"WHEN I was an astrophysicist, long, long ago," Stoner was saying to Ilona Lucacs, "Hungarians told strange stories about themselves "
"Really?"
They were sitting at a candlelit table for two in the corner of a quiet restaurant not far from their hotel. It had been recommended on the list that the hotel's computer provided. When they had entered, the maitre d' had looked doubtfully at Stoner's jeans and denim jacket Stoner had smiled and
apologized softly for not being in proper dinner attire With a perplexed frown, as if he were doing something against his inner convictions, the maitre d' muttered, "Netu pioblema," and seated them in the corner farthest from the door
"It was as if the Hungarians prided themselves on being sneakier than other people," Stoner said
"Sneakier?" Ilona's heart-shaped face frowned slightly "I am not sure I understand "
She still wore the same tweed skirt and jacket as earlier in the day, although she had changed to a frilher, more feminine blouse They were speaking in English Stoner thought it best not to show that he could pick up Hungarian, or any other language, almost instantly
"Sneakier," he repeated "For example, a Hungarian student I went to class with told me, 'A Hungarian can go into a revolving door behind you and come out ahead of you '"
Comprehension lit her eyes "Ah, yes And the Hungarian recipe for an omelet 'First, steal some eggs '"
Stoner laughed
"The best one," Ilona said, laughing with him, "is this 'If you meet a Hungarian in the street, kick him He will know why'"
Their waiter was a Japanese robot that was programmed to keep their wine glasses topped off It rolled smoothly to their table, gripped the bottle of Egn Bikaver from their table, and neatly poured the Hungarian red wine into their balloon glasses
"Very good wine," Stoner commented
"The blood of the bull," said Ilona Lucacs "That is what this wine is called "
Stoner smiled at her and asked casually, "If I met you on the street and kicked you, would you know why?"
Her lioness's eyes instantly became guarded She replied, "Yes Of course I could say the same for you, could I not?"
"I'm not Hungarian "
"But you carry your secrets within you, just as we all do "
Leaning back in his chair, Stoner heard his star brother whisper, The secret within us is much different from the secrets of other human beings
For a long moment neither of them said anything The restaurant was quiet, half empty No music, neither live nor piped in through loudspeakers The only sounds were the clinks of dinnerware and an occasional whisper of conversation The robot waiters stood mutely at their stations, and when they moved it was practically without any noise at all
"Have you formed a theory in your mind about why I survived freezing when no one else has'" Stoner asked
"A hypothesis," she said "You should use the proper term "
He accepted the correction with a small nod "I told you, it's been a long time since I did any scientific work "
"No, I have no hypothesis No idea whatever why you were revived successfully when all the others failed "
Stoner knew it was a lie She was hiding something, and he had to find out what it was
"As I told you," Ilona went on, "the task of investigating you has been forced upon me A post-doctoral student does not deny a request that comes from the president of the nation "
That much was the truth, he sensed But what was the rest of it?
"If you weren't forced to study this cryomcs problem," he asked, "what work would you rather be doing?"
Her face took on a thoughtful look "I was beginning to study ways of interfacing neurons with protein-based semiconductors "
"Biochips?"
Nodding, "That is what some people call them, yes "
"And the idea is to interface the biochips with the nervous system "
"Yes," she replied carefully "With protein-based chips practically any electronics system can be implanted into the human body and wired directly to the brain "
Stoner took a sip of wine "You can carry your computer around inside your head And your communicator with it You can access other computers and get the information directly in your mind "
"And the information comes as sensory data," Ilona said,
more eagerly "You do not merely see letters and numbers, you experience the data, taste it, hear it, smell it "
Stoner laughed softly "I wonder what a quadratic equation tastes like "
"Communications between individuals can become like mental telepathy," Ilona said "You can experience direct mind-to-mind linkage "
A wisp of memory gusted through Stoner's mind Cavendish The haunted, hollow-eyed British physicist who had drowned himself when they had been on Kwajalem The old RGB had implanted electrodes in his brain's pain center Markov had told him the truth of it, years ago
"It is an enormous breakthrough," Ilona was saying, her excitement growing "The size of the human brain has not grown since the Ice Ages A baby's head can be only so big, of course, otherwise it could not survive birth "
"Neither would the mother," Stoner said
"Yes, certainly With biochips, however, we can increase the power of the brain by connecting it electronically to computers and other information systems "
"An evolutionary step forward," Stoner murmured, knowing it was merely the first step toward the level where all humans shared their existence with star brothers
"Exactly'"
"You could also use such technology to pry into people's minds," he cautioned "Even control their thoughts "
Lucacs stared at him for a long moment, her expression going from excitement to deflation to--something else "Yes, that is true It is also possible to stimulate the brain's pleasure centers directly A new form of narcotic "
"Have you tried it "
"Direct stimulation has been going on for years," she said "It is one of the little vices that only an elite few researchers can indulge in "
"Sounds like more than a little vice to me "
"It is harmless," she said, but her face betrayed the lightness of her tone
There's more to it, Stoner knew He studied her face as she sipped at the wine, then lowered her eyes and returned her attention to the meal on the plate before her
"A colleague'" he asked gently
She looked up at him, her eyes alert again, alarmed
"I have a hypothesis about you," he said, trying to make it sound amusing, nonthreatemng, "even if you don't have one about me "
She said nothing, but there was more than wariness in her eyes now Deep within her, Ilona Lucacs was afraid, with the terrible feral fear of a trapped animal
"Before your superiors sent you looking for me, you were working with a colleague--about your own age, I think--on the biochip interface problem "
"That is true," she said, her back stiffening
"He has become addicted to brain stimulation, hasn't he?"
