He looked around their workstation. No magnifier. Derec carefully brushed the recovered material into a small dish, clapped a lid on it, and stepped from behind the blind.
Three technicians worked at two stations across the chamber. Derec spotted the equipment he needed against the wall to his left, midway between the curtain and the techs. He strode across the lab as if he did so every day and sat down at the console.
Within seconds, he had the magnifier powered up and the dish in the drawer of the observation platform. He keyed for a relatively low magnification-200X-and let the machine perform.
The screen showed him three distinct substances: two clearly artificial-one crystalline and the other fibrous. The third was blood.
He tapped a command to separate out the three materials and deposit them in separate dishes. A few seconds later, a different drawer in the platform slid out bearing three dishes. Derec pocketed the one containing the blood and reinserted the one with the crystalline material.
"May I help you; sir?"
Derec looked around at a young female technician standing anxiously behind him.
"No, I have what I need. Thank you."
"Um…"
"It's all right, I'll clear it with your director."
"Did you find something?" another tech asked, suddenly leaning past the first and gazing at the image on the screen.
Derec switched it off. The man frowned.
"I'm fine," Derec said. "If I need help, I'll ask."
The man met Derec's gaze coldly, without the scowl of offended dignity and violated territoriality Derec expected. Derec sensed that it would be a mistake to look away, to yield at all to this one. He would lose his samples and the presumed privileges he had just accorded himself, access to any and all parts of the lab.
"I am qualified to ask for help," Derec said. "I've had years of practice."
The tech smiled thinly. "Of course, sir. Sorry to bother you."
The first technician watched her coworker retreat.
"Where's the infirmary?" Derec asked. His legs trembled slightly.
"Next level," she replied, pointing downward.
"Thank you." He removed the sample tray from the magnifier and wiped the machine's log. "I want one of these in our area when I return."
"Yes, sir," she said uncertainly.
"It is authorized. " He stepped closer to her and lowered his voice. "It wouldn't do anyone any good for me to take this to Director Polifos. Would it?"
"No, sir. No." She glanced in the direction of the other tech.
"Don't worry about him," Derec said. "He's an amateur."
She gave him a surprised smile. "Yes, sir. I'll see to procuring you a magnifier."
Samples in his pocket, Derec walked out of the lab, feeling the male tech 's eyes on him all the way to the door. He wondered what internal politics he had just upset and how, if at all, it applied to him. An elderly Auroran named Greler attended the infirmary. After a brief exchange of names, Greler amiably ran a complete scan of the blood samples and handed a disk to Derec along with his sample.
"Apologies for being unable to run the match for you," Greler said. "This sort of thing must go through Kopernik Medical. You can take it to them and have it done."
"Thanks. "
Derec returned to the positronics lab.
He walked in to find two more techs sitting with the first pair. All of them fell silent when they saw him and watched as he crossed the floor to the curtained station. Derec felt a prickle up the back of his neck.
Hofton waited with Rana, along with Rotij Polifos and Yart Leri.
Polifos wore a pinched expression. Ambassador Leri looked concerned. Hofton and Rana seemed mildly puzzled.
"Mr. Avery-" Leri began.
"I would appreciate," Polifos cut in immediately, "that any and all requests for equipment or special analyses be made through me. This is my lab."
Derec did not respond. Polifos looked frustrated. When he finally broke eye contact, Derec looked at Leri.
"I was under the impression that we had your full cooperation."
"Of course," Leri said, glaring briefly at Polifos. "I apologize for any misunderstandings, but we are answerable to Ambassador Setaris and, through her, Aurora itself. We're used to a more regular set of procedures. "
Polifos blinked in amazement at Leri. "I should have been told what this was all about. I am responsible to the Calvin Institute and the Positronics Commission-directly-and any and all matters concerning robots and other positronic entities within and involving this facility are my responsibility. I'm required to report, oversee, and voucher all activities-"
"You don't have to quote the code to me," Leri snapped. "This is, I repeat, an unusual circumstance-"
"I have this authority precisely for unusual circumstances! All due respect to Mr. Avery, he is not the only roboticist on Earth, and unless I have a very good reason to relinquish my responsibilities, I cannot allow him to simply take over-"
"No one is taking over," Leri said.
"Stop interrupting me."
"Stop jumping to conclusions! You didn't know about this because I didn't know! I didn't know because Ambassador Setaris told me I wouldn't know! She has asked for the utmost discretion, and I will not tolerate petty fits of temper over personal slights!"
"I can't cooperate with Mr. Avery unless I know what he's doing," Polifos said.
"I agree, " Hofton said. "Can't expect useful cooperation from ignorance. "
"Perhaps I was remiss," Leri admitted. "But I was told that your work was highly confidential and that a minimum of interference was in order."
"Misunderstandings are easy under these circumstances," Derec said. "Evidently, I was misinformed about protocol myself. "
Leri looked sheepish. "I, uh…"
"Director Polifos and I can work this out, I'm sure," Derec said.
"Well." Leri gave Polifos one last glare.
Polifos did not look away this time. "I do not want Palen's goons tramping through here as if it were their office and we were criminals. "
"Under the circumstances, we don't have much choice," Leri snapped. "Now, straighten all this out with Mr. Avery. I'm too busy to do arbitration over bruised egos." He looked at Derec. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Avery. If you have any more trouble…"
He stormed off. Huddled techs watched him leave.
Derec turned to Polifos. "Chief Palen?"
"One of our staff was arrested," Polifos said. "Nothing unusual in that-the man in question has a history of running afoul with Palen."
"Doesn't sound like someone you'd want to keep on staff," Hofton observed.
"We have personnel shortages," Polifos said. He seemed distracted. "But even so, I've tried to get this one rotated back to Aurora and it simply doesn't happen." He shook his head impatiently. "That isn't the real problem. What is the problem is her people have been in and out of my lab since yesterday, questioning my staff. Then you show up, and the next thing I see is Palen herself with your man Hofton here bringing in a robot of which I had no knowledge! I can't help but think that it's all connected. Your presence has changed our relationship with Palen, and not for the better."
Derec exchanged a look with Hofton. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about-"
Polifos cut him off. "No, I don't imagine you do, nor would you even if you did. One of her police appears in the doorway, points, and expects to be followed. Our arrangement with the Terran authorities here is peculiar to say the least-we were all required to concede that Palen is in charge of all security throughout the station. Makes sense, I suppose, but-"
"We were informed about none of this," Hofton said. "When was the arrest made?"
Rana frowned at Hofton but said nothing.
"Shortly before you arrived," Rotij said. "Naturally we're nervous. "