--- “Well either way it was a fortunate turn for him, and for Isellia it turns out. No way she's getting out of that blob without a little assist from Jones there. Look at the determination on her face as the blob clears away, as she leaves that ring.”
--- “It's going to be difficult for her to catch up, but not impossible. A couple mistakes up front and a couple more fortunate turns for her, and she could very well be back in this race.”
--- “There's still plenty of race left, Jeft. But let's look at that front pack as they start entering the next obstacle. Veda has dropped into the secondary position, following Allister Barkley. Barkley is having a fine day today — I don't think we've seen him out of the top five all day so far, have we?”
--- “No Barkley pretty much came out of the gate all cylinders firing, Brill. That’s the way he likes to race, it's all or nothing. Now Veda on the other hand, you know she likes to hang back a little, likes to pick her move, wait her turn. She'll jostle back and forth in those top couple of positions, and never seems phased. It's like she almost likes the cat and mouse game. She'll wait until that last moment and turn on the blasters toward the finish.”
--- “Veda coming around the outside, here. Barkley heading her off on the ring wall. Just a bit of mis-timing on Veda's part, trying to close that gap but she picked a poor time to do it.”
--- “Probably testing the veteran racer, Brill. I think that was a little bit of gamesmanship from today's favorite to win.”
--- “Now if you're watching XR for the first time, folks — and who would that be anyway? But so you're aware, each XR gets a finite amount of energy, which they must use wisely on the course. You get a refill at the turn-around, but that's it. So if you spend too much, and at the wrong times, you'll burn out too early and be left to watch everyone else fly past.”
--- “It takes a great deal of patience, Brill. Only seasoned veterans really learn how to do it well. We've seen — what would you say, Brill? A dozen or so racers leading the circuit only to run out toward the end and watch racer after racer whiz by them to the finish?”
--- “That's right, Jeft, and that's perfectly fine to burn out as long as you're headed in a straight line with full acceleration toward the finish. That’s really a skill racers try to aim for, to get that final burnout right before the finish get maximum acceleration before crossing the finish ring. Remember, there's little resistance in space — so you keep your speed as long as you travel in a straight line.”
--- “And Brill, we've actually seen people miss the line, because they didn't have the energy to coast straight in, right?”
--- “It's rare at this level Jeft, but we have seen it. The pros here know what they're doing, and most try to time out their fuel so it lasts just long enough to get that final boost to the finish.”
--- “It’s a sad sight to see when a racer out in front coasts to the end, and has to helplessly watch racer after racer steal their spot, as they can do nothing but float toward the finish. Well, we should get back to the race — as you can see on your screen, they're reaching the final ring before the turnaround. This one's a nasty one — a split-mirror that distorts light traveling through space. It's going to be really tough for these racers to have any idea on where they're going.”
--- “We've got Antoinette on the bottom of your screen, passing Chipper Jones. Took an over-the-top move, that's a gutsy one, but it seems to have paid off for the returning phenom.”
--- “Well, I think this is the ring where Antoinette can really gain some ground, Brill.”
--- “Jeft, I'd almost wonder if you're not rooting for Isellia a bit?”
--- “It's a great story, Brill, and a strong finish would be a really great tale. Just the fact that she found a way to return to racing after all that she went through the first time around — it's amazing, I think. We poked around a little into her background and it appears she has been working on a transport ship, Brill. Do you think Veda's ever worked on a transport ship?”
--- “I don't think so, Jeft. I think her parents probably own a transport ship, or maybe a fleet. Well, anyway, let's see how they handle the split — I think either way we’re going to see something interesting. We'll be right back with more Farven Point 400 action. Stay tuned!”
***
"I'm resigning," Malvers said.
Malvers looked exhausted, MaBrown thought; as if he'd been up all night contemplating a decision. Malvers sat at a conference room table at the Star Runner, leaning back in the chair as Taylin and MaBrown stared at him in disbelief. Gone was the usual poise, the practiced posture with which he typically held himself. Malvers practically looked like MaBrown sitting in his apartment watching the XR races.
MaBrown was no longer thinking about last night's story. He had tomorrow's headline sitting right in front of him. That part of his brain struggled for attention with the part that just couldn't believe what he was hearing. The practiced, careful politician Malvers was stepping down? It wasn't like Farven Point's most ambitious public figure.
"Why?" MaBrown finally, bluntly, asked. Hearing Malvers was resigning was like a boxer hearing he'd no longer be able to spar with his favorite opponent.
Malvers looked up at MaBrown, ignoring the question hanging in the room. "There'll be a press conference at 1 p.m. Perhaps you'll learn more then." Malvers gave only the slightest of winks, part of his charm when he wasn't being abrasive.
"He won't tell me a thing either," Taylin said.
