Expert Assistance

by Robert Collins

  “Jake what?”

  “For now, Jake.”

  “I’m Del.”

  “Del? Is that short for something?”

  Thorne sighed loudly. “Delbert, okay?”

  “Oh. Long story?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Still, Del’s pretty good. Short, to the point, has a nice sound.”

  “Thank you. Now, why are you here?”

  “Just wanted to see if you’d caught up on those dramas I left for you.”

  “I watched them, yeah.”

  “Pull any lessons from those stories? Say, about what happens to right-hand men when the masses rise?”

  “Huh?” An instant later Thorne’s eyes widened. “Oh.” He pointed to himself. “And you think that I’ll...?”

  “Well, your options aren’t great, Del. Either you stick with Sordius to the bitter end and meet his fate, or you switch sides and survive.”

  “Why should I switch sides?”

  “You mean, aside from the fact that Sordius is lying to you, planning to rip you off, and mismanaging things?”

  “I’m not a violent person.”

  “Hey, that’s another thing we have in common.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t want this to turn violent. That would be messy. And expensive.”

  “So what am I supposed to do?”

  “Well, you agree that Sordius’ way of managing this world isn’t helping anyone but himself, don’t you?”

  “Your data was impressive.”

  “You think black-market deals are cheap?”

  “I guess not.”

  “You think that now that the workers are aware that this situation is immoral, that they’ll continue to go along with it?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Okay. Now, even if you executives get back control of the situation, do you think you can keep doing what you were doing forever?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, sooner or later someone’s going to slip up on one of those under-the-table deals. Those deals form an easy trail right back to Antioch Two. Now, Del, if Sordius could be persuaded to reform his methods, not only would you put down all this unrest, but you’d be safe from future danger.”

  Thorne didn’t respond immediately. He seemed to consider what Jake had said. A long moment later he nodded slightly. “I suppose that makes sense.”

  “Of course it does. Look over all that data again. Watch those dramas again. Think about some more, and you’ll see I’m right.”

  “Yeah.” He shook his head. “No. Sordius is pretty stubborn. He’s used to getting his way. And if I go to him privately, he might not listen.”

  “I thought you two were friends.”

  “We are.”

  “Well, I don’t know about you, but I was raised to take what my friends said seriously. That’s one reason why they’re my friends.”

  “Well, yeah, but still. I don’t want to walk into his quarters and start challenging him. It just seems, well,...”

  “What about in a meeting?”

  “You mean in front of the other execs?” Thorne shook his head. “That seems even worse.”

  “Why? What if you’re not the only one who feels this way?”

  “What if I am?”

  “That’s their problem.”

  “No, Jake, I think it would be mine.”

  “That they would be wrong and you would be right?” Jake shook his head. “Del, I think you better watch those dramas again, and pay attention to what happens to those on the wrong side of justice. Watch them with someone, aside from me or Sordius. Get a second opinion, one way or the other.”

  “All right.”

  “Cheer up, Del. Like I said, you’re a smart man. The smart guys usually come out of these things just fine. Unless Sordius thinks you’ve betrayed him, and then he kills you.”

  “What?”

  “Oh, don’t worry. That rarely happens.”

  “Jake...”

  “Hey, I’ll watch your back. Don’t worry.” Jake glanced at his wrist. “Would you look at the time?” He smiled to Thorne. “Gotta run. Keep that mind working, Del. Remember, smart guys usually find a way.”

  ***

  The following Monday saw the second stoppage, and this time all but a handful of workers and a couple of forepersons took part. This time after only an hour Maxis ordered everyone to their quarters. Jake was certain that this repeat would lead to another executive meeting, and he was right. He was also certain that the meeting would be contentious. He was, however, surprised at how nasty it actually was.

  It started off tense but polite. “This nonsense is simply unacceptable,” Maxis said as everyone sat down. “We can’t have another incident like this morning’s. I’m ready to take the gloves off. How are we going to do it?”

