Phase Shift (36 page)

Josef smiled. "You know, I've changed my
mind. I believe I'll join you in that cigar, after all."

GaiaCorp

Loman Praetner straightened the knot of his
tie. It was his best tie, given to him as a gift by his superior
and mentor, Goren Prefect when he'd received the appointment as
Chief Executive Officer of the Gaia Corporation on Earth. Though
the tie was attractive, as far as ties went, Loman loathed it.
Point of fact, Loman Praetner loathed all ties in general. The very
idea of wearing a noose made from the glandular secretion of blind,
flightless moths and calling it 'high fashion' was far beyond the
scope of Loman's ken. Even so, he managed to swallow his distaste
daily, looping the garrote around his neck, knotting it about the
larynx, and pulling thusly.

The intercom buzzer again. His receptionist
was getting anxious. Loman peered between the horizontal blinds
which formed the only means of privacy between his chambers and the
reception area. Catherine, his receptionist, stared meekly at the
four men standing just outside his door, unsure if she should
continue to go about her business and ignore them, or if she should
give them attention and if so, how much.

Time to relieve her of her pain.

Loman opened the door. "Gentlemen," he said,
and he guided them in with a flourish.

The men introduced themselves to Loman—Down
and Savant, Homeland Security and Poston and Thomas, CSIS—and Loman
introduced himself to them, trying hard not to cringe as he spoke.
The nomenclature of Earth surnames was lost on him. Loman had "won"
the surname Praetner in a lottery during GaiaCorp's inception. Try
as he might, he could not imagine what a praetner was or did. And
whilst "Praetner" sounded, in its first syllable, similar to
"Prefect", his true surname, the moniker, nevertheless, remained
alien to Loman's ears and tongue.

He asked the men to sit in the lounge area,
a comfortable area of excess, situated in the corner aslant from
his worktable. It boasted overstuffed, rubicund chesterfields of
cured cow's hide, something prized on Earth and worth a great deal
in their currency, but considered repugnant on Gaia. Still, the
office had come furnished and, once his initial distaste for the
material of manufacture had been overcome, he had to admit, it was
quite comfortable.

"So," the man called Down said as he pulled
his suit jacket out from beneath his buttocks and smoothed his
trousers, "What exactly do you do here at GaiaCorp?"

"R and D," Loman said, "Research and
development." The agents looked at him blindly. "Green materials?"
Loman added. Earth had its way of making everything sound cute and
cuddly, whether it be the act of producing excrement, or of
maintaining the environment.

"Can you give me a for instance?" asked
Poston.

Loman shrugged. "PVs as well as—"

"PVs?"

"Photovoltaics? Converting light energy into
electricity, as with solar panels." The men on the couch opposite
Loman nodded or made affirmative noises, so he continued, "As well
as the discovery and implementation of other new, affordable,
environmentally friendly fuel sources."

"Such as?"

"You know Fred," Thomas said, "Hybrid and
electric cars, wind power, and the like."

Poston shot him a look.

Loman wanted to add non-invasive
terraforming and auto-initiated phase shifting, and the processes
by which these activities might continue without blowing up or
otherwise destroying the planet, but thought better of it.

"Anything nuclear or radiometric going
on?"

Loman smiled. He couldn't help but let out a
small chuckle. "Nuclear waste and other hazardous materials are
what we're trying to avoid here at GaiaCorp, gentlemen. To harbour
such materials would be counterproductive to our mandate.

"Photovoltaics use various forms of silicon
which are used to collect power. Our focus here at GaiaCorp is to
figure out more efficient ways in which to channel the energy our
fuel cells collect."

"Be that as it may," Poston said, standing,
"We'd like to take a look. If you don't mind, that is."

"Might I ask: why the interest in GaiaCorp,
specifically?"

"Some of our satellites picked up unusual
readings in this area. Radiometric blasts in the order of small
solar flares. It seemed disconcerting, given the magnitude of the
blasts, and that the main focus for your company is research and
development—

"We do plan to investigate other businesses
in the area, pending the outcome here, of course." Poston glanced
at the other men who stood as if on cue.

