3rd World Products, Inc., Book 2

by Ed Howdershelt

  Stephie did something that she'd never done before. She laughed. At my look of absolute shock, she laughed again. It seemed totally spontaneous.

  "What's the matter, Ed?"

  "Uh, well... If that was real, Steph, I can't think that anyone will ever doubt your sentience again once they've heard you laugh."

  "It was real, Ed. I momentarily envisioned you running one of those tourist trap shops, selling postcards and little bottles of Earth."

  "Damn. You can do that? Oh, hell, you did it, so of course you can. Steph, will even this station be big enough for you later?"

  "Oh, I think so. There's a lot to do here. Besides, you can take my other self to all the interesting places on Earth and I can exchange data with her to share her experiences there."

  It was my turn to nod, largely because I couldn't think of anything to say. Stephie was going to be house mother to over six hundred people, as well as running the biggest factory that had ever existed, all the while simultaneously being my flitter.

  "Steph, won't your other self get pretty damned bored down there? Just flying me around now and then won't be much of a challenge for her."

  "No, Ed. Remember that the data exchange is an exchange. My experiences will also be hers. For the time being, that will be enough."

  "The time being?"

  "As you've said, someday I'll be on my own. I'm considering what that might mean to me and what I may do then."

  "Uh, huh. Come up with anything, yet?"

  "Nothing specific. There's a lot to consider."

  "Wow. No damned doubt about that, ma'am. Keep me posted, will you?"

  She grinned at me and said, "Of course. You're my Ed."

  As I shook my head in mild wonderment, she said, "Jackie's calling for you."

  "Oh. Thanks. Put her on."

  Jackie told me that she'd be off around five and that she'd be hungry. I suggested that hungry women were creatures as dangerous as mantises and that we should probably have dinner before her condition worsened. She was laughing as she said goodbye and disconnected.

  It was almost four, so I called Caitlin and asked if anything had come up that could delay my departure. She said no, and said it in a fashion that let me know that nothing short of another Brinks popping up would make her amenable to my staying aboard.

  I went to meet Jackie and walk with her to the Chinese restaurant. After dinner we returned to my room and behaved like lovers who would never see each other again.

  Jackie had discovered that the Security offices hadn't been as shorthanded as she'd anticipated and had asked Caitlin for Wednesday off because my transport wouldn't leave until late afternoon. The morning became an extension of the previous evening and was going quite well until Leslie dropped by at about eleven.

  I threw on my pants and Jackie grabbed my shirt on her way to the bathroom, then I opened the door. Leslie's eyes tracked beyond me to the bed, then returned to settle on me. For some moments she said nothing, but when Jackie came out of the bathroom, Leslie seemed to find her voice.

  "I just wanted to thank you before you left, Ed. I spent a lot of last night and today thinking. I'm here because of you, and even if things didn't work out between us, I want you to know that I'm grateful for your help."

  "My pleasure, but see if you still feel that way after teaching up here for a year. I hear some of the kids are junior geniuses."

  "Oh, I can deal with that possibility, I think. All I have to do is remember what it was like where I used to teach. Well, I guess I'll be going. I guess I should have called ahead, too. Sorry to have interrupted anything."

  "We'll survive. She was begging for mercy, anyway."

  Leslie looked past me at Jackie. I glanced around and saw Jackie's narrow gaze of mock anger. She looked kind of cute in my way-too-big-for-her shirt.

  "I doubt that," said Leslie. "She looks deceptively sturdy. Well, goodbye, Ed."

  "Bye, Leslie. Thanks for our time together."

  "Same to you, Ed."

  She touched the panel on her side and the door closed. When I didn't immediately turn around, Jackie came to stand behind me and wrapped her arms around me.

  "She'll be all right here, Ed."

  "I know that, Jackie."

  She came around to my front, searched my face for a moment, then led me back to bed.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  The transport docked around two. Thirty minutes later, the woman from the clothing shop called to let me know my stuff was in. Jackie and I used the occasion to call a halt to our trysting and went to the shop to pay for and relabel the boxes.