  “Work ‘em till they die,” one of the male executives said.

  “Don’t be an idiot,” snapped Thorne. “Once they die then what?”

  “We bring in new workers.”

  “From where? Where could we possibly find new workers who won’t start complaining and protesting once they find out what’s going on here?”

  “What is going on here, Thorne?” Maxis asked.

  “We’re breaking all sorts of galactic laws. You know that. Our risk of exposure is serious right now. The only way we’re going to stay off some prison planet is to make some changes around here.”

  “Oh, no. I’m not going to put my fortune and my father at risk for some group of uncooperative workers.”

  “Sir, I agree with Thorne,” Tina said. “We have got to fix what’s broken.”

  “Why?” a second man asked. “Look, if we confine those workers to their quarters, feed them onsite, and cut out all this recreation, we’ll put an end to their subversion.”

  “Or we’ll so piss them off that they’ll resort to violence to get back what we’ve taken away,” Thorne said. “Look, so far this has just been marches, and meetings, and stoppages. There’s been no sabotage...”

  “Except to the injection system.”

  “No sabotage of essential equipment, then, and no one’s been attacked or harmed. We don’t have enough guards to monitor every piece of equipment. We can’t program the bots to shoot workers who get next to the equipment.”

  “Why not?”

  “How will they work?”

  “Then we program them to shoot at off-work times,” Maxis said, his voice rising.

  Thorne’s voice followed his superior’s upward. “You don’t think that whoever’s penetrated our systems might figure that out? They could be this close to breaking into our security system. Hell, I’ll bet they’re listening in right now!”

  “Don’t be ridiculous! The only spies those malcontents have is in this room.”

  “Unless this room is bugged, Sordius.”

  “Oh, really? I don’t see any bugs. None of the furniture’s been tampered with. How would you know if this room was bugged?”

  “We’re getting off track here,” Tina interrupted. The room was quiet for a moment. “Mister Thorne is right. We have to make some concessions to the workers to calm this situation down. If they think violence is their only alternative, we’ll all be going down a road with no turning back.”

  “Once we make one concession,” the first man said, “they’ll ask for another, and another, and another. If we don’t show them who’s in charge, we’ll never get them under control again.”

  “If we go too far, controlling them will be the least of our worries. If it’s concessions or shooting, I vote for concessions.”

  “Shoot.”

  “I agree,” Maxis said.

  “I don’t,” Thorne said. “How about you two?”

  “I’m with Mister Maxis,” the second man answered.

  “I don’t know,” said a third man. “This whole thing is a mess.”

  “Make up your mind, Ross,” Maxis ordered.

  “Think about i
t,” urged Thorne.

  “That’s it! I won’t have you contradicting me anymore!”

  “What are you gonna do, fire me? Who are you gonna replace me with? Most of the foremen are against us. Half the guards are, too.”

  “Fine, then. Quit.”

  “No way.”

  “Why not?”

  The room fell silent again, only this time Jake could sense that is was far more uncomfortable. He suspected that Thorne was about to say, “Because I don’t trust you,” but had hesitated. He wondered if that thought had crossed Maxis’s mind as well.

  Apparently it didn’t, for Maxis broke the silence with, “I didn’t think you had a reason.”

  “I think that any more discussion at this point would be stupid,” the third man told the others. “We can’t agree on what to do next.”

  “I take it you’re on Thorne’s side.”

  “I suppose so, sir. Well, I’m not sure if I’m on any side. It’s just that, well, we’re split, maybe down the middle. Anything that you decide to do won’t go over with some of us.”

  “So what?”

  “Well, sir, if the workers sense that we’re arguing, they’ll feel empowered. Empowered to reject any concessions. Empowered to fight back. Seems to me that if we’re aren’t unanimous, or five of six, anything we try that deals with this mess won’t work. Well, maybe it works for a week or two, or a few days, or whatever, but then we’ll either be right back here, or we’ll be at each other’s throats. I guess what I’m saying is until there’s a consensus, you shouldn’t do anything.”

