"You said you were given the virus you used on Renraku? By whom?" Babel shrugged as he stared out the window at the city lights. "Weren't you listening to all of those interrogations, Lanier?" he said. "It was the Matrix gave it to me. All living things have a need to survive and will act when their survival is threatened. What do you think would happen to the Matrix if the megacorporations discover the secrets of technomancy? It would be open war, which could destroy the Matrix. It doesn't want that." "Are you saying the Matrix is intelligent? I can't believe that." "Believe what you like." Babel smiled wearily. "It doesn't matter either way. I know I encountered a vast… 'intelligence' is the only word I can give it, during my initiation, and it told me I had to do this to protect the technomancers from being exploited by the megacorps. Or worse yet, turned into lab rats so the corps could figure out how our abilities worked. What I didn't know was that this 'intelligence' was just as manipulative as the megacorps, if not more. It's vast, Lanier, more than any of us can imagine. We're nothing to it, like ants crawling in and around its home. To be used as it wants, then stepped on." "What are you going to do now?" Lanier asked. "Renraku is going to want your head." "They have to find me first," Babel said. "I'm going to go on walkabout for a while. I have a lot to think about. The ancient people believed you could find yourself out on the road. There's a lot more to the world than just Boston, and I've got a little 'severance pay' from Renraku stashed away. Traveling isn't all that hard when you know the right paths." "Why not come to work for me? I could certainly use you." "Like Renraku used me? Like it used me? I don't think so. I'm through with being used. I'm tired of it. All I ever wanted was to have magic in my life. Now I've got some, but it didn't come cheap. I'm not going to work for you or Fuchi or anyone except on my terms. I've got my freedom, and I mean to hold on to it." "But you have nothing to show for all this. Just some money, and that's not going to last forever." "On the contrary, I have a whole world to explore. Two whole worlds, in fact. I have the freedom of being nothing more than a ghost, a blank, a shadow. Allied to no one." The chopper pilot set down in a cleared lot in the Rox, and Babel hopped out. He backed away from the helicopter and smiled at Lanier through the streaks of blood on his face, pushing aside his dark hair in the wash of the helicopter's rotors. "I have my freedom!" Babel called out. "Do you?" Lanier looked the young man in the eyes for a moment, then reached out and shook his hand. "Good luck, Babel." The technoshaman shook his head. "No, not Babel. Not Michael. Renraku made Michael Bishop, and he's dead. The Matrix made Babel and now he's gone too. I'm a freelance, a sell-sword. If you need a name for me… Ronin is as good as any." Lanier slid the door shut, and the chopper rose into the night. Ronin, the masterless samurai, warrior of the Matrix, stood and watched them go, then disappeared into the shadows of the urban jungle.
Judge not, that ye be not judged. -Matthew 7:1 The Corporate Court reconvened at the appointed time, the justices filing into the central chamber of the Zurich-Orbital to take their places at the bench. Lynn Osborne was the last to enter this time, and took her seat at the bench with an air of calm and dignity. Napoli was sitting opposite her, looking smugly confident of the whole affair being settled in his favor. Osborne didn't allow any of what she was feeling to show on her face. Let Paco think he had the upper hand for a little while. It would make things all the more interesting. Once Lynn Osborne had taken her place and the Rotunda was sealed, Chief Justice Priault picked up his gavel and rapped it twice on the bench, calling the court to order. All eyes turned to Osborne as she rose slightly from her position, calling up the information beamed to her from Fuchi HQ in New York only a short time before the hearing resumed. She took a second to compose herself, letting the silence in the courtroom linger a moment longer than was necessary. "Mr. Chief Justice, fellow Justices," she began. "I must ask your indulgence and apologize for taking up the time of the Corporate Court, but I find I must withdraw Fuchi's allegations against Renraku Computer Systems and ask that this case be dismissed." The chamber broke into a dense murmur of conversation between the justices, and computer information flashed on the consoles in front of them as they consulted the formal documentation Osborne provided along with her statement. Napoli leaned back in his place and almost glowed with triumph. He seemed a trifle disappointed that she hadn't fought it out with him. Priault rapped his gavel on the bench several times for silence. "Order, the Court will come to order," he said. When the other justices had quieted down, Priault turned to Osborne. "Justice Osborne, may we have an explanation? The Corporate Court has invested considerable time and expense on this matter." "That is true, your Honor," Osborne replied. "And Fuchi thanks the court for its indulgence. New evidence has come to light requiring that we withdraw our allegations." Napoli's look of triumph turned to one of curiosity. As Villiers had guessed in his communique, Napoli-and Renraku -weren't yet aware of what had happened. Osborne went on speaking. "It seems that Miles Larder, formerly an employee of Fuchi Industrial Electronics and a member of the Renraku Board of Directors, was responsible for the security breaches we attributed to Renraku, and Mr. Lanier alone was the source of the information providing Renraku with product advancements similar to developments in progress at Fuchi. Mr. Lanier has chosen to surrender himself to Fuchi authorities and has confessed to directing operations against us as part of an effort to test our Matrix security measures. Fuchi has accepted Mr. Lanier 's explanation of the events, and he wishes to make reparations for involving the Corporate Court unintentionally." "Just a minute," Napoli said, finding