Creations (24 page)

Max knew where she was heading. “Then we settle it in Turin.”

* * *

For the past twenty years the public domain patent system had been a thing of the past, the risks of openly publishing technological advancements being just too high now that China and its Pacific-Asian satellite block were striving for industrial and scientific supremacy. The closest thing to a closed society since the old North Korean regime, and too self-sufficient to be
swayed by sanctions or blockades, any technological advantage would be seized on by companies and agencies effectively immune from prosecution. Nowadays western companies held their designs in sealed patents at the Turin registry, with any intellectual property disputes adjudicated in closed session. Sometimes companies kept their research entirely confidential, relying solely on their own internal security to keep new methods, techniques, even whole projects hidden from the world at large. Similar companies were even grouped together for purposes of dispute resolution, the so-called, Capability Blue groups, an exercise in damage limitation if ever tit-for-tat litigation got so out of control that limited sharing of data was the only viable solution. As a result, industrial espionage, and the profits to be made by engaging in it, had multiplied year by year.

Max ran over the options in his head as he went out into the hotel gardens. He had to help Doug out, that much was clear; they hadn’t worked together for years until the Prospector project, but Doug was a decent guy running a small company off innovations which he alone had the right to profit from. He needed evidence though, hard physical proof that Doug’s methods were being exploited elsewhere; Turin courts wouldn’t settle for anything less. But whatever it took, Max wanted to do it. ESOS had made him think his life was being threatened, almost killed him for real, and nearly wrecked his marriage along the way, letting an innocent man take the blame for crimes they’d committed. And Victor himself seemed to be behind it all, pulling the strings. Max briefly considered going back to the island, feigning some change of heart, to get close enough to Victor to do whatever came to mind at the time. That wasn’t the way though, it could only end badly. Evidence, that was what they needed. When Safi called back, then he could make a plan.

He got to the bench where Gillian was sitting, having gone out there to get some fresh air and get her head round what Max had told her earlier.

“So what’s happening?” she said.

“Safi is looking into it, trying to find out what they’re really doing. She’s going to get back to me some time today or tomorrow. But I realised when I was talking to her: if they’re using what Doug gave them and not sharing the profits, this could be a very big deal. Turin judgements can see companies bankrupted if they lose out badly.”

“Is that your main concern? Doug’s company secrets?”

“No. It’s a real concern, but what they did to us is worse. They’re going to pay for it. Getting justice for Doug is important, but I’m going to make sure it hurts them so much they can’t ever do this again. I’m not going to let them get away with it. No one is going to go through what we went through.”

* * *

It was toward the end of the next day when Safi’s call came in. Max hadn’t left the hotel all day, staying within easy reach of the room so he could take it privately. He was in there on his own when she finally got in touch. When his omni linked up he saw he was in a three-way call: him, Safi, back in her home on the island, and Ross and Tess in theirs.

“Max, hi,” Ross said, the most serious Max had ever seen him. “Look, I hope you haven’t got the wrong idea on this or anything, but I have to tell you, I was nothing to do with any of this, not those letters, not the way you were pulled in, nothing. I didn‘t even know we had a separate project going on. It seems to be some kind of compartmented programme.”

“It’s true,” Safi said. “Those ESOS messages still had their routing data intact. They were tagged with a high-order recipient list; even if they got forwarded off-list by mistake, they’d be unreadable. And pretty much everyone we were working with — including Ross — was on the no-go list. It was Victor and ESOS HQ who cooked this one up, all by themelves.”

It confirmed what Max had suspected. “It’s okay, Ross, I was pretty sure you’d be on the level. I think they knew that too, which is probably why you weren’t made part of it.”

“Cool, thanks, Max. From now on, I’m here to help.”

“So, what do you have for me so far?”

“Well, we know who your mystery caller was,” Tess said. “I can even show you a picture of her. Max Lowrie, meet Anna Liu.”

