Limit

by Frank Schätzing

  ‘Thousands of people who would have lost their jobs,’ yelled Palstein. ‘A damaged global economy! Look around you! Wake up! How many countries, how many people who depend on oil will be damaged by your helium-3? Have you thought about that?’

  ‘And you were once called the green conscience of the energy sector.’

  ‘Because I am!’ Palstein cried. ‘But sometimes you have to go against your convictions. Do you think four more decades of oil economy would do more damage to the planet than it’s done already? We might be a gang of lunatics, but—’

  ‘No,’ said Jericho’s voice from the laptop. ‘You’re not insane, Gerald. You are calculating, and that’s the worst thing about you. Like any other halfwit, you find a reason to blame your crimes on circumstances. You’re not special.’

  Palstein said nothing. He slowly dropped back into his chair and stared at his feet.

  ‘Why the flight to the Moon?’ Julian asked quietly.

  ‘Because something got in the way in 2024.’ Palstein shrugged. ‘An astronaut called Thorn was supposed to have—’

  ‘I don’t mean that. Why that one and not the next one? Why the one my children and I were on, people like Warren Locatelli, the Donoghues, Miranda Winter—’

  ‘I didn’t care about your guests, Julian,’ sighed Palstein. ‘It was the first opportunity that offered itself since Thorn’s failure. When would the next trip have taken place? Only after the official opening. This year? Next year? How long would we have had to wait?’

  ‘Perhaps you also factored in the possibility of Julian’s death,’ said Jericho.

  ‘Nonsense.’

  ‘His death would have strengthened the conservative forces at Orley. The people opposed to the idea of selling off technologies. The smaller the number of countries that can build a space lift, the smaller the chance that a second—’

  ‘You’re fantasising, Jericho. If you hadn’t spoiled everything, Julian would have been back on Earth ages before the explosions took place. And his son and daughter too.’

  The muffled chugging and thudding of the boats reached them from outside. Right below their window someone was singing ‘O Sole Mio’ with businesslike ardour.

  ‘But we weren’t on Earth,’ said Julian.

  ‘That wasn’t the plan.’

  ‘Fuck your plan. You went beyond the limit, Gerald. In every respect.’

  Palstein looked up.

  ‘And you? You and your American friends? How is what you’re doing any different from what we’ve been doing for decades? You extract something from the ground until it’s all gone and you find you’ve destroyed a planet in the process. What limit do you lot go beyond? What limit do you in particular go beyond when you run your company like a state that dictates the rules of play to real states? Do you think you’re being public-spirited? At least the oil companies served their countries. Who are you serving, apart from your own vanity? There are no social states without state organisations, but you’re behaving like a modern Captain Nemo and spitting on the world as it happens to work. We merely played the game that the circumstances required. Only look at mankind, their clean, just wars, the cyclical collapse of their financial systems, the cynicism of their profiteers, the unscrupulousness and stupidity of their politicians, the perversion of their religious leaders, and don’t talk to me about limits.’

  Julian stroked his beard.

  ‘You could be right, Gerald.’ He nodded and got to his feet. ‘But it doesn’t change anything. Owen, thanks for giving up your time. We’re going.’

  ‘Take care, Gerald,’ said Jericho. ‘Or not.’

  The picture on the screen went out. Julian snapped the laptop shut and put it back in its bag.

  ‘A little while ago,’ he said, ‘when I was stepping inside your lovely residence, I noticed a little plaque: in the mezzanine of a building across the courtyard from this palazzo, Richard Wagner died. You know what? I liked that. I like the idea of great men dying in great houses.’ He reached into his jacket, took out a pistol and set it down on the table in front of Palstein. His clear blue eyes had a penetrating expression, almost friendly and encouraging. ‘It’s loaded. One shot is generally enough, but you’re a big man, Gerald. A very big man. You might take two.’

  He turned round and crossed the room at a leisurely pace. Palstein watched after him, until Julian’s grey-blond ponytail had disappeared beyond the landing. As if of their own accord, his fingers found their way to his phone and keyed in a number.

  ‘Hydra,’ he said mechanically.

  ‘What can I do?’

  ‘Get me out of here. I’ve been unmasked.’

  ‘Unma—’ Xin fell silent for a moment. ‘You know, Gerald, I think my contract’s just run out.’

  ‘You’re walking out on me?’

