April 5: A Depth of Understanding (29 page)

"Certainly, certainly. Rather than disconnect, why not offload the missiles when we stop? We have four of them with variable warheads. Who will take possession of them?"

"I'm not going to
steal
your missiles," Jon replied. "Almost all Home ships go armed. Most call it out in their full legal name like,
The Armed Merchant Silly Willy
. That is in fact the ship I have on call to go out and deal with you. What I intended to suggest was nuclear arms are expensive. You could probably sell two of those missiles and raise enough money for fuel and operating expenses until you get some work. If somebody doesn't want to use them, one of the fab shops would probably buy one to reverse engineer it."

"You allow private parties to own nuclear weapons?" Sam asked. He looked stunned.

"I don't
allow
anything. If I tried to take them away the citizens of Home would teach me to do EV in my boxer shorts. They are a Sovereign People. You'll need to learn the local politics."

"Yes, I surely will. I think I've fallen down the rabbit hole."

"Hah, besides the fancy English you have a good education in Western culture and literature don't you?"

"I do, but it appears you are writing a very different new chapter to it. How do I apply for residency or citizenship if there are no required documents?"

"Residency, you just reside. No permits needed, just enough funds to live here. You can declare you consider the arrangement permanent if it makes you feel better. Just declare it in public. Or post it to the social areas of the net. Nobody makes you take a net address, but it's pretty hard to live here and do business without it. Citizenship is harder. You have to have a net address and register as a citizen by volunteering to pay taxes. That gives you a vote in the Assembly. No tax – no vote."

"Taxes are
voluntary
?"

"Yeah, but do you really want to live someplace and not have a say in how it is run? And lots of folks will look at you as cheap or a moocher if you aren't a citizen, maybe wonder if you are really committed to staying. There is still social pressure to consider if you want people to do business with you."

"I think that's all I can absorb right now. I'm going to go try to explain it to my crew. It may be a bit much for them to absorb at first. It may require some retelling. And turning them into capitalists with shares in a ship and the business a ship does, will be interesting. I may call you to conference with us and explain things better than I can."

"Do that," Jon agreed. "If I can't explain it I'll get Mr. Muños who operates our vote  counting system and chairs the meeting of the Assembly to tell you how it works."

"A man of such high office would take time to tutor us?"

"He teaches me all sorts of things. Straightens me right out on all sorts of matters. One of the smartest guys we have on station. I'll be back in about ten minutes and give you an intercept time and where we want you parked for my boys to inspect you. Is that agreeable?"

"Just out of curiosity. What if it was not agreeable?"

"I'd have to kill you. I'd really hate to do that. OK?"

"Your frankness is reassuring. It is indeed, very OK."

* * *

John cracked open his lunch pack and inspected what he got today. He could tell he amused the cafeteria ladies, because they offered three or four choices for a carry away lunch, but he always requested a random selection and
not
to be told what he was handed. He really wasn't a fussy eater and it was a little adventure in a day that would otherwise be too predictable.

"What did you get today?" Helen asked. She was aware of his little game, but she was a fussy eater, sometimes giving him parts of her lunch that,  'just won't do'.

"A ham and cheese sandwich, an egg salad sandwich, an apple, a cup of pasta salad with a bunch of minced stuff in it. It all looks good."

She leaned over and looked. "Farfalline, red sweet pepper, scallions and chopped eggs. Hmm...there is some sort of green herb and some paprika in the dressing too."

"You're like a living test lab, how can you tell that at a glance?"

"I know food. Maybe someday we'll open a restaurant. There are two clubs already on Home. There is always a market for quality, it's just the population isn't big enough yet."

"I think the quality is just
marvelous
. I grew up in Maryland. That's in the USNA. My family wasn't on negative tax, but we certainly never ate this well. I spent some time on the moon," he shuddered. "The less said about the food there the better. Freeze dried mostly."

"I knew you were North American from the accent, but what did you do on the moon?"

John looked stricken. "I said too much. I got comfortable with you and I spoke too freely, what I did on the moon is better forgotten. I may still have some enemies from that time. Would you forget I said that? Please?"

"Indeed, Home gives one an opportunity to start anew. This is something I am not unfamiliar with. I won't say a word to anyone. Not even my dear husband, who might forget."

"Thank you. He works at one of those fancy clubs, doesn't he? If you get to open your restaurant he has seen how it works from the inside, hasn't he? He'll know how to hire serving staff and direct them, knows all the problems and tricks from both sides of the counter."

"He has experience as a very able administrator. He took a step down and is working well below his station serving, but it pays very well with the right crowd and the club attracts that custom quite steadily. Class is not frozen and stratified on home like Earth. We'll move up in business when we know Home politics and society and feel comfortable here."

"You're running from somebody too," he declared firmly.

"Avoiding someone," she admitted. "Home doesn't
do
extradition. We are citizens now. Even  residents falls under their protection. So we are not
running
from anyone. We are most firmly ensconced and where we
want
to be," she insisted.

"That's nice. That's where I want to be too, but I'm not confident of it yet."

* * *

"There are
noises
, really loud noises, from below. I think they are digging out, but I have no idea from how deep, or where they will surface," Johnson said.

"That's enough for me," Jeff told him. "I know they are alive and in good enough shape to move around and get a tunnel digging machine working. I'm quite encouraged. If there was no loss of life I may moderate my response. I'll wait and talk to Heather about it. The surviving Chinese ship that defected will be docked sometime tomorrow. I'll ask the commander if he'll grant me an interview. I'd very much like to know the intent of their orders. Then I may contact whoever the current Chinese government is and talk to them."

"What if they won't talk to you?" Johnson asked.

"They wouldn't discuss matters with me last time and got a large crater where their main spaceport used to be. One would think they'd learn talking is better."

