by M. D. Cooper
Or perhaps it could be a feature?
Martin could see the positives in selling octopus kidnapping as an experience, as long as the captors weren’t held for too long, but the visitors had to be expecting it.
Martin was also deeply confused by the news, but he wasn’t sure what Lindsey wanted him to do. She was Pietr’s manager, not him. He had enough on his plate at the octopus garden.
Jude had climbed out of his seat in the submersible and was pressing his face against the transparent skin, trying to spot the octopuses.
“I think they all went home, Daddy.”
Martin now had a better idea why Lindsey was contacting him. From his current position, he would be able to reach the amphibian faster than she would coming from the complex. But what could he do? He had no idea what Pietr had planned.
he ventured,
Martin looked at Jude, who was sitting in his seat again, swooping his toy octopus through the air.
First, Martin tried to contact Pietr himself; predictably, the man didn’t reply. Then Martin accessed the park complex’s network and pulled the real-time route of the amphibian. He could see that the vessel was heading in a straight line across the park. Martin ran a prediction based on the current route so that he could estimate where to intercept the wayward vehicle. The line ran across the park to the ocean shelf. When Martin saw the point at which Pietr’s route exited the park, he tensed.
Lindsey went silent. Martin hoped she was taking his advice. He swung the submersible around.
“Where are we going?” Jude asked, noticing the change in direction.
“We have to go home now,” Martin said.
“Awww, why?” the boy whined. “I want to see the octopuses.”
Lindsey was almost wailing her words over the Link.
Martin again altered the direction of the submersible. Despite the danger to his son, he couldn’t leave the visitors to die.
“But, Daddy, I want to see the octopuses.” Jude’s eyes were wet and his chin was trembling.
Martin reached out and touched his son’s head. “I’m sorry, Jude. Another time. I promise.” He hoped he would be able to keep that promise. “You’ve been so good. Try to be good a little while longer, OK?” He fastened Jude’s safety straps.
“Hmph.” Jude folded his arms, thrust his chin into his chest, and gave Martin a disapproving look.
If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Martin would have laughed.
Damn Pietr and whatever the hell he’s doing. What is the man thinking?
Martin could hardly believe how out of character his actions were. Lindsey was right. Pietr was on a suicide mission.
He checked the submersible’s location. He should reach the amphibian soon…. Maybe he could drag the vessel to the surface. If rescue services arrived in time, they might save anyone who had drowned.
A powerful whoomf hit the Torpedo, bowling over Martin’s submersible like a toy boat hit by a tsunami. It spun end over end so that all Martin could see was whirling water filled with sand and bubbles. The sound of Jude screaming filled his ears as he hopelessly fought to regain control of the vessel.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
STELLAR DATE: 05.25.8941 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Government House, Heliopolis, Ithaca
REGION: Troy, New Canaan System
Isa felt nervous as she took the elevator to the floor that housed the TBLA. She checked the news feeds, but she couldn’t find anything that would explain the deployment of so much security at Government House. Tanis had long since departed Troy, returning to Landfall and her work at the system’s seat of government, so the guards weren’t there to protect New Canaan’s leader. No other dignitaries were visiting, according to the media.
Perhaps word was received that yet another secession rally has been organized, and additional guards were deployed as a precaution?
That had to be it. There was to be a protest of some kind at the government building. It was the only explanation that made any sense.
Isa inwardly groaned. She hoped the protest wouldn’t prompt the civil servants to close their offices. She needed to solve her licensing problem quickly.
The elevator seemed to stop at each of the fifty-five floors between the lobby and Isa’s destination. She stood in the corner, trying to control her impatience as people got on and off. Why did the place she needed to go to have to be at the very top of the building?
When she finally reached the right floor and stepped out of the elevator, a sign on the wall directed her to the left. She walked down a short passage and opened the door with ‘TBLA’ emblazoned on it. Once inside, Isa groaned again, aloud this time.
An automaton receptionist sat at the desk in front of an opaque screen that didn’t seem to contain any entrance to the offices behind it. No humans were visible.
I need to speak to a person, not a machine.
The automaton would be programmed to fend off visitors so the human workers could avoid the necessity of dealing with anyone face to face. She knew this because it was the exact reason an automaton had staffed the front desk at Placement Services.
“Good morning,” said the automaton. “How may I help you today?”
Isa had no choice but to try to circumvent the machine’s purpose. “I want to speak to someone about having my business license reinstated.”
“Thank you,” the automaton replied. “I have identified you as Isa Chen. I am sending the relevant information to your—”
“No. I can look up that information myself. I need to speak to someone now. It’s urgent. I believe my landlord might have involved me in a scheme to defraud the—”
“You wish to discuss a fraud allegation? I’m afraid you have arrived at the wrong department. I am sending you the—”
“No! My landlord is the one who committed the fraud, but I’m the one who lost my license. I just need to explain—”
“I understand. I am sending a form for you—”
The automaton cut out and froze. A beat later, an alarm sounded over the Link. Then an audible alarm blared out in the reception area.
