Antagonist - Childe Cycle 11 (119 page)

"I
understand
there's
a
shuttle
waiting
for
you,"
Bleys
went
on, "and
I
won't
keep
you
long."

"He'll
wait,"
the
Exotic
said.
"The
driver's
my
nephew."
He grinned,
and
Bleys
smiled
in
response.

"I
won't
sit
down,
if
you
don't
mind,"
the
Exotic
said,
waving vaguely
at
his
own
torso.
"I
got
a
little
dirty
down
under
the
ion
exchanger."

"Weren't
you
offered
a
chance
to
clean
up?"
Bleys
asked.

"Oh,
I
was,"
the
man
said.
"I
turned
it
down—I
know
what
my nephew's
shuttle
will
be
like;
he's
at
the
end
of
a
long
shift
ferrying agricultural
supplies
to
Ninevah—oh,
that's
one
of
the
orbital
manufactories."

"These
chairs
clean
up
easily,
in
any
case,"
Bleys
said,
"but
do
as you
like.
My
name
is
Bleys
Ahrens."

"Honored,"
the
Exotic
said,
continuing
to
stand.
"My
name
is Tony
Peterson."
He
seemed
to
peer
at
Bleys
now,
as
if
a
thought had
suddenly
struck
him.
"I
know
who
you
are—are
you
here
for the
meeting,
too?"

"Which
meeting?"
Bleys
said,
stalling
for
time—and
as
he
watched puzzlement
enter
the
other's
face,
his
mind
made
a
sudden
leap.

"Do
you
mean
the
one
with
Hal
Mayne?"
Bleys
asked.
"Yes,
I hope
to
be
there."

"It
should
be
very
interesting,"
Tony
Peterson
said.

"Will
you
be
there?"
Bleys
asked,
trying
to
probe
delicately.

"Oh,
we'll
all
be
there,"
the
Exotic
said.
"But
about
your
air cleaner—I'm
sorry
it
took
so
long,
but
it
turned
out
the
problem
resulted
from
two
different
things
going
wrong
at
almost
the
same time
...
I
gave
the
details
to
your
officers."

"That's
quite
all
right,"
Bleys
said,
realizing
that
the
Exotic thought
Bleys
had
called
him
up
to
the
lounge
to
speak
about
the problem
that
had
been
created
to
allow
the
ship
to
stay
at
Mara without
suspicion.
"I
take
it
you're
sure
you've
gotten
to
the
root
of the
problem?"

"I
believe
so."
The
Exotic
smiled.
"The
problem's
mended
now, but
of
course
I
can't
promise
it
won't
recur."

"What
do
you
mean?"

"No
system
can
last
if
it's
mishandled."

"Mishandled?"
Bleys
asked,
wondering
if
the
Exotic
had
detected
the
sabotage.

"I
believe
some
of
your
people
may
have
gotten
careless,"
Peterson
said.
"Cleaning
solvents
killed
one
of
the
polymembranes."

"It
sounds
like
improper
training,
then,"
Bleys
said.

"It
may
be.

After
the
repairman
left,
Bleys
asked
the
captain
to
contact
Orbital Holistics
and
tell
them
that
Bleys
Ahrens
was
present
and
requesting
permission
to
attend
the
meeting.

"You
want
me
to
let
them
know
you're
here?"
the
captain
asked.

"Yes,"
Bleys
said.
He
did
not
bother
to
tell
the
man
that
the
situation
had
changed
completely.

Within
thirty
minutes
a
call
was
patched
through
to
Bleys
in
the lounge,
and
he
found
himself
looking
at
a
woman
in
a
pink
coverall, who
identified
herself
as
Nonne,
the
Recordist
for
Mara.

Nonne
was
black-haired,
with
a
fine-boned
face
that
suggested, despite
the
lack
of
scale
in
the
comm
screen,
that
she
was
small. But
her
voice
was
a
calm,
assured
contralto
that
betrayed
neither surprise
at
Bleys'
presence
nor
indignation
over
his
self-invitation to
the
meeting.

"We've
been
told
you
wish
to
speak
to
someone
about
the
upcoming
meeting,
Bleys
Ahrens,"
she
said,
without
preamble.

"Yes,"
Bleys
said.
"It's
my
understanding
that
Hal
Mayne
will
be addressing
your
gathering,
and
I
felt
it
might
be
beneficial
to
all
if
I were
allowed
to
present
my
own
views."

"We
are
always
willing
to
listen,"
the
Recordist
said,
her
tone clinical
and
neutral.

"When
and
where
shall
I
appear,
then?"

"A
shuttle
will
be
dispatched
for
you,
that
will
take
you
to
whatever
site
is
used,"
Nonne
said.
She
shrugged.
"The
time
is
not
yet fixed—we
await
Hal
Mayne's
return."

He's off-planet, then
Bleys
told
himself.
But
he
made
no
comment on
that
subject
to
the
Exotic
on
his
screen.

"I'll
wait,
then,"
he
said.
"But
please
keep
me
advised,
won't you?
Oh!
By
the
way:
could
you
tell
me
the
purpose
of
the
meet
ing?"

"Why,
the
future,"
Nonne
said.
"Didn't
you
know?" There
was
something
in
her
voice
that
made
Bleys
keep
his
silence.