JК
Crashlander :: Нивен Ларри
Страница: 22 из 199»
«Beowulf, Sigmund would not have participated while they killed one pilot after another.»
I said, «Mad Bomber Sigmund? Ander, I never had any intention of stealing that ship.» I saw his look, but I went on. «Now, that could imply that Sigmund is a bad judge of character. Or it could mean that he braced … oh, a dozen pilots, each in turn. The odds of one of us stealing a ship get pretty good. Remember, if each of us does our job, the hull comes back at the end of the orbit. Those things cost.»
Ander's jaw set. He said, «No.»
All right, no. I'd try again later. Beowulf Shaeffer is a misunderstood innocent. Sigmund Ausfaller isn't quite trustworthy. Change the subject — «Or do you mean they trusted me to write my own script? I tried that, Ander.»
«You really needed help. 'First neutron star ever discovered,» he quoted.
First old, cold neutron star. Good thing he'd spotted that embarrassment. I said, «You couldn't dive that close to a pulsar. Even a GP hull couldn't bash through the accretion disk. I've gotten better at explaining things, Ander.»
I was scampering about inside my head, seeking any hole that might offer an escape.
Monitoring a citizen can be easy, or cheap, or foolproof; take your choice. Ausfaller was backing Ander with UN money. The United Nations didn't have authority outside Sol system, but Ander could be using ARM funds or equipment.
But he'd seen me on the balcony for the very first time. He'd sprinted up the slidestairs to intercept me without pausing a moment to call for backup. I'd stake our freedom on that — their freedom. The UN had no claim on me, but they might well extradite Carlos, or Sharrol, or the children.
So I was shaping a bribe to offer Ander, and telling myself that he wasn't too big to be killed if things broke right, and hoping that none of that showed at all while I played for time.
I asked, «What's your concern with puppeteers? They're harmless. They're cowards.»
«Are cowards harmless?»
«And they're gone.»
Ander smiled at me. «And you were the one who sent them. Beowulf, why would they deal with you a second time? You blackmailed them.»
«They don't mind blackmail; they use it themselves. And what I thought I knew might not be true.» I caught that smirk again and snapped, «All right, what?»
«Tides,» Ander said. «We've been watching their, ah, retreat. The Pierson's puppeteers understand tides very well, Beowulf, whether or not they ever had a moon.»
«All right.» I believed him and wasn't surprised.
«Beowulf, Sigmund would not have participated while they killed one pilot after another.»
I said, «Mad Bomber Sigmund? Ander, I never had any intention of stealing that ship.» I saw his look, but I went on. «Now, that could imply that Sigmund is a bad judge of character. Or it could mean that he braced … oh, a dozen pilots, each in turn. The odds of one of us stealing a ship get pretty good. Remember, if each of us does our job, the hull comes back at the end of the orbit. Those things cost.»
Ander's jaw set. He said, «No.»
All right, no. I'd try again later. Beowulf Shaeffer is a misunderstood innocent. Sigmund Ausfaller isn't quite trustworthy. Change the subject — «Or do you mean they trusted me to write my own script? I tried that, Ander.»
«You really needed help. 'First neutron star ever discovered,» he quoted.
First old, cold neutron star. Good thing he'd spotted that embarrassment. I said, «You couldn't dive that close to a pulsar. Even a GP hull couldn't bash through the accretion disk. I've gotten better at explaining things, Ander.»
I was scampering about inside my head, seeking any hole that might offer an escape.
Monitoring a citizen can be easy, or cheap, or foolproof; take your choice. Ausfaller was backing Ander with UN money. The United Nations didn't have authority outside Sol system, but Ander could be using ARM funds or equipment.
But he'd seen me on the balcony for the very first time. He'd sprinted up the slidestairs to intercept me without pausing a moment to call for backup. I'd stake our freedom on that — their freedom. The UN had no claim on me, but they might well extradite Carlos, or Sharrol, or the children.
So I was shaping a bribe to offer Ander, and telling myself that he wasn't too big to be killed if things broke right, and hoping that none of that showed at all while I played for time.
I asked, «What's your concern with puppeteers? They're harmless. They're cowards.»
«Are cowards harmless?»
«And they're gone.»
Ander smiled at me. «And you were the one who sent them. Beowulf, why would they deal with you a second time? You blackmailed them.»
«They don't mind blackmail; they use it themselves. And what I thought I knew might not be true.» I caught that smirk again and snapped, «All right, what?»
«Tides,» Ander said. «We've been watching their, ah, retreat. The Pierson's puppeteers understand tides very well, Beowulf, whether or not they ever had a moon.»
«All right.» I believed him and wasn't surprised.