I took her to one of the now-open dorms, and showed her the attached classroom, with its 100 VR terminals. Jane told us that she was capable of taking a person of normal intelligence from illiteracy to PhD level, the highest academic level, in any of hundreds of specialties. During the voyage, each colonist had been required to study at least one occupational or academic specialty. Of course, a ship full of PhD's could not establish a colony; Jane also contained detailed training on construction, engineering, and hundreds of other fields, all supplemented by hands-on experience in one of the VR gyms.
Jane left her wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "I finally understand why you wouldn't let anyone learn to fly a lander," she said. "Any nation on Haven that got access to that comp could literally own Haven." She sighed. "I'm very glad I've joined you, Jerd. You're offering our planet the future."
I debated whether or not to even take Ellie aboard Startrader; I wasn't sure how she'd react to the requirement to strip naked to go aboard. I hadn't modified the decontam procedures for Startrader. For one thing, she was my sanctuary; I didn't want to bring workers aboard her to do the work. For another, there was still a chance I'd have to leave Haven and take a 30-year voyage. If so, I definitely didn't want to share Startrader with a bunch of bugs and diseases. Still, we were going to need privacy for our discussions, and Startrader was the only place we could have reasonable comfort while being absolutely certain we wouldn't be overheard.
Finally, I decided to let her decide whether visiting another starship was worth breaking a taboo. I explained the requirement, and she understood, though she was a bit irritated at the implication that she was dirty or bug-infested. I assured her that no such implication was intended, and that both Heidi and I would also be stripping.
She shook her head with a slight smile. "It still sounds like an invitation to an orgy to me." She gave me a hard look. "Orgies are not my style."
I raised my hands in surrender. "No invitation intended. Ask Heidi. She's been aboard several times, and I haven't attacked her even once."
She threw a glance at Heidi, who was nodding. "It's true," she smiled. "I never knew whether to be reassured or offended."
Ellie frowned. "Really? We all just assumed …"
Heidi shook her head. "Our employer is a man of principle. He refuses to approach a woman whom he is fairly sure would agree only because she was ordered to do so, like Gisele. And now, he refuses to take advantage of an employee. So don't worry, Ellie, your virtue is safe."
Ellie grinned. "I'm like you: I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed."
Heidi returned her grin. "I know. We don't want to be pressured into it, but it's rather irritating that he doesn't even try."
I shook my head. "If it will make you feel better, I'll promise to turn into a raging animal at the sight of your naked bodies."
Heidi reached out and ruffled my hair, smiling. "No, you won't. You're our gallant gentleman."
I frowned. "Now I'm offended! That's a terrible thing to call a man. We all want to be the bad, dangerous man your mothers warned you about."
They both broke into laughter. "Sorry, Jerd. You've completely blown that image," Heidi said. "I'm afraid you're going to have to settle for being the nice guy our mothers told us to look for."
Unlike Heidi, Ellie typically wore one of the high-necked, ankle-length dresses that were nearly universal on Haven. I explained that she could carry her dress through the decontam and don it again on the other side, or she could wear one of the shipsuits that would be waiting.
She frowned. "Do we have to strip again coming out?"
I shook my head. "No. Only once per visit."
After a long moment, she decided. "I think I'd like to try one of those 'shipsuits'. They do look cute on Heidi and Jess."
Heidi smiled. "They are very comfortable and practical," she said. "You might never want to go back to dresses."
"Uh, I'm afraid not, ladies," I put in. "Ellie is going to be doing a lot of traveling on Haven; and we want her to be inconspicuous, not start a riot."
Ellie struck a pose. "Why, Jerd! You think I could start a riot? I'm flattered! Now it'll definitely be the shipsuit!"
Despite the banter, Ellie was still very nervous and hesitant about stripping. She stood blushing furiously as Heidi and I stripped. Ellie's eyes widened as our bodies were revealed, but they skittered away from me as the shipsuit pooled around my ankles.
