Reality Matrix Effect (9781310151330) (23 page)

Tauber looked hard at the big,
grinning merchanter, but Barnard didn’t seem to be paying much
attention. “You got another bottle, Hank?” he asked suddenly,
finishing off what had been a full bottle of Spacefarer’s and
rising to search for more.

Tauber shot up from his chair, face
hot with anger, and knocked the glass from Barnard’s hand. “You
asshole!  Can’t you think about anything but your next
drink?”

Tauber gritted his teeth and tried to
calm himself as the others stared.

“I thought you were going to keep him
away from the hooch, Wraggon,” Tauber said accusingly.

“I’m not the one who brought out the
bottle this morning,” retorted an irate Wraggon. “
You’re
the
guy who said we ought to celebrate!”

Tauber inhaled, bent his head and
tugged gently on what remained of his right earlobe.
Goddamn
drunk!
he thought.

He had his fill of drunks three years
ago when a headstrong and slightly tipsy miner in R-4 Sector’s Beta
Colony insisted on trying to use Merchant Fleet laser equipment for
which he was untrained. Tauber was lucky to wind up with nothing
worse than a slight scar on the cheek and a partly missing earlobe.
Derek Marsden, Tauber’s best friend, was nearly beheaded when the
drunken colonist got careless with the laser welding tool he had
persuaded Tauber to let him try.

Fortunately, the colonies were
equipped with the most advanced, high-tech medical facilities.
Specialized computers monitored and regulated Derek’s vital organs.
Replacement skin, nerves and cervical reinforcements were
manufactured in the colony’s bio-labs. Directed by sophisticated
computer programs and all the medical knowledge and techniques
stored in the Consolidated Data Network, robot surgeons put Derek
Marsden back together.

The merchant crew had to leave Derek
behind on that trip. Taking him back to Earth in his condition
would have meant transporting a corpse. It took months, but Derek
recovered. When Tauber next saw him, however, his friend seemed
different. It wasn’t anything you could see. It was the intangible
changes that bothered him. Derek was no longer the fun-loving,
happy-go-lucky pal of their Academy days. He was cautious and sober
and almost unbearably philosophical about life. As far as Henry
Tauber was concerned, Derek Marsden died that day in Beta
Colony.

“You hear what I said?” Wraggon
challenged, glaring. “You may be top dog when it comes to running
Operation Strong Man, but don’t get the idea that makes you better
than the rest of us. When I talk to you, Hank, you damn well better
listen!  I had enough of being ignored when I was a
kid!”

Tauber folded his arms and fixed
Wraggon with a steady, unblinking gaze.

“My parents,” Wraggon continued with a
sneer, “they thought my brother was the light of the world. He was
smarter, and stronger and, all around, better than me. They told me
that every day in lots of little ways. If I did good in school,
Terry did better. If I tried to do something nice for somebody,
Terry did more and better and faster. I wind up running a King
Robotics plant. Well, so what? 
Terry
is Southern
Region director of the National Technology Institute.”

Wraggon’s expression softened ever so
slightly.

“The only one ever paid any attention
to me was my grandfather, and my parents ignored him, too. But me,
I listened to Gramp. He knew how things are supposed to be. Some
folks are meant to take charge, and others are meant to take
orders.”  Wraggon’s facial muscles tightened once more. “Gramp
and me, we knew we were supposed to be the ones in charge. And when
we are, people like Terry and my parents won’t ever be able to
ignore us again!”

Tauber nodded impassively, his mind
carefully noting and assessing Wraggon’s outburst. “I understand,”
he said.

“Make sure you do. I didn’t get
involved with Operation Strong Man just so you could switch places
with my family and start ignoring me like they do!  It better
not happen again!”

Tauber looked at Wraggon in ominous
silence. Slowly, his mouth formed itself into an icy smile. “Are
you threatening me?” he asked, his voice barely above a
whisper.

