Rob Milbank discussed the plans with Valerie Laurent before the deployment vehicles set out for Earthsea.
“The idea, Valerie, is that we can get these unmanned ships to do flybys and drop QE radios at each colony before we send manned missions out to them. We have four manned shuttles, and six of these unmanned ships, but the big hyperspace liners aren’t operational yet.
“Using the unmanned ships greatly increases our ability to contact other colonies and the speed with which we can do so, because we can have them set out in more or less the right directions from Earthsea now. Between them, they could carry enough of the self-contained QE radios to get an initial link up to every other colony out there.”
“I understand, Rob. What do you need from us?”
“Eighteen of the self-contained QE radios, three for each unmanned ship. We don’t really need to deploy eighteen for the twelve remaining colonies, but we may be a little off here and there about where the colonies are.”
“That’s not a problem. These unmanned ships, will they land here?”
“No, they don’t have the engines for that. They just stop at the hyperspace limit and get serviced there.”
“We’re going to need help with that part of it. We don’t have any experience going that far out, or transferring containers in space. Can your people on Hyper-3 and Hyper-4 take care of that before they head back to Arcadia?”
“Absolutely. Both of our pilots have a lot of experience with that sort of work. It will take two trips to carry eighteen QE radios out there. Probably one trip with both shuttles, actually. Then they can head back here with more of the shipboard radios for the other liners as they come into service.”
Laurent was nodding.
“That works for us.”
“Are you going to have enough of the self-contained radios?”
“Not on hand at the moment. We have maybe half what we need, but we’ll ramp up a bit on this end. We’ll have them by the time we need them.”
“Excellent. Thanks, Valerie.”
“No problem, Rob.”
“There’s one more thing I wanted to mention. Our ambassadors to Tahiti are in their nineties. I think they’re planning on seeing just how good Tahiti is with their anti-aging technology. But a normal ‘Welcome to Earthsea’ meeting is probably not the best approach.”
“I can handle that, Rob. We’ll probably transfer them directly to a hotel suite downtown, and have medical people standing by if there are any issues.”
“They have a caregiver along.”
“A two-bedroom hotel suite. Got it.”
“Thanks, Valerie.”
“Thanks for the heads-up, Rob.”
When Hyper-1 arrived in the Arcadia system six weeks later, Moore and McKay set the computer for automatic landing. With twelve containers aboard, and running close to the shuttle’s mass limit, it wasn’t the time to practice their flying skills. And with six-week transits and long planet stays, they were getting rusty.
“Hyper-1 to Arcadia Air Traffic Control.”
“Go ahead, Hyper-1.”
“Requesting expanded clearance for landing. We are four-wide and three-high. Hyper-1 over.”
“Roger four-wide and three-high, Hyper-1. You are cleared to land on shuttlepad two-seven. Take your time. Over.”
“Cleared for shuttlepad two-seven. Hyper-1 out.”
“We gonna be OK, coming in this heavy?” Ivanov asked.
“Yeah, the computer’s done it before,” Moore said. “Heavier. Still, I like to have some extra room and to keep a close eye on things.”
“It’s still got the glide path of a lead brick, though,” McKay said.
“That’s why we keep an eye on it,” Moore said with exaggerated patience.
“Geez, she’s coming in hot.”
“Yeah. They’re way heavy.”
“I hope they don’t leave a big hole in the ground.”
“The computer’s just saving fuel for when it really needs it.”
“We’re on the upper edge of the velocity envelope,” McKay said.
“We over?” Moore asked.
“No.”
Moore looked back and forth between displays and gauges.
“Not yet,” he added.
“Just keep an eye on it,” Moore said, but his hands were on the controls now. “If I need to take over, let me know.”
“Oh, it’s close. She’s riding the edge.”
Then the shuttle’s engines went to full power, braking hard against the gravity well, fighting against her momentum.
“She’s bleeding oxygen into the feed now,” McKay said. “Thrust is up against the wall.”
The g-forces in the shuttle had spiked and were still climbing.
“Backing off the velocity limit now,” McKay got out through gritted teeth as the shuttle began to shake. “I hope the cargo stays put.”
“You and me both,” Moore said.
Ivanov and Dunhill weren’t paying much attention to the conversation now. They were concentrating too hard on being uncomfortable as the computer fought to keep the shuttle within the flight envelope.
Then the engines started to throttle back a bit as it picked up ground effect, the g-forces fell, and the shuttle settled onto shuttlepad twenty-seven.
