ZOE ALAKIS
A ship arrived at Pergamus broadcasting its coded access signal—one of her secret operatives. She knew it must be something important. No one just “dropped by.” Thanks to great effort on Zoe’s part, the Pergamus star system was not even marked on most Confederation star charts.
This visitor came from the primary medical facilities on Earth, whose resources were famed throughout the Confederation (although they paled in comparison to those at Pergamus). Dr. Benjamin Paolus was a well-respected neurological researcher who had garnered accolades and prestige over the years. He was paid well in his line of work, but Zoe paid him much more for his off-the-books efforts. Paolus occasionally delivered interesting and classified medical cases for Zoe to add to her collection, and each time he requested more money.
On the comm screen, Zoe could see the glint of desperate avarice in his eyes. She had never been interested in, let alone obsessed with, money. Her inexhaustible stockpile of prisdiamonds on Vaconda left her wealthy beyond any possible need. But she knew, thanks to Tom Rom, that for some types of people, money was like kindling: the more it burned the brighter the flame, and those flames demanded to be fed with more and more fuel.
Her mercenary ships intercepted Paolus and guided him down through the poisonous atmosphere toward an isolated holding dome. Zoe sent Tom Rom to meet Paolus, trusting him to make decisions for her and to take care of any problems that arose. When unexpected people arrived at Pergamus, they brought problems as often as they brought opportunities.
Dr. Paolus fidgeted in the holding dome, as if his information were unstable and liable to detonate any minute. Zoe took her time before activating the screen. She wanted to make him wait. Yes, Paolus had provided interesting data before, but she didn’t want him to think he could demand her attention whenever he decided to arrive unannounced.
Finally, she activated the screen and looked mildly at the impatient doctor. With her sharp eye, Zoe could see that his haughty and determined demeanor merely masked uneasiness. In order for him to have come all the way to Pergamus, either he must have something very important, or he was desperate.
For a long moment, she just stared at him, exchanged no pleasantries, didn’t greet him—which made Paolus more nervous still. The doctor looked away, then back at her. Tom Rom loomed next to him, a silent and intimidating presence. She noted a sparkle of perspiration on Paolus’s forehead.
He cleared his throat. “I’ve come about the case of Prince Reynald of Theroc. As you know, before his illness was publicly announced he hired me privately to test and diagnose him. I provided Pergamus with all that original medical data.”
“Yes,” Zoe said. “We paid you well for it.”
At the time, even King Peter and Queen Estarra hadn’t known about their son’s disease. It was quite an alarming revelation that the Confederation’s heir apparent might waste away and die before he could ever take the throne.
Paolus cleared his throat. “The King and Queen are quite desperate for a cure. I pushed my teams to their limits, but I’ve done all I can. Your Pergamus facilities far surpass mine; in fact, they surpass any laboratory in the Confederation. There is an enormous reward for any kind of hope.” He shot an uneasy glance at Tom Rom.
“And how does this concern me?” Zoe asked.
Paolus sputtered. “You have the samples, the data, and the best facilities in the Spiral Arm. Have you investigated the Prince’s illness? A rare and unique—”
Zoe remained cold. “We have teams studying the data. It is an interesting disease organism, but we have countless interesting specimens, and not enough time or researchers to study them all. We have catalogued and filed the information appropriately. My people have laid the foundation for a cure, but that is all the farther we’ve progressed. It is not a priority.” Her teams had actually done a fair amount of work, because Tom Rom suggested it, but Paolus didn’t need to know.
He leaned closer to the screen, sweating more now. “Then, I’d like to volunteer to work here. No one knows the intricacies of Reynald’s records as I do, and I’m already invested in this project. I have every confidence that I can crack the problem. If we can cure—or at least treat—Prince Reynald, you can’t imagine how generous the King and Queen would be. I would”—his voice caught, but he pushed forward—“I’d be willing to split the reward money with you for the further work here at Pergamus.”
With a flash of anger plain on his face, Tom Rom stepped up behind the researcher, intimidating him.
Zoe furrowed her brow. “Dr. Paolus, surely you’re not so ignorant about what we do here. All of my work, all of my research, all of my specimens, and all of my cures belong to me, and I don’t share them. I have never shared them. People will get sick out there, people will die, and people will continue to treat one another like ruthless animals. Time and again, they prove that they are not worth any effort from me to save them.”
“But…” Paolus sputtered, “Prince Reynald is a very important young man! The Confederation’s gratitude must be worth something. And the reward—”
“The reward means nothing to me,” Zoe said, “and you have already been paid. Pergamus has been self-sufficient for as long as this facility has existed. Until I think of something that I need or want from the Confederation, they have nothing to offer me.”
Dr. Paolus looked confused. “But … that isn’t rational.”
Zoe lost patience. “Pergamus is my facility. I define the parameters, and I make the decisions. My answer is no. Please leave.”
Tom Rom hardened his voice and spoke to the nervous doctor. “I remind you of the confidentiality terms of our business arrangement, not to mention the extraordinary ethical violation you made by breaching your doctor-patient confidentiality when you sold us Reynald’s medical records in the first place.”
Paolus was angry and distraught as he prepared to leave the holding dome. “What type of researcher refuses to help people?”
Zoe knew that Dr. Paolus was more intent on helping himself than the ailing Prince. Again, she wasted no time on pleasantries as she signed off. Tom Rom would take care of removing the man from Pergamus. As insurance, she contacted her mercenary squadron in orbit and instructed them to follow Paolus’s ship all the way out of the system.