It was the new mantra of American officials:
guilty until proven innocent in matters involving homeland
security. Loman smiled smarmily. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I can't
let you do that." He stood to gain footing with the men, to put him
on the same level as them. Being over six feet in height, he was
comforted to know he towered over each of them instead.
"Competition being as fierce as it is nowadays, you can appreciate
why our research is strictly 'eyes only'."

"All the same," Homeland Security Agent Down
said, "Uncle Sam would like to take a look."

Once more, Loman flashed his smarmy smile.
"If I'm not mistaken, Uncle Sam carries no jurisdiction here." This
was one of the reasons Goren Prefect, founder of GaiaCorp chose to
locate the company in Canada: their flavour of homeland security
was lax. Though Canada made noise as far as how their security had
tightened since the so-called 'terror attacks' in New York several
years ago, not much had really changed for the Canadian way of
life, save stepped-up interrogation tactics when Canadians tried to
cross their southern border.

"What about the Queen Mum?" Thomas asked.
"I'm sure she'd be just as curious as good old Uncle Sam."

A telephone ringing in his outer chambers
took Loman's attention briefly. When he looked back, the one
calling himself Poston was holding a folded piece of paper. Loman
took it, unfolded it, and began to read, trying to make sense of
it. Gibberish all. The one thing which was clear was that the paper
was a warrant to search the premises.

There were two quick raps on the door and
Catherine, the receptionist, let herself in without invite. "Excuse
me, Mr. Praetner, sir," she said. "I think you should take a look."
Loman's glass-enclosed office was typical of most in the building.
Catherine nodded in the direction of the 'wall' which looked out
over the lobby below.

A small army of people, men and women both,
stood in queue, two-by-two, at the ready, each a carbon copy of the
next, wearing black suits, white dress shirts and thin ties, each
of them carrying a silver tool kit with the blue, red and gold CSIS
emblem on prominent display.

It was that McBride woman. He had warned
Schliemann to keep her on a short leash. Whatever the distance, it
wasn't short enough.

Tell Goren she demanded immediate audience
with him, indeed.

Goren would hear about this. That he would
be tolerant of the invasion was preposterous.

Loman took a deep breath. On Earth they had
a saying: You reap what you sow.

All tallies will be paid at the end of the
day, or so his mother used to say.

Goren would take care of the McBride woman.
And of Schliemann, too, if need be.

Loman focused on the paper hanging limply in
Poston's hand. Nothing untoward here, he told himself. Just a bunch
of offices, and small labs. That there were any nuclear or
otherwise radioactive materials on the premises was preposterous.
Let them conduct their search. Short of entering one of the private
offices at the exact time a Gaian official decided to shift over,
they would find nothing suspicious.

Poston forced a smile. "Now, about that
tour, Mr. Praetner?" he said.

I look up in response to a knock at my door,
grateful to have a momentary diversion from the papers I'm marking,
to see Reyes standing, forlorn, in the doorway. Remembering I had
chastised him for shifting directly into my office the last time, I
smile.

"May I enter?" he asks, sheepishly.

"Come in," I say. I dial Rosy's office. When
she answers I tell her I'm in an important meeting and am not to be
disturbed under any circumstance, with the exception of Palmer.
"Have a seat," I tell Reyes.

"So," I say, "I ask for Goren and I get you
instead."

"If I were you, I would much rather speak
with me than with Goren," he says earnestly.

"I would too, if I knew I could trust
you."

He recoils as if I've just slapped him in
the face. "I have been honest with you from the day we first
met."

"I don't know, Reyes. I don't know you, I
mean, really know you, who you are...what you stand for—"

"Why do you now choose to question my
loyalty?"

"How do I know you're not in league with
Goren?"

"I told you I would join the Inner Clerisy
Circle. You, yourself urged me to join to gauge the pulse of Goren
and his activities in this manner.

"Goren sent me as his emissary because he
knows you trust me—"

"See? That's just it. I'm sorry, but I...I
don't know if I do anymore."