“Fuck me, what a ride,” McKay said.
“You got that right,” Moore said.
“How’s about next time we don’t go twelve heavy. You know. Eight heavy, or twelve light, whatever. But not twelve heavy.”
“You got my vote,” Moore said. “Then again, look at the fuel gauges.”
“Geez. I take back everything I said about computers. If it had taken it easy–“
“Then the way too fast part would have been at the end instead of the beginning.”
“I like it this way better,” McKay said.
By advance arrangement with Milbank, they eschewed any celebrations or greetings for the moment. The prime minister sent two cars out to the Arcadia City shuttleport to take Ivanov, Dunhill, Moore, and McKay, haggard and smelly as they were, directly to their respective residences.
After months of hyperspace and alien planets, it was good to be home.
When Hyper-3 and Hyper-4 arrived in Earthsea space within an hour of each other, the query came up from the planet about the health status of Paul Chen-Jasic and Chen JuPing. In truth, they were in good health and high spirits, and Igor Belsky reported that to Earthsea Air Traffic Control.
“Oh, I hope they’re not planning any celebration or anything of that kind,” JuPing said. “I feel OK, but I’m very tired. I need a decent night’s sleep to feel my best.”
“Me, too,” Paul said.
“That’s the plan Earthsea Air Traffic Control sent me, ma’am,” Belsky reported from the pilot’s seat. “They will have a car waiting to pick us up, and it will take you directly to a hotel suite where you can get food and go to bed, in whichever order you prefer.”
“Oh, good.”
Belsky saw a raised eyebrow from Stuart Reynolds, their caregiver.
“It’s a two-bedroom suite,” the pilot said softly.
Reynolds nodded back.
Belsky turned his attention back to his rear seat passengers.
“I’m going to dismount from the containers before you debark, ma’am. Very short stairs, then directly into the car to your hotel.”
“Wonderful,” JuPing said. “That’s very thoughtful.”
The two pilots, Belsky and Jeong MinHo, had talked to Moore and McKay before they set out from Arcadia. The Hyper-1 pilots had recommended computer approach and landing, given that the shuttleport systems were compatible and especially given the mountains ringing Bergheim.
As they came in on their approach, Belsky was glad he had taken their advice.
“Just look at those mountains,” Belsky said.
“They’re very beautiful,” JuPing said. “What a lovely planet.”
Their approach and landing was uneventful. After Belsky had the computer dismount the shuttle from the containers, a limousine pulled up at the foot of the short stairs from the shuttle cockpit door to the ground.
“And there’s our car, ma’am,” Belsky said.
“Thank you, Mr. Belsky. Nicely done.”
“You’re welcome, ma’am.”
As JuPing and Paul moved down the stairs, she called back to their hovering caretaker.
“Come along, Stuart.”
Hyper-4 landed several minutes after Hyper-3. Jeong Minho also instructed the shuttle computer to dismount from its container stack and settle the shuttle on the adjacent parking pad.
Jeong, Chen JongJu, Bill Thompson, and Gregory Prentiss all found they had logins in the local computer network. Checking them once they had landed, they found a mail from Director Laurent welcoming them to Earthsea and offering to get together for lunch tomorrow, after they had dinner and a good night’s sleep.
The arrangements for Paul and JuPing had struck Valerie Laurent as a good idea for everyone. A second limousine pulled up at Hyper-4 to take them all downtown to hotel rooms already booked for them.
Paul Chen-Jasic and Chen JuPing slept in, which for them meant seven hours. Longer than that gave the aches and pains of old age too much time to creep up on them. They ordered a simple breakfast of toast, some chicken soup, and orange juice from room service.
After breakfast, JuPing opened the drapes in their penthouse suite and looked out over the city to the tall and jagged mountains beyond.
“What a lovely planet.”
They got dressed for the day in the soft fleece loungers that were now their preferred dress. Stuart Reynolds came in with their morning medications, and they took those.
They sat in the comfy armchairs in the living room of the suite and napped off and on until lunch. It would take them a while to catch up on their sleep.
Bill Thompson and Chen JuJong also slept in. After showers and eight hours of sleep, they woke to find themselves in a bed, in normal gravity, and without the strictures of etiquette enforced on them by the presence of their shuttle cockpit-mates. They took quite a while to reacquaint themselves with each other before heading to the showers again.
They followed that with a hearty breakfast. Aware of the quality of Earthsea’s cheeses and dairy products, they had omelets, with sausage and toast on the side, coffee, and orange juice.