“Let’s just say I know things about
those robots we sent to R-4 Sector that I didn’t tell even you. You
may be the senior partner in this arrangement, but I’m still a
partner. You need me. Don’t forget that!”

Tauber studied Wraggon with new
respect—and wariness. “Don’t worry, Charlie. I’ll
remember.”

Wraggon nodded sharply and shook
Tauber’s hand.

The press conference was over now, and
the regularly scheduled HV program on gardening was on the
air.

“Hey,” Barnard said, pointing to the
potted geraniums that filled the HV projection field. “I always did
think Rensselaer was a pansy, but I didn’t figure it would show up
on national holovision!”

Tauber took a deep breath, shook his
head and used the remote control to end reception.

“You hear the latest?” Wraggon
inquired as the HV field collapsed and disappeared. “They say that
Althea Milgrom dame from CDN is going to run for the Senate and
maybe later for President. President!  A woman, a kike, and a
cripple all in one!  A real triple threat!  Shit! 
It’s bad enough we already got that son of a spic as President. I
figured we’d at least have a shot at somebody decent when Garcia
finished his second term.”

Tauber shrugged. “It’s much too early
to worry about Presidential politics, Charlie. That election’s
three years off. The political climate’s in for some big changes
before then.”  He jerked his head in the direction of the HV
receiver. “You heard that reaction to the Nitinol diversion. This
is just the beginning. By election day, Nitinol and Earth’s
relationship with the colonies are liable to be the only issues
that really matter. Milgrom’s not very likely to make it to the
Senate, much less the Presidency.” 

Tauber snickered. “After all,” he
said, his manner fading into an affected solemnity, “the colonial
arm of CDN is used in programming the robbies. If robots are
involved with the Nitinol diversion, the CDN and dear Mrs. Milgrom
might just be implicated, too.”

Wraggon smiled. “Not bad, Tauber. I
got to hand it to you. You really got this thing figured out. Did
you know she was going to run for office?”

“Let’s just say I have pretty good
sources on the political scene. I don’t like leaving things to
chance. Besides, some of our people have their own political
plans.”

“What are you talking
about?”

“Come on, Wraggon,” said Tauber. “I
told you we hooked up with some pretty important people. Amazing
the things our ex-merchanter friends are doing these days. We have
some powerful allies.”

“If they’re so powerful, why do they
need us?”  asked Wraggon.

Tauber looked at Wraggon and smiled.
“Isn’t it obvious, Charlie?  There’s no such thing as enough
power.”

This is silly,
Rayna thought,
but she continued to sniff the air nevertheless. The elevator off
this foyer carried too many unpleasant memories, all wrapped up in
one delicate scent. She pushed from her mind the recollection of
that same scent lingering suggestively in Keith’s bedroom the last
time she visited his apartment. At least, she tried to banish the
thought. That afternoon in late May had marked the beginning of a
very cold spell in their relationship. She took a deep breath,
entered the elevator and keyed it for the third floor.

Keith had been quite mysterious about
his reasons for inviting her here this morning. Even stranger,
while he’d insisted that she be here between 9:30 and 10 a.m., he
hadn’t wanted her to stay the night. Too much work to do, he’d
claimed, making it quite clear that she would constitute an
altogether too pleasant distraction. Rayna had agreed, her
curiosity fully piqued. She liked surprises—as long as they were
positive ones. Some three months ago, she recalled, it had been
Keith who was surprised, and Rayna’s unexpected arrival hadn’t
turned out well for either of them. She exhaled with a slight
shiver.

Keith was waiting for her as she
approached his door. He greeted her with a warm caress and a
kiss.

“My, my,” Rayna teased after he had
released her. “Right out here in the hall?  What will the
neighbors think?”

His eyebrows bobbed up and down
playfully. Then he led her into his apartment, tapping a touchpad
to shut the door behind them.

“Have you learned any—”

Keith’s second and much more emphatic
kiss turned Rayna’s words into a thick mush of indecipherable
syllables, and his embrace lifted her feet from the
floor.