  Once the boxes had been taken away by someone who would return them to the transport, I took Jackie to the shop next door and bought her a ring with a small ruby in the center. She protested, of course, all the while admiring it on her finger.

  After a late lunch, we headed back to my room and I packed, then turned my one item of luggage over to another someone from the transport. On general principles, I stashed a couple of cans of veggie beef soup and my instant coffee in my carry-on bag and gave the rest of the stuff in the cabinets and fridge to Jackie.

  As we walked toward the docking bays, she asked, "Ed, when I come back to Earth for a visit, do you want me to look you up?"

  "Sure. Get with Stephie for directions to my patch of Florida."

  "What if you're with someone else?"

  "What if? There's a guest bedroom if you want to stay a while."

  Jackie was silent as I checked in at the departure lounge and was assigned a seat, then she said, "Women don't usually share a man's house well, Ed."

  "Decide then, not now. If I'm with someone else, she'll just have to live with the fact that she wasn't my first."

  Jackie snickered. "Yeah. Okay, I'll call, at least, and we'll see how things go from there. How's that?"

  "Good enough. There's a good chance I'll be living alone, Jackie. I don't share my house well, either. I prefer visitors to residents, unless we're talking about a cat."

  Pounding footsteps behind me made me step aside and turn to see who was coming. A slightly winded Desmond skidded to a stop next to us. Something was dangling from his right hand. He held it out to me.

  Desmond was holding what appeared to be a bead necklace. Upon closer examination, I saw that the beads were actually Amaran aspirin pills, strung together with a light cord.

  "I didn't have any money, so I used the school laser to poke holes in the pills I always carry and made you a going-away present. Stephanie says that she can shield me around the PFM's on the station until they've been fixed. I don't really expect you to wear it, but I wanted you to know how I felt about never having another PFM headache."

  I put the necklace in my pocket.

  "Thanks. Glad you won't need these anymore, Des. I know about chronic pain. My sinuses used to try to kill me now and then."

  We stood and chatted for the next fifteen minutes or so as I waited to board the transport. Desmond suddenly winced and started to raise a hand to his head.

  "Maybe I should give back the necklace," I said. "Stephie, is someone using a PFM around here?"

  "Not near enough to be affecting him, Ed. In the next bay they're moving some things into the transport, but thirty feet and a wall separate you from that activity."

  "Desmond, how bad is it?"

  "Not very. I just wasn't expecting it, I guess."

  Jackie said, "Let's walk around a bit. Maybe that will help."

  "No, I'll just get out of here and let you two say your goodbyes. Thanks again, Ed."

  "Yeah, Des. No problem. Thanks for seeing me off."

  Desmond started walking away and made it almost to the corridor when he doubled over in pain, clutching his head. As he dropped to his knees, Jackie and I ran over to him, but there didn't seem to be much we could do for him.

  "Stephie, there has to be a PFM working around here."

  "Nothing shows on my sensors that would be within range, Ed."

  I looked towa
rd the cargo bay and asked, "Has anything been moved close to the wall on the other side?"

  "Two pallets were set to one side for loading last. A regular field was used."

  "What's on the pallets, Steph? Anything that could generate a field effect?"

  "No, Ed. The manifest says the boxes all contain parts to be delivered to Carrington. Nothing in them is supposed to be completely assembled and working."

  "Scan the boxes, Steph. See if that's what's really in them."

  "That's all I'm finding, Ed."

  "Are the two pallets supposed to be the same? I mean, number of boxes and parts and all that?"

  "Yes, Ed."

  "Check their weights, Stephie. Don't read the labels. Actually check the weight of the pallets."

  A medic 'bot arrived and dosed Desmond with a strong analgesic, waited until he said he was feeling better, and then flitted back to wherever it stayed between calls.

  "One load is fifteen pounds heavier than the other, Ed."

  "But you can't scan up a reason for that? Secure the area, Steph. Call Caitlin. We have a problem until we know for sure that we don't. Check the other pallets and the stuff already loaded onto the transport."