his voice. "Miles Lanier is a major stockholder in Renraku Computer Systems. Are you saying he has continued to work for Fuchi during this time? That's a conflict of interest! Mr. Lanier signed numerous documents stating that he had terminated all of his associations with Fuchi Industrial Electronics." "That's correct," Osborne replied crisply. "It seems his testing of Fuchi security measures from the outside was entirely Mr. Lanier's idea. He then presented his findings to Fuchi executives. I understand they were most… illuminating." "And Fuchi is currently holding one of Renraku's corporate citizens? Mr. Chief Justice, how can this outrage even be-" Osborne cut in before Napoli could finish. "No longer a Renraku corporate citizen, Justice Napoli. Mr. Lanier has offered to sell his shares of Renraku stock to the Zurich Gemeinschaft Bank, at slightly under current market value." Napoli's jaw dropped at the announcement, which brought raised eyebrows from many of the other justices. By selling his shares, Lanier was cutting his ties with Renraku. By selling them to the ZGB, he was effectively giving control of those shares to the Corporate Court, giving them additional leverage over Renraku. And by selling the shares at below market value, Lanier would certainly trigger concerns about Renraku's stability and growth on the world markets, causing the corporation's stock values to drop for a while until Renraku tried to assuage the fears of its stockholders. Renraku's rapid growth would be brought to a shrieking halt while they cleaned up the mess, allowing the other megacorporations time to get their own affairs in order and close the gap behind Renraku's lead. All in all it was an elegant solution requiring the Corporate Court to do nothing but accept it. Osborne looked around the courtroom and could see the other justices slowly nodding to themselves or tapping commands into their consoles. There was no doubt they would accept a solution that served them all so well. Renraku would be outvoted and outnumbered, with no choice but to accept Lanier's resignation from the board as gracefully as possible. But Napoli wasn't willing to give up just yet. "There is still the matter of Miles Lanier making use of Renraku resources to carry out his activities," he said. "He has to answer to the Renraku board for that. I request he be turned over to us until his activities can be more fully determined and Renraku can decide on any punishment for Lanier's illegal activities." Osborne cleared her throat. "I'm afraid that won't be possible, Your Honor, Justice Napoli. Since Mr. Lanier's activities were directed at Fuchi, his disposition falls under our jurisdiction, according to the accords of this Court. Fuchi has chosen to retain custody of Mr. Lanier and will compensate Renraku for any corporate resources used by Lanier during his time with them. I'm sure Renraku's board of directors will find our offer of compensation fair, and I would ask that the Court permit us to negotiate with Renraku in good faith to resolve this matter without taking up any more of the court's valuable time." Osborne smiled at Napoli in triumph. Just wait until he hears from Renraku what's been going on planetside. Renraku is going to have more things to worry about than Miles Lanier by tomorrow. There are going to be a lot of sleepless executives in Renraku-land tonight, and Paco will be one of them. Priault cleared his throat and rapped his gavel on the bench, his composure unshaken by the turn of events. He acted like everything was turning out just as he'd expected. "We have before us a motion to adjourn this matter to allow the parties to negotiate a settlement out of court. Any discussion?" The other justices remained silent, and Napoli glowered but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. There was no point in prolonging the matter until he could get all of the facts, and Osborne knew he would be very surprised when he finally did. "Very well," Priault said. "We will vote on this matter." The justices entered their votes, which were instantly tabulated. It was unanimous in favor of Fuchi and Renraku resolving the whole matter quietly behind the scenes. Even Napoli voted for it. The Zurich Bank would gain a fair chunk of Renraku stock and additional influence on the board while Fuchi would retain custody of Lanier. The court could now return its attention toward maintaining the delicate balance of power between the member corporations while Fuchi and Renraku worked out their differences. This isn't over by a long shot, Osborne thought as Priault dismissed the court and the justices began to file out. Renraku isn 't going to let this one go, and Fuchi has problems of our own. She looked over to where a slightly confused David Hague gave her a quizzical look before leaving the courtroom, no doubt eager to get off the station and back on solid ground. Sorry, David, but I didn 't have time to let you in on all of the facts, and I wouldn 't have even had I had the time. From what Villiers tells me, your Japanese friends are going to be as much trouble to us as Renraku. And if push comes to shove, he's not entirely convinced you can be trusted, and neither am I. As Priault left the courtroom, Osborne was now alone in the Rotunda. She couldn't help but wonder what was next. Fuchi and Renraku would deal with their differences outside of the court, but the Corporate Court existed to help negotiate the differences between the megacorporations because direct conflict could lead to open warfare. If Fuchi and Renraku's troubles escalated, they could flare up into a conflict the court could never prevent in time, not without being dragged into it. There was trouble on the horizon down on Earth, which made Osborne that much gladder she was remaining on board Zurich-Orbital. Better to serve in Heaven than reign in Hell, she thought, reversing the familiar quote. She would leave the Hell of the surface world to people who already fallen from grace, the shadowrunners and the black operatives who worked in the dirty cracks between the corporations. After all, wasn't that what they were for?