LE Modesitt Archform Beauty 02 Flash

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

of Friday afternoon and evening, as well as most of Saturday, working on the
H&F report I'd put aside. That was because, late on Friday, Methroy had linked
and offered another project. It followed the slant of the previous one, in
order to educate a management structure that I felt wasn't ever going to
understand. But, since no one else was blasting holos at me with large fees, I
took it. Sunday, I spent some time on H&F, but the afternoon and evening were
devoted to the additions that Uy-Smythe had requested for the Centre report.
Those were
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
easy, but time-consuming.
I had the feeling that I wasn't going to be getting much work done on Monday,
and that was another reason I'd worked all weekend.
Southway Security appeared promptly at nine o'clock on Monday morning, barely
after I'd finished getting cleaned up after my run and exercises. As I'd
suspected, the two techs were there until almost four o'clock in the
afternoon. They not only found the three traces that Central Four had
discovered, but a fourth, more recently installed.
I asked how that had happened.
"It happened when you were out of the house sometime," replied the master
tech.
"But I did have a security system. Not the best, but certainly not the
Page 109
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
cheapest."
"Look," the master tech replied, "like you said, you had a good personal
security system. Good, not great. Class three. Whoever put these in ... they
were at least class two, maybe class one. They don't look like star class.
What we've put in will react to even star-class intrusions."
"React?"
"Unless you got a reinforced permacrete wall around everything, there's not
much way to stop someone from breaking in. But your system will neutralize it,
and let you know. If it can't neutralize it, it lets you and us know. Either
way, we link you and come out and reset and check things. That's one of the
services that comes with this kind of installation."
I was glad I was getting some level of service from what I was paying for it.
Then, after they left, I spent nearly an hour getting more familiar with the
new system.
I should have gone back to the H&F report. Two more days of work could see me
through that, but I
worried about my own safety enough to want to make certain I understood all
the features of the new system. Because I had to wonder just how Vorhees would
react when he learned that the Prius lawsuit had been filed, I did put in
another search for accidents, deaths, and injuries associated with legal
actions against Vorhees and Reyes. There were more than a dozen. Just as a
comparative, I tried the same search against each of my clients. Only
PowerSwift showed more than two three over the past two years. While the
Vorhees numbers certainly weren't proof in the legal sense, they were both
suggestive and disturbing.
Eventually, I got back to Bruce Fuller's assignment for H&F.
Around five, just as I was really hitting my stride, Aliora linked.
"Jonat... are you turning back into a hermit?"
"No. They just finished installing the new security system. I had to work all
weekend because I knew I
couldn't get much done today."
"That's another form of excuse," my dear sister pointed out, not quite
gleefully. "You use work as a form of retreat."
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
She was probably right about that, "From what am I retreating, then?" I
offered a laugh. "Certainly not from work."
"From life, from people ... from finding out who you really are."
"You're cruel, Aliora."
"Truthful... and concerned." Her smile held sisterly warmth. "I've said this
so many times you're probably sick of it, but you've always been so busy doing
what you thought you ought to that you never discovered who you are."
"And going out and blindly seeking the right woman is going to solve that
problem?"
She laughed. "You don't discover yourself by sitting in a cave. Or under the
Boda tree, or whatever it was. Or fasting solitary in the wilderness."
"You've just cited all the standard and theologically approved ways," I
pointed out.
"They're all wrong."
"What's the right way, wisest of sisters?"
She grinned. "I'm only the wisest of sisters because I'm your only sister. The
right way is interacting with people. Ever since the Marines, you've avoided
it."
She was right about that, too.
"I got tired of being continually disappointed."
"Jonat... that's the nature of people. There's an old saying something to the
effect of you really only become human when you understand that the world will
break your heart... and you keep on going."
"Cheerful sentiment."
Page 110
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Maybe, but you need something to kick your ass out of your shell." She
sighed. "I can't seem to kick hard enough. Dierk won't do it. He says we each
make our own hells, and we have to find our own ways out. Even Charis said
that you seemed sad."
"So you're offering the next best thing to a kick?"
She shrugged. "I think, if you found the right cause, or the right woman,
nothing could keep you in that shell. I haven't been able to find her or it.
Neither have you. I keep hoping."
For some reason, I could feel my throat thickening. I was so fortunate to have
her as a sister. I wasn't so sure she was near as fortunate in her brother.
After a moment, I answered. "Believe it or not, I do occasionally look. I'm
not sure that it's something you can find by looking for it or her."
She sighed. "I suppose not. I have to tell you that I worry, though."
"I appreciate it." And I did. Aliora had always been there.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"I'm glad you did upgrade your security system. Dierk said that was a smart
thing to do. After the attacks on Everett, he thinks there will be more. The
PAMD people are dangerous."
"I worry more about their opponents. The reaction to PAMD could be worse than
anything that those so-called patriots could do."
"Why do you think that?" Her brow furrowed in concern.
"History. Internal reactions to outside pressures are always nasty. The
Spanish Inquisition really didn't get brutal until Catholicism was under
attack. The civil freedoms of the old Commonocracy practically vanished under
various threats, none of which were that serious. The Great Repression of the
Sinese
Commune..." I shrugged. "It's an old human pattern. Tolerance flourishes in
times of prosperity and lack of threat, and vanishes under pressure. It's a
fragile flower." I paused. "You never said why you linked."
"I hadn't heard from you. Not for a few days, and after what you told me last
week, I thought I'd check."
My sister ... always concerned. "I'm fine even if I'm more withdrawn than
either of us would like. I'll try to do better."
She smiled, and I could tell it was for my benefit. "See that you do."
"I will."
After she broke the link, I sat looking into the twilight, wondering...
Chapter45
By pushing on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, I finished the draft of the H&F
study and sent it off to
Bruce for comment. Then I checked the printed copies of the Centre report. At
one-forty, I left the house, setting the much more elaborate external
security, and began walking down to the maglev station.
I only had to wait five minutes for the next maglev. The trip to the Northtech [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Linki