Ross and Tess’s side of the image was replaced briefly by a head shot of a young Asian woman, dark eyes and pale skin, framed by a short cropped bob of jet black hair.

“She works for an information agency based out of Singapore,” Tess said, switching back to the room view. “They’re a pretty ruthless bunch to be honest, usually the first ones people go to if they want some serious spying done.”

“And how do you know this?”

“I called in some old contacts. Remember this used to be my line of business too. She’s got a long standing interest in technical intelligence, and the call she made to you is exactly her style.”

“And this is the kind of thing you used to do?” Max said, incredulous.

“I did, but always within the law. Call me old fashioned but I’d rather be described as a journalist than a spy. But these people are different, especially Anna. She’s a dangerous woman to get involved with.”

“So what she told me is true?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I’ve got a few tricks of my own up my sleeve, and now I know where to look I’ve been able to put a pretty good picture together of what we’re really mixed up in.”

“This other project then, what is it? And where is it?”

It was Safi who answered. “It’s being run by a different group within ESOS, based out of Frankfurt, Germany but still run by Victor. And it’s another large scale replicator programme, aimed at mineral resource extraction.”

“Sea based?”

“No, I think we can be pretty sure it’s on land.”

Max thought quickly; where would there be the space to run something like that? Some kind of desert, clearly, somewhere far from habitation.

“So where is it based? And how do we get the evidence we need?”

“Well, I had to call some old friends of mine first, to see what they could do,” Safi said. “They live and work near to this new site, and I was hoping they could get the information we need on our behalf.”

“And?”

“They couldn’t help. It needs someone with direct technical involvement to judge what’s relevant and what constitutes an infringement. It’s going to need a personal visit, from some or all of us.”

“Are you sure? Why not just follow Turin rules, challenge ESOS to show they got these techniques independently? That’s how the hearings work isn’t it?”

“But this isn’t like a normal Turin investigation. We’re not looking at ESOS stealing outright from Doug; they can show they licensed the technology fair and square. The issue here is further utilisation, the fact they’ve taken it on to bigger things. We can’t argue that out in a courtroom unless we’ve got hard evidence. And to get that we need to go there.”

“Okay, so where? And when do we start?”

“Well, it took a bit of arranging but I think I’ve got it sorted. You see it’s not just your friend Doug they’re exploiting. You were right; there’s every sign that some old colleagues of mine are in the firing line too. You remember what I told you about how big replicative technology could be if it really took off? How it could be a new industrial age? ESOS see it that way too, and they’re going for the big time. They want to be the first and only ones to control this technology. It’s huge what they’re planning, even this other project is just the start, and if we can prove
they’ve got there fraudulently then the payout could be one of the biggest ever seen. Big enough that my old company has agreed to support us and fund the travel. Which I think you’ll agree is pretty generous.”

“Yes, but travel where? Where the hell is this place?”

“Well that’s the question, isn’t it?” Ross said. “Let’s just say you two may be the luckiest pair of bastards I’ve met in a long time.”

“What do you mean?” Max said. Safi was smiling and he couldn’t work out why.

“They’re on the Moon,” she said. “They’ve taken one of the Earthrise research sites, the same way we did. And whatever it is they’re building, it looks like they’ve got it working. I’m going back Max, and you’re coming too.”

* * *

When he told Gillian she sat with her head in her hands for a full minute.

“Max, you can’t go. I know I said you were right to act on this but it’s dangerous, even now. People die up there.”

“It’ll be safe,” he said. “I’ll be staying in the base, not out in the middle of nowhere. It’ll be like those vacation trips rich guys take. I’ll come back, I promise you.”

“Just make sure you do,” she said. “Make sure you do.”

* * *

They left the day after Safi’s call, cashing in the flight warrants Max had helped himself to when leaving ESOS. They flew direct to Los Angeles, where Max’s journey would begin.