After breakfast, they logged into the network in their heads-up displays and started catching up on the news, both from Earthsea and Arcadia.
In their mail, they got advice from Arcadia that the QE radios worked in hyperspace, as Chen JieMin had predicted.
Gregory Prentiss awoke to find a mail from Loukas Diakos offering to brief him over breakfast. Prentiss invited him over to the hotel suite to have a room service breakfast so they could speak in private.
There was a knock on the door and Prentiss opened it.
“Greg, how are you?”
“Good, Loukas. Come on in.”
Diakos walked into the suite and Prentiss closed the door.
“We should probably order first,” Prentiss said.
“Good idea. I would recommend the omelets. The cheeses here are superb.”
They both ordered in their heads-up displays, with Diakos using Prentiss’s room number. They sat down in the living room to wait for delivery.
‘So what’s the most important thing I need to know? Has that changed since the last time we talked?”
“No. Director Laurent is a true partner, and is now friends with the prime minister. Rob for his part has bent over backwards to include both Earthsea and Amber as full partners. No ‘our contribution is more important than your contribution’ nonsense.”
“Well, it is the Arcadian discovery and mastery of hyperspace travel that makes any of this possible. And our astrography ensures that we will be a major freight hub.”
“Yes, and everybody knows both of those things, so Rob is careful to never bring them up. We’re partners. Period. Partners in making life better for everyone through interstellar trade.”
Prentiss nodded, and Diakos continued.
“So the only mistake you could make here is screwing up the relationship between Laurent and Milbank. Your biggest job is to make sure nothing else comes up that could do that without it being dealt with properly. If you see some concern developing, you need to let Rob know.”
“OK. I understand. And I also understand that the QE radios have been found to work in hyperspace.”
“Yes, and that’s a very big deal. It really opens up the interstellar passenger business. Now instead of being out of touch for six weeks, or twelve weeks, or eighteen weeks between planets, you are in touch the entire trip. You can hold business meetings, keep up on the news, respond in real-time to events happening thousands of light-years away.”
“Wow.”
“Exactly. It means that decision makers can go interstellar without ever being out of touch. People who otherwise couldn’t travel through hyperspace because of their need to be in constant contact. And Director Laurent has been providing QE radios like potato chips. Anything Rob wants, he’s getting.”
“Earthsea controls them though, right?”
“Of course, and at some point they’ll start charging traffic fees, just as Arcadia will start charging cargo fees. But for this expansion period, Laurent’s been providing QE radios and bandwidth at no charge. It’s a big help to opening up these planets.”
“OK, so they really are a partner in Rob’s grand vision. I can see that.”
“Good. It’s something you can never forget. We’re not the senior partner here. Not in our boss’s eyes, anyway. We’re all equal partners, and everybody is bringing something to the table. That’s very important for the future of this whole effort.”
Their food showed up, and they ate breakfast talking of lesser things, mostly the latest political gossip from Arcadia.
Valerie Laurent was also getting briefed, by her ambassador to Arcadia, Salvatore Romano, over QE radio.
“The Chen – more properly the Chen-Jasic family – is an extended clan that has a dominant role in Arcadian politics and business. The family and their allies have a say in every major and most minor activities on Arcadia.
“As a small example, their trade factor for Earthsea is a member of the family, as is the ambassador’s aide. Rob Milbank is a family ally and was groomed and mentored for prime minister by the family’s current leadership. And Sasha Ivanov, Loukas Diakos and Gregory Prentiss are family allies as well.
“And it’s not by accident that they’re so influential. The family began with an alliance between a Chinese peasant family and a group of North American suburbanites before the original colonists had even left Earth. The Chinese family was organized under their patriarch, while the North American group was united by all their children having intermarried. They amounted to a family group as well.
“In addition, they had both made smart choices in what they brought in their personal cubic, combining their resources to fill up the group’s cubic with items that gave them a significant head start in Arcadia’s economy.
“The union of these two family groups resulted in a technologically savvy, agriculturally savvy powerhouse united under a single couple as head of family. Personal and cultural loyalties to that ruling couple have led them to grow in power and influence since.
“For their part, Arcadians generally have been happy with the Chen’s influence. The colony has done very well due in large part to the family’s efforts. It was the head of the Chen family seventy-five years ago who overthrew a nascent tyranny and gave Arcadia the most freedom-oriented government of any colony we have seen so far, including our own.
