The development of form-change techniques, simultaneously with easy space travel, permitted the followers of Reuben Mikhlin to proceed beyond theory to practice. The Fugate Colony was established in 2131 in the Transition Zone, close to the outer boundary of the Kuiper Belt.
The information went scrolling on, but Sondra didn’t even see it—because the image viewing area had become active. The original images had been taken in free-fall, without scale, but some careful archivist had added in a reference image of an Earth human. Sondra saw a huge body, sixty feet long and broad in proportion, floating whale-like in the field of view. The hairless skull was full-sized with respect to the body, but oddly soft and amorphous in appearance, as though bone had been replaced by soft and flexible cartilage.
Sondra stared at it for a long time. And then, almost against her will, she saw her fingers move to the communications palette. She found herself dialing Behrooz Wolf.
Sondra got at least one thing right. She had not expected Wolf to be pleased to hear from her. And he was not.
“You can’t possibly have been there and back.” His voice was accusing. “Not even on the fastest ship in the fleet.”
“I haven’t. I’m still on Earth.”
“So why are you bothering me?” Wolf was standing in a large white-painted room, part of the house that Sondra had never seen before. “I told you, the answer to your problem lies in the Carcon Colony.”
“It used to. Not any more.” Sondra waved her hand at the screen, although she knew it was invisible to him. “There’s been another one. Out in the Fugate Colony.”
“The what?”
“Fugate Colony.” Sondra felt better. She wasn’t the only one who didn’t know everything. “It’s out in the Kuiper Belt, same as the Carcon Colony. This form passed the humanity test, just like the other one. Then they lost control of it.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. The form is on the way to Earth orbit—but it can’t land on the surface. Will you come and look?”
“No, I won’t. Why aren’t you on the way to the Carcon Colony?”
“Denzel Morrone didn’t approve my request.”
“What?” Wolf was frowning. “I told you to tell him I said it was essential.”
“I did. But that made it worse. He hates your guts.” There, she had said it.
“Nonsense! Why, I got him that job. They consulted me before they made him head of the office.”
“Then that explains just why he hates you. Look, never mind all that”—Bey was scowling horribly at her—“there are more important things to worry about. Can I come to Wolf Island and see you again? I’ll bring everything I can get about the new form, and about the Fugate Colony.”
“No. I told you, it’s your problem.” Wolf reached out to cut the connection, then hesitated. A thoughtful look came into his eyes. “Has this new wild form been assigned to you, too?”
“Yes. Deciding what’s happening is going to be my responsibility.”
“And you say that the form can’t land on Earth. Why not?”
“I don’t know.” Her first direct lie to Behrooz Wolf. “But I promise you this: if you let me come and see you, I’ll find out before I arrive.”
Wolf was nodding slowly. “You can come and see me. On one condition: you come here unofficially, and you do not tell anyone in your office you are doing it.”
He cut off communication without another word. Sondra found herself staring at a blank screen.
She had won. She could visit Bey Wolf again. It was the reason that she had called him. It was exactly what she wanted.
So why didn’t it feel like success? Why did she feel as though Behrooz Wolf was seeing something in this whole situation that remained invisible to Sondra Dearborn?
CHAPTER 4
Bey Wolf had chosen his home for its remoteness and its seclusion. Now it seemed as though the whole world was determined to beat a path to his door.
Or at least, to his communications portal.
He had hardly broken the connection to Sondra when the communicator was buzzing again. He decided to ignore it. He was amazed when it came alive anyway, and Jarvis Dommer’s grinning face appeared on the monitor.
“I know, I know.” Dommer held up his hand. “You didn’t expect to see me again so soon.”
“Ever, if I had my way.”
“Ha ha!” Dommer’s smile did not fade. “Well, you’ll change your mind when you hear what I have to say.”
Bey decided not to waste time on insults. Dommer clearly had a hide like a rhinoceros.
“I’d like to know how you did that,” Bey said. “I mean, how you activated my system. I’m supposed to be protected from unwanted calls.”
“I’m sure you are. But that word doesn’t apply to this call.” Dommer’s face took on a look of grave reverence. “Behrooz Wolf, it is my privilege to grant you a rare honor. Trudy Melford wishes to meet with you—in person. I have here”—he held up his right hand—“your travel voucher to Melford Castle. Not by any standard method of travel, either, but by Mattin Link. Price no object!”
“I’m not interested.”
Dommer’s eyes popped. “You can’t be serious. I’m talking about meeting Trudy Melford. The Trudy Melford, Gertrude Zenobia Melford, the outright owner of—”
“I know very well who Trudy Melford is. I’ve known all about her since the day she inherited Corly Melford’s stock and became the Biological Equipment Corporation’s majority owner. I’ve even met her. She was there when I signed the license with EEC to give you people the right to use the multiforms. She personally signed off on the purchase.”
“But if she approved buying rights to your forms, then she’s the reason you’re a rich man today. If it weren’t for Trudy Melford, you wouldn’t own that island.”
“Maybe. But she didn’t buy my ideas as a favor to me. She and EEC have made far more from the use of the multiforms than I have. So you can tell her, thanks but no thanks.”
“But Mr. Wolf, I can’t do that! If I were to call Ms. Melford, and tell her that you refuse—”
Bey reached out and slapped the cut-off switch. That made two terminated calls in ten minutes. As an extra precaution he turned off communicator power completely. Jarvis Dommer and BEC might have enough clout to change an on/off setting remotely, but not even they could operate a dead system.
Frowning, he went once more to the form-change tank. The experiment in it was clearly failing. The hive cluster, despite everything that he could do, was breaking up. Individual bees were lifting lazily free of the swarm and seeking a way out of the basement lab.
Bey decided to try one more set of changes to the tank operating parameters. He set to work, but after a few minutes he muttered in annoyance and leaned back in his chair, the task incomplete. This wouldn’t do. Only a small part of his mind was on a job that demanded full attention. Although Jarvis Dommer had not succeeded in persuading Bey to do what Trudy Melford wanted, he had certainly succeeded in interrupting Bey’s work.
Trudy Melford.
Bey knew her rather better than he had suggested to Dommer. From his days at the Office of Form Control Bey was aware that she kept a complete file on his own activities. But that had been more than three years ago, when it made good sense for the owner of BEC to monitor closely the activities of the head of the Office of Form Control. Bey’s office was one of the few organizations whose official decisions could have an effect on BEC operations. But why would Trudy Melford care what he did now, when he was long retired? And what possible reason could she have for wanting to meet with him personally?