The flights and transfers to Mare Crisium had been booked and paid for already, leaving him just six days to get ready for the trip. The medical tests alone took four days as his blood was
probed and tested for contagious diseases and his health was checked to ensure he was fit to take the journey. By the time he was ready to go, only one day remained.

They spent the last night at a hotel near the airport. The flight was early the next morning, so they got up at five then rode to the terminal, where Max checked in. Then they headed for the international departure lounge, finally reaching the barrier that only Max could pass through.

“Well, this is it,” Max said.

“I wish you weren’t doing this,” Gillian said. “You could have said no. Safi could go alone.”

“I know, but I have to do it. If I could do this without going in person, I would, but I have to be part of it, and that means going there.”

“But is it worth risking your life for? You’ve almost been killed once already.”

“I love you,” he said. It was a way of ending the debate, but he meant it, and hoped it showed.

“I love you too,” she said. Then she hugged him and left, without turning back. Max watched her go, then turned and went through the barrier.

* * *

He saw Safi immediately, waiting on the other side. She smiled warmly when she spotted him; she must have got there early, true to form. The lounge area was busy even at this time of day, as the hundreds of international travellers passed the time in the shops and restaurants. Safi was standing next to a pillar, out of the main flow of traffic. He walked over to her and put his bag down on the floor.

“Hello stranger, how are things?” she said.

“Good, thanks. How long have you been here?”

“Only half an hour. There’s some coffee shops on the upper
level if you want to get a drink.”

“Yeah, that would be good.”

Once they were seated, Max looked around at the people milling in and out of the cafés.

“I wonder how many of these people are going to the same place we are,” he said.

“Thirty, exactly,” Safi said. “It’s a full flight today, same as usual. I checked.”

“I’ve always thought it’s strange the way they operate from here, just like it was a regular flight to Europe or somewhere.”

She nodded. “It is strange. I guess it does count as an international flight though, if you think about it.”

“I suppose it does.”

“So how have you been? It’s a while since I saw you.”

“I’m fine. Or I was until a week ago.”

“Yeah, I could kind of say the same thing myself.”

“Does Victor have any idea you’re here?”

“No. As far as he’s concerned I’m taking a short notice vacation. There’s a squadron reunion at Edwards Air Force Base around now, it was a convenient excuse.”

“I don’t know how you could face him to tell him. I wouldn’t have.”

“Well, I’ll be out of there soon enough. Ross and Tess too. They’re only staying because it would be too obvious if they suddenly left.”

“Yeah, what a mess.”

They sat in silence, checking the airport infocasts for the boarding time. “Listen, do you mind if I get on with some work while we’re waiting?” Safi said after a few minutes.

“No, not at all.”

“Good,” she said. “I’ve got behind with this and I won’t get much time later on.” She set her omni projecting a keypad and screen onto the table top, then reached down and pulled an ancient looking paper document from her bag on the floor. Its
orange cover was torn and faded with age, with the word “NASA” printed across the top.

“NASA? That must be old,” Max said, taking it off her. “What is it?”

“It’s a conference paper on replicating systems, from back when people first started trying to design them. I’m writing a report of my own, and that’s part of the research. Look through it if you want, it shows just how old some of the ideas really are.”

“Who’s asked you to do this?” Max said, leafing through the pages.

“It’s for Obispo, my old outfit from before. They reckon once we’ve sorted ESOS out, they might get back into this line of research. It would be good if they did, I’d prefer to see them get the credit than ESOS.”

“And what are you writing?”

“It’s a summary report, listing the ways you could use replicators in space environments.”

“No different from what Victor’s doing now you mean?”

“Obispo were first remember. Only the accident slowed us down. Anyway, space is the natural environment for replicators, it always has been. If you want to build them or look for them, that’s the place.”

“Look for them? How do you mean?”

Safi faltered for a second, as if realising she’d said more than she’d meant to. “I, ah, I’ve got some other work underway right now,” she said.

“Doing what?”

She still looked unsure about telling him. “Okay, have you heard of the SRC, the Space Research Council?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of them.”