Do you understand, John? Yes, I imagine you do. You’re a juggernaut yourself, on occasion.
I’ve been trying to build up my courage to tell someone what I’ve found out. I’m sure you’d do it without a moment’s hesitation: summon the media, make a statement, proclaim your moral outrage at what’s going on. Deceit. Criminal negligence. Cover-up.
But I’m no crusader. I’m just a woman who knows a secret.
And now you do too.
Help me, John. Call that prince, the one who’s suing Laughing Dragon over the death of his workers. Say I’ll testify. But keep my name secret, just for the time being. I still have a job up here with Laughing Dragon. I still have a reputation as a scientist, and if I start talking about artificial gravity, telepathy…I promise I’ll take the witness stand when the time comes, but I don’t want to declare war on Heaven just yet.
I want to stay here a little while longer. Even if it sometimes terrifies me.
I want to hold on to my dreams.
VARIATION L: WHITE ELEPHANT
(ALLEGRO POMPOSO)
(AT GOOD SPEED, POMPOUSLY)
CONTACT: DECEMBER 2078
Excuse me, Miss, uhh, Ms., uhh, Verhooven. Is your father in?
This, uhh, it’s a business matter at the presidential level. Oh, no. No, it’s not…of course, you’re every bit the banker your father is, but I think—
Yes, ma’am.
Yes, ma’am.
No, ma’am.
Well, it’s related to Laughing Dragon Entertainment Industries. As you know, their company has loans with this bank well in excess of…uhh, I have it written down…yes, ma’am, that’s the figure I have here. Very good. You have an excellent memory, miss, uhh, ma’am.
At any rate, when our bank has that much invested in a firm, you may or may not know it’s standard policy for us to, uhh, approach someone on their staff and make arrangements to be informed if and when something of interest…we prefer not to use the term “spy,” ma’am. That term hasn’t gained acceptance in traditional banking circles.
Certainly, I’ll get to the point. Our, uhh, contact has informed us Mr. and Mrs. Naruki are considered missing. Ma’am.
Three days.
Our contact thinks the Narukis may have decided to, uhh, fly into the sun.
Well, it isn’t entirely unfounded, ma’am. On one previous occasion when Laughing Dragon’s business was running into setbacks, it’s believed the Narukis set off sunward and—
Running into setbacks, ma’am. It isn’t public knowledge, but the prince, you know, Prince, uhh, who’s suing Laughing Dragon over the construction deaths—he seems to have come into some information. We aren’t exactly sure what he knows, but the word is it’s extremely powerful leverage that should…yes, we can try to find out. I’ll write that down, shall I? Action Item One: find out what the prince knows.
Other setbacks, yes, ma’am, I’m getting to them. Uhh, it seems the, uhh, construction teams have all evacuated.
Gone home, ma’am. All of them.
Our guess is the prince told them something. Although maybe they just left on their own because of all the accidents. The accidents. Four since the original one that killed the prince’s workers. Apparently there have been quakes on Heaven’s surface which ruptured a number of domes…oh no, there’s no suggestion of sabotage. It says here Laughing Dragon security personnel investigated each incident with all the…of course, there was insurance. We insist on insurance. We’re a bank.
Our own investigators, ma’am? Well, perhaps you don’t, uhh, understand the level of security Mrs., uhh, Mr. Naruki has imposed on Heaven. No photographs, no close approach from space, no unauthorized visits from…good Lord, no, she wasn’t trying to hide anything from us. How could she hide something from us? We audit her books every six months.
The security was because Mrs. Naruki was worried about terrorists. Terrorists, ma’am. Well, no, an amusement park one hundred and six million kilometers from Earth is not an obvious political target, but caution is always—
Oh, now, Miss Verhooven, uhh, Ms…. we’ve made a substantial number of investigations, yes, a substantial number, let me…oh…no…this is the, uhh…we call it the, uhh, nut file. From earlier inquiries. You recall Laughing Dragon categorically refused to discuss how the body of Heaven was constructed? Well, we did some digging to find out…asked around on all the planets, did anyone see something huge and strange in space…well, we got some wild stories, ma’am, you’d be amused. No, there’s nothing of interest here, I personally checked each and every…yes, ma’am. Yes, ma’am. I’ll leave the file with you.
About the Narukis, ma’am…if they’re, uhh, gone, there could be serious…well, I was talking to Legal, and they say if Laughing Dragon were to default on the loan, Heaven would, uhh…become ours.
The bank’s.
Presumably we’d sell it to someone, ma’am.
There must be…uhh…I mean, it’s a nice big, uhh…I should think there’d be a buyer somewhere, ma’am. All those energy cells, the scrap value alone…no, I don’t think we’ve calculated the cost of reclamation. No, ma’am, I wouldn’t be qualified to venture an opinion in that area. Not at present. I’ll make that another Action Item, shall I?
Maybe we’ll just work up a full report on this, yes? I mean, Heaven’s a great big…it’s very big. There’s always someone who’ll buy something that’s big. In my experience. Any time the bank has repossessed something before, we’ve never had any trouble selling it off…not when it was something, uhh, big.
No, ma’am. We didn’t think ahead. We’re sorry.
VARIATION M: TOTEM
(TRANQUILLO CON SPIRITO)
(SERENELY, WITH SPIRIT)
CONTACT: JANUARY 2079
The smoke rises to heaven.
The sound of the rattle rises to heaven.
Let my song rise to heaven,
For I have dreamed a true dream.
Come here, Celeste.
You’re wondering what your animal will be, right?
When I was a boy your age, I wanted the shaman to tell me I’d been chosen by the eagles. I dreamt of flying with them…or a bear, that seemed like a good animal too. I’d seen a bear once in a zoo—it seemed wise and kindly. Now that I know more about bears, I realize I overlooked important aspects of the bear personality. Its claws, for example.
But no, your animal will not be the bear. Or the eagle. Or the wolf or the whale or any of those totems young people usually hope for.
I know. You’re disappointed. I was disappointed when the shaman told me my bed would lie in the rabbit lodge. I wanted to be…oh, something more heroic. I thought rabbits were timid and foolish. But really, when a rabbit runs from a fox, it isn’t being foolish, is it? It’s just being sensible. And a rabbit has the heart of a wolverine at times—when being brave is the least foolish alternative. A rabbit is always watching, always listening, always sniffing the air. That’s a good way for a shaman to live.
But no, you won’t be a rabbit either.
The spirits have built a new lodge. They’ve sensed a new creature. Not human, not an animal they’ve known in the past. It comes from far away. This animal is your totem.
I don’t know its name. You’re the first of its clan. It has no name in any human tongue. You can ask for its secret name when you meet it.