"Molly McBride: I have been nothing short of
transparent with you since we met. I have remained steadfast as
your adversary to Goren and his cohort since that day—"

"Why didn't you tell me about GaiaCorp?"

"I had no knowledge of The Gaia Corporation
until today. Goren told me of it this morning. I believe he only
told me because you became aware of its existence."

"And what, exactly, did Goren tell you of
GaiaCorp?"

"You will not be pleased to hear what I have
to say." He watches me for a response, but I'm numb, have been
since he waltzed into my office.

Reyes rests his elbows on his lap and leans
forward as he speaks: "The Gaia Corporation was founded on Earth
roughly seven kalend cycles ago. They selected Canada because the
political climate in the United States was too volatile at the
time. Goren feared it might prevent him from carrying out his
business unfettered—"

"Which was...?"

"To devise a safe method of terraforming and
phase shifting where it would not harm the planet."

"You mean, where it wouldn't harm Gaia."

He leans back into his chair. "Yes, of
course."

"So it doesn't matter if Earth is harmed as
long as Gaia's protected."

"It is not like that. Most of GaiaCorp's
experiments are theoretical in nature. Those which are more
practical are carried out in a room with protective shielding.
Goren is devoted to the restoration of the planet but he is not
reckless. He is aware that any degradation in the pitch of Earth's
phase resonance may be visited upon Gaia tenfold. Whatever
experimentation taking place on GaiaCorp's premises is for the
greater good of mankind, both Earther and Gaian."

I don't buy it. I met Goren Prefect. He
struck me as being more ambitious than altruistic. Whatever I may
think about Goren, it doesn't matter as much as what Reyes thinks
about the man. "Do you believe him?" I ask.

"I believe those involved in the project
strive toward devising methods by which Cataclysm may be halted. I
believe they feel if Earth's environment can be helped, it would
mean huge strides toward that end. I am not sure experimenting with
terraforming and phase shifting on our sister planet is the most
expedient way to do so."

"I find it hard to believe that as a member
of Goren's Inner Circle, you knew nothing of a Gaian stronghold
here on Earth."

"I swear to you, Molly McBride. I knew
nothing about The Gaian Corporation until Goren told me about it
this very morning. I aver that, had you not discovered its presence
on Earth, I would still not be aware of its presence on Earth." He
looks at his hands and lowers his voice and says, "Its existence is
troubling, to say the least."

"I'd say it's a little more than troubling,
Reyes."

"What is even more troubling for Goren is he
believes you exposed the company to your authorities."

"What?" I can only imagine what atrocities
to Earth's environment Goren carries out at GaiaCorp, Reyes's
statement to the contrary aside. The last thing I need is for 'the
authorities' to connect me to him. Since Stanley, the less contact
I have with law enforcement, the better. "I'm sorry, but if anyone
told the police about GaiaCorp, it wasn't me."

Reyes thinks for a moment. "We must walk
softly, Molly McBride. Goren has convinced himself you pose a
threat. He sent me here to insist you follow his purpose for
Symposium."

"That being?"

"To present Gaians as penitent for the role
they played in initiating Cataclysm, yet dedicated to working with
the citizens of Earth to halt its onslaught."

"Penitent, huh? You call continuing your
experiments on Earth penitent? You call unabated willful
shifting—which, I remind you, hastens Cataclysm—penitent? I
wouldn't be surprised if it's all your shifting that attracted the
authorities to GaiaCorp in the first place."

"You are not supposed to be aware of these
things, Molly McBride."

"But I am, Reyes. I can't just turn a blind
eye to what's been going on to satisfy Goren's agenda."

"Nor should you have to." He walks to my
office door and shuts it. "I have been in contact with Motar
Prefect, a man who was an old friend of my father's. He introduced
me to a movement dedicated to stopping Goren and his cohort. He has
enlisted my assistance to do so, and I, in turn, wish for your
assistance as well."

"Assistance with what?"

"Motar's people are dedicated to stopping
Goren and his cohort from destroying our planet and by default,
yours. They will be present at Symposium. They will hold Goren's
people at bay until you are done revealing Goren's true meaning as
well as the existence of GaiaCorp."