Horizon Storms - Kevin J. Anderson [74]
Swendsen beamed, while Palawu lowered his eyes, embarrassed. “We work well together, Mr. Chairman.”
“And now you must demonstrate how well you can work apart.” Wenceslas gestured for both of them to take their seats. Neither asked for more information, choosing to wait until the Chairman spoke again. “Without question, you two are our foremost experts on Klikiss technology.”
Palawu fumbled with his fingers. “Mr. Chairman, I believe you’re overstating the—”
Wenceslas cut him off. “Dispense with the silly false modesty, please. You demean my intelligence, and you diminish your own accomplishments. If there were two better candidates, I would be speaking to them instead of to you.” He shuffled the neatly stacked papers on his desk, then straightened them again. “I need you to turn your talents to studying the Klikiss transportals.”
“Has something gone wrong in the colonization initiative, Mr. Chairman?” Palawu asked. He had thought the first wave was proceeding with full support. He had heard of no delays.
“Oh, the system functions just fine, sending settlers off to empty Klikiss planets. But our science doesn’t understand how it works—and that limits our options.” The Chairman folded his hands together. “You see, gentlemen, it is my dream that we learn how to move the existing transportals, or even create new ones, so that the Hansa can set up efficient gateways wherever we choose. Just think—if we could establish Klikiss transportals from scratch on any colony world, perhaps even increase their dimensions and transportation capacity, then we wouldn’t need to rely on conventional space travel at all. The ekti shortage would be utterly irrelevant. We could also send messages from planet to planet directly, without being forced to use unreliable green priests.”
“Now, that’s quite an ambitious plan, Mr. Chairman,” Swendsen said.
“But a feasible one,” Palawu added, already wrestling with the problem. “It shouldn’t be intrinsically more complex than the Klikiss robots. Even if we don’t understand every circuit in the transportal technology, perhaps we can imprint and replicate them, as we did with the Soldier compies.”
Basil seemed satisfied with their exuberance. Palawu looked at his tall friend. “And which one of us would you like for this assignment?”
The Chairman gestured to the expediter, who reached into his pocket and pulled out a single gold coin. “Your qualifications appear to be equivalent, gentlemen. Therefore, without further agonizing discussion, we will settle the matter by an ancient reliable method.”
The expediter spun the coin in the air and slapped it against the back of his hand.
Swendsen had called out, “Tails!” before the coin had fallen, and the expediter lifted his palm to reveal the idealized profile of King Ben, the Hansa’s first ruler.
The Chairman shook Palawu’s hand. “Congratulations, Dr. Palawu. I will see that you’re dispatched to our main hub at Rheindic Co as soon as possible.”
Chapter 37—ORLI COVITZ
The Hansa’s new colonization campaign played on hopes and patriotism. Media bursts and mail drones delivered the Chairman’s dramatic invitation from world to world, and human beings reacted predictably, always sure that life would be better someplace else after a new start.
With funding and bonuses from the Hansa, hopeful people left struggling colonies in droves, waiting to be rounded up by commercial transports and delivered to the nearest Klikiss jumping-off points. On every world that had briefly been scouted by transportal explorers, ambitious groups planted the flag of the Terran Hanseatic League, submitted signed copies of the Charter, and claimed new territory for humanity…
As the Voracious Curiosity pulled away from cloudy Dremen, Orli went to the ship’s window