The automaton returned to life. “I’m afraid we are experiencing an emergency. For your safety, please remain where you are and await further instructions.”
Something was going on downstairs. The rally had probably turned nasty and the security chief was putting the building on lockdown.
“Dammit,” said Isa as she realized what that meant. If I’m not careful….
She ran for the office’s door and reached it only just in time. As she pushed it open, she heard the locking mechanism engage. Unable to secure itself, the door tried to close. Isa resisted the pressure long enough to slip through the gap. Once through, the door slammed and sealed.
There was no way she was spending who knew how many hours trapped inside a room with an uncooperative automaton until the crisis was over. And if secessionists were the cause of the emergency, they just might be crazy enough to do something dangerous like try to blow the place up.
The elevators were not working, of course. Isa rushed around behind them to the stairwell. She began running down, taking the steps two at a time.
What a day!
First she’d received the news she was no longer in business, and now she’d narrowly escaped being caught in some stupid political conflict. Or she hoped she had. What a story she would have to tell Martin and Erin that evening.
Maybe they should give up on Troy, even if the secession didn’t go ahead. The marine safari park where Martin had been working was almost ready to open, and Erin would be finished with Messene Station in a couple of months. Maybe they should all move back to Carthage. She could open a gallery in Landfall; the rental would be more expensive, but she wouldn’t be living in fear of political unrest destroying all her efforts.
The Link alarm had ceased, but the audible alarm continued to blare, echoing down the stairwell.
Isa didn’t hear the footsteps above her, belonging to a man also running down the stairs, until he was only a couple of steps behind.
“You had the same idea,” he shouted over the alarm as he drew abreast of her.
“I did. I don’t want to be stuck in here.”
The man had slowed down and was taking the steps with her.
“You don’t have to wait for me,” she said.
“Oh, it’s OK. I was getting out of breath anyway.”
The man wasn’t out of breath at all. Isa wondered if he was staying with her in case the trouble going on down below was dangerous. That was sweet of him. He was wearing office clothes. She guessed he was probably a government worker, not a visitor like her.
“What department do you work for?” the man asked.
“I don’t. I only came here to speak to someone about my business license,” Isa told him.
They passed the door to the forty-third floor.
“No kidding,” the man said. “Name’s Curtis. My department deals with business licenses. What’s your problem?”
“Don’t worry about it. Now’s probably not a good time. I’m Isa, by the way.”
“This building has fifty-five floors. We’re going to be taking the stairs for a while yet, Isa. Tell me what you’re here for. Maybe I can help.”
She quickly gave the man the whole story, including her hunch that her landlord’s fraud could be responsible for the loss of her license.
The man was silent for a moment. “Hmm, yeah. Good guess. You’re right. Give me a second…. OK, it’s all done.”
“You reinstated my license?”
“Sure.”
“That’s great. Thanks a lot.”
“It’s the least I can do when you’ve been drawn into this stupid mess.”
“Do you know what’s going on down there? I noticed guards arriving earlier.”
“Oh, I forgot you aren’t on the official channel. It’s a coup.”
“A coup? By who?”
“Ha, who do you think? Damned Taranian secessionists. They didn’t get in at the last election and couldn’t build a majority government, so they’re trying to take over the government of Troy by force. We’d better be careful when we reach the bottom. It’s mayhem down there.”
They passed floor thirty-seven. Thirty-six. Thirty-five. Isa was getting tired. The alarm continued to sound, and the noise was hurting her ears. Around them, more people had joined the general exodus.
A military coup? That seems excessive.
Like the rest of New Canaan’s inhabited worlds, Troy was a democracy. If some of the people wanted the planet to secede, they could campaign for it through the regular channels.
Floor twenty-four. Twenty-three. Twenty-two.
“Are you a Trojan?” the man asked.
“No, I settled on Carthage first. I arrived here with my family a few months ago. Before that, I was Noctus, worked on the Hyperion and on Victoria for a while.”
“No kidding. You’re—”
“Short for a Noctus. I know.”
“Sorry. I guess you must hear that all the time.”
“Don’t worry about it. Are you from Troy?”
“Yeah, I was one of the first settlers. Came here directly out of stasis. I saw this place being built.”
“You’re a Trojan?” Isa couldn’t quite believe him.
“That’s what I said. Why? Does that seem strange?”
She almost said, ‘But you aren’t an asshole.’ Almost. “Do you like it here?”
Seventeen. Sixteen.
“It’s OK,” the man finally replied. “Though to be honest, I’ve been looking at the other planets lately.”
She stifled a smile.
Tanis’s visit clearly hadn’t done any good. Perhaps the fact that the invasion drill had taken place while she’d been visiting hadn’t helped matters. Isa doubted that Martin was the only one who was disgruntled about the mandatory mock drills and all the disruption they had caused.
She could see why people were pissed off. Most New Canaanites weren’t like herself and the few other Noctus who had come with the colonists from the Kap. They didn’t appreciate what they had.