  “Hesitation is weakness, Ross.”

  “What other options are there, sir? Take some action that two or three of us aren’t comfortable with?”

  “I think what Ross means, Sordius,” Thorne said slowly, “is that someone unhappy with your decision might take matters into their own hands to correct what they perceive as your mistake.”

  “Someone like you?”

  “Or like them.” Thorne clearly meant the two executives supporting Maxis. “If you listened to me, would they go along with you?”

  “We aren’t disloyal,” one of the two said.

  “But are you passionate about your position? Are your certain you’re right and I’m wrong?”

  “We’re all pretty worked up about this,” Tina observed. “We’re not going to get anywhere pointing fingers, or yelling at each other, or not listening to each other. Face it, guys, we’re stalemated. I say we go back to our quarters and do some thinking. We don’t get together again until Wednesday, and if our positions haven’t changed from today, we wait another two days. Still nothing, try again next Monday.”

  “Only if we agree not to talk to each other until the next meeting,” Maxis said.

  One of his supporters tried to object. “But, sir,...”

  “That’s a good idea, Sordius,” Thorne told him. “That way we can’t accuse each other of plotting behind the others’ backs, or trying to get at each other in secret. You and I will give Morgan the orders.”

  “Fine. If that’s it? Great. Go.” This six drifted out of the room without a word.

  “Jake,” Odin asked, “do you believe this impasse will last?”

  “I hope not, but I think it will.”

  “Then, would it not be wise to accelerate your plan of revolution?”

  “Not yet. Thorne’s still a work in progress. I don’t think he’s completely persuaded just yet.”

  “Another late-night visit, then?”

  “Oh, I think I’ll be nice this time. I’ll visit before he goes to bed tonight.”

  ***

  When Jake teleported into Thorne’s room that evening, the other man was lying on his bed looking unhappy and listening to dark music. Thorne’s hands were clasped behind his head. His legs were crossed at the ankles. He glanced at Jake after he materialized, heaved a sigh, turned his attention back to his ceiling, and said, “Music, off.”

  “Don’t get up on my account,” Jake said as he sat down in a chair across from the bed.

  “Y’know, I could have a blaster,” Thorne said after a moment’s quiet. “What if I took at shot at you?”

  Jake paused. He hadn’t quite expected a remark like that, or anything even close to it. It was the first time since he’d returned to Antioch Two all those weeks ago that he was genuinely surprised by something that someone did or said.

  His first attempt to recover was to joke. “Would that make you feel better?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t be here if I knew you were armed, Del. You don’t think I wouldn’t have the room scanned before I teleport down.” It was a lie, and Jake suspected that Thorne might be able to figure that out, if he wasn’t wallowing in his own bad mood.

  “At any rate,” he continued, “I doubt Sordius would allow you access to the weapons locker. Especially if you tried to cite me as the reason for wanting one. I don’t think he would believe you, and he might even suspect you were up to something.”

  “So you overheard the meeting, Jake?”

  “Yep. Sounds like there’s a yawning gulf in management.”

  “You don’t think it will get resolved?”

  “Oh, it will get resolved, all right.”

  “Oh, that.”

  “Uh-huh. It’s kinda too bad that you’re not going to be able to persuade anyone else of your position. You are on the right track.”

  “Oh, right, like you’d tell me otherwise.”

  “Well, it’s true. You haven’t quite jumped to the precise point just yet.”

  “Here comes the sales pitch again.”

  “You wouldn’t be buying it unless you knew I was right.”

  Thorne sat up. “Okay, smart guy. Tell me why I’m close but not at the precise point yet.”

  Jake leaned forward. “Simple question, Del: where do you think all the creds for bribes comes from?”

  Thorne frowned. “I know exactly where they come from.”

  “Profits. Everyone would be better off if this was legit operation, and not the private booty of Sordius Maxis.”