  ‘I wouldn’t put it like that. You know me, I’m loyal and I’m not afraid to take risks, but in hopeless cases – and your case is unfortunately completely hopeless …’

  ‘What—’ Palstein gulped. ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘Hmm.’ Xin seemed to think for a moment. ‘Quite honestly, it’s been rather tiring lately. I think I need a bit of a holiday. You take care.’

  Take care. The second person who’d said that to him.

  Palstein froze. He slowly lowered his phone. Voices rose to him from below.

  His eyes wandered to the gun.

  * * *

  The people from Interpol and MI6 were waiting for him in the stairwell. Shaw looked at him quizzically.

  ‘Give him a minute,’ said Julian.

  ‘Well, I’m not sure.’ One of the agents frowned. ‘He could do something to himself.’

  ‘Yes, exactly.’ Julian pushed past him. ‘Jennifer, let’s go. I have to look after my daughter.

  London, Great Britain

  Stars like dust.

  She had been lost in sleep, and the dream had put her back into the stillness of the spaceship dashing through the sparkling night, carrying her and the bomb. She had lived through everything all over again. Again she had come up with the plan to stow the mini-nuke in the living module, uncouple it and come back to the OSS with the landing unit. Back to Tim and Amber and Julian, who had cried so hard when he called her name. In her mind she had promised him never to leave him alone again, but her thoughts had been all that she was able to mobilise, and that wasn’t much.

  Then the moment when the spinning bomb, lit by the flickering of her dying consciousness, had revealed the truth, that there were still hours to go until detonation, not minutes or seconds as she had thought. That she would have had a chance.

  She had gone to sleep in the pearly rain of her blood.

  I’m coming. I’m coming, Daddy.

  I’m there.

  Clunk!

  One of those noises that feel like a nuisance, even if they mean the salvation of really having made your peace. In the absence of choice, of course. But she had made her peace before the shuttle on which Julian, Nina, Tim and Amber had followed her docked to the Charon – her lonely spaceship that had not had the chance of filling its tanks on the OSS, which was why it had finally run out of fuel. Even before it reached its top speed.

  But she hadn’t known anything about any of that.

  Voices around her. People in spacesuits.

  ‘Lynn? Lynn!’

  Impotence. Scraps of words. As if through cotton wool.

  ‘How long now?’

  ‘Just over five hours. Enough time to bring both shuttles back.’

  ‘I think Lynn’s stable.’ Nina. ‘She’s lost a lot of blood, but it seems to me—’

  Silence again. Then a voice on an endless loop:

  ‘And now get the thing out of here!’

  Thing out of here, thing out of here, thing out of here, thingoutof here, thingoutof herethingout—

  ‘Lynn.’

  She blinked. The hospital room. Back in the present. Hang on, wasn’t there a film called—

  Doesn’t matter, wh
at a film!

  ‘How are you?’ said Julian.

  ‘Been dreaming.’ She sat up. Her left side hurt, but she was feeling better every day. Lawrence, the bitch, had missed taking her life by inches. ‘We were back in the spaceship.’ Christ, she was hungry. Incredibly hungry! She could have eaten the bed. ‘A nightmare, to be honest. Always the same nightmare.’

  ‘It’s over.’

  ‘Hey, no big deal. It wasn’t all that bad, either.’ She yawned. ‘Hopefully I’ll dream something else eventually.’

  ‘No. It’s over, Lynn.’ Julian took her hand and smiled, very much the magician of her childhood. ‘The nightmare is over.’

  Xintiandi, Shanghai, China

  ‘Yoyo could really give us a call,’ Jericho complained.

  Tu pulled a sticky strand of noodle from the cardboard box that stood in for his lunch plate.

  ‘And you could drop by again,’ he said, chewing. ‘Instead of only ever phoning. Burying yourself away in your stupid loft.’

  ‘I’m busy. Honestly.’

  Tu gave him a disapproving look over the rim of his glasses. The bridge looked as if it was about to snap in two over his nose.

  ‘You have friends to cultivate,’ he chided him. ‘What about this evening? A bunch of us are going out to eat. And drink, more importantly.’

  ‘Who’s we?’

  ‘Everyone you can think of. Yoyo too, once she’s stopped crying. She’s been sobbing away constantly, I’m thinking of installing a dam in the guest room. Terrible. Nothing but tears. A great big crybaby.’