Once Heidi and I were nude, Ellie's hands moved jerkily to the fastenings at her neck. With shaking hands, she unbuttoned her dress slowly, and I suppressed a smile as it occurred to me to wonder if she had ever heard of 'striptease', a common male entertainment.I decided she hadn’t.
At last, though, she was naked, red-faced and hugging herself to conceal what she could of her body. Which, of course, wasn't much. Barely over a meter and a half tall, she was lovely, a shapely, voluptuous woman in miniature. And actually, her efforts only added a sexual overtone to what was, after all, a simple decontam.
I ignored the overtone, of course, and simply led them into the airlock. Heidi slipped the breathing mask over Ellie's face; her own arms and hands were locked into position to conceal her body. When the inner airlock door opened, and we exited and began dressing, Ellie's relieved sigh was huge and heartfelt.
Jane had impressed her; but Lisa confused her, at first. I think she was convinced we were playing a trick on her, that Lisa was a person hiding somewhere and speaking through a radio. Heidi told me that Ellie finally decided that Lisa was a living human, perhaps even a disembodied brain floating in nutrient fluid somewhere on the ship.
Actually, this was a fairly common belief on a lot of planets, though the ship companies and the comp makers vehemently deny it at every opportunity. She actually called Lisa "that poor girl", and went out of her way to treat her as a person. I gave up trying to convince her otherwise. Besides, since I tend to treat Lisa like a person myself, I had little cause to snicker.
Ellie chuckled when we told her what we'd accomplished so far. "Some spies we are," she said. "Six of us hanging around trying to spy on you and each other, and all the time you're running all over Haven making business deals!"
"Well," I replied, "Don't feel too badly. Heidi did most of the running around. In fact, the only place I've been to has been Cellia City. That's going to change, though," I continued. "My next stop is in New Home, and then Tarrant."
We briefed her on the metals deal, the proposed choc deal, and even Heidi's bra deal. Ellie was fairly buxom for her size; she instantly insisted on examining a bra, and even slipped into a cabin to try one on, though it wasn't really her size. She became instantly enthusiastic, and insisted that we add chemical companies to our agenda. "I want some," she insisted. "And so will every woman on Haven." She shook her head. "This metals deal is all well and good, and I love choc, but this is the deal you should be working on!" Surprisingly, Heidi agreed with her.
Lisa's knowledge of such matters was limited, so I called up Jane on my tablet. It turned out that Adventurer actually had the capability to produce both the fabric and bras; it had been considered a requirement by her female passengers on their ten-year voyage. Of course, they were in 500-year-old styles, but after consulting Jane and Lisa, both women decided that there really wasn't that much difference; besides, given a sample, Jane should be able to produce even the latest style. That capability also meant she had the formulas for producing the stretchable synthetic materials that the women considered so wonderful. I sighed and had Jane print out copies of the information and produce samples of the material, as well as bras in a variety of sizes. Ellie and Heidi, of course, demanded we return to Adventurer before we going down to the planet so they could each be measured and have several bras made in their sizes.
This would be a much more complicated deal, since it would involve not only a chemical company to produce the basic synthetic, but perhaps also a fabrics company to create the breathable, stretchable fabric, as well as the lingerie compa
ny to design and construct the bras. I would also, of course, have to reimburse the University or Planetary Council for any materials or information from Jane.
Neither of the women were discouraged, though. They were certain that every woman on the planet would be beating down the doors of any store selling those wonderful bras. "Besides," Ellie added, "A fabric that stretches? There would be hundreds of uses for it, not just for bras."
Still, the metals deal was already underway, and we already had much to do. I had Lisa's 'bots load one of the large workboats with self-heating meal packs. Heidi smiled and told me I was spoiled. I agreed, and told her that when we returned to Adventurer for their bras, I planned to have the 'bots load several small fusactors from her emergency supplies, one for each of our "safe houses", as well as a working party of robots. There would be no more chopping wood or cold baths for me! I also told her that she was free to use the wood stove and the hand pump, if she wished.
