Doctor Who_ So Vile a Sin - Ben Aaronovitch [109]
‘We’d better catch him up,’ said Chris.
‘He’ll find his way,’ said Genevieve. ‘The reception staff will point him in the right direction.’ She put a hand on his sleeve.
‘While they’re talking business, would you like to see the gardens?’
The Emperor Abu ibn Walid looked as excited and tired as a child who’d been up all night waiting for Santa. His advisers and staff were still packing up after the meeting, standing around the long table and waving bits of printout at one another. They looked stressed, rings under eyes, the look of people who’d not only seen some disturbing news footage but had to do something about it.
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The Emperor shook the Doctor’s hand warmly. Two security guards watched, both in the dark-blue and white uniforms of the household. Each had one enhanced eye. The Doctor could see the irises moving as they scanned him for hidden weapons. He wondered what technology was hidden by the Emperor’s own mismatched eyes.
‘Please,’ said the Emperor, ‘I’ve been in this office all morning. Let’s talk in my private garden.’
The ‘garden’ was a rainforest, a vast dome. Callisto’s terraformed climate couldn’t sustain these damp plants, delicate ferns and exotic flowers. The Doctor expected that every guest was brought here. Fancy clothes, elaborate feasts, expensive gifts
– even mammoth starships wouldn’t impress another noble. A living garden, millions of miles from Earth – now, there was a status symbol.
They walked along an AG path, half a foot off the ground, translucent enough to let the artificial sunshine through to the tiny plants beneath it. The guards walked a discreet distance behind them. The Doctor could feel their artificial eyes on his back.
The former Duke said, ‘In the last twenty-four hours, the new peace has been broken by a dozen riots on Earth. They started as peaceful, mass demonstrations. A variety of demands. The largest is in Australia – twelve thousand Earth Reptiles walked out of the ocean and sat down on a tourist beach. After a few hours, the locals started attacking them with surfboards.’ The Doctor shook his head. ‘The Landsknechte have gone in, but I think you can also help me calm things down.’
‘How can I do that?’ asked the Doctor.
‘I need the full story of the Empress’s death. I think uncertainty about how I came to power is the motive behind these demonstrations. I think it’s safe to tell your story, especially now a replacement for Helen the First has been found – my legal advisers tell me it would have been treason to ignore her direct request.’
‘I’ll give you my full cooperation,’ said the Doctor. ‘But first, there’s something I need to warn you about. There’s a moon in the Agamemnon system. It’s called Iphigenia.’
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‘Agamemnon. I’ve heard of it,’ said Walid. ‘One of the planets exploded, didn’t it? The Navy are still trying to decide exactly what happened.’
‘Cassandra is no longer a danger. It’s Iphigenia you have to worry about. You’ve got to keep ships away from that moon. The people in the original fact-finding mission murdered one another, and the survivors are… insane.’
Walid took a DataStream from his pocket and tapped his finger on the screen. The Doctor admired an orchid while the palmtop, a square chunk of intelligent plastic, organized the information the Emperor wanted.
‘I see what you mean,’ said Walid. ‘And the recent expedition is believed to have been killed in the Cassandra explosion. It certainly seems as though there’s a curse on the moon.’
‘It’s worse than that,’ said the Doctor. ‘No one must ever go there again. If you want to keep this new Empire of yours safe, you’ve got to keep that world completely isolated. It might even be worth ending mining operations on Fury, evacuating the population. At least the telepaths.’
‘You’ve been there, haven’t you, Doctor?’ said Walid. ‘You were part of one of the expeditions.’ The Doctor nodded. ‘And what did you see?’
The Doctor considered for a moment. ‘Everything,’ he said.
‘Everything?’
‘You’ll love these,’ said Genevieve. ‘They’re astonishing.
Watch.’
They had been