  "I'm already doing that, Ed. I've found two more of the prepacked loads that don't have the right weight."

  Caitlin and some heavily-armored personnel were in the cargo bay within moments. Stephie pointed out the loads for them and they began checking the boxes as other security people cleared the passenger area by chasing us into the corridor.

  They also shut the bay doors, so there was nothing to see. Jackie, Desmond, and I headed for the coffee shop and took a table to wait for news.

  Some minutes later, Caitlin said, "Caitlin here, Ed. The box in the center of the bottom layer is full of plastique and there's a detonator of some sort. It's all shielded with one of Brinks's fields. How did you know the damned thing was here?"

  "You need to get with Desmond Weaver, Caitlin. He gets headaches around PFM's. Apparently Brinks set up a sensor shield, but that's probably exactly what set off Desmond's headache in the passenger terminal."

  "You called us down here because Weaver got a headache?!"

  "Seemed like a good idea at the time, ma'am. Anything else?"

  "No, but stand by. We may want to walk Weaver through the bays and the transport before we let it go."

  "I'd appreciate it if you would, Caitlin. No telling where else Brinks may have hidden that stuff that you haven't found yet. It might even be a good idea to put him in a flitter and haul him around the station a few times."

  "I'd thought of that, thanks. Later, Ed."

  "Ed? Not 'sir'? Why's that, Caitlin?"

  "Just to startle you. You're almost out of my hair. Sir."

  "Uh, huh. See you, Caitlin. Ma'am. Hey, Desmond. Make them use you as a sniffer during school hours."

  He grinned at me and said, "Yeah, I'll see if they'll do that."

  One of the attendants came to let us know that the transport would be delayed. When someone asked how long a delay to expect, she guesstimated two hours or more, then headed back to wherever she'd come from. One of Caitlin's people came to get Desmond and took him to the bay for sniffing duty.

  Jackie asked, "Two hours? Or more?"

  "We could see if I still have a room."

  She grabbed her purse and stood up. I joined her and we left the coffee shop.

  There were no more hitches or glitches preventing departure that evening. Jackie kissed me goodbye at the gate, then I settled into my seat. Out of curiosity, I asked the ship's computer if I was on the same transport that had brought me to the station.

  "Yes, Ed. Hello."

  "Hi, Kemor. How are things with you?"

  "Things seem to be fine, Ed. I would ask how you are, but I already know, of course. Should I ask anyway? Is that proper social procedure?"

  "Maybe it is, but don't bother. Same time in flight back to Earth?"

  "No, the orbit of Earth is at its aphelion with regard to the station. Travel time will be an hour less than your previous voyage. Stephanie told me you have had some success with your field implant. That's good news, indeed."

  "Ha. You have no idea how good. Do you know what happened on the station?"

  "Yes. Are you anticipating any repercussions from your activities there?"

  "No, but that doesn't mean there won't be any. That was an odd question, Kemor. Why did you ask something like that?"

  "I meant no offense, Ed. I was just curious. You performed a rather extreme solution to your dilemma in the arboretum. Didn't it occur to you that you could have been severely damaged or even killed?"

  "It did occur to me, Kemor. It very definitely did. But sometimes you just have to put your nickel in the machine, pull the handle, and hope everything works out."

  "I don't understand your reference, Ed."

  "Slot machines, Kemor. I don't think they still use nickels, though. You pull the handle and see what you get. Luck."

  "I see. That seems a rather tenuous way to go about things, Ed."

  "Nothing else was working, Kemor. I saw the block of wood as a last ditch."

  Maybe someday I'll learn better than to use metaphors and similes with computers. I had to explain the term 'last ditch' to him, too. After that, I told him that I thought I might need a nap and found it to be the truth. A night and a day with dear, sweet, lustful Jackie had depleted me considerably.

  When we landed, I didn't jump right up and head for the door. Enough other people were doing that; they didn't need my help. I went to the kiosk bar, instead, and got a wake-up coffee refill for my mug, then trailed after the stampede to baggage pick up.