Ellie examined our proposals and contracts, and smiled. She was impressed with Res Vont. In her years as Senior Secretary for one of Westin's largest firms, she had proofread and reviewed hundreds of contracts and proposals. "He doesn't miss a trick," she said. "And he's made sure these contracts comply with all the nations' requirements."
I nodded. "I'm glad to hear you say that. I'm going to be depending on him for all of my legal work; and there will be a lot. Copyrighting the books in all six countries, for instance. Maybe even forming companies for various purposes. Something tells me I'm going to make him rich."
It was a long discussion, but at last we finalized our plans. We were almost ready to activate full life support aboard Adventurer, and I had to be there for that, in case anything went wrong. I would put in plenty of public appearances, on Adventurer and down in the Zone, to give everyone something to report. We did not want anyone to begin suspecting that I was sneaking off.
"It wasn't easy to find an isolated location close to a city as large as Firstlanding," Heidi told us. "At first, the real estate agent just laughed. Finally, though, he found something I think is almost perfect, although it will need some renovating. You, sire," she said, pointing to me, "are Toms Jando, a successful businessman, desperate to find a secluded location to relieve the stress of your business activities. And now, you are the proud owner of a lighthouse."
She explained that a lighthouse was a beacon, set on dangerous areas of coastline to warn seagoing ships of the threat. At night or in foul weather, the beacon, located at the top of a tall tower, would be lighted. Ships seeing the light would be able to locate themselves, and avoid the dangerous areas.
Ellie was frowning. "We can't tend a lighthouse!"
Heidi shook her head, smiling. "We won't have to. A new lighthouse was built about a kilometer up the coast. The old one has been vacant for nearly ten years. That's why it will need renovations. But the point is that the lighthouse is isolated. It's located on a headland that juts out into the major ocean. There are sheer cliffs on three sides. But it does have a protected cove behind it, with a nice, large boathouse.
"The boathouse used to house three rescue boats, so it's large and well built. On top of the headland, at the base of the light tower, is a nice, cozy stone home, built to withstand the worst storms Haven can throw at it, and a carriage house built just as strongly. The coastline there is rocky, but about a kilometer down the coast, the shoreline shelves, and becomes lovely sand beaches. So, all the sightseers and picnickers go to the beach; only a few brave souls are willing to tackle the narrow, winding trail that leads from the beach to the lighthouse. I warned the real estate agent that Messer Jando wanted seclusion, and might want to block off the trail. The real estate agent didn't seem to think that would be a problem; in fact he gave me the name of a local man who could do the work.
"The road to the lighthouse could use some maintenance, basically just a drag and a few wagon loads of fill dirt, but there's a nice strong fence with a lockable gate; a few years ago, a trespasser died in a fall from one of the cliffs, and the government made the previous owner install it. So, the neighbors are used to being locked out."
"It sounds perfect," I said admiringly. "I can approach low over the water all the way to the cove, and just pop up long enough to ground and taxi into the shed. I won't have to worry about being silhouetted against the stars."
Heidi nodded. "Or, you could just pull into the boathouse and get some exercise climbing the stairs to the top. Uh, do your landers float?"
I grinned. "To tell you the truth, I don't know. I guess so. But it wouldn't matter. To a lander, water is just another atmosphere. They should make serviceable submarines." Then I had to explain the term 'submarine'; we spent the next half-hour discussing why anyone would want such a thing.
We decided that Ellie would return to Haven, and take the first airship headed to Firstlanding. There, she would check into a hotel; she would need access to a telephone. Then she would begin setting appointments for us with Kel Sarbo of New Home Mining and Metals and the presidents of Dr. Aram's Teas and Juices, and Universal Chemical, Haven's largest chemical company. I hoped that "Dr Aram's" reception would be warmer than that of his competitor in Cellia.
She would be in touch with us via tablet or bracelet, so we could arrange our schedules. When she had the appointments arranged, she would head for the lighthouse, to check it out and see what it needed. "Of course," I said, "one thing we know it will need is a telephone. The public ones in Gorn Creek are too public for conducting business."
