Звезда Пандоры

“You and your assumptions. Did its species put up the barrier?”

“I don’t know, Adam. I wish I did. I wish I knew what it was doing to us. And why. But I don’t. All I can do is try and block its schemes, and warn people.”

“People like Kime.”

“Yes.”

“Why? I mean of all the people you could try to convince, why Kime?”

“Because of his position. He can order another review of the Second Chance data. I’ve gone over everything CST released a dozen times, but all they’ve ever given to the media are the visual recordings. I need the ship’s system logs.”

“What do you think is there?”

“Proof that Second Chance switched off the barrier. Proof that losing Bose and Verbeke was no accident. Kime knows something is not right. He’s ready to believe, he just needs a little nudge in the right direction.”

“CST has been over every byte from the flight a dozen times, not to mention all the media companies and government departments. It’s been analyzed by the best experts in the Commonwealth. They found nothing. No irregularities. No anomalies. No stowaways.”

“They don’t know what they are looking for. I can tell him where to search. With the kind of evidence I know is in there, we can make him realize the true threat to humanity. The whole truth about the Starflyer can finally be dragged out into the public domain. The Commonwealth leadership will be forced to acknowledge we were right all along. You and I won’t have to sneak around in the shadows anymore. Far Away can have its revenge without us having to—”

“All right! All right.” Adam held his hands up. “Stop the preaching, I get the picture. But I doubt I’ll be able to get any closer to Kime than you can. And even if I did, I’m not the nutter with a cause who might at least raise a doubt in his mind, I’m just a wanted killer who’s taken up arms smuggling and incidentally organized an attack on Second Chance while he was up there in it. That’s not exactly the kind of credibility we need to grab his attention.”

“I am aware of that. We need to come at him from an angle. Fortunately, there’s someone else in the Starflight Agency who will listen to you. Someone who has complete access to Kime.”

The look Adam shot across the table was more outrage than shock. “No way! I am not speaking to him. I am not contacting him. I’m not sending him a message file. I’m not even going to visit the same planet he’s on. I will not do that. Not for you, not for money, not for your stupid cause, not if Karl Marx came back to ask me personally. Understand? That is the past. He made his choice, I made mine. End of story. Period. Finish. It is Over.”

“Ah”—Bradley took a sip of his tea—“shame about that.”

After a thoroughly decent evening meal in a bar that specialized in seafood, Kazimir walked the few blocks back to his small hotel. It was a balmy night, so he made a slight detour to take in Palisades Park. In darkness, the park had ribbons of illumination to highlight its plants and trees, bathing them in bubbles of colored light to contrast with their own shades. Out to sea, the funfair on the pier was a continual blaze of multicolored light, reflecting off the black water. Ocean Avenue was busy with people who wound their way between bars and restaurants and clubs, exploiting the city’s vibrant nightlife culture to kick back and relax after their working day. The clubs had immaculately dressed doormen outside, operating strict entrance policies. Little clumps of hopefuls clustered outside, while limos came and went, depositing those who’d made it onto the list. Kazimir lingered opposite a few of the clubs, casually interested to see if he could spot any celebrities. One thing Los Angeles had clung to resolutely down the centuries was its status as capital of the entertainment world. He didn’t see anyone he recognized from the short time he’d been exposed to the unisphere, but then it was very early in the evening.