You don’t know what you’re up
against."

 
     
"It cannot be worse than surviving the ever present dangers on Aros."
She was not afraid of death. Throughout her short life it had been a daily
companion, just waiting for its moment, for the slightest mistake or
inattention. "I will beat treacherous evil with cunning stealth. Will you
help me?"

 
     
"They’re full of cunning and stealth too and they’ve all the power and
all the credits behind them. Yuen-mong, don’t do it! They’ll kill you.
They’ve no scruples. I know that world. I’ve lived in it."

 
     
Her look was fierce and dangerous, like when she held all the males
of the savages in check. "That is why you will help me. We cannot get
the power, but we can get the wealth. I will play the naive savage that you
rescued. They will not see or suspect a threat until it is too late."

 
     
"Yuen-mong, please, listen to me."

 
     
"Atun, if you do not help me, I will do it alone." She sensed his
internal struggle. "Atun, trust me."

 
     
"Yuen-mong, I’m afraid for you. I love you. How can you hope to
defeat such ruthless power and wealth?"

 
     
"They have never come up against a determined opponent. They have
always had it easy. Not this time, and I have a weapon they don’t know.
I can read their emotions. Often, it is like reading their mind. I ask you
again, will you help me?"

 
     
"Will I lose you if I don’t?"

 
     
"No. I have chosen you as my mate and will stay with you as long as
you want me." She could sense him yielding.

     
"Oh, Yuen-mong. If I can’t dissuade you, I’ve no choice but to help
you."

 
     
"To the bitter end, if it has to be that way?"

 
     
"Yes," he murmured, hugging her.

     
"And now, we must plan." She let go of him. "It is now even more
important that I gain control over my mother’s wealth as quickly as possible. And we need to find out what is involved in realizing my father’s
invention. How much it will cost and how long it will take. Our next
moves will depend on both wealth and cost."

 
     
"The whole thing also has to be done in complete secrecy or else
we’re as sure as dead."

 
     
"Could we not camouflage it behind some other scheme?"

 
     
"Such as?"

 
     
"I don’t know. You come from that world. Can you not think of
something?"

 
     
He pondered this for a few seconds and then said: "We could hint that
we intend to return to Aros and need special equipment for that."

 
     
"Yes, Atun, yes. You know that one day I really would like to do that.
I love Aros."

 
     
"I know that. Since we bring quite a bit of gold back from there,
people will think that we want to exploit that resource."

 
     
"So, we have to drop hints to that effect."

 
     
"Just selling the gold, will do the trick. People will put two and two
together. It may be better if they think that we’re trying to hide that fact."

 
     
"Are you giving me a lesson in deviousness?"

 
     
He grinned and then said: "And we also have to remove all traces of
your father’s research from the ship’s AI system. They may try to raid our
ship or hack into our systems when we are communicating."

 
     
"Put father’s files on a memory cube? Hidden between video sections
and then delete them from the system? Is that what you mean?"

 
     
"Yes, something along that line. But deleting them is not good
enough. As long as they have not been overwritten several times, traces
of them might remain. The best thing would be to install a completely
new control system with all new memory and destroy the old one."

 
     
"But wouldn’t that be suspicious? Is it not better to leave the old
system, including my parent’s personal files and all research files that
have nothing to do with father’s invention? Then any search will only
confirm what we will tell them if we are ever questioned, namely that we
only know of what is left. We can even offer them to download it."

 
     
He smiled. "You catch on fast."

 
     
"Aros teaches you to be a quick learner. And that thing about erasing
all traces, that is your job."

 
     
"Yes, I know."

 
     
She felt his temporary rise in emotions. "Atun, Atun. This was not a
nasty reference to what you once said. I really meant your expertise."

 
     
"Am I that easy to read?"

 
     
"Yes. Do you mind if I do?"

 
     
"I did initially, but now I know I can’t deceive you and this has been
freeing. I can be myself, through and through."

 
     
She caressed his cheek. It felt rough again. "I am glad I am your
woman."

 
     
"And I’m glad that you’re willing to share your life with me."

 
     
She responded to his smile. "Do we still stop over on Old Earth?"

 
     
"I should say so. Although they’re not connected to HST, they get
regular updates of all important events in the Galactic Federation, and I
guess the status of all credit balances. We can also update our ship’s
navigation atlas there to get the current port procedures for Andromatis."

 
     
"So no change of course… Another thing, Atun. I feel like being in a
cage. I need exercise. Making love is not enough." He grinned. "I need
to run. Could you show me how to operate that machine in the storeroom? What did you call it?"

 
     
"A treadmill. I’ll show you. In fact, I should do something to keep up
my Aros fitness, too."

* * *

Two days later, while Yuen-mong did her one hour of running, Atun was
reflecting again on how to implement of instantcom. The technology
looked deceptively simple, consisting mainly of a set of dual translators,
converting the brain waves of both the sender and recipient into images
and sound interpreted by an AI system. Any skilled electronics engineer
should be able to construct them. He could probably do it himself if he
beefed up his own electronics skills in that direction. It would not take
him more than six months to acquire the necessary technological knowhow.