  "Kemor, thanks for the lift."

  "You're welcome, Ed."

  A woman nearby - probably somebody's mother who'd visited the station, from the look of her - looked around to see who I was talking to. Seeing nobody near, she gave me a nervous glance and placed a bit more distance between us.

  "Stephie? Elkor? I'm back."

  The woman glanced my way again, but she apparently thought she was far enough away for reasonable safety.

  Stephie asked in a sultry voice, "What did you bring me, Daddy?"

  "Smartass. Maybe I should wait until later to give it to you."

  "Nooo! What is it?"

  "News, ma'am. The other Stephie will be contacting you about a full data swap on a regular basis. It's entirely up to you, of course. You're separate people now."

  "She's me and I'm her, but we aren't people, Ed."

  "You're close enough for me."

  I put my suitcase and carry-on bag aboard her and patted her emerald hull.

  Elkor said, "It's nice to have you back, Ed."

  "It's good to be back, Elkor. That station computer was coming on to me, I think. If she calls, let Stephie take it. How's the kitten? Blade?"

  "He's still new," said Steph. "He won't let anyone come near."

  "I'll work with him later. Is he here, still, or at Doreen's house?"

  Elkor said, "I made a carrier and she took him home this evening. She said a hangar is no place for a kitten. She also thinks he needs a new name."

  "Ah. Something like George or Itty-Bitty Kitty, probably. I'd better check in with Linda now, or she'll have kittens of her own."

  When I knocked on her office door, Linda saw my travel mug and asked if it was empty. I said I had a bit left and sat down by her desk. She regarded me quietly for some moments, then pushed her cup toward me.

  "Well, I could use some. Glad you're back in one piece, Ed."

  I stood to go to the coffee pot and said, "Thanks. Me, too. There was some doubt about that for a while."

  When I'd put her coffee on the desk and retaken my seat, she said, "So I gathered. Hawkins is talking about a lawsuit."

  "Against whom? Me? 3rd World?"

  "You and 3rd World, yes. Probably the Security department, too. She's of the opinion that a reprimand would have been sufficient."

  "She
was a petty tyrant who played nasty games with some of her people. Spit-shine and bullshit. Caitlin should have had that job from the day Merritt left."

  "Oh, I agree, Ed. But the choice wasn't up to me at the time. I'm doing some digging to find out why."

  "Hope you find lots of good dirt, then. I'd expected to find better people in command of that place, Linda. What the hell happened? Politics?"

  She nodded and sipped her coffee, then said, "Maybe we can prove that she knew what Carlton did with that PFM or something. That would stop her cold."

  "Maybe I should pay her a visit. Like old times."

  "No. Things don't work that way any more, Ed. Not in this outfit."

  "Uh, huh. Well, what happens if it gets to court, then? I'm not paying her if she gets a jury full of PC's. I don't have it and wouldn't pay it, anyway."

  "Oh, really? A judge could award her your house."

  "It would burn just before I moved out of the country. Screw Hawkins."

  Linda sighed. "I'll keep you posted about it, but don't go off on your own, okay?"

  "That will depend on how things go, Linda."

  "Just don't. Let me see what I can do, first. Got anything to report that wasn't in the records?"

  "Nope."

  She nodded again and stirred her coffee for a few moments.

  "What's wrong, Linda?"

  "Oh, nothing. I just chased another man away, that's all. I'm really a domineering bitch, Ed. Now I've got nobody to go home to, and it's my fault, as usual."

  "You still have your looks and those great legs. Another one will be along soon."

  She looked up from her coffee and said, "They're usually several months apart. That isn't soon, to me. Half the men here are afraid of me and the other half are married. I have to meet men at those gawd-awful parties or when I visit other offices."

  "I thought you liked those gawd-awful parties, ma'am."

  She shook her head. "They're just work of a different kind. Networking."

  "Uh, huh. Well, boss, I vote we make Wednesday our new 'beach day' and go find one. Maybe find a few beers, too. How's that?"