"I assume I can expect you there, MaBrown?" Malvers seemed to be gaining traction as he went on.
"Of course," MaBrown said, grabbing his notebook. "But —"
"Very good!" Malvers stood up, straightening his tie and making micro-adjustments to his silver suit. Malvers looked almost like his old self, almost as if his preening wiped away the fear and depression they just saw. Perhaps the first time MaBrown saw any real emotion on the administrator's face. "I'll see myself out. I've been here enough times over the years, huh?" Malvers quipped as he walked through the door, striding through the newsroom.
MaBrown sat silently for a second. He reflected on how this encounter was the first time he could think of seeing real emotion out of the administrator. The goodbye of a longtime rival.
"Why do I have a feeling we're not going to find out what the real reason he's leaving?" Taylin said.
"I think I have an idea."
"Oh really?"
“I’ve got the document in my bag.”
“What document?”
“Let’s just say this goes back farther than this latest proposal.”
“It — wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
MaBrown said nothing, but nodded. He had a hard time containing the grin on his face.
“That’s a big story.” Taylin couldn’t contain her excitement.
“Big? This is the story of my career,” MaBrown said. “Not necessarily the way I wanted it to play out.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s running. This wasn’t his idea. No way. He’s being coerced somehow. I think he’s being forced out.”
“Still a story.”
“Of course. But it's more than that. This isn't just one of his slippery bending of rules or hiding of documents. Something serious is going on. He's running from something big."
"What?"
"That's what I plan to find out."
Chapter 35
--- “Thank you for joining us, we're back — and if you're just tuning in, we've just finished the laser ring, sorry for missing the tail end of that —”
--- “I think, Brill, I think the contest, the order of contestants was decided by the time we got half way through the section.
--- “That's right — and the lasers, they proved a difficult challenge for our competitors today, didn’t they?”
--- “Certainly Brill, it was a really tough section, it actually took out — it's actually hard to believe, but it actually took out more racers tha
n the green goo section before that.”
--- “And you know what, Jeft, we got a little time before the racers hit the turnaround, let's recap what happened during that dangerous segment.”
--- “And that's right, folks at home, they can see the riders approaching the turnaround, and they're going to for the most part stay in that order, aren't they Brill? We don't usually see many surprises at this point, and that's because the riders are going to try to maximize their efficiency, they're running at the optimal speed for that, there's no advantage to letting out a burst of speed. It would just be a waste.”
--- “And let's remember, racers are only allowed so much fuel, which is sufficient if they race conservatively, but if they run too hard, they might be out in front, but they're not going to make it to the finish, are they, Jeft? It's one of those unspoken rules that you don't pass on the approach to the turnaround.”
--- “Brill, you could call it a rule, but it really comes down to common sense. They jockey for position out of the ring and then they're pretty much set once they hit that optimal cruising speed. They’re going to make a burst of speed straight toward the turnaround and try to coast until they need to start into the turn. Just to recap, we still had Veda and Allister Barkley vying for that pole position, neither wanting to give up the top spot for too long — it's going to be a real interesting race between those two today.”
--- “And let's not forget, we saw, how many five, six racers —”
--- “I think it was more like eight —”
--- “As many as eight racers drop out of the circuit in the final ring before turnaround — that's incredible, there isn't a huge field left in this race, is there?”
--- “No there isn't, and that will only create a better chance for — Brill, let's talk about Isellia's return to this race.”
--- “I thought she was out, Jeft, but riding the coattails of Chipper Jones, she then gained steady ground throughout the race since then, and positively aced the laser section.”
--- “I don't know if I've seen a performance — oh right there, that highlight we just saw, she spins between two of them and quickly drops altitude to avoid a volley of them. Now that's a move I wouldn't expect of a veteran racer, Brill.”
--- “She sits right now in sixth, and that's incredible for the young rider's return to racing.”
--- “I think it comes down to all that time on cargo support. We haven't caught up with her yet since her return, but I think, no matter what happens, some members of the press are going to want to hear her story.”
--- “Reports we received are that she and Veda had some kind of exchange during practice yesterday.”
--- “I've seen some amateur holo footage, Brill, and it doesn't disappoint! You'd think the two were already racing. I think there was a little testing: Veda testing the returner, Isellia, and frankly, Antoinette testing herself.”
--- “Speaking of Veda, and probably to no one's surprise, she leads in the run up — we're pretty close to the ramp up to the turnaround, where we're going to start to see riders increase their speed to gain momentum. Following her is Allister Barkley, Ghust, and Tangol Rey taking up those spots. Rounding out the top five is Berf Bigley, who also has made quite the comeback. Didn't expect to see him up this high, a typical mid-pack finisher.”
