Krista stormed back into her office and yelled, "You bloody well shut up, yank! You and your artificial girlfriend have my father ready to go on another bloody damned crusade!"
Looking past her at Andrew, I asked, "Another one?"
He shrugged and grinned as he said, "The first one -- or rather, the first one she knew about -- set up Citizens of the World. She remembers it as a rather uphill effort."
Krista whirled and yelled, "It was a bloody uphill effort, dad! One that nearly saw you killed half a dozen times!"
Andrew walked into the room and sat down. "Only nearly, daughter. Only nearly. It needed to be done. It still needs done, and if you didn't believe that, you wouldn't come here to sit at that desk every day."
Sighing, he said to us, "There have been death threats and two attempted bombings of these offices, but she seems to think it's perfectly all right for her to be here. If only she would deign to allow her poor, aging father as much self-direction in his life." Shaking his head, he said in a confidential tone, "She's afraid I might be hurt, I think."
Raging at his teasing, Krista's voice rose again as she said, "You were gone most of the time until I was twenty-two, dad. Now and then a friendly man my mother identified as my father would show up at the flat for a week or two. He sent me odd things from odd places and he wrote to me occasionally, but I didn't know him well enough to know what to write back to him." She spun and pointed at me, saying, "And then you brought him back to us in bloody tatters!"
I shrugged. "Well, sorry 'bout that, lady. I wasn't the one who tattered him."
Turning to Andrew, I said, "I'll bet that little incident taught you to wear old clothes when you sally forth to fight for truth and justice, didn't it?"
Andrew laughed and started to say something, but Krista fairly screamed, "Don't you dare make light of this! My father nearly died out there!"
"Krista, sit down and belt up!" Andrew said sharply. "He's the only goddamned reason I didn't die out there, and I won't stand for you ranting at him like a goddamned harpy. One more word from you and we'll find out if I can still put you over my knee!"
He was on his feet and close enough to be nearly nose to nose with her when she whipped around to face him. Krista stepped back a pace as he spoke and her butt bumped her desk, which allowed her to retreat no farther.
Steph stood up and quietly said, "I'd like to say something, please."
After a moment more of meeting his daughter's glare Andrew said, "Krista. You will be quiet while Stephanie speaks. Stephanie, you have the floor."
"Thank you, Andrew. Krista, sales of the PFM's will fund the AI-run free clinics. If you would have the clinics, you must accept the distribution of PFM's and their later contraceptive feature. We cannot allow the current practice of unconstrained breeding if we largely eliminate the usual causes of death. At the very least we could expect worldwide famine and war within two generations."
Having finished speaking, Stephanie sat down. Krista looked around the room for a moment and something seemed to dawn on her.
"I think we've had a misunderstanding," she said. "I don't object to contraception; I was simply pointing out that many people will reject PFM's, whatever the benefits. I was upset -- and still am -- because my father is putting himself in harm's way again."
Andrew asked, "And you wouldn't be putting yourself in the same danger?"
Krista snapped a glare at him.
"I don't see a problem," I said. "All personnel involved will have the protective fields engaged from the outset, right Steph?"
Steph looked askance at me and said, "Ed, my plan calls for all PFM's to be enhanced at once."
Shrugging, I said, "So change the plan. A lot of places are run by people who'd prefer things to remain just as they are or to get even worse. Most of Central Africa and Central America. India, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and all the other '-istans'. They'll make enthusiastic noises in public, but anyone who threatens their control over their people will have disastrous problems. Those involved with the clinics and PFM's will be in danger from day one in more than half of the nations of the world."
Marlene raised a hand and said, "I'm afraid I don't quite understand how PFM's and free clinics will threaten anyone's control over their people."
Stephanie answered her first.
"In some countries medicine and medical facilities are provided only through government-controlled systems. PFM's would greatly reduce peoples' dependence on those systems."
