by S A Pavli
Mark nodded absently, and leant on the counter across the girl.
Andy and Jo walked away, with Andy shaking his head, leaving Mark deep in conversation with the suddenly very friendly receptionist.
“Doesn’t waste any time does he?” muttered Andy.
“Well, we are not here long,” said Jo with a smile. Andy looked at his key.
“We are in 1013,” he said. “Penthouse suite eh? This is the life.”
“Could get used to it,” agreed Jo They exited the elevator into a large square lounge area, with a group of heavy wooden settees and chairs clustered in the middle facing each other across a thick patterned carpet. The furniture was made from a peculiar purple brown wood, unlike anything they had ever seen before. There were a dozen doors leading off the area, numbered 1001 to 1013.
As they entered their room, both of them could not restrain a ‘mmm’ of admiration. It was huge and sumptuously furnished, but it was the view of the city out of the broad windows which impressed. Double doors led out onto their own private balcony. Jo dashed around with delight, exploring the apartment and exclaiming at the luxury of the fixtures and fittings.
“Don’t do too bad for themselves here do they?” she exclaimed.
“Very generous of our client to put us up in such luxury,” said Andy. “I wonder why…?” he finished thoughtfully.
“Ohh.., Andreas Baross, you are always so suspicious,” she chided him.
“And you are always so trusting,” he said, smiling fondly at her. “That is why I love you so much.”
She stood in the bedroom doorway and smiled seductively.
“The bed is huge…,” she said.
Mark smiled to himself as he walked to his room. Joyce’s phone number was entered in his comm. What a nice girl, he thought, so friendly to a lonely traveller. It was interesting how her whole demeanour had changed when she had learnt that they were with the Carstairs party. Andy and Jo had thought that he was interested in the girl for his own nefarious reasons, but in fact, he was interested in her change of attitude and wanted to learn more. And learn more he most certainly did. Which was not to say that the nefarious reasons would not feature in the proceedings, at some point.
Room 1012 turned out to be most agreeably luxurious, and he treated himself to a long hot bath before raiding the mini bar and making up a large fruit drink. On the veranda, with the ice clinking soothingly in his glass, he admired the view from the depths of a comfortable chair. He activated his comm to retrieve the note from Carstairs. It was short and to the point.
Dear Captain Alexander,
Welcome to New Athens. I would be pleased if you and your ship’s officers would join my party for lunch in my room. Two o’clock local time, room 1001
I look forward to our meeting
Geremy Phillip Carstairs
He looked at his watch. Nine o’clock. We have five hours he thought, a good opportunity to do some sightseeing. He thumbed the comm unit.
“Alden, connect me to Andy and Jo.” There was a pause, followed by Alden’s voice informing him that he was connected. “Andy, come in, this is Mark.” He waited for a few moments and repeated the message. There was still no reply. He grunted in frustration.
“What are those two up to?” he grumbled, taking a sip of his cocktail. Then he chuckled. The only way they would not get his call is if they were not wearing their communicators.
“Alden, Andy and Jo are not replying. Keep trying them in one minute intervals. If they don’t reply in fifteen minutes, I’ll go and get them.”
“Understood Captain,” replied the AI.
It was nineteen minutes later, and Mark was half way through his second cocktail when they replied.
“Just taking a bath Captain,” said Andy apologetically. Mark grinned to himself.
“No problem Andy. Listen, we have a meeting with the clients at two, for lunch, in room 1001. Shall we take a little tour of the city? Don’t fancy sitting here for five hours.”
“Sure Mark. Give us half an hour?” asked Andy.
“Make it ten o’clock,” said Mark.
They hired an auto-taxi, driven by a talkative AI computer who seemed determined to educate them on the history of Adelphi and New Athens, in detail and at length, with nothing missed out. Bombarded and exhausted by facts and figures, and the sights and sounds of the now fully awakened city, they sought refuge in a small bar in the town centre, thanking the disappointed auto-taxi, who kept explaining that they still had another hour of their tour fully paid for.
“Did you notice something?” asked Andy, taking a long slurp of his cold beer. The heat and humidity had climbed slowly through the morning, although they had been insulated from it inside the taxi. The bar was air conditioned of course, and afforded a panoramic view of the city centre. It was a city centre like a thousand others in the inhabited galaxy, streets of shops, bustling with shoppers, above them, AG hover cars flew in streams like regimented insects.
“Notice something?” asked Mark blankly, his head still buzzing with facts and figures. Andy pointed into the distance.
“Carstairs,” he said.
Mark followed the direction of his finger. A large building, all steel and glass, rose above the others around it. Huge neon lights spelled out the name ‘Carstairs’ across it.
“Do you think…?” began Andy.
“Yes,” said Mark. “The biggest department stores on the planet. About twenty of them all over Adelphi. Also Hotels, like the one we are staying in, the Metropolis. Our Mister Carstairs is the richest man in Adelphi.”
“How do you know that?” asked Andy in disbelief. “Carstairs may be a very common name.”
“A little birdie told me,” said Mark with a wink.
“You sly….,” began Andy.
