"I understand, Ariel."
She went back to the kitchen. Perhaps she could bring R. Jennie down here. On the other hand, vacating her apartment completely might be a mistake. In either case, she needed to give Jennie instructions…
Details. She needed food in the kitchen, changes of clothes, her personal datum. She wondered if Derec ever had visitors, then dismissed the thought. She would have known; if nothing else, there would be signs here, in his living space, and she saw little enough even of Derec.
What has he been doing this past year?
Oddly, the idea that Derec had spent all this time alone-except for those few instances when they had shared a meal or attended a meeting together-saddened her. But then, she knew little enough of what he had been doing prior to last year. Perhaps this was his norm, the way he was used to living.
He had been bitterly angry over losing his company. That he had nearly ended up in prison had seemed relatively unimportant to him. Had she not moved to reinstate his Auroran citizenship, he might very well be living today in a private call in a Terran penal facility, the charges ranging from violation of Earther trade laws and the Positronic Prohibition Acts to murder. That he would have been no more guilty than any other Auroran on Earth made no difference-he would have been the perfect example. Even without a jail term, the Phylaxis Group, his firm, had been used as a club to beat the pro-positronic movement into submission and undermine all the work that had been done over the last several years to bridge the gaps dividing Earth and the Spacer worlds. Not the only club, to be sure, but a most effective one: Phylaxis had been held responsible for the failure of the entire Union Station positronics showcase and the subsequent events involving what the media had characterized as a "Killer Robot": Bogard.
Bogard. Derec's attempt at building a bodyguard. Ariel still shuddered when she thought of it. She had condemned the idea-unfairly, she realized. Bogard had worked. It had been subverted, tricked, and attacked-no other robot of which she was aware could have possibly continued functioning under such stress. And that had been Ariel's objection. She did not want robots to function after failure. If they did not adhere rigorously to the Three Laws, she wanted them incapacitated. Bogard had doggedly persisted in functioning, all the way up until the end, when it had taken a human life. Inadvertently, in the course of protecting Derec, but even for its remarkably flexible criteria an intolerable violation.
The thought had occurred to her that Derec might take the blame personally. She believed him more resilient than that, but you never knew how or which events might overwhelm a psyche. She was ashamed of herself that she had not checked, had left him alone while she embraced her own self-pity.
Maybe we can turn it all around with this, she thought. Baseless optimism irritated her as much as pointless cynicism, but sometimes the situation demanded an investment of faith.
She looked back at Thales. I could ask it what Derec's been doing…
But there were those privacy issues again.
"Ariel," Thales said, startling her. "I have a question. Which Nova Levis did you wish me to research?" "I have found two references under the heading 'Nova Levis; " Thales explained. "The first concerns a Settler colony, established thirty-two years ago in the Tau Secordis system. The second concerns a research laboratory here on Earth established twenty-eight years ago."
"What sort of research?" Ariel asked.
"Biomedical and prosthetics."
"Really. What sort of prosthetics?"
"The shareholder prйcis published upon issuance of initial shares refers to neurocortical extensions. Inferring from other references, I believe this pertains to artificial appendages linked directly to the nervous system."
Ariel frowned. "That's nothing new. What were they researching?"
"That data is under seal. The company closed after eight years of operation in the wake of a criminal investigation. "
"Explain."
"A global investigation initiated by the Eurosector Civil Enforcement Agency into kidnapping and infant brokerage produced charges of conspiracy to illegally traffic in orphaned and stolen children involving several orphanage institutions and several medical labs. Nova Levis was part of the overall investigation, but no charges were filed against it. It closed down several months after the case was declared closed."
"Any direct links to Nova Levis colony?"
"One of the chief researchers emigrated there a year after the laboratory was closed. "
"Anyone else? I mean, what about the other people who worked for the lab?"
"There were five department heads, all of them founding associates of the company. Three are now dead. The fifth is listed officially as missing. He was a Theian native living on Earth named Kyas Vol."
"Missing. That could mean anything. Did anyone look into his disappearance?"
"Not that I have been able to ascertain."
Ariel wrestled with her curiosity. Earthers maintained profound prejudices regarding anything that suggested humaniform robotics, even prosthetic limbs. Prosthetics were available, certainly, but people never talked about them. Like any prejudice, it manifested in bizarre fashions and displayed many blind spots and innate hypocrisies. Artificial intelligences proliferated on Earth, in many areas, and nonsentient robotics were employed liberally, so long as none of it came close to resembling a human. Prosthetics occupied a tolerated space within the complex hierarchies of Terran bigotry. She had no idea how advanced the technology was, or if any new research was currently underway.
"Stay with the colony, Thales. If you come across any more direct connections, explore them."
"Very well, Ariel."
"I'm going to my apartment now, Thales. I need some things. I'll be back."
"I should have a preliminary report for you when you return. "
She thanked the RI and left. R. Jennie met her at the door. "Welcome home, Ariel. You have a message from Ambassador Setaris."
"Thanks, Jennie. Pack an overnight bag for me, would you? I'll be sleeping elsewhere tonight."
"I had intended preparing crayfish almandine tonight, Ariel. "
Ariel gave the robot a look, startled at the note of disappointment she thought she heard. It was so easy to personalize robots, so easy to "inform " them with emotion and human expression, but it still caught her by surprise to detect it.
"Change of schedule, Jennie. Place the menu on hold for the time being. "
"Yes, Ariel."
R. Jennie walked off to pack. They had devised a standard kit a long time ago when Ariel had spent more time away from the embassy, in the company of others-particularly Jonis Taprin, now Senator Taprin. It had been over a year since their last tryst and Ariel had spent most of her time confined to her suite of office.
Ariel sat down at her comm and keyed the ACCEPT but ton. Setaris's face appeared on the screen.
"Ariel, I'm giving a dinner party tonight, I thought you would like to come. I'm appending a guest list. I'd appreciate it if you'd put in an appearance. We don't see enough of you."
"My my," Ariel mused. "I must be coming up in the world." She resisted the urge to call Setaris back and ask why. Instead, she scrolled through the list of invitees: The usual collection of ambassadors and close aides-Gale Chassik of Solaria, Trinik Hapellon of Capella, Frish Ioseco of Osiris, others-and a sprinkling of Spacer йmigrйs and industrialists.
And Jonis Taprin.
"What the…" Ariel stabbed the CONNECT on her comm and tapped in Setaris's code. A few moments later she worked through Setaris's secretary to Sen Setaris herself.
"Ariel, how are you?" the ambassador asked.
"Puzzled. You're serious about this invitation?"
"Of course I am."
"You've invited Jonis Taprin."
"Yes…" Setaris frowned briefly, then her eyes widened knowingly. "Ah, yes. I forgot. My apologies, Ariel. The event is partly for him. He put out some feelers a few weeks ago to see if we might arrange some talks."