What Price the Stars? Part 2

in #steempulp6 years ago (edited)

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The Inscrutable was light-years ahead of any spacecraft Michael had ever seen. From the inside her hull was transparent, offering a commanding view of her surroundings. Her deck plan was open, and there was no bridge. A halo of holographic controls encircled Jørgen as he led his guests on a tour.

The most notable fixture—surprisingly, one that Jørgen drew no attention to—was a huge cylinder in the center of the deck. Its golden skin was chased with unfamiliar hieroglyphics. They changed as Michael watched, flowing silently across the metal like ripples on the surface of a pond. Curious, he reached out to touch the cylinder. His fingertips encountered an invisible wall of force. Roerich appeared beside him and tried his hand. He had no more success than Michael.

“Our host has interesting toys,” Roerich remarked.

“That does not like to be touched,” Jørgen called to them from across the compartment.

Michael and Roerich exchanged a puzzled glance. “That was an odd turn of phrase,” Roerich murmured, and ambled over to the bar, which was not protected by a force field.

Abandoning his investigation of the mysterious cylinder, Michael noticed something that disturbed him even more. Jørgen’s hand was resting on the small of Alexi’s back, and she didn’t seem to mind. Unexpected jealousy welled up inside Michael. He hadn’t pursued Alexi since uni, but he’d always wondered what might have been. Even worse, if there was anything to be gained from this game, the advantage had already gone to to Alexi.

Stung to action, Michael crossed the cabin to join them. Jørgen quietly released Alexi, and Michael sidled up close beside her. She glared daggers at him.

If Jørgen noticed, he gave no sign. “My friends, now that you are comfortable, the demonstration can begin,” he announced. “I must presume on your patience a little longer, because Unificare law forbids me to use a space propulsion system near the ground. We must climb to altitude. Please use the time to find a seat and relax.”

“Where are we going?” asked Rosencrantz.

Instead of answering him, Jørgen turned to Roerich. “You are from New Earth, correct?”

Roerich nodded. “Yes, I am. My parents brought me to Earth when I was fourteen. They wanted me to have a good education. There is only one university on New Earth, and their course catalog is thin.”

“Glorious Founders College,” Jørgen observed. “Would you know Pournelle City again, if you saw it?”

“Of course. I grew up there, in the Red Ledge district. I have often wished I could see it again. But the doctors tell me the voyage would exceed my remaining shelf life.”

Jørgen laid a friendly hand on Roerich’s shoulder. “Today your desire will be fulfilled. We shall arrive at Pournelle City within the hour. Rest assured, you will not expire in my care.”

“You are truly mad!” Rosencrantz sputtered.

“Perhaps I am,” Jørgen replied. “Time alone will tell, and not much of it. We go.”

Inscrutable filled with the familiar hum of lift engines, and the gameants scrambled to find good seats. The skyline of Montevideo fell away beneath them. Michael settled onto a couch next to Alexi. She stared straight out at the far blue horizon, pointedly ignoring him.

“Are you okay?” Michael asked.

“Never better. No thanks to you,” she snapped.

“Alexi, you have no idea who Jørgen is. Not twenty minutes ago, you called him insane.”

“Maybe he is, but at least he knows how to treat a woman.”

“I think he knows how to take advantage of a situation.”

She snorted mirthlessly. “I’ll have you know that he took no more than was offered to him. I don’t need a chaperone, Michael.”

“Not a chaperone, a counselor. If I were you...”

She cut him off angrily. “But you aren’t me, and if want to flirt with the old goat, I will. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She leapt to her feet and stalked away.

Michael stayed put. He’d overstepped his bounds, and he knew it. Alexi was a determined, cunning woman who rarely failed in her designs. In a pinch, she wouldn’t hesitate to use her taut body to seal a deal. If Jørgen had a single ounce of red blood in his veins, the prize was hers.

“Trouble in paradise?” came Rosencrantz’s unwelcome voice. Without waiting for an answer, the wispy man took a seat next to him. He dandled a jigger glass in his right hand. Its contents smelled like kerosene. “If you ask me, I think she’s foolish,” he continued breezily. “That maniac can’t possibly deliver. She’ll be exchanging her virtue for nothing.”

“How can you be so sure that Jørgen can’t deliver?” Michael replied.

“Because it’s impossible. Li is right. You can’t fool the gods of the Unified Law. Pangloss is a fraud.”

“I thought so, too, at first. Now, I don’t know what to think.”

“This ship impresses you? It is a rather better imposture than I was expecting, but it’s not beyond the means of a determined confidence man. His schnapps is first–rate, though.” He downed his glass with a chortle.

The sky grew black. A great swath of clouds shrouded the Pacific, and the Andes vanished below the deck sill. Without warning, massive thrust mashed him tight into his seat.

“He’s running the motors at full power!” shrieked Rosencrantz.

The scene outside tilted crazily. The broad, blue expanse of the Atlantic loomed up suddenly. With a thrill of terror, Michael realized that they were diving toward it. A bright arc of superheated air coalesced outside the windows. The sparkling ocean rose up to smack them. A tiny cluster of dots swelled swiftly into rugged pinnacles of black rock flecked with white guano. Pinned down by gee forces, Michael jammed his eyes shut and waited to die.

Nothing happened. The brutal thrust vanished.

Hardly daring to hope, Michael opened his eyes. He saw outside no rocks, no ocean, and no Earth. Inscrutable was flying free in empty space.

Rosencrantz was curled in a fetal position at his feet. Michael prodded him. “You can relax. We’re not dead.”

The terrified professor blinked up at him. “What happened? Where are we?”

In answer to his question, a world hove into view, all azure blue and ocher. Strange continents peeked out beneath a filigree of silver cloud.

“Lovely, isn’t she?” said the voice of Jørgen Pangloss. Michael reluctantly tore his eyes from the impossible planet to face his host. He stood behind the couch, Alexi hanging decorously on his arm like a gangster’s moll. Li and Roerich flanked them like bishops on a chessboard, eyes wide and mouths gaping.

“My incomparable lady, gentlemen, the demonstration is complete. I give you New Earth,” Jørgen proclaimed, the triumphant smile of a conqueror on his lean face.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

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Very good. I liked the death defying scene. Did you get a curie on this post?

@curie did indeed stop by, much to my delight. I had no idea at the time that there were whales in the sea. Your point (made elsewhere) about the #steempulp tag is quite correct. I've started putting the #fiction tag first.

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