Andrew added, "And let's not forget those places where it's rule by intimidation; simple brutalities such as chopping off body parts as an example to others. I've seen villages in Somalia and and other African countries where every fourth person was missing fingers, feet, or hands, and it hasn't always been clear whether the choppers were with the government or the local warlords. PFM's could end some of that."
Maybe a whole ten seconds passed before Krista asked, "Ed, what role will you play in Stephanie's plans?"
I'd been sipping my coffee and had to think only a moment before answering, "A damned small one, if any. I'll demo my kite and play show and tell in the western countries, but there's no way in hell I'm going back to Africa or the Middle East. Fact is, except for maybe Australia and New Zealand, I can't think of any good reasons for me to go south of the equator again anywhere in the world."
That statement earned me quizzical looks from Steph and Marlene. Andrew was pouring tea and didn't look up.
Krista fixed me with a narrow gaze and asked, "Do you feel that way because most of the people south of the equator aren't white?"
Shaking my head with a sigh, I said, "No, Krista, it isn't because they're varying shades of brown. It's because they live in places I never want to see again. Have you ever been to Africa? To South America?"
"No, I haven't."
"Then treat yourself to a few months anywhere in those regions and you'll see why I'm not interested. They're mostly cesspools of disease, violence, and governmental tyranny. Bloody tribal warfare is an almost daily occurrence and some Africans still capture and sell each other to the Sudanese as slaves. Semi-official rumors have it that some of the African nations have been experimenting in other African nations with bioweapons, and all that means is that nobody can prove anything yet or that nobody wants to, 'cause then they'd have to do something about it. Fact is, I don't think there'll be any real peace in Africa as long as there are Africans in it and the whole damned continent can sink for all I care. Let someone else introduce them to PFM's."
Chapter Fifty-Four
After a moment of the kind of silence you hear after someone farts during a funeral service, Krista said, "Well, that was enlightening."
Andrew chuckled again.
"You'll find that many people feel that way about Africa, including many of the native Africans."
Giving him the fisheye look, Krista said, "This discussion is over for the moment. Let's go to dinner," and grabbed her purse and keys.
Stopping before Stephanie, Krista said, "I'd like to speak with you later, Stephanie. Without Ed or Andrew present, please, if that's possible," then she turned to glance at me as if to see how I'd take it.
I shrugged and said, "She doesn't report to me anymore. Go for it."
Looking at me, Stephanie said, "I'm at your convenience, Krista."
"Fine, then," said Krista. "After dinner?"
"That would be fine."
With a glance at Krista, then at me, Andrew got to his feet. Marlena stood up and picked up her purse, then went to her desk and took something out of a drawer. Krista set forth at a march pace and ushered us all out to the street, then locked the door.
Marlena and Andrew seemed rather alert, so I took a look around, too. Susanne spoke through my implant to tell me that she detected nothing amiss in the vicinity. I nodded slightly in acknowledgement.
Again at a march pace, Krista led the way down the sidewalk. I sent a tendril out to slap a metal sign near her and she jumped sharply, then stopped
to look around. We caught up and gathered her into our group as we passed the spot.
The restaurant was a surf 'n turf place that had its own stairwell entrance. Andrew said it occupied most of the second floor and the food was passable. Krista corrected him by saying that the food was excellent. Andrew reiterated that the food was only passable. When Krista looked to Marlena for backup, Marlena demurred.
"Don't pull me into this. I only eat here when someone else pays." She glanced at me and added, "It's kind of pricey."
It was also packed. People were lined up all the way to the head of the stairs.
"Are you dead set on eating here?" I asked. "It'll be an hour before we see any food, Krista. What about that place down the street?"
"Indeed," said Andrew. "I'm not keen on this crowd either."
"We have guests," said Krista, "And the only other restaurant nearby is going to be equally crowded. Have patience."
When the line didn't move for more than ten minutes, Andrew said, "Screw patience. Ed, how about fish and chips?"
With a shrug I said, "Suits me. Food. Now."
