[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.And if we do not see you before the coronation, let me express our appreciation for all your hospitality.""I am delighted to welcome your presence here." Ilunga laughed."You may enjoy the ceremony much more than I will.Kiri will show you the site for the coronation itself, and you will see my formal robes at the coronation.The imperial garments weigh as much as I do.Let us hope for cooler weather."His polite speech did not hide the fact that the audience had ended.No one spoke as they filed again past the double line of bedecked guards and on down the stairs.At the third floor Inongo Kiri paused."You are completely free until the formal dinner at eight o'clock," he said."By that time I hope at least three other regions will be represented."As he left, the Trader group lingered in the corridor.No one welcomed the idea of returning to those hot rooms."I'm going to take a walk outside," Melinda announced after a few moments."I want to see if the cars he mentioned are in working order.If we decide to take a drive by ourselves tomorrow, I don't want to have to walk back.""I'll come with you." Mike hesitated, then looked at Jake.For Cesar and Melinda's sake, he ought at least to offer the olive branch."Before we go, do you think we ought to take a few minutes to compare notes? We're in a pretty odd position here.All of us probably have different insights."Everyone turned to Jake.He stared down at the ground and would not meet Mike's look."I think you are forgetting what we agreed to before we came here," he said at last."We're going solo.I certainly don't propose to spoon-feed anyone with information." He hurried on down the corridor and went at once into his room.After a moment Cesar followed him.Melinda shrugged at Mike."Well, you tried.Jake's not a bad guy, but he's still furious because his girlfriend didn't make it to training camp, and you did.""I know.Cesar told me." Mike started on down the stairs."That's why he wanted to work the mission solo.I'm sure if I were not with you, everyone would be comparing notes.I'd still prefer it that way.You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, but I'll gladly tell you what I think so far.""If you're anything like me, you're pretty puzzled.Rasool Ilunga doesn't fit the typical Darklander profile.""Not in the slightest.I expected this to be a primitive society, all the briefings told us that.The cars, buildings, and people support the idea, and a gigantic, flashy coronation fits right in with it.But Ilunga?" Mike shook his head."He seems no more interested in elaborate rituals and pompous ceremonies than Daddy-O would be.I think he meant what he said about moving the Darklands towards advanced technology.But I don't see what he has to offer a partner.""And did you notice his clothes? They were simpler than anyone else's." Melinda paused as they reached street level."Now you've met him, can you believe he's conceited enough to want representatives of every group here on Earth here to marvel at his coronation—and pay to ensure their presence?"Mike stared at her."Did he pay for us to come?""That's what Jake told me.Paid a lot.So there's another mystery.What do we do next?""Rule Eighteen: 'Collect as much data as you can get—' "" '—and remember it may not be enough.' All right, Kiri said the cars for us are parked just around the side of the building." Melinda stepped out into the afternoon glare."Let's see if they'll fall apart under us.That will be a data point of a sort—though it's hard to see what use it might be."* * *Twenty-four hours later Mike was beginning to wonder how much data was enough.Nothing would form a sensible pattern.It had started with the ground vehicles reserved for use by the Trader trainees.Instead of ancient, fume-belching limousines, he and Melinda had been shown four smart electric runabouts.They were new, expensive, and obviously imported from the Great Republic.With their balloon tires, air/oil suspension, and topside solar panels, they could carry a single passenger a hundred miles at night without recharging, and half again as much in daytime.Mike and Melly had taken a car on a trial run and found it comfortable, silent, and simple to drive.Dinner had been another paradox.Traditional Darklands food, side by side with the most modern Chill service robots; flickering rush and palm-oil lamps next to bioluminescent globes straight from the Strine Interior.The invited guests offered the same contrast of old and new.The trainees had found their dinner companions to be an average of fifty years older than they were.Mike had been seated next to an oldster from the Chipponese lunar mines, a wizened woman who knew, or admitted to knowing, not a word of Trader or Darklands languages.Jake Kallario was partnered with a graybeard Yankeeland cityboss; Cesar Famares sat with a drooling aristocratic wreck from the Economic Community, who offered him a free sample of a recent—and totally addictive—Greaserland drug.Melinda felt she was the lucky one, with a personable companion in her late thirties—until the Strine bigmomma made a hard and open pass at her.The four trainees beat a retreat as early as possible, pleading a long day ahead.But as Mike was going into his room, Melinda lingered on the doorstep.She was still quivering."That woman! Did you see what she did to me?" Her gray eyes were open even wider than usual with the shock.Mike shrugged."I don't know what she did below table level, but above it she whispered in your ear and rubbed your breasts.I'm not well up on the habits of the Strine Interior.For all I know that's a neat social compliment.Better get used to it, Melly, worse things will happen when you get out there in real negotiations.""Then I'm not sure I'll ever make Trader.It's easy enough for you, Mike.You're such a cool fish, these things roll right off you.Nothing gets you upset.""Sure.Someday let me tell you about my life in a Hive." Mike hesitated, then opened the door to his room."Come on in for a minute.I have to ask you something.""What is it?" Melinda was inside before he had finished speaking.Mike made sure the door was firmly closed before he answered."If you're willing, I want to share a piece of information with you.I asked the Chipponese woman I was sitting next to at dinner if she would be going with us on our sightseeing tour of the area north of here.She looked at me as though the translation unit was making rude noises at her.I wondered if your bigmomma talked at all about her plans, before she decided your body was more interesting.""Not really.But she did ask me if we were going to the precoronation Trade Fair.It's in the two-story building, west of where we're staying.Kiri hasn't mentioned any fair, so I assume we're not invited.But why do you care? Surely you'd rather see the Darklands than watch their publicity campaign?""I certainly would.But doesn't it strike you as a little odd that everyone else who's visiting seems to be staying here, and the four of us—just the four of us—will be wandering around the Darklands countryside?""It does if you put it that way.What does it mean?"Mike had shrugged."To me, not one thing.Maybe it will make more sense tomorrow."* * *But it didn't
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]