KING PETER
After collapsing in the throne room, his son had remained unconscious for an hour. Reyn was recovering in his rooms now, resting and growing insanely bored as the doctors hovered over him. He insisted that his collapse had been a passing thing, dismissing it as a kind of seizure, but they didn’t believe him.
King Peter felt desperate. He and Estarra were two of the most powerful people who had ever lived. As leaders of the Confederation, they guided countless planets, settlements, business groups. They possessed resources beyond imagining, but still no one had offered a cure for their son.
His team of experts sifted through numerous crackpot suggestions, none of which showed any real promise. Most of the “miracle cures” came from greedy and disreputable people, and King Peter had learned to spot them rather than be taken in by unrealistic hope. Their lust for money was no match for his desperation as a father with a gravely ill son.
When Dr. Benjamin Paolus arrived to discuss an “urgent and highly classified medical matter,” he seemed like one such person. Peter tried to remain optimistic, though cautious. He and Estarra had agreed privately that they would try any promising solution, and as Reyn’s condition worsened, they were growing less selective.
Dr. Paolus wore a trim business suit and presented his medical credentials, but he appeared nervous. Estarra joined them on a private balcony high on the fungus-reef city, where they could talk without being interrupted.
She looked tired with worry lines etched into her face, although Peter still found her beautiful. He remembered when he had first seen this innocent young girl from Theroc, out of her depth in an arranged marriage set up by the Hansa Chairman. Peter had been the puppet-king, and she was to be his puppet-queen. When the two of them had seen how they were being manipulated, they became true partners, fighting as a team against Chairman Wenceslas. More than two decades had passed since then; planets had been destroyed, whole civilizations had fallen … and they were still King and Queen.
Yet they could do nothing to help Reyn.
Dr. Paolus held out a secure datapad filled with medical records. “Thank you for seeing me, Majesties.”
“We are always willing to listen,” Estarra said. “And hope. Your research has found something?”
Dr. Paolus didn’t seem to hear the question. He had a memorized presentation and needed to proceed with it as planned. As he called up data and images, he described himself as one of the most respected neurological researchers on Earth, the head of a team of researchers who worked for the interconnected university system with enhanced funding from industries.
Peter’s expression hardened. “We know all this, Dr. Paolus. Reynald told us how Rlinda Kett helped him arrange a meeting with you. You diagnosed him, but couldn’t offer any help.”
Peter had investigated the man. Paolus had impressive credentials, yes, but his finances were a shambles. His bank accounts had fluctuated like a panicked heartbeat over the last decade, and recently he had plunged more deeply into debt than before. Peter did not want to shatter Estarra’s hopes, but he would personally be very cautious of what the man said.
“Not then, but I kept working,” the doctor insisted. “All other researchers built upon what I did, and I never did get paid for the scope of that initial work. Not really.”
“We are very grateful,” Peter said coolly, bracing himself for the man’s request.
Estarra folded her hands together. “We just need that one breakthrough. Do you have it for us, Doctor?”
Paolus faltered and began again, back to the money. “Prince Reynald paid me for my initial scans and my diagnosis, but we did not have the funding to research such an obscure disease. Still, I tasked some of my team members to produce results, but … even though we’re still in a preliminary stage I was hoping I might be reimbursed for some specific expenses?”
“If you provide proper documentation, we can reimburse your research facility directly.” He knew that wasn’t what Dr. Paolus wanted.
He swallowed hard. “I do have a vital new piece of information. As a human being, I can’t in good conscience withhold it, despite a sacred promise I made. I am breaking that promise by revealing this, and I hope you will reward me accordingly.”
Peter frowned, and he saw Estarra grow tense and wary. “We will do what is right.”
Paolus called up a star chart on his datapad. “The medical research you need is held in a secure complex called Pergamus, a private installation where a woman named Zoe Alakis collects disease organisms. She holds more medical information than any other human being, and she keeps it all to herself.”
Estarra blinked. “Why would she do that?”
“I’ve never been able to understand it. She wanted a specimen of Reynald’s disease for her collection. She wanted her teams to study it.” He swallowed. “I sold it to her myself. I … I know that was breaching Prince Reynald’s trust, but I hoped she might be able to help. Since then, Zoe led me to believe that they had indeed made significant progress.”
Peter struggled to understand. “Are you telling me that Pergamus has conducted research on our son’s disease, in secret, but they’re keeping the results to themselves?”
Paolus nodded. “I begged her to share the work she had done, so we could help the Prince. That was most important.”
“And so you could share the reward,” Estarra said.
“But she flatly refused. Maybe you need to ask her yourself, Majesties? I can provide you with the coordinates of Pergamus.” Paolus blushed as he showed pictures of the domed facility, the poisonous atmosphere, the quarantined Orbital Research Spheres. He became very uneasy as he added, “By doing this, I will never be able to work for Zoe Alakis again.”
Peter was much more disturbed about the existence of the disease library itself. “She knows Prince Reyn needs that research. I can’t believe anyone would lock those cures away.”
“Believe it,” Paolus said. “I tried, Majesties. I did my best.”
Peter gave his wife a determined smile. “We’ll send Rlinda Kett as our emissary. She’s the best at negotiating, and she’ll see that Zoe shares her research.”
Peter had not expected to feel hope, but now he did sense that Dr. Paolus had provided something significant. With a quick nod, he turned to the doctor. “Yes, you’ll be paid.”