  ‘And Hongbing?’

  ‘He’s crying too. They’re closer than they’ve ever been.’

  ‘Sounds good.’

  ‘Yeah, great,’ growled Tu. ‘You just don’t have to put up with it. What about tonight?’

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘Good. I wouldn’t have let you get away with anything else, xiongdi!’

  Jericho sat there for a while.

  Then he went across to the kitchen area to magic a cappuccino from the coffee machine. His journey took him past the ensemble that he had now got used to calling ‘the odd couple’, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau embodied by a standard lamp and a carpet, which failed, failed, failed to accomplish the ideal of Confucian harmony, in any imaginable arrangement.

  He studied them for a moment.

  Then he moved them aside, put them in the cellar and looked at the corner. And finally, flooded only by light, clear and tidy, he liked it.

  That had been important!

  Principal Characters

  Anand, Ashwini Staff member at the Gaia moon hotel, responsible for accommodation, technology and logistics.

  Black, Peter Tour guide at the Gaia moon hotel, pilot of the moon shuttle Charon. Knows all the moon craters by name.

  Borelius, Eva Scientist and CEO of the German research company Borelius Pharmaceuticals. Northern German, dry character. Likes classical music, horses and chess. Married to the surgeon Karla Kramp. Member of the moon tour group.

  Bruford, Sid Former oil worker at EMCO Imperial Oil, Canada, unemployed. Dreams of a career as an actor.

  Chambers, Evelyn Most prominent and influential talk-show host in the USA, presenter of the show Chambers. Latina, whose bisexuality has turned her into a hate figure. Brilliant analyst, perceptive and curious. Member of the moon tour group.

  Chen Hongbing Car salesman, Yoyo’s father. Polite, but reserved, with a murky past. Commissions Owen Jericho to find his missing daughter.

  Chen ‘Yoyo’ Yuyun Student, daughter of Chen Hongbing, founder of the internet dissident group ‘the Guardians’, member of the motorcycle club City Demons. Sings in a neo-prog band, loves parties and the excessive lifestyle. Beautiful and quite exhausting.

  Crippen, Jan Technical director of the American Peary Base, lunar North Pole.

  ‘Daxiong’ Guan Guo Founder member and vice head of the internet dissident group ‘the Guardians’, head of the motorcycle club City Demons and owner of the Demon Point motorbike workshop. Giant with bear-like strength and French-style spleen.

  DeLucas, Minnie Doctor and specialist in life-support systems at the American Peary Base, lunar North Pole. Investigating the possibility of raising livestock on the Moon.

  Diane Owen Jericho’s computer.

  Donner, Andre Owner of the Muntu African restaurant in Berlin. Murky past in Equatorial Guinea.

  Donner, Nyela West African, co-owner of the Muntu African restaurant in Berlin, Andre Donner’s wife.

  Donoghue, Aileen CEO and artistic manager of the Xanadu hotel and casino company. Wife of Chuck Donoghue. Dominant-mother type. Member of the moon tour group.

  Donoghue, Chuck Hotel mogul, founder and CEO of the Xanadu hotel and casino company. Amateur boxer and hard-line Republican. Loud and jovial. Cheerfully tells the world’s worst jokes. Member of the moon tour group.

  Edwards, Marc Founder and CEO of the microchip company Quantime Inc., extreme sports fanatic and diver, creationist view of the world. Husband of Mimi Parker. Member of the moon tour group.

  Funaki, Michio Sous-chef and barman in the Gaia moon hotel, sushi specialist.

  Gore, Kyra Shuttle pilot at the American Peary Base, lunar North Pole.

  Gudmundsson, Lars Bodyguard, employed with his team by the Eagle Eye security company to protect the oil manager Gerald Palstein.

  Hanna, Carl Canadian large-scale investor, main area alternative energies. Solitary type, macho, but likeable. Always has his guitar in his luggage. Member of the moon tour group.

  Haskin, Ed Chief technician, Orley Space Station (OSS).

  Hedegaard, Nina Tour guide at the Gaia moon hotel, moon shuttle pilot. Capable and romantic. Involved in relationship with Julian Orley.

  Ho, Patrice Senior Shanghai police officer and careerist, friend of Owen Jericho. Jericho has supported Ho in several investigations and is therefore owed a favour.