--- “When we come back, we'll be at the turnaround! Don't go away! We'll be right back, with the Farven Point 400!”
***
"We interrupt this XR Series Broadcast for a live update."
"What?" Joey exclaimed, frantic with the feeling of being cut-off. A field of racers crawling their way to the turnaround, all flying at relatively the same speed, vanished in a flash and was replaced instantly with a talking head wearing a suit. The man wore his dark hair slicked back, with neatly trimmed sideburns that looked freshly cut. "What happened. where's the race?"
The graphics underneath his screen, which read "breaking news report" with a smaller "Special Broadcast" underneath faded and the man made a show of clearing his throat, suggesting a seriousness to the following matter. A box above his head appeared, with a headshot of the administrator.
--- “This is Don Riley, live at City Hall, where city administrator Hamyor Malvers has just announced his resignation. The news comes on the coattails of last night's council meeting and attack outside his home. Malvers made the announcement at a press conference this morning …”
--- “For health reasons, and the safety of my family, I have chosen to step down from my post as this city's leader. It is with great sadness that I leave this post, for this city which I love, but I must consider the safety of my family as my top priority.”
--- “Malvers took no questions after the conference and has refused all requests for interview. He made no mention of the council meeting, in which he was accused of pushing a contract affiliated with Company C through the council floor. The administrator claimed not to know about the project's connection to the company, which is banned on doing business in Farven Point and other municipalities on this world.
--- “Malvers read his statement, and disappeared into his office. Our reporters on scene say they haven't seen any sign of him. We go now live to where they are on scene in the aftermath of the administrator's resignation.”
The holographic news anchor faded, replaced by a mob of reporters and city officials. In the foreground, a man with an earpiece, khaki pants and tucked in dress shirt held his finger to his ear, adjusting an earpiece no one could see.
--- “John, as you've said, we have multiple reporters on scene, both here outside the administrator's office, and outside the building. It's believed that he's still inside, no one has seen him leave the office or seen him anywhere outside.”
The anchor returned, popping up in a little box above the field reporter's head.
--- “It looks like a chaotic scene down there, Don.”
--- “John, it's not just us reporters here on scene, but city officials and several people who regularly attend council meetings are here. Everyone at city hall is shocked by the announcement today. It's unclear what will happen next. One city official tells me that no administrator has resigned in Farven Point for at least 200 years. It could be the first.”
--- “Thank you Don. We go live to Bonnie, who is on scene outside city hall. Bonnie, any sign of the administrator?”
--- “John, I haven't seen him or any of his staff outside. More and more people are continuing to flock to city hall, we can see them parking on the streets surrounding the building, getting off on buses. It's hard to say how people feel about the resignation. I talked to several people who just said they were shocked, and several said they just wanted to see for themselves.”
--- “Thanks Bonnie. We're going to return you to your Farven Point 400 broadcast, and will return if there are further developments.”
"Well, that's something," Porter said, shaking his head. "We sure picked an interesting time to visit this city."
"Yes," Kenpur said. He stared straight ahead, without much expression. If he was thinking anything, neither Joey nor Porter could have said. "Interesting."
***
MaBrown looked shocked as he stepped into the administrator's office. Instead of stepping through the front door, as he had for many years, he walked in through a trap door in the floor. He'd met one of Malvers's staffers, as instructed, who led him to the outside entrance on the side behind a statue in the lawn. MaBrown couldn't contain his excitement as he looked around the administrator's office, as if seeing if for the first time.
"Well, Mr. MaBrown, how nice of you to pop in," Malvers said, chuckling a little before a cloud passed over his face again.
"This... this was here the whole time," MaBrown said, still bewildered and wide-eyed. No day as a journalist was ever truly like the last, but this day was proving too much.
"One of many secrets you failed to uncover," Malvers said. He absently tugged at the corners of his lapel, a habit that wouldn't die.
/> "I'm sure," MaBrown said, regathering his wits. He sat down in his chair and got out his lightbook, pen at the ready. "You must have a quote for me."
"Oh I've got more than that for you," Malvers said. His tone was light but his eyes narrowed. He had something good. MaBrown wasn't sure what could top his resignation.
Malvers reached into his desk, and hesitated a second. He gave MaBrown a long stare, before pulling out a small brown envelope. It was sealed, with a small red tab designed to instantly open the package when pulled.
"What's this?"
Malvers swallowed and leaned forward, putting his hands flat on the desk. "It's everything."
"What does that mean?" MaBrown asked, taking the envelope. He turned it around in his hand, as if that would tell him much about the contents.
"It's the whole story, MaBrown. It's everything you've ever wanted to know about Company C's attempts to break its way into this world. Everything they've done to manipulate this office, this administration. It's recordings of their agents strong-arming me."
Robot Awareness: Special Edition Page 36