The fork slipped out of her hand and clattered to the floor A few of the other diners turned their heads Their table robot rolled swiftly to the spot, deftly picked it up between two rubber-padded stainless steel fingers, and replaced it with a clean fork drawn from the silverware drawer built into its midsection
"Hasn't he?" Stoner probed
Ilona Lucacs made a smile that held no trace of joy Stoner saw a hint of anger in her gold-flecked eyes
"You are almost correct, Dr Stoner," she said coldly "Almost But it is not my colleague who is addicted to the stimulant It is me "
Stoner finally recognized the expression in her tawny eyes defiance
In
Jo had slept poorly on her scramjet flight back to Hilo, and the fact that Keith had not phoned her yet did not improve her crankiness It's still dmnertime in Moscow, she told herself Then she pictured her husband at dinner with that Hungarian witch and she felt her blood seething within her
Still, when she swept into her office at the Vanguard complex on the edge of the city, she looked as sharp and fresh as on any other day in a cream-colored sleeveless camisole and ginger-brown knee-length skirt And makeup that covered the dark rings of sleeplessness under her eyes
She saw her reflection in the blank display screen on her office wall and thought idly that her hair was getting longer than she wanted it to be The longer it is the more time and trouble it takes But Keith likes it long and why the hell hasn't he called me, it must be getting on toward midnight in Moscow
She took in a deep breath, held it, then exhaled slowly It should have calmed her It did not Looking again at her faint reflection she wondered if the time had come for cosmetic surgery Several of her friends had undergone face-lifts and
Nonsense Jo dismissed the idea with a disdainful grimace With all the toners and tighteners the Vanguard cosmetics division produces, if I ever need a face-lift I'll fire the whole division's staff
Her sense of humor somewhat restored, Jo sat down in her contoured powered chair and tapped the button in its armrest that activated the comm system
"Vie Tomasso," she said Then she tilted her chair back slightly and began her day's work
By the time she had scanned the latest figures on the pharmaceutical division's quarterly sales, Vie Tomasso rapped lightly on her open office door and stepped in
Jo's office looked more like an informal sitting room than the nerve center of a powerful multinational corporation's president Instead of a desk, conference table, and the other imposing symbols of authority, the office was furnished with comfortable chairs and two small sofas The wall decor could be changed at the touch of a button in the armrest of Jo's powered chair At the moment it was cool forest greens and earth colors
Like the changeable decor of the office, Vie Tomasso was a chameleon Neither especially tall nor broad-shouldered, he had worked hard since a teenager at maximizing his physical potential Office gossip claimed he spent more time in the
gym than on the job, and most of his evening hours in the beds of married women In other times he would have been a beach boy, making his living by hanging around tourist hotels and offering a smiling youthful escort to lonely women
Today he was a corporate executive, the staff assistant for security to the president of Vanguard Industries Most of the world thought he was one of Jo Camerata's handsome young men, and there was no doubt that she enjoyed having handsome young men working for her But each of them had to have some talent for business, or no matter how handsome or eager they were, they did not last long at Vanguard
Vie Tomasso's real talent, beneath his perfect smile and thick wavy hair and darkly handsome face, was his ability to emulate a chameleon For Vie Tomasso was a corporate spy
He gave Jo his best and brightest smile as he sat on the sofa beneath the picture window that looked out on the distant Pacific Tomasso wore a standard business outfit collarless tunic of navy blue and light gray slacks His shirt, though, was glittery electric blue and unbuttoned far enough to show off his muscular hairy chest
"No jewelry today?" Jo quipped
He grinned at her They had a standing joke about which of them owned the more jewelry Jo wore two gold and diamond bracelets and three rings
"fust this today " Tomasso pushed up the left sleeve of his tunic to reveal a heavy silver bracelet studded with turquoise
"Navaho," Jo said, making it sound disappointed
"I'm in a cowboys-and-Indians mood," he explained
Jo did not follow his hint Instead, she asked, "What happened in Hong Kong? What's Hsen up to?"