  Hoff, Edda Project manager, central security division, Orley Enterprises. Pale, expressionless and extremely reliable.

  Holland, Sid Political history editor at environmental broadcaster Greenwatch. Likes driving his friends and colleagues around in his old Thunderbird.

  Hsu, Rebecca Founder and CEO of the Taiwanese luxury company Rebecca Hsu, workaholic, incapable of being on her own. Fights a hopeless war with her obesity. Member of the moon tour group..

  Hudsucker, Susan Director of the environmental broadcaster Greenwatch and immediate superior of Loreena Keowa. Prudent, sometimes hesitant.

  Hui Xiao-Tong Member of the City Demons motorcycle club.

  Intern Colleague of Loreena Keowa at environmental broadcaster Greenwatch. Glutton and tireless researcher.

  ISLAND-II Psychotherapeutic aid program.

  Jagellovsk, Annie Astronomer and pilot at the American Peary Base, lunar North Pole.

  Jericho, Owen Cyber-detective from Great Britain, brought to Shanghai by an unhappy love affair. Outstanding investigator, lone wolf and linguistic genius. Suffers from loneliness and nightmares. Hired by his friend Tu Tian to find Yoyo.

  Jia Keqiang Commander of the Chinese helium-3 mining station, Sinus Iridum, Moon. Both a patriot and a supporter of international understanding.

  Jin Jia Wei Student, member of the internet dissident group ‘the Guardians’ and of the City Demons motorcycle club.

  Keowa, Loreena Reporter for the environmental broadcaster Greenwatch, native American of the Tlingit tribe. Green views, elegant appearance. Determined to solve the assassination attempt on Gerald Palstein.

  Kokoschka, Axel Head chef, Gaia moon hotel. Genius at the stove, in the company of others shy, uncommunicative and awkward.

  Kramp, Karla German surgeon, critical and analytic. Asks tough questions. Wife of Eva Borelius, member of moon tour group..

  Laurie, Jean-Jacques Geologist at the American Peary Base, lunar North Pole.

  Lau Ye Daxiong’s right-hand man, mechanic at Demon Point motorbike workshop and member of City Demons motorcycle club. Small,
slight, but intrepid and loyal.

  Lawrence, Dana Manager and head of security, Gaia moon hotel. Cool, unapproachable and thorough.

  Lee, Bernard, ‘C’ Head of MI6, London.

  Leto Former mercenary, friend of Jan Kees Vogelaar, Berlin.

  Liu, Naomi Senior secretary at Tu Technologies; stylish appearance, with liking for strawberry tea.

  Locatelli, Warren Founder and CEO of photovoltaic manufacturer Lightyears. American of Algerian–Italian descent, irascible and egocentric, although not without charm. Likes cursing, car-racing and sailing regattas. Winner of the America’s Cup. Married to Momoka Omura. Member of moon tour group.

  Lurkin, Laura Fitness trainer, Orley Space Station (OSS).

  Maas, Svenja Attractive postgraduate at the Charité Hospital, Berlin.

  Ma ‘Animal’ Liping Violent paedophile, initiator of the child porn ring Paradise of the Little Emperors. In spite of hip and eye problems, extremely dangerous.

  Ma Mak Member of City Demons motorcycle club.

  Mayé, Juan Alfonso Nguema West African general and sometime leader of Equatorial Guinea. Successor to Teodoro Obiang, came to power in a coup in 2017. Corrupt and megalomaniac.

  Merrick, Tom Specialist in information and communication, central security division, Orley Enterprises. Introvert.

  Moto, Severo Opposition politician in Equatorial Guinea, during Teodoro Obiang’s time in office.

  Nair, Mukesh Founder and CEO of the Tomato food company. Wealthy son of a farmer, with a liking for the simple life, sees the beautiful and the good in everything. Member of moon tour group.

  Nair, Sushma Paediatrician, wife of Mukesh Nair, warm-hearted, sometimes a little fearful. Member of moon tour group.

  Na Mou Crew member, Chinese helium-3 extraction station, Sinus Iridum, Moon.

  Ndongo, Juan Aristide Ruler of Equatorial Guinea after the fall of General Mayé. Trying to rebuild the country in a decent way.

  Norrington, Andrew Deputy head of the central security division, Orley Enterprises. Responsible for the safety of the moon tour group.

  Obiang, Teodoro Ruler of Equatorial Guinea until 2015.