“Welcome back to chez Daniels,
Shorty.”  He grinned as he lowered her so that she could stand
once more.

She put her arms around him and rested
her head contentedly against his chest. “I’m very happy to be
here,” she murmured as his heartbeat tapped out a steady rhythm
against her ear. “The management definitely knows how to make a
guest feel welcome.”

They stood there silently, basking in
the mood, until Essie’s computer-generated voice broke the
spell:  “We have the communication link you requested with
London, England, sir. Do you wish to speak with Mr. Judson
now?”

Instead of answering, Keith smiled and
addressed Rayna:  “This is why I wanted you here on time. It’s
a little tricky coordinating the hours for international calls,
what with London’s being eight hours ahead of us.”

Rayna frowned and shook her head in
confusion.

“Arthur Judson’s been helping me with
your adoption records. He may have some news, and I thought you’d
like to be here for the latest report.”

A lonely butterfly flapped its wings
insistently in the general region of Rayna’s breastbone. Without
thinking, she raised her right hand and wrapped a lock of her
short, thick hair around her index finger.

“Nervous?” Keith asked.

Her hand quickly dropped to her side.
“I’m fine.”

He looked at her doubtfully, then
flashed his familiar, winning smile and gave her a reassuring
hug.

“Get Arthur on the line,
Essie.”

Keith settled into the chair before
the terminal/communicator screen. “Ready,” Essie
announced.

“Daniels!” said Judson. “I’m glad you
called!  I’ve had a devil of a time reaching you. You’ve been
busy lately.”

Keith grinned and glanced at Rayna,
who now stood beside him, barely within range of the camera that
was transmitting a video image to Judson’s London
office.

“I see,” Judson laughed. “You old
fox!”

Rayna’s face grew hot, and she tried
to move out of camera range, but Keith grabbed her hand.

“No, Rayna. Stay here.”

“Rayna?” asked Judson. “Rayna
Kingman?”

Rayna nodded stiffly.

“My apologies, Miss Kingman. My remark
was crude, uncalled for and entirely inappropriate.”

Rayna clenched her teeth and directed
her gaze at the keyboard in front of the screen.

“Arthur,” Keith said after clearing
his throat, “have you been able to get Rayna’s adoption records
unsealed?”

“Well, I have had a bit of luck, but
only just a bit. Whoever arranged this matter covered his tracks
very thoroughly. I’ve never encountered anything quite like it.
It’s more than just a question of sealing records. There seems to
have been a concerted effort to cover up your origins, Miss
Kingman.”

Rayna looked up, startled. “But
why?”

“Why was your background covered up,
or why do I think it was?”

“Either. Both, I guess.”

“Well,” Judson began, “for one thing,
the records were processed through many more layers of the
bureaucracy than was necessary. That sort of thing used to be done
only for security reasons. That’s why I’m convinced there was a
cover-up. As to why anybody would want to do that, it’s a matter of
pure conjecture.”

“What have you been able to find out?”
Keith wanted to know.

“Only that Miss Kingman’s mother and
father were never married to one another. I would also guess, Miss
Kingman, that your mother was under the age of majority. That may
be one of the reasons for all this effort to keep the records
sealed. Someone close to your mother may have wanted to protect
her.”

Rayna sighed. “Is that it, then? 
Is this as close as I can get to finding out who I really
am?”

Judson smiled with his eyes as much as
his mouth. “I’m not ready to call it quits just yet, Miss Kingman.
“I’ve one final avenue to explore. I hope to provide you with your
mother’s name within a week. But Daniels there asked me to look
into this matter some time ago. Just consider this a progress
report.”

Rayna inclined her head. “Thank you
for your efforts, Mr. Judson. You’ve already told me much more than
I knew 10 minutes ago.”

“I thank you, too, Arthur,” Keith
said. “You’ll call when you learn something more?”