“You thought I just wanted to get into her silk undies did n’t you?” said Mark accusingly.
“Oh, sorry I misjudged you,” said Andy sarcastically. “You wanted to get into her undies, and pump her for information. That’s alright then.”
“Well, at least we are not going into the meeting totally ignorant. So, why should the richest man on Adelphi be interested in exploring an unknown planet? The chances of finding anything valuable are remote, and in any case, whatever is found will not belong to them. Interplanetary law says so.” said Mark.
“Perhaps he just likes to fund scientific research,” suggested Jo.
“Not to the extent of spending hundreds of thousands of credits,” said Mark.
“But for him, hundreds of thousands of credits are like…, well…, a round of drinks for us,” said Andy, waving his hand around the table.
Mark inclined his head doubtfully.
“The really rich,” continued Andy, “like to do bizarre things.”
“Ah, and you would know that,” said Mark.
“No,” said Andy. “I have read about it. Rich men have always funded all manner of things. It’s a way of making them feel important. Anyone can be rich, but if you have an institute named after you, or a great discovery, or…, something that lives on after you, that’s different.”
“So our client is an old fashioned benevolent patron?” said Mark thoughtfully. “Well, we shall see. Drink up boys and girls. We have a meeting in an hour.”
Chapter 3
Doctor Melanie Sophia Carstairs had not visited her father’s penthouse suite for some time, but the door recognised her and opened obligingly. She walked in to be met by him, walking towards her, arms open. She hugged the distinguished grey haired old gentleman, then pulled away to fix him with a frown.
“You can be the most damnably elusive so and so,” she said, the fond look in her eyes taking the sting from her words.
“That’s no way for a daughter to talk to her beloved old father,” he said, attempting a severe look at the young woman, but then favouring her with a broad smile.
“And that is no way for a beloved father to treat his only daughter,” she replied. “God dad, I’
ve been trying to get hold of you for days. What is this all about?”
“Got your curiosity piqued has it?” he chuckled. “I knew it was the only way to get you here. Dragging you away from that laboratory of yours is like getting a leech off a donkey.”
“You have a very delicate turn of phrase, as always,” she remarked, allowing him to steer her towards the group of overstuffed sofas in the centre of the room.
“Little drinky?” he asked solicitously, indicating a magnum nestling in an ice bucket. She inclined her head in agreement, and as he walked to the drinks cabinet to get a goblet she lowered herself gracefully into the armchair. Tall and slender, with short auburn hair, she had her Italian mother’s classical looks, with full lips and intense dark eyes.
“Professor Wong came to see me last week and told me that I had leave of absence from the University until the start of next term,” she said. “I don’t remember asking for leave of absence,” she added, speaking quietly and sounding matter of fact. But the glare she sent in the direction of her father would have melted an iceberg. “Was that your doing?”
“Ah yes baby, the Professor was very obliging,” nodded Carstairs amiably. “Although I did mention how important it was for his department to find the money for a new electron microscope.” She harrumphed ironically as she accepted the goblet of iced champagne from him.
“And what is this about an exciting new biological challenge?” she asked. “What do you know about biological challenges?”
“I am eighty five years old,” he said. “That’s enough of a biological challenge for me.” He clinked his glass with hers and took a sip of the champagne. “But you, on the other hand…” She gave him a warning look. He leaned forward and picked up a book from the coffee table. It was entitled ‘The Biology of Adelphi’ and the author was Doctor Melanie Sophia Carstairs.
“I have a billion credit business, and my daughter writes books on Biology,” he said mournfully.
“You should have had a son to take over your business empire,” she said unsympathetically.
“Hah! If I’d had a son, he probably would have been a layabout musician.” he said. “Kids today. They all have a mind of their own.”
“Kids have always had a mind of their own dad, you should know that,” she said. “Now, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
He smiled and nodded.
“Let me explain what this is about. I want you to lead a scientific expedition to explore a new planet. A new challenge. What do you think?”
She looked perplexed, then thoughtful.
“A new planet. But…”
He held up a restraining hand.
“No need to answer now. Let me introduce you to some people, tell you all a lot more, then you can think about it. Follow me.” He stood and walked towards the closed doors leading to the veranda and waved for her to follow him. Melanie shook her head in frustration, but followed him.
Through the doors, the heat and humidity hit them, despite the blasts of cool air from the air conditioning units jutting up from the floor. How profligate we are, trying to cool the planet thought Melanie. Fortunately, fusion power electricity was cheap and plentiful. The hum of the city crowded in with the heat and she paused to admire the view. The Metropolitan Hotel was one of the tallest buildings in New Athens, and the view was worth enjoying. There were five individuals seated around the table on the broad veranda, four men and one woman. As Carstairs strode towards them they all stood.
“This is my daughter and the person who will be in charge of the expedition,”said Carstairs. “Doctor Melanie Sophia Carstairs.”
Carstairs made the introductions, one by one.
“James Walters, planetary geologist, Ray LeBlanc, physicist and Doctor Leslie Peters, medical doctor and biologist .” He paused before turning to two individuals in military fatigues. “Finally, Major Pete Follet , and private Jimmy Petrov, our two military men.” When everyone was seated again, Carstairs continued.