“And it was the Chen family who discovered hyperspace and pushed the project through to success when the government botched it. Rob Milbank made a major move there when he hired the Chen, with government funds, to complete the project.”
“And this couple, Paul Chen-Jasic and Chen JuPing?” Laurent asked.
“I told you about my interview with the current ruling couple, which are always called Chen Zufu and Chen Zumu. They came up with the solutions to the calendar and nudity problems.”
Laurent nodded. The Arcadians’ lack of a nudity taboo had been an issue with opening up the news wires between the two planets. Requiring opt-in to the feeds had defanged the issue without triggering censorship concerns on either planet.
“Well, Paul Chen-Jasic and Chen JuPing are the immediately prior Chen Zufu and Chen Zumu. They retired from the leadership over a decade ago. But more than that, they are planetary heroes here.
“Paul Chen-Jasic played a critical role in the overthrow of the previous government, that nascent tyranny, while Chen JuPing is the granddaughter of the Chen Zufu who overthrew that government. She actually tabulated the nominations for chairman at their constitutional convention.
“When they were Chen Zufu and Chen Zumu, they recognized the potential of the mathematical hypothesis of the existence of hyperspace and personally funded the research for years to get to where they are now. They are, more than anyone, the reason we have hyperspace travel today.”
“Wow. So why are they heading to Tahiti as Arcadia’s ambassadors?” Laurent asked.
“Tahiti’s specialty is anti-aging research. I think it’s clear they are going there for therapy as much as for their role as ambassadors. That said, though, they are extremely savvy people, used to mixing it up with the powerful, and will have no problem negotiating the trade agreement with Tahiti.”
“I can see that,” Laurent said.
Romano nodded.
“So any deference you can pay to Paul Chen-Jasic and Chen JuPing is not only well deserved, but will redound to Earthsea’s benefit in its relationship with Arcadia. They are planetary heroes here for their roles in the revolution, but they are humanity’s heroes as well, for their pivotal role in the development of interstellar travel.”
When she got off the call with Romano, Laurent looked at the time. No time for working through channels. She called the manager of the upscale hotel where the crews and passengers of Hyper-3 and Hyper-4 were staying.
Needless to say, when the director of the Earthsea planetary council called, she got through right away.
“Yes, Madam Director. What can I do for you today?”
“I have invited the recent arrivals from Arcadia to lunch with me today. Two of them are in their nineties, and it occurs to me that it is much easier for me to attend them there than for them to come here. Can you accommodate a luncheon for twelve in a private banquet room today? You only have three hours, I’m afraid.”
“Of course, Madam Director. I’ll be happy to take care of it personally. I would suggest one of our rooftop rooms. The views of the mountains are splendid.”
“Excellent. Thank you.”
“It is my pleasure, Madam Director.”
Laurent sent an update mail to everyone, telling them she would be hosting them for lunch in the rooftop banquet rooms of the hotel.
“The director of the planetary council is coming here for her lunch with us?” Paul asked when he received the mail.
“How very considerate of her,” JuPing said. “We need travel no farther than the elevator.”
Valerie Laurent, her aide, and her chief of staff got off the elevator on the top floor of the hotel fifteen minutes early. The hotel manager himself was waiting for them.
“This way, please, Madam Director.”
He waved them on into one of the rooms branching off the elevator lobby, one of half a dozen banquet rooms of various sizes at the top of the hotel.
Laurent walked into the room. A single rectangular table was set for twelve. There were two chairs at both the head and foot of the table, and four along each side. Beyond that, the room was glass on three sides, with unobstructed views of the mountains all around.
“This is splendid. Thank you. Please make sure my guests find their way here as well.”
“Of course, Madam Director.”
Everyone else was in place and chatting around the table when Paul Chen-Jasic and Chen JuPing came into the banquet room. There were place cards around the table, and Laurent had left the two chairs at the head of the table empty.
When they entered, Laurent stood and perforce so did everyone else. Laurent applauded the ancient couple, dressed in their fleece loungers, and everyone else joined in. She waved them to be seated at the head of the table.
Paul and Jessica sat, while Laurent remained standing for several seconds more, she and the others applauding.
Laurent finally sat, and the others took their seats as well.
“Good heavens, Madam Director. What was all that about?” JuPing asked Laurent, sitting to her right.
“For hyperspace, Chen JuPing. I know very well that, but for the two of you, we would not be here today, at the beginning of this interstellar Renaissance, and I, for one, am grateful.”
“We dreamt of the stars, Paul and I.”
“And you made it happen. For everyone.”