Marlena bit her lip as she glanced from us to Krista, but she sided with us.
"Me, too," she said. "Food now."
"Krista?" asked Andrew.
She gave him a withering look that abated not a whit as she turned it on me, then she looked at Steph and Susanne.
"We don't eat," said Steph.
Krista capitulated with an exasperated sigh. "Oh, well, yes, fine, certainly. Oh, by all means, let's go stand in the street with our dinners."
"We do have keys to the office," said Marlena. "We wouldn't necessarily have to stand in the street, you know."
"You could dine aboard the flitter," said Susanne.
Andrew brightened considerably and grinned at her. "You're on, milady. That's a fine idea!"
And so it was. Krista again led the way -- apparently from long habit -- and we went cattycornered across the street to a storefront vendor's window for fish and chips, then walked to the mouth of the alley to board the flitter.
The subject of PFM's inevitably came up and again Steph went over various infos and possibilities concerning uses and distribution. It became apparent that Krista still had a few misgivings about the program, and because she did, so did Marlena.
I finally tossed my hands up and took my beer to the back of the flitter.
"You ladies work it out," I said. "I've had enough."
Krista said, "I simply don't like committing to something without feeling completely proper about it, Ed."
"Yeah, fine. Like I said, work it out. I'm taking a break."
After some moments the discussion began again. Not long after that I heard someone reach in the cooler, then Andrew came to stand beside me. For quite a while we shared the view of the city below without speaking.
My beer was half gone before he said, "Krista simply likes to be well informed, Ed."
I chuckled and said, "Oh, yeah, I can see that, Andrew. Can we expect a decision by the end of this decade?"
He also chuckled, then said, "I think she's at least tentatively decided to join Stephanie's endeavor. She's just rehashing matters to reinforce her decision."
Looking directly at him, I said, "Andrew, it's almost midnight. She's been rehashing for more than three hours. Surely she'd have found any stoppers by now."
With a snort of laughter Andrew said, "She's very thorough." He sipped his beer, then added, "You realize this plan represents nothing less than a form of benevolent world domination, don't you?"
Shrugging, I said, "Management, Andrew. Just management. Reproduction regulation by default and an end to some of the ills that have always plagued humanity. It's a plan that may even work to some degree."
He turned a surprised eye at me. "You don't sound very convinced."
"I'm not. People will always find ways to fuck things up."
"Then why are you going along with it?"
"It's the best plan for peace on Earth that anyone's ever come up with and Steph's my friend, so I'm helping her. You know how that is, Andrew."
Nodding, he said, "Yes. Yes, I do."
Nearly a mile in the air and cruising above London's East End, we saw smoke rising from a building below and to our right.
As we lowered for a closer view I looked at Susanne and asked, "How bad is it?"
She tapped into the police and fire frequencies and we listened. The fire department had all but four men and two women out of the building. The people were on the roof awaiting an extension ladder that was being aimed at them from the street.
"The fire is about to..." Susanne didn't finish her statement.
The fire burst outward as a gas line exploded, blowing several large windows out of their frames. One of the big plate-glass windows sailed like a square Frisbee to collide with the ladder, knocking it askew and buckling the ladder's second extension in an explosive shower of shattered glass.
Cables flapped and the upper third of the ladder slammed hard on the ground, then swung toward some parked cars and the end of the ladder skipped off the ground again before embedding itself in the side of one of the cars.
Another ladder truck was trying to squeeze through a car-lined narrow street. It soon gave up and reversed course to try another approach. As we drew closer we could see that each of the women was holding a cat and that one held a leash to which was attached a small dog.
The dog was insanely struggling against its leash and collar and one of the cats had climbed to a woman's shoulder, where she tried to keep it from jumping away. The other cat simply hunkered in terror in its owner's arms.
The climbing cat freaked when fire blew upward through the roof some yards from the little group. It struggled free and ran to the edge of the roof, then stood staring as if trying to decide if the fall was survivable.
