XXXIV.

Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.

—JONATHAN SWIFT, THOUGHTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, MORAL AND DIVERTING, 1706 CE

We arrived home at the start of a weekend, and Alex wasted no time sending Lashonda Walton a message: We just returned from KBX44. When convenient, I would like very much to speak with you.

Two days later, Jacob informed me we had a call from DPSAR. Alex was out of the building. “Put them through,” I said.

A young man appeared in my office. “Good morning. My name is Arthur Camden,” he said. “Is Alex Benedict available? I’m calling for the director.”

“Hello, Mr. Camden. Alex isn’t here at the moment. Can I help?”

“Can you connect with him?”

Alex didn’t like taking calls when he was out. He carried a link, but if I used it, I usually had to explain myself. “He’s in the middle of an interview.”

“Would you have Mr. Benedict call me when he gets in?”

“I will. He should be back shortly.”

Camden told me that would be fine and disappeared out of the room. I suspected this might be our last chance at moving forward.

He got back an hour later without having responded. “I guess I wasn’t paying attention,” he said. He made the call from my office. Camden apologized and explained that the director wasn’t available.

“I’d like to set up an appointment with her when convenient. Can we arrange that?”

“Yes, sir. She should have some time tomorrow. Eleven o’clock sound okay?”

“Good. I’ll be there. And please inform her that my associate Chase Kolpath will also be present.”

“I’ll let her know.”

After they disconnected, I asked why he’d included me.

“In case I miss anything else, Chase.”

•  •  •

The Department of Planetary Survey and Astronomical Research is located in Hanover, about sixty kilometers south of Andiquar. When one considers the influence and sheer size of the organization, spread across eleven worlds, the structure that houses its Rimway branch comes as a surprise. It’s a three-story white marble building about the size of a small courthouse, surrounded by open fields. Doric pillars line its entrance beneath a gabled roof supporting several antennas.

Seven or eight skimmers were in the parking area when we arrived. We climbed out, passed between the pillars, and went inside. The doors closed behind us and a young woman in a green uniform blinked on and invited us to sit down. We were in a lounge. “How may I help you?” she asked.

Alex gave her our names and explained we were there to see Dr. Walton.

“I will inform her you are here,” she said. “Please make yourselves comfortable.”

She blinked off. The walls were covered with pictures of interstellars, space stations, planetary rings, nebulas, and, surprisingly, Walton standing arm in arm with a couple of Mutes. Side tables had displays that would have allowed us to watch approaching comets and docking starships. But we were given only a couple of minutes before a door opened and Arthur Camden entered. In the flesh this time. “Ms. Kolpath, it’s good to see you. And Dr. Benedict. Please come with me.”

Alex was about to correct the title but we were already on the move. Camden took us up one floor into an empty office. “The director,” he said, “will be with you in a minute.”

He went out and closed the door. Moments later a second door opened and Walton entered. “Hello, Alex,” she said. “It’s good to meet you. And Chase. Please make yourselves at home.”

“Good morning, Director,” Alex said.

She waved it away. “Lashonda, please.” She smiled at us, and there was no evading her amiability. She was not at all like the woman I remembered on The Bruce Colson Show. “So the two of you went out to the black hole. I assume you visited the cannon.”

“Yes, we did,” said Alex.

“I wish we could dissuade people from doing that. We’ve not really had a problem, but I’m just not comfortable with sightseers hanging around a black hole. Not that I’d think of you in that way.” She managed a smile that implied she’d appreciate it if we didn’t do it again. “Can I get you some coffee?”

That brought Arthur back in. When he was gone and we’d all started on the coffee, she sighed, signaling she knew what was coming and had long since tired of the subject. Nevertheless she asked what had brought us to see her.

“Do you have any theories,” asked Alex, “that would explain what happened to Octavia?”

She bit down on her lower lip. “You don’t waste any time getting to the point, do you?”

Alex didn’t reply, but simply sat with his coffee cup raised halfway, inviting her to respond.

“Let me turn this around, Alex,” she said. “You’ve been out there. I haven’t. Do you have any idea what happened?”

“Lashonda, if I knew the answer to that, we wouldn’t be here wasting your time.”

“I’m sure that’s true. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked about it. Over the last twelve years Octavia has come to dominate my life. The truth is, I don’t know why it disappeared. I have no idea. None whatever. Can I make that any clearer? If it was some sort of government plot, I was kept out of it. And I can tell you, if I knew what really happened, I would gladly go on HV, call in the media, tell everyone I see, do anything I could to get the word out. There is nothing I would like more than to get rid of this thing.”

They both fell silent. Then Alex leaned forward. “What did the AI, the one in the cannon, say?”

“I’m sorry. What do you mean?”

“When you listened to Verona, what did you learn?”

“Nothing. I never even heard more than a few minutes of it. There was nothing there. She reported on the efforts to locate the pods, and finally how happy everyone was when they were located. Otherwise it was mostly just her reactions to idle conversations.”

“Between Charlotte and Housman?”

“Mostly, yes.”

“And you only listened to a few minutes of it?”

“My people sat and played the rest of it out. I had work to do. They found nothing of concern.”

“I can’t believe you’d have trusted them that much. Lashonda, you were running the investigation at the time. You wouldn’t have pushed listening to the AI off to your assistants.”

“I trust my people.”

“Oh, come on. If we’re going to get anywhere, let’s stay with the truth.”

“I’m telling you the truth. Why would I lie?”

“Maybe because you’re hiding something.”

Her eyes hardened. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Okay. If Verona revealed nothing, I assume you wouldn’t have a problem letting us sit down with it for a while.”

“I’m sorry, Alex. I can’t make it accessible to you. The rules prohibit it.”

“Lashonda, you’re the boss here. You write the rules.”

“Actually, I don’t, Alex. The rules have been on the books for a long time, and they apply to everybody.”

“All right. If you insist, I have no choice.”

“To do what?”

“To go to the media and tell them you’re hiding the truth about Octavia.”

“Alex, that’s crazy. I’m not hiding anything.” She looked in my direction. Bail us out here, Kolpath.

“Then,” I said, “show us what you have.”

“I can’t do it. I’m sorry. There’s really nothing to hide, but I’m concerned about doing more damage to the families.”

“Explain,” said Alex.

She held up both hands. “That’s as far as I can go. If you guys want to make a mess of this thing, go ahead. But don’t expect me to help or to protect you.”

“All right,” said Alex. “Have it your way.” He got up. “I’m sorry, Lashonda.”

I was inclined to cave. Lashonda had bright, intense eyes, which she turned on me, looking for an intervention. I just sat there and watched Alex go out the door. Behind us, she sat staring at the ceiling.