“I have been given permission by the authorities to mount an expedition to explore a new star system.”
“That’s not possible,” began Melanie. “Only governments are allowed to mount expeditions to explore stars. That was agreed from the very beginning of Space exploration.”
“Yes, in order to avoid a free for all,” agreed Carstairs. “Private individuals appropriating planets and starting their own dynasties.” He shook his head and grimaced at the thought. “No, that law still applies. But there is no reason why private individuals cannot fund expeditions to discover habitable planets. If any are discovered, well, of course they would be handed over to the appropriate government for development.”
One of the military men, the Major, lent forward and addressed him.
“Why would a private individual fund such an exploration?” he asked. “What would be in it for them?”
“Good question,” said Carstairs. He took a sip of his champagne. “Let me answer it with a bit of history, The first Interstellar Warp drive was perfected seven hundred years ago. During that time, we have explored a few thousand stars. That amounts to a handful of expeditions each year. And during that time, we have discovered just twenty habitable planets. But a more important statistic is that the cost of Interstellar travel has, during that time, come down by a factor of a million or so. In other words, in the early days, only governments could afford to mount expeditions because starships were so horrendously expensive. Early ships cost billions to build and had crews of dozens of engineers and technicians to keep them running. But the latest ships can now be owned by private individuals, and are almost completely automated.”
“But surely,” interrupted Melanie. “That means that the danger of private exploitation is even greater. A group of fanatics could buy a starship and head off to find themselves a planet to settle.”
“Yes they could, but the prospects are not very good. We have explored thousands of stars and found twenty habitable planets. Not very good odds,” replied Carstairs. Doctor Peters snorted.
“That wouldn’t stop them,” she said. Carstairs chuckled his agreement.
“That is why the law is still in place. Planets can only be exploited by governments. But at the same time, it is being recognised that it has become impossible to stop private exploration. So instead, governments have been given the authority to licence private exploration, with a few perks to encourage them.”
“Aha, I thought there might be a few perks somewhere,” said Melanie.
“Trade is the lifeblood of the economy my dear, whatever you academic types may think.”
“So what sort of perks are we talking about?” she asked. Carstairs looked evasive.
“Well, things like preferential trading agreements, first choice of land, resources. That sort of thing.” He shrugged his shoulders casually, as if dismissing such trivial details as unworthy of discussion. At that moment, the front door speaker chimed and a small screen by the door lit up to show three individuals standing in the corridor outside the apartment.
“Aha, good, the rest of the team,” said Carstairs. “I’ll just go and let them in. James, would you show my guests through to the dining room.” He waved a hand at a young man, dressed in hotel livery, who had been standing inconspicuously at a far door. The young man stepped forward and opened the door next to him.
“Please come this way ladies and gentlemen,” he said. Carstairs turned and disappeared through the other door to greet his new visitors and Melanie followed the others into the sumptuously furnished dining area. A large table occupied pride of place, laid out with cutlery, plates and a selection of crystal glasses.
Doctor Leslie Peters trailed behind the others and approached Melanie as they walked through.
“Doctor Carstairs…,” she began.
“Call me Melanie,” said Melanie quickly.
“Melanie,” smiled Leslie. She was a fair haired attractive young woman, with a bright and friendly smile and Melanie smiled back warmly. “Yo
ur book was the standard reference book for my biology degree,” she continued.
“Now you are making me feel old,” said Melanie.
“I am amazed by how young you are,” said Leslie. “I expected a crusty old…oh I’m sorry,” she stopped looking suddenly confused. “I didn’t mean to be offensive.”
Melanie laughed.
“It’s not offensive to say how young I look,” she said.
“I’m sorry about my preconceptions,” said Leslie. “I just wanted to say what an honour it is for me to work with you. And this is so exciting, to go on a real field trip.”
“Did you know where we were going when you accepted the job?” asked Melanie.
“I knew we would be exploring a new star system, but not which one,” said Leslie.
“Do you know any of the others?” asked Melanie. Leslie shook her head.
“No, I believe Ray and James both work at the Sir Isaac Newton Research Institute, so they both know each other. But I was a research scientist at the Sidney Institute for Alien Organisms. One of your father’s ‘charities’ I believe.” She pronounced ‘charities with a meaningful wink.
“Is that your speciality?” asked Melanie.
“Yes, I did a Masters at Intech after my doctorate. They offered me a job after I qualified.”
“So you didn’t want to work as a medical doctor?” asked Melanie.
“Not yet,” said Leslie. “I am not ready to concentrate on bunions and piles yet.”
“Well, that is something exciting to look forward to,” said Melanie with a smile, while Leslie snorted her amusement..
Mark had been looking forward to meeting Carstairs, but the old gentleman who opened the door was not what he had expected. Pink and scrubbed, looking like everyone’s favourite uncle, he did not look the part of a billionaire businessman.
“I am Captain Mark Alexander,” he said.
“Welcome Captain. I am Geremy Carstairs.” They shook hands and Mark turned towards his two companions.