"Glider on," I said, and took a running leap off the deck.
Andrew shouted and one of the ladies screamed as I dove through the air toward the building. The scream abated and finally stopped.
A billow of flame and smoke ahead made me remember to say, "Five suit on."
The cat saw me coming and started to freak some more, if such were possible. I sent a burst of theta waves at it and it nearly toppled in relaxation before I grabbed it in passing with my right hand and shoved the guidebar forward and up with my left.
One of the women stood staring at me and the other started toward me as I flared to a stop and dropped to the roof. I handed her the limp cat, turned off my glider, and kept the theta waves flowing as I quickly "helped" her out of her sweater and used it to bundle the cat.
The other woman's dog attacked my leg but couldn't bite through my five suit. She pulled the dog back, but then it began gnawing alternately on her leg and the legs of one of the men who had the misfortune to be standing too close.
I used my stun wand to put the dog to sleep, but that meant not concentrating on the cat for a moment. It woke up and went nuts, so I lightly stunned it, too.
"Sue," I said, "Where's the safest place to stand up here?"
"What?" asked the woman. "My name isn't Sue."
Through my implant Sue said, "Six feet to your right, Ed. There's a steel beam under that spot. I'm about to take the woman with the dog."
The woman, her dog, and the cat suddenly went limp without falling and lifted from the roof. They floated in a cluster over the edge and a safe distance beyond the roof before beginning to descend to the parking lot.
The four men and the other woman couldn't see the flitter, so they had no idea what was happening. Staring wide-eyed at her friends as they floated away, the woman next to me whispered, "Oh, dear God..!" and turned to stare at me as she backed away. One of the men took her by her shoulders to keep her from backing mindlessly toward a patch of roof that was smoldering.
The cat she was holding got an arm loose and raked her shoulder as it tried to free itself. I said a mental 'oh, hell,' and stunned them both before the woman coul
d back any farther and the cat could break free. The woman's knees gave out and the man holding her helped her collapse gently.
He looked up at me and then at the other three men, who were clustered near an air conditioning unit. Good enough; there had to be something solid under something that heavy.
"Who are you?" he asked. "How..?"
Rather than answer, I stunned him slightly. He stopped speaking and almost fell over. A few seconds later the man, woman, and cat began to float toward the parking lot. Some of the roof collapsed on both sides of the beam near the middle of the roof. Fire reached upward through the holes and the men snuggled closer to the massive air conditioner.
Tar began to bubble near their feet and one of the men moaned in fear. I sent a cold field deep into the area, but the air conditioner began to sag on one side. Another zap of freezing cold seemed to stabilize matters for the moment.
"Sue, the roof's about to go, I think. Check the air-conditioner."
"I see it," she said calmly. "Stand by."
All three men suddenly lifted from the roof and began drifting to the parking lot. One of the men screamed and struggled vainly, then went limp and silent. Another of the men simply stared at me until they were below the roof and out of sight.
I looked over the edges of the roof. Down in the small parking lot people were gathering around the first women Sue had lowered. There was nowhere to land without hitting someone. Trees blocked my path in two other directions and the streets were full of trucks and people. Shit. Nowhere to go.
The beam sagged under me, then sagged again. The air conditioner's mounts groaned, then it sagged and fell as the biggest hole yet opened up underneath it. The heat wasn't a problem for my five suit, but when the rest of the roof collapsed, landing in the rubble below would undoubtedly be a bitch of an experience.
Smoke and flame billowed swiftly upward from the huge hole in the roof and I had a thought as Sue airlifted the last three people off the roof.
I dove across the hole and said, "Parasail on."
Again someone aboard the flitter shrieked as the upwelling blast of heat and flames quickly lifted me a good seventy-five feet or so and I struggled to stay inside the roiling pillar of hot smoke. Somewhere above a hundred feet I said "glider on" and felt my wings snap into being.
3rd World Products, Inc., Book 4 Page 44