Tomasso's smile vanished "Kruppmann was there And Hsen's chief of intelligence has come up with holograms of your husband "
Jo felt a cold fist clutch at her heart "They've identified him?"
"Yep They know he visited de Sagres in Brasilia, and they
figure that he's been involved in several other affairs they don't like "
"Christ I've got to get Keith back here where I can protect him"
"They're not too happy about you, either," Tomasso said
"I didn't think they would be What else What are they planning to do now that they know "
Running a hand through his hair, "They want to get your husband out of their way And you, too "
"How What are they planning"
Tomasso made an elaborate shrug "Beats me They pumped me for the site of the next board of directors meeting, then Hsen told me to come back here and wait for further instructions "
"Do you think he suspects you're really working for me"
"He might, yeah, maybe "
Jo realized she was biting her lip She straightened up the chair "Not a word of this to anyone," she commanded "No written reports This is strictly between you and me "
"Like always Right "
"We don't know who could be leaking information to Hsen "
"You think he's gonna try something at the board meeting"
"He might," Jo said "Maybe we'll make it a video conference, then we won't all have to be in the same place "
Tomasso got to his feet, waited a moment for Jo to say more When she did not, he walked out of her office, leaving Jo frowning in deep, desperate thought
I've got to start polling the board members and find out how many Hsen's got in his pocket Time to start twisting arms, she told herself
Tomasso had not told her that Hsen had asked about the layout and security systems of Jo's house And Jo did not think to ask herself if her corporate spy might not be a double agent
Stoner lay naked on the hotel's overly soft bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment Remembering Jo's suspicions, he , wondered if there were cameras or recording devices hidden
behind the smooth plaster up there He could sense none, but that did not always mean none were there
Absence of proof, he reminded himself, is not proof of absence The first probes of the planet Mars did not find any traces of life there, but that didn't mean there was no life on Mars
He could almost feel the hosts of nanometer symbiotes in his blood and tissues assimilating the wine and food of his dinner with Ilona Lucacs My alien brother protects me so well that I can't get drunk, he said to himself He felt a wry laughter deep in his mind and remembered that he was never by himself And never would be
Lifting his left arm so that his wrist communicator was above his mouth, he phoned Jo in Hilo Her computer replied that she was in a meeting, but his call would be added to her list of messages
"I love you Jo," he said to the machine "And my virtue is still intact "
He did not feel the need for sleep Ilona Lucacs was addicted to electrical stimulation of her brain's pleasure center That was the real hold her superiors had on her He pictured her in her room now, sprawled on the narrow hotel bed, the small case that looked like a portable computer lying open on the floor, wires as thin as spider's silk leading from it to electrodes pasted on her forehead, all the world forgotten as a current of pure pleasure flowed through her brain
No need for sex No need for food or drink or anything As long as the current flowed she was in ecstasy
The machine must be programmed to turn itself off, he thought Otherwise she runs the risk of killing herself
I could get her off the addiction, he told himself But what kind of harm would I be doing if I just overpowered her addiction with my own commands' Would that destroy her? It might, he decided
He asked his star brother how he would handle the problem if he became addicted to direct stimulation It's not like drugs or other chemicals, he pointed out It's direct electrical stimulation of the pleasure centers
His star brother's answer was immediate Stop the neural impulses of the pleasure center No discharge of those nerves, no sense of pleasure And therefore no addiction
It's simple when you have a few trillion symbiotes inside you, Stoner said And his star brother agreed
Then he sat bolt upright on the bed, a powerfully-built man in his middle years with a strong black beard and a look of sudden revelation on his face The question that had eluded him ever since he had met Ilona Lucacs finally reached the surface of his mind
What else is she after' If they're into biochips, they're only a step or two away from nanotechnology From building the kind of self-replicating machines that course through my body
She knows Or at least she suspects the truth about us She does have a hypothesis about me and it's damned accurate
The thought filled him with unease Why he asked his star brother What is there to be afraid of? He knew the abstract worry that nanotechnology would cause a new and irresistible population explosion Reduce the death rate to nearly zero overnight, yes, but it takes generations to reduce the birthrate With symbiotes protecting their health and extending their lifespans, the human race could populate itself into extinction, bury the planet Earth in human flesh, even swamp the entire solar system
That much Stoner knew He had worked for fifteen years to prepare the way for nanotechnology, to get the human race to control its numbers before this gift from the stars raised them to the next level of their evolution
But the growing terror he felt at the realization that others were developing nanotechnology on their own was beyond all rational, reasonable fear What is it? he asked his star brother
His star brother did not reply