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Year Three
This time Rae Denham called Absen. With no real need to meet personally, she set up an encrypted video link, aimed at the most ordinary-looking corner of the ship. She made sure to ask Alan to keep his avatar elsewhere, along with the quads.
“What can I do for you?” Absen asked when he came on.
“I’d like direct liaison authority with General Travis’ people, and with Minister Ekara too.”
“Hmm. When you get to the point, you really get to the point. May I ask what for?”
Rae gave him that megawatt smile. “Of course. I’ve been monitoring some of the R&D efforts and I’m concerned that there isn’t enough progress being made on certain items.”
“The fusion engine?”
“That’s the biggest bottleneck. My ship could do a lot more things if it wasn’t expending so much effort growing cloned engines. It’s also gotten people used to depending on magical technology rather than doing things themselves, and if something goes wrong, I have to go fix it.”
“I had a report just last week that says they should have something workable in six months.”
Rae frowned. “Something isn’t good enough. A reliable production model, the Volkswagen of human-built fusion engines, is what Earth needs. Once the industrial base can churn out thousands of them, it will free them to stop relying on Memetech, and free me to do things only I can do.”
“Okay, you sold me. Talk to them and do...whatever it is you can. What is it you propose, anyway?”
“I’d rather keep the details close-hold, but here’s the gist. I want to set up a cell of super-smart folks that have no national allegiances and no distractions. I’ll give them access to all the Memetech they can digest, and they will be a ‘black box’ problem-solving group. People from all over the solar system can submit problems and they will solve them, if they can.”
“Sounds like a good idea. What do you need?”
“Just your authority to do it. I will recruit them myself, totally voluntary of course. But they will drop from sight, and no one will know the names of those involved. No video of personnel even, only graphics and so on.”
Absen took a sip of coffee from the mug on his desk, looking thoughtful. “You really think all that rigmarole is necessary?”
“Yes.” Rae tried to project complete confidence, which she almost actually had. “Otherwise, politics and money will get in the way. I want proposals in, solutions out. Nothing else.” Wouldn’t he excrete the proverbial brick if he actually knew who would be doing the research?
“All right. As long as it’s voluntary. I’ll shoot you a signed authorization you can wave at people. Oh, by the way...congratulations.”
“On what?” Rae raised her eyebrows in interest.
“Your promotion. I’ve made you a colonel in the Aerospace branch.”
“Captain to Colonel in one jump,” she replied with amusement. “What does that pay nowadays?”
“Not enough,” he laughed. “If you need to be a general, I can make that happen, but this should do for now.”
“All right. Thanks. Could you have your aide upload a contact list for the J4?”
“Sure. Take care, Rae.”
“You too...Henrich. Later.” Why do I do that? She wondered. I’m a married woman, and I’m not actually interested in him. Do I really think flirting with him will make him more amenable? Not for the first time she found herself unable to perform a thorough psychological self-examination.
Once she got the updated list, she conducted a similar, shorter conversation with General Tyler, and then with Brigadier General Marshall. After that, she filed the authorization and mostly forgot about it.
It’s not as if she actually intended to use it.
Why recruit normal humans when she had four mad scientists of her own?