Heidi sniffed. "The so-called 'private' ones aren't much better. You do realize that there's an operator on each end that can listen in, don't you?"
I frowned. "No, I hadn't realized that."
She nodded. "Well, there is. And Len made certain the operators knew he would pay for 'interesting' information. I would be very surprised if Duke Richard doesn't do the same."
I sighed. "You're right, of course. I guess we'll just have to settle for public phones in the big cities, where we can hope that the operators are too busy to eavesdrop on business calls." I shrugged. "Well, Ellie, at least you can get the lighthouse set up for us, and maybe get some repairs under way."
Ellie nodded. "I can use the opportunity to spread some gossip about my employer; how he's nice, but he hates the crowds of the city, and plans to use the lighthouse as a sanctuary, to get peace and quiet. And how the people in town will probably never see him; he'll be sending people to buy what he needs."
Since I would be in orbit or the Zone, Heidi could go back to Cellia. I would run her out there in a lander, of course. She would run our plans and the proposals and contracts through Res, and get some good copies typed, as well as put the printer to work on some more books. When we were ready, she would either catch an airship to Firstlanding, or I would pick her up in a lander, and we would join Ellie at the lighthouse and prepare for our interviews.
In addition to a blaster and a fighting knife, I gave Ellie one of Lisa's more advanced tablets. It impressed her mightily. She already had her comm bracelet, but Lisa adjusted it to a separate frequency, just in case some smart boy figured out how to tap the general frequency of the other bracelets.
Like Heidi's, Ellie's tablet now contained all the written contracts and offers. Of course, it also gave her the capability of instant communication with Lisa, Heidi, and me. But neither of those impressed her most. That honor went to the nearly endless entertainment programming available. Nearly all music on Haven, even radio music, was "live"; a live band playing into one or more microphones. Recording technologies were crude, and the fidelity of the wax discs poor; the sound was tinny and scratchy, and static, hiss and popping made it worse. Vids, in fact the entire concept of "moving pictures" meant flipping quickly through a deck of still photographs.
Ellie, it seemed, was a music lover. When I showed her how to use her tablet to produce music on demand, her mouth dropped open in astonishment, and she was instantly enthralled. To her, of course, the music sounded exotic and str
ange; any music on Haven not brought from Earth was locally written, and had diverged considerably from current galactic taste.
Still, it was more than half an hour before I could even get to show her how to access not only her tablet's contents, but also the millions of pieces in Lisa's files.
The available music excited her; the vids amazed her. It took awhile, but we finally managed to drag her attention back to our discussions.
Heidi didn't like leaving me unguarded, and I really couldn't disagree with her. Toray and even Ollie had brought dozens of new faces to the Zone and even into orbit. Jane was watching, of course, but she wasn't a full-on AI; she couldn't initiate any actions to deal with security risks. So, she was transmitting all the data from her surveillance cameras to Lisa, aboard Startrader. This system had already paid off; we'd sent home seven workers who'd been poking around.
Still, I was under no illusion that we'd caught all of Duke Richard's spies. I finally promised Heidi that I'd give a blaster to a 'bot, and have it follow me around when aboard Adventurer. A 'bot couldn't use it, of course, but I hoped that any spies or assassins aboard wouldn't know that. Heidi reluctantly accepted that, but she wasn't happy about it.
On the other hand, she seemed unworried about my safety in the Zone, as long as I promised to keep Becky or Terry Havens with me. I also had to promise to let Terry know in advance when I was coming down. Heidi seemed to approve of Terry, and she was becoming one of the few people on Haven that I felt I could trust.
Before we could disperse to our respective duties, of course, we had to return to Adventurer. I wanted to have four small fusactors and an equal number of waste processing units put aboard the big lander, as well as a working party of robots.
I would drop a fusactor, waste processor, a small pump, and the robot work crew off with Heidi. When they finished making the farm livable, I would have to find a way to sneak in again, load the work crew, and deliver them to the lighthouse, where Ellie would supervise the installation of the equipment there.
Stranded on Haven Page 25