"It's a government. The bigger they are, the stupider they get. I have no such confidence they can learn anything at all," Johnson said.

"I can get their attention," Jeff promised, deadpan. "Talk to you soon. Call me if they do a break out."

"Of course." He'd have said more but Jeff was gone.

"I hope that girl is alive," Johnson told Dakota. If she's dead I think it's going to be ugly."

"
That girl
, is no way to speak of your sovereign."

"She's my sovereign, but to Jeff she's that girl I love. And if he kills a few hundred million Chinese and devastates their nation then that's the Heather over who it will be done."

"Yes, I see. You have that right," she agreed.

* * *

"I'm very strongly hopeful Heather is alright," Jeff told April. "I've decided to wait and see if she's ok and if there was no other loss of life before I even make a public statement."

"I hope you aren't going to rain total destruction on them if somebody did die. Can you make your response somewhat proportional?"

"That how it has been done recently, since the politicians have gotten frightened of their weapons and afraid to use them. But it looks like that period has ended to me. You can blame that on me hitting Jiuquan if you want, but hey, somebody did Kargil too and nobody retaliated. Now the Chinese have bombed Central and they would have hit Home if they could have. Looks to me like there isn't any restraint now. I tell you what. If they've killed Heather I won't kill them any deader," he offered.

April didn't know what to say to that.

"I'm going to ask them to recognize Home's right to exist and accede to our L1 limits. I'm not even going to ask them for damages for the roads and shallow structures they destroyed. We will have a great deal to rebuild and deal with low level contamination for ten or fifteen years. Doesn't that sound pretty moderate?"

"I have to admit it does," April agreed.

"I'm not even going to hit Beijing if they should prove intransigent."

"Good. There are cultural treasures there people all over the world would hate us for destroying. That's a relief."

"We are going to have to back fill something around three million cubic meters of rock and regolith and the deep damage to the bedrock is going to be a major inconvenience later when I build a bean-stalk. I could be seriously irritated with them over that alone, but I'll let it pass. I may mention it, but I won't ask reparations."

"From what I've seen of the Chinese they are so arrogant they'd choose to die rather than pay a cent to a barbarian. If you asked a cent from them you might as well just attack."

"I agree. When the Captain of the Chinese ship comes in I'm going to ask to speak to him. Do you want to help me? You are better with people than me."

"Of course, I'd be happy to be there."

* * *

Captain Bia left his XO on the
Scepter.
He'd intended to send him to Home and remain on board himself, but the man had strongly advised him to go himself. He didn't feel qualified to represent the ship in commercial dealings. Captain Bia had at least grown up in a mercantile family. He heard his father bargaining with suppliers and discussing his business dealings at home with his mother. He'd been to the family store and seen customers seek a lower price and his dad turn it aside with humor or meet it part way. His XO, Zhao was from a military family. His head was filled with duty and obedience. Negotiating or commerce was not something easy or normal to him.

He'd have had more misgivings about leaving his command in Zhao's hands if the militiamen had not been so polite. He'd expected barely concealed contempt and short courtesy. Instead the two who came aboard introduced themselves and asked if they were in need of anything before they started identifying the missile subsystems. They did wear side arms but other than those they only had a pair of bolt cutters.

When he asked if they would like to also secure the two side arms the
Scepter
carried they suggested he wear one to Home, explaining the majority of adults went armed.

The Militiamen cited their qualifications and what ship and company they worked with when not militiamen. They insisted a third man come over to assist him, double checking his suit and helping him with an unfamiliar airlock. They even asked if he was experienced with suit work and offered to rig a line or transport him if he was uncomfortable going across untethered.

When he declined they related the North American they had arrested previously had to be taken between ships piggy-back by an experienced rigger. That was interesting. The ship he went to was tiny, the lock just barely able to cycle both of them at once. Inside the volume was so small they recommended he retain his suit and just open his faceplate, explaining a pressure loss could render such a small volume deadly in seconds.

Despite the small size the strange vessel was comfortable. The seats were generously large and adjusted over a wide range. Once his luggage and he were secure he was offered coffee. Sam looked closely at the fellow to see if he was having fun with him. He seemed serious. "That would be most welcome," he told the fellow and the odor of brewing coffee, not instant, filled the single compartment in short order. The real shock was how good it was.

"We are making a slow transfer, Captain Lu Lanakila explained. "This ship is out of commercial service and dedicated to this task until my fellows have determined how to disable your missiles with minimum damage, so no rush. We'll also stand by to return you to your ship when you want. If you wish I'll play the guide when we arrive, or you can call Jon Davis and request one of his officers help you. You should probably get a set of spex," he said touching the wrap around glasses he wore just like the two men he'd left on the
Scepter,
"if you wish to go off on your own. If you don't have the map software it's easy to get lost when you are new."

"I'm embarrassed to say we have no cash money. I don't have any way to acquire them."

"Crud, I have an old pair, maybe two, but the older one is really obsolete, maybe five years old. If you want them they're yours. They're just taking up valuable storage room in a drawer because I have a hard time throwing something away that still works."

"That's a great kindness," Sam allowed, accepting quickly. Privately he had a hard time believing he'd be turned loose with no handler. Maybe the spex could be tracked?

"I know a kid who runs courier," he said, eyes darting up and checking the time in his spex. "My wife should still be at home now. I'll have him run get them from her before she goes to work and meet us at dock. Yeah," he said after a pause, "she is and it's set up."

"You do that all so fast with the glasses?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, you get used to them and hardly think about how to
do
something after a few thousand repetitions. Of course, take them away I'd feel like everything was in slow motion. Are you hungry? We have a few sandwiches in the cooler. Or if you like I can take you to lunch when we dock. It will be about my lunch time then."