  “Yeah, sure, the workers would be more productive, we could get better equipment, blah, blah, blah.”

  “That’s right. Now think about this, Del. Are gold and silver the only minerals you could be mining?” The other man leaned back slightly and glanced away. Jake sat up a little straighter; he had hit a nerve.

  “What else is inside this planet waiting to be extracted?” Jake asked rhetorically. “Copper? Platinum? Ores? Sandstone? Marble? Do you even know? Does Sordius even know? I doubt it.

  “The thing is, there’s no black market for most minerals and mineral products. Gold and silver, sure. Diamonds, Hell yes. But sandstone, or production ores, or marble? Hell no. Not unless there was a war on, and that’s hardly worth counting on these days.

  “So what’s going to happen when the veins of gold and silver run out on this planet? Maybe that doesn’t happen for a century. Maybe it happens in ten years, or five years. Maybe this vein gets tapped out, but the others can’t be mined without a major investment in equipment and manpower. What happens then?”

  “Sordius probably splits with whatever he can carry.”

  “Damn right. I’ll bet that includes secret account numbers.”

  “Okay, Jake. You’re probably right. What am I supposed to do about it? March in the corridors? Sordius would probably shoot me himself.”

  Jake raised his hands. “Fair enough. How about this: I’ll use what I have to do some mineral surveying of my own. I’ll pass that data on to you, along with some other related information. If I’m right, and there is more in this world than what you’re pulling up, you write up a letter. You use what I find to explain why Sordius needs to go. I will make sure that letter circulates to everyone on the fence, including your executive pals.”

  Thorne shook his head. “Signing my name to a letter is about the same as getting seen marching.”

  “I’m not talking
about a public letter, Del. It will only go to those who, like you, know that the situation is unacceptable but aren’t comfortable being seen with the ALG. You know that all this bribery is gonna go south one of these days. You know that Sordius’ policies aren’t making operations around here profitable. Now, if I’m right, and there is more to be mined, that makes his off-books dealings go from immoral to actually dangerous.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Oh, come on, Del. You said a few minutes ago that if the mines played out Sordius would probably cut and run.”

  “I guess.”

  “What do you think happens after that? Let’s say Earth comes in to repair the situation. Any government takeover will be strictly short-term, right? Well, then what?”

  Thorne took a moment to think. “They’ll sell the operation to the highest bidder.”

  “Right. Everyone here will get a chance to be employed by the new owner, with a few exceptions. Do you know who will be those exceptions?”

  Thorne closed his eyes. “Security and the executives.”

  “Right again.” Jake smiled, knowing that his logical train of thought was about to reach its triumphant destination. “If your name was on that letter, you’d be able to argue that you knew the situation was bad, and that you’d tried to take action to correct it. You’d have proof that you knew Sordius’ actions were wrong. You’d also have proof that you could be trusted not to do what he did.”

  “I could guarantee some position in any new management of operations here.”

  “You, and anyone else you could prove agreed with you.”

  “That’s all I have to do? Write this letter and attach my name to it.”

  “For the moment.”

  Thorne shook his head and snapped his fingers. “I knew you were going to say that, Jake, I knew it.”

  “Well, then, if you knew that, then you’ll know what comes after that.”

  “Confrontation, right?”

  “Well, I’d suggest a private plea, rather than some face-to-face argument with witnesses. That should keep it from getting too ugly.”

  “Okay.” The room was silent for several seconds. “Will Sordius be getting my letter?”

  “No, and I’ll do everything I can to make certain he doesn’t. Your letter will be for the ambivalent, not for those too dumb or too sleazy to be persuaded.”

  “Okay. Hey, hang on.”

  “What?”

  “If you’ve penetrated our comm systems, you can pass messages around, can’t you?”

  “I suppose so. Why?”

  “Well, maybe you can give Ross and Tina a heads-up first. Y’know...” Thorne waved his hands like he was pushing someone along.